If NATO were to allow Afghanistan to fall under Taliban rule again, the country would become a black hole for terrorism training, the alliances Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said, according to The Daily Telegraph on Friday.
I am absolutely convinced that if we allowed Afghanistan to fall back into Taliban rule it would become a failed state again and a black hole for terrorism training.
I am absolutely convinced that if we allowed Afghanistan to fall back into Taliban rule it would become a failed state again and a black hole for terrorism training, Scheffer said, speaking from NATO headquarters in Brussels. Who knows that the terrorists are not going to hit nations that they have not yet hit? Thats why you see me strongly motivated - that is the message I will give at Riga, Scheffer said, referring to an upcoming NATO summit in Riga, Latvia. What is our first priority? It is Afghanistan.
Scheffer said, however, that NATO could do better in Afghanistan if it had more forces, and said he was doing everything he could to get commitments for more troops. If you ask me, Secretary General, are you entirely happy and satisfied with the forces at the moment? I say no, we should and could do more. Some of our allies can and should do more.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Sheesh, somebody doesn't know their physics. I don't think they really mean that nothing, not even light, could get out of Afghanistan if it was under Taliban control. If that were the case I'd hnad the place over to Mullah Omar tomorrow.
#2
Problem Glenmore is while falling into the black hole your stretched Muzzie=thing releaes 3 J-particles, 2 alluah-akbar rays + SO2. This causes the area surround the black hold to glow and seethe.
The US and NATO face a snowballing war in Afghanistan and will suffer a military disaster unless they back peaceful means to end the conflict, NWFP Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Orakzai said on Friday.
Every time I see this fella's name, I think it sez Uruk-Hai. I really need to get my eyes checked.
Why? You think there's a difference?
Orakzai said Washington, NATO and the Afghan government were closing their eyes to the reality that a military-based strategy was making matters worse. Either it is lack of understanding or it is a lack of courage to admit their failures.
They're offering to let us surrender now, before they have to get tough with us, y'see...
Like in Iraq. It was the lack of courage to admit their faults. They have admitted them now but at very great cost. Rather than fighting just the Taliban, Orakzai said, NATO forces now faced a wider revolt from Afghanistans deprived Pashtun ethnic majority.
Which is another way of describing the Taliban, though Heks' boyz are admittedly a different faction, even though they sing to the same bloodthirsty tune.
The people have started joining the Taliban. It is snowballing into a nationalist movement if it has not already become one. It is becoming a sort of war of resistance. He said that 32,000 British-led NATO forces were too few to defeat the insurgency. If they think military is the only option, they should bring another 50,000 troops.
It's my opinion that we should demand the surrender of each tribe in turn. Those who don't surrender can be either wiped out and chased out, their choice. If anyone's paying attention at the State Department or the Defense Department, they've long since come to the conclusion that the "alliance" with Pak can be scrapped at any time. They've earned some consequences to suffer for their routine duplicity.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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If I were the US military commander, I'd start napalming some Pak NWFP villages where I knew Taliban were being harbored (and I'm sure we know). Tell them their villages will continue to be destroyed, along with their inhabitants, until they surrender all Taliban to the United States. I'd wait until I knew a large group of talibunnies were grouping to fight against the NATO forces, and run an ARCLIGHT strike through where they're gathering. Then I'd pass the messages that every village in "pashtunistan" would get the same treatment within 90 days if they dont' surrender. When pervert raises his voice, run an arclight strike through his compound. If that doesn't shut him up, at least it'll slow him and the isi down a bit. These people are savages. It's time to treat them like savages. Prove to them without a doubt that their moon god is a death god, by killing them in large numbers. They understand that. They don't understand much else.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/25/2006 15:38 Comments ||
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<em>NWFP Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Orakzai</em>
Isn't this the son of the author of the Scarlet Pimpernel?
(KUNA) -- A Sudanese policeman was killed and three of his colleagues were injured in clashes with gunmen
The assault on Sudanese policemen was the fourth in the last two weeks.
in al-Azhari suburb southern the capital Khartoum, police said Friday. The attackers, identified to be from southern Sudan, stopped a police patrol and opened fire at it followed by detonating explosive devices the attackers were carrying, which resulted in the killing of the policeman, a Sudanese police statement said. Police arrested the attackers and legal actions were taken against them, the statement added. The statement refused to link the recent attack to previous incidents.
The assault on Sudanese policemen was the fourth in the last two weeks.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- The United Nations High Coommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Friday that more than 22,000 people have crossed the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen this year in smugglers' boats. According to UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond at least 355 died making the perilous voyage and more than 150 are missing. About half of those arriving on the coast of Yemen eventually sought and received assistance from UNHCR upon arrival.
Over the past eight days, nearly 1,500 Somalis and Ethiopians arrived in 12 smugglers' boats. At least 18 people aboard those boats died and 17 are missing. The boats from Somalia usually land along a remote, 300-km stretch of tribal-ruled coastline. UNHCR, which has only limited access to the often insecure coast, was able over the past eight days to transport 853 Somalis and Ethiopians to the May'fa reception centre, providing them with food, water, medical care and other assistance. Bosaso still has an estimated 22,000 internally displaced people from throughout Somalia and up to 5,000 mainly Ethiopian migrants, according to estimates by authorities.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Better Yemen than here. Somalis are most likely to wear Islamic coverings. Their men are the worst abusers of women. As for their value to our economy, they aspire to drive taxis, and cheat kaffirs.
Two Royal Marines were refused entry to a bar just hours after a colleague's funeral because they were in uniform. The two servicemen went for a drink at the Walkabout bar in Liverpool city centre following the funeral of Corporal Ben Nowak at the city's Anglican cathedral.
Cpl Nowak, 27, who served with 45 Commando, was one of four people killed in a bomb attack on a patrol boat in southern Iraq on Remembrance Sunday.
His two colleagues, who were among 1,000 mourners at yesterday's funeral, were turned away by staff at the door of the bar. Stunned bystanders shouted at the bouncers and told them to show respect to the servicemen.
Student Ben Booth, who witnessed the event, said he was shocked by what he saw. He told BBC Radio Merseyside's phone-in show: "I spoke to the bouncers and said their colleague had just died in the service of our Government. I am absolutely shocked that people would act this way to our soldiers."
