U.S. military sources report that Osama Bin Laden has been killed. Bin Laden apparently died after eating E.coli tainted spinach that had been given to him as part of a cunning assassination plot spearheaded by the CIA. While the CIA won't publicly take credit for Bin Laden's death there has apparently been much celebration in Langley.
The secret plan to kill Bin Laden with tainted spinach was hatched by a midlevel CIA operative two weeks ago as the first cases of E.coli poisoning from tainted spinach became public. The CIA operative saw an opportunity as he knew Osama Bin Laden was a big fan of spinach salads and fresh spinach is hard to get in the tribal areas of Pakistan along the border of Afghanistan. The plan was simple, air drop spinach into the area and wait for success.
The plan worked like a charm. As stores disposed of millions of bags of spinach the plan was set into motion. Refrigerated CIA air transports collected millions of bags of tainted spinach and flew directly to drop zones. The daring pilots flew dozens of low level missions delivering the deadly cargo. The operation lasted just four days, as the supply of spinach was exhausted, that four days was apparently enough.
News of Osama's death or grave illness first appeared over the weekend and have now been verified by lawyers from America who have signed up the Bin Laden family as part of a class action lawsuit against the spinach processor.
The President declined to comment on the specifics of the CIA operation but expressed pleasure about the possibility of the mission's success.
#4
But.......I thought the joooos did it....or did they do the original tainting in the US so we'd blame the mooselimbs.....or.....I'm so confused.....
LOS ANGELES - An investigation undertaken by a US newspaper has found that US special forces in Afghanistan may have been responsible for the deaths of two detainees in 2003. The Los Angeles Times said on Sunday its probe focusing on a 10-member Green Berets team from the Alabama National Guard, has also determined that several other detainees may have been badly beaten or tortured.
No word on whether the LA Times has found any instances of prisoner abuse by the Taliban.
One victim, an unarmed peasant, was shot to death while being held for questioning after a fierce firefight, the report said. The other, an 18-year-old Afghan army recruit, died after being interrogated at the base. Descriptions of his injuries were consistent with severe beatings and other abuse, according to the paper.
A member of the special forces team told The Times his unit held a meeting after the teens death to coordinate their stories should an investigation arise. Everybody on the team had knowledge of it, the unnamed soldier is quoted as saying. You just dont talk about that stuff in the special forces community. What happens downrange stays downrange. Nobody wants to get anybody in trouble. Just sit back, and hope it will go away.
The two fatalities were different from scores of other questionable deaths in US custody because they were successfully concealed, not just from the American public but from the militarys chain of command and legal authorities, The Times said.
The deaths came to light after an investigation by The Times and a nonprofit educational organization, the Crimes of War Project, led the Army to open criminal inquiries into the incidents. No charges have so far been filed.
The 'Crimes of War Project' is, according to their website, "a collaboration of journalists, lawyers and scholars dedicated to raising public awareness of the laws of war and their application to situations of conflict." Support comes from a number of major foundations (Ford, MacArthur, Knight, Carnegie) as well as the Open Society Institute, part of the Soros Foundation network. Support also comes from the JEHT Foundation (Justice, Equality, Human Dignity, and Tolerance). They give money away to all sorts of progressive organizations. They get more money from the 'Funding Exchange', "a unique partnership of activists and donors dedicated to building a permanent institutional and financial base to support progressive social change".
Get the picture?
The Times said it has since reviewed thousands of pages of internal military records showing that prisoner abuse by special forces units was more common in Afghanistan than previously acknowledged.
Because they found two, repeat, two instances of claimed abuse.
In one November 2002 correspondence, a high-ranking special operations official said military police were detecting an extremely high level of physical abuse of detainees transferred from special forces field bases to a prison in Bagram, the report said.
I'll bet that's true. We weren't and aren't about to put up with any nonsense from the Talibs and AQ hardboyz. And unlike the Left, the Green Berets understand just how dangerous these guys are.
An operations officer with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, the command supervising special forces teams in Afghanistan, complained in a memorandum that prisoners were being held for so long without charges that it may be implied as kidnapping, a federal crime.
Or holding prisoners in a war situation, which happens from time to time.
The paper said that in early 2003, the chief special forces intelligence officer in Afghanistan warned in a note to the task force commander, Colonel James Champion, and his top aides: As you are all aware, alleged assaults and kidnapping [have] been occurring for quite some time. Again, I want to emphasize, this is not isolated.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Three years to investigate and this gets released six weeks before the election?
Gee, I wonder if they'll be other 'October Surprises' from the left?
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/25/2006 6:10 Comments ||
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#2
Any investigation of the Taliban and Al-Queda's tactics of hiding as civilians, using children as shields, and beheadings of prisioners?
What? NO?
Cowards.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/25/2006 6:21 Comments ||
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#3
Anyone seen any investigative reports into the fate of Matt Maupin? Or Petty Officer Neil Roberts?
No?
Huh.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/25/2006 7:51 Comments ||
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#4
...Hmm. Notice they have the stones to flat-out name Colonel Champion but "the chief special forces intelligence officer in Afghanistan" stays anonymous.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/25/2006 8:48 Comments ||
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I want to thank the LA Times for "exposing" this hard-hitting piece of tripe journalism at this time in our election cycle. It actually gives me hope that our Green Berets (and other Spec Ops) are acting in this manner. We may very well win this bad boy after all. I've always wondered (and secretly hoped) that stuff like this is happening IN SPITE of all the MSM attention whoring goings-on. Now, if only "The Unit" could go into action, we could very well see binny's head on a pike at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in early november, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
09/25/2006 14:19 Comments ||
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As NATO struggles to find more troops to send to Afghanistan, the alliance appears to have achieved the impossible, but dangerous feat of uniting previously disparate warlords, tribes and militia.
Longish article but interesting. Names are named.
US and British troops have stopped identifying them by their allegiance, and refer to them all as ACM - short for Anti-Coalition Militias - a collective word for the mixture of Taliban supporters, Pakistani jihadists, armed tribesmen, loyalists to various warlords and a sprinkling of foreign fighters who represent al-Qaeda.
One American soldier told a reporter at a US base: "I'm just a jarhead, sir, but if you ask me, sir, they're all bad guys. We find 'em, we kill 'em."
Continued on Page 49
#1
>>>
small landowners, who are concerned about losing their capacity to grow opium poppies because of the eradication campaigns. The Taliban's offers to protect farmers from eradication campaigns will have boosted their popularity in major poppy-growing provinces like Helmand.
>>>
War on drugs at cross purpose with war on terror...
#2
Earlier this month he called the president and told him he should be able to tell from the telephone number where Hekmatyar was speaking from. He challenged Karzai to arrest him
#3
This fusion was inevitable, particularly as the Coaltion pushes into the yet to be governed areas of Afganistan.
Recall how our special forces needed to ally the Northern Alliance and individual tribal leaders as we responded to 9/11. As the Coaltion continues to push, you would expect a reaction.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/25/2006 7:51 Comments ||
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#4
The most colourful member is Hekmatyar - self-styled Lion of the Mountains, who was considered to be so effective as an anti-Soviet commander that the CIA and ISI allocated the highest percentage of all covert aid to him.
BS!
Other commanders like Ahmad Shah Masoud were far more effective. The ISI sent most funding his way because he was their pet, the most rabid of the bunch.
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 14:39 Comments ||
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#5
The Taliban's offers to protect farmers from eradication campaigns will have boosted their popularity in major poppy-growing provinces like Helmand
Why don't we go get our hands on some agent orange or VX or something deadly that dissipates after the growing season ends and just start spraying random parts of these fields. No apologies. Just dead/screwed up "farmers" and workers and families. They're obviously on the wrong side of the fight anyway. Give them fair warning, pull the pin, and walk away. Of course, you would have to give them the option of subsidized wheat or something that can actually offer the chance to support a family in the future and not necessarily just when it's being subsidized. This stuff is being used to kill my family and the soldiers, and I want it gone. Now. Period.
Sudan's president lashed out at the US on Sunday, saying Washington's plans to create a "new Middle East" were behind an international push to replace African Union peacekeepers with UN forces in war-ravaged Darfur. In a speech in Khartoum, President Omar al-Bashir said the US and UK wanted to recraft the region in Israel's interests. "They want to use the Darfur issue to re-colonize Sudan," al-Bashir said defiantly.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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A colony of starving - just what we want.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/25/2006 1:30 Comments ||
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#2
One thing these terrorists know how to do, create divisions amongst the Western countries.
Now the UN will go back to doing nothing while innocents are slaughtered.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/25/2006 8:06 Comments ||
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A colony that is 70% Sunni Muslim - just what we want.
CAIRO - Egypt has banned editions of two French and German newspapers, Le Figaro and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, because of articles deemed insulting to Islam, the state news agency MENA said on Sunday.
This is the way governments seethe ...
Under a decree issued by Information Minister Anas el-Feki, the two editions will not be able to enter the country, it said. They published articles which disparaged Islam and claimed that the Islamic religion was spread by the sword and that the prophet ... was the prophet of evil, it added.
I take it truth isn't a defense in these proceedings ...
The minister of information said that he would not allow any publication that insults the Islamic religion or calls for hatred or contempt of any religion to be distributed inside Egypt, the agency said.
"Because you know how easily we get offended!"
The agency gave no further details of the articles deemed offensive and did not link them to Pope Benedicts speech in Germany on Sept. 12, in which he quoted a Byzantine emperor as making similar remarks about Islam and the Prophet Mohammad (PTUI PBUH).
The Egyptian government rarely bans mainstream European newspapers or magazines.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Egypt on Saturday welcomed a decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency to endorse a draft resolution "affirming the urgent need for all states in the Middle East to accept full-scope IAEA safeguards on all their nuclear activities". Egypt, according to a statement by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abulgheit, "welcomes the 89-vote majority endorsement of the draft resolution." The draft resolution, submitted by Egypt is also aimed at turning the Middle East into a nuclear arms-free zone, the statement said.
