A Taliban commander warned Western nations in an interview broadcast on US television on Friday that they could expect more attacks. Mansour Dadullah, in the interview shown on ABC News, said the July 2005 suicide attacks on Londons transport system, in which 52 people had died, were not enough and that bigger attacks were coming. You will, God willing, be witness to more attacks, Dadullah told a Pakistani journalist in an interview ABC said was conducted four days earlier.
The commander of the Islamic group, which was ousted from power in Afghanistan by US troops after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, talks about his ability to operate inside neighbouring Pakistan. We have many friends, he said. It is very easy for us to go in and out of the tribal areas (at the Pak-Afghan border). It is no problem.
Last month, ABC broadcast a video showing Dadullah presiding over a graduation ceremony of fighters trained by Al Qaeda and the Taliban somewhere in the Afghanistan-Pakistan tribal border region on June 9. In that video, Dadullah had threatened members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military alliance deployed in Afghanistan. These Americans, Canadians, British and Germans come here to Afghanistan from faraway places, Dadullah said on the video. Why shouldnt we go after them?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Would someone please off this worthless maggot right away?
#3
I would do it before the infamous American winter sets in.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/15/2007 10:58 Comments ||
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#4
The commander of the Islamic group, which was ousted from power in Afghanistan by US troops after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, talks about his ability to operate inside neighbouring Pakistan. We have many friends, he said. It is very easy for us to go in and out of the tribal areas (at the Pak-Afghan border). It is no problem.
Ok, now they're ADMITTING they work out of the "tribal areas". It's time to start crushing these idiots where they live. Start napalming any training areas we can find (and we DO know how to find them) in the tribal areas. Run a couple of ARCLIGHT strikes through Miranshah, and see how "welcome" the taliwhackers are afterwards.
Our biggest problem is that we're fighting a bloodthirsty enemy that will do anything to win, while we're not willing to be bloodthirsty enough to win. This needs to change, immediately.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/15/2007 15:42 Comments ||
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#5
When are we gonna try out this supposed particle beam-microwave weapon we have... Be interesting to see if the target sizzles then pops just like some things placed in one's home microwave oven...
Posted by: Tell D Truth ||
07/15/2007 21:20 Comments ||
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#6
darn, the sink trap is empty. i like to go look out of a morbid sense of curiosity..
BTW: i havent found anythig in the sinktrap at all since the change-over to the new database.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
07/15/2007 23:12 Comments ||
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(SomaliNet) Three foreign teachers have been arrested in Mogadishu today in connection with what the government called terror groups after the security forces in the transitional federal government stormed an educational institute of SIMAD on the main industry road in north of the Somalia capital Mogadishu.
Wanna bet they weren't three Lutherans at the American school in Mog?
Yusuf Moalim, among principals of the institute told Somalinet that heavily armed soldiers raided the school this morning extracting two Ugandans and one Kenyan who were in their class periods. The soldiers came and informed us that they were going to search for weapons, they entered all the rooms in the school but we were shocked when the soldiers took three of our foreign teachers, said Moalim.
Local colleges, institutes and universities in Mogadishu have always hired outside teachers, but most of the foreigners left the country during and after of the Ethiopian led massive military offensive that ended the six-month rule of Somalia's Islamic Courts Union and installed the interim government in Mogadishu.
(SomaliNet) Somalias interim government has sped-up its security steps in the capital of Mogadishu to ensure the opening of the national reconciliation conference on Sunday as large number of Ethiopia and Somalia forces were deployed in all the areas in which the government sees as hotspots.
Some key streets in north and south of the capital received heavily armed allied soldiers with armored vehicles and tanks where they search people and cars. The Somali soldiers were mainly brought from the military camps in the outskirts of the capital to bolster operations aimed to restore peace. An Ethiopian tank could be seen in almost every junction in the capital.
Mohamed Mohyidin, the spokesman for Banadir authority told Somalinet that the new military step was to encourage the security and prevent any violent acts that might damage the opening of Sundays meeting.
The ordinary people in Mogadishu are now growing concern over the additional deployment of soldiers in the city. People fear this might lead to war. I am very worried about the military movement in the capital, said Ali Olow, a local resident in Wardhigley district, south of the capital. On Friday, the insurgents in Mogadishu vowed to disrupt the peace meeting and kill anyone whose ambition is to attend what they called the misguided meeting.
GEORGE GALLOWAY, the MP who campaigned against the Iraq war, is to be suspended from parliament over his links to the United Nations oil-for-food programme in Iraq.
The parliamentary standards watchdog will rule this week that Galloway failed properly to declare his links to a charitable appeal partially funded from money made by selling Iraqi oil under Saddam Hussein, according to a source close to the inquiry. The one-month suspension for Galloway, often referred to as Gorgeous George, is one of the most severe given to an MP.
In 1998 Galloway founded the Mariam Appeal, which campaigned for the lifting of sanctions on Iraq. The appeal, which paid Galloways wife and funded international travel for the MP, received almost £450,000 from Fawaz Zureikat, a Jordanian businessman who was also a trustee of the appeal. It subsequently emerged that more than half of this money came from the proceeds of Iraqi oil sales. An investigation by the American Senate alleged that the Mariam Appeal was used by the Iraqi regime to finance Galloway.
The Mariam Appeal, which raised more than £1.4m, has never filed any accounts and the parliamentary authorities have been unable to account for some of the expenditure.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/15/2007 16:51 ||
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#1
Aw, come on. Gorgeous George, especially in that picture, is just a victim of circuspants.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/15/2007 19:01 Comments ||
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#2
Just like many in the French government, he was afraid the war was gonna throw his gravy train off the tracks. Corrupted bastards.
#6
Get him out of the country, then revoke his citizenship. For that stupid leotard trick, if for nothing else. I thought most Brits had at least a modicum of good taste.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/15/2007 21:34 Comments ||
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#7
Oh, wow, one month, and then the slate is wiped clean, right?
#4
The former deputy secretary general to the UN divides opinion between those who see him as the great hope for Africa and a principled opponent of the war in Iraq, and those who believe that he is an anti-American egotist who defended Kofi Annan over the oil-for-food scandal.
Mark Brown probably regards the above points as great achievements. Little does he realize thatin factthey are but only in the devil's own cause.
The West, he thinks, needs to be more willing to negotiate with some extremist groups for the sake of peace. I used to have to speak to the Khmer Rouge.
"We used to meet Taliban leaders and all kinds of Palestinian factions. It is not because by doing so you are giving them political support but you have to find ways of dealing with issues. There has to be some flexibility against some very firm principles."
As if granting terrorists time upon the world's stage does not garner them legitimacy? Who's this wanker trying to fool? Ya gotta love people who try to mislabel spinelessness as "flexibility". It makes a jellyfish look downright ossified.
On Iran, he thinks it is unlikely that there will now be military action. "We can't all stand idly by, but I think the baton is now clearly with those who favour negotiations."
Methinks this chap's high esteem for "negotiations" betrays a lingering UN-installed hankering for caviar. Negotiating with Muslims is not just futile, it assists their ends at the cost of your own.
I look forward to the day when having worked for the UN poisons one's career.
#5
Negotiations are merely a means of communicating 'paths forward' so that parties may select the path which bests meets their own objectives. Paths which are too costly to party 'A' are rejected; those which inadequately meet the objectives of 'B' but are not costly enough are rejected.
If there are no credible costs threatened Iran will not yield in negotiation. Except in unusual circumstances (Hillary doing the talking, for instance), more talk is not, by itself, not a meaningful threat.
#6
On Iran, he thinks it is unlikely that there will now be military action. "We can't all stand idly by, but I think the baton is now clearly with those who favour negotiations."
#7
When all is said and done, Britain does not bring all that much to the table militarily. I think that California probably has a bigger contingent of troops in Iraq than the UK and, for that matter, could probably take the Brits in a standup fignt. We would rather have them with us than against us, but can deal with it either way.
On Darfur, the British and Americans lost their moral authority, he said. "It frustrated me because Bush and Blair have led on this issue but their credibility was undermined by what had happened in Iraq."
Is there anything remotely redeeming about this transnational socialist?