A spokesman for Walkabout said: "As a responsible bar operator, we have a strict policy of refusing entry to anyone believed to be aggressive.
"Furthermore, Walkabout in Liverpool has a strict policy of refusing entry to anyone in uniform due to previous issues with uniformed customers. These policies are designed solely to increase the safety and comfort of all our customers.
"Two of the group were in uniform and doorstaff believed that other members of the group were behaving aggressively, so they were refused admission."
The spokesman offered his condolences to Cpl Nowak's friends, comrades and family and offered the group who were turned away a complimentary lunch. He stressed the soldiers must not be in uniform.
Screw that. If I were a Royal Marine I'd show in my best uniform and inquire, oh so politely, if they deem me too aggressive for lunch.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
It sounds like not much has changed since Kipling's day:
I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
Damn shame.
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
#2
They should have pounded the crap out of the bouncers on the pavement for the affront and taken the bar appart. It's the only thing these TRANZIs will understand. The people who turned these 2 away are totally disgusting scumb they are due a pounding.
#7
IIRC, in the US, the military still has 'Off Limits' regulations. Reporting such an event would get the joint placed on that list, whether in uniform or out.
#8
Under some circumstances you have to see things from the bar or restaurant owner's point of view.
I knew one such who had a "no uniforms" policy in his restaurant/beer bar. The owner was a retired Master Sergeant and combat Vietnam Veteran (armor) and really liked the troops. But he had had it with their bad behavior.
It all ended when one drunk Marine reached into his trunk and pulled out an empty LAW tube, extended it and pointed at his buddies. "Hey! Guys! Check this out!"
Right then the owner walked through the door holding a tray with two pitchers of beer and glasses on it, to see someone pointing a LAW at him.
(RIA Novosti) - Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport on Saturday again dismissed as false the media reports that it had begun delivering Tor M1 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran.
Russia undertook to supply 29 Tor M1 missiles to Iran under a $700 million contract signed at the end of last year. The United States protested the deal, which it feared could bolster the military capabilities of the Islamic Republic, classified by Washington as a "rogue state" and part of "the axis of evil."
Russia has been maintaining that the contract for the supply of Tor M1 missiles to Iran was concluded in line with international law and that the system was intended for defense only.
Nikolai Dimidyuk, who leads Rosoboronexport's delegation to the current IndoDefense international arms show in the Indonesian capital, said: "I can affirm with 100% certainty that nothing of the kind has happened. While hunting for news, [reporters] should not forget about reality and the truth," he said, adding that the Tor M1 is a "purely defensive, low-range weapon."
On Friday, a Rosoboronexport Tehran-based official also denied Tor M1 deliveries were underway. "We cannot confirm reports on the start of Tor M1 air defense missile deliveries to Iran," he told RIA Novosti.
In July, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Rosoboronexport and Russian warplane maker Sukhoi for exporting arms and hardware to Iran, saying such exports violate the U.S. Nonproliferation Act of 2000. The sanctions on Sukhoi were formally lifted earlier this week as U.S. negotiators wrapped up talks on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization.
The UN Security Council is considering international sanctions against Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, an activity that may potentially lead to the development of a nuclear bomb. Sanctions proposed by the EU involve a ban on the supply of nuclear material and technology, as well as missiles.
Moscow, which, along with defense contracts, cooperates with Tehran on a nuclear power plant project, has repeatedly spoken against any punitive measures against Iran, insisting that the country has the right to self-defense and to a civilian nuclear program.
The Tor M1, developed by Russian company Almaz Antei, is a high-precision weapon for hitting aircraft, manned or unmanned, and cruise missiles flying at an altitude of up to 10 kilometers (6 miles). It was introduced at last year's Russian aerospace show MAKS.
#3
Both FOX + CNN last night gave good insights into Russia's growing Islamist problems - FOX Guestperts said it best = HALF OR MORE of post-1991 Russia's population will be MUSLIM in our lifetime. Apparently Russia's 1989=1991 IMPLOSION wasn't enuff for Euro-centric Russians/Soviet Commies to stave off Islam. I suspect Russia will now be what POLAND = POLISH BARRIER used to be in antiquity - the line of defense between Christian Occidental Europe versus Muslim Oriental Asia.
A LEADING children's publisher has dumped a novel because of political sensitivity over Islamic issues. Scholastic Australia pulled the plug on the Army of the Pure after booksellers and librarians said they would not stock the adventure thriller for younger readers because the "baddie" was a Muslim terrorist.
A prominent literary agent has slammed the move as "gutless", while the book's author, award-winning novelist John Dale, said the decision was "disturbing because it's the book's content they are censoring". "There are no guns, no bad language, no sex, no drugs, no violence that is seen or on the page," Now I see why Scholastic didn't carry it Dale said, but because two characters are Arabic-speaking and the plot involves a mujaheddin extremist group, Scholastic's decision is based "100 per cent (on) the Muslim issue".
This decision is at odds with the recent publication of Richard Flanagan's bestselling The Unknown Terrorist and Andrew McGahan's Underground in which terrorists are portrayed as victims driven to extreme acts by the failings of the West. Proper dhimmi publications.
The Unknown Terrorist is dedicated to David Hicks and describes Jesus Christ as "history's first ... suicide bomber". That's why they call him the Semtex Kid.
In McGahan's Underground, Muslims are executed en masse or herded into ghettos in an Australia rendered unrecognisable by the war on terror. They do that all the time in Oz. I read about it in the NYT.
Scholastic's general manager, publishing, Andrew Berkhut, said the company had canvassed "a broad range of booksellers and library suppliers", who expressed concern that the book featured a Muslim terrorist. It might offend our most loyal customers.
"They all said they would not stock it," he said, "and the reality is if the gatekeepers won't support it, it can't be published." The gatekeepeers? The censors? The Ummah?
In March 2004, Scholastic commissioned Dale to deliver "a tough, snappy thriller", with then publisher Margrete Lamond saying they wanted their child readers to "break out in sweats and their eyes to bulge without giving them actual nightmares". Dale, director of the Centre for New Writing at the University of Technology, said he wanted Army of the Pure to be a contemporary action adventure that would appeal to his son, "a book he could not put down". What's the matter with David Morrell?
