BRUSSELS - International forces are unlikely to win their battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan, risking a regional conflict that could match the magnitude of previous world wars, a former top U.N. envoy said on Wednesday.
Lord Paddy Ashdown -- former United Nations high representative and European Union special representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina -- said failure by the NATO-led force would have far wider repercussions than any losses in Iraq. He called for the appointment of a high-level coordinator to lead the foreign mission in Afghanistan.
Himself, of course, though he denies lusting for the job.
I think we are losing in Afghanistan now, we have lost I think and success is now unlikely, he told Reuters in an interview. I believe losing in Afghanistan is worse than losing in Iraq. It will mean that Pakistan will fall and it will have serious implications internally for the security of our own countries and will instigate a wider Shiite, Sunni regional war on a grand scale.
If indeed we were losing in Afghanistan it would indeed put pressure on the Paks, though the Paks are liable to go down anyways. But the notion that a terrorist group that has the support of a minority of the population is going to defeat the West is silly -- it happens only if we lose our nerve. Which Mr. Ashdown has already lost.
Some people refer to the First and Second World Wars as European civil wars and I think a similar regional civil war could be initiated by this (failure) to match this magnitude, Ashdown added.
The number of Taliban suicide attacks in Afghanistan -- more than 100 so far this year -- is set to top last years record of 123, the United Nations says, and most victims are civilians.
In a country of 25 million people, these are pinpricks: irritating and a little unnerving, but not a cause for surrender. Particularly in the Tajik and Uzbek regions and in the West around Herat, there's virtually no booms and no fighting. Those folks, sensible ones, are working on reconstruction and have the usual gripes about government and corruption. It's the Pashtun area, from Afghanistan to the Pak frontier and tribal areas, that is the problem. That wall Fred wanted to build is looking better and better ...
The Taliban have increased the number of suicide attacks after suffering heavy casualties in conventional clashes with foreign forces and the Afghan army, security analysts say.
Cause and effect, though Mr. Ashdown can't see it.
While Western forces, alongside the Afghan army, have claimed victories against Taliban rebels in the south, many remote areas and some towns remain under rebel control and insurgent attacks have also spread north to regions previously considered safe. Frustration with the government over the slow pace of development, official corruption and the lack of law and order have all played into rebel hands.
Ashdown, a former British Liberal Party leader, said there was a desperate need for somebody to coordinate the international efforts and called for the appointment of someone to lead the foreign mission in Afghanistan. Unless somebody has the power genuinely to coordinate and unify the international approach, we will lose and I think that is happening, he said.
Its not about who does the job unless it's me, but what is the job and if the international community has the will to put together a post which has the authority, including the Americans, then they must do it now if they are to stand any chance.
But Ashdown, who now heads the Brussels-based EU-Russia Centre think tank, had been tipped in some circles for such a role, but ruled himself out of the job. I never talk about approaches, but what I will say is that I have had many high-level jobs and I am not looking for any big jobs at the moment. I am happy doing what I am doing with Russia, he said.
He'd never do the job, unless he was asked ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Thanks to Ashdown, Bosnia has a 43.7% unemployment rate. I think we need this guy to do for Afghanistan what he has done for Bosnia. Not.
#2
ION, as per IRAN, FREEREPUBLIC > WHAT IRAN HAS TO FEAR IF HILLARY WINS THE PRESIDENCY. Hillary is the one that said "all options are on the table" and that if need be, she will "bomb Iran". WND.com > HUCKABEE > WAR ON TERROR CAN NOT + WILL NOT END IN A DRAW. IOW, USA + Amer Way wins, or it dies. LUCIANNE > A CLINTON TO REBUILD THE MILITARY. POTUS Bill killed it, POTUS Hillary may build it back up. Finally, also from LUCIANNE > JOHN KERRY'S TIME MAY HAVE COME AGAIN. The GOP has McCain and Ron Paul, the Dems KERRY and the GOREACLE, and thats not counting the Babe Wars [ THE GIRL FACTOR/GIRL WARS/GIRL FACTOR articles]. NO WORD YET ON THE STATUS OF EDWARDS aka so-called "SILKY/BRECK GIRL"???
#3
If we armed the Tadjiks and Uzbeks to wipe out the Pashtoons and carry off their women, would that be considered a win? Or would that be too ethnic for Lord Paddy?
Posted by: ed ||
10/18/2007 7:22 Comments ||
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#4
Paddy Ashdown was the titular head of the Liberal Party in the UK for many years. And one might say that he is an expert on failure, having dragged the party down on many an election night. However, I say he's a leftist on a par with the defeatocrat-appeasing 'RATs in this country.
#5
I seem to remember exactly the same talk immediately before the USAF, US special forces and a bunch of guys on horseback drove out the dreaded Talibunnies in, what, four weeks? Kipling take note.
#6
I suppose we can file this with the 'Dire Warning'[tm] issued by 'experts' who predicted mass starvation if the US invaded Afghanistan to being with.
#8
Some people refer to the First and Second World Wars as European civil wars and I think a similar regional civil war could be initiated by this (failure) to match this magnitude, Ashdown added.
Really? Who might those "some people" be?
UN, EU, Brussels think tank. There's a friggin hat trick.
#10
Imagine, if you can, a world wherein the top "international" posts are filled by intelligent, sane, morally unconfused people.
I know, it's hard.
Only the spectacular success of free markets, open political systems, and the valor and skill of the armed forces of free countries has made a world possible in which we have this endless, infuriating supply of worthless nitwits like Ashdown. Enough already.
Only 10 percent of the people of Afghanistan support the Taliban, while between 80 to 90 percent wish the Unites States to retain its presence in the country, a meeting on Afghanistan was told on Tuesday.
Peter Bergen, CNNs terrorism expert who has made frequent visits to the region, said that Afghans were generally optimistic about the future, despite many problems. He was of the view that the eight percent economic growth rate in the country is linked to the opium and drug trade. He found it mystifying that no one has so far made an attempt to identify who the drug barons are. It is time they are identified and exposed. He said much of the funding of the Taliban is being derived from drugs.
He also found that the amnesty programme for the Taliban has been a success. Quoting western military officials in Afghanistan, he said Mullah Omar is in Quetta. In 2006, precise information as to his whereabouts was allegedly provided to the Pakistani authorities but no action was taken. Right now, he added, a regional war is going on in the area. The Taliban and Al Qaeda appear to have joined hands, while Pakistan is suffering from the blowback effect of its past support of militant forces.
Report misquoted: Christine Fair, who recently spent four months in Afghanistan on a UN assignment, and who produced a report on suicide bombing, told the meeting held at the Heritage Foundation that out of the 130-page report that she wrote, the media has just picked up one bit, namely that 80 percent of the suicide bombers in Afghanistan came from Pakistan. That she later clarified was one opinion that she had heard and quoted. She said there is no basis, in the absence of proper data, to call the suicide bombers Pakistanis. She said she had met a failed suicide bomber who was from Sukkur, Sindh. Afghan investigations of these attacks were inadequate, she pointed out. Speaking about what has been called the cult of martyrdom, she said she had found no evidence of the cult in Afghanistan. She said it is only a small percentage of Afghans and Pakistanis that supports suicide bombings. She said in Waziristan, the Taliban are forcibly recruiting young boys for jihad. According to her, air strikes are not working and have only produced civilian casualties.
Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation pointed out that US military and economic efforts in Afghanistan need to be better coordinated. She said there has been reluctance on the part of Pakistan to go after extremist forces. The government has been holding back on operations in tribal areas because it is concerned about provoking a backlash in the army, which is 30 percent Pashtun. Despite the threat that Pakistan faces internally from extremism, as proved by the Lal Masjid episode, the government remains ambivalent. She said it should also be appreciated that Pakistan fears encirclement by India in the east and Afghanistan in the northwest. Pakistan is also afraid that once the crisis in the region is over, the US will quit, as it has done in the past after the ouster of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. She pointed out that in Pakistan, political leaders have failed to take a public position on the Taliban or on the issue of religious radicalism. Not much effort has been made to convince the public either about the danger that Pakistan faces because of terrorism and religious extremism. She said not all madrassas were jihadi nurseries but those that are must be closed down. She was also of the view that Washington should make it clear to Kabul that the Taliban should have no place in an Afghan government.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#3
Taliban being also a supremacist Pshtoon movement we can assume support for them is virtually nil between non-Pashtoons. So that means 30% between Pashtuns, around 50% in the tarditionalist provinces like Helmand and 75% in the districts who border Pakistan.
#4
There are 25 million Pashtuns in Pakistan, and I would venture to guess that 10% of them are opposed to the taliban. And that number may be a little on the high side.
#5
There are 25 million Pashtuns in Pakistan, and I would venture to guess that 10% of them are opposed to the taliban.
The day Pakistani Pashtoons consider themselves Pashtoon first and Mulim second (if at all) they will have no reason to remain in Pakistan. That is why the ruling Punjabis have done their utmost
to support Islamism between them.
#7
Agreed, LH. Fred's fence around Pashtunistan is looking better and better ...
By the way, welcome back!