#10
What a pathetic little man with an inferiority complex disguised as a superiority veneer. He did f**k all at the UN and was a poster boy for their overall corruption and incompentency. So, Brown in an effort to prop up his thumb sucking personality wants to show Bush he is so independent that he will make Lord Mark the Minister of Irrelevant Affairs. Africa and the UN are irrelevant to America's interest. And Asia is too much our common economic and political ally to be swayed too much by this twit.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/15/2007 11:04 Comments ||
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#11
He believes he has always been in tune with mainstream America. "From Colin Powell to Condi Rice all the way through to Richard Holbrooke or Madeleine Albright, across that massive swath of American foreign policy, I would bet you a drink that you would find that I am their favourite multi-nationalist Brit. "Over a dozen years or more I am the man who they have gone to. They were as upset for me as I was upset for myself that I had to go into the ring against the neo-cons."
The ornate splendour of the Foreign Office could not be more different to the stark concrete blocks of the UN building in New York but he said: "The architecture is the least of the differences."
The biggest contrast was over Iraq. He confirmed that he was against the war but said that he did not think Britain and America should now "cut and run".
"When last year there was an attempt to put together a new partnership for Iraq, I was the one who was called. Condi Rice came to Kofi Annan and said, 'the only person we want to run this is Malloch Brown. It is too serious to have anyone else do it' ."
'Appalled' isn't the word for it but is it is printable.
#12
Beyond appalling. A cretinous lightweight like this has a job, much less a job with any prestige? Gotta love the "massive swath" (he's inarticulate, as well as ignorant, stupid, and narcissistic) - across the entire spectrum of establishment mediocrities (Rice, Powell), opportunists (Holbrooke), and morons (Albright) who have recently perfectly embodied the ability and character of State ..... (a few career folks excepted).
#16
The future of democratic, peaceful, modern Africa depends on peaceful negotiations wid knowingly differentiated, radical or extremist hardline armed groups [wid or widout foreign backers]whom all sides know will de facto resort to violence and terror iff the same don't get their way = their share. D *** ng it, ITS NOT APPEASEMENT OR GIVING TRIBUTE TO EVIL!
One of Britain's most senior police officers has demanded a return to a form of internment, with the power to lock up terror suspects indefinitely without charge.
The proposal, put forward by the head of the Association of Police Chief Officers (Acpo) and supported by Scotland Yard, is highly controversial. An earlier plan to extend the amount of time suspects can be held without charge to 90 days led to Tony Blair's first Commons defeat as Prime Minister. Eventually, the government was forced to compromise on 28 days, a period which Gordon Brown has already said he wants to extend.
The Observer understands that the Acpo proposal has been discussed in meetings between Brown and senior police officers. Whitehall sources said the PM was receptive to the association's demands, but believes an upper detention limit is essential to avoid a de facto Guantanamo Bay based in the UK.
#2
That gitmo comparison is bogus. Gitmo is not used for prisoners who have been arrested inside the US. It is used for prisoners taken outside the US who are not authorized treatment under the Geneva Conventions owing to their status as Illegal Combatants.
North Korea has shut down its Yongbyon nuclear facilities, the United States announced on Saturday, saying Washington now hopes for rapid progress toward Pyongyangs nuclear disarmament.
The US has been informed on Saturday that the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea shut down its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, State Department spokesman SeanMcCormack said in a statement. We welcome this development and look forward to the verification and monitoring of this shutdown by the IAEA team that has arrived in the DPRK, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
This still could go either way, however, if it keeps progressing in its current vector, it will be a major victory for the Bush administration.
#2
Congratulations may be in order to Bush and his team for a long, exasperating, difficult diplomatic effort. Now if only they could do something about Iran...I suppose it would be best if this kind of diplomacy mixed with sanctions would work as well with the Mad Mullahs.
#1
Yep, that's the way to "cultivate a moderate image" by comparing Bush to Hitler and 9-11 to the burning of the Reichstag. What the hell would you have to say to "cultivate an extreme or stupid image"?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/15/2007 11:08 Comments ||
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#2
If Bush really were Hitler, Congressman Ellison would have been silenced long ago. Along with most of Hollywood, Democrats and other critics.
#6
To applause from his audience of 300 members of Atheists for Human Rights, Mr Ellison said he would not accuse the Bush administration of planning 9/11 because "you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box - dismiss you".
Hey buddy, I hate to tell you this but you are already in the nut-ball box along with the people in Minnesota who elected you. You are aiding the enemy.
#7
I'm afraid that Fred's photo of the police officer commenting on Internet access should also be used for a large number of politicians and their hired help - they're just too stupid to be on the public payroll. Keith Ellison is near the top of the list, up there with Pelosi, Murtha, Kerry, Kennedy, Reid, Lugars, Snowe, Kuchinich, and several dozen others.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/15/2007 16:19 Comments ||
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#8
"You'll always find this Muslim standing up for your right to be atheists all you want."
I'll let my disgust with Graham over Grahamnesty abide - on this he's spot on. Va needs to rethink Webb. He's a temperamental tool, and no friend of the military he once served, IMHO
WASHINGTON - When senators from opposing parties call each other "friend" and pat each other as they talk, there's a fighting chance they're angling to wring each other's neck.
So it appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday when Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia and Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina testily exchanged views on President Bush's Iraq policy and troop welfare. An impromptu troop surge debate turned into a temper surge.
"Just wash your hands of Iraq," an animated Graham said to the war critics, including the Democrat seated to his immediate right. "History will judge us, my friend."
"It's been a hard month, Lindsey," Webb commiserated, wearing a tight smile. "You need to calm down, my friend."
"Lindsey's had a hard month," Webb repeated.
"It ain't about Lindsey having a hard month," Graham snapped.
The Democrat, a Vietnam veteran, lost an effort in the Senate last week to require specified periods of home time for troops deployed in the war, his bill winning majority support but falling short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. He took sharp objection when Graham asserted that high re-enlistment numbers are a vote of confidence in the Iraq policy by the troops.
"This is one thing I really take objection to may I speak? is politicians who try to put their political views into the mouths of soldiers," Webb said over his opponent's interruptions. He placed his hand briefly on Graham's back, then jerked his thumb in the Republican's direction.
"Have you been to Iraq?" Graham demanded.
"I've covered two wars as a correspondent," Webb said. "I have been to Afghanistan as a journalist."
Graham: "Have you been to Iraq and talked to the soldiers?"
Webb: "You know, you've never been to Iraq, Lindsey."
The Republican pointed out he's been there seven times.
"You know," Webb said dismissively, "you can see the dog and pony shows. That's what congressman do.
"Why don't you go look at the polls, Lindsey, instead of the seven or eight people that are put in front of you when you make your congressional visit?"
Graham tried to ease the tension. It didn't work.
"Let's something we can agree on," he said, placing his hand on Webb's arm. "We both admire the men and the women in uniform. "
"Don't put political words in their mouth," Webb interrupted.
The exchange ended with Graham praising the troops: "God bless them and let's make sure they can win because they can."
And Webb getting the final, combative word:
"I'll let them judge what you said."
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/15/2007 19:21 ||
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#1
my bad - should've been pg 2
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/15/2007 19:24 Comments ||
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#2
Considering that AQ has made defeatism in Congress its #1 objective, I think page #1 works fine, Frank.
#3
Ollie North (Who, granted, comes with his own set of problems) kicked Webb's ass in the boxing ring in the '70s at the Naval Academy. Scribe Ollie is still sluggin' it out, and doing well at it IMHO. Author Webb, with his snarky over-blown sense of entitlement and sleep-inducing tomes, lack the passion, commitment and fealty that Ollie exhibits every day
Posted by: Asymmetrical T ||
07/15/2007 20:54 Comments ||
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#4
Can someone tell me WTF has gotten into Webb over the past decade? Ten or so years ago, he called out the Vietnam-era "peace movement" for stabbing him and his fellow Vietnam vets in the back, and for openly supporting a Communist victory. Now he's made common cause with the same movement - hell, with some of the same people.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/15/2007 21:02 Comments ||
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AL-QAEDAS leadership secretly directed the Islamic militants whose armed revolt at the Red Mosque in Islamabad ended last week with more than 100 deaths after it was stormed by the Pakistan army.
According to senior intelligence officials, the troops who finally took control discovered letters from Osama Bin Ladens deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. They were written to Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz, the brothers who ran the mosque and adjacent madrasah.
Government sources said up to 18 foreign fighters including Uzbeks, Egyptians and several Afghans had arrived weeks before the final shootout and set up firing ranges to teach students, including children, how to handle weapons.
Al-Qaeda has wanted to open a Pakistan front in its global jihad since President Pervez Musharraf sided with America after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Diplomats were surprised by the speed with which the fugitive Zawahiri condemned the raid and called on Pakistanis to rise up against Musharraf.
