Nato's top commander in Afghanistan has warned that the country is at tipping point and Afghans are likely to switch their allegiance to the Taliban if there is no visible improvement in their lives in the next six months. General David Richards, a British officer who commands 32,000 troops in Afghanistan, said that if life doesn't get better over the winter, 70 per cent of Afghans could get behind the Taliban. "They will say, 'We do not want the Taliban but then we would rather have that austere and unpleasant life than another five years of fighting'," he said.
Richards will command Nato's forces in Afghanistan, including 12,000 US troops, until February, when US General Dan K McNeil will take over.
Afghanistan is going through some of the worst violence since the US-led invasion removed the Taliban from power five years ago. The Taliban has made a comeback in the south and east of the country and is seriously threatening attempts to stabilise the country after almost three decades of war.
Richards will command Nato's forces in Afghanistan, including 12,000 US troops, until February, when US General Dan K McNeil will take over. The British general said he would like to have about 2,500 additional troops to form a reserve battalion to help speed up reconstruction and development efforts. The south of the country, where Nato troops have fought their most intense battles this year, has been "broadly stabilised", Richards told Associated Press.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I call bullshit. Take a woman-only poll and extrapolate the numbers. They sure as hell won't support a return of the Taleban.
#2
You're having a failure of imagination, Zenster. Remember the statement about Mr Taliban, running around with a child as a human shield while he's shooting at coalition troops?
Chances are it isn't his child, and it wasn't the child's (or its parent's) choice to be there.
#4
Strange world - 'they' win if we can't stop them from randomly breaking stuff and killing people; we only win if we can stop them, and do it without any collateral damage. Seriously asymmetric.
#5
Afghans are likely to switch their allegiance to the Taliban if there is no visible improvement in their lives in the next six months.
Sounds like a blackmail to the free world. The beardo weirdos will have the final choice - as to whether to become an easier target. The global village, however, is getting too small for their wrong choosing.
#7
Hey, if the Afghanis wanna revert, they'll revert. No one can stop them. They'll just be another target range.
They'll revert under duress from the Pakistanis, who will then present us with the choice of either doing nothing or bombing _their_ victims.
And the US bombing more Afghanis who have "regressed" against their will suits the wakipakis just fine, along with their underwriters in Saudi, China, and the UAE. By not dealing with that larger situation instead we generally fuck ourselves over even more.
#8
I call "shenanigans". I've had plenty of buddies over there. Every one said that 90% of the afghan tribes want the U.S. to stick around. Only in the south and east is there any taliban traction, and that not as much as reported. If, the multitude of afghanis are so feckless to want taliban rule over freedom then f*ck'em says I.
#9
Furry Critter -- I'll have a go at this without the Dire Hand-Wringing, thanks. You were very direct in your criticism - I'll reciprocate.
The lesson in Iraq is damned clear: nation-building is a loser. Same for Afghanistan. Why? What do they have in common? Islam. Whether the add-on layer is Arrogant Arab or Terminally Tribal, Islam perverts, and eventually trumps, all efforts to bring change, progress.
Afghanistan is not ethnically homogenous, as Broadhead6 points out, but they are basically all "Islamists". The leap from their normal state of affairs to Taleban rule is short, more like a leetle bunny hop, methinks. Additionally, what happens in Kabul is mostly irrelevant outside of Kabul, so the Taleban gets a pass on most of its festivities. We're expecting them to "beam forward" 13 or 14 centuries. Some number will want it, will see what doing so offers, but if it requires removing Islam from the position of fundamental power, it ain't gonna happen, IMO. Having Islam as the underlying norm is equivalent to having a thumb on the scale. Big leverage there.
They have a tradition of tribes, clans, warlords and, at any of these arbitrary breakpoints, going to the highest bidder - for that day, anyway. They are, also, a perfect example of classic Islam. Can we overcome that? Can we compete against the ISI when the ISI pushes Islam, even though the precise flavor may not fit all Afghanis perfectly? Nope. Only if we could magically remove the ancient merger of their tribal traditions and Islam would we have a real chance. Islam is the big fat thumb on the scale. Beaucoup leverage. We could pour money into Afghanistan, accepting graft and corruption on the scale of a Genuine African Shithole, until we have paid 100x over for converting the place into Disney World. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Then, the second we backed off, the Islamic asshats among them would loot the effort and none of them would care enough to stop it. The evidence we have says that's the result we can expect from nation-building efforts in the presence of Islam.
We are not willing to invest that much and they are not willing to change in our direction without some form of "duress", as you put it, such as an instant pass into the 21st century. And even then only temporarily - for as long as we are willing to fund it. We are failing in the nation-building thingy there because we ask more of them than they are willing to give or demand of themselves. What we expect and offer in compensation for the disruption of the norm is easily countered and overcome by that Islamic thumb on the scale.
How will we overcome the ancient ways, that combination of Tribal Warlord and Insane Islam, as long as Islam (i.e. the Saudi-funded ISI in this case) is bidding against us?
I don't believe we can. With Islam, the game is rigged. We've gotta remove the funding of the opposition or we're just wasting treasure.
That's my take.
I invite the experts to correct any and all of my take.
#10
I don't disagree with your assessment, .com, except for this:
whereas you are certain that is how things will go, I see it as (merely) very very likely.
So in my mind the question is whether we gain anything from the attempt at nationbuilding. And I think we do, to a point. It had to be tried.
Nor was the attempt chosen for its own sake. We have forces at Baghram. We have forces in Anbar province. Specifically, air assets next to axis of evil countries.
That is not by chance. The nationbuilding is more than window dressing, but its value is more for the strategic presence it and might continue to give us IMO.
#12
Thinking about this reminded me of an incident from my youth (decades ago).
We lived not too far from a small-mid-sized city with a certain population of welfare recipients living in run down housing projects. My father and some other blue collar guys with construction skills volunteered to teach people in the projects some basic maintenance skills. They even raised money for tools that would be donated.
The effort was a flop, but an instructive one. After most of the initial attendees quit, one young woman explained why: when you don't feel safe living in the projects AND you don't feel as if you have a stake in the buildings, you don't bother fixing things.
So the guys stopped the training effort, donated a couple weekends of fixup work to repair the worst neglect and called it a day. But the word got back to the city leaders and they did start up a community effort to police the area better, which helped turn that area around, slowly.
That story helped me understand something that had puzzled me. We were pretty poor -- Dad worked, when there was work to be had, often 2 jobs at once, day shift and 2nd shift, but money was very tight. Per person, we didn't have much more than some of the people in the projects. Nor did our friends.