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/18/2007 13:56 Comments ||
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#8
He found it mystifying that no one has so far made an attempt to identify who the drug barons are. It is time they are identified and exposed. He said much of the funding of the Taliban is being derived from drugs.
#10
Isn't it some sort of counterinsurgency tenet that you only need about 5% of the population to be committed to the insurgency to maintain hostilities? Ten percent sounds like enough to keep things boiling indefinitely, especially if it's highly concentrated in the southeast like everybody says.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/18/2007 18:30 Comments ||
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(SomaliNet) Kenyan special envoy to Sudan has pleaded with the countrys government and ex-southern rebels to start dialogue aimed at ending a crisis that threatens the landmark peace agreement.
Kenyan former president Daniel arap Moi made the appeal days after the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) withdrew from the government of national unity, accusing the National Congress Party (NCP) of balking in implementing the accord. "All parties are encouraged to exercise restraint, respect past commitment (to the agreement) and adopt the route to dialogue," Moi said in a statement.
"It is my genuine concern that failure to address the present crisis may lead to undesirable consequences in that country which will threaten peace and stability in the region and disrupt normal life," said the ex-president.
Moi, who launched the Sudan peace talks in 1994, called on the feuding sides "to embrace dialogue and reconciliation" that would lead to "an amicable solution... in the interest of the people and nation of Sudan."
"This is to remove all forms of suspicion that the spirit of equal partnership between the parties in the implementation of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is not being honoured," said Moi, who was appointed in July to monitor its implementation.
The SPLM recalled its ministers from the cabinet over what it called Khartoums failure to implement the 2005 peace deal that ended 21 years of fighting. At least 1.5 million people were killed and four million displaced.
On Tuesday, Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir reshuffled his cabinet in a bid to ease tensions that have alarmed foreign nations already grappling with a separate conflict in the countrys western region of Darfur.
Key in the reshuffle is the replacement of foreign minister, currently held by Lam Akol who is considered close to Beshirs NCP, and giving the post to Deng Alor.
But the SPLM has hinted rejoining the government if Beshir meets its demands, notably getting Khartoums troops out of the southern territory and resolving the status of disputed oil district of Abyei in central Sudan.
In September, the south Sudan government urged Moi to salvage the accord from unravelling, warning that the deal was being threatened by hardliners in NCP.
The peace deal also calls for 50-50 percent sharing of oil revenue and grants the south the right to vote in 2011 referendum whether it would secede or reunite with Khartoum.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 10:01 ||
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(KUNA) -- New hi-tech equipment to help British soldiers deal with roadside and suicide bombs was demonstrated in the UK Wednesday, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced. An IED (Improvised Explosive Device) simulator, which creates the noise and smoke of a real-life attack, was being used by soldiers on MoD training ground in Wiltshire, southern England.
"Go ahead and test it, Percy! I'll take notes!"
"No, you test it, Nigel, and I'll take notes!"
"Ummm..."
"Ummm..."
"Oh, Alistaire!"
The MoD said it has invested 250,000 pounds in developing the simulator to train soldiers to cope with the attacks, which have led to the injuries and deaths of many servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bob Ainsworth, Minister for the UK Armed Forces, said in a statement "This investment demonstrates our commitment to ensuring troops have the best training equipment and facilities. As the type of threat changes, we must be able to adapt our training to meet operational needs. This latest simulator does just that."
This article starring:
Bob Ainsworth, Minister for the UK Armed Forces
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
For one quarter of a million £s, I can simulate just about anything.
/leave request and arraignments for down-payment on comment thread plz.. boom!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
10/18/2007 4:55 Comments ||
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#2
Can we make the simulation more realistic by blowing up jailed jihadis??
MOSCOW (Rooters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that direct dialogue was a better way of easing the diplomatic crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions than the threat of military force or sanctions.
Putin, speaking at an annual question-and-answer session, brushed aside a reported plot to kill him on a visit to Tehran last week.
"Direct dialogue with the leaders of states around which certain problems accumulate is always more productive and is the shortest path to success, rather than a policy of threats, sanctions, and all the more so resolution by using force," he said.
#2
Too bad Putin hasn't studied much American history. He might have learned about an American president who said "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
MOSCOW (AP) - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the U.S. war in Iraq was a "pointless" battle against the Iraqi people, the latest jab at Washington from the increasingly confrontational Russian leader.
Speaking during an annual televised question-and-answer session, Putin was asked by a mechanic from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk for his thoughts on comments made several years ago by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who suggested that Siberia had too many natural resources to belong to one country.
"I know that some politicians play with such ideas in their heads. This, in my view, is the sort of political erotica that might satisfy a person but hardly leads to a positive result," Putin responded. "The best example of that are the events in Iraqa small country that can hardly defend itself and which possesses huge oil reserves. And we see what's going on there. They've learned to shoot there but they are not managing to bring order.
"One can wipe off a political map some tyrannical regime ... but it's absolutely pointless to fight with a people," he said. "Russia, thank God, isn't Iraq. It has enough strength and power to defend itself and its interests, both on its territory and in other parts of the world."
Putin opened the session by reeling off a string of statistics showing the improvement of Russia's economy in the seven years he has been in office. Much of the economic growth has been due to high world oil prices. He also said the country's birth rate was the highest it has been in 16 years and the death rate the lowest since 1999.
Thursday's sessionthe sixth Putin has participated in since coming to office in 2000, was broadcast live on state-controlled TV and radio stations. In past years, it has lasted several hours and consists of people from around the vast country asking the president selected questions mainly on bread-and-butter issues. A sampling of questions listed on a Web site set up by the broadcasters ranged from concerns about salaries for public sector workers to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and environmental worries.
Putin, who is widely popular among Russians for the stability and relative prosperity he has brought to the country, has sought to use phone-ins along with tightly choreographed, lavish television coverage to project the image of a leader responding directly to voters' concerns.
Last year Putin answered more than 50 questions in a three-hour session. Correspondents from the state-run networks chose questioners from among small crowds in towns and cities around the vast country; it was impossible to tell whether most questions were arranged in advance or if questioners were coached. Others phoned in, submitted questions by e-mail or sent text messages.
#1
Actually Russia is pointless. By 2050 it will be majority muslim, but expect jihad by 2030-40 as the muslim youth bulge feel their oats. That's assuming the Chinese don't reclaim more than Siberia and the Russian Far East. Putie, better marry off your grand daughters to some beer swilling German before they become concubines of some Turkic khan or Chinese mandarin.
He also said the country's birth rate was the highest it has been in 16 years and the death rate the lowest since 1999.
Yet deaths still exceed births by 700,000 a year. The rapid ethnic Russian population decline is partially hidden by the growing muslim population.
Posted by: ed ||
10/18/2007 7:05 Comments ||
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#2
Russians also have a split personality. It has long been said that a Russian is only honest when he acts like an Asian. When he tries to act like a European, you know he is trying to lie to you.
#12
Actually, as there seems to be some degree of success in Iraq and somewhat marginal success in Afghanistan, he's just envious, as Afhghnistan proved to be an abyssmal disaster for Rus.
#14
TOPIX/WORLDNEWS > PUTIN PROMISES TO UPGRADE RUSSIA'S NUCLEAR ARSENAL. Plus everything and anything else. Also has called for s strong Russian Parliament.
#3
There are certainly some distinct similarities that one can draw between China and their terrorist client state, Iran. Both have supremely eggshell-thin egos to the point where they become threatenedin the Politburo's caseby the most pacifistic man on earth, andin Iran's casesimple cartoons. If this doesn't tell you the enormity of the threat we face, you've probably already had a prefrontal lobotomy.
#7
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST/TOPIX > China claims Dubya's action vv DALAI LAMA has inflicted "GRAVE/SEVERE DAMAGE" to US-Chinese relations, that the USA is de facto interfering in Chinese affairs, and that the USA must immediately take steps to save US-Chinese relations or else face consequences.
Poor dog. Not easy being stuck with a name like that. by Allahpundit Not the sanest man in the world, but possibly one of the bravest. An English translation of his latest blog post, courtesy of reader Winston Churchill and cleaned up a bit by yours truly:
The logic and composition is crystal clear. The foundation for the whole roundaboutdog project was the exhibition in Tallerud which had the name The Dog in the Art. [Background here. ed.] Well, now is the time to introduce a new member of staff.
The artist Vilks has gotten himself a specially trained guard dog, the dog Muhammed, watching each and every movement 24 hours a day.
When you first get to know Muhammad she sure is likeable, yes, it is a she, but the genus perspective is just a mark. For those who do not know Muhammed, getting close should only be done after taking a lot of precaution.
She seems like every other dog with a bone on its favorite carpet. But nothing is as it appears.
Follow the link. She doesnt look too fierce, but then neither does he. Exit question: Whats liable to antagonize his persecutors more, the fact that hes named the dog Muhammed or the fact that hes named a female dog Muhammed?
Turkeys parliament resoundingly approved a motion on Wednesday allowing troops to cross into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels hiding there, brushing aside appeals from the United States and the Baghdad government.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has played down expectations of any imminent attack, but the parliamentary vote gives NATOs second biggest army the legal basis to cross the mountainous border as and when it sees fit. Ankaras stance has helped propel global oil prices to new record highs above $88 a barrel, though they eased on Wednesday.
