#2
Short Round just found the bargaining chip he needed ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2009 9:49 Comments ||
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#3
Note to Barry:
You get in the way, they don't give a flying phuech!
The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a neutral United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli jet fighter planes and motor torpedo boats on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 and wounded more than 170 crew members, and damaged the ship severely. The ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nautical miles (47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish./em>
#6
So we're going to give leverage against us to an enemy soon to be armed with nukes so that we can continue to dominate a nation of goatherders.
Brilliant, Barry. Just brilliant. /sarcasm
Posted by: Ho Chi Glusoque7625 ||
02/27/2009 12:34 Comments ||
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#7
Earlier this month President Medvedev said that Moscow was ready for fully-fledged, comprehensive co-operation on Afghanistan but went on to imply that its help was contingent on US concessions on NATO expansion and US plans for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.
So get on with the negations. Russia is not the enemy, Islam is, both Shia and Sunni i.e Islamic countries and groups controlled from either Iran or Saudi Arabia.
#9
NATO spokesmen have been talking about this for weeks. Thus the U.S. has to consider the possibility. I think it's a bloody awful idea, but nobody consults me on important matters.
#11
The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a neutral United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli jet fighter planes and motor torpedo boats on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 and wounded more than 170 crew members, and damaged the ship severely.
As coincidence would have it, while in the Navy I met a sailor (No name or rank please) who was aboard the Liberty, he said the Israelis knew who they were and tried hard o sink them, until two jets at supersonic blasted over the mast and climbed to attack, all of a sudden they were as friendly and helpful as they could be, it's a damn good thing they were because the fighters were recalled (He found this out later)
I trust him, he was there and provided much The Govt has not released. (Hence the no name or rank)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/27/2009 20:18 Comments ||
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#12
One can pretty much infer what the Iranian terms are going to be, especially when it comes to the western Med.
The AGIs were bastard stepchildren. They didn't fall under direct Naval command, nor were they seconded to any of the Fleet commands. Their reporting chain was quite convoluted. What they did was very much to the distaste of the then-officers-and-gentlemen-don't-read-each-others'-mail naval leadership (kind of like the way close-air support is to the USAF, but more...emphatic). They operated outside of any known naval forces. The Navy also had other indirectly-contributing problems during that era.
Which is why when both the Pueblo and the Liberty were attacked, naval support was either never activated or came quite late. And why any after-action results were low-key or not for general consumption.
British soldiers are engaged in "a surreal mini civil war" with growing numbers of homegrown jihadists who have travelled to Afghanistan to support the Taliban, senior army officers have told The Independent.
Interceptions of Taliban communications have shown that British jihadists -- some "speaking with West Midlands accents" -- are active in Helmand and other parts of southern Afghanistan, according to briefing papers prepared by an official security agency.
Estimate: MI5 has estimated that up to 4,000 British Muslims had travelled to Pakistan and, before the fall of the Taliban, to Afghanistan for military training. The main concern until now has been about the parts some of them had played in terrorist plots in the UK. Now there are signs that they are mounting missions against British and Western targets abroad. "We are now involved in a kind of surreal mini-British civil war a few thousand miles away," said an army officer.
Somalia is also becoming a destination for British Muslims of Somali extraction who have started fighting alongside Al Qaeda-backed forces. A 21-year-old Briton of Somali extraction, who had been brought up in Ealing, west London, recently blew himself up in the town of Baidoa, killing 20 people. The head of MI5, Jonathan Evans, has raised the worrying issue of British citizens being indoctrinated in Somalia, and Michael Hayden, the outgoing head of the CIA, warned that the conflict in the Horn of Africa had "catalysed" expatriate Somalis in the West.
But it is in Afghanistan that British forces are now directly facing fellow Britons on the other side. RAF Nimrod aircraft flying over Afghanistan at up to 40,000ft have been picking up Taliban electronic "chatter" in which voices can be heard in West Midlands and Yorkshire accents. Worryingly for the military, this has increased in the past few months, with communications picked up by both ground and air surveillance, showing the presence of more British voices in the Taliban frontline.
The men involved are said to try to hide their British connections but sometimes "fall back" into speaking English. One senior military source said: "We have been hearing a lot more Punjabi, Urdu and Kashmiri Urdu rather than just Pashtu, so there appears to be more men from other parts of Pakistan fighting with the Taliban than just the Pashtuns who have tribal allegiances with the Afghan Pashtuns.
Last week, during a visit to Helmand, the Foreign Secretary, David Milliband, was shown Taliban explosive devices containing British-made electronic components. An explosives officer said the devices had either been sent from Britain, or brought over to the country. Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, the chairman of the Commons' sub-committee on anti-terrorism, said: "We know the problem we have with UK-based jihadists. We also know that a number of them have been arrested trying to leave the country. With the UK intelligence services at full stretch, it is not surprising some of these jihadists had ended up in Afghanistan."
Brigadier Ed Butler, the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said British Muslims were fighting his forces. "There are British passport holders who live in the UK who are being found in places such as Kandahar," he said.
Last week, as Barack Obama ordered 17,000 extra US troops into Afghanistan, a confidential NATO report revealed that more than 30 percent of the population believed the government of President Hamid Karzai had lost control of the areas in which they live and much of that has slipped back into Taliban control.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
What an opportunity to thin the herd! Remember, chaps, every one killed over there won't be going home to plot mischief... just like what happened in Iraq. Roach motel, I recall some Rantburgers calling it.
#3
Fly them all back to the RAF Burtonwood Detention Center. It's close to Manchester and they can see their loved ones on week ends and holidays. Burtonwood has long since closed? hmmm well....
#4
Two competing opportunities here: with that many Brit-Pakis in the Taliban it ought to be relatively easy to emplace some spies. If Britain cannot or will not emplace spies, then they can let it leak that they have emplaced many spies.
#5
Civil war means two sides from a same people or Nation are fighting each others; here, you've got british fighting against muslim pakistaneses and arabs and possibly others, living in GB, but who certainly wouldn't even themselves think they're british, whatever the ID paper may say. It's actually kinda a decolonization war at distance, with the indigenous brits fighting against their colonizers... in afghanistan. How surreal.
#8
5MT, contact me for help with your english, I'll be glad to help.
