ASSAILANTS have shot dead a prominent military commander in eastern Afghanistan, a senior security official said. Commander Abdullah's vehicle was ambushed in Hisar Shah district, 35 km south of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, regional security chief Haji Roohullah told The Associated Press. Abdullah was a commander in Afghanistan's provincial army in Nangarhar. His wounded bodyguard who was being treated at a hospital. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack...
But we can guess...
Roohullah said they have arrested two people, but did not elaborate whether the suspects had links with the assailants. Abdullah was the son of Haji Ajab Khan, chief of Nangarhar's Khogiani district, south-west of Jalalabad.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 11:43 am ||
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A Taliban guerrilla was killed Thursday when a time bomb he was planting outside a town hall in southwestern Afghanistan exploded prematurely, police said. Two state workers were slightly hurt in the explosion in front of the town hall in Spin Boldak on the Pakistani border at about 6:30 a.m. EDT. "The bomb went off while the man was planting it," a senior police officer told Reuters. "He was blown to pieces."
Golly. Too bad. He will be missed. By his Mom...
Witness Atta Mohammed Khan said the bomb shattered the windows of surrounding houses. He said the two workers, who had been praying at the time, were not seriously hurt.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 11:41 am ||
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Ah, survival of the fittest at it's best.
More please.
#3
tu3031---If you blow yourself up in a work accident and you take no Infi's with you, there is a consolation prize of one lassie who can readily pass for 43 in the dusk with the light behind her.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/16/2003 14:16 Comments ||
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The United Nations says the Afghan Government is to provide armed escorts for UN staff travelling on roads in the south of the country. The announcement follows a string of attacks on UN mine-clearance workers, which have been blamed by Afghan officials on remnants of the ousted Taleban regime. The latest attack was reported a couple of hours before the UN announcement. Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a UN vehicle on the main road between the eastern towns of Gardez and Khost. Two Afghan mine-clearance staff were injured.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/16/2003 07:56 am ||
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The Afghan Government is very wise to do this. This way, they can keep the UN from screwing anything up too badly.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/16/2003 15:12 Comments ||
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The warning from Interior Minister Prince Naif that Saudi Arabia will pursue and punish those religious leaders who have instigated hate and terrorism through their preaching needs to be heeded by anyone who thinks that suicide bombings can be justified, here or anywhere.
But quite apart from the religious aspect, these bombings are a political and military dead-end. They are a raging admission of failure. What have they achieved? Have the Israelis been shocked into negotiations? No way. Suicide bomb after suicide bomb has served only to harden Israeli hearts against compromise with the Palestinians, against accepting a Palestinian state, against dismantling the settlements. Have the Russians become more conciliatory as a result of Chechen attacks? Will Mondayâs massive truck bomb in Znamenskoye and Tuesdayâs slightly smaller one near Gudermes change opinions in Moscow? The Russian have been made more intransigent by attacks. In Sri Lanka too, where there have been more suicide bombings than anywhere else on earth, the consequence has been to entrench attitudes, to harden hearts, to prevent solutions. So why, here in the Arab world, is there this absurd view that suicide bombers have achieved something, done something noble? Why this replay of Japanâs kamikaze pilots at the end of World War II, cheered as they flew off to their death? They too were a last-ditch stand. They produced fear. They produced devastation for an instant. But they were a spectacular failure, both militarily and politically.
Noticed that, did you? Somehow they keep happening, though, one after the other, whether they make sense or not. It's an Islamist trademark, something Islam can be noted for throughout all of subsequent history, kind of like lemmings are noted for their good sense...
There is nothing noble about killing innocent people. As for the notion that the bombers are martyrs, that too is a lie. They are not that. Martyrdom has to do with standing up and dying for something that is good. To kill innocent people as well as yourself is an act of sheer evil. In Riyadh, Westerners, Saudis, Filipinos, and many others died. If anyone is the martyr, it is them, certainly not their murderers.
But we never seem to see real condemnations of suicide bombings when the occur elsewhere, do we? Guess it depends on whose ox is being gored â or whose citizens are being turned into flying meat.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 11:30 am ||
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Nice, but as always, we need to see what they actually say in Arabic. The Friday sermons will tell the tale, I think.
#2
The Friday sermons will probably be toned down but that won't mean much. Wait until the Saudi govt starts to admit that incitement to murder is endemic in Saudi Arabia. Wait until clerics who incite murder are arrested. Wait until the national guard is purged of terrorist sympathizers. Wait until serious action against financial support of terrorism is taken.
#3
Yeah. Wait until Hell's several degrees below zero...
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2003 15:58 Comments ||
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prince naif is the leading islamicist dingbat in the "royal" family who thinks 9/11 was a zionist plot--he ain't leading anything except the familigia to the dustbin of history until his brothers and nephews replace the dickhead--until then, its like arafat going after the al acqsa martyr guys--pure camelshit
A Saudi charity which the United States suspects of having links to terrorist groups said it has decided to shut three of its offices abroad and will close four more to focus on humanitarian work within the Kingdom. The Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which was blacklisted by the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks, said it took the decision in light of the unfolding international developments. It said the offices to be closed are located in some European, Asian and African countries. Al-Haramainâs General Manager, Sheikh Aqeel Al-Aqeel, denied there was pressure from the US to close the offices. âThe current situation necessitated a review of the organizationâs geographical spread. There has been no pressure from the American authorities to close the offices in those places. There were some indirect reasons behind the closure,â Al-Aqeel was quoted as saying in a statement. Al-Haramain raises almost $30 million a year in donations for charity work across the world.
Whatever the hell "indirect reasons" might be. I'd call this one a victory, assuming they stay home...
Al-Aqeel said the decision was taken after a series of meetings by the organizationâs board of directors, some of which were chaired by Sheikh Saleh Al-Sheikh, minister of Islamic affairs, call and guidance, who is the supervisor of the organization.
Sounds like the local chapter of the Learned Elders of Islam decided that since the group's cover was blown they should be folded. There will be another bunch to take its place — the usual false nose and moustache thing — when they think the heat's off...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 11:17 am ||
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Fred, feel free to move this to Home Front if it fits better there.
Five Saudis were released from the U.S. military prison for terrorist suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and returned home Thursday, the Saudi interior minister, Prince Nayef, said. Five? Not sure this is the signal I'd want to send right after the bombing.
The U.S. Navy is holding more than 100 detainees from Saudi Arabia at Guantanamo. In all, approximately 660 detainees from 42 countries are detained at the base. Saudi Arabia has said it wants its citizens to come home. Russia, Sweden, Britain and Pakistan have made similar requests. "You can have them when we're done with them."
Prince Nayef said Saudi Arabia would continue its efforts to bring back its citizens ``to be tried by legal and just courts as part of the country's rejection of all kinds of terrorism.'' As Fred says, cut a few heads off and then we'll believe you're serious.
U.S. officials have long said that some prisoners could be released if their countries could guarantee they would deal with them appropriately. Thursday's release came three days after suspected al-Qaida terrorists attacked Riyadh's foreign residential compounds in suicide attacks that killed 34 people. Not sure this is the connection we want to make.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/16/2003 12:37 am ||
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I still believe Guantanamo has become a CIA recruitment centre.
Posted by: john ||
05/16/2003 5:56 Comments ||
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We should at least spread that rumor, heh, heh.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/16/2003 7:28 Comments ||
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Steve! that's really evil. I like it
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/16/2003 10:12 Comments ||
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Actually, I think it sends exactly the right signal. "You're finally serious about dealing with the problems inside your border, so now you can have your people back to deal with them."
I'm sure Prince Saud got the message loud and clear.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/16/2003 10:58 Comments ||
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Put tracker collars on 'em and give 'em to the Saudis and see where they go.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/16/2003 14:18 Comments ||
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I don't know how much info we got out of them, but I am sure the Saudis will extract lots more. Arab news makes this out to be a great concession from the U.S. Government. These five are unlikely to be be-bobbing in downtown Riyadh real soon.
#7
Anybody know the distribution of nationalities of the Gitmo Gang? It would seem that once we know as much as what we expect to know from them, we could do the repatriation thing back to govts that may be interested in more detailed interrogation in accordance with their cultural norms. The population may then fall at Gitmo for awhile to make room for other people of interest.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/16/2003 17:47 Comments ||
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600+ from 42 countries. I couldn't get a breakdown by country. They are shipping some out (Afghans, Pakistanis, and (SURPRISE!) Saudis. But 30 more checked in yesterday. Enjoy summer camp, boys.
German federal prosecutors announced terror charges Friday against a Jordanian man accused of belonging to a radical Palestinian network that was allegedly preparing attacks in Germany. The suspect, identified as Shadi Moh'd Mustafa A., 26, was among nine alleged Islamic extremists detained after investigators searched 21 apartments throughout Germany in April 2002. They are accused of being members of a cell of the radical Palestinian network al-Tawhid and were believed to be plotting attacks on at least two German cities.
Tawhid is one of the autonomous member groups of the late Ansar al-Islam. It's Zarqawi's operation...
Four, including the alleged cell leader, are in custody while the investigation continues. Another four have been released, though they remain under investigation. The Jordanian suspect, of Palestinian origin, was charged Thursday in a Duesseldorf state court with belonging to a terrorist group and counterfeiting passports, federal prosecutors in Karlsruhe said in a statement. Prosecutors said the cell, acting under orders from al-Tawhid leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, was planning attacks, including a shooting attack in a central square and one a grenade attack against a Jewish or Israeli target. "The cell members developed a plan to attack people in a busy square of a German city using a pistol with a silencer, and to detonate a hand grenade in another German city in the immediate vicinity of an Israeli or Jewish installation with the goal of killing as many people as possible," prosecutors said. They refused to identify specific cities or targets.
The Germans seem to be pretty good at chasing these goobers down. There seem to be a lot of operations like this planned, and not a lot of success in executing them...
Closely linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization, al-Tawhid supports the worldwide holy war against nonbelievers, especially targeting the United States and its closest allies, prosecutors said. Al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian whose real name is Ahmed al-Khalayleh, has been identified as a suspect in a plot to carry out terror attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets in Jordan, culminating in last year's slaying of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman. Al-Zarqawi, who remains at large, previously was convicted of another terror plot and sentenced in 2002 to 15 years in jail. German prosecutors said the Jordanian suspect had al-Zarqawi's trust and was a close associate of the alleged leader of the German cell, identified only as Mohamed Abu D. The suspect was told to identify targets for terror attacks in German cities and to procure the necessary weapons, according to a prosecutors' statement. In March 2002, he ordered a pistol with a silencer and a crate of hand grenades from another cell member, Jamel M. of Duesseldorf, prosecutors said, but the men were arrested before the delivery could be made.
"Jamel, we need two crates of tomatoes and one of hand grenades. Oh, and a pisol with a silencer, and some rhubarb..."
Two other suspects in custody, identified as Ashraf Al D. and Ismail S., were to carry out the attacks, the statement said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 01:02 pm ||
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I say "atta-boy" to the German police, now please arrest Herr Schroder for gross stupidity in US/German relations and excessive pandering to Anti-Americanism during an election...oh yes, and for sending the German economy down the toilet.... Sounds like a life sentence scraping rust off old East German factory machinery 12 hours a day, with Sundays off to be kind, is an appropiate penalty... Any other thoughts?
Suggestion to Fred. Maybe you should add a separate file entitled "Frog-bashing".
Gov. Bill Owens of Colorado didn't think he'd spark a trade war when he refused to meet with a French consular official last month. Yet the French embassy is now threatening an economic boycott of his state because of the snub, in an incident that is quickly coming to resemble France's behavior in the notorious XYZ Affair of 1798. The controversy began with a letter French consul general Jean-Luc Subiude sent to Owens in March asking to get together. Governors turn down requests like this all the time. Yet Owens didn't just say no thanks to Mr. Subiude. "I will be unable to meet with you during your visit to Colorado," he wrote. "I feel it would be inappropriate to do so at this time." Owens continued: "My feeling is that France's actions over the past few months will have serious and long-term consequences on relations between our countries. I believe your government opposed our efforts in Iraq in order to advance the government's popularity at home and to further France's ambitions abroad." He also noted that an uncle of his died in combat on French soil â on his 18th birthday, no less. I wish every state could have a Governor like Owens — especially California. Actually, Minnesota does in Pawlenty.
In relaying these thoughts, Owens surely spoke for many Americans. A year ago, 79 percent of Americans had a "very favorable" or "mostly favorable" opinion of France, according to a Gallup poll. This year, right before the Iraq war, that figure dropped to 34 percent â and 64 percent of Americans had an outright "unfavorable" view. I am shocked that almost 80% of Americans had a favorable opinion prior to this year. Santyana's comment of history is so apt here.
On April 15, I posted an excerpt from Owens's letter on NRO's The Corner, and the next day Owens appeared on The O'Reilly Factor to discuss it. During the interview, he expressed sympathy for Bill O'Reilly's call for Americans to quit buying French products. Two weeks later, Jean-Francois Boitton of the French embassy in Washington, D.C., retaliated. "I draw from your comments," he sniffed (haughtily, I'm sure, in a de Villepinhead manner)
in a letter to Owens, "the conclusion that I should strongly discourage French firms from considering investing in a state where they are not welcome." He went on to write that the governors of Maryland and Mississippi recently "extended a warm welcome to French investors." Does anyone know if this is true?
At no point did Owens say the French aren't welcome in Colorado, and he didn't even encourage the people of his state to quit eating Dannon yogurt, drinking Evian water, or buying Michelin tires. But now that its been mentioned ...
He even avoided taking a cheap shot at French wine, which has seen sales in the United States slip by as much as 30 percent this spring. Owens simply declined to meet with the representative of a government that has been singularly unhelpful to the United States in recent months, and explained his reasons in plain English.
