Former Russian Prime Minister Dr. Yevgeny Primakov has said there is a danger of Al-Qaeda redeploying some of its fighters from an area on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan to Iraq.
"This Arab country that is located close to Saudi Arabia can be used by Al-Qaeda as a springboard for spreading its activities to other countries in the region."
Dr. Primakov's views are spelled out in a chapter, "Al-Qaeda targets Saudi Arabia", which forms part of the book, "Saudis and Terror" Cross-Cultural Views), which was released at a function held at the Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Center here on Saturday night. A large gathering of Saudi academics, scholars and diplomats was present.
The book project, conceived by Dr. Mohammed Al-Bishr, a Saudi political communications specialist, has brought together 27 political thinkers, academics, journalists and writers from around the world. Besides Dr. Primakov, other eminent contributors include Professor Noam Chomsky, Ambassador Edward S. Walker, president of the Middle East Institute, Khaled Almaeena, editor in chief, Arab News, Dr. Faisal ibn Mishael Al-Saud, Dr. Ismat Abdul Maguid, former secretary-general of the Arab League, and many others.
In the chapter entitled "9/11 and the campaign against terrorism," Professor Noam Chomsky reviews the actions of the US government in various activities and concludes that it has adopted double standard as in Afghanistan, Iraq and in the Balkans, where Israel, along with Ukraine and Greece, was arming the Serbs.
Pointing out that there was no evidence linking the Saudi government with the 9/11 events, Almaeena refers to the 9/11 Commission set up by President George W. Bush and the US Congress. "The commission absolved Saudi Arabia of any involvement in the 9/11 attacks, in the money trail, in events beforehand such as the 1998 embassy attacks in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salam and the attack on the USS Cole at Aden in 2000. It found the Kingdom had provided no assistance nor support for the terrorists."
Asked how he embarked on the book project, Dr. Al-Bishr, the head of the research team, told Arab News that he thought of it after the intensive media campaign against the Kingdom, the Arab world and Islam. These media campaigns were biased and misconceived. "So we decided to approach the academics and researchers in the Kingdom and elsewhere in order to bring out the truth and present the real facts to the public about Islam, our country and our society."
He said all the papers have been published without any change in the text. While the book has been brought out in Arabic and English, its publication in French, German and other languages, including the Asian ones, is on the cards. It will be dispatched to all think tanks abroad.
Commenting on the book, British Ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles said the launch of the project shows that the members of the Saudi intelligentsia and the government are taking seriously the threat of terrorism, which has, in fact, become an international phenomenon.
The ambassador said that besides the intellectual debate, the cancer of terrorism has to be fought at all levels-educational, political, economic and social in addition to the tough security measures that have been seen.
Asked whether the US government's effort to refurbish its image in the Middle East will succeed by creating the post of public diplomacy, Dr. Ahmed Saifuddin, professor of mass communications at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, said: "I can see failure in the beginning of this diplomacy, because it is not supported by good intentions and also good actions on the ground. The invasion of Afghanistan and invasion and occupation of Iraq have not only shattered the image of the US in the Arab world but throughout the world. I hope these people will convey to the US administration the true sentiments of Arabs."
He was referring to the appointment of Karen Hughes as the undersecretary of public diplomacy and Dina Powell as assistant undersecretary. "Not only the politicians but also the academics, Islamic scholars and Imams carry a lot of weight with the masses. They could serve as a barometer of Arab public opinion in Washington," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/18/2005 12:05:41 AM ||
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Reality avoidance can be so much fun... but it makes running headlong into reality so much more painful later.
#2
This is so much Soddy BS that it barely needs comment (but I will anyway;) Since when does anyone care what Chumpsky or Primakov have to say? Grist for the wanker cocktail-circuit.
#3
Primakov's comments may be worth a hearing. He's an old soviet bastard but he also has real expertise in the area and also has access to intelligence sources that we lack.
#4
It doesn't hold water. Let's look at it this way: First: Al Quaiada has never, ever, ever tried to kill one of the thousands of Saudi "princes". It is imposssible to protect them all but not a single try on their lives.
Second: Al Quaida has never, ever, ever tried to bomb the oil industry.
Conclusion Al Quaida and the Saudi regime are fleh and nail.
Well-known religious scholar Sheikh Muhammad Musa Al-Shareef yesterday defended the action of religious scholars, including himself, in supporting certain candidates contesting the April 21 municipal elections. Their public support to seven candidates had come under fire from a group of 21 other contestants. In an interview with Al-Madinah newspaper, Sheikh Al-Shareef explained that he had recommended a number of people whom he knew and whose good qualities he was sure about. He said he recommended them because he believed that they had the ability to do the job if elected.
The sheikh was surprised that several candidates had denounced him because he had recommended a list of names. According to the candidates who opposed the list, the sheikh should have got familiar with other candidates before recommending the seven names. He said, "It is impossible for me to look at the programs of more than 500 candidates and meet with them, so I could recommend the best." Regarding the question whether the list of seven implied that the rest of the candidates were unqualified, he said, "When I recommended some of the candidates, I did not say that the rest are bad or unqualified to do the job. This is a strange interpretation that I cannot understand. I know the candidates that I recommended on my list and I do not know the rest, which is the whole story."
This article starring:
MUHAMAD MUSA AL SHARIF
Learned Elders of Islam
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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HOSTILITY to Jewish students at British universities could escalate this week with moves by academics to boycott Israeli goods and set up links with Palestinian organisations. Luciana Berger, 23, a close friend of Euan Blair, the prime minister's son, described last week how she had been forced to resign from the executive committee of the National Union of Students (NUS) after being abused and spat at by left-wing undergraduates and Muslim activists because she is Jewish.
This week anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian motions will be submitted for debate at the annual conference of the 48,000-strong Association of University Teachers (AUT). A similar motion was defeated by a vote of 2-1 two years ago. But other motions, including one deploring a "witch-hunt" against people who supported the boycott, were passed. There are fears that a "yes" vote at the conference in Eastbourne will increase tension on campuses. The move to sever links with Israeli universities and support Palestinian academics comes from branches of the union at Birmingham University and the Open University. Sue Blackwell, a lecturer in English at Birmingham and a leading member of the British Committee for Universities of Palestine, said it was not possible to have links with both Israel and the Palestinians. "We cannot appeal equally to the oppressor and the oppressed, the occupier and the occupied," she said. "Palestinian academics are repeatedly prevented from doing their work. Israeli forces have welded shut the gates to one Palestine university and dug a trench around another. Jewish students should not be intimidated in Britain, but it's not anti-semitic to criticise what the state of Israel is doing."
One of her allies is Mona Baker, professor of translation studies at Manchester University, who was the subject of an inquiry in 2002 after she dismissed two Israeli academics she had employed from the journals she published. Much more detail at link.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/18/2005 10:42:42 AM ||
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Sue and Mona and Co. will give the Brits the wake-up call when one of their followers explodes in Britain - as opposed to exploding in Tel Aviv, as they did some months ago.
#3
This is how you respond when someone spits at you. You do your best to kick their ass. You don't resign and run away. If you are harrased you harrass back, call the cops and/or a lawyer. Most of these leftist are huge pussys and don't know how to react when anyone defends themselves with phyical force.
This whole opressed/oppressor crap if a laugh. Europe and the UK are full of pussys who keep repeating that lie, screw them. The Paleos are in a state of war with Isreal. Isreal has shown amazing restraint in not just wiping then completely off the map forever.
A poison attack planned by al-Qaeda-trained terrorists in Britain had targeted the busy Heathrow Express rail link from London and would have been "our September 11", the Metropolitan Police claim.
A plot to bring death and terrorism to Britain was disclosed last week after Kamel Bourgass, 32, an Islamic extremist from Algeria, was convicted at the Old Bailey and jailed for 17 years.
Home Office officials and police were deliberately vague about the target because they did not want to cause panic or encourage copycat attacks.
A conspirator, who was arrested in Algeria, had earlier said that there was a plot to smear ricin on car doors in Holloway Road, north London. Whitehall officials, however, dismissed this suggestion, and said the Heathrow Express was the intended target.
They say that the plan was to place ricin, a fast-acting and potentially lethal home-made poison, on hand rails and in toilets on the trains.
"It would have caused chaos and panic in London's public transport system. Even if it did not kill anyone - which it could well have done - it would have achieved its purpose," one official said. "It was not possible to be specific in court about the target because we do not want to encourage imitators in any way. There were ridiculous stories about attempts to spread poison on the London Underground, but they were not true."
A senior police officer said: 'This was going to be our September 11, our Madrid. There is no doubt about it, if this had come off this would have been one of al-Qaeda's biggest strikes."
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Ian Blair, said yesterday that the country needed legislation to crack down on terrorist conspiracies. He also urged "further consideration" of the plan for compulsory ID cards, which he said could be used to help track terrorist suspects.
Sir Ian told told an interviewer on BBC television that cases like that of Bourgass showed "there's a real clarity now that al-Qaeda affiliates are targeting Britain".
He said al-Qaeda, which was blamed for the attacks on New York's World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in Washington on September 11, 2001, "operates ... in a sense of very loose-knit conspiracies".