And yet ... our houses were kept as neatly as we could and when a few dollars were available they got painted, upgraded, repaired. Friends would help friends when it was more than a 1 or 2 person job. The difference was that we owned the house (if you didn't count the mortgage that kept getting bigger when we fell behind financially), and that most of us hunted and all of us could shoot and our neighborhoods were pretty safe.
#13
The lesson in Iraq is damned clear: nation-building is a loser. Same for Afghanistan. Why? What do they have in common? Islam. Whether the add-on layer is Arrogant Arab or Terminally Tribal, Islam perverts, and eventually trumps, all efforts to bring change, progress.
Excellent post, .com. The era of nation building, at least with respect to Islam, is well and truly over. Maybe, after we decap the Saudis and they all begin to starve, we'll get some progress made, but even then it is still less than likely. We are now in the era of flat-out breaking things. Break them over and over again if we have to, but no more of this pouring treasure down the Islamic toilet.
The controlling nature of Islam depends upon a shithole environment bereft of communication and independent thought. Trying to nurture that in the minds of these backwater thugs is like teaching a pig how to sing. And we all know how that particular song goes.
#14
This attitude about Afghanistan is a rather recent conversion for me. Up until about a year ago, I believed we had a real chance in Afghanistan - winning hearts and minds, etc. I presumed that the lack of Arabs would mean success was possible.
Duh. I ignored the fact that PakiWakiWorld is, well, PakiWakiWorld - and it has no native Arabs. I wuz blinded by my own bias. I wasn't thinking BIG enough. The problem transcends Arabs...
Over the last year I started losing faith - it seemed the whole Afghani thing was just limping along, working only where we were very active - and not very well at that, and devolving wherever we weren't. In sum, just not really going anywhere. Drug shit was the only visible growth industry and success story, in fact.
The recent developments, "resurgent" Talebunnies - with amazingly high and consistent kill rates, Pervy PakiWakiWorld giving its stamp of approval to a home for recruiting, training, arming, etc. without hindrance across some imaginary border, none of the promised controls on the madrassah indoctrination centers, the lack of an ROE that allowed for more than just treating the symptoms -- it became clear that even training up the Afghans to bear the load and killing large numbers would never actually end this shit.
So I thunk about it. Quite a bit, in fact. And came to the same conclusion I have in Iraq... We're from planet Earth and they're from Islam.
Where is there real intransigent implacable grief? Duh. Where there's Islam. As long as Islam is what makes someone tick, despite the ebbs and flows that may make us think there's progress at times, in the end it's futile.
Why has Islam become an issue, after lying dormant for centuries? Why, when their technology was eclipsed and people who wandered the desert with WW-I surplus Enfields (or whatever) could no longer actually threaten anyone from the current century, has it reappeared on the world stage? Why is this ancient pestilence back? Money. Oil money. The funding of Islam is the problem. Cut it off, and they return to historical insignificance - a mere occasional bite form a horsefly. Swat as needed.
So that's where this take comes from. I hope it makes sense. I'm not feeling all that spiffy, today, so I'm not sure I'm hitting on all cylinders and making sense to anyone else.
#15
perhaps the answer is a worldwide biowarfare effort, with a vaccine plentiful,available, and free, but developed by Joooooos?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/09/2006 19:30 Comments ||
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#16
Why is this ancient pestilence back? Money. Oil money. The funding of Islam is the problem. Cut it off,
Agree this is really the only solution that has short and long term promise.
Bush has probably done more than any other pres, but we need to get to a point where we don't need Saudi oil ASAP. And if we could put out technology that made oil more expensive than the new alternatives, the war on terror would be over.
#17
No, if we never bought another drop of Saudi Oil other countries would.
The Oil=Money spigot will not be turned off by making America Oil-Independent.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/09/2006 21:29 Comments ||
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#18
So that's where this take comes from. I hope it makes sense. I'm not feeling all that spiffy, today, so I'm not sure I'm hitting on all cylinders and making sense to anyone else.
You're making plenty of sense, .com. Islam is like some sort of congenital cultural retardation that benights all it infects. Your old viral meme characterization springs to mind.
I used to hope for some sort of Islamic reformation. I no longer have any pateince for that. Too many have died in Islam's name already and so little internal effort is being made to rehabilitate this pestiferous perfidious pisshole of a political ideology masquerading as a religion that I'll be just as happy to see it outlawed and dismantled. When we're done, Korans should be curiosities displayed by museums as archaeological artifacts.
#19
Whew! I never know, anymore... and I wish I was more eloquent and squandered less bandwidth. Apologies to all for the Joycian approach. Lots there to cherry-pick if'n anyone wants to bash me, lol. :-/
#20
nah, it's all conjecture and bullshit, yours is no worse/better than mine, but we all bow to zenster by measure of sheer piling-on-without-a-clue. Rockandrollstu - take a chill pill.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/09/2006 21:50 Comments ||
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The number of insurgent attacks in southern Afghanistan has halved in the past month and the incidents that have occurred have been less ferocious than previously, the NATO-led force said on Sunday. But the Taliban are still a dangerous threat with their use of suicide and improvised bombings likely to increase even further, NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters. "At the beginning of September there was intense fighting throughout the south. At the end of this month fighting is much reduced." "Last week the number of incidents was a half. So there we have the actual evidence that in one month the number of incidents has halved in the south," he said. He said the movement of insurgents across the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan had been a problem for security forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Killing them as fast as they come in can have that effect. Keep it up for another 6 months, with a hot pursuit ROE that says "wherever they go" and then take stock - assuming the story that sez they're all ready to go Tallybanny isn't true. Whatthefuckever. I'm waaay past the "give a fuck" stage when nation-building gets bogged down. I've moved on to the "break it, rinse, repeat" stage. There's another one after that, too, but one step at a time, I guess.
Britain's Prince Harry will not be allowed to fight on the front line in Afghanistan, The Mail on Sunday newspaper said, citing senior sources in the prince's regiment. Harry, third in line to the throne, reportedly threatened to quit the British Army if he was blocked from active service due to safety fears and any such decision is likely to infuriate the 22-year-old.
Senior officers reckon the intensity of Taliban attacks is so severe that they could not risk a constitutional crisis by putting Harry's life on the line...
Although a formal decision has yet to be made, sources in the Household Cavalry told the weekly tabloid that they thought it was too dangerous for him to deploy in Afghanistan.
