A 12 year old boy was lashed 80 times in the street by a Saudi court hours after he was arrested at the annual Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj), Saudi newspaper Okaz. reported Monday. The paper said the boy who is from Bangladesh was arrested in Mena, three miles outside the holy city of Makkah, where two million Muslims gathered for the annual pilgrimage after he was allegedly caught pick pocketing pilgrims. The paper said an AdHoc court that operates during the annual pilgrimage sentenced the boy only hours after his arrest, and applied the punishment on the street outside the court. No lawyers or family members were present during the process, but the boy was later handed to his family. The field court is headed by Shaikh Abdullah AbdulRahman Al-Othaim, Shaikh AbdulRahman Al-Hussaini, and Shaikh Hamad Abdullah Al-Khudairy, judges who usually work at Jeddah courts but moved to Mena to set up the summery court during Hajj, the paper said.
Because... huh huh!... they like to watch...
Torture by lashing is a common punishment administrated by Saudi courts which operate according to Wahhabi Muslim traditions. Lashes can reach as high as 5000 lashes in some cases. In July a court in Najran sentenced two men to 750 lashes for writing on the internet about the government persecution of Ismaili Muslims who are a majority in Najran near the Yemeni border. Saudi courts are limited to Wahhabi Muslim judges. Other Muslims such as non-Wahhabi Sunni and Shia Muslims barred from judgeships.
#4
Someone with more knowledge, please correct me, but somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain, there is a bit of recall that says anything about 50 lashes results in terminal damage.
#5
Hummm, I've seen her before. Looks like the lab tech on NCIS.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/26/2005 11:20 Comments ||
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#6
I thought it was that chick from the
"Oh Mickey, your so fine, your so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey"
video from way back when MTV played music...
Israel has been quietly training foreign bodyguards for the Saudi royal family. The bodyguards have trained at a private security facility in Israel's Negev desert. The training included protecting convoys from attack, escaping ambushes and the protection of VIPs. Three bodyguards, said to have been German nationals, completed a weeklong training course at the Counter Terrorism Training Center near the southern city of Rahat. The course included 23 foreigners, including bodyguards for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The center invited journalists to a simulated training exercise in November 2004. The course was run by former Israeli security experts and commandos.
Well yeah, you want the best, right?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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They're not Israeli bodyguards, they just train them in Israel. I've read before the Saudi royals import foreign hard boyz for personel protection. As I recall from history, that's a old arabic tradition. They had vikings and other northern barbarians in the good old days. I'm sure a few of them have "contacts" in western security agencies.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/26/2005 8:52 Comments ||
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#3
but..but...I thought joos are pigs. Ya, but their Saudi Royals' swine, right.
Posted by: Duke Nukem ||
01/26/2005 9:15 Comments ||
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#4
Joooos training Germans to protect Saudis....I thought irony was dead?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 9:49 Comments ||
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Painfully obvious the arabs can't trust other arabs. Makes for good negotiations with these moops.
MUSLIMS were warned by the Director of Public Prosecutions yesterday that new laws designed to combat religious hatred would not stop people from being rude about Islam.
Ken Macdonald told MPs that he wanted to play down Muslim expectations to avoid a backlash against police and politicians because very few cases were likely to reach the courts.
People will remain "perfectly free to be rude or offensive" about Islam or any other other religion because in most cases the right of free speech will still prevail, Mr Macdonald said.
He added: "It is very important people understand what the law will achieve. It will stop the grossest form of conduct but it will not stop people being rude about Islam."
Mr Macdonald was speaking at the Home Affairs Select Committee, where he also repeated his caution to ministers to keep the right to jury trial even for terrorist suspects. He told MPs of his concern that religious incitement laws, part of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, were expected by some to stop all forms of criticism or abuse of Islam.
The proposals have also been criticised for threatening to stifle free speech. Mr Macdonald said that they would not have been possible in the United States because of the First Amendment. But in the light of existing laws on incitement to racial hatred, British courts would "set the bar very high" before convicting, he added.
Since 2001 there had been 86 referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service for racial hatred but only six prosecutions and two convictions, with one dropped and three ongoing.
Mr Macdonald added: "The main issue is managing expectations . . . Communities have said they believe it will protect them from people being rude or offensive about Islam — but you are perfectly free to be rude or offensive about any religion and the law protects you.
"The danger is that if people believe it is going to protect them from that, they will feel very let down by us."
He added: "The police will send us the files and we will see whether prosecution will meet the appropriate tests and if it does we will prosecute . . . But you will have to meet the very high level [of proof] required."
The Muslim Council of Britain said that it shared Mr Macdonald's concern to explain the law carefully.
Inayat Bunglawala, a council spokesman, said: "Not just Muslims fail to understand but also the likes of Rowan Atkinson, who has said it would prevent jokes and satire. So it has been misunderstood by those who want the legislation and those who oppose it."
Posted by: tipper ||
01/26/2005 1:46:21 AM ||
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#1
I'll be rude right now Islam ptttthhhhhttt!
Allan is the son of a dog bred with the evil one.
This law is just secularist presecution of the outspoken. The abuse of this law will begin almost from the start.
#2
Come come, now SPoD, surely there will not be more than one or two cases at most. The RoP would never imagine abusing a law so obviously skewed as one intended to protect the tender emotions of those who would commit to jihad for merely allowing women to show their faces [/sarcasm]
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
01/26/2005 7:16 Comments ||
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Charles Clarke will attempt to resolve the crisis surrounding controversial anti-terrorist laws today when he sets out the fate of foreign terror suspects detained without trial.
The home secretary will tell the Commons how the government intends to deal with detainees, after the law lords ruled before Christmas that their incarceration was unlawful under the European convention on human rights. The final details of the plans were still being discussed by the cabinet last night but a statement to parliament was scheduled for lunchtime today.
There was speculation that the government would be forced to release at least some of the 11, most of whom are held in Belmarsh prison in London.
But civil rights groups warned the government against any attempt to place the suspects, in effect, under house arrest. There were fears ministers could introduce orders placing restrictions on the detainees' behaviour. This would mean keeping tight control over them while not actually confining them in prison.
There was even speculation the government might try to challenge its obligations under European law.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, the civil liberties group, said: "I'm delighted that the new home secretary is finally responding to the House of Lords' damning verdict on detention without trial. I hope, however, that he will honour the spirit as well as the letter of this judgment and fully comply with human rights values in any new anti-terror measures."
Mr Clarke has signalled that he wants to secure deals with north African countries to enable some of the suspects to be deported without the risk of being tortured or sentenced to death in their homelands. The development came as the last four British detainees to return from Guantänamo Bay were being questioned last night by detectives at a central London police station.
Moazzam Begg, Feroz Abbasi, Martin Mubanga and Richard Belmar were arrested as they arrived back in Britain yesterday after almost three years in custody at the US base in Cuba. The men are now expected to sue the US government for compensation.
Shortly after the RAF aircraft carrying them touched down, they were taken to Paddington Green for questioning. Their return prompted fresh calls for the government to rethink its anti-terror legislation. Edward Nally, president of the Law Society, said ministers ought now to "pause for thought".
The decision to arrest the men was taken in spite of protests from Muslim leaders and a plea from their lawyers not to detain them. The US suspects the four, who were captured three years ago during the war in Afghanistan, of links with the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation. Their lawyers say they did nothing wrong. The men's families are expecting to see them today.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:08:39 AM ||
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#1
I am sorry. The UK doesn't appear to get it. What I read leads me to believe that all to many of the folk in the UK think these clowns were on wild flower picking trips and that these detainees are just misunderstood good boys.
That anyone in authority in the UK government can't bitch slap these lawyer society commies is beyond me. The Law Lords need to have a sharp tug to remind them that people die from terrorism.
There are times to be civil and there are time to be uncivil. (The LLL have never been civil when it counts.) This is one of those times where being uncivil is in order. Lay down some smack on these stupid terrorist loving turds. Drive these bastards out to a military airport in secret. Put them on a plane for their home countries and be done with it. What is anyone going to do? Oh they will take you to court? BFD. If the detainees are gone what the heck can they do? Nothing thats what. Send them back to wherever they came from . IF they are UK citizens keep them off bail and in jail. See if the Law lords feel like going down and getting them out personally. I doubt they are that interested.
Sorry for the rant but this whole issue is based on loonie liberal stupidity.
#3
Face it the people and leaders of the EU are at war with us in every way on every day. Don't believe me go look at the forums at FT.COM or its spinoff
http://www.serioustopics.com.
These are "finance movers" in the EU and it's not pretty.
I await the day the Boeing Company has a private bombing run on a certain bus factory in the southern Euarabian state of France.
SIMON TRINIDAD is the nom de guerre of Ricardo Palmera, a high-ranking terrorist of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), the deadliest and largest terrorist organization in the world. Thanks to Colombia's president, Alvaro Uribe, Trinidad was extradited to the United States last month. He now awaits trial for a lengthy list of crimes involving the recent kidnapping and murder of American citizens in Colombia. Trinidad's capture was a victory in the fight against global terror (see Note, below), but it is unlikely that the FARC terrorists will be defeated as long as Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez continues to use his government to harbor, equip, and protect them.
Since assuming the presidency of Venezuela in 1999, Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chavez has often sympathized with global terrorism. Not only has he proclaimed his "brotherhood" with Saddam Hussein and bestowed kind words on the Taliban, but he also maintains close economic and diplomatic ties with the leaders of Iran and Libya. Moreover, President Chavez is increasingly identified with the FARC terrorists. Although the full extent of Chavez's involvement with FARC is unknown, he has been accused of everything from sympathizing with the group to providing it with weapons and monetary support. The allegations against Chavez are numerous and it is likely that some of them are either exaggerated or untrue. Even so, President Chavez's activities reveal a consistent pattern of sympathy for terrorists.
The FARC terrorist group has been fighting the democratic government of Colombia for almost 40 years. Founded as the armed wing of the Colombian Communist party, this 16,000-strong terrorist force recruits children and funds its activities with billions of dollars collected as taxes on the cocaine trade. The group's explicit objective is to take Colombia by force. In pursuing its mission, FARC terrorists have kidnapped, extorted, and executed thousands of innocent civilians, bombed buildings, assassinated hundreds of political leaders, and, with two other local terrorist organizations, have turned Colombia into one of the most violent and dangerous countries in the world. All in all, FARC has caused the deaths of more than 100,000 people.
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 2:36:24 AM ||
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#2
We need to work on subverting and eliminating this utcase from power as well. Far to many good people and energy reserves to be ruled by this moonbat.
We got a Bobba Fett icon? Or maybe Judge Dread?
A rebel whose capture in Venezuela has touched off a diplomatic crisis with Colombia believed that he was going to be killed by his captors, his lawyer said Tuesday. Rodrigo Granda was snatched off the streets of Caracas by bounty hunters - purported to be moonlighting Venezuelan law enforcement officers - on Dec. 13 and driven, bound and stuffed in the trunk of a car, to the Colombian border. The Colombian government has acknowledged paying the bounty. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called the capture of Granda a kidnapping, accused Colombia of violating Venezuela's sovereignty, suspended commercial ties and demanded an apology. While in the darkened trunk of the car, Granda noticed that it turned off a main highway onto a secondary road, his attorney Miguel Gonzalez said in an interview with The Associated Press. "He thought he was going to be killed," Gonzalez said. "It was traumatic."
Did you wet your pants like a baby, Senor Big Shot Narcotraficante Hombre?
After a 16-hour trip, Granda was handed over at a Colombian border city to Colombian police, who arrested him. For many Colombians, the irony of a representative of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, being kidnapped is clear. The FARC kidnaps hundreds of people each year, either for ransom or to be traded for imprisoned rebels. But Gonzalez said the government should be held to a higher standard. "All human-rights pacts demand that he be treated according to the law," the lawyer said in the interview in his small office suite overlooking downtown Bogota.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 1:36:40 AM ||
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#1
"He thought he was going to be killed," Gonzalez said. "It was traumatic." Good.
#2
Granada should be treated according to who's law?
Columbia's or Venezuela's law which allows him to be harbored? Kudos to Columbia - keep up the good work. Chavez, your days are numbered.
All 19 Russian parliament members who signed a letter asking the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation to open an investigation against all Jewish organizations throughout the country on suspicion of spreading incitement and provoking ethnic strife, on Tuesday withdrew their support for the letter, sources in Russia said.
The 19 members of the lower house, the State Duma, from the nationalist Rodina (homeland) party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), and the Russian Communist Party, came under attack on Tuesday for signing the letter. Around 450 Russian academics and public figures also signed the letter.
Russia's chief rabbi Berl Lazar said the letter had caused outrage among the country's 1 million Jews and raised questions over the lessons learned from the Holocaust.
"Today is a test. People are trying to test how society will react 60 years later," Rabbi Lazar told Reuters on Tuesday.
"More than half a century later, when such statements come out openly, this really shows that the famous line 'Never again' has to be taught constantly and fought for."
"The majority of anti-Semitic actions in the whole world are constantly carried out by Jews themselves with a goal of provocation," the letter said.
The General Prosecutor's office said on Tuesday that the deputies' move had been dropped at their request. No explanation was immediately forthcoming from the deputies. Earlier they denied the letter was anti-Semitic.
"There is nothing anti-Semitic in our address, we only ask the General Prosecutor to give a judicial evaluation of the facts we have presented," Alexander Krutov, a Rodina party deputy in the Duma, or lower house, told Izvestia newspaper.
The Kremlin had no immediate comment on the issue.
President Vladimir Putin will join other world leaders at Thursday's commemoration of the Jan. 27, 1945, liberation by Soviet troops of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland. He has in the past called anti-Semitism unacceptable. "It's in the hands of the government to bring a case against them [the deputies] and not allow them to serve in the Duma," Rabbi Lazar said. "Any kind of anti-Semitic propaganda by government officials should be outlawed and these people should be brought to justice."
He said: "Today they are trying to outlaw Jewish organizations, tomorrow they will try and do the same with any religion, any kind of national idea, and this is dangerous."
The Israeli embassy in Moscow said the document used the same arguments the Nazis had.
"It is a classic example of anti-Semitism," it said in a statement. "The theories in the appeal were used by the Nazi regime as a basis for the mass destruction of the Jews during World War Two."
Russia came under the spotlight on Sunday when an Israeli government report expressed alarm at what it said were sharp rises in violent anti-Semitism over the past year. The report ranked Russia third in the world overall for anti-Semitic violence after France and Britain.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 1:28:58 AM ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 21:06 Comments ||
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#3
"There is nothing anti-Semitic in our address, we only ask the General Prosecutor to give a judicial evaluation of the facts we have presented," Alexander Krutov, a Rodina party deputy in the Duma, or lower house, told Izvestia newspaper
Russia on Tuesday agreed to write off a huge chunk of Soviet-era debt held by Syria, a country at the center of Moscow's attempts to revive its influence in the Middle East.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was on his first official visit to Russia, which has long defended the Arab state against U.S. and Israeli charges of ties to terrorism.