Abulgheit called on IAEA's Chairman Mohammad El-Baradei and the leaders of nations using the nuclear energy, to "assume their responsibility and take adequate steps leading to the implementation of the resolution, that was endorsed by the committee. "It is unthinkable that such countries continue to ignore the serious health risk associated with atomic and nuclear energy," the minister said. He called on Western states to "safeguard their credibility" if they are really determined to prevent nuclear proliferation." He urged those countries, for the benefit of all concerned, to review their policies regarding this topic.
#2
Israel doesn't fall under the IAEA. It's not a member of the IAEA nor has it signed any protocols with IAEA. It is not an exporter of nuclear technology.
#4
This is the same Egypt that just last week announced it intends to "pursue nuclear power"? The same Egypt that got the head of its nuclear program put in charge of the IAEA?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/25/2006 5:26 Comments ||
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#5
Oh, yea, and Israel has vowed to wipe all the ME counties off the map....right? /sarcism off
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/25/2006 8:08 Comments ||
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ElBaradei never ran any nuclear program.
He is a lawyer, not a scientist.
Dr. ElBaradei was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1942, son of the late Mostafa ElBaradei, a lawyer and former President of the Egyptian Bar Association. He gained a Bachelor´s degree in Law in 1962 at the University of Cairo, and a Doctorate in International Law at the New York University School of Law in 1974.
He began his career in the Egyptian Diplomatic Service in 1964, serving on two occasions in the Permanent Missions of Egypt to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, in charge of political, legal and arms control issues. From 1974 to 1978 he was a special assistant to the Foreign Minister of Egypt. In 1980 he left the Diplomatic Service to join the United Nations and became a senior fellow in charge of the International Law Program at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. From 1981 to 1987 he was also an Adjunct Professor of International Law at the New York University School of Law.
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 12:32 Comments ||
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#7
Actually Israel, if it wanted to build up a civilian nuclear program, could accept the sort of limited safeguards like what India negotiates with the IAEA.
Reactors designated as civilian stay that way. A reactor, in the very same compound, designated as military is off limits to the IAEA.
Most interesting are the "campaign safeguards". India uses these at its Uranium fuel production and Plutonium reprocessing plants.
When supplies of safeguarded imported fuel are being processed, IAEA inspectors are allowed inside the plant. When the plants go into bomb material making mode, ElBaradei's men are escorted off the compound.
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 12:38 Comments ||
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#8
Interesting, John. That provides (even more) insight into the uselessness of the IAEA and the UN in general.
And, Cap'n...you're downright diabolical. I'd settle for all ME countries, but you want all the counties wiped off the face of the map? You're hardcore, dude, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
09/25/2006 14:12 Comments ||
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#9
Oh, yea, and Israel has vowed to wipe all the ME counties off the map....right?
Only if attacked first with weapons of mass destruction or overwhelming force. A very different scenario from what the Arabs have planned for Israel. Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East really need to pressure Iran about their intent to "wipe Israel off of the map". It could result in the Muslim holocaust.
#10
Now "full-scope safeguards" are another story. To accept these is to disarm unilaterally, something Israel or India will never do.
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 14:43 Comments ||
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#11
The NPT btw does not obligate non-treaty members like Israel to accept full scope safeguards. It only obligates members that they should not supply fuel unless it is safeguarded.
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 14:45 Comments ||
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SANAA - Re-elected Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Sunday that four French nationals taken hostage by tribesmen earlier this month will be released within hours. Arrangements for their release are being taken but the details remain secret. They will be released very soon ... within the next hours, he told AFP on the margin of a press conference held following his presidential polls win.
Check from Crédit Lyonnais must have cleared.
Prime Minister Abdel Kader Bajammal also told AFP that the hostages will be freed safely, but declined to give any details. He added that the government will not accept the kidnappers laying down any conditions. We do not take conditions from anyone who commits a terrorist act, he added referring to the kidnapping of the tourists, who were seized in the town of Ataq, in Shabwa province southeast of Sanaa, on September 10.
"No, no, certainly not!"
Tribal leaders involved in the negotiations with the hostage-takers have said a deal on offer for the Frenchmens release focused on a personal pledge from the president to address their demands after the election.
Foreigners are frequently seized by Yemens powerful tribes for use as bargaining chips in disputes with the central government. More than 200 have been abducted over the past 15 years.
Since the foreign governments keep paying the ransom, the tribes keep kidnapping ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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If this zealot can stun John Humphrys into silence we really do need a change in the law
Abu Izzadeen has had, in his terms, a good week. First of all he shouted down John Reid, the Home Secretary, as he gave a speech to an audience of Muslims in east London. Then he came close to doing what no one else has done: reducing John Humphrys, the notoriously aggressive interviewer of Radio 4's Today programme, to stunned silence.
Mr Humphrys is used to exposing the equivocations and evasions of politicians. But Mr Izzadeen did not equivocate: he called John Reid "a murderer", said Tony Blair was "a terrorist" and "an enemy to Muslims and an enemy of Allah". Mr Izzadeen insisted that he couldn't care less about free speech, and that he would only observe "the Islamic process, not the democratic process". Allah "created the UK: it doesn't belong to you, or to the Queen, or to the Government, but to Allah. He has put us on earth to implement Sharia law."
At that point, you could almost hear John Humphrys's jaw drop.
You could hardly blame him. Most of those listening were in a state of shock too. Mr Izzadeen's bigoted religious intolerance was breathtaking. It was a salutary reminder of what the ideologues of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism actually believe. This is not a movement, as some claim, precipitated by British foreign policy. It is not a stand against "oppression" or a cry for "greater respect". Its goals are far more extensive: dismantling our secular, pluralist and tolerant democracy and replacing it with Sharia law and an Islamic state.
Mr Izzadeen (the name means "Might of the Faith") is a convert to Islam. He was born Trevor Brooks in Hackney, east London 31 years ago, to parents who had emigrated from Jamaica. Before he discovered Allah, Brooks/Izzadeen used to be an electrician. Five days before the suicide bombings of 7/7, he told a meeting of the "Saviour Sect", a group he claims to lead, that Muslims had to "instill terror into the hearts of the kuffar" (an insulting term for non-believers). He added that: "I am a terrorist. As a Muslim, of course I am a terrorist. I want to be blown to pieces with my hands in one place and my feet in another." After the 7/7 murders, another member of that sect said that they were all justified, because the victims were guilty of capital crimes: they did not abide by strict Islamic laws.
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#1
It is deeply regretful that reporters don't prepare beforehand to meet islamists. Had himcounterfired with "Did you care for Afghans when it was Al Quaida and Talibans who were massacrating them?" "How about Darfur, oh I understand that is only niggers to you?" "Guess you said nothing when Saddam was gassing Kurds?" he could have reverted the tables, siolnced the guy, sawn seeds of doubt between Muslmims not still completely fanaticized and split Blacks and Muslims.
Instead he stood idel with his idiotic mouth open.
#6
This is very good thing for the staid British to hear this crap outright from the asses mouth. This dimwit is so stoopid that he goes on the telly and directly repeats the bile he's hearing in the local mosks. Brits, do you have any matches left ?
A course for local Imams teaching subjects denouncing extremism and understanding Australian culture has been praised by the federal government.
Subjects titled Islamic doctrine and the theological proof against extremism and Muslim integration into Australia are included in the Australian designed and based course.
Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration Andrew Robb, who wants Australia's Islamic clerics to preach sermons in English, attended a graduation ceremony for the course in Sydney on Monday night.
Some 100 Imams and Islamic leaders graduated at the Darulfatwa Islamic High Council's ceremony.
Mr Robb, who also wants Imams to denounce terrorism, said the course was an important step towards teaching Islam in an Australian context.
"Such understanding makes them far more effective in instilling confidence in Australian Muslims that they can be equal and committed members of the community while being true to their faith," he said.
Mr Robb said the course was an extremely positive example of Australia's Imams and Muslim leaders actively supporting the Australian government in building community cohesion and unity.
"The recent historic two-day conference of Imams, with its particular focus on young people, was another key development in looking at how to communicate Islam to Muslims in Australia," he said.
Mr Robb said he was encouraged that the Imams conference had stressed the importance of preaching in English.
"Some fifty per cent of the 360,000 Muslims in Australia are under 25 years of age and most were born in Australia with English as their first language," he said.
"So there is a clear responsibility to deliver the teachings of Islam in English so young people learn about the Koran from the Mosque and not the internet."
Mr Robb extended his best wishes to Australia's Muslim community at the commencement of the month of Ramadan noting that they played an important role in Australia's economic and social life.
Eta, the Basque separatist group, says it will not lay down its arms until the region obtains full independence from Spain, sparking concerns over its six month ceasefire with the government. Three masked Eta members read out a statement on Saturday night at a pro-Eta rally saying the group "confirms its commitment to continue to fight... until independence and socialism for the Basque country is won," local media reported. "The fight is not a thing of the past. It is the present and the future," the group said.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain's prime minister, said in a speech on Sunday that Eta and its supporters should reject violence and "engage in politics and nothing more than politics". Eta has been fighting a bitter battle for a separate Basque homeland for more than 40 years, killing more than 800 people. It announced its ceasefire in March this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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MOGADISHU, Somalia, Sept. 23 As the sun begins to sink over this broken city, work crews swing their axes over their shoulders and head home.
Young couples take to the waterfront, mingling openly in the salty breeze. Thousands of children flock to soccer fields in the city center, with a backdrop of beautifully crumbled ruins from battles now over.
It is hard to imagine that this is Mogadishu, the same Mogadishu of Black Hawk Down, and clan against clan and 15 years of anarchy. But over the past three months, the Islamists in control here have defied international expectations in many ways. Not only have they pacified one of the most dangerous cities in the world, they also seem to have moderated their message.
Instead of acting like the Taliban and ruthlessly imposing a harsh religious orthodoxy, as many feared, the Islamists seem to be trying to increase public support by softening their views, at least officially, delivering social services and pushing for democratic elections.
Islamic leaders are operating almost in campaign mode, organizing street cleanups, visiting hospitals, overseeing a mini building boom and recruiting elderly policemen to don faded uniforms they have not worn for years and return to work. Beyond that, they sent a letter this week to the United Nations Security Council pledging to support democratic rule.
