And to President Karzai, if I might: What do you think of President Musharraf's comments, that you need to get to know your own country better when you're talking about where terror threats and the Taliban threat is coming from?
KARZAI: Ma'am, before I go to the remarks by my brother, President Musharraf, terrorism was hurting us way before Iraq or September 11. The president mentioned some examples of it.
These extremist forces were killing people in Afghanistan and around for years, closing schools, burning mosques, killing children, uprooting vineyards with vine trees, grapes hanging on them, forcing populations to poverty and misery. They came to America on September 11, but they were attacking you before September 11 in other parts of the world. We are a witness in Afghanistan as to what they are and how they can hurt. You are a witness in New York.
Do you forget people jumping off the 80th floor or 70th floor when the planes hit them? Can you imagine what it will be for a man or a woman to jump off that high? Who did that? And where are they now? And how do we fight them, how do we get rid of them, other than going after them? Should we wait for them to come and kill us again?
Morocco's once secretive Socialists have launched a mass membership drive to boost their chances at polls next year in which their message of secular modernity faces a challenge from resurgent Islamists. Business leaders and urban elites hope the Socialists can block a bid for power by an Islamist movement they see as a hurdle to the North African kingdom's development toward liberal democracy after decades of repressive rule.
We want our people to build a better future and be proud of their history and past. We do not accept that our future resembles our past.
"We need the mobilization of the people to build a modern state," Mohammed El-Yazghi, head of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), said in a recent Reuters interview. Asked if he saw Islamists as his main rival, he replied: "I do not want to name a party but our adversaries are anti-democratic forces. We want our people to build a better future and be proud of their history and past," he said.
"We do not accept that our future resembles our past," he added, an indirect reference to Islamist groups whom Socialists accuse of wanting to reduce individual rights, including women's liberties and social freedoms.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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Between Marx and Mohammed. That's a tough spot to be in.
DHAKA -Two Bangladeshi Islamic militant leaders could be hanged within a month if they fail to appeal against their death sentences, the countrys top jailor said Monday.
Hanging Islamicists? Me like.
Bangladeshs High Court last month upheld death penalties handed down to Shaikh Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam for masterminding a string of deadly blasts as part of a campaign to impose Islamic law in the secular but Muslim country.
The two top leaders of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were blamed for a series of nationwide attacks on court, police and government buildings that began in August 2005 and killed 28 people, including four suicide bombers.
At the time of their sentencing, the men said they would not make an appeal. The warrants of execution against the two and four others have come to Dhaka jail, said Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Zakir Hassan. The warrants were read out to them. They have now five more days to make an appeal to the Supreme Court or seek mercy to the president. If they dont they will be hanged by between October 19 and26, he said.
When the warrants of execution were read out, Rahman and Bangla Bhai told our officers that they would not make any appeal. But still they have five days rethink, he added.
I agree, they should stick to their guns! Become a martyr! Greet those virgins! We'll celebrate right after you're gone.
Bangladeshs Law Minister Moudud Ahmed told reporters on Saturday that the country wanted to set an example by executing the militants.
Absolutely! And set a bunch of other examples while you're at it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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Peace between Israel and the Palestinians should be the governing Labour Party's top foreign policy priority and Britain must push the US to help achieve it, former British foreign secretary Jack Straw said Monday. Straw said a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians was crucial to stabilizing the region and a personal passion for him. "That is, I'm afraid to say, at the heart of so many of the international problems which not just this country but the world faces," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
Then let's make Iceland resolve Global Warming.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/26/2006 0:42 Comments ||
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#3
Straw said a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians was crucial to stabilizing the region and a personal passion for him."That is, I'm afraid to say, at the heart of so many of the international problems which not just this country but the world faces," he said.
Crap. Islam is the problem. Israel is the excuse.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 10:30 Comments ||
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#7
This is one guy who has his head up his proverbial a#$e.
I know next to nothing about his History, but I will judge his judgement on the below, pic included at link.
(I know Chazza did the same, around the same time, but I can't vote for/against him, as I can do this toe-rag. He's definitely in somebody's pocket, minting it). Dhimmis all round, ridicule every word this sprocket utters.
HT to BOTW
Pyongyang, September 25 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun Monday ridicules Japan's application of "financial sanctions" against the DPRK as a farce of a jester of a circus troupe. The Japanese authorities, bereft of reason, are foolishly performing short-sighted and senseless buffoonery reminding us of a rural vendor, regarding "financial sanctions" as "a panacea," says a Rodong Sinmun commentary Monday. farce of a jester of a circus troupe? rural vendor? That's good spittle
The analyst goes on: (as they are wont to do...)
Japan's "financial sanctions" do not surprise the DPRK at all. But the DPRK has to say a caustic word about Japan's mean racket of "financial sanctions."
Dancing to other's tune, Japan is attempting to pressurize and strangle the DPRK with such "financial sanctions" to drive it somewhere. It is, however, a poor, third-rate diplomacy of bat-blind philistines. *snicker*
Japan is whipping itself into senseless frenzy to please the whim of its American master. It is acting flippantly not to fall behind the U.S. in the racket of sanctions against the DPRK. It does not warrant surprise, considering that Japan has made it its physical quality to lick the boots of the American master and tail behind the U.S. It is unseemly for Japan, styling itself "a big power," to behave like this.
Japan's noisy row of "financial sanctions" against the DPRK is a disgusting behavior of a slovenly political charlatan bent on refurbishing his public image by ingratiating himself with his American master and feathering his own nest by following the U.S. Japan's clumsy and wicked act is a perfidy trampling upon the spirit and requirements of the DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration. unlike the subs and smuggling and kidnapping of Japanese citizens...
It is an utterly unreasonable sophism to describe the application of the "financial sanctions" as "a catalyzer" for "dialogue." It is a folly rendering the problem more complicated and carrying the DPRK-Japan confrontation to extremes. "sophism"??? LOL
It is justifiable and natural for the DPRK to put up a tough rebuff to Japan's desperate political provocation. The situation is very serious and the consequences are unpredictable. Japan would be well advised to behave with discretion, pondering over the serious consequences to be entailed by its harebrained act against the DPRK. Now that there's some good spoon banging on the highchair, eh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 16:30 ||
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#1
A new writer with a new dictionary, and a spirited and energetic performance. I gave it an 8.
#9
"It is unseemly for Japan, styling itself 'a big power,' to behave like this."
It appears that the Norks have forgotten what an unseemly Japan is like.
#10
I'm loving some of these new phrases, though. "Farce of a jester of a circus troupe"? "Bat-blind philistines"? Sure, it doesn't have the macho pretensions of "sea of fire" and "army based juche", but this guy has potential.
North Korea will probably test a nuclear weapon, with an even chance of doing so this year, as Kim Jong-ils regime tries to assert its defiance in the face of increasing international pressure, said Richard Armitage, former US deputy secretary of state.
Mr Armitage, who is urging Washington to talk directly to Pyongyang to try and resolve the nuclear stand-off, estimated there was a 50 per cent chance of a test by the end of the year. I think it is more likely than not, Mr Armitage, who served in President George W. Bushs first administration, told the Financial Times. This follows weeks of speculation that Pyongyang is preparing to prove its nuclear capability and its resolve to resist US demands.
I think that in their thought-process its the next logical escalation. A [North Korean] spy was captured here [in August], there were shots fired in the demilitarised zone and they launched missiles [in July] . . . so their next logical thing is to demonstrate that they actually do have a device, he said in Seoul yesterday.
South Korean newspapers have for weeks been reporting rumours of preparations for a test. Chung Hyung-keun, a South Korean lawmaker on the national intelligence committee, said last week that North Korea was ready to conduct a test. All that is needed is Kim Jong-ils approval, Mr Chung said, citing South Korean intelligence. If the US continues the financial sanctions and if China also turns up the heat, North Korea will be forced into a corner and will have to resort to a nuclear test.
So we're supposed to fold of course.
Amid the sabre-rattling, South Korean, Chinese and US diplomats have been trying to restart the six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme. Pyongyang is refusing to return to the talks while Washington imposes financial sanctions that have effectively shut North Korea out of the international banking system.
I dont hold with the idea that just because we dont like some regime we dont talk to them, Mr Armitage said yesterday. After all we didnt like the Soviet regime and we talked to them and we didnt like the Mao Zedong regime and we certainly talked to them, and weve all benefited from having done so.
Guy could be a clone for Madeline Allbright.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder how Korea will act politically once NK tests a bomb.
#2
Armitage is not being logical. Why is a nuke detonation the next logical thing after firing shots in the DMZ, testing missiles, etc. Why not yet another naval clash or minisub incursion or tunnel? Also, we are trying to talk to them but they refuse to talk unless we make a concession first. That's really what Armitage is advocating. Screw them. Let them test their nuke, get our guys off the peninsula and bomb them "back into the stone age", as Armitage threatened the Paks -- who are a proven nuclear power.
#3
I agree with Armitage in that the next logical step of the extortion is the detonation. It will be interesting to see whether Kim attempts the detonation in time to influence the US elections.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/26/2006 1:00 Comments ||
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Dubya and US INTEL have to verify Kimmie's intentions or premises vv BEIJING. Iff we know anything from the Cold War, its that neither the USSR nor Maoist China will wilfully tolerate any semblance of DE FACTO NUCLEAR INDEPENDENCE/
SOVEREIGNTY BY A PROXY NATION. INDEPENDENT NORTH KOREA = INDEPENDENT TAIWAN, ETC > means Commie Beijing's ambitions for Chinese-centric, Communist-centric, hegemony in Asia-Pacific, espec between 2025-2050, has flown out the coop, AND ISN"T COMING BACK SHORT OF UNILATERAL DIRECT MIL ACTION(S), I.E. WAR. Year 2050 for Chicom superiority over America might as well be Year 2100 or after.
#6
Why is a nuke detonation the next logical thing after firing shots in the DMZ, testing missiles, etc. Why not yet another naval clash or minisub incursion or tunnel?
a) Because they have to up the ante to get our attention
b) They probably will be testing it for customers like Iran
#7
Who cares what Armitage thinks? He stabbed the administration in the back over Plame; he has more concern for his own hide than for the country.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/26/2006 5:20 Comments ||
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#8
It's to our benifit to talk.
But what else is there to talk about? They've already made the bombs. Let's not prod them but let's not lose ground.
They renigged before on consessions, I'm sure they'll do it again.
I think it's clear, their stubborn bastards who don't lose anything by not talking, while their digging in, so why wouldn't they accept your gifts if you offer it, just to talk.
The South Korean government is scared, tired, and in denile. They're no help.