In a sign Moscow was ready to take its relations with Syria to a new level, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Russia had agreed to write off 73 percent - $9.8 billion - of Syria's net debts to Moscow.
It was unclear what Moscow, whose influence waned in the Middle East after the collapse of the Soviet Union, would get in return, but Assad called on Russia to boost its voice in global politics.
"I would like to support Russia's political course and at the same time express a protest against the political course of the United States," Assad told Moscow students.
"Russia's role is huge and Russia is well respected by third-world countries ... These countries are really hoping that Russia will try to revive its lost positions in the world."
Moscow cultivated ties with Syria in cold war times to counterbalance the influence of U.S.-backed Israel and supplied weaponry to the Arab state. But the Soviet collapse left Russia's key Soviet-era arms client out in the cold.
Russia's burgeoning relations with Syria have rung alarm bells in the U.S. and Israel. Days before Assad's visit, Israeli media reported Syria wanted to buy powerful missile systems from Russia, a move Israel said would strengthen militant groups in the region.
While denying any such plans, Assad said the very fact that Israel opposed expansion of Damascus' military might meant that it wanted to invade Syria. "Israel's position is illogical," he said. Moscow has denied it wanted to sell arms to Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking before talks with Assad, said: "Syria is a country with which the Soviet Union and today's Russia have always had particularly warm relations.
"We can base our relations today on a tradition of friendship and cooperation that is decades old."
Washington sees Syria as a sponsor of terrorism and has demanded that Damascus stop insurgents and money entering Iraq ahead of Sunday's elections. Syria denies the accusations.
Moscow, already at odds with Washington over nuclear ties with Iran, says the U.S. stance on Syria undermines the Middle East peace process.
"We are concerned with the recent situation around Syria," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, due to meet Assad on Wednesday, said in remarks issued on the ministry's Web site.
"The language of threats can make the situation only worse ... If any concerns (about Syria) remain, they should be backed by concrete evidence and removed through talks," Lavrov said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 1:07:59 AM ||
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#1
A fine gesture, recognizing that they are never going to collect anyway. Probably a gratuity for hiding some of Saddam's weapons that had manuals written only in Russian.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/26/2005 10:33 Comments ||
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#2
Hold on a sec... everyone says everything Russia does is driven by their starvation for Cash. Now they're forgiving the debt of Syria, which they've sold stuff to on credit, and maybe selling stuff to on credit in the near future?
Wow. For guys who are so broke that they have to sell nukes to Iran, the Russians are being awfully "altruistic."
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
01/26/2005 10:46 Comments ||
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#3
It's not about money, it's about power. Moscow solidifies its alliance with the Damascus-Tehran sub-axis, the true Axis of Islamofascist Terror.
#10
Tom> Need is defacto control. If Russia's support of the Syrian and Iran regimes does prove both necessary and adequate to protect them from USA (or even seem that way), then these regimes become dependent on Russia.
It's one reason why Ukraine's Orange Revolution was a blow to Russian power -- because there Russia's support for Kuchma/Yanukovich proved *in*adequate to keep them in power.
trailing wife> They *are* still a player, even if largely reduced in strength.
Moscow's still keeping atleast half a dozen other nations to a mock-independence similar to the mock-independence that Warsaw Pact members enjoyed. And beyond that, Russia *is* playing worldwide, in the Middle-east, in the Balkans. Russia interfered even in Cyprus through a UN veto, in order to hurt the chances Cyprus had for reunification.
#11
"I would like to support Russia’s political course and at the same time express a protest against the political course of the United States," Assad told Moscow students. "Russia’s role is huge
Bullshit. You never had any intention of repaying Russia, precisely because Russia's influence is next to nil.
"...and Russia is well respected by third-world countries..."
Right. Like Afghanistan, which they were ejected from, or Egypt, which they were ejected from, or Iraq, whose people despise them for aiding Saddam, or China, which views Russia with contempt and whose traders so dominate the border regions that Russians are now being forced to learn Chinese instead of v-v in order merely to survive, or the other Asian tigers, who leaped past Russia twenty years ago, or Latin America, which is utterly oblivious to Russia....
#13
It's not about money, it's about power. Moscow solidifies its alliance with the Damascus-Tehran sub-axis, the true Axis of Islamofascist Terror.
Oh, spare us. There is no "alliance" between these kleptocracies, just a smorgasbord of arms deals. Putin's regime is the ultimate whore. The Russian security services are yet another mafiya-style group, one skilled in moving not only commodities but also antiquated Russian military hardware across Russia's porous borders. Deals with corrupt FSB officers and industrial bandits do not constitute anything like a coherent strategy for influence, let alone real influence. This Syrian maneuver by his FSB handlers Putin has about as much significance for interstate relations as Chavez's posturing.
#14
"This Syrian maneuver by his FSB handlers Putin has about as much significance for interstate relations as Chavez's posturing."
I find "Chavez's posturing" to have become the flagship of far-left fascism in the whole of South America, elements from Bolivia to Brazil to Peru -- so I don't think I shall be appeased by these words.
If there's no strategy in these deals, then why would Syria praise Russia's international role? This is a true alliance of powers, where consistently each tries to boost the other's.
http://arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/050119/2005011912.html
"Our duty is not only to go back to the previous level of bilateral cooperation, but we have to exceed and enhance it,"
In the meanwhile, Iran has shown interest to join the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/int/sco.htm), the regional "security" organization so far dominated by Russia and China.
There's an alliance between almost *all* those fascist states: Russia, China, Iran, Syria. It's consistent and steady, and none of these countries ever does anything to oppose the other.
But if you have elements of real disagreement between these countries, please mention them.
For example: Saddam Hussein supported the MEK that opposed the Iranian regime -- that proves that Iraq wasn't part of the Iran-Syria axis.
Do you have such examples that disprove any Iran-Syria-Russia consistent alliance?
#15
Aris: I think this, as well as the Russia/Iran deals, more-or-less constitute the same sort of alliance as the Molotov-Ribbentroff pact.
Regarding Saddam: he also had a quid-pro-quo and helped support Ansar-al-Islam, which was also supported by the Mullahs. (And still is, under the ironic "Ansar al Sunni" name. The irony slays me).
If Syria and Iraq were cooperating (and it seems to me they were, both before and after the invasion), and Syria is also cooperating with Iran...
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
01/26/2005 14:18 Comments ||
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#16
It's all about the Oil MOSCOW, Jan 26 (AFP) - Russia and Syria said Wednesday they planned to sign agreements on participation of Russian companies in various projects focusing on development of oil and gas resources in Syria, Russian news agencies reported. Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko and Syrian Oil Minister Ibrahim Haddad discussed several projects including development of known resources and construction of several pipelines including the Syrian portion of the Pan-Arab pipeline project, Interfax said.
Another agreement in preparation centered on work by Russia's SoyuzNefteGaz and the Syrian Oil and Natural Resource Ministry on exploration and development of two oil and gas deposits in Syria over a 25-year period.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/26/2005 14:20 Comments ||
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#17
If Syria and Iraq were cooperating (and it seems to me they were, both before and after the invasion), and Syria is also cooperating with Iran...
I think that "cooperation" needs to be consistent in order for it to be considered an "alliance". Iraq's occasional cooperation with either Iran or Syria seems to have been on a case-by-case basis, cooperating in some places, opposing in others.
#18
Saddam was loyal only to himself.
As for Moscow/Tehran/Damascus, I don't see any real loyalty there, except on the part of Damascus. That's more the loyalty of a small dog to an alpha.
Any single dot is "trivial", until they turn themselves into a pattern.
Here's a dot: Russia criticized the US for accusing Syria of supporting terrorists.
Here's another dot: Russian missiles to Syria.
Here's a 3rd dot: Syria praises Russia's international role.
Here's a 4th dot: Russia and China both abstained from supporting the UN resolution (US- and France- supported) demanding Syria to withdraw from Lebanon.
5th dot: The oil deal.
What do they need to do in order for you to consider Russia and Syria consistent allies?
#21
The Sears/K-Mart is widely regarded as an essentially meaningless merger of has-beens. IIRC, Scrappleface had a piece on it, suggesting also their merger with France.
#22
key question is wiil putin really come to thier aid....talk is cheap unless it is backed up with deeds.. yes russia is trying to play on the world scene but they cannot not even take of thier chechen problem.
i think GW will call this sooner than later..if we are going after elements on the syrian/iraqi border or launch strikes agaisnt the irab what will putin/russia do?
Posted by: Dan ||
01/26/2005 18:33 Comments ||
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#23
Aris, K-Mart is a discount department store in the states; it is kinda like Wal-Mart used to be, and it was like that before Wal-Mart.
It hasn't held up to the competition too well... and has made a lot of bad business decisions, like having product lines designed by Martha Stewart, among other things... anyway, between being squeezed by Wal Mart and Sam's on the low end, and Target on the upscale end, they've been in and out of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Court (reorganization), and have been closing a lot of stores. There aren't any left in Lafayette, which used to have three. The only one in central Acadiana that I know of is in New Iberia. I think there's one in Jennings, and there are some over in Baton Rouge... (those are both ~ 1 hour drives, BTW).
Anyway, Sears has been having a whole lot of problems as well.
There have been rumors that Sears might wind up in Bankruptcy Court as well, but under Chapter 7 rather than Chapter 11. Anyway, late last year some executive at Sears had a revelation: the solution to all of their financial problems was to merge with K-Mart. Which they have done.
This all vaguely reminds me of an old joke in the oilfield service industry... "Yes, we lose money on every one of those we sell, but we'll make up for it in volume!"
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
01/26/2005 22:29 Comments ||
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To demand that Russia should conduct "peaceful negotiations" with terrorists is to cultivate double standards in the fight against terrorism, Russia's ambassador to Belgium, Vadim Lukov, wrote in his article "Whom Does Chechnya Support?" published in the Belgian newspaper De Tijd on January 19.
"It turns out that with some terrorists, such as Osama bin Laden and Abu Zarkaui, negotiations are impossible, while with others [Maskhadov, for example] they are not only possible but even necessary! What is the difference between Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev, whom the U.S. State Department has included on the list of international terrorists?" Mr. Lukov wrote.
He noted that "the calls addressed to Moscow to start a political settlement in Chechnya are obviously too late," because "the main political steps towards peace in Chechnya have already been taken."
Mr. Lukov names the Constitution of the Republic, adopted at the referendum, the presidential elections and the preparations for the parliamentary elections as part of those steps.
"Those who ignore all these basic facts of a peaceful settlement in Chechnya expose themselves as supporters of only one variant of 'settlement': that of the repetition of terrorists' power on the Chechen land," he underscored.
According Mr. Lukov, the European public should clearly understand that support of the Chechen terrorists does not at all contribute to the stabilization of the situation in Chechnya but, on the contrary, "inspires and encourages those who, under the pretext of 'fighting for the independence of Chechnya,' would like to use common Chechens as 'cannon fodder' in combinations of international terrorism."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:42:20 AM ||
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Abkhazia's authorities have denied rumors that Chechen extremist leader Shamil Basayev or any other members of illegal armed groups are in Abkhazia. "Shamil Basayev is not in Abkhazia, and neither are any other representatives" of the Chechen extremists, Abkhaz Vice President Raul Khajimba told a press conference in Moscow. "If anyone would like to see for themselves, they are welcome," Khajimba added. Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh confirmed this statement. Stories about Basayev hiding in Abkhazia are "old rumors," he said. "We know who is spreading them and why," Bagapsh said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:41:04 AM ||
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"Hell, we don't know! Those guys are too inscrutable for us to figure!"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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We may see China take out the North Korean nuclear program before this is over. China has too much to lose to allow a small nutcase neighbor wreck the relative stability of the entire region.
Can China really be happy with a nuclear Kimmie next door? Would China want to see Japan build up forces? Does China want half the U.S. fleet lingering in the area indefinitely?
Posted by: Tom ||
01/26/2005 10:48 Comments ||
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#2
I hope you're right, Tom. That would be wonderful. Soon would be even better, but then I'm known to be greedy.
AUSTRALIAN Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib was tied to the ground while a prostitute menstruated on him after he failed to co-operate with interrogators, his lawyer said today. Interrogators also told the Sydney man they had killed his family and superimposed animals' heads on photos of his wife and children, Mr Habib's lawyer Steven Hopper said today.
The federal Government said it was aware of similar allegations of torture made by former British detainees at Guantanamo Bay but it was the first time the government had heard the claims involving Mr Habib.
Mr Habib is due back in Sydney within a fortnight after the US said it would release him without charge despite holding him for more than three years on suspicion he knew about the September 11 attacks and trained with al-Qaeda.
Mr Hopper today detailed for the first time the "atrocities" his client endured while in detention at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
"The Americans used prostitutes as tools in their interrogations," he said in Sydney.
"They'd say to detainees 'If you co-operate with us, we'll let you at this woman for the night'. And if they wouldn't agree they'd use them in other ways."
He said detainees held at the base with Mr Habib reported that a prostitute was told to stand over him and menstruate on him.
"(We believe) one of the prostitutes stood over him naked while he was strapped to the floor and menstruated on him," Mr Hopper said.
Officials at the base also defaced photos of Mr Habib's wife Maha and their four children, he said.
"The Americans in their wisdom have taken the heads off the pictures, enlarged them and superimposed them with the heads of animals and then strung them up all over the walls of the interrogation room.
"As they sat there talking to Mamdouh asking him about his terrorist activities, they held up a picture of Maha and said 'It's a shame we had to kill your family, it's a shame you will never see these people again'."
He said Mr Habib also said he was subjected to interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay like those used on prisoners at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
"Make no doubt about it, Guantanamo Bay wasn't a prisoner-of-war camp," Mr Hopper said.
"It was a facility designed to interrogate people. It was nothing more than a vulgar concentration camp and it has marked a new high in the rise of American fascism."
Mr Habib was detained in Afghanistan in late 2001 and sent to Egypt before being flown to Guantanamo Bay in 2002.
Mr Hopper also detailed abuses against Mr Habib while in Egypt, saying he was strapped to the ceiling with only an electrified barrel to stand on.
"He would stand and get a shock or hang painfully by his arms until he'd collapse," he said.
He was blindfolded and locked in rooms which were flooded with water and charged with electricity, Mr Hopper said.
"On other occasions they used German shepherd guard dogs and (interrogators) told him they train dogs to sexually assault people," the lawyer said.
"Mamdouh has said he wasn't sexually assaulted by these dogs but really we don't know.
