Italian troops in eastern Afghanistan say they have come under attack from unidentified gunmen. Correspondents say it is the first serious incident since they took over the Salerno military base from US troops last Saturday. An Italian spokesman said the attack began when troops came under rocket fire. A few hours later a nearby US airbase also came under attack.
Camp Salerno is in the province of Khost, close to the border with Pakistan, where hundreds of Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters are believed to be hiding. It came under rocket attack late on Tuesday. Shortly afterwards, a group of armed men approached the camp and the Italian troops opened fire on them. "Security personnel engaged hostile elements, presumably wounding one of them, while the others escaped," Italian military spokesman Lieutenant Gianfranco Oggiano said, the Reuters news agency reports. No Italians were injured in the incident, Lieutenant Oggiano said. Some 500 Italian troops are based at the Salerno camp. It was frequently attacked when it was controlled by US troops.
Shortly afterwards, the Chapman Airfield, six kilometres away, was also attacked by unidentified men. US military spokeswoman Captain Alayne Cramer said the attackers withdrew after US troops opened fire. "We don't know if it was the same brain-dead losers personnel that moved from Salerno to Chapman," Captain Cramer said.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/19/2003 05:40 am ||
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'Shortly afterwards, a group of armed men approached the camp and the Italian troops opened fire on them. "Security personnel engaged hostile elements, presumably wounding one of them, while the others escaped,"'
The Italians stood and fought, and the Jihadis ran. Fie on stereotypes.
#2
I read somewhere a couple days ago that the Italians are Alpini. Guess Hek's boyz believed the unkind stereotypes.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2003 9:49 Comments ||
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Agred Fred, The Italians mayn't be the best soldiers in the world, but the less-than-bloodthirsty reputation they gained during WWII shouldn't be exaggerated. I mean, can you blame them for lacking enthusiasm when fighting alongside the Nazis?!
#4
During WWII, my grandfather successfully battled against italian troops until the armistice (well, not single-handedly, but you see my point); later, he joined the resistance then the armed resistance, captured german soldiers, re-joined the army, and fought up to Berlin. He was, and is, french. Stereotypes are funny, but they 're just stereotypes.
#7
Far be it from me to impede on anyone's French bashing, but take a look at http://www.Dienbienphu.org.
Many of them fought bravely.
Posted by: Jon ||
03/19/2003 23:32 Comments ||
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Er, not to harsh on Gallic military achievements, but Dien Bien Phu was fought by the French Foreign Legion, not the French Army proper. In fact, I think Frenchmen were formally barred from being Legionnaires at the time. (Since the Legion doesn't require ID to enlist, there were probably a few French citizens present and fighting.)
16 of the 18 brothers serving in the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment
The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment Battle Group massing to thunder across the Iraqi border includes NINE pairs of siblings. Just a light, short article about our good allies.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 08:58 am ||
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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
[Most of them far-left Labour MPs and Guardian editorialists]
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here
And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
Good luck and good hunting, and get home safe, brothers.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/19/2003 9:17 Comments ||
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Thanks for cleaning up my bungled HTML, Fred! You wouldn't know I program for a living sometimes...
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 9:29 Comments ||
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Our prayers are with you and all your fellow warriors.
God bless America, God Bless Australia, and God Save the Queen!
Three men have been arrested under anti-terrorism laws, after two "home-made bombs" were discovered at a flat in Sussex. Police are continuing to search a property near Gatwick Airport in Langley Green, Crawley, after the discovery on Tuesday. Sussex Police have not confirmed reports that the three men arrested were Portuguese, saying only that they are of Western European origin. The arrests were made under the Terrorism Act 2000 after two "viable improvised explosive devices" were found during a routine inquiry. Inspector Geoff Sharnock said: "They are effectively home-made bombs. Three men have been arrested. One was arrested elsewhere and two were arrested at the flat." Inspector Sharnock refused to say where the third man was arrested but added: "They are all European men. Bomb disposal experts have gone into the premises to make sure the devices were safe." "Hell, they're only bombs, but they could be dangerous."
Detective Chief Inspector Tony O'Donnell said: "At this stage the search of the address is continuing and it's too early to speculate on the motive behind this incident. It has not, at this stage, been linked to any target or specific organisation. I'd hazard a guess Gatwick might have been considered. Are these guys "West Europeans" in the same way the last bomb carrier near Gawick was "Venezuelan"?
