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Germany in bid to block war on Iraq
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Afghanistan
Taliban May Return to Power in Afghanistan
Pravda, read with large dose of salt
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov considers the terrorist movement Taliban may possibly return to power in Afghanistan. “There are no conditions for prevention of the Taliban new coming to power,” – he said Saturday in his speech at the international conference on terrorism in Munich.
You mean, other than the Allied forces there, the new Afghani army, and the fact that the Northern Alliance guys hate Pashtun guts more than they hate each other.
“So far the Khamid Karzai administration does not possess necessary influence in provinces. New terrorist attempts at the Afghan leadership are being committed, while the terrorists are being trained abroad,” – Ivanov said.
Nice to see that even Pravda knows that the Talib jokers are being trained in Pak-land.
He considers to be necessary to make “coordinated efforts, including at the international level, to oppose Islamic extremism of any shape.” Sergei Ivanov is especially concerned “with the situation in the neighbouring north-west province of Pakistan, where the Taliban positions are very strong.” After Americans practically leave Afghanistan to the mercy of fate and focused on Iraq, the Taliban became more active.
One of the reasons we have the military we do, Sergei, is that we can do more than two things at once. We're going to remove Saddam, keep an eye on the Dear Leader, and whump Talib butt.
Within recent two weeks, 17 attacks against UN missions and international charity organizations were registered. For example, January 26, some unknown persons attacked a column of food cars in the province of Nangarkhar: two people were killed and four injured. The same day, bomb exploded in UN mission in Mazar-i-Sharif. January 27, in the province of Farah, 6 Afghan specialists from UN Agency of Mine Clearing were beaten unmercifully. January 29, a hand-made explosive device was thrown to the mission of the non-governmental organization Action against Hunger in Kandaghar. January 30, some armed persons captured two World Food Programme workers in Kabul outskirts, who happily were later released. All the incidents show worsening of the security situation in the country and stirring up of the Mojahedeen, the Taliban supporters, and Al-Qaida militants.
Don't worry, Sergei, we'll keep an eye on it.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 09:18 am || Comments || Link || [336097 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sergei should note that the Talibs bravely attacked unarmed civilian aid organizations. Their record against the Afghan military alone is unimpressive.

Methinks that things are heating up in Afghanistan because there's a link between them and Iraq, with Saddam calling in some favors. All the better: They're getting close to their last bullet, so if they get smacked down NOW, they'll be a long time getting back up.
Posted by: Ptah || 02/10/2003 7:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Pravda also has a certain amount of experience watching Afghanistan. Yes, we can do both. But the trend line is at best mixed, and Pakistan is providing them the safe sanctuary a guerilla movement needs. In that respect alone, the Taliban's strategic position has strengthened considerably. If they get lucky and hit Karzai, things could go bad in a hurry.

No, disaster is not imminent. Yes, we can leave it until after Iraq. But the current situation is unstable, and the current state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue or we're going to have a real problem there.
Posted by: Joe Katzman || 02/10/2003 10:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Seems also that the heating up coincided with Fundo wins in NWFP, but that MUST be coincidence, after all, Pakland doesn't support terrorists or foreign adventurism, right?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/10/2003 10:04 Comments || Top||

#4  First, this may be close to the default setting for Afghan sectarian/tribal violence. I mean, this is a place where a artist is a guy who can turn out a reproduction Lee-Enfield or Sten gun complete with bogus proof marks. There is a whole town dedicated to that craft in the area.

Also, I believe that there is some Islamic prophesy about the Black Banners of Khurrasan (Afghanistan) signifying the coming of the Madhi. So, it is politically advantageous for there to be some signs of resistance to the "Crusaders" taking place. Also, after the hit on the Kurdish leader we can probably see stepped up efforts to take out Karzai and his people.

Congrtulations on your blog award from an old Holabird School for Wayward Boys alum.
Posted by: woodman || 02/10/2003 13:57 Comments || Top||

#5 

A tradition is related from 'Ali b. Abi Talib regarding the appearance of black banners from the direction of Khurasan. "Among these banners is God's caliph, the Mahdi."[13] This too appears to be fabricated by the 'Abbasids or by the supporters of Abu Muslim Khurasani because the Mahdi will not come from Khurasan, and the black banners were the emblem of the 'Abbasids. There are numerous other traditions that were evidently forged by the 'Abbasid pretenders to promote support for their cause.

Posted by: Brian || 02/10/2003 22:12 Comments || Top||


Arabia
No Mexican hajis this year...
A number of Muslim leaders in Mexico expressed sorrow for the fact that nobody they know has managed to go to Hajj this year. The number of Muslims in Mexico is estimated at a few thousand, out of the huge population of Mexico, estimated at 100 million people. Said Louahabi, president of the Islamic Center in the Mexican capital, explained that the number of Muslims going to Hajj on their account is very little, due to the small number of Muslims, as well as the high cost of the Hajj trip, estimated at a minimum of 2000 U.S. Dollars.
Oh, the Soddies aren't paying their way this year?
Most of the Muslims can not afford this, he said, explaining that in previous years, a number of new Muslims were hosted by some Islamic organizations abroad. Other expatriate pilgrims preferred to join Hajj expeditions from their countries.
Muslims have a religious obligation to make the haj at least once in their lives, so it puts a couple thousand bucks into the Soddy coffers. Wotta racket.

Maybe we should have an obligation on people who believe in democracy to come to Mount Vernon at least once in their lives and drop a coupla thousand into the Virginia economy?

I can understand why there are so few Muslim Mexicans. Mexicans as a people have a sense of humor.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 09:50 am || Comments || Link || [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  along with good beers, a delightful agave-derived beverage and long history of song and dance....
Posted by: Frank G || 02/10/2003 10:07 Comments || Top||

#2  And the women!
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 10:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Somehow the underlying cultural assumptions seem antithetical, though I suppose it's possible the Mayans may be different from the rest of Mexico.

I just can't see Islamism as a solution to any of Mexico's problems.
Posted by: Fred || 02/10/2003 11:20 Comments || Top||

#4  Off Topic, but a news report has been posted which claims that "120,000" Iranians are still affected being targeted with Iraqi "mustard" and "nerve gas." See:

http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=76918
Posted by: Anon || 02/10/2003 11:47 Comments || Top||

#5  Rather than trekking to the hajj, I hear they are all making a trip to the Mosque of Zorro.
Posted by: BossMan || 02/10/2003 13:33 Comments || Top||

#6  ...and WHACK HIS PEE-PEE!
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 16:16 Comments || Top||


GCC Jeddah meeting: A Saudi- Qatari row, al-Jazeera Shield in Kuwait, shortly
Kuwait on Monday welcomed the decision taken by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states in sending units from "al-Jazeera Shield" force to Kuwait in order to protect it, at a time when more than 50,000 American soldiers are deployed on its territories. The foreign and defense ministers of the six gulf member states have agreed in urgent talks held on Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to send a joint force to Kuwait "as soon as possible" in order to protect it against any Iraqi attack in case of the American war eruption against Baghdad.
NATO won't protect Turkey, but the Gulf States are protecting Kuwait. Isn't that nice.
It is, however, not known, whether the decision states to transfer all forces of "al-Jazeera Shield" from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait. The GCC formed "al-Jazeera Shield" force 10 years ago in a step which was described as a preventive measure. This force is stationed in the Saudi Hafer al-Batten area, near the borders with Iraq. The said force played no role when the Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait in 1990.
Can't tell from this story if they weren't formed yet, or were in Saudi and not Kuwait in 1990.
WHile Kuwait's Jaber al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah said in conclusion of Jeddah meeting that the joint Gulf force will arrive "as soon as possible," the Kuwaiti Cabinet, in a statement, expressed its gratitude over the GCC step which ensures the unity of the GCC member states. Jaber al-Mubarak said that the "Ministers of foreign affairs and defense in the GCC agreed to summon al-Jazeera Shield force to the state of Kuwait in order to be with the Kuwaiti armed forces." He expressed his hope to see the flag of al-Jazeera Shield in Kuwait very soon in preparation, together with the Kuwaiti forces to withstand any developments that might take place in the region." In its 2001 meeting, the GCC agreed the increase in the size of "al-Jazeera Shield" forces to 20,000 troops.
They'll be useful in handling Iraqi refugees and POWs.
On the other hand, and during their meeting in Jeddah, the gulf ministers or their representatives held consultations concerning the Iraqi crisis. According to sources close to the meeting, before concluding their meeting, the ministers decided to form "a crisis commission" in charge of following up developments of the situation in the Gulf region. With the exception of Riyadh, which stresses it will not be involved in the war, the other states in the GCC, in different rates provide facilities for the American army. Bahrain hosts the American 5th Fleet, Kuwait hosts 51,000 American troopers, Oman provides bases while Qatar will be the headquarters for the central leadership in case of the American attack.
Except for Riyadh, these are our friends.
Sources close to the meeting in Riyadh said that the meeting was suspended following a row between the Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jaber al-Thani and his Saudi peer prince Saud al-Faisal with every one of them blaming the other for the allegations campaigns between Doha and Riyadh. According to these sources, the Saudi defense minister prince Sultan had interfered to put an end to the row and invited the participants to a lunch banquet.
"Quit fighting, children! Let's have lunch."
The sources said that the GCC ministers agreed not to permit "the flow of the Iraqi refugees to the Gulf territories in case a war takes place."
Just what I thought, the GCC troops will handle refugees.
The sources added that the ministers urged Baghdad to the need of "honoring the UN resolutions and disclose banned weapons if they exist."
Fat chance
The sources said that the Saudi foreign minister presented to the ministers the results of the talks he had held last week in France and Britain and the USA with the heads of states in these countries.
"Get your heads down!"
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 09:36 am || Comments || Link || [336090 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Soddies are cheesed at the Qataris for providing real support to the U.S. The Qataris are cheesed at the Soddies for trying to stage a coup.

The Gulf states as a whole seem to have arrived at the conclusion that they're safer under the U.S. wing than under the Soddy wing. That's significant.
Posted by: Fred || 02/10/2003 11:14 Comments || Top||

#2  You'll notice that United Arab Emirates is not noted in this article. Yet UAE is a part of the GCC. The UAE are the biggest pussies of all. At least the soddies have a position!
Posted by: bartelarsen || 02/10/2003 14:12 Comments || Top||


Saudi mufti rolls his eyes, sees conspiracies everywhere...
In his speech on mount Arafat on Monday, February 10, the Saudi Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah called on the Muslim nation to come together and unite because its enemies consider it a target with respect to its economy and to its religion. He added that the enemies are striving to control the markets of the Islamic Nation and to control it through breeding animosity with one country after the other. In his speech, widely televised on Satellite channels around the world, the Sheikh said: "The Muslim Nation is being targeted for its economy, values and unity. The enemies are trying to keep it away from its religion. The enemies have accused the Muslim Nation of calling for 'terrorism' and the education curriculums have also been criticized. They are also trying to control the economy which is the lifeline of the nation and to manipulate its wealth and resources while opening up its markets to promote their products."
"Damn them infidels, pickin' on innocent Islamist nations! An' they dint do nuttin'! Nuttin', I tell yez! Well, maybe a few corpses here and there, but nuttin' serious..."
The sheikh added that the struggle in the modern world is one of religion and economy as the forces of evil aim to gain their own benefits by taking over the resources of the Muslim world. He added that the economy of the Muslim world must not be consumerist.
Does that mean he doesn't want anybody to buy anything? That's what consumers do...
"The economy of the Muslim nation must liberate itself to be productive and useful," he said. "The enemies want the nation to disintegrate to take over it one country after the other. We need to unite our stance as this is the only way to preserve its entity."
"Us Soddies are on to these plots and conspiracies, so you should let us lead you. On to victory!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 09:44 am || Comments || Link || [336122 views] Top|| File under:

#1  These guys will never approach the level and class of rhetoric that the NKors put out. They should defer to the masters.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/10/2003 10:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Any time anybody tries to organize the economy themselves, the whole society moves back in time several decades. Happened with Communism. Combined with Islam Taliban-style, the society moves back centuries.
Posted by: RW || 02/10/2003 11:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Re: consumerist - he's trying to point out that the arab/muslim nations generally don't produce anything but oil. Well, the occasional noisemaker, but not much else.
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 12:03 Comments || Top||

#4  But now there's Mecca-Cola and Yassir has his face on potato chip bags, doesn't he?
Posted by: Anonymous || 02/10/2003 21:20 Comments || Top||

#5  I have always been bothered about the fact that pundits comment on genocide khutbah from Islamania, without saying one word about the authority that same holds over Muslims. On my authority as an anti-idiotarian, I order you to read the following statement a Muslim doctor from the D.C. area, who typifies the native follower of the Islamo-fascists: http://www.balochistanpost.com/item.asp?ID=3238

I downloaded much of the pro-enemy cheers and jeers of alleged American, Ali Abunimah, during the Anti-Taleban War. And he never got into the desperation mold of Mohammed Khodr. The U.S. Congress needs to look into opinion makers among American Muslims. In the age of WMD, any kind of incitement should not be incorporated into protected speech.