Scholastic described his writing as "almost flawless" and the story about four children chased by Afghan terrorists after discovering a plot to blow up Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor a "gripping page-turner".
Dale's agent, Lyn Tranter, yesterday branded the move "a gutless" publishing decision. "I am appalled that this is censorship by salesmen," she said.
Australia has no plans for setting a timeline for the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said Thursday.
Nelson spoke after British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Wednesday became her government's first minister to set even a vague target for handing over security in Basra to Iraqi security forces. Beckett said she was confident the transition could take place by spring but officials stressed that this was a hope, not a timetable.
"We are not setting any specific timeline," Nelson told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "Our plan for the next year is to move for regional provincial Iraqi control for the south of Iraq. We will expect to have a continued presence through much of next year in the south of Iraq."
Australia's 1,400 personnel in Iraq include 500 troops in the Overwatch Battle Group, which provide backup support for Iraqi forces responsible for security in the southern provinces of Muthanna and Dhi Qar.
Nelson said he expected there would be a continuing need for coalition support in southern Iraq, particularly in training of Iraqi forces. "If for some reason we were to change our role as we have done over the last six months ... we would expect even more emphasis on training," Nelson said. "At this stage we have no intention at all of reducing our troop numbers although we may, depending on circumstances next year, alter the role."
How did this fifth columnist get into the ranks of military officers?
Our Islamic enemies must be laughing their asses off at us, right about now.
Edited for the irritating lead...
Karpinski insists she knew nothing about the abuse of prisoners until she saw the photos, as interrogation was carried out in a prison wing run by U.S. military intelligence. So, she saw the Rumsfeld memo after she was relieved of command? Because in order for her claims to be true that she knew nothing of the "abuse" of prisoners means she is either lied about it then or she is lying now about "what she knew and when she knew it."
Rumsfeld also authorized the army to break the Geneva Conventions by not registering all prisoners, Karpinski said, explaining how she raised the case of one unregistered inmate with an aide to former U.S. commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez. Colonel Karpinski committed an egregious error as an army officer she has never rightfully acknowledged as a crime: she lost control of her unit while in a war zone. The photos taken of the hi jenks is one of many indicators of Karpinski's dereliction of duty. Her continual refusal to take responsibility for her own problems with her command is another
#2
Isn't there some Army reg that says field grade officers are subject to recall even after retirement? Call her up and give her the chance to show how a POW camp should be run with our new Ethopian allies in their run-up with the ICJ.
#3
Any retiree can be called back to active duty for court-martial, if the offense is serious enough. I'd say high treason counts.
a. They weren't prisoners of war.
b. The Geneva Conventions did not apply.
c. She did not and does not have the expertise or authority to make that judgment.
Prosecuting the SPC who got picked up running around a train station in Belgium naked and tripping on acid was kinda fun (four months, poor kid). Prosecuting this bitch would be sheer grinding fury. I only wish she could serve out her sentence under her own management.
#4
According to the article from Spain, sleep deprivation is the best accusation the Comi-Crapinski, can come up with. When my two kids were born, I had sleep deprivation for years.
#5
Had a marine who was at abu-griab right after the incidents tell me yesterday that of her whole command of the prison Karpinski was only in Iraq for 10 days and only visited the prison she commanded for 1 morning.
Muslims protest with prayer at Sea-Tac
Six Seattle-area Muslims gathered in prayer Friday in front of a US Airways ticket counter at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to protest the removal of six imams from a flight in Minneapolis earlier this week. The prayer lasted eight minutes without incident. Too bad.
"We are asserting the right of Muslims to be free of fear, free of apprehension, to take an equal seat at the table," said Jafar Siddiqui, a member of American Muslims of Puget Sound.
Afterward, airport patron Frank Meyers, of San Jose, Calif., accused airport terminal managers of being "politically correct" by allowing the prayer service to block a public elevator. "We're in a war, sir," he told an airport terminal manager. "We're in a war against terrorism. Do you have any concept of that?" Frank Meyers 2008
The imams were removed from the flight to Phoenix on Monday night after three of them said their usual evening prayers in the terminal in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport before boarding, said Omar Shahin, president of the North American Imams Federation, who was one of the passengers removed.
According to a police report, a US Airways manager said three of the men had one-way tickets and none checked baggage. Some of the men also asked for seat-belt extensions even though a flight attendant told police she thought they didn't need them. Red Flag.
A national Muslim group has planned a much larger pray-in for Monday morning at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Well there's a big heads-up for youse folks in the area.
A Muslim who allegedly used his Seattle barber shop to teach children "how to shoot and fight the Americans" has fled to Somalia to avoid prison after he was convicted on federal counterfeiting and weapons charges.
Ruben Shumpert, a black American who converted to Islam, was among more than a dozen arrested by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force two years ago on charges including immigration fraud and bank fraud, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. Shumpert was able to leave the country because a judge allowed him to keep his passport when he was released from custody prior to sentencing. A condition of Shumpert's release was that he surrender the passport prior to his sentencing, which was scheduled for Tuesday.
While he was not convicted on terrorism-related charges, federal agents allege Shumpert's barber shop was a gathering place for radical Muslims where he showed children videotapes of "fighting, shooting and killing with images on his computer screen of al-Qaida and the Taliban," the PI reported. In court documents, the agents called his shop a kind of "anti-American training ground for Muslims."
Federal authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of Shumpert, also known as Amir Abdul Muhaimin.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Redkey said Shumpert had been free on personal recognizance and faced sentencing under a plea agreement. According to Redkey, Shumpert made a phone call from Somalia to an FBI agent on the Joint Terrorism Task Force from Somalia.
Redkey told the Seattle paper it has become more common in recent years for judges to allow defendants to turn in their passports after they are released from custody, but the U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing the practice.
Obviously not! In fact, intelligence seems to be out of favor in most Government jobs. If we do not clean house here at home, we'll never survive what is coming at us.
WASHINGTON The Marine Corps may need to increase in size to sustain deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan without sacrificing needed training or putting undue stress on the corps, the new Marine commandant said Wednesday. At a meeting with reporters, Gen. James Conway also warned that it could take years to adequately train and equip the Iraqi security forces longer, perhaps, "than the timeline that we probably feel ... our country will support."