Senior officers reckon the intensity of Taliban attacks is so severe that they could not risk a constitutional crisis by putting Harry's life on the line, The Mail on Sunday said. As Second Lieutenant Wales, Harry is training to become a troop commander, in charge of 11 enlisted soldiers and four light tanks. A senior cavalry source told the newspaper that it would boost morale if Harry were allowed to deploy. However, even if he was confined to headquarters, he would still be subject to rocket attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Methinks it was last year when the Brit-Euro tabloids reported that grandmum Queen Liz was adamant against Harry going into combat - may be wrong, but looks like grandma got her way.
#3
Losing Harry wouldn't result in a constitutional crisis. What nonsense!
Not too dissimilar to the muslim PC's refusal to guard the Israeli embassy, except that the individual's own wishes are opposite. It's what he signed up for, and what he wants to do! This would be another example of establishment-sanctioned double standards crap.
#8
While it might boost your morale, I would think that it might increase the level of danger that a unit faced. Imagine the boost to the bad guys if they could capture or kill a royal? Along that line they might channel large amounts of resources toward that goal; Thereby, increasing the overall danger to his unit. I know he probably wants to serve along side the men, but he has to look at the big picture.
#13
I hope they'll let him fight in Afghanistan; in fact, I hope he enters the country on October 25th:
KING. This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say "To-morrow is Saint Crispian":
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. (Henry V, IV, iii)
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
10/09/2006 22:37 Comments ||
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Hu, Bush discuss N. Korean nuclear moves by phone+
Oct 09 12:14 PM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush talked about their reactions to North Korea's reported nuclear test by telephone Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Hu told Bush that China has issued a statement condemning the North's nuclear test but warned against taking action which could further aggravate the situation Translation Forget about doint anything meaningfull to punish the Norks. , the ministry said.
Bush said North Korea's nuclear moves are dangerous but the United States still believes a negotiated settlement of the issue is possible, the ministry said.
Translation their is nothing we can do without China going along. End result Blah Blah strong word resolution to issue strong word resolution without any actual punishment.
JAPAN and the US will step up work on their missile defence system after North Korea said it tested an atom bomb, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said today. "To maintain the safety of the Japanese country and people and to increase the relationship of trust based on the Japan-US alliance, Japan will step up co-operation with the United States, such as on Japan-US missile defence," Mr Abe said.
Japan and the US started working in earnest on a missile shield after North Korea in 1998 fired a missile over Japan's main island. The US stationed its first surface-to-air Patriot missiles in Japan after North Korea in July test-fired seven missiles in Japan's direction. Washington protects Japan by treaty as the country was stripped of its right to maintain an armed forces after defeat in World War II.
US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said Washington was ready to defend Japan, in a meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki and Foreign Minister Taro Aso. "I assured both the chief cabinet secretary and the foreign minister that the United States is prepared to honour its commitments to its allies in Japan as well as Korea," Mr Schieffer said.
Mr Shiozaki said the two countries also agreed to "stay in line with each other at the United Nations." "Ambassador Schieffer told us that the United States will carry out its responsibilities and commitments in line with the Japan-US alliance and security treaty," Mr Shiozaki said.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/09/2006 08:42 ||
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#1
Congratulations, Mr. Kim. You have brought Japan out of it's pacifism and into re-arming itself for offisive strikes.
#3
I, on the other hand, speak for giant insects everywhere on Monster Island (as well as those 2 little ladies) when I say we welcome and encourage more nuclear testing as soon as possible.
THE UN Security Council was expected to hold an emergency meeting today to weigh how to respond to North Korea's first-ever nuclear weapons test in brazen defiance of a UN resolution.
Hours after the communist state's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced a successful underground nuclear test, the White House Monday said that if confirmed, the move would be a "provocative act" and called for immediate action by the UN Security Council. Last week, the 15-member Council unanimously adopted a non-binding statement calling on Pyongyang not to go ahead with the test and warned of unspecified consequences if it did so.
The council has scheduled a formal vote for to nominate South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon as its choice to succeed Kofi Annan when the Ghanaian UN chief steps down at the end of December.
But the vote was bound to overshadowed by North Korea's defiant act. Diplomats had been expected the test this weekend and indicated that an council emergency meeting would be held in response.
A UN spokesmen said no meeting had been immediately scheduled but White House spokesman Tony Snow signalled a session was in the works. "We would expect the Security Council to meet (today)," he told reporters in Washington.
#1
unanimously adopted a non-binding statement
warned of unspecified consequences
indicated that an council emergency meeting would be held in response
A UN spokesmen said no meeting had been immediately scheduled
the explicit mention of sanctions was removed
#6
I suppose there's no chance Congress will the UN to Put Up or Shut Up (and lose funding). The UN would be about as much of a calamity as Air America if our own government didn't support it every step of the way. Oh, sure, they condemn it, but the funding continues right along (nearly always).
North Korea informed China it may drop its plan to test its first atomic bomb if the United States holds bilateral talks with the communist country, a former South Korean lawmaker said Sunday. The North also denied speculation that its nuclear test was imminent and said the regime has not raised the alert level of the country's military, Jang Sung-min said, citing a telephone conversation with an unidentified Chinese diplomatic official.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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Yada yada yada. Right up to the very end. I wonder how it will be with Iran.
Japan and China warned North Korea not to conduct a nuclear weapons test and agreed to improve their own relations as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the first visit by a Japanese leader to Beijing in five years.
``We saw eye to eye on the North Korean nuclear test, which is that it can't be tolerated,'' Abe said...
``We saw eye to eye on the North Korean nuclear test, which is that it can't be tolerated,'' Abe said at a press conference late yesterday after meeting Chinese President Hu Jintao. North Korea must return ``unconditionally'' to six-party talks aimed at dismantling the nation's nuclear weapons program, Abe said.
Asia's two largest economies are seeking to bolster ties soured by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 Japanese leaders convicted of war crimes are memorialized. In addition to finding a common view on North Korea, Hu and Abe said they will try to resolve a dispute about offshore gas deposits.
China is Japan's second-biggest trading partner, and Japanese exports rose 26 percent to 4.96 trillion yen ($42 billion) in the first six months of the year...
North Korea ``certainly alarmed everyone and gave Japan and China common ground,'' said Jeff Kingston, head of the Asian studies program at Temple University in Tokyo. ``This is about as good a result as you can get for a first meeting.''
Politics and economics are ``the tandem wheels'' of better ties between the two countries ``and must be built on mutual interests,'' Abe, 52, said. China is Japan's second-biggest trading partner, and Japanese exports there rose 26 percent to 4.96 trillion yen ($42 billion) in the first six months of the year from the same period in 2005, according to Japanese finance ministry figures.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
It's not a video, but a slide show with snarky music. Makes the point though, Islam for all or death.
Maybe European countries will come to their senses and invite freedom fighters from all over the world to defend democracy by mowing down the muzzies.