Shinzo Abe, was elected Japan's prime minister Tuesday. I would suggest Japan to be armed with nukes but there are too many problems with that. Let Daddy handle the big guns!
I believe we are doing the right things now. Large project for a Missle Defense shield in Japan and Pacific, would be nice if it was joint financing between our countries. Also increasing Japan's air force capability would help.
#9
The South has no interest in the Norks not getting the bomb. They expect to inherit the North anyway in the reunification. Then they will be a nuclear power. Those cruise missiles can then be aimed at China and Japan with nuclear warheads. Japan won't like being the only non-nuclear northwest Asian nation, so they'll have to nuke.
In the center of it all will be the one irrational player in the theater, Korea.
We need to make clear to the Chinese they should feel unconstrained to take North Korea when it fails. The re-united Germany has been a disaster for all parties. Let's not repeat the mistake.
#10
We need to make clear to the Chinese they should feel unconstrained to take North Korea when it fails. The re-united Germany has been a disaster for all parties. Let's not repeat the mistake.
Encouraging Chinese territorial aggression is the last thing we should do.
Posted by: john ||
09/26/2006 17:37 Comments ||
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If its anything like some of their more recent rocket and missile tests (remember the train that went BOOM a few years ago in Norkland?), we could discover a large, irradiated hole right smack in the middle of Norkland.
They'll be the usual pleas for foreign aid and such. Actually, a little glow in the dark stuff would provide the only light Norkland has at night.
#13
We need to make clear to the Chinese they should feel unconstrained to take North Korea when it fails.
NS, this is one of the few times I've ever seen you post something this preposterous. No way do we want more of the Korean peninsula to fall into permanent communist hands. South Korea needs to expand and we need a large, democratic nation right on China's edge to let its inhabitants see exactly what they're missing. Allowing communist China to assimilate North Korea only poses the greater threat to South Korea and the entire region.
Preventing unification (and counterbalancing US military presence), is exactly why China has been propping up Kim's doddering regime all these years.
On Sept. 5, the day Danish police arrested nine Muslim suspects in connection with a foiled terrorist plot, a slender book warning of conquest by Islamic fundamentalists in Europe appeared in bookstores here.
the authors are establishment figures previously known for their progressive attitudes toward Islam and integration
"Islamists and Naivists," by Karen Jespersen and Ralf Pittelkow, has since risen to the top of the best-seller list and is causing a sensation in Denmark - in part because the authors are establishment figures previously known for their progressive attitudes toward Islam and integration.
The book is also gaining notice because Denmark, a country celebrated for its fairy tales, is on the front line of the culture wars between Islam and the West following publication in a Danish newspaper late last year of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad.
The book's main argument is that Europeans who ignore the threat posed by Islamists belong to a new and dangerous tribe of "naivists," a term coined by the authors. This may not sound so radical at a time when the pope has upset the Islamic world by quoting a medieval passage calling Islam "evil and inhuman" and when Islamic terrorist plots have put Europe on edge.
the book also equates Islamic fundamentalists with Nazis and Communists - a provocative stand on the heels of the cartoon crisis
But the book also equates Islamic fundamentalists with Nazis and Communists - a provocative stand on the heels of the cartoon crisis, which strengthened a backlash against immigrants that was already brewing here.
Pittelkow says the new book's publication on the day of the terror arrests, while a coincidence, was a prescient reminder.
"The threat is that the Islamists and their values are gaining ground in Europe, especially among the younger generation," he said in an interview. "They try to interfere in people's lives, telling them what to wear, what to eat, what to think and what to believe. They warn Muslims to create their own societies within Europe or risk disappearing like salt in water."
Muslim leaders here have denounced the book, accusing Pittelkow and Jespersen of giving Muslim-bashing a respectable face in Denmark, a country that views itself as a tolerant and open society.
Danish analysts say the book reflects the extent to which skepticism about Islam has invaded the European political mainstream.
#10
Good to see their getting ahead on the game, and learning what Islam is all about. Unfortunately, we still have too many over here getting their knowledge from "Islam for Dhimmis". Hope that changes soon.
BERLIN: Some German Muslim groups on Monday criticised a government-sponsored conference this week to promote dialogue with the country's 3.2 million Muslims as lacking clear goals and having a poorly chosen guest list.
Amid fears about Islamic radicalisation around Europe, the government called Wednesday's conference to look at ways to improve integration and address issues such as equal rights, mosque building, Islam lessons and imam training. A recent outbreak of violence at a Berlin school where more than 80 percent of pupils are immigrant children and last year's "honour killing" of a Turkish woman have highlighted the challenges government and Muslim leaders face in bringing the country's Muslims into mainstream society.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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They don't like round table stuff but expect implicit concessions beforehand.
A top Turkish general said Monday that increasingly powerful Islamist forces threatened Turkey's secular system and that the army would play its role in defending the country against them, the state-run news agency reported.
Mighty big saber he's rattling.
General Ilker Basbug's comments appeared aimed at both the Islamic-rooted government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and at EU officials who have repeatedly called on the Turkish military to limit its role in state affairs. The military views itself as the protector of Turkey's secular identity. Fiercely secular generals have directly led three coups since 1961 and ousted a government from power in 1997 for what they saw as an excessive Islamist bent.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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So far, the army has been Turkey's saving grace both in actions reported and in those not reported. They'll do it up to a point. And that point is probably higher up than many would give them credit for.
#6
Trouble is, the Army is a big weapon, so it will need a big target. Thus far, the big problem does not seem to be Erdogan; he's a symptom. Replacing him would only bring the return of worse at the next election unless something is done about the root cause.
So will the Army root out the Islamofascists at the local mosque level? This would take lots of C3I. Could they do it without leakage resulting in pre-emptive actions and civil war? Or will they go the wash, rinse, repeat cycle?
#8
SInce the founding of modern Turkey by Ataturk, the army has viewed it's role as a keeper of the secular state. The general is quite serious, and Erdogan knows it.
This defeatist propaganda is why it makes no sense to publicize body counts. If the metric for this war is dead bodies, we should be using nukes.
As of Monday, Sept. 25, 2006, at least 2,701 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,152 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is four more than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Monday at 10 a.m. EDT.
The British military has reported 118 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 17; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, five; El Salvador, four; Slovakia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Romania, one death each.
#1
Funny, no mention of the lives they saved or mission they were accomplishing....oh, never mind.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/26/2006 9:13 Comments ||
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At last count, 624,511 Americans died in the American Civil War. Sometimes more than 2,701 per hour. The cause was the same, except we fought to free slaves then, now we fight to keep from becoming slaves.
#3
I believe the number was something in the order of 6000 killed in the first 24 hours of the assault on Okinawa. Body counts mean nothing. I'd also like to see the number of islamofascists killed or captured since March 2003. That would be something that could be used to judge the effectiveness of US forces, so that number is taboo to the msm.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/26/2006 10:15 Comments ||
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#4
We've lost about the same number of Americans in hostile action in Iraq so far as we've lost in recreational boating accidents during the same period. Which is about the same number who die on our highways in just 3 weeks.
But the AP doesn't point that out, of course...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
09/26/2006 10:51 Comments ||
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#5
I just hope the price being paid will be worth it in the end. The butcher's bill for fighting with a fowled house-to-house MOUT TTP, the buggered up ROE, all done with one hand tied behind your back is just terrible.
#7
* Approximate number of Federal and Confederate KIA at Antietam, from dawn until noon: 6,300
* US dead 7 Dec 41: 2,403
* US Dead Iwo Jima: 6,503
* US Dead Vietnam 1961-65: 1,864
Those are numbers the MSM will never use, bcause it puts things into perspective. That and they know what will happen if a veteran of WWII or 'Nam ever saw them diminish the sacrifices they made.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/26/2006 11:28 Comments ||
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MSM perspective is the distance of the radius of the period at the end of this sentence. Or maybe shorter, depending on the headline writer.
#9
So the US death toll finally exceeds those of the June 6, 1944 D-Day losses on the beaches of Normandy (we're not including the airborne's casualties). Note the Normandy losses occurred in a span of about 12 hours of intense fighting.
Our losses in Iraq, after 3 years and five months, have only recently edged out the D-Day death toll.
If the nation's elites are unwilling to support a war against Islamist, nilhilistic religious fanatics, then let them suffer the consequences of inaction and appeasement. Remember, the Jihadis have their sites aimed at two overwhelmingly BLUE cities, i.e., New York and Washington, D.C. All the liberalism in the world will not spare these two bastions of Bluedom.
President Bush on Tuesday said it is naive and a mistake to think that the war with Iraq has worsened terrorism, disputing a national intelligence assessment by his own administration. He said he was declassifying part of the report.
"Some people have guessed what's in the report and concluded that going into Iraq was a mistake. I strongly disagree," Bush said. "read the actual document, not selected leaks by CIA malcontents and Donk partisans who would sell the country out for power"
He asserted that portions of the classified report that had been leaked were done so for political purposes, referring to the Nov. 7 midterm elections.
Bush announced that he was ordering parts of the report declassified during a White House news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. he was pissed
Portions of the document that have been leaked suggest that the threat of terrorism has grown worse since the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the war in Afghanistan, due in part to the war in Iraq.
Democrats have used the report to bolster their criticism of Bush's Iraq policy. The administration has claimed only part of the report was leaked and does not tell the full story. ya think?
Both the chairman and the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee have urged the White House to release the material. Using a portion of the report to attack his Iraq policy and suggest it has fanned more terrorism is "naive," Bush said.
"I think it's a mistake for people to believe that going on the offense against people that want to do harm to the American people makes us less safe," he said.
Bush said he had directed National Intelligence Director John Negroponte to declassify those parts of the report that don't compromise national security. The National Intelligence Estimate was written in April.
"You read it for yourself. Stop all this speculation," Bush said.
He complained that "somebody leaked classified information for political purposes," Bush said, criticizing both the news media and people in government who talked to them about classified material. then hunt them down and prosecute the leakers of this, the NSA wiretaps, the "secret prisons", the.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 13:25 ||
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(2006-09-26) The morning after Fox News aired reporter Chris Wallaces interview with a feisty Bill Clinton, the former president today said, Right-wing, neocon conspiracy theorists are out to get me.
Mr. Clinton dismissed allegations that he appeared paranoid on TV, saying, people who call me paranoid are the exact same right-wingers, who worked behind the scenes with Chris Wallace to engineer my emotional outburst. Its what they call a wag the finger strategy to distract attention from the Bush administrations foreign policy failures.