Local residents told reporters they believed the men may have been airport workers, but there has been no confirmation of this by police. A police cordon was put up near the flat and more than a dozen police officers were guarding the property, located above an engraving shop. It is understood a small number of local residents were evacuated from their homes when the search began. The manager of a public house on the parade said police began arriving at the address from 1600 (GMT) on Tuesday, followed by officers from the "bomb squad" who attended the flat at about 1800 (GMT). Local residents said they thought the men worked at Gatwick Airport. Pinakin Patel, the owner of Kandies Sweets in Langley Parade, said: "They often came back wearing airport-style clothes as if they were cleaners or something." Police would not comment on whether the arrest operation was connected to the airport. Under the Terrorism Act 2000, suspects can be questioned for up to a week without charge, with the permission of magistrates.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/19/2003 08:38 am ||
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United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has expressed concern for the millions of civilians who could be caught in the looming war in Iraq.
"It is the plight of the Iraqi people which is now my most immediate concern," For the past 12 years, I could not have cared less, but now that someone is going to liberate them, I'm just going to sit down and have a good cry.
he told a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York - just hours before a US deadline for war was due to expire. New York, you remember that place, the one with 3000 dead people, no thanks to efforts by the UN.
Mr Annan said Iraqis had suffered a lot over the years and were faced now with a disaster "which could easily lead to epidemics and starvation". unlike 12 years of sanctions which has made Iraq into the middle east version of Las Vegas, right Kofi?
Millions of people around the world share this sense of disappointment and are deeply alarmed
Kofi, do you mean we share a sense of disappointment in your sorry ass? then yes I agree.
During the meeting, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Russia renewed their criticism of the US decision to use force to disarm Iraq.
Mr Annan told the security council it was "a sad day for the United Nations". Who? Im sorry Im not familiar with that term, oh you mean the people who used to live in "TRUMP TURTLE BAY TOWERS". thats right, I forgot.
"I know that millions of people around the world share this sense of disappointment and are deeply alarmed," he said. Only those who backed the wrong horse and now are stuck with that creeepy feeling that they just might be next on the list. Peaceful liberal democracies are more interested in the Oscars getting cancelled.
The Secretary General said nearly a million Iraqi children were suffering from malnutrition, and the coming conflict would make things much worse. Ahem, THEY ARE STARVING AS A RESULT OF UN SANCTIONS, NOT U.S. BOMBS.
He said efforts to relieve the plight of the Iraqi people could yet prove to be the task around which the security council could rebuild its unity. Get a clue you asshat.....
His appeal came after opponents of the use of force in Iraq repeated their objections - most notably Germany, France, Russia and Syria. Who now go by code names of "Empty-Base-land", "Uncle-fester-land", "what-were-we-thinking-land" and "next-land".
To those who think that the scourge of terrorism will be eradicated through what is done in Iraq, we say that they run the risk of failing in their objective Sorry, that didnt translate well. I think what he ment to say was its better to hide your head under the covers thaen to deal with the big mean nasty monsters of the world.
"Germany emphatically rejects the impending war," Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said. Thanks, that sentiment 60 years too late, but we'll take it anyway.Good luck unloading all those empty bases we are going to leave behind.
He said Iraq had been slow and misleading during the inspection process. But he added that no-one could seriously believe that wars of disarmament were the way forward. I know of one war of disarmament that worked. it happened somewhere in europe once, now what was the name of that country?......
His French counterpart, Dominique de Villepin, said the crisis had highlighted two conflicting visions - one based on the use of force to cut through the complexities of the modern world, and the other built on the idea that progress in international relations depended on dialogue. One based on clear headed common sense, the other from a rectum with a DEEP cranial impact.
But Mr de Villepin called on the UN to pull together and address Iraq's humanitarian needs, and said France would take its full part in that process.
'Sadness'
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov also condemned the US decision to go to war.
But he also voiced hope that diplomacy could still prevail, stressing that resolving the Iraqi problem was "impossible without the Security Council".
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara said the war against Iraq would return to haunt the US and Britain. Whats your name again sir, we want to make sure you get on our mailing list.
The session began with the chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix expressing "sadness" that it had not been possible to produce the assurances needed about Iraq's arsenal, in the three-and-a-half months of inspections. I dont think Hans Blix could find the 4th Marines currently in Kuwait if we gave him a map and a minder.
He presented a work programme which sets out the key remaining disarmament tasks for Iraq. Its cool buddy, we gotcha covered. Our 'weapons inspectors' are called 101st and 82nd "airborne" , they have a great record of disarming tyrants, just ask anyone.
He acknowledged, however, that his programme "would seem to have only limited practical relevance in the current situation" since all the inspectors had followed orders to leave Iraq under the threat of imminent war. This is eurotalk for "I hope this doesnt screw my eligibility for retirement benefits".