"The way English law has developed is it doesn't like conspiracies. It likes actual offences," Sir Ian said.
"I think we're going to have to just look again to see whether there is some other legislation around acts preparatory to terrorism, or something of that nature - that's what we'll have to do."
Asked if he would like to see legislation to bring in identity cards reintroduced after the May 5 election, Sir Ian said that should be considered.
Meanwhile, the Home Office has been forced to apologise to 10 men placed under controversial anti-terrorist control orders after it incorrectly linked them to the ricin plot.
In an embarrassing letter to the men, the Government claims that it made a "clerical error" when it said the grounds for emergency restriction imposed on each of the alleged international terrorists was that they "belonged to and have provided support for a network of north African extremists directly involved in terrorist planning in the UK, including the use of toxic chemicals".
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/18/2005 12:07:52 AM ||
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How many attempts on the part of the terrs will it take before the UK sees its own 9-11? Brit intelligence and law enforcement are on the defensive and have to get it 100% right. The terrs only need it to be successful once. Both the UK and the EU have to go on the offensive to really solve the problem, but they are a long way from that, IMHO.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/18/2005 11:17 Comments ||
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I hope that the SKor people know what Roh is getting them into. South Korea will bolster military ties with its long-time Cold War rivals China and Russia in an effort to play a appeasement balancing role in Northeast Asia and help stabilize the Korean peninsula, Seoul's defense chief said. The move is consistent with the stated intention of President Roh Moo-Hyun to adopt a more "independent" foreign policy from the United States. We could move the 2ID and all the jobs out, too, to help with your independence, too, Pres. Roh. Heaven knows that we could use them at other places.
"We plan to strengthen military cooperation with China, upgrading the Seoul-Beijing security exchanges to a level similar to those between South Korea and Japan," said Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-Ung upon returning from a visit to China. You want to develop a military excange with the Chicoms, the very people that sent hundreds of thousands in human waves against you in the Korean War? WTF?
"As we understand China wants to back peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, we plan to strengthen our military exchanges with China, including making defense minister meetings a regular occurrence," Yoon told reporters. "It's worth thinking about plans to help stability on the Korean peninsula with China's assistance," he said. Meaning prop up Kimmie from the North and the South? This is insane? Is Kimmie on the Endangered Species list?
Upbeat about Seoul's pursuit of closer ties with Beijing, China's Ambassador to South Korea Li Bin said his country would give "unreserved" support to South Korea's move to play the role of a stabilizer for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia. Have a nice marriage and life, Pres. Roh.
South Korea's opposition party warned the Roh government's move toward a balancing security role could lead to diplomatic isolation. Or to deep sh*t. You have nothing to lose but your country. Opposition better start kicking butt.
"We are concerned about President Roh's move to break away from our alliances with the United States," said Park Geun-Hye, leader of the main opposition Grand National Party. "The Seoul-Washington security alliance is vital to the security of South Korea." Master of the Obvious statement. Hope the South Koreans pick up on it.
U.S. military officials refused to comment on Seoul's moves towards China and Russia, saying they would not intervene in Seoul's diplomatic affairs. "We can say no more." Anonymous sources remark, though, off the record, that Roh is on a roll, and wonder what he is smoking.
A U.S. Army aviation battalion will be withdrawn from South Korea in May as part of Washington's global troop realignment program. The U.S. military has already cut its troop level in South Korea by 5,000 to 32,500. The number is set to be further slashed to 25,000 by 2008. The reduction of the U.S. military presence in S. Korea and its new regional mission have contributed to strains in the alliance, further exacerbated by the nationalist mood of the younger generation of voters who were born after the Korean War. It's their country, it is up to them. Watch what you ask for. You may just get it.
In another diplomatic effort toward a new role on the balance of power among Pacific powers, Yoon is scheduled to visit Russia this week to seek closer military ties. He plans to meet Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on April 22 to discuss ways to ensure peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
Seoul and Beijing have agreed to have working-level talks twice a year and defense minister meetings every two years, a senior defense official said.
Seoul and Tokyo are Washington's two closest allies in the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions and in coping with possible threats from China, the only remaining communist ally of Pyongyang.
China rescued North Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War against U.S.-backed South Korea, when it sent some 1 million troops. More than 400 Chinese soldiers were killed on the battlefield. South Korea didn't establish diplomatic relations with China until 1992.
During his five-day trip last week, Yoon met his Chinese counterpart, Cao Gangchuan, and other top military leaders. The defense ministers' talks, the first between the two neighbors since 2001, came as South Korea and the United States have called on China to exercise its influence to coax Pyongyang back to the stalled nuclear disarmament talks. Appeasement never works. Read some history books, Pres. Roh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/18/2005 2:35:57 PM ||
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Knock yourselves out, SKor.
Just don't come crying to us when the logical consequences come back to bite ya' in the ass.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/18/2005 16:09 Comments ||
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The heavy 2nd ID is being replaced by 1 Stryker brigade (no tanks AFAIK). The nice thing about the Strykers is that they can really make good speed to Pusan in case war breaks out.
In addition, the US is phasing out in 2006 the 500,000 ton ammunition stocks reserved for SKOR. Without it, SKOR has only a 10 day ammo stock. Hope they weren't planning on fighting any longer than that.
Posted by: ed ||
04/18/2005 16:51 Comments ||
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The ROKs have been patroling the DMZ on their own since the late 90s. The American units are a little further back to provide quick counter-attack strikes.
#12
South Korea will bolster military ties with its long-time Cold War rivals China and Russia in an effort to play a balancing role in Northeast Asia and help stabilize the Korean peninsula, Seoulâs defense chief said. The move is consistent with the stated intention of President Roh Moo-Hyun to adopt a more "independent" foreign policy from the United States.
This is not a problem. Getting all our personnel and equipment out of SKor for good just became a bit easier.
#1
Now that everyone is talking about Europe's demographic death, it is time to point out that there exists a way out: convert European Muslims to Christianity.
Um, Mister Spengler, you'll have to convert Europe's post-christians to Christianity first.
Harald Bluetooth would be proud. Only a viking queen would have the courage to speak this truth:
"We are being challenged by Islam these years - globally as well as locally. It is a challenge we have to take seriously. We have let this issue float about for too long because we are tolerant and lazy.
"We have to show our opposition to Islam and we have to, at times, run the risk of having unflattering labels placed on us because there are some things for which we should display no tolerance."
"And when we are tolerant, we must know whether it is because of convenience or conviction."
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark stands tall among the dwarves that masquerade as leaders in Europe these days.
Posted by: RWV ||
04/18/2005 12:45:04 AM ||
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"I am Margrethe, protector of the Danes!"
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 7:55 Comments ||
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These European kings and queens are supposed to be defenders of the faith. Are very high figures in their respective state churches. They rule only due to the imprimatur of these churches They are out of a job once Muhammadans become dominant.
#6
Perhaps it's just anojther example of the limitations of the MSM format-- no links to source, no exposition of author's bias, no trackbacks or comments so readers can correct or amplify the article's very limited content and evident spin.
But it seems the article isn't playing it straight with the Queen's real views. How to reconcile these (unquoted, reported) comments with the Queen's urging of "opposition to Islam"?
She said she understood how disaffected young Muslims might find refuge in religion. This tendency should be fought by encouraging Muslims to learn Danish so they could integrate better, she said. "We should not be content with living next to each other. We should rather live together."
Perhaps the Queen's remarks are simply contradictory; we don't know, since there's no link to any detailed, lengthy source for the quote. But perhaps her view is that we need to oppose radical Islam on the one hand while welcoming tolerant, assimilated muslims OTOH.
For news junkies, this will be a hectic week. By its end, Catholics may have a new pope, we may have a new UN ambassador, and both Kofi and his bestest buddy Jacques may suffer nervous breakdowns. Things are looking up because, while Volcker fiddles, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York are burning bad guys. Now all we need to find out are the names of Cooperating Witnesses One and Two, and the high-ranking UN officials whom they bribed for Saddam. CW1 and CW2 may be the first people who have earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom as a result of plea bargains keeping them out of jail. (CW1 has already pled guilty to being an unregistered agent of the Saddam government and is cooperating with U.S. investigators.) They are unindicted co-conspirators -- credited with helping Saddam bribe the UN into setting up the Oil-for-Food-for-Bribes-for-Weapons scam -- in the indictment of one of our all-time faves, Tongsun Park of Koreagate infamy.
For those joining us since 1976, Mr. Park was indicted back then on 36 counts of bribery, influence peddling, and other usual business on Capitol Hill. The charges were eventually dropped after he testified in Congressional hearings about his involvement with dozens of Congressmen, only three of whom were later reprimanded by the House. (Think of this the next time you hear the caterwauling about Tom DeLay.)