"This is tough work, it doesn't happen overnight," and patience by the American people will be needed, he said. On the plus side, he said Marines he's talked to in recent days are encouraged by the progress they are seeing among Iraqi forces.
Conway said the current pace of Marine rotations to Iraq seven months there and seven-to-nine months at home is limiting other types of training that units can receive and could eventually prompt Marines to leave the service. "There is stress on the individual Marines that is increasing, and there is stress on the institution to do what we are required to do, pretty much by law, for the nation," said Conway.
The goal, he said, is for units to spend twice the amount of time at home as is spent on deployment for example seven months deployed and 14 months at home. At the same time, Conway would not rule out extending the Iraq tours for some Marine units if needed for a short period of time. Several Army units have been extended for several months, but the Marines have done that only rarely and for weeks rather than months.
Conway, who took on the Marines' top job just eight days ago, said there are two ways to deal with the ongoing stress on the Marines: "One is reducing the requirement, the other is potentially growing the force for what we call the long war."
The Bush administration is finalizing the budget for fiscal 2008, which starts next Oct. 1, and the armed services are hoping to receive increased funding to carry on the fighting. Conway said he could not say how much the Marines would be seeking.
There are currently about 180,000 active duty Marines. Conway said that if a decision is made to increase the number of Marines in Iraq currently about 23,000 of the 141,000 U.S. troops there he has enough around the globe to respond. But he warned that there could be long-term repercussions. "The payback is you can't maintain that surge. And it's probably going to have an adverse impact" on the ability to provide ready troops in the future, he said.
Increasing the size of the Marine Corps, he added, could only be by 1,000-2,000 troops per year over an extended time. And if the size is increased to meet the needs of war, Conway said there would have to be a plan for reducing the numbers when the war is over. He said the current 180,000 level is the right size for peacetime.
The Marines are also drawing up plans to send some reserve combat battalions back to Iraq for return tours as a way of relieving the strain on the active duty forces. If that is done, it would be the first time such Marine units would be returned to the war.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2006 00:12 ||
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Increasing the size of the Marine Corps, he added, could only be by 1,000-2,000 3,000 troops per year over 81 years an extended time.
#3
No, because the messenger is a pompous lying son-of-a-bitch proposing an unnecessary solution to a non-problem : the draft to bring in more troops, when all Congress has to do is 1) lift the limit on troop size, and 2) fund the personnel costs. We had literally twice as many men under arms in the late 1980s and early 1990s as we do today, WITHOUT a draft. The way it was done was to increase the pay and benefits of the personnel and lift the troop limits for the Armed Services. Right now, by law that Congress wrote and passed under Clinton, we are limited to the present level of personnel. All Congress would have to do if it {including Charlie Rangel} was serious is raise that limit and increase the military pay and benefits spending.
3) is fund the additional equipment costs. Too often Congress goes for the headlines by increasing personnel but not equipment and other operational expenditures such as fuel and ammunition that need to scale also.
But I worry about the reporting or Conway. Only 1-2,000 per year? A reporter who drops 0s or another general who couldn't fight WWII? And who needs a reduction strategy before increasing the size of the force. These guys should be worrying about the size of the force they need and winning the war. The rest will take care of itself.
#5
I'm seeing a subtle, but possibly important shift here. Compare the posting schedule to Iraq with, say the posting schedule to SKor, or say, postwar Germany.
If you look at Iraq, for the most part, the direct US involvement is pretty much over. So try to imagine that we are "migrating" what we are doing there to a peacetime base or kaserne structure.
If this is the case, then we will gradually pull out of the cities and move into our bases, except for Baghdad, with far less "noise in the news" for the MSM and the left to capitalize on.
We paid the price in Iraq, so now we should look forward to the real profits, that is, Africa Command HQ bases in country, with an eye, not to Iraq, but to the rest of the region.
#6
okay, then why is everyone wanting to crucify Rangel over this issue...could it be because the messenger is black??
A black who wants to bring back slavery. Why do you need to force people to do something that there are already others willing to do the work? Unless of course, you want to save money cause history shows that slaves are always cheaper than paying freemen. Goes the lack of the fundamental basics of capitalism. Just keep raising the pay till you have enough. That means less for pork, less for new programs, less for university grants, less....Not a Democratic Party objective.
As to the number you can ascend, it is dependent upon two factors. How many can be trained with the existing training force structure and how much do you have to take from the front line or in the redeployment cycle to add more trainers into that system. Sure, you can make a body bag filler in 90 days or less. However, if you want to make a real soldier/marine trained and fit for integration into unit tactics and doctrine and properly lead, it really takes two years. You can place some newer soldiers/marines among veterans and keep the loss rate down. If you build whole units out of recruits you're just filling body bags. You don't make the cadre, officers and non-commissioned officers, out of inductees. They take time. They are what you need for both the training force structure and any new units. And they are under no obligation to remain after 10 years of active service. A draft doesn't give you those people. Never will.
Time and time again, in the interwar periods, Congress has cut and cut again the force structure of the armed forces. Its damn easy to cut and dismiss large number of service personnel. Its damn expensive in time and resources to rebuild a proper force level once you've done the ax cutting. Unless, of course, you want to fill body bags. Which by the incessant body count drone by the left and MSM, doesn't appear to be their goal. So yes, Rangel is absolutely disingenuous about the draft as anything other than to destroy the ability of the US to act in its interests even when authorized by Congress.
#7
"okay, then why is everyone wanting to crucify Rangel over this issue...could it be because the messenger is black??"
Could it be that the person who asked this question is completely ignorant?
Rangel isn't the slightest bit interested in adjusting military manpower levels to attain a more effective fighting force; he's proposing to re-instate the draft. And he's very up-front about exactly why he wants it: to make it much more difficult, politically, for American leaders to wage war.
And he's proposing to bring back conscription for political reasons despite the fact, as Shieldwolf pointed out in #3 above, that we do not need it to obtain increased force levels.
Go to the DoD's Military Personnel Statistics page and click on either the graph or the table (they're .PDF files). Note that throughout the entire post-Vietnam cold war era, we maintained our forces at nearly twice the current levels WITHOUT ANY DRAFT.
