The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has recently transmitted a secret proposal to the Bush administration, using one of his own sons, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah as an emissary, rather than officials from the Saudi Embassy in Washington, ABCNEWS has learned. Oooh, secret plans! Tell us more!
The Saudis are proposing that after Saddam Hussein's fall, Saudi Arabia should lead a coalition of Islamic nations to occupy Iraq while a transitional Iraqi government is established, with Turkey playing the leading role in the Islamic force. I see, after the US and other nations do the heavy lifting, you want us to had Iraq over to you with the Turkish army under your control. We'll get back to you on that, after we stop laughing.
Senior government officials told ABCNEWS that according to the Crown Prince, an Islamic occupation force would defuse the anti-American hostility that is sweeping the Middle East and putting pressure on moderate Arab governments that are allied with the United States. The Saudis would then be free to crack down on the extremist Jihadis in the Kingdom who are allied with al Qaeda or are sympathetic to Osama bin Laden. Uh huh.
Right now, Saudis feel a full scale crackdown would look like the Kingdom is doing American bidding, at a time when President Bush is very unpopular there. How about right after hell freezes over?
Posted by: Steve ||
02/20/2003 11:24:08 AM ||
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Pakistan Interior Minister Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat has said that former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbudin Hekmatyar poses no immediate threat to the security of Pakistan or international community. "Hekmatyar is no immediate threat to our security or international security," the Minister told journalists here. Faisal said that Pakistan has no links with Hekmatyar or his Hizb-e-Islami group. "Though in the past he had opened his offices but now he has totally been banned in Pakistan," he said. "We have no information about the whereabouts of Hekmatyar. No one is using Pakistani soil against United States or any other country," the Minister stressed. I'm glad you cleared that up. I feel much better now.
Regarding the issue of human trafficking, the Minister said since the Bali conference to curb human trafficking, the Pakistani government has accelerated its efforts to address the issue. "We are committed to take every possible step for checking human trafficking and smuggling. We have planned a comprehensive strategy and taken positive steps," Faisal said. Really, tell me how?
He noted: "The fundamental problem we are facing, is the use of fake Pakistani documents by non-Pakistanis because it has damaged Pakistan's reputation in the international community. "To check these activities, the government is introducing digital passport system." The interior minister said that issuance of digital passports will start by the end this year and the old ones would be replaced by the new ones. So all those terrorists, er, smugglers, er, human trafficers are not really Pakistani's, they just have fake Pakistani passports. Boy, I'm glad you cleared that up. You guys have been totally getting a bad rep.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/20/2003 1:05:24 PM ||
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The United States appears to have ended its patience with Turkey and threatens to review their strategic relationship unless Ankara immediately approves the deployment of tens of thousands of American troops in Turkey. The new U.S. approach is being utilized amid another Turkish delay of a request by Washington for the deployment of up to 40,000 American troops in Turkey. After reassurances to Washington, Ankara has not linked such approval to a huge U.S. compensation package and a new United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorize war against Iraq. "The United States has thousands of troops on ships waiting outside of Turkish ports and Ankara won't come to a decision," a Western diplomatic source said. "This situation is quickly coming to a head. It's a matter of hours and days." Turkey's parliament did not receive a government request for U.S. troop deployment. Officials said the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Gul will not ask for a parliamentary vote until negotiations over a U.S. compensation package with Turkey are completed. About time the U.S. suggested they defecate or discommode. The baksheesh thing has been burning American patience. We started out with good feelings toward our Noble Allies. Now it's time for the son o' bitches to come through with something other than talk.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/20/2003 12:09:16 PM ||
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Columnist Murat Celik comments on a military consensus reportedly reached by Turkey and the US. A summary of his column is as follows:
Turkey and the US have reached a consensus on military matters concerning Iraq because Ankara got what it wanted from the US in this area. Now a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is ready for their signatures concerning the war that is likely to come. While hard bargaining is continuing on the political and economic fronts, let me tell you how the MoU was shaped, some of its details and how the consensus was reached.