The remark follows Mr. Clintons vigorous defense of his administrations virtual assassination of al Qaeda leader Usama Bin Laden. Indeed, a spokesman for Mr. Bin Laden confirmed that during the Clinton administration, the al Qaeda leader felt nearly threatened.
The recent ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11, a new book called The Looming Tower, and Mr. Wallaces smirking during the interview provide more evidence, he said, of the conservative hit job orchestrated by White House adviser Karl Rove.
Experts agreed that the most important question raised by the Wallace-Clinton interview is whether the former presidents frequent references to a book on 9/11 by former counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke can push its sales past the Noam Chomsky book recommended last week by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the United Nations.
#1
Both Ann Coulter and Mary Matalin really ripped into Bill's outburst and legacy on FNC today - MARY MATALIN, and espec same, affirmed that even by Bill's or the Dem's own people, BILL HAD NO PLAN [save of MSM-centric PC]. HANNITY > Sean's sources = Bill allegedly yelled-ranted at his own entourage/staffers??? after the Chris Wallace interview.
#4
"Aaaagh! Rove . . . mind control beams . . . can't stop them . . . no . . . tinfoil. Must! Stop! Finger! From! Wag-ging!"
JFM: that's cold. Hilarious, but cold.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/26/2006 6:24 Comments ||
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#5
What if this guy lasts as long out of office as Carter? Can you imagine him in 2030 going on about how the late Karl Rove got Fox to try and destroy his legacy back in ought 6? And you'll have to explain what the blue dress was to your grand or great grand children.
#8
really makes you want him back in the WH with Hillary, huh? Four more years of this dipshit smirking and lying and polishing his own knob legacy?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 9:32 Comments ||
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#9
Just check the billable hours of Clintons Lawyers during the Lewinsky scandal. Bill Clinto was so preoccupied with his own political problems he was under a veil of neglect everything else, which from hindsight demonstrates that his effectivness was directly proportional to the degree his hands (and other body parts) were tied up ministering to his own self absorbed minutia. Hindsight also provides insight, in that any president can have a Feel good post presidency when you consider the level of tampering NOT Done during an adminstration because of other distractions. Its a near clinical analysis.
#10
Slick Willie is like a bad case of some drug-resistant disease--he just won't go away. He's got to preserve some kind of legacy. Hate to say it Willie, your legacy has already been written--blue dresses, BJs, squandered opportunities, lies, etc., etc.
#11
Okay guys, take out your 'wag-the-finger' folder and change the name to 'BJC-meltdown'.
We'll have to find out who is leaking these strategy folders to the donks.
#14
I loved it when Hannity undressed a former Clinton aide with Clintons' own words! With every exchange the aide tried to steer the discussion into his talking points but Hannity didn't let him go. Slick Willie had a plan but it involved a chubby intern and not any terrorists.
#15
I know it's Scrappleface, but the line between satire and reality blurs everyday.
For about 15 years, when it goes good, it's all his doing. When it fucks up, it's never his fault. Ever.
Last-minute changes to legislation authorizing the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program have won the support of three balking Senate Republicans, improving the chances that a bill expanding the Bush administration's surveillance authority will pass Congress this week.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill this month that would allow, but not require, the administration to submit its warrantless wiretapping program to a secret national security court for constitutional review. But three Republicans who last year helped delay the renewal of the USA Patriot Act -- Sens. Larry E. Craig (Idaho), John E. Sununu (N.H.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) -- combined forces again to express strong misgivings about the bill's implications for civil liberties. The senators announced yesterday that those concerns had been met by three changes to the bill, although critics said the changes would not have the impact that the lawmakers claimed.
The first change removes explicit language referring to the president's inherent "constitutional authority" to pursue national security programs. According to the lawmakers, a second major change would clarify that a decision by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court upholding the warrantless surveillance program's legality would not give blanket authorization for the president to pursue wiretaps without court approval.
The lawmakers say a third change is aimed at ensuring that warrantless surveillance of an agent of a foreign power does not include an American. Under the change, the lawmakers said, the administration would be expected to obtain a warrant if the attorney general cannot certify a "reasonable expectation" that the warrantless surveillance will not involve a U.S. citizen.
Quick passage of the bill will still be difficult. Republican leaders were struggling yesterday to win the blessing of Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.), the author of competing legislation in the House. If Wilson and other House Republicans agree, the House and Senate may bring up identical bills by week's end in hopes of sending legislation to the president before the November elections. If the two chambers pass different bills, there will be no time to broker a compromise and pass it through the House and Senate again before Congress recesses Friday.
A White House spokeswoman said the administration is pleased with the agreement.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2006 23:58 ||
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All war with Iran woudl mean now is that we have eliminated the proxies and are working directly on one of the sources, the primary one in this case (other than Saudi funding and Pak Madrassas).
#3
Hoorah! A nice addition to the fog of pre-war: are we or aren't we? Will we or won't we? If we do, then we might, or maybe Bush is bluffing, but he never has before... I'd have a great deal of trouble sleeping at night just now if I lived near a target over there, even after getting up several times to see whether there were any Special Forces guys under the bed or peeking in at my window.
#4
This piece is lot of dithering and hyperbole from the fever swamps of the DNC by bitter Clintonite has-beens. The press in its neverending quest to smear Bush is constantly trotting out these former Clinton era officers and Government types. They screwed the pooch so badly on their watch that nothing they say now is credible. Further, very few officers in the all-volunteer force would immediately contact anti-war types to say they were being sent to attack Iran without Congressional authorization. If they were, then revealing the fact would be leaking Top Secret information and subject to severe penalties under the UCMJ. (When it comes to the UCMJ, the ACLU can go pound sand.) Unlike the denizens of the fever swamps of the left, few officers are that dumb.
#5
First word of the early dispatch of the "Ike Strike" group to the Persian Gulf region came from several angry officers on the ships involved, who contacted antiwar critics like retired Air Force Col. Sam Gardiner and complained that they were being sent to attack Iran without any order from the Congress.
Track down those who are compromising opsec and hang 'em high.
The Fourth Estate continues to shine in its role as intel arm for the enemy.
Technically, commissioned officers aren't retired, but rather placed on reduced pay and are subject to recall by the Secretary of the service. So recall the asshat and put him in uniform before a courts martial to reveal the names of persons compromising opsec. Unless of course, as usual, its just made up and given the 'unnamed source' title.
#7
The second that Ahmadinejad threatened genocide against Americans, he delivered a pretext for regime change. However, his threat to torch the entire Persian Gulf oil patch, is realistic unless unconventional war is planned.
The US has approximately 10,000 nukes on shelves and in potential theaters. I am less reluctant than most to use them, proportionate to the task. But, the mentality that they should gather dust, other than in response to a first strike, is fuel for foreign aggression.
Neutralizing Iran would: pre-empt a future ICBM threat to the US Homeland; prevent implementation of Ahmadinejad's genocide policies; empower Iran's minorities; eliminate Ayatollah pilferage from Iran's economy; dry up funding to Hizbollah; end aid to al-Sadr, while eliminating a political obstacle to annihilation of the Mahdi Army; secure naval traffic through the Straits of Hormuz; etc.
I speculate that the planning is completed. And the fact that there is no evidence of preparation for massing US (or some kind of coalition) troops, suggests that regime change will not involve infantry.
#8
The Nation? You gotta fumigate RB after this one.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/26/2006 22:05 Comments ||
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#9
BLOGWATCH.com > Gary? Hart + HUFFINGTONPOST.com >
In short, writer believes Dubya may attack Iran circa October 1st. Stages/Phases for [alleged] attack/invasion already begun Keep in mind that IRAN + NORTH KOREA have been acting like two peas in a pod, i.e. all but officially demanding or daring that Dubya = USA attack them. Dubya & Co, have to prepared to fight a simul two- or two-plus front(s) regional war, regardless of whether it wants to or not. MOSNEWS [2004?] + DEBKA.com . Iran may already have 6-12 nuke devices, likely in the form of [modified]KH-55/555 TCM's smuggled in from Ukraine.Some bloggers on the Net are speculating that China + Norkies may attempt to modify nuclear-capable SAMS into SSM/TCM types. It has already been well reported by various sources that RUSSIA is attempting to sell to IRAN integrated air defense missle systems to protect Iran's nuclear facilities from America-Israel.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday accused Bill Clinton of making "flatly false" claims that the Bush administration didn't lift a finger to stop terrorism before the 9/11 attacks. I doubt Bill expected this reaction. Condi has never been anything even remotely political. Is Bill ready to take on a black woman twice as smart as he is?
Rice hammered Clinton, who leveled his charges in a contentious weekend interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News Channel, for his claims that the Bush administration "did not try" to kill Osama bin Laden in the eight months they controlled the White House before the Sept. 11 attacks. "The notion somehow for eight months the Bush administration sat there and didn't do that is just flatly false - and I think the 9/11 commission understood that," Rice said during a wide-ranging meeting with [New York} Post editors and reporters. "What we did in the eight months was at least as aggressive as what the Clinton administration did in the preceding years," Rice added.
The secretary of state also sharply disputed Clinton's claim that he "left a comprehensive anti-terror strategy" for the incoming Bush team during the presidential transition in 2001. "We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda," Rice responded during the hourlong session.
Her strong rebuttal was the Bush administration's first response to Clinton's headline-grabbing interview on Fox on Sunday in which he launched into an over-the-top defense of his handling of terrorism - wagging his finger in the air, leaning forward in his chair and getting red-faced, and even attacking Wallace for improper questioning. After Clinton got angry during the questioning, Wallace said Clinton aide Jay Carson tried to get his producer to stop the interview. Carson said he was concerned that time was running out and that little of the philanthropy efforts of the former president had been addressed.
At The Post, Rice also touched on hot spots around the globe:
* On Iran: "There isn't a particularly good, direct way to neutralize the Iranian threat."
* On Iraq: "You're never going to have a just Sunni-Shia reconciliation if you don't have a political system in which the interests of all can be represented - and that's what Iraq represents."
* On Pakistan: "The future of Pakistan, as [President Pervez] Musharraf and his people fully understand, is to de-radicalize elements of the population."
* On the Middle East conflict: "It would help to have a moderate force in the Palestinian territories and to have the beginnings of rapprochement with Israel and the rest of its neighbors."
* On the Far East: "I would like to see an improvement in Japanese-China relations."
"I think this is not a very fruitful discussion. We've been through it. The 9/11 commission has turned over every rock and we know exactly what they said," she added.
Transitioning to the global war on terror, an animated Rice questioned, "When are we going to stop blaming ourselves for the rise of terrorism?" Asked about recently leaked internal U.S. intelligence estimates that claimed the Iraq war was fueling terrorist recruiting, Rice said: "Now that we're fighting back, of course they are fighting back, too."
