Taliban insurgents said on Saturday they might join proposed tribal councils aimed at ending mounting violence in Afghanistan, if they were asked.
Afghanistan and Pakistan plan separate and joint councils, or jirgas, in both countries in a bid to stem insurgency. But they have not agreed on who will take part, and where or when the jirgas will be. Key government and political leaders on both sides say at least moderate elements of the resurgent Taliban must be included in any talks to end the fighting.
The Taliban are Afghanistans biggest political and military power and without them no system will succeed, Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said by satellite telephone from Quetta a secret location.
The Taliban are Afghanistans biggest political and military power and without them no system will succeed, Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said by satellite telephone from a secret location.
Kabul has several times offered talks with the Taliban, subject to strict conditions such as the abandonment of all foreign support, which the guerrillas have rejected each time.
Yousuf said the Taliban had not been invited to the jirgas. He said if they were, they would set conditions. So far, it appears that it is only a government-level jirga between Pakistan and Afghanistan. If any group is ignored, it will be nothing but a political meeting, Yousuf said. Those who call the Taliban weak are foolish. The aim of the jirgas along the uncontrolled frontier is to unite tribal elders divided by colonial boundaries and revitalise local and traditional rule where government rule is useless.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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Pakistan has handed over written proposals on peace jirgas to Afghan authorities and expects proposals from Kabul soon, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said on Saturday. Proposals from Afghan side are expected to be received today or tomorrow, he told journalists at Chaklala Airbase after his return from Kabul. Kasuri said the traditions and circumstances of Pakistan and Afghanistan were different and the need was to evolve a mechanism that could help combat terrorism. Islamabad has already submitted its proposals in accordance with its environment while their proposals are being given in the light of their own security situation, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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Photo credit: Michael Yon. All rights reserved.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The top U.S. anti-drug official said Saturday that Afghan poppies would be sprayed with herbicide to combat an opium trade that produced a record heroin haul this year, a measure likely to anger farmers and scare Afghans unfamiliar with weed killers.
John Walters, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, said Afghanistan could turn into a narco-state unless ``giant steps'' are made toward eliminating poppy cultivation. ``We cannot fail in this mission,'' he said. ``Proceeds from opium production feed the insurgency and burden Afghanistan's nascent political institutions with the scourge of corruption.'' Yup, but I don't think this is going to work. Cut the yield and the price goes up. We all know what happens next.
Afghans are deeply opposed to spraying poppies. After nearly three decades of war, Western science and assurances can do little to assuage their fears of chemicals being dropped from airplanes. Because of those fears - and because crop dusters could be shot down by insurgents - spraying would need to be done on the ground.
The Afghan government has not publicly said it will spray, and President Hamid Karzai has said in the past that herbicides pose too big a risk, contaminating water and killing the produce that grows alongside poppies.
But Walters said Karzai and other officials have agreed to ground spraying. ``I think the president has said yes, and I think some of the ministers have repeated yes,'' Walters said without specifying when spraying would start. ``The particulars of the application have not been decided yet, but yes, the goal is to carry out ground spraying.'' Using bottles of Roundup. Small bottles. With hand triggers.
Gen. Khodaidad, Afghanistan's deputy minister for counter-narcotics, said the government hadn't made any decisions yet. But a top Afghan official close to Karzai said the issue was being looked at closely. ``We are thinking about it; we are looking into it. We're just trying to see how the procedure will go,'' said the official.
Opium production in Afghanistan this year rose 49 percent to 6,700 tons - enough to make about 670 tons of heroin. That's more than 90 percent of the world's supply and more than the world's addicts consume in a year. That's a lot of heroin. You could spray and kill a third of the crop and it wouldn't matter. And you're not going to get 90% of the crop.
A U.S. official who asked not to be named told The Associated Press last month that if Afghans don't spray in 2007 ``there's going to be a lot of pressure on the government for spraying ... a lot of pressure from the U.S.''
At the news conference Saturday, Walters tried to emphasize to the largely Afghan media members in attendance that spraying was perfectly safe. He said the herbicide glyphosate - sold commercially in the United States under the name Roundup - would be used, and that it was a safe and common weed killer.
He said the U.S. uses glyphosate to spray marijuana plants in Hawaii and that it's also used against coca plants in Colombia. ``We are not experimenting on the people of Afghanistan,'' he said. ``We are not using a chemical that has a history of questionable effects on the environment.'' Umm, okay, but you try explaining that to the farmers in the hinterlands.
Walters said he didn't expect the fight against poppies ``to be a one-year success story.'' A recent U.N. report said it would take a generation - 20 years - to defeat the drug trade in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
President Hamid Karzai has said in the past that herbicides pose too big a risk, contaminating water and killing the produce that grows alongside poppies
I thought roundup was a biodegradable superfertilizer that made plants outgrow their skin or something. Not an issue.
Contaminating the drinking water of people who don't report poppy growers? Not much. Don't care.
They hold the crops hostage with the poppies? Don't care.
Walters said he didn't expect the fight against poppies "to be a one-year success story."
Give people $10 for every acre of poppies they report and it will be.
A recent U.N. report said it would take a generation - 20 years - to defeat the drug trade in Afghanistan
Consider the source: The UN.
And supposing they are right: Better get busy now then.
#3
This is asinine. Only aerial spraying can control this. If they shoot at the ag planes, bring in Spectre Gunships and eliminate the rabble. A few encounters with the curtain of steel from the air and I think they'll back off.
#6
We don't even have to buy the crop. Legalize and regulate the sale of heroin and - at 10% its current street value - it can still be sold at a 1000% mark-up. This eliminates much of the street crime and burglary which is currently driven by people attempting to purchase a commodity whose price is grossly distorted by non-market factors. Once dealers can go to small claims court about problems with the re-up we eliminate much of the rest of the violence associated with the trade.