"Who would admit to it, particularly an Arab Muslim male?"
Mr Hopper detailed the alleged abuse at an Australia Day forum, focussing on Australia's political relationship with the US.
The federal Government said it was aware of similar allegations of torture made by former British detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
But a spokesman for Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said tonight it was the first time the Government had heard the claims involving Mr Habib.
"We haven't heard those sorts of allegations from Mr Habib but we're aware that allegations of that nature were made by other detainees released last year," Mr Ruddock's spokesman said.
"But if he's got any evidence to support those sorts of claims we'd pass them on."
Posted by: tipper ||
01/26/2005 8:56:37 AM ||
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#2
It was nothing more than a vulgar concentration camp and it has marked a new high in the rise of American fascism."
I see he has a fine communist lawyer.
"We haven’t heard those sorts of allegations from Mr Habib but we’re aware that allegations of that nature were made by other detainees released last year," They were total bullocks then and they are now. He should have added.
Note the one-upmanship going on. Jihadi #1 says he was forced to watch a prostitute masturbate. Jihadi #2 says he was forced to have sex with a prostitute. Jihadi #3 says ditto, plus the prostitute had her period!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/26/2005 10:16 Comments ||
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#4
"Make no doubt about it, Guantanamo Bay wasn’t a prisoner-of-war camp," Mr Hopper said.
right, & it shouldn't be because you're not a prisoner of war assclown.
"It was a facility designed to interrogate people. It was nothing more than a vulgar concentration camp and it has marked a new high in the rise of American fascism."
-God, if only that were true, then I'd be truly proud.
#7
I loved the "superimposed animals’ heads on photos of his wife and children" bit. Oh horror of horrors!
Posted by: Tom ||
01/26/2005 14:02 Comments ||
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#8
Now THAT's some useful psyops. Nothing could have been more horrifying to this guy-how wonderful! I get a soundtrack of Margaret Hamilton running through my head when I try to visualize this:
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 14:04 Comments ||
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#10
This story is one for the psychologists out there. Sounds like he is projecting his own subconcious fantasies.
One thing I found interesting: as far as telling him that his family was executed.... I don't think that is torture, per se. Mock executions of the prisoner, yes; but I don't see how what he is saying goes over whatever line you have drawn regarding torture. (Aren't we allowed to lie to them? The police do it all the time in interrogations in the US)
Posted by: Mark E. ||
01/26/2005 15:25 Comments ||
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#11
As he skips out the door, make the suggestion to Mr. Habib that he grow eyes in the back of his head.
#14
Three years inside, he had to have given up lots of people. Why else would they let you out, right, Mamdouh? Could you blame some of your "old friends" for thinking like that, Mamdouh?
In nightly sermons broadcast on the Internet, Sheik Omar al-Bakri, a 46-year-old Syrian-born cleric, has urged young Muslim men all over the world to support the Iraq insurgency on the front line of "the global jihad," investigators say. He struck a similarly defiant tone this month at a rally attended by 500 people at a central London meeting hall, where a giant screen behind him showed images of the World Trade Center falling.
"Allahu akbar!" - "God is great!" - some audience members shouted at the images.
After eavesdropping for months on his nightly praise of the Sept.-11 hijackers and of suicide bombings, Scotland Yard said last week that it was investigating Bakri, the leader of Al Muhajiroun, Britain's largest Muslim group, and officials are exploring whether they can deport him.
The more aggressive approach toward the sheik is part of stepped-up surveillance of militant mosques in several countries, including Germany and France. French officials deported an imam this month after officials said he was inspiring men to jihad.
One major concern, officials say, is that more heated religious rhetoric is encouraging young men to leave home to fight in Iraq. Although the dimensions of the recruitment effort from Europe to Iraq are not clear, there are indications that it is intensifying.
On Sunday, the German police arrested a man suspected of being a member of Al Qaeda and charged him with recruiting men to carry out suicide bombings in Iraq. These arrests were part of an ongoing investigation in cooperation with the United States of recruitment and other terrorist activities in Europe. A senior German official said he was certain there would be additional arrests of militants inside the country who have set up sophisticated recruitment and smuggling networks that lead to Iraq.
Italian investigators say several recruits from Italy carried out bombing attacks in Baghdad. Swiss officials say they are concerned that several militant clerics have openly urged men to become terrorists. And in Jordan, a gateway to Iraq for some foreign fighters, senior officials say they have arrested several dozen men in recent weeks who intended to cross the Iraqi border to serve as foreign fighters.
Bohre Eddine Benvahia, the 33-year-old imam recently deported by France to Algeria, had urged young men in a working-class neighborhood of L'Ariane, outside Nice, to join jihad, French intelligence officials said.
Bakri did not return repeated phone calls over the past several days. Last week, he denied in several interviews that he had urged people to become foreign fighters in Iraq, saying his comments had been taken out of context. "I believe Muslims are obliged to support their Muslim brothers abroad - verbally, financially, politically," Bakri said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I never said, 'Go abroad.' But if people want to go abroad, it's a very good thing to do. But we never recruit people to go abroad."
News of the central London rally, which was first reported by United Press International, and portions of the sheik's nightly Internet sermons, have alarmed senior British officials. In one sermon last week, Bakri called Al Qaeda "the victorious group" that he said Muslims were "obliged" to join.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke has asked officials to investigate relocating him to Syria or Lebanon. Like their counterparts in Britain, counterterrorism officials in Germany said they had seen indications of an increase in attempts by groups there to recruit fighters to travel to Iraq to fight. Some men in recent weeks have planned to go to Iraq to carry out suicide bombing missions, the officials said.
In the arrest on Sunday, prosecutors said a man they identified as Ibrahim Mohamed K. , a 29-year-old Iraqi from Mainz, Germany, had persuaded a 31-year-old man, named Yasser Abu S., to go to Iraq on a suicide bombing mission. Prosecutors said Yasser Abu S. intended to fake his death in a car accident in Egypt and use the life insurance proceeds to pay for Qaeda activities in Germany as well as his travel expenses to Iraq, where he planned to carry out a suicide bombing attack. The surnames of suspects in criminal cases are not disclosed in Germany. "Stopping recruitment for Iraq where they may do harm to U.S. troops is our highest priority, and the Germans and other European governments are cooperating," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official based in Europe said in an interview with The New York Times and the PBS program "Frontline." He said that a would-be suicide bomber intending to travel to Baghdad was arrested early last fall in Germany. German officials said they were worried that recruitment had intensified there in recent months.
Last October, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated that 1,000 "foreign fighters" had entered Iraq to join the insurgency, although U.S. military officials in Iraq have acknowledged that they are unsure of the numbers of outside fighters. In raids in several German cities on Jan. 12, the German police arrested 22 people suspected of being militant Muslims while recovering dozens of forged passports and boxes of militant propaganda. A senior German law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that many of the arrested men are members of Ansar al-Islam, who were recruiting young men to go to Iraq.
Counterterrorism officials view some militant European mosques as a link in the Iraq recruiting chain, just as they came to see the importance of Al Quds Mosque in Hamburg in the formation of the Qaeda cell led by Mohamed Atta, the leading hijacker in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Officials say that in some countries, their efforts to control activities at mosques are hampered by laws that protect religious expression and restrict what they can do to stop hateful speech. British officials say that if they want to deport an imam who they fear is inciting violence, the proceedings can often take months or even years to wind through the court system.
In Britain, where 1.8 million Muslims live, elected officials are demanding that the police move quickly. In the months after Sept. 11, pressure built for Britain to move against outspoken imams. But it was not until last May that British officials arrested the most high-profile militant cleric, Abu Hamza al-Masri of the Finsbury Park mosque in north London. He was charged with encouraging others to murder people who did not believe in the Islamic faith. Now leading the mosque is another militant Muslim, Abu Abdullah, who said in an interview, "People see us as extremists because we don't compromise the religion of Allah."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:28:04 AM ||
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#1
I saw these guys interviewed last night. They are rabid dogs that need to be put down asap.
NATO has launched a drive to accelerate defense and military cooperation with Arab League states. NATO officials said the Western alliance wants to begin joint exercises and other programs by the end of 2005. They said the focus would be on cooperation with Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. Algeria was also deemed as the most likely North African partner of NATO in counter-insurgency operations, officials said. In 2004, Algeria's military was said to have significantly harmed the Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call, regarded as the leading subcontractor of Al Qaida. Officials said NATO wants to engage the seven-member Mediterranean Dialogue states in cooperation on counter-insurgency, training and naval patrols. They said the effort would require instruction to ensure NATO interoperability, common language and standards. The Mediterranean Dialogue states also include Israel and Jordan.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Germany is to consider suspending a European agreement abolishing internal border controls before and during the 2006 World Cup, Interior Minister Otto Schily has told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Schily said the government might impose regular border security checks for a period to coincide with the tournament from 9 June to 9 July next year. Germany is party to the Schengen Treaty in which internal border checks have been abolished in all pre-enlargement European Union member states except for Britain and Ireland. The Schengen area also includes non-EU members Norway and Iceland. Schily said security authorities would be braced for all potential danger before and during the World Cup.
Schily has his priorities in order. Bet the editorial boards and Brussels don't agree with his thinking...
"We will be watching very closely who is coming to our country for the World Cup," he said. "Whether we again temporarily introduce regular border controls on the Schengen internal borders for the World Cup is something we will decide at the appropriate time based on the security situation. It is possible."
Posted by: Seafarious ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#3
I am glad to see that Fred is keeping this news alive. It is so hard to get any information on it. Nobody is publishing any progress report on the investigation. Where does one go to find follow up information?
The American Coptic Union, and Egyptian Coptic Christians are shocked and disturbed by the latest Jersey City Police, and Hudson County Prosecutor Office report, “No Proof of Religious Hatred in JC Family Slay “ that was the report title by 1010 WINS.
The report denied the religion factor of the massacre, despite the fact that the Cross-Tattoo was cut, and slashed, on the late martyr Sylvia’s hand. In addition, Mr. Edward DeFazio, Hudson County Prosecutor’s report, never mentioned the facts that Egyptian Christians are facing a vicious terror campaign from the Arab-Islamic government of Egypt, and terrorists. In this case the massacre would be a perfect terror message to intimidate the Coptic Christian Community in Jersey City, and USA. To keep their mouth shut is a good prime motivation.
#11
In The Name Of Allah the Most Gracious The Most Merciful quit trying to bullshit us that Mooselems aren't behind this--their hands are all over this.
#12
I think a nice, reasoned response to this would be to nuke Aswan with a really, REALLY dirty 50Mt nuke, don't you? I'm sure a FEW Cairo residents will survive. Oh, and at the same time, drop one on Mecca, Medina, and Riyadh, where the sh$$ originates, at the same time. It won't kill it, but it'll slow down the spread of this vile disease known as islam.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/26/2005 22:57 Comments ||
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FOX in the Morning - when talking about the attacks on Condi Rice - repeatedly reminded the viewer that in his youth Sen Byrd was a top Klansman. Stated: Why are Boxer and Kennedy defending a ex-clansman attacking a highly regarded black woman? Shouldn't have spent his whole life atoning for being in the clan?
Its getting really really nasty!
Posted by: 3dc ||
01/26/2005 9:12:51 AM ||
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#1
Good. That bastard should've shut up and climbed into a box years ago.
#2
Kennedy is a drunk. Byrd is senile and doesn't know shit from Shinola. Boxer is a grandstanding left coast wacko. Does anyone really listen to these clowns?
A blistering letter written by former vice-presidential candidate Jack Kemp to congressional leaders, criticizing the 1998 U.S. bombing of Iraq, has raised new questions about whether he was promoting a secret agenda on behalf of Saddam Hussein's oil spy in the United States, The Post has learned.
Kemp's Dec. 18, 1998, letter to then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), which called for congressional hearings into the Clinton administration's decision to bomb Iraq, has left investigators wondering whether he was pushing "talking points" drawn up by Virginia oil trader Samir Vincent, who pleaded guilty last week to charges that he received payments from Iraq to weaken U.N sanctions.
In the letter, Kemp — who has been questioned by the FBI about his contacts with Vincent — blasted U.S. policy and raised numerous Iraqi propaganda points.
Kemp asked, for example, if it was true "that around 4,500 children under the age of five are dying" in Iraq every month, and whether the U.S. government was refusing to have "direct contact with Iraq."
"The Iraqi government believes that nothing it can do will cause the United States to allow the economic sanctions to be lifted," Kemp said in the letter.
"Is it realistic to expect any regime to cooperate with U.N. inspectors if it believes the U.S. has declared de facto war on it and that nothing it can do will lead to a lifting of sanctions?" Kemp added.
Vincent was making eerily similar points to Kemp during their once-a-month meetings during the same period, Kemp's office admitted.
In a statement issued by Kemp's office, Empower America, over the weekend, the former upstate GOP congressman and Buffalo Bill football star said he believed Vincent was "motivated by the national security of the United States and thought the Iraqi government believed the sanctions could never be lifted, which he said he believed was leading them to obstruct inspectors from coming into the country."
One congressional official involved in the U.N. oil-for-food investigation said, "Knowing what we know now, the question is: Where did Jack Kemp get this stuff?
"It looks like Samir Vincent did a very good lobbying job."
Andrew Porter, spokesman for Empower America, said Vincent played no role in the drafting of Kemp's letter to Lott.
Vincent admitted in federal court last week that he was paid $3 million to $5 million by Saddam to lobby American officials against sanctions.
Kemp, Bob Dole's running mate in 1996, admitted he was questioned by the FBI about his relationship with Vincent last October.
He has said he and Vincent worked behind the scenes on a plan to persuade the Clinton and Bush administrations to consider phasing out sanctions in return for Iraq's agreement to "robust" U.N. weapons inspections.
Kemp denied there were any business or financial dealings with Vincent, who is Iraqi-born, saying they talked only about "policy."
Kemp's lawyer, Lanny Davis, said last week that he believes Kemp was duped by Vincent and did not know Vincent was on Saddam's payroll.
Kemp's letter and other speeches and media interviews opposing the Clinton administration's bombing of Iraq were controversial at the time and represented a break with many of his conservative political and intellectual supporters.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 2:05:00 AM ||
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Kemp’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, said last week that he believes Kemp was duped by Vincent and did not know Vincent was on Saddam’s payroll.
Isn't Lanny Davis a former Clinton heavy? One very good outcome of Kemp's stupidity (if that's all it was) is that this aspect of Oil For Fraud will get the attention of the Republican-hating MSM and perhaps, finally give this story the legs it deserves-- without tarnishing the neocons or anyone else in the Bush admin. Well done, Jack.
The FBI knows of "jihadists" who have trained in terrorist camps in Afghanistan and are now living in Oregon, the agency's Oregon chief said in an exclusive Tuesday interview with The Associated Press.
