Are we witnessing the birth of a new conspiracy theory?
That '62 Sedan Was a Real Bomb
By Al Kamen
Washington Post, Friday, March 11, 2005; Page A21
Sudan's foreign minister told Al Jazeera television Wednesday that his government wanted to know more about a U.S. nuclear test in Sudan in 1962 that was disclosed last week at a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing.
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) checked the subcommittee transcript and, sure enough, there is Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) talking about a previously undisclosed 1962 "Sudan" nuclear test, which "displaced 12 million tons of earth and dug a crater 320 feet deep" with more than a 1,000-foot diameter.
But the FAS said the context makes it clear Tauscher was talking about the 1962 explosion in Nevada code-named "Sedan." "The remarkable crater it left behind can be visited today by tourists."
Both the Federal News Service and FDCH Political Transcripts mistranscribed Sudan for Sedan, and it "has been so recorded in the Nexis news database, where it continues to cause mischief," FAS reported.
....and will no doubt assume the status of historical fact among eco-wackies, and find its way into NEA inspired lesson plans for elementary students.
Sudan's agriculture minister was reported to have suggested Wednesday that the test may have caused cancers in Sudan.
Seventeen NGOs initiated studies to prove this before the issue was cleared up.
After talking to embassy officials, the foreign minister said the confusion was cleared up. "They want to confirm the tests did not take place in Sudan but in Sedan, part of the United States in Nevada," he added, according to Reuters.
Oh, never mind.
French luddites and America-haters can pick up the story from there.
The 1962 "Sedan" plowshares shot displaced 12 million tons of earth and created a crater 320 feet deep and 1,280 feet wide.
"By the Prophet's nostrils, Achmed, it looks like Sudan. After all, the story was on Al-Jazeerah and this Tauscher is a member of their Dhimmi-crat party, though still only a woman. Maybe she was just trying to blow the whistle on them and made this "mistake" to slip it past Bushitler's evil censorship."
Posted by: Napoleon II ||
03/12/2005 22:35 Comments ||
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I rather doubt that the government of Sudan follows the doings of the House Armed Services subcommittee that closely. I'd wager they were tipped-off by the intelligence service of a nation hostile to the U.S.(read: Russia, France or China) seeking to embarrass the U.S. If so, it backfired nicely.
Saudi Arabia has concluded that a Libyan plot to assassinate the kingdom's de facto ruler in late 2003 was cloaked to look like an al Qaeda-inspired domestic revolt and was broken up only days before it was to have been carried out, according to Saudi officials and documents that detail the investigation. This month, a religious judge in Riyadh is tentatively scheduled to put 13 suspects on trial who have been in Saudi custody since the plot was uncovered in November 2003, Saudi officials said. The defendants are eight Saudis and five Libyans, including four Libyan intelligence agents, according to Saudi investigative documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The Libyans were caught delivering more than $1 million in cash at a hotel in Mecca to Saudi dissidents hired to assassinate Crown Prince Abdullah, who has ruled the kingdom since 1996, after his half brother, King Fahd, was incapacitated by a stroke. The Libyan agents had recruited the Saudis to launch grenades and other explosives into Abdullah's apartment in Mecca, the documents show.
The assassination was planned to occur about three weeks after al Qaeda suicide bombers blew up a residential compound on Nov. 9, 2003, in Riyadh, killing 17 and wounding 122. That attack marked the apex of a violent campaign unleashed six months earlier by al Qaeda cells to drive Westerners out of the kingdom and weaken the Saudi government. The plot was publicly disclosed last June, when an American Muslim leader from Virginia pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to illegal dealings with Libya and told prosecutors about the planned assassination. The Saudi investigative documents show for the first time, however, that the operation was disguised as an al Qaeda operation and give fresh details about the Libyans and Saudis involved and what led to their arrests.
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 2:00:37 AM ||
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Maybe we could do the deed and make it look like the Libyans who were trying to make it look like AQ.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/12/2005 11:49 Comments ||
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Fascinating! An old tribal feud? Kadaffy making mischief on his own? Or perhaps one of Darth Rumsfeld's minions sat in a corner of a dark restaurant with one of K's stooges, shook his head sadly and said "Mr. Rumsfeld is very, very disappointed with his Saudi friends'.
Eight foreign terrorist suspects, regarded as among the most dangerous men in the country, walked free on bail today after the government finally hammered controversial anti-terrorism measures into law. Politicians finally approved Prime Minister Tony Blair's anti-terrorism bill after one of the longest parliamentary sittings in British history -- a 30-hour marathon which started on Thursday morning and ran all through the night. A deal was reached after Blair promised to give parliament an opportunity to overhaul the legislation next year.
As exhausted politicians left parliament, some of the country's top terrorism suspects were leaving jail where they had been held without charge or trial for up to three years under old anti-terrorism legislation ruled unlawful by judges last year. A judge ordered their release earlier on Friday on grounds their detention was illegal. Two other terrorist suspects had already been released on bail terms, one on Thursday. Just hours after the new law was passed, the Home Office said "control orders", the central component of the legislation, would be imposed immediately on the eight men -- described by the government and the country's most senior police officer as a serious threat to society. The new control orders would be similar to the tough bail terms that had been set -- that they wear electronic tags, stay home for 12 hours a day and refrain from pre-arranged meetings. The problem is that in the case of people like Abu Qatada, they don't need to meet with anyone to issue orders - they can do it all online. Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 1:55:58 AM ||
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If someone was the spritual mentor to Mohamed Atta he needs to be dead. I hope someone can figure out how to get to him. I don't care how many Brits it upsets quite frankly.
When I heard the BBC has 10 billion dollar war chest to promote it's anti-American and TRANZI propaganda I quit giving a tinkers damn about what the UK thinks. If my government set up a special fund and corporation to undermine the UK and capitalism I think the UK average Joe would rightly be pissed off. The BBC has been pushing for the release of these terrorists. The BBC calls them "militants." These people are clearly terrorists. The BBC is actively seeking to undermine the US led WoT. The BBC is a government sponsored and funded supporter of terrorism. The BBC says they are just unjustly held and have done nothing wrong. The BBC is wrong. Cap a terrorist for Uncle Sam. Cap a BBC âcorrespondentâ for Uncle Sam. Same difference.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez defended Iran on Friday in its dispute with the United States and Europe over its nuclear program, saying Iran has a right to atomic energy. Chavez, whose country is a leading U.S. oil supplier, announced his stance after meeting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who declared that both governments will stand "firm against any aggression." "Iran has every right, like many other countries have done, to develop its atomic energy and continue its research in this field," Chavez said after top officials from both countries signed 20 cooperation agreements in areas from petrochemical projects to agriculture. "Venezuela and Iran agree in firmly rejecting the imperialist policy of the United States."
Both countries face increasingly tense relations with the Bush administration, which has voiced concerns that Iran could be trying to acquire nuclear arms and has criticized what Chavez's opponents call a drift toward dictatorship. Iran insists its nuclear program is purely for energy uses, and Chavez has accused Washington of backing plots to oust him. Speaking before Venezuela's congress, Khatami lamented "the injustice of the great powers that try to control the world." He said they include the United States and interfere "in other states under the precept of fighting terrorism and try to force all of humanity to follow their monopoly of power." "What must be condemned are calls for violence, whether from terrorists or from aggressors with yearnings for domination," Khatami said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 2:23:53 AM ||
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Executive summary: Armenia still belongs to Putin's "Warsaw Pact Lite", the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), but it's geographically cut off from the rest of the CSTO by non-members Georgia and Azerbaijan. The Armenian genocide and Turkey's support of Azerbaijan in the Karabakh mess have kept Armenia hostile toward NATO-member Turkey, souring relations with the whole alliance. But that seems to be changing, especially as John Q. Armenia realizes that Putin's Russia is a losing horse, and support for NATO and EU membership among Armenians is growing. Some recent NATO visitors to Yerevan made encouraging noises, and the Armenians responded in kind. Expect more efforts to get Turkey and Armenia on speaking terms, plus the inevitable umpteenth Karabakh iniative. Long term, Armenia jumping ship and joining NATO would be a major diplomatic and geopolitical pimp-slap across Putin's face, comparable (if not greater than) Kiev's "Orange Revolution." But one thing at a time here...