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
02/27/2009 13:27 Comments ||
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#9
sad thing, Jim, is half is a teechur
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2009 15:02 Comments ||
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#10
I know many teachers, it's sorta irrelevant, only would count if he's an "American English" Teacher, otherwise he'd not need to be good in English.
By the way, he's fair, but the idioms escape him, no harm, no foul.
I offer in friendship, not as snark.
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
02/27/2009 16:18 Comments ||
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#11
Ummmm .... .5mt mangles the language deliberately, in case that wasn't obvious .....
#15
Simply put, MT stands for Morse Taper (Yes the same Morse that invented Morse code) It's an Quick Change adapter for drills, centers and such in heavy machinery such as huge platform drills (capable of drilling holes at to 6 inches in diameter or larger, (although huge holes are usually not drilled at all, but bored, it's faster)and changing them is very easy, it's a round shallow taper sliced into different sizes, smallest is 1 Morse, and is about 3/4 inch at the big end and 1/2 or so at the small end, the beauty of Morse tapers is that you can simply slam them together by hand and they'll transmit a huge twisting force without slipping, to disconnect, a tapered wedge and a small hammer is used a few taps and they release easily,
the trick here is a 5 MT is about 2 inches across the big end and 1 3/4 at the small end,
Saying "I'm a 5 MT" implies a huge male appendage.
Off topic, OK TW the idea wasn't to irritate, the "C"s' back. JIM
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/27/2009 18:59 Comments ||
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#16
*happy sigh* Learning!! Thank you twice for that, Jim dear, and a third time for putting back your C. I didn't think you meant to annoy, only that you didn't notice one of the things I get silly about. May I buy you a drink in the O Club to make up for it?
The Taliban is willing to work with all Afghan groups to achieve peace, but the problems of Afghanistan can only be solved if foreign troops withdraw from the country, a senior insurgent leader has said.
"We would like to take an Afghan strategy that is shared and large-scale, in consultation with all the Afghan groups, to reach positive and fruitful results," Mullah Mutassim, a former Taliban finance minister and member of the group's political council, told Al-Samoud magazine in an interview conducted on February 25.
But, he said, the United States "has to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan as soon as possible, because the real starter of crises and complication of matters is the presence of foreign forces in the country.
"If these forces leave, the problem will be over, the question will be finished, and peace will prevail," he was quoted as saying in the interview translated by the U.S.-based Site Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi websites.
Mutassim is regarded as close to fugitive Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar.
But, Mutassim said, the Taliban was not for a share in power. "The Islamic emirate demands to rule the country so as to establish an...Islamic system in it, not in order to occupy high positions in the agent government," he said.
Mutassim said the armed struggle was the only way to drive out foreign forces and if the United States sent more troops to Afghanistan that would just lead to more soldiers being killed. "Obama's taking this unreasonable strategy indicates the plan of his bloody and fierce war strategy, which will cause the death of many of his arrogant troops in the face of the holy Afghan jihad," he said.
Despite his harsh words for the West, Mutassim only had praise for the government of Saudi Arabia, which is often scorned by hard-line Islamists for its close ties with the United States.
Saudi Arabia, one of only three states to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, has hosted tentative talks between former Taliban and Afghan government officials aimed at exploring ways toward peace.
But, Mutassim said, the Taliban was not for a share in power. "The Islamic emirate demands to rule the country so as to establish an...Islamic system in it, not in order to occupy high positions in the agent government," he said.
Mutassim denied the austere Islamists' movement had been against women's education while they were in power, but said the ravages of war had not allowed girls to be schooled. "I say that educating women is as necessary as educating men," he said.
The Taliban has eased a number of its hard-line edicts against such things as television and music in the areas they control, making them, Mutassim said, more popular now than when they were in power.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
IIRC, PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > NORTH AND SOUTH WAZIRISTAN TALIBAN/MILITANT GROUPS MERGE TO FIGHT NATO???
Somali lawmakers return to the country from Djibouti with many hopes pinned on the statesmen to move along a trouble-free political course.
Over the last two days, the bulk of the 550-member parliament have arrived in the capital Mogadishu after the make-up of the body was determined during UN-sponsored talks in Djibouti, a Press TV correspondent reported.
The talks also saw former opposition chief Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed appointed as the new president of Somalia.
The lawmakers are part of the National Unity Government that will replace the moribund Transitional Federal Government.
In a move seen as an attempt by Sharif to avoid the mistakes of the TFG, the new president has allowed the opposition to have a considerable say in the new government. The opposition accused the former leadership of the country of being loyal to the West.
As part of an armed campaign against the TFG, opposition fighters recently captured the city of Baidoa, which is the seat of the parliament.
The arrival of the lawmakers is said to be in line with plans to relocate the new government to Mogadishu in efforts to establish stability in the Horn of Africa.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Gordon Brown was under growing pressure to hold an independent inquiry into Britains complicity in torture last night after ministers admitted that terror suspects detained by British soldiers in Iraq were secretly flown by the US to Afghanistan.
John Hutton, the Defence Secretary, told MPs that despite repeated official assurances to the contrary, British soldiers were involved in at least one case of rendition. Two suspects captured and detained by British Special Forces outside Baghdad in 2004 were subsequently removed by the US to Afghanistan where they remain in detention. There was no evidence that the two, believed to be Pakistani members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a proscribed organisation with links to al-Qaeda, had been tortured, Mr Hutton insisted.
But the Governments embarrassment was heightened when Mr Hutton revealed that officials told Jack Straw and Charles Clarke about the case in April 2006 in internal briefing papers. Mr Straw repeatedly denied that Britain was involved in rendition while he was Foreign Secretary. Yesterday Mr Hutton sought to defend his colleagues, saying that officials had made only brief references to the case in lengthy papers which did not highlight its significance. However, he added: It is clear to me that the transfer to Afghanistan of these two individuals should have been questioned at the time. A spokesman for Mr Straw said: If he had been alerted to the significance of the case at the time its a fair suggestion that he would have brought it to the attention of Parliament.
The admission is the latest in a series of revelations that campaigners say undermine official denials that Britain systematically helped to facilitate the sending of suspects for US interrogation to countries where torture is not illegal. Allegations that MI5 officers were complicit in the torture of the British resident Binyam Mohamed in Morocco are being investigated by the Attorney-General. David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, admitted last year that, despite previous denials, the British territory of Diego Garcia was used in the US rendition of suspected terrorists.