The response to his appeal was equally swift. Twenty-seven soldiers were killed when a suicide attacker struck a military convoy in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border yesterday. At least 58 have been killed in bombings and shootings since the Red Mosque crisis began 12 days ago.
This weekend street protests were organised by religious parties as the government dispatched thousands more soldiers to its troubled North West Frontier province. Some were sent to the Swat Valley, where a suicide car bomber killed three policemen last Thursday and a madrasah controlled by Maulana Fazlullah, a militant mullah, is expected to be the next flashpoint. Fazlullah has been using a radio station to rally support for Al-Qaeda and has urged followers to arm themselves in preparation for a siege.
Ministers blamed the presence of foreign fighters for the breakdown of negotiations at the Red Mosque just as they seemed about to reach a deal to end the standoff peacefully.
According to government sources and western diplomats, Al-Qaeda sought martyrdom instead. They wanted a poster boy for Pakistan and Ghazi was the perfect guy, said one western diplomat. Ghazi was shot dead in the armys final assault on the mosque a week after his older brother tried to escape disguised in a burqa.
Musharrafs use of overwhelming force to defeat the militants was welcomed not only by international allies in the war on terror but by Pakistans urban middle classes. Advisers were weighing up whether his declaration of war on militants, could be turned to political advantage. His presidential term expires in September and he must decide whether to seek reappointment by the current parliament or call early parliamentary elections with the aim of securing a fresh mandate.
Diplomats believe an initial surge of support may already be fading, however, as concern grows over the number of women and children killed in the Red Mosque.
Ministers denied at first that any had died but the army has since admitted 19 bodies were beyond recognition. They could be anybody, any age, a spokesman said.
Although the interior ministry confirmed later that up to 25 women and children had been killed in the mosque, survivors suggested that the toll could be considerably higher.
Asma Hayat, 15, said she had seen several classmates shot and had been told of 15 other girls killed. She claimed she had seen dozens of 12 and 13-year-old boys dead, insisting: Their faces were recognisable. According to Asma, she was handing out water to children affected by tear gas near the main gate when her friend Nasmeen, 17, was shot in the side. When she went to help her, Nasmeen pushed her away, saying: It feels good, its martyrdom. She was taken away for treatment, but her father called a few days later to say she had died.
Bilal Sabir Khan, 11, claimed one of his friends had been shot in the foot and he saw many martyrs and injured students on the roof of the library and the lawn in front of the mosque.
At the Jinnah stadium, where more than 100 distraught relatives waited to learn the fate of their children, charity workers posted the names of those admitted to hospitals and morgues.
Mattiullah Khan, 50, said he had not spoken to his 16-year-old nephew Mohammed Yusuf since the previous week, when the boy had said he wanted to escape. He didnt want to be a martyr, his uncle said.
The lists of injured, dead and detained told their own story of panic and terror. Among those held in Adyala jail were a six-year-old boy, with two nine-year-olds for company. There were 23 names on the list of confirmed dead, many of them aged 15 and 16. At the Federal Government Services hospital, 34 girls under 16 were treated for tear gas inhalation, including a six-year-old, four girls of eight, and many more younger than 12.
Hamid Gul, a former head of Pakistans ISI intelligence service, said statistics like these, and the stories of dead and injured children, could drive Musharraf from power. The government is trying to hide the number of young girls killed, he claimed. As the truth comes out that young girls were gassed and burnt, riddled with bullets and killed, itll be bad for Musharraf.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/15/2007 17:20 Comments ||
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#2
her friend Nasmeen, 17, was shot in the side. When she went to help her, Nasmeen pushed her away, saying: It feels good, its martyrdom. She was taken away for treatment, but her father called a few days later to say she had died.
Paging Charles Darwin to the white courtesy phone.
This certainly does seem to confirm Debka's report on the topic. Zawahiri continues to make himself an out-front favorite with regional leadership. I'd give him another few weeks or months.
#3
Golda Meir once remarked that until the Muslims learned to love their children more than they hated Jews, they would continue to sacrifice them and peace never achievable. Parents need to just say NO to the madrassas. They chose their fiery fate and have no one to blame but themselves.
The government on Saturday released photographs of 10 more foreign militants who were died fighting security forces during the Lal Masjid operation on July 10. We have identified 10 more bodies of the foreigners who died fighting security forces. We are not sure about their nationality, but their faces clearly show that they are foreigners, Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema told a press conference here. The Interior Ministry has already issued photographs of four foreign militants. The latest announcement brings the number of foreigners killed to 14.
Cheema said the security agencies had recovered 76 bodies from the mosque compound. He said 22 out of 76 bodies were charred. He said one of the charred bodies recovered from the house of Ghazi was most probably of the clerics mother.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Foreigners? In Pakistan? I wonder how many are British or Indian doctors? Any Aussies or Americans? How about Saudis or Iranians? An informed public wants to know.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/15/2007 11:09 Comments ||
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#2
blond hair/ blue-eyed aryans, surely
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/15/2007 11:49 Comments ||
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A commander of the outlawed Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi (TNSM) has revealed that the groups goal, the enforcement of Shariah in Malakand, failed because criminals hijacked the movement for their own goals. Abdul Mateen Jan spent several years as a commander of the outlawed group in the 1990s. He says a Peshawar High Court ruling abolishing Provincially Administered Tribal Areas Regulations in early 1994 laid the foundation for the movement when Dir district Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Sufi Muhammad launched TNSM for the enforcement of Islamic laws in absence of any other system.
He said the inclusion of criminals into the movement spoiled the struggle for Shariah. Kidnappers, car-snatchers and mercenaries surrounded Sufi Muhammad, changing him dramatically, Jan, in his 50s, told Daily Times. The government outlawed the TNSM after its leader Sufi Muhammad mobilised thousands of volunteers to cross into Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance days after 9/11. Maulana Sufi Muhammad is presently serving a lengthy prison term in Dera Ismail Khan after he was arrested upon his return from Afghanistan.
More recently, alleged Islamic militants have disturbed Swat and the arrival of an army brigade has increased the local populations fears about a likely military operation. I joined the movement just to play a role in enforcement of Shariah, Jan said.
Replying to a question about how criminals managed to join the movement, the former commander who hid in Afghanistan when government forces launched an operation against the TNSM, said, No one noticed anything amiss till they were controlling our leader. Sufi Muhammad was good in the beginning as he used to consult all of us before taking any decision. But later, our leader seemed a different man. He said the maulana stopped taking advice from the consultative body and started passing orders like a military dictator. He said the Taliban were suffering from a similar problem in Waziristan and the joining of criminals was tarnishing its image.
Another former TNSM leader, Muzaffar Syed, who is a lawyer, said anti-Pakistan Afghan commander Ahmed Shah Masood offered his aid to the exiled TNSM members. Ahmed Shah Masoods emissaries met the TNSM commanders and fighters when we took refuge in Kunar province. He was unable to explain what help Masoods emissaries offered. Syed, after his experiences with the TNSM, now regards clerics with a critical eye. For a mullah, every good Muslim looks an infidel, he opined, and said the movement did not enjoy popular mass support as it was conceived.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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The Sindh High Courts (SHC) chief justice, Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, has said that the Jirgas being held in Sindh were wrong and had no legitimacy. He termed the SHC Sukkur divisions decision in this regard as correct. While talking to the media Saturday after a meeting with all the district and sessions judges of the province, the CJ Sindh said that a third person had no right to a impose decisions on others and ask them to pay compensation or withdraw a complaint. According to the law, a complainant could only withdraw a case by personally appearing before the court, no decision could be made above the law, Ahmed added. He said that the SHC would form district committees to bring the people and the judiciary closer. He said that 20,000 cases were pending in the courts of Sindh.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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The Indian Navy has sought a second troop carrier from the US to build on its newly acquired capabilities but Washington would have to clear the sale of the ship before a deal was negotiated, a senior US military officer said Saturday.
'The Indian Navy has expressed interest in the USS Nashville. Congress has not yet approved the ship for transfer (sale). That is likely to happen next year and we can then begin negotiations,' Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, director of the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency, told reporters here.
The Indian Navy had last month commissioned INS Jalashva, formerly the USS Trenton landing platform dock (LPD) it purchased for $53.5 million. The ship is expected to sail to India later this month from Norfolk, where it was extensively refitted after being decommissioned from the US Navy.