The French response â and specifically its threat of economic blackmail â recalls a similar incident from the 18th century, when French officials expressed faux outrage over "insults" tendered by President John Adams and demanded bribes to meet with American diplomats who were trying to avert war between the two countries. Plus c'est change, plus c'est meme chÃŽse. Lecon du jour - Do not trust the French.
The American diplomats arrived in Paris in October 1797. French Foreign Minister Talleyrand
(de Villepinhead's historical role model)
received them for 15 minutes before bidding them adieu. Then, after several days of no contact, Talleyrand sent three agents to deliver a secret message: The foreign minister would negotiate with the Americans if they gave him a personal douceur â a "sweetener" â of $250,000. In addition, France itself would require a loan of $10 million to make up for the "insults" of President Adams. "It is expected that you will offer the money," said one of Talleyrand's men. "What is your answer?"
Charles Pinckney replied: "No! No! Not a sixpence." (A more popular version of the story has him saying "Millions for defense, but not a penny for tribute!" It appears he didn't actually speak these words, however.) And now you know the rest of the story of this site's totem.
The American envoys prepared a series of coded dispatches describing the French demands. They were received the following March in Philadelphia, then the national capital. In these documents, Talleyrand's agents were identified X, Y, and Z â and the ensuing hullabaloo has gone down in history as the XYZ Affair. The dispatches were read to Congress and printed for the public. The reaction was immediate and intense. Just as the French-owned Accor hotel chain stopped flying French flags outside its U.S. Sofitel locations earlier this year, tricolor emblems that had been worn to express solidarity with the French Revolution suddenly vanished from sight. A songwriter penned the patriotic anthem "Hail Columbia!" Neither country formally declared war on the other, but they went to war nonetheless. Historians sometimes call it the Quasi War. As Abigail Adams wrote, "Why, when we have the thing, should we boggle at the name?"
Perhaps Bill Owens and Jacques Chirac will sign a treaty, too â but not before France quits demanding a tribute from Colorado.
Posted by: ColoradoConservative ||
05/16/2003 11:37 am ||
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Hey if they (French) want a war I am coming out of retirement! NON to france, NON to snails, NON NON NON NON! Embrose mon Dierier, Monsewer Chirac!
Posted by: Mike ||
05/16/2003 12:46 Comments ||
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I wish every state could have a Governor like Owens - especially California.
Speaking for California, we'd be better off with Chirac himself as governor, than the current joker. Berkeley shared his stance on the war, and I'm sure they'll hold a strike to make him feel at home. We don't defend our borders here, either.
And we have already taken sufficient measures from preventing any sane company from investing further in Kalifornia SSR.
Posted by: Mark IV ||
05/16/2003 12:48 Comments ||
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There's one particular product of Colorado that it would be nice to share with France. The graduates of the United States Air Force Academy, getting no closer to France than, say, 10,000 feet.
#5
I am from Mississippi and I have read nothing of any action by our State to welcome France's business!!! We drink whiskey in Mississippi, not whine.
#6
Dear God I love our Govenor, watch him over the next 10 years, I am thinking presidential material, and a note to MarkVI, leave California, its your only hope!
#8
Hmmm ... that seems to be a bit of a non sequitur. Actually, I have been to Greeley (misspelling on your part), named for Horace Greeley - one of the founders of the Republican party, many a time. Homebase for Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave - staunch social conservative and scourge of liberals. LH you seem to be the type of dour person who goes out of his way to find a fault with anything and any situation. No wonder the Democrats are so bereft of ideas and a moral compass.
#9
Living in God's Country - Colorado - I can only agree 100%! Owens is making the tough decisions to require our state to live within its budget, even with a serious drop in revenue.
CyberSarge - I'll join you. I may be USAF(Ret), but I grew up on Louisiana, and learned to use a firearm before I was 12. There are a couple of thousand retirees in the Springs, and they ALL hate Chirac! Once we finish with the French scheizegrenadiers, we can liberate California.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/16/2003 15:07 Comments ||
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whuh?? I was honestly curious - NPR did a very interesting (yes, really) piece on Greeley (geez, sorry about the spelling) sounded like a fine place, it was really intereting that Ibn Qutb was there - hes a very important figure to the Salafists you know - thought we might actually discuss something related to the WOT.
Dour person who finds fault with any situation - weird, my wife thinks im an optimist with rose-colored glasses. (And i suggest that anyone who has followed my posts here re: iraqi infrastructure can imagine why she says that)
And in any case what does my personal moodiness have to do with the Democrats - Im a human being, not just a member of a political party. I daresay every political party and every ideological group in the US and in most countries includes people of a wide range of temperments.
Nissan is building a Truck Plant in Canton, Mississippi. Spending about $1.5 billion to assemble the new full sized Titan pickup.
Nissan's largest shareholder is....Renault.
There is your French Connection. I imagine your governor is pretty happy with the investment.
Posted by: john ||
05/16/2003 21:11 Comments ||
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I've been pissed and distrustfull of France since
the bombing of PanAm103.When Regan ask France for overflight permision in order to bomb Quadafi France denide permision.I new then France was no friend of the U.S.
EFL
A Lebanese refugee running for parliament is giving a confrontational twist to elections in this Belgian city, a center of anti-immigrant feelings in Europe. Dyab Abou Jahjah's demands for immigrant empowerment, his brief jailing on charges of incitement to riot and his portrayal as an enemy of democracy and integration have caught the eye of the nation, even though the publicity is unlikely to be reflected in success at the polls. I wouldn't be to sure about that. Your average islamic population tends to vote as a block.
The 31-year-old Abou Jahjah dreams of an upset and a parliamentary seat. "The impact of that one seat will be so jarring that a lot of things will change," he said. His Antwerp-based Arab-European League has just 2,000 members in Belgium, but is expanding internationally. It has 1,000 supporters in the Netherlands, and 300 members in France. I'm thinking there are more that you haven't counted.
In a country of hundreds of thousands of Arab and Turkish immigrants, several politicians with immigrant backgrounds are running for parliament representing traditional parties. Abou Jahjah, who fled Lebanon and the continued violence at 19 to seek a new life in Europe, denounces them as sellouts. Playing the islamic "Uncle Tom" card.
Abou Jahjah sought political asylum in 1991 but gained Belgian nationality through a brief marriage. His group opposes assimilation and demands that Muslims be educated in separate schools. Regular Belgium schools don't offer classes in explosives
He also wants Arabic to be given greater recognition in Belgium alongside the official languages of Dutch, French and German.
Dressed in blue jeans and a casual black jacket amid a throng of young admirers at a recent rally, Abou Jahjah accused Belgium's political mainstream of trying to force Muslims to adopt Belgian culture. Instead, the prime minister should come to the immigrant neighborhoods of Antwerp and speak Arabic, he said. "We are not submissive," Abou Jahjah told the meeting. "But everyone else must submit to me or else!"
Abou Jahjah said his resistance authority was ingrained during his youth in Sidon, Lebanon, when Israel invaded the country in 1982. Since fleeing Lebanon, he has gained Belgian citizenship and studied international politics. In 1993, he founded the Arab-European League to promote the rights of Arab immigrants in a city that was quickly becoming a racial powderkeg.
He hit national headlines early last year when a march in Antwerp to support the Palestinian cause turned into a riot. Jewish businesses in the city's diamond district were attacked. You knew there had to be Jews involved
Abou Jahjah, who often stood face-to-face with police, was accused of inciting the riots. He was jailed until it was decided there were insufficient grounds to prosecute. Suddenly, he became a hero to many immigrant youths in this city of 400,000 people. "It made me even more combative," Abou Jahjah told The Associated Press. "When you're in jail and you realize you're innocent, you increasingly realize how politics work and you know your cause is a just one." "Cuz when we're in charge, I can do what I like without being arrested."
Posted by: Steve ||
05/16/2003 08:14 am ||
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Is "Abou" his real name, or is it "Abou" as in "fighter's pseudonym"? Just wondering.
#4
"It made me even more combative," Abou Jahjah told The Associated Press. "When you're in jail and you realize you're innocent, you increasingly realize how politics work and you know your cause is a just one."
...Sounds like someone's been reading Mein Kampf , yeah? Time in a European jail will get ya every time...
#5
Prediction: We will see a resurgence of Nationalist European parties like the National Front. Reverse colonialsim is obvious trend here, France, Germany and elsewhere. But these colonialists are there to stay.
His group opposes assimilation and demands that Muslims be educated in separate schools.
That kind of bulls**t is the reason we're where we are today.
He hit national headlines early last year when a march in Antwerp to support the Palestinian cause turned into a riot. Jewish businesses in the city's diamond district were attacked.
How many more of these racist freaks are we supposed to stomach?
If Western countries were smart, they would end immigration from Muslim nations.
But we won't. We'll have to have a few of these backward political terrorists in Congress before anyone makes a sensible move.
I just hope it's not too late.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country faces serious threats that require a major increase in economic growth, further military reforms and the development of new strategic weapons. Hmmm. New weapons? Not impressed with the performance of Soviet weapons in Iraq, Vladdy?
In an hour-long address in the Kremlin, Putin also spent time addressing the war in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, where more than 75 people died this week in two separate suicide bombings. Putin said Russian forces "would finish the job" of ending the conflict, a sign that the Kremlin intended to continue military operations to end rebel resistance to Russian rule. Oh, I just bet he'll finish the job. Of course, considering the enemy, it's probably not a bad thing...
If they're going to finish the job, they've got to ignore the small fry for the moment and specifically go after Basayev, Maskhadov, and al-Walid. Once those three are dead, preferably in the same afternoon, start rounding up wahhabi mullahs and sweep Pankisi Gorge...
"We face serious threats," Putin told lawmakers gathered in the marble room in the Kremlin, which was once used for high-level meetings of the Soviet Communist Party, for the president's annual address to the nation. Yeah. You listen to Chirac.
Under his leadership, Putin said Russia had avoided the danger of disintegrating and that its strategic goal is to become a powerful nation. Ahem, ditch France. That's a step in the right direction.
"Russia can exist within its borders only if it is a great power," he said. In a stern, forceful voice, Putin listed the country's demographic slide, poverty, the spread of weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism as among the problems that Russia must confront. He said Russia's bloated bureaucracy hindered economic development and called for radical cuts in the administration and acknowledged the migration policy formulated by his government needed to be revamped. On political reform, he said forming a government based on a parliamentary majority should be considered. Join the club.
All of Russia's current problems were foreseeable in outline in 1992. (I wrote a fairly detailed projection of what was going to happen in that year, and since then I've been watching events unfold on schedule.) The breakdown of the Soviet system led to it's probable outcome, which was ten years of "wild west" near-anarchy as both the empire and the state-run apparatus broke up. Life-long commies switched to being capitalists, but they were capitalists as presented in commie propaganda. They're in position now to come out of that period, though it won't be overnight, and Putin is probably the right man to start bringing them out. He just has to realize that his children will probably be the ones who see Russia..
But in a country that has undergone political turmoil and constant change for 15 years, he warned against reform for reform's sake. "There cannot be a permanent revolution," Putin said.
That's a recipe for permanent anarchy. The rhythm's got to be change-maintain-change-maintain...
Putin criticized the government for its slackness in achieving economic gains. "The tempo of economic growth is slowing," he said. He said the country's GDP should be doubled over the next 10 years and said the ruble should become fully convertible. Putin said Russia's strategy should be to ensure that Russia can become a "truly strong, economically progressive and influential" country in the world.
It's got to be done incrementally, though, not with a 5-year-plan approach. The preference for "pyatiletki" were one of the problems of the Soviets.
Putin devoted little time to international affairs. The Russian leader praised the success of the anti-terrorist coalition formed after Sept. 11, but he repeated, as he has so often in the past, that the United Nations remains "the most important" mechanism for regulating international conflict. See, Vladdy, there's where you need to have that "permanent revolution" in thinking.
We all make mistakes. Believing in the Tooth Fairy, pixies, and the UN are only a few of those available. They'll outgrow it.
"It must be cared for," Putin said. Turning to military reform, Putin noted that Russia was developing a new generation of strategic weapons. He provided no detail, but the announcement was met with applause. WOO HOO! Let's sell them to Iran!
According to Russian media and military analysts, there were no visible development programs for new strategic weapons in the 1990s except for a new type of strategic missile being developed for the navy and the modernization of Soviet-built ballistic missiles intended to extend their lifetime. Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent military analyst, said that Putin's statement could refer to new types of nuclear warheads that are believed to be under development. "The president apparently meant a new generation of nuclear warheads, including low-yield ones similar to those designed by the Americans," Felgenhauer said in a telephone interview. Development of those weapons began long ago, Felgenhauer said, and their "deployment is quite realistic." Ah, that's very reassuring.
Those are tactical weapons, though, not strategic. Perhaps he's referring to the ABM system...
Putin, who is seeking to reform Russia's military by gradually introducing an all-volunteer army, also proposed reducing military service to one year from two by 2008. Russia has tremendous problems meeting its draft quotas because of often horrific conditions in the military.
Improving conditions within the military would go far toward making it better. A one-year term of service is a bad idea. It takes almost that long to train and acclimate a decent soldier. Then you lose him?
Posted by: Celissa ||
05/16/2003 07:58 am ||
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"Strategic weapons"--we're not talking tanks here--we're talking ballistic missiles, ballistic missile submarines, and bombers. Is this idiot trying to resurrect the Cold War with a new arms race?
Posted by: Dar ||
05/16/2003 8:54 Comments ||
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Putin walks a very fine line here. For now Europe doesn't see Russia as a military threat... it would be foolish of him to try to change this.
But I doubt Russia has the money for an arms race anyway.
Hello Doctor, besides his continued 'dilutions of grandeur', Mr. Dominique de Villepin is showing bouts of paranoia. I think we need to increase his dosage
PARIS - Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said in an interview aired Friday that France wants "lies and calumny" published in both the U.S. and British press to stop. To that end, Paris is taking an inventory of press accounts about France with plans to show they are untrue, de Villepin said in a France Inter radio interview taped Thursday night and aired Friday. De Villepin stepped forward to personally address what France claims is a campaign of disinformation against it, revealed to U.S. officials this week in a letter from France's ambassador to Washington.