Once we have done this - and occupied the oilfields of western "Iran" and northern "Saudi" Arabia - we have cut off the finances for our enemies. No more international mosque building projects, no more Disneys in the desert and no more cash for jihad. Cheap drugs and cheap oil for everybody! Then come the hookers. Oh yes, the hookers.
#7
It would take 20 years for the UN to defeat the drug trade because it takes that long for them to talk the poppies to death.
The US War on Drugs is 35 years old. If the UN could do it in 20, more power to them. The difficulty is that the problem is in the demand, not the supply. The original big market for opium was China. They solved the demand side of the equation.
#9
#6 Ex - I'm all for legalizing drugs on two conditions:
1. Selling drugs to minors gets you a life sentence.
2. Drug addiction is NOT considered a disability and drug addicts get NO money from my pocket that I do not choose to donate the government. Let 'em live in the gutter. (While I'm dreaming, I'd like that applied to drunks, too.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/10/2006 9:29 Comments ||
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#10
Whatever happened to the research on fungi that attack the poppy plant?
Posted by: john ||
12/10/2006 10:41 Comments ||
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#11
If I recall correctly, residual Round-up (that which is not absorbed by the plants on which it is sprayed) breaks down to salt and water within days. (I'm not certain whether NaCl is meant, or another salt, perhaps one of Rantburg's chemists could chime in?) My co-chair for the elementary school's Nature Preserve, a charmingly classic tree hugger, used Round-up liberally whenever she was ready to turn the next patch of lawn into native prairie.
#12
Rodeo, which, IIRC, is also a Monsanto product, is the water/enviro safe alternative to Roundup. We use it to kill invasive non-native plants (Arundo Donax, Castor Bean, especially) as mitigation for our construction projects.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/10/2006 11:57 Comments ||
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#13
Glyphosate is the active agent in Roundup, which is structurally similar to amino acids.
It acts by inhibiting an enzyme in the pathway leading to biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids. Because this enzyme and pathway is unique to plants and microbes, glyphosate is not toxic to animals.
Lots of GM crops are engineered with enzymes that aren't affected by it, or with an extra enzyme that degrades it. But it should work just fine on Afghan poppies.
Respectfully, the drug legalization debate fades to irrelevance in this context. The Afghan heroin trade finances the enemy's capability to keep killing our soldiers, and that's all I care about. The Brits have been riding our asses for years to lay waste to the poppy fields, but we've dragged our feet, on the grounds that depriving the farmers of the income could drive them into the arms of the Taliban.
If we're damned if we do and damned if we don't, then it's about time we get our thumb out. I'm all for going Ye Olde British Empyre on their asses.
Scientists are developing a virulent fungus in an effort to combat the worldwide trade in heroin.
The fungus kills opium poppies, the raw material for the drug.
The UK Foreign Office has confirmed a report in The Sunday Times newspaper that Britain is helping to fund the biological research.
The programme is based in Uzbekistan, in central Asia, which borders the so-called "Gold Crescent" of countries that supply up to 90% of Britain's heroin.
The action comes after bumper harvests have seen the UK and much of western Europe flooded with cheap heroin. The street price has halved and seizures at ports and airports have risen sharply.
The Foreign Office was unable to confirm details of the report, but a spokeswoman stressed that work was "in its very early stages at the moment."
Spending so far was to "find out whether the project is viable," she added.
She could not confirm the report's claim that Britain had contributed $500,000 to the programme, a figure matched by the US.
But she did say the UK's share was part of its total contribution to the United Nations' Drug Control Programme, based in Vienna.
Britain would hope to unleash enough fungus to infect thousands of acres of poppies in grown in the central Asia region.
America would be expected to deploy it in the "Golden Triangle" regions of south-east Asia, and South America, where most of its heroin originates, says the newspaper report.
It goes on to say that about 30 researchers - "some veterans of the secret Soviet biological weapons programme" - are working to refine new strains of the fungus and test them locally.
Posted by: john ||
12/10/2006 15:11 Comments ||
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Wait until the poppies have almost reached the maturity level needed to produce heroin, and then plow the fields with B-52s. I doubt many farmers are going to risk planting a second crop. Only have to do it once - even the remote POSSIBILITY of a second round would be enough to deter most people with an IQ above ambient temperatures in Greenland. In winter.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/10/2006 15:26 Comments ||
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#16
NO. NO. NO. Didn't we learn anything from Agent Orange and paraquat? Do the obvious things instead. Bomb Wazoo. Then send in some combines so we can harvest steal the crop for ourselves.
#17
I am for genetically engineering virus and fungus to attack opium poppies and coca. Only they can have the selectivity and persistence so, once an area is inoculated, drug production will be ruined for many years.
Posted by: ed ||
12/10/2006 17:45 Comments ||
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#18
Working - taking a break to get scores.
Solution: Finely powerdered plutonium/cesium/radoioactive-waste (or whatver glowy stuff) over the fields.
Spray once, dont have to worry about the drug trade nor the growers for hundreds of years. And we solve our nuclear waste problems.
#19
depriving the farmers of the income could drive them into the arms of the Taliban
OMFG. This has got to be one of the all-time most stupid arguments ever used on planet earth. What do you call these farmers anyway? In my opinion, they are Taliban. They raise money instead of carry a gun. What's so hard? Anybody throwing up this kind of argument is siding with the Taliban, they just haven't figured it out yet.
Duh. Clueless liberal-minded argument.
Here's a picture for the RB archives that we will probably be needing a lot soon.
#21
It is a stupid argument, gorb. But, as far as I understand from the 10th MTN folks who strongly favored the Brit approach, it's why we've been there for five years and are just now doing something about it.