Maybe this is just smooth talk. Or premature signs that could prove misleading. Hard-core elements still operate here, including militiamen who drive around with black scarves and black flags and shoot people for watching Hollywood movies. Young men like them were believed to have killed an Italian nun at a Mogadishu hospital last Sunday, apparently in retaliation for Pope Benedict XVIs remarks on Islam. A sampling of their tolerance and moderation:
-A prominent Somali cleric has called for Pope Benedict to be hunted down and killed by the nearest Muslim.
-An Islamic militia leader whose forces control the capital called for a holy war Friday against Ethiopian troops protecting Somalias weak U.N.-backed government.
-The Islamic militiamen controlling the Somali capital broke up a wedding celebration because a band was playing and women and men were socializing together.
-Somali Muslims who fail to perform daily prayers will be killed in accordance with Quranic law under a new edict
-Radical Islamic militia fighters in Somalia shot and killed two people who were watching a banned World Cup soccer broadcast
-A Somali teenager publicly hacked his fathers killer to death in a punishment sanctioned under Islamic law today.
-
But the Islamist leaders say they are rogue elements who will be punished, and they have reopened some movie theaters and issued decrees emphasizing tolerance. Whether they live up to those promises seems to hinge on whether they can, or even want to, rein in the militant groups that helped propel them to power.
The world was so quick to label us, said Ibrahim Hassan Addou, the foreign minister for the Islamic administration in Mogadishu. All we are asking is to be judged on our deeds. Again, see above sampling.
The United States continues to assert that the Islamists are sheltering Al Qaeda terrorists. The suicide attack against the United Nations-backed transitional government in Baidoa on Monday only reinforced that suspicion, though the Islamists deny any involvement.
But the darkest fears of a draconian Islam on Africas east coast have not come true, at least not yet. Boys are allowed to play soccer, and girls are allowed to go to school, despite rumors to the contrary. And businesses are not forced to close during prayer time, as has been widely reported outside of Mogadishu.
In fact, people were selling bread, biscuits and watermelon right in front of the Islamic forces headquarters during the noon prayer earlier this week. The teenage militia members standing guard regressed to the boys that they were, giggling over giant slices of watermelon and spitting seeds at each other, the juice running down their chins and dripping onto their guns. Oh, aren't the little killers so cute! Really, the article gets even more sickening. I can't bring myself to post anymore about it.
#2
The problem with gettin in bed with slime is you always get some on ya. Good luck gettin it off.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/25/2006 11:11 Comments ||
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#3
So, the only way to keep the NYT from writing a glowing, rose-colored piece about a pack of thugs is for those thugs to declare their alignment with the US?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/25/2006 11:57 Comments ||
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#4
Correct.
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 12:49 Comments ||
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#5
The teenage militia members standing guard regressed to the boys that they were, giggling over giant slices of watermelon and spitting seeds at each other, the juice running down their chins and dripping onto their guns.
Oh lawzy buh di sho is a happy day! We'se even gots wadahmelon! /sarcasm
Did they intentionally insert this bit of racist drivel into the piece to elicit knowing nods from their white upper west-side readership or did they just do it because they are idiots?
#6
And can you imagine the howling that would ensue if a writer from the Washington Times so much as mentioned watermelons and Africans in the same article?
#7
#5 The teenage militia members standing guard regressed to the boys that they were, giggling over giant slices of watermelon and spitting seeds at each other, the juice running down their chins and dripping onto their guns.
Oh lawzy buh di sho is a happy day! We'se even gots wadahmelon! /sarcasm
Did they intentionally insert this bit of racist drivel into the piece to elicit knowing nods from their white upper west-side readership or did they just do it because they are idiots?
Posted by remoteman 2006-09-25 13:55|| Front Page|| ||Comments Top
Edited for PC:
#5 The teenage militia child soldier members victims standing guard regressed to the boys that they were, had little more to eat than fruit from gardens giggling over giant slices of watermelon and spitting seeds at each other, the juice which they ravenishly consumed with one hand while holding their weapons and watching nervously. running down their chins and dripping onto their guns
#8
Did they intentionally insert this bit of racist drivel into the piece to elicit knowing nods from their white upper west-side readership or did they just do it because they are idiots?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/25/2006 19:43 Comments ||
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#10
Thousands of children flock to soccer fields in the city center, with a backdrop of beautifully crumbled ruins from battles now over.
It is hard to imagine that this is Mogadishu, the same Mogadishu of Black Hawk Down, and clan against clan and 15 years of anarchy.
Is this fuckwit reporter brain-dead? "It is hard to imagine that this is Mogadishu", a city that an intensely corrupt third world government and its Islamic usurpers have managed to leave the nation's capital in ruins for over FIFTEEN YEARS? "[B]eautifully crumbled ruins", WTF? What is this asshole, some sort of humans-must-be-eradicated anti-technologist?
Mogadishu sounds like the same place it's ever been, the usual African cesspit. Morons!
I noted the jujitsu-like ability of British Muslim leaders to turn the threat of terrorism to their advantage in "Piggybacking on Terror in Britain." But the specifics documented there pale in comparison to the aggressive comments just made by Muhammad Abdul Bari, head of the Muslim Council of Britain.
Britain will face have to deal with up to two million Islamic terrorists unless there is an end to 'demonising' of Muslims, the leader of the most influential Muslim organisation has said. Treating all Muslims as if they were terrorists will encourage large numbers to become terrorists. ⊠Dr Bari declared: "Some police officers and sections of the media are demonising Muslims, treating them as if they are all terrorists, and that encourages other people to do the same. If that demonisation continues, then Britain will have to deal with two million Muslim terrorists, 700,000 of them in London. "If you attack a whole community, it becomes despondent and aggressive."
Comment: It remains to be seen how effective this aggressive tactic will be. I am inclined to give it poor prospects, as non-Muslims will likely reject the implicit threat give us special treatment or we will wage a civil war on you. Moreover, were such a civil war actually to come to pass, Muslims being a small minority could not realistically hope to win it. (September 11, 2006)
Sep. 12, 2006 update: Richard Littlejohn responds in the Daily Mail, using choice words and sound logic to expose Abdul Bari:
With exemplary tact and exquisite timing, the 'leader' of Britain's Muslims chose the eve of the fifth anniversary of 9/11 to warn that we are facing the threat of two million home-grown Islamic terrorists. The preposterous, self-aggrandising 'secretary-general' of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Muhammad Abdul Bari, predicted an angry backlash against what he perceives as widespread 'Islamophobia' in this country.
Perhaps while the Muslim Council is accusing others of bigotry it would like to share with us its enlightened views on homosexuality and arranged marriages. 'Islamophobia' is just another of those catch-all, smear-the-messenger fantasies dreamed up to close down debate and stifle free speech. When you examine closely Bari's latest outburst, it is nothing short of monstrous. What he is saying is that every Muslim in this country is a potential terrorist. If anything is guaranteed to increase suspicion of Muslims it is incendiary statements like that.
The anniversary of the attacks on America should be an occasion for sober reflection and remembrance. But the MCB has never met an atrocity it didn't try to exploit. Their tactic is always the same. After their perfunctory condemnation of terrorism, there's always the caveat about British foreign policy in the Middle East and the assertion that the real victims are not those who have actually been blown to smithereens but Muslims themselves. While they could never condone what has happened, we are invited to understand the anger and alienation which cause young men to turn themselves into human bombs.
#2
I think what is significant is that one more Muzzie leader steps into the public discourse with openly venomous statements. This follows the tried & true Muzzie path. Once they have a sizable population in place , they start making outrageous threats and demands on the natives. This works well among the eneducated masses they normally subdue. Will the Brits continue to tolerate this madness. Can they summon the will they had in 1940 to resist and then overcome the Nazis ? I think they can and will. I just wonder how much more of this poison they're going to take ? The very fact that the socialists disarmed the public at large certainly puts normal citizens in a very precarious place. They will have a diificult time defending their neighborhoods if it becomes necessary.
#3
More flagrant threats that need to be met with more immediate deportations. Pure and simple. These bastards are preapring to make war upon Britain. Time to wake up over there because we won't be going "over there" again.
With respect, we will. And that will be the start of The Final Conflict (TM). I suspect that the Jihadis think they can take the UK first, and they're going to try.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/25/2006 14:09 Comments ||
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#5
One can but hope that they try something like what happened in Paris.
For Britain, I'm willing to make an exception, if only for Blair's backbone and stupendous speeches against Islamic terrorism. France is another question entirely. Only their nuclear arsenal makes assisting them even a remote possibility.
#7
Islamists threaten civil war in Great Britain...
Yes, great idea. We'll check our schedule(pass out guns and ammo to x-Brit soldiers and form units and command structures) and decide on a start date.
#8
Reminds me of a notice that got posted during the late 60's in response to, I think, the Black Panthers or the SDS announcing they were organizing students on a university campus.
The faculty responded with a statement to the effect that they supported free speech but wished to inform these revolutionaries that they included a number of military veterans including ex-SAS.
No protests occurred. I guess the revolutionaries had to wash their hair that day after all.
#9
Why has nobody spread the rumor that pigfat is used in the creation of Samtex and that Massad has managed to get Pig Grease into the greese used to pack AK-47s.
MI6 needs to study the freaking Sepoy Mutiny. The Jihadi believe the wildest lies, why aren't we using that?
Negroponte Highlights U.S. Successes
Intelligence View That War Is Increasing Terror Is 'Fraction of Judgments,' He Says
Monday, September 25, 2006; Page A04
The conclusion of U.S. intelligence analysts that the Iraq war has increased the threat from terrorism is only "a fraction of judgments" in a newly disclosed National Intelligence Estimate, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte said yesterday.
The NIE, completed in April, reflects the consensus view of 16 government intelligence services, including the CIA. The Washington Post, New York Times and Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the classified document concludes according to 'unnamed (and presumably leftist)sources', anyway that the invasion and occupation of Iraq has fueled Islamic extremism and contributed to the spread of terrorist cells.
"What we have said, time and again, is that while there is much that remains to be done in the war on terror, we have achieved some notable successes against the global jihadist threat," Negroponte said in a statement. "The conclusions of the intelligence community are designed to be comprehensive, and viewing them through the narrow prism of a fraction of judgments distorts the broad framework they create."
