One year after his re-election as president, Vladimir Putin appears destined to remain in power beyond 2008, and seems to have support from the general public to do so. Talk about keeping Putin in power is swirling through the halls of the Kremlin, the Federation Council and the State Duma. Little of the talk has made it onto the public record, but Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov acknowledged in an interview published in Izvestia on March 2 that Putin might stay if there is "a real danger that a new fuehrer with a fascist-type, nationalist ideology" might win the presidency. This dovetails with speculation in some circles that Putin will be unable to make good on his promise to find a successor and will attempt to extend his own reign -- possibly by scaring up support at home and abroad by warning of a power grab by hard-line nationalists.
"The name of Putin's successor is Vladimir Putin," said Yury Korgunyuk, a political analyst at the Indem think tank. "The whole chain of power in Russia has been created by him and is meant to suit him. It cannot be broken or passed over to someone else."
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/17/2005 1:30:05 PM ||
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there is "a real danger that a new fuehrer with a fascist-type, nationalist ideology" might win the presidency
#3
He has so effectively eliminated the competition, now that he *wants* somebody to fill his shoes, nobody is left. About his only remaining alternative, if he wants any semblance of democracy to remain, would be to break off from his own party, then start another party to run against it. The new party would lose the election, but under his leadership, he might bring it up to high enough standards to compete with his old party. It won't happen.
#4
All depends on oil prices. If they stay high, then Russia's mismanagement and incompetence will continue to be hidden by huge inflows of hard currency. If they were to fall sharply, as they did in 1997-1998, then the rotten edifice will collapse again as it did then, and Putin will be booted out.
#5
Or else he's laying the groundwork to declare a permanent state of emergency, during which he will take on more and more power. All hail Tsar Vladimir I...
Posted by: Jonathan ||
03/17/2005 17:34 Comments ||
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The counter terrorist operation in Chechnya might be finished, if the leader of Chechen separatists Shamil Basayev is detained, Chechen First Vice Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov said. In this case "the war in Chechnya will be over 99%," he told Western reporters on Wednesday. "This man is very well financed, I will do my best to detain him," Kadyrov said.
Kadyrov denied the reports that Maskhadov had been killed by his forces in Khasavyurt and then moved to Tolstoy-yurt, where he was found and identified. "If this man had surrendered, everything would be different," Kadyrov said. "He was my mortal enemy and I regret that I couldn't detain him. If Maskhadov had been killed by my people, I would have declared it straight away," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/17/2005 12:28:16 AM ||
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Stepping up the hunt for their biggest enemy, Russia's security services said Wednesday they would pay for plastic surgery for anyone who gives information leading to the killing or capture of Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, on top of the $10 million reward already promised.
Meanwhile, a top prosecutor told The Associated Press that a leader of the militants who took part in the seizure of more than 1,000 hostages at a school in the town of Beslan in September had implicated the late rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov in the attack, which left more than 330 people dead.
Russian authorities said Tuesday they had paid an unprecedented $10 million bounty to people who betrayed Maskhadov. Officials said Maskhadov was killed last week in a raid by Russian special forces. They reaffirmed that an identical sum would be paid for information leading to the death or arrest of Basayev, the Kremlin's No. 1 foe.
A spokesman for the Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the KGB, said the informers — who did not have to be Russian or even live in Russia — would be offered a new identity and place of residence, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
"The law enforcement agencies guarantee their safety, with the option of taking a new passport, changing their residence, and if necessary, undergoing plastic surgery to change their features," said spokesman Sergei Ignatchenko.
Pursuing militant leaders, Russian military and law enforcement authorities have struggled to penetrate the closely knit clan structure in the breakaway southern territory of Chechnya, where a guerrilla conflict has raged for much of the past decade. Analysts have warned that informers risk reprisals.
Basayev, a radical Islamic warlord who claimed responsibility for the Beslan school seizure and other terror attacks, is now seen as the most powerful rebel figure in Chechnya.
Nikolai Shepel, the chief prosecutor for the southern Russian region that includes Chechnya, told the AP that one of the leaders of the school seizure, who used the nom de guerre Colonel, had provided evidence implicating Maskhadov during his telephone talks with the authorities.
"They said that the negotiations on liberating the hostages or some other negotiations could be conducted only with Maskhadov, that they would follow commands only from Maskhadov and Basayev," Shepel said in an interview.
Maskhadov had repeatedly denied any part in the raid on the school. Russian authorities have, however, insisted he was involved and deemed him an unworthy partner for talks.
"We assert that he was liquidated ... not as an ex-president, as a political figure, but as a terrorist who was on a wanted list," Shepel said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/17/2005 12:31:31 AM ||
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North Korea's row with America over its nuclear weapons programme turned personal yesterday when it called on Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, to withdraw her claim that it was an "outpost of tyranny". A foreign ministry spokesman said the country could not deal with someone so "bereft of political logic". Accusing Miss Rice of being "no more than an official of the most tyrannical dictatorial state in the world", he said: "It is quite illogical for the US to intend to negotiate with the DPRK without retracting its remarks listing its dialogue partner as an outpost of tyranny."
His announcement offered a new insight into North Korea's refusal to take part in a fresh round of six-party talks on its programme and its threat on Tuesday to boost its nuclear arsenal. Miss Rice made the comments in interviews in January and refused to retract them as she began a tour of the Far East on Tuesday. However, as suggested by other comments complaining of America's "hostile attitude", the North Koreans may be looking for guarantees of their security. North Korea is believed to have tens or even hundreds of thousands of prisoners in its prison labour camps, many for the crime of not being enthusiastic enough participants in Kim's personality cult. Support groups for refugees who have escaped to South Korea say that the authorities recently conducted public executions of 60 people who had fled the country but were repatriated by the Chinese.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/17/2005 12:38:44 AM ||
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"How dare they call us an outpost? We are the very center of tyranny!"
#6
She should respond by referring to them as "A regime that will soon be replaced by one that is inoffensive to any of their neighbors, from a most unexpected direction."
#9
A bit off topic but some one asked Madeline Albright about Sectary of State Rice's choice of clothing when she visited the troops in Germany. She said, "It was cold so she chose the boots. I wish I had a figure like that." Or very similar. As far as the Norks, I guess sticks and stones will break their bones but names REALLY hurt. Somebody call them a whaaambulance.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/17/2005 14:36 Comments ||
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I would tell them to eat feces, but they already do.
North Korea said Tuesday it would strengthen its atomic arsenal in an angry response to upcoming joint US-South Korean military exercises which the communist state denounced as nuclear war games.
The North justified its possession of nuclear weapons as establishing a balance of power to prevent a nuclear holocaust, ahead of the joint war games in South Korea starting Saturday.
"The exercises will be nuclear war exercises aimed to invade the North to all intents and purposes, in view of their nature, scope and contents," a foreign ministry spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency.
"The DPRK (North Korea) will take necessary counter-measures including the bolstering of its nuclear arsenal to cope with the extremely hostile attempt of the US to bring down the system in the DPRK though it is the Korean people's own choice," he said.
"The reality testifies to the fact that the DPRK's nuclear weapons serve as powerful deterrent to keep the equilibrium of forces in the region, avert a new war and ensure peace."
The week-long military drills come amid diplomatic efforts to bring Pyongyang back into six-nation talks aimed at persuading it to give up its nuclear weapons program.
They coincide with the arrival here Saturday of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a three-nation North East Asia tour to discuss the nuclear standoff.
North Korea declared on February 10 it had nuclear weapons and withdrew indefinitely from the disarmament talks due to "hostile" US policy.
The Stalinist state has since sent mixed signals on its willingness to return to the talks, with its leader Kim Jong-Il saying Pyongyang would resume dialogue if "conditions" are met.
North Korean Premier Pak Pong-ju will visit China from March 22-27 to discuss the nuclear standoff, China's foreign ministry announced Tuesday.
Washington believes North Korea possesses one or two crude bombs and may have reprocessed enough plutonium from spent fuel rods at its Yongbyon nuclear complex for half a dozen more.
The North says the US-South Korean military drills are a rehearsal for a preemptive nuclear attack while officials in Seoul and Washington have said they are defense-oriented to cement the military alliance.
North Korea's state media said Sunday that the exercises could turn into "an actual war" and demanded they be called off.
A US naval battle group led by the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier arrived on Monday in Busan, 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Seoul, to take part in the exercises.
The drills from March 19-25, involve mock battles aimed at evaluating command capabilities with US and South Korean troops mobilized for anti-commando operations and computer war games.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/17/2005 12:46:29 AM ||
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With the Korean War more than 50 years in the past, it is harder to find South Koreans with family left in the North. More importantly, harder to find anyone outside of South Koreans with family in the North who would be upset if the North sank into the sea. It is the height of arrogance for these cockroaches to imply that anyone would invade their country. There is nothing in North Korea that could compensate for the expense and the headaches associated with keeping the North Korean people alive and trying to reintegrate them into the 21st century. If we had to deal with North Korea, it would be simpler and cheaper just to kill them all and turn the land into a wildlife preserve.
FEDERAL Police have no intention at this stage of investigating claims Liberal senator Ross Lightfoot smuggled $25,000 into Iraq, Justice Minister Chris Ellison said today. The Daily Telegraph and other newspapers owned by News Limited, the publisher of NEWS.com.au, reported the West Australian senator smuggled $US20,000 ($25,300) into Iraq and handed it to the Kurdish Regional Government during a taxpayer-funded trip in January. Senator Lightfoot has denied the allegations, and Woodside said it had made a donation to a Kurdish hospital but rejected claims the senator smuggled money into Iraq on its behalf.
News stands by its story.
Senator Ellison said police had decided not to take the matter any further after looking at Senator Lightfoot's signed statement tabled in parliament this afternoon. A spokesman for Senator Ellison said: "The AFP have looked at the statement and at this stage have no intention of launching an investigation."
The decision could be reviewed if further information came to light, the spokesman said. An AFP spokeswoman declined to say whether the AFP had looked at Senator Lightfoot's statement, but said police were not investigating at this stage. "There's certainly no investigation," she said. For the AFP to investigate a matter, it must be referred to them and then be evaluated to see if federal laws had been broken, she said. "We've had no referral," she said.
Prime Minister John Howard said today he was satisfied with the way Senator Lightfoot had so far responded to the allegations. If Senator Lightfoot was found to have smuggled $25,000 in cash out of Australia he could face a jail sentence, Senator Ellison said. "Under financial transactions legislation, if a sum of that amount is taken out of Australia without declaration there are penalties which are attached - a heavy fine and I believe imprisonment of up to two years," the minister said.
Senator Lightfoot has admitted carrying a pistol during his study tour to Iraq in January this year. He said today he had been handed the .38 calibre firearm by Iraqi National Guard soldiers, and had taken it from them, but he felt uncomfortable with it and left it in his car most of the time. Senator Ellison said he did not know whether Senator Lightfoot had breached any laws by carrying the gun.
Oh please...
"I'm not aware of what the practice is in Iraq, of what the firearm laws are in Iraq, so I can't pass any comment in relation to that," he said. "There's no allegation that he's breached any Australian law in relation to the firearm that's in question. "This is purely a question of what took place in Iraq (and) we don't have jurisdiction there."
Posted by: God Save The World ||
03/17/2005 5:16:38 AM ||
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Hopolophobes had to put the bit about the pistol in there. The Left is so damn desperate they latch on to anything. Useless chicken shits.
#2
Is that him in the red sweater? Could he be more conspicuous? Damn!