I don't know who made the policy, but it sure as hell wasn't the US military. Typically, when we're forced to do something stupid, or restrained from doing something wise, I assume it came from State Dept. weenies. It would be interesting to know how they got overridden on this.
#24
Maybe the State Dep't has to go. Personally, I have never crossed paths with them and had anything go well.
I thought Bush has been saying that the military would get what it needs. It would be interesting what would happen if word of this kind of crap got out in a big way. It seems to me it wouldn't be too long before you'd have a supermajority clamoring for things like KC-10s full of Roundup or whatever to be headed for the gulf. Decisions like this do not reflect the way I think wars should be fought, and the military seems to meekly accept these lame decisions made by some PC pinhead somewhere who isn't connected to reality and grumble amongst themselves where it does no good. The pinhead probably forgets he put the policy in place and wonders why we aren't winning.
The terrorists' leaders probably look for weak points like this and shore them up with shields of some kind knowing those pinheads will take the bait every time. We have got to stop succumbing to this crap, and the MSM ain't helping so it must be part of the problem. We need more blogs until these boneheads are beaten into doing their job.
#25
Respectfully, the drug legalization debate fades to irrelevance in this context.
Respectfully disagree. Drug distribution is supporting too many terrorists around the world, Mexico, Columbia, probably Venezuela, North Africa. If we started effectively spraying the Afghan crop, Iran would probably begin cultivation.
Demand is the problem, not supply. We can't even keep drugs out of our highest security jails. Until we are willing to execute users, demand will be met in the richest country in the world.
Now as for going British on them, I'm not quite sure what that means. Frankly, I don't want to colonize them. I don't want to bring civilization to them. I don't want to convert them to Christianity. I'm perfectly happy to let nature take its course after our troops have swept through. If they can survive the brutal Afghan winter, more power to them. If not, too bad. And if they try to cross us again, we'll be back.
(SomaliNet) Authorities of the Islamic Courts Union in the capital have issued on Saturday an order suspending all traffic between Mogadishu and Baidoa cities in Somalia for security reasons - in response to TFGs similar banning of from Mogadishu. No car has this morning gone to Baidoa as result of the ban enforced by the Islamic Courts Union.
Sheik Mukhtar Robow known as Abu-Mansur, the deputy chief security of Islamic Courts Union told today the local media that the ICU officials have agreed on the move to stop traffic to Baidoa, the seat of the transitional federal government.
"We can not allow our people to travel to a city occupied by Ethiopian soldiers," Sheik Abu-Mansur said.
"We have taken the measure as security precautions because we can not allow our people to travel to a city occupied by Ethiopian soldiers," Sheik Abu-Mansur said. "By the time the TFG officials have already banned cars to Mogadishu, we then decided to block all vehicles travelling to Baidoa since there is a war tension,"
The decree which will affect all traffic to Baidao starts today, local Islamic officials said but they did not mention how long it will last. Islamic Courts Union which now controls much of southern and central Somalia banned fuel tankers and other Lories carrying fuel to enter Baidoa to impose sanction on the government last month.
Many passengers as well as drivers in the capital who prepared for travelling to Baidoa have cast their complaints saying that they were very sorry about the decision by the Islamic Courts to suspend travel within the country. "As you see here are the travellers and we can not set off to Baidoa because of the ICU's move to ban the journey... this outlaw is really a problem to our job," Yusuf Abbas, one of the drivers told Somalinet correspondent in Mogadishu. Earlier the local authority in Baidoa issued a decree banning all small cars to enter Mogadishu for security points.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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Blah, blah, blah. So get it on, biatches, 'splode already.
RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi King Abdullah opened the annual summit of Gulf leaders with a warning that the Arab world was on the brink of exploding because of conflicts in the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Lebanon.
"Our Arab region is besieged by a number of dangers, as if it was a powder keg waiting for a spark to explode," he told the rulers of the oil-rich monarchies gathered in Riyadh for a two-day meeting to the backdrop of mounting sectarian violence in neighboring Iraq.
Hundreds of troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be awarded millions of pounds in compensation following a ruling by the Government that they are victims of crime not war.
Forty injured servicemen are to receive payments of up to £500,000 each in a series of test cases. This is expected to lead to claims from hundreds more of the estimated 1,000 troops injured in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.
Payments will be made on a "sliding scale" of about £1,000, for a small facial scar, up to a maximum of £500,000, for the loss of a limb. The ruling was agreed, it is understood, after Government lawyers raised fears that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) could be subject to a legal challenge by troops claiming they were victims of crime because they were wounded in Iraq after the end of "at war" hostilities in May 2003.
All those injured fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, but who have decided to remain in the Army, could be entitled to lodge claims with the newly revised Armed Forces' Criminal Injury Compensation (overseas) scheme.
This is similar to that run by the Home Office, which makes payments to the victims of crimes such as muggings, rape, burglary and robbery. Troops will be informed officially of the new policy in the next few weeks and the first payments will be made in early spring.
Until now, the MOD has paid "criminal" compensation only for incidents where troops were injured in "civilian situations" such as a fight in a nightclub while off-duty.
Those injured in Northern Ireland during the Troubles were also eligible for such compensation because it was deemed that the terrorists attacking them were criminals and not enemy combatants in a conventional war.
The new ruling and expansion of compensation to the Iraq and Afghan conflicts means insurgents or terrorists launching surprise attacks and sabotage missions are also regarded as criminals and not enemy troops. It is thought the only circumstances where troops injured in Iraq and Afghanistan would not be eligible for criminal compensation is when they were involved in pre-arranged, offensive operations directly targeting insurgents.
But most casualties in Iraq have received their wounds through car bombings, sniping and rocket attacks circumstances not dissimilar to most attacks sustained in Ulster. Defence sources say the ruling reflects the changing nature of the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although both theatres of conflict are described frequently as war zones, in strict legal terms British troops are not at war.