Continued on Page 49
#4
India, US close to inking military sharing pact.
India and the US are close to inking a pact under which their militaries can refuel ships and aircraft in cashless transactions that are balanced at the end of year, a senior US officer said on Saturday.
Under the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) that is currently with the Cabinet Committee on Security, the two countries can also "borrow" military equipment wherever this is required instead of having to cart it all the way from home, Lt General Jeffrey Kohler, director of the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency, told reporters in the Capital.
The US, which had proposed the pact some four years ago during the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, has similar agreements in place with some 65 countries.
In most cases, it is called the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) that was formerly known as the NATO Mutual Support Act. It was enacted to simplify exchanges of logistic support, supplies, and services between the US and other NATO forces. It was amended in 1986, 1992 and 1994 to permit ACSAs with non-NATO countries.
Kohler explained how the agreement works.
"There's an Indian Navy ship in the US that needs refuelling. It does so for free. Sometime during the year, US military aircraft will land in India or our navy vessels will visit your ports and refuel in similar manner. At the end of the year, we balance the books," he said.
"Let's say India is sending troops to country X on a UN peacekeeping mission. You can borrow vehicles and even armoured personnel carriers but not weapons from the assets we might have in the neighbourhood. Here too, we'll balance the books at the end of the year," Kohler added.
Had such an agreement been in force, India could have saved some $1 million in the Indian Navy's acquisition of the troop carrier USS Trenton, now renamed the INS Jalashva.
"Since the LSA was not in place, India had to pay extra for the fuel that we put on board (before handing over the vessel to the Indian Navy last month)," Kohler pointed out.
Kohler, who retires in September, is on his seventh visit to India. While in the Capital, he met Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt, Secretary (Defence Production) KP Singh, Director General (Acquisitions) Sheelbhadra Banerjee, Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, and Indian Air Force (IAF) vice chief Air Marshal BN Gokhale among others.
Vice Admiral-designate Jeffrey Wieringa, currently deputy assistant secretary of the US navy and director of the international programmes office, will succeed Kohler.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/15/2007 8:11 Comments ||
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#5
Will we have the tech support contract?
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
07/15/2007 10:59 Comments ||
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#6
Well, those Austin class LPDs are getting a bit old. Nashville was used in Lebanon exfil back in 06 during the Israel-Hizbollah conflict. Just don't understand why India feels it needs amphibious capability. Thinking of hitting the beach at Karachi?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/15/2007 11:15 Comments ||
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#7
If the Andaman Islands were seized by Indonesia or Burma, the IN would need amphib capability to retake them.
There are a number of small Indian Ocean states where India may need to intervene in the event of an islamist takeover.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/15/2007 12:14 Comments ||
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#8
Also a possible intervention in the east coast of Sri Lanka to crush a nascent Tamil "state".
I suspect the IN is relishing the prospect of some American hardware. They were forced to buy Russian ships for many years but purchased western assets when available (both Indian aircraft carriers - Vikrant (ex-HMS Hercules) and Viraat (ex-HMS Hermes) were bought from the UK.
The IN is the poor relation of the Indian military. They have the smallest budget and if improving Indo-US ties allow them a chance to increase their surface fleet, they will jump at the opportunity.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/15/2007 12:24 Comments ||
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#9
Where its Navy is concerned, India's strategic ambition during the Cold War was to eventually be indigens capable of building its own. Ditto also for its air force.
#10
The replacement carrier Vikrant is being built at a Cochin shipyard. Launch is expected in 2010.
A second vessel of this class will also be built.
These will be the largest warships yet built by India.
The carrier Vikramaditya (ex Admiral Gorshkov) is expected to join the IN in 2008 (if the Russians manage to scrape all the rust away by then).
The Indian pilots for the Mig-29Ks that the Gorshkov and the Vikrant will carry are being trained by the US Navy.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/15/2007 22:54 Comments ||
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Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal President Qazi Hussain Ahmad announced on Saturday that he would resign from the National Assembly to protest the Lal Masjid operation.
Addressing a press conference here, he said he would submit his resignation to the Speaker of the NA in the next few days. He said he would resist a government plan to demolish the Jamia Hafsa, adding that the MMA would not allow the government to run the madrassa. He said he was trying to form a team of retired judges to investigate the Lal Masjid issue. He said the government had been determined to kill Abdur Rashid Ghazi and his followers.
He said there was no law and order problem in the NWFP, adding that the provincial government had not requested any military action.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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President Pervez Musharraf has failed to contain Al Qaeda and must regain control over areas bordering Afghanistan, said Stephen Hadley, President George Bushs national security adviser. Answering questions in an interview with Bloomberg Televisions Political Capital with Al Hunt, Hadley said Musharrafs strategy of giving tribal leaders more autonomy has not worked the way it should have.
Hasn't worked any way at all that we can see. Unless you're on the other side.
The US is working with the Pakistani government to thwart the latest threats, Hadley said, adding that the Musharraf government is beginning to take some moves that will reassert control in those areas.
Faced with growing unrest in Congress over the perception that terrorism risks are growing, the administration is stepping up pressure on Pakistan. US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian affairs Richard Boucher has said Al Qaeda fighters have found more freedom to operate in Pakistan since Musharraf made the deal with tribesmen. Concerning Iraq, Hadley said the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki needed to end sectarian violence before it could achieve political stability. The Iraqi government had thus far failed to meet several political goals deemed necessary for enabling a US military withdrawal from the country, the Bush administration told Congress on Friday.
Hadley was, however, upbeat about prospects for the success of the US troop increase in Iraq and said military commanders, not Congress, should determine the next steps. We will have another two months operating under this new strategy, Hadley said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[6 views]
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#1
The Fallujah Brigade didn't work well either. Kind of like providing Mike Tyson with a case of the Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull, 100 feet of clothesline, a Louisville Sluggger and a pack of condoms.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/15/2007 2:10 Comments ||
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Away from the headlines and debate over the "surge" in U.S. ground troops, the Air Force has quietly built up its hardware inside Iraq, sharply stepped up bombing and laid a foundation for a sustained air campaign in support of American and Iraqi forces.
Squadrons of attack planes have been added to the in-country fleet. The air reconnaissance arm has almost doubled since last year. The powerful B1-B bomber has been recalled to action over Iraq.
The escalation worries some about an increase in "collateral damage," casualties among Iraqi civilians. Air Force generals worry about wear and tear on aging aircraft. But ground commanders clearly like what they see.
"Night before last we had 14 strikes from B-1 bombers. Last night we had 18 strikes by B-1 bombers," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said approvingly of air support his 3rd Infantry Division received in a recent offensive south of Baghdad.
Statistics tell the story: Air Force and Navy aircraft dropped 437 bombs and missiles in Iraq in the first six months of 2007, a fivefold increase over the 86 used in the first half of 2006, and three times more than in the second half of 2006, according to Air Force data. In June, bombs dropped at a rate of more than five a day.
Inside spacious, air-conditioned "Kingpin," a new air traffic control center at this huge Air Force hub 50 miles north of Baghdad, the expanded commitment can be seen on the central display screen: Small points of light represent more than 100 aircraft crisscrossing Iraqi air space at any one time.
The increased air activity has paralleled the reinforcement of U.S. ground troops, beginning in February, to try to suppress the insurgency and sectarian violence in the Baghdad region. Simply keeping those 30,000 additional troops supplied has added to demands on the Air Force.
"We're the busiest aerial port in DOD (Department of Defense)," said Col. Dave Reynolds, a mission support commander here. Working 12-hour shifts, his cargo handlers are expected to move 140,000 tons of cargo this year, one-third more than in 2006, he said.
The greatest impact of the "air surge" has come in close air support for Army and Marine operations. Early this year, with little fanfare, the Air Force sent a squadron of A-10 "Warthog" attack planes - a dozen or more aircraft - to be based at Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq. At the same time it added a squadron of F-16C Fighting Falcons here at Balad. Although some had flown missions over Iraq from elsewhere in the region, the additions doubled to 50 or more the number of workhorse fighter-bomber jets available at bases inside the country, closer to the action.
The reinforcement involved more than numbers. The new F-16Cs were the first of the advanced "Block 50" version to fly in Iraq, an aircraft whose technology includes a cockpit helmet that enables the pilot to aim his weapons at a target simply by turning his head and looking at it.