"I find it just extraordinary that the argument is, all right, so they're using the fact they're being challenged in the Middle East and challenged in Iraq to recruit, therefore you've made the war on terrorism worse. It's as if we were in a good place on Sept. 11. Clearly, we weren't. These are people who want to fight against us, and they're going to find a reason. And yes, they will recruit, but it doesn't mean you stop pursuing strategies that are ultimately going to stop them," Rice said.
She insisted U.S. forces must finish the job in Iraq and the wider Middle East to wipe out the "root cause" of violent extremism - not just the terror thugs who carry out the attacks. "It's a longer-term strategy, and it may even have some short-term down side, but if you don't look at the longer term, you're just leaving the problem to somebody else," she said.
She also said Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have a "major educational reform" effort under way to root out propaganda literature and extremist brainwashing.
In Latin America, home to outrageous Venezuelan bomb thrower Hugo Chavez, Rice said the U.S. approach is to "spend as little time possible in talking about Chavez and more time talking about our positive agenda in Latin America," including several trade agreements. Major escalation in domestic public diplomacy that should make the donks think twice about how much the want to politicize international affairs. I could see this being the undertone of the last two years of the Bush administration to prepare the domestic battlespace for the inevitable test of the administration to follow in 2009.
Posted by: DanNY ||
09/26/2006 8:43 Comments ||
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#2
Slick Willie should have kept his mouth shut. All this will do is get people interested in what really happened during his administration. Tha facts are right there for anyone to read and understand. Plus, most voters are just now rembering that elections are coming up this fall.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2006 8:56 Comments ||
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#3
Remember Condi's boots? Well, Bill, these boots were made for walking...
#5
Both Clinton and Carter need to shut their ugly pieholes. All they do is to undermine the government of the United States in its domestic and international affairs and bring discredit to the United States. In the past, this was considered treason. Now it's just considered Democratic Party normal behavior.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/26/2006 9:34 Comments ||
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#6
Both Bill and Carter need to be run over with a cement mixer.
#7
Thank you God, for Bill Clinton's ego. Now that Clinton, desperate to spin a legacy, has revisited the events of his Presidency, we are all reminded of them. But by and large, people have already made up their minds; Clinton's raging confabulations are unlikely to change opinion, but they HAVE returned the country to making National Security and the fight against Terrorism the predominant issue this election. This return of the the 2002 national meme can only hurt democrats. Clinton cares ONLY about himself.
#11
Best line in the article:"When are we going to stop blaming ourselves for the rise of terrorism?"
Exactly.
I think I prefer Condi when she's pissed off.
If I were King I'd want to know who the person or persons were that concluded the rise in terrorism is linked directly to fighting back in Iraq. They'd be out of a job. Does any serious person truly believe that had we stayed solely in Afghanistan the f**kwad jihadis would not have congregated there just as they've done in Iraq?
Posted by: Mark Z ||
09/26/2006 11:14 Comments ||
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#12
The late, great Michael Kelly wrote an excellent tongue-in-cheek column on Clinton back in '98. Read it here.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 11:31 Comments ||
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#15
"I believe Paula Jones is a cheap tramp who was asking for it. I believe Kathleen Willey is a cheap tramp who was asking for it. I believe Monica Lewinsky is a cheap tramp who was asking for it."
#16
...What I think needs to start happening now - and the 'Burg might be a good place to start the ball rolling - is an immediate demand in the Blogosphere to get released whatever it was Sandy Berger was sneaking out of the National Archives.
You think Bill's hot now? Wait till he thinks that whatever was in those papers might come out...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/26/2006 11:37 Comments ||
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#17
In watching the coverage yesterday from various news outlets, They were nearly all saying that Cinton's tantrum would help the Dems. I don't believe that for one second. The more he rants about the 'right wing' conspiracy, the more he'll energize the conservative base. Bring it on Bill. Just watch what happens in November. Boy are some folks gonna be surprised as sh*t.
#23
So, will Condi face off against Hillary for President?
Posted by: john ||
09/26/2006 18:32 Comments ||
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#24
I'd bet neither in '08, and in '12, Hildabeast will be too old...she's unelectable for 40+% of the population
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 18:40 Comments ||
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#25
Besoeker, you're right of course about Alabama vs. Atlanta. I have Atlanta on the brain due to baseball playoffs. ;-)
The story about her father is, however, well attested. And Condi has been a staunch supporter of gun rights ever since.
Her parents were amazing role models who contributed mightily to her achievements via an outstanding upbringing. Doesn't always happen that way -- as a doctoral student, Condi studied under Madeleine Albright's father, whose politics and strategy theory she admired more than his daughter did.
The US and European Union are close to a deal for sharing airline passenger information that would avert disruption to the worlds busiest air traffic routes. Officials from both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed that a new anti-terrorism agreement is almost certain to be signed on Thursday, two days before the current regime expires.
This is too big to fail, said a US official. We have made a lot of progress over the last few days.
The US had been pushing for revisions of an existing accord that was ruled illegal by the EUs top court and expires on September 30. However, because time is short it has accepted the EUs offer of a similar deal under a different legal basis that would satisfy the judges.
In return the EU has pledged to start almost immediately negotiations on a new framework that could incorporate additional US demands, with the aim of implementing it well before November 2007, when the new deal will expire.
The agreement under negotiation still allows airlines to pass on more than 30 pieces of information including dietary requirements, credit card details and family links to US authorities. But the talks had stumbled on US demands to make it easier for its intelligence agencies to access the information.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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#4
Bookings for the QE2 up and the EU governments not interested in the massive funding/layoff in their state operated airlines if no agreement can be reached?
Washington, Sept 26. (PTI): Making it clear that the situations surrounding the nuclear programmes of India and Iran are "simply very different," the US today said that no comparison can be made between the two as New Delhi has been "very good" on proliferation matters "for its entire history."
"The situations are just simply very different. And I think most people believe that India can be as a part of a broad proliferation regime actually helpful to the non-proliferation effort. I don't think there are many people who believe that about Iran," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview with the New York Post.
"...I've never been one who believes that in international politics every situation is the same. It's not. And you know, I know people make the argument about precedents and I just have to say to people, look, the situations are simply different," she said.
The top State Department official went on to explain what the Bush administration has been saying all along--that Iran has a "terrible" non proliferation record and among other things had been dealing with the known Pakistani proliferator A.Q.Khan.
"With Iran you have a state that signed onto the NPT, has been violating its obligations, including enriching without telling anybody at Natanz; has a terrible proliferation record; was apparently dealing with A.Q. Khan who, the last time I looked, never was very interested in civil nuclear power; and so doesn't -- and by the way, sits in a very volatile region," Rice said.
"For a variety of reasons, prior to the NPT -- I'm sorry, just after the NPT India became a nuclear power and got left out of the nuclear club. That's really what happened. You know, the five who are so-called grandfathered into the NPT -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Great Britain -- it's almost an accident of history that they were in, you got the NPT and you were grandfathered in," Rice said.
"Now, that then led to a kind of anomaly, which is you have a state then that never joined the NPT but pursued nuclear weapons, therefore not breaking any of its NPT obligations since it was not party to the NPT, has been very good on proliferation matters for its entire history, and has now -- as Mohamed ElBaradei put it, needs to be brought into the broad regime that is controlling proliferation," Rice remarked.
Posted by: john ||
09/26/2006 17:19 ||
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Can't the same thing be said about Israel?
OTOH China does not have a 'stellar' record in non-prolifieration does it?
#2
.I've never been one who believes that in international politics every situation is the same
There is a fiction in international relations that states are equal.
So India, with a population of 1.1 billion, one sixth of the earth's population has the same say in the UN as a small caribbean island with a population of ten thousand. Actually less, since there are many small states and they each have a vote.
Those who equate the Iranian and Indian programmes also fail to recognise the different technical levels they are at.
India already has developed complete fuel cycle technology - from mining ore to enriching fuel to building its own power, fast breeder and third gen eration reactors, to reprocessing plutonium, to waste vitrification and disposal.
This is quite apart from the actual weapon technology - building and testing both fission and thermonuclear weapons and their delivery systems.
Posted by: john ||
09/26/2006 17:47 Comments ||
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#3
better response: "I don't recall India threatening the Jooooos, Americans, Europeans, Iraqis.... ad nauseum. Iran is a belligerent punk state with a midget psychotic as President and a kleptocrat mullahcracy in charge. They will get theirs, not likely nuclear, but that's because we have other options available... *smile*"
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 17:58 Comments ||
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#4
There is also the matter of the law.
Iran signed the NPT and has been busy finding ways to subvert the treaty, violating its commitments.
India simply stayed out of the treaty. It can't break a treaty it has never signed.
Posted by: john ||
09/26/2006 18:14 Comments ||
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Washington, 26 Sept. (AKI/DAWN) - Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan had advised his daughter, who lives in London, to disclose Pakistans nuclear secrets to the British media, claims Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf in his book In The Line Of Fire, which was officially launched on Monday.
Available from the "60 Minutes Book of the Month Club"
The president says that when in November 2003 the government started investigations into Khans nuclear proliferation activities, Pakistani intelligence agencies intercepted two letters written by him.
Now, pay attention. It helps if you think of the book as the official Pakistani party line
The first, carried by a courier, advised some of Dr A.Q. Khans friends in Iran not to mention his name under any circumstances to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He also advised them to name dead people during investigations, just as he was doing in Pakistan.
Makes it harder to check his story. Nobody said Khan wasn't a smart guy
Naively, he also suggested that the Iranians should put the blame for the contamination found in Iran on IAEA inspectors, who could have spread it surreptitiously. He recommended that Iran renounce the NPT and finally promised more assistance after this event had passed," the book said.
He figured he'd get off like he had before
The second letter, addressed to his daughter, contained detailed instructions for her to go public on Pakistans nuclear secrets through certain British journalists, the president writes.
This was Khan's insurance policy. I believe the daughter is to release the file only if something bad happens to him. It is rumored to contain documents showing Pakistani government involvement in nuclear proliferation.
The president claims that Khan had been involved in nuclear proliferation since 1987, offering to share the technology with whoever was willing to pay.
We were once informed that a chartered aircraft going to North Korea for conventional missiles was also going to carry some irregular cargo on his behalf. ... We organised a discreet raid and searched the aircraft before its departure but unfortunately found nothing. Later, we were told that A.Q.s people had been tipped off and the suspected cargo had not been loaded.
Mahmoud the Rat strikes again!
