Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal has purchased 5.46 percent of the Fox corporation, according to Gulf Daily News, raising concern that the conservative Fox News may soften its anti-terror stance due to the views of the new shareholder.
Al-Waleed, the nephew of the late Saudi King Fahd, was in the news when he visited the World Trade Center's remains just after the September 11th attacks and offered then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani a $10 million check for relief efforts. Al-Waleed then released a statement blaming US foreign policy and support for Israel for the attacks.
Giuliani returned the prince's check with a statement that, "There is no moral equivalent for this attack. The people who did it lost any right to ask for justification when they slaughtered . . . innocent people ... Not only are those statements wrong, they're part of the problem."
#2
Its a depressing thought that anyone with enough money can exploit our capitalist system to silence speech. I dont think the "prince" has to do much. He will automatically be deffered to as a large shareholder.
So now the Saudis are buying into our broadcast networks like they have bought into our universities with such large endowments that many universities undoubtedly self-censor themselves for fear of losing the pot of gold. Most disturbing is the trend of Saudi money keeping Christian universities in the black. The Saudis donates millions to no less than Baylor U in Texas and who knows how much to other historically Christians institutions.
So when will we see from these people the kind of backbone Guiliani displayed? Dirty silence money should be returned no matter the cost. There are more important things than money.
#3
Foreign ownership of broadcast media is limited to 25%. Talal owns 5.46% of not just Fox, but the international parent News Corp with broadcast, cable, and newspapers worldwide (e.g. DirectTV, NY Post, SkyTV, UK Sun, Times UK, practically all of Australia, ...).
Posted by: ed ||
09/26/2005 12:19 Comments ||
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#4
Fox sux anyway. I like their on-air talent, but you can watch them for 24 hours and get as much real news as you can get on the internet in 2.4 minutes.
September 26, 2005: Saudi Arabia believes that 18 of its thirty most wanted Islamic terrorists have fled the country. The Saudis have given Interpol the names (which have not been made public) and asked for help in tracking down these men. The Saudis are not happy with the lack of cooperation from Syria and Yemen in tracking down Islamic radicals. In the last two years, nearly a hundred people have died in Saudi Arabia as a result of Islamic terrorism, and most Saudis are hostile to Islamic radicalism because of this.
Many Saudis blame the United States for all this, seeing the invasion of Iraq as an opportunity for Islamic terrorists to increase recruiting, and gain practical experience in carrying out attacks. The surviving Saudi terrorists then come home, along with their deadly skills. So far, the Saudis have been able to control the Islamic terrorists. But the Saudis are more concerned about the growing influence of Shia Iran among the Shia Arabs of southern Iran, and eastern Saudi Arabia (and the other Arab Gulf states.) Saudi Arabia has always made it clear that it preferred someone like Saddam Hussein (a Sunni Arab dictator) running Iraq, rather than a democracy that would allow the Shia Arab majority to rule. This would have provided a better opponent to Iran, which is a nation of non-Arabs (Iranians are Indo-Europeans), who practice a variant of mainstream Sunni Islam.
Saudis are also reluctant to admit that their country is still a major source of support for Islamic terrorism. While the Saudis have cracked down on Islamic radicals in schools and mosques, as well as trying to prevent financial contributions to terrorist causes, much support for Islamic radicals still comes from Saudi Arabia. The Saudis also downplay the participation of young Saudis in terrorist operations in Iraq. The Saudis now insist that earlier evidence, showing half the foreign terrorists in Iraq are Saudis, was wrong. Saudi officials believe fewer than twenty percent of the foreign terrorists in Iraq are Saudis. Many Saudis still cannot believe that 79 percent of the 911 terrorists were Saudis.
Thus you have a situation where the Saudis will confront, and deal with, Islamic terrorism if it shows up in their own vicinity. But, otherwise, the Saudis prefer to look the other way and insist that Islamic terrorism has little to do with them.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2005 09:03 ||
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Saudi families are increasingly falling victim of an elaborate scheme by Iraqis living in Jordan and Syria who claim to provide them with information about the fate of their relatives in Iraq and defraud them vast sums of money, with official sources in the Kingdom estimating the amount of money obtained from the scam to be in excess of 15 million$ US a year.
If it's not going to Zark, I consider it money well spent. Especially since it's not mine. Consider it an educational expense...
The brother of a suspected Islamic militant whose name appears on the list of 36 most wanted terrorists admitted being deceived by a group of Iraqis who frequently visited Syria. Speaking exclusively to Asharq al Awsat, on condition of anonymity, he revealed how he received a phone call two weeks after his brother went missing, alleging he had joined the insurgency in Iraq. Ten days later, the callers arranged a meeting in Syria. The brother informed the Saudi society services of the call. They said the terrorist was likely to be in hiding inside the Kingdom but did not object to the meeting as long as they would be kept informed of its conclusions.
Prince Nayef was laughing his ass off the while...
After repeatedly changing the time and location, three men finally met the Saudi man in Syria. He trusted the men after they provided details on his brother's physical appearance. Refusing to give them money outright, he asked the men to deliver a message to his brother assuring him funds would be made available for his return home. The Iraqis asked to be given time to deliver the message and ended the meeting. A week later, the men got in touch again and indicated the brother was considering leaving Iraq for Saudi Arabia.
"But he needs bus fare!"
"How much is a bus ticket to Jeddah?"
"$10,000."
In a later phone call, the men alleged the brother had made his final decision but needed 10,000 USD for the journey.
Toldja so...
The brother refused to pay this considerable amount and settled for 2000, in exchange for facilitating his brotherâs trip to Syria and later Saudi Arabia.
"Only $2000? That ain't much of a bus ride. No way he's gettin' on the Vista Cruiser with that ticket!"
In fact, the suspected militant had never left his home country.
"Hell, no, I didn't leave! Who the hell can afford a bus ticket these days?"
Other concerned family members who feared their sons and brothers had joined the Iraqi insurgency have also paid considerable sums of money to those claiming they would convince their loved ones to return home. The brother of the suspect mentioned above told Asharq al Awsat that the Iraqis showed him currency from countries around the Persian Gulf as evidence of payment. One of the Iraqi men even offered to kidnap the brother and return him to his brother in exchange for additional money but the offer was refused.
"If you don't want to pay that much, how much will you pay for his ear?"
In an attempt to tackle this prevalent scam, Saudi security officials have compiled a database of all the families contacted by Iraqis fraudsters demanding large sums of money seemingly in return for tracking their family members and returning them to Saudi Arabia. Investigations have revealed that in most cases, the imposters pressure the family to send money after making repeated calls and claiming the missing member wanted to return but was unable to afford the journey or had been arrested and money was needed to bribe officials to free him. A third scenario alleged the son or brother had been kidnapped by an armed group and a ransom had to be paid to free him. Security officials believe these operations were planned and executed by professional criminal gangs linked to terrorist groups in Iraq and Saudi Arabia to fund their activities.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
If it's not going to Zark, I consider it money well spent...
How do you know it isn't going to Zark, or to some other terrorist organization?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
09/26/2005 0:27 Comments ||
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An Australian being held at Guantanamo Bay has applied for a UK passport, in the hope of securing his release. David Hicks, whose mother is a British citizen, was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 where he allegedly fought against American-led forces. His lawyers say the UK is more strident in securing the release of its citizens from Guantanamo Bay than Australia.
Mr Hicks revealed his mother was British by chance in a conversation about cricket with his lawyer. The 30-year-old former kangaroo hunter was discussing the recent Ashes series between Australia and England at the time. This has allowed Mr Hicks to apply for a UK passport, which could represent his best chance of avoiding a trial before a military tribunal.
Earlier this year nine British detainees were sent home from Guantanamo Bay. This was after the UK government complained that the system there failed to uphold basic standards of international justice. The Australian authorities, however, have consistently supported the process and have not lobbied Washington for David Hicks' release. He has been in custody for almost four years since being captured in Afghanistan during the US-led invasion. He has denied charges of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2005 08:38 ||
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From what I've read in the past, I thought this guy was just this side of a veg after the travails of Guantanamo?
Sure doesn't sound like it.
#2
Amen TU! From past articles he was reduced to a blathering idiot by his "mistreatment" at Gitmo. I wonder how the new terror laws will affect him? Hopefully he will go fromthe frying pan to the firing squad.
A THROW-away comment posted on a website praising a terrorist attack anywhere in the world could land a person in jail under tough new laws to be debated by State and Federal leaders today.
Australians could also find themselves in breach of Federal law for distributing books or other literature urging people to travel overseas to kill Coalition soldiers, or for praising a terror attack as a brave act that should be repeated.
New incitement and sedition laws on the table at today's Council of Australian Governments terror summit could place some Australian groups and businesses in danger of breaching the law.
Likely to come under intense pressure under the laws will be the Australian arm of organisations such as Hizb-Ut-Tahrir, whose website sails close to praising the insurgency in Iraq, as well as Islamic bookshops that knowingly sell literature praising terrorism.
The public utterings of some Muslim clerics could also breach new rules. State premiers, who have been outbidding each other and Federal Labor with tough new counter-terrorism laws, want Prime Minister John Howard to insert a "sunset clause" in the new laws so they do not stay on the books forever.