Posted by: Rex Rufus ||
03/12/2005 6:04:28 AM ||
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Radical rebel warlord Shamil Basayev called on Chechens to recognize a field commander and former head of Chechnya's Islamic Court as their new leader following the killing of Aslan Maskhadov, according to a message posted Thursday on a rebel Web site. Basayev confirmed that under a 2002 agreement between Maskhadov and other Chechen leaders, the former court chairman, whom he called Sheikh Abdul-Khalim, was to succeed Maskhadov, the Kavkaz-Center Web site said.
Maskhadov's son Anzor told The Associated Press in an interview from his home in Baku, Azerbaijan that Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev's appointment would be formally announced Thursday by Maskhadov's leading spokesman abroad, Umar Khambiyev. The Internet newspaper Gazeta.ru Web site, citing Russian special services, said Abdul-Khalim was the head of the rebels' so-called Shariat committee and a Saudi national, one of five who came to the fore of the rebel movement in summer 2002 because of their ability to bring foreign funds to Chechnya. But Anzor Maskhadov denied that, saying he was Chechen.
The new leader is little-known outside rebel circles. Ekho Moskvy radio said that Russian prosecutors considered him the main organizer of the 2001 kidnapping of American Kenneth Gluck, who worked for Doctors Without Borders in southern Russia. Gluck was freed after 25 days. The radio station said Maskhadov had called Sadulayev the co-organizer of a June 2004 raid on police and security installations in the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia, which killed some 90 people. It quoted the mainstream Muslim mufti of Chechnya, Akhmat-Hadji Shamayev, as calling Sadulayev Chechnya's "Wahhabi No. 1" referring to the Saudi-born, ascetic strain of Islam associated with international terror leader Osama bin Laden. That would mark a significant shift since Maskhadov was considered a relative secularist among the increasingly radical Islamic leaders of the Chechen rebel movement.
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This article starring:
ABDUL KHALIM SADULAIEV
Chechnya
Akhmat-Hadji Shamayev
ANZOR MASKHADOV
Chechnya
ASLAN MASKHADOV
Chechnya
Doctors Without Borders
OMAR KHAMBIYEV
Chechnya
SHAMIL BASAIEV
Chechnya
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 2:05:39 AM ||
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New Commander of Russia's Troops in Transcaucasia, Major General Alexander Bespalov has been denied an entry visa to Georgia and is unable to arrive in Tbilisi, notwithstanding that the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified in advance the Georgian Foreign Ministry about forthcoming change in the troops' commander. Major General Bespalov has replaced Lieutenant General Alexander Studenikin, who was appointed to command the 2nd Guards All-Arms Army (Samara). Bespalov, who arrived from Moscow after finishing the General Staff's Military Academy, had to take over the office not in the staff of the Transcaucasia's troops in Tbilisi, but in the territory of the 102nd Russia's military base in Gyumri, Armenia. According to Vladimir Kuparadze, Deputy Commander of the Transcaucasia's troops, Georgia has given no reasons for visa's denial to Bespalov.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2005 1:25:19 AM ||
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No VISA? Low FICA score?
All this fuss over a stupid credit card?
North Korea has recently tightened state control over its hunger-hit population amid U.S.-led pressure over its nuclear weapons program and human right conditions, sources here say. South Korean officials and analysts interpret the move as part of efforts to prevent mounting outside threats over the nuclear standoff from triggering internal threats or opposition to the Stalinist leadership. Boosted by external threats, domestic opposition can jeopardize the totalitarian regime, evidenced, they say, by Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu, who was shot to death in December 1989 as communist rule ended in Eastern Europe.
In the latest development, two North Koreans were shot to death in public in late February on charge of smuggling North Korean women into China, according to a Seoul-based online radio service run by defectors from the communist nation. The execution took place at a marketplace in the North Korean city of Heoryong, bordering China and Russia on Feb. 28, Free NK (North Korea) said, citing a North Korean staying in a Chinese border city. According to North Korean defectors and intelligence sources in Seoul, human trafficking is rampant in North Korea for sex trade and labor. "Attitudes towards sex have changed dramatically in North Korea," said a defector who resettled in Seoul last year. "North Korean women who illegally crossed the border into China for food were sold into the sex trade," he said. "Female fugitives are working in restaurants and karaoke in China to earn money," the defector said.
The open execution comes at a time when outside influence is seeping in the watertight society. North Koreans traveling to China are exposed to the rapidly spreading capitalist culture there, and some of them smuggle radios and CDs containing South Korean songs and TV dramas, which are popular in most of Asia. With no signs of a revival of the country's tattered economy, cracks were starting to show in North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's dynastic control. Leaflets and posters against Kim's rule appeared in the nation. In the face of growing cracks in the system, North Korea amended its criminal code last year increasing penalties for expressing criticism of the government and other "anti-state" crimes. The revision, the fifth since 1950, also calls for tougher regulation on new crimes caused by infiltration of outside information.
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 2:33:06 AM ||
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Norks launches a crackdown..
Isn't that like trying to flatten something thats already flat??
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups are doing everything they can to get into the United States through Mexico and Canada. Rice, on her first trip to Mexico since taking over at the State Department in late January, echoed concerns raised by government officials in congressional testimony last month about the motives of the terrorist network blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001. "Indeed we have from time to time had reports about al-Qaida trying to use our southern border but also trying to use our northern border," Rice said. "There is no secret that al-Qaida will try to get into this country and into other countries by any means they possibly can."
Recent intelligence from current investigations, detentions and other sources suggests that al-Qaida has considered using the Southwest border to infiltrate the United States, according to testimony from a top Homeland Security Department official last month before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 2:22:19 AM ||
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..I thought the ACLU was taking care of that problem.
#2
So, um... do something about the borders? Christ. If Pedro and Jose can make it here, surely Mohammed and Mohammed already HAVE.
Posted by: Jeff C. ||
03/12/2005 9:55 Comments ||
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For quite some time Mohammed and Mohammed came here legally. The risk was likely reduced somewhat when the at-risk males had to register, and so many of them either ran home or went across the border to Canada. I would be happier if, in addition to encouraging the Minute Man Patrols, Homeland Security would complete the round-up and expulsion of those who are already here illegally -- so very many of whom simply overstayed their legal visas.
The Pentagon is seeking help from the US State Department and other agencies to transfer about half of the 540 detainees at the US base in Guantanamo, Cuba, to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen, The New York Times said yesterday quoting top US officials. Guantanamo was used to house terrorist suspects caught in Afghanistan and Iraq because it was thought to be beyond US laws guaranteeing basic rights to detainees, but recent court rulings allowing prisoners to challenge their detention have made the base less convenient, the officials said. The plan was backed by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a Feb. 5 memo, officials said, adding that it was part of a Pentagon effort to halve the Guantanamo prisoner population of about 540 by releasing some and transferring others for continued detention elsewhere.
The sources expected resistance to the transfers from the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, which in the past have raised concerns that foreign governments could subject prisoners to mistreatment or could harm US security, the sources told the daily. The State Department would be responsible for negotiating agreements with foreign governments receiving the Guantanamo prisoners to ensure their humane treatment, officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2005 12:51:59 AM ||
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The sources expected resistance to the transfers from the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, which in the past have raised concerns that foreign governments could subject prisoners to mistreatment..
We won't be mistreating them, and that's as far as our concern should go.