The revelation of the Government decision follows demands from MPs, military chiefs and the public, as well as a campaign by The Sunday Telegraph, for the Government to provide the Armed Forces with better pay, accommodation and medical care.
Defences sources have admitted that the awarding of compensation will be "complex and difficult", with evidence being presented to the panel by the serviceman's commanding officer.
Under the revised MoD compensation scheme, all wounded troops will be given legal advice from government lawyers as to whether their injury was as a result of a crime or of war. Those deemed to have been injured through "criminal acts" will be able to lodge compensation claims that will be assessed by a panel comprising a senior military officer, civil servants and a civilian.
The scheme will be open to troops who stay in the forces. Those who are medically discharge will receive war pensions, as is already the case.
It is understood that Major David Bradley, who was severely injured in August 2004 in an ambush in Basra, southern Iraq, is one of those about to receive compensation.
Major Bradley, who was the commander of B company, the 1st Bn the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, almost died as he took the full blast of a rocket-propelled grenade during an operation to rescue nine comrades.
An MoD spokesman said: "Ensuring that we obtain the best for our soldiers has meant that the criteria under which normal claims are submitted have had to be better defined. It is anticipated by early spring claims will be paid."
With competing squads of imams and mullahs roaming about the country claiming to speak on behalf of authority while each gives contradictory opinions on martyrdom, the yutes might just throw up their hands and become Unitarians.
A new round of six-party talks on ending North Koreas nuclear arms programme may begin on Dec. 16 in Beijing, according to a proposal by host China, which may make a formal announcement soon, media reports said on Saturday. There have been no talks since Pyongyang walked out of the negotiations with South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States a year ago. The reclusive communist state agreed to return to the table last month after a wave of international condemnation over its Oct. 9 nuclear test.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe this is the moment we all have been waiting for, where we can dust off the Kimmie Rantburg Snark Machine. Remember those days when we gave the KCNA rants scores like ice skating competition judges? *Sigh* I miss those golden daze....one can only hope for a revival of those magic moments......
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/10/2006 13:05 Comments ||
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#2
Their lips will be flappin',
but nothing be happenin'.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was visiting Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman said, a day after an emotional farewell at the Pentagon. "He's there to express his appreciation to the troops and to thank both the troops and their families for the sacrifices they are making," said Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a Defense Department spokesman, on Saturday.
It was Rumsfeld's 15th trip to Iraq since the war began; he was last there in July. Rumsfeld's trip follows Friday's Pentagon farewell, where the defense secretary defended his record on Iraq and Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Fifteenth trip? Yesterday's CBS newsflasher was only aware of thirteen.
#2
Not having paid a lot of attention in the past, when Rumsfeld first showed up in the Bush administration, I figured he was just another policy wonk. Ha! I've become quite fond of the feisty sumbitch. The fact that he pissed off a bunch of retired generals is a big plus in my book.
Now is probably a good time for one last mention of the 1000 Fighting Styles of Rumsfeld. So long Rummy and thanks for all the transformation.
December 10, 2006: Billions of dollars has been spent on ways to defeat IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices, or roadside bombs), and there has been a lot of success in making these weapons less successful. Still, about a third of all casualties, and two-thirds of those killed in combat in Iraq, are the result of IEDs. One reason for the continued use of IEDs is that the teams of people who build, deploy and detonate the IEDs, are getting let out of jail.
On one level, this doesn't make sense, since the police are dominated by Kurds and Shia Arabs, while nearly all the terrorists are Sunni Arabs. And then there are the Shia death squads. How is a captured terrorist going to survive all this? It's all about corruption. Many jailers and judges are willing to take a bribe to let terrorists free. This move, by a Shia Arab judge, would seem insane, until you consider that judges taking bribes is an ancient Iraqi tradition (predating Islam), and by taking the bribe, the judge is less likely to be killed by Sunni Arab terrorists. That's because the terrorists want to keep "friendly" judges on the job.
Another problem is that in places like Western Iraq (Anbar province), everyone, including the police and judges, are Sunni Arabs. The local population is too hostile for Shia or Kurdish cops to survive. As long as the terrorists can convince the authorities that only Americans are being attacked, and a bribe is paid (or some tribal influence applied), you can walk. Terrorists who kill civilians, or Iraqi security personnel, are another matter. These guys have a much more difficult time bribing their way out.
The government also likes to practice another ancient local custom; the mass release of prisoners (to get a quick shot of popular support). Most of the people locked up are considered "innocent" by their extended families, so these mass releases are popular. But a lot of the technical people involved in building and deploying IEDs, get cut loose as well. As a result, American troops have noted an increase in attacks against them after each of these mass releases (there have only been a few).
And then there are the politically connected. Many Shia death squad members have been arrested by U.S. troops. Most of them quickly walk, since these thugs are heroes to some 80 percent of Iraqis (the Kurds and Shia). The death squad goons are also well connected politically, since most operate under the protection of one Shia political party or another.
U.S. troops are particularly vexed with this because, before the Iraqis got back control of their prisons, American interrogators could often get useful information out of captured terrorists. The Iraqis can still do that, if the suspect doesn't bribe his way out of jail, or get released because of influential patrons.
American troops have ROE (Rules of Engagement) which make it difficult to just be a little more deadly when making arrests. A bribe to a judge or prison guard won't help a dead terrorist. However, particularly interesting captives will sometimes be detained by U.S. intelligence personnel for a while, in an attempt to get information. American interrogators still have some tricks they can use to make these guys talk. But eventually, the captives have to go to the Iraqi police. In some cases, U.S. troops can offer to release a prisoner, who (as a notorious Sunni Arab killer) faces certain death at the hands of the police. In exchange for really useful information, of course. This sort of thing is rare, but there are still big fish out there that are worth taking extraordinary measures to bring in.