The Rantburg Brigade arrives in Stockholm.......
THE US will push for sanctions against rogue nation North Korea following its claim to have tested a nuclear device, even if the explosion is found to be a hoax.
US intelligence has not been able to determine if North Korea's claim of successfully detonating a nuclear weapon yesterday is true or not, after they detected an explosion of less than one kilotonne in intensity.
An anonymous US intelligence official said that first-time nuclear tests have historically been in the several kilotonne range.
Monitors in Norway and Russia said their readings indicated an explosion of between one and 10 kilotonnes, but US authorities claimed it was much smaller below one kilotonne.
"I don't think you can rule out the possibility that he's (Kim Jong-Il) faking out the world," the official said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said the US reaction to North Korea's test would be the same whether the explosion was nuclear or not.
The US is pushing for both preventative and punitive UN Security Council sanctions to be imposed on the rogue nation, including the prohibition of materials related to ballistic missile and nuclear weapon production and a ban on the importation of luxury goods.
South Korean authorities fear the North may be planning further nuclear tests, after detecting unusual activity near the location where it is believed the first explosion took place.
"There have been some unusual movements under way at Punggyeri where we had thought the first nuclear test would be carried out," said Kim Seung-Gyu, head of South Korea's spy agency, quoted by Yonhap news agency yesterday.
"We are closely following developments there to find out whether North Korea is moving to conduct a series of tests as India and Pakistan did," he said.
"North Korea is believed to have stored some 30 to 40 kilograms of plutonium... As one bomb needs five to six kilograms of plutonium, North Korea would be able to make up to seven atomic bombs."
In 1998, India and Pakistan each detonated a series of nuclear bombs inside their borders.
Yesterday, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, Pak Gil-Yon, said the country should be congratulated instead of condemned for its first nuclear tests.
"It is better for the Security Council of the United Nations to congratulate the DPRK scientists and researchers," instead of pursuing a "reckless resolution" against North Korea, he said.
The 15-member Security Council met yesterday to condemn the North Korean tests. They are due to convene again today to decide how to respond further.
Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday the test will destabilise the region and further isolate North Korea from the international community.
"We are both disturbed and outraged at this action by North Korea which should be condemned in the strongest possible terms," he said.
"The test has destabilised the region. It has eroded North Korea's own security."
#1
Several stories out there about this. Most saying that the low yield makes the call more problematic / less certain.
One thing seems to be consistent, however: they all indicate that within about 72 hrs there should emerge a semi-consensus.
The only data outlier I've seen is the wacko statement coming from Russia that the yield was between 5KT and 15KT. This is more than double to 15x what everyone else is saying. Typical Russian judge, eh? Lol.
A former Pentagon analyst who passed highly classified intelligence to two Chinese military officers was sentenced to three months in prison yesterday -- far shy of four to five years called for in sentencing guidelines. It is also a far shy from a firing squad as well.
Federal Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said that despite the "very serious charge" against Ronald Montaperto, he was swayed to reduce the sentence based on letters of support from current and former intelligence and military officials.Ahhh...nothing quite like the pungent aroma of a vapor-scandel.
Montaperto, 67, who pleaded guilty in June to unlawful retention of classified documents he obtained while working at the Defense Intelligence Agency, said he was trying to get intelligence for the United States from the Chinese officials.
"I never meant to hurt my country in any way," Mr. Montaperto said during his hearing at U.S. District Court in Alexandria. He worked at the Pentagon from 1981 until his dismissal in 2003.
Just what exactly DID you mean? Somehow I'm not finding it likely you just went off to do a bit of sleuthing on your own and just ... happened ... to pass very sensitive info to the Chinese along the way. More to the point -- what's the number on your Swiss bank account?
Neil Hammerstrom, the assistant U.S. attorney, told the court that Montaperto met 60 times with two Chinese military intelligence officers and provided both secret and top secret information during the meetings.
Mr. Hammerstrom asked for at least a two-year sentence, arguing a tough prison term was needed because Montaperto "repeatedly placed in jeopardy sensitive sources and methods pertaining to our national security."
Montaperto told investigators he could not remember the specifics of the classified information he passed to Chinese intelligence, lapses that prevented prosecutors from charging him with more serious spy charges.WTF!?!
U.S. officials said a major U.S. electronic eavesdropping operation against China went silent around the time Montaperto admitted passing the highly classified data to the Chinese in 1988.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House intelligence committee, said he is concerned by the apparent support for Montaperto from the U.S. intelligence community and promised a committee probe. "You would think that the intel community would set the standard for holding people accountable for mishandling and passing of classified information to our enemies," Mr. Hoekstra said.
You would, wouldn't you -- unless that community is fatally politicized. I'd believe it about the CIA but I'm pretty upset to think it includes DIA.
Among the officials who wrote letters of support were Lonnie Henley, currently the deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia in the office of Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte. Mr. Henley said he has been "close friends" with Montaperto since the 1980s.
Another supporter was retired Rear Adm. Eric McVadon, who currently holds a security clearance as a consultant on China to the CIA and Pentagon.
Adm. McVadon said he would not second guess the case against his friend but could only "recoil at characterizations of him in the press as a spy." He may have passed highly classified documents to a foreign agent that resulted in sources and methods pertaining to national security being jeopardized but a spy? How dare you impugn his integrity?
Oh, I dare. I dare quite easily. And it leaves me wondering whether, and how deeply, the Chinese are also into you, Admiral.
Judge Lee said he also considered Montaperto's "extraordinary" voluntary confessions in the light sentence, which includes three months of home detention and five years' probation.
However, investigators said Montaperto did not reveal or admit the passing of secrets until fooled into making the admissions in a 2003 sting operation while he worked at the U.S. Pacific Command think tank in Hawaii.
U.S. intelligence officials have said Montaperto was first investigated in the late 1980s after a Chinese defector said Beijing considered him one of their "dear friends," or informal supporters of China.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/09/2006 19:42 Comments ||
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#5
None of this fits. I wonder if there is a classified side to this trial.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/09/2006 21:05 Comments ||
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#6
I'm sure there was. Often the government will pass on strong punishment if the required trial would expose methods and sources.
But it is pretty disheartening to read the public statements of Henley and McVaden. And what's up with the delay in nailing Montaperto??
Montaperto was first investigated in the late 1980s after a Chinese defector said Beijing considered him one of their "dear friends," or informal supporters of China.
Did they think the defector was spreading disinformation? I remember that under Clinton, meetings with the Chinese were scarcely discouraged. But in 88??
#7
Anyone care to guess what sentence I would get if I accidentally mentioned a code-word program?