Posted by: Dar ||
03/17/2005 14:25 Comments ||
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Okay, I know Australia probably has laws about taking money out of the country. But is there any restrictions for giving said money to Kurds? Personally, if you want about a gazillion percent return on your investment, Kurdistan seems like a really good place to start.
NATO members states have agreed to go ahead with a defense system designed to provide battlefield protection to troops threatened with attacks from ballistic missiles, in a decision that could lead to the alliance's largest-ever cooperative project. The military bloc's 26 member nations say the system is necessary to protect troops from the threat of ballistic missiles, which could be armed with chemical, nuclear, or biological warheads. NATO said in a Thursday statement that the new system would provide "a single coherent, deployable defensive network able to give layered protection against incoming ballistic missiles".
Officials said the new defense system was a response to Iran "the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including missiles of all ranges". NATO members called the decision a "key milestone" in alliance efforts to field an "Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD) capability by 2010." "As Iran a number of foreign nations continue working on ballistic missile programs, as well as developing chemical, nuclear, and biological warheads for those missiles, the need for effective defenses has increased," read the NATO statement. Officials stressed the battlefield system was focused on shorter-range missiles targeting troops on the ground and was separate from other initiatives to develop defense against longer-range missiles targeting cities and military bases. The new defense system will integrate different Theater Missile Defense (TMD) systems - such as PATRIOT, NATO MEADS, and SAMP-T - into a single, coherent, and deployable system capable of giving layered protection against incoming ballistic missiles. NATO defense ministers agreed to the detailed specifications of the new defense system in Istanbul last June. During Wednesday's meeting in Brussels, the NATO Council formally established the TMD Program Office, paving the way for the financing and purchase of the TMD system. NATO officials estimate that it will cost about $US870 million to set up the core of the system, which is due to be fully operational by 2012.
Lemme see, here... "It won't work... And it's too expensive... The money could be better spent on social welfare programs... And children... And the technology's too complicated... And it'll provoke the Bad Guyz... It'll just make them madder... "
Posted by: Steve ||
03/17/2005 9:05:56 AM ||
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âActive Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD) capability by 2010.â
Kinda like the EU economy over-taking the US economy? That is working well..
NATO members states have agreed to go ahead with a defense system designed to provide battlefield protection to troops threatened with attacks from ballistic missiles
Except for Canada and when a ballistic missle is coming for the US.
Spain welcomed a decision by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to begin withdrawing the country's troops from Iraq from September. The Spanish media saw the approach of Italy's regional elections as prompting the move. Spain's Socialist government withdrew its own troops, sent in by the previous conservative administration, shortly after taking office last April. A government source said Madrid "clearly welcomes with joy" news of Berlusconi's announcement.
Note: This is the only gov't source quoted, and (s)he is quoted anonymously. The balance of the article is a compendium of the opinions of the Spanish press.
Spain's government pulled its troops out in line with an electoral pledge, the decision to send them into Iraq having been hugely unpopular with the electorate. Berlusconi's move to deploy 3,000 troops, making Italy the fourth-largest troop contributor in Iraq, was also massively unpopular at home.
"Berlusconi reacts in time," was how El Mundo daily saw the Italian leader's move. The paper noted that Berlusconi "is seeking re-election in 2006 and he knew full well that keeping troops in Iraq would pose a serious risk to his chances." Italy is also holding regional elections next month, and El Mundo opined that his decision showed that "his political noose is greater than the fine speeches which he made to defend his participation in the occupation of Iraq."
For Barcelona-based El Periodico, "Berlusconi has understood, albeit late in the day, that you cannot dismiss public opinion and he is trying to leave Iraq while annoying his friend (US President George W.) Bush as little as possible."
In the opinion of El Pais, "if the withdrawal begins in September as scheduled Berlusconi will arrive at the polls having unburdened himself of an unpopular participation in the (Iraq) conflict."
Posted by: seafarious ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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I guess they were feeling lonely and put upon by the American public's perception that the Spanish electorate are gutless, faithless cowards who surrendered their honor and their manhood by directing their armed forces to abandon allies in the field. They didn't like the ridicule aimed at Zapetero and the respect accorded Berlusconi. Too bad. Italy stayed the course while the Spanish cut and ran. This won't change that.
#2
How small and petty the Spanish government has become. If this is the mettle of the Spaniards, then they deserve neither peace nor freedom. May they return to their rightful place in history, under the boot heels of the Moors.
Posted by: ed ||
03/17/2005 1:38 Comments ||
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#3
at least the stamp graphic is cool.
Posted by: Chinese Spymole5448 ||
03/17/2005 1:55 Comments ||
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Spain, being left in the dust of history. On it's way to be reconquered by Islam. What happened to the fighting spirit of Spain? Has the will to fight been bred out of them?
I am glad as heck Bush is making the appointments he has been making. It brings the crap these useless light weights do and say in to sharp contrast. Oh by the way Spaniards, Italy says it may not be leaving in September after all.
Very simple. Allow teachers to poison the minds of kids since kindergarten, allow the MSM feed them politically correct crap and in a few decades you can make cowards from the descendents of Cortez. That is what awaits Americans if they aren't vigilant.
Not being allowed to own arms is also a factor for the "cowardizatioon" of a society: people get used to think that when facing violence best thing is to not resist. I think that people educated in a society where you are educated to resist intruders by force will look for ways to turn the tables even when unarmed and facing an armed opponent and that people educated in disarmed societies can fail to resist even when on equal terms with the agressor (assuming they can distinguish the firing end of a gun of course).
Spain has no Second Amendment. Don't let yours be voided or abrogated.
#6
Spain is passing France and Germany in a race to the bottom. But that is where bottom feeders belong.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/17/2005 8:57 Comments ||
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It's sad to see the hard work of Aznar thrown away so quickly. Actually, he had built up substantial influence in Latin America and was encouraging free economies and governments there - no wonder the socialists were in a panic to do anything they could to bring him down and reverse his policies.
They deserve what they will get.
Posted by: too true ||
03/17/2005 9:01 Comments ||
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#8
Yes, we Spanish did run away, but in a timely fashion, and now our Italian friends have seen the light and agreed to withdraw... Whaddaya mean, "according to plan?"
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/17/2005 9:48 Comments ||
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"Spain!? Spain couldn't whip Vanderbilt for goodness sake." -- Lewis Grizzard, A Great American
TWO Sikh immigrants to Canada were yesterday acquitted of bombing a London-bound Air India jumbo jet over the Atlantic in 1985 that killed more than 300 people. The sensational ruling by a lone Canadian judge, sitting without a jury in Vancouver, marked the collapse of a two-decade investigation into the bombing that killed 329 people killed when Air India Flight 182 plunged into the ocean off the coast of Ireland en route to Heathrow from Vancouver and Montreal.
The acquittal of Ripadaman Singh Malik, 53, a self-made Vancouver millionaire, and Ajaib Singh Bagri, 55, a rural millworker, drew gasps and wailing from the dozens of victims' relatives who had packed into the blast-resistant courtroom to hear the conclusion of the C$100 million (£43 million) trial. Justice Ian Bruce Josephson of the Supreme Court of British Columbia rejected alleged confessions recounted by prosecution witnesses. "The Crown has not proven its case against him beyond a reasonable doubt," he said. As he delivered his judgement against Bagri, Justice Josephson said "the evidence has fallen remarkably short . . . I find the Crown has not proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt". The two defendants were immediately removed from the courtroom.
Susheel Gupta, a lawyer who was 12 when his mother was killed in the bombing, said that he was "shocked and disgusted". "We waited 20 years. This is not the answer we had hoped to hear," he told CBC television. "It just goes to show why there needs to be a public inquiry. There was obviously a failure by all the agencies that were meant to protect us. Two bombs got on two planes leaving from Canada. No-one has been held accountable," Mr Gupta said. David Hayer, a Canadian legislator whose father was assassinated by Sikh extremists, said outside the court that he was shocked. "This sends a message to the world: Canada is open for terrorists."
But we knew that already. Those of us who have been paying attention, that is.
The decision followed an investigation of Canada's worst mass murder and a 19-month trial, which was adjourned in December. Prosecutors blamed the bombing on a Sikh militant group on Canada's west coast called Babbar Khalsa that was intent on avenging India's 1984 raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, their religion's holiest shrine. The group's ultimate goal was the creation of an independent Sikh state, called Khalistan, in northwest India. India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh body guards on October 30, 1984, in retaliation for the Amritsar raid, in which hundreds died.
The Crown presented evidence that the Sikh group built suitcase bombs on Vancouver Island, bought air tickets, then planted the explosives aboard two flights from Vancouver that connected with Air India planes. Mr Malik and Mr Bagri were charged with eight counts of murder and conspiracy for planting the two bombs that went off within an hour of each other on on June 23, 1985. The first bomb killed two baggage handlers at Japan's Narita airport as it was being transferred to Air India flight 201 from a connecting flight from Vancouver. The second bomb exploded 54 minutes later aboard Air India flight 182, a Boeing 747 named The Emperor Kanishka as it cruised at 31,000 feet. Some of the passengers apparently survived the explosion only to perish in the icy waters of the Atlantic.
Just before the trial began in 2003, a third man, Inderjit Singh Reyat, who was already serving a 10-year sentence for the Tokyo airport bomb, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the Air India attack and was sentenced to five years in jail. The man investigators had suspected of masterminding the plot, Tarwinder Singh Parma, also an immigrant to Canada, died in a police shootout in India in 1992.
And the Muslim Brotherhood was taking notes the whole time...
Posted by: phil_b ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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âThis sends a message to the world: Canada is open for terrorists.â
#2
It also sends the message firmly, that many in the west do not grasp the true nature of the struggle we as a civilization are up against. This "Judge" must be one clueless farking ass. But it's Vancouver which is like San Fransisco, just less flaming homosexuals and more junkies, so we could expect this type of outcome in a way.
#4
Canada is an object lesson in the dangers of smug self-righteousness. Only, they don't realize it yet.
They're so busy showing how 'superior' they are - and they firmly believe that, which is why the Terrorism Protection Fairy is gonna keep everything just hunky dory up there. Just ask 'em, they'll tell you.
Stoopid unsublte Merkins don't stand a CHANCE against this combination of impotent anger and open arms to terror. Unless, of course, the House of Representatives passes a *second* bill walling off the north as well.
Which I oppose FWIW - it will be ultimately fatal to us to close ourselves off too much. But I'm not agin putting some strong arm pressure on the moonbats that have run Canada for years and who are up to their armpits in corruption via French oil and banks.
#5
bilrsjoiasdfdsa, if push came to shove, the next stars in the US flag would be Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia (less Vancouver), Yukon, and Northwest Territories.
#6
I didn't see the evidence in the case. It may be that the prosecutors didn't do their job right. Or they may have gotten the wrong guys. Or the judge may be an idiot. But if this was actually a "sensational" verdict, it suggests that Canadians didn't like the verdict. The people (!=regime) may not be all that keen on letting terrorists run around loose. Anybody have a good feel for the "Canadian street?"
Posted by: James ||
03/17/2005 15:31 Comments ||
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Mexican President Vicente Fox has denounced border walls the United States is building to stem illegal immigrants, the Washington Post reports. It's not a wall - It's a "good neighbor fence". Now why don't you abide by it, asshole?
"No country that is proud of itself should build walls ... it doesn't make any sense," Fox told a Mexico City news conference. "We are convinced that walls don't work." They keep your hordes at home - where you refuse to solve Mexico's problems...
He said it was impossible for Mexico to post military or police patrols along the entire border to prevent crossings. "We can't keep them against their will by force," he said.