Just because Saddam is evil doesn't mean he's a dummy. He did what any good manager would do if he wanted to pay bribes: he hired an expert. According to the March 21 indictment of Mr. Park unsealed last week, and the affidavit stating it signed by FBI special agent Nicholas Panagakos, Saddam paid bribes to and through Park to Cooperating Witnesses One and Two and to at least two high-ranking UN officials in order to get the UN to create the Oil-for-Food program by Security Council in 1996. Just who were they? Not Benon Sevan, who wasn't yet chosen to run the Oil-for-Food scam. There would have been no reason to bribe him before he was chosen to run the scam. Was Annan himself bribed? How about Iqbal Riza, his chief of staff who later ordered the shredding of UN documents for the 1996-1999 period, when the program was first created and run? Someday soon, we should know.
The bribes apparently continued until 2003 (when Tommy Franks had something to say about Saddam's future plans) to make sure that the program was extended beyond its original expiration date. The indictment says that Park "invested in a company owned by an immediate family member of a high-ranking UN official money paid to him from the Government of Iraq in connection" with the bribe agreement. Park, having agreed to bribe the UN officials for Saddam, got at least $2 million for himself and distributed millions in bribes, both in cash and in oil vouchers entitling the UN officials to collect more millions from the sale of the vouchers. So how does Kofi respond to the new revelations? By trying to pass the blame to President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, of course.
Last week the sagging Annan said, "The bulk of the money that Saddam made came out of smuggling outside the oil-for-food program, and it was on the American and British watch." Annan added, "Possibly they were the ones who knew exactly what was going on, and that the countries themselves decided to close their eyes to smuggling to Turkey and Jordan because they were allies." Of course, nothing the UN did was wrong.
If Kofi's week weren't sour enough, Secretary of State Condi Rice added to his agony by saying, "It is no secret to anyone that the United Nations cannot survive as a vital force in international politics if it doesn't reform." Note to Kofi: reform or die. It's a great disappointment that we didn't see the appropriate headline in the New York Daily News, in 64-point type, saying: "Condi to UN: Drop Dead." Something to look forward to. Almost as much as the Bolton confirmation, which may come later this week.
THE LEFTIES HAVE MANAGED to delay, but not stop, the nomination of John Bolton to the UN ambassador's post. Thankfully, and my apologies to Sen. Hagel, even he and Sen. Lincoln Chafee seem to be standing with Bolton. If the Dems can't get either of them to vote against Bolton, or at least abstain, Bolton's nomination should be reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee early this week. On the floor, it will pass easily. For Kofi and the rest of the Turtle Bay crime family, it will be as much fun as passing a kidney stone. Meanwhile back at le domaine, Jacques is apparently sinking in the congenital contrariness of his own countrymen.
Ah, how le ver turns. Just a year ago, it was a sure bet that France -- one of the chief proponents of the European Union -- would easily pass a referendum on the EU constitution. Now, as the May 29 referendum approaches, polls show the French ready to reject it. That led President Chirac to the most desperate measure. Calculating correctly that the worst thing a Frenchman could think to do was to help Uncle Sam, Chirac said that a "no" vote would weaken the EU and benefit the United States. Chirac, in a carefully scripted "town hall" session with young French voters, issued that dire warning last Thursday, with little or no effect. The French may be content with the status quo which, as the Gipper once said, is Latin for "the mess we're in."
Whether the French vote the EU constitution down remains to be seen. It's unlikely that they will reject it because without the EU agriculture subsidy, much of French farming will end. As John Hulsman of the Heritage Foundation once told me, the EU agricultural subsidy is "really a sop from Germany to pay French farmers to sit around, play boule, and do nothing." The French may just be revolting against ten years of Chiracism or just emoting for the press. Once they get enough attention from the rest of Europe, they may pass the EU constitution to keep their subsidies. You see, that's what it's all about. Like Oil-for-Food, the EU is an economic scam. The French have too much to lose if they reject it. And money is what they're all about.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/18/2005 2:16:02 PM ||
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"Anti-poverty" efforts! Wow! Think of the money flow! Think of the opportunities for UN graft! Think of LBJ's Great Society applied world-wide...
WASHINGTON: UN chief Kofi Annan called on Saturday on wealthy nations and the developing world to join forces to defeat poverty, a mission that he said requires not just aid but security and market access. Addressing a joint meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Annan said developed countries must stump up much more cash to make their aid budgets reach a UN target of 0.7 percent of gross domestic product. Rich countries must also show more commitment to a successful conclusion of talks at the World Trade Organisation, including duty-free access for exports from the least developed nations "as a crucial first step", he said.
A comprehensive response to the special needs of Africa, including the fight against AIDS, and new ways to fight climate change must also feed into a special UN summit in September devoted to development issues. But the developing world for its part must improve governance, and use increased aid flows properly, to ensure grinding poverty is eased, Annan said according to the published text of his remarks. "By the same token, developing countries are more likely to support those vital security and human rights objectives if they see that donor countries are willing to make a greater effort for development, and to give them a stronger voice in global economic governance," he said. Annan said that this year represented a "unique opportunity" to get back on track towards the UN's so-called Millennium Development Goals.
I'm still stuck trying to figure why it's our responsibility to make things all better in countries that have screwed themselves up so magnificently. They can't even use the "colonialism" argument anymore; Bob took care of that in Zim, where the standard of living has been declining faster than we can track it.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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UN chief Kofi Annan called on Saturday on wealthy nations and the developing world to join forces to defeat poverty,..
This is just an attempt at diverting attention from Oil-For-Palac^H^H^H^H^HFood developments.
#4
Hey wasn't this program actually started years ago when Koji (kojo or whatever the son of a parasite is called) got his pay not to work for the competition installments from the swiss company.
The Royal Malaysian Navy is small, but very modern.
The backbone of this force are five frigates, two Lekiu-class frigates (with Seawolf surface-to-air missiles and Exocet anti-ship missiles), two Kasturi-class frigates (with Exocet anti-ship missiles), and the old frigate Rahmat.
Malaysia is adding a number of more modern vessels. It acquired four missile boats from Italy (originally built for Iraq) equipped with Otomat anti-ship missiles and Aspide surface-to-air missiles to go with eight smaller missile boats equipped with Exocet. It also is assembling two MEKO A-100 patrol ships and building at least four more (some reports indicate the class could be as large as 27 ships total) to go with the two Musytari-class patrol ships.
Malaysia is also in the process of acquiring two French Scorpene-class submarines [and] also looking into the purchase of additional frigates. This is a very potent force, one that outclasses Indonesia's, and is getting better.
Malaysia's military is turning into one of the more technologically advanced forces in Southeast Asia. This force is also very professional, and while it has turned to conscription, it is one of the better forces in Southeast Asia. It has often carried out peacekeeping missions, including East Timor and Kosovo. This force is trending upwards and will be a tough one to defeat in battle.
Posted by: Pappy ||
04/18/2005 2:06:50 AM ||
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Unfortunately its manned by Malays, not famed for their efficiency.
#3
Having worked with the Malaysian Navy, they are a step above the general population in motivation and smarts. But they still have all the foibles and mind-set.
Methinks a lot of the foot-dragging with regards to anti-piracy is political.
#4
Missile boats, anti-air weaponry, and submarines don't exactly should "anti-piracy warfare" to me. Small, fast, armored boats and small ships with deck cannon and heavy machine guns would seem to be the order of the day. If, that is, they were looking to build a good anti-piracy outfit. You know, like the US Coast Guard. This stuff sounds more like mainforce stuff to me - aimed at other navies.
That being said, the problems in that end of the world are mostly in Indonesian waters, not Malaysian, as I understand matters. So, Malaysia wouldn't be the striking force against the pirates, unless they were going to be cruising another sovereign state's waters on a regular basis.
On the other hand, with all the noise recently about the possibility of a future Chinese-Taiwanese naval war occurring on the sea lanes between the Spratleys and the Malucca Straits, I could see how the Malaysians might want to have a force-in-being to protect their sovereign waters. Nobody wants a war on their front lawn.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/18/2005 17:24 Comments ||
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Small, fast, armored boats and small ships with deck cannon and heavy machine guns would seem to be the order of the day. If, that is, they were looking to build a good anti-piracy outfit. You know, like the US Coast Guard.
You're right, Mitch. The navy is not geared for anti-piracy work. That, for the most part, is done by the police. And that's where the political foot-dragging comes in.
Nobody wants a war on their front lawn.
Without going into a lot of detail, there've been a number of exercises over the past decade for coordinating Malaysian defense of the straits. Quite a few nations have been helping with brinnging them up to snuff.
Singapore-based Background Asia Risk Solutions has its own armour-plated vessel that accompanies boats anywhere between Sri Lanka and the South China Sea for about 50,000 US dollars a mission, the Straits Times said.
The company employs 60 former members of crack military units from Singapore and elsewhere, who carry out their escort missions armed with M-16 and M-4 assault rifles... the firm was set up nine months ago and had already had 12 jobs this year guarding oil rigs and tankers against pirate attacks.
[Managing Director Alex] Duperouzel, a former fraud investigator from Australia, said the firm's boat had yet to engage in any combat with pirates, although it had warned off several suspicious vessels by using loud hailers, flares and spotlights.
"When boats see we have well-disciplined, well-equipped teams, they usually move on and leave us alone," he said. However Duperouzel said his employees would not hesitate to use their artillery if necessary...
Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia last year began coordinated patrols in the Malacca Strait. But with a recent increase in attacks, Malaysia has announced it will place armed police officers on board tugboats and barges plying the waterway.