The Navy has contributed by stationing a second aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, and the reintroduction of B1-Bs has added a close-at-hand "platform" capable of carrying 24 tons of bombs. Those big bombers were moved last year from distant Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to an undisclosed base in the Persian Gulf. Since February, with the ground offensive, they have gone on Iraq bombing runs for the first time since the 2003 invasion.
As chronicled in the Air Force's daily summaries, more and more pilots are getting the "cleared hot" clearance for bombing runs, usually with 500-pound bombs. In recent Army operations north of Baghdad, for example, Air Force planes have struck "factories" for makeshift bombs, weapons caches uncovered by ground troops and, in one instance, "several houses insurgents were using as fire positions."
The demand for air support is heavy. On one recent day, at a briefing attended by a reporter, it was noted that 48 requests for air support were filled, but 16 went unmet. "There are times when the Army wishes we had more jets," said F-16C pilot Lt. Col. Steve Williams, commander of the 13th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, a component of Balad's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing.
In addition, the Air Force is performing more "ISR" work in Iraq - intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. "We have probably come close to doubling our ISR platforms the past 12 months," said Col. Gary Crowder, a deputy air operations chief for the Central Command. Those proliferating reconnaissance platforms include Predator drones, high-flying U2s and AWACS, the technology-packed airborne warning and control aircraft, three of which returned to the Persian Gulf in April after three years' absence.
The F-16Cs and other attack planes also do surveillance work with their targeting cameras, keeping watch on convoy routes, for example. By Oct. 1, Crowder said, all squadrons will have "ROVER" capability, able to download real-time aerial video to the laptop computers of troops on the ground - showing them, in effect, what's around the next corner. "They love it. It's like having a security camera wherever you want it," said Col. Joe Guastella, the Air Force's regional operations chief.
Air Force engineers, meanwhile, are improving this centrally located home base, which supports some 10,000 air operations per week. The weaker of Balad's two 11,000-foot runways was reinforced - for five to seven years' more hard use. The engineers next will build concrete "overruns" at the runways' ends. Balad's strategic ramp, the concrete parking lot for its biggest planes, was expanded last fall. The air traffic control system is to be upgraded again with the latest technology. We'd like to get it to be a field like Langley, if you will," said mission support chief Reynolds, referring to the Air Force showcase base in Virginia.
The Air Force has flown over Iraq for many years, having enforced "no-fly zones" with the Navy in 1991-2003, banning Iraqi aircraft from northern and southern areas of this country. Today, too, it takes a long view: Many expect the Army to draw down its Iraq forces by 2009, but the Air Force is planning for a continued conflict in which it supports Iraqi troops.
"Until we can determine that the Iraqis have got their air force to sufficient capability, I think the coalition will be here to support that effort," Lt. Gen. Gary North, overall regional air commander, said in an interview. The new Iraqi air force thus far fields only a handful of transports and reconnaissance aircraft - no attack planes.
North also echoed a common theme in today's Air Force: Some of the U.S. planes are too old. Some of his KC-135 air-refueling tankers date from 1956. Heavy use in Iraq and Afghanistan is cracking the wings of some A-10s, the Air Force says. "We are burning these airplanes out," North said. "Our A-10s and our F-16s are rapidly becoming legacy systems."
If the equipment is under strain, it doesn't appear the personnel are. The Air Force's four-month Iraq tours and extensive use of volunteer pilots from the Reserve and National Guard contrast sharply with an Army whose 15-month tours are sapping energy and morale. In the Air Force, Iraq duty can even be cut to two months. Lt. Col. Bob Mortensen's 457th Fighter Squadron - F-16Cs from Fort Worth, Texas - managed it by working a deal with another Reserve unit to share one four-month rotation.
#4
FREEREPUBLIC/WORLDNEWS > Iran locking its missles on over 600 targets inside Israel. IDF expecting mil confrontation iff not conflict-war wid Syria in next six months [Dec 2007-Jan 2008]. Iran maintaining its threat to strike Israel iff Israel attacks = wages war agz it OR ANY OF IRAN'S ALLIES.
Hamas on Saturday rejected as unconstitutional the government appointed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to replace a Hamas-led cabinet, and called for parliament to convene to try to reverse the decision. Abbas, who leads the secular Fatah faction, disbanded a government led by the Islamist group and formed an emergency administration after Hamas seized the Gaza Strip by force on June 14. Since then he has ruled by emergency decree. Responding to a constitutional limit on the 30-day state of emergency, Abbas on Friday swore in three new ministers and reappointed Salam Fayyad as prime minister. Fatah said the manoeuvres put the government on a new legal footing. But Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the caretaker government was illegal. He said the Islamist group will not deal with it in any way or form, and we call upon our people not to deal with it. Hamas called for a special session of the Palestinian parliament to be convened on Sunday to try to challenge Abbass decisions.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
The certainly are kind of whiners for a terrorist organization.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/15/2007 1:56 Comments ||
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More on the warning we posted yesterday. Detailed restrictions at the link.
The American State Department has issued a warning Saturday to citizens and residents of the US living in Israel.
The warning was released after information was received that suicide bombings were planned against American institutes, restaurants and businesses in Israel that are connected to the US, especially in Jerusalem.
The warning refers to the "general state of security in Israel, Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and to the repeated threats against American citizens and sites."
The State Department added that "the Israeli authorities are concerned by the continued threat of suicide attacks," and that "the US government has received information that American interests might be targeted for terrorist attacks."
Americans were cautioned to leave the Gaza Strip immediately and to refrain from entering the West Bank. They are asked to be attentive in the vicinity of American buildings such as the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley is accelerating delivery of the Defense Department's December 2009 goal of 21 daily MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle combat air patrols, or CAPs, by one year.
At the chief of staff's request, Air Force officials coordinated deployment actions with the Joint Staff and Central Command to increase three additional Predator CAPs, boosting full motion video and rapid strike capability to the Joint Force commander in Iraq. Two of these CAPs are expected to be active this summer or early fall.
"The Predator provides a tremendous capability for our joint and coalition forces on the ground," said Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, the deputy Air Force chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. "The Air Force is pushing to expand Predator air patrols for Admiral (William J.) Fallon's use as quickly as possible."
Admiral Fallon is the commander of U.S. Central Command.
Currently, Airmen operate 12 Predator CAPs providing combat capability to joint forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The acceleration is possible due to the chief of staff's "total force" approach to fielding enhanced combat capability. The recently increased Predator training capacity, and the inclusion of additional Air National Guard Airmen supports both increased flight operations and a more robust exploitation of Predator data.
Each Predator CAP provides 24-hour, seven days a week combat operations. They are flown by both active duty and Air National Guard personnel through secure communications to bases in Nevada, California and North Dakota. The Air Force also will begin flying Predator combat operations from Arizona next week, all part of the chief of staff's "total force" approach in combining Active, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard capabilities in a much more inclusive and effective manner.
The Air Force continues to deploy all operational Predator assets and will look to sustain this combat capability as new production aircraft, ground stations and aircrew are delivered. To fully man this new level for Central Command, the Air Force will maintain 160 "total force" Predator crews, up from 120 last year.
The Predator is an armed multi-role intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance asset with sophisticated sensors and weapons delivering critical combat capability to U.S. and U.K. forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This weapon system has the capability to find, track, and, if necessary, strike an enemy threat with immediate effect. This type of tactical agility is imperative to neutralize insurgent activity. The Air Force's Predator is the most requested medium- or high-altitude UAV in the U.S. Central Command theater of operations.
#2
Bottleneck is probably satellite communications since they are controlled from Nevada.
Posted by: ed ||
07/15/2007 2:11 Comments ||
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#3
Nice article and nice advertisement. Relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture, Unmanned Aeriel Vehicles (UAV) have not caught on in the past in the USAF for some very obvious reasons. Current requirements in the GWOT and successes achieved by the military have brought the Air Force around and they are beginning to see business development opportunities. Yes, it is all about oil money, and like Rust-Oleum paint, the advertising campaign is key. As far as why the US isn't blanketing Iraq with these UAV's; the airborne platform is one component, the substantial ground support piece is the other, available airspace is yet another. There is no "Easy Button" with regard to Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C3ISR). It's a superb tool, resource, and combat multiplier, but it ain't penicllin.
#4
Perhaps a combination of UAVs with higher altitude station-keeping LTA (Lighter Than Air) observation blimps might avoid airspace conflicts and provide wide-field observation capabilities that could augment the Predator fleet's more localized missions.