"We don't have an imminent threat that we're aware of. But I will say this: We have people here in Oregon that have trained in jihadist camps in bad areas. In the bad neighborhoods of the world," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Jordan.
Asked what he meant by "bad neighborhoods," he said Afghanistan, as well as several other countries he would not specify.
During the session with The AP, which lasted nearly two hours, Jordan discussed a wide range of themes - from his agents' participation in the Bush administration's war on terror to the upcoming opening of a new laboratory in Portland to conduct forensic work on computers seized from suspects.
Jordan refused to say how many "jihadists" live in Oregon. He said the FBI knows "they've trained overseas, taken oaths to kill Americans and engage in jihad," but the challenge is "to prove those things."
Jordan contrasted the known "jihadists" living in Oregon with the so-called "Portland Seven," a group of seven Portland-area men accused of plotting to wage war against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
One of the men was killed in combat, while the six others returned to Oregon, where they eventually pleaded guilty to all the charges against them.
Discussing his office's participation in the ongoing war on terror, Jordan said that last fall FBI agents in Oregon took part in an analysis of crop-dusting aircraft across the country, interviewing their current and past owners, examining bills of sale and other pertinent information.
U.S. officials had received intelligence that al-Qaida intended to use a crop duster to spray biological or chemical weapons on American targets, he said.
The crop duster interviews, he said, led to some questionable activities being disrupted. He declined to provide specifics.
Beth Anne Steele, spokeswoman for the FBI's Portland office, said it was the second time since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 that FBI agents had interviewed owners and pilots of crop duster planes.
The purpose is not just to make an accounting of where the aircrafts are, she said, but also to encourage people who use the planes to contact the FBI if a suspicious person inquires about buying such an aircraft.
Jordan said demands on the FBI's agents in Oregon have increased since the Sept. 11 terror attacks and since the launching of the war on Iraq.
He said some of his agents have been assigned to the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.
Some have also been assigned to duties in Iraq. Jordan said that his chief bomb technician volunteered to go to Iraq, where he helped defuse improvised explosive devices - called IEDs - placed along roads.
Jordan also spoke of a new regional laboratory that's being set up in southeast Portland to analyzed seized computers. He said the lab will have a staff of at least 12, and will include officers from local law-enforcement agencies.
"Our goal is to be one-stop shopping for law enforcement in the Northwest, not just Oregon," Jordan said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:33:47 AM ||
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#1
I guess we're still confused about whether this is about law enforcement or war. In war you shoot your enemy on sight.
Posted by: Mr. Spock ||
01/26/2005 10:04 Comments ||
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#3
He said the FBI knows "they’ve trained overseas, taken oaths to kill Americans and engage in jihad," but the challenge is "to prove those things."
-if we've reason to believe this, why can't we just keep them out of the country? Does the Pat Act not cover this situation?
#4
If they are citizens it would probably be difficult, but if they aren't, or if they lied about something on their application (like being a member of a terrorist organization, perhaps?), it shouldn't be difficult to start deportation proceedings -- even under the old rules. But it sounds to me that the FBI office there is severely understaffed for the current situation, so probably they are dealing with crises first.
Twenty-three terrorism suspects tried to hang or strangle themselves during a weeklong protest orchestrated in 2003 to disrupt operations and unnerve new guards at the U.S. military camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the U.S. military said Monday. Officials hadn't previously reported the incidents, which the military called ``self-injurious behavior'' aimed at getting attention rather than serious suicide attempts. The coordinated attempts were among 350 ``self-harm'' incidents that year, including 120 so-called ``hanging gestures,'' at the secretive prison that opened after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to Lt. Col. Leon Sumpter, a spokesman for the detention mission.
In the Aug. 18-26, 2003, protest, nearly two dozen prisoners tried to hang or strangle themselves with clothing and other items in their cells, demonstrating ``self-injurious behavior,'' the U.S. Southern Command in Miami said in a statement. Ten detainees made a mass attempt on Aug. 22 alone. Last year, there were 110 self-harm incidents, Sumpter said. The 23 prisoners were in steel mesh cells and they can talk to neighbors. It would not have been possible to pass notes, and they are allowed to exercise only one at a time. Only two of the 23 were considered suicide attempts - incidents requiring hospitalization and psychiatric treatment. Officials said they differentiated between a suicide attempt in which a detainee could have died without intervention, and a ``gesture'' aimed at getting attention.
Sixteen of the 23 remain at Guantanamo; seven have been transferred to other countries. The military has reported 34 suicide attempts since the camp opened in January 2002, including one prisoner who went into a coma and sustained memory loss from brain damage. The 2003 protests came as the camp suffered a rash of suicide attempts after Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller took command. Miller had a mandate to get more information from prisoners accused of links to al-Qaeda or Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime, which had sheltered Osama bin Laden. Critics linked the two and criticized the delay in reporting the incidents. ``When you have suicide attempts or so-called self-harm incidents, it shows the type of impact indefinite detention can have,'' said Alistair Hodgett, a spokesman for Amnesty International in Washington, D.C. "But it also points to the extreme measures the Pentagon is taking to cover up things that have happened in Guantanamo. ``What we've seen is that it wasn't simply a rotation of forces (guards) but an attempt to toughen up the interrogation techniques and processes,'' he added.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:20:47 AM ||
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they should be held until the mahdi comes,the twelfth iman reappears or until the twelfth of never--which ever comes first
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
01/26/2005 1:58 Comments ||
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#2
Send 'em out here to Oregon...we have assisted suicide and if they are that unhappy to be alive I am pretty sure we can find some liberal Dr. here to help them out...
Posted by: dave ||
01/26/2005 2:15 Comments ||
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#3
"Some 558 prisoners are at Guantanamo Bay" Many have been permitted to remain alive more than three years after their capture as illegal combatants, a status which in earlier times would have resulted in their immediate execution at the places where they were captured.
#7
Someone should ask the Saudis how they make their prison fires look like accidents or get some Bangladeshi cops some part time gigs down there as guards.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Looking for new ways to bolster its thinning ranks, the Army National Guard is seeking legal authority to offer $15,000 bonuses to active-duty soldiers willing to join the Guard - up from $50 now. Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters Tuesday that the Guard is 15,000 soldiers below its normal strength of 350,000, and he expects further short-term declines despite recent gains from tripling re-enlistment bonuses for Guardsmen deployed abroad.
If the Guard fails to return to its normal troop level of 350,000 by the end of the budget year on Sept. 30, it will be the first time that has happened since 1989, the three-star general said. He added that he believes he has a formula for restoring the Guard's strength.
Heavily stressed by longer-than-anticpated combat and support duties in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, the Guard recently increased first-time enlistment bonuses and added 1,400 recruiters. In explaining his interest in getting congressional approval for $15,000 bonuses to entice active-duty military members to join the Guard, Blum said he believes he could get 8,000 new Guardsmen this way. He said the existing $50 bonus carries little weight in today's economy. ``That incentive may have been a big deal 50 years ago, but it doesn't buy much today,'' he said.
Blum offered two main reasons the Guard has found it harder to get active-duty soldiers to switch to the Guard. Many are prevented from leaving the active Army even after their contracts are up or their retirement dates have arrived because the Army invoked a special authority known as ``stop loss'' that freezes soldiers in place for months at a time. Also, those who can leave active duty are sometimes less interested in joining the Guard if they believe that their prospective Guard unit is in line for a deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Blum also said that while he believes the National Guard will be asked to contribute a relatively smaller proportion of the combat force in Iraq starting in mid-2005, it will remain strapped. Currently, 44 percent of the Army combat forces in Iraq are Guard troops, he said, and he believes that will drop to the low 20s later this year. Offsetting that, however, is an expectation that the Guard will be required to contribute a larger proportion of the support troops.
According to a chart provided by Blum, 71 of the Guard's 75 infantry battalions have been committed for duty in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere since President Bush authorized Guard and Reserve mobilizations for the war on terror on Sept. 14, 2001. A battalion is considered ``committed'' if at least 35 percent of its troops are mobilized for active-duty service. Similarly, 33 of the Guard's 36 armor battalions have been committed in that same time period.
Blum said the Guard has not run out of combat power but it needs a break. ``I've pretty well given at the office,'' he said, ``and it's time for the (active-duty Army) to pick it up.''
Among the Guard combat forces that have been put on active duty since September 2001 are 11 infantry battalions and six armor battalions that provided security at airports and other locations in the United States in the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Blum's chart showed. In hindsight, he said he wishes he had used non-combat troops for that work. ``I did not envision being in Iraq in 2005 with 44 percent of the (total Army) combat forces,'' he said. ``That was not in my wildest scenario on the crystal ball that I was looking at.''
Blum also said that he has kept his promise to state governors - who control National Guard units during peacetime - that he will not have more than 50 percent of their Guard troops mobilized at any given time. In most states the percent that are mobilized is well below 50. The only states currently at 50 percent are Washington and Hawaii, he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/26/2005 12:01:52 AM ||
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An interesting follow-up on the Rantburg discussion on biowarfare. From Nat'l Review Online, The Kerry Spot (scroll down)
A FEW MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT SMALLPOX AND EPIDEMICS
[01/24 10:46 PM]
Boy, David Frum is right, NRO readers collectively know everything about everything. So do Rantburgers, but I won't argue with a man on his own blog about the calibre of his readers ;-)
TKS reader Mike, who was a microbiology major during the glory years of KC and the Sunshine band (which he compares to Ebola), writes in:
At any rate, on one hand, it is remarkable simple to manufacture virulent strains of some really nasty stuff. But, the virulence comes at a price. VOLUME. You need a crap load of the stuff to really do the job. AND, it's pretty fragile too. Why do you think it takes a lab with all the fancy schmancy heaters/coolers, humidifiers, etc to make it? Once made, it needs that type of environment to survive. I'm not saying I'd go out and drink a margarita of cholera mind you, I'm just saying that delivery really gets to be a female dog if you get my meaning.
So, I live in Arizona, a few million people going about their day-to-day lives. Typical day in January-High Temps in the 60's (eat your heart out) lows in the 30's to 40's. Humidity around 18% or so. Winds light gusting to maybe 15mph. From what I understand, you'd have to almost saturate 100 sq miles and I mean SATURATE the ground, buildings, etc for any form of virus, bacteria, disco band to have any penetration. You'd need a crop-duster to do this flying almost at roof-top level. And remember, that for the most part people are wearing clothes. Time to infection is crucial. Most places just are not habitable for these things. ALL the conditions, not just some or even most, ALL, need to be there, temperature, humidity, wind patterns, susceptibility of people, virulence half-life, incubation period, response, etc.
Now, if someone did develop the super resistant, super virulent bugga-boo, what's to stop it? If you're the developer, you gotta test it right? How's that gonna go? How do you keep it a secret. Like the proverbial genie, once it's literally out of the bottle, there's no putting it back in. How do you keep it contained in these places? It's not like, your other reader pointed out, the ME emirs would stockpile any sort of vaccine or antidote would they? This type of research just cannot be done in the black. Well, maybe we could or are, but Iran? Syria? Indonesia? Please, just not likely to happen.
Echoing some of his thoughts, TKS reader Richard observes, "Before they used the Sarin gas, the Aum followers tried spraying botulism toxin and anthrax spores in Tokyo. They didn't make anyone ill with those, but that was due to their technical incompetence. If they'd had access to smallpox, I have no doubt they would have used it. And given the low level of general immunity in the human population now, it would have been horrific."
And TKS reader Michael Bellomo tips us off to the June 2005 release of his book, with co-author Dr. Alan Zelicoff, that discusses how to detect and minimize the effects of a bioterrorism event - called Microbe: Are we Ready for the Next Plague?. I look forward to reading it, next time I feel like I'm sleeping too soundly. Me, too. I've added it to my books I want list.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Even given that a bioweapon would be seriously difficult to manufacture and deploy, it could still have a major psychological effect. I think that any bioweapon would function like a dirty nuke: not all that dangerous in and of itself, but possibly leading to lethal panic among the uninformed. Usage in a subway system or a heavily trafficked public building -- say, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum during the summer months -- coupled with an announcement to the public about what was done could lead to stampedes and the like.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
01/26/2005 11:27 Comments ||
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More long term, you would have a divergance of opinion regarding ground zero issues. Was it an isolated "no big deal" event for those not impacted early or a more than subtle "I ain't shopping at that Walmart anymore"? Would business in the nebulous decontamination zone have to relocate by necessity, or just because all of their customers are going to other places. What about your housing value? If a little mold can screw up a house closing deal, what about the uncertainty over the longer term effects of having an event in your major metropolitan area? Money lenders do not like uncertainty, and there is plenty of it in this scenario. Pity the bastard that just closed on his dream home the week before.
#3
Frankly, the next terror attack seems far more likely to be small arms fire in a densely crowded open public space, maybe a dozen or two dozen fascists doing the firing. Probably at a mall or in a subway.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) was on Tuesday questioned for a third time by the commission investigating the scandal-tainted Iraq (news - web sites) oil-for-food program, a U.N. spokesman said.
Annan has appointed Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (news - web sites), to lead a probe of the $67 billion program, set up in late 1996 to allow civilian goods into Iraq in an effort to ease the impact of U.N. sanctions.
"He has met more than once for an extended period of time with Mr. Volcker and his investigators," U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in answer to queries.
He originally said two interviews took place last year but later updated the information, saying the latest round was on Tuesday afternoon and lasted one hour and 35 minutes. Previous interviews were conducted on Nov. 9 for one hour and 45 minutes and on Dec. 3 for 25 minutes.
"Yes, the secretary-general is part of the investigation, is subject like anyone else involved in oil-for-food in the secretariat," Eckhard said. "He has been questioned and most likely will continued to be questioned as Mr Volcker's investigation continues."
The spokesman said the meetings took place in Annan's office at U.N. headquarters. Volcker is due to give a preliminary report at the end of the month or early in February.
Among the allegations is that Kojo Annan, the U.N. leader's son, was paid a total of $125,000 by Geneva-based firm Cotecna, which inspected goods coming to Iraq. U.N. officials have denied Annan was aware or involved in contract negotiations.
The payments were part of an agreement for the younger Annan, who worked in West Africa rather than Iraq, not to join a firm competing with Cotecna after he left the company, Eckhard said previously.
CIA (news - web sites) weapons inspector Charles Duelfer, in a report in October, said Saddam reaped some $1.7 billion by subverting the program. Iraq also sold $8 billion in oil outside of the program, to Jordan, Syria and Turkey, which the Security Council, including the United States, knew about.
Volcker said earlier this month his probe has not turned up a smoking gun.
"You know his son was employed by this company, you know he knew his son was employed by the company, you know a few other things, but suppose you have no evidence Kofi influenced the process," Volcker told the New York Times.