The letter by Ambassador Jean-David Levitte was sent to officials of the Bush administration and members of Congress. It was meant "to open up to them about the difficulties we are encountering and ... so that such lies and calumny stop," the minister said. However, de Villepin broadened the charge, saying the British media, too, had carried disinformation. "There is, in the American press and in the British press, a great number of articles, information that was without foundation, untruthful," the foreign minister said in the radio interview.
Posted by: Anonymous ||
05/16/2003 07:53 am ||
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"Lies, all lies!" The FM is sounding more islamic all the time.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/16/2003 8:33 Comments ||
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#2
So, the French really did send troops to fight beside ours in Iraq?
Posted by: Matt ||
05/16/2003 8:41 Comments ||
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Calumny?
Main Entry: cal·um·ny
Pronunciation: 'ka-l&m-nE also 'kal-y&m-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -nies
Etymology: Middle French & Latin; Middle French calomnie, from Latin calumnia, from calvi to deceive; perhaps akin to Old English hOlian to slander, Greek kElein to beguile
Date: 15th century
1 : a misrepresentation intended to blacken another's reputation
2 : the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to damage another's reputation
- ca·lum·ni·ous /k&-'l&m-nE-&s/ adjective
- ca·lum·ni·ous·ly adverb
#4
And how would de Villepinhead respond to an American call to censor the blatant half-truths and propaganda pouring forth from Le Figaro and Le Monde?
You beat me to it. Le Monde and every other French newspaper does more America trashing per day than all of what the French have accused us of doing. In fact some of the editorial cartoons on the front page of Le Monde are insane and nauseating. They French should really take the lead when it comes to telling the truth if they're going to cry about others doing it.
Posted by: g wiz ||
05/16/2003 12:34 Comments ||
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Ignore Ambassador Levitte's letter -- I wrote him a letter about three months ago and told him what the French needed to do, and they certainly ignored the advice in my letter. He probably received tens of thousands of similar letters. Toss his letter into the same landfill where he tossed ours.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/16/2003 13:23 Comments ||
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#7
I would love for someone to post an address or link to the french embassador's office here so we can send truth positive that the United States of America does not control either the liberal media or the american public.
Villepin is trash and is looking for those elusive 15 seconds of fame. Too late. The liberation of Iraq is long gone. Move on you piece of french trash and take your garbage with you. We'l buy Portuguese, Spanish or Polish goods, thank you very much.
#9
It is pretty tough to respond as Truejoe suggests if you actually read the stuff at the French embassy site. Interesting site.
Why anyone would place so much faith in the "truth" coming out of any media is beyond my comprehension. Hopefully that great guardian of "truth", the NYT may have taught everyone a little caution in that regard.
But what is truely unfortunate is that America's mood of intolerance and self-righteousness runs so deep that we cannot understand that the French might not agree with our foreign policy. Their self-interest is no doubt involved in their decisions, just as our Colorado governor's self-interest is evident in his snub of the French (but whether it was Ski Country USA or his own national political ambitions I'm not quite sure).
I thought Schroeder's head was so far up his ass that it could never be extracted - but this may help.
As Secretary of State Colin Powell tried to mend frayed relations with Germany, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed Friday that sanctions against Iraq "make no sense." With Powell signaling the Bush administration was in a compromising mood on the text of a U.N. resolution, Schroeder said the burden of the economic squeeze on the Iraqi people should be removed as soon as possible. And Powell, at a joint news conference after a half-hour meeting at Schroeder's office, said: ``I was pleased with the chancellor's commitment to lift the sanctions entirely.''
Posted by: Anonymous ||
05/16/2003 07:38 am ||
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So while Schroeder tries to mend fences with Powell Bush meets German opposition "crown prince" Roland Koch in the White House.
I know that Schroeder was not happy about this. And I doubt that Powell was.
It is a clear indication that the Bush administration doesn't really want to work with Schroeder again. Which would be fine if we had elections this year. Unfortunately the next German elections are due fall 2006 only. Could be a long wait.
In the end, the Adminstration WANTS to work with Germany...and wants not to work with France. Villepin's latest compaints about the US/UK media really are cries for help. They are positively al-Sahafian.
No surprise Schroeder (and the current German government) might take the opportunity to distinguish himself.
#3
I can only hope so but having waited 5 years I have my doubts that Schroeder will ever distinguish himself.
At least he seems to realize the blunders he made. But if the French isolation continues the French will try to embrace us more... and I'm not happy about this either.
#5
I have never seen that much political (and economical) disorientation in Germany. Nobody in the government seems to have a clear view of what is necessary.
And now the French "support" Fischer as the first EU foreign minister.
Great! Disorientation at European level
#6
seems like we are pulling Germany out of the axis. even with Schroeder in office. good thing, i think.
Doesnt mean we wont keep options open - like talking to Koch - maybe Fischer can stop meeting with Arafat (and Germany can use its good offices to get Solana to stop meeting with Arafat) and we will stop meeting with Koch?
#7
New poll published by the German ZDF television:
Question: Do you generally like Americans?
71% say yes (19% no). Interestingly enough in December 2002 it was 70% (21% no) and ten years earlier... 72% (19% no)
Not much has changed obviously. People may not like Bush here but Americans are not affected by US politics. I guess the next chancellor will not try an anti-American card again. Because next time the pro American voices will be heard louder.
Police on Friday arrested a travel agency employee in northwestern Pakistan suspected of supplying fake passports and other travel documents to al-Qaida fugitives. Police seized dozens of stolen British, Afghan and Pakistani passports, fake travel visa stickers and immigration authority stamps in a raid on a travel agency in Peshawar. U.S. agents assisted in the investigation leading to the travel agency, said Gulfat Hussain, who led the raid. The raid came a week after security agents arrested three people and seized 100 blank Pakistan passports in Peshawar.
"Passports! Getcher passports right here! Only fi' dollah!"
"Here, lad! I'll have four!"
Hussain said agents have also been sent to Pakistan's mountainous tribal regions in connection with the May 10 raid to look for smugglers, who they believe delivered doctored passports to al-Qaida fugitives in Afghanistan.
Precisely where in Afghanland would be of interest...
In a separate operation, police in Karachi arrested a Burmese man suspected of belonging to the al-Qaida terrorist network. Abdul Mutallib, 27, was arrested Thursday night on tips from two al-Qaida suspects already in jail. The informants â Mohammed Anwar and Habibullah â were arrested last month in Karachi along with four others, including Waleed Mohammed Bin Attash, a Yemeni national suspected of involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. Before a brief court appearance Friday, Anwar told The Associated Press he was a driver at a poultry farm used as a warehouse for guns and explosives but that he didn't know why the weaponry was kept there.
"Duh. Guns? 'Splosives? Whuddya use them fer?"
Anwar said he and Habibullah had been interrogated regularly since May 3. He said they were forced to wear hoods and were asked questions about suspected al-Qaida leaders, including Attash.
They weren't hoods. The coppers just pulled their turbans down over their eyes...
Attash, also the alleged mastermind of the USS Cole bombing off Yemen in 2000 that killed 17 U.S. sailors, allegedly had been planning another attack. When police arrested him April 29, they also seized a truck packed with explosives and an arsenal of weapons and other explosive materials.
He didn't know what they were going to be used for, either...
The Burmese suspect allegedly bought weapons for Attash and others, police said. Police said he will appear in court May 19 along the other two al-Qaida suspects. It wasn't known whether Attash remained in Pakistani custody or had been handed over to U.S. authorities. The Yemeni government has also asked for Attash's extradition.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 12:54 pm ||
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If I'm a customs guy at the airport and somebody hands me a Pakistani passport, they're in the backroom being stripped searched with their luggage torn apart in about 30 seconds. Oh, wait. That's "profiling". That's a bad thing.
Nevermind.
EFL
I first went to Iran during the Shahâs time. Several years later, there was another opportunity to do so. By then the Shah had been gone nearly ten years and the Mullahs were in control. Of course, a great deal had changed â none for the better â but that is another story better left for another day. Any shop or store that you entered had a prominently displayed notice in Persian that warned women visitors in stern terms that it was the law that they be fully covered and, except for the face, no part of their anatomy, hair included, should be visible. Any violation of that dress code set by the government of the Islamic republic, the notice reminded them, would be severely dealt with.
What the notice betrayed was the mindset of those who had put it there. It was they who felt threatened by women who did not look like walking mummies. Why could men who felt it was sinful to look at a woman who was not covered according to a dress code that they, the men, had drawn up in the first place, not turn away their gaze? Why was it the womanâs responsibility, in fact her legal and âreligiousâ duty, to dress not in accordance with her wishes but those of men in authority? If there was sin, it lay with those who had issued such orders. It was they whose minds were sick. It was they whose imaginations were morbid.
On my weekend visit to a Pakistani convenience store, I found a set of audio tapes manufactured in Pakistan and, by all accounts, selling well in the United States. The themes taken up by Dr Zaheer for the enlightenment and spiritual edification of his congregation were diverse, one being âthe place of womanâ.
After listening to him, I was left in no doubt that quite a few of those Pakistani-Americans who counted themselves among Dr Zaheerâs overseas flock would, upon hearing his message, rush home and lock up their wives and daughters. The spread of bigotry and religious ignorance is obviously a global phenomenon, a feat for which the credit goes to Dr Zaheer and his righteous and rather angry brothers in designer beards, self-styled head dresses and outlandish gowns.
This is what he told his congregation the day the recording was made and this is what his overseas congregations are being told today. The real place (the word he used was â thikanaâ) of a woman is her home. She is only allowed to leave home as an âexceptional caseâ (said in English). He also said that a child, a slave, a sick person and, to complete the list, a woman were not required to offer their prayers as part of a congregation.
Dr Zaheer told the faithful that an adult Muslim male should not enter a house without due notice, even if it were the house of his mother and she was there alone. âWould you want to see your mother in a naked state?â he asked. He said the increase in incidents of rape and adultery was due to men entering homes where women were by themselves. He said most such âincidentsâ involved family members. âBrothers in law and sistersâ husbands are like death to a woman,â he declared. Nephews, both maternal and paternal, fell in the same dangerous category. He said he was personally aware of cases where nephews had committed incest. When a man and woman were alone â and they were not husband and wife â the devilâs was the third presence. Dr Zaheer left his congregation in no doubt as to what a man and woman would do if left alone.
Dr Zaheer then moved to household help. He castigated those who employed cooks because they could spare the money. âFor all they care, the sanctity of the home and the modesty of its women can go to hell,â he thundered. He said when the cook was alone with the woman of the house, the two of them would cook something other than food. He also had strong words for parents who let the young daughter of the house venture out in a car with a driver. At this point in his sermon, he asked the congregation, âAnd who is the third person riding with those two?â âShaitan,â they answered in unison. He conceded, however, that God was the only One who could save âyour daughterâs honourâ.
Dr Zaheer said here was a girl studying to be a doctor but driving around with her chauffeur. A âmillion timesâ preferable to her was the illiterate girl who stayed inside her home with her honour intact. He said it was against Islam to permit a woman to be alone with her cook, her driver or her tutor. He also had stern advice as to how women should dress. They were only allowed to wear make up if the sole beholder was to be the husband. They were also not to speak in a suggestive voice to anyone, except the husband. To all others, they should speak in a plain voice with no intonations. He also denounced women who answered phone calls. âThey ask who the caller is, why he is calling and much else. I ask you, what is the purpose of such questions? It is utterly un-Islamic and it has ruined many families. The phone is a curse. Can we even count the number of filthy scandals it has caused?â he asked emotionally. Women, he further declared, should not describe the looks of other women to their husbands because it will give their husbands ideas. He closed his sermon by lamenting the moral collapse of the West because of the licence it had given to its women who had neither shame nor modesty, one of their pastimes being giving birth to illegitimate children.
I have no doubt the Good Lord has set aside a special corner of hades for men such as Dr Fazal Elahi Zaheer.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/16/2003 02:57 am ||
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#1
Why not call it for what it is? Massive weakness and feelings of inadequacy inherent in Muslim male culture? Bunch of pussies....their outstanding showing in Iraq won't help either.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/16/2003 7:48 Comments ||
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#2
I have no doubt the Good Lord has set aside a special corner of hades for men such as Dr Fazal Elahi Zaheer.
I hope that corner is big, honey, cause 99.99% of Muslim males think this way.
The sick thing: Muslim women gleefully swallow this crap and then try to tell infidel women how "wonderful" Islamic attitudes are toward women.
HA!
#3
That is one of the most vile, frightening, disgusting, myopically evil things I have ever read. I knew they thought this way but to see it so plainly and insidiously stated makes my skin crawl. The idea that I should be hidden away because some asshole man can't control himself or his base urges is absurd.
This is a clash of civilizations and I hope more people begin to wake up to what Islam really is and the backwards tenets it demands of everyone. The more I read the more I want to go out and buy not one, but several guns. Thank God Texas is a concel and carry state. It's to bad these women don't have that option. And I'm sure there's a large section of hell just waiting for Allah's followers. I just wish I could see their faces when the realize where they are after blowing up innocent people. Hell is almost to good for them.
#4
He also denounced women who answered phone calls. âThey ask who the caller is, why he is calling and much else. I ask you, what is the purpose of such questions? It is utterly un-Islamic and it has ruined many families. The phone is a curse. Can we even count the number of filthy scandals it has caused?â he asked emotionally.
#5
I don't understand it. If they want to return to the 7th century, why do they embrace guns and explosives and automobiles and electricity?