#5
A Predator by itself isn't much What makes it effective are the personnel operating it and the communications net to move the data and integrate it into combat operations. Even the Reaper needs trained operators. We are not at the point where we are willing to send armed Reapers out without a human finger on the trigger. Also, a CAP is exactly what it says, a Combat Air Patrol, not a reon mission. The services have a stable full of other birds for recce. The Raven comes to mind.
#6
Raven is for sub-tactical and tactical ops, i.e. at the squad level. Fits well with the Marine tactics & is their platform altho I understand Army uses it where available. Predator's a battalion-level asset. Wholly 'nuther sensor package, flies at a higher altitude and requires airspace management.
Army's plans for the Future Combat System included 4 types of UAVs, from a Raven style microUAV to a 'flying trashcan' fan/induction vehicle at the company level, a Predator-class fixed wing for the battalion and an unmanned helo at the brigade level IIRC.
The company level Type II is on hold for budgetary reasons, but also because there is some reason to question whether it would really provide a lot of mission enhancement for the bucks, vs. additional fixed wings to be shared. The micro and the helo are under contract.
Which leaves the Predator class replacement. The existing Predators are pretty limited in various ways. I've heard that a lot of operator training goes into working around its limitations.
There is also the USAF issue re: owning air space management. USAF has traditionally owned that responsibility, Army wants it for battlefield assets and it's both a turf war and a matter that has significant operational impact. Or so I'm told by people on both sides of that issue ... ;-)
Made that "miniUAV". The micros are much smaller. Raven is backpackable, has a 5' wingspan. The micros in development are much smaller than that and are likely to be deployed in self-organizing swarms rather than under direct human operator control.
Huge amount of work going on both in unmanned technical development and - of equal importance - in working the tactics and doctrine for their use.
#8
Didn't that system we read about 2 weeks ago rely on UAVs to take pictures several times a day ?
Remember it can determine the smallest change in any location so it's used to locate planted IRDs and such. Or was that using a maned platform ?
#9
There is also the USAF issue re: owning air space management. USAF has traditionally owned that responsibility, Army wants it for battlefield assets and it's both a turf war and a matter that has significant operational impact. Or so I'm told by people on both sides of that issue ... ;-)
Posted by lotp 2007-07-15 09:47|| Front Page|| ||Comments Top
#10
Thanks for the confirmation, Besoeker. Although some of the folks I work with have recent operational experience, there's always the danger of being caught in a program echo chamber .....
wxjames, I didn't find the RB post in question but I think you're referring to the Army's Buckeye system. It's airborne, can fly on manned or unmanned aircraft.
#11
There's one more major problem with increasing the number of Predators and other platforms, from smallest to largest (Global Hawk?). The schools at Goodfellow and Fort Huachuka can only turn out so many qualified interpreters a year. The class sizes at both have been increased, but there's still a shortfall. Lots of former military are working as contractors to span the gap, and there's still a shortfall. The Air Force is considering increasing its total reconnaissance force by 35-50% in the next year. Already the number of people required to support reconnaissance has almost doubled. That's a major change since the draw-down following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/15/2007 16:38 Comments ||
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#12
OP - my son's class at Ft. Huachuca graduated 147 (from 220 at the start) in June - they are pumping out as many as possible
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/15/2007 17:07 Comments ||
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#13
Right, lotp. The Buckeye system. We own the sky. We own the view from the sky.
It kinda makes me happy to pay taxes....well almost.
Iran asked Japanese refiners to switch to the yen to pay for all crude oil purchases, after Iran's central bank said it is reducing holdings of the US dollar.
The yen rose on speculation for an increase in demand for the currency, the result of Japan's annual 1.24 trln yen ($10.1 bln) of oil imports from Iran. Central bankers in Venezuela, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have said they will invest less of their reserves in dollar assets because of the weakening currency.
"What else can Japan do but to accept the request, once the oil producer sent its wish?'' said Hirofumi Kawachi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo. "The tensions between the US and Iran are escalating, and it is Iran's measure to hedge risk.''
Iran is cutting its US dollar reserves to less than 20% of total foreign currency holdings, and will buy more euros and yen as tensions with the US increase, Central Bank Governor Ebrahim Sheibany said on March 27.
Iran isn't alone in wanting to drop the dollar for pricing oil. Russia plans to open the Energy Stock Exchange in St. Petersburg in the first half of next year to trade oil in rubles
Iran isn't alone in wanting to drop the dollar for pricing oil. Russia has been examining plans to price the Urals oil export blend in rubles to curb currency risks. The nation plans to open the Energy Stock Exchange in St. Petersburg in the first half of next year to trade oil in rubles, UBS AG reported June 14.
Iran asked the refiners to use the yen exchange rate quoted at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ on the date oil cargoes are loaded. The use of yen-based letters of credit for oil "has finally been approved'' by the Iranian central bank and the NIOC, according to the letter, titled "New payment mechanism for Iranian Crude Oil Cargoes.''
Japan imported 1.59 mln kiloliters of Iranian crude oil in May, the least since June 2006, according to government data.
Only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are larger oil suppliers to Japan than Iran.
Posted by: lotp ||
07/15/2007 07:47 ||
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[6 views]
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#1
Sounds like the quiet Gnomes over in Treasury are causing some real pain. Go Gnomes!!
"it's the quiet little buggers you have to watch out for."
Posted by: N Guard ||
07/15/2007 9:23 Comments ||
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#3
This idea follows on the heels of the planned opening of the Iranian Oil Bourse and Russia's Energy Stock Exchange, all intended as subtle attacks against the U.S. dollar.
To strengthen the dollar long term and to give ourselves greater leverage against hostile foreign government actions we should:
1. Eliminate deficits to eat into the national debt
2. Triple our investment in alternative energy research
#4
Yes GP0723! We have a lot of coal. I would like to see the hydrogen fuel cell auto pushed harder. The infrastructure is not developed for fueling. California has some activity in this area. We have a lot of inertia to change built into our system--too many vested interests. My wife and I were having a picnic the other day at one of our TVA dams in the region the other day. I noticed the dam was built around completed in 1936. Approximately 3 years were required to build it. I hate to think how long would be required today to build it--if it could even be built. I took part in designing aspects of the Clinch River Breeder reactor in the 1980s. The effort took several years only to be scuttled by Congress. The breeder reactor provided a way to utilize radioactive wastes. So many good engineering design efforts become political footballs.
London, Jul. 13 Bulgaria on Friday imposed an arms embargo on Iran, the Bulgarian news agency Focus reported. The decision was made by the Bulgarian government at a cabinet meeting earlier in the day.
In April, Bulgaria imposed sanctions on Iran in line with a resolution by the United Nations Security Council ordering a partial economic and arms embargo against the Islamic Republic over its sensitive nuclear work.
Posted by: ||
07/15/2007 00:50 ||
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Over 50 Iranian economists bluntly told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a face-to-face meeting this week his economic policies were inexpert and lacked any basis in science, the press reported on Saturday.
At Fridays meeting, arranged so the president could hear their criticism, the economists launched a withering attack on Ahmadinejads government which they said was frittering away the benefits of unprecedented oil wealth.
In your government, economic policies are adopted without any basis in science or the directives of the fourth development plan, said a statement from the 57 economists read out at the meeting, the Etemad Melli newspaper reported.
They asked for documented statistics in official reports that could prove the governments achievements. Iranian news agencies said Ahmadinejad later told the economy ministry to draw up such a report.
It would seem that after the Islamic revolution, no government has benefited from such a surge in oil revenues, the economists told the president, referring to the high crude prices.
This gives us a unique and historic opportunity to resolve the structural problems of the economy. But we are worried that we will miss this opportunity.
The economists, who include a former chief of the planning and budget organisation and ex-head of the stock exchange, last month published an open letter which accused the government of failing to create social justice.
Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005 on a platform of helping the poor in OPECs number two producer feel the benefits of oil wealth but has been repeatedly criticised for harming the worst-off by failing to halt surging inflation.
There has been a conspicuous rise in basic foods and service prices over the past months and the central bank has predicted inflation will rise to 17 percent in the year to March 2008.
Money supply growth is also soaring and is estimated to be running at a colossal 40 percent.
The economists warned against short-termism, saying that Irans oil and gas wealth belonged to all generations and Ahmadinejads policies risked leaving heavy financial commitments for subsequent governments.
Ahmadinejad has also been lambasted by reformists and many conservatives for going on a spending spree to finance infrastructure projects to fulfill promises made in his visits to all 30 provinces over the past two years.