Mr Hutton made the latest admission after allegations by a former SAS officer, Ben Griffin, that British soldiers routinely turned over captives to US forces in the knowledge that they would be tortured. The Defence Secretary said that while a review by a senior general had found no evidence to substantiate the claims of complicity in torture, it had revealed at least one case of British involvement in rendition. He also apologised for inaccuracies in figures on the number of detainees held by British Forces in the period since January 2004. He said that in three parliamentary answers since February 2007, ministers overstated by about 1,000 the number of detainees held.
Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, called for a full Government inquiry into British involvement in the US rendition programme. He said US assurances that it did not use torture were unreliable.
The two suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were detained in a nighttime raid by special forces, according to defence sources, and were described yesterday by military officials as very, very bad people. The SAS, backed by soldiers from the Special Forces Support Group, had been engaged since 2003 in one of the most challenging covert counter-terrorist operations in the regiments history. They were working alongside Delta Force and other US special forces units. The SAS had no facilities for holding prisoners and handed them to the Americans for interrogation. This was normal procedure, although never publicly acknowledged. Military sources said the Americans did not have interpreters to help in the interrogation of the two men, which was why they were shipped out of Iraq and sent to the US base at Bagram in Afghanistan to be questioned.
The review by the general uncovered a confused paper trail. According to American records, US special forces had arrested the two suspects, but it was clear from the paperwork provided by the SAS at Hereford that it had been a British operation. What is still not clear is why the Ministry of Defence was not included when the reference to the handover of two prisoners to the Americans in 2004 was circulated in a briefing note to ministers at the Home Office and Foreign Office in 2006.
MEXICO CITY (AP) Iran is exploring ways to expand anemic trade with Mexico as part of stepped up efforts to deepen ties with Latin America, a top Iranian diplomat said Thursday. Annual trade between Mexico and Iran is a mere $50 million, compared to $2 billion with Brazil, said Ali Reza Salari, Iran's deputy foreign minister for the Americas.
"We are here to investigate, why so low?" Reza Salari told reporters in Mexico City, where he was to meet with diplomats and business leaders. "With Mexico, there is absolutely no political problem between us. No cultural problems. It shows we have many shortcomings in our trade relations."
Iran has a deepening alliance with some leftist-led Latin American countries, based partly on mutual antagonism toward the United States. Housing projects have brought hundreds of Iranian engineers and specialists to Venezuela, and Tehran has opened new embassies in Nicaragua and Bolivia.
Deeper ties with Mexico's U.S.-friendly conservative government would necessarily be more practical in nature. Mexico has been trying to find new markets for its exports in a bid to ease economic reliance on the United States especially since being dragged to the brink of recession by U.S. financial turmoil. That could provide an opportunity for Iran as it seeks to ease its international isolation. Reza Salari said he sees opportunities to expand tourism and energy cooperation with Mexico, but acknowledged that such efforts are at a tentative phase.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Supplise! Hezzie gun power on your back door. Gun sex and federal incopotence.
Different situation, Darth. There's a different bunch of crooks in the Mexican government, and the narco crooks don't care what kind of people are backing them so long as they get support.
Different situation, Darth. There's a different bunch of crooks in the Mexican government, and the narco crooks don't care what kind of people are backing them so long as they get support.
#6
I think this is why Bush didn't close the border. By allowing porosities to exist, the cartels could still make their money, and in return they would snitch out any middle easterners trying to slip in with the coyotes. If terrorism comes to us from Mexico, the result will be a lot of dead mexican drug runners, probably a lot of dead drug barons and a steel curtain type border (the expense will at that time be justifiable).
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. envoy for North Korea hopes to visit that nation next week as part of what the Obama administration hopes will be a different relationship between Washington and Pyongyang, senior administration officials told CNN on Thursday. Stephen Bosworth will travel first to China, South Korea and Japan -- U.S. partners in the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program, the officials said. He will be traveling with Sung Kim, director of the State Department's Office of Korean Affairs, who has also acted as a top negotiator.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will announce Bosworth's trip to the region Thursday afternoon, the officials said. They said Bosworth will consult with Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo about the status of the nuclear negotiations and determine whether they are approve of him making an overture to Pyongyang.
If the talks go well, Bosworth will then ask the North Korean government for permission to travel there, the officials said. It would be the first face-to-face contact between representatives of the Obama administration and the North Korean government.
North Korea is aware of the possibility of a visit, the officials said, but nothing has been scheduled. Officials say another option is for Bosworth to meet North Korean officials in Beijing. Bosworth just traveled to Pyongyang last month in his capacity as dean of the Fletcher school before being named to the government post.
The possible visit to North Korea comes as the Obama administration weighs greater engagement with the reclusive country. Clinton said before traveling to Asia last week that if North Korea moved ahead with denuclearization, the United States would be prepared to normalize relations and sign a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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China's chief nuclear envoy Wu Dawei visited North Korea earlier this week as part of efforts to stop North Korea firing a long-range missile, Yonhap news agency said, quoting an unnamed source. "Vice Foreign Minister Wu visited Pyongyang to deliver a message of concern over North Korea's preparations for the launch of a rocket carrying what it claims to be a communications satellite," the "informed source" told Yonhap. The news agency said the source would not comment on whether Wu's diplomatic mission would succeed. The communist state, defying international warnings, said Tuesday its preparations to launch a satellite were making "brisk headway" but gave no date for the exercise. Seoul and Washington see such a launch as a pretext to test the Taepodong-2 missile, which could theoretically reach Alaska. They say a rocket launch for any purpose would violate a UN resolution passed after the last missile test.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
TOPIX > JAPAN THREATENS TO SHOOT DOWN NORTH KOREAN MISSLE [wants in on any US-SOKOR Shootdown]; + NORTH KOREA WARNS/THREATENS TO FIRE MISSLE OVER JAPAN + CHINA IS ENCOURAGING NORTH KOREA AND IRAN.
#2
If the Japanese want to get in on this shooting gallery, let them, but have an ageis or two on standby, (In case they miss)
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
02/27/2009 13:30 Comments ||
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#3
WORLD AFFAIRS BOARD > CHINA LODGES STERN PROTEST OVER 2009 BASELINES BILL IN THE PHILIPPINES
[disputed South China Sea NANSHA, etc. islands], proclaiming Manila's claims = extens of geographic sovereignty agz islands are wholly illegal and invalid.