Posted by: Tom ||
05/16/2003 13:12 Comments ||
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#6
Tom:
I believe Ibn Qutb , a major fundie ideologue, said that its ok adopt western technology - Islam was also developing science before it was overtaken by the west (i dont think hes all too clear on WHY it was overtaken) its western religious, social, political, and moral ideas he rejects (of course he also largely misunderstands them, but thats another subject)
Of course this Zaheer is Shiite, so he may have a different view than Qutb who was Sunni. But in general the Shiite fundies in Iran have been glad to use modern technology - they originally used cassette tapes to spread their ideology in Iran.
#7
I just have this vision of this guy calling his buddies' wives and breathing heavy into the receiver while flogging the dolphin as well as spanking it to memories of the time he saw his sister-in-law's ankle. There is a lot of projection going on here.
#8
Of course, the problem here may be that he doesn't get his rocks off often enough. Why would anyone with a healthy sex life want to trade it for the dubious possibility of 72 virgins in the afterlife? Islam needs women - unfortunately, Muslims want to get them by killing non-Muslim men and enslaving their wives and girlfriends. (The thought process seems to be - if raping and enslaving was good enough for Muhammad, it's good enough for modern Muslims).
#9
At the risk of getting myself in trouble I want to point out that Dr. Zaheer's words would have less impact on his audience if the US's illegitimate birth numbers weren't so high and well reported, the same goes for divorce. Family is of very, very, great importance in these cultures, both emotionally and for day to day survival. However, the way all the burden of sexual restrain is placed on the woman sabotages the whole effort, both to protect the woman and have a functioning family, and virtually gives carte blanche to muslim males, "I saw a whisp of her hair and I could not help myself but had to rape her...". Islam's tenets demand a great deal of self restrain in the submission to Allah (i.e. no pork, no alcohol, fasting during the month of Ramadan), why in the sexual area the burden of restrain is so lopsided is bizarre and of course unfair.
#10
Great points, .308. Those fundie nutjobs in Islam should be fought, but we should also question a society that thinks that we can have free-for-all hedonism with no consequences. We can't.
We can be blinded by extreme light just as effectively as by extreme darkness.
Posted by: eric ||
05/16/2003 20:36 Comments ||
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Singers in âtrubbelâ
According to Khabrain popular Pakistani singers and actresses Nasibo Lal, Saima, Mira and Sana had been summoned to court along with culture ministry and the police to answer charges of obscenity. Two young men of Baghbanpura Lahore, Qasim and Imtiaz, were listening to songs at a tea stall when they thought of using Islam to make the artists come to court after being arrested. One song was stick under the bed, the other objectionable song was pot for milk. The two young men said they were so pious they could not listen to the songs without being upset.
Well, yeah. I guess I can understand why they'd be upset. "Stick under the bed" — Oooh! Carnal imagery! And "Pot for milk"? That's an obvious reference to boobies. Anybody with an exceptionally dirty mind would get either of them...
Insulting the holy Quran
According to Khabrain, two men in Gujranwala, Yusuf and Loha Pehlwan, burnt the Quran and were handed over to the police. But the local people became incensed and gathered at the police station under the leadership of local ulema and asked the police to let them kill the two insulters. The newspaper also reported two brothers in Chichawatni who threw the Quran down on the floor during a scuffle with a man who had broken the engagement of his daughter with one of them. The two brothers attacked the house but the girl came out with Quran held aloft.
"They have [fill in offense here]! They must be killed!"
Hafiz Saidâs wisdom
As reported in Khabrain leader of banned Lashkar e-Taiba said in Faisalabad that Pakistan should train its population to become like Saddam Husseinâs Republican Guards, after which the armed forces of Pakistan should be sent to Iraq to fight against the Americans. He was speaking at Faisalabad which is the centre of Ahle Hadith organisations. Another speaker at the Faisalabad gathering said that Pakistan should threaten America with a nuclear strike. Nawa-e-Waqt reported Hafiz Saeed as saying that Pakistani rulers would hand over the countryâs nuclear weapons if the Americans demanded them. He said that Iraq would become a graveyard for the American dead.
A she-devil rises in Norway
Sultan Mehmood writing in Nawa-e-Waqt reported that a Pakistani lady in Norway was a she-devil making the life of pious Pakistanis there impossible through her programmes against arranged marriage, Islamic hudood and womenâs circumcision in the Muslim world. A graduate of Oslo university the Pakistani girl was printing articles against the mullahs. After a Muslim killed his daughter because she had married a non-Muslim Swede, she took out a procession of protest in Oslo, after which Pakistani Muslims took out a counter-procession against her procession.
Can't kill his daughter? By Gawd, the woman is making life for pious Pakistanis impossible!
Everybody tells lies
Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that all political parties hid the truth. Ex-president Mian Azhar was saved from a vote of no-confidence by General Musharraf and although he was later made to resign, he still did not admit that PML(Q) was Kingâs Party. PPPPâs Makhdoom Amin Fahim was prevented from becoming prime minister by Ms Bhutto, the chief ministership of his son was sabotaged, and he was himself not chosen as leader of his party in parliament. He was prevented from joining the MMA at the centre but allowed to do so in Sindh, as a result of which he had tendered his resignation, but still he maintained that he had no differences with Ms Bhutto. MMA got its big vote because of the hatred against America and its attack on the Taliban but MMA kept denying this and instead claimed that it had won because the religious parties had united. The MMA then got together with the PML(Q) in Balochistan and the PPPP in Sindh but refused to cast vote for Jamali at the centre. The MMA leaders Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Qazi Hussain Ahmad fell out over the question of by-election nominations. Both denied it but Maulana Samiul Haq and Prof Sajid Mir seemed to be siding with Qazi Sahib in this division.
Threaten America with nuclear strike!
Talking to Khabrain, General (Retd) Zahid Ali Akbar said that if America bombed Pakistan then Pakistan should threaten the United States with a nuclear strike on their naval fleet nearest to Pakistan. He said if too many body bags reached America the public there would reject Bush and elect a Democrat president who may firmly take the US back to the United Nations. He said if he was in Saddamâs shoes he would have made chemical weapons. He said if he was General Musharraf I would prepare a missile with a 2000-mile range so as to reach Israel.
If Kurd state is created
Famous columnist Nazeer Naji wrote in Jang that if the Americans created a Kurd state in the Iraqi north then a parallel state containing central Iraq and Jordan could come into being. This new state would clash with Iran and would be supported by Israel.
Americans will get roasted!
Famous war expert Captain (Retd) Saeed Tiwana wrote in daily Pakistan that American troops in Iraq desert will get roasted in summer. He said the America war planners were at each otherâs throats and that President Bush was taking strong pain-killers like his father, Saddam's earlier victim. He said America will get great beating in Iraq and President Bush will stand trial for war crimes.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/16/2003 02:39 am ||
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He said if too many body bags reached America the public there would reject Bush and elect a Democrat president who may firmly take the US back to the United Nations.
My good sir, your perception of United States Presidential politics is exceptional for a Muslim. By all means please endorse the Democrat Nominee after their Convention, and I shall be happy to advertise said endorsement, with full attribution.
#2
Theses lil' nuggets of wisdom are a favorite of mine. OT : apart for a mind-numbing compulsory 1-yr draft, I have no military background; please, could someone explain how a captain could ever be considered a "famous war expert", except perhaps at company level?
#3
The Pakistani magazine that quotes these 'nuggets' is one of the countries few liberal media outlets, and they have a strong dislike for the Mullahs and the Army. So whenever one of Pakistan's seemingly endless supply of retired Generals, Colonels, Captains comment on current events, they use terms like "famous war expert" or "military genious" as a joke, since the Army has lost every war it has fought.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/16/2003 7:35 Comments ||
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#4
then Pakistan should threaten the United States with a nuclear strike
Talk about gratitude! Jeez, Gen. Zia ul-Haq (sp.) must rolling over in his grave! The prospect, or threat thereof, however, gives us an opportunity to try the Indo-US-Israeli alliance that the Indian National Security Advisor was discussing. We do have an opening on the Axis of Evil, now, right?
Posted by: Brian ||
05/16/2003 9:20 Comments ||
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#5
As reported in Khabrain leader of banned Lashkar-e-Tayba said in Faisalabad that Pakistan should train its population to become like Saddam Husseinâs Republican Guards, after which the armed forces of Pakistan should be sent to Iraq to fight against the Americans.
Yep, that will have us shaking in our shoes, train 'em up like the Republican Guard. Do these guys have any clue what happened in Iraq?
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/16/2003 9:54 Comments ||
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#6
One song was stick under the bed, the other objectionable song was pot for milk. The two young men said they were so pious they could not listen to the songs without being upset.
Play Misty for Me does that to me all the time. :-)
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/16/2003 9:55 Comments ||
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#9
Anon. B. H. Liddell-Hart got a medical retirement as a captain from the British Army after WW I.
He went on to become a scholar and widely-respected military historian and theorist.
Unfortunately, one of his biggest fans was Guderian.
Presumably, his combat experience and his scholarship are a particularly useful combination.
In the American military, captains are exposed to substantial education beyond moving platoons around which would make them experts compared to practically anybody but their superiors.
Still, this guy....
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
05/16/2003 11:04 Comments ||
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#10
He said if too many body bags reached America the public there would reject Bush and elect a Democrat president who may firmly take the US back to the United Nations.
Hahahahhahahahahahahahaha!
They certainly do NOT understand the US. I guess all those years of lip-biting and teary admonishments as our sovreignty was handed over to the UN, made the Pakis think that America was a weak as Bill's knees when Hillary bitch-slaps him.
They would just LOVE for us to go back to the UN so they can hide behind the Annan Butcher Brigade⢠and get a little Western street cred for their cancerous Islamist movement.
He said if he was in Saddamâs shoes he would have made chemical weapons. He said if he was General Musharraf I would prepare a missile with a 2000-mile range so as to reach Israel.
I've come to the reluctant conclusion that about 1 billion people are insane with religiously sanctioned hatred, anti-semitism, and violence.
Can you guess which billion?
#11
Paul Moloney is just scratching the surface. There are a lot of countries out there that think like that. China and South Korea (that's no typo) are just two of 'em. If most Americans knew how many crazies are out there running countries (and that's just our so-called friends), we'd abolish the State Department and rename Defense the War Department.
EFL It was only a matter of time... Amnesty International is investigating claims that British and American troops tortured prisoners of war in Iraq with night-long beatings and, in at least one case, electric shocks, the group said Friday. The human rights organization gathered statements from 20 former detainees who said they had been kicked and beaten by soldiers while being interrogated, Amnesty researcher Said Boumedouha told a news conference in London. One Saudi Arabian national claimed he was tortured with electric shocks, Boumedouha said. There I was, just enjoying the great beaches around Basra, when these nasty British soldiers came along...
When asked if his use of the word "torture" accurately described the alleged treatment, Boumedouha responded: "If you keep beating somebody for the whole night and somebody is bleeding and you are breaking teeth, it is more than beating. I think that is torture." It'd take a platoon working in relays to keep beating one guy all night. I must have missed those special torture brigades we sent over.
The Saudi who said he was given electric shocks told Amnesty he had entered Iraq from Syria to volunteer for the Iraqi Red Cross Society, according to the Boumedouha. There. That explains it all. He was just there out of a sense of Muslim charity.
Boumedouha said the group planned to present its findings to British and U.S. authorities. And the Internation Criminal Court as well as the Belgian ones too!
"We still have people on the ground in Iraq and we will continue to gain testimonies," Boumedouha said. "Once that is complete we hope to provide a full dossier to present to the British and American authorities as well as publishing ourselves." What a pity you all couldn't have done the same while Saddam was actually in power. Oh wait. That would have meant putting your lives in danger like the men and women who just liberated Iraq. But we can't risk the necks of elite folk like you, no doubt educated in America's and Europe's best universities. Good thing you waited until the blue collar blokes in the military cleared the way.
#2
I didn't see anything in here about ignoring the zoo animals, but PETA will probably have that in their after-action report.
The story does state that these people were supposedly hooded and blindfolded when this all allegedly took place and Kuwaiti interpeters were present. So:
A. How can you tell who's beating on you when you're blindfolded?
B. How do you know it wasn't the Kuwaitis? Or are they too small potatoes for Amnesia International?
Not as much ink if they're Kuwaitis, instead of Americans or Brits.
#3
I don't have a problem with torturing these guys if the point was to get information. Somehow, I doubt there would have been any point to beating a bunch of clueless jihadis on a journey to find Islam (or paradise). I can understand torture if these guys had just killed an American soldier by using the white flag trick. But the resolution to that should have been summary execution, not torture. Even if torture was involved, the loop should have been closed, with a bullet to the head.
#4
Doesn't anyone ever wonder why we only torture poorly educated Jihadists? We captured Cubans in Grenada, no torture. We capture Panamanians, no torture. We captured Serbs in Kosovo, no torture. All of a sudden we capture Islamists and we go crazy with marathon torture sessions? Am I the only one who thinks this is fishy?
#5
While this does need to be investigated, I do smell a rat here. Especially Mr. I-came-to-Iraq-to-help-the-Red-Crescent, that is too pat by a long margin, and seems tailor made for the Anti-American Arab press. I think we may be seeing the beginnings of the US troops getting the "Israeli" treatment. Lots of our enemy's want to de-legitimize the US-Coalition victory and turn Iraq into a Lebanon. I agree with Ralph Peters and others who argue we need more ground troops in place to ensure order and deal with the thugs still running around Iraq. Ditto for Afganistan too I am afraid. We have got to see these nascent democracys thru to their standing on their own two feet else all the dead will have died for naught and we will have a bigger mess internationally on our hands. I wish I knew if the American people have been paying attention and realize the anti-terrorism war is a long haul operation across the globe. As I have said in other comment areas we are experiencing the Chinese curse of living in interesting times. It is looking more and more like Strass & Howes' ("Generations" and "The Fourth Turning") theory of generation driven cycles, or turnings, of history is correct and we are in or entering the "Fourth Turning", the Crisis period. The last one was the Depression and WW II years...