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
03/19/2003 06:18 pm ||
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One correction: Not the UN sanctions are responsible for Iraqi starvation but the fact that Oil for Food means: Saddam sells the oil and receives the food. Which he distributes as he pleases.
If the money made was ACTUALLY used to feed the Iraquis, no one would starve.
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Austrian right-winger AsshatJoerg Haider praised Saddam Hussein as being cultivated, pleasant and open-minded and denounced the U.S. push for war against Iraq at the release Wednesday of his book about the Iraqi dictator.
Haider, the former leader of the anti-immigration Freedom Party, told reporters his two meetings with the Iraqi president in Baghdad last year were "interesting and philosophical." This boy needs to get out more often.I wonder if hes ever been to austin on a saturday night?
Austria's government -- and Washington -- criticized Haider's travels to Iraq at the time.
Haider, the governor of the province of Carinthia, previously drew international rebukes for his praise of some of Adolf Hitler's policies and other remarks deemed insulting to Jews. I think I see a trend here: displayed hatred of Jews + professed love of Hitler and Stalin + a severe hatred of america = Saddam is a misunderstood guy.
"I didn't have the feeling of sitting across from an uncultured villain of history," Haider said of Saddam. "My impression is that we had a pleasant, cultivated, comprehensive talk." What was that conversation like? Saddam, what do you find the best temperature to use in your crematoriums? What is the best torture method to get kids to turn on their parents? Do you find starvation or imbedded meathooks a more effcient method of persuasion? Who makes your uniforms?, Hugo Boss used to make ours, he does good work, heres his card, I'll getcha a discount. Don't you find black and red epaulettes offset the green uniforms?
In the 215-page book -- roughly translated as "Saddam's Guest: In the `Empire of Evil'" -- Currently remaindered behind Al and Tipper Gores "Everybody is a family because we said so" coffee table book from last year.
Haider depicts himself as an advocate of peace, describing his meetings with Pope John Paul II and other Arab leaders besides Saddam.Insert Mel Brooks Joke Here: Haider is interested in "piece", a little Piece of poland a little Piece of france..... Arab "leaders like the butcher of Syria, the leaders of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, or the Mullahs of Iran. yeah, nice dinner companions they are. Good table manners I hear.
Haider was driven out of town on a rail, tarred and feathered withdrew from national politics in 2000. After his party joined the government that year, the European Union imposed seven months of diplomatic sanctions on Austria and Israel withdrew its ambassador.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
03/19/2003 05:46 pm ||
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Tony Blair is set to meet French President Jacques Chirac for the first time since the French veto threat over a new UN resolution setting a deadline for Saddam Hussein to disarm. The prime minister's spokesman said Mr Blair will attend the European Union's summit later this week and will make his views clear to Mr Chirac if needs be. Will Tony punch him in the head or kick him in his escargot?
EU leaders will discuss Iraq at a dinner in Brussels on Thursday evening and the spokesman said there was no point pretending there was not a fundamental disagreement between France and Britain. Paris is still reeling from Mr Blair's repeated claims that the French are to blame for the failure to secure a diplomatic solution to the Iraq crisis. He described the French stance as misguided and profoundly dangerous, stressing that it had ultimately benefited the Iraqi dictator.
De Villepin: "Shocked! Shocked, I tell you!" 'Shocked and saddened' by British attitude
"Oh, why would he say such a thing? Claudette, my pills! Quickly!"
"The tragedy is that had such a resolution been issued, he might just have complied," said Mr Blair. He insisted: "There is resentment of US predominance. There is fear of US unilateralism...I know all of this. But the way to deal with it is not rivalry but partnership." But those comments appear to have upset the French. Good!
One diplomatic source in France said: "We fully understand the internal pressure which is being put on the British government, How about the pressure we'd like to put on your pointy french head? Would you understand that?
but these comments are not worthy of a country which is a friend and a European partner. This presentation of the facts does not match the reality and does not fool anyone." Mr Villepin added: "The French authorities were shocked and saddened by the remarks made by members of the British government."
Posted by: Domingo ||
03/19/2003 10:37 am ||
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Daschle- De Villepin in 2004... That's the ticket!
Prime Minister John Howard today led a scathing attack on France for its strong opposition to war on Iraq ... Federal parliamentary secretary Warren Entsch called the French international vultures.