Last month, the U.S. Congress voted to waive environmental regulations and allow completion of a fence along the border south of San Diego. Fox made the remark in advance of next week's meeting with President Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin in Crawford, Texas, where immigration issues will figure prominently. If W learns anything, it should be that Vicente is no friend of America, and his policies spit on our sovereignty
Fox said the group would discuss ways to expand the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect in 1994. Some critics claim the pact has done little to alleviate poverty in Mexico, but Fox said Mexico's per capita income has doubled since 1995, from $3,100 to $6,505. HT to Drudge
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/17/2005 11:17:28 AM ||
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Annex them, open the border, convict the corrupt politicians, police, and drug lords, authorize an independence vote in 10 years. Start talk like that and the idiots in the Foreign Ministry might take notice.
As long as the Mexican constitution prohibits non-Mexicans from owning property as individuals or corporations within Mexico the economy is going to stay in the hole. Its their xenophobic behavior and institutions that create their own problems.
More than 1,000 volunteers!!! are expected to take part in a monthlong vigil on the Arizona-Mexico border in what organizers said yesterday will be a peaceful protest of the government's failure to control illegal immigration, complete with guidelines on how to avoid confrontations and handle the press.
"This call for volunteers is not a call to arms, but a call to voices seeking a peaceful and respectable resolve to the chaotic neglect by members of our local, state and federal governments charged with applying U.S. immigration law," said James Gilchrist, organizer of the so-called "Minuteman Project" border vigil set to begin April 1. About 700 volunteers are expected at opening-day rallies, with more joining as the vigil continues through April 30 near U.S. Border Patrol stations in Naco, Ariz., and Douglas, Ariz. Volunteers have been told to let the agents know that "we appreciate their efforts."
The volunteers will operate under guidelines issued by the border-vigil organizers calling for them not to spark confrontations with any outside protesters or create negative press coverage. The volunteers have been told that some people will try to provoke confrontations, and they should not react.
They also have been told to be "careful" what they say to members of the press, because "they can be the enemy."
"Give them no reason to use a sound bite that will cleverly be used to make you look bad," one of the guidelines says. "If there are opposition protesters, you can send them a message by ignoring them. Wave, smile and ignore all idiots. Let them make fools of themselves, but do not stoop to their level of ignorance. Let the media show them as the aggressors. This is a peaceful protest," said another guideline.
According to the guidelines, volunteers will not be permitted to carry rifles, but will be allowed to carry handguns if they are licensed to do so. An operational plan calls for teams of four to six persons, assigned at intervals of 200 to 300 yards, to be deployed along a 20-mile stretch of the border known as the San Pedro River Valley. The plan also calls for the volunteers to go no closer to the border than one mile, and they have been told to make "lots of noise and burn campfires at night to be very visible."
Mr. Gilchrist said the protest mission is to observe and report only, and there would be no attempt to detain any illegal aliens. He said because the Minuteman Project is aimed at deterring border crossers, he expects alien smugglers to avoid the targeted area and cross elsewhere to the east and west " proving that "a real presence on the border" can deter illegal immigration.
Another protest organizer, Chris Simcox, has warned the volunteers to be respectful of the Mexican government and to direct their comments about a lack of immigration enforcement towards President Bush and Congress. "There is only one way to stop the invasion, and that is for our government to do its job and seal the border," he said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/17/2005 1:32:25 AM ||
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I support these guys 100%. While I won't be joining them, I'm looking into how to give them logistical help or something (I live in Tucson, about 90 miles from where they will be working.)
Posted by: too true ||
03/17/2005 8:59 Comments ||
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volunteers will not be permitted to carry rifles, but will be allowed to carry handguns if they are licensed to do so.
Arizona is an open carry state. Anyone, who can legally own a gun, can legally openly carry a gun. Why they should restrict this to those "licensed to do so" is odd. Arizona does not have gun ownership licenses. What license do they mean? A CCW or Law Enforcement Organization membership?
If they really don't want anyone to carry a gun, they should just say so, not try to qualify it in some sort of bogus way.
I suppose there are issues with running into laws aimed at preventing private militias, but there is also the second amendment.
Posted by: DO ||
03/17/2005 10:21 Comments ||
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#5
I think that's aimed at people from states that require permits.
Yours for the 2nd ...
Posted by: too true ||
03/17/2005 10:27 Comments ||
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Or the concept of "handgun = defensive weapon" as opposed to "handguns = bad". :-P
re: DO -- 18 of them are from New York of all places ...
P.S. As far as I know, many a company has had to make gun variants just for certain states ...
#7
jeez! One mile buffer in from the border won't guarantee a lack of conflict with Mexican military. Anyone from the border region knows that the Mexican army units and Grupo Beta have crossed much further into the US than that. This is almost too PC. Bright lights and armed for self-defense is the minmum necessary
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/17/2005 10:45 Comments ||
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And with digital videocams streaming the whole thing back to the American public. Mexico will have the whole country up in arms if they violate the border in April.
Posted by: too true ||
03/17/2005 10:56 Comments ||
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Arizona law about open carry (and legal, licensed, concealed carry, BTW), are all well and good, *but*, I think these folks want to play it extra safe. Even in AZ, police officers and others can be "licensed" to carry a gun, and this affords them *extra* legal protections in case they need to use them. Testimony like "I am a retired police officer and am trained and licensed to own and use a firearm. I have received over 70 hours of training in the use of my weapon, and have logged in over 2000 hours of practice in the police firearms range", would just knock seven bells out of any argument that he was just a lone gun nut randomly shooting at innocent people.
Otherwise, I once again want to remind everyone that a vicious central and South American crime gang has been ordered by its boss, from prison, to "make an example" out of these militiamen. So do not be surprised if at some point there is a LOT of gun play, with maybe a bunch of people getting killed. I would suspect that the bad guys would try to get a mob together to cross the border as a group, then, when they get close to a militiaman position, open fire with automatic weapons, then scram back across the border.
#10
Yes - and the 100 Mara S. members the Feds rounded up on Monday and Tuesday is a very small percent of their membership. It was, however, a warning shot that the Feds are not amused at the threat.
Posted by: too true ||
03/17/2005 11:06 Comments ||
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#11
Posted a mile back from the border? Fine. Make sure they have heavy mortars set up behind them, just in case the Sonoran pigs and the Groupies start getting pushy. Any of these guys know how to read a map and call in a strike without landing the rounds on their own lines?
#13
would just knock seven bells out of any argument that he was just a lone gun nut randomly shooting at innocent people.
You haven't been watching the ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN/BBC/etc.... news lately haven't you? They will just leave off all the qualifications and imply that he is a lone gun nut randomly shooting into crowds of innocent people, puppies, cute baby seals, and baby ducks...
#14
This is all well and good, but I have a problem.
It's this: 99.9% of the people participating are going to be good, law-abiding, decent folks.
And 0.1% will be some asshole member of an ultra-right wing, nutbag milita group from the Identity Xian Church or something, there hell-bent on causing trouble. They, of course, will get 100% of media attention, especially if there is violence.
One of the Arizona papers (don't remember which one) pointed this out, and it's true. We do NOT want the 'seal-the-border' movement to be identified in any way, shape or form with the nutbags.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2005 13:28 Comments ||
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We do NOT want the 'seal-the-border' movement to be identified in any way, shape or form with the nutbags.
#18
The best way to avoid the militia trap is to find a few and make a public example of them by expelling them, preferably with a friendly, photogenic kick or two to the backside.
Dina Powell, an American of Egyptian descent who speaks fluent Arabic, will be named to a top State Department public diplomacy job as the White House seeks to improve its image in the Arab world, US. officials said. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will announce the choice of Powell, Head of Personnel at the White House, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and Deputy Under -Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, the officials said. Powell, who came to the United States from Egypt as a child, will serve as deputy to Karen Hughes, a long-time confidante of President Bush who was to be officially tapped for Under-Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy at the same State Department ceremony.Â
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Bush gives women the main roles in communicating with the Arab world. Looks to me like he is deliberately trying to humiliate the misogynists.
#2
I do not know if humiliation is the main reason, phil_b. Maybe he is sending a message about free, capable women assuming positions of responsibility and leadership. Though it will spin a few turbans, heh heh. How 'bout a woman ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Now THAT would get turbans spinning to warp speed!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/17/2005 0:45 Comments ||
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AP, you beat me to it!
Hey, why not Hillary for Saudi ambassador? :P
#7
Ok, I'll rephrase. The Bush Administration is a pandering free zone. If you are humiliated by having to deal with a woman, a black, a jew? (and the Arabs seem to be humiliated by pretty much everything) then thats just a step on the program.
#8
It's a quiet lesson for the State Dept. people, too. Until now, there were jobs that were not given to women and minorities because the host countries would object. The pander-free zone is now inside State as well as the face State turns to the world. Oh, to be a fly on the wall at certain select dinner parties!
#9
I eagerly await the wave of accolades from the Left, once again praising the Administration for breaking the glass ceiling for yet another capable woman. I'm waiting. Pretty soon now. Must be some reason for the delay. Maybe they are gathering lots of folks for a major news event celebrating the appointment. I'm still waiting.
#12
You have to love the way Bush is seeding State with his people. I think he really aims to clean up that swamp. I have to believe that Hughes is there to help Condi run the beauracracy, while D. Powell will be the prime voice for the ME.
#13
The more and more I see this, the more I think our good prez is saying in no uncertain terms to the Islamic world, GET WITH THE 21st CENTURY, YOU IDIOTS.
THESE WOMEN SPEAK FOR ME. I TRUST THEM, SO GET USED TO SEEING THEM!
Two of the most dangerous al-Qaida-linked groups in Southeast Asia are working together to train militants in scuba diving for seaborne terror attacks, according to the interrogation of a recently captured guerrilla. The ominous development is outlined in a Philippine military report obtained Thursday by The Associated Press that also notes increasing collaboration among the Muslim militants in other areas, including financing and explosives, as extremists plot new ways to strike.
In the past year, the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah has given Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines at least $18,500 for explosives training alone, the report said. The report comes a month after the U.S. Coast Guard announced it is seeking to better protect the nation's ports from terrorist attacks by scuba divers by developing a sonar system that can distinguish human swimmers from dolphins.
Concerns about terrorist strikes by scuba divers were raised three years ago after the FBI announced it was investigating whether al-Qaida operatives took scuba training to help blow up ships at anchor, power plants, bridges, depots or other waterfront targets. Authorities fear scuba divers could target ships with more accuracy than a small explosive-laden boat like the one used in the USS Cole blast that killed 17 sailors in 2000 in Yemen.
According to the Philippine report, an Abu Sayyaf suspect in a deadly bus bombing in Manila on Feb. 14 Gamal Baharan described how he and other seasoned guerrillas took scuba diving lessons as part of a plot for an attack at sea. Abu Sayyaf leaders Khaddafy Janjalani and Abu Sulaiman initiated the training, Baharan said, adding that Janjalani claimed to speak directly with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden via satellite phone. Authorities couldn't verify any such conversations and said Janjalani may have been boasting, according to Philippine military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Baharan, 35, said he was told in October to undergo the scuba training in southwestern Palawan province, where he periodically received cell phone messages from Janjalani and Sulaiman "asking him how many fathoms he would be able to dive," the report said. The training was in preparation for a Jemaah Islamiyah bombing plot on unspecified targets outside the Philippines that require "underwater operation," Beharan is quoted as saying.