Military manpower levels are set by Congress. If it wants to increase them, all it has to do is authorize the increase and adjust the budget accordingly. It doesn't take a draft, and THAT is why people are "crucifying" that particular "messenger"-- not because he is black.
I hope that answers your question.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/25/2006 10:04 Comments ||
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#8
Amen, Dave D. Add the little fact that even he voted against his own BS Draft bill when it came to the floor a couple of years ago, lol. He's a disingenuous partisan asshole. Period.
#10
I've been preaching for three years that we need to increase the size of the military by about 24 Brigade Combat Teams: 16 Army, eight Marines. Twelve of the sixteen Army should be active, as well as four of the Marines, the rest split between reserve and Guard units. This would give us just slightly less than the troop levels we ended the Cold War under, and enough to fight in both Afghanistan, Iraq, and a third place without having to send troops back every six to twelve months. All it would take is a President with the cojones to propose it, and a Congress with the will to approve it.
If we'd started that buildup three years ago, the first three BCTs would be on duty, and the next three in various levels of training, instead of the tiny trickle of new personnel (about 2500 total) that Bush has managed to sneak in.
We have a government that is incompetent and incapable of governing, from the top down to the mid-ranks. We need a HUGE hose to flush 'em out and get rid of them, especially those in the intel and military force structure areas.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/25/2006 16:46 Comments ||
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#11
Before I retired from active duty in the late 90's, I watched the Army end-strength numbers descend from an AC force of 775,000 and an RC force of 445,000 Guard and 375,000 USAR. A huge part of the "peace dividend" that Billy Jeff and Al Bore spent was the reduction in troop levels. Couple this with Rummy's conviction that technology and Snake Eaters everywhere could do it all, including the take and hold ground mission, and you get us to force burnout, where we are today. For the RC alone, the damage in equipment readiness, availability and even basic possession will take a huge amount to fix. Time to wake the country up to what is unfolding worldwide and work on the Homeland Defense mission. Borders and internal security are going to become crucial as the next round of large-scale terrorism pops after the Israeli's attack Iran, and get their AF serious hurt by what Pootie just sold the Persians. Global chess folks, and as someone said last night, we've been content to play checkers......
#12
Rangel isn't the slightest bit interested in adjusting military manpower levels to attain a more effective fighting force; he's proposing to re-instate the draft. And he's very up-front about exactly why he wants it: to make it much more difficult, politically, for American leaders to wage war.
Truth, except I'd add "and practically" to "politically". He figures that the government isn't going to want to go to war with conscripts because they'll just be killed off, and who is going to want to send their kids off to get killed unless they are certain that they themselves and their kids are in imminent danger? Liberals are fully aware of this and agree with this philosophy. Of course, it assumes that all problems can be dealt with on a just-in-time basis, with no foresight (or training) necessary.
Also, for the mentally numb out there, a draft guarantees that not just the dregs of society end up in the army, making it a good socialist institution, and the more socialist the better. Duh. I'd like to take these people up on that one, which hinges on a bunch of broken assumptions!
It would be interesting to see how many people buy into this idea. The Democrats are probably trying to decide if it would buy them more votes among the less aware or cost them votes among the more aware before they get too far with this one.
And finally, a military is a productivity burden. It may pay for itself by protecting productivity gains, but having to pay someone to shoot at someone else when they could be contributing to the next discovery or whatever is a double-whammy expense. If you want to attract people into the military, you have to pay them more than they would make in civilian life, and find ways to compensate for the risk and lost opportunity. The draft avoids spending money where it should be spent, and frees it up for pet projects and pork, only to be paid for later with the lives of those miserably trained and sent out to fight anyway.
The Democrats' problem: How to dress this up to make it attractive.
The Republicans' problem: How to expose the motivations behind this scheme, and offer a better way. And to overcome their own seduction by pet projects and pork.
#13
smn - No, fool. It's not because he's black. It's not even because he's black, gay, ignorant, intellectually dishonest, morally reprehensible, ethically challenged (to say the least), or even a Democrat.
It's because he's <em><strong>stupid!</strong></em>
#14
The WOT > is directly or indirectly a WAR FOR CONTROL OF THE WORLD, OWG, and WHAT -ISMS WILL DOMINATE SAID WORLD/OWG. That being said, unless the USG is going to act like the Roman Empire and start taxing any and all citizens-residents, most of which had prior service in the Legions in order to qualify for Citizenship, the USG needs something to MilPol suppor its empire = means having enuff milfors to protect and project its influence. EITHER WE RAISE VOLUNTARY TROOP QUOTAS TO COLD WAR LEVELS, OR BEYOND; OR WE DRAFT ALA UNIVERSAL SERVICE[Males ages 18-45+ WW2] It also means the new Dem Congress be willing to empower de facto "REGIME CHANGE" vv IRAN-NORTH KOREA, etc, both for conversion to democratic Allies/trading partners + minimize Empiric Costs to ourselves. The ALTERNATIVE is do little to nuthin, waiting to be attacked, absorb heavy casualties wid out any form of retaliation. INCREASE SOCIALISM-GOVERNMENTISM AT HOME WHILE WEAKENING -RETREATING OVERSEAS, and eventually to become suborned to Anti-American American SOCIALISM + SOCIALIST OWG, WHERE AMERICA = AMERIKA WAGES WAR LIKE ITS THE USSR-REPLACING, WORLD-THREATENING USSA ERGO THE USSA LATER BECOMES THE WEAK, ANTI-SOVEREIGN AMER GLOBAL SSR/USR. DemoLeft >WOT > America = Amerika can wage war for empire all it wants as long as it loses/gives up its empire in the end, VOLUNTARILY = FORCIBLY. The USSA must surrender to, or be destroyed by, Mackinder's World Island - WHY, BECUZ SOMEONE DECADES DECADES AGO PUT IT DOWN ON PAPER THAT THE WORLD ISLAND MUST RULE THE WORLD. It must be becuz its on paper, NOT becuz the World Island deserves to be.
The Kohat political administration has arrested Haroon Rashid, a former member of the National Assembly from Bajuar Agency and a Jamaat-e-Islami leader.