Posted by: Pappy ||
04/18/2005 2:02:01 AM ||
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Yeah. That makes sense. Not a lot of sense, but sense... Of a sort... Though it seems like they'd have other problems, closer to home, to worry about...
JAKARTA: More than 10,000 members of a conservative Indonesian Muslim party staged peaceful anti-Israel protests in several cities on Sunday, including a major one in Jakarta outside the US embassy. In the capital, 5,000-10,000 protesters from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) shouted anti-American slogans outside the heavily guarded embassy, witnesses said. Many waved Palestinian flags. Speakers lashed out at Israel and demanded Washington stop financial or political support for the Jewish state. Traffic in the centre of the city was disrupted for several hours. Smaller protests by party members were held in at least three other cities across the world's most populous Muslim nation, the official Antara news agency reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Though it seems like theyâd have other problems, closer to home, to worry about...
What did you expect? It would appear that ingrained stupidity isn't so much an Arab thing as it is a Muslim thing.
#3
SPoD, I am not sure, but I remember a similar pic that was real. Somewhere in Pakistan, a US guy that has been always helpful to locals was asked to translate signs for them for their anti-US demo. He decided for interpretation instead of direct translation and the creative result were signs bearing uncanny resemblance to those on the pic.
#4
The photo you are thinking of was photoshopped, and then e-mailed around as a real photo. Sometimes the demonstration is described as being in Syria, other times in Pakistan, and the helpful American is described as belonging to various military services.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
04/18/2005 3:36 Comments ||
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PKS, as the Rantburg search engine reveals, is definitely an Islamist party that appears to be a bunch of MMA wannabes. Wotta surprise.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/18/2005 3:57 Comments ||
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It seems Baluchs can be useful, too.
The US is executing a well-planned regional and global strategy in our war against Islamo-fascism, as indicated in recent reports. The geo-political thrusts and counter-thrusts in this conflict are being deftly managed by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the other members of GW's national security team. The SecState's visit to Asia and the announcement that the US will sell F-16s to Pakistan and other military gear to India reveal a maneuver to counter Iran's latest gambit to maintain its status as the region's terror-master.
Looking at a map of the entire region, stretching from Israel on the Eastern Mediterranean to the Indian sub-continent, prior to 9-11, we would see a massive land area anchored on the flanks by two relatively prosperous democracies: Israel and India. The nations between these two countries were essentially a vast land barrier comprised of radical Islamo-fascist states. From this perspective, Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom take on even more significance beyond the obvious benefit of getting rid of two bloodthirsty dictatorships. By invading Afghanistan and Iraq, the US and the Coalition struck at the dual keystones of this massive barrier, and have started the process of tearing down the wall between the two democracies on the flanks of this volatile region.
Iran was not about to take the invasion of Iraq, a country on their Western Front, lying down. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) immediately went on the offensive and began infiltrating agents of influence into the newly liberated Iraq. Iranian-trained and -supported mercenaries twice took on the Coalition with operations centered in Najaf and Baghdad's Sadr City. Iran also embarked on a campaign of sabotage against Iraq's oil terminals south of the Al-Faw Peninsula in the Persian Gulf using the same tactics they used in the Tanker Wars of the 1980s. Ultimately, the so-called "Shia" uprisings were defeated in September of 2004, and the oil terminals were secured with additional US and UK naval forces.
The US has also taken a more aggressive posture in the Persian Gulf, perhaps signaling future military action if the mullahs insist on continuing their nuclear weapons program. As if to emphasize our intentions, it was reported last month that the US is sending even more naval forces into the Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
It should be clear to the mullahs that the initiative on their Western Front has decisively shifted in favor of the Coalition. Iraq is steadily increasing the capabilities of its security forces, thereby enhancing its ability to protect its border with Iran. Also, the heavily reinforced Naval and Marine forces in the Gulf not only ensure a swift and deadly response to any Iranian attack on Gulf shipping, but provide the ability to initiate offensive action to seize key terrain in and around the Straits of Hormuz if necessary.
Faced with the failure of their not-so-covert operations in Iraq, and their inability to shut down Iraq's oil trade without suffering severe consequences, Iran's leaders are now implementing a course of action similar to one that Hitler adopted after the failure to win the Battle of Britain over 60 years ago: turn east and establish a Second Front.
Contrary to popular belief, Iran is not surrounded. They have one remaining open avenue to influence the outcome of our campaign in the Central Region. By turning east through Baluchistan and dangling the economic and energy carrots to the eastern democratic anchor in the region, India, and our nominal ally in the War of Terror, Pakistan, the mullahs hope to keep their regime intact, while suppressing the nascent democratic movement within their borders.
Rather than massed conventional armies, Iran's Second Front involves the revival of an expanded energy trade scheme coupled with politico-military pressure using the old stand-by of terror attacks. Simply put, India and Pakistan are energy consumers, and Iran will use its vast energy reserves to its geo-political advantage. Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves at an estimated 812 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), while India's and Pakistan's reserves amount to only 23 Tcf and 22 Tcf respectively. (A detailed discussion of South Asia's energy needs and the Iran-India Pipeline can be found here.)
The strategic import of all of these facts and figures is simple: India's growing economy has a daily natural gas requirement shortfall of almost 30 million cubic meters per day (mcmd). Pakistan is no better off, with its demand for natural gas increasing by about 50 percent in a few short years. Iran is also a consumer of natural gas, but its huge reserves puts it in a position to economically squeeze its neighbors to the east, and to potentially split off our two important allies in the War on Terror.
The major source of Iran's natural gas reserves is the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf. The South Pars is the world's largest gas field with an estimated capacity of 436 Tcf. Control of the South Pars area is a shared arrangement between Iran and Qatar (Iran seems to be a fan of these joint control agreements, since it also had a similar joint occupation arrangement of the oil-rich island of Abu Musa with UAE, until Iran took complete control in 1992). Iran has wanted to build an Iran-India pipeline since 1993, and in 1995, Pakistan and Iran signed an initial agreement to build a pipeline from the on-shore South Pars terminal to Karachi, Pakistan. The extension of the pipeline from Pakistan to India was a logical next step given India's large energy requirements and Iran's need to expand its export markets.
But all of the assumed mutual economic and cultural benefits to be gained from this "Peace Pipeline" project were based on a pre-911 construct. Referring to the map in the detailed pipeline report, it shows how the route of the pipeline and current world events place the entire project in jeopardy. The pipeline starts in Asaluyeh, Iran (only 150 miles southeast of the Bushehr nuclear power reactor) on the coast of the Persian Gulf close to South Pars gas fields. From there it goes to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas to Khuzdar, Pakistan, to Multan, Pakistan, and from Multan, the pipeline travels to Delhi, India.
Unfortunately for Iran, the pipeline must pass through Baluchistan, one of the most rugged and fearsome areas in the Central Region. Neither Iran nor Pakistan has any control over this area. Fiercely independent, some Baluchs have been in the employ of Saddam Hussein since the Iran-Iraq war. And, the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Khost and Kandahar in Afghanistan seem to indicate that terrorist forces are using Baluch territory for their base camps.
Pakistan has also had their problems with this "Wild West" province. The BBC reported that Pakistani forces had clashed with Baluch tribesmen who are demanding greater political autonomy and are demanding a greater share of revenue from the province's natural gas reserves. Not only that, since Baluchistan spans the entire Iran-Pakistan border area, pipeline construction workers and equipment must be secured from tribal warlords and terrorists in an area that can be arguably called "Terrorist Central."
In one the most delicious ironies in the War on Terror, Iran, one of the Axis of Evil nations and the world's premier sponsor of terrorism, may be done in by an entity of Saddam's own creation. Since the fall of Iraq and Afghanistan, and because Pakistan is cooperating with the Coalition, the terrorists have been forced to fall back on this area to establish their version of a "national redoubt." Unfortunately for Iran, the pipeline that they so dearly want to build in order to bribe our democratic friends in India will have very long odds of succeeding going through Baluchistan.
Nevertheless, the US has mounted an effective counter to Iran's move to the east. During her visit to India, Secretary Rice referred to the pipeline deal when she stated,
"'Our views concerning Iran are very well known and we have communicated to the Indian government our concerns about gas pipeline cooperation between Iran and India,' Rice told a news conference in New Delhi. 'We need to look at the broader question of how India meets its energy needs in the next decade.' "
The sale of the F-16s to Pakistan is said to have angered some Indian leaders. But this sale must not be viewed in isolation, since this is only the beginning of a comprehensive strategy to defend against Iran's Second Front. The Australian reports that the US is embarking upon a wide-ranging plan to help India become a major power in the 21st century. The US will boost India's military capabilities with sales of fighter aircraft, anti-missile defense systems, and the latest digitized command and control gear. And most notably, the US and India will cooperate on economic and energy initiatives.
Without the co-operation of both India and Pakistan, the pipeline project would obviously go nowhere, and the delicate nuclear balance between Pakistan and India would have to be constantly monitored by the US. In a sense, the role of peacemaker would have fallen to Iran, since the pipeline would cross both Indian and Pakistani territory. No Iranian pipeline would mean no regional investments, which in turn would stifle mutual economic benefits that would likely lead to further instability in the area. GW is not about to accede the role of "peacemaker" to an Axis of Evil nation.