Take my word for it: the Koran based concept of "Islamic loyalty" (walah) prohibits allegiance of a Muslim to either non-Muslim or secular states. American Muslim = traitor.
Posted by: Anon || 02/10/2003 22:23 Comments || Top||


Haj turns political...
More than two million Muslim pilgrims began pouring into the plains of Arafat on Monday, February 10, for the climax of the annual hajj, praying for forgiveness and for Iraq to be saved from a threatened U.S. attack, as Iraqi pilgrims vent their anger at the U.S. plans to attack Iraq and at the silence of Arab leaders. "Most Arab leaders are not doing their job. Many have remained silent" on the ongoing U.S. military buildup in the region, said 60-year-old Said Mahmud. "At this delicate juncture, they are required to support Iraq by deeds and not by words alone."
"Save us! Save us! Help!"
Some 15,000 Iraqi pilgrims are taking part in the annual hajj this year, some 9,000 of whom traveled to Saudi Arabia by plane. The Iraqi camp is just several hundred meters (yards) away from a camp housing some 7,000 American Muslims who came for the hajj this season, 3,000 less than last year because of heightened tension in the region.
Maybe they could get together and swap stories of oppression...
"Arab leaders must understand that the United States will attack their countries one by one after finishing the job in Iraq," warned Khaled Ahmad, 70. "Arab and Muslim leaders must be held responsible for this vicious crime."
No. We're only going to dismantle the ones that breed terrorists. I don't think that includes everybody. All they have to do is round up the Islamists and kill them and they'll be safe...
The Iraqi pilgrims said that the main goal of any U.S.-led attack on their country would be to wrest control of the Gulf's abundant oil wealth. "It's a pre-planned conspiracy against Iraq and Arabs. The Americans want to control the oil in the Gulf region," where more than 70 percent of proven world reserves are located, said Kazem Hussein, a 45-year-old teacher. "It's a crusader war against Muslims and (U.S. President George W.) Bush has mentioned something like this."
And Islamists have declared war on us. Don't forget that. Don't ever forget that, because we'll never forget that.
Iraqis also prayed for their country to be spared the ruins of war, saying the people had suffered enormously during numerous wars and biting UN economic sanctions in force since August 1990.
Maybe they shouldn't have tried to eat Kuwait? If they hadn't done that, none of the consequences would have followed, would they? But then, that puts us in the realm of cause and effect, which is a Western concept that's beyond the Islamist comprehension.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 11:29 am || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under:

#1  One might ask themselves - what sort of Iraqui is ALLOWED to go on Haj while the war looms?

Propaganda, pure and simplisme.
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 9:46 Comments || Top||

#2  ...praying for...Iraq to be saved from a threatened U.S. attack
And if Iraq isn't saved from a threatened U.S. attack will they take it as a sign from God that He is not exactly pleased with Saddam? I doubt it.
Posted by: RW || 02/10/2003 11:33 Comments || Top||


Europe
The Amir of Wales?
First the Archdruid of Canterbury.

And now this...
Link via Instapundit...
Prince Chuck, hanging out with the boyz
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 07:29 pm || Comments || Link || [336077 views] Top|| File under:

#1  God save the queen.
Posted by: Anonymous || 02/10/2003 18:23 Comments || Top||

#2  OK, Liz.
Posted by: Michael || 02/10/2003 18:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Holy smoke, Fred. Gives me the creeps! The Archdruid of Canterbury looks like he and his pals are getting fitted out for a KKK convention. Bonnie Prince Charlie looks quite dashing in his beanie.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/10/2003 19:14 Comments || Top||


Auf wiedersehen to Fritz?
From today's Best of the Web...
Marine Gen. James Jones, commander of America's forces in Europe, has briefed members of Congress at a NATO conference on "a plan under study to scale back American forces in Germany," the New York Times reports. The Washington Post says U.S. officials "emphasized that the contemplated changes in force structure are not related to current U.S.-German strains":
But those tensions could provoke efforts to reduce the U.S. military's reliance on its facilities in Germany, one conference participant predicted. "I think there will be a movement by some in the United States to say that the next time [there is a U.S.-German disagreement], they might not let us use the bases, so let's get a training base in Romania or somewhere," said James Steinberg, director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution.
The plan to say goodbye to Dear Olde Deutschland has probably changed some since I commented on one of the early drafts — 12 years ago.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 03:49 pm || Comments || Link || [336090 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Can we just keep the rec area in Garmish and call it even?
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 20:16 Comments || Top||

#2  I hope the TPTB have decided not to drop the plans for the 1/2 bill terrorist center in The Fatherland.
Posted by: Anonymous || 02/10/2003 21:09 Comments || Top||


Romania offers military aid to US in event of Iraq war
Romania has announced it would support the U.S. with military aid in case of a possible war with Iraq. President Ion Iliescu said Romania had accepted a US request to use its airspace and other necessary infrastructure. He added Romania would also offer military units specialized in nuclear decontamination. Romania has supported a joint declaration by 10 eastern European countries stating that Iraq was "clearly" violating the UN resolutions.
Thanks, Romania. Say, we're looking for a few places to rent now that the landlords in Germany don't seem to want our business anymore. Interested?
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 02:06 pm || Comments || Link || [336094 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sorry, but military bases in Romania/Poland or (horror of horrors) the Ukraine would make the big friendly bear unacceptably nervous.
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 15:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Sorry, but military bases in Romania/Poland or (horror of horrors) the Ukraine would make the big friendly bear unacceptably nervous.
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 15:31 Comments || Top||

#3  Depends on how big the bribe is that we sent to Putin...
Posted by: Nick || 02/10/2003 16:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Ya know, it's possible that in five or ten years Comrade Putin's successor will welcome having US forces between him and Deutschland.
Posted by: jrosevear || 02/10/2003 16:37 Comments || Top||

#5  Poland is already a NATO member, why would having a base there worry Putin? Besides, give it time and you might see Russia in NATO, or whatever it might be called by then.
Posted by: RW || 02/10/2003 17:59 Comments || Top||

#6  What if we invite the Russians in on all the training? An Alliance Training Center, where all the good guys come to play. And the Polish girls are friendly.


Mmmmmmm... Polish girls...

Posted by: Chuck || 02/10/2003 20:51 Comments || Top||

#7  Won't Misha be too busy cleaning up Chechnya for the next few years? If the new batch of recruits is coming from there, Pooty-Poot might just look the other way, and so will we.
Posted by: Anonymous || 02/10/2003 21:11 Comments || Top||

#8  Paulus reminds you to not place the Roumanian troops on your flanks...
Posted by: borgboy || 02/10/2003 22:17 Comments || Top||


Blair tells Left not to weep over Saddam
Tony Blair wrote this op-ed in the Monday edition of the Guardian. The money sentence:
... since Saddam's regime is - now the Taliban has fallen - probably the most brutal, oppressive and dictatorial in the world, and its principal victims are the Iraqi people, it would be odd for anyone on the left to shed tears at his departure.
The rest is the usual re-stating of the center-left manifesto for Britian. But Tony once again tries to educate the uneducable.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 09:20 am || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He's making the case for what was the Old Left, since the New left went leftward even more, leaving him relatively to the Right (or what he calls Center-Left).

The problem with the New Left is that when they went Left, they left their brains behind...
Posted by: Ptah || 02/10/2003 7:25 Comments || Top||

#2  All that movement to the left makes me dizzy...
Posted by: Fred || 02/10/2003 9:26 Comments || Top||


Germany in bid to block war on Iraq
Registration required if you hit link. But the map halfway down, showing how the Axis of Weasels has been surrounded, is worth it! Fred, we need that map here.

Germany was trying last night to build a coalition to prevent America and Britain from going to war with Iraq, threatening one of the biggest transatlantic rifts for decades. The plan, hatched in secret by Germany and France, is expected to be presented to the United Nations Security Council this week at about the same time as a crucial report by inspectors on attempts to disarm Saddam Hussein.
I read elsewhere that the Germans were denying that they were going to do this.
It is widely expected that the report, due on Friday, will be seen by America and Britain as providing the grounds for war. Inspectors said last night that there had been no breakthrough in spite of two days of talks with Baghdad.
A leopard doesn't change its spots.
Washington and London responded with justified anger to the German-led scheme. US officials described it as "dangerous", "ineffective" and "naive".
"Foolish" and "disloyal" were two other words they could have used.
The Americans were particularly incensed by the secrecy. Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, speaking during a conference in Munich marked by heated exchanges with France and Germany, said: "I heard about it from the press - no official word. I have no knowledge of it."
Why would they tell us? We're just friends and allies.
Germany claimed French support and involvement in the planning behind Project Mirage, which would authorise the UN effectively to take over the running of Iraq. It would then triple the weapons inspection teams to 300, allow the deployment of UN troops and allow reconnaissance flights over the entire country. Saddam would be allowed to remain in office, albeit as a figurehead.
Hey Joschka, what's 300 times zero?
France claimed that the plan was not secret but acknowledged the bare bones of the proposals. In a meeting last night, President Vladimir Putin of Russia also offered carefully phrased backing. He said: "All those who are closely following the situation in Iraq can see that the positions of Russia, Germany and France are almost the same in this question."
Seems like they're really working to put the fix in. Just so happens that each of these three have major commercial ties with Iraq.
Leading figures in President George W Bush's government did not conceal the depth of their anger over the apparent Franco-German ambush. Colin Powell, the normally mild-mannered secretary of state, derided the suggestion that the number of inspectors should be increased, painting a picture of "Inspector Clouseaus" running in search of a banned Iraqi arsenal that everyone already knew existed.
They're reading Rantburg, Fred! We knew this weeks ago and used the same name.
Condoleeza Rice, the national security adviser made a pointed reference to the patchy record of France and Germany in fighting tyranny and to the debt owed to America for the survival of free Europe. She said: "Europe would have been in very dark circumstances of Nazism and communism had it not been for the willingness of America to risk American lives for what was not at the time, many believed, a direct threat to the American homeland."
This statement works on so many levels. As in pointing out to the peace-niks that the last time we stood up to fascism, we weren't being directly threatened, either.
Britain too responded with barely concealed disdain. Although Downing Street said it had not seen anything formal from Germany, a spokesman said: "It is not more inspectors that are needed but for Iraq to co-operate with the inspectors who are already there."

Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces minister, said: "Progress cannot be made by giving Saddam Hussein more time or by pouring in more inspectors. Progress is not a function of time or inspectors. It can only be achieved by Saddam's complying fully [with UN resolutions]."
A point conveniently ignored by the French/Germans.
Hopes that Saddam was about to become more co-operative with the inspectors were dashed. Baghdad refused to agree to a series of key demands put by Hans Blix, the chief inspector.
Why should they? They sense a big opportunity here.
After two days of negotiations, Mr Blix said that Iraq had not provided an explanation of all the stocks of chemical and biological weapons left unaccounted for; nor had it said whether U2 spy flights would be allowed.