Whoa! Entsch went on to describe France as a nation that "circles around and does nothing for itself, waiting for the opportunity to go and pick the benefits of other peoples' hard work." He evidently provoked a free-wheeling beret assault:
France was also condemned in the parliament by several MPs as treacherous, duplicitous, World War II Nazi-collaborators and makers of inferior wine whose talents were restricted to cooking.
Jacques Chirac might want to reconsider his visit.
#5
Would it help if they learned how to count and use plain english? I mean, "unilateral=1", while "multilateral" means more than one, and there are, at last count, 40 odd countries in the coalition.
Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider chose the eve of a U.S.-led war on Iraq to praise President Saddam Hussein as a man with an open mind and a vision of a unified Arab world. "Meeting Saddam was quite interesting, because he spent more than two hours explaining his philosophy of the unification of Arab nations," Haider told reporters on Wednesday at the launch of his new book about his 2002 meeting with the Iraqi leader. "And (Saddam) explained the danger Israel poses for the Arab world, especially for the Palestinians," said Haider, who once praised Nazi employment polices and Hitler's Waffen SS — comments for which he later apologized. Not that he has changed his mind, he just apologized for saying it. I'm sure he and Sammy have a lot in common.
"I had the impression that (Saddam) is well-educated, he knows a lot about the history of his country and the region, and he's open to different arguments," Haider said. Haider's trip to Iraq in February 2002 and show of support for Saddam met with such fierce criticism at home and abroad that Europe's most successful far-right leader was forced to abandon his last position in Austrian national politics. In his book, "A Guest of Saddam in the 'Realm of Evil,"' Haider describes how he praised Saddam's intelligence in a meeting with two Israeli secret police agents, who asked to interview Haider in Vienna after his return from Baghdad. "I described my impression of the man Saddam Hussein as best I could after our single meeting," writes Haider. "I also told them of his obvious intelligence, which had impressed me during our discussions, and of his clear thought-processes." He also said that the Israeli agents asked him if he would be prepared to take on a "role as a negotiator between Israel and Iraq."
Haider told the agents he would gladly do his part to bring peace to the Middle East, though he said he had the "same view of the Palestinian question as Saddam Hussein." And has the same view of the Jewish question as Hitler. See, I told he and Sammy were buddies.
At the news conference, Haider said nothing critical of the man President Bush accused of developing weapons of mass destruction, wants ousted and his government toppled. Last year, a German forensic pathologist said the man Haider had been photographed with was not the real Saddam Hussein, but one of at least three doubles who had undergone plastic surgery to look like the Iraqi leader. Haider dismissed the idea that the man he shakes hands with on the cover of his book is a fake Saddam, though he joked that the existence of doubles could help prevent war. "I'm curious which of the Saddams the United States wants to send into exile," he said. "If it's true that there are five or six Saddams, them it shouldn't be hard to send one or two of them into exile." Won't be hard to kill all of them either.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 08:41 am ||
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Haider actually met one of his doubles, according to this german guy who spotted them. Saddam doesn't bother with small-time politicians... Haider has the same attraction toward Saddam than his french counterpart, the old fashioned fascist Le Pen, an another dictators groupie. Could anyone (harshly) correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC (49%) Haider has converted to islam in 2001-2002, his witness being Islam Ghaddaffi, the son of Muhammar; Joerg is a friend of this charming family, as well.
#2
It was on BBC's "Profiles" show on Saddam that John Simpson (the fat,pompous guy) made.The BBC had hired a German expert (of something) to compare pictures of Saddam and he found that Mr. Haider had met one of his doubles.
Posted by: El Id ||
03/19/2003 12:32 Comments ||
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Saddam well educated? He's about to have a real life physics lesson today...
Posted by: Brian ||
03/19/2003 13:07 Comments ||
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Heh heh heh heh heh...
Electronic bugging devices have been discovered in offices used by French and German delegates at a European Union headquarters building in Brussels. The building is the location of an EU summit due to open on Thursday. EU spokesman Dominique-George Marro says the EU is investigating but has no immediate idea who is responsible. He says listening devices were also found in offices used by other EU nations, but declined to say which or how many. "We found anomalies in the telephone lines" during regular security checks a few days ago, Mr Marro said in a telephone interview. He said only a small number of lines had been affected.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/19/2003 08:41 am ||
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I would imagine that it was the Germans and French snooping on each other. No-one else cares what they have to say anymore
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2003 8:56 Comments ||
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Update: UK offices also bugged. French blaming the US. Could be anyone...