"You find an e-mail, or somebody who's squealing, then you have the proof, but without it you're left with the difficult task of trying to prove a negative," Volcker said.
More recently Samir Vincent, 64, a naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in New York of taking millions of dollars from Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s government in exchange for lobbying U.S. and U.N. officials.
Vincent is the first known suspect who can shed light on how Saddam subverted and worked around the program and Volcker has asked to interview him.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 1:19:59 AM ||
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Volcker said earlier this month his probe has not turned up a smoking gun.
Might wanna get used to hearing that one, folks...
Investigators probing allegations of impropriety in the United Nations' Iraqi oil-for-food program questioned Secretary-General Kofi Annan about his involvement twice last year and again Tuesday, a U.N. spokesman said. Annan met with former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker and his investigators Nov. 9 and again Dec. 3, spokesman Fred Eckhard said. A third meeting took place Tuesday afternoon, but Volcker, who spoke to reporters as he left the United Nations, would not give details. Volcker's panel had been expected to release a preliminary report in late January, but he said Tuesday it would come out in early February. "We're going to have a report shortly," he said. "All I can tell you is wait for the report to come out."
"The secretary-general is part of the investigation, is a subject like anyone else involved in oil-for-food at the secretariat," Eckhard said. And for Mike S.:
One element of the investigation is Annan's son Kojo, who worked in Africa for a Swiss company that had a contract under the oil-for-food program. Kojo Annan, who denies any involvement in wrongdoing, received payments for more than four years after his job ended. It was not immediately known if the U.N. chief discussed his son during his meetings with Volcker and other investigators. Eckhard said the November meeting lasted more than 1 1/2 hours and the second about 25 minutes. A report in October by top U.S. arms inspector Charles Duelfer said Saddam was able to "subvert" the $60 billion program to generate an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue outside U.N. control from 1997 to 2003. Saddam also raked in more than $8 billion from illicit oil deals with Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Egypt, according to U.S. congressional investigators... There are also at least five U.S. congressional probes into the scandal.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The UN Development Programme (UNDP) will lend its name to a controversial report on freedom and governance in the Arab world despite US objections to parts of the text. Egyptian sociologist Nadir Fargany said the Arab Human Development Report, the third in an annual series, would come out in March under the UNDP logo without substantive changes. The nature of the dispute centred on differences between the US view that the Arab world's problems are mainly internal and the Arab consensus that external factors such as US foreign policy and Israel's treatment of the Palestinians have contributed significantly to oppression and poor governance in the region.
No doubt that view makes sense in Arabic, since they keep repeating it. In English it's about the same thing as dribbling tea down the front of your shirt.
Fargany said last year that Washington had pressed the UNDP not to back the report because it did not like sections on the US occupation of Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said the US had threatened to cut its contribution to the UN agency if it published the report, though this was denied by the UNDP.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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..and the Arab consensus that external factors such as US foreign policy and Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians have contributed significantly to oppression and poor governance in the region.
Denial is quite a difficult beast to kill, isn't it?
Rebels fighting for the independence of Aceh province are willing to engage in peace talks with Indonesia but say the country is not serious about negotiations, a senior guerrilla said from his rural hideout. "We remain ready to talk because so many Acehnese people are missing from the wars and tsunami," Darwis Djeunieb, a Free Aceh Movement (GAM) regional commander based just west of this coastal city, told AFP.
In an interview Monday, Djeunieb also said five of his guerrillas had recently been killed in a government ambush, despite the military's pledge to focus on relief efforts rather than fighting after the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami which killed about 170,000 people in the Aceh region of Sumatra island. Djeunieb expressed support for the thousands of foreign aid workers in the province and mocked the Indonesian military's relief efforts. He was speaking after a Finnish NGO on Sunday said talks aimed at bringing together the two sides would be held in Finland at the end of the week. Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja later confirmed the meeting was to go ahead.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Indonesia's chief security minister will lead a top-level delegation to Finland to resume talks this week with rebels from tsunami-hit Aceh province, an official close to the negotiating team said on Tuesday. The tsunami disaster, which has killed more than 173,000 people in the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island, has prompted renewed efforts to resolve a sporadic rebellion that has killed 12,000 people since 1976. Former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari and his Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) group will mediate talks between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement, better known by its initials GAM. "The delegation will leave on Wednesday afternoon. They will be there for five days," the government official, who declined to be named, told Reuters, adding the delegation will be led by chief security minister and former military chief, Widodo Adi Sutjipto. The team includes Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin and a former Aceh military commander.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Two Bangladeshis were missing Monday after a North Korean registered cargo boat capsized off the coast of Lebanon, officials said. Rescue teams were alerted at dawn when residents in Khalde, south of Beirut, saw the 25-metre (82-foot) Mary capsize in rough seas. A civil defence team managed to fish three Georgians out of the sea, including the captain and two crew members, but two Bangladeshi sailors have been reported missing, the sources said. The boat capsized after wires got entangled in its propeller and was left badly damaged, according to the initial findings of an investigation.
Just happened to "snag" some wires in the prop, huh?
The captain told police that the Mary left Port Said in Egypt for Latakia in Syria on Saturday.
Wonder what her cargo was?
Posted by: Steve ||
01/26/2005 9:10:30 AM ||
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Quite the little UN aboard the Mary, wasn't it? Nork flag, Georgian Captain, and Bangladeshi crew...
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/26/2005 19:33 Comments ||
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For those kinds of lines to be there, its a bit "unusual" - Gee, I wonder where the Israeli Navy is keeping its diesel electrc boats these days, and if some steel cable somehow disappeared from the docks the last time they sortied...
#8
For those kinds of lines to be there, its a bit "unusual" - Gee, I wonder where the Israeli Navy is keeping its diesel electrc boats these days, and if some steel cable somehow disappeared from the docks the last time they sortied...
#9
For those kinds of lines to be there, its a bit "unusual" - Gee, I wonder where the Israeli Navy is keeping its diesel electrc boats these days, and if some steel cable somehow disappeared from the docks the last time they sortied...
The Iranian students storming the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 became icons of worldwide Islamic revolution.
Twenty-five years later, Iran's youth is rebelling again. But as CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports, this time against the Islamic government itself.
Fully 60 percent of Iranians are under the age of 30, and they have had enough of strict Islamic rule. Everywhere there are signs that the religious authorities are losing control.
Especially for the young, personal behavior in public can be very political. You can easily see some of these small acts of rebellion in a place that would look familiar to any American teenager, like a shopping mall.
Women let their scarves slip back to show their hair. They show off their makeup, tight coats and high heels. Even five years ago, a couple holding hands in public could have been arrested and flogged. The mullahs hope that turning a blind eye to this minor defiance will relieve pressure for major change.
That pressure did explode in 1999. Students rioted and were brutally put down.
It was a grim lesson for Azadeh Shirzad who helps run her family's print shop. She remembers what happened to friends who got involved.
"Some of them were arrested and some of them were killed and you know? I am myself ... I am afraid of that," she says.
Islamic morality police tend to stay away from trendy places like fancy cappuccino bars. But even here, people would talk to CBS News only if they could hide their faces.
It adds up to a cash bonus for the police but a long-term cost for the government and growing contempt for the Islamic state.
That worries mullah Mohammed al Abtahi. Until September, he was one of Iran's vice presidents. He quit, disgusted by the corrupt and reactionary regime. He's traded in politics for computer blogging.
On his popular Web site, al Abtahi posts irreverent photos of establishment figures - like one of Iran's nuclear minister picking his nose - that he takes with his cell phone.
"Our young people are as well informed as young people in China or Britain or America. Anyone who tries to limit them is bound to fail," he says.
The hardliners can always launch another temporary crackdown. But in the end, the 1970s Islamic revolution seems certain to be undone by its own children.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 1:05:01 AM ||
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We need to continue to support these people. Not just through VOA but through other channels as well. My Iranian friends tell me it is a mistake to overtly attack Iran, not because of their military but because we would alienate a population that has some of the highest opinions of the US in the World. They tell me the number could be as high as a 75% approval rating. The polls of course would never be conducted or completely doctored for the opposite effect. Tyrannical Regimes are doomed to fail but in many cases require outside intervention. An attack on Iran could polarize these friendly forces against us and the end result would be disasterous. I originally agreed with military strikes on Isafan and the other facilities, but my opinion has changed after this dialogue. More covert action is required. I'm not sure if sanctions are the answer either because the only ones to suffer will be our allies in Iran not the Mullahs.
I'm open to opposing arguements. Comments welcome.
#2
"in the end, the 1970s Islamic revolution seems certain to be undone by its own children."
If this turns out to be true in the long run, this represents not only the failure of the Iranian revolution, it also represents the failure of a central idea of islam that religious law must be enforced by the state. Not only is such a practice doomed to be flouted by those who don't feel conscience bound to observe it, it actually results in an increase in the very behaviors it is meant to prohibit by driving it further underground out of fear of truly draconian punishments, by decreasing respect for the law in general and by increasing corruption as people look for ways around the law. It also increases despair and addiction.
The problem with islam is what happens when it succeeds in obtaining a majority which then institutes islamic law. I wonder how many times muslims will have to fail in their attempts to either institute or maintain sharia before they finally admit that the whole idea of mixing religion with "every aspect of life" as they say, including government, is a bad idea.
#3
Probably the best way to fight the regime is to:
1.increase the broadcasting power of Persian emigre radio
2. to get cell phones in the hands of the young Persians and have them call the radio station which would then broadcast their own voices
It would also help things if the Pavlevi family would renounce any interest in being head of a monarchy (they probably provide much of the funding of the emigre radio)
#4
what this represents is not so much the failure of any particular religion, but the universal human longing toward freedom, the resentment against the crushing boot of the tyrant, whether he wears a turban, an officers cap, or the hat of a "comrade".
#5
peggy, the Muslim's in power will ever admit thier failure, any more than our politicians do. But since I'm hearing from Bloggers that the people of Iraq don't want cleric's in the goverment, because they've heard from thier freinds in Iran, that it's not a good idea to have clerics in the goverment. This shows that at least the people (much like here) learn
I dont disagree that all humans want to be free. But islam is in contradiction of human freedom because of its totality which is an idea that lies at its very heart. Therefore in any muslim dominated country no matter how moderate or liberal, the distinction between mosque and state is always blurred and the government is always to some extent the enforcer of islam's religious code on all citizens in some way shape or form.
I do not deny that any tyrannical regime is undermined for the same reasons that tehran is being undermined today. But islam's central tenents, beleieved by all no matter whether moderate or conservative are a leading factor in this case. Yes, it does point to the failure of trying to fully implement islam. This is the case wherever muslims attempt to bring islamic tenents into all aspects of life.
I wonder if you have studied islam with muslims, LH, or do you just assume that its just like all other religions without any serious examination?
I have studied it from muslims, the totality of islam is a given among them no matter what their stripe and has been throughout all of islamic history with few exceptions. Anyone taking the faith seriously must accept islams intrusion in government and its applicability to all citizens even non-muslims for even non-muslims must live under some form of islamic law and cannot opt out. This idea is absolutely inseparable from islam and it cannot work in practice. Therefore it is a failure over and over of one of the religion's tenents.
#13
ive read several books and articles on Islam. I havent studied with muslims, nor have I studied Christianity with Christians.
Islam is a religion that impacts all of life, with detailed regulations. I follow a religion that does the same, its called Judaism.
Islams traditional texts make no allowance for the secular state. Nonetheless muslims in Turkey and Indonesia have built and supported secular states, and remained muslims. Tens of millions of Indian muslims accept life in a secular, predominanty Hindu state. I do not feel fit to tell those people that their form of Islam is inferior or inauthentic, and even if i spent some time "stuyding islam with muslims" i would not feel so fit.
I would also point out that theres a huge difference, one you skim over, between the application of muslim family law by the state, done in most muslim countries (but not Turkey)
and the application of sharia more broadly, as in Iran and KSA. Even Israel applies muslim family law to muslims (as it applies Jewish law - halacha - to Jews on such questions).
#15
exactly LH - who's the party of the current gov't, AK?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 13:57 Comments ||
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"who's the party of the current gov't, AK"?
In Germany, the main conservative party is still called "Christian Democratic Union" -- and yet nobody's thinking that it'll turn Germany into medieval-eras Christian prosecution of heretics.
In the same way, the fact that the governing party of Turkey used to have the word "Islam" in its title and that it contains religious conservatives, won't authomatically make me believe that secularism in Turkey is collapsing.
I don't believe that secularism is significantly threatened in the USA either, and from everything I gather politicians there tend to mention God much more often than Turkish politicians tend to mention Allah.
I've been looking for *actual* signs of Turkey regressing, and haven't been able to find many. Or indeed even one: if anything democracy has been strengthened the past years according to Freedom House reports. But as always, let me know if you have actual examples of the Turkish state becoming less secular.
You know little Turkish story. Mustapha Kemal despised Islam, said things about "being led by ignorant, filihy mullahs following the teachings of a mad Arab". And there are dozens of examples of state becoming less secular. Like the fact that until the end of the eighties making the pilgriamge meant political death. Today they have an Islamist prime minister who is slowly dragging Turkey under Arab yoke.
#18
And there are dozens of examples of state becoming less secular. Like the fact that until the end of the eighties making the pilgriamge meant political death
These seem to me as signs of Turkey becoming more *tolerant*, not less secular. Do you have any signs that indicate the state/mosque separation is being breached?
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said he will discuss defence cooperation with Moscow as he prepares for talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The Syrian leader defended his country's right to acquire Russian missiles to strengthen its air defences, but said that no concrete contracts would be on the agenda during his four-day state visit to Russia.
Israel protested earlier this month at the reported planned sale to Damascus of SA-18 surface-to-air missiles, also known as Igla, and next-generation Iskander-E missiles that could allow Syria to strike any target in Israel. "These are defensive weapons, air defence, to prevent aircraft from entering our airspace," al-Asad said when asked to comment on the reported contracts, now seen in doubt because of Israeli and US pressure.
Lord knows the equipment they have now doesn't stop anyone.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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defence cooperation?? Does he mean something like a mutual defence treaty?!? What's he trying to do, start World War I?
#2
When this story first came out the talk was the Russians where going to sell the SA-18 manportable missle and SA-10 (Patriot-like) missle system. I have not heard if the SA-10 sale is still a go. The manportable SA-18 is troubling; however, kind of localized for air defense. The SA-10 gives Syria a very credible and capable air defense network. Has anyone heard if that sale is still on? I had heard they where scaling it back to allow only non-networked vehicle borne variants of the SA-10 for sale.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered the hardline parliament not to purge any more ministers in the embattled reformist government, pointing out that new elections are just months away anyway.