Democrats yesterday seized on the intelligence community's assessment. The document, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.) said in a statement, "should be the final nail in the coffin for President Bush's phony argument about the Iraq war." Where do I find a picture of Teddy?
Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNN's "Late Edition": "Even capturing the remaining top al-Qaeda leadership isn't going to prevent copycat cells, and it isn't going to change a failed policy in Iraq."
But leading Senate Republicans said that the intelligence finding shouldn't cause the United States to abandon military operations in Iraq. "We need to prevail in Iraq and . . . if we fail, then our problems will be much more complicated," Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) said on CBS's "Face the Nation."
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/25/2006 06:31 ||
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#1
Well, the invasion of Normandy resulted in much higher level of attacks on our troops and the launching of missiles against England.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John McCain on Sunday urged quick confirmation for John Bolton as U.N. ambassador, saying the nominee is needed to talk back to "two-bit dictators" such as Venezuela's president. McCain, R-Ariz., joined lawmakers from both parties in condemning Hugo Chavez's speech last week at the United Nations in which the Venezuelan called President Bush "the devil."
"I would say that this is an argument to get John Bolton confirmed as our U.N. ambassador," McCain said on CBS'"Face the Nation.""He's smart, he's tough, he will respond to these guys. And he could talk back to these two-bit dictators who have the airfare to New York."
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee this month was expected to approve along party lines Bolton, whom Bush appointed temporarily to the post last year over opposition by Democrats and a few Republicans. But the vote was postponed after Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., who faced a tough primary contest against a conservative Republican, said he had more questions. Chafee won that election.
Thanks Linc for paying us back for the primary help.
McCain urged Democrats to support Bolton's nomination and branded Chavez "despicable." "He aspires to be this generation's (Fidel) Castro. I think the people of Venezuela ought to look at the standard of living in Cuba before they would embrace such a thing," McCain said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/25/2006 01:10 ||
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#1
Call me cynical, but I tend to think there's a political motive behind anything McCain does.
Perhaps his stating the obvious about Darth Bolton is a play to conservatives after pushing for his terrorist bill of rights?
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/25/2006 7:55 Comments ||
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#2
Yep. McCain is in damage control mode. (Clinton without the intern.)
#4
McCain's statement doesn't makes sense to me. Bolton is our UN Ambassador. Confirmation won't empower him an any real way. Senate confirmation doesn't deputize our UN Ambassador to dress down visiting heads of state - that's Rumsfeld's job.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/25/2006 22:06 Comments ||
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#5
McCain's POW-protective veneer is wearing thin, as his skin has been, all along. He won't be anything other than the 2008 Ross Perot, using his ego to throw the vote to teh Donks
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/25/2006 22:09 Comments ||
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U.S. troops continue to be mystified at the odd reporting coming out of Iraq. I'm mystified by the odd reporting coming from NY and DC. Katie Couric in the Cronkite seat? Really. Even if Wally was a commie, he was still a serious commie.
What the troops witnessed is not what reporters are sending back. The bylines on those stories are American, as are the talking heads they see broadcasting from Baghdad. Some troops attribute the inaccurate reporting to bias, with journalists sending back what they want to be the truth, rather than what is actually happening. So do many Americans. Because it is consistent with what they see in domestic reporting.
The troops see a very different Iraq from the one journalists are reporting. They see the real one, not the fake but accurate one.
But the fact of the matter is that few of these journalists are reporting much. Well, now that's true domestically, too. Ever heard of an NGO press release making it into publication verbatim?
On any given day, fewer than a dozen reporters are embedded with combat units, and actually out there. A third or more of these are working for military oriented publications ("Stars and Stripes," Armed Forces Network). Most journalists are in the Green Zone, or some well-guarded hotel. Actually they're in the bars, both here and there.
There, they depend on Iraqi stringers to gather information, and take pictures for them. In reality, these reporters could do this from back home, and many more media organizations are doing just that. 'Cause the liquor's legal and cheaper here.
Nothing new about using local stringers in dangerous areas. And who learned to speak English under Saddam?
It's common sense, given that the bad guys are in the habit of kidnapping, or just killing, foreign reporters. Hmmm. That's something we haven't tried domestically.
The problem is, the pool of available Iraqi talent is mostly Sunni Arab. Many of these folks side with the bad guys. Sort of unfunded NGOs. I get it!
And all Iraqi journalists, especially those working for foreigners, are subject to intimidation, or bribery. Sort of the way State Department employees get rich after a posting to KSA.
While some of the foreign reporters may be aware of all this, some aren't, Those are the ones that work for the LAT, BosGlob and the STRIB
... and most many of the rest don't care. The truth won't set them free, but supplying stories their editors are looking for, will.
It wasn't always this way, but that's the way it is these days. And, sadly, about the only people to notice the problem are the many troops who have been in Iraq, and don't have an editor telling them what to think, and report.
#2
Nothing new here. It really looks to me as if the NYT owners have dusted off their old Banana war correspondent playbook. Remember the old motto, "If there is no new news, make some up".
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/25/2006 11:34 Comments ||
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#3
Ever heard of an NGO press release making it into publication verbatim?
Ever heard of one NOT doing so?
Hell, CSPI consists of a handful of nuts and a PR Newswire account, yet every fricking time they fart, it makes it into the main news cycle.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/25/2006 11:50 Comments ||
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(2006-09-25) A newly-leaked top-secret National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) from April 2006 reveals that Americas 16 spy agencies have finally discovered that terrorists are created by attempts to defeat terrorists.
The report concludes that recent global terrorism by Islamic fanatics was spawned by the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq, rather than by evil, wealthy men bent on ruling the world with their hateful, pseudo-religious ideology.
More than a dozen members of the intelligence community were interviewed for this story, but each insisted on anonymity because, as one senior CIA official said, folks in the intel business are supposed to keep their mouths shut about classified reports, and wed like to continue getting our fat government paychecks for essentially playing a guessing game and writing memos.
The April NIE is a sequel to the pre-war intelligence estimate that documented Saddam Husseins stockpiles of chemical weapons and his clandestine nuclear program, so it is considered highly credible by those who oppose the Bush administrations current Iraq policy.
Bush operates on the flawed assumption that you can defeat terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere by killing them, said one unnamed expert familiar with the report, but, in fact, weve learned that killing them actually creates them. Its like that broomstick scene from The Sorcerers Apprentice. You chop one in half and then youve got two crazy animated broomsticks.
The source said that CIA decryption analysts are now convinced that the solution to stopping global terrorism lies in finding the secret word to break the spell and to turn these anti-Western, anti-Semitic, blood-thirsty religious fanatics into our partners in peace.
The intelligence sources contacted for this story all refused to comment on the genesis of the terrorists who repeatedly attacked civilian and military targets in the decades leading up to the second Iraq war.
Thats not relevant to the current debate, said one analyst. Its important that we not become distracted by historical perspective.
#2
Well, we can't exterminate them, so we'll have to keep fighting, that is unless we should surender and become muzzies.
That's it then, we can't fight terrorism 'cause terrorism wins. How right wing of me to believe other.
#3
Be prepared for more junk throwing from MSM as: (1) the donks see their leadership chances now challenged, and (2) as the MSM reacts by throwing out stories they have in reserve.
The NIE is from April, so they have been sitting on it since Spring?
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/25/2006 7:57 Comments ||
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#4
Perhaps we've discovered the perpetual motion machine. Talk about your unintended consequences.
#5
Y'all did see the Scrappleface tag? Though I have to admit Mr. Ott was a little behind the curve, basically saying what the liberals in the CIA said.
It's harder and harder to come up with something more stupid than what a liberal says.
In the first official acknowledgement of involvement of Pakistan's regular troops in the Kargil conflict, President Pervez Musharraf has described it as "a landmark in the history of the Pakistani Army".
Considered purely on military terms, the Kargil operations were a landmark in the history of the Pakistani Army...
"Considered purely on military terms, the Kargil operations were a landmark in the history of the Pakistani Army," he writes in his book In the Line of Fire scheduled to be released in New York on Monday.
For long, Pakistan has maintained that the 1999 conflict in Kargil involved "freedom fighters", but the General says that five units of his army has supported the "freedom fighter groups" to compel the Indians to deploy more than four divisions. He insists that Kargil was a tactical victory for his men trying to "undo Indian adventurism", according to extracts of the book carried by 'The Nation' newspaper which in turn quoted BBC.
All Pakistani victories are tactical.
The President rubbishes speculation that Pakistan was preparing for a nuclear attack on India at the time of the conflict. "I can say with authority that in 1999 our nuclear capability was not yet operational..... Any talk of preparing for nuclear strikes is preposterous", he says.
Musharraf refuted then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's claim that the general had not taken him into confidence about the Kargil operations. The army, Musharraf writes, briefed Sharif in Skardu on January 29, 1999 and in Kel on February 5, 1999. "During these briefings, our defensive manoeuvres was explained as a response to all that was happening on the Indian side."
Musharraf says Sharif, who was ousted by the general in a coup in October 1999, was also briefed on March 12, 1999 at the Directorate General of Inter-Services Intelligence. The General says Sharif made the "cardinal mistake of under-estimating him. He had probably thought that being the son of migrant parents, I would feel more insecure and vulnerable. He couldn't have been more wrong."
That's fairly breathtaking arrogance...
Sharif, now living in exile, has consistently maintained that Musharraf kept him in the dark about the Kargil operations, and he learnt of them from then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 08:59 ||
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#1
What a tactical victory...
Thousands of Pakistani soldiers dead.. the entire Northern Light Infantry wiped out... according to Nawaz Sharif, many had their heads and other body parts blown to pieces by massive Indian artillery fire.
Indian troops seizing all the captured posts and a few Pakistani ones for good measure.
Burials at night, in secret to keep alive the claim that "freedom fighters", not Pakistani soldiers were involved.
Refusal to accept the bodies of your soldiers when the Indians handed them over, again denying their involvement.
One grief stricken father begged the Pak government to accept the body of his son. Finally Indian soldiers performed the muslim burial rite.