This article starring:
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Stormbringer
The greenwood sighs and shudders,
the westwind wails and mutters
Grey clouds crawl across the sky,
the moon hides her face as the sunlight dies
And mankind soon shall realize
the bringer of storms walks tonight
CHORUS:
No mortal dare to meet the glare
of the Eye of the Stormbringer,
For he is the lightning slinger
the glory singer,
the gallows reaper
Upon his shoulder, ravens,
his face like stone, engraven
Astride a six-hoofed stygian beast,
he gathers the fruit of the gallows trees
Driving legions to victory
the bringer of war walks tonight
Republicans successfully maneuvered to derail a Democratic government eavesdropping bill Wednesday, delaying a House vote until next week at the earliest.
The bill, which seeks to expand court oversight of government surveillance in the United States, fell victim to a gambit by the chamber's Republican minority. Democrats were forced to pull the bill from the House floor with no certainty about how it might be revived.
A Democratic staff member said the bill will not be rewritten but substantive amendments may be allowed when it finally does come up for a vote, which is the Democrats' intention. The earliest that could happen is next week, as Thursday the House will be busy with an attempt to override a presidential veto of a children's health care bill.
The Democratic eavesdropping bill would have allowed unfettered telephone and e-mail surveillance of foreign intelligence targets but would require special authorization if the foreign targets were likely to be in contact with people inside the United States, a provision designed to safeguard Americans' privacy. Those so-called "blanket warrants" would let the government obtain a single order authorizing the surveillance of multiple targets.
Republican critics, however, said the blanket warrants would tie up intelligence agents in legal red tape, impeding them from conducting urgent surveillance of terrorist suspects. "Congress needs to move forward, not backward," President Bush said at a White House news conference as the debate in Congress began. Bush had vowed to veto the bill if it reached his desk.
The House's Democratic leaders pulled the bill after discovering that Republicans planned to offer a motion that politically vulnerable Democrats would have a hard time voting against. The amendment would have said that nothing in the bill could limit surveillance of Osama bin Laden and terrorist organizations. While Democrats say their bill already provides that authority, voting against the amendment could make it seem as though a member of Congress were against spying on al-Qaida.
Republicans sought to play down the amendment's role in causing the bill to be pulled. Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said the bill was losing moderate Democratic votes because it was fundamentally flawed.
Passage of the Republican amendment would have sent the bill immediately back to committee, effectively killing it. Key Democrats believed they were short of the votes needed to defeat the move. "Our proposal gives Democrats a very simple choice: They can allow our intelligence officials to conduct surveillance on the likes of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida or prohibit them from doing so and jeopardize our national security," said Republican leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio in a statement.
The Democratic bill had faced opposition from the left, as well. The American Civil Liberties Union has been waging a campaign against it, arguing it should require individual court orders every time an American's communications are intercepted. Some liberal Democrats shared those concerns, and "Republicans took advantage of a tenuous situation," said Caroline Fredrickson, ACLU's Washington Legislative director.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, argued that the bill carefully balances civil liberties with the need for speed and flexibility in spying on terrorists. The current surveillance law gave the government so many authorities "that people are not safe and secure in their own homes. The government can go in there and search computers and residences," Reyes said. "This legislation corrects the deficiencies."
Bush's veto threat came in part because the bill lacks retroactive immunity from lawsuits for telecommunications companies. They have been accused in about 40 civil suits of violating wiretapping and intelligence laws by secretly providing the government access to Americans' e-mails and phone records without court orders.
House Democrats have pledged that no immunity will be granted until the White House tells Congress exactly what the telecommunications companies did that requires legal protection. The administration contends that without immunity the companies could be bankrupted by legal penalties.
The Senate's version of the bill, expected to be released Thursday, is likely to include at least a limited immunity provision, according to sources close to the process who demanded anonymity because the measure was not final. The measures would amend the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which dictates when the government must obtain eavesdropping warrants from a secret intelligence court.
That law was last changed in August after the administration argued technological advances had made it too cumbersome and created a dire gap in its intelligence collection. The updated law allowed the government to eavesdrop without a court order on communications conducted by a person reasonably believed to be outside the U.S., even if an American is on one end of the conversation so long as that American is not the intended focus or target of the surveillance.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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Security screeners at two of the nation's busiest airports failed to find fake bombs hidden on undercover agents posing as passengers in more than 60% of tests last year, according to a classified report obtained by USA TODAY. OK, but how many nail files did they find?
Screeners at Los Angeles International Airport missed about 75% of simulated explosives and bomb parts that Transportation Security Administration testers hid under their clothes or in carry-on bags at checkpoints, the TSA report shows. They could do a much better job if they were allowed to join the SEIU
At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, screeners missed about 60% of hidden bomb materials that were packed in everyday carry-ons including toiletry kits, briefcases and CD players. San Francisco International Airport screeners, who work for a private company instead of the TSA, missed about 20% of the bombs, the report shows. The TSA ran about 70 tests at Los Angeles, 75 at Chicago and 145 at San Francisco. Private companies cheat.
The report looks only at those three airports, using them as case studies to understand how well the rest of the U.S. screening system is working to stop terrorists from carrying bombs through checkpoints. That is not the purpose of the program. It is designed to employ the unemployable.
'EXPLOSIVES' IN CARRY-ONS
Contraband carried by undercover agents posing as passengers at airport checkpoints:
Bomb residue on shoelaces
Detonator and explosives hidden in briefcase lining
Inert explosives inside CD players
Fake dynamite and timer in toiletry kit
Phony plastic explosive and battery inside hollowed-out book
Inert explosives and detonator in back support concealed by clothing
#1
These are bomb components. Those can be exponentially harder to spot, especially when disguised. But the headline sure sells a lot of dead trees.
Just bless your pointly little stars that YOU don't have to scan for those bomb parts. That job is thankless, boring and would drive me out of my gourd. If you think otherwise, apply for one of those positions and report back to us in a year.
I suspect that the sucess rate in the past was based on "whole" or "complete" devices and that the new trials are mostly components that can be re-assembled in flight. The two tests are NOT the same.
At some time there will be automated scanning that may improve the hits but I would be surprised if it is "perfect". Don't always blame the worker as it isn't always their fault. Policy, training (including recurrent training), equipment and proper staffing of the screening sites are all management responsibilities.
#3
It's like the great Doug Stanhope said (to paraphrase): "They can't keep knives out of prisons and there they look in you a$$." We do the best we can do at prevention at the gates, but maybe it's time to just take a bit of responsibility on the part of people who fly to look out for their own safety.
An independent government agency that monitors worldwide religious freedom will suggest today that the State Department shut down the 23-year-old Islamic Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia on the grounds it is fomenting hate and religious extremism.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which advises Congress, the State Department and the president on religious-freedom issues, has issued a 30-page document saying the Saudi Embassy, which operates the 933-student academy, is violating U.S. law. It will explain its findings at 10 a.m. today in Room 538 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Foreign governments can engage in nondiplomatic activity on American soil, the USCIRF points out, but cannot do so via their embassy, according to the 1982 Foreign Missions Act. The State Department can require an embassy to divest itself of property and close down any businesses not embassy-related.
Embassy spokesman Nail al-Jubeir did not return a call seeking comment. His brother, Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir, is chairman of the bilingual English/Arabic academy's board of directors.
At issue are textbooks the USCIRF says contain "highly intolerant and discriminatory language, particularly against Jews, Christians and Shi'a Muslims." Its findings are based on a three-year study of Arabic-language textbooks, some of them from the Saudi Academy, by the Center for Religious Freedom in the District.
The textbooks instructed students to "hate" Jews, Christians, "polytheists" and other "unbelievers," praised violent jihad as a "religious duty" and to believe as fact the anti-Semitic forgeries known as "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." Saudi officials said in response that the textbooks were being revamped and an official at the academy, who asked not to be named, said school textbooks were revised in 2006.
The USCIRF was rebuffed when it asked the embassy this summer to see copies of the new textbooks, spokeswoman Judith Ingram said. "We've simply gotten nowhere with our requests," she added.
The Saudi Academy is one of 20 international Saudi schools around the world. The Virginia academy's main campus is on Richmond Highway in Alexandria and a west campus for young children is on Popes Head Road in Fairfax. Twenty-eight percent of its students are Saudi citizens.
The USCIRF has long been critical of Saudi Arabia, and in 2004 it named the kingdom a "country of particular concern" in terms of religious-freedom violations. As a result, the Saudi government promised the State Department it would allow greater religious tolerance within its borders. During a visit there this spring, USCIRF officials said they were stonewalled by the Saudis on several issues, including the content of current school textbooks.
This article starring:
Judith Ingram
Nail al-Jubeir
Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir
Posted by: ed ||
10/18/2007 09:35 ||
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#1
theres a jewish school, and big fundie Christian church down the road about a quarter of a mile.
#3
Could you tell me how many muders have been prepetrated by the products of that eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil fundie christian school?