Corruption in general, has always been a major problem in Iraq. Not even Saddam was able to eliminate it. In fact, Saddam made the corruption another one of the tools he used to control the country. But democracy and corruption do not get on well, and that is being demonstrated in Iraq.
Australia would not imbed troops with Iraqi forces as part of a withdrawal strategy for coalition forces in Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday. "Given the size of our force ... it's not a realistic thing and we don't have any current proposals to increase the size of our commitment."
"The best thing we can do is to go on for the time being doing what we've already done and that is help with training and have an over watch role in those southern areas of Iraq," he added.
Australia has a combined force dedicated to the Iraq region of more than 1,300 including air force and naval personnel. Howard has refused to set a date for their withdrawal
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD - Leaders of Iraqs restive Sunni province of Al Anbar vowed Saturday to finish off Al Qaeda insurgents in their area but pleaded with US authorities to end air strikes in the region. Al Qaeda is just a term ... we will kill anyone who kills our innocents, said Abdel Salam Abdullah, the head of the Anbar provincial council. Big talk, little man. Start doing it and we'll be impressed.
Some 25 tribes from Anbar, known as a hotbed of anti-US insurgents, have come under attack from Al Qaeda linked fighters after they switched sides and joined sides with the government and US forces to fight the militants. The tribes have formed an alliance -- the Anbar Awakening -- to take on Al Qaeda militants and have formed their own paramilitary units. Likely not well trained and also not constrained by the Geneva Conventions, or the ACLU.
But Abdullah said the province was not receiving enough help from the government and US forces and called for more funding.
Abdullah, who was in Baghdad for a provincial council meeting with US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters that efforts to fight the insurgency were hampered by US air strikes that alienate civilians. We frankly urged the ambassador to stop these air strikes as many civilians are getting killed and there are many other ways to fight terrorists, he said. Yup, lots of ways, why don't you show us a couple?
The governor of the province, Maamun Sami Rashid, also demanded more funds to carry out economic projects in the province, saying there were 200 economic projects currently underway in Anbar.
Iraqs defence ministry meanwhile praised Anbars tribal leaders. The work done by the council is magnificient and the situation is better now. There are many regions that are liberated from terror, ministry spokesman Mohammed Al Askari told state television. He said the government was working on plans to further improve the situation. We are sure the impact will be seen early next year, he added. Quickest way for you guys to persuade us to leave is to get your province under control. Our Marines don't particularly want to be in Anbar. Whack the jihadis for us and we'll be happy to pull out.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
These guys have no concept of decisive victories. Their societies "thrive" under low-level, festering conflicts.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called for more dramatic measures to be taken against Iran and declined to rule out a military attack against Tehran in an interview with Germanys Spiegel magazine.
Olmert criticised the international communitys hesitation in dealing with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The West fears Irans nuclear programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons but Tehran denies this. I am anything but happy, Olmert was quoted as saying in an interview released ahead of publication on Sunday. I expect significantly more dramatic steps to be taken. Here is a leader who says openly that it is his aim to wipe Israel off the map. Israel is a member of the United Nations. That someone says such a thing these days is absolutely criminal. When asked if he would not rule out a military strike against Tehran, Olmert replied: I rule nothing out.
Olmert repeated he was prepared to withdraw from the majority of settlements in the occupied West Bank. A prime minister should not make promises that he cannot keep but my message is clear: I am prepared to give up regions. That means that I am ready to evacuate territories. You know how hard this is, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Every PM of Israel, sooner or later, realizes that we're on our own. And then we've new elections.
#8
After his performance against Hizb'Allah, why would one look for vertebras? "prepared to give up regions" sounds like "prepared to surrender and die".
#13
Well, if he did evacuate the West Bank territories and the violence against Israel continued, some people might learn who's who in this fight. But my fear is the Arabs would rubs their hands together in glee, and go for Jerusalem. And all the liberal dummies would say, "Yah, yah, go for Jerusalem. Stop the Israeli "occupation" of Jerusalem."
What the Arabs are really after in the Middle East is Israel's infrastructure and devlopment. Follow the money . . .
#14
Take a look at a map of Israel and see what they are up against. The country at is narrowist is onlay a few miles. One mistake and they are cut in two. Land for peace with hostile groups like Fatah, Hamas, al Aksa, et all is suicide on the installment plan. Where is Netinyahu? Isreal needs a leader, not a chump.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/10/2006 13:12 Comments ||
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#15
O goody. Ohlmert's trying to make us think he's not a puss again.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/10/2006 17:10 Comments ||
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#16
O goody. Ohlmert's trying to make us think he's not a puss again.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/10/2006 17:10 Comments ||
Top||
#17
Who the hell is listening to Olmert now ?
The US was his last hope. The UN doesn't like Israel, they aren't listening. The EU doesn't like Israel, they aren't listening. The democrats aren't listening, unless he can buy votes with lots of untracable cash.
His only logical move is to resign. But then, idiots are not logical.
#20
Ex-lib: What the Arabs are really after in the Middle East is Israel's infrastructure and devlopment. Follow the money . . . is, in my opinion, incorrect.
Should the paleos ever get Israel, they would do the same thing with that infrastructure as what they did in Gaza - totally destroy the infrastructure in an orgy of mindless violence and thievery as is their wont. Plus, all that infrastructure was owned, built and operated by Joooos and they can't allow that to exist. Worthless fucktards all.
Israel has not decided whether to grant visas to members of a UN fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip led by South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, diplomatic officials in Jerusalem said on Saturday night.