Saddam Hussein's regime offered a $2 million (£1.4 million) bribe to the United Nations' chief weapons inspector to doctor his reports on the search for weapons of mass destruction. Rolf Ekeus, the Swede who led the UN's efforts to track down the weapons from 1991 to 1997, said that the offer came from Tariq Aziz, Saddam's foreign minister and deputy. Mr Ekeus told Reuters news agency that he had passed the information to the Volcker Commission. "I told the Volcker people that Tariq [Aziz] said a couple of million was there if we report right. My answer was, 'That is not the way we do business in Sweden.' "
A clean report from Mr Ekeus's inspectors would have been vital in lifting sanctions against Saddam's regime. But the inspectors never established what had happened to the regime's illicit weapons and never gave Iraq a clean bill of health. The news that Iraq attempted to bribe a top UN official is a key piece of evidence for investigators into the scandal surrounding the oil-for-food programme. It proves that Iraq was offering huge sums of cash to influential foreigners in return for political favours.
Nile Gardiner, of the Heritage Foundation in Washington, who has followed the inquiries, said: "It's the tip of the iceberg of what the Iraqis were offering. For every official like Ekeus who turned down a bribe, there are many more who will have been tempted by it." Saddam and his henchmen siphoned off an estimated £885 million from the humanitarian scheme, allegedly paying some of that to 270 foreign politicians, officials and journalists. Most of those alleged to have been involved in the scandal, including the former head of the programme, Benon Sevan, have denied that they did anything wrong. A United States Senate report said that Mr Sevan had committed criminal acts by soliciting oil contracts, while the Volcker commission said that he had failed to explain $160,000 (£83,000) paid into personal bank accounts while he was the head of the programme.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 2:14:41 AM ||
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Well, we know Ritter got several hundred thousand dollars for his film, funneled through a Saddam ally.
Blix no doubt has double coded accounts in Switzerland, if he took anything beyond ego satisfaction and lush expense reports.
Posted by: too true ||
03/12/2005 8:17 Comments ||
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All I want is for Ritter to visit a front line Marine unit. And go out on a patrol as an embedded jounralist. The Marines know what to do to that scuzzball who is soiling the Marine's name every time he opens his paedophile piehole.
#4
My fingers are still crossed that a few Quislingcrat congresscritters, along with some fifth-column media scumbags, will be found on some Saddam-era payroll record, somewhere.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
03/12/2005 15:55 Comments ||
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#5
[photo]
Hey! The spelling on the sign is entirely correct! And the printing is nice and neat!!
#6
All I want is for Ritter to visit a front line Marine unit. And go out on a patrol as an embedded jounralist. The Marines know what to do to that scuzzball who is soiling the Marine's name every time he opens his paedophile piehole.
#7
All I want is for Ritter to visit a front line Marine unit. And go out on a patrol as an embedded jounralist. The Marines know what to do to that scuzzball who is soiling the Marine's name every time he opens his paedophile piehole.
THE main Muslim guerrilla group in Mindanao must hand over terrorists allegedly operating in its territory, or risk being listed as a terror organization by foreign governments, a terrorism expert said. Police and military intelligence say members of the Southeast Asian terror group, Jemaah Islamiyah, and the Philippine Muslim extremist group, Abu Sayyaf, are in areas controlled by Mindanao's main rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Zachary Abuza, a senior fellow of the US Institute of Peace, told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines that about seven "hardcore first-generation leaders" of Jemaah Islamiyah who have trained with al-Qaeda were in Mindanao. "This is very troubling to me," he said. "I don't believe that they could be there without MILF support."
Although the MILF has denied any links with either Jemaah Islamiyah or the Abu Sayyaf, Abuza said, the group has to take action against the terrorists to stay in the good graces of Manila and other governments. The group is in peace talks with the Philippine government to end its decades-long separatist insurgency. "Arrest them and turn them over," Abuza said. "They [MILF] are in total control of their territory. It's a matter of will." The MILF's reluctance to pursue terrorists on its territory "is getting completely untenable because at some point, governments are going to lose patience and the group (MILF) can potentially be put on the foreign terrorist organization list."
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 12:40:06 PM ||
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...Can we get some kind of message to these guys explaining what MILF means over here? I mean, NOBODY is gonna take these lads seriously.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/12/2005 13:46 Comments ||
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Yeah, I know what you mean...for a second, I had this image of Stiffler's Mom being hauled off to Gitmo.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
03/12/2005 15:43 Comments ||
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ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans for a combined air and ground attack on targets in Iran if diplomacy fails to halt the Iranian nuclear programme.
The inner cabinet of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, gave "initial authorisation" for an attack at a private meeting last month on his ranch in the Negev desert.
Israeli forces have used a mock-up of Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment plant in the desert to practise destroying it. Their tactics include raids by Israel's elite Shaldag (Kingfisher) commando unit and airstrikes by F-15 jets from 69 Squadron, using bunker-busting bombs to penetrate underground facilities... Attacking and destroying 1 out of 350 nuclear facilities will accomplish little. Unless they are trying to goad Iran into launching a nuclear missile that can be shot down.
#1
Darn, just posted the same article. Fred, please kill the dupe if it pops up.
I see this as an intentional leak to gauge MM's reaction. I think at the moment MM's are not capable to launch a nuke warhead. However, due to the lack of intel sources from Iran, some rocking of boat may reveal few interesting things about current status of their defences (or offences for that matter).
#2
Where did the "350 nuclear facilities" count come from? I thought it used to be "300" and I was skeptical even then. I find it very hard to believe that you would have to hit 350 facilities to cripple the program.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/12/2005 20:57 Comments ||
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#3
Only a fraction of those 350 would be the critical ones, but which? Redundance is also essential, so just destroying 1 of 5 or 10 places that can make something won't do. Debka gave the original estimate of 350, but I wouldn't think it unreasonable. Making nukes isn't easy. http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=940
#4
The much-touted Atlantic Monthly account of war games had less than 125 nuclear sites:
"The second part of the simulation consisted of air strikes on suspected Iranian nonconventional weapons sites and support facilities. The magazine said the Pentagon and intelligence community identified 300 such sites, including 125 biological, chemical and nuclear complexes."
Posted by: Tom ||
03/12/2005 21:32 Comments ||
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#5
I agree that this is a deliberate leak designed to shake the tree and see what falls out. A secondary purpose might be to spread disinformation about the details of the attack, in order to throw the MM's intelligence network (aka the western media) off the track. When the blow comes, the method will likely be a complete surprise.
#8
The could be the "big one."
As I indicated back in January, I suspect that at least some of Israel's Arrow interceptor missiles have nuclear warheads. This is the best way to be sure that an oncoming ballistic missile is killed dead rather than just damaged or knocked off course. The conventional Arrow is marginal at best against a ballistic missile with the the kind of flight performance needed to reach Israel from Iran. The nuclear option, most likely a low kiloton or sub-kiloton device, turns a very chancey proposition into a much more sure one.
This raises a sticky political problem: Any ballistic missile coming from Iran must be assumed to have a nuclear warhead. It may not have, but it will be too late by the time this can be definitely determined, most likely by a rising mushroom cloud.
Hence the nuclear Arrow would have to be launched without definite knowledge that the target was also a nuke, which would be "first-use" and therefore condemned by the global moonbat-appeasement community. The PM would have about 60 seconds to decide, and he would have to get it right.
Personally, I would give the "go" signal and tell the "international community" to get stuffed.
#11
I ment to say "none of the ones I have in mind" depend on the good will of the US or regional powers, nor are they neccesarily nuclear. I bet they have dependent ones in addtion to their ability to act unilaterally, and nuclear ones in addition to the conventional ones.
The use of any of them would be catastrophic for politics in the region (really hurting the US in Iraq, and the freedom movements in Syria and Iran), but not nearly as catastrophic as a NUDET over Jerusalem or Tel Aviv or Hafia.