BTW, if someone tried to recreate the cult to
Huiltzilopochtli do you consider it should be allowed?
#4
A few of the graduates: Teaching Hate Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was apprehended for allegedly planning to assassinate President Bush and trying to establish an al Qaeda cell in the United States. He was not the first Islamic Saudi Academy graduate to attempt to carry out a terrorist attack. About three years ago, two Fairfax County men, Mohammad Osman Idris and Mohammad El-Yacoubi, both graduates of the school, were turned away from Israel after authorities found a letter in Arabic inside their bags that FBI officials say was a farewell note in preparation for a suicide mission. Mr. El-Yacoubi was not charged, but Mr. Idris was convicted of lying on a passport application.
Posted by: ed ||
10/18/2007 10:01 Comments ||
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#5
All I know there are NOT CHURCHES, SINAGOGUES IN SAUDI ARABIA.Our "friendS" the Saudis are one of them most intolerable people on Earth...
Posted by: ANA ||
10/18/2007 10:02 Comments ||
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#6
JFM: I don't know about Huiltzilopochtli followers. They tend to be extremely Camaxtliphobic.
#7
All I know there are NOT CHURCHES, SINAGOGUES IN SAUDI ARABIA.Our "friendS" the Saudis are one of them most intolerable people on Earth..
Indeed, Ana. Also, it's illegal to organize Christian worship within the Magic Kingdom -- plenty of expatriots have been jailed and tortured for worshipping in their own homes -- or to be Jewish. One of the vice presidents of Mr. Wife's company was stopped at the passport check when he got off the airplane because when they asked his religion, for some reason he decided not to lie. As far as the Saudis are concerned, their prophet expelled the Jews from Arabia, and that ends it.
#8
the 23-year-old Islamic Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia
I wonder how many other Saudi-funded schools are in the U.S. that are similar to the Saudi Academy? I would be for shutting them all down as long as there is religious intolerance sponsored by the house of Saud and as long as they keep funding terrorism.
#9
Liberalhawk, you may be a hawk, but your comment illustrates exactly the nature of the mental disorder that is associted with today's liberalism.
Hope that you are feeling fine, otherwise.
#12
there was no ideological point. Just noting a coincidence is all. Perhaps I didnt make the picture clear. This isnt in a built up area, its on a largely un-built up road (Shirley Gate) west of GMU. Its not a jewish school and a christian church among lots of homes and shops and churches. Its basically a ONLY the ISA, the big Church (we're talking megachurch) and the Jewish School out among woods, and maybe one new residential subdivision. The three religious bodies are all out there for the same reason, there are relatively large parcels of land relatively close in.
as to the subtance here, I dont know exactly what their curriculum currently is. Id be delighted as hell if the kiddies there switched to public schools, or to NON saudi funded muslim schools (if there are any around here, which I doubt). AFAIK the commission has no authority to close anything, and I dont think know that theres any law, Federal or Commonwealth (we're in VA) that allows for the shutting of a private school for preaching hate.
If someone suggest such a law, I promise to look at it with an open mind.
#13
I've been to this school. The visit left a lasting impression. I was truly frightened when we left, my partner and I practically running to get to the car.
This was in about 1997-98. I was doing school consulting work, on teaching teachers how to use the Internet.
We have a "request" card, asking for an appointment with us. We responded and set up the meeting with their IT guy.
I've walked into thousands of schools, all over the USA (missed North and South Dakota) and have always gotten a "feel" of the school, usually within 2-3 minutes of being inside. How you are greeted, what's in the hallways, faces of kids, etc.
This was just the strangest feeling I have ever had, walking into this building. It's built in a V shape, with girls to the right, the boys to the left. My partner was male.
We were led through the boy's side -- no students were present. There was nothing colorful in these halls -- no sign that kids had ever been present -- just posters that I could tell were of a religious bent. At the time, I don't think I even knew a thing about Islam -- probably wasn't even aware it exited.
Whenever working with a school, you first have to know what is the need and that only comes from asking good questions.
This guy didn't want to answer most of my questions. I was so curious about this whole concept they had.
I did learn, that there are lots of Saudi's here in government work. This school was built and funded for the children of these "diplomats." Money was not an object, and that's about all I learned.
The meeting was short. The administration guy and I soon arrived at the same decision, there wasn't much I could do for them. Short meeting. And escorted directly out of the building!
Whenever I hear or read anything about that school, I still get that same Weid feeling I had as we left, practically running to the school. It was a frightening experience.
#14
Oppss -- don't press ENTER when editing a word in spell check -- you get posted immediately, leaving no chance to re-read and edit what you have just written!
#15
LH - roger, I'm not familiar w/that particular area. Not sure about the hate speech thing wrt shutting down private schools either. Maybe something to do w/it being foreign funded?
#17
For the record LH, the Bill of Rights restricks the Federal Congress from touching religion but allow States Rights on the issue. Virginia could legally and rightly shut down that terrorist nest.
#19
Another thing I remember about that school, they were using the same curriculum as used in Saudi -- so the "diplomats'" kids would be on the same learning curve when they returned home.
#20
Saudi aRabida is the enemy of the freedom-loving world, regardless of where it is, or under what kind of government it exists. The only way to stop this enemy is a nice, 10Mt nuke over Riyadh when all the house of saud is in one place. Might need to take out a few other places to ensure you've got all the vermin - Mecca, Medina, Jedda, and Dahran come to mind. There's also some place where one of the "brothers" goes to commune with the sand and his ancestors that might also need a good whack. I don't think there are any other places where there are large gatherings of wahabbi preachers, but if such a place exists, it should be whacked, too. Close the US embassy, expel all Soddy "diplomats" for plotting to overthrow the US government, and take possession of all the uncontaminated sand. Directional drilling will allow full production without jeopardizing anyone. Tell the ruskies we've learned how to drill directionally as far as 5000 miles, and if they don't keep their pieholes closed, we'll tap THEIR fields, too. Also tell them they won't know we've done it until their fields run dry earlier than predicted, or they start belching pure chlorine gas. Give those paranoid bas$$$$s something to be paranoid about.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/18/2007 21:23 Comments ||
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The Pentagon is preparing to alert eight National Guard units that they should be ready to go to Iraq or Afghanistan beginning late next summer, The Associated Press learned Wednesday. The U.S. military is reaching out to more Guard units in an effort to maintain needed troop levels, ease some of the strain on the active duty Army and provide security for ports, convoys and other installations.
According to defense officials, seven of the units would deploy to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the orders had not yet been signed and the announcement is not expected until the end of this week.
Two of the units will be full combat brigades heading to Iraq -- between next summer and into 2009, to serve as part of the rotation with active duty troops. There are currently 20 combat brigades in Iraq, but under plans mapped out by President Bush and his top commanders, that number will gradually drop to 15 next year, as the U.S. reduces its troop presence there.
Those two Guard brigades would include about 3,500 soldiers each -- generally the size of a combat brigade. But the other five going to Iraq will be much smaller brigades that are tailored for specialized support operations, mostly security and detainee operations. Their sizes vary, but some would be about 1,000 troops.
The announcement sometime this week will give the Guard units advanced notice of the planned deployment schedule so that they can begin training and preparing. Also, because it looks far into the future, there is always the possibility that plans could change, based on conditions in Iraq. Some of the smaller Guard units would be stationed in Kuwait, where they would provide security for the port there, as well as convoys that move in and out of Iraq.
Specific brigades were not identified, but they will include units from North Carolina, Oklahoma, Illinois and Hawaii, according to officials. Some of those being alerted this week have done tours in the war zone already, and others would be going for the first time.
A key element of the plan calls for sending the Guard brigades in fully intact units, complete with their own commanders and headquarters, rather than breaking them up and spreading them around, as has been done in Iraq in previous Guard deployments. Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard, has made that a priority, saying his brigades are more effective working as teams.
At the same time, the plan will also allow the citizen soldiers to serve just eight or nine months on the battlefield, as part of a 12-month deployment. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has committed to having Guard soldiers serve in war zones for no more than one year, including the final training time before they leave.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Are these folks going to be trained up properly? I hope that sufficient training was taken into account when Gates agreed to the 12 months max including the training.
#2
This is not too dissimilar from what the Marine Corps Reserve does. The unit is called up and goes through about 3 - 4 months training, 7 months in-country, and then a month or so to demobilize. Works well for them.
#3
Gorb---According to the RUMINT here at my guard unit, total activation time is 18 months, like last time. Only, instead of 6 months mobe training followed by 12 months in theatre, it will be 2-3 months train up with 15 months in theatre. This could be fun to watch and participate in.
The extra training is supposed to be done now, at home station during regular drills.
Posted by: N guard ||
10/18/2007 14:09 Comments ||
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#4
JPOST > ISRAEL > THE MILITARY OPTION IS NOW ON THE TABLE.
vv IRAN > as indic before, various Pundits-Analysts of note have argued that Dubya's maxima window to fight and win a US-Iran conflict is now NLT May-June 2008, and to do so wid out any chance of Iraq-style local insurgency. ANY OTHER > the US GOP-DEM NPE, or most of them, won't go for it.