Damn sure longer than 3 months.
This kind of crap (along with Sandy Burglar) really hits Me hard. It's most corrosive to morale and breeds cynicism. It's just when some executive VP gets caught taking a bribe, all of us first- and second-level engineers have to take all these "thou shalt not steal" classes.
Pakistan has assured the United States administration that it will set up an inter-madrassa board within a couple of months to bring seminaries into the education mainstream.
My hair's growing back, too. I can see it...
"The assurance was given during President General Pervez Musharraf's recent visit to the US," sources told Daily Times.
And my gut's shrinking away to nothing...
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Ejazul Haq, who was part of the president's delegation, briefed US President George W Bush about the government's plans to register seminaries and set up an inter-madrassa board to conduct examinations. "During the meeting, the federal minister informed the US president that as many as 12,000 seminaries had been registered," the sources said.
Then his lips fell off.
The president would select the chairman of the inter-madrassa board and Ittehad-e-Tanzimat-e-Madaris-e-Dinya (ITMD), a grouping of five wafaqs, would nominate the deputy chairman, each for three-year terms.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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SOUTH Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon was formally nominated as UN secretary-general today, only hours after North Korea defied the world body by announcing a nuclear test.
The UN Security Council voted by acclamation behind closed doors, effectively selecting Ban as successor to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whose 10 years in office expire on December 31.
Mr Ban's six rivals had withdrawn from the race earlier.
The 192-member UN General Assembly must give final approval to Mr Ban's nomination, which usually follows within a week or two.
That vote is expected to be positive.
Mr Ban, speaking to reporters in Seoul after the Security Council vote, said North Korea's test was "a grave and direct threat to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia".
"This should be a moment of joy but instead I stand here with a very heavy heart," he said.
Shortly after nominating Mr Ban, the 15 Security Council ambassadors went into closed consultations on North Korea to see what action could be taken after Pyongyang announcement of a successful nuclear weapon test.
The council on Saturday had urged North Korea not to carry out a test, warning of unspecified consequences if it did.
"I think the fact the candidate is current foreign minister of the Republic of Korea is an asset in dealing with the situation in the Korean peninsula that we are now facing," Japan's UN Ambassador Kenzo Oshima told reporters.
Some diplomats, including Mr Oshima, have speculated that North Korea's October 3 announcement of plans to carry out the underground nuclear test was timed, in part, to coincide with Mr Ban's candidacy in an effort to get world attention.
Mr Ban, 62, would be the eighth secretary-general in the world body's 60-year history.
He will inherit a bureaucracy of 9000 staff, a $US5 billion ($6.74 billion) budget and more than 90,000 peacekeepers in 18 operations around the globe that cost another $US5 billion.
US Ambassador John Bolton immediately emphasised the need for UN management reform.
"With this vote today, the winds of change at the United Nations have started to rise and we are looking forward to some significant steps in the reform process when he takes office," he said.
Mr Annan, in his own statement, welcomed the nomination.
He said he had the "highest respect" for Mr Ban and would do "everything possible to ensure a smooth transition," a spokesman said.
The low-keyed Mr Ban will be a contrast to Mr Annan, a Ghanaian who in his first five years won a Nobel Peace Prize and was sometimes dubbed a diplomatic rock star, before financial scandals took over headlines in the past few years.
Among colleagues in Seoul, everyone seemed to agree that Mr Ban is pleasant and hard-working.
Jang Sung-min, a former presidential aide and member of parliament said: "He probably won't do a bad job. It is really hard to think of a problem with Ban. Maybe that's his strong point - that there's nothing peculiar about him."
Although Mr Annan was criticised regularly in the US, Europeans viewed him more favourably and many so far have ignored the imminent arrival of Mr Ban.
Mr Ban won't be "the sort of activist diplomat, ready to seize the initiative, which we saw in Kofi Annan", said Dick Leurdijk, a UN expert at the Netherlands Clingendael Institute of International Relations.
"I think he will be more like his Asian predecessor U Thant, who just took care of the shop," he said, referring to the Burmese diplomat who held the post from 1961-71.
I light of South Korea's current anti-Americanism, I'm not really thrilled by this development. I suppose that anything is better than Kofi, but time will tell.
by James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., and James Phillips
Executive Memorandum #1012 The premature withdrawal of American troops from Iraq would have disastrous consequences for Iraq, for the Middle East, and for American foreign policy and would lead to a full-scale humanitarian disaster. Congress should reject outright calls for America to cut and run and instead should insist that the Bush Administration finish the job of training Iraqi security forces that are capable of supporting the government, dealing with sectarian violence, and providing for the safety of the civilian population.
Failure as an Option. There are at least five likely consequences that would flow from abruptly abandoning the people of Iraq. Such a shortsighted U.S. policy would be a severe blow to the Iraqi security situation, Iraqi oil exports, U.S. allies in the region, the global war against terrorism, and the future of all Iraqis.
Consequence #1: An Army Up for Grabs. A sudden U.S. withdrawal would raise the risks of full-fledged civil war and disintegration of the army into hostile factions. The defection of soldiers to various militias, taking with them their heavy equipment, would bolster the militias firepower and capacity to seize and hold terrain. The result would be a bloody and protracted civil war such as the conflict in Bosnia following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Consequence #2: Energy Uncertainty. Growing anarchy in Iraq and the possible breakup of the country into autonomous regions would severely affect Iraqs oil exports. In 2005, Iraq produced about 1.9 million barrels per day (MBD) of oil and exported about 1.4 MBD. By June 2006, Iraqi oil production had risen to 2.5 MBD, and the government hopes to increase production to 2.7 MBD by the end of the year. A U.S. withdrawal would undermine the security of oil pipelines and other facilities and increase the vulnerability of Iraqi oil production to sabotage. The resulting drop in Iraqi oil exports would increase the upward pressure on world oil prices in an already tight oil market. Energy uncertainty would be increased further if Iraq splintered and Iran gained domination over a Shia-dominated rump state in the oil-rich south.
Consequence #3: Allies in Jeopardy. The chief beneficiary of a rapid U.S. pullout would be Iran, which has considerable influence over the dominant Shiite political parties, which represent most Iraqi Shiites: about 6065 percent of the population. If Iraq imploded, Iran quickly could gain dominance over an emerging Shiastan rump state endowed with the bulk of Iraqs oil reserves. This would give Iran additional resources and a staging area to escalate subversive efforts targeted at the Shiite majority in Bahrain and Shiite minorities in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. These and other countries look to the United States to serve as a guarantor against an aggressive Iran. If the United States fails to follow through on its commitment to establish a stable government in Iraq, it will severely undermine its credibility. Abandoning Iraqi allies would erode the confidence of other allies in U.S. leadership and further fuel conspiracy theories about American plots to carve up Iraq to keep Arabs weak and divided.