Mr Howard has been reluctant to agree to the push.
But the new laws, in which suspects could be held in detention for up to two weeks without trial, will be reviewed every three years under a deal to be agreed by state premiers and Mr Howard today.
The Prime Minister yesterday said there was a "very strong case" for a review mechanism.
But he was less enthusiastic about the premiers' calls for a 10-year limit or sunset clause being imposed.
"We have to be careful of automatic sunset clauses when we don't know exactly when the threat against which we are legislating is going to end," Mr Howard said. "It's a bit unrealistic to be talking about sunset clauses."
Mr Howard also ruled out the establishment of a public interest monitor, put forward by Premier Peter Beattie.
"I would've thought yet another device would only run the risk of making the proposal unworkable," he said.
The Sedition Act - a relic of the Cold War - will be revamped to target those who incite violence against groups within the community, rather than classes of people as was the case under the old act.
The penalty for sedition will be increased from three to seven years' jail.
The Government has proposed tough new anti-terror laws in the wake of the London bombings.
Mr Howard sought to reassure Australia's Muslim community, saying any new laws would not be targeted at them.
"Law-abiding Muslims have as much at stake in these laws being passed as law-abiding Christians or law-abiding atheists or law-abiding Jews or law-abiding Hindus. We are all in this together," he said.
But Australian Islamic Mission president Dr Zachariah Matthews said some of the reforms had the potential to cause more public intolerance.
#1
Funny,I don't see a thing that singles-out or specifically mentions Muslems.All they have to do is not praise terrorist or terorrist acts and refrain from encouraging terorrisiam and the Muzzies will be fine,but I supose that is to much to ask.After all it is part of thier religious creed.
The nation's premiers and chief ministers look set to reach agreement with the Prime Minister over new anti-terrorism laws. But legal safeguards will be a point of contention at a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra tomorrow. The premiers want sunset clauses or end dates to apply to the proposed new laws. But Prime Minister John Howard says that is unrealistic and there are already safeguards in place. "You can seek judicial review, you can have access to a lawyer," he said.
Victoria rebels
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks says he will implement sunset clauses at a state level with or without Federal Government approval. "We'd prefer to have agreement on that," he said. Greens leader Bob Brown says imposing sunset clauses is "inventing an excuse for laws that are inexcusable". But he admits it may be the only option. "The Government has the power to ram these so-called terror laws through the Parliament to take away Australians' liberties by the sheer dent of numbers," he said. "In that situation you would have to support a sunset clause, in other words a period in which some future parliament with better balance can review the laws."
Agreement
Under the plan, the states will legislate to allow police to detain suspects for up to two weeks without charge. There is in-principle agreement among the leaders. New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma says there are no substantial hurdles. "We go to Canberra understanding the reality of what we face," Mr Iemma said. Western Australian Premier Geoff Gallop also agrees change is needed in Australia. South Australian Premier Mike Rann says he believes agreement can be reached, despite the differences. "Ultimately this is about cooperation, it is in the national interest for the Federal Government and the states and territories to work together to counter the threat of terrorism and that's exactly what we'll do," Mr Rann said. The leaders will also discuss aviation security at tomorrow's summit.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
09/26/2005 07:44 ||
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Help, help, I'm being oppressed!
Posted by: abu Python ||
09/26/2005 8:44 Comments ||
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Whoda thunk that.
NEW laws to be discussed at a national security summit would not target Muslims, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
Hundreds of Muslims and civil libertarians gathered in Sydney yesterday to call for an end to the Government's grab for greater anti-terrorism powers. They accused Mr Howard of taking Australia down the path of a police state and treating Muslims differently to the rest of the community.
But Mr Howard said today the Government's proposals did not target Muslims and would protect civil rights. "I'm careful to keep all of them in the balance but there's nothing in these laws that target the Muslim community," Mr Howard said today on ABC Radio. "There is no foundation in anything I have said or anything anybody has said to justify that complaint."
Protesters yesterday called on the Government to scrap the terrorism laws and said Muslims were being singled out. "Instead of coming out with practical steps to address terrorism, these laws will just work to create more intolerance towards Muslims," said Chaaban Omran, national president of the Federation of Australian Muslim Students and Youth. "As Australians, we just want to be treated like everyone else. We don't wish to have all these laws set out that will lead to us becoming targets."
Sister Agnes Chong, from the Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network, said the new laws were discriminatory and Muslims should fight them. She said ASIO had detained and questioned 18 Muslims in the past two years. "We know of at least 18 people who have been detained and questioned by ASIO," she said. "We have to use every legitimate means to prevent these unjust laws."
Only 18?
Bilal Khazal, a former Sydney Qantas baggage handler, hovered around the side of the protest in a Lakemba park talking to friends. He will face a Supreme Court trial next year after earlier pleading not guilty to two counts of inciting terrorism.
The meeting heard that a 41-page legal opinion on the proposed laws prepared by the Muslim civil rights organisation says the changes to the sedition law and the control orders could be unconstitutional. The opinion was sent to John Howard last Friday with a letter requesting he withdraw the proposals, saying they lacked detail and were discriminatory. "It is clear that the proposals, if adopted, will mark serious breaches of key liberal democratic principles and raise constitutional problems," said the opinion, written by a community lawyers and legal academics.
Wassim Doureihi, a spokesman for the controversial Islamic political organisation Hizb-ut-Tahrir, told the crowd that the victimisation of the community would draw it together. "This can only make us stronger," he said.
'cause they're victims, ya know.
Zachariah Matthews, from the Australian Islamic Mission, called on Muslims to complain when they heard or read discriminatory material in the media. "Complain, demand to be heard, ask for an apology. Be firm, be polite and be civil," he said.
#1
If we had targeted muslims specifically we could have prevented 100% of the terrorist attacks on Western nations that have killed civilians in the past 5 years.
That's a 100% success rate.
Why should we remove the civil liberties of the whole non-muslim population just to be 'fair' to the muslims in an unfair situation where muslims are causing the problem?
TO protect the civil liberties of the broader population and their right to life, muslims should indeed be targeted.
Law should be changed so that an ideological group may be specifically targeted where that group is causing social unrest.
bug the mosques, tap the mullah's phone lines, investigate them more than everyone else.
French defense-electronics group Thales SA on Monday denied allegations from a fired company executive that it paid out millions of dollars in bribes and sold chemical weapons to the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.
"The Thales Group formally denies accusations of corruption in France and internationally, lodged against it by a former manager at THEC," the company said in a statement.
Michel Josserand, former chief executive of Thales Engineering and Consulting, or THEC, said in an interview with newspaper Le Monde that that the paying of bribes by Thales was widespread - in violation of French law and international conventions.
"I estimate that Thales must pay out between 1 percent and 2 percent of its global revenue in illegal commissions," he said. Thales posted revenue of 10.3 billion euros ($12.5 billion) for 2004.
He also said Thales had "sidestepped the (U.N.) Oil for Food Program and delivered chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein's government."
Josserand has told police investigating Thales that the company took part in the construction of an Iraqi chemical-weapons plant disguised as a factory that made baby's milk powder, Le Monde reported.
Thales spokesman Christophe Robin said the company denied "categorically and totally" the allegations concerning Iraq.
"We never broke the embargo," Robin said in a telephone interview. "Thales does not produce chemical weapons. Thales completely denies these unfounded and dishonest allegations."
Paris prosecutors are investigating allegations of corruption at Thales after irregularities surfaced in the company's bid to build a light railway in the southern French city of Nice.
Josserand, whose THEC division won the contract, was fired by Thales and placed under formal investigation in May after the group filed a criminal complaint against its former employee.
"The group would like to point out that these allegations have been made by a former manager of this subsidiary, who was dismissed by the group for irregularities committed as part of a contract for the Nice tramway," the Thales statement said. "Furthermore, the group itself lodged a complaint regarding corruption during this project."
In his interview, however, Josserand described himself as a scapegoat now living in fear of his life.
He said he had informed police about bribes paid out for contracts in Greece, Argentina, Asia and elsewhere in France - often via several foreign intermediaries such as construction companies.
"Having said that, Thales was only following the practices of the major U.S. companies," he said.
Thales had little choice but to pay bribes if it did not want to be excluded from markets, he also said.
"In Russia, in a development aid deal, we were threatened with a significant increase in sales tax," he said. "In Cameroon, for a transport contract, we had a tax investigation because we didn't pay enough."
#1
"French defense-electronics group Thales SA on Monday denied allegations from a fired company executive that it paid out millions of dollars in bribes"
Bribes are a way of life in France. Before Chirac let Coca-Cola put vending machines in Paris, hurting the waiters' tips on overpriced fountain drinks, he demanded his bribe money put into the Widows and Orphans Fund. While the executives considered it a relatively reasonable price to do business there, I believe this is one of the questionable funds in the UN Oil-for-Food scandal. Vindication for 'W'?