Although the Abu Sayyaf's ranks have been largely depleted by U.S.-backed military assaults, the government still considers the group a major threat. Such concerns were highlighted by a botched jailbreak Monday in which Abu Sayyaf suspects seized guards' weapons in a melee that left five people dead. A 29-hour standoff ended when police stormed the prison in a hail of gunfire Tuesday and killed 22 inmates, including 19 Abu Sayyaf members three of them prominent commanders who faced charges for kidnappings and bombings. The inmates were buried Wednesday in a mass grave in a large Muslim community in Manila's Taguig suburb. Their bloody remains were not cleaned and were wrapped in white cloth a local practice that indicated they were regarded as martyrs. Many relatives of the dead have criticized the government, believing the inmates were killed in cold blood and falsely made to appear to have put up a fight with smuggled weapons.
Abu Sayyaf leader Sulaiman has warned of revenge, leading police to tighten security.
Baharan claimed Janjalani is alive contrary to speculation that he was killed in a military airstrike and he said bin Laden would only speak to the Abu Sayyaf chieftain. The interrogation report said: "Subject averred that Janjalani has a direct contact to Osama bin Laden and Mohammed Jamal Khalifa," bin Laden's brother-in-law and a Saudi businessman accused of helping establish al-Qaida's terror cell in the Philippines in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "Janjalani is using a satellite phone in contacting both leaders. Subject further averred that bin Laden would ⊠talk to no one except Janjalani. They conversed in Arabic."
Baharan is one of three suspects captured and charged last month in connection with the Feb. 14 bombings. Abu Sayyaf said it launched the bombings to retaliate for military assaults on Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines. He told interrogators he and another militant, Khalil Trinidad, were ordered by Sulaiman to bomb a bus in Manila to divert the military's attention from an offensive against rebels. During a court hearing, a bus conductor identified Baharan and Trinidad as passengers who left the bus shortly before the blast. Both suspects pleaded innocent in court Monday.
This article starring:
ABU SULAIMAN
Abu Sayyaf
GAMAL BAHARAN
Abu Sayyaf
KHADAFY JANJALANI
Abu Sayyaf
KHALIL TRINIDAD
al-Qaeda
MOHAMED JAMAL KHALIFA
al-Qaeda
Abu Sayyaf
Jemaah Islamiyah
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/17/2005 2:37:59 PM ||
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#1
Hard to scuba dive if you're in the jug.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/17/2005 21:19 Comments ||
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#2
harder to breathe underwater without gills or your scuba, huh? 'spect they'll find that out
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/17/2005 21:47 Comments ||
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The Muslim militant group Abu Sayyaf has trained in scuba diving to prepare for possible seaborne terrorist attacks outside the country, the Philippine military says, citing the interrogation of a captured guerrilla.
The al-Qaeda-linked militants also received at least $US18,500 ($A23,317) over the past year from suspected members of the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) for explosives training, according to a report on the interrogation of Gamal Baharan obtained by The Associated Press.
Baharan, 35, also said that an Abu Sayyaf leader still at large, Khadaffi Janjalani, claimed to speak directly with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden via satellite phone. It was unclear whether that was a boast by Janjalani to impress his men.
Baharan is one of three suspects captured and charged last month for bomb attacks that killed eight people and wounded more than 100 on February 14 in Manila and two southern cities. Abu Sayyaf said it launched the attacks to retaliate for military assaults on Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines.
Although the militants' ranks have been largely depleted by US-backed military assaults, the government still considers the group a major threat.
Such concerns were highlighted by a botched jailbreak on Monday in which Abu Sayyaf suspects seized guards' weapons in a melee that left five people dead. An ensuing, 29-hour stand-off ended when police stormed the prison in a hail of gunfire on Tuesday and killed 22 inmates, including three prominent Abu Sayyaf commanders.
According to the military report, Baharan said during questioning that Abu Sayyaf leaders Janjalani and Abu Sulaiman, working with JI, had initiated scuba training for seasoned guerrillas to prepare for seaborne attacks.
Last October, Baharan was told to undergo scuba training in southwestern Palawan province, the report said. He periodically received mobile phone messages from Janjalani and Sulaiman "asking him how many fathoms he would be able to dive," the report said.
His training was in preparation for a JI bombing plot on unspecified targets outside the Philippines that would require "underwater operation," the report quoted him as saying.
Baharan also disclosed that Janjalani was alive, contrary to speculation he was killed in a military air strike, and said that the Abu Sayyaf chieftain claimed he communicated with bin Laden by satellite phone, the report said.
That could represent a boast by Janjalani to impress his men, and military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were unable to verify it.
The interrogation report said: "Subject averred that Janjalani has a direct contact to Osama bin Laden and (bin Laden's brother-in-law) Mohammed Jamal Khalifa. Janjalani is using a satellite phone in contacting both leaders. Subject further averred that bin Laden would ... talk to no one except Janjalani. They conversed in Arabic".
He told interrogators that he and another militant, Khalil Trinidad, were ordered by Sulaiman to bomb a bus in Manila last month to divert the military's attention from an offensive against rebels.
During a court hearing, a bus conductor identified Baharan and Trinidad as passengers who hurriedly left the bus shortly before the blast.
Both suspects pleaded innocent in court on Monday.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/17/2005 12:13:15 AM ||
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#1
Could be harmless. They could Ted's Pacific security detail.
I dunno if I'd be too worried. It's hard to fly a plane while wearing a mask and waving an AK...
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw expressed serious concern at the acquisition of an unauthorised aircraft by the Tamil rebels when he met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in London, local newspapers reported yesterday. During a meeting with his counterpart, Straw said the development should be viewed with concern, especially in the context of the global war against terrorism and the fact that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was banned in the UK. "On the question of the LTTE aircraft, the UK was the one of the countries we wrote to sometime ago. The British government understands the dangers of having unauthorised aircraft in the hands of those without state power," the Daily News reported quoting Minister Kadirgamar.
No mention of the type of aircraft but I'm guessing it isn't a Piper Cub.
Kadirgamar said the co-chairs of the Sri Lankan peace process and India too have been apprised of the situation by the government as a first step to highlight the issue internationally. The LTTE chief peace negotiator Anton Balasingham last week told Norwegian peace broker Erik Solheim at a meeting in London that the airstrip in rebel-held Kilinochchi existed before the Tigers entered into a ceasefire with the government in 2002. The statement was the first public confirmation that the Tigers have an airstrip amid government fears that the guerrillas are acquiring air power. Following the news of the LTTE forming and developing its own airpower with a airstrip and aircraft, Pakistan has pledged to supply Sri Lanka the facilities of a high-tech radar to minutely scrutinise the movements of planes in Tiger- held areas.
Google sez they may be ultra-lights:
Liberation Tigers Air Wing leader, a former Air Canada employee, who was killed recently was specializing in teaching suicide bombing by micro light aircraft and was educated in aeronautical engineering and flying schools in Canada , intelligence reports show. Vythilingam Sornalingam, who was identified as "Colonel" Shankar in Tiger literature was killed by a claymore mine , September 26 in deep Wanni and was a close confidante and relative of Liberation Tiger Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The Tiger leader, Prabhakaran placed great importance in his relative's work and had purchased many micro light aircraft to train the flying Tigers to be used as suicide bombers, reports say. Micro light aircraft filled with explosives were to be used to explode large buildings with people under the alleged plans.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Commercial passenger carriers on ATC approach are often stack up for miles and would be reasonably easy targets for a determined AssHat of Doom, even with one of the faster piston engine singles.
#4
Getting harder to supply parts for them, though, Shipman. Better put a security alert out to the air museums to guard their planes with increased vigilance.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/17/2005 8:30 Comments ||
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Syrian Minister of Immigrants Butheina Shaaban Thursday said the United States is creating strife in Lebanon to draw attention from Iraq and the Mideast. She said the political tensions sweeping Lebanon between the opposition and the regime were instigated by Washington. "Whoever reads well the declarations of President George Bush sees that the whole region is targeted," Shaaban told UPI. "We believe the escalation in Lebanon is aimed to draw attention away from Iraq and Palestine. It is part of a scheme to destabilize the whole Middle East region. ... After Syria pulled out its troops from Lebanon, the focus has shifted now on Hezbollah's arms," she said.
Not to mention Hariri's corpse, or what's left of it...
"The aim is not the withdrawal of the Syrian forces from Lebanon as such but straining the Lebanese-Syrian relations and undermining security and stability in Lebanon and Syria," Shaaban added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2005 3:14:01 PM ||
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As Washington considers backing the European Union's proposal for trade benefits for Iran, troubling revelations emerged this week about Tehran's continued mislead-and-cheat tactics to hide the extent of its nuclear weapons program. The International Atomic Energy Agency revealed earlier that the clerical regime had refused the inspection of the Parchin military site near Tehran. It also reported that Iran has started building a heavy-water reactor near the central city of Arak. Further, the Associated Press reported that Iran has constructed deep underground tunnels to store its nuclear components.
While the EU -- led by France, Germany, and Britain -- pursues a futile policy of appeasement cloaked under "engagement" with Iran's mullahs, there are signs of fissure among the EU's Big 3. A senior Iranian official in Tehran told the Financial Times that while France was "open and understanding of Iran's position," Germany was "confused" and Britain was "taking a greater distance over the past 20 days." Indeed, France has for all practical purposes turned into Tehran's No. 1 backer in the EU. A few days after President Bush pledged to the Iranian people in his State of the Union address that "As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you," the French government banned a previously authorized peaceful rally organized by the dissident Iranian diaspora in Paris. It was not just a banned rally, but a story about the inner strength of a nation yearning for freedom under the yoke of religious tyranny.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/17/2005 1:51:06 AM ||
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I thought Americans were the ones supporting tyranny worldwide? Maybe there is some sophisticated nuance this cowgirl's missing....
#2
France, long dubbed "the cradle of revolutions" and a place of enlightenment, is on a crash course to become the cradle of appeasement of Iranâs rogue regime.
Cradle of appeasement. Beautiful, TW! Let's not limit it to an appeaser of Iran, though. A more inclusive title would be "Faustian sellout to Islamofascism".
It is a sign of the quality of the Lebanese leadership, from President Emile Lahoud on down, that it still remained in place a day after the massive opposition demonstrations of Monday. A million hostile yelps notwithstanding, the regime soldiered on, immune to irony, indifferent to a scornful electorate.
But if reports emerging about the United Nations fact-finding mission into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri are true, the regime may not so much resign as soon flee the country. London's The Independent has published an article by Robert Fisk suggesting the Lebanese authorities had tampered with the Hariri death scene. While Fisk didn't explain who his sources were, an educated guess suggests it was people within the UN team itself, even as the accusation of government manipulation has been circulating for weeks in Beirut.
Fisk wrote: "The UN's Irish, Egyptian and Moroccan investigation team has now been joined by three Swiss bomb experts following the discovery that many of the smashed vehicles in Hariri's convoy were moved from the scene of the massacre only hours after the bombing and before any time for an independent investigation." He restated a widespread suspicion that the bomb that killed Hariri was placed under the roadway, which would contradict the official Lebanese theory that what happened was the work of a suicide car bomber.
How might the UN react to such allegations? According to Fisk, "Some members of the Hariri family have been told that the report of the UN inquiry team will be so devastating that it will force a full international investigation of the murder of 'Mr. Lebanon' and his entourage."
Perhaps as remarkable as Fisk's allegations is the Lebanese government's ineptness in dealing with case. Hariri was killed a month ago, and still investigators have not even released a preliminary report on the crime. Rather, in early March an unidentified "judicial source" close to the investigation told Reuters that Hariri was "almost certainly killed by a suicide car bomb." The source said that a report would be released a week later, but none has been.