Washington -- In one of the most brutal critiques of the administration's policy toward Iraq by a member of Congress, East Bay Rep. Pete Stark said President Bush would be responsible for "an act of terror" by launching a massive bombing campaign to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"I think unleashing 3,000 smart bombs against the city of Baghdad in the first several days of the war . . . to me, if those were unleashed against the San Francisco Bay Area, I would call that an act of extreme terrorism," said Stark, a Democrat from Fremont.
Stark, a peace activist in the 1960s and a 30-year veteran in Congress, is known for his sharp and sometimes careless tongue. He told the Oakland Tribune Monday that if the president initiates the war, "it's blood on Bush's hands."
His latest criticism is based on published reports that U.S. forces plan to fire as many as 3,000 laser- and satellite-guided missiles on Iraq in the first days of a military campaign.
"You can't send in 3,000 bombs without some of them going awry, in spite of the military's claims about accuracy," Stark said in an interview Tuesday with The Chronicle. "If they get two-thirds accuracy that means that 1,000 bombs will explode (off target) inside a city of 6 million people. To me, that's a terrorist act."
Also Tuesday, Republican leaders were sharply critical of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle for saying in a speech Monday that he was "saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war."
Rallying to Daschle's defense, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, repeated what Republican Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio said two weeks after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor: "Criticism in time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of democratic government."
"In expressing his views, Tom Daschle is being patriotic," Pelosi said. "The Republican leaders are being partisan."
Bad ol' pautisan wepublicans!
Posted by: John Phares ||
03/19/2003 05:20 pm ||
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Patriotism -- Any criticism from a Democrat or liberal.
Partisanship -- Any criticism from a Republican or conservative.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 17:33 Comments ||
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Oops -- I screwed up the highlighting on the last line. Apologies.
Posted by: John Phares ||
03/19/2003 17:35 Comments ||
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I just want to go on record that even though I've been a lifelong liberal and Democratic voter, the Dems won't get another vote from me for decades, if ever! Today's Democratic party is a sorry, sorry spectacle.
#4
"...if those were unleashed against the San Francisco Bay Area, I would call that an act of extreme terrorism."
[sarcasm]
Based on the reports on Bill Quick's blog, some of us might be inclined to consider 3,000 bombs unleashed against San Francisco "a good start."
[/sarcasm]
Posted by: Old Grouch ||
03/19/2003 19:43 Comments ||
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Pete Stark should be tossed over the Golden Gate Bridge...what a fucking idiot! Yet another smelly beatnik San Francisco hippie...what's with that region of the country (the Left Coast)?
It's time for a state like Texas to invade CA and toss the crazy lefty riff-raff out into the Pacific...
Posted by: Bill ||
03/19/2003 20:04 Comments ||
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Former 60's peace activist, Democrat, 30 year congressman from Oakland. What do you think he's gonna say, buy bonds? Not like his constituents (BRRRRRRRRRRRR) are gonna vote him out.
#7
Another knee walking turkey looking to sell out his country. Pete Stark was surpassed only by Red Ron Dellums in his blind obedience to the Stalinist line.
Posted by: TJ Jackson ||
03/19/2003 21:46 Comments ||
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A man protesting the looming U.S. war on Iraq fell to his death from San Francisco's famed Golden Gate Bridge on Wednesday as he was hanging a banner, officials said. "No blood for oooiiiiiiillllllllllllllll...{splash}"
"He appears to have been hanging a banner of some kind," said California Highway Patrol officer Timothy Willock, trying to keep a straight face. "We're not sure if he decided to jump or slipped while he was, you know, hanging the banner. That's unclear right now." Anti-war sentiment is strong in the San Francisco Bay Area but the death of the man in his 30s was the first related to the latest protests over the U.S.-led war against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Heh heh - I feel really bad about this....idiot
"What the hell does 'No blood for splat!' mean?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2003 04:22 pm ||
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Doesn't exactly sound like our Lefty friends have suited up the A-team for Day One, does it?
#2
Surely the law of gravity can be tempered with mercy and understanding...?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2003 16:29 Comments ||
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The Lefties don't have an A-Team. The closest they got it Nome Chomsky and Dhimmy Carter.....poor bastids just don't stand a chance.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/19/2003 16:34 Comments ||
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Oh, and that should have been Gnome Chomsky - looks like I'm gonna grab myself some pine as well.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/19/2003 16:36 Comments ||
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Notice: people here could be required to assist security forces, should protesters hamper the operation of government during this war. If you see a police officer who appears about to be overwhelmed, then don't wait for a UN resolution before you help. But don't do anything unless you are asked to do it.
Another Great Moment in Civil Disobedience. News Flash from Olympia, WA.... Home town of Rachel Corrie. Maybe it's the water?