Perv dishonored the very memory of his soldiers by his refusal to accept the bodies.
Tactical victory?
Whose troops occupy the mountain tops?
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 11:25 Comments ||
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#2
I truly hope India whip their ass in any forthcoming war!!!
#4
But, john, you misunderstand. Their objective was not to take and hold territory, it was to make it into paradise.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/25/2006 11:49 Comments ||
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#5
The family of one dead Indian soldier has a petition asking the Indian and Pakistani governments for justice for his son
I am proud father of Amar Shaheed Lt. Saurabh Kalia of 4 JAT Regiment of the Indian Army who laid down his life at the prime age of 22 for the Nation while doing duty of guarding the frontiers at Kargil. The parents, the Indian Army but the whole nation lost a dedicated, honest and brave son. He was the first officer to detect and inform Pak intrusion. Pakistan captured him and his patrol party of 5 brave men alive on 15th May, 99 from our side of LOC. They were in their captivity for 3 weeks and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture as evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on 9th June, 99.They indulged in dastardly acts of burning bodies with cigarettes, piercing ears with hot rods, removing eyes before puncturing them, breaking most of the bones and teeth, chopping off various limbs and private organs of these soldiers besides inflicting unimaginable physical and mental tortures. They were shot dead ultimately
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 12:00 Comments ||
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#6
Interesting that they behave just like the savages in Fallujah.
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 12:05 Comments ||
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President General Pervez Musharraf on Sunday termed rumours of a coup in Pakistan as nonsense. Pakistan is not a banana republic. Everything is normal. There is no coup, he said while talking to reporters on Monday. Commenting on the rumours about his health, Musharraf said that doctors had declared him fit, adding that he had gone for a medical examination according to his programme. I have not undergone any ETT check since 1994. I am normal, absolutely normal, he said, adding that his visit to the hospital was private, but he was mistaken that it would remain a personal affair. Musharraf said that he was successful in maintaining secrecy about the book. When asked that some extracts of his book had been published in the international media before the launch, Musharraf said that it was expected since the book had reached bookstalls. He said that 80 percent of power supply had been restored in Pakistan and it will be 100 percent soon. He denied having information about Osama Bin Laden saying, I do not comment on things I dont know about. He said that the proposed joint mechanism to fight terrorism was a test for both India and Pakistan
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 07:29 ||
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#1
Technically, I believe he's accurate. I think Pakistan's becoming a banana republic would be a step up.
#2
At least banana republics are useful - they export bananas. They also don't destabilize the entire world with jihadi and nuclear technology exports.
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 7:55 Comments ||
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#3
You know, he is right, Stone Age?
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/25/2006 7:58 Comments ||
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#4
After all, bananas are un-Islamic.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/25/2006 8:23 Comments ||
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#5
...Nahh. It's a Hummus Republic.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/25/2006 8:50 Comments ||
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#6
I do not comment on things I dont know about. and don't want to know about, He said
#7
Watched a comment on the supposed threat of nuking Iran. Famous Leaker of Interest (If I remember right) said: "I couldn't threatened to bomb them back to the Stone Age because big sections of Pakistan haven't entered the Stone Age yet. One just can't bomb them to a higher level."
Then again it might have been one of those snarky Nat Review guys.
#15
I still say the only solution to the Pakistan problem is to divide it equally between Afghanistan and India, along the Indus river. Nothing else will stop the nonsense that began the day Pakistan gained "independence".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/25/2006 21:21 Comments ||
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#16
I'd leave the uninhabitable radioactive portion as a Muslim Holy Land/Designated Madrassah Property
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/25/2006 21:44 Comments ||
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#17
You say "ba-nan-ah", I say "bah-na-na", let's call the whole thing off blow the whole thing up.
He wants the same kind of safe area setup they've got in North Wazoo, of course. TNSM is the Bajaur version of the Wazoo Taliban...
In a phone call to The News from an undisclosed location, he said the government did the right thing by concluding a peace agreement with tribal Islamic militants in North Waziristan. He recalled that similar agreements signed earlier in South Waziristan made that region peaceful and stable.
That's a fluid concept in Pasthtun country, of course...
"The government should consider constituting a grand tribal jirga to hold talks with Islamic groups in Bajaur Agency for removing misconceptions and restoring durable peace in the area," he stressed. Maulana Faqir Mohammad, who has been accused of harbouring foreign militants in Bajaur Agency, said he and his men didn't want to fight the Pakistan Army or other law-enforcement agencies. "We are all Muslims and Pakistanis. We want peace and development in Bajaur and are willing to go the extra length to make that possible," he remarked.
"Them thar furriners and infidels is a diff'rent story, o' course!"
He felt the weak jirga system in Bajaur due to the self-serving attitude of Maliks was also a hurdle in negotiating a solution to the problems in the Bajaur tribal region.
"Hrarrr! Maliks! Liars an' thieves, the lot of 'em!"
The Maulana rejected US media claims that Osama bin Laden could be hiding in Bajaur. He said there were no signs of his presence in Bajaur. "Such reports are like shooting in the dark. The US wants to keep Pakistan government under pressure through a campaign of disinformation," he argued.
"Da witnesses is all dead!"
In reply to a question, Maulana Faqir Mohammad expressed his ignorance about the motives behind the roadside bomb attack that killed a female employee of NCHD and injured three of her colleagues in Bajaur. He said he had no idea as to would have done this.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON (AP) - National Intelligence Director John Negroponte acknowledged Monday that the jihad in Iraq is shaping a new generation of terrorist operatives, but rejected characterizations stemming from a leaked intelligence estimate that the United States is at a greater risk of attack than it was in September 2001.
Rather, he said, the high-level assessment from the nation's top analysts doesn't ``really talk about'' an increased threat inside the U.S. border. ``We are certainly more vigilant. We are better prepared,'' said Negroponte. ``We are safer. The threat to the homeland itself has - if anything - been reduced since 9/11.''
I'm surprised he doesn't made the proper argument: you're always at a greater risk during a war. It's after you've won the war that the risk abates.
Negroponte's words came at a dinner at Washington's Woodrow Wilson Center after the disclosure of a National Intelligence Estimate this weekend, which gave new fervor to an election-year debate about how the Iraq war has affected national security threats. The report, Negroponte said, broadly addressed the global terrorist threat, not just the impact of Iraq. Yet Negroponte acknowledged that U.S. analysts believe ``the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives.''
Mostly dead ones.
The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee urged the Bush administration Monday to declassify the intelligence assessment. Negroponte said he would consider the proposal in the next several days, given the serious interest in the document.
Might as well, the New York Times already exercised their Gaia-given power to publish it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/25/2006 22:50 ||
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Iraq's President has said he has convinced the terrorist organisation to announced a cease fire in its fight against Turkey. In an interview with the magazine Newsweek, which appeared Monday, President Jalal Talabani the PKK will declare a cease fire within days. Talabani said that the cease fire would open a new chapter in his country's relations with Turkey, which has repeatedly called on Baghdad to act against the PKK and its bases in the north of Iraq.
"We are urging the Turkish Kurds to be moderate, to wage their struggle through democratic means," Talabani said in the interview. The PKK in the past have announced limited cease fires, the latest coming after the capture of the group's leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in 1999. However, Turkey has not recognised these cease fires, taking the position that it will not negotiate with an armed terrorist organisation.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 15:05 ||
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Following closed-door meetings, Iraqi lawmakers announced they are moving forward on two initiatives that, taken together, address the goals and concerns of the country's Sunni and Shi'ite populations.
In what is seen as a compromise between the two rival groups, Iraq's constitution will be reviewed for possible amendment, as Sunnis have sought. At the same time, consideration will be given to creating a federal system, with this week's anticipated reading of a bill that would create autonomous regions for Iraq's major ethnic and religious groups, including a Shi'ite region in the country's oil-rich southern provinces.
Iraq's Kurdish-dominated northern region already functions in some ways as a de facto autonomous zone.
The agreement stipulates that any federalism law will go into effect 18 months after passage.
Speaking on CNN's Late Edition program, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani hailed the legislative breakthrough as evidence that his country can avoid civil war.
"As [far as] Sunni and Shi'ites, now we are going to see that the national reconciliation is going forward," said Jalal Talabani.
Violence in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq left at least 21 people dead Sunday. U.S. officials say two Marines were killed in fighting in al-Anbar province, while more bodies have been discovered in the capital.
Despite continuing bloodshed, President Talabani insists the security situation in his country is improved.
"Months ago, you had daily in Baghdad 10 to 15 car bombs," he said. "Now, we have two or three or four. There are assassinations continuing still, but less than months ago."
In an interview with CNN's Late Edition program, recorded late last week, President Bush took issue with concerns expressed by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and others that Iraq may be sliding into a civil war.
"The Iraqi government and the Iraqi military are committed to keeping this country together, and, therefore, I reject the notion that his country is in civil war - based upon experts, not based on people who are speculating," said George W. Bush. "I fully recognize that it is still dangerous [in Iraq], and there is still work to do."
Mr. Bush once again defended his decision to invade Iraq, saying Saddam Hussein was a threat that could not be ignored in a post-September 11 world.
#2
As a practical matter, how much power does Iraq's central government actually have in all the regions of the country? El Anbar is not at all under their control. The Kurds are doing their own thing, quite successfully, from what limited reports are coming out of their region. The Shiites in the southeast are apparently semi-independent. Baghdad is partly locked down by US forces, not by the central government. Iraqi military are declining to serve outside of the regions where they enlisted. What's to debate?
BAGHDAD, Sept. 24 -- Iraq's fractious political parties reached a deal Sunday meant to prevent the country from splintering into a federation of three autonomous zones until at least 2008. The agreement forestalled concerns that the debate over federalism, a vague concept go ahead and explain that to Texas and Oregon enshrined in the constitution but defined differently by various political groups, could cause the country's fragile multi-sect government to collapse.
Sunni Arabs had threatened to boycott parliament over a proposal, introduced by a Shiite Muslim group this month, to create a mechanism that could carve out a predominantly Shiite region in southern Iraq, similar to the semiautonomous Kurdish zone in the north. Sunnis adamantly oppose that plan, which would leave them with a central area devoid of the oil reserves in other regions, and have pushed for a full review of the country's new constitution.