Tutu was to begin leading a six-member team this weekend in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun investigating the botched shelling that killed 19 people in Beit Hanun on November 8. "A decision on visas is pending," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. "[The decision] is not about [Tutu] the person, but the process is extremely problematic, because it singles out Israel for special treatment and uses a human rights agenda to bash Israel."
Government officials said last week they would not cooperate with the mission, but would not bar entry into the country of Tutu, a longtime critic of Israel. They said Tutu, who won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his anti-apartheid efforts, was by no means "persona non-grata" in Israel.
The 47-nation United Nations Human Rights Council asked Tutu to report back by mid-December, assessing the situation of the Beit Hanun victims, addressing the needs of survivors and making recommendations on ways to protect Palestinian civilians against further Israeli attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
And old Jewish saying.
"He hit me with a brick, so I slapped him with a newspaper".
#2
I don't think members of fact-finding missions should be wearing tutus. I mean, this diplomacy biz is supposed to be like, all serious and stuff. Next thing you know, the uniform of the day at the UN will be clown suits.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that he has decided to call early elections after the breakdown of national unity talks with Hamas. Abbas, who was speaking at an emergency meeting of the PLO executive committee, did not say when the vote would take place. But aides said the election could be held as early as March. The committee recommended that Abbas dismiss the Hamas-led cabinet and call early elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council and the PA presidency.
As the meeting was under way, hundreds of PA security officers and Fatah gunmen went on a rampage in several locations in the Gaza Strip, demanding unpaid salaries and calling for the government to be replaced. The protesters exchanged gunfire with guards stationed outside the PLC offices in Gaza City. Two people were wounded. Palestinian journalists covering the demonstration were severely beaten by the protesters, who also smashed windows and furniture. One journalist, Zuhair Dawlah, said he was beaten "in all parts of the body" by several officers who also confiscated his cellular phone.
The riots later spread to Khan Yunis and Rafah, where hundreds of officers blocked main roads with burning tires and shot into the air. "We only want our salaries," said policeman Ayman Hamideh. "Our protests are not related to the tensions between Hamas and Fatah. We are approaching the Id al-Adha [the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice] and we can't afford to buy our children clothes and toys."
Hamas leaders said Abbas and his Fatah party were behind the protests, which they described as an attempt to overthrow the PA government. "These demonstrators don't represent all the Palestinian civil servants," said Ahmed Bahar, deputy speaker of the PLC. "This is just a small group of thugs who are trying to spread chaos and intimidate the people."
He accused the protesters of shooting at the PLC office and threatening the lives of guards, employees and legislators. Hamas legislator Ismail Ashkar held Abbas responsible for the attack, noting that this was not the first assault of its kind on the PLC. "Abbas is the commander-in-chief and he's responsible for the actions of his security forces," he said. "Abbas and all those around him who are trying to bring down the Hamas government are responsible for the growing state of anarchy and lawlessness."
Ashkar also accused former PA security minister Muhammad Dahlan of leading a group of Fatah activists who were trying to stage a coup. "He is exploiting the plight of the unpaid civil servants to trigger civil war," Ashkar said. "He and his friends are exploiting the naivete of many security officers to settle personal scores and spread confusion."
Another Hamas legislator, Yehya Musa, said the latest protests were part of a well-planned scheme designed to bring down the government. "Ever since Hamas won the election [in January], we have faced repeated attempts to overthrow the democratically elected government," he said. "Those who have been robbing the Palestinians for many years are trying to come back to power."
PLO officials told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas would deliver an "important speech" later this week in which he would call for early elections. "The PLO executive committee today urged President Abbas to use his powers to call early parliamentary and presidential elections," said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the executive committee. "The president will announce his final decision within five days."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday night decried the PLO Executive Committee's proposal to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to call for early elections in the PA. In an interview with an Iranian television network, Haniyeh said that early elections would escalate the crisis and increase the tension in the Palestinian Authority.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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December 9, 2006: High resolution radar is being installed in a Global Hawk UAV. This Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar consists of thousands of tiny radars that can be independently aimed in different directions. An AESA radar was used on the JSTARS aircraft, enabling it to locate vehicles moving on the ground. A new AESA radar for JSTARS enables them to spot smaller, man sized, objects. AESA type radars have been around a long time, popular mainly for their ability deal with lots of targets simultaneously, and produce a more accurate picture of what is out there.
A sufficiently powerful AESA radar can also focus enough energy to damage aircraft or missiles. The U.S. has already been doing this with the high-powered microwave (HPM) effects generated by similar AESA radars used in F14, F35 and F22 aircraft. This is sort of like the EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) put out by nuclear weapons. AESA has demonstrated that it can disable missiles and aircraft. AESA in a Global Hawk could disable electronics on the ground.
The air force has said that the larger AESA radar it plans to install on its new E-10 radar aircraft would be able to zap cruise missile guidance systems up to 180 kilometers away. The E-10 AESA is several times larger than the ones found in fighters and the Global Hawk, so make your own range estimates.
#4
More importantly, this may be able to be used for frying the cell phones being employed as triggers for IEDs. Too bad there's not some convenient way of mapping high signal absorption points to chart buried IEDs once their triggers have been fried. Similarly, this may also be able to kill cell phones used by terrorists as walkie-talkies. The fact that it can neutralize the guidance packages of some AA platforms is merely a bonus.
#5
The US needs to be very careful about using such means to fry electronics, because the Russians learned long ago, that old-fashioned tubes are far more resistant to such radiation; so they put tube electronics in high performance aircraft to protect them from EMP.
It would be a real drag if all of a sudden the enemies' electronic signatures remained loud and clear, when you expected them to be subdued.
#7
... old-fashioned tubes are far more resistant to such radiation; so they put tube electronics in high performance aircraft to protect them from EMP.