KARACHI - Three groups linked to Al Qaeda and Pakistans Taliban are plotting suicide attacks against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto when she returns to Karachi on Thursday to end eight years of self-exile, an official said. There are intelligence reports that three different groups have plans to carry out attacks on Bhutto, Ghulam Mohammad Mohtaram, Home Secretary of Sindh province, told Reuters on the eve of Bhuttos return.
What's the over/under on the first attack?
Bhutto, who is coming home to lead her Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) into a national election due in early January, told a news conference in Dubai she was aware of the threats against her but would not be cowed into staying away. Some 20,000 government security personnel were being deployed along the route from Karachis airport to the site near the tomb of Pakistans founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah where Bhutto planned to address a rally, Mohtaram said.
The official said the suicide attacks were being planned by Pakistani jihadi groups linked to Al Qaeda and a Pakistani Taliban group headed by Baitullah Mehsud. Mehsuds fighters are already holding more than 200 Pakistani troops hostage in Waziristan, a tribal region on the border with Afghanistan, having captured them in late August.
Bhutto has said that if she was in power she would allow U.S. forces to strike against Al Qaeda targets in Pakistani territory, if her own forces were unable to carry out an attack.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
What's the over/under on the first attack?
harrumph! OK Steve.. in says right there in the RB bylaws that Mods are not allowed to read us RB peons minds!
~:)
/$50.00 US, says she goes Boom Boom by the time Santa visits WazooStan this Winter.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
10/18/2007 5:14 Comments ||
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#2
$20 says on/before Turkey Day.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/18/2007 14:17 Comments ||
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#3
from this link, they already tried today:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003959807_webpakistan18.html
Former premier Benazir Bhutto pledged on Wednesday that she would return to Pakistan to rid it of extremism and dictatorship by bringing in democracy. Ms Bhutto is due to arrive in Karachi today at around 1:00pm.
Good luck with that, Benazir. If you rid Pakistain of extremism and dictatorship it'll be someplace else. Maybe Paraguay. That's a pretty long commute to Karachi.
Tomorrow (Thursday) at this time we will be on board the plane for Karachi, which is a day that I and all the people in Pakistan who love democracy and who believe in fundamental human rights have been waiting for, the two-time premier told a press conference in Dubai, flanked by her two daughters and her husband GomezAsif Zardari.
Pakistans future is at stake and I am going to Pakistan with a mission to see a peaceful transition to democracy, she said. My return heralds for the people of Pakistan the turn of the wheel from dictatorship to democracy, from exploitation to empowerment, from violence to peace.
She said she wanted to create for the people of Pakistan a country where they have opportunities for employment, economic well-being, the primacy of civilian rule and a society free of extremism.
They'll shoot you as soon as you say "secular state." Without it, the rest is impossible.
I am very proud of what my mother is doing, and not only my mother, but what my whole family is doing, said Bakhtawar, Bhuttos elder daughter.
This article starring:
Asif Zardari
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Benazir: 'I will rid Pakistan of extremism, dictatorship'
She'll need to survive more than a few weeks in order to do that.
Three words: Very. Low. Odds.
#7
Benazir: 'I will rid Pakistan of extremism, dictatorship'
What's she going to do, kill all the pakis and import esquimoux? Nothing short of that will accomplish what she's claiming she'll do. Corruption's in the genes of all pakis, and both dominant and recessive among the Pashtuns.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/18/2007 21:36 Comments ||
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Indias top national security official has accused Pakistan of trying to stir up Sikh militancy in Punjab, striking a sour note ahead of direct talks this week between the South Asian rivals. The accusation by National Security Advisor MK Narayanan came in the wake of a bomb blast on Sunday in a packed cinema in the states industrial city of Ludhiana that killed six people and injured 32.
There has been a manifest attempt in Pakistan to build up a radical Sikh environment, Narayanan was quoted as saying by the Indian Express daily. We have tracked intelligence information, we have studied the way such attacks take place and we can read a pattern, Narayanan said.
A home ministry official and the states former police chief earlier this week also blamed Sundays attack on Sikh separatists, who have links to Islamic rebels allegedly backed by Pakistan.
Former police chief Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, who is credited with wiping out the Sikh militant movement in the 1980s in a merciless crackdown, pointed a finger at a group called the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF). The group wants an independent state called Khalistan carved out of India and has been linked to Kashmir-based Islamic rebel groups.
This article starring:
Khalistan Zindabad Force
Kanwar Pal Singh Gill
National Security Advisor MK Narayanan
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said on Wednesday that the NATO troops of 37 countries present in Afghanistan would not stay silent if Pakistani troops were called back from Waziristan and the surrounding areas, Geo News reported. He also told journalists at a function that the clash in Wazirstan had been instigated after militants in the area had conducted a series of criminal acts, and not on American directives, Online reported.
He said after the abduction of a group of South Korean aid workers in Afghanistan, the South Korean prime minister had called him to warn him of possible relocation of the group responsible for the abduction into Pakistans territory, since it might cause NATO troops to invade Pakistan.
This article starring:
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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Hundreds of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and other opposition activists protested in front of the Supreme Court (SC) as the hearing of a petition against the deportation of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif began on Wednesday.
They yelled slogans against the government and denounced the deportation of the PML-N chief. Hamza Shahbaz and former MNA Khawaja Asif had filed the petition on behalf of Nawaz Sharif. The protesters became agitated when they were barred from entering the SC premises and disrupted traffic and damaged an official vehicle, undisturbed by the policemen guarding the compound. Activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf also participated in the protest. Holding the flags of their parties and photographs of PML-N leaders, they marched on Constitution Avenue and chanted slogans against President Pervez Musharraf and in favour of Nawaz Sharif.
This article starring:
Jamaat-e-Islami
Hamza Shahbaz
Khawaja Asif
Nawaz Sharif
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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Jamaat-e-Islami Bajaur Agency Naib Ameer and ex-MNA Sahibzada Haroonur Rashid on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court against the deployment of the armed forces in the tribal areas and prayed for the immediate halt to military action there. Rashid has filed the petition through his counsel Barrister Farooq Hassan, making the Federation of Pakistan and Aiwan-e-Sadr the respondents. The secretary to the president will represent the president as well as the federation.
This article starring:
Jamaat-e-Islami
Sahibzada Haroonur Rashid
Jamaat-e-Islami
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#3
Mideast Summit Likely to be Postponed
#2 In a few words: "A waste of time."
Posted by: JohnQC 2007-10-18 11:27
Not if the preludes including nuking all the capitals of the attendees. Folllw up by explaining quite forcefully (with a division of Marines, preferably) that we're getting pretty ticked off with the muddled east and islam in general, and that we'll do whatever is necessary to put a stop to the current nonsense in that part of the world, including wholesale glass-making. You have to talk to these people in a language they understand - brute force. Anything else is a waste of breath.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/18/2007 21:41 Comments ||
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BAGHDAD, Oct. 17 Iraq has agreed to award $1.1 billion in contracts to Iranian and Chinese companies to build a pair of enormous power plants, the Iraqi electricity minister said Tuesday. Word of the project prompted serious concerns among American military officials, who fear that Iranian commercial investments can mask military activities at a time of heightened tension with Iran.
The Iraqi electricity minister, Karim Wahid, said that the Iranian project would be built in Sadr City, a Shiite enclave in Baghdad that is controlled by followers of the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr. He added that Iran had also agreed to provide cheap electricity from its own grid to southern Iraq, and to build a large power plant essentially free of charge in an area between the two southern Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf.
The expansion of ties between Iraq and Iran comes as the United States and Iran clash on nuclear issues and about what American officials have repeatedly said is Iranian support for armed groups in Iraq. American officials have charged that Iranians, through the international military wing known as the Quds Force, are particularly active in support of elite elements of the Mahdi Army, a militia largely controlled by Mr. Sadr.
An American military official in Baghdad said that while he had no specific knowledge of the power plant contracts, any expansion of Iranian interests was a concern for the military here.
We are of course carefully watching Irans overall presence here in Iraq, the military official said. As you know, its not always as it appears. Their Quds Force routinely uses the cover of a business to mask their real purpose as an intelligence operative.
This is a free marketplace, so theres not much we can do about it, the official said.
At the same time, it is possible to view Iranian and Chinese investment as giving those countries a stake in Iraqi stability. The power plants could also boost a troubled reconstruction effort in Iraq. An American Embassy spokesman said, We welcome any efforts to help develop Iraqs energy infrastructure.
These proposals reflect the ongoing business opportunities that are arising in Iraq that American firms should be competing for, said the spokesman, who asked not to be named because of standard protocol at the embassy.
It was unclear whether any American firms had tried to win the work, although Mr. Wahid said the projects had been submitted for bids. The embassy spokesman said, We are unaware of any violations of principles of open and fair bidding.
The agreements between Iraq and Iran come after the American-led reconstruction effort, which relied heavily on large American contractors, has spent nearly $5 billion of United States taxpayer money on Iraqs electricity grid. Aside from a few isolated bright spots, there was little clear impact in a nation where in many places electricity is still available only for a few hours each day. Because the power plants are in largely Shiite-controlled areas, it is possible they may not face the same sectarian violence that crippled so many American rebuilding projects.