The last time Myriam Cherif saw her son Peter, 23, was in May 2004, when the two of them stood at the elevator on the fifth floor of the gritty public-housing project where they lived, just north of Paris. Myriam, 48, was born in Tunisia, moved to France when she was 8 and became a French citizen. Peter's father, who died when the boy was 14, was a Catholic from the French Antilles in the Caribbean. But Peter took a different path. In 2003 he converted to Islam and became a devout Muslim. He took to wearing loose trousers and a long tunic instead of blue jeans and repeatedly told Myriam that she should wear the traditional Muslim head scarf. And then one day last spring, Peter told his mother he was heading off to Syria to study Arabic and the Koran.
At first, Peter e-mailed his mother every couple of days, sending her snapshots and news of his studies in Damascus. Last July he told her he was headed for a "spiritual retreat" and would be out of touch for a while. She heard nothing until December, when she received a brief phone call from a French government official who told her that Peter had been captured by U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
Since 9/11, the Bush Administration has argued that the best way to prevent further attacks by al-Qaeda and its sympathizers is to fight Islamic extremists on their turf, in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, before they make it to the West. But among Europeans, the suicide bombings in London on July 7 of this year, which were carried out by four British citizens, shattered any lingering illusions that the threat can be kept from their shores. In a videotaped message released last week on al-Jazeera, Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, claimed responsibility for the London attacks--the first public acknowledgment that the bombers may have received support and assistance from al- Qaeda operatives. In Europe the message was a chilling reminder that the enemy is within. Jihadist networks are increasingly drawing on a pool of young Muslims living in cities all over Europe--including many who were born and raised in the affluence and openness of the West, products of the very democracies they are determined to attack.
Call it Generation Jihad--restive, rootless young Muslims who have spent their lives in Europe but now find themselves alienated from their societies and the policies of their governments. While the precise number of European jihadists is impossible to pinpoint, counterterrorism officials believe the pool of radicals is growing. Since 1990, the Muslim population in Europe has expanded from an estimated 10 million to 14 million. (Estimates of the number of Muslims in the U.S. range from 2 million to 7 million.) A 2004 estimate by the intelligence unit of French police found that about 150 of the country's indexed 1,600 mosques and prayer halls were under the control of extremist elements. A study of 1,160 recent French converts to Islam found that 23% identified themselves as Salafists, members of a sect sometimes associated with violent extremism. In the Netherlands, home to 1 million Muslims, a spokesman for the Dutch intelligence service says it believes as many as 20 different hard-line Islamic groups may be operating in the country--some simply prayer groups adhering to radical interpretations of the Koran, others perhaps organizing and recruiting for violence. In London, authorities say, as many as 3,000 veterans of al-Qaeda training camps over the years were born or based in Britain.
What explains the proliferation of Europe's homegrown radicals? And what dangers do they pose? Interviews with dozens of Muslims across Western Europe reveal a wide range of explanations for why so many are responding to the call of radical Islam. A common sentiment among members of Generation Jihad is frustration with a perceived scarcity of opportunity and disappointment at public policies that they believe target Muslims unfairly. Some lack a sense of belonging in European societies, which have long struggled to assimilate immigrants from the Islamic world. Many, in particular younger Muslims, suffer disproportionately from Europe's high-unemployment, slow-growth economies. Some are outraged over the bloodshed in Iraq and the persistent notion--stoked by Osama bin Laden but increasingly accepted among moderates--that the West is waging an assault on Islam.
The rage expressed by members of Generation Jihad has raised concerns among European counterterrorism officials that policies pursued by the U.S. and its allies in response to the Islamic terrorist threat may be further galvanizing radicals. Says a French investigator with a decade of antiterrorism experience: "There's a spreading atmosphere of indignation among normal Muslims that's echoing among the younger generation."
The echoes can be heard in many neighborhoods of north and east London, where Sajid Sharif, 37, a trained civil engineer who goes by the name Abu Uzair, once handed out incendiary leaflets preaching his brand of extreme Islam. From the comfort of his home, he leads the Savior Sect, a group that claims several hundred supporters and seeks to unite all Muslims worldwide under a strict conception of Islamic law. That might seem fanciful--except that Uzair's mentor, Omar Bakri Muhammad, was one of the first clerics to lose his right to live in Britain under the new antiterrorism laws. He was barred from returning after a holiday abroad. Uzair says he isn't concerned about the threat of eviction because he is British born, and his lawyer has reportedly told him he has little to worry about. "Anyway," says Uzair, "it is all in the hands of Allah."
Uzair is bearded, wears a long white gown and quotes nonstop from the Koran and Hadith (a collection of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad). His Pakistani parents are secular Muslims, he says, and speak very little English. In his youth he smoked and went to night clubs. It was not until he was a university student in Britain that he embraced Islam. "I wanted some inner discipline," he says. "Since I have come to Islam, I have a lot of tranquillity." Now he tries to steer people away from drugs, drink, crime and smoking. Uzair's supporters refuse to vote in elections because his sect recognizes only Shari'a, Islamic law. While he does not openly support terrorism, he declares that the July 7 attacks were retaliation for Britain's support of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. "The majority of Muslims in the U.K. are frustrated, but they cannot speak," he says. "They will not condone the London bombings, but inside they believe that Britain had it coming."
That lack of connection to their native societies can often lead Muslims in Europe to seek order in religion. Zaheer Khan, 30, who grew up in the county of Kent in southeast England, was drawn to radical Islam as a college student in the mid-1990s. The Wahhabi and Salafist recruiters, he says, "would tell you that things like taking out car insurance are against Islamic principles, or voting--this is haram, forbidden. Slowly the disengagement was there. You didn't say, 'Let's explore what it means to be living in Britain.' This didn't come up." The radical feelings that Khan had back then--although he is still devout, he has since moved away from radical Islam--are apparently widespread among second-generation Muslims. "The problem is that they have no real roots," says Dominique Many, a lawyer for one of the Muslim Frenchmen taken into custody by French officials on suspicion of volunteering to fight against U.S. forces in Iraq. "In Tunisia they are considered foreigners. In France they are considered foreigners. This is the new generation of Muslims."
Rootlessness is compounded by economic struggle. On the whole, Muslims in Europe are far more likely to be unemployed than non-Muslims are. In Britain, almost two-thirds of children of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin--ethnic groups that together account for three-fifths of Britain's Muslims--are categorized as poor; the national average is 28%. A French law-enforcement source says jobless Muslims are "the easy marks, the fodder of jihadist networks." Yassin el-Abdi, 24, a trained accountant in Mechelen, Belgium, who has been unemployed for three years, says extremists in Europe are making a bad situation for Muslims even worse. "These people who are planting the bombs are wrecking things for us," says el-Abdi. And the depressing reality, says his friend Said Bouazza, who runs a job-training center in Mechelen, is that unemployment is only adding to the jihadists' ranks. "It's like a ticking time bomb. There are people who fight back by opening their own store. Or they plant bombs."
The kinds of young people taking up the jihadist cause in Europe might have been more inclined in the past to drift into a life of crime or drug use. The more committed would have had to journey to religious seminaries and training camps in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan to receive indoctrination in jihad. But now they don't need to leave home. The Internet has played a huge role in fostering a sense of community among both the fanatics and those who would join them. "They're becoming dedicated Islamists without ever leaving their home nations," a French counterterrorism official says.
What's more, TIME's reporting across Europe shows, the war in Iraq has further radicalized some Muslims, convincing them that the U.S. and Britain are bent on war with Islam and that the only proper response is to fight back. Listen to Uzair, the Savior Sect leader in London: "Muslims are being killed all over the world through the foreign policy of the U.K. and U.S. Many feel they cannot sit around and do nothing about it. What is the difference between a suicide bomber and a B-52? I really feel that war has been declared on Islam." Iraq, says a senior French security official, "has acted as a formidable booster" for extremist groups.
In Belgium, a radical Muslim named Karim Hassoun who is head of the Arab-European League, says flatly, "The more body bags of Americans we see coming back from Iraq, the happier we are.'' What's worrisome is how openly such rhetoric is received among ordinary Muslims, many of whom consider themselves moderates. In the Netherlands, where 1 of every 16 Dutch citizens is a Muslim, it's trendy for kids to hang on their bedroom walls half-burned American flags with Stars of David placed on them, says Mohammed Ridouan Jabri, founder of the eight-month-old Muslim Democratic Party.
What can be done to defuse the anger? European governments have tried a range of approaches to contain radical Islam. In the wake of the July 7 bombings, British Prime Minister Tony Blair introduced a zero-tolerance policy toward hateful rhetoric, pledging, among other things, to deport clerics seen to be inciting violence. The crackdown represented a shift from Britain's tradition of tolerating militant speech. But some moderate Muslims fear that in his rush to get tough, Blair risks further estranging young European Muslims by heightening their sense that they are outsiders. "It reinforces bin Laden's arguments that citizenship is nothing, that nationality is a mirage blinding Muslims to their only real allegiance--to God, as jihadists define it," says Dounia Bouzar, a scholar and commentator on the lives of French-born Muslims like herself. Bouzar also laments France's 2004 law banning "conspicuous" religious symbols from public schools because its foremost target is the head scarves worn by certain devout Muslim females. Although enforcement of the law has not sparked the mass expulsion of hijab-wearing students that many feared, Bouzar says it has caused splits within the Muslim community.