In a world that is increasingly dependent upon digital processing, conventional vacuum tubes cannot be configured into compact bulk arrays like the high speed microelectronic circuits required for tactical calculations in combat dog-fighting and target acquisition.
New advances in solid state circuit design, such as fast switching zener diodes and, more importantly, vacuum microelectronics can fabricate solid state vacuum tubes (see image below) on a microscopic scale that exhibit all of their more bulky brethern's resistance to EMP.
Vacuum Components & Circuits
SMD's edge emitters can be made into the main elements diodes, triodes (transistors), tetrodes - needed for integrated circuits. This technology makes possible for the first time true vacuum integrated circuits.
Wireless/High-Speed: SMD is developing vacuum transistors for high speed RF amplifiers elements. This technology has the potential for frequencies > 100 GHz.
Power Electronics: VME devices are similar to vacuum tubes in their ability to handle high power levels. SMD's devices can be formed into power electronic circuits.
Hardened Circuits:VME devices can withstand radiation and EMP (electromagnetic pulse) doses that would destroy semiconductor ICs. Interest in hardened circuits is increasing for defense, space and homeland security applications. SMD believes it has the most versatile, economical way to make invulnerable circuits.
Our ability to fabricate complex multimode mixed signal hybrid microelectronis of this sort is unparalelled by any other nation on earth. Such designs provide a degree of compactness, power efficiency, complexity and superior processing speed that conventional vacuum tubes cannot even dream of approaching.
#8
Ask old "dinnerjacket" in a couple of weeks after he's zapped for the second or third time. I'm sure the answer will be something like "wubba, wubba".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/10/2006 19:04 Comments ||
Top||
#9
STRATEGYPAGE > Chicoms-PLAN UNDER-WHELMED about new Type 093/094 SSN designs + operability. LOTSA $$$ REWORK likely iff to use as basis for 094-style SSBN/FBM hulls [first SSBN/FBM deployment planned for circa 2008].
*STAR WARS "EMPIRE" THEME NOW, BOYZ, WID FEELING > DA DA DA DA DU DEDA DU DEDA .................@
Annahar Lebanese daily reported in today's issue that Hizballah bought military uniforms in large quantities. The uniforms are of the same kind as those currently used by the Lebanese police and army. According Annahar's online affiliate, Naharnet:
Hizbullah purchased thousands of army and police uniforms from a local company trading with such items in south Lebanon.
The respected newspaper did not elaborate on its short report, which sparked concern in security circles that Hizbullah's trained and tested fighters might use the uniforms as disguise to attack the heavily-guarded government offices, which Saniora and his ministers have been using as residence, across the street from the angry protestors taking part in the city center sit-in.
A ranking security official told Naharnet, that a shipment of uniforms similar to what is used by the Lebanese army and police force has been "imported by a local merchant from India and was recently sold to a local faction."
This, the official explained, is "a very, very serious matter. It reminds us of the mysterious kidnapping in the 1980s of four professors from the U.S.-affiliated Beirut University College (BUC) which was carried out by armed elements wearing police uniforms and driving police vehicles."
A pro-Iranian faction had claimed responsibility for kidnapping the BUC professors.
The security official warned that if the army and police uniforms were used by "irregular factions, this would further escalate the ongoing confrontation and would lead us to facing a real threat of terrorism."
Lebanon you are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.....
Go correctly above all else
Placidly amid the noise and waste.
And remember what comfort there may be
In renting a piece thereof.
Avoid strong and assertive persons
Go to sleep.
Ro-tate your tires.
Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself
And heed well their humour
Even though they be big fat black turkeys.
Know how to kiss ass.....and when!
Consider that two wrongs never make a right
But that THREE.........do.
Wherever possible, put people on hold
and never hold a warrior's coat.
Be comforted that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment
And despite the changing fortunes of time,
There is always a big future in computer main-te-nance.
Chorus
Lebanon You are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not
The rest of us are laughing behind your back.
Remember the Crusaders.
Strive at all times to bend, fold, and scold the West.
Know yourself.
If you need help, call the 911.
Exercise caution in your daily affairs,
Especially with those persons closest to you.
That lemon in the comment section on your left, for instance.
Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls
Would scarcely get your feet wet.
Fall not in love therefore;
It will stick to your face.
Gracefully surrender the things of youth:
The birds, clean air, tuna, and conspiracies
And let not the sands of time
Get in your falafel.
Hire people with hooks and salad forks.
For a good time call the United Nations
Ask for "Kofi"
Take heart amid the deepening gloom
That your dawg is finally getting enough cheese.
And reflect that whatever misfortune may be your lot
It could only be worse in New Jersey.
Chorus
Lebanon you are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not
The rest of us are laughing behind your back.
Therefore, make peace with your god
Whatever you conceive him to be---
Hairy thunderer, cosmic muffin or Hizb'Allah
With all its hopes, dreams, promises and Israeli urban renewal
Lebanon continues to deteriorate.
GIVE UP!
Lebanon you are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not
The rest of us are laughing behind your back.
As to the uniforms. Why is this a problem? Lebanon's police and military need to purchase a clue and realize that Hezbollah is trying to get them all killed. The sooner these dumbfucks start snuffing Hezbollah ass, the quicker they'll have a chance of surviving the next round with Israel.
It's really the same story everywhere. People need to understand that having terrorists in your midst does one thing, IT GETS YOU KILLED. End of story.
Beirut - Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese opposition supporters, led by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, gathered Sunday in the central district of Beirut to take part in a mass rally to exert pressure on the anti-Syrian government to resign.
The demonstration comes on the 10th day of a sit-in outside the offices of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora. The Hezbollah-run al-Manar television station described the rally as a 'historic one which Lebanon has not witnessed before.'