A senior Iraqi official, Lt Gen Amer Al-Saadi, said that Iraq had "looked at the problem" of U2 flights "in a constructive way" and had refused to allow them unless America and Britain suspended patrols in the no-fly zones.
Not one chance we're going to allow the U-2s to be unescorted.
"We have dealt with all the remaining issues," he said.

Mr Blix said he had "perceived the beginning of a more constructive attitude", but added: "Breakthrough is too positive a word."
Look in the dictionary under "pollyanna" and you'll find a picture of Blixie.
Such a breakthrough was necessary to convince America and Britain that weapons inspections should continue. Instead, Iraq has barely changed its position on several key demands.

Mr Blix, who was accompanied by Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the regime had provided new documents on its weapons programmes. These covered "high profile" cases, including stocks of anthrax and VX nerve gas that were unaccounted for. But Mr Blix said the documents left other gaps in previous declarations of banned weapons unfilled.

The inspectors had demanded that Iraq change its law to ban the manufacture of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Mr Blix said it had failed to give a date when this legislation would be passed.
As if legislation would stop Saddam.
He said also that Iraq had agreed to "encourage" scientists to agree to be interviewed in private. But one scientist refused such an interview yesterday. Iraq has not yet completed a list of scientists who have worked on banned weapons programmes.

In private, inspectors describe the Iraqi concessions as "small potatoes". But Saddam is addicted to brinkmanship and could make further concessions just before Mr Blix makes his report to the Security Council.
Depends on whether the Axis of Weasels gets their plan in front of the UNSC first. If I were them, I'd do it before Blixie reports, not after. Once Blixie reports that the Iraqis aren't cooperating, the Weasel plan for more inspectors falls apart.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 01:14 am || Comments || Link || [336135 views] Top|| File under:

#1  email login: no@body.com
password: nobody
Posted by: Anonymous || 02/10/2003 1:43 Comments || Top||

#2  I remember reading in the British intelligence report that torture is illegal in Iraq. Look how well that law works!

Which means one of 2 things:

1. Either the person suggesting the law against WMD's hasn't bothered to read the report, which is a major part of the issue, in which case that willfully-ignorant person does not belong in any kind of descision-making capacity regarding Iraq...

2. Or the person is perfectly well aware that Iraq's government ignores its own laws, and is cynically proposing the law as a decietful way to get political cover for a sociopathic, murderous tyrant.

My personal theory is 3: Both of the above.
Posted by: Ryan Waxx || 02/10/2003 5:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Here's a link to the map.

Doesn't look Unilateral to me...
Posted by: Ptah || 02/10/2003 7:29 Comments || Top||

#4  Steve, I must take issue with one of your comments: Pollyanna was a damn lot more effective than Blix ever was, is, or will be. Don't insult the girl with such a demeaning comparison...
Posted by: Ptah || 02/10/2003 7:33 Comments || Top||

#5  "A senior Iraqi official, Lt Gen Amer Al-Saadi, said that Iraq had "looked at the problem" of U2 flights "in a constructive way" and had refused to allow them unless America and Britain suspended patrols in the no-fly zones."

Ok, Abdul, here's a solution to your "problem":

We fly the U2's whenever and wherever we want, and you STFU and keep your pissant airforce grounded if you don't want them shot down.

How's that?
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 12:10 Comments || Top||

#6  Blix is shooting down the French-German plan:

The principal problem is not the number of inspectors but rather the active co-operation of the Iraqi side, as we have said many times," Mr Blix said in Athens, after his 11th-hour visit to Baghdad this weekend.

(Insert Nelson Muntz noise here.)
Posted by: someone || 02/10/2003 14:27 Comments || Top||

#7  Ouch! Nice backbone Hans! He's been returning to the vertebrate category - mirror opposite of the Franco/German retrogressing
Posted by: Frank G || 02/10/2003 18:27 Comments || Top||

#8  What this inquiring mind wants to know is who leaked it and why?
Posted by: Anonymous || 02/10/2003 21:31 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Saddam says U.S., UK must halt raids during U-2 flights
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said on Monday U.S. and British planes patrolling two "no-fly" zones over the country should not launch raids on Iraq during U- 2 surveillance flights.
Knew there was a catch, didn't you?
Saddam's comments, read on state television, appeared to be setting a condition for the flights shortly after Iraq's U.N. envoy said Baghdad accepted the flights unconditionally.
But an Iraqi source at the United Nations said no such condition existed in the letter that Iraq had delivered to U.N. weapons inspectors in New York.
Someone didn't tell Sammy
Iraq had previously said it could not guarantee the safety of the U-2 planes while coalition planes patrolled the zones.
"If the world, besides America, finds that the U-2 plane is important to carry out more areial surveillance, it should tell America and Britain not to open fire at us. Otherwise, this demand would be a call for the surrender of Iraq to the American military force...," Saddam said.
Hey, Sammy got it right!
The Iraqi leader said Baghdad had agreed to all the demands of U.N. weapons inspectors and they had still not found any weapons of mass destruction which he said Iraq did not posses. "What are the pretexts that we have to defuse so that we convince America not to launch war?"
Had your chance, you didn't take it.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 01:56 pm || Comments || Link || [336082 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Had his chance, took it, DID SURRENDER.
Now he's openly denying ever having surrendered.
Posted by: Dishman || 02/10/2003 14:25 Comments || Top||


U.S., British jets attack in Iraqi ’no-fly’ zone
Aircraft taking part in a U.S.-British patrol attacked a mobile air-defense missile system in a "no-fly" zone in southern Iraq on Monday, the U.S. military said. It marked the second such attack in three days by the Western warplanes against a mobile Iraqi military target in the southern no-fly zone as the United States and Britain build a large military force in the Gulf region for a possible war with Iraq. The aircraft used precision-guided weapons to target an Iraqi military mobile surface-to-air missile system near Al Basrah, about 245 miles (394 km) southeast of Baghdad, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement from its headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
The statement said the attack came after Iraqi forces moved the missile system into the zone, saying, "The facility's presence in the no-fly zone was a threat to coalition aircraft." Central Command said "target battle damage assessment is ongoing."
The statement did not identify the nationality of the planes involved in Monday's attack. The previous attack took place on Saturday, when the patrolling aircraft targeted an Iraqi mobile military command-and-control facility near Al Kut, about 95 miles (153 km) southeast of Baghdad, Central Command said.
After all these years of being hit, I'll bet that as soon as they see aircraft heading their way, the Iraqis are running for the shelters.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 01:49 pm || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Actually, I'd be running away fast from any shelters. I'd run for any empty space I could find. Any day now and those shelters won't shelter much except dead guys.
Posted by: RW || 02/10/2003 16:02 Comments || Top||


Turkish Press Stories
These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on February 10, 2003.

HERE ARE NINE SINE-QUA NON CONDITIONS
Turkish army will enter Northern Iraq on its own. Main duty of the Untied States will be to provide communication of Turkish-U.S. and Kurds.
-Turkish army will enter Northern Iraq on its own when time comes.
-Duty of the U.S. soldiers will only be to provide coordination.
-Turkish units will act independently in Northern Iraq.
-The United States will be deployed in the southern part of the 36th parallel. It will control Mosul and Kirkuk.
-Armament of the Kurdish units by the United States will be under the control of Turkey.
-Turkish units will launch operations if the PKK elements do not withdraw from the region.
-Gen. Fevzi Turkeri will command the Turkish units.
-Joint operation center will be in Diyarbakir.
-There will be a Turkish general in U.S. operation center in Qatar.
It all boils down to controlling refugees and limiting action by the Kurds.
Turkish Armed Forces gave this message to U.S. officials: There is not a coalition or a United Nations (U.N.) umbrella yet. What we actually see is a U.S. operation in which Britain takes places at certain extent. In this case, it is out of question for us to be under the command of another country. We do not favor any operation against Iraq. In general, we do not favor war. Our aim is to prevent any incidents which will be contrary to Turkey's interests.
Meaning - If the Kurds try to take over, we won't be under US control, so don't try to stop us from putting them down.
As a measure against possible developments in Iraq, reinforcement of the Second Army has been completed to a great extent. It is learned that more that two thousand officers and non-commissioned officers have been assigned to join the units in the region. It is noted that officers were appointed to the units because Turkey expected that deployment will last long.
Humm, were they short handed or are they being beefed up?
General Staff has prepared its plans for a possible war and started to wait for February 18. According to the plan, Turkey will enter Northern Iraq with two army corps. Second Army Commander General Fevzi Turkeri said that five hours would suffice them for a security line to be formed in the north.
Prior planning, unlike certain NATO countries.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 11:08 am || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Two corps? That's what I call an expeditionary force. Assuming the Kurds stay smart and stay quiet, that ought to be plenty to smack aside any Iraqi units that attempt to give battle in the north, assuming said Iraqis don't get pulverized by Anglo-American airpower.
Posted by: Joe || 02/10/2003 18:32 Comments || Top||


Pentagon calls up civilian air fleet
Responding to the build-up of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, the Department of Defense has activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which allows the U.S. military to transport troops and equipment by commercial aircraft, a spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Command said Saturday.
Can you say "Airbridge"? I thought you could.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld authorized the Stage One activation Saturday, according to a news release from the Defense Department. Stage One authorization is the lowest activation level, and occurs with "minor regional crises."
"Minor regional crises"? Snicker
Though the activation means 22 U.S. airline companies and their 78 commercial aircraft may now be called upon to move large numbers of troops and cargo for the U.S. military, Navy Capt. Steve Honda said the commander of the Transportation Command, Air Force Gen. John Handy, is only activating 47 passenger aircraft. Handy may still choose to activate the other 31 aircraft, which are all cargo planes, Honda said.
"This measure is necessary due to increased operations associated with the build-up of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region," the news release said. The Civil Reserve Air Fleet includes aircraft from dozens of companies, ranging from Delta Air Lines and Federal Express to Reno Air and Sun Country Airlines. The airlines receive large peacetime contracts as incentives to participate in the CRAF program. The carriers operate and maintain their planes at their own expense, with the military controlling their missions. When notified of a call-up, each carrier has 24-48 hours to have its aircraft ready for a mission.
This means that the ships carrying the heavy gear have arrived or are close to port. Now the troops are deploying to mate up with their gear.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 10:44 am || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Here is an air force link to all you want to know about the CRAF program.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/10/2003 15:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Reforger II, without the Battle of the Atlantic. Makes for a smoother ride.
Posted by: Chuck || 02/10/2003 12:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Given the financial state of United, American, etc., the prospect of having a paying customer must thrill them. They can move aircraft and crews as requested by the Civil Reserve and DoD, make money, and trim their flight schedules in ways that they wanted to do anyway. That's why you'll hear no complaining this time, unlike in the past.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 13:21 Comments || Top||