#6
Two quick points: since there is no iraqie red cross (there is a red crescent) he must have joined something else. Second and related, he cannot be a civilian and be a prisoner of war. Maybe he was one of the red cresent members who were shooting machine guns out of ambulances.
Posted by: Timmy the Wonder Dog ||
05/16/2003 16:19 Comments ||
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Shiite religious leader Mohammed al-Fartusi on Friday threatened "sinful women," alcohol sellers and cinemas of grave consequences if they did not stop their practices within a week.
The perhaps unfortunately named al-Fart is one of Muqtada al-Sadr's capos...
"The cinemas in Al-Saadun Street show indecent films. I warn them: if in a week they do not change, we will act differently with them," he said in a sermon at Muslim weekly prayers at Al-Mohsen mosque in Baghdad's Shiite suburb of Sadr City. "We warn women and the pimps who take them to the Americans: If in a week from now they do not change their attitude, the murder of these women is sanctioned (by Islam)," Fartussi added. "This warning also goes out to sellers of alcohol, radios and televisions," the imam, or prayer leader, told a crowd of several thousand faithful. "The torching of cinemas would be permitted" by Islam unless they changed their behavior, Fartussi said. Yup, he's got the standard islamofasist lingo down pat.
The Shiite cleric was detained for three days last month by US forces controlling Baghdad, and thousands of Shiites demonstrated in the Iraqi capital to demand his release. Time to pick him up again, I think.
"We will not brook any government that does not represent public opinion," he added, saying Iraq should be governed by religious leaders, not "secular parties." I think he wants the job.
"We urge all residents of Baghdad to demonstrate peacefully on Monday, to go to mosques, churches and other religious sites," Imam Khaled al-Kadami told thousands of faithful at the main mosque of the predominantly Shiite district of Kazimiya. "The violent demonstration will be scheduled at a later date."
Kadami too said religious leaders were well placed to govern Iraq. "All Iraqis are devout. Iraq is by nature a religious country, and we reject secular parties," he said. "I'm very, very religious. I should be in charge."
Fartussi, meanwhile, announced that a special religious committee had been set up to collect items stolen during the wave of looting that swept Baghdad after it fell to US forces on April 9 and Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed. He warned that looters who did not return their booty would be publicly named during Friday prayers and prosecuted. I'm sure that the special religious committee will take real good care of any valuable items.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/16/2003 11:42 am ||
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#1
For a religion of peace, they sure do like their murder and arson. Not to mention blowing shit up.
Wait, that actually combines them both.
I once was happy and I had a good life
I had enough money to last me for life
I met with a gal and we went on a spree
She taught me to smoke and to drink whiskey
Cigarettes and whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy they'll drive you insane
Cigarettes and whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy they'll drive you insane
Cigarettes is a blot on the whole human race
A man is a monkey with one in his face
That's my definition, believe me dear brother
A fire on one end and a fool on the t'other
Cigarettes and whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy they'll drive you insane
Cigarettes and whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy they'll drive you insane
Write on the cross at the head of my grave
To women and whiskey here lies a poor slave
Take warning dear stranger, take warning dear friend
They'll write in big letters these words at my end
Cigarettes and whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy they'll drive you insane
Cigarettes and whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy they'll drive you insane
They'll drive you crazy they'll drive you insane
Hallelujah brother.
#9
Anybody here from a farm? Remember those old cattle chutes that keep the cattle going straight, all the way to the loading dock? Let's dismantle one and take it to Iraq. Rebuild it, add some barbed wire to the inside, stapled along the boards. put a top on it. Start these idiots into it, and start a half-dozen gunnies shooting between the boards. When (IF!) the guy comes out the other end, paint his wounds with iodine, and tell him he has a week to improve his behavior, or he gets a second trip.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/16/2003 15:32 Comments ||
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#10
Cigarettes are a blight on the whole human race
A man is a monkey with one in his face;
Take warning dear friend
take warning dear brother
A fire's on one end
And a fools on the t'other.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/16/2003 15:49 Comments ||
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#11
"We will not brook any government that does not represent public opinion," he added, saying Iraq should be governed by religious leaders, not "secular parties."
Translation: "We want to replace Saddam-style dictatorship with an Iranian-style mullah dictatorship"
Between 15,000 and 30,000 Baath Party officials will be banned entirely from any future Iraqi government, a senior U.S. official said Friday, adding that the move aims to ``put a stake'' in the heart of Saddam Hussein's former ruling party. No, but sending the top couple hundred of the Ba'athists to Gitmo would.
The official from the U.S. Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new policy would help Iraq move on from the legacy of Saddam's regime. ``The Baath Party in Iraq is finished,'' the official said. ``We mean to be sure that by this process, we will put a stake in its heart.'' The reconstruction team's purging efforts, which the official said would begin within days, are the next step in the United States' vow to eliminate Baathism from postwar Iraq. ``We are indeed serious. This is an indication of how serious we are,'' the official said. ``It will come out right.'' As many as 1.5 million of Iraq's 24 million people belonged to the party under Saddam. But only about 25,000 to 50,000 were full-fledged members — the elite scum targeted by U.S. officials. Many Iraqi civil servants could obtain jobs only after making affiliations with the Baath Party. Friday's order, signed by U.S. civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer, intends to halt Baathists from the party's top four echelons from any public position — whether in universities, hospitals or minor government posts. An even stricter vetting process awaits officials appointed to Iraq's ministries dealing with security, such as the ministries of defense and interior. First a policy to shoot some looters, now banning the Baath party members. Bremer is off to a good start.
The reconstruction official said exceptions would be made in the winnowing process and also said all but 2,000 of the thousands of Baathists in question had been jugged, shot or lynched melted away and were not angling for new government jobs. Question is, what are they going to be doing? I think they should be making gravel from really big stones. By hand.
The ORHA official said Iraq's American overseers would comb through the deposed regime's records, interview suspected Baathists' co-workers and seek testimony to make sure the government is free of the party's influence. The official acknowledged the process would prevent some of the country's most able administrators from helping rebuild the country. ``The de-Baathification will entail some inefficiencies in the running of the government,'' the official said. ``That's the price we're willing to pay in order to extirpate Baathism from Iraqi society.'' Somehow I just never connected able administrator with Baath party member.
Despite the ban, some former Baathists are bound to slip through, while innocents could be denounced by co-workers seeking revenge. This week, the interim head of the Health Ministry quit after drawing protests from doctors for his ties to the Baath regime. Dr. Ali Shenan al-Janabi, an optometrist, was the ministry's No. 3 man under Saddam. The U.S.-led administration, which earlier had praised al-Janabi, said it accepted his resignation ``due to his refusal to condemn the Baath Party.'' No fortune cookie for you!
Former Baathists are also fueling crime and anti-American unrest in Iraq while ``trying to reorganize and reconstruct'' the party, the official said. There's a group that should have a Gitmo getaway.
Any public displays supporting Saddam have also been banned by the U.S. occupying force, and rewards are to be offered for the whereabouts of senior party officials. The order does not specifically ban gatherings of former Baathists, a move the official said could come later. Tomorrow would be okay.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/16/2003 10:09 am ||
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Film has been uncovered showing Saddam Hussein's security police attaching explosives to three men, then blowing them up. The undated footage, believed to be from the 1980s, shows men in the uniforms of Iraqi security officers strapping what appears to be explosives to one of the blindfolded men. Wires were then attached to a large vehicle battery in the Iraqi desert. "You're going to kill me, you're going to kill me even if I confess," wails the man, apparently accused of being an Iranian agent at the height of the Iran-Iraq war. The man waits for death and a few seconds later, he disappears in a cloud of smoke and dust. In the next shot, bloodied remains lie in the sand. The next man is brought up to the same spot and made to kneel. He, too, appears to be blown up, followed by the third. The executions were captured on film obtained by the Reuters news agency. It begins with uniformed Iraqi army officers and what appear to be intelligence officials in civilian clothes descending from a bus in the desert with the condemned men. An Iraqi army major reads out a court ruling which says the three men are Iranian agents. It says they killed several children and a university student when they put a hand grenade into a packet of baby milk in a Baghdad square in December, 1984. Is "baby milk" an Iraqi national fetish?!
A military intelligence officer declares that, by presidential decree, "the Revolutionary Court dated February 12, 1985, case number 180, has ordered the death by hanging" of the three. But they were not hanged. The Iraqi officials applaud politely when the officer states who signed the death warrant: "Saddam Hussein, the President." Saddam's security police were convicted of a 1985 bomb attack that killed children in Baghdad. Don't quite understand that last sentence... Seems like extraneous and irrelevant information tacked on awkwardly.
Posted by: Dar ||
05/16/2003 09:51 am ||
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#1
Oh, duh--after re-reading the paragraph, I guess that means the security police themselves may have been responsible for the bombing these guys were accused of. I'll go take my medication now...
Posted by: Dar ||
05/16/2003 9:57 Comments ||
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Hopefully, the first of many.
British forces formally handed over control of the port city of Umm Qasr to a civilian government yesterday, the first such turnover since the war in Iraq ended. The handing over to a 12-member council in Umm Qasr was done in a small ceremony in the town, with the former military governor, Lt. Col. Peter Jones, presiding. "This is the first step towards turning Iraq back to its people," Flt. Lt. Peter Darling said.
Posted by: Anonymous ||
05/16/2003 08:11 am ||
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#1
And the beauzeaux on the left coast thought believed we wouldn't do this; that it was about imperialism! Ha ha! Joke's on you, left-coast moonbats!
Eight distilleries providing most of the spirits produced in Iraq have been burned and looted by Muslim gangs claiming they are purifying the country of alcohol, which is forbidden by Islam. The attacks came as no surprise to the factory owners, who have spent the past month in a desperate attempt to get protection for their businesses. "We went to the American soldiers, we went to the United Nations and we went to the police academy, but not a single door was opened to us," said Shaker Isa Jibrail, owner of two factories.
All the US forces did was take his gun, making him one of the few people in Baghdad without a weapon. "They disarm me and leave me defenceless in the face of criminal gangs. I cannot go near my property for they will shoot me. Every time I leave home, I fear my family will not be there when I come back," he said. Mr Jibrail is spokesman for four factory owners who estimate that they have lost £15.5 million. They are Christians, as the alcohol trade is restricted to them, though many Muslims indulge behind closed doors. They knew that, in a country with a majority population of Shia Muslims, the booze business was not going to thrive. They went to an Islamic cleric, who witnessed a joint pledge to turn their factories over to medical and industrial alcohol and stop producing gin, whisky and arak. But this served no purpose when the mob came. "This never happened under Saddam," said Mr Jibrail. "The Americans can take Baghdad in 48 hours but claim they cannot stop looters. Why do they allow Kurds to buy looted cars by the thousand and take them to the north? The Americans want to put looters and gangsters in power over us."
A trip to Saadeh, 20 miles east of Baghdad, confirmed everything the factory owners said. A gang was looting the remains of one of the distilleries, knocking down the walls and taking the bricks. One of the guards — now joining the looters — said 400 men armed with guns and rocket launchers arrived just before sunset and fired the building. "They poured the poison away like a great river," he said.
The bastards! The heathen BASTARDS!
The drinking public sees a dark period of intolerance ahead. At the Honey Store, which sells imported alcohol, the salesman, Adel Saeed, was not surprised to hear of the destruction. "We are expecting them here one day," he said. "We can defend ourselves, or maybe we will just have to close until better days come."
Posted by: Bulldog ||
05/16/2003 04:00 am ||
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#1
"The Americans can take Baghdad in 48 hours but claim they cannot stop looters. Why do they allow Kurds to buy looted cars by the thousand and take them to the north? The Americans want to put looters and gangsters in power over us."
Let's see...
Islamonazi theocrats or gangsters...
I believe I would choose Al Capone over Mullah Omar any day.
#2
Actually, I'd prefer neither. This has more to do with Sadr his his Shiite hard boyz than it does with The Evil of Strong Drink⢠- gutter politix, rather than Carrie Nation or Izzie and Moe. My thought is that they should be put down hard, and quickly, while we try to drive home the lesson that one group doesn't have a right to take the liberty away from another.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2003 10:12 Comments ||
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#3
Just a couple of guesses:
1. These guys are connected to the former regime. How else would they be in this business?
2. Since when don't factory owners hire private guards if needed? (Like, maybe nobody wants to work for them now?)
I repeat, just guesses. But I bet there are major parts of this story that haven't been reported.
#7
Bulldog: If the destruction of these distilleries doesn't unite the British public, nothing will.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/16/2003 14:40 Comments ||
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#8
You're right, Matt. I didn't comment in the post because I didn't know what to say. I was absolutely speechless. Had to go down the pub to recover. Seriously though, this is a shocking development, and truly disturbing for the average Joe Iraqi - some nut trying to take the whisky out of the liberation equation. This shold unite the Iraqis more than anyone else...
EFL
Thailand has angrily dismissed travel warnings by Australia and New Zealand, which say the country is at risk of an attack by Islamic militants. Malaysia has also hit back at its inclusion in a travel warning issued by the US on Wednesday. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that insecurity resulting from the Iraq war had made the United States "afraid of its own shadow". Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra insisted on Friday that there was "nothing to worry about" in Thailand. The bombings should begin any time now.
The tourist industry is a vital part of Thailand's economy, and it has already been hit hard by the regional Sars outbreak and the effect of the attacks in neighbouring Bali. Mr Thaksin said he was confident that his country was not a terrorist target, since it was not an enemy of any particular terrorist group. If you have western tourists enjoying sex, drugs, and rock and roll, you are a enemy of islamic fundis.