One thing I'd do if I were Sharon: Make sure the Mullahs and Saudis know, in no uncertain terms, that a nuke detonation over Israel will bring multiple 100KT detonations at 100M over all of Mecca & Medina in Saudi and Qom & Mashad in Iran, followed by a high altitude airburst "dirty bomb" on each with enough Cesium and strontium to destroy each area and prevent anyone entering them for several centuries. Addtionally, the immediate demolishing of the Dome of the Rock by rocket, bomb, tank fire and D9 dozers to finish the job, the stones from which will be dumped at sea, after which a parking lot will be established there.
Tell the Muslims they can pray to a smoking radioactive ruin or else leave Israel alone - its their choice.
#12
Orion, Rolando Gutierrez's graphic presentation. Many more references at site.
Israel probably does not have enough nukes to build an Orion but the other required technology would not present any great difficulty and has much more in common with submarines and armored warships than with conventional aerospace practice.
In fact, when Orion was an active program during the early '60s, the managers tentatively selected nuke-submarine builder Electric Boat as the contractor. EB would build the secret spaceship on a barge in a covered drydock at their facility in Groton, Conn. When finished, it would be floated out and towed via the Panama Canal to the selected launch site, Johnston Island in the Pacfic.
#13
"As I indicated back in January, I suspect that at least some of Israel's Arrow interceptor missiles have nuclear warheads."
Not that I am not any type of military expert, but could nukes realistically be kept in the state of readiness required by extremely short advance warning defensive weapons systems such as the Arrow?
#15
To be a little more specific, the time required to arm a nuke is classified but it is well within the window for intercepting an IRBM warhead.
Everything depends on how quickly the Prime Minister could make the decision. The overall warning time would be on the order of 10 minutes, so we could assume 6 minutes if a decision could be reached and transmitted immediately. There are undoubtedly direct communication links for this.
#19
I ment to say "none of the ones I have in mind" depend on the good will of the US or regional powers, nor are they neccesarily nuclear. I bet they have dependent ones in addtion to their ability to act unilaterally, and nuclear ones in addition to the conventional ones.
The use of any of them would be catastrophic for politics in the region (really hurting the US in Iraq, and the freedom movements in Syria and Iran), but not nearly as catastrophic as a NUDET over Jerusalem or Tel Aviv or Hafia.
One thing I'd do if I were Sharon: Make sure the Mullahs and Saudis know, in no uncertain terms, that a nuke detonation over Israel will bring multiple 100KT detonations at 100M over all of Mecca & Medina in Saudi and Qom & Mashad in Iran, followed by a high altitude airburst "dirty bomb" on each with enough Cesium and strontium to destroy each area and prevent anyone entering them for several centuries. Addtionally, the immediate demolishing of the Dome of the Rock by rocket, bomb, tank fire and D9 dozers to finish the job, the stones from which will be dumped at sea, after which a parking lot will be established there.
Tell the Muslims they can pray to a smoking radioactive ruin or else leave Israel alone - its their choice.
#22
I ment to say "none of the ones I have in mind" depend on the good will of the US or regional powers, nor are they neccesarily nuclear. I bet they have dependent ones in addtion to their ability to act unilaterally, and nuclear ones in addition to the conventional ones.
The use of any of them would be catastrophic for politics in the region (really hurting the US in Iraq, and the freedom movements in Syria and Iran), but not nearly as catastrophic as a NUDET over Jerusalem or Tel Aviv or Hafia.
One thing I'd do if I were Sharon: Make sure the Mullahs and Saudis know, in no uncertain terms, that a nuke detonation over Israel will bring multiple 100KT detonations at 100M over all of Mecca & Medina in Saudi and Qom & Mashad in Iran, followed by a high altitude airburst "dirty bomb" on each with enough Cesium and strontium to destroy each area and prevent anyone entering them for several centuries. Addtionally, the immediate demolishing of the Dome of the Rock by rocket, bomb, tank fire and D9 dozers to finish the job, the stones from which will be dumped at sea, after which a parking lot will be established there.
Tell the Muslims they can pray to a smoking radioactive ruin or else leave Israel alone - its their choice.
Iran has rejected a new US policy offering economic incentives to the Islamic state to give up its nuclear enrichment programme. "No pressure, bribe or threat can make Iran give up its legitimate right" to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, said an Iranian spokesman. President George W Bush announced the major change in US policy on Friday.
... knowing what the Iranian reaction would be...
He said the US would back European talks to resolve the stand-off over Iran's nuclear issue. His Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, announced the lifting of a decade-long block on Iran's membership of the World Trade Organization, and objections to Tehran obtaining parts for commercial planes. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters on Saturday that "the remedying of some of the faults and the addressing some of the restrictions that were imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran without any cause will not prevent Iran from getting its legitimate right" to develop a nuclear energy capability. "The restrictions regarding [aircraft] spare parts that were of no military use should have not been imposed from the beginning, and lifting them is not an incentive," Mr Asefi said. "Getting into the WTO is the right of all countries of the world," he said.
Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons, but has suspended uranium enrichment after negotiations with France, Germany and the UK. The US and European Union want that move made permanent, and have threatened to seek United Nations sanctions if Iran does not comply. There have been suggestions that the US is planning to use military force against Iran's suspected nuclear weapons facilities. If the current negotiations fail, and the issue goes to the Security Council, that would represent a hardening of the European position and would be worrying for Iran, says the BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran.
US President George W Bush said on Friday: "I'm pleased that we are speaking with one voice with our European friends. "I look forward to working with our European friends to make it abundantly clear to the Iranian regime that the free world will not tolerate them having a nuclear weapon." "The decision that the president has taken is that the United States will make an effort to actively support the EU3 negotiations with the Iranians," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, referring to talks with Iran led by Britain, France and Germany.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 12:35:57 PM ||
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Israel said on Friday that Iran was very close to being able to make a nuclear bomb and urged the United States and Europe to pressure Tehran to abandon a suspected nuclear arms program. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told Reuters an Iranian nuclear bomb would be a "nightmare" for Israel and other countries. "In our view, they are very close, they are too close, to having the knowledge to develop this kind of bomb and that's why we should be in a hurry," Shalom said in an interview on a visit to Mexico.
Pakistan acknowledged this week for the first time a disgraced Pakistani scientist at the center of a nuclear black market gave Iran centrifuges which can be used to make atomic weapons. Shalom would not put a date on when Israel thought its bitter foe Iran could have nuclear arms, which he said could eventually take nuclear weapons to the heart of Europe because Tehran is developing new long-range missiles. "The idea that this tyranny of Iran will hold a nuclear bomb is a nightmare not only for us but for the whole world," Shalom said.
Israeli warplanes bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in a daring raid in 1981 to prevent it from making atomic bombs. Observers have speculated Israel might launch a similar strike against Iranian facilities, but Shalom played down the military option against Iran. "We believe that diplomacy is the only way to deal with this issue," he told a meeting of academics and journalists. The United States and Europe launched a coordinated push on Friday to get Iran to abandon its suspected nuclear arms program by offering economic incentives as a carrot and possible U.N. action as a stick. "I am very satisfied with the European and American determination in asking the Iranians to comply with the understanding they achieved with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European countries," Shalom said.
Washington announced it would allow Iran to begin talks on joining the World Trade Organization and would consider allowing it to buy commercial aircraft spare parts, in a major policy shift requested by the Europeans. In return, Britain, France and Germany said they would haul Tehran before the U.N. Security Council if it resumed uranium enrichment and nuclear reprocessing activities. "The only way to do it if the Iranians will not comply is to move it to the Security Council," Shalom said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 2:18:18 AM ||
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#1
"We believe that diplomacy is the only way to deal with this issue," he told a meeting of academics and journalists.