Of course, Russia lurks in the background, since it is rebuilding the German-made nuclear reactor at Bushehr in Iran. Putin is now confronted with a cruel dilemma. If he supports the US in pressuring the mullahs to give up their nuclear quest, he and his cronies are not only likely to lose juicy contracts, but also yield to China a considerable lever of influence in the region. In the final years of the Clinton presidency, the "Iranian question" became one of our most important foreign policy challenges. Of course, his national security team adopted the standard approach of the time - punt. Russia's Iranian problem is that they don't have Bill Clinton to kick around anymore, whereas GW did not hesitate in placing Iran on the Axis of Evil list, which effectively painted a big bulls-eye on Tehran, and labeled any support of the regime as deserving of diplomatic, economic, or military action.
Iran is in a pickle. Its Western Front effort has gone nowhere and is under increasing pressure from the military forces of the US and the Coalition in the Persian Gulf and Iraq. The mullahs' attempt to bribe India and Pakistan with the promise of cheap energy and a "jobs program" to construct the pipeline will come to naught. Also, the largest terrorist stronghold in the Central Region will see to it that maximum pain will be inflicted on any attempt to run the pipeline through Baluchistan.
There are very few options left to the Islamic Republic, none of which are very satisfactory from the mullah's point of view. First, it can do a complete about face, and establish a formal relationship again with the United States. This would entail giving up its nuclear projects, completely halting its intervention in Shia areas of Iraq, and its stopping its political and economic support of terror groups in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah. This option seems implausible, considering the decades of enormous investment by the mullahs in their theocratic political and economic power structure.
A second possibility is that Iran continues to play the current cat and the mouse game, by employing the tried and true tactics of delay and deception in order to save time and to avoid the risk of American overt and covert intervention. This option also involves continuing to play the "European-3" (Great Britain, France and Germany) against the US while simultaneously threatening attacks against shipping in the Persian Gulf , or hinting at accelerated production of nuclear weapons material and delivery systems. The mullahs realize, however, that this second option can only last so long with GW in command of beefed up military forces in the Central Region.
Sources indicate that a third option is frequently discussed in the inner circles of Iranian leadership: that of secret negotiations with the United States, including agreements on oil. The losers in this deal would certainly be the Iranian people. Not only would the rich natural resources of the country be plundered for the likely benefit of the insiders and cronies ruling Iran, but the mullahs would have even a freer hand to continue their political repression. Despite the desire of Western energy companies to exploit the huge oil and natural gas reserves in Iran, the administration will not embark on a course of action that would fall short of establishing a democracy in Iran. President Bush understands that any short-term gain would surely come back and haunt us in the future with a revitalized terror campaign built with Western capital.
The ideological nature of the Islamic Republic prevents Iran from adopting a realistic national policy to avoid its coming economic decline, or a possible military operation by the world's only remaining super-power. And, if the mullahs attempt to play the E-3 card to counter the US, it will hurt more than help their situation.
The people of Iran are watching, and are increasingly restive and belligerent towards the terrorist regime. The mullahs need to realize that their demise will, in fact, be sooner rather than later.
Douglas Hanson is the American Thinker's military affairs correspondent.
Dr. Mohamed Ibn Guadi is an Islamologist at Strasbourg University and a researcher in Semitic Philology, and is the Director of the Islamology Program at the French Center of Middle East Studies (AFEMO) in Toulouse. He was a policy analyst for the Iran Free Press, and is currently preparing a book on Islam and the West.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said Monday some 200 people were arrested in ethnic unrest in its southwest in recent days and closed the offices of the Arab language Al Jazeera television channel, accusing it stirring up trouble.
At least one person died after Arab-Iranians went on the rampage in the city of Ahvaz, near the border with Iraq, on Friday and Saturday, smashing and setting fire to police cars, banks and government buildings and clashing with police.
Government officials have said the violence in Iran's traditional oil-producing heartland was sparked by a forged letter, supposedly penned by a senior government official, discussing the idea of relocating ethnic Arabs from the area.
"Many of those arrested are young, innocent people. The real criminals are those who provoked them," the official IRNA news agency quoted Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi as saying. "We have arrested many of those behind the scenes and it became evident that they have ties to anti-government (television) channels," he said.
The Tehran bureau of Qatar-based Al Jazeera television was later closed, said a senior Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry official in charge of supervising the foreign press. "Until further investigation about the role of this channel in the recent protests in Ahvaz, its offices will be closed," Mohammad Hussein Khoshvaght told Reuters. The channel was closed "for their coverage of these demonstrations which possibly provoked bandits in southwestern Iran." Broadcast media in Iran are in the hands of the state, but many Iranians tune in to foreign channels via illegal satellite dishes. Some Iranian lawmakers also called for the expulsion from Iran of Al Jazeera.
One exile opposition group campaigning for the region's independence from non-Arab Iran, the London-based Ahvaz Arab People Democratic-Popular Front, said the violence was far worse than official accounts and put the death toll much higher. But officials said peace and order had been restored to the area by Sunday and there were no other reports of renewed violence. Arabs make up about 3 percent of Iran's 67 million people and most of them live in the southwest of the country.
Decisions, decisions, who to root for?
Posted by: Steve ||
04/18/2005 12:26:00 PM ||
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#1
That 'who to root for' question is a real doozy.
The Mullah's have already called Al Jazeera a zionist controlled entity because AlJ referred to the body of water between Iran and Saudiland as the 'Persian/Arabian Gulf'. The Mullahs have also threatened to ban arabic from being used in commerce and have begun to move ethnic Persian speakers into lands populated by ethnic arabic speakers. Of course the hostility between the Iranian side and the arabic side is something of a diversion from the plain ordinary antiMullah feeling that is ubiquitous in Iran.
#3
ah, al Jizz vs the mad mullahs. Who to root for - I root for popcorn, to be consumed before Passover, of course. (though in this instance I actually suspect al Jizz is accurate - given the choice between a biased media source, and a quasi-totalitarian govt, im MORE inclined to disbeleive the quasi-totalitarian govt)
#4
Funny: the MSM and the anti-Bush brigade said Iraq was doomed to disintegrate into ethnic and sectarian violence. Right prediction, wrong mideast country...
Iran on Sunday rejected calls by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for an international coalition against Iran, saying Israel was not in a position to threaten Iran. "Comments by officials of the Zionist regime are not worth an answer," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. "The Zionist regime is not eligible to express any ideas since it is the source of tension, crisis and trouble in the region."
Asefi also said that Iran will never recognize Israel even if there is a peace deal with the Palestinians and they have their own state. "Even if you envisage this impossible hypothesis, [and] to recognize a state is part of Iran's diplomatic right, in absolutely no case will Iran recognize the Zionist regime," he told journalists.
Reports that Israeli President Moshe Katsav had shaken hands with and spoken to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami at the funeral for Pope John Paul II caused a furor. The Israeli leader played down the alleged encounter as pure civilities while Khatami denied it ever happened. Asefi said Israel's recent actions show that the Jewish state is opposed to peace and security in the region and is intent on destroying regional trust. Last week, Sharon said Israel would not mount a unilateral attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure and called instead for an international coalition to deal with it.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Yea well the feeling is reciprocal I am sure Mister Pig poker.
Iran telling anyone not to make threats? LMAO.
We are talking about a country that regularly writes checks with it's mouth it's ass can't cash. So spare us you gas bagging pig hogger.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/18/2005 7:26 Comments ||
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#3
I'd call this the pot calling the kettle black, but that would imply a moral equivalence between Iran (the threatener of Israel's existance) and Israel (the responder to Iranian threats against Israel's existance). Moral equivalence is for the morally incompetent, and I'm a bit more skilled than that.
I'd tell him to kiss Sharon's wrinkly ass, but that would be an act of war...
#5
Reality check for the Euro's. Iran has nuclear ambitions, hates Israel, will never recognize and will continue to try to destroy them, is working on nukes, has terrorist proxies in Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Jordan and is making defense overtures toward Syria. Looks like Israel is in a bad spot. Not to mention this isn't Osirak but scattered all over the joint. Israel's unilateral attack won't eliminate the threat but intensify operations against her and justify to the MM's all the threats they've issued. Where do we go from here? Iran has the ball we're down by 4pts and the clock is running out.
A pressing law proposal advocating the release of the Dinnieh detainees was submitted to Parliament on Friday by MPs Abdel-Rahim Mrad, Najib Mikati, Jamal Ismail and Saleh Kheir. The Dinnieh clashes between the Lebanese Army and the extremist Usbat al-Ansar group occurred in Northern Lebanon in early 2000.
This is a little dated. It was before Karami resigned the second time. Mikati's the new PM. Usbat al-Ansar remnants have figured largely in the festivities that pop up now and then in Ein el-Hellhole.
The families of the detainees had asked Prime Minister Omar Karami in February to help release their sons. The delegation said it had presented evidence to the prime minister showing the detainees were innocent and that the participants in the clashes had been killed during the fighting.