Organizers estimated the crowd to be more than 1 million, but police on the ground questioned the figure, saying the two squares where the demonstration took place could not hold so many people especially as tents had been set up there. Most of the roads leading to the squares were blocked to traffic.
'Death to America, death to Israel,' Hezbollah's deputy chief Sheikh Naeem Kassem shouted to the protestors, many of whom were waving Lebanese flags. Yawn. Can't they be more original than that? It's so .. 1979.
Kassem called on Seniora to resign 'either tonight or tomorrow' and stressed that the protests would continue and that the protestors would 'not be tired.' He accused the government of taking 'Lebanon towards the American hegemony.' If he had accused the govnerment of 'taking Lebanon towards American citizenship', 99% of the mob would have dropped to their knees in thanksgiving, shouting hallelujahs.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday not to give in to international pressure calling on Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist until Jerusalem is rightfully returned to the Palestinian people. Haniyeh, presently in Iran, thanked the president for his support in Hamas's government.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Sure thing. How the PA's "representatives" treated the Church of the Nativity gave us all solid proof of their qualifications to manage Jerusalem. I'd sooner see the whole place engulfed in nuclear fire than ever have it fall into the hands of Islam.
#2
Islam founded Jerusalem. It must be returned. I also want to see all lands that were Christian before Islam took over, returned to Christian authorities.
#12
Israels Arab-Muslim neighbors decades ago rejected any compromise option on Jerusalem, including turning Jeruslam into a de facto International City. And the Israelis have not forgotten that Muslim-controlled sction/parts of Jersualm as per BALFOUR were used to undermine and attack the new Israeli Govt + other targets.
THE ONLY THING MOUD IS SAYING HERE BY NOT SAYING IT IS THAT ARAB/PALEO vs ISRAELI VIOLENCE AND CONFLICT MUST GO ON, UNTIL ISRAEL IS DESTROYED.
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.
Taliban insurgents said on Saturday they might join proposed tribal councils aimed at ending mounting violence in Afghanistan, if they were asked. 
Pakistan has handed over written proposals on peace jirgas to Afghan authorities and expects proposals from Kabul soon, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said on Saturday. Proposals from Afghan side are expected to be received today or tomorrow, he told journalists at Chaklala Airbase after his return from Kabul. Kasuri said the traditions and circumstances of Pakistan and Afghanistan were different and the need was to evolve a mechanism that could help combat terrorism. Islamabad has already submitted its proposals in accordance with its environment while their proposals are being given in the light of their own security situation, he said.
OMFG. This has got to be one of the all-time most stupid arguments ever used on planet earth. What do you call these farmers anyway? In my opinion, they are Taliban. They raise money instead of carry a gun. What's so hard? Anybody throwing up this kind of argument is siding with the Taliban, they just haven't figured it out yet.
RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi King Abdullah opened the annual summit of Gulf leaders with a warning that the Arab world was on the brink of exploding because of conflicts in the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Lebanon. 
A new round of six-party talks on ending North Koreas nuclear arms programme may begin on Dec. 16 in Beijing, according to a proposal by host China, which may make a formal announcement soon, media reports said on Saturday. There have been no talks since Pyongyang walked out of the negotiations with South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States a year ago. The reclusive communist state agreed to return to the table last month after a wave of international condemnation over its Oct. 9 nuclear test.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was visiting Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman said, a day after an emotional farewell at the Pentagon. "He's there to express his appreciation to the troops and to thank both the troops and their families for the sacrifices they are making," said Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a Defense Department spokesman, on Saturday. 
December 10, 2006: Billions of dollars has been spent on ways to defeat IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices, or roadside bombs), and there has been a lot of success in making these weapons less successful. Still, about a third of all casualties, and two-thirds of those killed in combat in Iraq, are the result of IEDs. One reason for the continued use of IEDs is that the teams of people who build, deploy and detonate the IEDs, are getting let out of jail. 
Many jailers and judges are willing to take a bribe to let terrorists free. This move, by a Shia Arab judge, would seem insane, until you consider that judges taking bribes is an ancient Iraqi tradition (predating Islam), and by taking the bribe, the judge is less likely to be killed by Sunni Arab terrorists. That's because the terrorists want to keep "friendly" judges on the job.
Australia would not imbed troops with Iraqi forces as part of a withdrawal strategy for coalition forces in Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday. "Given the size of our force ... it's not a realistic thing and we don't have any current proposals to increase the size of our commitment." 
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called for more dramatic measures to be taken against Iran and declined to rule out a military attack against Tehran in an interview with Germanys Spiegel magazine. 
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that he has decided to call early elections after the breakdown of national unity talks with Hamas. Abbas, who was speaking at an emergency meeting of the PLO executive committee, did not say when the vote would take place. But aides said the election could be held as early as March. The committee recommended that Abbas dismiss the Hamas-led cabinet and call early elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council and the PA presidency. 
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday night decried the PLO Executive Committee's proposal to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to call for early elections in the PA. In an interview with an Iranian television network, Haniyeh said that early elections would escalate the crisis and increase the tension in the Palestinian Authority.
December 9, 2006: High resolution radar is being installed in a Global Hawk UAV. This Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar consists of thousands of tiny radars that can be independently aimed in different directions. An AESA radar was used on the JSTARS aircraft, enabling it to locate vehicles moving on the ground. A new AESA radar for JSTARS enables them to spot smaller, man sized, objects. AESA type radars have been around a long time, popular mainly for their ability deal with lots of targets simultaneously, and produce a more accurate picture of what is out there. 
.JPG)
Beirut - Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese opposition supporters, led by the Shiite militant group 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday not to give in to international pressure calling on Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist until Jerusalem is rightfully returned to the Palestinian people. Haniyeh, presently in Iran, thanked the president for his support in Hamas's government.