Wonder if he was in disguise?
The Ex-Jamaat-e-Islami member of the National Assembly and seven of his companions were arrested on Friday in the Spina Thana area in Dera Adamkhel, when they were on their way to Peshawar after attending a protest rally against the Bajuar air strike. Political administration sources confirmed that Rashid had been detained, but did not give further details.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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...Coulda sworn that said Maroon Rashid. Probably the same thing, actually.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/25/2006 8:02 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and China have agreed to develop aircraft equipped with long-range early warning radars, the Pakistan Air Force said Friday during a visit by Chinese leader Hu Jintao. The air force said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese aviation company CETC to help develop the Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS).
AWACS. Good idea. We've had 'em for a while. A long while.
Pakistan Air Force and Chinese Aviation Industries have agreed for long-term collaboration and co-development in the fields of aircraft manufacturing... including AWACS, the air force said in a statement. The same may be delivered to Pakistan in coming years, it said without specifying a timeframe.
Pakistan is already collaborating with another Chinese aviation company to develop and build JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft. Eight JF-17s are expected to be delivered to Pakistan during 2007, it said.
That's another name for the FC-1, a light fighter on which the two countries started collaborating in 1999.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Iran claims US troops stood idle while terrorist and savage action, was being committed in Baghdad, news agency IRNA said Friday.
It's probably because we don't care. We went in to liberate the country from Sammy and his mob, and discovered that a large part of the country was populated by savages. Where's the skin off our fore if they kill and eat each other?
Iran strongly condemns the wave of bombings in the Shiite Sadr City and considers it a terrorist and savage action which was carried out while the American troops were standing idle, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was quoted as saying by the state news agency. The occupation and the insecurity which emanates from it has caused continual damage to the Iraqi people, and they have no other choice but to pay its inhuman price, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
This entire Iraq scenario - updated with Baker and Iran as talking partners - is getting rich...I don't believe "Dr. Strangelove" was any more bizarre than the current cast of characters/nations/savage entities...
In any case, we agree on something: Sitting idly by while you have the power to stop pointless carnage is bad. Inciting it for evil ends then sitting idly by is worse, don't you think?
#4
Iran accuses US troops of 'standing idle' during Baghdad killings
Butchering our own people to justify our happy horseshit isn't a one-man job, America! Pitch in & help ruin Iraq! You bought it, you break it!
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/25/2006 6:46 Comments ||
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Well, Iran's certainly not "standing idle". They're shipping nutjobs and explosives in as fast as they can make them.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/25/2006 8:57 Comments ||
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#6
Iran claims US troops stood idle while terrorist and savage action, was being committed in Baghdad,
Must be some of their agents people getting hammered. The Iraqis must've finally targeted the right suspects. Sorta echos the 'outrage' by British representatives when the Americans hammered the natives in the Northwest Territories whom the English had been supplying arms and encouragement to impede the settlement of the land.
Radical anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's political bloc, a key player in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government, threatened on Friday to withdraw from the cabinet and parliament if Maliki met U.S. President George W. Bush as planned in Jordan next week. "We asked Maliki to cancel his planned meeting with Bush because there is no reason to meet with the criminal who is behind terrorism in Iraq," Faleh Hasan Shanshal, a senior official in Sadr's movement, told Reuters. "We will suspend our membership of the cabinet and parliament if he goes ahead," he said. are these idiots for real?
They can see a blow-off coming, possibly Iraq, Leb, maybe even something in Paleostine or Iran, simultaneously. I've got a feeling.
#5
Let them pull out. Then we have no reason NOT to break people and kill things, like Sadr's tinfoil hat - with his head in it.
It's past time to go mideival on this mook and his minnions. They should be planted at the rate of 1000/day for the next couple of years, or until we run out, whichever happens first. Sadr's even too ugly to serve any useful purpose.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/25/2006 17:13 Comments ||
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#6
smn - it's on! Total justifiable war against your sorry ass.
What have you got against the USA you fuckwad? What has the USA ever done to you or yours that you hold such a huge friggin' grudge against everything that is American, Republican, conservative, or freedom-loving? Either explain yourself or STFU and if you do spout invective against my country, you can expect me to call your stupid ass on the carpet for it.
Mostly we try to ignore trolls here at Rantburg becuase you're all such a sorry bunch of idiot Daily Kos-loving bedwetting ignorant pantywaists that it's not worth our time and trouble, but by God somebody has to start making things around here real unpleasant for the lot of you!
I'm standing up and telling you and all your idiot ilk either to cease your baiting attempts at snarks or stand up like men and debate like you have half a brain.
#7
For your information FOTSGreg, smn is an acroynm for 's'mart 'm'a'n'! I am a student of much higher education, the Degrees I have, can't be seen on paper...and don't make me admit my IQ!! Your worried about 2006 and i'm mapping 2050. To me, Rantburg, is a glassed bottom boat, and you...a mist on it's surface..Copy?!
Damn, I missed the end of Intifada II, Gut Grumble in Gaza. I gotta get better sources.
Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal has warned of a third intifada unless there is an international agreement for a Palestinian state with 1967 borders within six months. Gimme a State! We were elected!
"We give the international community six months for real political horizons... There is a historic opportunity for a Palestinian state within 1967 borders," Mr Meshaal said in Cairo. Think of the killing and broken promises and hatred as an opportunity!
"Our national demands, and these are not the demands of Hamas, are the end of the occupation, the creation of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders without settlements, big or small, real sovereignty over and under the territory," he said. We were elected!
"We reject what others have proposed, such as phases or phased negotiations, declarations of principles," he added. We were elected!
"All Palestinian forces have agreed unanimously to a state within 1967 borders. Arab States have also agreed to this position," he said. There you have it - all the best minds have made their views known. And we were elected!
"Seize this opportunity," he said in comments addressed to the international community. "We will not be patient for longer than we have been." Get in on the ground floor. Don't miss it. We have been patient, but for not much longer than we have been! Our patience is limited to the patience we have shown, uh, patience for. Parse it - it makes sense, in a Paleo sort of way.