OLYMPIA -- A man spent hours chained to the wrong building Tuesday in an ill-planned effort to protest war with Iraq, police said. Another Evergreen College alum perhaps?
Jody Mason padlocked himself to an entrance of the Washington State Grange building at 924 Capitol Way S., thinking it was a sub-office of the U.S. Department of Energy. Grange employees found him about 11:45 a.m. Tuesday and asked what he was doing.
"And what the hell do you think you're doin', Beauzeau?"
He told employees he'd chained himself to the building in civil disobedience Monday night after listening to President Bush's televised ultimatum to Saddam Hussein. No Blood for the Washington State Grange. Dude. Or, man.
Mason padlocked one end of the chain around his neck and the other to a door, which opens to a bottom-floor office. He told onlookers he was protesting Bush's foreign and domestic policies. He had affixed a sign to the building reading, "Reduce Deficit." Grange employees explained that he was at the wrong building. The Grange is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that advocates for residents in rural areas. ...and usually doesn't have a lot of dealings with Idio-Americans.
"I don't think that's ever happened before," said Larry Clark, Grange communications director. Police officers used heavy-duty bolt cutters to free Mason. "He asked for help because he didn't have the key," Olympia police Cmdr. Steve Nelson said. This just gets better and better...
Mason wasn't arrested and won't face any charges. Officers let him go and didn't take his name, Nelson said. "He was our first protester since President Bush's speech," Nelson said. ...and will probably be one of the stupider ones we'll see.
"Just go home and sleep it off, okay?"
Mason, who identified himself to a photographer, said he had looked up the Department of Energy in the phone book. The phone book, under the Department of Energy, lists a Bonneville Power Administration Office at 924 Capitol Way S. Somewhere, the Chicago 7 are spinning in their graves...
Don't blame her. She was probably busy burning a flag and didn't look up.
The parents of American peace activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer are calling for an investigation of the incident by U.S. authorities. The parents of 23-year-old Rachel Corrie, joined by Rep. Brian Baird ,D-Wash., said it was important for the United States to hold Israel to the same standards it would hold a U.S. soldier to in similar circumstances. Brian, give Patty Murray a call. I think she'd like to cash in on this, too.
"We do not allow our soldiers to fire on unarmed citizens," Baird said Wednesday. "I don't think you are a good friend if you don't look closely at mistakes." Her mistake (and it's a big one): Standing, sitting, or kneeling in front of a moving bulldozer.
Baird accused the driver of bulldozer of intentionally running over Corrie as she stood in his path Sunday to try to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in the Rafah refugee camp.
"It seems the bulldozer willingly pushed forward," Baird said, citing eyewitness accounts from peace activists. Oh, good. Unbiased accounts. "It doesn't seem to be an accident or a mistake."
The Israeli military has said that Corrie's death was an accident.Lying Zionist pigs! It said small windows in the bulldozer's cab restricted the driver's vision as Corrie dropped to her knees to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home. Bet she won't do THAT again...
Corrie, of Olympia, Wash., was a student at The Evergreen State College near Olympia and was active in Olympia's peace movement. She joined the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led group that uses nonviolent methods to challenge Israeli occupation. Corrie's parents, Craig and Cynthia Corrie of Charlotte, N.C., called on Israel to "cease harassment" of protesters such as their daughter, who oppose what they call illegal demolitions of Palestinian homes. Craig Corrie said he hopes the soldier who caused his daughter's death understands "as a human being" what he has done. "If he had understanding (of his actions) and a long life, that would be the worst thing for him," Corrie said. "I can't understand (what happened). I won't understand." Of course, dear Corrie is completely blameless here...
The couple said no one from the Israeli government had contacted them, although they have heard from dozens of Israeli citizens since their daughter's death. "There are Israelis who feel devastated about what happened," said Cynthia Corrie. "There's been a great outpouring of sympathy." I'm really sorry...that your daughter was an idiot.
Baird said he would introduce a resolution in Congress this week calling for the U.S. investigation, which would be in addition to any action by the Israeli government.
Corrie's body is in Tel Aviv, where an autopsy is being conducted, Baird said. The body could be flown home as soon as Wednesday. The results: "I think she got run over by a bulldozer...."
Posted by: tu3031 ||
03/19/2003 11:10 am ||
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Some good pix of her burning American flag mock-ups with her face completely contorted in anger at LGF. She must have really hated the mother country.
When the Palestinians carried her body (in effigy) covered with another American flag mock-up, also pictured, I wonder how she'd have felt about that?