Under the compromise reached Sunday, parliament will form a 27-member committee on Monday to review the constitution and then introduce the Shiite measure on creating federal regions the following day, lawmakers said. The federalism law would not take effect for at least 18 months after it is enacted, the parliament members said. The deal appears to have forestalled for now a political crisis over federalism, but lawmakers emphasized that the issue remains unresolved.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/25/2006 06:21 ||
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A new Middle East war is in the offing. DEBKAfiles exclusive military sources in Iraq and sources in Iran reveal that Turkish and Iranian air units as well as armored, paratroop, special operations and artillery forces are poised for an imminent coordinated invasion of the northern Iraqi autonomous province of Kurdistan.
Our sources pinpoint the target of the combined Iranian-Turkish offensive as the Quandil Mountains, where some 5,000 Kurdish rebels from Turkey and Iran, members of the PKK and PJAK respectively, are holed up. Iranian and Turkish assault troops are already deployed 7-8 km deep inside Iraqi territory....
A jittery Washington foresees a Kurdish-Iranian military thrust quickly flaring into a comprehensive conflict and igniting flames that would envelop the whole of Iraqi Kurdistan as well as southern Turkey and Armenia......
Continued on Page 49
#1
I would think that the Iranian AF would not want to violate Iraqi air space currently,
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/25/2006 1:06 Comments ||
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Turkey has already made significant military incursions into Iraqi Kurdistan. It wouldn't surprise me if they increased them using Lebanon as a justification.
OTH, Iranian forces entering Kurdistan would be a major miscalculation and would certainly result in an American response.
#4
Some of these PKK are engaging in what most would call terrorist activity; that's probably why the US hasn't acted too upset about Turkish incursions so far. That, and the fact that our guys are kind of occupied with bigger problems down south in Baghdad etc. However if the Turks (or especially the Iranians) push too far I expect priorities might have to change.
#5
I think Turkey has behaved very foolishly since 2003. They should have made a deal with the US and the Kurds. They should have said Kurds move out of Kuridsh Turkey and in exchange the Turks support Kurdish conquest of any of the old Ottoman territories in Arabia (excepting Israel and perhaps Mecca and Medina).
With US airpower/troops and Turkish troops for the initial war and Kurdish troops for occupation and control it could have been doable and solved the bulk of middle-east problems in one go.
Kurds are hated by Arabs but they at least have both Shia and Sunni members so the fanatacism would not be religiously based. Kurds also tend to be more democratic and sane than their Arab neighbors.
Dividing the Ottoman Empire after WW1 was a mistake. The Turks should have called for a do-over.
#6
go in without further ado and crush the Kurdish insurgents carrying out hit-and-run attacks in Iran in recent months.....
So does this mean that we can then go into Iran a crush the Mullahs who are carrying out hit-and-run attacks in Iraq in recent years?
You would think that Iran would not want to set that sort of precedent. But then they probably feel their allies (the MSM) would prevent any such action on our part.
A major insurgent group in Iraq praised Al-Jazeera television in an audio message posted on the Internet on Sunday, saying the Arab satellite station served the fight against the Americans. The speaker was not identified on tape, but a statement alongside it said it was the head of the Islamic Army in Iraq, and that the recording was issued to mark the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. The identity of the Sunni group's leader is unknown.
Most media played an "ugly and criminal role against the holy warriors," the voice said. "But some media, though few and under pressure, were neutral and their important role was positive in our fight against the enemies. This includes Al-Jazeera."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
guess it's time too throw al jizz boys out of wahington office then
An IDF military court overturned a previous ruling Monday, declaring that the 21 Hamas ministers and lawmakers currently in Israeli custody would remain in jail until the end of legal proceedings against them. In his decision, Judge Col. Shaul Gorden said that the Hamas officials could not live "in two different worlds," one, the democratic world where they were elected as officials in democratic elections, and the other, the world of a known terror group. "Due to their senior status in the Hamas organization, there is no choice but to order their continued confinement, even if they did not play a direct role in terror activities," Gorden said.
The judge continued by saying that the State of Israel wages a daily battle against terror groups operating with the clear goal of destroying and killing Israeli citizens. As high ranking as the Hamas officials were, "they cannot hide behind names and titles to be able to continue and implement their illegal goals," Gorden wrote.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 14:31 ||
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The radical movement which is in charge of the Palestinian Authority, does not intend to agree with Israel's conditions and recognize its right to exist, a councilor of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said cited by Cursor. Instead, Hamas offers Israel a ten-year armistice. According to Ismail Haniyeh's administration this is the only way out from the present complex situation. Hamas is ready to sign a ceasefire agreement if Israel agrees to renew the talks with Palestinian representatives and Hamas members. Tel Aviv considers Hamas a terrorist movement and does not want to hold talks with it.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
With normal folks I would say that a ten-year cease fire would result in a measure of economic prosperity for the Palestinians that would give them something to lose rather than resume hostilities. I think we can rule out the possibility of Palestinians acting rationally.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/25/2006 0:36 Comments ||
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#3
How bout hamas swimming in the sea? How about a permanent Israel?
#4
There is no word for "truce" in the Palestinian language. There is only "hudna". A "truce" with Hamas will consist of them providing covert support for Islamic Jihad or any of the other dozen or more genocidal factions that exist, all the while claiming that they "seek peace".
Need I remind anybody that nowhere does the word "recognition" come into play? Again, this is hudna, pure and simple. The attacks will not cease. Hamas will maintain a micrometer thick thin veneer of plausible deniability whilst fomenting a constant campaign of aggression against Israel.
Even if you were to have every single last existing Palestinian faction sign on to this agreement, the next day there would sprout up a half-dozen new Islamic Jijadis or al Aqsa Martyrs Battalion or whatever other diseased bullshit these disingenuous psycho bastard rutbags can dream up.
According to Ismail Haniyeh's administration this is the only way out from the present complex situation. Hamas is ready to sign a ceasefire agreement if Israel agrees to renew the talks with Palestinian representatives and Hamas members.
I can only hope that Israel begs to differ and continues blowing away Hamas terrorists and their "government" front-men wherever they can find them. Offering this sort of transparently phoney type of lip-servie to the international community, just to get the foreign aid flowing, without A SHRED OF ACTUAL PROGRESS BEING MADE is an insult to the global community and requires a whole lot more suffering by the Palestinian people for electing these shitheads.
#5
Israel should take the deal with the condition that if ANY rockets are launched or suicide bombings occur, they will hold the Hamas government responsible.
#6
No, this is just a ploy to pause long enough to rest, convert more fanatics, and rearm, Israel should ignore this as the very transparent ploy that it is.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/25/2006 6:26 Comments ||
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#7
I guess it'll take ten years to dig all the tunnels and bunkers they will need for the planned attack.
Crank up the D9s and level the place.
Truce: They stop kicking our asses so we can rearm, regroup, and grow some more thugs. We, however get to keep sending suicide murderers and firing rockets.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/25/2006 12:43 Comments ||
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#13
The tradition is to only ask for a hudna when the are losing. When they're winning, they demand surrender. Let's hope even Olmert can remember that much.
#14
'Tis I - cookieless again. I've a good excuse though: the ancient computer suddenly slowed down dramatically, so Mr. Wife decreed the purchase of whatever was advertised as a loss leader at the local big box electronics shop. Last week they were sold out before he got there, but yesterday he got there in time and voila! I now address y'all from something silvery grey instead of something taupe. ;-)
#15
Let me be the first to say, TW, Welcome to the land of cookies, and I hope Mr. Wife took cosmetic necessities into account in implementing his radical overthrow of the current computer. Especially, if that silver-grey new box matches your interior decor, things should be looking up. Tea and crumpets, anyone?
Posted by: BA ||
09/25/2006 14:30 Comments ||
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#16
Irish breakfast with cream and sugar for me, please. Perhaps with one of those nice pathiviers, as well. Marvellous China pattern, really. By any chance is it Royal Copenhagen's "blue fluted" porcelain?
#17
Royal Doulton "Stanwyck", actually. I do love the RC Blue Fluted patterns, but had to make a choice between going all out on the porcelain and slowly collecting the absolutely gorgeous art deco sterling flatware pattern Lunt "Modern Classic" (thus far I have a lemon fork and a sugar spoon, but the future draws ever closer! and in the meantime Mama passed on the bits and pieces from various forebears whot survived the war -- so I have something like 18 cake forks and demitasse spoons for tea/coffee, and a very mixed assortment of flatwear and serving pieces for dinner, out of which I can scrape six full place settings but can serve probably seven courses, were I ever so ambitious. We eat dinner using modern stainless steel.)
#19
Rantburg - the only place I know where a discussion about psychopathic homicidal sickos (AKA Hamas - spit) can transform into a detailed discussion of different types of tableware. Surreal...
And long may it remain so! ;)
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
09/25/2006 17:28 Comments ||
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#20
Whahahahahaa....To be quite frank, I'd wager there really is something psychopathic about Delft collecting.
#22
I can only wish, HalfEmpty. ;-) But my mother and her forebears (my grandmother, great-grandmother, and a great-aunt in terms of the bits that I was given, I think) were ever so serious German bourgeous intellectual types who collected degrees, books, and good works very discriminately. I doubt they would have acquired such a thing, but if they did, it did not return to my grandmother after the war, along with so much else.
Actually, BA, the silvery-grey does go better with the cloudy blue sky paint effect on the office walls -- I hadn't really thought about it until you said. But then, Mr. Wife minored in art at university, so he would think of such things, whereas I busied myself writing poetry and other verbal pursuits (does lots and lots of conversation count as a minor?) and dancing about a bit.
Besoeker, I thank you for the kind offer, but to ship breakables is to risk that they will be broken, and I shouldn't like to do that to Ms. Besoeker's things. Perhaps we can put them out for the pleasure of those Rantburgers who come to our next tea party, should you have the time to bring in the boxes? With the crowd hereabouts, the Regimental Mess of 3 RSM's should be about right. Ta, love!