If, as is looking more likely, the Obama administration moves to delay or cancel the deployment of a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, one possible diplomatic downside could be the effect on U.S. relations with Poland and the Czech Republic, the two countries that signed agreements with the Bush administrations to host parts of the shield. On a visit to Washington, Poland's Foreign Minister seemed to give Obama a bit of an out on this issue:
What we would like to be honored is what went along with the missile-defense system, [Radoslaw] Sikorski, 46, said in an interview yesterday during a visit to Washington that included a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. We paid quite a political price for the agreement, both in terms of internal politics and in our relations with Russia.
State Department political director William Burns has also indicated that missile defense might be one area where the administration is willing to compromise with Russia and will certainly be on the agenda when Hillary Clinton meets her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov next week. The administration might feel a more productive relationship with Russia is worth some damage to its image in Eastern Europe, but it would be nice if they didn't have to make the choice.
#1
The quote from Sikorski sounds less like an offer of an 'out' and more like "We already paid the price for this deal and hope you will not *bleep* us".
" These laws in Germany clearly target the headscarf, forcing women who wear it to choose between their jobs and their religious beliefs "
HRW
Laws banning religious symbols and clothing for teachers and other civil servants in parts of Germany mainly target and violate the rights of Muslim women who wear the headscarf, a report published Thursday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
The 67-page report analyzed the human rights implications of the ban, in force in half of the 16 German states, and suggested that it discriminates against Muslim women, excluding them from public sector employment as some women have given up their careers or left Germany.
"These laws in Germany clearly target the headscarf, forcing women who wear it to choose between their jobs and their religious beliefs," the report said. "They discriminate on the grounds of both gender and religion and violate these women's human rights."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
...or those laws respect majority rights, in that most people want to chose the places where they are preached to.
Muslim dicta on fem-cloaking followed complaints of jihadi squabbling over females captured in war. A jihadi horndog can't fight over what he can't see.
#3
Hmmmmmmmmmm, Hasn't Obama been in power a bit over two weeks?
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
02/27/2009 13:11 Comments ||
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#4
Imagine what DHS personnel feel with their new secretary avoiding the term "terror" and calling for an internal investigation for ICE rounding up illegals.
The Mumbai crime branch has filed a long chargesheet in a Mumbai court but without any proof of involvement of ISI in Mumbai attacks. Mumbai's Joint Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria told newsmen that investigations have not thrown up anything that could speak about the involvement of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency. "It is an operation carried out by the LeT and we have not yet come across the involvement of ISI," he added. In a jam-packed court room, the Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam informed the judge that some of the wanted accused have been arrested by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency. All 12 cases registered in the attack were clubbed as one in the chargesheet, which lists a total 2,202 witnesses. Meanwhile, the chargesheet proved local support to the attacks as Indian nationals Fahim, Sabahuddin provided marked maps, details to help terrorists to strikes. Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Mohammed along with Ajmal Kasab will face trial in the coming weeks in a special court set up inside the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. The trial into the 26/11 attack case will begin in the first week of March. Special Public Prosecutor Ujwal Nikam said "We would try to complete the trial within three to six months".
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Pakistan''s top paramilitary commander Frontier Corps chief Major General Saleem Nawaz on Thursday accused an exiled Baluch nationalist leader in Afghanistan of masterminding this month''s abduction of an American UN official. John Solecki, head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) office in the southwestern city of Quetta, was snatched at gunpoint while travelling to work on February 2. His driver was killed during the abduction. It was the most high-profile Western kidnapping in Pakistan since 2002, when US journalist Daniel Pearl was snatched and beheaded by Al-Qaeda militants. A rebel group, the Baluchistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), had claimed responsibility for kidnapping Solecki, demanding the release of Baluch women in government custody and information about 6,000 "missing" men. "Brahamdagh Bugti, who is living in Afghanistan, is involved in the abduction of John Solecki," Frontier Corps chief Major General Saleem Nawaz told reporters in Quetta. Brahamdagh, who heads the rebel Baluchistan Republican Party, is a grandson of nationalist leader Akbar Bugti, who was killed during a Pakistan military operation in the insurgency-racked southwest province in 2006. "Brahamdagh is also involved in other terrorist activities in Baluchistan in collusion with a foreign hand," he said -- hinting at India. "In fact, BLUF does not exist," Nawaz said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday claimed that each vote in FATA was being purchased at Rs100 million for Senate polls. Talking to newsmen here, he said poor man could never become a senator as it had now become a business.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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CIA's director Leon Panetta said on Wednesday that US Predator attacks against extremists inside Pakistan would continue despite concerns about a popular backlash.
Dumb, Leon, dumb: the correct response is, "what drones?"
Although he refused to discuss details, Panetta said that the efforts begun under President George W Bush to destabilise Al Qaeda and destroy its leadership "have been successful".
The CIA has launched about three dozen Predator strikes in Pakistan since late last summer, two of them during the Obama administration.
Panetta's comments came as Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi called for letting Pakistan call the shots. Qureshi and his Afghan counterpart are in Washington for unprecedented consultations with President Obama's administration to help with a review of the US strategy in the region. The talks were arranged during the first overseas trip of special US envoy Richard Holbrooke.
"We have two goals," a senior administration official said. One is to receive their input for the ongoing strategy review. "But it's also to hear commitments -- the Pakistanis on taking on terrorists themselves, and the Afghans on cleaning up their government."
The difference between the Obama and Bush administrations, Qureshi said, is that "the present administration is willing to listen. They are very frank. They're saying, 'We do not have a magic formula. . . . Let Pakistan, let the US, let Afghanistan -- let's all stick together and find a solution."
Panetta said he had voiced concerns about Pakistan's truce with local Taliban leaders in Swat region, and noted that similar agreements with militant groups in the past had allowed Al Qaeda to strengthen its base. "They assured me that this is not the same as past agreements", Panetta said. "I remain sceptical."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#2
Once a day I ask myself if the Dems can really be so incompetant. Then one of them will say somwthing even more stupid. Why is the CIA Director talking in public at all?
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
02/27/2009 8:55 Comments ||
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#3
Why is the CIA Director talking in public at all?
Because he's a totally clueless notional DCI. Not much different from the notional POTUS.