U.S. to back Kurd assault on Ansar base
Kurdish leaders have gained White House backing for a strike on the Ansar Al Islam enclave in northern Iraq, which has been allegedly identified by America as the link between Saddam Hussain and Al Qaida terrorists. Jalal Talabani, the leader of the eastern half of Kurdish territory, was promised military backing for an attack during meetings with Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. President George Bush's special envoy to the Iraqi opposition, in Ankara last week. "Kurds and America cannot wait for ever to get rid of Ansar Al Islam," said Talabani in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph. "We know that they commit crimes and use the mountain camps to grow stronger as a terrorist group. They have fundamentalist Kurds from Iran, and Arabs from Iraq, Jordan, Palestine and Syria. We need American help to stop their activities."
Works for me, what's your plan?
Under the agreement struck in Ankara, the valley infiltrated by an estimated 2,000 radical Islamic fighters will be one of the first targets in any U.S. attack. It will come under aerial assault before Talabani's Kurdish militia are ordered in. A Kurdish official said that his group was supplying information on targets for American F16 aircraft and B2 bombers based in Turkey. Talabani's aides said that Special Forces snipers were among "dozens" of U.S. personnel scouting positions ahead of the assault on the valley.
SF acts as ground controllers, airstrikes chop up their defenses, then the Kurds go in to finish them off. Sounds good.
The tiny enclave run on strict Islamic lines by Ansar Al Islam in the Shineray mountains has allegedly become a haven for Al Qaida fighters who fled Afghanistan.
Figured that this would be on our "to-do" list. It will keep the Kurds busy, and that's a good thing.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 09:21 am || Comments || Link || [336082 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bush rejected a call for U.S. assistance against Ansar last August. I don't think the full assessment was in by then, or maybe he just wants to take this thorn out of the Kurdish side before the real festivities commence.
Posted by: Fred || 02/10/2003 11:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Perhaps we were waiting until we had some methods in place for catching them when they scatter again?
I'm willing to bet there are some we are looking for in that bunch.
Posted by: Kathy K || 02/10/2003 12:21 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm hoping that this time, when they scatter they're not intact, if y'know what I mean...
Posted by: Fred || 02/10/2003 14:31 Comments || Top||


Three Stooges Block U.S. at NATO on Turkey
France, Germany and Belgium blocked NATO efforts Monday to begin planning for possible Iraqi attacks against Turkey, deepening divisions in the alliance over the U.S.-led push to oust Saddam Hussein. Turkey immediately requested emergency consultations under NATO's mutual defense treaty — or Article 4 — the first time a nation has done so in the alliance's 53-year history. "I am not seeking today to minimize the seriousness of the situation. It is serious," said NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson during a break in the meeting of alliance ambassadors, where he called the atmosphere "very heated." Diplomats said France, Germany and Belgium would do serious harm to the credibility of NATO if they would reject Turkey's direct request for help. Article 4 declares NATO members will consult when "in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened."
Early Monday, France, Germany and Belgium blocked the automatic start of NATO procedures for the military planning to protect Turkey, arguing it would force the crisis into a "logic of war" when diplomatic alternatives still stood a chance of success.
"It would signify that we have already entered into the logic of war, that ... any chance, any initiative to still resolve the conflict in a peaceful way was gone," Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said. The move was a blow to the United States, which has lobbied hard for more than three weeks for the alliance to begin military planning and won the support of 16 of the 19 NATO allies. "This is a most unfortunate decision," said U.S. ambassador to NATO Nicolas Burns. "Because of their actions, NATO is now facing a crisis of credibility."
Just what do you have to do to eject someone from NATO?
Still, Lord Robertson sought to play down the divisions. "What is important, is that we arrive at a consensus and I'm confident we will," he said. Turkey's Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis also sought to soothe tempers. "There was no veto on defending Turkey," Yakis told reporters in Ankara. "There is disagreement over the timing" but not on the principle of defending Turkey, he said. "These problems can be overcome."
He did not say whether Turkey would directly ask NATO to start contingency planning to defend Turkey against an attack.
Diplomats said they expected France and the other holdouts to drop their objections to the military planning when faced with a direct request from the Turks under the treaty. "I trust the alliance will stick together and we will help Turkey," Norwegian Defense Minister Kristin Krohn Devold said Sunday. "I have a strong belief in commonsense."
Over the weekend, at an international defense conference in Munich, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned continued delays in responding to Turkey's request were "inexcusable" and risked undermining the credibility of the alliance. He intensified his criticism in an interview published Sunday in Italy's La Republica newspaper. "Shameful, for me it's truly shameful," Rumsfeld was quoted as saying. "Turkey is an ally. An ally that is risking everything ... How can you refuse it help?"
In France, officials stood by their position but said they would help the Turks if they judged it necessary. "If Turkey was really under threat, France would be one of the first at its side," French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told reporters in Munich. "Today, we don't feel that threat is there."
Bastards
As well as trans-Atlantic differences, the deadlock highlighted deep divisions among European allies. The majority, led by Britain, Spain and Italy, is backing the tough line against Iraq taken by the United States and has been opposed by France and Germany. NATO's military commanders say the planning for the limited support for Turkey can be wrapped up within a few days once they get the go-ahead, but actual deployment of the NATO units will need further approval from the 19 allies.
All NATO decisions require unanimous support from the allies.
Fat chance of getting that.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 08:38 am || Comments || Link || [336094 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How about DYRT-WWC-TYD. (Did You Really Think We Would Come To Your Defense)
Posted by: RW || 02/10/2003 16:08 Comments || Top||

#2  As I've read elsewhere, lets replace NATO with NEATO (New European American Treaty Orginization). Old Europe need not apply.
Posted by: BigFire || 02/10/2003 9:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Or ODON - Organization of Democratic Oriented Nations
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 9:51 Comments || Top||

#4  NEATO is neat! But what about GOFISH (Grand Organization For Instituting Serious Hegemony)?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/10/2003 10:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Or how about NUKE (Nations United to Kill Extremists?)
Posted by: Ptah || 02/10/2003 12:18 Comments || Top||

#6  How about DYRT-WWC-TYD. (Did You Really Think We Would Come To Your Defense)
Posted by: RW || 02/10/2003 16:08 Comments || Top||

#7  So now Frenchie and Co. are actively working against the common defense of NATO members. Is it time to start thinking of that French carrier heading for the gulf as a "hostile presence".
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 02/10/2003 17:23 Comments || Top||

#8  I like TORNATO - Three Oafs Removed NATO
or The Offical Reorganized NATO or...
Posted by: becky || 02/11/2003 8:55 Comments || Top||


Battle weary Iraqis shrug off threat of more conflict
More banners carrying defiant slogans in English have been mounted on lamp-posts and the Iraqi currency is losing value by the day, but these are the only visible signs that Baghdad stands on the brink of war.
The nice thing is, all those signs on the lamp-posts will provide the citizenry with all the wire they need to string up the Baathists.
In a capital facing an onslaught from the mightiest military machine in history the complete lack of any obvious preparation gives the city an improbable air of calm. Wearied by 24 years of tyranny under Saddam Hussein, eight years of war with neighbouring Iran, the last Gulf war, countless allied air raids and 12 years of economic sanctions, Iraqis have become inured to crises. They greet the imminence of war with tired shrugs of indifference.
This is better than fear. Is everyone getting the message that we don't want to target civilians?
"I have seen two big wars, many battles, much fighting," said Khalil Ibrahim, 35. "We have passed through more difficult times than these and no, I am not afraid." Mr Ibrahim served in the Iraqi army for 11 years and now owns an antiques shop near Jamhuriya street in old Baghdad.
If he served 11 years, he was just inducted around the time of GW I. That means he either saw it first-hand or heard about how Americans treat POWs and civilians from those who did.
An air raid shelter near his home in the Adamiya area of Baghdad provides the only protection from the most powerful air force in the world. But Mr Ibrahim has no intention of using it. "If they bomb us I will stay in my house," he said. His personal preparations for war have amounted to nothing more than stockpiling some food and water.

Nearby, Amer Subhi, 41, had taken one additional precaution. He had bought some candles. "Our electricity might be cut off," he said. But Mr Subhi had not troubled to discover whether there was an air raid shelter near his home. "I am not afraid," he said simply.
Neither of these guys should worry; we're not after houses.
If Saddam intends to make a last stand in his capital he has so far neglected the most basic preparations. No machine-gun nests overlook junctions, no tanks are deployed at strategic points, there are no slit trenches or sandbagged bunkers in open areas.
All the tanks have been buried in the desert.
Only the vertical barrels of anti-aircraft guns mounted on the roofs of tower blocks give a warlike impression. But these wholly ineffectual weapons have been in position since Saddam invaded Iran in 1980.

The government has taken a few precautionary steps. When Iraqis exchanged their monthly ration coupons for food last week they were handed two months' provisions. Government ministries have been issued with emergency power generators.

The influx of journalists and peace activists has spurred the regime to festoon Baghdad with more propaganda banners displaying the incomprehensible English beloved of Iraqi officials. One banner outside the al-Rashid hotel reads: "With the leader Saddam Hussein we will keep going the Iraq march for the faithful of the martyrs of the immortal."
They're right. It's incomprehensible.
Another carries a less ambitious slogan. "Down America," it says.

The Iraq Daily, a faithful propaganda mouthpiece, carried the triumphant headline: "President Hussein receives telegram." Saddam had been sent the telegram by "some serfs citizens in Belarus". They were ready "to defend Iraq against any US aggression". With these powerful allies, the paper argued, Iraq could defeat an American attack.

Baghdad's foreign exchange bureaux tell a different story. In the past six weeks the dinar has lost almost 20 per cent of its value and now stands at 2,370 to the dollar. The official line is that victory is certain. Meanwhile, Iraqis are jettisoning their worthless currency and buying dollars as fast as possible.
What? Not francs and marks?
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 01:51 am || Comments || Link || [336099 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ooohhh,I'm scared!
Belarus a powerful allie,isn't Belarus just a medium sized fish in a small,backwater pond?
Posted by: raptor || 02/10/2003 6:09 Comments || Top||

#2  I dunno. According to my reading, Neither of those guys ARE worrying...
Posted by: Ptah || 02/10/2003 16:55 Comments || Top||

#3  I've read better anti-American gibberish in the Axis of Weasel press (including the Al-Guardian of course)
Posted by: Frank G || 02/10/2003 19:22 Comments || Top||


Kuwait refuses haven to refugees fleeing Saddam
Iraqi asylum seekers facing the twin perils of American-led military action and a final upsurge of terror by Saddam Hussein are being turned away by Kuwait as they seek refuge in their southern neighbour. With Iraq and Kuwait separated by a 10-mile demilitarised zone and a US troop build-up along the border, desperate Iraqis are making the short journey by sea only to be told that they are not welcome.
Cheeze, guys, the whole idea is to encourage them to surrender. What cluster farg is this?
Last week five Iraqi boats were prevented from docking in Kuwait and the occupants were handed over to the Iraqi coastguard. The Kuwaiti government said it had no plans to open its borders and has begun a campaign warning against the dangers of "Iraqi infiltrators".
Infiltrators need to be handled, but it's easy: just put all the Iraqis into a camp with lots of concertina wire for now. Give them three squares and a prayer mat, and wait a few weeks.
A government official said: "We are aware of the humanitarian crisis which war would bring and have made provisions to supply food and shelter in southern Iraq. But Kuwait is a small country and we would encourage them to go to other countries before they come to us."
I don't think Saudi-controlled Arabia or Iran are better options right now. Besides, these guys can be pumped for some last-minute intel.
Refugee camps are being prepared in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Jordan and American military officials have said a relief effort would follow any ground invasion launched in southern Iraq.

But with an exodus of 2.5 million refugees predicted in the event of war, and 250,000 of them expected to try to enter Kuwait, there are concerns that the current trickle of Iraqis may turn into a flood that the country is ill-prepared to face.
And they've had how long to prepare?
A spokesman for the Kuwait Red Crescent Society said: "If war breaks out refugees are not going to have a choice of where they go. Every country must open its borders to take care of the needy. "I'm sure the Kuwaiti government will change its stance once faced by the reality of the situation."