Most absurdly, the source said that "evidence [for a suicide bomber] came from a security camera at a nearby bank which caught parts of the incident," proving that the attacker had slowed his car and allowed Hariri's motorcade to pass, before triggering his bomb. In fact the video in question, seen by journalists at The Daily Star, shows nothing conclusive. It was taken by the HSBC Bank camera, and the angle of the device is such that the point of detonation is, in fact, not visible. A visit to the area where Hariri was killed would easily confirm this.
Security sources also told Reuters that DNA tests establish that the man who claimed responsibility for the assassination, Taysir Abu Adas, was at the crime scene. One can be dubious when an unidentified "security source" (as opposed to the specialist responsible) announces the results of a DNA test, particularly before any final report is released. However, Abu Adas' presence, if true, is hardly conclusive. Whoever took the trouble of asking him to prepare a taped statement on the crime would have probably ensured he would be among the dead. The question is who ordered the hit and why the authorities have sought to spin reporting on the murder without presenting any evidence for their claims.
The government was presented with a tough explanatory nut to crack once confronted with the reality of Hariri's death. The fact that the explosion occurred in the middle of the road ruled out a parked car bomb. When the Abu Adas video appeared, officials thought they had found a vaguely workable theory - that an Islamist group affiliated to Al-Qaeda was the perpetrator. But then Al-Qaeda took the trouble to deny it and Abu Adas' father, who has since reportedly died, told investigators his son didn't know how to drive. So, the goalposts were shifted to suggest that Abu Adas had been chauffeured to his suicide mission. In that case the "security sources" might have helped not by announcing that Abu Adas' DNA was identified, but by doing DNA tests of the remains of all those found onsite, so that a determination could be made as to whether there actually was a driver. But the last we heard, several victims, namely Syrian laborers, were unaccounted for.
If Fisk is right that the UN fact-finding mission will recommend an international inquiry, this could be the rare murder of a Lebanese politician that is professionally investigated, and solved. A million people might count for little with the regime, but being held responsible for covering up a crime that has united the Lebanese in opposition to Syria is an altogether different proposition. What remains of the Syrian order in Lebanon would swiftly disintegrate, and Hizbullah, which has also called for an explanation of Hariri's death, would be unable to prop it up.
In fact, nothing will prop up the present Lebanese regime once the Syrians depart. If an uneventful transition takes place, one anticipates that the next Lebanese Parliament will represent the majority of Lebanese identifying with the goals of the opposition. Such a body might be able to amend the Constitution and terminate Lahoud's mandate. However, some of the president's foes suggest this process is complicated, so that it would be better to oust him sooner, politically.
What is increasingly clear, however, is that the greatest threat to this presidency, and to the Syria-inspired edifice it represents, is an answer to the one question on everybody's lips last Monday: Who killed Rafik Hariri?
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/17/2005 12:22:42 AM ||
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Since when is Mr. Fisk a reliable, unbiased source about anything, including which direction the sun rose this morning?
The formation of a new government appeared in jeopardy Wednesday with pro-Syrian officials rejecting opposition demands in a stand-off threatening to delay the parliamentary elections scheduled for the spring. Prime Minister-designate Omar Karami has expressed his intentions to pursue dialogue with opposition leader Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt, the Hariri family and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, currently on a visit to Washington and New York. But Karami has also threatened to resign if he fails in his bid to form a national unity Cabinet.
Might as well do it now...
The opposition has so far refused to enter dialogue with Karami until its demands for the resignation of the country's top seven security officials are met. The opposition is also demanding the formation of an international investigation committee into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the full pullout of Syrian troops and secret services, and the dismantling of Lebanese and Syrian intelligence apparatuses. Jbeil MP Fares Soueid and Beirut MP Ghinwa Jalloul, who submitted the opposition's demands to Karami on Tuesday, re-asserted Wednesday their insistence on their demands and their refusal to trade Hariri's blood with any government. In a joint statement, Jalloul and Soueid said the demands aimed at protecting the country and restoring confidence between people and authorities. Karami called Wednesday for an end to demonstrations and encouraged dialogue. He also specifically called for canceling the demonstration scheduled for Friday in Tripoli, as "dialogue requires staying away from anything that nurtures division."
If there are two separate opinions, that's division by definitions. Their opinion is that they want Syria out. Lahou'd opinion is that he wants Syria in. Not an awful lot of dialoguing room there.
Meanwhile, Karami met with U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, but neither made any comments afterward.
... thereby implying that it wasn't a happy meeting...
The political stalemate in Beirut threatens parliamentary elections that should in principle take place by May 31, notably if a government is not in place by the end of March. The Hariri family, the late leader's parliamentary bloc and Future Movement have unanimously pledged allegiance to Sidon MP Bahia Hariri as a political successor to her brother, amid a drive to present Bahia for the premiership once Karami abandons his bid to form a government, press reports said Wednesday. Bahia could also run for her brother's parliamentary seat in the elections, the reports added. The crisis is also much broader than simple disagreements on a national unity government, as Jumblatt and several other opposition MPs are calling for President Emile Lahoud's resignation. Lahoud, meanwhile, has expressed fears that if the political situation remains unchanged, it will affect the country's economic stability and lead to repercussions that could affect the entire country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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U.S. President George W. Bush slammed Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah calling it "a terrorist organization with American blood on its hands" and insisted U.S. policy toward the party had not changed. Bush's attack follows what has been widely seen as a softening of attitude within the White House after comments the president made earlier in the week hinting that if Hizbullah disarmed the U.S. would recognize it as a political party. He said: "Hizbullah is on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations for a reason. It is a party that has killed Americans in the past and it will remain on the list."
But despite the strong attack, Bush again appeared to leave open the possibility that Hizbullah could become a recognized political party if it disarmed and disavowed violence. He said: "I like the idea of someone running for office. Maybe some will run for office and say: 'Vote for me, I look forward to blowing up America.' I don't think so. I think people who generally run for office say: 'Vote for me, I'm looking forward to fixing your potholes or making sure you got bread on the table.'"
But Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah angrily rejected Bush's call to disarm, insisting Hizbullah "will never lay down its arms." Speaking during a live interview on the Hizbullah-backed Al-Manar television station, Nasrallah said: "I'm holding on to the weapons of the resistance because I think the resistance is the best formula to protect Lebanon and to deter any Israeli aggression." He added: "As long as Lebanon is threatened, even if we remain threatened for a million years, our will to our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren is that their national, human, moral and religious holy duty is to protect their people." Nasrallah said: "If the Americans were able to disarm Hizbullah by using military means, Bush would have sent his troops in straight away. They haven't already done so because the U.S. is stuck in Iraq and would rather broker a deal with Iran, Syria or even the Lebanese themselves to disarm us and create internal conflict."
I dunno what Nasrallah's qualifications are as a religious scholar, but he should stick to that. He obviously doesn't have a talent for post-9-11 international politix.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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i dunno. Look at how the Sistani forces beat the Khomeinist/Sadrists in Iraq. Now granted Lebanon aint Iraq - A. Sistani aint located here B. The Shiites are a minority here, even if the largest C. The Shiites have a history of being oppressed by the Maronites and Israeli occupation, not by a Baathist dictator. Still, hes got to wonder, after Jan. 30th, if Khomeinism has a chance of dominating the Shiite community once force is put aside, and normal politics begins. By holding on to his weapons, and keeping the pot boiling, he keeps the Shiites isolated, and likely to turn to extremists like himself. I think he knows PRECISELY what hes doing.
And of course we CAN'T, realistically go in and disarm Hezb using US forces. Cmon, didnt the experience of Israel in the early 80s, and our own experience in Lebanon, teach us that? Lebanon politics is a swamp, and once you invade YOU become the issue, and the chess pieces that looked so favorable at first rearrange themselves to make your life hell. (oh, and we cant use the tactics Syria used) So hes right, wed rather broker a deal to disarm Hezbollah. But with the Lebanese, not with Syria or Iran. And we just might manage that, but it wont be easy, and will require great NUANCE.
#2
If the Iranians get knocked over, Hezbollah becomes irrelevant and goes out of business; no more money from da da. Hezbollah knows it; the Mullahs know it. That is why they making making political noises now.
When the times comes to knock off the ayatollahs, Hezbollah's and Iran's only hope for remaining a political force in the region is to 'legitimize' themselves.
Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Butros Sfeir held talks with George W. Bush in Washington last night as the U.S. president reiterated his demand for free elections in Lebanon this spring. Following his meeting with Sfeir Bush said: "I assured his eminence that United States policy will work with friends and allies to insist that Syria completely leave Lebanon so the election process will be free and fair."
Sfeir, who as the head of the 900,000-member Maronite Catholic Church has been a longtime critic of Syria's control in Lebanon, added: "We want an independent Lebanon and a full Syrian withdrawal according to UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and the Taif Accord, as they do not differ. A total withdrawal will be completed. And if it isn't then I am sure those who have been monitoring the issue will continue to do so." Sfeir thanked Bush for what he called his "sincere interest" in a free and peaceful Lebanon. Bush insisted Syria must withdraw all its troops from Lebanon, and its intelligence services, which he said "are embedded in all the Lebanese government's functions." He said: "I firmly believe in the examples of Iraq and Afghanistan. I believe there will be a Palestinian state. I believe we'll be able to convince Syria to fully withdraw from Lebanon or else she'll be isolated. I believe those examples will serve as examples for others over time are examples of democracy."
Sfeir's high profile visit to Washington had been seen by many as an attempt to sway U.S. opinion regarding Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah. But Sfeir, who supports integrating Hizbullah into Lebanon's political mainstream, insisted the issue of Hizbullah was not raised during his discussions with Bush. Sfeir said: "We discussed the Lebanese issue in general without going into details and we did not discuss specific parties."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Opposition members insisted Wednesday that the life of Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt, a leading member of the opposition was in danger. Speaking during a seminar held at the American University of Beirut (AUB), member of the Christian opposition Qornet Shehwan Gathering, Samir Franjieh said: "Yes, Jumblatt's life is threatened. That is why he is in his home in Mukhtara and not here with us today."
The seminar, organized by the communications club at AUB, was held on the 29th anniversary of Kamal Jumblatt's assassination, and attended by Wael Abu Faour from Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party and a large number of students. Franjieh said the opposition would not participate in any government until its demands are fully met. "We are calling for the formation of a neutral Cabinet trusted by the people to overlook the upcoming polls, and to oversee a true Syrian pullout. This is the only way to make sure the withdrawal of Syrian troops, and most importantly Syrian intelligence, has taken place completely," he added.
Franjieh also lashed out at President Emile Lahoud, saying he was part of the security system that brought the country to the crisis it is facing today. He said: "Since he was the head of the army, until he became the president, he has been a major partner in the rule of the security apparatus in Lebanon." He added that the opposition would demand Lahoud's resignation only following the election of a new Parliament in the light of free and fair elections. He said: "The reason we are not demanding his resignation right now is that the current Parliament is mostly formed of pro-Syrian MPs and they might choose someone who falls in the same category as Lahoud."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2005 10:35:46 PM ||
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LOL I bet it has been. Repeatedly for the last 30 years. He is the one that had a boom cooming to him.
On page 3 because it's a "local color" story about something we already know.
The once-feared Syrian intelligence agents vanished from Beirut and large parts of Lebanon yesterday, but not before repainting the jail in the basement of their headquarters.