#4
Formerly Dan, I agree. The way you can tell if the CIA Chief is doing his job is that you don't see or hear him. Whatever Panetta may be doing, it doesn't seem to be his job.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
02/27/2009 13:26 Comments ||
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#5
Your only comment is "no comment, Leon, ya putz!
Thousands of protesters marched across Pakistan on Thursday, torching pictures of President Asif Ali Zardari as the Pakistani police sealed off the Punjab provincial parliament and detained 30 lawmakers.
Security officials locked the gates of the assembly, laid coils of barbed wire to prevent entry and barricaded roads as hundreds of protesters shouted against Zardari, punching their fists in the air, witnesses said.
The protesters torched two large hoardings showing Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and beat pictures of Zardari with sticks and shoes before setting them ablaze.
Many shops across the country have closed and the government, alarmed about the mobs' reaction to the court ruling, has deployed riot police. "The Punjab government has requested the deployment of the Rangers and we have accepted their request," a spokesman for the interior ministry told AFP, referring to a paramilitary force.
Lawyers and opposition activists heeded a call from Sharif for riots nationwide action to condemn Wednesday's ruling, which also threw his brother Shahbaz out of his post as chief minister of the Punjab province.
Zardari and Nawaz Sharif have long fought over the future of nuclear-armed Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda militancy.
The government later Wednesday suspended the provincial parliament based in Lahore, Pakistan's second biggest city, bringing it under Islamabad's direct control.
Analysts say Pakistan, reeling from extremist attacks that have killed more than 1,600 people in less than two years, can ill afford a showdown. "Police bundled the lawmakers into waiting vans and drove them to an unknown place," Rana Mashhud, the regional parliament's deputy speaker, told AFP. Police said the deputies would be released later.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#3
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > CIA DIRECTOR: US WILL CONTINUE DRONE ATTACKS ON PAKISTANI TERRITORY.
Also on PDF > INDIA: PAKISTANI OFFICERS HELPED PLAN MUMBAI ATTACK; + "INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN" CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR MUMBAI; + INDIA TOPS THE WORLD HUNGER CHART.
*ION CHINESE MIL FORUM > seems HUNGER is also steadily worsening in HAITI.
TAJI, Iraq -- There was the time the Iraqis spent millions of dollars on ammunition from Romania, only to discover that it was defective or didn't fit their U.S.- or Russian-made weapons. Or when the Iraqis bought portable kitchens which didn't work in the field.
The U.S. military has put in countless hours training Iraqi security forces in battlefield and police tactics.
But the Obama administration's apparent plans to withdraw combat troops by August 2010 _ and the remaining servicemen by the end of the following year _ has some commanders concerned about something else: Iraq's ability to equip and maintain its own forces.
"They are at the basic level. They can feed themselves. They can fuel themselves. They can arm themselves," said Australian Brig. Gen. David McGahey, who heads the U.S.-led task force aimed at helping the Iraqi armed forces fend for themselves after the eventual pull out. But "giant gaps" remain in the Iraqi supply system, particularly a shortage of mechanics for vehicle maintenance and repairs, that may take "years and years" to close, he added.
Other challenges, commanders say, is a lack of modern technology to track parts and services. Iraq uses an antiquated paperwork system.
Under the plan President Barack Obama is expected to announce as early as this week, 30,000 to 50,000 U.S. troops _ out of an estimated 142,000 currently in Iraq _ would remain in the country beyond August 2010 to advise, train and help outfit the Iraqi armed forces.
The complete withdrawal of American forces will apparently take place by December 2011, the period by which the U.S. agreed with Iraq to remove all troops.
The Iraqis had long depended on American logistics and supplies as their main lifeline in the fight against militants and their own struggles to rebuild. Since late last year, however, the U.S. has stopped fueling and feeding the Iraqis.
"We are not giving them parts. We are not giving them fuel. We are not fixing it for them," said Army Col. Ed Dorman, who works on logistics and supply for Multi-National Corps Iraq.
Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the No. 2 American commander in Iraq, has given his commanders an April deadline to make sure Iraq's ability to supply its basic needs _ fuel, weapons and maintenance _ does not impede its ability to roll out on a mission.
To date, there have been no reports that the Iraqi military has been unable to respond to a mission since they began taking care of their basic needs, according to Dorman.
"You may have heard some people say Iraqi logistics is broken. I don't think that's accurate," said Army Brig. Gen. Steven Salazar, the deputy commanding general at Multi-National Security Transition Command. "It remains under construction."
Salazar said the real challenge for the Iraqi military will be to grow its logistics capabilities along with expansion of its 620,000-member military and police forces. "From a logistics standpoint, we know there is an awful lot of work to be done," he added.
American officials point to some successes: 500 Iraqis working to refurbishment and retrofit former U.S. Humvees at a supply depot in Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad. U.S. contractors are on hand in an advisory role. "That program tells me it can be done if we get the right supervisor, the right tradesmen," McGahey said.
The Iraqi government has purchased nearly $5 billion in military items from the U.S. since 2006. It also has inquired about another $3.8 billion in military-grade purchases. But there are glaring shortfalls: purchases of useless equipment _ such as the field kitchens and the Romanian ammo _ as well as reports of internal corruption.
The costly miscues are blamed on "catalog shopping," buying without examining products or purchasing items without manuals or service contracts, said a U.S. military official familiar with Iraq's logistics practices.
The more nagging problem, though, appears to be missing money.
The Iraqi army pays its brigade commanders a weekly cash stipend to feed troops. The U.S. military has praised the program for putting money back into Iraqi communities. But reports have surfaced of some commanders putting dozens of soldiers on leave every week to pocket unspent money. "They get the same amount of money if they have 25 people there or 50 people there," said the military official.
The Iraqi logistics distribution network is still largely centralized, based on a British colonial system used under Saddam Hussein. By contrast, the U.S. military allows units to order through a regionalized system rather than from one central source.
McGahey said the Americans are not trying to reinvent the Iraqi supply chain. "There is no silver bullet. What we need to do is understand the way they do it and improve the system by cutting out the inefficiencies and cutting out the corruption," McGahey said. "Will it evolve like the U.S. system, the Australian system? No. It'll evolve like the Iraqi system."
#1
This is the $64 Billion question: Will Iraqi logistics work after the Americans leave, or will they revert to Arab levels of incompetence? If they revert to old habits, the gains in combat skills will rapidly disappear.