A decision to lower interest rates - taken without the consultation of the central bank chief and economy minister - earlier this year has in particular aroused the ire of economists.
Such decisions are harmful and inexpert. The most sensitive financial institutions of the country will be weakened and in the not too distant future we will see the negative outcomes of these decisions, they said.
Etemad Melli said that the president described the meeting as frank, friendly and scientific.
Ahmadinejad also asked the assembled economists to present solutions to resolve the countrys economic problems and ideas on how Irans oil wealth should be spent.
The president has always vehemently rejected criticism over his handling of the economy, insisting that inflation is under control and Iran is reaching new levels of technological progress.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I have read that the Shah made similar mistakes with respect to project logistics as he wasted a large portion of his profits from the first oil crisis. He would order more stuff than Iran's travel infrastructure could support. Much of it rotted on the pier after it sat at anchor for months.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/15/2007 1:53 Comments ||
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#2
I don't care what those 50+ guys are saying. I personally think Nutjob is doing a great job with the economy. Given the way things seem to be going, I couldn't ask for much more out of the guy on this point.
Rival Lebanese politicians open French-sponsored roundtable talks near Paris on Saturday which could make modest progress towards ending an 8-month-old political crisis that threatens to plunge Lebanon into chaos. Officials have been at pains to dampen expectations for the 2-day meeting, hosted by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner at a secluded site in the Saint-Cloud suburb.
The French Foreign Ministry said the meeting had been cut to two days from three because Kouchner had other engagements. Hopes for the meeting do not exceed laying the groundwork for a resumption of dialogue between the various factions in Beirut on how to break their impasse. "I do not look to Paris as the final station. I look at it as a starting point of a new strategy," MP Ibrahim Kanaan, a representative of Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun, said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Aoun is a Hezzie Stooge who jumped at the chance to summer in France.
Despite the Shiite groups propaganda efforts, criticism of its conduct during last summers war and its aftermath are filtering through.
Tell me, do you know what this means? a Shiite from south Beirut asks as he makes the victory sign with his two fingers.
It means that we have only two buildings still standing.
Tell me, do you know what this means? a Shiite from south Beirut asks a reporter from the Al-Awan news website as he makes the victory sign with his two fingers. It means that we have only two buildings still standing.
Shoal Radas macabre joke demonstrates the general atmosphere in Lebanon in the aftermath of the war with Israel, despite Hizbullahs attempts to present last summers conflict as a divine victory.
Unbiased reports on the situation in Lebanon are few and far between, as Hizbullah representatives accompany each and every journalist to make sure no reports and photos that may be detrimental to the organizations propaganda efforts are published. However, some criticism against Hizbullah and the Lebanese government does filter through every now and again.
"I dont understand the benefit of this war, says Rada, who works as a driver. When you have a criminal neighbor such as Israel, you must think a hundred times before provoking it. Hizbullah should have expected this outcome. Whats heroic about having a million refugees? Believe me, if they dont pay reparations to all those who have lost their homes in the war, the Shiites will rise up against them and spit at them, he says.
You'd better be prepared to do more than spit at them.
Muhammad, a university professor from west Beirut, says I was against Hizbullahs attack (on Israel), but when Israel attacked I supported Hizbullah. Now I am glad that the UNIFIL forces are here. What would become us, the secular Muslims, if we would have had to face Hizullah on our own?
Words of condemnation and fear of another war with Israel can even be heard in Bint Jbeil, considered to be the Shiite capital in south Lebanon. Dozens of structures suspected of containing bomb duds are marked with red tape, which is not removed until the buildings are cleansed. The duds spread out in the area also make it difficult for farmers to cultivate their lands.
All of our leaders are liars. They make promises, but destroy homes, just like the leaders of the people of Palestine.
Ive lost millions and havent received any compensation, says Abbas Ibrahim, a 60-year-old local farmer. All of our leaders are liars. They make promises, but destroy homes, just like the leaders of the people of Palestine.
Residents from other south Lebanon towns, such as Marj Ayun and el-Hiam, are also finding it hard to deal with the new reality.
People who left the area last July due to the war have not returned because of the cluster-bomb duds, Hadj Muhammad tells a reporter from the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan.
The recent attack (against a Spanish UNIFIL battalion in south Lebanon) has killed out hope that life here will ever return to normal, he says.
Action, meet consequence.
During a recent meeting of about 150 Shiite academics at the Commodore Hotel in Beirut, participants called on Hizbullah to halt its attacks against Lebanese government institutions and authorities.
"Hizbullah and the opposition want to drag the country into chaos on behalf of the Syrian regime."
Hizbullah and the opposition have lost their credibility, says Hamad Sayef, who took part in the conference. They want to drag the country into chaos on behalf of the Syrian regime. Hizbullah must stand by the government in its war against the Fatah el-Islam militia in Tripoli.
#1
It's nice to finally see some validation of what I thought was a serious misunderstanding and misjudgment of the Israeli war against Southern Lebanon. At the time I said that it would take nearly a year for the full effect to begin to be felt.
Israel's campaign was strategic, not tactical. It devastated the Shiite economy and Hezbollah's infrastructure.
#2
I don't think the current government of Israel had a master plan. I don't think it really takes much to cripple the economy of an area overun by jihadi thugs. Inviting the Manson family to the neighborhood would be a serious improvement over Iranian backed Islamokooks.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/15/2007 2:53 Comments ||
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#3
Muslims deserve Islam. The destructive self-reinforcing negative feedback loop of victim mentality losers who idolize strongman leadership would be hilarious if it didn't get so many of us outsiders killed.
#5
I saw recent pictures of Bint Jubeil, in Hizhbolland. The IAF/IDF flattened it. Hardly anything is rebuilt. The Iranians handed out $12,000 packages to ANYONE who claimed to have suffered home loss. Locals took the money and ran, while Iran refused similar aid to south Beirut.
Israel didn't publicize its tactics during the intervention, because they knew that the enemy would deny it. What they did was inflict near total destruction of built up centers in Shiite Beirut and south Lebanon. The IDF didn't do the house to house fighting that US troops are carrying out in Baghdad. They just destroyed everything. Good idea.
Hizbollah supporters run a "Bint Jubeil Center" in Detroit. Many refugees from IDF justice ended up there. Many US citizens who fought for Hizbollah, returned there as if the US is a subsidizer of terror. Next time: no more $100 million dollar evacuations. Anyone in Lebanon can stay there.
#9
But look at it this way. They really have some schnazzy plackards of Nasr'alla to carry around....
Posted by: Tell D Truth ||
07/15/2007 20:54 Comments ||
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#10
"All of our leaders are liars" > IOW, NOT DIVINE BUT HUMAN-BASED = POLITICAL.
*2012 > great earthquake felt throughout the world.
* Large comet(s) slamming into the earth.
* explosions and cracks on the Moon circa 2029-2030.
These and other ESCALATORY events in space + earth are truly the "Divine". Only God can utterly destroy the sphere of a planet while allowing life + humanity to survive = taking the same and restoring it to its former selfs or greater. POST-GABRIEL'S SWORD > GLOBAL DIASPORAS > GLOBAL, NEW, "WANDERING JEW" composed of all peoples and races until it is proven to God of worthiness of restoration, instead of final total destruction-obliteration from existence or reality. BIBLE CODE > "IT SHALL BE CRUMBLED". The Bible Code, etal. + Histoire Channel, etal. weren't around in the 1960's or 1970's. Remember now, RADICAL MULLAHS > OIL CATACLYSM = NEW GLOBAL AGE OF BARBARISM, CHAOS + CONQUEST, ETC. = NEW DARK AGES = ISLAM IS THE LIGHT THAT RULES THE FUTURE WORLD.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/15/2007 13:49 Comments ||
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#3
More than any other thing, this is convincing evidence that bin Laden has taken the dirt nap. ZERO mention of current events and totally recycled footage spells "titzup" to me.
#4
I agree with Zenster regarding the temperature reading of UBL. However, an analyst did point out that this comes on the heels of some curious, repetitive language by Zawahiri in the last video, and this composite does more to affirm the value of martyrdom than comment on current events. Is this a motivational follwo up to a "go" signal?
#5
The triple repetition is certainly within Islamic forms. However, much like the costly false "radish" code alert to Israel that preceded the Yom Kippur War, fake signals that cause the West to repeatedly go on high alert are a way to make us spend untold millions. Anyone want to bet that the "situation room" alert we had the other day didn't cost America on the order of one million dollars?