Almost all their intelligence offices in north Lebanon and the mountains east of Beirut were abandoned, and 150 to 200 agents moved to the eastern Beka'a valley, witnesses and security sources said.
At the main intelligence building in Beirut a bulldozer demolished two guard posts and trucks loaded with office equipment drove away. Lebanese security forces stood guard outside the building.
A woman who was allowed in described 10 cells in the basement. "They had been freshly painted in a baby-blue colour and the doors had been taken off," she said. "The cells had tiled floors and tiny windows. I saw the word 'freedom' written in Arabic in one place.
"The offices had been stripped bare, apart from a ceiling fan and a desk."
The remaining pictures of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and his late father had gone from the area around the building. Where one giant portrait had stood, protesters put up smaller posters of Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese former prime minister assassinated last month. "I'm happy that it has gone," said Moussa, a taxi driver. "Foreigners used to ask me: 'Is that your president?' and I had to tell them: 'No, it's not'."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The Army's first and only battlefield laser system is back.
In 2003, the Army sent ZEUS, a Humvee armed with a 10kw solid-state laser, to Afghanistan, to blast mines and other explosives left over from years of war. In the six months ZEUS spent there, the laser-hummer zapped over 200 pieces of unexploded ordnance, according to the Army, "at one point setting a record for ordnance disposal by negating 51 pieces in less than 100 minutes."
Now, ZEUS "is being forward deployed" again, Army Space and Missile Defense Command Lt. Gen. Larry Dodgen tells Defense Daily.
"According to spokesman at Headquarters, Department of the Army, ZEUS is in Iraq as part of a three-vehicle convoy protection concept being evaluated now," DD adds.
ZEUS uses a pair of lasers to sizzle its targets, according to Sparta, Inc., the vehicle's maker. A joystick-controlled green Nd:YAG laser is used to designate the target. One it's locked, an invisible high-power Nd:YAG laser swerves around, to heat the sucker up.
The system uses diesel fuel to create the laser beam, which focuses energy on the outer casing of the target, which heats up until it detonates, [triggering] a less violent explosion than if the explosive was activated, causing less damage to the surrounding area...
"Its power level and utility is new and is not for aerial targets, it's for unexploded ordnance," Dodgen said. "It is a system that works, and we certainly would like to use it whenever possible." A system like this would be optimized with a GPS designator for its target analysis. It could be used for efficiently removing a "friendly" minefield, or with a UAV magnetic or visual 'spotter' aircraft.
#2
Laser Hummer might cure that snoring too *rimshot*
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/17/2005 18:09 Comments ||
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This thing is a piece of crap. It has to have a crew of PhD's to keep it going, it is extremely expensive and only works on ordnance that is exposed (as opposed to under the ground). But since they've built it, they want to use it.
March 17, 2005: American tank crews have now had two years of using their M-1 tanks in urban areas. While the M-1 has done quite well, the tankers have developed a wish list of upgrades they would like to see. First priority goes to protection. While the M-1 has generally been invulnerable to RPG rockets, there are three parts of the M-1 that were vulnerable. First, there is the rear of the tank, where the gas-turbine engine spews out hot exhaust. Put an RPG round in there and you can shut down the engine. Tank crews have noted the success of the slat armor used by the Stryker. Some of this would work to protect the rear of the M-1. The other vulnerability is the running gear (the wheels and tracks. These items were never meant to be resistant to RPGs, but a lucky shot here can slow down or stop an M-1. The solution here would be side skirts covered with reactive armor (that explodes when hit by an RPG, or anything else, and destroys the ability of the RPG to penetrate armor.) Neither of these additions would cost much, weigh much or otherwise lower the performance of the vehicle.
The third vulnerability is the turret machine-guns. The tank commander has a .50 caliber (12.7mm) machine-gun in a powered turret, and the loader has a 7.62mm machine-gun. In city fighting, these two machine-guns are often more useful than the tanks 120mm gun. There is also another 7.62mm machine-gun, mounted next to the 120mm gun, and operated from inside the tank by the gunner. But it's the first two machine-guns, out in the open, that need some protection. The tank commander and loader have to leave themselves vulnerable to enemy fire while they are operating their machine-guns. One suggestion is to add some armor shields to these two machine-guns. Some tank crews do that, using material scrounged locally. This approach was followed as far back as World War II. Another suggestion is to install a RWS (Remote Weapons Station) for the commanders .50 caliber gun (like the RWS used with great success by the Stryker), so the commander can operate the weapon from inside the tank. The .50 caliber is a very useful weapon in city fighting, but the RWS adds another bit of complex gear to the tank, and is only really useful in urban warfare, where the tank is likely to be taking a lot of small arms fire. When that happens, the most important weapon tends to be the coaxial 7.62mm machine-gun. Another requested addition is a thermal sight for the loaders 7.62mm machine-gun. At night, or bad weather, the thermal sight is a key item in spotting enemy troops trying to sneak up on you. The gunner has one, as does the commander. The more the better.
Another problem is communications. Troops outside the tank have a hard time talking to the crew when there's a lot of enemy fire, and the crew is "buttoned up" inside the tank. The infantry platoon commander can talk to the tank crew via his radio, but that still makes it difficult for infantry squad and team leaders working close to the tank to exchange important information with the tank (like where enemy fire is coming from.) In World War II, it was common to have a telephone mounted to the back of the tank, allowing an infantryman to pick it up and talk to the tank crew. That won't work too well with the M-1, which uses a gas turbine engine that puts hot air (over 1,000 degrees hot) exhaust out the back of the tank. One improvisation is cheap walkie talkies. The tank crew has one rigged to run off an external antenna, and gives the other one (or two) to the infantry outside. Some sort of wireless phone seems to be the solution here, and maybe a bunch of these walkie talkie units may be the solution. The tank crews also want all those new Internet commo goodies. They also want to be able to see the live vid feed from the UAV overhead. As the infantry get their personal radios, the tank crews want to be able to talk to individual grunts, and get more closely involved in the street fighting situation.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/17/2005 9:17:52 AM ||
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One of the things our Army is pretty good at is After Action Reviews and battlefield expedients. This will be heard, but whether or not it makes it into a budget line item depends on other priorities.
Posted by: too true ||
03/17/2005 9:29 Comments ||
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I am not american but from what i have been reading it's all dificult because of red tape. Also lessons learned seems to not apply: Weapon shields something need that in every war shows up. Comparing with Italians had weapon shields in their veichles in Iraq from beginning
#3
The US Army knew we needed them. It was a question of how many could be provided how quickly. The Italians were a small part of the coalition and brought only a small portion of their equipment. The US had to mass and supply over 100,000 troops and that's a different challenge.
Moreover, there are downsides to armoring every vehicle, unless you know for sure you will need it. Cost of shipping, fuel, repair are only part of the equation. So too is destruction of roads in country - okay if you are taking over against the Nazis, bad idea if you want an Iraqi economy to start up quickly.
Posted by: too true ||
03/17/2005 10:26 Comments ||
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The tank crews also want all those new Internet commo goodies. They also want to be able to see the live vid feed from the UAV overhead.
#5
No. I mean that the shields must be in place from the beginning, from the veichle concept.
I think there are too many layers between Army (the army that is in the field) the upper commanders and the Industry. It's a telling sign that soldiers have to buy friendly GPS, some night visions, and an host of usefull gadgets that the Army doesnt supply in first place.
Most of the armies suffer from the golden plate wonder weapon vicious, US being rich suffer more than most.
#6
It's a telling sign that soldiers have to buy friendly GPS
I heard some RUMORS that soldiers had to buy GPS during the Gulf War, but not this time around. I find it hard to believe we were underequipped in GPS; too much of the operations plan -- and fire discipline -- depended on units knowing where they are and where they should be.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/17/2005 11:14 Comments ||
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To my knowledge no U.S. forces (including National Guardsmen, who are the least well equipped) had to buy their own GPS.
Posted by: Robin Burk ||
03/17/2005 11:56 Comments ||
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The additional skirt side armor was used by the Germans in WWII to cause infantry anti-tank weapons to preignite before hitting the tanks main armor. I think a quick expedient would be to use multi-layered hurricane fence to achieve the same effect. However, both require the driver to take them in consideration when on the road as they will be scraped off if he cuts corners or buildings too tight.
#9
I've seen the slat armor on a British Challenger II. It is easy to mount and my guess is that you will see this on the M-1 soon. The fix for the 7.62mm gun is also easy and it does not require a complex heavy remote weapon station that requires substantial integration with the vehicle. Instead, they can get one of ours that fits in a pintle and just plugs into their standard power source. Easy, squeazy! Scuse me, I gotta go call TAACOM.
#10
They have army issued GPS but they arent user friendly and not everyone have them. I didnt had links at hand but i remember many conversations in Foruns.
#11
They have army issued GPS but they arent user friendly and not everyone have them. I didnt had links at hand but i remember many conversations in Foruns.
March 17, 2005: Iraqi popular opinion has turned against terrorism in a big way. Apparently the key event was the revelation that Osama bin Laden had appointed Abu Musab al Zarqawi as "Emir" (leader) of al Qaeda efforts in Iraq and commanded him to go forth and kill big-time. But as suicide bombing attacks increasingly failed to reach American targets, and killed Iraqis instead, it appeared that a Saudi (bin Laden) was telling a Jordanian (Zarqawi) to kill Iraqis. This attitude never made headlines, but it slowly spread among Sunni Arab Iraqis over the last year.
Sunni Arab areas where were most of the violence was, particularly after Shia Arab demagogue Moqtada Sadr stopped instigating violence (because he found that he had much less popular support than he believed). Once the Sunni Arabs turned against terrorism, the terrorists found themselves operating in an increasingly hostile environment. A big story that the media missed was that American troops operating outside the fortified camps (like the Green Zone) were a lot closer to what was going on than your average reporter (who doesn't get out much because of the danger). The combat troops, and many of the non-combat troops, deal with the danger, and Iraqis, on a daily basis. The troops saw the change in attitude among Iraqis. They also saw, in neighborhood after neighborhood, the sharp decline in attacks on coalition and Iraqi forces. They knew the reason for this was the ongoing reconstruction work (mainly supervised by coalition troops) and terror attacks that killed mostly Iraqis. The foreign media appeared to be describing a place that sort of looked like Iraq, but wasn't. Because of the growing availability of email in Iraq, for Iraqis and foreign troops, more people around the world are able to get unfiltered (by journalists) reports from inside Iraq. This has left recipients of these emails wondering what's going on with the reporters. It's simple; fiction always outsells non-fiction.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/17/2005 9:11:05 AM ||
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And the MSM is, indeed, being relegated to the fiction (read: biased agenda-driven politics) column by an increasing number of people - those with an Internet connection and enough sense to seek out their own sources.
Thank you, DOD / BBN for ArpaNet, father of the Internet.
Hat tip Jihad Watch. Good articles on globalpolitician.com, btw
By Ryan Mauro Mohamed Ibn Guadi is an Islamologist at Strasbourg University and a researcher in Semitic Philology. He is a contributor to Figaro, Le Point and other journals. He is the Director of the Islamology Program at the French Center of Middle East Studies (AFEMO) in Toulouse. He is currently preparing a book on Islam and the West.
RM: Is Islam growing more radical or moderate overall? Where is it the most worrisome?
MIG: That's a good question, Ryan. Today, most people think that radical Islam is growing to the detriment of the "real" Islam. Is Islam a religion of peace? No. Is it a religion of war? Neither. As a matter a fact, this is a puzzle. Osama Bin Laden is a good Muslim. I mean, what they say about the West is consistent with Islamic history. It's true that moderate Muslims represent Islam but we have to keep in mind that Osama, Mullah Omar and others represent Islam as well.