Mr. Wahid did not say how much the plant between Karbala and Najaf would cost, but at standard international prices a plant of the scale he described would be worth roughly $200 million to $300 million.
The outlines of all three agreements were confirmed by Thamir Ghadban, an expert on energy who is also director of the committee of advisers to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. But Mr. Ghadban said that the granting of the huge projects to rivals of the United States was not an indication that American companies were being excluded from consideration now that Iraqi oil revenues, which provide the basis for the Iraqi governments budget, are largely paying for the reconstruction of the grid.
There is no preference to the Iranians, Mr. Ghadban said, citing the most obvious potential point of sensitivity for the United States. There is no opposition or stance from the Iraqi government to bar American or Western companies. It is the other way around, Mr. Ghadban said, indicating that he urged American contractors to bid for work in Iraq.
Of the two new projects Iraq has agreed to finance, Mr. Wahid said, the largest is a $940 million power plant in Wasit to be built by a Chinese company, which he said was named Shanghai Heavy Industry. That project would pump some 1,300 megawatts of electricity into the Iraqi grid. For comparison, all of the plants currently connected to Iraqs grid produce a total of roughly 5,000 megawatts.
He said that Iraq had already spent $12 million leveling the ground in preparation for the Chinese plant. The Sadr City project, which will include a small refinery, will cost $150 million and be built by an Iranian company, Sunir, Mr. Wahid said. That plant is expected to produce about 160 megawatts of electricity.
#2
The Iraqi Electricity Ministry, which Mr. Wahid heads, is one of the few in the central government that has received praise for successfully spending much of the money allocated to it in the Iraqi budget for reconstruction projects.
Why would you praise someone for spending money? Spending money is how government officials get kickbacks and bribes. Spending money on infrastructure that will promptly be destroyed in short order is moronic. Spending it on second-rate Chinese and Iranian contractors who will build projects that fall apart shortly after completion just for bribe money is criminal.
#3
WORLDTRIBUNE Commentary > IS THE US READY FOR CHINA? 'Tis becoming clear that the USA faces a LONG PROTRACTED PERIOD OF RIVALRY wid China in Asia-Pacific + World - can the USA-West accept a stronger, wealthier, globally influential AUTHORITARIAN COMMUNIST CHINA THAT ALSO HAS NOT EVOLVED TOWARDS LIBERAL/POPULAR DEMOCRACY???
Should we headline this "Today's Noose"? (rimshot)
The man known as Chemical Ali for ordering poison gas attacks against the Kurds in the 1980s has been flown by helicopter from a United States base to a site near a prison gallows in Baghdad, an Iraqi police official said Wednesday, suggesting that his execution was imminent.
The prisoner, Ali Hassan al-Majid, a cousin of Saddam Hussein, was sentenced on June 24 to death for his role in the Anfal or "spoils of war" campaign that killed as many as 180,000 Kurds.
An appeals court upheld Majid's sentence on Sept. 4, clearing the way for his execution within 30 days, as required under Iraqi law. He's at the end of his rope, as it were. (rimshot)
The execution was delayed, however, in a legal dispute over whether Majid and two other top officials convicted for their roles in the Kurdish campaign should be killed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended last week. So instead of hanging, he was left hanging. (rimshot)
The feast celebrating the end of Ramadan, Id al-Fitr, wound up on Sunday for Sunnis and on Monday for Shiites.
This article starring:
Ali Hassan al-Majid
Posted by: Mike ||
10/18/2007 10:53 ||
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#1
Good to see the process goes on, even though world attention ceased the minute Saddam's last leaked photo was published. I hear our support to the tribunal is about to drop to very little, however, so I hope that somehow the Iraqis manage to conduct the remaining trials and use all the developed evidence (faint hope, I must say).
When he was a young man
Schmoozing Saddam,
He left morals and values at the door,
Then Saddam saw his true worth,
And brought him along,
Saddam came to trust him,
Its the same old song,
Then time came to lash out,
He was never the same,
Cold evil jerk that he was...
Cold evil jerk that he was...
It mattered not to him,
Whether be Persians or Kurds,
The mustard gas flowed
And no one said a word.
Saddams big go to guy,
Was Chemical Ali,
But ol Saddam met his noose
And so will he
The hour grows near,
Gallows are prepared,
Last meal is consumed,
Then he climbs the stairs
And the last thing that he should see,
If justice is true,
And the folks he maimed,
When the gas came through
A State Department review of private security guards for diplomats in Iraq is unlikely to recommend firing Blackwater USA over the deaths of 17 Iraqis last month, but the company probably is on the way out of that job, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Blackwater's work escorting U.S. diplomats outside the protected Green Zone in Baghdad expires in May, one official said, and other officials told The Associated Press they expect the North Carolina company will not continue to work for the embassy after that.
It is likely that Blackwater does not compete to keep the job, one official said. Blackwater probably will not be fired outright or even "eased out," the official added, but there is a mutual feeling that the Sept. 16 shooting deaths mean the company cannot continue in its current role.
While one of our trolls may be thinking that he told us so, the big question remains: if not Blackwater, who will step up for the contract? This is a complex, risky job, and I don't think other companies that have the ability will want to put up with this nonsense. They'll need assurances that they won't end up like Blackwater while trying to protect people. And if you can provide such assurances, why not just keep the people you already have?
State Department officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has not yet considered results of an internal review of Blackwater and the other two companies that protect diplomats in Iraq. Department officials said no decisions have been made and that Rice has the final say. They gave admiring appraisals of Blackwater's work overall, noting that no diplomats have died while riding in Blackwater's heavily armed convoys.
President Bush did not directly answer a question Wednesday about whether he was satisfied with the performance of security contractors. "I will be anxious to see the analysis of their performance," Bush said at a news conference. "There's a lot of studying going on, both inside Iraq and out, as to whether or not people violated rules of engagement. I will tell you, though, that a firm like Blackwater provides a valuable service. They protect people's lives, and I appreciate the sacrifice and the service that the Blackwater employees have made."
A panel that Rice appointed to review the contractors will report to her as soon as Friday, and Rice's announcement of what to do next probably will follow quickly, one department official said.
A transition from Blackwater would take time. The company employs more people and has more equipment than its two competitors in Iraq. Any outside company that might replace Blackwater would have to provide trained U.S. citizens, with security clearances. That may mean that if Blackwater leaves, competitors hired some of its workers. Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said, "We will follow the lead of our client. If they want us to stay we will stay. If they want us to leave we will do so."
The team of State Department management experts and outside specialists is expected to recommend greater oversight of security contractors and better coordination of their work with military forces, two officials said. It is practically impossible to eliminate private security contractors altogether in Iraq because there are not enough department security agents to fill the gap, officials said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
if not Blackwater, who will step up for the contract?
I wonder if Blackwater is contractually obligated to provide it. It would be interesting to see what the State folks do if they don't have a successor lined up and ready to go and Blackwater gets out of Dodge 5/1.
#3
State is living in fantasy land if they don't think the exact same setup won't happen with their replacement guards.
Posted by: ed ||
10/18/2007 7:17 Comments ||
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#4
Blackwater, as a private company, can dissolve itself. Ownership interests can incorporate a new company, say Brownair, hire all the newly unemployed operators etc., buy up the training facilities and equipment, and solicit contracts (at a higher price) to replace Blackwater.
#6
This is probably disinformation meant to calm Iraqi politicians. As has been pointed out: Who's going to replace them? And traveling without a PSD is not an option.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
10/18/2007 12:31 Comments ||
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#7
"I will be anxious to see the analysis of their performance,"
They've not lost a single principle. What more must you see? Go ahead, throw BW under the bus for Maliki and the CONUS based liberal swine. Issue all the diplodinks 9mm Berettas, keys to the vehicles, and a city map that takes them down route Pluto at least once a day and let them fend for themselves. After the first two or three get their brains splattered on the dashboard the diplomatic problem will be solved. State won't be able to get a single employee to deploy and we'll have saved untold millions in tax dollars!
Kurdish officials warned on Wednesday that any Turkish incursion into northern Iraq would threaten the relative stability of the region and called on Ankara to seek peaceful means against violence from separatist rebels.
The Turkish parliament authorized the military to carry out a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in Iraq. But an incursion was not expected immediately as Turkey came under increasing pressure from Washington and Baghdad to use restraint.
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, a Kurd, urged Turkey not to resort to the military offensive. "We call upon our neighbor - Turkey - that they should be very careful not to push this situation beyond the brink," Saleh told Britain's More4 news. "This will be disastrous for Iraq. This will be disastrous for the region as a whole and no one will escape the consequences."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
What's so bad about Turkey killing a bunch of terrorists and terrorist-harboring sympathizers? How will it be bad for Iraq and the region for them to be taken out? I must be missing something here because the simple answer that I see seems too good to be true.