The dilemma for Muslims across Europe is that in the wake of July 7, public demand for tougher measures against terrorism is stifling open discussion of the grievances that are fueling extremism--which allows hard-liners to crowd out moderate voices. "There is no middle ground now," says Naima Azough, 32, a Dutch parliamentarian from Morocco. "It's as if in the U.S. you heard only Noam Chomsky and Pat Buchanan."
Bolstering moderates will require change within Europe's Muslim communities but also greater political sensitivity outside them--a willingness to acknowledge, for instance, the emotional impact that some policies enacted in the war on terrorism have had on Muslims. At a meeting of the radical Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir in Birmingham, England, the group's spokesman, Imran Waheed, 28, launched into a 40-minute lecture in front of about 80 people, insisting there's no need for the Muslim community to apologize for July 7. Many in the audience nodded in agreement. But some seemed ambivalent, caught between abhorrence for terrorism and a belief that their grievances are not taken seriously.
After praying with the other men in an adjacent room, a smiling twentysomething, sporting pressed trousers and shirt and wearing neat, round glasses, began by pointing out that Islam forbids violence and the bombing of innocent people. "Our hearts are bleeding for the [July 7 victims]," he said, and in the next breath criticized the U.S. and Britain for ignoring the ways in which their policies may be adding to young Muslims' feelings of alienation. As a result, he says, the members of his generation "are frustrated. Their voices are not being heard." If the world hopes to understand--let alone overcome--the anger that roils Europe's young Muslims, it had better start to listen.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/26/2005 00:13 ||
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Folks: wherever there is indulgence, there is license. How about shooting that s scum on sight.
Meanwhile, best selling author Robert Spencer refers to GWB as "arch dhimmi." Why not? Surely I am not the only anti-Muslim here who rejects GWB's equation of Islam with Christianity and Judaism. I predict that both Secular and Christian Right Republicans will put pressure on GWB, to get tough with the mortal enemy of Civilization. Hopefully, our nukes will fly, ASAP.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler ||
09/26/2005 2:47 Comments ||
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#2
That illustrtes well how important is the propaganda battle and how much damage are the MSM and the Hollyood, universitaries doing by depicting the Free World as the Great Satan and teh poor little Muslims,s specially the wahabi types as the good guys.
If this guy had been exposed to a healthy dose of remindings of what Saddam was doing to other Muslims, to what wahabis were doing in Algeria and Afghanistan, to the level of abjection of the Palestinians and to what Muislims were doing in Sudan instead of going to Aghanistan he would have slithed the throat of the wahabi who tried to recruit him.
We MUST win the propaganda battle or the War on Terror will be lost.
#3
I still think we should start popularizing all the GIA and GSPC snuff films from the Algerian Civil War to show Europe what exactly they're in for if we lose.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/26/2005 3:16 Comments ||
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#4
Simple answer. Run the Muzzys out. Now. No exceptions. Back to the Maghreb and the ME for the towelheads. They want Sharia and Islamic government, they can have it. There, not in Europe. And it's a one-way trip--no coming back. Let's see how they like living in wonderful places like Syria and Pakland. I'm SURE their Muzzy brothers in those places will race to embrace them, just as they do, say, all the Paleos... ;-)
Posted by: mac ||
09/26/2005 5:59 Comments ||
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#5
You guys may be right by the time all is said and done, but the US is not now about to sign up for a war of religious extermination, let alone any of our allies. Bush has pushed things pretty far, considering how much the country is supporting him.
Admittedly the administration has doen a poor job of internal dinformation/propaganda. But I doubt an effective job would have changed many minds. The protests yesterday were pathetic. But DOD hasn't had to shut recruiting stations because of the flood of enlistees, either. It's going to be a long war, so we should proceed in a matter that is sustainable for the long run, decades. Bush has hit this note well.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/26/2005 8:15 Comments ||
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Do these a-holes think Jews who came to America at the turn of the 20th century, with their beards and weird clothes and practices were embraced? Do they think they were given jobs?
Did those Jews force others to "respect" their religion....or else? To stop selling pork, to close their shops on Saturday, to allow them into their world? If they didn't, did Jews protest? Kill?
Not on your life. There was no welfare in those days. There were no equal opportunity laws. There weren't even antidiscrimination laws.
Yet these Jews managed to succeed. On their own.
Ironically, the best role models for Muslims are Jews.
But they'd rather blame others for their lot in life.
#8
Dan - Europeans have had more than enough of it from Khattab and Basayev's early days yet they saw fit to allow them to operate, run propoganda and recruit in europe for years for the simple reason that the chickens had not yet come home to roost. Until europeans start being snuffed on a mass scale most of them will do nothing to help anyone else. By then they'll probably be completely powerless to stand up to it.
True enough, but the Chechen Killer Korps got a pass on their activities b/c they had an Armed Struggle(TM) against evil imperialists, which means they can do no wrong in the eyes of the ever-sophisticated Euros. The Algerian Civil War (which I think has actually killed more people than both Chechen wars combined) was all in-house and the overwhelming majority of the victims were Muslim, so the usual idiotic platitudes about it being a legitimate reaction against Imperialism(R) don't work there.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/26/2005 13:02 Comments ||
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#11
#9 What is the difference between a suicide bomber and a B-52?
More importantly, the B-52 can return, rinse and repeat as necessary.
The B-52 is also three times older than the splodeydope.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/26/2005 13:18 Comments ||
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Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators have staged rallies in Washington and London, demanding the withdrawal of US and British troops as the Iraq conflict becomes increasingly unpopular. Chanting "Bring the Troops Home Now," a column of protesters stretched for several blocks around the White House, with parents pushing infants in strollers while students beat makeshift drums. The French news agency "AFP" quoted Washington organizers as saying the crowd exceeded 100,000 protesters and police said the estimate was probably right.
Opponents of the US-led war also marched in central London. Police said 10,000 people converged on Hyde Park though organizers said there was 100,000. Small rallies were also held in Copenhagen, Damascus, Helsinki, Paris, Rome and Seoul, while an anti-war march was also held in San Francisco on the US West coast. Others were scheduled in Los Angeles and Seattle.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Title should have been: Pro-genocidical dictators ralliesdemand foreign troops withdrawal and the death of millions of innocents.
#3
For perspective, these groups marched in their multiple millions before the invasion of Iraq. I'm impressed only at how many supporters they managed to drive away.
#4
Since their protest did not exceed the number of the last one, will they admit that support for their side is sliding? If they had 100,000 people there, they must have counted squirrels, pigeons, and people. Last year the crowd was estimated to be 200,000 probably using the same standard.
WASHINGTON -- The last time Robert Young participated in a demonstration, he was protesting the Vietnam War as it wound down. It took more than 30 years to make it happen again, but Young joined hundreds of others on the National Mall yesterday to support the nation's troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, among them his son, Croft, 32.
''I'm a quiet person," said Young, 65, who traveled from Atlanta with a full-size Marine Corps flag. ''I don't really believe in demonstrations, but I wanted to come here to support my son," a Marine who left Camp Pendleton, Calif., on Wednesday for Fallujah.
The afternoon rally was small in comparison with Saturday's antiwar demonstration, which D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey estimated at at least 100,000. But participants waved flags and placards adorned with such slogans as ''Keep the Promise to Iraq" and cheered the dozens of speakers.
Deborah Johns, the mother of an Iraq war veteran, travels across the country speaking in support of the war. She directed some of her comments yesterday at antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, saying Sheehan speaks neither for Johns nor the public. After praising President Bush, Johns said she knew what she would like to do with Sheehan and the antiwar protesters who descended on Washington on Saturday: ''I'd like to ship them to Iran." The comment earned applause.
The rally was largely peaceful, punctuated by a few small clashes with antiwar protesters. By 1 p.m., a small band of antiwar demonstrators had lined up behind the rally stage, where they delivered such chants as ''Hey, Bush, waddaya say? How many kids have you killed today?"
Other antiwar activists spread out across the city.
In the ballroom of a Holiday Inn on Capitol Hill, about 350 ''jurors" sipped coffee and polished off desserts as they watched a mock trial of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, former CIA chief George J. Tenet and US Attorney General Albert Gonzales. The men were accused of violating US law and the Geneva Convention in supporting torture. A few blocks away on the Mall, about 200 people who planned to be arrested today if President Bush would not agree to meet with them gathered in tents for a workshop on what to expect from police. Over the weekend, four antiwar protesters were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct.
Serving as a backdrop to yesterday's rally was a gigantic flag created by children at Fort Benning, Ga., who decorated 900 red and white squares to reflect what ''freedom means to me." At the back of the crowd, participants held a banner that read ''God Bless Our Soldiers Liberating the World One Tyrant at a Time." Attending the rally were many who said they traveled far to support soldiers they said are protecting the cause of freedom, some at the cost of their own lives.