#6
Osama believes that he is the new SALADIN. among other Muslim greats-figures from history. The image of SALADIN, etal is one of Muslim victory and triumph, NOT defeat or setback. Osama led, planned and conspired for 9-11, etc in order to bring about the defeat and destruction of the USA, NOT merely to get the USA out the ME. Right now, Radical islam is LOSING the WOT, NOT WINNING, AND THE USA IS ENTRENCHING EVERYWHERE AROUND THE WORLD. AS LONG AS THIS AMER TREND CONTINUES UNABATED + UNSTOPPED, OSAMA CANNOT APPEAR/USE THE HISTORICAL OR RELIGIOUS IMAGES-PERSONAS OF EITHER SALADIN OR MAHDI-IMAM, ETC. WHILE THE USA IS VICTORIOUS.
Iff OSAMA is indeed dead inside his TORA BORA cave, his body needs to be physically recovered and absolutely verified. Iff Osama's = Radical islam's agenda is truly GLOBALIST and meant to destroy the USA-West in favor of a OWG GLOBAL JIHADIST/ISLAMIST STATE, THEN KNOWING OSAMA HE + HIS BOYZ MUST HAD ANTICIPATED ANTI-US GLOBAL WAR SCENARIO(S) AS CONTINGENCY. Zawi, as for Iran's MOud, has himself called for the UNO =World Powers to intervene agz the USA in the name of anti-Imperialism + US-dominated World Order. Until it is clear that Osama is dead, and that the USA is being stopped or defeated, IMO Osama as SALADIN = MAHDI-IMAM, ETC. CAN NOT AND WILL NOT APPEAR Iff one accepts the analogies of Radical Islamism as GOD/FAITH BASED MARXISTS-BOLSHEVIKS-LEFTISTCOMMIES, the one should accept that, as wid Secular Lefties and PC Diplomats-Politicians, God/Faith-based Lefties = Radical islamists also ADMIT ONLY TO SUCCESS + TRIUMPH + VICTORY, NOT FAILURE OR DEFECT. Until Osama is proven dead, or publcly removed as leader within Radical Islam by Radical islam, Radical islam's war agz the USA-West will continue NO MATTER ANY SEEMING "PEACE PERIODS" OCCUR. *Put another way, RADICAL ISLAM = CYLONS and CYLONS" WAR AGZ HUMANITY [USA-WEST] WILL NOT = NEVER STOP UNTIL HUMANITY IS DESTROYED OR THE CYLONS ARE, TO THE LAST HUMAN OR CYLON ROBOT. WOT > WAR FOR THE WORLD = WAR TO THE DEATH, which for the anti-US Lefts + Radical islam > ANTI-AMERICAN WAR = WORLD WIDE WAR AGZ AMERICA!
Jailhouse Dissent Seen as Challenge to Al-Qaeda
The guerrilla leader who crafted what became al-Qaeda's guide to jihad is preparing to renounce its extremes, including the killing of innocent civilians, according to his onetime colleagues and his own writings.
Abdul-Aziz el-Sherif, an emir, or top leader, of the armed Egyptian movement Islamic Jihad and a longtime associate of al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, is writing his dissent behind prison walls on Egypt's Nile River.
Retired Gen. Fouad Allam says state security officials tried to discredit extremists' religious reasoning for armed attacks.
Such jailhouse "revisions," as they are known here, have helped to widen rifts between al-Qaeda and some of its former admirers and have led to the release of thousands of erstwhile Islamic extremists from Egypt's prisons. "It will be a challenge to al-Qaeda, from someone from inside, who speaks the same language," said Kamal Habib, a former Islamic Jihad leader imprisoned for 10 years after Islamic extremists assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981.
Habib, who bears scars from cigarettes that he said Egyptian security officials stubbed out in his palms during interrogations, said that based on his own experience, Sherif probably was tortured after he was imprisoned in Egypt in 2004 but not as he has been writing his revision. "Torture is not the thing to break Sayed Imam," Habib said, using an honorific for Sherif. "He is very strong."
Fawaz A. Gerges, a Middle East scholar at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, said the revisions "pour fuel on a raging struggle within the jihadist community and . . . challenge the narrative offered by Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden."
Without such dissents, armed attacks "would be much greater, much broader and much more devastating," Gerges said.
The main body of Sherif's revision is a tract of no more than 100 pages that Egypt's state security forces and state-allied religious scholars are vetting. Publication is expected to lead to Egypt's release of up to 5,000 former Islamic Jihad members and other activists.
Among other well known Islamic Jihad figures behind bars in Egypt, Abbud al-Zumar, another former leader, is believed to support Sherif's revision; Mohammed al-Zawahiri, the younger brother of the al-Qaeda deputy leader, publicly "neither supports nor condemns it," according to an associate of the radicals familiar with the revision. He spoke on condition of anonymity.
The associate said he was not convinced of the sincerity of Sherif's revision, in part because Sherif had argued at length against revisions issued by Egypt's other leading militant movement, the Islamic Group.
#2
Islamic Jihad's revision comes as the group itself grows into something of an anachronism.
Western governments today are fighting a new era of decentralized, often freelance Islamic fighters -- members of what Gerges called "the Iraq generation" -- who are angered by the U.S. occupation of Iraq and support of Israel.
"Jihad today is no longer a religious idea. It's a political idea, a protest against U.S. activities," said Allam, the retired state security director, sitting on his flower-lined patio next to the Mediterranean, his words accompanied by the crash of waves notorious for their undertow. "The whole world has to do revisions."
Hmmm. I sometimes wonder if the jihadis themselves aren't really confused and of several minds on this.
Not the young, sex-deprived guys who are of an age and suitable ignorance to think that murdering mothers with babies will somehow atone for the extreme emptiness and futility of t heir lives. No, those guys and the bin Ladens and Hooks and such do definitely cling to the religious motivation.
But I suspect that some of the older guys just used Islam as a way to stir up hatred and foment political revolution against corrupt authoritarian governments. In their twisted minds the US is responsible because we give aid to Mubarak. And because we support the Joos. And because of Britney Spears and Madonna.
We really are guilty on that last point. Not to mention Al Gore. Although he could have arisen in the EU so maybe that's not our fault exactly.
shrugJust an hypothesis. But there does seem to be a difference between many of the older leaders and the new young fanatics who grew up really KNOWING how inadequate their culture is and who have very little chance at a good career, family etc.
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.
A Taliban commander warned Western nations in an interview broadcast on US television on Friday that they could expect more attacks. Mansour Dadullah, in the interview shown on ABC News, said the July 2005 suicide attacks on Londons transport system, in which 52 people had died, were not enough and that bigger attacks were coming. You will, God willing, be witness to more attacks, Dadullah told a Pakistani journalist in an interview ABC said was conducted four days earlier.
(SomaliNet) Three foreign teachers have been arrested in Mogadishu today in connection with what the government called terror groups after the security forces in the transitional federal government stormed an educational institute of SIMAD on the main industry road in north of the Somalia capital Mogadishu. 
(SomaliNet) Somalias interim government has sped-up its security steps in the capital of Mogadishu to ensure the opening of the national reconciliation conference on Sunday as large number of Ethiopia and Somalia forces were deployed in all the areas in which the government sees as hotspots. 
GEORGE GALLOWAY, the MP who campaigned against the Iraq war, is to be suspended from parliament over his links to the United Nations oil-for-food programme in Iraq.
One of Britain's most senior police officers has demanded a return to a form of internment, with the power to lock up terror suspects indefinitely without charge.
North Korea has shut down its Yongbyon nuclear facilities, the United States announced on Saturday, saying Washington now hopes for rapid progress toward Pyongyangs nuclear disarmament.
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal President Qazi Hussain Ahmad announced on Saturday that he would resign from the National Assembly to protest the Lal Masjid operation.
President Pervez Musharraf has failed to contain Al Qaeda and must regain control over areas bordering Afghanistan, said Stephen Hadley, President George Bushs national security adviser. Answering questions in an interview with Bloomberg Televisions Political Capital with Al Hunt, Hadley said Musharrafs strategy of giving tribal leaders more autonomy has not worked the way it should have. 
Over 50 Iranian economists bluntly told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a face-to-face meeting this week his economic policies were inexpert and lacked any basis in science, the press reported on Saturday..JPG)
Despite the Shiite groups propaganda efforts, criticism of its conduct during last summers war and its aftermath are filtering through. 
