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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Bolton warns Iran, Syria over Iraqi border |
| 2005-08-04 |
| UNITED NATIONS - U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, in his debut in the U.N. Security Council, pressed Syria and Iran on Thursday to do more to stem the flow of terrorists, arms and funding into neighboring Iraq. His comments came as the 15-nation council unanimously adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution condemning a recent surge in violence in Iraq that has killed hundreds, including Algerian diplomats, U.S. Marines and a Sunni Arab helping to draft a new Iraqi constitution. Russia used the vote to criticize the media for glorifying terrorists after Moscow said it would bar ABC News from working in Russia when the U.S. television network aired an interview with Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev. Bolton urged all nations "to meet their obligations to stop the flow of terrorist financing and weapons, and particularly on Iran and Syria." "We think this is very important, obviously, to help bring stability and security to the people of Iraq and to permit the constitutional process to go forward. It's the highest priority for the people and government of Iraq, and for the United States as well," he said, speaking after the council vote. Syrian Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad attacked Bolton's statement and similar comments by British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, saying they showed "a determined campaign against Syria" by Washington and London. While Damascus had deployed around 10,000 soldiers and erected more than 300 surveillance towers along its border with Iraq, Britain and the United States had spurned a Syrian plea for assistance including night vision gear, he said. "This help has never come. We would like to ask them, what have they done on the other side of the border? They have done nothing while Syria has taken all measures," Mekdad said. President Bush installed Bolton as his chief representative to the United Nations on Monday, bypassing Senate confirmation after Democrats stalled the nomination for five months. His vote to approve the resolution on Iraq was his first official act at the world body although he has spent the past few days making the rounds of key diplomats. While terrorism had struck with deadly effect in Beirut, New York, Madrid, London, Beslan, Bali, Riyadh and elsewhere, "nowhere is it as virulent and persistent as it is in Iraq nowadays," Iraqi Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie told the council, welcoming its adoption of the resolution. Iraq "is bearing the burden for the world and now the world must stand with it," he said. Russian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Alexander Konuzin used Bolton's presence to remark that while the vote showed the council's resolve against terrorism in Iraq, "we are not under the delusion that, after adoption of this resolution, that terrorist attacks will be brought to an end in Iraq." He also lashed out at the media who "yield to the commercial temptation to popularize bloody bandits who are defiling the memory of those who have died." "We are talking about abuse by ABC which offended many Russians -- showing this interview with a terrorist," he said. Russia this week banned ABC journalists from talking to officials and will not allow them to renew their media accreditation. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #13 It's not that you haven't said it before, .com, but there it is -- all at once -- with lots of commas and visual adjectives. :-) I couldn't breath until I got to that final period! Here, have a nice cup of tea. All the rest of you are invited, too, of course -- or wander over to the sideboard, if you'd like something stronger. (I don't notice any trolls around.) Perhaps it's time to dig a little deeper in the Arab News, MEMRI and the Iraq Command's daily reports to see if all you clever types can discern what is going on below the surface... and look more closely at what Rantburg's foreign correspondents send in. We're seeing an awful lot of arrests as a result of London's little excitement -- and some of the stories mention that thus-and-such had been watched by the police, or MI-5/6 (I'm sorry, but I can't remember which is the British FBI, and which the CIA), or the Spaniards, or whomever. Fred has an enormous amount of information on individuals and organizations; is it time to start correlating some of it? (You 'll have noticed that I haven't volunteered to do any of this -- my expertise lies as far from this kind of thing as I can get. Sorry.) Just thinking our loud... this just may be the August silly season, too, when nothing major happens and everybody gets just a little cranky waiting for Autumn to arrive. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-08-04 23:19 |