#8
It's hard to tell if there's a real problem with PKK in Iraq (they're there, for sure, it's a question of magnitude), or if this is Turkey afraid of an independent or autonomous Kurdistan, or this is judt Turkey looking to annex Kirkuk.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/18/2007 10:34 Comments ||
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#9
Aren't there Kurds in northern Syria. Maybe Turkey is afraid of being carved up on the eastern and northern borders, so to speak.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/18/2007 14:57 Comments ||
Top||
#11
The US should have gotten the PKK to move to Syria and act against the Syrians long ago (acting against the government, not the civilians so they could be real freedom fighters rather than terrorists).
It would have helped ease tensions with the Turks while applying pressure in Syria which can use all the pressure we can apply.
#12
More Kurds in IRan than Syria. More in Turkey than anyplace else. Modern day Turkey;s boundaries are an accident of the Ottoman empire. The SE 1/3 of Turkey is ethnically Kurdish majority, as are the eastern mountains until you get to the Armenians, Georgians and Azerbaijanis.
Thats hwy the Turks are worried. Were the Kurds to really organize and arm, they coudl rip a large chunk of Turkey away.
Same goes for NW Iran.
Incidentally, those happen to be oil producing areas.
#3
What else is there to hear? Certainly no "palestinian" music, art, dance, literature, scientific achievement, business innovation, medical advances or philanthropy. Nothing but death and resentment.
#5
Rice should be forced to live for a year amongst the Palestinians. It might cure her of the indecent fascination she has with these parasitic genocidal thugs.
#1
Wouldn't it be funny if Israel officially changed their name to Palestine and the name of the West Bank to Judea. It would be interesting to see the heads explode througuout the Arabic world.
#1
YNETNEWS > Former MOSSAD Chief - ISRAEL CANOT BE DESTROYED. Claims that IRAN was biggest loser in Lebanon 2006. INTERESTING - also indics that MOUD IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY IS INDIRECTLY VERY VALUABLE TO ISRAEL, i.e. doing more damage to Iran's prestige and credibility than the IDF could hope for???
#3
TOPIX > ISRAEL > BARAK: NEW SYSTEM TO SHOOT DOWN SHORT-RANGE ROCKETS, MISSLES IN PLACE BY 2010. IOW, iff the Terror groups don't defeat = destroy Israel by 2010, in all likelihood they never will??? Iff the Terrorists do decide to stick around instead of relocating themselves farther away, IMO they'll start demanding the Russians, etc give them LR NUCLEAR-WMD MORTARS [dual-use] + special-propelled BOMBS.
As the IDF wrapped up its southern Gaza operation in which a Golani Brigade soldier was killed during a firefight with Palestinian gunmen, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter hinted Wednesday at the need for Israel to embark on a large-scale military campaign in the Gaza Strip. "We can either send the army into the Palestinian territories or face suicide belts in Tel Aviv," Army Radio quoted Dichter as saying.
St.-Sgt. Ben Kubani, 20, from Hadera, was killed near Khan Yunis in southern Gaza during an IDF operation aimed at reducing the threat to Israelis living on the Gaza periphery. The army penetrated about two kilometers into the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning east of Khan Yunis to disrupt the terrorist infrastructure. The force, mostly comprised of Battalion 51, with support from tank and engineering units, came under attack several times from Hamas gunmen wielding antitank rockets, RPGs and small arms. Kubani was killed during one of the firefights, the army said. There were reports that he had been killed by a sniper.
Kubani was treated at the scene and evacuated to Beersheba's Soroka Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Kubani was the only casualty among the soldiers. Kubani will be laid to rest at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Hadera military cemetery. Kubani, a member of of the Golani Brigade's Battalion 51, was survived by his parents, Margalit and Rahamim, a sister, Sarit, 27, and a younger brother, Ido, 17.
"The goal of the operation is to push back the threat to the communities surrounding Gaza," a defense source told The Jerusalem Post. "It is a complex operation that goes on nearly every day. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it, and it will continue."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Dichter, have you tried turning off the power and water first?
Jakarta, 18 October (AKI) - One of Indonesias leading advocates of inter-religious dialogue has singled out philosophy and humanitarian studies as the best way to fight rising Islamic fundamentalism.
Catholic priest, and leading academic Franz Magnis-Suseno, said it is vital to include Muslims in the philosophical debate, because it will make them see Islam in a different light. We need people who can think critically and all-embracingly in short, we need philosophers, he told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). It isn't a Muslim calling for reasonn in faith. And that Regensburg Address still has power.
The German-born cleric added: It is a matter of having the courage to learn how to think. A long-standing Indonesian citizen, he teaches philosophy at the Catholic University of Jakarta.
Magnis-Suseno claimed many Muslims who study natural sciences tend to develop an inferiority complex, and often develop fundamentalist views in reaction to the perceived superiority of the Western world. But Muslims who study philosophy and the humanities tend to have a broader outlook, he said, warning against the trend to cut these studies.
This could add to the surge in Islamic fundamentalism.
Somewhat surprisingly, most of the Islamic fundamentalists in Indonesia have studied in state universities, he noted. Magnis-Suseno said that relations between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia have improved considerably, despite occasional attacks on Christian churches.
More than 85 percent of Indonesia's 240 million people are Muslim, making the country is the most populous Muslim country in the world. Christians make up just 9 percent of the population, and the remaining 4 percent are Hindus, Buddhists or members of tribal religions.
Most of the population follows a moderate version of Islam, although there has been an increased tendency towards radicalism in recent years. In Indonesia, it is illegal to be atheist or to abandon Islam in favour of another faith.
#4
Sounds like a wise man. I hope they don't kill him.
Magnis-Suseno claimed many Muslims who study natural sciences tend to develop an inferiority complex, and often develop fundamentalist views in reaction to the perceived superiority of the Western world.
Could this explain the Paki doctors going all jihadi in the UK?
#6
One of Indonesias leading advocates of inter-religious dialogue has singled out philosophy and humanitarian studies as the best way to fight rising Islamic fundamentalism.
If by "philosophy and humanitarian studies", he means "extensive use of saturation bombing and tactical nuclear weapons", then I couldn't agree with him more.
Magnis-Suseno claimed many Muslims who study natural sciences tend to develop an inferiority complex
What's this "develop", horse hockey? They're frickin' born with it.
In Indonesia, it is illegal to be atheist or to abandon Islam in favour of another faith.
Shari'a law at work. This is just one more excellent reason to halt all aid and disaster relief to Indonesia.
#7
Catholic priest, and leading academic Franz Magnis-Suseno, said it is vital to include Muslims in the philosophical debate, because it will make them see Islam in a different light.
...or they might decide the world needs one less infidel priest.
#8
Catholic priest, and leading academic Franz Magnis-Suseno, said it is vital to include Muslims in the philosophical debate, because it will make them see Islam in a different light.
is this guy naive or what?
This could add to the surge in Islamic fundamentalism
Surges in islamofacism come about from trying to appease them or doing nothing when the situation calls for jumping on them hard. They don't respect being nice. It seems like if you don't bust their a$$s they don't respect you.
#9
It is a matter of having the courage to learn how to think.
Which is why the radical left and Islamics have so much in common. They don't think. Hell, they won't even open up their eyes to see the great achievements of the the modern world around them were created and made possible by people not of their 'faith'.
#11
No, Fr. Magnis-Suseno is neither a dhimmi nor is he a naif. His point, I believe, is well taken:
"It is a matter of having the courage to learn how to think.
That is a most proper and necessary response to the propagation of Salafist madrassahs around the world. The challenge of Reason is something that is sorely lacking in Islam.
Frankly, Fr. Magnis-Suseno has more guts in his little finger than all the keyboard-tapping nihilists combined.
#12
mrp, you can't reason into something that does not have the adequate processing synapses to begin with. You miss to develop reasoning skills betwen ages of 5 and 16, and no matter what kind of Nürnberg Fennel you use, you can't pour it in.
Ca you find 1000 righteous reasoning men amongst 1.3 billlon muslims? I bet you can, but sadly mosly posthumously, or as apostates in the West.
#13
Didn't say the man doesn't have guts or wasn't well intentioned. The problem isn't with him, it's with those he seems to think he can deal with and the results he thinks he can achieve.
Count me as extremely dubious on both counts...
#14
"You can't reason someone out of something that they weren't resoned into in the first place."
"But Muslims who study philosophy and the humanities ..." are apostates and should be killed.
"...Christians in Indonesia have improved considerably, despite occasional attacks on Christian churches." Other than that Mrs. Lincoln wasn't the show grand?
"It is a matter of having the courage to learn how to think. And he's going to find corageous Muslims where?
#15
TOPIX > TIMESONLINE.UK > A GREAT PLACE TO BE ANTI-AMERICAN. USA - SAFE PLACE TO BE SAME Amer's reputation, prestige, and credibility is being positively restored and enhanced before the World thanx mainly to those Amers whom hate and wanna kill it, plus hate Dubya.