Translation: "It's too late to stop them, God help us all."
#2
The ongoing diplomatic patty cakes with the MM's is beyond annoying, its down right dangerous. I can't fathom a nuclear Iran being allowed to exist.
The irony of this whole thing is an Israeli saying that the UN is the only way to do anything! Jew hating is an entire culture at the UN. What's wrong with him?
I pray this is all a smokescreen for the big old bag of hammers that's about to be dropped.
Partial withdrawal precedes arrival in Damascus of UN envoy Terje Larsen with ultimatum for Assad: Failing complete pullout from Lebanon, UN secretary Annan will call Security Council session in April to approve sanctions.
Saudi Arabia leads major Arab governments in secret notice to Syrian ruler invalidating 1989 Taif Accord. Assad claims 1989 Taif Accord is mandate for Syrian presence in Lebanon.
Syrian Kurds poised for massive demonstrations backed by US and Iraqi Kurds to mark first anniversary of their "Kamishli uprising." More Syrian opposition factions expected to join protest.
Mofaz after talks with Mubarak in Sharm: Israel will withdraw from Philadelphi border route of Gaza Strip after Egypt stops Palestinian arms smuggling from Sinai.
Withdrawal will be final step of Israel's disengagement from Gaza Strip and 750 Egyptian troops will police border More bilateral military-level consultations scheduled before military protocol is signed.
Israel and visiting US troops Thursday began month-long war game Juniper Cobra to test Israel's Arrow II missile-killer with US Patriot batteries.
US spokeswoman said no connection with any event in region, but Israeli security sources said Iran's most advanced Shahab-3 missile would be treated as main "threat." Some independent experts doubt whether Arrow would be reliable against Shahab-3 salvo
Funerals begin in Mosul for 50 killed in Thursday's suicide bombing attack on mourning tent at Shiite mosque. Eighty more injured. Several children missing.
Posted by: Sobiesky ||
03/12/2005 1:24:47 AM ||
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#1
Syrian Kurds poised for massive demonstrations backed by US and Iraqi Kurds Sobiesky, its not clear what your source is for this statement but if true, it is very significant for two reason. 1. If the US is providing some kind of support, it will have to involve military gaurantees along the lines of preventing Syria armour and air (and perhaps all military units) from being moved into Kurdish areas. There is no way Bush will allow a repeat of the 1991 debacle. 2. The Iraqi Kurds have been very careful not to overplay their hand and are in the middle of crucial negotiations over Kirkuk, the last thing they should want at present is conflict in Syria. Therefore if they are supporting it now, they must believe now is a critical moment, and all that is required is enough of a push to bring the whole Syrian house of cards down.
#2
Phil, wish I can tell you, but I lost the refs. One of the Kurdish online news outlets. So, you need to take it with a grain of salt. There is a sit in demo planed in Syria, that I knew of, that is related to âKamishli uprisingâ. Perhaps it is being expanded as a part of the pressure on Assad from all sides or maybe because of that.
#6
We're watching the European option regarding Iraq being played out in Iran
"America is exaggerating/lying about the potentional risk"
"Only our immaculate diplomatic skills can save the world from an nuclear-armed Iran"
"What would actually BE the harm with Iran having nuclear weapons"
"We can turn the world's relationship with Iran into a mutually healthy one. Once we do this, Iran will never launch an attack against any international interests".
I'm not sure about the value of a two-party system where both parties are nutz, but it's still early in the game...
Hamas announced Saturday it has decided to run in an upcoming Palestinian parliamentary election, a senior official said. The election, to be held on July 17, will determine who will replace the Palestinian parliament chosen in a 1996 ballot. "We have decided to participate in the parliamentary elections," said Sheikh Hamed Bitawi, a Hamas leader in the West Bank. Sammy Abu Zohri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, confirmed the decision announced in Nablus. "The statement made in Nablus reflects the official position of the Hamas movement. Hamas is going to participate," Abu Zohri told The Associated Press. "Hamas ... has decided to participate in the upcoming Palestinian legislative elections on the basis of sticking to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and protecting the program of resistance as a strategic choice until the occupation is swept away," said Mohammed Ghazal, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, reading a statement from the group.
This article starring:
HAMED BITAWI
Hamas
MOHAMED GHAZAL
Hamas
SAMY ABU ZOHRI
Hamas
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2005 1:46:04 PM ||
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#1
We're going to have to avert our gaze at times as Arab elections will not always provide anybody to root for. Reuel Marc Gerecht's recent columns and new book claim it's still in our long term interest to let this play out and hope these organizations evolve into political parties. I've found him to be one of the more reliable commentators. We should get him for the next Rantburg thing in DC!
#2
..in our long term interest to let this play out and hope these organizations evolve into political parties.
The only evolution that is likely to happen is that Hamas is going to grow a "political wing". The terrorist body will still prefer terrorism in order to advance its agenda.
Al Qaeda Organization in Iraq has slammed as a gathering of infidels an international conference to mark the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings, and said Islam will prevail. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the three-day conference in the Spanish capital Thursday the world must quickly take concerted action against terrorism and deny extremists the chance to carry out a nuclear attack. "How many times do the infidels meet in solidarity against Islam and jihad (holy struggle) ... and stand in the same trench with one thing on their minds; to fight Muslims and abuse them," the group said in a statement posted on a Web site used by Islamists Saturday.
Al Qaeda's branch in Iraq said the group was obliged to "terrorize the enemies of God" in a relentless struggle and that it was certain of victory. "No matter what you prepare, o you infidels, you will be defeated and will never be victorious because God has promised us victory," it said in the statement.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 12:37:54 PM ||
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Very quietly, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has taken the line of least resistance on the issue of the controversial religion column in the machine-readable passport (MRP) by passing the buck to the provinces instead of standing firm on the decision to not have the column. This was predictable. There are deep differences within the federal cabinet and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q on the issue of the religion column with the group headed by party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain supporting the inclusion of the column.
The controversy was originally started by the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal which argues, along with other clerics, that the MRP would be used by the Ahmadiyya community — declared non-Muslim since 1974 — to travel to the holy places for pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Even so, despite earlier resolve to settle the issue quickly, the Aziz government has continued to drag its feet and has now decided to leave the matter to the provincial governments. Interestingly, the interior ministry has strongly recommended the exclusion of the column, while the religion minister, Ijaz-ul Haq, continues to support its inclusion. Haq is supported in this by some party stalwarts who are ideologically right-of-centre. They are not prepared to accept the logic of General Pervez Musharraf's enlightened moderation even as their political clout is owed to Musharraf's system. The interior ministry actually submitted a detailed summary on January 5, 2005 to explain why it did not support the inclusion of the religious column in the new MRP. After it was first announced that the religious column would be omitted, Aziz found himself in a fix when former premier and PMLQ president, Shujaat Hussain threw his weight behind the forces demanding the inclusion of the column in the MRP. The ruling party, in a resolution, asked the government to include the omitted column introduced in 1980 by General Zia-ul Haq. Indeed, Shujaat actually went ahead and announced — without formally consulting Aziz — that the religious column would be put back in the passport.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2005 11:05:49 AM ||
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A pretty good summary, I think. Perv, with his trademark combination of pragmatism and duplicity, tries to keep Pakistan from ending up floating in the soup. The MMA wants to build a diving board.
General Pervez Musharraf has gone hoarse exhorting Pakistanis to be "moderate" and "enlightened". He has trooped all over the country pleading for a "soft image" of Pakistan. He has posed with Grand Prix racing car drivers, jogged with Marathon runners, mingled with glitterati at fashion shows, sported well cut western suits, chomped Havana cigars in bush shirts, rubbed shoulders with music bands like Junoon, and so on, with one aim in mind: to show the rest of the world that we're "regular" guys doing all the moderate things that normal people do in this day and age and not the fiery, fanatical, bearded, blood curdling terrorists and jihadis that we are made out to be by the western media.