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 11:37 Comments ||
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#2
As a parent of a similarly aged child, I can't begin to know how her parents, as well as the parents of little "Johnny Taliban", feel to see their kids get caught up in these horrible irreversible situations, and not feel the least bit responsible, or at least total failures as parents.
I'd bet a box of Kripy Kreams a common thread of their parenting skills included "no spanking" clauses... (I once got "slapped upside the head" by my parents for the crime of getting "slapped upside the head" earlier in the day by Sister Mary "Chokehold", and there was very little due process involved... a few more years of counselling and I should beableto work out my "unresolved conflicts with authority".)
#4
There are pics at the relevant topic at LGF also, giving the design and relative size of the bulldozer in question. The window is very small, the forward scoop is very tall, so it seems to me that line-of-sight for close objects was blocked.
I've been noticing labels on trucks asking passing cars to make sure that they see the driver-side mirror: If you can't see it, then how possibly could the driver see you?
I believe the soldier involved believed that this dimbulb would "chicken out" and run off to the side at the last second, in the same way the other "human shields" in Iraq did in the immediate (to him) past.
Finally, her dropping to her knees was a very bad move: it lowered her height and even more effectively blocked the driver's ability to see her. She should have carried a white flag on a LONG stick, and kept waving it over her head to let him know she was still there. I'm sure he would have stopped, radioed her presence, and the support troops would have come in, dragged her off, and threw her onto a plane back to Olympia.
To make their case, the IDF should take a side photo of the bulldozer with a female soldier kneeling in front of the blade, with the window and top of the blade notated. This will more than prove that there was a visibility problem.
Also, the "house" in question was not inhabited, but was located on the border with Egypt. News reports have it being one end of a splodedope smuggling tunnel to Egypt.
She wished and wished that the nice man in the big, loud, heavy bulldozer would see, hear, smell her and be able to stop on a dime.
Rachel, meet Sir Isaac Newton. Obviously for the first time.
She committed suicide. She, and her other cohorts in crime were actively supporting people who have publicly vowed to drive Israel into the see and kill all the Jews. She is the Vichy to the Paleo's Nazis. Not running the gas chambers, but loading the trains.
#6
Seems the little lady was only an American when it suited her. Otherwise, she was an "international", whatever that might be. See the LGF links to pics of her hate-filled mug burning an American flag (well, sorta).
Evolution respects no citizenship papers.
Dumb = dead, regardless.
#10
I'll make the same comment here as I did yesterday at blogs of war (God I love my right wing web sites): I now pause at my earlier conclusion that John Walker Lindh was The Dumbest Motherfucker Ever To Walk The Earth. This flattened harpie has won that honor cleanly by her stupendous lack of judgment in crouching before a bulldozer. I imagine the scene from Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me where Austin slowly runs over the Dr. Evil stooge with the steamroller. At least Johny Jihad figured out how to survive his idiocy.
I feel sorry for the parents, but my God someone should get their email and send them the LGF pix of Jane Jihad burning the faux American flag that others mentioned. Text should say: shame on your America hating daughter, who died a needless, stupid death defending a bunch of God damned terrorists.
Posted by: Abu Hamza ||
03/19/2003 16:32 Comments ||
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"Check's in the mail." (Saddam)
Maybe the last one that gets out?
#14
Standing on the top edge of a blade on a bulldozer and falling off when the bulldozer hits a bump is committing suicide for sure, and that's what she was doing, not standing 'in the path of' the bulddozer.
#15
I'm a dozer-operator and depending on the hieght of the blade or bucket(clam-shell,probably) your vision is limited.
If she ran in front of blade at the last minute it is intirely possable the operator did not see her.
When an operator is pushing most of the attention is focused on one corner of the blade.
And even then he can't see the tip of the cutting edge,but operates by feel.Operator's call it "haveing a bubble in your butt".
Now,haveing said all that.It's pretty stupid to run around in front of a 25-ton bulldozer.My sympathy is with the parents,I'm sorry they had such a dumb-ass for a child.
I think his is related because... the sage elitist left, feeling bitter over the prospect of Iraqi's dancing in the streets, has revealed their new set of talking points which will allow them to cling to their delusion of superior wisdom for years to come.
In order justify their failed views and continue to obstruct all things American ...I present to you the left's new and improved, doom-gloom, Anti-American talking points... ta da..... you heard it first here folks!