| #12 It was great hearing the Demos whine about Bolton's recess appointment. If we can just drive those traitorous bastards to the point where they'll all move to Canada, it would save us the trouble of incarcerating or executing them later. |
| Posted by: mac 2005-08-04 20:32 |
| #11 Prolly should revert to nothing but (cleansed) snarkies so as to not offend anyone I know I make it look easy, but don't try it without superior straps. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-04 19:23 |
| #10 That goes in the classics file, .com: The cry of the IWWIWWIWIs screeching throughout the blogs ..... I agree with you and Pappy and others here over the last couple days. A) There's stuff going on that hasn't been splashed across the NYT and may never be. But we can put 2 and 2 together and get something more than 1/2 if we look at the dots that are there. Like the simulataneous reports of clashes with MM thugs in multiple parts of Iran at once, including Arab and Kurd areas pushing the Persian MMs hard. And B) Armchair generalling is an easy sport. Making real decisions in the hot seat within real limitations .... that's harder. |
| Posted by: leader of the pack 2005-08-04 17:53 |
| #9 Not sure what you're referring to, tw, lol! I've said what's in both comments before... To be honest, I'm confused about WTF we're supposed to do here on RB, nowadays. I prefer to try to post original thinking, such as the Kurd thingy above - just looking ahead at potential realities as things might play out, but I'm not sure anymore. Trying to dissuade the IWWIWWIWI* crowd is tiring - and I'm honestly fed up with it. Prolly should revert to nothing but (cleansed) snarkies so as to not offend anyone - or just walking away and working through the resulting DT's. Chart nah ("Maybe next life"), as the Thais say. * I Want What I Want When I Want It. The war cry of the 3 yr old - often heard here when Bush doesn't keep some poster's personal timetable for whacking 'tards, righting wrongs, etc. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-08-04 16:47 |
| #8 Whee! Have you been saving that up, .com? ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-08-04 16:22 |
| #7 They have done nothing while Syria has taken all measures," Mekdad said.. Except lose many of our most valuable resources, our young men and women. |
| Posted by: plainslow 2005-08-04 16:03 |
| #6 Works for me, WH - but I'd actually rather expend the ordnance on is the MM's and knock the only support they have out from under them first. Syria's a basketcase without MM$, IMHO, and I believe implosion would follow naturally. In fact, I'm looking forward to the synergy of the Kurds in Iraq, Iran, and Syria as events unfold over the next few years. I think there's a very good chance that, when the dust settles and the Turks get out of ICU, Kurdistan will have a port on the Med. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-08-04 15:45 |
| #5 So true .com Hey...maybe if we're lucky..Syria will "get it" right between the eyes... |
| Posted by: Warthog 2005-08-04 15:38 |
| #4 Bush would've checked off this box months ago - in concert with Rice's similar statements, were the Dhimmidonks not such [insert plural expletive here]. Bolton's exactly who we need there, thus he was delayed by the Moonbat Machine. Whether people like it or not, Bush plays by the rules as they actually exist, must deal with reality, not fantasy, and is doing much more behind the scenes than we know - because we only know what is reported or made public. Even the blogosphere is limited to direct sources, such as CENTCOM web statements, and what slips through the MSM filters or must be fisked out of their agenda pieces to discover the truth. The hard truth is, Bush & Co know what's up and are on the job -- in spite of all of the internal foot-dragging and bogus info from half-insane agencies, limited humint resources from a decade of dumbing-down intel capabilities, outright sedition and sabotage such as the Wilson/Plame dynamic Moonbat duo, the authentic existence of BSD amongst the toolfools, RINO ankle-biting and waffling, self-serving McCain-style subversion, purely partisan Dhimmidonk efforts to derail everything Bush tries to do - because they have no vision or convictions themselves, not to mention the utter anti-America hate forces at work. In many ways, it really is Bush against the world. Amazing what he's been able to accomplish in spite of that disconcerting fact. Syria has been warned, but they won't get it. They never do. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-08-04 15:28 |
| #3 Hey Johnny, ask the Syrian ambassador for a DNA sample of Assad. That should get their attention. Keep pressing them with the phrase, its going to be needed real soon[tm]. |
| Posted by: Omiger Snaviting1691 2005-08-04 15:23 |
| #2 Boy-howdy he didn't waste any time. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2005-08-04 14:57 |
| #1 Warnings, schmarnings... |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-08-04 14:56 |