"Yeah. All the bad guys are dead! Our boys were just in the wrong place at the wrong time..."
Commenting on this issue, Jamal Ismail said: "In the wake of the exceptional situation the country is going through, we submit this pressing law proposal to Parliament again, calling for the release of all the detainees held since the Dinnieh clashes." Ismail added the detainees should be released in order to "open a new page in relations between the Lebanese people and the government" and to promote national unity, justice and equality.
"We might need a few trained gunnies to call upon in the immediate future, y'know!"
Ismail further said the Lebanese should "turn the page on the past," and called for the return of former Army Commander General Michel Aoun to Lebanon so that he can "carry out his national role in the Lebanese political arena."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Beirut chief investigating magistrate Abdel-Rahim Hammoud questioned the owner of Ad-Diyar newspaper, Charles Ayoub, for three hours Saturday on charges of publishing an article attacking President Emile Lahoud.
Note to self: When waxing lyrical on the benefits of liberty, remember to mention the freedom to criticize political hacks and call them names. Put it right up there with freedom of religion.
Hammoud also questioned Ad-Diyar responsible director Youssef Howayek before releasing both he and Ayoub, pending further investigation. Journalists' Union president Melhem Karam had accompanied Ayoub, together with union lawyer Antoine Hweiss and Howayek's lawyer, Nader Gaspar. Ayoub said afterward he had been questioned on each and every paragraph of his April 12 front page editorial with Hammoud focusing at length on parts of the article he considered particularly slanderous toward Lahoud and Lebanon's security apparatus. Ayoub explained that his editorial aimed to present a resignation by Lahoud as the only solution to Lebanon's current political difficulties. The editorial accused Lahoud of corruption and of covering up illegitimate actions taken by various government departments and by members of the president's family.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Opposition leader and Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt stressed the importance of the Taif Accord and the need to set up an economic and social program that would put an end to the current crisis gripping the country.
Wally, the crisis gripping Lebanon at the moment isn't an economic or social crisis. It's a political crisis. Dump the Syrians and you can deal with your own problems as you will...
Jumblatt also said that his visit to Europe aimed at speeding up the formation of a Cabinet, in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, France and UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen. Jumblatt met with former Army Commander General Michel Aoun for the first time since the civil war at Aoun's residence in Paris. During the meeting, the two officials discussed the need to implement the Taif Accord, to hold the elections on schedule and to establish good relations with Syria. Addressing the journalists after the meeting, Aoun said he and Jumblatt had agreed the opposition should take part in the government in order to speed up the holding of the elections. The two officials also highlighted the need to hold the elections on time and to maintain good relations with Syria "after it completes its full withdrawal from Lebanon." Aoun further said he and Jumblatt had agreed that the issue of Hizbullah should be dealt with by Lebanese officials, without any foreign intervention. "I have informed Jumblatt that I am returning to Lebanon on May 7 and we have agreed to hold our second meeting in Beirut," Aoun added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Can't determine whether Wally resembles Feldman/Igor or Wilder/Frankenshteen more
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2005 16:42 Comments ||
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key quote:
Addressing the crowds, Jumblatt said: "We must never forget the principles for which Kamal Jumblatt and Rafik Hariri became martyrs," adding,
"Our march must start from the principles of Arabism, the advocacy of the Palestinian cause, the preservation of the national and Islamic resistance in Lebanon and the establishment of sisterly relations with Syria."
Posted by: too true ||
04/18/2005 16:51 Comments ||
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Lebanon's Prime Minister designate Najib Mikati said he hoped to form a neutral, compact government as soon as possible that would meet the approval of all parties and would be able to oversee Lebanon's parliamentary elections on schedule. Mikati, who has support from both opposition members and loyalists, is expected to break six weeks of political impasse by forming a Cabinet capable of gaining a vote of confidence from Parliament. Ever since former Premier Omar Karami resigned on February 28, Lebanon has been operating under an outgoing government.
The opposition have showed leniency toward Mikati's appointment in an effort to end the deadlock and open the way for elections. Opposition MP Ghinwa Jalloul said Saturday the opposition was optimistic about Mikati's moves. She added: "The opposition will continue to help facilitate Mikati's goal of ensuring the elections as soon as possible."
However, another opposition MP, Butros Harb, said Sunday that despite reports of the opposition's embrace of Mikati, he himself had not been informed of this development. Harb said Mikati has always been "friends with the Syrians," whom the opposition accuses of having a hand in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri. Mikati, 49, who still maintains business ties with Syria, and enjoys a personal relationship with Syrian President Bashar Assad, has gained the acceptance of the anti-Syrian opposition, making the holding of crucial elections on time in May a realistic possibility.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The U.S., France and the EU have welcomed the appointment of Najib Mikati as Lebanon's new prime minister, but stepped up the pressure in demanding that parliamentary elections be held on schedule. The international community's calls came as Lebanese President Emile Lahoud pledged to hold "free and fair elections," an announcement apparently aimed at easing foreign pressure and appeasing the country's opposition. The U.S. State Department and the French Foreign Ministry reiterated their insistence that a government be formed "rapidly," with the top priority being to conducting the polls within the country's constitutional deadline. "The people of Lebanon deserve a government capable of leading them to a secure future, prosperous economy and political stability in an atmosphere of freedom," spokeswoman Nancy Beck said in Washington.
However, the EU took a harder stance, as the ambassadors of Holland, Britain and the EU in Beirut made a collective call on Lahoud at the presidential palace to hold the elections on time. 'The EU is extremely worried over the delay in arrangements for the Lebanese elections that have to be held before the mandate of the current Parliament expires on May 31," said the Dutch ambassador after the Baabda talks. "The European Union will keep a careful watch on the electoral process and stands ready to provide its assistance," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The predominantly Arab city of Ahvaz in Iran was calm Sunday, with anti-riot police cruising the streets after two days of violent demonstrations. At least one demonstrator died and eight others were wounded in the protests, sparked by rumors that Tehran planned to decrease the proportion of Arabs in the oil-rich area near the Iraqi border. Police patrols cruised Ahvaz's neighborhoods Sunday and guarded the city's banks. Shops were open although the streets were largely empty, with vehicles of anti-riot troops lining the streets, residents said. "Security is tight in two or three neighborhoods," said Hadi Yunesi, a local journalist. "But the city is calm, shops are open and life has returned to normal." The fracas started Friday after hundreds of Arab residents of Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan Province, gathered to chant slogans against an alleged government plan to move more non-Arabs into the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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snip
The greatest insult to sovereignty relates to the convention center in which the national assembly now convenes. The U.S. military, which seized the building as Baghdad fell, has not donated, but rather rented the facilities to the Iraqi government. Some Iraqi officials have complained that American diplomats walk in and out of the building, and on occasion the meeting rooms, when the assembly is in session. The national assembly must share its facilities with more than two dozen American agencies and offices.
After the Iraqis voted to switch buildings, American diplomats intervened. They interceded with several Iraqi politicians, mostly high-level officials from Allawi's ousted government, to resist the move. Respect for democracy requires that the U.S. embassy respect national-assembly votes, all the more so when unanimous. The embassy operates for its own purposes, though. To move outside the Green Zone would be inconvenient for the Americans. U.S. diplomats like to cover the national assembly's proceedings, but State Department security regulations will not allow diplomats outside of the fortified zone without three days' notice. Furthermore, U.S. political officers may not be outside the security zone after dark. Iraqi sovereignty is simply inconvenient for the foreign-service lifestyle.
The issues facing Iraq are vast. Iraqis debate the role of religion in their society. Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs debate the future of Kirkuk. Discussions relating to a Basra-centered southern Iraqi federal unit are picking up. An increasingly mature and independent Iraqi press is at the forefront of investigating corruption. The arguments Iraqis have are long and sometimes heated. But, as the January 30 turnout showed, Iraqis take great pride in their sovereignty. The White House does too. Unfortunately, no one has yet told the American embassy.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/18/2005 10:13:51 AM ||
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#1
Now its no longer bodies, its now about feelings. So, for a historical perspective, how did the US treat the Germans and Japanese in similar situations?
#2
This is actually pretty funny, IMHO. Much ado over image, rather than reality.
[semi-ranty]
For example, I take issue with Mr Rubin when he asserts: "Most Iraqis remain grateful for the liberation which made elections possible, but they resent the manner in which U.S.-Iraqi partnership degenerated into occupation."
There is barely a partnership, now, and there was none before now, precisely because the Iraqis are finally fielding troops who will fight for Iraq, instead of their tribe / clan / flavor of Islam / dictator / Iranian Mullah / greenbacks. Within the last 2-3 months, they have begun to be our partners in their liberation. So let's keep the facts of the matter out there in front, visible and clear, shall we, Mr Rubin?
Okay, so State is acting like State. Nothing new there. Dubya should issue the marching orders, if he agrees.
Look, Ruby baby, much of this is classic Arab seething over the usual: image, not content. They have to earn respect from us, too, y'know. This one-way street bullshit is over. Kaput. They can earn it by raising the concern, debating the response if they don't like it, but continuing the military and police building programs which will make the Green Zone unnecessary. State is full of twits. Career twits. Steyn skewered them beautifully yesterday. Bush and Dr Rice can and will take the skewers and make them real. The Iraqis have to make themselves real. They're not "done" yet or we would've pulled out. Get a grip, there, Ruby.