Contrary to what many in the public thought, there was never any âcrisis of commandâ between Turkey and the US. No proposal for âbringing Turkish soldiers under US officersâ commandâ was ever made at any of the tables sat at by the two countriesâ military officials. Actually, the US leaked such news to the press in order to see how Ankara would react. When Turkey basically said âdonât even consider such a thing,â the issue never came to the table. Thus, the MoU contains the sentence, âThe forces of the two countries will carry out their duties under their respective national commands.â Turkish and US units will work only in âcoordination.â
What is the content of the MoU? In brief, everything but the number of soldiers and the period of their deployment. As these two issues depend on proposals yet to be passed by the Parliament, they arenât covered by the MoU. The MoU does cover principles of military activities in detail. One of the most important issues is the status of US soldiers coming Turkey. The consensus that was reached is as follows: âUS soldiers will be subject to Turkish law within Turkeyâs borders and in terms of their relations with citizens of the Turkish Republic, and they will be subject to US law within themselves.â The highlights of the principles in the MoU can be listed as follows: points that soldiers will land on, routes they will pass through, conditions to be obeyed in the process of passage and dispatch, legal conditions, and methods for mutual briefing. Certain important signs concerning the timetable appear in US military planning. If Parliament authorizes and the government accepts the US soldiers, a settling period of 15 days will start after US ships anchor at the Port of Mersin. The US units need two weeks to be ready to cross over the border. This is the period envisaged so the soldiers and equipment can reach their places through highways, railways and by air. The timetable of US military planning implies the first week of March for a political and economic consensus. Of course the US has to meet the Turkish governmentâs expectations on the minimum level, and the USâ proposals on the economy as of yesterday were very far from what Ankara could accept.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION The US and Turkish military sound like they are working well together. It all comes back to the economic package.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/20/2003 10:21:47 AM ||
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Although Ankara and Washington have failed to reach an agreement on the deployment of US forces in Turkey, the build up of US military equipment has apparently started. A number of armoured vehicles and loads of ammunition were discharged from the US Ro-Ro âTellusâ at the port of Iskenderun, on Turkeyâs south eastern Mediterranean coast on Wednesday. In addition, there were also wheeled transport vehicles unloaded from the vessel. The cargo was discharged amidst tight security, supervised by Turkish officials and 50 US soldiers. Current, US experts are upgrading three Turkish ports, including Iskenderun, for possible use should the Turkish parliament approved the deploying of US forces in Turkey. There was also a high level of activity at the Incirlik Airbase near the southern Turkish city of Adana, which is also being renovated. An increased number of fighter and tanker aircraft were seen to take off and later return to the base, which is jointly used by the Turkish, US and British airforces. Just heard on Fox News that Turkish minister said he saw no reason that the deadlock could not be settled soon. Hope so.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/20/2003 10:12:13 AM ||
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The C of E humiliates its remaining Christians again:
The Anglican bishop of Harare, Norbert Kunonga, is facing increasing public confrontation with church leaders over his controversial support for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. A long-simmering row burst into the open again February 16 when prominent lawyer and Anglican chancellor of the Harare diocese, Bob Stumbles, publicly accused Kunonga of acting "contrary to the laws of the church" and of falsely accusing members of his congregation of plotting his assassination. Stumbles. Apt name for the guy. He'll no doubt be doing a lot of that when Bob's Green Brigades get some lead in him. For his part, Norb thinks Bob is the greatest thing since sliced dissidents:
Kunonga, who is close to Mugabe, is condoning the violent seizure of white-owned farms by supporters of Mugabe's Zanu-PF political party. He is banned from travel in the United States under sanctions imposed on Mugabe and his closest associates. Oh dear Lord, it's fun to be an Anglican sometimes.
Posted by: Christopher Johnson ||
02/20/2003 8:02:50 PM ||
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HONG KONG - North Korea could soon face another deadly famine unless foreign donors resume food supplies cut off because of the current nuclear standoff, a leading aid official said Wednesday. "The people are living on the edge. It doesn't need much until we could slip back into the hunger of 1995-1997," Kathi Zellweger of the charity Caritas Hong Kong said upon her return from the isolated country. Zellweger, one of the few foreigners allowed to visit North Korea regularly, said the country began to suffer huge cutbacks in foreign aid when U.S. officials confronted Pyongyang over its alleged nuclear program. Alleged?
"The political tensions now of course are making donors think more carefully," she said. "We have to continue as we are helping people in need, and we do not like to mix humanitarian aid and politics." The United Nations says donors have only provided 6.7 percent of the US$225 million in supplies North Korea sought so far this year. Its World Food Program, the North's biggest food supplier, has been forced to cut its rations to some 3 million people, including children, pregnant women and the elderly, and close down subsidized factories that produce biscuits. Looks like things are tough all over...
"I do believe if no aid is forthcoming in the next few months, we will have severe crisis again in early summer," Zellweger warned. Let 'em eat nukes.
North Korea has depended on foreign aid to feed its people since its farming industry collapsed in the mid-1990s after decades of inefficiency and the loss of Soviet subsidies. Some 2 million people are believed to have died because of famine since 1995. Kinda makes the Juche idea look like a load of crap, doesn't it?
Officials are pleading for more food aid as their stock will run out in a few months, Zellweger said. She said the country also needs donations of medical and agricultural supplies. Zellweger said despite fewer cases of acute malnutrition among North Koreans in recent years, many people lack basic foods such as eggs, fish and meat and rely on diets based solely on starch. The solution? Let's have a big parade for Kimmie.
Posted by: tu3031 ||
02/20/2003 10:17:12 AM ||
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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.