The prime minister said the Thai authorities had implemented stringent anti-terrorist measures. In the aftermath of Bali, Australia and several European countries issued advice warning of the dangers of travelling to the resort island of Phuket in southern Thailand. Mr Thaskin added: "I would warn Thais visiting Australia to be careful because this country is a target too." The Australian authorities also warned citizens to defer non-essential travel to the Philippines, Malaysia, East Timor, Singapore and Brunei, saying they had information that militant groups were targeting Westerners. Australia has already advised its nationals to defer non-essential travel to Indonesia.
But most people probably guessed that, anyway...
Malaysia, for its part, rebuffed US accusations that travel there poses "continuing concern". Washington said the South East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah — which has been accused of the Bali bombings — may be planning further attacks in the region. But Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Friday that US citizens were safe in his country. They'll keep saying that till the last tourist leaves.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/16/2003 07:43 am ||
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Thailand has Muslim terrorists in the southern provinces that may be sponsored by the Malaysian government. They're fighting for secession from Thailand, and have been responsible for killing members of Thailand's security forces in recent months. Given that the Malaysian government may be providing aid and comfort to these folks, I'm surprised that no serious terrorist attacks on Westerners have occurred on Thai soil.
Malaysia is seriously conflicted about the war on terrorism. Before September 11, Malaysia was the Vegas of terrorist conferences. Al Qaeda members from all over the world flocked to Malaysia to discuss strategy and raise money. Malaysia does owe its current living standards to Western and Japanese investment, which is why the government will probably be somewhat cooperative, at least in the background. However, the flow of invective is unlikely to stop - they seem to think the squeaky wheel gets the grease, or maybe it's just a cathartic experience.
Swazi politicians are defending the right of women in traditional dress to expose their breasts.
Hurrah! I'm with them!
A visiting Nigerian priest angered MPs by saying naked breasts are indecent and encourage the spread of HIV/Aids. The priest, who calls himself Apostle Oseadeba Saint Ekho also said during a special prayer service in parliament that praying to ancestors is outdated.
"Apostle Oseadeba Saint Ekho"? Betcha he picked that out himself. He was prob'ly born Herman or Willard or Rupert Oseadeba and went for the drama...
"How can you claim to be fighting the spread of HIV/Aids when you have billboards of bare-breasted women," he said. He cited an advertisement near the capital's international airport which welcoming people to the African kingdom shows a bare-breasted Swazi woman.
"Bartender! Milk for everyone!"
He said the kingdom had many other things to offer, other than bare breasts
So what's wrong with offering everything, including bare hooters?
On worshipping ancestors, he said: "How can I ask for any help from my ancestors when they know nothing of this fast-moving technological world we live in today. They would only be confused".
I dunno. I think I'd start 'em off easy, like maybe with driving lessons. It's not like you need a PhD to be an ancestor...
When the remarks were raised in parliament on Wednesday, politicians said his remarks were insensitive and insulting.
Really? I wonder why?
"It is evident that Apostle Saint Ekho is ill-informed about Swazis and their culture," senator Masalekhaya Simelane said. "Swazi men are attracted by women's naked thighs not their breasts," he said.
Leg men, huh? I try to maintain a balance, myself...
However, local church leaders have said the Swazi custom of women exposing their breasts is often commercially exploited.
Well, that's certainly never happened before...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 09:17 pm ||
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The dirty bastards! Thank God for vigilant media outlets like Weekly World News!
PYONGYANG, North Korea -- Crafty communist dictator Kim Jong Il has concocted an audacious plan to conquer the United States of America -- in three phases -- without launching a single nuclear missile. And although the scheme may sound absurd, it's so crazy it just might work! "It's quiet out there. Yeah, too quiet."
That is the chilling warning of a Japanese computer-science whiz who downloaded the detailed 42-page plan, complete with maps and timetables, after hacking into the North Korean spy agency -- known officially as the Liaison Bureau of the Korean Workers Party -- in early March. The University of Tokyo grad student says he decided to expose the plan in Weekly World News only after his efforts to reveal them to the White House were rebuffed and mainstream U.S. publications also ignored him. "President Bush is trying to keep the focus on Iraq, but the threat posed by North Korea is even greater," says the hacker, who identified himself only by his first name, Hiroshi, in an exclusive WWN interview. "Kim Jong Il is crazy like a fox. He knows that in a nuclear confrontation with the U.S., he'd be creamed. That's why he's going low-tech and attacking America by the last means anyone would expect -- with boats." Here, according to the hacker, is the bizarre North Korean scheme: So be ready!
While U.S. troops are busy subduing Iraq, North Korea takes advantage of the situation by declaring that unless South Korea agrees to immediate reunification, it will launch a nuclear strike. Terrified refugees fearing a nuclear holocaust on the Korean peninsula flee in flimsy wooden sailboats known as junks. Thousands of boats, packed to capacity, converge on the Hawaiian Islands. For humanitarian reasons, the U.S. Navy stops trying to curtail the wave after the first hundred boatloads of ragged refugees. But the rest are packed with 800,000 well-armed North Korean troops who swarm out of the junks and seize control of Hawaii in a well-timed operation known as K-Day. Within a matter of hours, America is down to just 49 states and North Korea has its first colony. ...where they introduce "Pineapple Juche".
Having "liberated the Hawaiian people from imperialist Western rule," Kim Jong Il is hailed as a hero throughout Southeast Asia, and an excited South Korea actually begs to rejoin the north, according to the plan. After warning that any attempt to retake Hawaii will result in the mass slaughter of all civilians, North Korea -- now just "Korea" -- arranges a cease-fire with the United States, which has no choice but to accept. Damn you, Kimmie! You magnificent bastard!
For four years, there is peace as average Americans forget that the far-off islands were ever part of the States. But in 2007, in a lightning sneak attack, battleships seized from U.S. naval bases in Hawaii and manned by Korean troops arrive on America's Pacific coast and launch a full-scale ground invasion. Two million Korean fighters overrun America and within three weeks, Korea occupies the United States all the way to the Rockies. Another cease-fire is declared, this one establishing a border at the Rockies dividing West America -- occupied by Korea -- from East America. California, Oregon, Washington and the rest of the West are divided into 12 provinces of the Korean Empire, each ruled by a warlord. This might be worth seeing. Let's see how San Francisco adapts to a real "People's Republic".
The new "native Americans" are forced to speak Korean and will "enjoy benefits of the communist system," according to the plan. Dissidents are to be put on reservations similar to those that house Indians today, but harsher. But even that doesn't satisfy Kim Jong Il's insatiable lust for power. "The economy of Eastern America is to be systematically undermined, until it is as weak as possible. Meanwhile, a breeding campaign maximizes the population of Western America," according to the plan. Within 18 years, a final attack is launched in which invaders pour down from the Rockies and "unite East and West America under the rule of the Korean empire." ...we're all doomed!
#1
And then we all get white slag and live happily ever after. But where are the battleships?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/16/2003 21:11 Comments ||
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#2
I think they're the one's that were left behind after the filming for "Pearl Harbor" wrapped. I'll bet Alec Baldwin told the NK's where to find them, the traitor!
Four explosions tore through the coastal city of Casablanca Friday night, killing at least 20 people in blasts that went off near a synagogue and heavily damaged the Belgian consulate. Two policemen outside the consulate were killed and a security guard was hospitalized, Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Didier Seeuws told the Belgian news agency Belgas. A U.S. official said that the blast were caused by car bombs and at least one occurred near a synagogue. "No U.S. government facility was targeted," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore said in Washington.
Looks like they're opening a new front...
The Interior Ministry said at least 20 people were killed and several other injured. Security officials said there were burned-out vehicles at the four sites near consulates and restaurants in the center of the city, Morocco's economic center. It wasn't immediately clear who was behind the attacks in Morocco.
We can make a real good guess, though...
But U.S. counterterrorism officials in Washington had warned Friday of a coordinated effort by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network to strike lightly defended targets worlwide, citing the bombings earlier this week in Saudi Arabia as well as threats in Africa and Asia.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 08:07 pm ||
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So there are 100000 Kafir soldiers occupying the Muslim land of Iraq, and the best these Holy Warrriors can do is blow up a synagogue or a residential complex? You'd think they would try to earn their 72 virgins
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/16/2003 20:38 Comments ||
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#2
Al-Qaeda can't hit the big allied targets so they are going for the soft underbelly of - anyone - to stay in the media - or die politically. Now with a few soft hits, they will start pissing off everyone who sympathizes with them or tries to buy them off. Maybe in a terrible way, this will hasten their downfall. We'll see.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/16/2003 21:05 Comments ||
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#3
Looks like they've been denied the marquee targets and are hitting anything they can. Reminds me of the IRA "trashcan and mailbox bombing offensive" of a few years back. Sounds like they're panicking. "Hey! We're still a force in the Middle East! Really! We are! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!"
Lebanon has arrested nine people plotting an attack on the US Embassy and kidnappings to try to force the release of Islamic militant prisoners, bringing to 39 the number of people detained so far in connection with plots to launch terrorist attacks, judicial and military intelligence officials said Thursday. The Lebanese Army said it had detained members of a cell planning âsabotage and attacks on various targets, the most important being the embassy of a major Western state, security and military outposts and kidnappings of officialsâ to bargain for the detaineesâ release.
This adds a lot of detail to yesterday's article, and makes it more credible...
The army statement, which said the arrests were made with the help of Syrian intelligence in Lebanon, did not identify the embassy or the people allegedly targeted for abduction, but judicial and military intelligence sources said the heavily fortified US Embassy compound in Beirut was the target.
Surprised, huh? Who'da thunkit?
They said the military targets were Lebanese and Syrian installations in the country, and that the alleged plotters had also planned to kidnap Lebanese officials to free men jailed over an Islamist uprising in northern Lebanon in 2000. âThey had not got as far as picking names, but it seems they were considering a minister,â said one intelligence official, who said the detainees included at least two Palestinians.
âThe arrests started on Monday last week and most detainees were active in the North,â another intelligence official told The Daily Star. âArrests in connection with the bomb attack on the McDonaldâs restaurant last month led to the new arrests. "Syrian intelligence in Lebanon, led by Brigadier Rustom Ghazaleh, followed a weak lead a month ago. But the lead proved to be credible. It led to the first batch of arrests last month. Then the new arrests started 10 days ago and were announced Thursday,â he added. A judicial source said at least three people were arrested Thursday: âThey are Nasser Omar, Jalal Midlej and Jihad Midlej,â he said, adding that the last two are related. âThese three are believed to be involved in the McDonaldâs attack only, although they have links with the other suspects. The links between the three and the others are still being investigated and may lead to further arrests.â
"LeGume!"
"Yes, Inspector?"
"Round up the usual suspects!"
"Yessir! Anybody named 'Jihad'..."
State Prosecutor Adnan Addoum confirmed the arrests in a phone call with The Daily Star. He said the main suspects were Khaled Mohammed al-Ali and Loqman Kaaki, who had been deported by Saudi Arabia at Lebanonâs request. Some Lebanese security officials have spoken of possible links between Islamists with whom they clashed near Dinnieh in the North on New Yearâs Eve, 1999, and Al-Qaeda. The area has been a center of Sunni Muslim militancy since the civil war.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 04:09 pm ||
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#1
The Americans, the Syrians, and the Lebanese were all on the target list? That's an interesting mix. Just who do they support? Or are they part of the "Kill Everybody" wing of the Religion of Peace?
#2
Actually, they are. The Dinnieh gang was similar to Ansar al-Islam. They consider the Shias as infidels. Remnants are holed up in Ein el-Hilweh, where Hamas is considered moderate.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2003 20:34 Comments ||
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Carter Silent On Castro's Crackdown
Greatly edited for brevity and to maximize the effect on liberals
Jimmy Carter is the self-appointed globetrotter on behalf of human rights. But when Carter friend Fidel Castro unleashed a brutal wave of repression recently, that included extradjudicial executions, Carterâs reaction was silence, followed by muted criticism, and finalized with a stinging criticism of . . . the United States. On just about the one year anniversary of Carterâs historic trip to Cuba, his new amigo Fidel Castro rounded up 75 political dissidents and independent journalists and packed them off to jail for 28 years each. Although formally accused of conspiring with U.S. diplomats to undermine the socialist state, the apparent crime of almost all was their championing the so-called âVarela Project,â a petition calling for greater basic liberties â and the absolute centerpiece of Carterâs controversial mission-impossible-without-portfolio to the communist island. Hyprocrisy seems to be Carter's most consistent character trait.
The Cuban president followed up by ordering the execution of three men accused of terrorism in an unsuccessful hijacking of a passenger ferry headed to the United States. The three summarily went before a firing squad April 11 without so much as a final farewell to family and loved ones.
Carter also seemed to place part of the onus of Castroâs human rights abuses on the shoulders of the U.S.: "I also am troubled by the rising tension between the Cuban government and the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. I urge my own government to work with the Cuban government to deflate those tensions and establish a relationship of mutual respect.â Remember this is from the same Democratic crew that blamed the Bush administration for creating the present North Korean situation by including N.K. in an offensive (and accurate) semantical phrase.
Later, after the draconian sentences were handed down, Carter certainly did not rush onto the Sunday news programs to express the expected emotions of disgust, disappointment and betrayal-in-the-first-degree. In fact, TO THIS DAY there is still nothing on the Carter Center website about the Castro debacle â other than [a] lackluster and dated press release .... Although Carter says he has written a letter to Castro condemning the dictatorâs tidal wave of repression and urging him to cut back the sentences, he adds that he has no plans to revisit Cuba. Hell, even George Stephanopoulos is going down there today to hold the Cubans feet to the fire. But this dirty work is not for our sainted Jimmy who is much better suited to undermining U.S. interests.
Carter added. âThis has been an indication, I believe, that people working for improved human rights situations in Cuba have become more effective and more of a threat to Castro. It is obvious that he has decided to clamp down with extreme severity and, I have to admit, with a great deal of success.â This is comparable to Neville Chamberlain giving grudging approval of the annexation of Czechoslovakia.