"If our demands are not met, the Palestinian people will close all political files and launch a third intifada. The conflict will be open and the victory in this conflict will be ours,'' he said. And you know what that means, right? We will seethe like never before! March around like never before! Fire our rockets and blow up rocks like never before! You will bow before our power. Shock and Awe II!
Mr Meshaal, who is based in Damascus, has been holding talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo on the problems facing the formation of a Palestinian unity government and securing a prisoner swap deal with Israel. I am based in Damascus because, uh, um, because I want to be!
#4
I thought Hamas was working on the pre-1967 borders demand thingy. Not enough spittle in the article, but he was elected, and it's in the files he's closing in 6 months.
#5
Like they haven't been trying the suicice bomb route the whole time?
Maybe they are going to attack in human waves or something. Maybe they think that in another six months they'll have finished enough tunnels under the wall to attack. Maybe they are going to try to blow holes in the wall. Maybe they're bored. Maybe this is the Palestinian version of population control. Maybe the government is worried that people (who elected them!) will turn on them unless they keep them focused on something else. Maybe Iran is running the show through Hezb'Allah. I suppose May is a good time to start a conflict because the weather will be cooperative even if the civilized world won't. April would be a good time to go blast the ground where there precious tunnels would be and see if they don't push out their start date a few more months. Don't you need water to fight a war? April might be a good time to check on Hezb'Allah's movements, too. Maybe it would be good to put Sharon back in charge because he's more decisive even now.
#6
1967 borders and Jerusalem, plus Golan back to Syria, right, puppet? Meshaal hangs in Damascus, too afraid to live in Gaza or the WB, like the fodder
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/25/2006 15:35 Comments ||
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Hamas accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday of imposing what it called unacceptable new conditions for forming a unity government.
Abbas is putting conditions on the formation of a new government, including the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian fighters in June and a halt to attacks by Hamas and other groups on Israel, said a Hamas statement sent to Reuters. The statement shows a new rift opening between Abbas Fatah group and Hamas, who have been trying to agree on a new government for months. Mr Abu Mazen (Abbas), has started putting new conditions which were not included in the understandings and agreements we have concluded to form a unity government. The issue of calming down armed resistance was not on the table and should not be raised at this time. Hamas had announced it is ready to stop rocket attacks if Zionist aggression and assassinations stop.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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In the Yediot poll, only seven percent of respondents thought Olmert was the most suitable candidate as prime minister, with former premier Netanyahu their favourite, garnering 22 percent of the vote.
If Olmert were a man instead of a politician, he would stand aside and let someone lead who has a clue.
#4
AP - And we are only a few years away from the same situation. Just for fun, I looked back at the GOP Straw Poll to see how it turned out... Romney has the highest positives and lowest negatives.
Best I can tell from here is that a no-confidence (of which there has been precisely one in Israel's history) requires a new government to be formed, but does not change the composition of the Knesset. To do that before the 4-year term is over, they have to pass a law saying, in effect "we don't want to be in power any more." You can imagine how often that happens.
So, even if Olmert loses power, his successor will be from the current composition of the Knesset. It would be like Nancy Pelosi losing power. You'd still have a Democrat majority, so whoever replaced her would be no prize.
GAZA CITY - A proposal from Palestinian factions to stop rocket attacks in exchange for an end to Israeli offensives in Gaza and the West Bank was rejected as inadequate by Israel on Friday. Just hours after a spokesman for the ultra-radical Islamic Jihad made the offer following an overnight meeting between rival factions, a Hamas militant was killed during ongoing Israeli operations in the northern Gaza Strip.
We are getting nothing from these rockets because nothing they achieve matches the force and power of the Israeli response, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas declared in Gaza City late Thursday. We talked about the rocket fire. There is an agreement to stop the fire in exchange for a halt to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, the Jihad spokesman said after inter-faction talks.
This idea will be transmitted to the Israelis by Abu Mazen (Abbas). If they accept, there will perhaps be a stop to fire on Israeli towns but not a general truce, Khader Habib added.
The Crips call a truce, the Bloods keep shooting. We've seen this movie before.
But Israel did not accept the offer, with government spokeswoman Miri Eisin describing it as a partial ceasefire impossible to take seriously. The suggestion concerns a partial ceasefire, limited to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in exchange for a total halt to Israeli operations on all fronts. This is not serious, she told AFP.
Israel has always aspired to an end to violence and we count on a change of attitude from the Palestinians and primarily Hamas in order to give development a priority in the Gaza Strip instead of continued attacks, she added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Dar-el-Mindanao one half-step closer to a formal sharia Paradise...
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has described the government's new proposal on the issue of territory in their peace negotiations as "good for the eye to see". The MILF Internet website quoted the Fronts chief negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal, as saying that the "right to self-determination" was the main sweetener in the latest proposal. Iqbal said this was a turnaround from the governments objection to the using the phrase in the course of their negotiations that started in 1997. The MILF has always negotiated using the "right to self determination" framework but he said the government refused. He said the MILF proposed to use the words "freedom" and "right to self-determination" in the negotiations for the Tripoli Agreement of 2001, but the government agreed only on the first. Iqbal stressed that the MILF was "forward-looking" in negotiating solutions to the "Moro problem" and "Mindanao conflict". He said that the new proposal has to be examined meticulously" and said that MILF peace panel held a "crucial" meeting Thursday at the panel's office in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat town, which now belongs to the newly-created province of Sharif Kabungsuan.
I'd also like to note that I check in on the Philippines once a month or so (more if something gets boomed), and they seem to have the largest entrenched "Peace" bureaucracy in the world. They have been 'negotiating' for years, maybe even decades. Actual peace would prolly cause the collapse of their entire catering and limo industry. Sheesh.
Syria suggested Friday it may not cooperate with a planned international tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri because Damascus was not consulted on the plan, according to a letter circulated at the U.N. Besides, they haven't killed all the problem witnesses yet.
An ongoing U.N. investigation into the February 2005 truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others has said the killing's complexity suggested the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role in the assassination. Clever boys, the UN. They'll have to be to find a way to not step on any toes with this one.
Syria, which has denied involvement, said in a letter circulated Friday at U.N. headquarters that the tribunal should not be arranged until after the investigation is finished. Which should happen in no more than a decade or ten.