Consequence #4: Al-Qaeda Triumphant. Osama bin Laden would trumpet an abrupt U.S. withdrawal as a victory for al-Qaeda and proof that America is a paper tiger, just as he claimed after the U.S. withdrawal from Somalia in 1994. An unstable, failed state in Iraq would also provide al-Qaeda and other radical groups with a sanctuary for recruiting a new generation of suicide bombers and a strategically located staging area for deploying terrorists for attacks on Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and elsewhere around the world. The recently declassified key judgments of the April 2006 National Intelligence Estimate, Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States, pointed out that a perceived victory for jihadists in Iraq would boost their strength and ability to threaten Americans.
Consequence #5: A Humanitarian Catastrophe. Iraq is a mosaic of ethnic, sectarian, and tribal subgroups. Baghdad and other major cities include significant intermingling of Sunni and Shiite Arabs, Kurds, Turcomans, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and other Christians. Instability and civil war would put many of these people to flight, creating a vast humanitarian crisis that would dwarf those seen in Bosnia and Kosovo and rival the scenes of horror and privation witnessed in Cambodia, Congo, Rwanda, and Sudan. Not only would Iraqis be put at risk of disease, starvation, and violence, but with the government unable to meet their basic needs, the Iraqi refugees would fall under the control of the sectarian militias, turning Iraq into Lebanon on steroids.
An Alternative to Failure. A continued U.S. military presence cannot ensure success in Iraq unless Iraqis cooperate in building an effective government, but a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. support would unquestionably guarantee failure, with disastrous results for Iraq, its neighbors, and U.S. national interests. The only winners would be an expansionist Iran and an increasingly lethal al-Qaeda.
The alternative is to insist that the Bush Administration finish the job it started by completing the training of Iraqi security forces, supporting Iraqs new democratic government, beginning the disciplined reduction of American forces, and turning the future of Iraq over to the only people who can ensure the nations long-term successthe Iraqis.
"Israel should be very concerned by North Korea's nuclear test," Uzi Eilam, former head of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
According to Eilam, "The cause for concern is three-fold. First, as a world democracy, it should be concerned by the threat a North Korean nuclear capability poses to the entire world. Second, It is certainly possible that Pyongyang would share its nuclear know-how with Iran, in return for a sizeable financial reward. North Korea's nuclear program is far more advanced than Iran's. While Iran has only started to produce fissile material, North Korea has done so at least five years ago."
"Third, Syria, which is also under heavy international pressure, could look at the North Korean example and decide to actively push for its own nuclear capability, taking into account that it would be a great deterrent to alleviate the pressure and get the international community off its back," Eilam said.
"Today's experiment means that the North Koreans have successfully produced a device whose core is the heart of a nuclear bomb. In order to reach that level, it must be integrated in a weapons system, whether a bomb or a missile warhead. Since it is known that they have been working on missile technology for many years, it is not unforeseeable that North Korea could achieve nuclear weapons capability in 1-2 years."
"The international community's response to the North Korean test," Eilam asserts, "is of the utmost importance. The Security Council must impose much harsher sanctions on Pyongyang."
Two-edged sword -- Israeli complaints will focus attention on their own undeclared but widely understood capability. Best thing for them to do is let someone else (e.g., us) carry the water on this one.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/09/2006 14:16 ||
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Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas plans to present the Hamas-led Cabinet with an ultimatum in the coming days to accept an agreement for a coalition government or head to early elections, an Abbas aide said Sunday. In a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week, Abbas said he would travel to the Gaza Strip in the coming days for last-ditch talks on forming a joint government with Hamas, an Abbas aide said.
If Hamas does not agree by the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan - in two weeks - then he will dissolve the Cabinet...
If Hamas does not agree by the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan - in two weeks - then he will dissolve the Cabinet, according to the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
Abbas will present a new government headed by an independent to the Hamas-dominated parliament, which will likely vote it down, the aide said. He will then propose a second independent government and when that is voted down, he believes he will have proven that the deadlock is great enough to justify new elections, the aide continued.
Abbas will present a new government headed by an independent to the Hamas-dominated parliament, which will likely vote it down, the aide said. He will then propose a second independent government and when that is voted down, he believes he will have proven that the deadlock is great enough to justify new elections...
The plan faces several obstacles, including disagreement over whether Abbas has the legal right to call new elections and questions about whether his Fatah Party would perform better than in the previous election. Abbas has been at odds with Hamas since the group won January parliamentary elections. The two sides have failed in their recent efforts to form a national unity government, with Hamas resisting pressure to moderate its views and give in to the Western demands.
Ahmed Youssef, political adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, said the two sides would find a way to reach agreement on a new government before it went that far...
Ahmed Youssef, political adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, said the two sides would find a way to reach agreement on a new government before it went that far. "We have to see (Abbas) to hear what is the limit and what is not allowed. And we will agree, and God willing we will find a way out of this tunnel and end this before the end of Ramadan," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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Abbas to present Hamas ultimatum
double matinee feature be sure and stock up at the RB refreshment center in the lobby.
#2
Abbas will give Hamas an ultimatum in English for gullible westerners. The Arabic translation will talk about lunch with Hamas.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/09/2006 3:27 Comments ||
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#3
Basically, what's happening is the equivalent of Abbas and Hamas running through every possible combination of significant diplo-speak phrases to see if one of them can get the Euro-faucet flowing again. Not a damned thing of actual substance has happened so far. Well, maybe except for these guys offing each other, but that's not on the Quartet's real event program. More like the halftime show.
Against the backdrop of ongoing clashes between Fatah and Hamas loyalists in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh declared on Sunday that the internal conflicts within Palestinian society would lead to the destruction of Palestinian interests. During a speech at a special assembly in the Gaza Strip, Haniyeh urged all factions of the Palestinian people to join ranks in order to strengthen the Palestinian cause.
"
We must do everything to prevent the possibility that the Palestinian people will degenerate into a civil war, which is a red line.
We must do everything to prevent the possibility that the Palestinian people will degenerate into a civil war, which is a red line. Our differences and problems, and our struggle - they must be against the occupation, and these internal arguments must be arguments within the political sphere," he said. "I want to promise the Palestinian people that despite the criticism that we speak against each other, and despite the high tones in our communication,
I promise you - and this is a religious commitment - that the situation will not come to war.
I promise you - and this is a religious commitment - that the situation will not come to war. This is the commitment of the government and of all those who are passionate about the interests of the Palestinian people," he proclaimed.