On another occasion, I was informed that A.Q. had requested clearance of a chartered cargo flight (bringing ammunition) from a third country to Islamabad, including refuelling stops both ways at Zahedan in Iran. ...I disallowed permission to land in Iran. Some days later, I was informed that the aircraft had never come to Pakistan after all. Evidently, the ammunition was probably a cover for something else.
The president recalls that although Washington had been raising suspicions about Dr Khans activities since the Clinton days, in September 2003 at the UN summit, President Bush drew me aside and asked me if I could spare some time the next morning for the CIA director, George Tenet. It is extremely seriously and very important from your point of view, he said. "I agreed."
Tenet arrived at my hotel (Roosevelt in New York) suite the next morning drew out some papers and placed them before me. I immediately recognised them as detailed drawings of Pakistans P-1 centrifuges ... with part numbers, dates, signatures, etc."
That would be the Libyan bust
I did not know what to say. I have seldom found myself at a loss for words, but this time I was. ...I told Tenet that I would like to take the papers and start an investigation. He obliged.
The president took the papers to Khan and placed them before him. He broke down and admitted that he felt extremely guilty. He asked me for an official pardon. I told him that his apology should be to the people of Pakistan and he should seek his pardon from them directly.
In the book, Gen Musharraf describes Khan as a man who had a great talent for self-promotion and publicity and led the public to believe that he was building the bomb almost single-handedly. He was such a self-centred and abrasive man that he could not be a team player. He did not want anyone to excel beyond him or steal the limelight on any occasion or on any subject related to our strategic programme." He had a huge ego, and he knew the art of playing to the gallery and manipulating the media. All this made him a difficult person to deal with.
So the book blames everything on Khan personally and lays the ground work for discrediting any papers Khan's daughter might release later
Khan, 71, is considered the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb. He has lived under virtual house arrest in Islamabad since he confessed in early 2004 to leaking sensitive nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya. Earlier this month he travelled to Karachi to undergo treatment for prostate cancer.
Anyone still think he's going to recover?
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2006 09:43 ||
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"I immediately recognised them as detailed drawings of Pakistans P-1 centrifuges"
Anybody else here think it's interesting that Perv would recognize a centrifuge drawing? I'd love to know what his share of the proliferation take was.
Pakistan yesterday denied that the deal it had struck with militants in the troubled North Waziristan was brokered by Taleban leader Mullah Omar. Referring to a report published in the Daily Telegraph of London, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said the government reached an agreement with the notables of Waziristan to bring peace to the area. She added that the peace had nothing to do with the Taleban or Mullah Omar.
Tasnim added that the government reached the deal with tribal leaders to oust foreigners from the region who were causing trouble there. She said local leaders had assured the government that they would adhere to the agreement. She said Pakistan has no information on Osama Bin Ladens whereabouts or whether he is dead or alive. We have no information about his coordinates. We have no information whether he is dead or alive, Tasnim said. Her comments came amid recent speculation about Bin Ladens status following a French newspaper report over the weekend.
Bin Laden is widely believed to be hiding in the rugged region along the Pakistan and Afghan border. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday that Bin Laden probably was in Pakistan. Pakistani officials usually say Bin Laden is more likely to be in Afghanistan.
Tasnim said that leaders of the Taleban are present in Afghanistan and denied that Pakistan aided the militia. We believe that the Taleban leadership is inside Afghanistan, Taleban resurgence is in Afghanistan, she said. Afghan officials have repeatedly said that Taleban leaders are also hiding in Pakistan from where they stage attacks against Afghanistans US-backed government. Pakistan has denied the allegations, and sparring between the two countries over the location of the Taleban led to a straining in bilateral relations earlier this year. Much of the insurgency is located deep inside Afghanistan, far from the Pakistan border, Tasnim said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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She added that the peace had nothing to do with the Taleban or Mullah Omar.
She said local leaders had assured the government that they would adhere to the agreement.
She said Pakistan has no information on Osama Bin Ladens whereabouts or whether he is dead or alive.
Tasnim said that leaders of the Taleban are present in Afghanistan and denied that Pakistan aided the militia.
Much of the insurgency is located deep inside Afghanistan, far from the Pakistan border, Tasnim said.
PESHAWAR: Cinema owners in the NWFP have refused to comply with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government's order to close cinemas during Ramazan, saying that the cinema business would not affect prayers. The cinema owners refused to comply with government orders during a meeting chaired by NWFP Senior Minister Sirajul Haq on Monday.
A cinema owner, asking not to be named, told Daily Times that the provincial government had offered to withdraw taxes on cinemas if the owners closed during Ramazan. He said the cinema owners rejected the government's offer saying that movies would not affect prayers. "We told the provincial government that the demand is unnecessary," he said.
Daily Times found most cinemas open on Monday and their schedules displayed prominently. People were seen buying tickets despite a threat of action against moviegoers by MMA MPA Dr Zakir Shah's Amar Bil Maroof Wanahi Anil-Munkar organisation.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON and ANKARA - Iraqs Kurdish President Jalal Talabani says Iraq can intervene Turkeys, Irans and Syrias domestic issues, but they did not do till now. Talabani further warned that Iraq's patience was wearing thin. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani warned in Washington D.C. that Iraq can "make trouble" for its neighbors (Turkey, Iran and Syria) if they do not stop interfering in his country's internal affairs.
In an interview to air on National Public Radio on Tuesday, Talabani said Syria, Iran and Turkey were interfering and warned that Iraq's patience was wearing thin. Turkey has been accusing Talabani and Barzani, another Kurdish leader in Iraq, of supporting the PKK, terrorist organization making military attacks against Turkish, Iranian and Syrian targets. The organization is considered terrorist by Iraqi, American, Turkish and EU laws.
Talabani claimed that the neighboring countries are intervening the domestic issue of Iraq: "We are asking them to stop interfering in our internal affairs and respect the sovereignty and independence of Iraq otherwise we will be obliged to say something," Talabani added.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2006 15:04 ||
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#1
"And we have the United States still here to back up my talk and kick your ass!"
#2
Darth: Iraq is well on the way to having 10 of the top ground army divisions in the region. I don't know how effective their mech, artillery, and air force are yet, but once they have those, they should easily be able to whup Syria, and could give Turkey and Iran a run for their money.
The great secret is that the US wasn't training them to fight the insurgency, which is a mosquito on an elephant compared to their military, we trained them to fight and win against their neighbors.
Nobody else in that area, most likely even Turkey, can operate at the unified divisional level. This gives Iraq total dominance of maneuver and C&C in any land battle.
#3
Sounds like travel in Iran is about to become a bit more dangerous. Perhaps this is why Condi expressed so little enthusiasm for gasoline sanctions against Iran. If we're ready to let the Iraqis loose on Iran, things can't be going too badly.
#4
Nobody else in that area, most likely even Turkey, can operate at the unified divisional level. This gives Iraq total dominance of maneuver and C&C in any land battle.
Not to mention vastly superior Air-Land aspects and capabilities. An effective "no-fly" cap could be thrown over Iran in hours, maybe less.
#5
Still, I'd like to see the Iraqi Army with another year to 18 months under its belt (if conditions permit).
It will be interesting to see if the Iraqis could mount a unified force given its adversion to operating in outside regions. Would a unified army defend the Kurds? Could be a cause for rallying behind national interests.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/26/2006 22:12 Comments ||
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#1
"Peaceful war" is the sort of cognitive dissonance that only a toad like Sadr can propagate with a straight face. His troops remember what happened at Najaf the last time they took on the Americans in what passes for a stand-up fight in that part of the world. He knows he will not survive the next one.
BAGHDAD Lets put the bad news up front: Extremist elements in Iraq are vying for political and economic power and are seeking to take advantage of this delicate stage of transition in Iraqs history. Sunni and Shia extremists are using brutal and provocative tactics against one another. Baghdad is the center of gravity for this increasingly sectarian conflict. The conflict is complex: There are also foreign terrorists infiltrating the borders, renegade death squads, an insurgency, and foreign governments who seek to exert influence on Iraqi politics.
This, however, is only part of Iraqs present story. The violence belies the gradual but remarkable transformation this nation is experiencing. Focusing on just violence would miss telling the bigger story of how despite it Iraqis have made enormous steps toward self-sufficiency in both the security and political realm.
Iraqi security forces taking control
Three years ago, there were virtually no security forces in Iraq. Today - Iraqis are standing up military and police forces that number over 300,000. In coming months, the Coalition and the Iraqi government will reach the goal of 325,000 trained and equipped force members.
Quality is improving with quantity. In April 2004, almost all Iraqi forces fled in the face of a militia uprising in Najaf. This August, when militia attacked an Iraqi Army outpost in Diwaniyah, the Iraqi army counterattacked and killed 50 militiamen in the ensuing battle. By the end of August, Iraqs special-ops brigade, with U.S. combat advisers, had netted 1,320 detainees in 445 operations all over the country this year, including three senior militia leaders and 20 most-wanted individuals. This month, Iraqi forces provided a safe environment for more than four million Shiite pilgrims celebrating the birth of the 12th Imam. And it was Iraqi forces operating independently who recently captured a major Al Qaeda in Iraq
A functioning command structure leader, Abu Hammam
This month, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki became commander-in-chief of Iraqs military in more than name only. That is, the Ministry of Defense and the Joint Headquarters who report to the prime ministerassumed operational control of the Iraqi Ground Forces Command, Navy and Air Force. Before Sept. 7, Coalition Forces exercised control of all of Iraqs military. Now, two of Iraqs 10 Army Divisions fall under this command structure. More will soon follow.
Of Iraqs 10 Army divisions, six division headquarters are in the lead in their areas of responsibility, which means they are capable of coordinating, planning, and executing security operations independent of Coalition forces. Twenty-six brigades and 88 battalions have this operational lead as well.
Healing a fractured society
Security will only improve with simultaneous political and economic progress. Under Saddam, government served the will of the dictator and primarily served one sect. Today, Iraqis are learning to share power and wealth. Local governmentsfrom provinces, districts or neighborhoodsare beginning to take responsibility for their citizens. The government must work to heal the wounds of this fractured society by getting all factions to reconcile. Leaders must promote laws that encourage investment and provide jobs. Recent initiatives show Iraqis meeting these challenges head on.
In Baghdad, several hundred Iraqi civil society representatives renounced violence this past weekend at the second of four conferences that are part of Prime Minister Malikis overall 24-point national reconciliation and dialogue plan.
On Sept. 21, the governor of the southern province of Dhi Qar took over civilian responsibility for security from Coalition Forces. Dhi Qar is the second of 18 provinces to take over civil control, and several more should meet the transition criteria before the years end.