RM: But do you think that the religion of Islam as a whole is growing more radical, or more peaceful ?
MIG: Islam is growing more original which means that Islam is returning to its foundations. Islam is in a decisive time that it will determine its future. The growing of democracy in the Arab world could change the Arab minds but not Islam.
Another data point, continuing the discussion from yesterday about where I should send my daughters to college... only I can't tell if this is Michigan State or U. of Michigan. (Thanks particularly to Mrs. D -- I saved the links you suggested.) Hat tip LGF Hundreds of anxious students and local community members filled an emotionally charged Michigan Union Ballroom last night, when the Michigan Student Assembly soundly defeated a proposal advocating the creation of a committee to examine University investments in companies that do business with Israel.
The overwhelming margin against the resolution — 11 representatives voted in favor, while 25 voted no — came as a surprise to many MSA officials and observers, who had said in the lead up to the vote that they expected a close outcome.
Although MSA expected a high turnout, scheduling the meeting in the Kuenzel Room of the Union instead of MSA chambers, the turnout was so high that the meeting had to be relocated a second time to the larger ballroom and began an hour and half late.
The animosity and nervous energy in the room was palpable, leading to spontaneous altercations throughout the ballroom and cramped hallways of the Union and causing the Department of Public Safety to remove a heckler during an address by former MSA Vice President Jennifer Nathan. snip Speakers included students, University professors and community members.
If passed, the resolution would have instructed the MSA External Relations Committee to send a letter urging the University Board of Regents to create an advisory committee to investigate the moral and ethical implications of the University's investments in companies that directly support the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Opponents of the resolution argued that its effect and intent went beyond merely forming a committee, instead targeting Israel and ultimately seeking divestment from the country. They cited language in the proposal that condemned the state of Israel and pointed to human rights abuses and violations of international law.snip
"This resolution is about academic freedom, and the right to know whether the businesses that the University invests in realize international human rights principles and business ethics," said Nadine Naber, professor of American Culture and Women's Studies.
But Mironov said that the language of the resolution proposed a verdict before the trial. "If it were simply a resolution to create a committee, it wouldn't have 14 clauses condemning the state of Israel," Mironov said prior to the elimination of 12 clauses. snip
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/17/2005 2:24:17 AM ||
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Well, at least My alma mater aren't complete wankers. Now if they'd just dump their racial preferences, I might donate again...
#5
âThis resolution is about academic freedom, and the right to know whether the businesses that the University invests in realize international human rights principles and business ethics,â said Nadine Naber, professor of American Culture and Womenâs Studies.
#7
I wonder if the liberal academicians will demand that someone overturn and reverse the democratic vote, and just declare that UofM divest, because (a) The students didn't understand what they were voting for; or (b) The votes were incorrectly tallied and the ballots were confusing; or (c) Non-students, the public at large, and convicted felons in prison should have been allowed to vote; or (d) That it doesn't matter what the students want, only what the faculty senate and the administration want, based on what they know to be in the best interest of the students; or (e) All of the above.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2005 14:54 Comments ||
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...Actually, now would be a good time to recover the wreckage of the Lady Be Good - there's not much left of her, but what there is needs to come home. One crew member is still out there in the Libyan sands...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/17/2005 19:09 Comments ||
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Afghanistan on Tuesday unveiled its annual budget for the year 2005-2006, with almost 50 percent of the total outlay allocated for security-related affairs. Ministries of Interior and Defence, entrusted with securing the war-torn country internally as well as externally, have been given 44 percent of the $678 annual budget, up by 15 percent over last year. Announcing the new budget, the Finance Ministry said 50% of the budgetary expenditure could be met from internal revenue generation. "The country is still dependent on external funding to meet its budgetary needs," he admitted. Anwar-ul-Ahadi told a press conference domestic revenues were less than the government had anticipated. But he expressed the hope the revenues would increase and next year the government would be able to meet a larger part of its expenditure.
The world hopes with you, Anwar.
Despite the 15% increase, Ahadi said there was no plan to increase salaries of government employees in the next fiscal year, because domestic earnings were still inadequate. Ahahdi explained thanks to decades of strife, revenue collection by local commanders
Read: Warlords get their cut first...
had become a deep-seated practice, which stayed on, making it difficult for the government to collect its due share. The only way to increase salaries of government employees was to hike taxes and collect customs revenues and land taxes. The annual rate of growth expected for the year 2005-2006 is 10.1%, the minister announced.
I'm not an economist, but I think that's better than the EU for FY 2006...
... I think the Afghan defense budget is higher than the EU's, too ...
The Interior Ministry, which is in charge of combating drugs, terrorism, war crimes and policing, has been given the highest allocation (6.9 billion Afs or a quarter the total budget) among 27 ministries. The second highest allocation has gone to the Ministry of Defence, which is in charge of security across the country as well as defending the borders. It has received 6.1 billions Afs, approximately a fifth of the total budget. Afghanistan is one of the countries with lowest rates of literacy and is in dire need of education. But the Ministry of Education has been given 5.7 billions Afs. The Ministry of Energy, now under the powerful former governor of Herat, Ismail Khan, has been allocated 174 million Afs - less than 1% percent of the budget and down by 300% from the last year.
I wonder how Khan is liking his desk job now...
The Ministry of Women's Affairs has been given 67 million Afs, an increase of 26.7%
Way to go, ladies!
over last year. The communication ministry has been allocated 332 millions Afs. According to the Finance Ministry, 16.15 billion Afs ($333 million) will be obtained from domestic revenues, 13.58 billion Afs ($280 million) from the Reconstruction Trust Fund of Afghanistan and 3.15 billion Afs ($65 million) from the Law and Order Fund.
Posted by: seafarious ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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How'd you get into Frontier Post? The last half dozen times I've tried to use it, either the page wouldn't load entirely, or they hadn't paid their ISP bill and I got the Shame page.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2005 9:17 Comments ||
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Can't recall how I found it, but I was just poking around yesterday & stumbled in.
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Secretary General Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said Tuesday that the foreign policy of the country was subservient to America and said the religious alliance would never agree to the rulers who were playing havoc with national security and educational system to please their foreign masters. Talking to newsmen after a ceremony of free distribution of text books to the students here, he said that the MMA would not allow affiliation of any educational institution with Agha Khan Board nor it would allow handing over of educational system to western powers. "MMA dismiss Agha Khan Board as it is a conspiracy against Islam," leader of the opposition said adding that religious education was a must for prosperity of the society and MMA will try its level best to promote the correct system of education.
Glad that's cleared up!
Posted by: seafarious ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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That's not a turban. That's the bath towel Holiday Inn used in the 70's.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/17/2005 8:43 Comments ||
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âMMA dismiss Agha Khan Board as it is a conspiracy against Islam,â
Note the Agha Khan was a leader of a fairly obscure Islamic sect, I think Shiite, and a Pashtun, who historically was opposed to islamist extremism of all types - even was skeptical about the creation of Pakistan, IIUC. Became an important figure in the late 40's. AKB is just the kind of organization that can lead to transformation in the muslim world, specifically Pakland, and is of course on the MMA's hitlist.
#5
Agha Khan is the founder of the Ismaili sect of Islam (total world population 3-6 Million). It is an offshoot of Shia.
Hard line Sunnis don't consider Ismailis to be Moslems and the possibility of mass atrocity exists every day in Pakland (as does the reality of minor atrocities).
Iraq's Sunni minority watched the opening of the new Iraqi Parliament yesterday straddling a fence, torn between support of the deadly insurgency and a wish to join the democratic process.
Too bad they decided to pass on the election, ain't it?
If the first session of Parliament was a celebration of democracy for Iraq's long persecuted Shiites and Kurds, the Sunnis, who ruled the country for most of its 85-year modern history, found it a stinging reminder of how far the mighty had fallen.
Still defending Sammy with their blood. Life's tough. It's tougher when you're stoopid.
The Sunnis, who make up around 20 percent of Iraq's 27-million population, are trying to reconcile themselves to their new destiny as just one face among the many. Iraq's insurgency has sprung up mainly in central Iraq in Sunni Muslim areas, where anger about the US-led invasion two years ago and the meteoric rise of the Shiites persuaded many to take up armed struggle or democratic politics.
They mean "armed struggle instead of democratic politix."
Sunni politician Meshaan Jabouri, a member of the new Parliament, embodies the contradictions. He draws a distinction between good and bad resistance fighters. "We are part of the resistance but we are relying on peaceful ways to drive out the occupiers. They think that arms is the best weapon (to fight the occupation). We are brothers complementing each other," he said.
Ah, yes. The emergence of the "political wing"...
Genuine regret over the Sunni decision to boycott the Jan. 30 election appears to exist in the community.
Screwed that up, didn't they? That could be because the Sunni leadership, and presumably the followership as well, lacks the imagination to come up with anything better than a 1930s-style dictatorship to run their country...
The vote left the Sunnis with a paltry 20 Parliament seats and handed the long-oppressed Kurds disproportionate influence in the next government. But the Sunnis have yet to reconcile themselves to the new political order.
They couldn't reconcile themselves to the idea of having elections, either. They're not very good at reconciling things, are they?
The Shiite and Kurdish victors have repeatedly stated their wish to have Sunnis represented in government posts and the committee that will draft Iraq's permanent constitution. In a bid to organize the Sunnis politically, Iraq's outgoing president, tribal magnate Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar, whose list gained five seats, has established an alliance with the Islamic Party and elder Shiite and Kurdish leaders on Tuesday for talks on forming the next government.
Learns pretty quick, doesn't he?
"The committee maintains its position: We will not take part in the government as long as the country is under occupation. But we do not oppose those who want to take part to serve the country and pull it out of its misery," Sunni cleric Harith Al-Dari, who heads the organization, said on Tuesday.
But questions remain whether the establishment parties truly represent Sunnis, who are now widely seen as lacking any coherent voice.
They've seemed incoherent ever since they stopped hollering "Saddam, we will defend you with our blood!"
"It's almost like what you had is a glass statue and you smashed it with a hammer and all you've got is these pieces. And that's the state of the Iraqi community today. It's really fractured," a Western diplomat told AFP. "The only thing that I think is going to help is to very quickly organize some broadly representative caucuses or meetings.
I wonder what kind of explosives are considred appropriate for Iraqi caucuses?
Senior Sunni politician Nasser Al-Chaderchi worries that the Sunni community is too caught up in the romanticism of violent resistance. This is illogical, and unacceptable. It is an extreme speech aimed at erasing others which is something unbelievable. "They (Sunnis) are against Shiites and Kurds and do not accept the idea of having power rotating democratically. They are against the interim constitution and against democracy in Iraq."
Then they don't have anything to talk about, do they? And the Iraqis are better off leaving them out of the government, since they need to be ruled, rather than governed...