One such Iraqi who has already been left with no choice but to travel to Kuwait is Abdul - who would not give his full name for fear of arousing the displeasure of the Kuwaiti authorities. Two months ago he fled to Iran with his family when local Ba'ath Party activists broke into his home. He was told by the authorities there that he had to leave, forcing him to make the clandestine boat journey to Kuwait where he was sheltered by relatives. He then tried to travel on a false passport to Germany but was detained at the airport.
Bought your papers from the wrong shop, Abdul. Let that be a lesson to you.
Kuwait has since threatened to send him back to Iran from where he fears that he would have to return to Iraq. He now lives a semi-fugitive existence, prepared to go into hiding should he not be granted asylum. "These past two months have been the most terrible for me and my family. It is like a death sentence hanging over me. Kuwaitis believe I am here to work illegally," he said. "They do not understand that I am here to save my life. If I return to Iraq I will be killed."
No doubt of that. This has to get fixed.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 01:45 am || Comments || Link || [336099 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Got to side with the Kuwaitis on this. Given the level of Iraqi troop buildup on the border, any "refugee" who actually makes it to the Kuwait border has to be suspect.
Posted by: Dreadnought || 02/10/2003 15:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Might one suggest internment camps? Keep them comfy, keep them well-fed and cared for, and don't let them mess with the local infrastructure...
Posted by: Fred || 02/10/2003 19:48 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Australians ’targeted’ in Bali blasts
Australians were singled out as deliberate targets in the October 12 Bali bombings, according to confessions made by two leading suspects in the attack. The country's role in helping secure East Timor's independence from Indonesia and its close allegiance to the United States made Australia a target for the bombers who killed almost 200 people, including 88 Australians.
The confessions, aired on an Australian current affairs television program Monday, were made by the alleged mastermind of the bombings, Imam Samudra, and an accomplice, Muklas.
The report coincides with a trip by Prime Minister John Howard to Washington, where he appears likely to commit Australian troops and equipment to any U.S. military action in Iraq, further raising the ire in predominantly-Muslim Indonesia.
Muklas said the killing of so many Australians represented the culmination of a "successful operation."
"I felt grateful because in my opinion the planned mission and objective had been achieved because there were many casualties among American allies, including Australian citizens," said Muklas, who goes by only one name. "We planned the explosion in Bali because there are many places in Bali that are visited by tourists from these countries, such as the United States, England, France, Australia, Israel and other countries who behave despotically towards Muslims," Muklas was quoted as saying.
Among 13 reasons Samudra gave for the bombings was Australia's involvement in East Timor's transition to independence from Indonesia in 1999. "Australia has taken part in efforts to separate East Timor from Indonesia ... which was an international conspiracy," the television program Four Corners reported. Twenty nine suspects have been arrested in connection with the Bali bombings, including 19 who are considered directly involved. Police have identified at least three of the suspects as being members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a pan-Asian network of Islamic extremists with links to al Qaeda.
Sumudra is alleged to be the field commander of JI in Southeast Asia. The Four Corners' report also says the bombers staked out Paddy's Bar in Kuta, Bali -- one of two nightspots targeted -- for three weeks prior to the blast, and claims there were two suicide bombers, not one as originally suspected.
So much for the "We only tried to kill Americans" defense.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 02:33 pm || Comments || Link || [336082 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They should send a copy of the video to each of the nudies that protested last week, just to let these lasses know who are their friends and who are their enemies. And by the way, me lovely lasses, a protest in Bhurkas would not becoming tuh ye.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/10/2003 16:18 Comments || Top||

#2  For more infor have a look at - http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2003/20030210_bali_confessions/default.htm
Posted by: Rizzo || 02/10/2003 16:32 Comments || Top||


Iraqi Funding for anti-U.S. protests being probed
Intelligence agencies are reportedly investigating the involvement of supporters of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain in financing anti-U.S. protests by several militant groups in Manila, reports said yesterday. The Philippine Star newspaper citing military and police intelligence "sources", also said that about $200,000 in cash was distributed by Iraqi contacts to some members of southern Philippines-based secessionist groups as budget for "sympathy attacks" to be held in the country against the U.S. Sources from the local intelligence community, however, refused to confirm the report but said "such information cannot be discounted".
Intel diplospeak for it's true, but we can't say so yet.
A flurry of protests in Manila against what local groups described as "U.S. aggression against Iraq" has met United States President George W. Bush's recent statements implying that America is ready to act on its own against Iraq amidst what Washington said was fresh evidence that it is maintaining weapons of mass destruction.
The Philippine Star report said various intelligence agencies, including the National Intelligence and Coordinating Agency (NICA), the local equivalent of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), are evaluating information that pro-Saddam forces are funding local groups protests. The protesters were mainly leftist anti-American groups, Muslim peace advocates and trade unions concerned over the safety of more than a million overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the Middle East.
President Gloria Arroyo's government is carefully toeing the line over the issue against Iraq. Concerns over the safety of OFWs is compelling Arroyo to reconsider openly supporting Bush's anti-Iraq vilification drive.
Had not thought about that, Filipino workers are everywhere in the middle east doing jobs the locals won't. They would be easy targets for any backlash. She does have to be careful.
The U.S. has been a major source of military aid that the Arroyo government has been able to secure from last year in the fight against local rebel groups.
Recently, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople warned Iraqi Charge d'Affaires Samir Al Masih Bulos against joining anti-U.S. protests after his wife and two children were photographed by a local newspaper joining a demonstration in Manila.
Bulos also appeared, together with Vice-President Teofisto Guingona, an anti-American firebrand, at a forum held against the U.S. war against Iraq. Military sources said they are evaluating reports that Saddam and his associates have sent officials to South-East Asian countries, including the Philippines, to monitor public reaction and "developments" in the region shortly after the September 11 attacks in the U.S.
Last Saturday, security forces were placed under heightened alert to thwart sympathy attacks by extremists in the event of a U.S. war on Iraq. Col. Michael Maniquiqis, public information chief of the army, said the military is ready to thwart any local attack from groups sympathetic to Iraq. "We are prepared to counter terrorist attacks."
Hope so.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 09:23 am || Comments || Link || [336086 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, in a word - DUH!
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 9:54 Comments || Top||


Three Killed as Muslim Rebels Mass in Philippines
Muslim guerrillas killed three Philippine soldiers in an ambush Monday as thousands of troops massed within sight of rebel positions to head off sympathy attacks if the United States goes to war with Iraq, officials said.
So there's no link between Iraq and terrorist's, huh?
The ambush of the soldiers by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the tense standoff on the southern island of Mindanao came as Manila linked an Iraqi diplomat to another Muslim group blamed for a bomb blast in October that killed a U.S. soldier and two Filipinos. Eight other members of an army engineering unit were wounded when they were set upon during a morning jog by fighters from the MILF, which the military has linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. But government peace negotiators said later they believed the situation had eased after talks between the two sides. "The situation has been clarified on the ground," presidential adviser for peace Eduardo Ermita told Reuters. "The skirmishes that had been feared may no longer take place. I think the situation has been defused." The ambush in southern Maguindanao province occurred 37 miles northwest of a marshy area near where 1,000 heavily armed MILF rebels and allied groups had massed in a bold challenge to the military, officials said. At least 17,000 villagers fled their homes around the town of Pikit, about 500 miles south of the capital, Manila, to avoid being caught in any crossfire between the rebels and more than 3,000 troops backed by artillery and helicopter gun ships.
Massing is a bad idea for rebels, it makes you a better target
"We are going to assault the area," Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes told reporters in Manila. "We cannot allow lawless elements to claim that they have camps." He was referring to an old rebel base in the area.
But Manila found itself also nursing a diplomatic headache.
Foreign Secretary Blas Ople summoned Iraqi charge d'affaires Samir Bolus and showed him an intelligence report alleging links between an embassy second secretary and the Abu Sayyaf, another radical group also with supposed ties to al Qaeda.
Ople said intelligence officials had traced telephone calls between the staffer and the Abu Sayyaf.
Monitoring their phones, are you? Good, like to hear that tape.
"Bolus denied this. The Iraqi envoy said he will instruct the second secretary to cease and desist any activity that is harmful to Philippine-Iraq relations," Ople told reporters.
"We didn't do it. And we won't do it again."
An embassy staffer told Reuters in English: "I don't speak English. Mr. Bolus is out."
WTF?
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the rebels were massing their forces around Pikit for an offensive. "We have a substantial number of people there but they have been living there for years," Kabalu said by telephone. "It is the military which deployed troops around us. We are now eyeball to eyeball with each other."
"It's the military's fault."
The military said troops from three infantry divisions -- plus a brigade of Marines, 20 tanks, six fighter jets and six helicopter gun ships -- were ready for any assault.
See comment on why massing is a bad idea.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 08:47 am || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under:

#1  BOLUS? The guy's name is Bolus?

That's gotta be a joke. Doesn't it?
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 12:53 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't see how sympathy attacks prove that Saddam has links with al Qaeda. It does prove that an attack on Iraq is likely to fuel the fire.
Posted by: Rizzo || 02/10/2003 16:46 Comments || Top||


Middle East
North Korean agent arrested in Lebanon...
Via Little Green Footballs. How'd we miss this?
A North Korean "extremist"
That's another word for "secret agent," I guess...
has been arrested by authorities at the notorious Ein Hilwe Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. The Fatah movement has arrested two men accused of having planned attacks against U.S. and British targets in Lebanon. The plot was allegedly led by the North Korean who frequented the Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon which has been the focus of surveillance for suspected members of Al Qaida. Palestinian sources said Fatah agents also arrested a Syrian national suspected of being involved in the planned campaign.
Ain't that... interesting!
The North Korean, identified as Jim Kim Su, was said to have planned attacks on British and U.S. interests throughout Lebanon in an attempt to stop a U.S.-led war against Iraq.
That would seem to imply that the Axis of Evil is more axial than we thought. And his buddy's a Syrian. Syria's a charter member of the Axis of Almost as Evil...
Jim, who was found with $3,000, had visited Ein Hilwe several times recently. The Syrian detainee was identified as Assad Qaraan. So far, the sources said, it is not clear whether the attack was sponsored by Al Qaida or Iraq.
Or North Korea or Syria. Or both. Or all of them...
The North Korea and Syrian were handed over the Lebanese military for interrogation. "He [North Korean] is an extremist and has told our interrogators that he intended to wage sabotage operations against American and British interests," a Fatah commander, identified only as Maj. Lino, said. "But it could not be established whether he is affiliated to Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaida or to Israel's Mossad secret service."
(Sigh.) They always work that in, don't they?
Lino said Qaraan was carrying four passports as well as Palestinian travel documents. The passports were issued by Indonesia, Jordan and Lebanon.
The usual assortment. The NKor was probably carrying Japanese, SKor, Greenland and Samoan papers...
Fatah said the arrests took place on Monday and that the suspects were handed over to the Lebanese military on Wednesday. Lebanese authorities did not issue an immediate response to the report.
Probably struck dumb. I am, at such a stupid stunt.
Western diplomatic sources said Ein Hilwe — with a population of 75,000 — has been a center for Al Qaida operations in Lebanon. About 100 Arab and other nationals are said to belong to the Al Qaida-linked Usbat Al Ansar group in the camp.
I believe the usual description of it invariably includes the words "a stench and a pestilence."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 08:31 pm || Comments || Link || [336097 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is very weird.The Lebanese Daily Star (link expired,I still have the printout) had pictures of two men with jackets pulled over their heads,so I guess some people were arrested.But the Daily Star said the other man was a Jordanian named Mustafa Khatib.The Star also said the two joined Fatah one year ago and they were arrested several weeks ago when camp officials "became suspicious".
Another LGF link to "Baladna.com" (now expired) said the first guy was South Korean,not NK.That's all I know.
Posted by: El Id || 02/10/2003 22:09 Comments || Top||


Clooney sez TV's been dumbed down. (He said 'down.' Huh huh.)
TV actor turned film director
... turned foreign policy expert...
George Clooney slammed what he called the dumbing down of U.S. television Monday, saying it was dangerous that people's misery had become a source of entertainment. Clooney, 41, who said he grew up on a TV set working the autocue for his father's game shows, said the dumbing down had also affected news coverage in the United States. "We have decided that news is entertainment. It's hard to find good news," he said.
Guess he doesn't read Rantburg, does he?

TeeVee's been getting "dumbed down" since it started. Uncle Miltie in drag was hardly what y'd call "intellectual fare." Red Skelton doing Gertrude and Heathcliff the seagulls was funny — but you couldn't get much dumber. Mister Ed was downright dopey, Wilburrr.

The years Marshall McLuhan called "The Vast Wasteland" are the very years we now call the Golden Age of Terriblevision.