The Iraqi government met with representatives of neighboring and European countries to form an International Compact, aimed at getting help to transform Iraq's economy. At the Sept. 10 meeting, Iraq pledged economic reforms in exchange for greater international support.
Several hundred companies from over 20 different countries attended the third annual international expo, held last weekend in Erbil aimed at promoting international investment.
Iraqs new unity government is moving forward and will continue grappling with tough political challenges, such as: how to balance power between central and regional governments (federalism); how to divvy up the countrys oil revenues (a hydrocarbons law); how to assimilate former members of Saddams Baath party (de-Baathification) and integrate and/or disarm militias. But Iraqis have succeeded in setting a road map for resolving these essential issues. Likewise, there is still significant work to be done in developing the security forces so they are capable of defending a democratic Iraq from both internal and external threats. But for such a young force, their advances have been impressive.
Iraq is living a critical moment in what Iraqis, and all our allies supporting the mission here, hope is the beginning of a long history of democracy for both this nation and the region. The process may seem arduously slow for Americans who value expediency and want our beloved service members out of harms wayand for Iraqis, many of whom live the violence daily. Iraqis have many difficult choices to make to bring unity, security and prosperity. As Iraqis persevere, we must maintain the patience to allow their critical efforts come to fruition.
BAGHDAD: The newly-appointed judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial threw Iraq's former leader out of court on Monday, imposing his authority on a legal process marred by political controversy.
A Kurdish villager, meanwhile, testified that women prisoners were often raped during the brutal 1987-1988 Anfal attacks against the Kurds that prosecutors say left 182,000 people dead.
Saddam was thrown out when he waved a sheet of yellow legal paper from the dock, declaring: "I have a request here that I don't want to be in this cage any more". But Judge Mohammed al-Oreibi al-Khalifah fired back: "I am the presiding judge. I decide about your presence here. Get him out." Bailiffs took Saddam out of the courtroom and the hearing at the Iraqi High Tribunal in Baghdad - where Saddam is facing charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity - continued.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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Have him cool off in the gas chamber for a while then bring him back in and see if he behaves any better.
WASHINGTON - The US military, seeking to maintain its current elevated troop levels in Iraq, will delay the departure of roughly 3,500 soldiers serving in the volatile Ramadi area, defense officials said on Monday. The soldiers are from a brigade of the Armys 1st Armored Division, based in Germany, that was due to have left Iraq in January, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been formally announced.
They will be kept over less than two months past their scheduled departure date and are now set to serve roughly 13 months, longer than the US policy of 12-month tours of duty in Iraq for Army soldiers, one official said.
The soldiers are serving in Ramadi, capital of Anbar province in western Iraq, heartland of the Sunni Arab insurgency.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the occupied Golan Heights an integral part of Israel and said he would never hand the area back to Syria, in comments published on Tuesday. As long as I serve as prime minister the Golan Heights will remain in our hands because it is an integral part of the state of Israel, Olmert was quoted as saying by Israeli newspapers.
Guess it's not polling very well
Israel captured the strategic plateau in the 1967 Six Day War and unilaterally annexed it in 1981. Damascus has repeatedly demanded the return of the Golan Heights, and peace talks between the Jewish state and Syria have stalled since January 2000 when both sides failed to reach agreement on the territory.
Then Labour prime minister Ehud Barak had envisaged handing back most of the territory, save for a small strip along the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which is Israels main reservoir of fresh water. Olmert has recently said he does not consider Syria as a reliable partner with which to conduct negotiations because Damascus continues to support terrorism.
Boy, nothing gets by him
Defence Minister Amir Peretz also said Tuesday that Syrias army has lowered its heightened level of alert following the end of the Lebanon war between Israel and the Hezbollah militia. There was a heightened level of alert in the Syrian army and now we see it being lowered, Peretzs ministry quoted him as telling members of the parliaments foreign affairs and defence committee. Several days after the start of the war in Lebanon on July 12, Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said that Syria had raised the level of alert of its security forces, fearing an Israeli strike.
Israel has accused Syria of supplying weapons to Hezbollah as well as to radical Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2006 10:30 ||
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Jordanian parliament has moved to tighten state control over mosque preachers, adding a provision to a bill to require prior written approval from the government before someone enters the pulpit. Sunday's changes came just three weeks after members of the lower house of parliament approved the law that aims to prevent the kingdom's mosques from being used to propagate extremist ideas.
But the senate, appointed by the country's ruler, King Abdullah II, tightened it even further and sent it back to the elected lower house, which endorsed the changes in a vote of acclamation on Sunday. Abdullah, the ultimate authority in Jordan, is expected to sign the bill into law soon, replacing legislation enacted in 1986.
The latest changes to the legislation require that the religious affairs minister approve in writing any new mosque preachers and anyone teaching the Quran, the Islamic holy book, in mosques. Under the bill, violators face penalties of up to one month in prison and a fine of $142.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- Israel played down on Monday remarks made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas indicating that the Palestinian National Authority was seeking to release two leading Palestinian activists held by Israel in exchange for an Israeli soldier held by Islamic activists in Gaza. "President Abbas' remarks are not serious," Israel Radio quoted an official source as saying, in reaction to remarks made by the Palestinian president, saying that authority was seeking to set free Marwan Al-Barghouti, a leading activist of the mainstream Palestinian organization Fatah, and Ahmad Saadat, Secretary General of the Marixt-oriented Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as part of "an operation to swap them for an Israeli soldier held in Gaza." Al-Barghouti has been sentenced to life in prison for involvement in "sabotage acts against Israel," while Saadat is held for complicity in assassination of an Israeli minister.
Abbas, in remarks broadcast by an Egyptian television network on Sunday, said he believed that Palestinian prisoners should be freed, including Saadat and Al-Barghuoti "for the pair have been unjustly put behind bars." He indicated that the Egyptian Government was involved in contacts with the Palestinian Islamic group, Hamas, to try free the Israeli soldier.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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1st - Hamas will recognize Israel and join a unification government (false.) Now - Israel is releasing a bunch of important jihadis (false.) Looks like Abbas needs some wax on the Ouigi Board.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/26/2006 0:36 Comments ||
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas officials in Gaza at the end of the week, Israel Radio reported Monday. At the meeting, the two are expected to continue to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian unity government. Earlier Monday, Abbas cancelled their original meeting, which was supposed to take place Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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On Friday no doubt, about three hours after services at the mosques end. Cue the obligatory seething and demonstrations afterward. Then Hamas can state that the 'street' has spoken out against it all.
Sigh. You knew this was coming. The EU has been panting to get aid into the hands of the poor Paleos, and since Hamas refuses to budge the EU will just have to cave in. Ramadan is just an excuse. You have to wonder if there is any limit at all to Euro venality.
BRUSSELS - The European Union has begun distributing 40 million euros ($51 million) of aid to 40,000 of the poorest Palestinian families at the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the EUs executive said on Monday.
It also called for new cash to expand an aid scheme set up by Middle East peace mediators to alleviate hardship following US and European bans on direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after the Islamist group Hamas won a January election.
The whole point was hardship: the Paleo people were free to vote in a gang of bloodthirsty killers as their new gummint, but they then had to live with the consequences. The EU, of course, doesn't believe in consequences, so they'll let the Paleos off the hook.
To make a difference, we will need new donors to come forward to support the temporary international mechanism, EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said of the scheme, devised to channel international aid to Palestinians while bypassing the Authority.
A spokeswoman said the new aid would be distributed in cash via local banks and amount to 270 euros per person. It will go to Palestinian families whose normal welfare support was cut off in February because of the Authoritys cash crisis.
Just in time for the traditional Ramadan gift people make to the Widows Ammunition Fund.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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They could have the UN distribute the cash...
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/26/2006 0:50 Comments ||
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Continuation of the Holocaust by other means. All while Eurocrats sneer at the US about their moral superiority. I could puke.
#4
Nah, I know. They'll get theirs. Allying with genocidal fascists never seems to work out too well for them. I just hope I'm not still here when the roosting chickens of justice come home.
My grandfather immigrated to the US from Czechoslovakia in the 1920s. He was home visiting family with his mother in 1938 when the Czech army tried to draft him. They made a beeline for one of the last ships out, where great-grandma began shouting obscenities at the Nazi officer checking their papers. Grandpa tossed her over his shoulder, grinned sheepishly and said she was crazy, sprinted up the gangplank, and got the hell out -- with great-grandma screaming abuse the whole way. She was nuts, but you gotta love her moxie.
I'm beginning to understand how they must have felt. I'm just not sure if I'll leave as he did, or as she did.
#5
Despite whatever of her negligible shortcomings, bless your great-grandma's soul, exJAG. So few had enough guts to face down the Nazis. So few have enough guts to confront today's new Nazis. Welcome aboard at Rantburg, may you and your kin inspire us all.
#6
Wait just a cotton-pickin' minute -- you're based in Europe? exJAG, dear, you have to mention these little things, so we can properly weigh your comments on such subjects (and so Seafarious knows where to go for her next business trip cum bar-hop). We still await her report on the situation in Barthelona and environs, you know.
#7
Well, it's not like they could have distributed 40 millions euros to the EU's poorest citizens for Xmas, for example... gotta have your priorities set straight.
Speaking of charities, the people organizing the identity "pork soup" for european homeless people were beaten up by the french police when the soup was raided the 21st september, and the Bonnivard couple was arrested. It's because they discriminate, y'know.
#8
Oh yeah, sorry. I'm in Al-Lemagne. Pretty quiet here, outside of the occasional attempted train bombing, and ubiquitous moskkks and full black chadors.
Speaking of the little things. Seafarious is a chick? Kewl.
#9
I'm beginning to think there's more chicks than guys here at the 'burg. Not that I'm complaining. Nope. Not me. I'm just hoping that's because the guys are all out on missions like OS.
#11
Definietly the wrong website, a5089. I don't know that that word means and I don't want to, but Rantburgers are all lovely people, in my experience.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 9:39 Comments ||
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I'm beginning to think there's more chicks than guys here at the 'burg. Not that I'm complaining. Nope. Not me. I'm just hoping that's because the guys are all out on missions like OS.
I'm all for a female majority, if needed, as long as that doesn't change the pics in the RB Times-Picayune and Scimitar to cater to the them, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
09/26/2006 14:11 Comments ||
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Back to the topic: seems to me the whole purpose of Ramadamalinglong is to humble yourself before Mo the Magnificant (ptui), y'know fasting and all. So WTF is the EU doing sending $$ to make it easier to get along day to day? something doesn't add up. But then again, looking at the players, I would be surprised if it did make sense.