He criticized many of the Sunni groups for failing to break unequivocally with the insurgency. "First of all, Sunni Islamic and nationalist parties should have the courage to condemn terrorism in all of its shapes," the politician said. The paradox is on full display among the religious hierarchy who have eclipsed any secular Sunni leadership with the fall of Saddam Hussein. "Honest resistance is a crown that should be put on head of Iraqis and we cannot give it up. But that does not mean that we are to give up being part of the political process," says Sheikh Rafi Al-Samarrai, a member of the Sunni Waqf (endowments), a body responsible for administering Sunni mosques and charitable works.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Great comments and great pic, Fred. Ima kinda like the green turbanned chap. He has some piss and vinegar. I have a feeling that Sunnis with a clue will work with the Shiites and Kurds to make things happen. Only trouble is that the Nutcase Sunnis will pop them off. Well, it IS up to the Sunnis if they want to be treated as citizens, or potential terrorists. Meanwhile, the give and take of government will go on, with or without the Sunnis.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/17/2005 0:51 Comments ||
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There is no âpotentialâ terrorists as far as I am concerned. The Sunni seem to have a tenuous grasp on reality. They get no say. They chose to not participate in elections and have kept up support for an âinsurgency.â An election that all other sectors of Iraqi society participated in. It's not being left in the dust, they have chosen to be ground into the dust. I doubt the Iraqi army and police will be as restrained with them as US military forces have been.
The Sunni have a choice. STFU and get with the program and support the new parliament unreservedly or, continue paying for it for as long as it takes until they are a small remnant of their former number. I guess continually marrying your first cousin affects the cognitive functions pretty badly. Oh the wonder and joy of tribal society.
When are we going to declare the MMA a terrorist organization?
#4
If the Democratic/Republican or Green Party, boycotted a vote, they wouldn't get represented until next time, it applies to Sunnis. If more represented, they surely would stall any of potential healthy debates in Parliament with complaints and false tactics. Listening to Al-Qaeda on voting day severly margionalized them, I'm glad their knuckleheads or good Iraqi's would be fighting them on another front.
#5
Senior Sunni politician Nasser Al-Chaderchi worries that the Sunni community is too caught up in the romanticism of violent resistance. This is illogical, and unacceptable. It is an extreme speech aimed at erasing others which is something unbelievable.
this man speaks sense. Now if only it can began to seep out to the rest of the Sunni Arabs.
#7
O.K. so I SAW it at Rantburg, it was a Yahoo article. On RB, it's titled "Most Iraqi's say future looks brighter....
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/17/2005 13:04 Comments ||
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#8
I musta fouled up the previous comment, to which #7 is an add-on. I had said the article (referred to in #7) said that 44% of the Sunnis voted, and that was better than some states in the last election (I think). Confused? Why should YOU be different?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/17/2005 13:06 Comments ||
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BAGHDAD - Iraq opened a new 275-member national assembly but politicians failed to form a unity government in the landmark session, just days before the second anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Wednesday's inauguration won praise from US President George W. Bush, who said it was "a bright moment in what is a process toward writing of a constitution, ratification of a constitution, and elections". As the milestone 90-minute session began, a pair of mortars or rockets hit the sealed-off enclave of US and Iraqi institutions where the Baghdad ceremony was being held, but the US military reported no casualties.
IThe historic inauguration, meanwhile, coming six weeks after elections, was largely ceremonial amid the political stalemate between the Kurds and Shiites. Haggling over Kurdish claims on the ethnically-divided, oil-rich city of Kirkuk and the status of their peshmerga militia was helping stall progress on key Cabinet appointments. The Shiite candidate for prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, said it could take another fortnight but denied that the talks had hit a brick wall.
But the landmark parliament session served as a forum for Islamists, secular Iraqis, Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis to stake out their positions ahead of their main task of drafting Iraq's permanent constitution. Outgoing prime minister, Iyad Allawi, in a grey suit, strode to the podium as he completed the mission handed him last June when he was assigned the task of steering Iraq to its first free elections in half a century. "Dear brothers and sisters, we have great duties to face and stand up to. Much honorable Iraqis' blood has been shed to attain these goals," he said, flanked by red-white-and-black Iraqi flags and a table of white flowers.
"One of the most important tasks is the inclusion of all the Iraqi people into the political process and in the government establishment."
Following him to the podium was political rival and the winning Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) list's top candidate Abdel Aziz Hakim, dressed in the black turban and robes marking a descendent of the Prophet Mohammad. "We want a constitution that guarantees the rights of all, protects human rights and respects the Muslim identity of the Iraqi people," Hakim insisted, as he issued a message of Islamic moderation.
Both Hakim and Allawi were at pains to reach out to the Sunnis, the ruling elite for most of Iraq's modern history until the fall of Saddam. The embittered minority is widely seen as fueling the country's insurgency. Kurdish chieftain Jalal Talabani, Iraq's probable next president, reminded the parliament to respect Kurdish rights, on a day which coincided with the anniversary of Saddam's gassing of the Kurdish village of Halabja in 1988 at the cost of some 5,000 lives.
Outgoing Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, said he expected a deal to be reached soon, while other Kurdish officials predicted a deal within a few days. Nonetheless, details on the shape of the cabinet were emerging, to preside over Iraq until a new round of elections in December. Iraq's presidency will likely go to Talabani and the two deputies will probably be a Shiite and a Sunni Muslim Arab.
Outgoing Finance Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shiite, is a contender for one of the two deputy slots, while the Sunni leadership has four favorites for the other vice presidency post. They include interim President Ghazi al-Yawar, outgoing Industry Minister Hajem al-Hassani, tribal leader Sheikh Fawaz al-Jarba and senior politician Hussein al-Juburi. The speaker of parliament will likewise be a Sunni Arab, and Yawar, a tribal magnate from northern Iraq, is also in the running for that post.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday appeared to backtrack from his proposal of withdrawing troops from Iraq starting from September, saying the date was only his hope and could be changed. "There's never been a fixed date," Berlusconi told reporters. "It was only my hope ... If it is not possible, it is not possible. The solution should be agreed with the allies."
Wonder how long it will take the Kos kiddies to claim that the fix is in?
Berlusconi's comments came as Bush insisted the US-led coalition in Iraq was not crumbling. "I think the coalition has been buoyed by the courage of the Iraqi people," Bush said, adding the Italian prime minister had told him any withdrawals would be in consultation with allies. "We are entering an important electoral phase and Berlusconi has understood that most Italians want the soldiers out," said Sergio Romano, a former ambassador and political commentator. "He does not want to campaign for the 2006 elections with troops still on the ground in Iraq," he told Reuters. Berlusconi has brushed off accusations the withdrawal was inspired by electioneering.
Although Italy played no part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it dispatched some 3,000 troops following the fall of Baghdad and has the fourth largest foreign contingent there after the United States, Britain and South Korea. Twenty-one Italian soldiers have died in Iraq. Some politicians suggested Berlusconi had made a gaffe during the chat show and plucked a date out of thin air. But veteran commentators were not convinced. "Nothing that Berlusconi does is unplanned. He is a great communicator and there is a reason behind everything he does," Italy's top pollster, Renato Mannheimer, said. "This will help Berlusconi persuade his supporters to go out and vote," he told Reuters.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Go or stay, Italy stood by us when we needed her. Thank you Silvio; we appreciate your difficult choices.
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.
One year after his re-election as president, Vladimir Putin appears destined to remain in power beyond 2008, and seems to have support from the general public to do so. Talk about keeping Putin in power is swirling through the halls of the Kremlin, the Federation Council and the State Duma. Little of the talk has made it onto the public record, but Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov acknowledged in an interview published in Izvestia on March 2 that Putin might stay if there is "a real danger that a new fuehrer with a fascist-type, nationalist ideology" might win the presidency. This dovetails with speculation in some circles that Putin will be unable to make good on his promise to find a successor and will attempt to extend his own reign -- possibly by scaring up support at home and abroad by warning of a power grab by hard-line nationalists.
North Korea's row with America over its nuclear weapons programme turned personal yesterday when it called on Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, to withdraw her claim that it was an "outpost of tyranny". A foreign ministry spokesman said the country could not deal with someone so "bereft of political logic". Accusing Miss Rice of being "no more than an official of the most tyrannical dictatorial state in the world", he said: "It is quite illogical for the US to intend to negotiate with the DPRK without retracting its remarks listing its dialogue partner as an outpost of tyranny."
Spain welcomed a decision by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to begin withdrawing the country's troops from Iraq from September. The Spanish media saw the approach of Italy's regional elections as prompting the move. Spain's Socialist government withdrew its own troops, sent in by the previous conservative administration, shortly after taking office last April. A government source said Madrid "clearly welcomes with joy" news of Berlusconi's announcement.
TWO Sikh immigrants to Canada were yesterday acquitted of bombing a London-bound Air India jumbo jet over the Atlantic in 1985 that killed more than 300 people. The sensational ruling by a lone Canadian judge, sitting without a jury in Vancouver, marked the collapse of a two-decade investigation into the bombing that killed 329 people killed when 
Mexican President Vicente Fox has denounced border walls the United States is building to stem illegal immigrants, the Washington Post reports. 
Dina Powell, an American of Egyptian descent who speaks fluent Arabic, will be named to a top State Department public diplomacy job as the White House seeks to improve its image in the Arab world, US. officials said. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will announce the choice of Powell, Head of Personnel at the White House, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and Deputy Under -Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, the officials said. Powell, who came to the United States from Egypt as a child, will serve as deputy to Karen Hughes, a long-time confidante of President Bush who was to be officially tapped for Under-Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy at the same State Department ceremony.Â
As Washington considers backing the European Union's proposal for trade benefits for Iran, troubling revelations emerged this week about Tehran's continued mislead-and-cheat tactics to hide the extent of its nuclear weapons program. The International Atomic Energy Agency revealed earlier that the clerical regime had refused the inspection of the Parchin military site near Tehran. It also reported that Iran has started building a heavy-water reactor near the central city of Arak. Further, the Associated Press reported that Iran has constructed deep underground tunnels to store its nuclear components. 
It is a sign of the quality of the Lebanese leadership, from President Emile Lahoud on down, that it still remained in place a day after the massive opposition demonstrations of Monday. A million hostile yelps notwithstanding, the regime soldiered on, immune to irony, indifferent to a scornful electorate.
The formation of a new government appeared in jeopardy Wednesday with pro-Syrian officials rejecting opposition demands in a stand-off threatening to delay the parliamentary elections scheduled for the spring. Prime Minister-designate 
U.S. President George W. Bush slammed Lebanese resistance group 
Lebanese Maronite Patriarch 
Opposition members insisted Wednesday that the life of Chouf MP 
March 17, 2005: Iraqi popular opinion has turned against terrorism in a big way. Apparently the key event was the revelation that 
Hundreds of anxious students and local community members filled an emotionally charged Michigan Union Ballroom last night, when the Michigan Student Assembly soundly defeated a proposal advocating the creation of a committee to examine University investments in companies that do business with Israel.
Afghanistan on Tuesday unveiled its annual budget for the year 2005-2006, with almost 50 percent of the total outlay allocated for security-related affairs. Ministries of Interior and Defence, entrusted with securing the war-torn country internally as well as externally, have been given 44 percent of the $678 annual budget, up by 15 percent over last year. Announcing the new budget, the Finance Ministry said 50% of the budgetary expenditure could be met from internal revenue generation. "The country is still dependent on external funding to meet its budgetary needs," he admitted. 
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Secretary General Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said Tuesday that the foreign policy of the country was subservient to America and said the religious alliance would never agree to the rulers who were playing havoc with national security and educational system to please their foreign masters. Talking to newsmen after a ceremony of free distribution of text books to the students here, he said that the MMA would not allow affiliation of any educational institution with Agha Khan Board nor it would allow handing over of educational system to western powers. "MMA dismiss Agha Khan Board as it is a conspiracy against Islam," leader of the opposition said adding that religious education was a must for prosperity of the society and MMA will try its level best to promote the correct system of education.
Iraq's Sunni minority watched the opening of the new Iraqi Parliament yesterday straddling a fence, torn between support of the deadly insurgency and a wish to join the democratic process. 
Italian Prime Minister 