Antia Grater, 60, and her husband, John, 59, traveled from their home near Niagara Falls, N.Y. Their son and his wife were stationed in the Persian Gulf country of Qatar until they returned to the United States a year and a half ago. Grater said the military is a family that has to stand strong.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2005 09:24 ||
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Boy, it would sure be good to see America's sedition laws dusted off and enforced aggressively. I guess I can only dream about seditious traitors facing a firing squad.
#2
I have serious doubts about the 100,000 anti-war figure. The pictures I have seen of the protest (mostly at LGF) have only shown maybe 20,000. For a "serious", national protest that is a fizzle.
#3
I'd actually like to introduce sheehan to some of these terrorists she refers to as freedom fighters. I think this STUPID BITCH would drasticly change her tune when they started sawing her head off!!!
#4
Cindy is getting hammered over at dailykos,she said"Why is the media focusing on Huricane Rita.it's nothing but a little wind and rain".(near as I can recall).Check it out for a good chuckle.
I did some pretty careful analysis of this crowd photo from Yahoo and came up with a maximum of 26,000 for the crowd, and a most likely number of 16,000-18,000.
In other words, about a third of the number of people at an average NFL game.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
09/26/2005 11:57 Comments ||
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#6
Cindy is getting hammered over at dailykos,she said"Why is the media focusing on Huricane Rita.it's nothing but a little wind and rain".
Here's her post and a few replies. I'd say her times about up;
i am watching cnn and it is 100 percent ritaâ¦even though it is a little wind and a little rainâ¦it is bad, but there are other things going on in this country todayâ¦and in the world!!!!
by CindySheehan on Sat Sep 24th, 2005 at 06:29:15 PDT
Iâm in Southeast Texas with family on the coast and in Lake Jackson, LA. Iâd like you to tell us itâs just a little wind and rain. Theyâve lost their homes, jobs and businesses and gone through fear and panic while you bask in your fanâs adulation, party with your celebrity friends and play the star.
Shame on you, youâre jealous of media coverage of otherâs suffering. Youâve become a caricature and I no longer support you. Iâm ashamed I ever did.
when i was watching cnn this morning, thatâs what it wasâ¦i know it was much worse earlier and it was devastating, i didnât make myself clear and i apologize. i also know that the media will cover anything else besides the war.
by CindySheehan on Sat Sep 24th, 2005 at 20:08:28 PDT
Cindy, these posts have time stamps. when i was watching cnn this morning, thatâs what it was
Four hours before your post, the eye hit just east of Port Arthur and west of Lake Charles. Between then and two hours after your post, hurricane force winds were tearing through Beaumont and Orange, TX and all through Vermillion Parrish, LA..
Imagine, if you can, what was happening to those poor people while you were watching tv and getting upset about them covering "a little wind and a little rain" rather than your special day. it was devastating earlier
And during. And after.
You might also realize that the people in a hurricaneâs wake donât suddenly get happy and whole an hour after the eye passes over. Itâs still not a little wind and a little rain to them. Do you know they are still very afraid down there - right now, Cindy, trying to find 1,000 people lost in Vermillion as I type..
You can find the story now on CNNâs website. Iâm very sorry, itâs slightly above the story about you - thatâs just so unfair too isnât it.
i also know that the media will cover anything else besides the war.
Well Joan Baez sang for you today, and you got your smiling-happy picture taken with Jesse Jackson today, and your story is still front page on CNN.com today. So it was a very good day. Yes it was a beautiful day for Cindy wasnât it? Except for a little wind and a little rain earlier.
That is damn stupid. The death toll from these hurricanes is still rising, and you really think the Iraq war doesnât get covered? What a selfish woman! Iâd be downright ashamed to read anything else you have to say from here on in.
Hiyas! This is Rationality from DailyKOS and a yet-to-be-exposed mole in the Free Republic, where I saw the link to this blog. Just thought Iâd say that left or right, we can agree that Sheehanâs more about herself than about truly starting an anti-war movement.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2005 12:39 Comments ||
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#7
Just thought Iâd say that left or right, we can agree that Sheehanâs more about herself than about truly starting an anti-war movement.
Hmm... the words "no visible means of support" had come to mind. Who is paying for Cindy's tour?
#8
eLarson: Cindy's tour is being paid for by ANSWER and "United for Peace and Justice", another Workers World front organization. I think some other moonbat organizations are chipping in.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2005 16:20 Comments ||
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The US military told an al-Jazeera cameraman being held at Guantánamo Bay that he would be released as long as he agreed to spy on journalists at the Arabic news channel, according to documents seen by the Guardian. The journalist has been in the prison without charge for three-and-a-half years after being accused by the US of being a terrorist, allegations he denies.
"Lies! All lies!"
He claims that he has been interrogated more than 100 times but not asked about alleged terrorist offences. Instead, Sami Muhyideen al-Hajj says US military personnel have alleged during interrogation that al-Jazeera has been infiltrated by al-Qaida and that one of its presenters is linked to Islamists.
Some of the interviews have been carried out by British interrogators, who also wanted the cameraman to spy for them. Mr Hajj was arrested in December 2001 on the Afghan-Pakistani border while on assignment. His allegations are contained in notes of visits he received in Guantánamo in June this year from his lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith. The notes have been declassified by the US military.
The documents appear to show that the American military correctly views the broadcaster, which is popular in the Arab world and is about to launch an English language channel, as an al-Qaida front.
Mr Hajj said that in one session of questioning he was offered US citizenship if he became a spy: "They have said, 'If you work with us, we will teach you real journalism, we will get you a visa to live anywhere you want, we will even give you US nationality, we will protect you, we will give you money. We will help you write a book and then we will publish it. This will help make the al-Qaida people contact you, and work with you.'"
Mr Hajj is a Sudanese national and is married with a five-year-old child. In the documents he also alleges that the US military threatened his family if he accepted release and then refused to spy on al-Jazeera.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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While David Horowitz, former Marxist gone turned Neocon claimed that 100,000 Zarqawi supporters massed in Washington (meaning antiwar activists), Al-Qaida in the Land of the Two Rivers had one of their most active weekends yet, with multiple reports of attacks, ambushes, martyrdom operations and assassinations inside Iraq.
With a growing antiwar movement paralleled by a growing Jihad, surely the likes of Horowitz and his ilk should realize by now that dropping bombs only increases the determination of the Mujahideen, something that is not lost of the antiwar activists. But the neoconservative oblivion only stands to reason; their livelihood stems from Washington and much is to be gained from the drumbeats of war for those with little thought for the lives that are cut short by their insatiable need for power. Of course this will not stop the march of the Mujahideen who have had a decade to prepare for the American plan. The Muslims have had a belly full of slaughter from the US upstarts for well over a century. As the global jihad grows even while being the brunt of American firepower, it is safe to say that those who truly want to end this bloodshed realize that itâs is time to address the legitimate demands of the Muslims that lay at the core of this conflict.
From Tal Afar to Baghdad, Al-Qaida let loose a wave of revenge over the weekend as detailed in their statements, published here uncut and uncensored, by JUS.
Not here, over at the link.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2005 14:02 ||
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"Upstarts"? Hey, I may be a Zionist imperialist neo-Con Bushie oppressor, but not even Maureen Dowd can call me an upstart.
Posted by: Matt ||
09/26/2005 14:39 Comments ||
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Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/26/2005 20:37 Comments ||
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#6
With a growing antiwar movement paralleled by a growing Jihad, surely the likes of Horowitz and his ilk should realize by now that dropping bombs only increases the determination of the Mujahideen, something that is not lost of the antiwar activists. But the neoconservative oblivion only stands to reason
This appears to have been written by a native English speaker.
#8
Good Radic Islamists are merely God/Faith-based Communists, Totalitarians, and Absolutists, where any and all POwer, influence, rights and Wealth is controlled by the State and a small Group, i.e. RULE OF THE SWORD BY RULE BY THE BARBARIAN BY RULE BY THE FEW, and the rest are permanently poor but optimistic, regressed, SHEEPLE ala PRAVDA,cowed and collected waiting for day when the State = Mullahs/Party = God decides to behead them for food, anti-public or anti-State defect, or pleasure. AND NOW YOU KNOW WHY COMMIES, MAOISTS, ISLAMISTS AND TERRORISTS POST-USSR/9-11 NOW WORK TOGETHER. THE LEFTIES WANT AMERICA TO PAY THE WORLD FOR ITS NATIONAL SECURITY AS LONG AS THE LEFTIES THEMSELVES DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT, OR PAY THE BULK OF THE BILL.
While pressures are building up against him, former Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Sha'alan accused Iran of being behind the escalating allegations campaign targeted at him. Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Supreme Debathification Commission, Ali al-Lami, declared that he has requested that the former minister's immunity be lifted to pave the way for his trial on two charges. The first is related to the claims of corruption in his former ministry. The second allegation is based on claims that he was a member of the intelligence service in the former regime of Saddam Hussein.