This reminds me of the "B" Ark folks - they failed to invent the wheel because they couldn't agree on what color it should be. Sheesh.
Iraqis: Make your country safe, a place based on Rule of Law, make yourselves an admirable example of tolerance and forbearance. Stop seething and pretending that how shit looks is more important than making shit work.
We've begun the rebirth of the CIA, State, and the US delegation to the UN. We have a job to do and we're doing it, thanks to Bush. You have a job to do, as well, time to FOCUS, people.
#3
Thinking more about this write up, if the State personnel had immediately turned their back on someone like Prime Minister Ayad Allawi with whom they had worked the long and difficult road to the election, then the same embassy personnel would be portrayed as fickle and quick to abandon anyone who lost any power or influence. This may just be a cultural difference. Normally, we as a people are comfortable with people we've worked with in successful programs and even though they may move or change position, we see no reason that fellowships established under difficult environments should be abandoned. To us, this does not preclude establishing new relationships to add to the old.
Commentary edited for useful facts. There is a scandal unfolding in corporate America that President Bush needs to stop, since fixing Social Security is his top domestic goal and securing the nation against terrorism his greatest duty.
Key facts were revealed in an October report from the inspector general of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The report examines the records of 100 companies that filed the most W-2 reports from 1997-2001 on which the names and/or Social Security numbers did not match SSA records and SSA -- even after some investigation -- could not credit to a known taxpayer.
SSA consigns these orphaned W-2s to what it calls the Earnings Suspense File (ESF). The "Top 100" worst filers of W-2s that ended up in the ESF, the inspector general discovered, collectively filed more than 2.7 million of these bad W-2s over the five years studied, reporting about $9.6 billion in wages unmatchable to a worker.
The report does not name these "Top 100" companies. But it provides some details about them. For, example:
o The No. 1 corporate filer of orphaned W-2s is based in Illinois. From 1997-2001, it filed 131,991 of these W-2s, reporting $524,933,538 in wages the government could not credit to a known taxpayer.
o A Texas company was No. 2. It filed 108,302 orphaned W-2s over five years, reporting $532,964,026 in wages paid to unknown workers.
o The problem got worse. "Our review of the Top 100 employer data also found that the average increase in suspended wage items between tax years 1997 and 2001 was approximately 69 percent," said the report.
Now, this is an obvious scandal for Social Security. Workers with higher reported wages get bigger benefit checks in retirement. But as long as the $9.6 billion in wages reported by the "Top 100" companies on bad W-2s remains unmatched to any taxpayer, those who earned those wages and paid taxes on them may be denied their full Social Security benefits. Not to mention that there is more money in the pool for the rest of us. No, I don't think that makes this ok.
These workers -- provided they were legally entitled to work in the United States -- are getting ripped off. Even if national security were not involved, that alone should cause President Bush to act.
In fact, on June 25, 2002, following an SSA examination of the identities used by the September 11, 2001, hijackers, then-SSA Inspector General James G. Huse Jr. told the House Subcommittee on Crime that the hijackers used, among others, five counterfeit SSNs and one belonging to a child.
"Because a terrorist, to be effective, must first be assimilated into American society, and because an SSN is a critical tool in the assimilation, it became apparent that the acquisition of an SSN was indispensable," Mr. Huse said.
To make terrorist sharks easier to spot and capture, the government must drain their habitat. It can begin by no longer looking the other way when businesses hire illegal aliens. Mr. Huse told the Immigration Subcommittee: "Our reviews of the suspended wages in the ESF suggest that illegal work is the primary cause of suspended wages."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/18/2005 7:46:58 AM ||
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In my second divorce I accidentally gave a wrong social security number at a new job to shake my wife's attorney off my trail, and to give me enough time to gather money for the fight against her attorney.
#8
There's "crediting to a known taxpayer" for purposes of Social Security... and then there's the little matter of the IRS. I'd think they'd be interested in this.
$500M on 100k+ W-2s.. that's in the $4k-$5k each range. That's a real low tax bracket. Not much withholding there. A tidy sum expensed without taxes.
Three years after it began, the prison experiment known as Camp Delta at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has reached a crossroads in its incarceration of those captured in the war brought on by Sept. 11.
Military officials have completed tribunal hearings for all 558 detainees and have compiled their most comprehensive report detailing what they have learned about potential future terrorist attacks. But the Bush administration now is battling efforts by lawyers for some of the prisoners to have the cases moved to federal courts in Washington.
Should that happen, it could end the military's long-held goal of keeping those it has identified as "enemy combatants" out of the public spotlight and ensconced in the island prison.
The new report appears to buttress the military's claim that it should be allowed to run Camp Delta without outside intervention because the camp has become "the single best repository of Al Qaeda information."
The declassified summary cites more than 4,000 interrogation reports and says that some indicated Al Qaeda operatives were pursuing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The summary does not elaborate on what that information is or how close the terrorist organization might be to getting such weapons.
According to the report, captives have described how Al Qaeda trained them to spread deadly poisons, and at other times armed them with grenades stuffed inside soda cans, bombs hidden in pagers and cellphones and wristwatches that could trigger remote control explosions on a 24-hour countdown.
The report also showed that not all those being held were suspected of being front-line soldiers and that 1 in 10 of the captives were well-educated — often at U.S. colleges — in fields such as medicine and law.
More than 20 detainees have been positively identified as Osama bin Laden's personal bodyguards and one as his close "spiritual advisor," according to the report. Another is listed as the "probable 20th 9/11 hijacker" — a Saudi man named Mohamed al-Kahtani who made it to Orlando, Fla., before being deported just a month before the Sept. 11 attacks.One detainee vowed to his captors that U.S. citizens in Saudi Arabia "will have their heads cut off." Another prisoner, this one with strong ties to Bin Laden, the Taliban and the Chechen mujahedin leadership, said of Americans everywhere: "Their day is coming.... One day I will enjoy sucking their blood."
The information gleaned from prisoners has been shared with U.S. intelligence agencies and top military officials. It also is designed to get the Pentagon message out to the public that the interrogations at Guantanamo Bay have been valuable and should not be interrupted by the courts.
Administration officials have maintained that it is more important to keep the interrogations on track to help prevent future terrorist strikes than it is to afford constitutional safeguards to non-U.S. citizens captured as enemy combatants. The classification was created by the administration to cover adversaries ranging from Taliban soldiers to Al Qaeda members and others suspected of threatening the United States.
But that position has been attacked by defense lawyers and civil libertarians who have gained ground before the U.S. Supreme Court and federal district court in Washington. They have argued — successfully so far — that the detainees cannot be held indefinitely without greater due process to challenge their incarceration. They also contend that many of the detainees were bystanders or small-time militants.
At the same time, the military has been pounded with allegations that prisoners have been abused and humiliated to get them to talk. That scenario has been used by critics to attack the credibility of the information the military has gathered and to question whether the Pentagon has abided by the Geneva Convention prohibiting harsh treatment.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/18/2005 2:17:57 AM ||
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Any "Lawyer" who works to have these people turned loose is a dangerous enemy of the United States of America. But we already knew that as thay are only fronting that they believe in demoracy, liberty or the Republic. Mostly they are Commies and Socialists who hate our country and the Constitution. They only use the Consttution to destroy it and ouir Republic.
#4
I was thinking more on the lines of our own RAB. We could take them back to Afghanistan or Iraq to retrieve a weapons cache, find a bunch of their allies standing by and BOOM.
#5
One detainee vowed to his captors that U.S. citizens in Saudi Arabia "will have their heads cut off." Another prisoner, this one with strong ties to Bin Laden, the Taliban and the Chechen mujahedin leadership, said of Americans everywhere: "Their day is coming.... One day I will enjoy sucking their blood."
And some American lawyers are lining up behind these types? I generally don't support the idea of lynching, but....
#6
Send them all to Saudi Arabia on planes which mysteriously explode over the Indian Ocean and vanish without a trace. Impeach any US judge who attempts to protect them.
Distraught relatives of Shi'ite Muslim hostages apparently being held by Sunni gunmen near Baghdad have pleaded for their release and said they had been targeted for sectarian reasons.
A Shi'ite official said up to 150 hostages were taken on Friday and were being held in Madaen, about 40km south-east of Baghdad.
But details about the kidnappings have been murky since reports surfaced late on Friday, including the numbers of those kidnapped and security forces' efforts to free them.
No group claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, and an Internet statement issued in the name of al-Qaeda's wing in Iraq said the crisis was fabricated as a pretext for raiding the town and attacking Sunni Muslims.
Kidnapping for political reasons and for ransom has plagued Iraq during an insurgency against US and government forces.
None of those questioned by Reuters Television could say when their relatives were abducted. Men in the group said about 30 people from the nearby Shi'ite village of Huriya had been seized, and blamed a rival Sunni tribe.
"We know them individually, they are all from the area," said a man who did not give his name.