It announced that hasty adoption of the court's statute "will firmly establish our belief that Syria has no connection with this tribunal." Whatever. Maybe it will make sense later.
"In the event that the statute of the tribunal is adopted, unacceptable transgressions that undermine the sovereignty of me certain member states and the rights of their subjects are likely to transpire," Syria wrote. Only concerned about his loyal subjects, I'm sure.
The Syrian government continues to cooperate in the investigation, the letter added. As long as it doesn't involve anything substantial, anyway.
The document, addressed to Secretary-General Kofi Annan who is out of here in about a month!, was dated Tuesday, when the Security Council authorized Annan to ratify an agreement by the U.N. and the Lebanese government on creation of the tribunal. I question the timing.
The court would sit outside Lebanon, and a majority of judges as well as the prosecutor would be from other nations. Where will Bashar sit?
The Lebanese government must now make the final decision on establishment of the court. Government? What government? Wouldn't they have to come out of hiding to do something?
On Nov. 13, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's Council of Ministers approved the tribunal plan but pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud challenged the decision. Fox. Henhouse. Hen. Egg. Some assembly but no instructions required.
Saniora has called for a Cabinet session on Saturday to approve the proposed court. Don't forget to bring your hanky for when they announce the decision.
The Syrian mission to the United Nations said no officials were available for comment Friday afternoon. They're all out surfing. Beat it.
On Wednesday, the Security Council approved a request from Lebanon for U.N. investigators already probing Hariri's assassination to assist the government's investigation of the latest killing. Since they already know half of the story.
The council acted just hours after Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a weakly worded letter informing members that Prime Minister Fuad Saniora wanted "technical assistance" from the U.N. investigation commission in his government's investigation of Tuesday's killing of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. Better to offer "technical assistance than actual "help".
The first U.N. chief investigator, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the complexity of Hariri's killing suggested the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role in Hariri's assassination. That makes him next on Assad's "To Do" list.
In one report, Mehlis implicated Brig. Gen. Assaf Shawkat, Syria's military intelligence chief and the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Still walking because Assad knows where his family lives. Works every time.
His successor, Belgian Judge Serge Brammertz, has avoided naming anyone but has described a very complex operation and said he is following many new leads. Smart man. Good survival instinct.
Four Lebanese generals, top pro-Syrian security chiefs under Lahoud including his Presidential Guard commander, have been under arrest for 14 months, accused of involvement in Hariri's murder. Hopefully they'll remain in custody at least until this trial is over. Unless AI gets its way.
Pro-government groups in Lebanon, who accuse Syria in the slaying of Gemayel and other anti-Syrian figures, have warned that more government ministers may be targeted for assassination to deny the Cabinet the legal two-thirds quorum of 16 needed to approve the court. Syria has denied the accusations and condemned the killing. Well, it's what the dolts in the Lebanese government asked for, isn't it?
(KUNA) -- South Korea has decided to send about 400 troops, mainly Special Forces, to Lebanon to take part in a multinational peacekeeping operation there, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported Friday, citing defense sources. The Defense Ministry plans to submit a bill for the troop dispatch to the National Assembly early next month after securing approval from a Cabinet meeting, said the report. "The battalion-size contingent, consisting of 270 Special Forces as well as 130 medics, transportation, and administrative soldiers, will be contributed to the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon," a defense source was quoted as saying.
The exact timetable and location for the deployment will be decided after consultation with the UN, which will bear all the costs necessary for dispatching and maintaining the troops in Lebanon. It remains to be seen whether it will be possible to gain parliamentary approval for sending the troops to Lebanon at a time when calls are mounting for the withdrawal of the South Korean troops stationed in Iraq, it said. The ruling Uri Party voted earlier Thursday to adopt the party line of presenting a pullout timeline to the National Assembly. The Zaytun unit, meaning "olive" in Arabic, has been deployed to help reconstruction efforts in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2006 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
If NATO were to allow Afghanistan to fall under Taliban rule again, the country would become a black hole for terrorism training, the alliances Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said, according to The Daily Telegraph on Friday. 
The US and NATO face a snowballing war in Afghanistan and will suffer a military disaster unless they back peaceful means to end the conflict, NWFP Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Orakzai said on Friday. 
(KUNA) -- A Sudanese policeman was killed and three of his colleagues were injured in clashes with gunmen 
(KUNA) -- The United Nations High Coommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Friday that more than 22,000 people have crossed the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen this year in smugglers' boats. According to UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond at least 355 died making the perilous voyage and more than 150 are missing. About half of those arriving on the coast of Yemen eventually sought and received assistance from UNHCR upon arrival.
Australia has no plans for setting a timeline for the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said Thursday. 
WASHINGTON The Marine Corps may need to increase in size to sustain deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan without sacrificing needed training or putting undue stress on the corps, the new Marine commandant said Wednesday. At a meeting with reporters, Gen. James Conway also warned that it could take years to adequately train and equip the Iraqi security forces longer, perhaps, "than the timeline that we probably feel ... our country will support."
The Kohat political administration has arrested Haroon Rashid, a former member of the National Assembly from Bajuar Agency and a Jamaat-e-Islami leader. 
Radical anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's political bloc, a key player in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government, threatened on Friday to withdraw from the cabinet and parliament if Maliki met U.S. President George W. Bush as planned in Jordan next week. "We asked Maliki to cancel his planned meeting with Bush because there is no reason to meet with the criminal who is behind terrorism in Iraq," Faleh Hasan Shanshal, a senior official in Sadr's movement, told Reuters. "We will suspend our membership of the cabinet and parliament if he goes ahead," he said.
Hamas accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday of imposing what it called unacceptable new conditions for forming a unity government. 
GAZA CITY - A proposal from Palestinian factions to stop rocket attacks in exchange for an end to Israeli offensives in Gaza and the West Bank was rejected as inadequate by Israel on Friday. Just hours after a spokesman for the ultra-radical Islamic Jihad made the offer following an overnight meeting between rival factions, a Hamas militant was killed during ongoing Israeli operations in the northern Gaza Strip.
Syria suggested Friday it may not cooperate with a planned international tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri because Damascus was not consulted on the plan, according to a letter circulated at the U.N. 