When then President Carter signaled his hopes of normalizing U.S.-Cuban relations, Castro responded with the unseemly and insulting 1980 Mariel exodus, in which the dictator sent criminals and psychiatric patients to the United States along with thousands of other fleeing Cubans. Let us not forget this! I defended one of these guys before the INS and still shake my head at what Castro did to us. How come Dems and the Hollywood Left never mention this when they junket down to meet with Castro? Mercifully Out of office in 1996, the ever-hopeful Carter stood on the sidelines and applauded President Clintonâs reluctance to support a bill tightening the embargo. Castro responded by shooting down two unarmed planes operated by the Miami-based Cuban-American Brothers to the Rescue. The thaw quickly went back to the chill. The great Carter pilgrimage to Cuba was to follow the same pattern â only this time the wily Castro was only a bit more subtle and circumspect before plunging the dagger into Carterâs back and twisting. A Carter spokesperson suggested to NewsMax that the former presidentâs perceived tepid public reaction to the disaster in Cuba owes only to his firm belief that decades of fiery rhetoric between the neighbors has accomplished nothing but continued acrimony. The Nobel Laureate felt no need or value in lending his voice to that perennial diatribe. Furthermore, he and his organization enjoy valuable good relations and contacts with the communist state that shouldnât be jeopardized by emotive ramblings â no matter how strongly felt, the spokesperson added. Hmmmm ... let's stay above the fray by not criticizing the Great Dictator.
In the meantime, the ubiquitous Castro must be licking his chops and enjoying another good chuckle at Carterâs expense. Looks like you can chalk up South Florida for the Republicans again in 2004.
#2
Carter won the Noble Peace Prize but then again so did Arafat. Carter, like Chamberlain, have a solid record in appeasing fascist regimes.
Posted by: Timmy the Wonder Dog ||
05/16/2003 16:15 Comments ||
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#3
Someday maybe Fidel will realize a couple of things:
1. There's a new sheriff in town up here, and despicable, deluded clowns like Jimmah will soon be in the junk drawer of American history, never to be taken seriously again.
2. Fidel, you ain't gonna live forever. And you'll be remembered when you go as the Stalin of the Western Hemisphere. But it's not like you'll care.
Rival tribes fighting in northeastern Congo signed a cease-fire Friday, though the United Nations said the situation was still unstable and sent more soldiers to the region. The Lendu and Hema groups have been fighting in and around the city of Bunia since May 7, shortly after Uganda pulled 6,000 troops out of the war-ravaged region. The fighting has killed at least 100 people and forced thousands from their homes. Five rival Lendu and Hema groups signed the agreement at the talks in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of neighboring Tanzania. The Congolese government and Amos Namanga Ngongi, head of the U.N. mission in Congo, also signed the agreement. The deal commits the warring factions to demilitarizing the town and confining their fighters to temporary quarters. Congolese President Joseph Kabila told reporters at the talks that an international force was needed to end the fighting for good. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is trying to persuade countries to contribute to an international security force to stabilize the region.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/16/2003 01:11 pm ||
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This will last how long? Any bets? I'll say... tomorrow.
Playboy was all over this about 2 years ago.
Anyone who reads Playboy for the articles --like moi-- will have been privy to the junk science and statistic fudging that led to the Draconian anti-smoking movement in the US and other countries.
For those who haven't:
A new report suggests that secondhand smoke does not cause health problems for nonsmokers, but the study prompted an immediate backlash from critics who called it biased and inaccurate. The Los Angeles Times reported May 16 that the study led by a UCLA epidemiologist concluded that secondhand smoke does not up the risk for lung cancer and heart disease. Researchers James Enstrom and co-author Geoffrey Kabat of the State University of New York at Stony Brook looked at data on more than 35,000 California residents who had enrolled in a 1959 cancer-prevention study who did not smoke, but who had spouses who did. The researchers found no significant increase in the death rate from heart disease, lung cancer, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, all linked to smoking. Of course, since some of the funding for this study came from the tobacco industry, the science behind the study HAS to be faulty...
But critics sharply challenged the findings, noting that the research was partially underwritten by the tobacco industry. "We are appalled that the tobacco industry has succeeded in giving visibility to a study with so many problems it literally failed to get a government grant," said Michael Thun, national vice president of the American Cancer Society. "This study is neither reliable nor independent." Researchers questioned the study's methodology, saying it failed to take into account the fact that all study participants would have been exposed to secondhand smoke in public places during the early years of the study, which would have blurred the impact of smoking at home. Also, they said data on the spouses' smoking was incomplete, since it wasn't collected comprehensively until 1972. Of course, none of these critics were around when the EPA and the WHO combined studies, fudged numbers, and out and out lied to get the second-hand smoke numbers they needed to start the tempest in a teapot.
The study contradicts other recent reports, notably by the World Health Organization, that found a link between secondhand smoke and health problems. The study was published in the May 17 issue of the British Medical Journal.
Normally, I'd dump this, but I smoke. They'll pry my pipe from between my cold, dead, stained fingers, by Gawd. That, and the fact that I hate being ruled by the Virtuous™...
Posted by: Celissa (as seen on my blog) ||
05/16/2003 12:13 pm ||
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#1
this has what to do with the price of kalishnikovs in Peshawar?
#3
A pack of American smokes can probably get you a Kalashnikov in Peshawar, and is arguably more conducive to a healthy environment (at least in that neighborhood).
Suppression of scientific data is news. So is cooking stats to get a foregone, politically correct conclusion.
Be careful of repressing Celissa's First Amendment rights....
Posted by: Mark IV ||
05/16/2003 12:56 Comments ||
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#4
No, this simply won't do. The Movement to Make Americans Safe at All Costs, Including Libery(TM) won't stand for this.
Not until every American is wearing a seat belt and motorcycle helmet in a non-smoking restaurant while eating low fat, low cal, and sodium free tofu and drinking mineral water can they rest. Only Oreo smugglers from Mexico will be able to smoke between runs across the border.
Posted by: Dar ||
05/16/2003 13:02 Comments ||
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#5
If somebody did a totally independent study tomorrow and found out that secondhand smoke cured cancer, the bans still wouldn't lifted. We know what's best for you and don't you forget it!
#6
"Be careful of repressing Celissa's First Amendment rights.... "
Im not repressing anybodys rights, just asking a question. Youre sounding alot like Tim Robbins and the Dixie Chicks.
I dont dispute its news. I posted something about clean-up in the Chesapeake Bay last week and it got deleted.
Can i post the latest Dow Jones quotes here? Or the weather? Everyone knows this blog has a focus.
Regarding studies - despite accusations, its generally quite accepted that coffee is safe, and that alcohol can be beneficial (for most people) in moderation. For tobacco - this is just one study - i wouldnt go ranting and raving about it.
#7
Actually, Dar, I believe that very low cholesterol levels are now associated with increased risk of stroke, so there's a chance that natural selection will weed out some of the folks who have your dander up.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/16/2003 13:33 Comments ||
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#8
Not until every American is wearing a seat belt and motorcycle helmet in a non-smoking restaurant while eating low fat, low cal, and sodium free tofu and drinking mineral water can they rest.
With safer Kalashnikovs, and safer bullets.
The Wellness Taliban is SO alive and... well.
Posted by: Mark IV ||
05/16/2003 13:35 Comments ||
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#9
"Normally, I'd dump this, but I smoke. They'll pry my pipe from between my cold, dead, stained fingers, by Gawd. "
Well my dad smoked, and he died (at 72) of heart disease. My mom didnt smoke, she died of cancer that apparently started in the lungs, at age 66. Maybe it wasnt second-hand smoke, but Id say that the second hand smoke issue is worth discussing in a place where it can get serious attention, not a place devoted to other things.
And how about the europeans, going on and on about GM foods, when they all smoke?? How can we take them on if we have to avoid saying how dangerous and unhealthy smoking is?
#10
And how about the europeans, going on and on about GM foods, when they all smoke?? How can we take them on if we have to avoid saying how dangerous and unhealthy smoking is?
Ugh... jarring non sequiturs on a Friday.
1. We do say smoking is dangerous and unhealthy (gawd help us, we never stop). The study disputes the dire presumptions about the effects of second-hand smoke.
2. We can point to bovine spongiform encephalopathy if we need some evidence of eurobungling in food management.
3. We can challenge them to prove a single detriment to GM foods, rather than allowing them to challenge us to prove a negative.
4. Our tobacco products are not genetically modified.
5. We can point out that Europeans are genetically modified apes, through the old-fashioned process of natural selection (rather than more progressive gene-splicing), as originally theorized by Darwin and Mendel, themselves Europeans.
They're all in it together, they all have bad teeth and haircuts, and they all wear ridiculous neckties. There's plenty of analogous ammo without banning outdoor smoking within 150 feet of children's playgrounds, which they are in fact doing in Kalifornia, if that helps your cause.
Meanwhile, back in Peshawar....
Posted by: Mark IV ||
05/16/2003 14:11 Comments ||
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I say: all things in moderation, including moderation.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/16/2003 14:26 Comments ||
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Everyone knows this blog has a focus.
Yes it does, and it's spelled at the top, where it says "Civil, well-reasoned discourse". It doesn't say anywhere that the focus is solely terrorism, or WMDs, or any one particular place in the world exclusively.
The 17 European hostages liberated Tuesday in the Algerian Sahara from alleged Islamic terrorists came free after a ransom was paid, not as a result of an assault by the Algerian army, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported Friday. Citing "authorized Algerian and Swiss sources", RFI said that several millions of dollars in ransom was paid to free the hostages; 10 Austrians, six Germans and one Swedish national. Tap..tap..no surprise indicated
Algerian media and the Algerian army had declared that the hostages were freed after a pitched battle with at least 10 kidnappers armed with Kalashnikovs. Nine of the kidnappers and one Algerian soldier were reported to have been killed in the fighting. "There was no assault, and there were no victims," RFI reported. Face saving phoney rescue?
The liberation of the hostages was "only a step in the negotiations tied to a ransom of several million dollars", RFI said. In addition, the radio station reported that the kidnappers were not members of an Islamic terrorist group called the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), as claimed by Algerian authorities. Instead, the kidnappers are headed by a shadowy figure named Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who has ties to the GSPC but was acting on his own, the report said. Ooh, a shadowy figure. Bet he has his own lair too.
Negotiations were reportedly continuing between the kidnappers and Algeria, Switzerland and Germany to secure the freedom of the remaining 15 hostages, 10 Germans, four Swiss and one Dutch national. Paying kidnappers ensures it will happen again.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/16/2003 10:44 am ||
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Sounds like these guys have found a new and potentially steady source of revenue. Maybe they'll start issuing coupons soon: "Ransom 4 hostages, get the 5th one free!"
Posted by: Dar ||
05/16/2003 12:38 Comments ||
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You know, if you're crazy enough to want to go to the Sahara Desert on your vacation, then you probably deserve to be taken hostage by the even crazier bastards who choose to live there.
#4
Check out the new communique from the Free Officers Movement of Algeria at anp.org for their take on the "release". This website gives you a whole different take on what's happening in that tragic country.
Posted by: Michael ||
05/16/2003 15:19 Comments ||
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I did just check out the Free Officers Movement. They are not funny. But one phrase did leap off the page (re: the assassination of the Presidente):
"an acute decerebration was caused by the several bullets that hit his brain".
Acute decerebration. That was worth the price of admission.
Otherwise, this is another place that needs a serious GPS survey.
Posted by: Mark IV ||
05/16/2003 16:08 Comments ||
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#6
My earlier post on this seems to have got lost! Mmm!
I think we should be careful about labelling armed resistance to an Arab government as terrorists. Algeria has had an on-again off-again civil war between the Arabs and Berbers for a long time(Tuaregs are Berbers).
Also tourists who are dumb enough to visit a war-zone don't get a lot sympathy from me!
Posted by: Phil B ||
05/16/2003 16:15 Comments ||
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Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat resigned Friday, a day before a key meeting has been set between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas. His resignation further jeopardised the international roadmap for peace as tension on the ground remained high, with the Israeli army staging a massive military operation in the northern Gaza Strip. A large number of Israeli troops backed by 70 armoured vehicles and helicopters were sweeping areas of the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after an army incursion in which five Palestinians were killed. The Jericho MP said he handed in his resignation to Abbas but refused to explain why. Official Palestinian sources said Erakat resented his exclusion from the meeting with Sharon, while interior security minister Mohammad Dahlan and parliamentary speaker Ahmad Qorei were invited. Maybe Abbas is smarter than we thought? Arafat was keeping him diminished, and Erekat was Yassers' boy
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/16/2003 10:35 am ||
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Saeb: 'You mean we CAN'T support terrorism any more? I am sooo out of here!'
#2
Erekat is not a terrorist. In Jericho (his powerbase) the is essentially no terror and no terror infrastructure. Some of this is because his clan is powerful enough to keep the terror out of town.
Notwithstanding this, he is a terrorist apologist and is an friend of Arafat.
#4
A crisis that has been going on for a long time is more like chronic, so the the Paleostinians are plunged into a Chronic........well, maybe that just does not sound so catchy...Maybe crisis is ok.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/16/2003 14:34 Comments ||
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#5
Palestinian Civil War...is it inevetable??? Abbas and Dahlan seem committed to a democratic and free Palestine. That includes crushing Al-Aquesa, Islamic Jihad,et el. I think Arafat should have a Buick shoved up his ass!\
As a pro-Isreali, I think everyone should get behind Abbas and Dahlan! Maybee, just maybee, peace could occur.
China's military is stepping up the buildup of short-range missiles opposite Taiwan. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Stokes stated in a recent briefing that China's military now has 450 missiles opposite Taiwan and that the number is expected to reach 600 by 2005. Col. Stokes said the Chinese are adding 75 new missiles a year. Several years ago, the Pentagon estimated that Beijing was adding 50 new missiles a year. Quantity has a quality all its own.