A message to deputies from Khamenei, also carried in Iranian media Tuesday, said that "now that the government is in the last months of its crucial mission, impeaching ministers is of no benefit for the country." The statement nevertheless told the parliament, or Majlis, it did have the right to use its "supervisory tools". In October the Majlis voted to sack transport minister Ahmad Khorram for corruption and mismanagement, failing to tackle mounting carnage on the nation's transport network and for awarding an airport operating contract to a foreign consortium.
The move was a major blow to the moderate government of President Mohammad Khatami, which has been left badly isolated after reformists were barred from contesting parliamentary elections 11 months ago. But conservative deputies have also set their sights on other moderate cabinet members, including Interior Minister Abdolvahed Moussavi-Lari and Education Minister Morteza Hadji. The education minister has been accused of favouring reformists in the education system, as well as bowing to striking teachers over wage demands.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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I thought their "crucial mission" was the destructin of Israel..
#3
the moderate governmnt of Khatami....like Brezhnev was a moderate compared to Stalin?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 9:47 Comments ||
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They probably see the remaining "reformers" as useful fools, giving their stolen government some tiny degree of credibility as legitimate, and also giving a boost to the total election numbers, so it isn't bloody obvious that they are elected by a tiny minority.
The Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah, fearful of U.S. diplomatic and military pressure, has sought to launch an indirect dialogue with Washington. Lebanese opposition sources said Hizbullah has recruited senior Lebanese commanders and politicians to send messages to the U.S. intelligence community. The sources said the Lebanese interlocutors were asked to seek an understanding with Washington that would avoid U.S. diplomatic or military pressure on Hizbullah or its ally, Syria. Hizbullah was most concerned of a major Israeli military strike on either Lebanon or Syria, the sources said. They said Syria encouraged Hizbullah to send a reassuring message to Washington amid an assessment that President George Bush would wage a more assertive U.S. policy in the Middle East during his second term. The reported CIA-Hizbullah contacts have been regarded as part of a Syrian-sponsored effort to relieve Western pressure on the regime of President Bashar Assad. Over the last few months, Assad has repeatedly offered to renew negotiations with Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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What do you mean it's our turn to die??
That wasn't in the plan.
What do you mean you're paying attention to us?
We promise, you can take out the black turbans, but please leave us alone!
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Deadlocked? No. Roadblocked. Yes. This is what both want. The Iranians will keep building, and the EU will keep the Americans blocked as long as possible. We will have peace in our time! It's a feature, not a bug.
The United States has determined that the Iraqi embassy in Syria serves to facilitate the flow of insurgents to fight the coalition in Iraq. U.S. officials said the Iraqi embassy in Damascus has refused to submit to the authority of the interim government in Baghdad.
Then they're still on the other side, aren't they?
They said the embassy has provided passports at sharply reduced costs to Islamic volunteers who have joined the Sunni insurgency movement.
Probably time to change the passports, isn't it?
The Iraqi embassy in Damascus has been one of at least two embassies that have refused to come under the authority of the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad and remain aligned with Saddam Hussein loyalists. The other Iraqi embassy was that in Libya. Officials said the Iraqi embassy in Damascus has arranged to issue passports for a range of Arab nationals who seek to join the insurgency. They said that for $95, or 5,000 Syrian pounds, applicants can receive a passport within a day.
Sounds like a casus belli to me...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Probably time to change the passports Wait until February 1st.
#2
Time for the guys with the sleepy looks to make a visit to the ambassador and friends . . .
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
01/26/2005 7:06 Comments ||
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The Iraqi government should just appoint a new embassy to Syria and withdraw the diplomatic credentials of everyone in the old one. Sure, it won't make Syria budge, but this ISN'T out of the control of the Iraqis.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/26/2005 10:19 Comments ||
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The U.S. intelligence community has obtained plans for what was described as an Iranian project to develop a nuclear warhead.
Golly. I wonder where that leak came from? Why would anybody want to leak something like that?
Officials said the plans were obtained by the CIA in November from an unidentified source. They said the source relayed more than 1,000 pages of technical drawings and documents of an Iranian nuclear missile warhead design. In November, 2004, officials said, the CIA had sought to confirm the authenticity of the Iranian documents. The Iranian documents -- first reported by the Washington Post on Nov. 19 -- were said to outline a design for a nuclear warhead of the enhanced Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile. Officials said a warhead capable of containing a nuclear bomb appeared have been developed for the launch of the Shihab-3 in October 2004. Iran has acknowledged that information from its nuclear program has been leaked to opposition sources and Western intelligence agencies. Since last August, Teheran has reported arrests of unidentified scientists and technicians in Iran's nuclear program.
Barn door's open now...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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1,000 pages of technical drawings and documents
Probably xeroxes of Bomb Plan #1 from Khan & Co., 100 Boomer St., Islamabad, Pakistan.
Posted by: Duke Nukem ||
01/26/2005 9:29 Comments ||
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#4
how could this be? Jack Straw assures us his Iranian friends aren't developing weapons while negotiations continue. F*&kers. Cruise missile time!
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 9:53 Comments ||
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#5
Score one for the Spooks.
Deduct twenty for letting the press know about it.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/26/2005 10:03 Comments ||
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#6
Unless it's not true and the spooks leaked it to spook the Persians and see what they do. Never assume it's the truth when it comes from any Spook other than an Old one.
Posted by: Mr. Spock ||
01/26/2005 10:06 Comments ||
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#7
I wonder how much espionage their Russian allies are engaged in while installing their radar? Give a little, get a lot?
#8
I've always thought it would be funny to "leak" that 20% of the officer corp of the Iranian (or North Korean) military was in contact with CIA agents. Imagine the Purge Scrambles that would result.
Brew up some huge investigation in the US to find the "leaker" to make them believe it. :)
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
01/26/2005 11:30 Comments ||
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#9
We know. They know we know. We know they know we know.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
01/26/2005 12:10 Comments ||
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The group of Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, threatened Americans and Iraqi forces, and warned Iraqis not to go near polling stations, according to an Internet statement posted Wednesday.
"Beware, beware, Iraqis, don't approach the (polling) centres of infidelity and vice. You are warned," said the statement from the Al-Qaeda Group in the Land of Two Rivers which was posted on an Islamist website.
The authenticity of the statement could not be verified.
"Enemies of Allah, prepare yourselves. Barricade yourselves as you want. We have men who love to kill as much as you love life," it added.
"Death will be the fate of the enemies of Islam... the Americans, who call for false elections and the soldiers of (Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad) Allawi."
On Monday, Zarqawi's fighters said snipers would take out any Iraqis who try to vote in Sunday's landmark elections.
"Trained snipers will be ready to kill the apostates who go to the electoral lairs," said a statement signed by Zarqawi's group and handed out in the Iraqi town of Al-Dur.
"The coming days will be the worst for those involved in the operation to establish the principles of apostates in the land of Islam," added the text.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 1:34:13 PM ||
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"The coming days will be the worst for those involved in the operation to establish the principles of apostates in the land of Islam," added the text.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
01/26/2005 12:24:55 PM ||
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#1
It would have helped if I posted the pic too!
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
01/26/2005 12:54 Comments ||
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#2
Awesome!
Posted by: The Doctor ||
01/26/2005 14:05 Comments ||
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#3
I would respectfully suggest one addition to those great photos: a nice aftermath backdrop of a suicide bombing behind the photos-giving clear context for why the figure on the left is who we strive to be.
I think this is the site
THE US Defence Department has been asked to investigate a website being used by American soldiers to post grisly pictures of Iraqi war dead.
The site, which has been operating for more than a year, describes itself as "an online archive of soldiers' photos".
Dozens of pictures of decapitated and limbless bodies are featured on the site with tasteless captions, purportedly sent in by soldiers.
Captions include "plastic surgery needed", "road kill" and "I said dead".
Australian expat Iraqis, most of whom supported the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, have been angered by the website and called on the US government to ensure it was taken down.
US President George Bush in 2003 demanded the Iraqi military not release photographs of US war prisoners for publication and the Pentagon has banned publication of pictures of coffins containing US war dead being transported back to America.
Australian Iraqi Forum president Dr Riadh al-Mahaidi said: "It is abhorrent to see gruesome pictures of dead bodies in Iraq posted on this offending website.
"It is no less cruel and sickening than web postings by terrorist groups of decapitated bodies of kidnapped victims."
#4
I wish the website would give estimates on the total number of insurgents killed. I'm still looking for any knid of info or the sort. Maybe if we broadcast to the Muj recruiters just what the life expectancy of their volunteers would be their sales pitch would be a little watered down.
The MSM is hurting us by only showing Coalition fatalities by showing the enemy they can hurt us.
#5
There is a different website that routinely posts gruesome photos of American dead, as well as of Iraqis and anyone else who has fallen victim to violence.
Many of the pictures of dead Americans appear to have been taken by Americans, including a set that appears to show the preparation of dead bodies in a military morgue.
This is an egregious violation of military regulations, which absolutely forbids anything but authorized forensic images to be taken in these facilities.
I have reported this to the Quartermaster Corps and they are investigating. Unbelievably, some of the bodies are recognizable from the pictures. This may allow the exact source and the culprit to be identified, in which case he or she needs a long stay in Fort Leavenworth.
#6
Odd. I remember, as a kid, seeing pictures of WWII dead in a Life magazine "Best Of" book. I remember one that WOULD have been a recognizable Japanese soldier, had his tank not caught fire, reducing his head to a lump of charcoal frozen in a scream.
Excepting the captions, how is that different?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/26/2005 14:23 Comments ||
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Bob,
It's different because the left loves dead Americans more than living Americnas, especially America military
During the war you never saw pictures or footage of Allied soldiers dead. Some newsreel showed burned up tanks and injured soldiers, but there was strict censorship of the press during this time. Enemy soldiers were always a different matter.
The difference now is that we have the easy mobility of information. It is a virtual impossibility to censor either individuals or the media (who would scream like little girls at the mere mention).
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
01/26/2005 14:45 Comments ||
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#9
Jame, Life did publish photos of allied war dead during the conflict. The first being an American GI face down on a New Guinea beach, circa 1943. Showing faces or dismemberment may have been taboo tho.
#10
Actually you did. There is a famous Life magazine picture of a dead American marine lying face down in the sand Difference is you couldn't tell who it was.
Posted by: Weird Al ||
01/26/2005 15:19 Comments ||
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#11
To reiterate my earlier point, Robert, it is against the law for American soldiers to take or distribute images of their dead comrades.
As a retired officer, I have mixed feelings about the images of enemy dead. On the one hand, it is an obvious affront to human dignity, especially when accompanied by humorous captions. When you're actually there, you are trying to deal with all kinds of emotional trauma, and some degree of levity is appropriate or at least excusable. In the public domain, accessible from the safety of a home computer, it is something else again and reflects very badly on those involved and on the service in general.
On the other hand, I think it is fair for people to see what actually happens and how ugly a business this really is. The pro-terror peace movement would obviously use this to support their demands for surrender and totalitarian rule, but if the real nature of war undermines support, then the support is probably not worth having.
I have seen the image you describe in Life (and worse in person).
Excuse me for getting clinically gruesome, but this is an important point: The "frozen scream" effect is probably the result of tissue contraction and not literally of a scream at the time of death. How do I know this? Because we see it on burned bodies that were obviously dismembered by impact.
It is interesting to me that the Iraqi group complaining about this contrasts it with US complaints about the official conduct of the Iraqi government, and not with the truly analogous situation, the many gruesome photos taken by jihadists and their sympathizers and plastered all ober the web.
#12
I believe it was after '68 that the U.S. Military banned taking pictures of dead Viet Cong. If any were found in your stuff while you were processing out they were confiscated. I never heard of fellow soldiers taking pictures of their dead comrades although I can't say it didn't happen.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/26/2005 15:46 Comments ||
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#13
I bet the MSM are envious. WaPo could run the pics for days.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/26/2005 19:32 Comments ||
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#14
I'm pretty sure that the WWII picture of the dead Marine in the sand was at Tarawa. The photos from that hellish battle were the first to show American dead sent back home and they did have an impact on the civilians from what I've read. I think the censorship was ratcheted back up after that.
#15
I believe this post has the famous photograph taken at the invasion at Buna Beach in 1942 by George Strock and published by Life in 1943. Not quite the same as the pornographic images of the dead to which we are now immune.
It is difficult for us to imagine what consternation this photograph caused to Americans on the home front. In two years, we were liberating Bergen Belsen. This war will last much longer. And I believe that we cannot now imagine how far we will descend before it is over any more than could the Americans looking at Life in 1943.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/26/2005 20:17 Comments ||
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#16
To quote the article from Mrs D:
In September 1943, the military released the first photographs of dead American soldiers. George Strock's images of corpses on Buna Beach, New Guinea, appeared in Life, the largest- circulation picture magazine. The powerful pictures shocked some readers, but a greater number approved of the policy. The Washington Post argued that the pictures "can help us to understand something of what has been sacrificed for the victories we have won." Images of dead soldiers appeared regularly after that. All were as anonymous as they could be made to be. Efforts were made to crop the photos or obscure the victims' faces, name tags and unit insignia. The caption to Strock's Buna Beach photo‹"Three dead Americans lie on the beach at Buna"‹told Life's readers that they did not need to know the names of the dead in order to appreciate what they had done.
So they appeared after this point in time, but not before. Thanks, Mrs. D
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
01/26/2005 23:02 Comments ||
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#17
hmmmm - did they clamor to find a GI funeral to show opposite FDR's inaugural? Soooooo close to Fifth column traitors
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 23:07 Comments ||
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January 26, 2005: It's the economy, stupid. Iraqis are less concerned about democracy, than in making a living. You can blame this one on Saddam. Iraq prospered in the 1970s, as oil prices soared and Iraq was one of the leading suppliers. Saddam's invasion of Iran in 1980 kept things going, as he borrowed billions to buy weapons and supplies to fight off the furious Iranian counterattack. When peace was finally achieved in 1987, Iraqis thought they were safe. But many of Iraqs lenders wanted repayment, and Saddam sought to solve that problem in 1990 by invading Kuwait (which had lots of oil, and was demanding repayment of the billions it had loaned Iraq.) Iraq was not only defeated in 1991, but forbidden to export oil until Saddam disarmed. Saddam refused to let the UN inspectors go where they wanted, and while he was doing this, the economy collapsed. In effect, most of the nation went on a meager welfare program to prevent mass starvation. Saddam now controlled what was left of the economy, as he had never done before. Saddam used this new power to punish areas where there was active resistance to his rule. Cutting off food supplies proved very effective in keeping rebels quiet.