October 18, 2007: The U.S. Army appears to have rescued its Land Warrior system from cancellation, by shipping 200 sets of the high tech infantry gear to Iraq, and getting good reviews from the troops who used them in combat. Some of the new technologies developed for its Land Warrior program (an effort to enhance infantry performance with a lot of technology that was never ready for prime time) worked well enough to garner some detailed, and enthusiastic, comments from users. As a result, a new version of the Land Warrior gear, based on the results of the recent combat tests, weighs 30 percent less (seven pounds), and includes features troop feedback indicated they would find useful. This includes instant messaging, and the ability to leave a virtual (electronic) marker for other troops in his unit to see in their eyepiece. This could be the location of ground to avoid (especially when moving around at night in marshland) or a place to go to (a ford or assembly point.)
Although the original Land Warrior program is officially dead, the general concept lives on with many new items the combat troops are actually using. The problem with the original Land Warrior was that is tried to be revolutionary, while the troops really wanted evolutionary items that actually worked in combat. The current Land Warrior gear includes a wearable computer/GPS/radio combination, plus improvements in body armor and uniform design.
Troops who had earlier tested Land Warrior in the U.S., found it too much hassle, and not enough benefit. But the troops in Iraq, who were in combat, found lots of useful aspects to the Land Warrior gear. For one thing, the camera attached to the rifle, that sends live video to the eye piece (that appears like the equivalent of a 17 inch display, when flipped down over the eye), allows troops to just point their rifle around a corner, over a ledge, or into a room, to see what's there without risking a bullet in the head. The personal radio is also a superior item, and the maps that can be put onto the eyepiece are very useful. The army has mapped most of Iraq, in great detail, and digital versions of all those maps are available, and can be moved to the wearable computers of Land Warrior equipped troops. This might have not made a big impression on the troops back in the States, but in the combat zone, you can never have too much help in figuring out where the hell you are.
The Land Warrior GPS is still too slow, but users have found ways to adjust for that. So when troops have settled down for a while, like a lull in the battle, and the GPS has ten minutes or so to nail every ones position, the eyepiece does indeed give a good picture of who is where. NCOs and junior officers find that real useful, and the troops find it reassuring to know who is where. Meanwhile, newer versions of the individual GPS are getting a fix quicker, and that makes the location finding capability much more useful.
Another really popular addition is, like many changes, incorporated via new software. This one hooks troops into the Boomerang anti-sniper system. Thus if a nearby Boomerang system is on, and a sniper fires, Land Warrior equipped troops, in the immediate area, gets the calculated (by Boomerang) location of the shooter on displayed, on their eyepiece, in the form of video of the location. Boomerang is mounted on a small robot, whose camera is pointed at the location sensors indicate the shot came from. This is really bad news for snipers, and the troops love it because now they can run down snipers much more quickly and successfully.
Senior Iranian and EU negotiators will meet in Rome next week over Teheran's disputed nuclear program, an EU official said.
The official, who asked for anonymity in exchange for disclosing the venue, said the meeting on Tuesday between Javier Solana of the European Union and Ali Larijani of Iran would focus on Teheran's refusal to heed UN Security Council demands for a freeze on uranium enrichment, which can make both nuclear fuel and the material for warheads.
Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, and International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei planned to present reports in mid-November to the UN Security Council in New York as to whether Teheran has cooperated in answering questions about its disputed nuclear program. The EU, US and others say Iranian arguments that it is developing enrichment for peaceful purposes are a cover to reach a capacity to make nuclear weapons.
The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, with EU support, agreed earlier this month to delay until November any new UN resolution to toughen sanctions against Iran, giving it more time to cooperate with an IAEA investigation of past nuclear activities.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
See also WAPO > PORTENTS OF A NUCLEAR AL-QAEDA; + TOPIX > CASPIAN SUMMIT: THE BEGINNING OF AMERICA'S CONTAINMENT? Russia + Iran demand to feel the love [World's].
Rights group Amnesty International issued a damning report on Wednesday on the living conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and urged the government in Beirut to act to end their suffering.
Sixty years after the creation of Israel and we still have Paleo refugees? However could that be?
The 31-page document titled Exiled and suffering: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon denounced the appalling conditions in which most of the 300,000 refugees live with little or no prospect of ever finding a better future. They live in dark, sunless, cramped conditions with almost no hope of improving their daily life or returning to Palestine, their country of origin, Mein Sammonds, co-author of the report, told AFP.
Sixty years of UN support for Paleo refugee camps and you have conditions that would cause the poorest Americans to ... roll up their sleeves and start cleaning the place up. Makes you wonder why the Paleos aren't like that ...
Amnesty said that in some households, many of which consist of corrugated iron huts without tiled roofs, ventilation or sanitation, families of 10 shared a single room. Burj el-Barajneh camp (on the southern outskirts of Beirut) has more people per square kilometer than Hong Kong or Mumbai, the report said.
Funny, the people of Hong Kong and Mumbai seem to do allright. Even their poorest poor live in better conditions than this. Wonder what went wrong?
The rights group also denounced the fact that the refugees, most of whom live in 12 official camps scattered throughout the country, face discrimination as far as finding jobs and are denied access to public education and health care.
Mayhaps it's because the Paleos aren't well liked in Lebanon? Might it stem from the fact that the Paleos once tried to take over the place?
It said that while the Lebanese government in 2005 lifted its ban on 50 of the 70 jobs declared off-limits to Palestinians, many still face obstacles in finding employment, with a work permit costing hundreds of dollars - a sum few can afford. Even if we get an education, we are not allowed to get a good job, one 27-year-old woman with six children was quoted as saying in the report.
First of all, stop turning out kids. Second, move to Mauritania -- far as I know, your people haven't tried to overthrow the government there so you might be welcome. For a while. For a short while. Third, shut yer yap and start working, humbly, to fit in.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
with a work permit costing hundreds of dollars - a sum few can afford.
Affording an AK-47 & plenty of ammo doesn't seems to be a problem, though.
Even if we get an education, we are not allowed to get a good job, one 27-year-old woman with six children was quoted as saying in the report.
And the dorks who wrote the reports don't see any problem with that sentence?
Mein Sammonds, co-author of the report
One can't help wondering---about the surname, I mean.
#2
Here's an idea. Have Lebanon toss the keys to camps to Amnnesty International.
Here ya go, boys. Put your money where your mouth is. They're all yours. Enjoy 'em. Pretty rainbows and happiness follow them wherever they go.
Let us know how ya make out.
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.
BRUSSELS - International forces are unlikely to win their battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan, risking a regional conflict that could match the magnitude of previous world wars, a former top U.N. envoy said on Wednesday.
While Western forces, alongside the Afghan army, have claimed victories against Taliban rebels in the south, many remote areas and some towns remain under rebel control and insurgent attacks have also spread north to regions previously considered safe. Frustration with the government over the slow pace of development, official corruption and the lack of law and order have all played into rebel hands.
Only 10 percent of the people of Afghanistan support the Taliban, while between 80 to 90 percent wish the Unites States to retain its presence in the country, a meeting on Afghanistan was told on Tuesday.
MOSCOW (AP) - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the U.S. war in Iraq was a "pointless" battle against the Iraqi people, the latest jab at Washington from the increasingly confrontational Russian leader. 
by Allahpundit 
Republicans successfully maneuvered to derail a Democratic government eavesdropping bill Wednesday, delaying a House vote until next week at the earliest.
An independent government agency that monitors worldwide religious freedom will suggest today that the State Department shut down the 23-year-old Islamic Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia on the grounds it is fomenting hate and religious extremism.
KARACHI - Three groups linked to Al Qaeda and Pakistans Taliban are plotting suicide attacks against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto when she returns to Karachi on Thursday to end eight years of self-exile, an official said. There are intelligence reports that three different groups have plans to carry out attacks on Bhutto, Ghulam Mohammad Mohtaram, Home Secretary of Sindh province, told Reuters on the eve of Bhuttos return.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 17 Iraq has agreed to award $1.1 billion in contracts to Iranian and Chinese companies to build a pair of enormous power plants, the Iraqi electricity minister said Tuesday. Word of the project prompted serious concerns among American military officials, who fear that Iranian commercial investments can mask military activities at a time of heightened tension with Iran. 
Of the two new projects Iraq has agreed to finance, Mr. Wahid said, the largest is a $940 million power plant in Wasit to be built by a Chinese company, which he said was named Shanghai Heavy Industry. That project would pump some 1,300 megawatts of electricity into the Iraqi grid. For comparison, all of the plants currently connected to Iraqs grid produce a total of roughly 5,000 megawatts.
October 18, 2007: The U.S. Army appears to have rescued its Land Warrior system from cancellation, by shipping 200 sets of the high tech infantry gear to Iraq, and getting good reviews from the troops who used them in combat. Some of the new technologies developed for its Land Warrior program (an effort to enhance infantry performance with a lot of technology that was never ready for prime time) worked well enough to garner some detailed, and enthusiastic, comments from users. As a result, a new version of the Land Warrior gear, based on the results of the recent combat tests, weighs 30 percent less (seven pounds), and includes features troop feedback indicated they would find useful. This includes instant messaging, and the ability to leave a virtual (electronic) marker for other troops in his unit to see in their eyepiece. This could be the location of ground to avoid (especially when moving around at night in marshland) or a place to go to (a ford or assembly point.) 
Rights group Amnesty International issued a damning report on Wednesday on the living conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and urged the government in Beirut to act to end their suffering.