Where, oh where, would the Western media get that picture? Other than from the Pak media and occasional eyeball observation. No doubt Daniel Pearl, if he was still alive, would be happy to pitch in to clear up the misunderstanding.
Alas. In the last few months, we can point to at least four cases in which the leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League have consciously obfuscated, abandoned or negated the very principles of enlightened moderation espoused by General Musharraf.
Not a low dive, mind you. Not a medium-height diving platform. A high dive, with a springboard, nothing else will do...
One example of mealy mouthed obfuscation and contradiction in government was demonstrated by the issue of the "religion-column" in the proposed new machine readable passports. The federal interior minister, Aftab Sherpao, and the religious affairs minister, Ijaz ul Haq, remained at loggerheads. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the PML president, was loath to abandon his pro-MMA instincts. The issue required one firm policy statement from the very top but none was forthcoming. Meanwhile, the foreign media went to town and ridiculed Pakistan.
Actually, I haven't seen that much in the foreign press on the subject, except here at Rantburg. That could be because the issue's so stoopid that the foreign writers feel like they must be missing something...
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), the sectarian outfit banned twice by the government for terrorist activities, has decided to take part in the forthcoming municipal elections. The group was originally banned three years ago but reincarnated as Millat-e-Islamia Party. The MIP has also since been banned. If its decision materialises, this would be the first time it would be contesting municipal polls in Sindh. "Yes, we have decided in principle to contest local polls across Sindh," Qari Shafiqur Rehman, information secretary of the SSP Sindh, confirmed to TFT.
SSP's main objective seems to be to eat into some constituencies presently under the control of Maulana Fazlur Rehman's Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam. The JUIF fares well in some districts of northern Sindh. Even though it has never won any seat from the areas in general elections, the municipal dynamics have worked to its advantage. The SSP has a bone to pick with the Mutahidda Majis-e-Amal, especially the JUIF, for keeping it out of the alliance. But within the MMA, it has an interest in linking up with Maulana Samiul Haq's JUI, which, for all the practical purposes, has deserted the MMA. Sources say the SSP is also contacting local leaders of PMLQ and PMLN. The strategy essentially banks on local rivalries, compulsions and political expediency. "The Samiul Haq group has approached us and offered their support to our candidates in the local elections," Qari Rehman claims.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
MAULANA AZAM TARIQ
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
MAULANA FAZLUR REHMAN
Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam
MAULANA SAMIUL HAQ
Mutahidda Majis-e-Amal
QARI SHAFIQUR REHMAN
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam
Millat-e-Islamia Party
Mutahidda Majis-e-Amal
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2005 11:02:15 AM ||
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A terrorist group has published a do-it-yourself plan to make a dirty bomb on its Internet site. Named Almasadah Al-Jihadiah, the site is run by a group whose aim is to promote and propagate terror activities in the region. A member of the group, calling himself Abu Al-Harith Al-Sawahiri the Mujahid Sheikh, provides a step-by-step instruction of making a dirty bomb, starting from tear gas canisters to higher-grade bombs, including those using uranium, on the site. The member, whose expertise veers toward chemical warfare, shows a marked emphasis in making gas bombs. He introduces the subject by naming the different gases used for these purposes, and follows it up with their reaction with the elements, effects and their impact, before concluding by telling all where to buy them.
The first lesson gives a detailed definition of the word gas and the kind of gases that can be used as a weapon. And the gases that are used ought to be easy to prepare. At the Internet site, the writer classifies gases into two major types persistent gas and non-persistent gas. The former evaporates slowly. This type of gas is as strong according to the writer as it is when it is in liquid form. It will give off vapor or remain dangerous till the substance (liquid) is there. The non-persistent gases are those that evaporate completely as soon as they are exposed to the air. The writer even describes how to treat the affected areas of the body if by any chance a person is exposed to this type of gas: All one has to do is expose the affected part of the body to fresh air. The terrorist also categorizes lethal gases according to the amount of harm each does to the human body. There are four kinds of gases that affect different parts of the body tear gas, nasal gas, choking gas and finally the blistering gas. Some 15 chemicals have been used worldwide as tear gas agents. One of the main agent of tear gas is chlorine, and the gas when released evaporates after being exposed to heat. This type of gas makes the victim feel irritation in his eyes and sometimes damages the eyelashes.
The writer goes on to give lessons on how to prevent and or cure oneself if exposed to such gases, until he is asked by one of the participants in the Net forum to give a lesson on how to make gas bombs from scratch and from easy-to-get substances. Al-Sawahiri promised his fellow "Mujahedeen" that he would teach them how to make the lethal gas phosgene and how to use it. Phosgene produces a choking effect. The writer asked his colleagues to study the effects of gasses and the cure for them before going into how to make them. "I want you all to know this because you should know the cure before the disease," he said.
At the end of his session, the writer, who asked his followers to go for jihad, received a comment from another writer asking him to give more details as they needed it to start making those gases in Iraq. "We need simple quick ways to make them, for us to quickly fight the Americans and the great traitor Allawi," said the comment. The site has also issued a statement in the form of a "Fatwa" allowing and justifying the killing of foreigners in the country. The statement entitled "Fighting the Foreigners", which is issued by a group based in Algeria and named Al-Jamaah Al-Salafiyah (The Salafi Group), says that the Crusaders who invaded Islamic countries centuries ago have set up the Arab governments to be their eyes in the region. Therefore, the group argues, it is a must to kill the foreigners who are guarded by such governments.
The site also carries fresh news from Iraq including movements of the No. 1 wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, as well as recent pictures taken of him. The forum has changed the anti-terror slogan issued by the Saudi government, which shows a picture of a policeman holding a citizen's hand and says under it "Together Against Terror", and put instead "Together with the Mujahedeen" under the same picture.
This article starring:
ABU AL HARITH AL SAWAHIRI
Almasadah Al-Jihadiah
Al-Jamaah Al-Salafiyah
Almasadah Al-Jihadiah
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 2:40:12 AM ||
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Recent movements of armed militias around the eastern Sudanese town of Akobo in Jonglei State have led to increased tension in the area, humanitarian sources told IRIN. "Some 700 militia were heading to Akobo from Nasir [near the Ethiopian border], during the first week of March," one source said on Wednesday. "The troops came very close, up to an hour's walking distance, and camped there for a day or so," he added. Another source within the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) however, said the militias, which were grouped under the umbrella of the South Sudan Defence Force, were pulling back from the area.
On 17 February, fighting broke out when armed militias attacked Akobo. They were reportedly under the command of Taban Juoc, who was recently promoted to the rank of Brigadier by the Sudanese government. "The unprovoked attacks on SPLM/A positions in the town of Akobo by renegade Commander Taban Juoc are a direct violation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ," Samson Kwaje, spokesman for the SPLM/A said in a 4 March statement. "Given the fact that Juoc is a brigadier in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), he should of necessity observe all provisions of the CPA," Kwaje added.
Juoc denied involvement in the attack on Akobo in an interview with the Sudan Radio Service on 25 February, adding that he was the legitimate commissioner of Akobo appointed by the government of Sudan. "I did not go to Akobo," Juoc said on the radio. "I'm with the Sudan government and I am already integrated as [a] Brigadier in the SAF." The SPLM/A retook Akobo on 20 February and its Commander Dou Yaak said the armed group that briefly occupied Akobo had killed three SPLM/A soldiers. He also said the armed men had destroyed part of the hospital and the church, and burnt down approximately 2,000 tukuls (grass huts).