Tony (UK), only by returning periodically to the little pleasures of everyday life can we continue to muster the strength to face down the monsters.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/25/2006 19:57 Comments ||
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#24
I'll take Chocolate chip with pecans,heavy on the chocolate please.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/25/2006 20:41 Comments ||
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#25
Leave it to R.J. to break our break from the everyday realities we all know is Islam. And, if TW's making chocolate chip cookies, count me in too, lol!
BTW, TW, I'm actually surprised you didn't take into account the effect on your superb interior decorating skills and your office that a new computer (ugh! Those boxes can be sooooo ugly) would have, lol! Too busy fighting the jihadis, are we?
Posted by: BA ||
09/25/2006 21:54 Comments ||
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#26
Of course, trailing wife is far too modest to mention her own decorating touches in the office, like all of those nicely mounted troll heads and pelts.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Saturday that if Hamas were to recognize Israel and agree to abide by agreements previously accepted by the Palestinian Authority, he would urge the government to negotiate directly with Hamas. Speaking in a Rosh Hashana interview with Israel Radio Saturday, Peretz said that if Hamas met these conditions, a Palestinian unity government was not needed as a prerequisite to talks. Peretz added that it was necessary to "wait and see what the unity government's basic priniciples and orientation will be."
"What difference does it make what the government is called? If Hamas were to recognize Israel's right to exist, I would recommend direct talks with Hamas," Peretz said. The defense minister said a Palestinian unity government should be judged on the basis of whether it intends to take the path of negotiations with Israel, or continue on the path of terrorism. "If the unity government continues to declare its intent to destroy the State of Israel, we can't recognize it. If the unity government does not announce immediately the return of Gilad Shalit, we can't recognize it. If the Kassams don't stop, we'll have to continue to take military action to stop them," Peretz said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The clarity of thought by defense officials such as Peretz was aptly demonstrated by the dog's breakfast they served up in Lebanon. Were I an Israeli, I would buy this bozo a oneway ticket on the first flight to anywhere else.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced on Sunday that as part of any deal for the release of kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit the PA would demand that Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti be freed. According to Israel Radio, the PA would also demand that Ahmad Sa'adat, who planned the murder of former minister Rehavam Ze'evi, be released.
Abbas spoke in an interview to an Egyptian station, and also said that the Egyptian government was in charge of negotiating a prisoner exchange agreement. Officials in the prime minister's office said in response to Abbas' announcement that Israel's position on Barghouti and Sa'adat was unchanged, and that they would not be released. The officials responded sharply to Abbas' remarks. "He can forget it," they said. "Israel has not changed its policy on Bargouti and Sa'adat."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I spoke with someone who claimed to be a cousin of his. Their firm belief is that Israel is overreacting to his behavior, which they classified as "naughty".
Kinda makes you wonder what you have to do to be considered "evil". Oh wait, I know, all you have to do is insult Mohamhead.
Is it just me, or is the logic something that only works if you've had a full frontal lobotomy?
Four Palestinian armed groups on Sunday threatened to target any Palestinian government that recognizes Israel's right to exist and attacked Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for "succumbing" to US pressure. The latest threat came as Abbas was preparing to travel to the Gaza Strip for another round of talks with PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh over the formation of a joint Hamas-Fatah government.
Abbas is demanding that the political program of the proposed government recognize Israel and honor all previous agreements signed between the Palestinians and Israel. Hamas leaders have rejected Abbas's demand, saying they would never join a government that recognizes Israel and the Oslo Accords. PA officials told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas was scheduled to arrive in the Gaza Strip on Monday to resume talks with Hamas's Haniyeh about the possibility of forming a unity government. According to the officials, this would be Abbas's final attempt to persuade Hamas to change its policies before he dissolves the Hamas-led government and calls early elections. "President Abbas will give Hamas one last chance," said Nabil Amr, a Fatah legislator and adviser to Abbas. "At this stage, all options are open and the door remains open for the formation of a unity government." Amr and other Fatah officials said they did not rule out the possibility that they would initiate a no-confidence vote in parliament against the Hamas-led cabinet if the national unity negotiations failed. They are hoping that such a move would succeed, since more than 20 Hamas legislators are in Israeli prisons.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
This is a perfect example of what to expect at all times in the future.
Abbas is demanding that the political program of the proposed government recognize Israel and honor all previous agreements signed between the Palestinians and Israel.
As much as I would like to give Abbas some degree of credit, I cannot. This man has so completely failed to demonstrate any backbone in the midst of ever-increasing turmoil that these can only be his just desserts.
Hamas leaders have rejected Abbas's demand, saying they would never join a government that recognizes Israel and the Oslo Accords.
Which thereby puts the lie to everything that has gone before, right down to Arafat's Nobel Peace Prize [spit]. All of the quartet's grueling effort up in smoke. Hama is thumbing their nose at the entire world and still expecting the coffers to open up for them. I can only hope that, for once, Europe is listening, although I doubt it.
Amr and other Fatah officials said they did not rule out the possibility that they would initiate a no-confidence vote in parliament against the Hamas-led cabinet if the national unity negotiations failed. They are hoping that such a move would succeed, since more than 20 Hamas legislators are in Israeli prisons.
Let's hope that this was Israel's strategy all along. To capture sufficient numbers of the Hamas "government" whereby their voting strength is diluted and unable to counter Abbas' more rational agenda. Fuck knows that Olmert will schedule the release of these Hamas thugs just before the vote takes place.
#1
Bloody nonsense, as usual. respectfully dig up the bodies and, along with the headstones, relocate them to an active Muslim cemetary to be reinterred with all suitable ceremony. I strongly suspect that those most actively protesting didn't even know the graves were there until it was brought to their attention. The court should so rule, based on ample precedent, and let the world get on with life.
#2
The Wiesenthal Center's compromise proposal - to move the graves, construct a memorial and fund the rehabilitation of the remaining gravestones nearby - is not good enough...
Who would have guessed that this would be the muzzie response?
In other news....Islamic financial contributions to the Wiesenthal Center now in jeapardy.
Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is a necessity for building together this world of peace and fraternity ardently desired by all people of good will. In this area, our contemporaries expect from us an eloquent witness to show all people the value of the religious dimension of life. Likewise, faithful to the teachings of their own religious traditions, Christians and Muslims must learn to work together, as indeed they already do in many common undertakings, in order to guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all manifestations of violence; as for us, religious authorities and political leaders, we must guide and encourage them in this direction. Indeed, "although considerable dissensions and enmities between Christians and Muslims may have arisen in the course of the centuries, the Council urges all parties that, forgetting past things, they train themselves towards sincere mutual understanding and together maintain and promote social justice and moral values as well as peace and freedom for all people" (Declaration, Nostra Aetate, 3). The lessons of the past must therefore help us to seek paths of reconciliation, in order to live with respect for the identity and freedom of each individual, with a view to fruitful co-operation in the service of all humanity. As Pope John Paul II said in his memorable speech to young people at Casablanca in Morocco, "Respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres, especially in that which concerns basic freedoms, more particularly religious freedom. They favour peace and agreement between peoples" (no. 5) .
Dear friends, I am profoundly convinced that in the current world situation it is imperative that Christians and Muslims engage with one another in order to address the numerous challenges that present themselves to humanity, especially those concerning the defence and promotion of the dignity of the human person and of the rights ensuing from that dignity. When threats mount up against people and against peace, by recognizing the central character of the human person and by working with perseverance to see that human life is always respected, Christians and Muslims manifest their obedience to the Creator, who wishes all people to live in the dignity that he has bestowed upon them. (emphasis added)
AoS note at 10:10 CDT: original in Italian, I've changed the link to the English translation.
Time for the Pope to tell these people where to get off.
How about inviting them to convert ?
Posted by: john ||
09/25/2006 12:15 Comments ||
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#4
Interesting. Not a sign of "regret" anywhere. The choice of a diplomatic audience is significant, too, with a renewed call for "reciprocity" and basic civil rights in the Muslim ummah. I suspect Benedict is going to be relentless with that theme.
#6
Muslims know that Christianity has been neutered in the West, but don't realize that there is precedent for a secular "crusade" that could result in their early demise.
New tests corroborate the theory that former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a massive suicide truck bomb, investigators said in a report Monday. The report from Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz's investigators said that Syria - which had been accused of obstructing the probe - has been generally cooperative in its investigation of the Feb. 14, 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others.
Investigators had suspected for some time that Hariri was killed by a bomb packed into a Mitsubishi minivan and detonated by a suicide attacker. According to the report, new tests corroborate the theory that a man either inside or just in front of the van detonated the bomb, which was probably close to 1,800 kilograms (3,960 pounds).
Brammertz' predecessor as chief of the investigation, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, had said the killing's complexity suggested the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role in Hariri's assassination. Yet Brammertz shied away from making any such claims. As with his previous reports, Brammertz' latest was largely technical and absent of sweeping theories or speculation. That is starkly different from Mehlis, whose updates read like detective novels and revealed tantalizing bits of evidence.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 14:40 ||
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#1
Tests Show Hariri Killed by Truck Bomb
The glow-plug up his ass was a dead cert giveaway. His eyebrows however, being independent life-forms, managed to survive.
London, Sep. 24 - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday Moscow saw no grounds for imposing sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear program, the news agency Itar-Tass reported. "Russia has never set factitious terms to reach conflict settlement. Our goal is to ensure the inviolability of the non-proliferation regime", Lavrov said.
"Russia is not sitting idle and waiting for how the EU High Representative Javier Solanas talks on Iran will end. It is actively working with the Iranian counterparts to ensure a maximally favourable result of such contacts", he added.
And he already knows how the talks with Solana will end.
"All partakers in the talks call for pooling efforts to settle the problem by political and diplomatic means. There are enough possibilities for finding such solution to the problem", he said, adding that he believed that the efforts of Solana and the international community would help resume talks with Tehran.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/25/2006 01:12 ||
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#1
Dunno what Russian game is. It seems that they are permanently stuck on stupid. Those few bucks they gain momentarily would cost them 1000x later. Or are they counting on US action and trying to skim as much as they can before that happens? It would be still a risky undertaking with unintended consequences down the line.