Col. Stokes, one of the Pentagon's top specialists on the Chinese military, also said the Chinese missiles, primarily CSS-6 and CSS-7s, are getting more accurate. The missiles use U.S. Global Positioning System satellites for midcourse guidance correction. I'm assuming there's a way to fix that.
Col. Stokes also said the Chinese are expected to deploy a new land attack cruise missile before 2005. China's "growing arsenal of conventional and land attack cruise missiles pose [the] most significant [Chinese] coercive threat to Taiwan," he said. A copy of his briefing slides to the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference, held in Texas, was obtained by us. "Taiwan has limited ability to defense against [Chinese] ballistic missiles today," Col. Stokes said in an appeal to Taiwanese military officials to buy and field missile defenses. "Taiwan's senior political and military leadership must commit to defending against ballistic and land attack cruise missiles." Taipei is under pressure from the United States to purchase U.S. Patriot PAC-3 antimissile systems, and defense officials say a purchase is expected this year. This should be a no-brainer: either the Patriot or the Israeli Arrow system, or both. Otherwise you're living with a loaded shotgun to your head.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/16/2003 10:32 am ||
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Both, I believe the Arrow intercepts at a higher altitude.
#2
Conventional ballistic missiles are expensive and inaccurate. They also pack no more punch than a JDAM because most of the weight consists of the rocket fuel burned up during the takeoff and cruising phases. They are a big waste of money, which is probably why we're trying out reverse psychology on the Chinese, hoping that they'll spend more money there, given that we complain so much about it.
#3
So, those missiles use our GPS signals, how rude to turn our own stuff against us via an ally. Wonder if we can monkey with the transmission and send any launches to certain coordinates in Peking?
#4
Rifle308 --- I like your idea. If the Chinese have anything technically on the ball, they would design anti-spoofing countermeasures into their guidance systems. Some kind of backup. Maybe the Taiwanese could have spoofing missles that go up in an attack and act like the pied piper to the attacking missles and take them back to the ChiCom launch sites. Heh heh....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/16/2003 17:52 Comments ||
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Iran on Friday denied U.S. claims that it shelters members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network and seeks to develop weapons of mass destruction. "Lies! All lies!"
The denial followed the assertion a day earlier by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that U.S. authorities believe there are senior al-Qaida leaders in Iran. Why wouldn't there be? They've got two of everything else.
``The repetition of such baseless claims (concerning al-Qaida) cannot portray them as valid and credible,'' Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. U.S. officials have said at least three al-Qaida leaders are in Iran: Saif al-Adil, bin Laden's security and intelligence chief; Saad bin Laden, Osama's seventy-fourth son by his thirteenth brood mare; and Abu Hafs the Mauritanian, a gun-totin' religious nut scholar.
I thought the Mauretanian was dead?
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said in February that his government has detained and deported to safe houses around the world more than 500 infiltrators suspected of al-Qaida links and would throw a party for arrest Saad bin Laden if he's found in the country. ``This is our policy, to crack down on any person suspected of links to al-Qaida unless they turn and help us,'' Kharrazi said. He said all that with a straight face?
Asefi also rejected U.S. claims that Iran seeks to acquire weapons of mass destruction. "More lies!"
America has accused Iran of secretly embarking on a program to enrich uranium at Natanz in southern Iran, which U.S. officials fear could be used to make nuclear weapons. ``The Islamic Republic of Iran, in line with its principles, is very serious and firm about the fight against terrorism and its nuclear programs are very transparent and intended for peaceful intentions,'' Asefi said. "We need nuclear power because we have no oil , um ..."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/16/2003 10:21 am ||
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North Korea, an impoverished communist country suspected of building nuclear weapons, has developed another weapon: cyber terrorism, a senior South Korean military officer said Friday. North Korean computer boards are made of tree bark etched with a sharp rock. How are they going to develop hackers?
Maj. Gen. Song Young-geun, head of the South Korean military's Defense Security Command, said North Korea is churning out more than 100 computer hackers a year, and urged the South to boost its ability to fight ``cyber threats from the outside.'' Computers are a rarity among North Korea's hunger-stricken 22 million population. Visitors say the Internet is available only at a few hotels in the capital, Pyongyang. Yet, ``North Korea is reinforcing its cyber terror capabilities,'' Song said at a seminar on information protection in Seoul. Song did not produce evidence to back his claim. He was going to but his computer got ... oh, never mind.
South Korea is one of the world's most wired countries, with nearly 70 percent of all households having high-speed broadband access to the Internet.
Concern over cyber terror spiked after South Korea's Internet service came to a near standstill early this year because of a virus-like computer infection. That was the dissertation of one of the NK hackers. Guess he got an 'A'.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/16/2003 10:05 am ||
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Probably have a Commodore 64 and a 1200 baud modem.
They have stunted the IT world there - essentially barren ground. So how do they expect to develop "hackers" when hackers tend to trhive on intellectual freedom and anarchy?
This is them tryint to train the children of the eleite - which will result in failure.
#4
The DPRK has a slightly more fundamental problem as far as the IT/it industry is concerned - no juice. They can't keep the lights on in Pyongyang on a consistent basis, let alone supply the power required to have a flourishing IT industry or develop hackers.
Posted by: The Marmot ||
05/16/2003 13:29 Comments ||
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#5
"Juche Valley"?
Posted by: Matt ||
05/16/2003 14:48 Comments ||
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By Fred Kaplan I only included the first paragraph, the rest of the article is predictable as the issue has been discussed for a while now. Whats new is Rummy's seeming counter attack..
As Donald Rumsfeld gears up for his war on the U.S. Army, the Army is preparing to fight back. I noted here two weeks ago Rumsfeld's opening May Day fusillade, in which he let it be known that his new secretary of the Army would be James Roche. The intriguingâand, from the Army's point of view, disturbingâthing about Roche is that he's a retired Navy captain who, for the past two years, has been secretary of the Air Force. As if those two facts weren't brutal enough blows to service pride, Roche is also a longtime associate of Andrew Marshall, a veteran Pentagon official who has been building a case over the past decade for a "military transformation," which involves a major restructuringâand substantial reductionâof Army forces.
Posted by: Domingo ||
05/16/2003 09:22 am ||
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Obviously, Mr. Kaplan has NEVER served in the military or he would know that the Air Force need not be headed by an Air Force Veteran or the other services. The only need is to be headed by a COMPETENT person. Does anybody remember when the Air Force was headed by a CIVILIAN and a FEMALE? We did just find thank you. These libs try to find fault someway/somewhere with ANYTHING. It's was funny at first but it so sad to now.
#2
Hey, Cyber Sarge, the Army's concern is that Rumsfield has been watching too much Star Trek and thinks every military problem can be handled by a small "landing party/away team" and lots of electronics in various high flying "Enterprize"s. Check out Ralph Peters at the New York Post and Stanley Kurtz at NRO for good arguements this is not so and is dangerous to the war on terrorism. Also consider the postwar Iraq situation.
EFL
Kenyan police have launched a nationwide search for an indicted al-Qaeda fighter after warnings the group may be planning to shoot down an airliner in east Africa. All British commercial flights to and from Kenya have been suspended until further notice because of the terrorist threat. The alert was sparked by the recent reported sighting of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed in the coastal Kenyan city of Mombasa. Crawled out of his hole
Mohammed, who allegedly trained in Afghanistan with Osama bin Laden, is wanted by the FBI on murder charges for his alleged role in the 1998 bomb attacks on US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam that killed 231 people. He is also suspected of involvement in the November 28 bombing of the Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, a popular Israeli holiday resort in which 11 Kenyans and three Israelis died. Within minutes of that attack, terrorists narrowly failed to shoot down an Israeli airliner with shoulder-to-air missiles as it took off from Mombasa airport. If at first you don't succeed, etc.
Since then, more than 500 Kenyan security officials have undergone specialised training in the United States. Let's see what they learned
Now Kenyan officials say they believe Mohammed is in the country and planning another attack. "He is at large," said Douglas Kaunda, spokesman for the National Ministry of Security. "After this week's attacks in Saudi Arabia, we don't want to take any chances. All of this is hurting Kenya too much. We want it to end." So do we
Intelligence officials have interpreted the recent surge in terrorist activity as efforts by al-Qaeda-affiliated groups to prove their network is still viable, despite 19 months of US counter-terrorism operations. Just like any NGO, if you don't keep your name in the papers, your funding dries up.
Some plans detected by US and foreign intelligence agencies appear to have been in the works for months, but are being brought to fruition quickly, they said. "They would like to do them all at the same time and have the whole world go up," explained one US terrorism official. "This is a very bad patch." US counter-terrorism experts are especially worried about attacks in Kenya and other parts of East Africa. Borders are not secure and officials are open to bribes
Officials describe the volume of intelligence reports on potential threats there, including communications intercepts and tips from informants, as similar to the amount of information collected in Saudi Arabia before this week's suicide bomb attacks. "In some cases the bullets have already left the gun," said another intelligence official.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/16/2003 08:59 am ||
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I believe they mean "IT", but who knows with these people. Maybe "it" is some super-secret NK plan to replace army based Songun Juche policy? If that's the case, "it" sounds very sinister.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is directing much effort to the it education. The government has taken various measures for increasing it-related subjects and introducing advanced teaching methods at colleges and universities through regular meetings for exchanging experience in the it education. Proper capitalization would work wonders for this story. I think "it guy" should be spoken to. Or shot.
Competent teachers have been selected and sent to Kim Chaek University of Technology, Kumsong School and other educational institutions which play an important role in the it education. Universities of education in all provinces are paying deep attention to the it education, in close relations with Kim Il Sung University, university of science and other advanced institutions. University of Science? Sounds like a diploma mill to me. They should send "it guy" to University of Spelling and Punctuation.
With a goal to rapidly develop the it in the near future, the government has established a well-arranged it education system in the middle schools and higher educational institutions. It has selected bright students throughout the country to be educated at talent education centers and universities. Great achievements have been made by higher educational institutions in the efforts for the it development. It is proved by the fact that it is dealt with in 40 per cent of the treatises presented recently by 52 doctors and bachelors who graduated from Hamhung University of Chemical Engineering. "52 doctors and bachelors"? I'll bet they're on the A-list of "Pyongyang's Hottest". Maybe they could move "it guy" over to the gossip column? Or the New York Times.
Posted by: tu3031 ||
05/16/2003 08:04 am ||
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After educating about "it", work begins on "them" and "those"
#3
I won't be impressed until they begin "They" education.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
05/16/2003 10:09 Comments ||
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Do you think, once the "glorious leadership" realizes what a laughingstock "it guy" has made of this grand pronouncement of North Korea's gains in Information Technology, the poor guy is going to have the letters "IT" branded on every square inch of his body?
This will likely have little effect. If you were a Chechen rebel would you believe Putin?
President Vladimir Putin proposed granting amnesty today to Chechen separatists who agreed to lay down their arms by Aug. 1, but the offer would exclude any accused of murder, rape, kidnapping or other crimes. Mr. Putin's proposal followed two suicide attacks in Chechnya this week that had by today killed at least 77 people and shattered once again the Kremlin's assertions that peace and stability in the republic were at hand after 44 months of war. Today's proposal â submitted to the lower house of Parliament for a vote, which could come as soon as next week â appeared to be an effort to regain the political initiative that Mr. Putin's administration hoped to sustain after voters approved a new constitution for Chechnya in March.
Posted by: Anonymous ||
05/16/2003 07:30 am ||
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Amnesty proceedings will be conducted in a Moscow Theater - the Palace of Culture of the Podshipnikov Zavod heh heh
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/16/2003 10:14 Comments ||
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Tony Blair is to convene an international conference to encourage European Union countries to do more to tackle Marxist terrorists who control Colombia's drug trade. Senior Bush administration officials hailed the initiative as an important new step in assisting the Oxford-educated President Alvaro Uribe, who is said to have impressed the Prime Minister in talks at Downing Street last July. Jose Aznar, the Spanish prime minister, is understood to be another prime mover behind the conference, to be held in London in July.
The Basque terrorist organisation Eta and the IRA have assisted the narco-terrorist group Farc (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). Colombian traffickers have recently begun to send more cocaine to Europe, where it has three times the street value as it does in America, while increasing the supply of heroin to the United States. "Around 50 per cent of the cocaine is headed to Europe, mostly through Spain, so Tony Blair is right on with this," said a US congressional aide. "Many of the chemical precursors needed to make drugs come from Europe and this needs to be stopped."
The White House now views Colombia as part of the war against terrorism, a shift in policy that has led to increased US military support. "It is a very positive development that Britain is taking the lead," said a senior Pentagon official. "We have encouraged the Colombians to go to the British because they have a lot of expertise." But the conference, which will probably be opened by Bill Rammell, the Foreign Office minister with responsibility for South America, rather than the Prime Minister, is likely to fuel criticism from Labour backbenchers that Mr Blair is neglecting domestic issues. Mr Uribe, a conservative, has also come under fire from the Left for alleged human rights abuses. His opponents claim that he has facilitated Right-wing paramilitaries. Paul Wolfowitz, the US deputy defence secretary, has met Mr Uribe twice. The Colombian issue is likely to gain greater prominence now that the Iraq war is over. Mr Wolfowitz and Mr Blair are said to share the view that the Colombian leader is a committed democrat.
The meeting, due to take place on July 10, will draw representatives from the United States, major European countries and non-governmental organisations. "There is a convergence of interests between the US and Britain on this," said the Pentagon official. He contrasted this with past French actions to boost the initiative to maintain a Farc "safe haven" in the country. "There was the particularly nauseating sight of the French ambassador walking around with a little girl in the safe haven just before the talks collapsed," he said. "It was totally unrealistic because the Farc were never serious about peace. It was typical French meddling and focus on process." Do the French do anything except promote terrorism?
Posted by: Bulldog ||
05/16/2003 04:09 am ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