Officials said the deal between the Shia clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance and the Kurdish parties opens the way for naming a Cabinet when Iraq's democratically elected National Assembly convenes on Wednesday. The Kurds agreed to support the alliance's candidate for prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. In exchange, the alliance will back PUK leader Jalal Talabani as Iraq's first-ever Kurdish president. The Kurds will receive one major Cabinet post, one fewer than they demanded. On the thorny issue of territory, officials in both political camps said the deal provides for the eventual return of 100,000 Kurdish refugees to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, southwest of Mosul. The government will discuss returning the refugees and redrawing existing Kurdish autonomous regions to include the city, according to the deal.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 1:53:46 AM ||
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Pakistan's army on Friday warned tribesmen in the country's western border regions to give up protecting "terrorists" or face military action. "Although all tribes and sub-tribes of your agency have signed an agreement not to provide safe havens to the terrorists, credible intelligence reports suggest that a number of terrorists are still present there," Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain said.
Surely you're not saying you actually believed they'd stop cozying up with the Bad Guyz?
Safdar, who heads the army's hunt for al Qaeda-linked militants in northwestern Pakistan, was speaking to tribal elders from North Waziristan region, an army statement said. "You must take tangible action against them otherwise the government will be left with no option but to launch a military action against them," he said at a meeting in Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan.
They're counting on Qazi and the MMA making that not happen...
Last week Pakistani soldiers killed two foreign al Qaeda suspects and arrested 11 people in a remote village in North Waziristan, 300 km (185 miles) southwest of the capital, Islamabad. Officials say the sustained crackdown forced militants to flee to other areas inside Pakistan as well as to Afghanistan. But so far, the security forces have found no sign of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden or his deputy Ayman al Zawahri, who some experts say are somewhere in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2005 1:51:31 AM ||
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Iraqi Kurdish chief Massoud Barzani warned in an interview aired on Al-Arabiya television last night that the fate of northern Iraq's oil-rich city of Kirkuk must be determined now. "We do not agree on postponing this matter until after the constitution, we must agree on the issue of Kirkuk now," Barzani said, the day after the election-winning Kurds and Shiites said they were about to cement an agreement for governing the country.
The Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, the country's largest vote-getter, and the second-placed Kurds have said they agree that Kirkuk, whose Kurdish population was largely expelled by Saddam Hussein, should be settled under the terms outlined by article 58 of Iraq's interim constitution (TAL). But Barzani, who heads the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which controls the northern provinces of Arbil and Dohuk, was insisting the steps to be taken under the provision be spelled out now. "If we follow what article 58 says then I am sure we can solve this matter peacefully." A senior KDP official Dilshad Miran, who represents the Kurdish regional parliament in Baghdad, said consensus existed among the parties, but the Kurds, who were brutally oppressed under Saddam, wanted steps spelled out on all issues. "It is important the understanding between the two sides is clear and transparent. For the Kurdish people there have been a lot of problems in the past. Politics cannot just be built on trust," Miran said. The Kurds, whose 77 seats give them the second-largest share in the new 275-member National Assembly, have insisted on a written pledge from the UIA, which swept the polls with 146 seats, on the TAL and Kirkuk. The Kurds had wanted guarantees that more steps would be taken on Kirkuk in line with the TAL's article 58.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2005 1:00:45 AM ||
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The opposition in Pakistan's Parliament yesterday denounced Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad's statement a day earlier identifying nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan as the man who supplied centrifuges to Iran. The minister's statement was highly irresponsible, opposition members said in the National Assembly and walked out.
They walk out every day over something or other...
The lawmakers said the minister's remarks could create problems for the nation. They called for a debate on the matter, but National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Ameer Hussain rejected the request. Dozens of angry lawmakers continued shouting over the speaker's objection, then walked out.
"That does it! We're leaving and you can't stop us!"
"Sergeant-at-arms! Get their coats for them!"
Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the leader of the Islamic political alliance, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, said Sheikh Rashid's remarks were "highly irresponsible." "This is a very serious and sensitive matter and the house should hold a debate on it," he said. "Once again Pakistani leadership is playing in the hand of the United States to serve its sinister motives against Iran," said opposition lawmaker Liaquat Baloch, an MMA legislator. "This is part of a conspiracy to defame national heroes and our scientists." Baloch demanded the government stop making "reckless" statements and tell lawmakers when the centrifuges were handed over and who was in control of the military and the government in Pakistan at that time.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2005 12:57:37 AM ||
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#1
The lawmakers said the ministerâs remarks could create problems for the nation.
#6
Spot-
The catch here is that they know we know but they also know that the Paki people don't know, so it's in their best interests that they don't know that we know.
Simple.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/12/2005 13:40 Comments ||
Top||
#7
The catch here is that they know we know but..
Good work, Mr. Kozlowski.
Posted by: Donald Rumsfeld ||
03/12/2005 19:12 Comments ||
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President Bush has named Zalmay Khalilzad, the ambassador to Afghanistan and a long-time national security adviser, as the new US ambassador to Baghdad, administration officials announced Thursday. Khalilzad, an Afghan-American citizen, will replace John Negroponte, who is said to have found the job so "aggravating" he left after less than a year there. Last month, Bush named Negroponte as America's first director of National Intelligence. Khalilzad will take over one of the most closely watched and dangerous US diplomatic posts. Officials did not say who would succeed him in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2005 12:53:38 AM ||
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Amid fears of revenge attacks a day after a suicide bomber killed 47 Iraqis and wounded more than 80 in a packed Shiite funeral tent in Mosul, religious leaders called for calm yesterday. Grieving families canceled a planned public funeral procession for the victims in the northern city after a mortar shell early yesterday slammed into the site of the carnage. Sunni leaders, fearful of reprisals, urged calm in the city, Iraq's third largest and one of its most ethnically and religiously diverse. "It was a terrorist attack meant to spark civil war but I think the Sunnis and Shiites will not succumb," said Nureddine Hayali, a spokesman for the Islamic Party.
Iraq's Shiite clerics also urged cool heads after the calamity. The office of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the spiritual guide for Iraq's Shiites, said he was calling for "unity and solidarity among all Iraqis despite the attacks targeting the innocent." Sistani has consistently denounced vigilante justice against Iraq's Sunnis, perceived as fueling the insurgency, whom the 15-million strong Shiite majority blames for many attacks carried out against it. In some sections of Baghdad, Shiite individuals and militias have started taking action against suspected insurgents, ranging from making arrests to killing people, although the incidents are still isolated.
Shiite clerics urged the incoming Iraqi government to do more to protect the Shiites. "Those innocents (who were killed) committed no wrongdoing other than being Shiites. The government should find a solution for that problem and we are stretching hands of help," said Sheikh Sadreddin Kubanji during a sermon in Najaf. Meanwhile, US military officials said they had detained a female member of the Al-Qaeda group headed by Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2005 12:32:13 AM ||
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#1
I know it would be like tossing gasoline on a fire but this one sided crap is getting old.
I think a few mortar rounds into the crowds outside a few Sunni mosques after prayers might go a way towards convincing some Sunnis to get with the farking program. The Sunni might start giving these terrorists killers up. That or more mortar rounds could start falling on the Sunni mosques themselves.
#3
If you think car/suicide bombs are (effective) terrorism then you are wrong. They are theatre for the media. The real terrorism is targeted assasinations as has been understood for at least a millenia. The Sunni's seem to be getting nervous (justifiably) about effective terrorism applied to them.
I must confess I know nothing about this man, but thought his bio looks interesting. From the looks of his accomplishments and awards, I'm guessing that he might be one of the intellectual forefathers of the jihad movement we are faced with today. One of the OG (original gangsta) "Learned Elders of Islam."
The head of the Academy of the Arabic Language, Chawki Deif, who was also renowned for his books on Arabic literature, has died at the age of 95. Deif died of severe bronchitis in a Cairo hospital on Thursday, Egyptian newspapers reported Friday.