When Saddam was thrown out of power in 2003, the economy began to revive. That process had begun in northern Iraq in 1993, as American and British airpower drove out Iraqi police and troops. This was mainly to prevent Saddam from continuing his persecution of the Kurds. Saddam put up with that situation, because the Kurdish region he had lost had no oil. But even without oil, the Kurds got their economy going. In a few years, it was obvious to anyone who visited Saddam's Iraq, and the Kurdish controlled north, that the Kurds were much better off.
But with Saddam gone, so were the people he had running his powerful welfare state. Part of that operation was the army, a sort of armed public works project. With jobs so scarce, a spot in the army was a prize awarded only to those who were loyal to Saddam. Knowing this, right after Baghdad fell, the army (which was only military effective against unarmed civilians) was disbanded, as was the bureaucracy that controlled food distribution. These two institutions were much hated by the majority of the population. However, most of the people who lost their jobs were Sunni Arabs, who lived in central Iraq, and especially Baghdad. When Western reporters went looking for Iraqi interview subjects, a disproportionate amount of the time, they found an articulate, English speaking Sunni Arab who used to work for Saddam's government (and sometimes admitted it to the reporter.) Thus began a long line of "man-on-the-street" interviews featuring an Iraqi put out of work by the American invasion. Most of the people put out of work by the invasion were those who administered Saddam's police state. The army was controlled by Sunni Arabs, whose first loyalty was to keeping Sunni Arabs in control of the country.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
01/26/2005 10:11:08 AM ||
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Who's in charge of Palestinian politics? Following his commanding performance in the January 11th Palestinian presidential elections, officials in Washington and Jerusalem are looking to Mahmoud Abbas, Yasser Arafat's successor as head of the Palestinian Authority (PA), as their new political counterpart — and potential peace partner. Yet alarming signs suggest that the biggest beneficiary of the political changes now taking place in the Palestinian Territories might just turn out to be the Islamic Republic of Iran.
An Iranian foothold in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is certainly not a new development. Both directly and through their terrorist intermediaries in Lebanon, Iran's ayatollahs have been meddling in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for years. But the death of Yasser Arafat, and the political vacuum that has emerged in the wake of the Palestinian strongman's passing, have laid the groundwork for even greater Iranian infiltration of Palestinian politics.
Signs of this expanding influence are already visible. Over the past two years, Iran's ayatollahs have provided substantial resources to their most potent terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, in order to increase the Lebanese militia's presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The results have been dramatic; according to new assessments just issued by the Shin Bet, Israel's vaunted internal security service, the Lebanese terrorist powerhouse is rapidly expanding its control over Palestinian insurgent groups, co-opting existing terror cells and creating new ones. Hezbollah is now believed to direct over 50 separate (mostly secular-nationalist) Palestinian terror cells — a seven-fold increase since 2002. And Fatah, the PLO's main political faction — also the party of the Palestinian Authority's new president — is said to be the most deeply penetrated. In 2004 alone, 38 separate Fatah cells were identified by Israeli intelligence as having been co-opted by Hezbollah.
Iran is also increasing its leverage among the Palestinian Authority's Islamist factions. Over the past two years, Israel's successes against Hamas have led the group to seek an accommodation with Hezbollah, signing an unexpected strategic accord in March of 2004 to cement Hezbollah's—and Iran's—influence over the most prominent terrorist organization in the Palestinian territories. The other Islamist terror outfit in the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, meanwhile, is already a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Islamic Republic — one whose resources have been dramatically increased by Tehran since mid-2002. It's no wonder that Israeli intelligence officials now say that Iran is "in control of terrorism in Israel." When he was in charge of Palestinian politics, Yasser Arafat found this sort of activity troubling enough to publicly oppose it. Back in October, for example, the PLO chairman himself took the unprecedented step of denouncing the Islamic Republic's meddling. "[Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei is working against us," Mr. Arafat had told reporters visiting his Ramallah compound at the time. "He is giving money to all these fanatical groups. Khamenei is a troublemaker."
Now, however, the Palestinian Authority's various factions — jockeying for political position in the West Bank and Gaza Strip —have begun serious efforts to curry favor with the Islamic Republic. In December of 2004, in an ominous sign of things to come, Farouq Qaddoumi, the new head of Fatah, kicked off a three-day visit to the Islamic Republic. On Qaddoumi's agenda were meetings with Iranian President Mohammed Khatami and other top regime officials, with the goal of "consolidating relations between the Iranian and Palestinian nations." Moreover, as part of this new political bargain, Palestinian officials appear to have embraced the idea of a dramatic expansion of Iranian involvement in local politics. During his visit to Tehran, Qaddoumi publicly welcomed Iranian infiltration, dubbing it a positive sign of the Islamic Republic's "support [for] the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause and the liberation of Palestine."
All this suggests that American and Israeli policymakers could be asking the wrong questions. In the wake of Mr. Abbas' electoral victory, both countries have begun to debate the new Palestinian leader's reformist credentials, as well as his ability to resume real peace negotiations with Israel. But, given the growing inroads Iran is making in the West Bank and Gaza, a more important issue might be the plans for the Palestinian Authority now being laid in Tehran.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 1:10:33 AM ||
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Algeria's top Islamic rebel group, which has ties to al Qaeda, is reeling from the arrests and killings of hundreds of members, but a deadly ambush on a military convoy shows it is far from eliminated.
The Jan. 3 attack by the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) killed 13 soldiers and five militiamen, according to diplomats, and may mark the emergence of a dangerous new leader.
A U.S. military source familiar with the region said it looked like the work of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a GSPC desert chief newly returned from hiding in northern Mali and keen to show that he is a force to be reckoned with. "Among all the GSPC folks that we know about, he's certainly the most active, certainly the most dangerous. He's the one that needs to be wrapped up next," the source told Reuters.
The deaths last year of 321 rebels, most of them GSPC, will boost foreign investor confidence in the OPEC member's ability to crack down on Islamist militancy. In 2004, the army stepped up its military offensive and was helped with intelligence obtained from those who surrendered or were captured. "Security is improving gradually and obviously 2004 was quite a bad year for the GSPC, losing its leader and many followers," said Sarah Meyers, a Middle East and North Africa analyst for London-based risk consultant Control Risks Group. But it will be a long process to eradicate its cells."
The security risk remains high, according to diplomats and security analysts, because of 300 to 500 armed and well-funded and trained rebels still operational across Algeria. Foreign firms and many embassies have heavy security. Despite the Jan. 3 ambush, Interior Minister Noureddine Zerhouni was upbeat in comments last week.
He insisted the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), a forerunner of the GSPC, had been dismantled and that "only a few pockets of GSPC terrorists remained" and would soon be crushed. "The battle is won but it's not over," he said on Jan. 12. The U.S. military source said the GIA, whose leader was recently arrested, was "on its last legs".
But the GSPC, which is designated by the State Department as a terrorist group and pledged support to al Qaeda in 2003, would continue to pose a residual threat for some time, drawing on grievances from the past decade's violent conflict. He praised the "magnificent job" of the Algerian authorities against the group, which almost fell apart last year with the death of leader Nabil Sahraoui and the arrest of deputy Amar Saifi, known as "El Para", who was behind the kidnapping of 32 European tourists in the desert in 2003.
The U.S. source said Algerian pressure against the GSPC had partly had —group has been significantly weakened and it will hurt their ability to carry out major attack against oil installations in the south or large-scale targets in the north. "But it will be more difficult for authorities to root them out in more remote areas because they are very skilled at carrying out attacks and then retreating to the mountains."
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's government hopes many of the rebels have tired of the war and want to surrender, but the GSPC's die-hard leadership has repeatedly warned their members against giving up. "No truce, no dialogue, no reconciliation and no peace with the enemies of God," GSPC spokesman Abou Yasser Siaf said in a statement on Jan. 6.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:49:41 AM ||
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The Interim Somali government, which is based in Nairobi, Kenya, has continued with its plans to relocate to Somalia in early February, despite the killing of a senior police officer in Mogadishu on Sunday, sources said.
"There is no question that government plans to relocate will continue," a source in the prime minister's office told IRIN on Tuesday. "As repugnant as the killing is, there is no change of plans".
The cabinet met on Monday to discuss security and has agreed to continue with the relocation plan, the source added. It had initially resolved to start preparations for a return to Somalia during its first formal meeting on 15 January.
Three teams composed of cabinet ministers were formed to start making the necessary arrangements, according to a statement issued on 18 January by the prime minister's office.
"Preparations are already underway to implement the decision of the cabinet," the director of communications in the prime minister's office, Hussein Jabiri, told IRIN at the time. The first team of ministers to leave for the Somali capital, Mogadishu, would "consist of 30 members and will be led by the prime minister", Jabiri added.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the killing of Gen Yusuf Ahmad Sarinle, who was the acting police chief, a local journalist told IRIN. Sarinle served as deputy police chief under the former Transitional National Government (TNG) and had pledged to support the current government.
Sarinle was the fourth senior police or military officer to be shot dead since September last year, the journalist said.
"The attacks are related to fears by some on the possible deployment of peacekeepers in the country," the journalist added. "These are people who have no interest in the return of peace and stability in Somalia."
All the victims have, at one time or another, called for the deployment of peacekeepers to Somalia and all had served under the TNG, according to the journalist.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:48:05 AM ||
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The top U.N. drug official is heading to Afghanistan to check out reports that farmers are heeding government calls for a "holy war" on the rampant drug trade by slashing opium cultivation.
Foreign and Afghan officials are forecasting a drop of between 30 percent and 70 percent in this year's crop, as once verdant expanses of poppies are being sown with wheat instead. In eastern Nangarhar province and southern Helmand, poppy production could be down by more than three-quarters this year, the officials said, though reliable statistics are not yet available.
The reports suggest at least an initial response to President Hamid Karzai's U.S.-sponsored campaign against the illegal Afghan narcotics industry, which last year supplied an estimated 87 percent of the world's opium, the raw material for heroin. "I want to see it with my own eyes," said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the Vienna, Austria-based U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, as he departed Tuesday on a five-day mission to Afghanistan.
The drop in poppy cultivation - seen in one traditional opium-producing region toured by The Associated Press last week - is increasing pressure on the international community to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for impoverished Afghans who have survived until now by growing opium poppies, but are cooperating with authorities in switching to other crops. "The first priority which we are supporting is self-restraint and self-eradication, and it is happening amazingly well," Rural Development Minister Haneef Atmar said. "The risks are now too high for (the farmers), and they hope the government will protect them and help them."
Skeptics say drought, disease and falling opium prices - not Karzai's eradication program - are responsible for the drop in cultivation.
Costa, who will meet with Karzai and other senior government ministers, cautioned this week that it could take a "generation or more" to solve the opium problem. Poppy production soared after the U.S. invasion in 2001 that ousted the Taliban militia, which had curtailed the flourishing drug trade. Except at the end, when they forced farmers to plant their fields once again with opium poppies, to support Taliban weapons purchases and suchlike expenses.
The United Nations said that although bad weather and plant disease significantly reduced the opium yield last year, the total output was about 4,200 tons. It valued the trade at $2.8 billion, or more than 60 percent of the country's 2003 gross domestic product, and warned that Afghanistan was turning into a "narco-state."
Under pressure from the United States and Europe, Karzai has called for "jihad," or holy war, against the drug industry, which is believed to benefit guerrillas, warlords and corrupt officials.
Foreign diplomats give some of the credit to Mohammed Daoud, a former militia commander and the government's top anti-narcotics cop. Daoud, a deputy interior minister, summoned provincial police chiefs to Kabul and told them they would be fired if they didn't halt poppy cultivation. Daoud said in an interview he expected cultivation to fall by 50 percent to 70 percent this year. A Western official involved in counternarcotics was more cautious, saying the decrease could be 30 percent or more.
Costa's representative in Afghanistan, Doris Buddenburg, said there seemed to be a reduction, but cautioned that production might also have shifted. Farmers in colder regions have yet to plant their fields at all, she added.
The U.S. government is paying thousands of people in Helmand and Nangarhar $3 a day to clean irrigation ditches and repair roads instead of planting poppy.
Atmar, the rural development minister, said he expected about $1 billion in aid this year from the United States and the European Union.
A drive last week around Nangarhar province found terraced fields planted with knee-high wheat or vegetables. Provincial officials said poppies were being grown only in remote valleys near the Pakistani border and insisted they would destroy the fields.
Farmers in two traditional growing areas of Nangarhar told an AP reporter they stopped planting poppies because they were told to by powerful local landowners and security officials. "It was good business, but they said we should stop, and wait and see," said Abdul Wahid, a bearded sharecropper resting under a stand of mulberry trees next to his fields.
"If we get help, maybe it's gone for good. If not, we'll plant again."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/26/2005 1:38:06 AM ||
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Ok, which US congressmen of farm states have they been talking to?
Subsidies all around, boys!
If they can become the breadbasket of that region, more power to them, figuratively and literally.
Dhaka yesterday dismissed a report published in the New York Times (NYT) Magazine headlined 'The Next Islamic Revolution?" as one-sided, baseless and politically motivated.
Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has already sent a rejoinder to the NYT refuting the allegations in the story, saying it is 'baseless, partial and misleading'.
"We are saddened that the report is one-sided. It would not be unusual for the motive behind this report to be political," said Zahirul Haq, director general of the foreign ministry's external publicity wing.
"Nearly 1,400 foreign journalists visited Bangladesh in the last three years. Reports by only three or four of them have been regrettable," Haq said referring to a portion of the January 23 report that claims, "Foreign journalists in Bangladesh are followed by intelligence agents; people that reporters interview are questioned afterwards."
The report narrates, "It is possible to travel through Bangladesh and observe the increased political and religious repression in everyday life. The global war on terror is aimed at making the rise of regimes like that of the Taliban impossible, but in Bangladesh, the trend could be going the other way."
Referring to such statements Haq said, "The NYT reporter came a long way but failed to portray the real picture of Bangladesh," adding, "To suggest Bangladesh is becoming a Taliban country is humorous at best and is the result of ill-motives."
He termed the report's allusion to government collusion with Bangla Bhai and his organisation -- Jagrata Muslim Janata -- motivated and said, "The first secretary of US Embassy in Dhaka visited the area mentioned in the report and found no consolidated existence of Bangla Bhai following there."
"Bangla Bhai gained the support of the local police -- until the central government, worried that Bangla Bhai's band might be getting out of control, ordered his arrest in late May," reads the report.
The author, Eliza Griswold, a freelance writer, also says in her report, "The Bangladeshi government's arrest warrant doesn't seem to have made much difference, although for now Bangla Bhai refrains from public appearances."
On these points, Haq said the government is determined to tackle these issues and has already arrested 66 operatives of Bangla Bhai.
"The author of the report chose a single village, Bagmara, out of the 70,000 villages here. The situation there does not represent all of Bangladesh," he added.
The report says, "Last Spring, Bangla Bhai, whose followers probably number around 10,000, decided to try an Islamist revolution in several provinces of Bangladesh that border India."