Sha'alan pointed fingers of accusation to Iran in the campaign against him, Saying, "the reason behind this whole campaign is that I have spoken unfavorably about the 'the black grape,' as the saying goes in Iraq." He referred to "the whole campaign as a matter of setting accounts because I exposed the scandals of Iranian intervention in Iraq." Sha'alan denied that he had worked or was associated with the Iraqi intelligence service. He referred to a number of "ill-intended" parties inside Iraq who tried to associate him with the Iraqi intelligence service before the past elections. The current campaign has been staged to take place in advance of the upcoming elections with the aim of defaming his reputation. He said, "I do not know a person by the name Ali al-Lami. My enemies in the National Assembly can do anything because they have a majority in the assembly."
He added it is possible to raise charges against anybody in Iraq without having any evidence, because "Iraq has turned into a jungle now. Every day about 100 to 150 bodies are thrown in the Tigris River." On the other hand, al-Lami told the Associated Press yesterday that if his commission gets the approval to lift Sha'alan immunity, "an arrest warrant will be issued and will be submitted to the Jordanian Government which must turn him over to the Iraqi authorities."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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In Ramadi, west of Baghdad, more than 1,000 people marched to protest against the constitution, which they say will divide Iraq along sectarian lines by giving too much autonomy to Kurds in the north and pro-Iranian Shi'ites in the south. The crowd in Ramadi was largely made up of Sunni Arabs, whose leaders are strongly opposed to the constitution, but also included Shi'ite supporters of Sadr, a nationalist young cleric who heads a militia called the Mehdi Army. The march followed a rally in Basra on Saturday at which several thousand Shi'ites gathered in support of the constitution, which was largely drawn up by the Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government over Sunni Arab objections.
Sunni Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population but who dominated the country under Saddam Hussein and before, fear the new charter will allow Shi'ites and Kurds to form breakaway regions in the north and the south, where Iraq's vast oil reserves lie, leaving Sunnis with no resources. More broadly, they fear the break-up of the entire Iraqi nation, with its religious Shi'ite leaders increasingly allied to Iran and independence-minded Kurds in the north ultimately longing for the creation of a separate Kurdish state.
Politicking ahead of the referendum has picked up in recent days. On Thursday, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric who holds wide influence among the 60 percent Shi'ite majority, urged followers to vote "Yes" in the referendum. At the same time, Sunni religious and political leaders have been urging their community to register to vote -- since most boycotted elections in January and are therefore not on the electoral register -- and to vote "No" come October 15. If two-thirds of voters in three or more of Iraq's 18 provinces vote "No" then the referendum is defeated. While Sunnis are unlikely to be able to muster enough votes on their own, they are hoping to secure the support of Sadr and his followers, whose nationalist principles oppose the federal structure laid out in the constitution.
Foreign militants, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who heads a group called al Qaeda in Iraq, have threatened an increase in attacks, and have waged violent campaigns around key dates in the past, including the January election. Sunni Arab nationalists, who form the bulk of the insurgency, are also expected to step up attacks around the same time in an effort to destabilize the country. Tensions will also be running high as the referendum will be held just four days before Saddam is due in court on charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the deaths of around 150 Shi'ite men in the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad, in 1982 after a failed assassination.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday that the ferocity of the insurgency in Iraq had taken him by surprise, but he insisted British troops would stay as long as the Iraqi government needed them. As his governing Labour Party gathered for its annual conference, Blair said he had not set a deadline to withdraw some 8,500 British soldiers from Iraq. "There is no arbitrary date being set," he said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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But, but... yesterday at the evening news on France 2, the teevee she-talking head said that Tony was going to withdraw his troops, starting soon in 2006... I'm so confused... damn, my head hurts!
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stormed out of a top-level Likud Party meeting after his microphone was cut off twice before he could address the forum ahead of a crucial vote on his political future. Aides said opponents of the Gaza Strip pullout that Sharon championed and completed two weeks ago sabotaged the sound system, leaving the prime minister standing at the podium stern-faced and unable to be heard above the din at the Likud's Central Committee meeting. The 3000-member group is to vote on Monday on a motion by Sharon's rightist challenger, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to bring the party's leadership election forward to November.
I'm sorry, but those guys have been living in close proximity to Arabs for too long.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Sharon, Sharon, in the future have one of your aides carry a bullhorn for those "Unexpected" Mike failures, Just the sight of an available alternative will be enough to have these "Mysterious" failures cease.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/26/2005 11:22 Comments ||
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#2
I'm sorry, but those guys have been living in close proximity to Arabs for too long.
No, Fred, you forget that going back to the days when it was the Jews who were the "Palestinians", politics has been a full-contact sport. Ruggers have nothing on these guys. And not just on the kibbutzim. Ask Liberalhawk about the discussions in NYC in the old days between the Marxists, Stalinists, Trotsyites, Religious vs. non-Religious Zionists, and all the other flavours of Jewish idealists that I don't even know the names of.
#3
It doesn't matter, he won the vote anyway, according to AP via Fox News
Members of the right-wing Likud Party voted 1,433[52%] to 1,329 [48%]â a margin of 104 votes â against a proposal by Sharon's opponents to move up the date of party primaries to November. The results, announced by the party, mean the primary will be held on schedule next spring, as Sharon wanted.
BEIRUT - A prominent journalist was wounded on Sunday when a bomb placed under a car exploded, Lebanese security officials said. The officials said May Chidiac, who works for the private Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, was inside her car when the bomb exploded in the Christian port city of Jounieh, north of Beirut.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Chidiac was injured and taken to a hospital. LBC, in a news flash, said the bomb was planted inside the car and that Chidiac, a longtime news anchor, was wounded. Chidiac also hosts a daily political talk show at the station, which broadcasts in Lebanon and is widely seen in the Arab world and by Lebanese communities across the world.
LBC, a Christian TV station, is among the most prominent of anti-Syrian media outlets.
That pretty much explains the 'why'.
A series of perfectly clear mysterious bombings have occurred in the Lebanese capital since a massive bomb killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 20 other people on Feb. 14.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Medics said Ms Chidiac had lost her left leg and arm, fractured her pelvis and suffered extensive burns from the bomb which had been placed under her car. "Her condition is now stable following the surgeries," a spokesman for the Hotel Dieu hospital said.
The family of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has offered to fly skin grafting experts to Lebanon to treat Ms Chidiac, while Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation shareholder and Saudi prince al-Walid bin Talal has put his private jet at her disposal to fly her abroad.
LBC, which was set up by the wartime Christian militia the Lebanese Forces, has been one of the most critical Lebanese media outlets of Syria's control of Lebanon since the Civil War ended in 1990. Hours before the attack, Ms Chidiac had been discussing Syria's possible role in the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri in an explosion in February.
Sources close to Ms Chidiac are quoted saying she is committed to an independent and sovereign Lebanon and opposes Syrian control - which has been in retreat since Damascus withdrew its troops from Lebanon in the wake of Hariri's death. Several other political figures and members of the public have been killed in bombings since the Hariri assassination.
LEBANON ASSASSINATIONS
14 Feb: Ex-PM Rafik Hariri
2 Jun: Columnist Samir Kassir
21 Jun: Communist party chief George Hawi
12 July: Attempt on outgoing Defence Minister Elias Murr
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2005 9:24 Comments ||
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One hereditary dictatorship defending another hereditary dictatorship. Quite a coincidence, huh?
Syria should not be isolated and no one should make accusations about former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri's killing until a UN report is published next month, Egypt has said. "The Egyptian proposal rejects isolating Syria and calls for achieving stability in the region and not opening a new focus of tension that adds to an already complicated situation," Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said on Sunday.
"No matter how many important people they bumped off!"
He was speaking to reporters after talks in Cairo between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad. The United States has warned Syria that it faces isolation unless it cooperates with Iraq over border security. Syria says it has deployed thousands of troops on the Iraq border to prevent infiltrators entering Iraq. Washington has also accused Syria of drawing up an assassination hit list targeting Lebanese political leaders, a charge Syrian officials deny. Many Lebanese go further and blame Damascus for al-Hariri's assassination, which Demascus also denies.
"Nope. Nope. Wudn't us."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Iran has branded "illegal" a resolution passed by the UN nuclear watchdog which paves the way for the country to be referred to the UN Security Council.
"Yeah! It's against the law to do that!"
A majority of countries voted against Iran on Saturday, setting in motion a procedure that could end in sanctions. Iran's foreign minister said the resolution proved Britain, France and Germany acted on behalf of the US.
"They're in it together! They're thick as thieves!"
Iran insists its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes and not to produce nuclear arms as the US alleges. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki rejected the vote, branding it, "political, illegal and illogical".
"We just can't understand it. We were so reasonable..."
Twelve members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board abstained from voting on the EU motion. "The three European countries implemented a planned scenario already determined by the United States," Mottaki said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Strongly supporting the Indo-Pak peace dialogue, the organization of Islamic Conference has said the process should lead to solving of the "core dispute" of Jammu and Kashmir and raised the issue of UN resolutions in this regard.
It, however expressed "serious concern" over the building of the fence along the line of control by India which, it alleged, is in contravention of international and bilateral agreements.
The ministers called upon the international community, particularly the United Nations and United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to "take note of the Indian actions and ensure respect and implementation of all international and bilateral agreements on LOC."