Thanks, I'm all done. Back to our regularly scheduled commentary.
#18
exjag, gotta watch out for the women here on the burg. I think they all had past lives with OGA's. Not only can they bake up a pie but they will put you to task if your not carefull. They are clear, articulate, and when they are on a rant, a great read.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/26/2006 15:24 Comments ||
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#19
tw, as usual, you don't want to know. One would think you'd'ave learnt that by now.
#22
not a chance when I'm here to steer the thread into the gutter :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 18:36 Comments ||
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#23
This war against Islamofascism--and war is exactly the right term--will not truly be fought by our side until our women both understand and solidly support the men who are fighting it. When there's a "Mary Postgate" mentality among American women, Islamofascism will finally be treated as it deserves to be. Ladies like TW, Swamp Blondie and Seafarious understand this. Let's hope their sisters catch on soon because I don't think we've got a lot more time to waste. The locusts are being very busy.
Posted by: mac ||
09/26/2006 18:39 Comments ||
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#24
until our women both understand and solidly support the men AND WOMEN who are fighting it.
#26
lotp: two apologies are in order. First, I'm an old guy so I use the English grammar conventions I was taught long ago, i.e. that "men" covers all persons of either sex when used in the collective sense. Second, that I left you out in mentioning women who understand the seriousness of this war we're fighting. Sorry.
Posted by: mac ||
09/26/2006 19:51 Comments ||
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#27
USMA - no doubt, no disrespect
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2006 19:52 Comments ||
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Both Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and a senior Saudi government official denied in interviews with The Jerusalem Post on Monday reports that Olmert met recently with a senior member of the Saudi family, perhaps even the Saudi king himself. Olmert characterized the reports as "speculation, imagination, things that are beyond the limits."
Nevertheless, he did praise the Saudis for the positive role they have played in the region recently. "When you examine their performance over the last couple of months, you see something that you haven't seen in the past," Olmert said. "More sense of responsibility, and a greater degree of readiness to stand up and speak up against Shi'ite extremists like Hizbullah."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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John "Fn" Kerry journalistic response? "I met with him but then I did not meet with him."
Likud MK Silvan Shalom met with representatives of every Muslim country except Saudi Arabia in his three years as foreign minister, Shalom told a crowd of Likud activists in his annual holiday toast on Monday night in Ramat Gan. Shalom did not elaborate on meetings with representatives of Muslim countries like Iran, Iraq or Sudan. But he mocked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for the headlines in the Hebrew press about a purported meeting with Saudi King Abdullah that Olmert denied. "If he really met the king of Saudi Arabia, it's a great accomplishment," Shalom said sarcastically. "But such meetings have to be behind the scenes. They wanted headlines to show that they are doing something. To run to tell their friends to get a headline on Rosh Hashana is not serious."
Shalom lashed out at the government for its inexperience and for not appointing a state commission of inquiry to investigate the war in Lebanon. He said the Quartet's willingness to endorse a Palestinian national unity government was a significant diplomatic failure on the part of the government.
The Likud leadership candidate also did not spare criticism for incumbent Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu. Without mentioning him by name, he said the party would have to replace Netanyahu to return to power. "We have to understand why a million people left us and decided not to vote Likud," Shalom said. "They left because they thought we lost our way. The public didn't buy our message in the 2006 election. We can't run with a socioeconomic flag flown at half-mast or not at all."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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These are the guys the other judge said should be released. Guess they won't make homecoming this year.
OFER MILITARY BASE, West Bank - An Israeli military court Monday ruled that 21 Hamas officials arrested in a crackdown on the Palestinian ruling Islamist party should remain in detention pending further investigations.
The military judge ruled in favor of a request by prosecutors to hold the officials, including parliament speaker Aziz Dweik, in detention while their case is examined, the defendants attorney, Jawad Boulos, told AFP. Israeli army radio quoted the judge as saying there is enough evidence that the defendants belong to a terrorist organization to justify that they remain in detention until the end of the inquiry.
They cant hide behind their official duties, the judge said.
The men are among scores of elected Hamas representatives arrested by troops in a massive West Bank sweep following the June 25 capture of Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit in a raid claimed jointly by its armed wing.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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Good. Keep these terrorists imprisoned until after Abbas can get a vote of no confidence passed in order to ensure a collapse of the Hamas coalition government. Israel is doing itself a huge favor. And for fuck's sake, someone keep the jail keys away from Olmert!
If Israel is going to act like jurisdiction over the Palestinian government is legal, how about we go back to a one state solution
one man one vote
Posted by: Bruce from MS ||
09/26/2006 6:24 Comments ||
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#3
Israel tried imperialism already, Mr. Bruce from MS, in 1967-2000, although calling something the size of New Jersey an empire is a bit silly, don't you think? Especially since until 1967 those who now call themselves Palestinians insisted that the one thing they weren't was Palestinians and, waving guns in the air they insisted on being referred to as simply part of the Arab Nation, and legally and by clan ties those in the West Bank were Jordanians, and those in the Gaza Strip were Egyptians. (That's why the worst thing Israel can do to those they arrest is exile them from one of the Territories to the other, where they haven't any relatives.) This is actually a police action instead of all out war. Israel's next step will likely be clearances, a la the English aristocracy in Scotland... although I imagine they'll skip the sheep bit, rather than answering the Palestinians' all-out war with the same.
The ability of U.S. ground troops to safely navigate the gauntlet of the urban battlefield has been greatly enhanced through the development of the VeraTech Aero "Phantom Sentinel" line of Virtually Invisible VTOL UAV Surveillance platforms.
The Phantom Series single blade rotorcraft has the ability to deliver close up, real time video intelligence within 75 feet of nearly any event and remain virtually undetectable to the human eye.
Based on the concept of persistence of vision, the Phantom's single rotor blade has a center of rotation outside of the UAVs' physical fuselage. As the aircraft spins, it disappears from vision. The Phantom has a uniquely minimal cross section allowing it to "slice" through even the most adverse weather conditions that would keep conventional UAV systems on the ground.
The rotational inertia generated in flight allows the UAV to self level and maintain a very high degree of stability, even while hovering. Phantom is scalable from two to ten feet in length to accommodate a wide variety of flight times and payloads. The compact size and light weight make it easy to fold, field pack, and hand launch.
#2
Regardless of the platform, persistant surveilance and data entry of key terrain is vital. Events matrixing and archiving, going back 2, 5, 15, even 30 days enables regional traffic patterns to be monitored and tracked from the date of the event backwards to their origins. "Real time" is excellent for troops "in contact" or for kinetic effects reporting but it can be too little too late for other occurrences.
The United Nations force created to police southern Lebanon faces not only a threatening al Qaeda presence cheek by jowl, but endless handicaps in performing its mandated functions.
The New York Times correspondent reports: One month after a UN Security Council resolution ended a 34-day war the international force members say they cannot set up checkpoints, search cars, homes or businesses or detain suspects. If they see a truck transporting missiles, for example (in violation of the UN arms embargo), they cannot stop it because under their interpretation of the Security Council resolution (1701) that deployed them, they must first be authorized to take such action by the Lebanese army.
I won't hold my breath
And whereas the Security Council allocated 15,000 troops to expanded UNIFIL, only 5,000 are deployed.
Once again, Bush refuses to deploy enough troops. Oh, wait...
According to the NYT, the UN commanders repeat as a mantra that their job is to respect Lebanese sovereignty by supporting the Lebanese army. They will only do what the Lebanese authorities ask.
DEBKAfile adds: More than 40% of the Lebanese army consists of Shiites. Their loyalty goes first to Hizballah or their Shiite commanders rather than the Lebanese government.
Israeli officials and commanders have their own mantra which is that there is no Hizballah activity on the ground. The last Israeli forces can therefore pull out of South Lebanon by the end of the month. DEBKAfile notes that the Olmert government continues to cover up the failure of its war objectives by polishing up its aftermath. The truth is that Hizballah activities are intense but do not figure in the reports of UNIFILs European contingents, which have their own agenda. This agenda has whittled down most elements of the mission assigned the UN force by Resolution 1701, which was approved in the first place to prevent Hizballah from continuing its attacks on Israel and destabilizing the area.
As for the demand to disarm Hizballah, the paper quotes local Shiites as making it clear they will fight anybody who tries to take Hizballahs weapons away. For the forces to remain welcome they must demonstrate they are there to protect the Lebanese from Israel not to police the Lebanese on behalf of Israel.
DEBKAfile adds: Hizballah would not need to fight the international force. Al Qaedas second-in-command Ayman Zawahiri stated in his last videotape this month that UNIFIL in Lebanon is a target for terrorist attack. Hizballahs hands can therefore stay clean. US Intelligence Director John Negroponte reported last week that Qaedas expansion into Lebanon, exploiting the conflict there, is being taken seriously. The chasm between the Sunni Muslim al Qaeda and Lebanons Shiite Hizballah is no bar to collaboration.
They'll fight over who gets to wear the gold turban later
However, from the Israeli side of the border, yellow-clad, Hizballah flag-waving demonstrators are photographed day by day, throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles and moving into the former locations of the destroyed Hizballah positions. DEBKAfiles military sources report that just a month after the ceasefire went into effect, Hizballahs arsenals are filling up again as trucks head south from central and northern Lebanon unimpeded by Israeli or international troops. Israel has still not appointed a new head of the IDFs Northern command to replace the war commander Maj.-Gen Udi Adam who stepped down last week.
As for the international force, its robust policing operations have more or less been relegated to the archives of the UN Security Council.
Ah, well, it's not like we expected it to amount to anything.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2006 14:37 ||
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Beirut, 26 Sept. (AKI) - The suicide bomber who killed the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and 23 others in Beirut was not Lebanese but foreign, according to experts working on the UN probe, who say a tooth found at the scene of the February 2005 blast holds clues. The fourth report of the UN commission head by Belgian judge Serge Brammertz, was given to secretary general Kofi Annan on Monday and will be discussed by the UN Security Council later this week.
In the report, Brammertz said a tooth, found at the crime scene during the investigations carried out just after the explosion in February 2005, belonged to the same male person whose 27 parts were previously recovered.
Another tweezers and plastic baggie recovery operation
He noted that odontological examinations showed that the tooth belonged to a man, possibly in his early 20s, unlikely to be older that 25, and showing a distinguishing mark to the surface of the crown which is a feature "rarely seen among people from Lebanon." He said another complete tooth, belonging to the same person, was collected last June and further forensic tests are being undertaken to establish if possible the "regional origin of the person."
Examination of trace chemicals in teeth can reveal where that person grew up. Minerals and oxygen are absorbed in childhood through what you eat and drink. Can also tell where you lived later in life. Who knew watching "Meet the Ancestors" could be so helpfull?