But Haq questioned the very credibility of the report: "Since there is a question mark in the headline, it suggests the author herself is not clear and confident about the subject matter."
"It is not right to judge a country on the basis of one aberration," he added.
The report also says the ruling coalition partner Jamaat-e-Islami is "socially conservative and unafraid of violence," and referring to the coalition's incumbency it adds, "Since 2001, a politically aggressive form of Islam has found, for the first time since independence, a strong place at the top of Bangladeshi politics."
The report quotes coalition leader and Islamic Oikya Jote Chairman Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini as saying in an interview that he had not been appointed as a government minister as the West and Bangladesh would see him as an extremist.
The report also cites Indian intelligence documents to suggest that Amini is a member of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Huji) and says Huji is linked to Al-Qaeda and that there are rumours that Amini is a 'good friend' to the Afghan Talibans.
Refuting such claims Haq said, "This report has saddened us, but it will not be able to tarnish the international image and fame of Bangladesh."
The report also quotes Amnesty International's Bangladesh specialist Govind Acharya as saying Hindus, Ahmadiyyas and tribal peoples are leaving the country feeling less safe, a phenomenon problematic for the identity and the future of this country.
The author alleges that the permissiveness of certain sections of the government and the police allow Bangla Bhai and 'other groups' to continue repression of the minorities and communists.
But Haq rejected all these claims saying, "The people of Bangladesh are committed to democracy and Bangladesh has achieved great progress in social indicators highly appreciated in the international forum." He added that Bangladesh's active participation in that forum means its image would not be damaged so easily.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:22:16 AM ||
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Somebody is telling the truth, I suppose. Oh, well... who wants some popcorn?
Mir Jam Muhammad Yousaf, the Balochistan chief minister, has said he will not rule out the possibility that Iran or an extremist group is behind the recent disturbances in the province.
Talking to a private television, the chief minister said he suspected that either Iran, Al Qaeda or another foreign power or extremist groups opposed to the government's policies could have been involved in the recent attacks by tribesmen on gas installations in Sui.
A report in the Sunday Telegraph claimed Pakistani officials believed Iran was instigating an insurgency in Balochistan, but the Foreign Office has denied the report, saying it blames no foreign power for events in the province and has a very good relationship with Iran.
Yousaf said there was no military operation in progress in the province and the government had no plans to launch one either. He said security forces were only there to guard natural gas installations in Sui.
Tribal chiefs have said the attacks were sparked by public outrage at the alleged gang rape of a woman doctor by army personnel, but Yousaf said the incident had sparked no such public outrage. He said many women in other parts of the country had been subjected to such crimes, but never had there been such a reaction.
He said soon after getting wind of the crime, the provincial government was ready to take action against the alleged rapists, but Pakistan Petroleum Limited authorities denied police permission to question the victim.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:19:03 AM ||
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...Balochistan has become an important operational area for the dregs of Al Qaeda and the IIF in their attempts to hurt US economic interests in Pakistan in retaliation for the US war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and its campaign against the Saddam Hussein regime. They have been receiving assistance in their endeavours from the pro-Iraqi and anti-US segments of the Balochi tribals on both sides of the Pakistan-Iran border.
10. Since December last, there have been at least four attacks on the oil and gas infrastructure in Balochistan by unidentified elements. Available particulars of three of these incidents are given below:
Posted by: Pete Stanley ||
01/26/2005 1:05 Comments ||
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#2
khalid sheik mohammid [ne al baluchi] comes from baluchestan--his whole family ie his nephew ramzi yusef came from there--someone should start a forest fire, impute blame and start a tribal conflict--nothing like islamic red on red to warm the heart of a "great game" player--btw do they have forests?
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
01/26/2005 1:48 Comments ||
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The US State Department said on Monday that "skill ful and aggressive" efforts by Pakistani and American intelligence agencies have minimized Al Qaeda's influence in the region even if its leader Osama bin Laden is still at large.
The department's deputy spokesman Adam Ereli made these remarks while commenting on an observation that US efforts to capture Al Qaeda leaders have not been very fruitful because Osama and his key lieutenants were still free.
"There have been a number of important captures, both through the Rewards for Justice Programme and also through the aggressive and skillful work of Pakistani, American and other counter-terrorist officials and counter-terrorist forces," said Mr Ereli.
Under this programme the United States offers financial rewards to those who could lead US authorities to the suspects they want to capture. The programme led to the arrest of several wanted men in Iraq but has not been very effective against Al Qaeda leaders hiding in Afghanistan or Pakistan's tribal belt.
So far almost all senior Al Qaeda leaders in US custody were captured by Pakistanis and handed over to the Americans. Mr Ereli acknowledged that "several very important" Al Qaeda leaders were still free but many were either dead of jail. So, "the trend line is clearly in our favour," he said, adding that those still free were on the run.
Mr Ereli said the "benchmark" for assessing the success of the US reward programme was not to see how many Al Qaeda suspects were still at large but to "think in terms of what kind of constraint, what kind of difficulties having this reward out for you and being so much in the public eye presents for those who would do us harm."
He said the US Embassy in Islamabad and the Rewards for Justice Programme have launched a new ad campaign in Pakistan. The first ad that appeared on Jan. 7 featured photos and reward amounts for 14 terrorists who may be in the region, including Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omar and others.
There will be additional advertisements running in other Pakistani newspapers and airing on Pakistani radio and television stations in the next couple of weeks.
Asked if the US was going to double the $25 million reward for Osama, Mr. Ereli said that a law signed in December authorized the secretary of state to raise the reward offers up to $50 million but no decision had yet been made to do so.
"Obviously, as is always the case in the Rewards for Justice Programme, the amount of the reward is something that we keep under regular and consistent review to assess whether it's appropriate, whether it needs adjusting or not, and this case is no different," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:04:52 AM ||
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Prime Minister Iyad Allawi warned Tuesday it would be reckless to set a timeline for a final U.S.-troop pullout and said they would leave only once Iraqi forces are ready to defeat the insurgency on their own. A spate of slayings and fierce clashes between insurgents and Iraqi police left at least nine Iraqis dead in Baghdad on Tuesday, including a senior Iraqi judge, highlighting the grave security risks in the run-up to this weekend's elections.
Also Tuesday, a video emerged showing an American abducted last November by gunmen in Baghdad pleading for his life and appealing to Arab rulers, especially Libya's Muammar Gadhafi, to intercede to spare his life.
Amid the violence, Allawi rejected setting a timeline for U.S. troops to leave until Iraqi forces can defeat the insurgency alone. "Others spoke about the immediate withdrawal or setting a timetable for the withdrawal of multinational forces," Allawi told reporters. "I will not deal with the security matter under political pretexts and exaggerations that do not serve Iraq and its people. I will not set final dates" for the withdrawal of international forces "because setting final dates will be futile and dangerous."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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I'm sure it'll produce a more spectacular explosion than a bus...
Drat. And here I was working up a good bullet train pun...
Israel is weighing a proposal to link the Gaza Strip and West Bank by a train that would allow Palestinians to travel between the territories without posing a security threat, Israeli political sources said on Tuesday. They said Vice Premier Shimon Peres plans to ask the World Bank to help raise funding for the project if it is approved, seeing a train link as a way to counter charges that Israel will effectively maroon Gaza Palestinians when it quits the occupied strip later this year. Israeli and Palestinian officials were not immediately available to comment on the train proposal, which appeared to be a retread of the "safe passage" road between the West Bank and Gaza enshrined in 1993 interim Middle East peace accords. That road was closed off soon after negotiations stalled and a Palestinian uprising erupted in September 2000, with Israeli officials citing concern it could be used by suicide bombers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Make it electric, and bury it underground, with no stops in Israeli territory.
#2
Good idea, B-a-R, we all know just how much experience the Paleos have at tunneling ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/26/2005 0:35 Comments ||
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#3
Same train of thought here, with one exception, there should be 2 spots close to each of the parts with installed gamma rays scanners, to check for a weapon contraband, like missiles and such. If found, there should be an area that the train can be stopped and the contraband safely disposed of.
What, the gamma rays are harmful? Make it some kind of zionist ray, then. :-)
Sudan's government and main rebel group said Tuesday that a peace accord clinched to end two decades of civil war should inspire an end to the bloody conflict in Darfur. "We hope this will also help us in resolving other conflicts in the country, especially that of Darfur," First Vice President Ali Osman Taha said after the signature of an accord with the EU to resume EU-Sudanese ties. Nhial Deng Nhi, commissioner for external relations of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), said elements of his group's peace deal with Khartoum "could be successfully be applied to resolving the problem in Darfur."
The legislative body of the SPLM on Monday unanimously ratified the Jan. 9 peace deal signed between the government and the southern rebel group to end 21 years of war. "The peace agreement has provided clearly for a number of concepts and principles governing the issue of power-sharing and wealth-sharing, not only between north and south but for the whole country," he said. "We are committed to using the same drive and our experience in resolving the conflict in south Sudan to bring a prompt and fair answer to the conflict in Darfur," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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A New Zealand defence force team will stay in Afghanistan for an extra year to help with security and reconstruction, Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Tuesday. The deployment of the 120-strong provincial reconstruction team in the central province of Bamiyan has been extended for a further 12 months until September 2006.
Parliamentary and provincial elections in Afghanistan scheduled for April 2005 meant it was important that the international community maintained its involvement, Clark said in a statement. "Failure to stabilise Afghanistan would have consequences for the campaign against terrorism," she said. "The Taliban and elements sympathetic to Al Qaeda continue to provide resistance to the Afghan authorities and to the multinational force mandated by the United Nations," she said. New Zealand, which has been working in Bamiyan since 2003, will also send two police officers to help rebuild the local police force.
I'm actually surprised...
Afghanistan is a touch-stone for the more reasonable left-liberals. They can condemn us for Iraq but by supporting (in a small way) the work in Afghanistan, they can lay claim to some of the heavy lifting being done in the WoT. Perhaps people like Clark also think that this will give them a chit for future use. Whatever, I'm pleased the Kiwis are helping.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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A negotiating team led by tribal clerics to get former Guantanamo Bay inmate Abdullah Mehsud to surrender has not yet made any progress, Brig (r) Mehmood Shah, the security chief of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, told Daily Times on Tuesday. Abdullah, the one-legged militant, had been asked by the military to surrender by today (Wednesday) or face a "military onslaught" for kidnapping two Chinese engineers in October last year. Tribal clerics met Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Safdar Hussain — who is also in charge of military operations in South Waziristan Agency — in Peshawar and asked him to give them 10 days more to negotiate Abdullah's surrender, the earlier deadline being January 15. Lt Gen Hussain agreed with the clerics and extended the deadline to January 26.
The sweet by and by will eventually come, I suppose...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Tomorrow's headline: Mehsud Deadline Extended 10 More Days.
February 5th's headline: Mehsud Deadline Extended 10 More Days.
February 15th's headline: Mehsud Deadline...
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 12 year old boy was lashed 80 times in the street by a Saudi court hours after he was arrested at the annual Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj), Saudi newspaper Okaz. reported Monday. The paper said the boy who is from Bangladesh was arrested in Mena, three miles outside the holy city of Makkah, where two million Muslims gathered for the annual pilgrimage after he was allegedly caught pick pocketing pilgrims. The paper said an AdHoc court that operates during the annual pilgrimage sentenced the boy only hours after his arrest, and applied the punishment on the street outside the court. No lawyers or family members were present during the process, but the boy was later handed to his family. The field court is headed by Shaikh 
Israel has been quietly training foreign bodyguards for the Saudi royal family. The bodyguards have trained at a private security facility in Israel's Negev desert. The training included protecting convoys from attack, escaping ambushes and the protection of VIPs. Three bodyguards, said to have been German nationals, completed a weeklong training course at the Counter Terrorism Training Center near the southern city of Rahat. The course included 23 foreigners, including bodyguards for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The center invited journalists to a simulated training exercise in November 2004. The course was run by former Israeli security experts and commandos. 
Abkhazia's authorities have denied rumors that Chechen extremist leader 
Germany is to consider suspending a European agreement abolishing internal border controls before and during the 2006 World Cup, Interior Minister 
Twenty-three terrorism suspects tried to hang or strangle themselves during a weeklong protest orchestrated in 2003 to disrupt operations and unnerve new guards at the U.S. military camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the U.S. military said Monday. Officials hadn't previously reported the incidents, which the military called ``self-injurious behavior'' aimed at getting attention rather than serious suicide attempts. The coordinated attempts were among 350 ``self-harm'' incidents that year, including 120 so-called ``hanging gestures,'' at the secretive prison that opened after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to Lt. Col. Leon Sumpter, a spokesman for the detention mission.
Investigators probing allegations of impropriety in the United Nations' Iraqi oil-for-food program questioned Secretary-General Kofi Annan about his involvement twice last year and again Tuesday, a U.N. spokesman said. Annan met with former Fed Chairman 
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) will lend its name to a controversial report on freedom and governance in the Arab world despite US objections to parts of the text. Egyptian sociologist Nadir Fargany said the Arab Human Development Report, the third in an annual series, would come out in March under the UNDP logo without substantive changes. The nature of the dispute centred on differences between the US view that the Arab world's problems are mainly internal and the Arab consensus that external factors such as US foreign policy and Israel's treatment of the Palestinians have contributed significantly to oppression and poor governance in the region.
Rebels fighting for the independence of Aceh province are willing to engage in peace talks with Indonesia but say the country is not serious about negotiations, a senior guerrilla said from his rural hideout. "We remain ready to talk because so many Acehnese people are missing from the wars and tsunami," 
Indonesia's chief security minister will lead a top-level delegation to Finland to resume talks this week with rebels from tsunami-hit Aceh province, an official close to the negotiating team said on Tuesday. The tsunami disaster, which has killed more than 173,000 people in the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island, has prompted renewed efforts to resolve a sporadic rebellion that has killed 12,000 people since 1976. Former Finnish president 
Syrian President 
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered the hardline parliament not to purge any more ministers in the embattled reformist government, pointing out that new elections are just months away anyway.
The Iranian-sponsored 
The United States has determined that the Iraqi embassy in Syria serves to facilitate the flow of insurgents to fight the coalition in Iraq. U.S. officials said the Iraqi embassy in Damascus has refused to submit to the authority of the interim government in Baghdad. 
The U.S. intelligence community has obtained plans for what was described as an Iranian project to develop a nuclear warhead. 
Prime Minister 
Sudan's government and main rebel group said Tuesday that a peace accord clinched to end two decades of civil war should inspire an end to the bloody conflict in Darfur. "We hope this will also help us in resolving other conflicts in the country, especially that of 
A negotiating team led by tribal clerics to get former Guantanamo Bay inmate 