And let us not forget that it'd be difficult to get much dumber than "My Mother the Car" and its evil offspring "Knight Rider" — which aren't really recent...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 07:52 pm || Comments || Link || [336090 views] Top|| File under:

#1  C'mon - Red Skelton wat the epitome of what great television was all about. As opposed to some fuckwad who played a doctor on some nightly soap opera!
Posted by: Fleck || 02/10/2003 21:06 Comments || Top||

#2  If only he watched Fox News Network...
Posted by: Brian || 02/10/2003 21:44 Comments || Top||


Home Front
Islamic charity Big cops a plea...
The head of an Islamic charity linked to Osama bin Laden pleaded guilty Monday to funding rebels in Chechnya and troops in Bosnia as the government dropped a charge accusing him of using his foundation to support Al Qaeda. Enaam Arnaout, a Syrian-born U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty to a single racketeering conspiracy count as jury selection was about to begin. "In entering a plea today, Mr. Arnaout made a decision that he believes is in the best interest of his family, the charity and the American Muslim community," said Arnaout's attorney, Joseph J. Duffy. "One has to question whether a fair and impartial jury could be found anywhere in America today that could sit in judgment of an Arab-American in a case involving allegations of terrorism."
So it's all just bigotry on our part. It had nothing to do with the explosives...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 03:56 pm || Comments || Link || [336099 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hope the judge has the same discretion to slam the door on this jerk that the Sarah Jane Olsen judge had. When you plead guilty to serious charges then send your slimeball mouthpiece attorney out to cry railroading, you should have to reface a trial and the severe penalty you plead to avoid, or personally announce your guilt without qualifiers then STFU! Give him the cell with a large tattoed Jewish boyfriend
Posted by: Frank G || 02/10/2003 18:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Muslim impartiality? I seem to recall that American Muslims exhonerated Jamil al-Amin (Rap Brown) before that cop-killer was even tried. They didn't believe that the surviving victim-police officer, who testified that his dead partner and himself were dutifully executing an arrest warrant when the Brown emptied his revolver, could be telling the truth because only Muslims can do that. They also defended the murderer when it was disclosed in Family Court that he was a bigamist. Islam and Justice are contradictions in terms.
Posted by: Anon || 02/10/2003 22:39 Comments || Top||


Glad she didn't want to become a dentist...
I promise... No more today from Fark.com...
A 17-year-old girl who helped two friends club 16 calves to death in August told a judge yesterday that she had hoped to become a veterinarian. The Monroe teen was sentenced to 30 days at Denney Youth Detention Center on three counts of animal cruelty. She also was ordered to complete drug treatment, said Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Remy Leonard. The girl sobbed and apologized to the judge for her role in the attacks. Leonard said the girl, who dreamed of becoming a vet even though she dropped out of school in the sixth grade, said she was high when she and two others attacked the calves at a dairy farm.
"Well, Mrs Jones, it looks like your cat needs surgery."
"Fluffy's head looks crushed."
"Just a coupla dents. We'll have it popped back into shape in no time. Read me the directions on these here cat forceps, wouldja?"
"Ummm... Are you high on Drano again today, Doctor?"
"Wouldja like some?"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 03:41 pm || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "I spent the happiest six years of my life in sixth grade"
Posted by: Anonymous || 02/10/2003 16:26 Comments || Top||


''If that ain't 'disposed of' then what the hell is it?''
Via Fark.com comes the heartening news that...
Police said workers from the construction firm, based in the Kaku district of Nakatsu, Oita Prefecture, put five or six sticks of dynamite they had decided to dispose of in with a load of rubbish that was being burned at the firm at about 7:20 a.m. Monday. The dynamite soon exploded, smashing the windows of seven houses belonging to residents living near the facility. "We thought that if the detonators were taken out they wouldn't explode, and just burn normally, so we put them in with the other rubbish," a firm official was quoted as saying.
I forget... What's the Japanese word for "dumbass"?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 03:04 pm || Comments || Link || [336093 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Japanese for "dumbass" would be "baka".
It has the same flavor as "idiot" does in English. Adding "yo" makes it more impolite. "Anata ga baka yo!" means something like, "You know you're an idiot, don't you?!"
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 02/10/2003 15:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Japanese for "dumbass" would be "baka".
It has the same flavor as "idiot" does in English. Adding "yo" makes it more impolite. "Anata ga baka yo!" means something like, "You know you're an idiot, don't you?!"
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 02/10/2003 15:39 Comments || Top||

#3  *chuckle* Anyone who likes anime could tell you; as Scooter says, the word in Japanese most nearly corresponding to "dumbass" is "baka", which means "fool" or "idiot". Akane yells it a lot at Ranma in "Ranma 1/2" and Skuld has a habit of scrawling the word magically on people's faces in "Oh! My Goddess".
Posted by: Joe || 02/10/2003 18:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Oh, and just thought of a historical note: "Baka", probably pronounced differently than the imprecation, also means "cherry blossom". One Japanese suicide weapon of the final period of World War II - I forget whether it was the manned torpedo or the manned proto-cruise-missile - was named the "Baka". I suppose that one had to be baka to pilot the Baka. (runs as fast as possible for cover)
Posted by: Joe || 02/10/2003 18:15 Comments || Top||

#5  The manned cruise missile was called the "Okha", meaning "Cherry Blossom". US troops quickly nicknamed it the "Baka Bomb".
Posted by: Tripartite || 02/10/2003 22:08 Comments || Top||


We're in the top ten...
John Hawkins, of Right Wing News — link on the right, make sure you click regularly — has created the First Annual Warblogger Awards. 125 bloggers were invited to vote, of which 67 responded. Rantburg was ranked Numbah 9 in the Best Blog Overall category, between Vodkapundit (8) and Dailypundit (10). That puts us in very fast company.

Surprisingly, we didn't make the cut for Most Bloodthirsty Blog, despite the number of suggestions that this or that fellow meet with unfortunate accidents, consider self-immolation, have sex with himself, or explode. Guess we'll have to work on that.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 02:25 pm || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Surprisingly, we didn't make the cut for Most Bloodthirsty Blog, despite the number of suggestions that this or that fellow meet with unfortunate accidents, consider self-immolation, have sex with himself, or explode. Guess we'll have to work on that.

I think it's because we have it in for individuals and movements instead of entire continents -- although we've been known to make "have sex with themselves" suggestions for a few European countries that will remain nameless.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips || 02/10/2003 15:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Fred, you only do bloodthirsty in a comical way. Hence, I voted for you as best funny blog. But I did have you in my list of best blogs. We were allowed to pick five. Congrats on being in the top 10!
Posted by: Denny || 02/10/2003 22:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Vodkapundit #8? Stephen Green is a nice fellow, but he is hardly a hard worker. Off the cuff commentary, is no substitute for information based on good research. How many times did he consult the Balochistan Post last year?
Posted by: Anon || 02/10/2003 22:27 Comments || Top||


Home Front
From NFL to Ranger, Tillman ready to go.
The phone rang in Larry Marmie's house late Sunday night.
It was Ranger Tillman checking in, saying hello from his new station at Fort Lewis, Wash. "Are you in a position now where you can actually be deployed?" the Cardinals defensive coordinator asked. "Within 18 hours," Pat Tillman replied.
Just like that, the phone will ring and Tillman could be on his way to Iraq.
For those keeping score, Tillman and his brother, Kevin, are now full-fledged Army Rangers. They completed infantry training. They became certified airborne parachutists. And just before Christmas, they graduated from RIP, the Ranger Indoctrination Program that separates great men from the really good ones. Of course, no one doubted Tillman would get to this point when he walked away from the decadent life of a professional athlete and a contract that would've paid him $3.6 million over a three-year period. After he told a friend at Arizona State that life had become "too (bleeping) easy," no one thought Tillman wouldn't succeed at scaling mountain cliffs, slogging through dangerous swamps and jumping five times out of a perfectly good airplane. But it's a different world now. If the United States attacks Iraq in the coming weeks, chances are good that Rangers will be first on the scene. And that could mean deployment of the Tillman brothers, who are now part of the 75th Ranger Regiment, a brotherhood of three battalions and 2,300 men.
"He will move with his unit for whatever that unit is involved in, be it training or real world," said Carol Darby, spokesperson for the Army Special Operations command. "He's a full-fledged Ranger now. He's ready for combat."
While Tillman has one step left - the arduous "Ranger School" where graduates earn the coveted Ranger tab - it is not what Darby called a "showstopper." Darby said many Rangers who don't have their tab participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. A story in the New York Times pointed out that many newborn Rangers were ordered to Somalia in 1993, thrust into frenzied battles that were reenacted in the movie Black Hawk Down. Essentially, Tillman is primed and loaded for bear. And if you think the change in the world climate has made the former NFL safety yearn for the comfort of a 5-11 football team, you're wrong. "I can tell you that he sounded extremely upbeat and happy," Marmie said. "He was really feeling good about things." It has been eight months since Tillman came home from his honeymoon and promptly left the Cardinals to become a legitimate American hero. He is an athlete who has learned combat skills, compass readings and how to survive chemical and nuclear attacks. And now that his country may soon be calling, Tillman couldn't be more enthused about his new uniform.
"I've worked for the Army for 27 years, and it's a time unlike any I've ever seen," Darby said. "I've seen some people making some very difficult decisions during a very difficult time for our nation. And while I can't speak for any single soldier, I can tell you that Ranger Tillman has made it very clear that he wants to be a Ranger. He's worked toward a goal, he's made it, and he's declined all media interviews. And we all think it's very admirable." But, one day, Tillman will surely tell his story to a captivated nation. God willing.
Unlike many athletes, Pat Tillman is a real role model.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 01:13 pm || Comments || Link || [336099 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Amen, and Godspeed to you, Pat.
Posted by: growler || 02/10/2003 15:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Good luck and good hunting, Pat.
Posted by: Ptah || 02/10/2003 13:40 Comments || Top||

#3  Amazing. A true American hero.
Posted by: tu3031 || 02/10/2003 14:16 Comments || Top||

#4  Amen, and Godspeed to you, Pat.
Posted by: growler || 02/10/2003 15:52 Comments || Top||

#5  I grew up watching the Cardinals when they played in St. Louis. We made jokes about them toward the end of their run here. But Cardinal jokes are now over. Good luck, Ranger!
Posted by: Christopher Johnson || 02/10/2003 20:02 Comments || Top||

#6  God Bless Pat and his ultimate sacrifice.
Reading these articles now bring goose bumps and tears.
Posted by: Anonymous4508 || 04/23/2004 15:05 Comments || Top||


Middle East
Two German patriot batteries arrive in Israel
Two Patriot missile batteries shipped from Germany arrived in Israel today, officials said. An agreement for procurement of the interceptor missiles was signed in mid-January after months of negotiations. The missiles are expected to be deployed for defense against a possible attack by Iraq if the US goes ahead with plans to wage war on Baghdad. Germany agreed to lend Israel the missiles for two years, ultimately consenting to Israel's request for the surplus missiles because they consider the Patriot solely a defensive weapon. The batteries are to be manned by IAF servicemen trained in Germany. According to reports, the German Patriots work on parameters almost identical to the ones currently in service across Israel.
The missiles that Israel is to receive from Germany, as well as the ones currently in service here, are more advanced versions than those used with limited success to combat incoming Scuds in the 1991 Gulf War.
PAC-3 version?
As with the American Patriot missiles, the German Patriots will be used as a fail-safe measure should Israel's Arrow missiles, which have a range twice as great, fail to hit their targets.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 12:36 pm || Comments || Link || [336093 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Two Patriot missile batteries shipped from Germany "
But refuse to help defend Turkey.....Anybody see something odd here?
Posted by: raptor || 02/11/2003 9:44 Comments || Top||


Korea
Japan is Getting Touchy
This is from the New York Times -- so registration is needed to see the original story.

SEOUL, Feb. 9 — Fears of a surprise North Korean missile launching mounted today in northeast Asia after President Bush on Friday did not rule out a military response to North Korea's steps toward possible production of nuclear warheads.