The only safety net the Iraqis have is that their enemies also have Arab levels of logistical "skill". This would result in armed mob fighting armed mob.
Also, has Obambi thought of how the Iraqi Air Force is going to defend Iraqi Air Space in 2011?
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/27/2009 11:42 Comments ||
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#2
But "giant gaps" remain in the Iraqi supply system, particularly a shortage of mechanics for vehicle maintenance and repairs, that may take "years and years" to close, he added.
Ah, yes. Insh Allah maintenance.
I doubt they'll ever close that gap...
You CANNOT give nations or cultures Freedom, they MUST EARN it.
Iraq will rapidly revert back to their old practices. Millennia of potentates, dictatorships, and occupations cannot be erased by a less then a decade of American occupation. Iraqis have proven they are reasonably functional with a lot of oversight and supervision. They adapted to the new American landlord like they did with Saddam, the British, the Ottomans, and the Persians. They are adept survivors and will follow rules given to them, but they do not posses the desire or motivation to independently manage themselves. Im sure there some individual Iraqis that want and can, but the majority are still too tribal and local in their thoughts and loyalties.
Freedom is a uniquely Western concept based solidly on Judeo/Christian values and self reliance. I believe this is the reason it is only successfully found in cultures originating from these areas. The concept of freedom and democracy have been known and practiced for over 2000 years in various forms. It is not a new, radical, hard concept. What is hard about it is earning it and maintaining it.
Until a people as a whole can move beyond tribal, religious and local loyalties, freedom, democracy, and national identification, will not grow and flourish.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
02/27/2009 15:12 Comments ||
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#4
The Hindus, Thais, South Koreans, Japanese manage. East Timor is learning as is Indonesia. It's not insurmountable. It helps to have some hand-holding for a while which is what we're doing in Iraq (as we did for the SKors, for example). I think the Iraqis get it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2009 17:04 Comments ||
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#5
Goodness knows we're giving the Iraqis enough practice. They only just had provincial elections, then there's parliamentary elections again in December, I believe, no doubt followed by local elections... The U.S. and Great Britain actually have a pretty good record of forcing democracy and rule of law on unwilling recipients. It may be far from perfect, but so long as actual human beings are involved, it will be so anywhere. Look how the election went last November in the U.S., for instance.
President Barack Obama is expected on Friday to unveil his proposal for gradually reducing U.S. troop strength in Iraq. Mr. Obama will make the announcement at Camp Lejeune, a Marine base in North Carolina. Phasing out U.S. troop deployments to Iraq was one of Mr. Obama's campaign promises last year.
"In 16 months, we should be able to reduce our combat troops, provide some relief to military families and our troops, and bolster our efforts in Afghanistan so that we can capture and kill [Osama] bin Laden and crush al-Qaida," said President Obama.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the president gave his advisers specific instructions. "The president asked the national security team to put together a plan that they and he believed would accomplish the goal of removing our combat forces from Iraq in the most responsible way," said Robert Gibbs.
Like many government decisions, this one involved some compromise. Mr. Obama wanted to withdraw troops during a 16 month period. Military chiefs asked for 23 months. They apparently have settled on 19 months, with as many as 50,000 troops staying behind - most as trainers and advisers. That angered some lawmakers in the president's Democratic Party, who want all U.S. forces to leave Iraq.
Gibbs says Mr. Obama has always talked about the need to leave some troops behind. "The president also talked on the campaign that some force would remain in Iraq for limited missions, consistent with training and combating terrorism," he said.
Republican Senator John McCain raises a different concern. He was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict and he points out that that war started with U.S. troops acting as advisers. "The draw down will take place," said John McCain. "We will leave, I've read, as many as 50,000 - quote - 'advisers.' But let's also be realistic. Advisers in any conflict are in harm's way."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Ah, yes. The late Friday afternoon press release. Always a sign that skullduggery is afoot.
My guess: All the combat troops are coming home. Hooray! Obama has single-handedly ended the War In Iraq. P.S. All troops currently in theatre are reclassifed as support elements and will stay for another couple years.
#2
how about getting those troops that have had back to back tours of duty some stop-loss compensation? now thats change i could believe in. The pols would sooner concern themselves with the PR implications of Gitmo, than with the welfare of soldiers.
politicians say they love our troops, pure phoney baloney. the egomanical ones whove never actually been enlisted, wouldnt be so egotistical if they had.
#4
"P.S. All troops currently in theatre are reclassifed as support elements and will stay for another couple years" decades. There fixed, with permanent troop rotations like another South Korea, with its force of about 35,000 US Troops. Just a guess.
#6
What I have heard so far is that Obama intends to remove the bulk of the troops on a fixed timetable that essentially matches both the Iraqi demands and the Bush estimates from last summer/fall, and includes the caveat that the current path of progress continues. There's no change.
#7
All troops currently in theatre are reclassifed as support elements and will stay for another couple years
Got it in the 1st try, SteveS!
My ACR is going over(again)in the near future as a "Convoy Security Company".
actual quote from a moonbat aquaintance follows:
Whiny moonbat/
But I thot The Iraquians were at peace?
/Whiny moonbat
Posted by: N guard ||
02/27/2009 9:57 Comments ||
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#8
CNN > POTUS OBAMA has just announced before US Marines that the US COMBAT MISSION IN IRAQ will effec end next August 31, 2010 wid the planned departure of approxi 100,000 US troops from Iraq, leaving behind another 50,000 to advise and train Iraqi forces.
WITH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, BASICALLY ALL RADICAL ISLAM NEEDS IS TO CONDUCT LIMITED-SCALE LOCAL ACTINS WHILE WAITING FOR IRAN, ETC. TO PC DEV AND INCREASE ITS NUCLEAR ARSENAL. WIth the US -World economy in alleged pervasive "recession" [or "Great Depression II"], and repor worsening, Radical islam can prob wage that the remaining 50,000 US troops in Iraq will decline even further over time.