Haniyeh also said Hamas and the government "will not recognize or normalize" relations with Israel. He said the main problem with the Arab peace plan, presented in 2002 by Saudi Arabia and endorsed by an Arab summit, was that it recognized Israel in exchange for an Israeli pullout from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and Golan Heights. Haniyeh hinted that peacemaking with Israel could be left up to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who also heads Fatah.
Haniyeh said the Arab plan "leaves a lot of room for political maneuvering" for Abbas.
Haniyeh said the Arab plan "leaves a lot of room for political maneuvering" for Abbas.
Haniyeh said he still hopes for a unity government with Fatah, but Abbas said last week that negotiations have broken down. On Friday, after collapsing during a speech at a Gaza rally, Haniyeh reaffirmed Hamas's refusal to recognize Israel and promised that any future Palestinian government would include his party, dismissing PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to establish a unity government as an attempt to remove Hamas from power.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
This is the beauty of allowing the people to vote for their own government instead of treating them like wards. The people got what they wanted which was different than what "others" wanted for them. Those two powerbases can now duke it out among themselves for control. Good luck stopping that civil war - not.
Metal Storm is pleased to announce that it has conducted a live firing of its 40mm weapon system installed on a Dragonfly Pictures (DPI) DP-5X prototype Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). A number of flights and ground demonstrations were performed September 27-28, 2006, at the Warren Grove Air National Guard Bombing Range in Warren Grove, NJ under a Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) contracted activity.
The flight demonstrations included firing from the hover position at various altitudes as well as forward flight "strafing" runs.
The live fires utilized Metal Storm's GE40 40 mm grenade launcher, FC440 remotely operated fire control unit, and MK16-KE 40 mm kinetic energy projectiles.
Initial tests were conducted from the DP-5X UAV in strap down mode as well as un-tethered hover sighting shots. Hover shots from various altitudes were followed by a concluding forward speed flight with shots that targeted a vehicle sited on the firing range.
Malaysia's ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad brokered talks between Thai officials and Muslim groups from Thailand's south to help resolve the conflict there, his office confirmed for the first time yesterday. The revelation came amid indications from Thailand's new government that authorities want to hold peace talks with insurgent groups from the country's Muslim-majority southern provinces.
A spokesman from Dr Mahathir's office confirmed the ex-premier had arranged meetings between Thai officials and Muslim leaders from Thailand's south in the last quarter of 2005. ``Yes he did try to broker a ceasefire, that started off some time last year and there have been about two meetings so far,'' he said.
The meetings were on Malaysia's northern holiday island of Langkawi, which is close to the countries' shared border and where Dr Mahathir has business interests, he said.
Dr Mahathir, 81, was quoted as saying in a report on Saturday that he had initiated a peace plan and that it was up to Thai authorities to continue the efforts. ``My mission is now complete. It is now up to the Thai authorities to proceed with follow-up action,'' Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying in the Star newspaper.
The elder statesman said he initiated peace talks after discussions with former Thai premier Mr Anand Panyarachun and had also consulted with Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej. ``I sought an audience with the king in October following Mr Anand's advice. The king agreed with Mr Anand's suggestion that I be involved in the peace initiative for southern Thailand,'' said Dr Mahathir.
Several insurgent groups, including Bersatu and the Patani United Liberation Organisation, attended the meetings, while the The Thai government was represented by Lieutenant-General Vaipot Srinual, Dr Mahathir's spokesman said. Malaysian deputy premier Mr Najib Razak said Dr Mahathir had brokered the talks as the head of a non-government organisation and that Malaysia would not intefere in Thailand's internal politics, reports said yesterday.
#3
His time is over but his bad mouth stays. A man whose inconsistency and hypocrisy is only unknown to himself. This is not to say that his successor is that much different apart from the mouth odor bit.
Never met the man myself, but I was in-country enough to get an idea of what he was like. He'd make a great Arab (though being Malay, he'd consider that an insult).
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian state radio Monday blamed North Korea's reported nuclear test on U.S. pressure, accusing Washington of "humiliating" the impoverished communist country. "Not only did the United States not lift the sanctions it had imposed on North Korea, it even increased the diplomatic pressure. Such pressure finally led North Korea to conduct its nuclear test," Iranian state radio said in a commentary. "North Korea's nuclear test was a reaction to America's threats and humiliation," it said.
Iranian state radio accused Washington of "double standards" in its policy on nuclear nonproliferation, pointing to its attitude toward Israel and India. India has tested a nuclear bomb and Israel is widely believed to possess such weapons, but the United States is not currently applying sanctions against them.
In an oblique message to the United Nations, which is considering taking steps against Iran's nuclear program, Iranian state radio said that the Security Council should not punish North Korea but disarm the nuclear arsenals of the great powers. "Instead of imposing comprehensive sanctions on North Korea ... it would be better if the U.N. Security Council adopt a wise decision and seek full implementation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty," it said. "That is to say, it should seek to disarm the countries that currently possess nuclear weapons and provide conditions so that signatories to the treaty will be able to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," it said.
Thank goodness for us that the UN is as useless as ever, huh?
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/09/2006 14:32 ||
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I'm sure that Iran will blame us for their's as well.
#2
Iran and the Dems are both blaming Bush. The Dems are siding with Iran and NORK. What a joke.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/09/2006 16:11 Comments ||
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#3
I, myself, blame Iran. They were pushing so hard for a nuke, and Kimmie wanted to get there first. He rushed it, and got a fizzle, so he should be mad at the Mad Mullahs!
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/09/2006 16:38 Comments ||
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Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, has said that a war with Israel cannot be ruled out as long as a lasting peace eludes the Middle East.
We expect Israeli aggression at any time. We all know that Israel is militarily powerful and is backed directly by the United States. We can't debate whether to be prepared or unprepared. We must remain always prepared.
"In principle, we expect that there will be an Israeli aggression at any time. We all know that Israel is militarily powerful and is backed directly by the United States," al-Assad said in an interview with Kuwait's Al-Anbaa daily published on Saturday. "We can't debate whether to be prepared or unprepared. We must remain always prepared."
There will be no peace in the foreseeable future. If there is no peace, naturally you should expect that war may come. The no-war, no-peace situation means there will either be peace or war.
The Syrian president said Israel had abandoned the Middle East peace process since [former prime minister] Ariel Sharon came to power in 2001. "This means that there will be no peace in the foreseeable future. If there is no peace, naturally you should expect that war may come. The no-war, no-peace situation means there will either be peace or war."
Whoa! Like, profound, man!