Deif drew on his profound knowledge of Arab history and literature, as well as his studies of Islam, to write some 40 books, notably "A History of Arabic Literature." It ran to several volumes, the first appearing in the 1960s and the last in the 1980s. An Egyptian, Deif received many awards for his work, including the King Faisal Literary Award from Saudi Arabia and the Mubarak High Order for Literature from Egypt. His books were translated into English, French, Chinese and Persian.
Born to a religious family in the Nile Delta town of Dumyat on Jan. 13, 1910, Deif studied the Islamic holy book, the Quran, at a village school before enrolling in a state school. He read humanities at the Cairo University, graduating in 1935. In 1942 he received a doctorate for his work, "Artistic Genres in Arabic Poetry," a book that became a classic and is still widely read in Arab universities. He joined the Academy of the Arabic Language, a Cairo-based institute that is the Arab equivalent of the Academie Francaise. Founded in the 19th century, the academy has the job of ensuring that Arabic keeps up with modern concepts. Deif was elected head of the academy in 1996. He taught Arabic literature at Cairo University for nearly 50 years. A funeral service was scheduled to be held at the university on Friday.
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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.
Saudi Arabia has concluded that a Libyan plot to assassinate the kingdom's de facto ruler in late 2003 was cloaked to look like an al Qaeda-inspired domestic revolt and was broken up only days before it was to have been carried out, according to Saudi officials and documents that detail the investigation. This month, a religious judge in Riyadh is tentatively scheduled to put 13 suspects on trial who have been in Saudi custody since the plot was uncovered in November 2003, Saudi officials said. The defendants are eight Saudis and five Libyans, including four Libyan intelligence agents, according to Saudi investigative documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The Libyans were caught delivering more than $1 million in cash at a hotel in Mecca to Saudi dissidents hired to assassinate Crown Prince Abdullah, who has ruled the kingdom since 1996, after his half brother, King Fahd, was incapacitated by a stroke. The Libyan agents had recruited the Saudis to launch grenades and other explosives into Abdullah's apartment in Mecca, the documents show.
Eight foreign terrorist suspects, regarded as among the most dangerous men in the country, walked free on bail today after the government finally hammered controversial anti-terrorism measures into law. Politicians finally approved Prime Minister Tony Blair's anti-terrorism bill after one of the longest parliamentary sittings in British history -- a 30-hour marathon which started on Thursday morning and ran all through the night. A deal was reached after Blair promised to give parliament an opportunity to overhaul the legislation next year.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez defended Iran on Friday in its dispute with the United States and Europe over its nuclear program, saying Iran has a right to atomic energy. Chavez, whose country is a leading U.S. oil supplier, announced his stance after meeting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who declared that both governments will stand "firm against any aggression." "Iran has every right, like many other countries have done, to develop its atomic energy and continue its research in this field," Chavez said after top officials from both countries signed 20 cooperation agreements in areas from petrochemical projects to agriculture. "Venezuela and Iran agree in firmly rejecting the imperialist policy of the United States."
Radical rebel warlord 
North Korea has recently tightened state control over its hunger-hit population amid U.S.-led pressure over its nuclear weapons program and human right conditions, sources here say. South Korean officials and analysts interpret the move as part of efforts to prevent mounting outside threats over the nuclear standoff from triggering internal threats or opposition to the Stalinist leadership. Boosted by external threats, domestic opposition can jeopardize the totalitarian regime, evidenced, they say, by Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu, who was shot to death in December 1989 as communist rule ended in Eastern Europe.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups are doing everything they can to get into the United States through Mexico and Canada. Rice, on her first trip to Mexico since taking over at the State Department in late January, echoed concerns raised by government officials in congressional testimony last month about the motives of the terrorist network blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001. "Indeed we have from time to time had reports about al-Qaida trying to use our southern border but also trying to use our northern border," Rice said. "There is no secret that al-Qaida will try to get into this country and into other countries by any means they possibly can."
The Pentagon is seeking help from the US State Department and other agencies to transfer about half of the 540 detainees at the US base in Guantanamo, Cuba, to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen, The New York Times said yesterday quoting top US officials. Guantanamo was used to house terrorist suspects caught in Afghanistan and Iraq because it was thought to be beyond US laws guaranteeing basic rights to detainees, but recent court rulings allowing prisoners to challenge their detention have made the base less convenient, the officials said. The plan was backed by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a Feb. 5 memo, officials said, adding that it was part of a Pentagon effort to halve the Guantanamo prisoner population of about 540 by releasing some and transferring others for continued detention elsewhere.
THE main Muslim guerrilla group in Mindanao must hand over terrorists allegedly operating in its territory, or risk being listed as a terror organization by foreign governments, a terrorism expert said. Police and military intelligence say members of the Southeast Asian terror group, Jemaah Islamiyah, and the Philippine Muslim extremist group, Abu Sayyaf, are in areas controlled by Mindanao's main rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Zachary Abuza, a senior fellow of the US Institute of Peace, told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines that about seven "hardcore first-generation leaders" of Jemaah Islamiyah who have trained with al-Qaeda were in Mindanao. "This is very troubling to me," he said. "I don't believe that they could be there without MILF support."
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman 
Israel said on Friday that Iran was very close to being able to make a nuclear bomb and urged the United States and Europe to pressure Tehran to abandon a suspected nuclear arms program. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told Reuters an Iranian nuclear bomb would be a "nightmare" for Israel and other countries. "In our view, they are very close, they are too close, to having the knowledge to develop this kind of bomb and that's why we should be in a hurry," Shalom said in an interview on a visit to Mexico.
Hamas announced Saturday it has decided to run in an upcoming Palestinian parliamentary election, a senior official said. The election, to be held on July 17, will determine who will replace the Palestinian parliament chosen in a 1996 ballot. "We have decided to participate in the parliamentary elections," said Sheikh 
He has posed with Grand Prix racing car drivers, jogged with Marathon runners, mingled with glitterati at fashion shows, sported well cut western suits, chomped Havana cigars in bush shirts, rubbed shoulders with music bands like Junoon, and so on, with one aim in mind: to show the rest of the world that we're "regular" guys doing all the moderate things that normal people do in this day and age and not the fiery, fanatical, bearded, blood curdling terrorists and jihadis that we are made out to be by the western media. 
Recent movements of armed militias around the eastern Sudanese town of Akobo in Jonglei State have led to increased tension in the area, humanitarian sources told IRIN. "Some 700 militia were heading to Akobo from Nasir [near the Ethiopian border], during the first week of March," one source said on Wednesday. "The troops came very close, up to an hour's walking distance, and camped there for a day or so," he added. Another source within the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) however, said the militias, which were grouped under the umbrella of the South Sudan Defence Force, were pulling back from the area.
Officials said the deal between the Shia clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance and the Kurdish parties opens the way for naming a Cabinet when Iraq's democratically elected National Assembly convenes on Wednesday. The Kurds agreed to support the alliance's candidate for prime minister, 
Pakistan's army on Friday warned tribesmen in the country's western border regions to give up protecting "terrorists" or face military action. "Although all tribes and sub-tribes of your agency have signed an agreement not to provide safe havens to the terrorists, credible intelligence reports suggest that a number of terrorists are still present there," Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain said.
Iraqi Kurdish chief 
The opposition in Pakistan's Parliament yesterday denounced Information Minister 
President Bush has named 
Amid fears of revenge attacks a day after a suicide bomber killed 47 Iraqis and wounded more than 80 in a packed Shiite funeral tent in Mosul, religious leaders called for calm yesterday. Grieving families canceled a planned public funeral procession for the victims in the northern city after a mortar shell early yesterday slammed into the site of the carnage. Sunni leaders, fearful of reprisals, urged calm in the city, Iraq's third largest and one of its most ethnically and religiously diverse. "It was a terrorist attack meant to spark civil war but I think the Sunnis and Shiites will not succumb," said Nureddine Hayali, a spokesman for the Islamic Party. 