ITS WHAT HIDDEN IMAM-MAHDI "DIVINE APPEARANCES" ARE MADE FOR.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah held talks in Baghdad Thursday in the highest-level visit since the 1990 invasion of his country, winning assurances he is dealing with a reformed Iraq. Sheikh Mohammad said a joint commission would hold its first meeting soon to try to thrash out agreement on a list of outstanding issues
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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A Co Tyrone man who is driving a lorry to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid as part of the 'Viva Palestina' convoy has been detained in Tunisia. John Hurson, from Dungannon, entered the north African country on Wednesday after travelling from Algeria but was stopped by Tunisian police, along with the rest of the convoy, and herded into a football stadium in the province of Gabes, more than 300kms away from the capital city of Tunis. Yesterday, the Tunisian authorities said they would allow the convoy to continue on its journey to Gaza. However, last night the convoy remained in the country and all 120 vehicles were being kept under lock and key in the stadium.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph from the stadium in Gabes, Mr Hurson explained he had spent all day trying to get out of the sporting facility but had been repeatedly told they were being kept inside for their "own safety".
"It's just crazy," he said. "The Tunisian Government are keeping everyone under wraps. They are telling us we are not under arrest but they are not letting us out of the stadium. Their excuse is that it's for our safety. There is some sort of civil unrest near the border at the moment. They are afraid we might spark some sort of uprising.
"Some people have managed to get away to a hostel to get showered and rest but we are all still stuck in here. We have been told that they might take us to a hotel tonight but our vehicles will stay in the stadium. It looks as if we won't be able to leave here until Saturday."
Before the convoy was taken to Gabes, Mr Hurson's lorry broke down in the province of Gafsa. He explained the Tunisian authorities had ordered the convoy to keep moving but because they were stuck on the side of the road he claimed they became a bit hostile. Once they were able to get moving, the entire convoy met up in Gabes.
According to Press TV, two human rights activists travelling with the convoy were arrested by Tunisian police on Wednesday night. A reporter, Yvonne Ridley, who is accompanying the convoy, told the news agency the activists were pushed into a van and taken to an undisclosed destination and that their fate remained unknown.
Mr Hurson said many in the convoy were still confused about when they would be able to re-start their trek but acknowledged the Tunisian Government had allowed mechanics into the stadium to help with repairs. "I just have a wheel bearing that needs to be fixed, which is no problem," he said last night. "They have let mechanics in to fix things but in terms of the way they have handled this whole situation, it's been a big mistake."
The 'Viva Palestina' convoy was organised by Respect MP George Galloway in response to the humanitarian crisis which is currently affecting thousands of Palestinians following Israel's military assault last month. More than 100 vehicles, including a fire engine, ambulance and even a boat gathered outside Parliament buildings in London on Valentine's Day and plan to travel more than 5,000 miles through cities such as Bordeaux, Madrid, Tangier, Fez, Ras Jdeir (Libyan border), Tripoli, Cairo and finally ending up at the border crossing of Rafah -- sealed by Cairo despite the humanitarian crisis -- in Palestine on March 9.
#4
According to Press TV, two human rights activists travelling with the convoy were arrested by Tunisian police on Wednesday night. A reporter, Yvonne Ridley, who is accompanying the convoy, told the news agency the activists were pushed into a van and taken to an undisclosed destination and that their fate remained unknown.
Finally a government with brains.
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
02/27/2009 13:23 Comments ||
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#5
Hope there's film, could be comedy gold. An epic cross between the Hallelujah Trail and The Great Race.
Rival Palestinian groups agreed on Thursday to set up a unity government by the end of March after reconciliation talks aimed at ending long-running factional feuding, Palestinian officials said.
The agreement, which could lead to the creation of a Palestinian government acceptable to the international community, was announced by officials from two Palestinian factions involving in the Cairo-sponsored dialogue.
Jamil al-Majdalawi, an official with the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine(PFLP), told AFP the factions had formed several committees that would pave the way for the unity government. "The committees will end their work and a Palestinian unity government will be formed by the end of March," he said.
His comments were confirmed by Mohammed al-Hindi, deputy leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Palestinian factions agree to form unity govt, divide Obama's bounty.
A SINGAPOREAN Islamist told an Indonesian court on Thursday he had met Osama bin Laden and had tried to recruit Indonesians to follow the Al-Qaeda leader's call to jihad or 'holy war'. Mohammad Hasan bin Saynudin told the South Jakarta district court he had established a terror cell and passed on bomb-making techniques with a view to carrying out attacks against Christians and Westerners in Indonesia.
'I've met Osama bin Laden a few times in Afghanistan. I've learned the lesson of jihad from him,' Hasan said in testimony during his trial alongside two other suspected members of his cell.
'It wasn't easy meeting Osama bin Laden. He wouldn't disclose his identity to regular people.'
The defendants are among 10 suspects arrested in Palembang, South Sumatra in June and July last year with alleged links to some of the region's most wanted terrorists from the regional Jemaah Islamiyah network.
Hasan, who has openly talked to the media from prison about his contacts with bin Laden, admitted to the court that he was the ringleader of the Palembang cell.
'I was the one who initially urged them to jihad,' he said. 'I taught them how to make bombs. I ordered them to gather all the bomb materials.'
He also said he had known Hambali, an alleged Indonesian terror mastermind and Guantanamo detainee, since 1995.
One of Hasan's co-accused, former Islamic school principal Abdul Rahman Taib, dismissed any links to Jemaah Islamiyah which is blamed for a string of deadly attacks around South-east Asia over the past decade.
'This is a new generation. We learn jihad from the Koran and the Internet,' he said.
At the time of their arrests, police said they found 20 improvised bombs and a safe house in Palembang. The cell is accused of planning to bomb a backpacker cafe in the tourist town of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, and kill two Christian priests in Jakarta in August 2006.
They also allegedly attacked Christian priest Yosua Winardi with a hammer in the same year and murdered Christian teacher Dago Simamora in June 2007.
Taib admitted to plotting and carrying out attacks against Christians, including the aborted plan to bomb the tourist cafe.
'Dago Simamora was killed because he forbade his students to wear headscarves at school,' he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
You too?
D *** NG IT, SO IS HE STILL IN LOVE WITH WHITNEY HUSTON, OR NOT???
US and Syrian diplomats met here Thursday in a bid to improve strained ties between their countries although Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said prospects for a warming are not yet clear.
Syria's ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, met for nearly two hours with Jeffrey Feltman, the State Department's top diplomat for the Middle East at the request of the US to discuss ways to repair damage to the relationship and possibly work together. The meeting was the first high-level US-Syrian session since September.
After the discussion, Moustapha told reporters that his talks with Feltman had been "very constructive" and that he expected the meeting would be the first of many between US and Syrian officials in the coming months.