In the report to the Security Council Brammertz said the commission continued to finalise its primary crime scene work, including its forensic research and analysis. According to the report, the bomb that ripped apart Hariri's motorcade was inside a minibus in which the suicide bomber was travelling.
What happened to the "bomb under the street" report?
From the time of the attack, many Lebanese and international media have openly accused the former heads of the Lebanese secret services of having ordered the assassination of Hariri with the complicity of president Emile Lahoud and heads of the Syrian security services who were deployed in Lebanon until the spring of 2005. Four former heads of the Lebanese security forces, close to president Lahoud, have been under arrest since August 2005, suspected of involvement in planning the attack.
In the first report by the UN commission of inquiry, at the time led by the German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, there was an official reference to the involvement of the Syrian regime. Subsequent reports (December 2005, January and March 2006) have been more technical in nature. In the March report, drawn up by Brammertz, the Syrian authorities were praised for their cooperation. That same theme was continued, sources say, in the document consigned to UN headquarters on Monday, which states that the commission is in general terms satisfied with the cooperation received from Syria and that investigators will continue to "request full support to obtain information and facilitate meetings with (Syrian) people".
On this note the text notes that the commission will continue to question and re-question representatives and former representatives of Lebanese and Syrian government and state bodies.
There has been no official reaction from Syria to the report, but behind the scenes there is satisfaction over the fact that Damascus is no longer 'in the dock'. According to the director general of Syrian television, Fayez al-Sayegh, the report comes close to confirming the innocence of Syria, while the deputy foreign minister Faysal Miqdad says the document is "more positive" than previous ones.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2006 09:27 ||
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#1
How sure are we that that tooth came from the bomber ?
#2
Who knew watching "Meet the Ancestors" could be so helpfull?
I love that show. I wish there were a US version, but the native activists would go on the warpath.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/26/2006 10:38 Comments ||
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#3
How sure are we that that tooth came from the bomber?
They must have good evidence, perhaps DNA from the pulp or attached tissue matched the other 27 parts. (Now there's a plot line for CSI. Putting together a whole body like a jigsaw puzzle) Also, maybe none of the other bodies are missing teeth.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2006 14:25 Comments ||
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#4
How sure are we that that tooth came from the bomber?
That wad of Semtex sticking to the occlusal wear facet was a dead giveaway.
TEHERAN - A senior Iranian nuclear official on Monday blamed Russian contractors for delays in building Irans first nuclear power plant, saying they lacked the required technical capabilities, a news agency reported.
But hours later in Moscow, the head of Irans Atomic Energy Organisation, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, made clear that despite his grievances, nuclear cooperation with Moscow would continue and possibly expand.
"Please don't cut us off!"
The Bushehr power plant in southwest Iran was supposed to start up in early 2006 but has faced several delays. Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russias atomic energy agency, said this month that it was now likely to start up in September 2007.
I believe the current contractor lacks the necessary technical capabilities, Aghazadeh was quoted by students news agency ISNA as saying shortly before leaving for Moscow. It was clear from the beginning that it (the contractor) was incapable, but we had to sign with the Russian contractor because we had no other alternative, he said, adding that construction could be completed in six months.
Russian nuclear engineering, from the people who brought you Chernobyl and the Tupolev.
Critics say that the $1 billion Bushehr project and Russias hopes of taking part in tenders for several more similar power plants, has been a major incentive for Moscow to support Teheran.
Relations between Russia and Iran are very important for us, Aghazadeh told Kiriyenko at the start of their meeting in Moscow. We will focus on the completion of the Bushehr plant and also on cooperation in the nuclear power sector, he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
out a rush on it. Thats how you get projects like this done. Don't worry about safety
US President George W. Bush will stop the Iranians from getting a nuclear bomb, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated with certainty during an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Monday. Olmert's comments come amid a debate raging in Jerusalem about whether the US will eventually take military action to stop the Iranian march to nuclear capability, whether Israel might have to act on its own, and whether Jerusalem should reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran. Asked whether he felt that Bush would, one way or another, stop Iran from going nuclear, Olmert replied succinctly, "I believe so."
Olmert said Bush was very determined on this issue. "First of all I think President Bush has the courage," he said during the interview in his Jerusalem office. "This is something that is very important. There is no one in the world today who has greater courage and determination, and a sense of mission about these issues, than President Bush, and I admire his determination and sense of mission."
Olmert's assessment is at odds with those inside the intelligence community who argue that the US president is too over-extended in Iraq and Afghanistan, and too politically weak at home, to take military action against Teheran. As to whether Israel had a military option of its own regarding Iran, Olmert said, "Israel can't accept the possibility of Iranians having nuclear weapons and we will act together with the international forces, starting with America, in order to prevent it. And as I also said, I believe that President Bush is absolutely determined to prevent it, and America has the capabilities to actually prevent it."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2006 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.
DHAKA -Two Bangladeshi Islamic militant leaders could be hanged within a month if they fail to appeal against their death sentences, the countrys top jailor said Monday.
Peace between Israel and the Palestinians should be the governing Labour Party's top foreign policy priority and Britain must push the US to help achieve it, former British foreign secretary Jack Straw said Monday. Straw said a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians was crucial to stabilizing the region and a personal passion for him. "That is, I'm afraid to say, at the heart of so many of the international problems which not just this country but the world faces," he said.
North Korea will probably test a nuclear weapon, with an even chance of doing so this year, as Kim Jong-ils regime tries to assert its defiance in the face of increasing international pressure, said Richard Armitage, former US deputy secretary of state.
On Sept. 5, the day Danish police arrested nine Muslim suspects in connection with a foiled terrorist plot, a slender book warning of conquest by Islamic fundamentalists in Europe appeared in bookstores here.
A top Turkish general said Monday that increasingly powerful Islamist forces threatened Turkey's secular system and that the army would play its role in defending the country against them, the state-run news agency reported. 
President Bush on Tuesday said it is naive and a mistake to think that the war with Iraq has worsened terrorism, disputing a national intelligence assessment by his own administration. He said he was declassifying part of the report. 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday accused Bill Clinton of making "flatly false" claims that the Bush administration didn't lift a finger to stop terrorism before the 9/11 attacks.
The US and European Union are close to a deal for sharing airline passenger information that would avert disruption to the worlds busiest air traffic routes. Officials from both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed that a new anti-terrorism agreement is almost certain to be signed on Thursday, two days before the current regime expires.
Pakistan yesterday denied that the deal it had struck with militants in the troubled North Waziristan was brokered by Taleban leader Mullah Omar. Referring to a report published in the Daily Telegraph of London, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said the government reached an agreement with the notables of Waziristan to bring peace to the area. She added that the peace had nothing to do with the Taleban or Mullah Omar.
PESHAWAR: Cinema owners in the NWFP have refused to comply with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government's order to close cinemas during Ramazan, saying that the cinema business would not affect prayers. The cinema owners refused to comply with government orders during a meeting chaired by NWFP Senior Minister Sirajul Haq on Monday. 
BAGHDAD Lets put the bad news up front: Extremist elements in Iraq are vying for political and economic power and are seeking to take advantage of this delicate stage of transition in Iraqs history. Sunni and Shia extremists are using brutal and provocative tactics against one another. Baghdad is the center of gravity for this increasingly sectarian conflict. The conflict is complex: There are also foreign terrorists infiltrating the borders, renegade death squads, an insurgency, and foreign governments who seek to exert influence on Iraqi politics. 
BAGHDAD: The newly-appointed judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial threw Iraq's former leader out of court on Monday, imposing his authority on a legal process marred by political controversy.
Jordanian parliament has moved to tighten state control over mosque preachers, adding a provision to a bill to require prior written approval from the government before someone enters the pulpit. Sunday's changes came just three weeks after members of the lower house of parliament approved the law that aims to prevent the kingdom's mosques from being used to propagate extremist ideas.
(KUNA) -- Israel played down on Monday remarks made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas indicating that the Palestinian National Authority was seeking to release two leading Palestinian activists held by Israel in exchange for an Israeli soldier held by Islamic activists in Gaza. "President Abbas' remarks are not serious," Israel Radio quoted an official source as saying, in reaction to remarks made by the Palestinian president, saying that authority was seeking to set free Marwan Al-Barghouti, a leading activist of the mainstream Palestinian organization Fatah, and Ahmad Saadat, Secretary General of the Marixt-oriented Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as part of "an operation to swap them for an Israeli soldier held in Gaza." Al-Barghouti has been sentenced to life in prison for involvement in "sabotage acts against Israel," while Saadat is held for complicity in assassination of an Israeli minister.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas officials in Gaza at the end of the week, Israel Radio reported Monday. At the meeting, the two are expected to continue to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian unity government. Earlier Monday, Abbas cancelled their original meeting, which was supposed to take place Tuesday.
Both Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and a senior Saudi government official denied in interviews with The Jerusalem Post on Monday reports that Olmert met recently with a senior member of the Saudi family, perhaps even the Saudi king himself. Olmert characterized the reports as "speculation, imagination, things that are beyond the limits." 
Likud MK Silvan Shalom met with representatives of every Muslim country except Saudi Arabia in his three years as foreign minister, Shalom told a crowd of Likud activists in his annual holiday toast on Monday night in Ramat Gan. Shalom did not elaborate on meetings with representatives of Muslim countries like Iran, Iraq or Sudan. But he mocked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for the headlines in the Hebrew press about a purported meeting with Saudi King Abdullah that Olmert denied. "If he really met the king of Saudi Arabia, it's a great accomplishment," Shalom said sarcastically. "But such meetings have to be behind the scenes. They wanted headlines to show that they are doing something. To run to tell their friends to get a headline on Rosh Hashana is not serious." 
Beirut, 26 Sept. (AKI) - The suicide bomber who killed the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and 23 others in Beirut was not Lebanese but foreign, according to experts working on the UN probe, who say a tooth found at the scene of the February 2005 blast holds clues. The fourth report of the UN commission head by Belgian judge Serge Brammertz, was given to secretary general Kofi Annan on Monday and will be discussed by the UN Security Council later this week. 
US President George W. Bush will stop the Iranians from getting a nuclear bomb, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated with certainty during an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Monday. Olmert's comments come amid a debate raging in Jerusalem about whether the US will eventually take military action to stop the Iranian march to nuclear capability, whether Israel might have to act on its own, and whether Jerusalem should reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran. Asked whether he felt that Bush would, one way or another, stop Iran from going nuclear, Olmert replied succinctly, "I believe so." 