At Salman Pak, a few hundred protesters waved green banners, a symbol of Islam used by Shi'ites, and chanted slogans calling for the hostages' release.
"They kidnapped more than 25 individuals, and we are a peaceful people," one man said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/18/2005 12:15:23 AM ||
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Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that Israel's recent killings of Palestinians violated a February agreement, but that he was still willing to cooperate with Israel's planned summer pullout from the Gaza Strip. "It's unfortunate that there are many violations to the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement," Abbas told reporters on arrival from Egypt, where he held talks with President Hosni Mubarak.
He did not directly name Israel, but said the violations of the February accord were manifested in the killings of three Palestinians in Rafah, a Gaza Strip crossing point with Egypt, the arrests of activists in the Palestinian territories and the beating of police officers in the West Bank town of Hebron. Abbas met separately with Jordanian Prime Minister Adnan Badran and Jordan's King Abdullah II, who stressed that an Israeli pullout from Gaza "must be followed by a withdrawal from the West Bank in line with the 'road map,'" according to a palace statement. Abdullah said certain issues in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict must be left until final status negotiations. He did not elaborate but appeared to hint at crucial issues, like the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of traditionally Arab part of Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. "Imposing solutions without the participation of concerned parties will not serve peace and will not lead to practical results accepted by all," added Abdullah, underlining concern that a future settlement about refugees may ignore Jordanian interests. Jordan is the largest host of 1.7 million Palestinians refugees and their dependents displaced in 1967 and an earlier Arab-Israeli war in 1948.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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and the status of traditionally Arab part of Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed.
This is called the spoils of war. Especially when it was the nation under attack that gained control of the area in question.
Tough shit, guys. Y'all attacked, you lost territory, game over.
#2
Poland and Russia annexed part of Germany after being attacked. How is that different? Oh, right: they're not Jooooooooos.
Mecca was primarily Christian and Medina Jewish (or was the other way?). All of North Africa was Christian. The Levant was Christian. Anatolia was Christian. When the Moslems talk about giving these lands back, we'll talk about a few square miles on the edge.
#3
The only reaon old Jerusalem is traditionally Arab is because they drove out all the native Jews. Why do they suppose a part of the Old City is called the Jewish Quarter?
Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum yesterday resigned as head of his feared northern militia to take up a post in President Hamid Karzai's government, his deputy said. Dostum, one of Afghanistan's most powerful warlords, was appointed by Karzai as chief of staff of the high command of the country's armed forces, a largely symbolic post that removes the faction leader from his Shiberghan powerbase.
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer
"Yes, Gen. Dostum has resigned as leader of party," deputy party leader, Abdul Majid Rozi, told AFP, referring to the "Jumbesh Milli Islami Party", drawn mostly from ethnic Uzbeks. Rozi said Dostum would take his new post in "few days." Sayed Noorullah, formerly serving as deputy leader of the party, had been appointed as interim leader of the faction, he said. The faction yesterday was registered with the Ministry of Justice as a formal political party under which it can run for the war-torn country's first parliamentary elections due later this year, Rozi added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Watched the Sunnis boycott themselves out of a role, he did. Smarter, he is.
Posted by: too true ||
04/18/2005 16:52 Comments ||
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A thug's thug if ever there was one. He's brutal and a bit dense but he's blessed with great self-preservation skills.
Bangladesh on Sunday defended a controversial crime-fighting unit after the European Parliament accused it of extra-judicial killings, saying criminals are killed in crossfire in other parts of the world as well. The 4,000-strong Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), comprising soldiers and police officials, is credited with cutting crimes such as extortion by half since it was created a little over a year ago to tackle law and order in Bangladesh. But the force has also been criticised because of the high number of alleged criminals killed in shoot-outs or crossfire.
Oh, but that's a rare occurrence, isn't it?
Only happens when it's dark
Have to admire efficiency in the third world ...
"I don't know of any country in the world where some criminals have not been killed in crossfires," Foreign Minister Morshed Khan was quoted as saying by the official BSS news agency.
Yeah, but Bangla somehow manages to bump them off at a fairly rapid rate...
The minister said countries such as the United States, Britain, and various European countries have laws on their books, which defend these killings. Last week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the Bangladesh government to put an end to the anti-crime operations of the Rapid Action Battalion. It said it was concerned that the "... deterioration of Bangladesh's human rights' situation is also linked to the activities of forces officially responsible for enforcement of law and order as the government has set up a new paramilitary force, named the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and several people have been killed while in custody of the RAB." Crime is a major political issue in Bangladesh and the country's four-party alliance government came to power in 2001 with a manifesto to tackle law and order problems. A leading Bangladeshi human rights group, Ain-O-Salishi Kendro (Law and Justice Centre), too, has accused the RAB of carrying out extra-judicial killings and demanded an inquiry into each death.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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What's the problem? I'M COMPLETELY SATISFIED with the RAB's performance!
What's that EU? It's none of my business? Ain't any more of YOURS EITHER.
#2
They bump them off at a rapid rate because they're the RAPID Action Battalion, not the Routinely Atrophied Barristers. Give 'em a medal.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/18/2005 8:13 Comments ||
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I saw a version of this article that said the villagers, who are the victims of these terror gangs, are very satisfied with the work of the RAB. they were experiencing 8-12 murders a WEEK in some villages...now the gangs are on the run. Shame, sanctimonious E.U.
The number of foreign students in Islamic seminaries in Karachi is by and large declining and the main reason for this development is said to be "strict and lengthy" procedures of the government for issuing visas to foreign students, suggests a Daily Times survey of different seminaries conducted after current year's admissions had been closed. The survey shows the managers of Barelvi and Salafi seminaries have serious complaints about the government's lengthy procedures while a spokesman for one of the largest seminaries in the country, Jamia Binoria, has said they have admitted foreign students but their number is certainly smaller than that of the previous year.
By and large, religious schools in the city received an overwhelming response to their admission campaigns which ended recently. At least, 22,000 students were registered in these seminaries and most of them were admitted by Jamia Binoria, the administrative officials of various madressahs say. The figures of admissions since the September 11 attacks on America show that the Pakistani government's crackdown on Islamic militants decreased admissions to religious seminaries to a little over 12,000 in 2002, but they recorded a surge in 2003 when around 20,000 pupils were admitted and this year too the graph retained the surge.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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This speaks to the ambitions of a great many Pakistanis that their sons be at least somewhat educated. How much loyalty to the State would Musharref engender simply by opening local primary and secondary schools across the country! Not to mention the cascading affect to society of so many boys unscarred physically and emotionally if they can learn without having to board at the madrassah. The tales that come out of the madrassahs are positively Dickensonian, with the added filip of sexual abuse as well.
Pakistan Peoples Party's leader Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday admitted that the Pakistan People's Party and the establishment had been in contact for the last eight years and said that the PPP would carry on with talks aimed at restoring democracy. Zardari, accompanied by around three dozen PPP leaders, addressed a crowded press conference at Bilawal House.
Zardari, who had threatened to launch agitation against the government, softened his stand at the press conference, saying: "We don't want to take to the streets, though we can do it and the government also knows about it. We will hold dialogue with the establishment and at the same time motivate people and intellectuals," said Mr Zardari. He said the way the government had treated PPP activists indicated a conspiracy against the federation. "Our army is patriotic and does not want to break the country but a couple of insane people are damaging the federation by staying in power," he said. He said that the PPP's only demand was free and fair elections in 2005.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Is it just me, or does it look like there are bulletholes in the wall behind him?
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.
Well-known religious scholar Sheikh 
HOSTILITY to Jewish students at British universities could escalate this week with moves by academics to boycott Israeli goods and set up links with Palestinian organisations. Luciana Berger, 23, a close friend of Euan Blair, the prime minister's son, described last week how she had been forced to resign from the executive committee of the National Union of Students (NUS) after being abused and spat at by left-wing undergraduates and Muslim activists because she is Jewish. 
South Korea will bolster military ties with its long-time Cold War rivals China and Russia in an effort to play a 
WASHINGTON: UN chief 
JAKARTA: More than 10,000 members of a conservative Indonesian Muslim party staged peaceful anti-Israel protests in several cities on Sunday, including a major one in Jakarta outside the US embassy. In the capital, 5,000-10,000 protesters from the 
Opposition leader and Chouf MP 
The U.S., France and the EU have welcomed the appointment of 
Three years after it began, the prison experiment known as Camp Delta at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has reached a crossroads in its incarceration of those captured in the war brought on by Sept. 11.
Palestinian leader 
Afghan warlord 
Bangladesh on Sunday defended a controversial crime-fighting unit after the European Parliament accused it of extra-judicial killings, saying criminals are killed in crossfire in other parts of the world as well. The 4,000-strong 
The number of foreign students in Islamic seminaries in Karachi is by and large declining and the main reason for this development is said to be "strict and lengthy" procedures of the government for issuing visas to foreign students, suggests a Daily Times survey of different seminaries conducted after current year's admissions had been closed. The survey shows the managers of Barelvi and Salafi seminaries have serious complaints about the government's lengthy procedures while a spokesman for one of the largest seminaries in the country, 
Pakistan Peoples Party's leader 