"We believe that this meeting has explored possibilities between Syria and the United States to engage on a diplomatic and political level and also to discuss all issues of mutual concern," he said. "We think this is a first step and we believe there will be many further meetings."
Earlier, Clinton, who was not expected to participate in the talks, described the meeting as routine but added it was too early to tell whether ties would improve. She stressed that the Obama administration was committed to engagement in the Middle East and promoting Arab-Israeli peace.
"It is too soon to say what the future holds," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2009 00:00 ||
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On Capitol Hill, the events that usually make the news are the ones that take place in front of television cameras, from votes to testimony to speeches. But an event scheduled to take place today behind closed doors, in a cozy chamber of the Capitol known as the L.B.J. Room, is creating some buzz.
At first glance, the event sounds innocent enough: a screening of a short film. But the films content and the identify of its creator are raising eyebrows. It is a documentary entitled Fitna, by Geert Wilders, a Dutch lawmaker and leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom. Mr. Wilders is best known for his fierce criticism of Islam, which has brought widespread condemnation from Muslim leaders and anti-discrimination groups. Just this year alone, a Dutch court ordered that Mr. Wilders be prosecuted for hate speech, and the British government banned him from entering the country, calling him an undesirable person.
The British ban came just as he was planning to screen Fitna for conservative lawmakers in London. Mr. Wilders was invited to the Capitol by Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, who has been at the center of immigration debates in America.
Mr. Wilders film, just 17 minutes long, has been described by some as hate-filled propaganda; at the very least, it is provocative. Throughout the film, which opens with a warning about the very shocking images it contains and can be viewed online, video clips of violence and bloodshed committed by Muslims are interspersed with verses from the Koran. At one point in the film whose title is apparently an Arabic term referring to disagreement and division among people video footage of one of the planes striking the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, is juxtaposed with a verse from the Koran:
Prepare for them whatever force and cavalry ye are able of gathering, to strike terror, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies, of Allah and your enemies.
Other clips show images of Westerners being beheaded; carnage from the 2005 London transit bombings; and imams making statements like Allah is happy when non-Muslims get killed. At one point a young child is shown saying that she learned from the Koran that Jews are apes and pigs. The film ends with a message from Mr. Wilders that Islam seeks to destroy our Western civilization and has to be defeated.
Mr. Wilders has said that the film is meant to demonstrate how verses from the Koran push Muslims toward violence. Mr. Wilders has defended the film and his positions by saying in interviews, I dont hate Muslims I hate Islam. In an interview with the conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck on Tuesday, Mr. Wilders said:
I have nothing against Muslims. But my point is, that the Islam is a totalitarian ideology that should be compared not so much with other religions but with other totalitarian ideologies like communism or fascism.
Mr. Wilders appearance on the Beck program was one of several stops on a media tour of conservative outlets in the United States. He has posted video of that interview and links to many blog posts and Web site articles about him on his own blog.
At least one congressman has publicly opposed his visit to Washington. Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota, who is Muslim, compared the screening of Fitna on Capitol Hill to showing the infamously racist film The Birth of a Nation at the White House. In a statement, Mr. Ellison said the movie compares Islam to Nazism, and added that he was disappointed by Sen. Kyls decision to screen it in the Capitol:
I am a strong advocate of First Amendment free speech. However, this is not about free speech, but rather an issue of propriety, timing and venue. Senator Kyl has every right to host anyone he chooses. However, it becomes a question of propriety to use the United States Capitol as a venue for the condemnation of an entire religion.
Oddly enough, the screening is taking place on the same day that Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts is holding a hearing on Capitol Hill entitled Engaging with Muslim Communities around the World. Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state under President Clinton, is scheduled to share her thoughts at the hearing on strengthening U.S.-Muslim relations. Whether the hearings were scheduled to coincide with the screening, or vice versa, is unclear. A spokesman for Mr. Ellison said the congressman planned to issue a statement this afternoon. Calls to Senator Kyls office on Thursday morning were not immediately returned.
Other than Senator Kyl, it was unclear who else would be attending the screening.
#3
I will be attending in spirit. Wilders represents our best chance of countering Islamist creep.
Thank you, Mr. Kyl. I wanted to say this to you on your website, but you ask for too much personal information to leave an opinion. I admire you for inviting Wilders.
#6
Y'all snark as you please, but this is important
OBAMA IS WATCHING THIS FILM and that fact alone means he's finally getting the truth stuffed down his throat.
This is a first struggling baby step toward washing the liberal crap out of his mind.
When he learns the truth, we'll all be better off.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/27/2009 20:09 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Unfortunately nothing in the article indicates that Bambi will be watching the film.
#8
If only Obama WERE to see the film. Unfortunately, as his act of returning the Churchill bust to England unrequested shows, he's not exactly tolerant of those who criticize Islam.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Gordon Brown was under growing pressure to hold an independent inquiry into Britains complicity in torture last night after ministers admitted that terror suspects detained by British soldiers in Iraq were secretly flown by the US to Afghanistan. 
Thousands of protesters marched across Pakistan on Thursday, torching pictures of President Asif Ali Zardari as the Pakistani police sealed off the Punjab provincial parliament and detained 30 lawmakers. 
TAJI, Iraq -- There was the time the Iraqis spent millions of dollars on ammunition from Romania, only to discover that it was defective or didn't fit their U.S.- or Russian-made weapons. Or when the Iraqis bought portable kitchens which didn't work in the field.
A Co Tyrone man who is driving a lorry to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid as part of the 'Viva Palestina' convoy has been detained in Tunisia. John Hurson, from Dungannon, entered the north African country on Wednesday after travelling from Algeria but was stopped by Tunisian police, along with the rest of the convoy, and herded into a football stadium in the province of Gabes, more than 300kms away from the capital city of Tunis. Yesterday, the Tunisian authorities said they would allow the convoy to continue on its journey to Gaza. However, last night the convoy remained in the country and all 120 vehicles were being kept under lock and key in the stadium. 
Rival Palestinian groups agreed on Thursday to set up a unity government by the end of March after reconciliation talks aimed at ending long-running factional feuding, Palestinian officials said.
On Capitol Hill, the events that usually make the news are the ones that take place in front of television cameras, from votes to testimony to speeches. But an event scheduled to take place today behind closed doors, in a cozy chamber of the Capitol known as the L.B.J. Room, is creating some buzz.