Tensions were high in Japan with a major Japanese newspaper reporting that the Japanese government was considering mobilizing its military if North Korea fired another missile over Japan, as it did in August 1998.
Talk about mixed feelings on my part...
North Korea fueled the fears, warning of "the toughest measures" against what it said was "an undisguised bid" by the United States "to mount a pre-emptive attack on the D.P.R.K.," or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Loony, frigging, jackholes. Is there something in the water in North Korea?
Japanese officials were not immediately available for comment on the report in Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's biggest-selling newspaper, suggesting that another North Korean missile shot in the direction of Japan would persuade the government of the need for strong countermeasures. Besides mobilizing what are called "Self-Defense Forces," said the newspaper, the government would consider sanctions.
Hmm, didn't the North Koreans say something along the lines of 'Sanctions = War'?
Japanese officials were reported to be weighing a series of moves against North Korea while the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency prepared for a meeting this week at which it may refer the North Korean nuclear threat to the United Nations Security Council.

The allusion to mobilization of Japanese forces indicated the depth of concern in Japan as North Korean rhetoric intensifies in tone and specific threats.
That's diplo speak for, 'JAPAN IS GETTING SCARED AND PISSED'.
The Self-Defense Forces are barred from waging war beyond Japan's borders by Article 9 of the country's postwar constitution, imposed during the American occupation under Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The forces have never mobilized for attack. Nonetheless, some observers believe North Korea could trigger a change of attitude if it demonstrates its ability to fire missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.
The only question is whether or not their warheads are small enough to fit on their missiles.
North Korea pledged in September 1999 not to fire another missile after launching the Taepodong on a trajectory high over Japan on Aug. 31, 1998. The missile traveled more than 850 miles, landing between northern Japan and Vladivostok, Russia.
Oooh, another diplomatic milestone from the Great Leader.
But now North Korea says that it is no longer bound by the no-missile pledge and that it is no longer bound by any agreement not to develop and build nuclear warheads. In addition, North Korea has called for direct negotiations only with the United States.
I'm taking bets, who nukes North Korea first?
Despite South Korean reluctance to antagonize the North, the United States has pressed for a debate in the United Nations Security Council on economic sanctions that North Korea has said it would regard as "an act of war."
I don't blame the South Koreans. They're in a bad situation. But they've got to come up with some other plan than appeasement.
Approval of sanctions was expected to encounter serious opposition from members of the Security Council in favor of negotiations to persuade the North to return to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, from which it withdrew in December. China, Russia and France are all viewed as strong advocates of a diplomatic push to persuade the North to shut down the five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon that it reactivated after expelling inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Dec. 31.

North Korean commentaries indicated the North was, if anything, more concerned about moves by the United States to build up its forces in the western Pacific than about sanctions.
Listen, you NK idiots, why do you think we're building up our forces? Could it be that you insist on acting like loons? Nuclear armed ones to boot?
President Bush hinted on Friday that the North's fears might not be altogether far-fetched when he said he preferred a diplomatic solution but pointedly did not say if a military solution was out of the question.

Although the 37,000 American troops stationed in South Korea are not capable of a first strike against the North Huh?, a strike against the North Korean nuclear complex is believed to remain a possibility only if the North goes into production of nuclear weapons. So far there has been no confirmation that the North has begun extracting plutonium for building nuclear warheads from spent fuel rods at the Yongbyon complex.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips || 02/10/2003 12:26 pm || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "USAF Moto: When it absolutely, positively, has to be destroyed overnight!"

BZZZZZZT! Sorry, but thanks for playing.

That motto belongs to Unka Sammy's Misguided Children
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 15:35 Comments || Top||

#2  I've said it before here. Japan will find a way under its Constitution to consider action against North Korea as defensive.
Posted by: Chuck || 02/10/2003 12:41 Comments || Top||

#3  "The 37,000 American troops stationed in South Korea are not capable of a first strike against the North"
We pulled all of the tactical nukes out of S. Korea some time ago. If we need one, I'm sure one of the subs offshore would be happy to help. Plus, a B-2 is only a phone call away. USAF Moto: When it absolutely, positively, has to be destroyed overnight!
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 13:32 Comments || Top||

#4  "USAF Moto: When it absolutely, positively, has to be destroyed overnight!"

BZZZZZZT! Sorry, but thanks for playing.

That motto belongs to Unka Sammy's Misguided Children
Posted by: mojo || 02/10/2003 15:35 Comments || Top||


Minor fix...
Maybe a major fix... Archives were busted, now repaired.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 10:11 am || Comments || Link || [336079 views] Top|| File under:


Latin America
Two car bombs used in Bogota blast...
Colombian investigators believe two carbombs may have been used in the attack on an exclusive social club that killed at least 33 people and injured 168 others. The bombing was Bogata's worst urban attack in decades. It unleashed a fire that gutted much of the nine storey building and hurled debris in a several block radius.
I was right. They were trying for the same effect as the Islamists got in Bali...
Yesterday rescuers continued sifting through the rubble and the building shell in a search for possible survivors and human remains. Rescuers worked meticulously and carefully, fearing that whole floors of the building could collapse due to structural damage. Authorities have blamed the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for the blast. The 17,000-strong rebel force, engaged in a four decade war with the Colombian state, has recently stepped up its urban attacks.
Called in the IRA for technical advice, too...
Late yesterday President Alvaro Uribe called on Colombians for national unity against the attackers. "Colombia cries but does not surrender," he said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 02/10/2003 09:17 am || Comments || Link || [336086 views] Top|| File under:


Korea
USS Carl Vinson will operate in Western Pacific
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is moving toward Japan to fill the spot normally occupied by the U.S. 7th Fleet’s USS Kitty Hawk, which has orders for the Persian Gulf, where it’ll join four other carriers already in or near the region. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld directed the Vinson to the Pacific to keep North Korea in check and serve as an immediate response to any needs that might arise from that precarious situation, according to various media reports. The United States says it wants to settle the dispute with Pyongyang peacefully but has warned it will maintain strong forces in the Western Pacific.

“The USS Carl Vinson will be operating in the Western Pacific,” a Navy official confirmed Saturday afternoon. The battle group includes the cruiser USS Antietam and the destroyer USS Lassen, both based in San Diego; the frigate USS Ingraham, from Everett, Wash.; and the fast-combat support ship USS Sacramento, anchored in Bremerton, Wash. The group left Pearl Harbor on Wednesday after a weekend port call, and it’s currently located west of Hawaii.

The Vinson group could patrol waters in the Sea of Japan between western Japan and the Korean peninsula, or the ships may moor at Yokosuka Naval Base until further movement is required. Berthing in the India Basin at southern Japan’s Sasebo Naval Base is not deep enough to handle a carrier. However, in August 2002, the nuclear-powered carrier USS Abraham Lincoln anchored in Sasebo Harbor for a port visit. About 2,000 protesters marched near Sasebo’s main gate waving fists, toting banners and shouting into bullhorns to protest the 1,040-foot-long Lincoln’s visit.
Yes, but they are very polite protesters.
Posted by: Steve || 02/10/2003 09:24 am || Comments || Link || [336088 views] Top|| File under:


Iran
Iran admits to having uranium
Iran acknowledged yesterday for the first time that it had uranium ore reserves and that it would reprocess the spent fuel. But it insisted the nuclear programme was designed solely for civilian use. The Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, made the surprise admission only days before the arrival of international inspectors and follows lobbying by European governments to reveal details of its nuclear power project.
This is not good.
"Iran has discovered reserves and extracted uranium... we are determined to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes," Mr Khatami said in a televised speech.
And we should trust you ... because?
The reformist president said the uranium had been extracted in the Savand area, 125 miles from the central city of Yazd, and processing facilities had been set up in the central cities of Isfahan and Kashan. The US has accused Iran of planning to develop nuclear weapons. But the timing of yesterday's announcement indicated Iran may be trying to come clean over its nuclear programme ahead of inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency later this month.
It certainly didn't hurt the NKors. Has the IAEA even referred that one to the UNSC?
Diplomats say that Tony Blair urged Tehran to sign up to more extensive inspections during talks last week in London with Kamal Kharrazi, the Iranian foreign minister.

Although Iran has signed the non-proliferation treaty, it has so far refused to sign an additional protocol to allow for more intrusive inspections of its nuclear programme. European diplomats hope Iran is considering signing the additional protocol.

Iran, which Washington has labelled a member of an "axis of evil" alongside Iraq and North Korea, insists its nuclear plans are purely for civilian purposes, aimed at meeting the growing demand for electricity from its 65 million citizens.
Whilst floating on a sea of oil.
Washington has long been at odds with Russia over its help in building a £550m nuclear plant in the south-western port of Bushehr, which Tehran expects to come on stream by early 2004. US fears were not at all somewhat assuaged by assurances from Moscow that all spent fuel from the plant would be returned to Russia, ensuring that it would not be diverted to a weapons programme.

But Mr Khatami said that Iran intended to control the whole fuel cycle itself, from mining and processing the uranium ore to reprocessing the spent fuel. "If we need to produce electricity from our nuclear power plants, we need to complete the circle from discovering uranium to managing remaining spent fuel," he said. "The government is determined to complete that circle."
Go ahead. Just remember, we know where the processing plants are, and our guided weapons are really good.
In another development, state television quoted the defence minister, Ali Shamkhani, as saying Iran had developed the capacity to make composite solid fuels for its missiles. Iran makes medium-range missiles, anti-tank missiles, air-to-surface missiles and surface-to-surface guided missiles that use composite solid fuel.
Simultaneous announcements about a potential warhead and a potential delivery system. Anyone get the message yet?
Diplomats said that Mr Khatami's announcement stemmed from world pressure to come clean about the scope of its nuclear programme. "They seem to be making a creeping disinformation statement announcement of what their capabilities are," said one European diplomat.

The head of the Iranian parliament's energy commission, Hossein Afarideh, told Reuters that the extracted uranium, after being processed, could be used as fuel at Bushehr.
Let's hope the students rise up soon.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 02:19 am || Comments || Link || [336095 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Who makes Tomahawks? I want to buy some stock.
Posted by: Anonymous || 02/10/2003 11:20 Comments || Top||

#2  And JDAMs! Who the heck makes the JDAMs????
Posted by: Ptah || 02/10/2003 12:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Yes, it was referred to the UNSC today. No link, though, I saw it on Fox News.
Posted by: Brian || 02/10/2003 14:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Ptah --- Boeing (NYSE: BA) makes the JDAM kits for MK 82, MK-83, BLU-110, BLU-111 bombs.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/10/2003 20:35 Comments || Top||


East/Subsaharan Africa
Eruption close in Ivory Coast
The French foreign legionnaires reach a blind spot in the red earth track, halt, and drop silently as cats into western Ivory Coast's tangled bush. They crouch there, listening. But nothing stirs except chattering insects and startled birds. The lead man rises, beckons, and cautiously points his gun back up the track. One by one, the legionnaires follow - an anxious-looking Belgian, an unmistakable American, four men with Slavic features hidden behind Aviator shades - drawing France further into the most violent theatre of west Africa's new war. The patrol is ostensibly monitoring a ceasefire, following France's recent efforts to quell the three rebellions mushrooming in its most treasured former African colony. Yet here in Ivory Coast's humid west, despite a two-week lull in fighting between the main parties, the French foreign legion is indisputably at war.