Posted by: john ||
09/26/2005 17:39 ||
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Meanwhile in the North Arabian sea
Aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and INS Viraat with destroyer INS Mysore during a joint exercise in the North Arabian Sea on the first day of the Indo-US Malabar-05, on Sunday. PTI
Posted by: john ||
09/26/2005 18:52 Comments ||
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where's that Pakistani carrier?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2005 19:32 Comments ||
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How fitting that the OIC should have a problem with fences built to stop terrorist infiltration (in both Israel and India) but not the terrorist attacks themselves.
Posted by: john ||
09/26/2005 19:52 Comments ||
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#4
Good fences make good neighbors.
Posted by: Robert Frost ||
09/26/2005 20:10 Comments ||
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#5
I dunno about you guys, but I'd be real careful about getting too close to the Mysore.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/26/2005 20:36 Comments ||
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#6
Weaponry on the Mysore: "Sixteen 3M-24E (Kh-35 Uran or NATO: SS-N-25 Switchblade) AShMs, housed in four quadruple KT-184 launchers, angled at 30º, two on either side of the bridge superstructure. Equivalent to the Harpoon Block 1C AShM, these missiles have active radar homing (ARH) out to a range of 130 km at 0.9 Mach, with a 145 kg
warhead. All 16 missiles can be ripple-fired in 2-3 second intervals. The Delhi Class will be retrofitted with the GLONASS-steered, land-attack 3M24E1 Uranium AShM at a later date. The 3M24E1 AShM - export variant of the 3M24M1 - has more fuel, which extends range to 250 km.
Five 533mm PTA 533 quintuple torpedo tube launchers are fitted amidships. The launchers are of modular construction and can fire different types of heavyweight torpedoes such as wire guided or wake homing types. The Delhi Class destroyers are armed with the SET-65E; anti-submarine, active & passive homing torpedo to 8.1n miles; 15 km at 40 knots with a 205 kg warhead and the Type 53-65; passive wake homing torpedo to 10.3n miles; 19 km at 45 knots with a 305 kg warhead."
Posted by: john ||
09/26/2005 20:59 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON - Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who has used her son's death in Iraq to spur the anti-war movement, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House. Sheehan and several dozen other protesters sat down on the sidewalk after marching along the pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests. Sheehan, 48, was the first taken into custody. She stood up and was led to a police vehicle while protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching." In your dreams
Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq, last year. She attracted worldwide attention last month with her 26-day vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch. Sheehan was among several hundred demonstrators who marched around the White House on Monday and then stopped in front and began singing and chanting "Stop the war now!"
The demonstration is part of a broader anti-war effort on Capitol Hill organized by United for Peace and Justice, an umbrella group. Representatives from anti-war groups were meeting Monday with members of Congress to urge them to work to end the war and bring home the troops. The protest following a massive demonstration Saturday on the National Mall that drew a crowd of 100,000 or more or less, the largest such gathering in the capital since the war began in March 2003.
On Sunday, a rally supporting the war drew roughly 500 participants. Speakers included veterans of World War II and the war in Iraq, as well as family members of soldiers killed in Iraq. "I would like to say to Cindy Sheehan and her supporters don't be a group of unthinking lemmings. It's not pretty," said Mitzy Kenny of Ridgeley, W.Va., whose husband died in Iraq last year. The anti-war demonstrations "can affect the war in a really negative way. It gives the enemy hope."
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2005 13:45 ||
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#1
Did somebody put out a 10 by 10 foot glue trap near the podium and bait it with a camera and microphone in the middle?
#10
Now is it just possible that the no stopping rule came about during the Clinton Administration after the idiot started shooting at the White House.
#11
I've never seen any grieving Mother have such a good time. Does she even remember having a son? I nominate her for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Should read "who has used her son's death for fame and fortune."
#12
Shithan is competing against two other "ladies", that being Katrina and Rita -- publicity whores all.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/26/2005 16:48 Comments ||
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#13
Maybe the Eurabians and Palestinians could resettle in Iraq and take over the stabilizing and reconstruction for our troops. If they can't work out their ideal Islamic state among themselves, they would bomb each other into oblivion and let our troops come home. As they stand up, we will stand down, as the Prez says.
#15
Tin soldiers and Nixon George Bush coming
We're finally on our own
This summer September I hear the drumming Four dead One charged with disorderly conduct in Ohio the District of Columbia . . .
"I dunno, dude, it's like, it doesn't update, y'know?"
"Bum-mer."
Posted by: Mike ||
09/26/2005 17:31 Comments ||
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Poor Cindy may be feeling repressed, but these women certainly aren't; scroll down (or go to the next page, if necessary) to check out the topless, er, babes.
This ain't no antiwar demonstration; it's a freak show.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
09/26/2005 17:39 Comments ||
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#18
Dave D: Not going back. I looked once, and my eyes are still burning. Definitely not safe for children and other living things.
#21
who has used her son's death - someone at AP screwed up. But they've already changed it. Guess they got an angry call from the DNC that they'd gone off message.
#22
How boring!!! We've already been through this back in the late 60's. Can't they come up with some new ideas? You would think, in something like 40 years, something or someone would have clicked, and "Voila, here's a new trick."
Boring.... boring...... as in a chant from the Saturday crowd.... Boring... Boring.... Boring....
#23
* "Iraq was no threat even if it were developing WMDS"
* "Hatred, DIscrimination, Segregation, and Racism are alive and well in this country", or words to that effect. IOW, WHITES, NONAFRICAN AMERICANS, ANDOR GOP-RIGHTIST-CONSERVATIVES CAN WORK FOR A LIVING - AFRICAN AMERICANS, THE POOR, AND DEMOLIBBIES MUST NEVER NOT DEPEND ON PERM GOVERNMENT HAND-OUTS AND CRADLE-TO-GRAVE WELFARISM
- YOU KNOW, "UNIVERSAL/UTOPIAN EQUALISM"!?
* AL SHARPTON ON FOXNEWS > the Fed and DUbya, AND ONLY THE FED AND DUBYA, in responSible for KATRINA AND RITA, NOt BLANCO or NAGIN; and "Over 50 % of America's young people are unable to suupport themselves because they are denied from joining the military", or words to that effect.
SHEESH - just ever-more indicia that the Clinton-led US DemoLeft desires to directly andor indir induce the overwhelming expansion of the size and scope of the Fed Govt., and ONLY THE FED, unto SOCIALISM, and while the Raddies of Islam threaten new attacks aga America or Amer interest; and while Russia seeks to arm IRAN to the hilt in order to deliberately bog down the USA in Vietnam-style "quagmires" [See MOSNEWS.com]
*LEAVE IT TO BEAVER/DENNIS THE MENACE - HEY, PA, HEY MR. WILSON, TAINT DEMOCRAT AND LEFTY PATRIOTISM JUST SWELL! GOOD DEMOCRATS LOVE THE COMMIE AIRBORNE.
Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who has used her son's death in Iraq to spur the anti-war movement, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House.
Sheehan and several dozen other protesters sat down on the sidewalk after marching along the pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests. Sheehan was the first taken into custody. She stood up and was led to a police vehicle while protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching." AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
ISLAMABAD - Police in northwestern Pakistan have launched an inquiry after complaints about two dead women being declared elected in a local election held last month, election officials said on Monday.
"We normally only see this kind of behavior in Chicago."
The women, one of whom died 13 years ago, were elected as councilors in the Upper Dir district in the North West Frontier Province, according to the News daily newspaper. The other woman died three years ago. Khushalzada Khan, assistant election officer in Upper Dir, told Reuters if the women were found to be dead, then fresh voting would be ordered in those seats and action could be taken against those who nominated them.
"And if another woman gits elected, we'll kill her too. We've got a tradition to maintain."
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2005 09:44 ||
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And she can still vote in King county, Washington state, but only if registered as a Democrat.
THE US military wants to buy large quantities of anthrax, in a controversial move that is likely to raise questions over its commitment to treaties designed to limit the spread of biological weapons. A series of contracts have been uncovered that relate to the US army's Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. They ask companies to tender for the production of bulk quantities of a non-virulent strain of anthrax, and for equipment to produce significant volumes of other biological agents. Issued earlier this year, the contracts were discovered by Edward Hammond, director of the Sunshine Project, a US-German organisation that campaigns against the use of biological and chemical weapons.
One "biological services" contract specifies: "The company must have the ability and be willing to grow Bacillus anthracis Sterne strain at 1500-litre quantities." Other contracts are for fermentation equipment for producing 3000-litre batches of an unspecified biological agent, and sheep carcasses to test the efficiency of an incinerator for the disposal of infected livestock.
Although the Sterne strain is not thought to be harmful to humans and is used for vaccination, the contracts have caused major concern. "It raises a serious question over how the US is going to demonstrate its compliance with obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention if it brings these tanks online," says Alan Pearson, programme director for biological and chemical weapons at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington DC. "If one can grow the Sterne strain in these units, one could also grow the Ames strain, which is quite lethal."
The US renounced biological weapons in 1969, but small quantities of lethal anthrax were still being produced at Dugway as recently as 1998.