Syria placed itself on alert for an Israeli attack during Israel's 34-day offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon which ended in mid-August. Hezbollah is supported by Syria and Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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As wid NORTH KOREA vv CHICOMS, Dubya + INTEL Boyz have to ascertain the LT agendas and intents of SYRIA-LEBANON vv RADICAL IRAN. It is in the interests of America to ensure that Radicalist Iran does NOT takeover or dominate the ME. As said before, Radical Iran may be Muslim + hate Israel, but is NOT for Syria, Lebanon, or any other ME Muslim = mostly Muslim nation escaping being controlled from Tehran + Tehran-centric Radical Muslim fundamentalism. The enemy of Israel is NOT Syria's, Lebanon's, or Sunni Islam's friend. SYRIA + LEBANON > THE DEFEAT OR DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL DOES NOT MEAN THEY WIN.
#4
Actually, I thought JosephM's post made a lot of sense. As for the caps and all, well I put what I'm responding to in italics, Zenster puts the name he's responding to in bold (I used to do something like that, too, until I got lazy), muck4doo has his own unique spelling. ;-)
The suspension is completely unacceptable and we have rejected it...
flatly refused to suspend uranium enrichment despite moves at the UNSC to draft a sanctions resolution against it for failing to halt the sensitive nuclear work. "The suspension is completely unacceptable and we have rejected it," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters. "It has no place in Iran's peaceful nuclear programme." Hosseini also said Iran was well used to such measures after being subject to a US embargo since 1980.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2006 00:00 ||
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You just know Moud is gonna be watching the USA's = World's reaction(s), includ lack thereof, to North Korea's [alleged] nuke test.
The UN? Hold me Ethel!
From Paris, lol. YJCMTSU.
PARIS - Mexico's foreign secretary said Monday the country may take a dispute over U.S. plans to build a fence on the Mexican border to the United Nations.
Luis Ernesto Derbez told reporters in Paris, his first stop on a European tour, that a legal investigation was under way to determine whether Mexico has a case.
The Mexican government last week sent a diplomatic note to Washington criticizing the plan for 700 miles of new fencing along the border. President-elect Felipe Calderon also denounced the plan, but said it was a bilateral issue that should not be put before the international community.
Derbez said Monday after meeting with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy that it was a "shame" U.S. immigration policy had been used for what he claimed was a short-term political gain in the lead-up to midterm elections in the U.S. in November.
He said he discussed the issue with Douste-Blazy, and planned to bring it up in meetings with his Spanish and Italian counterparts during visits to Madrid and Rome. He vowed to work on the case until the "very last day" of President Vicente Fox's term, which ends Dec. 1.
The U.S. Senate approved the border fence bill last month and President Bush has said he will sign it into law - despite last-minute pleas from the Mexican government for a veto.
"What should be constructed is a bridge in relations between the two countries," Derbez said. Parroting CF's (?) great line: The nerve we have!
#2
Better yet, let's just take our nuke waste, pile it up between two fences all along the border and put up big Death symbols and signs that read, "If you cross this fence you will die!"
#6
best of all possible worlds. We get the fence, lengthened and funded due to outrage from Mexican and UN intervention. The UN is discredited in Joe 6-pack's eyes. Mexican gov't is exposed for the hypocrisy-ridden (how're those southern border transgressors treated?) POS that it is, foisting their domestic problems on us. The Democrats and SEIU are exposed for pushing their interests ahead of those Americans actually eligible to vote
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/09/2006 21:37 Comments ||
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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.
Nato's top commander in Afghanistan has warned that the country is at tipping point and Afghans are likely to switch their allegiance to the Taliban if there is no visible improvement in their lives in the next six months. General David Richards, a British officer who commands 32,000 troops in Afghanistan, said that if life doesn't get better over the winter, 70 per cent of Afghans could get behind the Taliban. "They will say, 'We do not want the Taliban but then we would rather have that austere and unpleasant life
than another five years of fighting'," he said.
The number of insurgent attacks in southern Afghanistan has halved in the past month and the incidents that have occurred have been less ferocious than previously, the NATO-led force said on Sunday. But the Taliban are still a dangerous threat with their use of suicide and improvised bombings likely to increase even further, NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters. "At the beginning of September there was intense fighting throughout the south. At the end of this month fighting is much reduced." "Last week the number of incidents was a half. So there we have the actual evidence that in one month the number of incidents has halved in the south," he said. He said the movement of insurgents across the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan had been a problem for security forces.
Britain's Prince Harry will not be allowed to fight on the front line in Afghanistan, The Mail on Sunday newspaper said, citing senior sources in the prince's regiment. Harry, third in line to the throne, reportedly threatened to quit the British Army if he was blocked from active service due to safety fears and any such decision is likely to infuriate the 22-year-old. 
North Korea informed China it may drop its plan to test its first atomic bomb if the United States holds bilateral talks with the communist country, a former South Korean lawmaker said Sunday. The North also denied speculation that its nuclear test was imminent and said the regime has not raised the alert level of the country's military, Jang Sung-min said, citing a telephone conversation with an unidentified Chinese diplomatic official.
Japan and China warned North Korea not to conduct a nuclear weapons test and agreed to improve their own relations as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the first visit by a Japanese leader to Beijing in five years. 
A former Pentagon analyst who passed highly classified intelligence to two Chinese military officers was sentenced to three months in prison yesterday -- far shy of four to five years called for in sentencing guidelines. 
Pakistan has assured the United States administration that it will set up an inter-madrassa board within a couple of months to bring seminaries into the education mainstream. 
The premature withdrawal of American troops from Iraq would have disastrous consequences for Iraq, for the Middle East, and for American foreign policy and would lead to a full-scale humanitarian disaster. Congress should reject outright calls for America to cut and run and instead should insist that the Bush Administration finish the job of training Iraqi security forces that are capable of supporting the government, dealing with sectarian violence, and providing for the safety of the civilian population.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas plans to present the Hamas-led Cabinet with an ultimatum in the coming days to accept an agreement for a coalition government or head to early elections, an Abbas aide said Sunday. In a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week, Abbas said he would travel to the Gaza Strip in the coming days for last-ditch talks on forming a joint government with Hamas, an Abbas aide said. 
Against the backdrop of ongoing clashes between Fatah and Hamas loyalists in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh declared on Sunday that the internal conflicts within Palestinian society would lead to the destruction of Palestinian interests. During a speech at a special assembly in the Gaza Strip, Haniyeh urged all factions of the Palestinian people to join ranks in order to strengthen the Palestinian cause. 
Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, has said that a war with Israel cannot be ruled out as long as a lasting peace eludes the Middle East. 
Iran on Sunday 