Over the past two months, the 140 legionnaires dug in around Duekoue, 150 miles west of Abidjan, Ivory Coast's main city, have come under attack eight times. Seventeen have been wounded. They have killed at least 50 of their attackers, and probably many more, admits their commander Col Emmanuel Maurin. Legionnaire Alan Barnes, a Dubliner with 15 years' service in the legion, tries to explain why things are going so badly wrong. "The rebels here are bloody crazy," he says. "They keep coming at us. When real soldiers open fire in Africa, rebels run; everyone knows that. But these keep coming."
Sound determined. Sounds like there aren't yet enough legionnaires.
"We're fighting them almost hand-to-hand - the guys are taking them out at 10 metres."
Too close.
Over the past three months, little noticed by a world obsessed by a possible war with Iraq, France has been drawn deeper and deeper into an actual war; splitting one of Africa's richest countries three ways, and displacing more than a million people so far. Last week, the latest contingent of 450 French troops arrived in Abidjan, to protect 25,000 French citizens and 220 French businesses; and taking the official total to 3,000.
Has the Charles de Gaulle been turned around yet?
Western diplomats say the true number may be far higher. If France is to stop Ivory Coast going the way of neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, it will probably need to be. Since September the country has been split into north and south, with only a thin line of French troops preventing the well-organised Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast (MPCI) sweeping south to Abidjan. Now, two more recent rebellions in the west are evoking bitter memories of neighbouring wars, with refugees reporting redundant rebels pouring over from Liberia and Sierra Leone. They tell of ethnically-targetted killing, and routine murder and rape. In Abidjan itself, the UN last week reported 300 ethnic and political murders carried out by death squads "close to the government and the presidential guard".
Death squads who somehow can't find the front.
On Thursday, President Laurent Gbagbo, who came to power in a violent election from which many northerners were excluded, revoked a French-brokered agreement to share power with the MPCI. The rebels have promised to wait for a week, reserving their right to resume the attack. "Abidjan and the west are now the serious threats to peace; we're at a crucial moment," said Col Maurin. "If the crisis continues, with fighting likely to spread across borders, we could see a conflagration across the region." A pointer towards that possibility is that Col Maurin is not even sure who his legionnaires have been killing. "More and more fighters are appearing in uniform, but we don't know who's providing them," he says. "The people of Ivory Coast want peace, and I believe the MPCI want peace; but here in the west the rebels don't want anything except to be able to rape and pillage."
Mobs with guns.
The Brussels-based thinktank the International Crisis Group has reported that thousands of youths have been recruited in Liberia to cross into western Ivory Coast. France would be unlikely to confirm this: to do so would be to acknowledge the need for a huge increase in troops.
This could break the French bank.
"There could be political reasons to avoid making that connection," said Col Maurin. If so, the atrocities reported by the 300,000 people fleeing eastwards through the legionnaires' lines will continue unchecked. Benedicte Guei, a smartly-dressed 26-year-old mother of two, is one such fugitive. She says she was raped by ten rebels in turn, mostly Liberian, when they overran her village, just four miles from the foreign legion's camp. The rebels decapitated her younger sister and chopped her uncle into small pieces, she says. Her grandfather was abandoned there, being too feeble to flee. "If the president says No to the peace deal and the French leave, the rebels will kill us all," she said. "Tell everyone that the French must stay. We owe our lives to them."

The same request, and similar stories, are everywhere in the swollen villages straddling the legionnaires' front line in western Ivory Coast. But in Abidjan, five hours' drive away, few people seem to be listening. Since the French peace accord was signed two weeks ago, the city has been rocked by well organised anti-French protests. "The president seems unaware that if the French leave, the country will collapse in days, as many parts already have," a western diplomat said.

Issah Sudre, an ethnic Burkinabi - of the same tribe as the MPCI - is one of the hundreds of ethnic northerners who have seen their homes burned down by police in recent weeks. "Unless the madness ends soon, there will be massacres right here," he said. "Even here in Abidjan - isn't it obvious?"

Not to Aline Gogo, 30, a government worker given the day off to chant slogans outside the French embassy. "We're not afraid of war," she says. "If the French clear out, we will crush the rebels."
Aline, take a good look around and tell us what you see.

It's hard to make snarky comments about what is about to be a complete humanitarian and political disaster. I'll forgive the French a fair bit if they'll land in the Ivory Coast with both feet and get things under control.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 10:33 am || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The main rebels groups are backed by Burkina Faso and Lybia, effectively splitting the country between the muslim north and the animist/christian south, with west ethnic liberian factions adding to the confusion. Problem is, France has major economical interests in IC, 20 000 nationals (less now), 60 000 lebaneses (strong ties too) and was initially unwilling to choose between the gvt and the rebels. Now, we're stuck in the middle of an political, religious and tribal stand-off, which is going to be long and possibly messy.
Posted by: Anonymous || 02/10/2003 3:24 Comments || Top||

#2  I protest the "unilateral action" of France in the Cote D'Ivoir. Why have they not sought international approval for this blatant violation of national sovreignty? Yet again, France has eschewed the political solution in favor of violence. I exhort France to come back to the bargaining table rather than pursue continued warlike behavior.
.
.
Giggle!
Posted by: Scott || 02/10/2003 8:18 Comments || Top||

#3  There's been precious little detail on the internal workings on this little fiasco. If Burkina Faso and Libya have their fingers in the north, it's not necessarily a "mainstream" Islamist tide; more like Muammar's meddling, though to what end no one knows - probably not even Muammar.

If Charles Taylor is sending thugs from Liberia, that's another story. Possibly both are going on at the same time. Taylor is an out and out crook, with visions of being a big-time crook. Where he's involved, there go slaughter and rapine, just on principle.

Liberia, up until Samuel Doe, used to be a prosperous country, for West Africa. Doe was a lunatic, but stupid. Taylor's a lunatic, but smart. He needs an "unfortunate accident."
Posted by: Fred || 02/10/2003 10:41 Comments || Top||

#4  With thousands of Burkina Faso jihadis in the Ivory Coast, France imposed a status quo "peace," which permits further Muslim infiltration. That is why 200,000 patriots took to the streets to protest that diplomatic atrocity.
Posted by: Anon || 02/10/2003 11:55 Comments || Top||

#5  One has to ask, in all seriousness, if France is on the verge of a major intervention in the Ivory Coast, just how they propose to form the core of a tens-of-thousands-strong international peacekeeping/arms-monitoring force in Iraq at the same time.
Posted by: Joe || 02/10/2003 18:22 Comments || Top||

#6  Joe --- I think that France bid on too many jobs. The Ivory Coast has been subbed out to them and now they have to perform. It is in their court and they are in trouble. Taking it to the UN will destroy their "credibility" in this arena. Of course if they bring it to the UN it can always take precidence over Iraq, ha ha. The French are getting their ass in a sling. If they want to run with the big dogs, they better quit pissing like puppies.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/10/2003 19:09 Comments || Top||


Middle East
Sharon promises to remove Arafat
Ariel Sharon, prime minister for the past two years, was asked to form the next Israeli government yesterday and promised to remove the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, from power. "The new government will have to complete the campaign against terror, remove the terrorist leadership and create the conditions for the emergence of a new Palestinian leadership with which it will be possible to make real peace," Mr Sharon said.
Let's wait til after Saddam is gone, okay Ariel?
Earlier President Moshe Katsav asked him to form a new coalition following the victory of his Likud party in last month's election. Formation of the new government could take up to six weeks.
Well, that should be long enough. Full speed ahead, Ariel!
Mr Sharon did not specify how he would "remove the terrorist leadership", but Israeli newspapers reported that Israel and America had agreed that Mr Arafat could be deported once Saddam Hussein was toppled in Iraq. Mr Arafat and his immediate entourage would be forced to leave the Palestinian territories unless he agreed to give up his powers to a prime minister with full executive authority, the newspapers said.
Would he take all those cases of baby wipes with him?
Mr Sharon said last year that he had promised President George W Bush not to take action against Mr Arafat, but apparently this pledge has now run out. Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian cabinet minister, said: "Sharon rejects the peace process and has chosen the path of continuing his aggression against the Palestinians."
Paleos would get peace in a month if they agreed to a two-state solution and sharing the Dome of the Rock.
Three Palestinians were killed in an attack on an Israeli army post in the Gaza Strip yesterday, a day after Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, disclosed that he had opened secret talks on a gradual ceasefire with the Palestinian Authority. They died after their car stopped at a checkpoint guarding the Gush Katif settlement and one of them opened fire. The car then rammed a concrete barrier and exploded. Four Israeli soldiers were slightly wounded.
Ramming a concrete barrier doesn't sound like a good idea. Typical Paleo training.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 01:37 am || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Do you reckon that you could supply some cites for this article!
Posted by: bernardz || 02/10/2003 3:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't worry I found them.
Posted by: bernardz || 02/10/2003 3:47 Comments || Top||

#3  *looking forward in anticipation of seeing Arafats big, wrinkly fat ass getting kicked out of the ME*
Posted by: Ptah || 02/10/2003 12:33 Comments || Top||


East/Subsaharan Africa
Brit Cricket Team Threatened in Zimbabwe
The England cricket team were last night refusing to play in their controversial World Cup match against Zimbabwe after death threats.
Sensible.
The 15-man squad have collectively decided to drop out of Thursday's game after a sinister group calling itself "The Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe" threatened players and their families if they played in Harare. The players were still locked in discussions last night, however, as officials from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) tried to find a way to save the game.
Save the game ... how?
The ECB was still hoping it might persuade the players to go or, at least, to defer their refusal until after Zimbabwe's match against Namibia in Harare tomorrow, to see if that match sparks violent protests.
Why would it? The Namibians aren't pointing out what a thug Bob is.
The letters, received by the players in South Africa last week, threatened the lives of them and their families, now and in the future, if they played in Harare. They were far removed from the cautionary letters which the England team had received in Sydney, which had merely set out the moral case for not going to Zimbabwe. The team were told by the ICC on Friday that the match would not be moved from Harare. The ECB had requested a move on safety grounds. It is understood that Justice Albie Sachs, the ICC-appointed judge, was aware of the death threats but ruled that a decision on whether to play was a matter for the team.
Hot potato, hot potato!
The team has been divided over the issue. One faction, supported by Alec Stewart, has been in favour of playing the match. However, the threats raised more concerns among players that it might lead to violence - leaving the team with "blood on its hands".
The blood will be on the hands of one person, and we know who that is.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/10/2003 09:19 am || Comments || Link || [336098 views] Top|| File under:

#1  sorry, genuinely ignorant.why are just the brits being threatened?
Posted by: g || 02/10/2003 4:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Bob is blaming Zim's current state of starvation on the Brits. The team didn't want to go in the first place, because of Zim's reputation for near anarchy and Bob's hatred of light complexions.
Posted by: Fred || 02/10/2003 9:54 Comments || Top||

#3  If Blair had any guts and if Howard wasn't a confessed cricket tragic they would have stopped their national teams from playing there rather they letting commercial interests decide.
Posted by: Rizzo || 02/10/2003 16:39 Comments || Top||

#4  G'Day Rizzo,

Apart from saying "Please! Please!! Pretty please don't go to Zimbabwe!!", how could Howard of stopped our team from going to Zimbabwe. The Australian PM is not a dictator, he has no conceivable law he could invoke to prevent players going to Zimbabwe. There is no chance that there could be a law passed by Parliament that would give him the right to stop them.
Posted by: Russell || 02/10/2003 21:49 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2003-02-10
  Germany in bid to block war on Iraq
Sun 2003-02-09
  Belgium to Block Turkey Plan
Sat 2003-02-08
  Grandest of Muftis prays for Muslims' victory
Fri 2003-02-07
  Hamas Urges Muslims to Hit Back
Thu 2003-02-06
  NKors warns US of pre-emptive action
Wed 2003-02-05
  Powell speaks...
Tue 2003-02-04
  Big Parade in Mosul; US urges citizens to leave Gulf
Mon 2003-02-03
  Sammy issues blood-curdling threats...
Sun 2003-02-02
  Still working on that Saddam exile plan...
Sat 2003-02-01
  Shuttle Columbia breaks up over Texas
Fri 2003-01-31
  U.S. advises its citizens to leave Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
Thu 2003-01-30
  Abu Hamza faces deportation
Wed 2003-01-29
  Americans already in northern Iraq
Tue 2003-01-28
  Eighteen hurt in Philippines blast
Mon 2003-01-27
  Blix Speax!

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