It is not known what use the biological agents will be put to. They could be used to test procedures to decontaminate vehicles or buildings, or to test an "agent defeat" warhead designed to destroy stores of chemical and biological weapons.
There are even fears that they could be used to determine how effectively anthrax is dispersed when released from bombs or crop-spraying aircraft. "I can definitely see them testing biological weapons delivery systems for threat assessment," says Hammond.
Whatever use it is put to, however, the move could be seen as highly provocative by other nations, he says. "What would happen to the Biological Weapons Convention if other countries followed suit and built large biological production facilities at secretive military bases known for weapons testing?"
A spokesperson for Dugway said the anthrax contract is still at the pre-solicitation stage, and the base has not yet acquired the agent. They refused to say what it will be used for.
Remember in the anthrax terrorist attack in 2001, among the suspects were college/university vet activities which were given small amounts for research. The stuff is maintained for obvious studies and research in medical protection of humans and animals. Something missing here in this report, guess what and why. Once again Pravda circa the 21st century at work.
I must be missing something, why a "Non-Virulent" strain, what good is a non-poisionous poison?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/26/2005 11:11 Comments ||
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#3
I would hazard to guess a few things. First being that the Army has been instructed to figure out how anthrax would and could be dispersed as a terrorist weapon. While anthrax is particularly nasty and persistent, it just doesn't disperse as easily as it should.
For example, the 1979 "Sverdlovsk Incident", resulted in almost a liter of spores being blown into the air, upwind of a city of 2M people. But less than 100 people died of the disease. The Russians still had to decontaminate the hell out of the city, but it really put a crimp into the reputation of anthrax as a bioweapon.
While the US Army is aware of this, and that anthrax is endemic throughout the entire US South, from Florida to California, and deep into Mexico, our civilian leaders are probably not so familiar with it. So the Army just shrugs and looks at it as an opportunity to learn something that may be applicable to something else someday.
As far as potential lethality goes, anthrax is nothing compared to influenza, which routinely kills between 30,000 and 50,000 Americans every flu season.
#4
"It raises a serious question over how the US is going to demonstrate its compliance with obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention if it brings these tanks online," says Alan Pearson, programme director for biological and chemical weapons at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington DC.
Bitching about the U.S. always comes easy, but what about the ticking time bomb on Vozrozhdeniya Island in the Aral Sea area of the old Soviet Union? How about doing something substantial about THAT real problem, instead of moaning about some perceived problem with our military?
We've largely abided by the treaties we've signed on to, unlike others...
September 26, 2005: The U.S. military is bringing back an âobsolete,â four decade old anti-tank weapon because it is a cheaper, and more portable, way to provide the infantry with some âportable artillery.â The Department of Defense is buying 6,399 LAW (Light Anti-tank Weapon). Many training rounds are being bought as well. These 7.7 pound, one-shot (the launcher is disposable) anti-tank rockets were a replacement for the World War II bazooka (similar to the Russian designed RPG). However, by the 1970s, it was obvious that the LAW was not able to kill most modern tanks, and in late 1980s, was replaced by the AT4. However, the heavier (15 pounds), and more expensive AT4 ($2,700 per each disposable launcher and four pound warhead) is also larger (40 inches long and 3.3 inches in diameter.) Since American troops rarely faced enemy tanks, but did frequently need some additional firepower to deal with enemy infantry in bunkers or buildings, the AT4 was seen as a step backwards.
The LAW has several advantages. It is compact (20 inches long, 2.6 inches in diameter), light (7.7 pounds) and cheap (about $2,000 each). Itâs 2.2 pound warhead can still knock out light armored vehicles (and unarmored ones as well), but it most often used against enemy troops inside bunkers and buildings. For that job, the U.S. Department of Defense had bought the SMAW (Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon). This was a 17 pound Israeli design (in response to the RPG). But the SMAW launcher costs $14,000, and each rocket costs more than their RPG equivalents (and are a bit more effective.) Actually, many troops have expressed an interest in just getting the RPG, which has a larger (6 pound) warhead, and is a lot cheaper (the RPG launcher goes for about $500 each, and the rockets can be had for under a hundred dollars each). However, the compactness of the LAW, and better accuracy, does make a difference on the battlefield, and is considered worth the cost. The LAW is simple, light, easy-to-use and relatively cheap. Itâs hard to improve on that, which is why the LAW is making a comeback. Actually, it never went away in many other armies.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/26/2005 09:08 ||
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#1
$499.99 RPGs (buy 2 get free yoyo)
$1999.99 LAW
$2699.99 AT4
I think the RPG would be good bang for the buck, sometime's you just need something to explode in that general direction.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Saudi families are increasingly falling victim of an elaborate scheme by Iraqis living in Jordan and Syria who claim to provide them with information about the fate of their relatives in Iraq and defraud them vast sums of money, with official sources in the Kingdom estimating the amount of money obtained from the scam to be in excess of 15 million$ US a year. 
Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators have staged rallies in Washington and London, demanding the withdrawal of US and British troops as the Iraq conflict becomes increasingly unpopular. Chanting "Bring the Troops Home Now," a column of protesters stretched for several blocks around the White House, with parents pushing infants in strollers while students beat makeshift drums. The French news agency "AFP" quoted Washington organizers as saying the crowd exceeded 100,000 protesters and police said the estimate was probably right.
The US military told an al-Jazeera cameraman being held at Guantánamo Bay that he would be released as long as he agreed to spy on journalists at the Arabic news channel, according to documents seen by the Guardian. The journalist has been in the prison without charge for three-and-a-half years after being accused by the US of being a terrorist, allegations he denies. 
In Ramadi, west of Baghdad, more than 1,000 people marched to protest against the constitution, which they say will divide Iraq along sectarian lines by giving too much autonomy to Kurds in the north and pro-Iranian Shi'ites in the south. The crowd in Ramadi was largely made up of Sunni Arabs, whose leaders are strongly opposed to the constitution, but also included Shi'ite supporters of Sadr, a nationalist young cleric who heads a militia called the Mehdi Army. The march followed a rally in Basra on Saturday at which several thousand Shi'ites gathered in support of the constitution, which was largely drawn up by the Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government over Sunni Arab objections.
Politicking ahead of the referendum has picked up in recent days. On Thursday, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric who holds wide influence among the 60 percent Shi'ite majority, urged followers to vote "Yes" in the referendum. At the same time, Sunni religious and political leaders have been urging their community to register to vote -- since most boycotted elections in January and are therefore not on the electoral register -- and to vote "No" come October 15. If two-thirds of voters in three or more of Iraq's 18 provinces vote "No" then the referendum is defeated. While Sunnis are unlikely to be able to muster enough votes on their own, they are hoping to secure the support of Sadr and his followers, whose nationalist principles oppose the federal structure laid out in the constitution.
Foreign militants, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who heads a group called al Qaeda in Iraq, have threatened an increase in attacks, and have waged violent campaigns around key dates in the past, including the January election. Sunni Arab nationalists, who form the bulk of the insurgency, are also expected to step up attacks around the same time in an effort to destabilize the country. Tensions will also be running high as the referendum will be held just four days before Saddam is due in court on charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the deaths of around 150 Shi'ite men in the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad, in 1982 after a failed assassination.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday that the ferocity of the insurgency in Iraq had taken him by surprise, but he insisted British troops would stay as long as the Iraqi government needed them. As his governing Labour Party gathered for its annual conference, Blair said he had not set a deadline to withdraw some 8,500 British soldiers from Iraq. "There is no arbitrary date being set," he said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stormed out of a top-level Likud Party meeting after his microphone was cut off twice before he could address the forum ahead of a crucial vote on his political future. Aides said opponents of the Gaza Strip pullout that Sharon championed and completed two weeks ago sabotaged the sound system, leaving the prime minister standing at the podium stern-faced and unable to be heard above the din at the Likud's Central Committee meeting. The 3000-member group is to vote on Monday on a motion by Sharon's rightist challenger, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to bring the party's leadership election forward to November. 
BEIRUT - A prominent journalist was wounded on Sunday when a bomb placed under a car exploded, Lebanese security officials said. The officials said May Chidiac, who works for the private Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, was inside her car when the bomb exploded in the Christian port city of Jounieh, north of Beirut.
Syria should not be isolated and no one should make accusations about former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri's killing until a UN report is published next month, Egypt has said. "The Egyptian proposal rejects isolating Syria and calls for achieving stability in the region and not opening a new focus of tension that adds to an already complicated situation," Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said on Sunday. 
Iran has branded "illegal" a resolution passed by the UN nuclear watchdog which paves the way for the country to be referred to the UN Security Council.
THE US military wants to buy large quantities of anthrax, in a controversial move that is likely to raise questions over its commitment to treaties designed to limit the spread of biological weapons. A series of contracts have been uncovered that relate to the US army's Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. They ask companies to tender for the production of bulk quantities of a non-virulent strain of anthrax, and for equipment to produce significant volumes of other biological agents. Issued earlier this year, the contracts were discovered by Edward Hammond, director of the Sunshine Project, a US-German organisation that campaigns against the use of biological and chemical weapons.