On Monday, a jet took off from Savannah, Georgia, and set its coordinates for Ben-Gurion International Airport outside of Tel Aviv. Stopping on the way to refuel in Canada and Ireland, the jet looked like any other Gulfstream G550, known as one of the most luxurious business jets in the world and price listed at around $50 million.
But the jet was no ordinary business airliner, and it was being flown not by a wealthy businessman, but by an Israel Air Force pilot. It was heading to a welcoming ceremony in Israel, to be inaugurated as the IAF's first Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane in 14 years.
During the ceremony, IAF Commander Maj.-Gen. Elazar Shkedy hinted at a connection between the plane's arrival and the nuclear threat emanating from Iran. Speaking of an "existential threat" looming in the Islamic Republic, Shkedy said the new AWACS was an essential operational tool that would be utilized to create aerial pictures deep inside enemy territory, and serve as a warning system for incoming aerial threats, such as Iranian ballistic missiles.
Continued on Page 49
#3
I suspect the Chinese have already received much of the technology from AWACS (regrettably). We have our own defectors who have passed along our secrets for a price.
I can't think of a ally in greater need for this than Israel.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/25/2006 8:05 Comments ||
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#4
You think the Gulfstream is cool, try the grits, boiled peanuts and peaches.
#5
Ten years ago, I might have agree with gromky. Now, after all the tech transfer to China in return for contributions to the DNC, I don't think as much of the possibility.
Plus, it's not impossible to design a system of your own. Maybe not as good as our top-flight marks, but then again, we gotten commuppances before. Remember our torpedoes in WWII?
BEIRUT - A Lebanese Christian leader said on Sunday Hezbollahs war with Israel was a disaster for Lebanon and rapped the Shia Muslim group for rejecting calls to lay down its arms. We dont feel (there was a) victory because the majority of the Lebanese people doesnt feel victory, Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces militia-turned-political party, said at a rally attended by thousands of supporters north of Beirut.
The majority of the Lebanese people feel that a major catastrophe has befallen them, throwing their present and future up in the air, he said. Geagea is a Maronite Christian and a member of a mainly Sunni Muslim, Druze and Christian political coalition, which hold a majority in parliament and the cabinet.
You might hire someone to start your car for you, and I wouldn't drive over any recently-patched potholes in the road.
He said a strong state could only emerge after Hezbollah surrenders its weapons. Betting on maintaining weapons through force is a wrong bet. ... No weapons will make us surrender to this de facto reality, he said referring to Hezbollah keeping it arms.
Geagea led the Lebanese Forces, the main Christian militia at the time, during the later years of Lebanons 1975-1990 civil war. His anti-Syrian group surrendered its weapons at the end of the war but Geagea was jailed in 1994 for crimes during it. He was released last year, a few weeks after Syria ended its 29-year military presence in Lebanon in the wake of the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
He talks a good game, but why would anyone expect a coalition of Maronite Christians, Druze and Sunnis to hold fast under an onslaught.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/25/2006 1:18 Comments ||
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#2
People who speak out against the Hezbos in Lebanon don't live long for some reason.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/25/2006 8:00 Comments ||
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#3
The March 14th groups are trying to speak as Lebanese, not as Christian or Sunni or Druze. This puts them in opposition to Hezbollah, who're increasingly seen as Persian stooges despite their "victory."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 10:20 Comments ||
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#4
Is there some sort of Catholic/Druze/Sunni/Christian conspiracy going on there? First, the pope, now this Christian leader in Lebanon? Man, my tin foil hat-o-meter is twitching.
Posted by: BA ||
09/25/2006 14:22 Comments ||
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#5
why would anyone expect a coalition of Maronite Christians, Druze and Sunnis to hold fast under an onslaught
I'm not sure it will, but at the momentthey're pretty frightened by the overt actions of Iran and Syria.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Sunday dismissed Syrian President Bashar Assad's claim that he wants peace with Israel, saying Israel would be prepared to respond to Syrian aggression. "The State of Israel is prepared for any scenario or threat and will be ready to respond to any provocation by Syria. The Syrian president's aggressive declarations are not in line with his talk of peace," Peretz said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Syrian President Bashar Assad's actions belie his words, Israeli officials said Sunday night in reaction to an interview Assad gave the German Der Spiegel magazine saying that he was interested in peace and had no desire to wipe Israel off the map. "Israel has always said that it would be more than happy to extend its hand in peace toward Syria, but this is impossible with the present government in Damascus that openly gives a safe haven to terrorist organizations and backs Hizbullah," said a senior government official.
The Syrians have to prove themselves with deeds, not just words, the official said, and the deeds that Israel sees is support for Hizbullah and terrorism against Israel. Asked in the Der Spiegel interview published on Sunday whether he agreed with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statement that Israel should be wiped off the map, Assad said that "an entire generation is growing up today with the conviction that only strength and war will lead to peace." Assad said he did not believe in war, but "in the principle of deterrence... I don't say that Israel should be wiped off the map. We want to make peace - peace with Israel."
Then, in what Israeli officials said was a perfect example of Assad's double talk, he said "my hope for peace could change one day. And when the hope disappears, then maybe war really is the only solution."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2006 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
LOS ANGELES - An investigation undertaken by a US newspaper has found that US special forces in Afghanistan may have been responsible for the deaths of two detainees in 2003. The Los Angeles Times said on Sunday its probe focusing on a 10-member Green Berets team from the Alabama National Guard, has also determined that several other detainees may have been badly beaten or tortured.
CAIRO - Egypt has banned editions of two French and German newspapers, Le Figaro and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, because of articles deemed insulting to Islam, the state news agency MENA said on Sunday. 
SANAA - Re-elected Yemeni President 
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John McCain on Sunday urged quick confirmation for John Bolton as U.N. ambassador, saying the nominee is needed to talk back to "two-bit dictators" such as Venezuela's president. McCain, R-Ariz., joined lawmakers from both parties in condemning Hugo Chavez's speech last week at the United Nations in which the Venezuelan called President Bush "the devil."
U.S. troops continue to be mystified at the odd reporting coming out of Iraq. 
In the first official acknowledgement of involvement of Pakistan's regular troops in the Kargil conflict, President Pervez Musharraf has described it as "a landmark in the history of the Pakistani Army".
President General Pervez Musharraf on Sunday termed rumours of a coup in Pakistan as nonsense. Pakistan is not a banana republic. Everything is normal. There is no coup, he said while talking to reporters on Monday. Commenting on the rumours about his health, Musharraf said that doctors had declared him fit, adding that he had gone for a medical examination according to his programme. I have not undergone any ETT check since 1994. I am normal, absolutely normal, he said, adding that his visit to the hospital was private, but he was mistaken that it would remain a personal affair. Musharraf said that he was successful in maintaining secrecy about the book. When asked that some extracts of his book had been published in the international media before the launch, Musharraf said that it was expected since the book had reached bookstalls. He said that 80 percent of power supply had been restored in Pakistan and it will be 100 percent soon. He denied having information about Osama Bin Laden saying, I do not comment on things I dont know about. He said that the proposed joint mechanism to fight terrorism was a test for both India and Pakistan
Iraq's President has said he has convinced the terrorist organisation to announced a cease fire in its fight against Turkey. In an interview with the magazine Newsweek, which appeared Monday, President Jalal Talabani the PKK will declare a cease fire within days. Talabani said that the cease fire would open a new chapter in his country's relations with Turkey, which has repeatedly called on Baghdad to act against the PKK and its bases in the north of Iraq.
A new Middle East war is in the offing. DEBKAfiles exclusive military sources in Iraq and sources in Iran reveal that Turkish and Iranian air units as well as armored, paratroop, special operations and artillery forces are poised for an imminent coordinated invasion of the northern Iraqi autonomous province of Kurdistan.
A major insurgent group in Iraq praised Al-Jazeera television in an audio message posted on the Internet on Sunday, saying the Arab satellite station served the fight against the Americans. The speaker was not identified on tape, but a statement alongside it said it was the head of the Islamic Army in Iraq, and that the recording was issued to mark the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. The identity of the Sunni group's leader is unknown. 
An IDF military court overturned a previous ruling Monday, declaring that the 21 Hamas ministers and lawmakers currently in Israeli custody would remain in jail until the end of legal proceedings against them. In his decision, Judge Col. Shaul Gorden said that the Hamas officials could not live "in two different worlds," one, the democratic world where they were elected as officials in democratic elections, and the other, the world of a known terror group. "Due to their senior status in the Hamas organization, there is no choice but to order their continued confinement, even if they did not play a direct role in terror activities," Gorden said. 
The radical movement which is in charge of the Palestinian Authority, does not intend to agree with Israel's conditions and recognize its right to exist, a councilor of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said cited by Cursor. Instead, Hamas offers Israel a ten-year armistice. According to Ismail Haniyeh's administration this is the only way out from the present complex situation. Hamas is ready to sign a ceasefire agreement if Israel agrees to renew the talks with Palestinian representatives and Hamas members. Tel Aviv considers Hamas a terrorist movement and does not want to hold talks with it.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced on Sunday that as part of any deal for the release of kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit the PA would demand that Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti be freed. According to Israel Radio, the PA would also demand that Ahmad Sa'adat, who planned the murder of former minister Rehavam Ze'evi, be released. 
New tests corroborate the theory that former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a massive suicide truck bomb, investigators said in a report Monday. The report from Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz's investigators said that Syria - which had been accused of obstructing the probe - has been generally cooperative in its investigation of the Feb. 14, 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others. 
London, Sep. 24 - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday Moscow saw no grounds for imposing sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear program, the news agency Itar-Tass reported. "Russia has never set factitious terms to reach conflict settlement. Our goal is to ensure the inviolability of the non-proliferation regime", Lavrov said. 
Syrian President Bashar Assad's actions belie his words, Israeli officials said Sunday night in reaction to an interview Assad gave the German Der Spiegel magazine saying that he was interested in peace and had no desire to wipe Israel off the map. "Israel has always said that it would be more than happy to extend its hand in peace toward Syria, but this is impossible with the present government in Damascus that openly gives a safe haven to terrorist organizations and backs Hizbullah," said a senior government official. 