George W. Bush says American armies come to the Middle East as liberators, not conquerors; he swears the US has "no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq's new government" after a war. The Iraqi opposition welcomed his words, but they should take careI feel a cold breeze across my neck. Washington's line echoes the failed ambitions of past US leaders to invent a benevolent imperialism. Mr Bush's reputed role model, William McKinley, sought to distinguish the US from the colonising nations of Europe by bringing democracy to the Philippines. Instead he brought terror and mayhem to US soldiers and Filipinos alike. The terror and brutal mayhem that already existed...will be ignored in this article...go figure.
Hawks in the McKinley administration believed the world would benefit from greater US naval power and overseas influence. In 1898 the USS Maine blew up while at anchor off the Spanish colony of Cuba. Subsequent investigations found no link between the explosion and the government of Spain, but the incident sparked a war that the hawks wanted. The US paused briefly in its rush to warmarch to vengeance to disavow all "disposition or intention" of occupying Spain's possessions, claiming to fight only for their freedom. I didn't edit out...but I wanted to share with you the tone of the paranoia.
Editing out much of the hysterical historical account...we imperialistically colonize the Phillipines, and nut-case
McKinley through divine guidance declared...
US armies had come to prove, that Asians too might enjoy "that full measure of individual rights and liberties which is the heritage of free peoples". The US landed not only marines but schoolteachers on Philippine shores, bringing textbooks and munitions alike. And indeed, literacy rates rose. Mortality rates from malaria and cholera fell. New roads and schools sprang up. So did some civic institutions, run by Filipinos who welcomed the chance to govern. ah..but for lefties, trouble always lurks beneath a happy surface
But trouble plagued the new colony from the start. As Senator Henry Cabot Lodge mildly noted: "Those people whom we liberated down there have turned against us." An army of 75,000 Filipinos began to fight a guerrilla war against their benevolent occupiers. US forces laid waste to the surrounding country.
News of such terrorism and indiscriminate response brought the war to a sputtering halt - although US troops stayed in the islands and rebels remained in the wilderness, as they do today. The Philippines did not attain independence, let alone democracy, until 1946.
Mr Bush now cites the democratic postwar reconstruction of Japan and Germany as precedents. What is the pupose of the word, "now" in this statement, was he previously using the Phillipines as his example?
But in 1945 the US ranked first among equals as peacemakers, leading a co-operative international project to rebuild shattered opponents as opposed to our unilateral uncooperative efforts today.
For the old Axis powers, Americans wrote new constitutions reflecting international aspirations, including measures more progressive than US customs. The present effort to keep other nations at arm's length scoff, promising to bring to Iraq a uniquely US experience of war and its aftermath, means there is something old in store for the new axis of enemieswhooooo .
Feel free to delete if not relevant, but there you have it my friends! Iraqi people beware, we will bring you school books, health, wealth and your mortality rates will drop. But terror and brutal oppression awaits you! but um...it's already there. ah..details!
Posted by: becky ||
03/19/2003 07:00 am ||
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#1
So, the actions of the United States in 1900 portend the results of the Liberation of Iraq over a century later? BTW, it was a MOSLEM guerrilla force that rose up, and after some effort was destroyed.
#2
Right-o. They're pre-emptively covering their ass, which means they actually do grasp the concept of "pre-emption", and are just hyper-selective in WHO is allow to perform it.
#3
Not exactly, Chuck. The Moslems came a bit later. There were quite a few factions and political entities, beginning with the revolutionary government--"the Malolos Republic"--lead by Emilio Aguinaldo, and made up largely of the leaders spearheading the main independence movement. These were the forces that were finished "early," after Aguinaldo's capture in 1901. The Moslem fighters managed to keep fighting until about 1913.
Posted by: AW ||
03/19/2003 12:24 Comments ||
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#4
I think the important bit about the Phillipines action was that after cleaning things up the US set forth a plan to grant independence (a move I doubt the Europeans would have considered). The Japanese stepped in and took over the islands and the Filipinos helped the US because they knew the offer of independence was real.
Edited for brevity
By Rosemary Morris
Special to ASSIST News Service
In February/March 2002 a market survey was taken of Muslim traders, homeowners in Gujarat, India, particularly in the Ahmedabad area. What followed that particular survey was the ethnic cleansing, and horrific genocide of vulnerable Muslim men, women and children resulting in thousands being killed, and many thousands ending up in refugee camps.
Several human rights groups went to Gujarat during 2002 and brought out their reports and submitted to the authorities but nothing changed. The Gujarat government just said it was communal riots, but from all the reports done both by national and international human rights groups, it was a definite, systematic attack on the Muslim community from the fascist forces in Gujarat.
In March 2003, we see that there is a new move on another minority community, but this time it is the Christian community. The Gujarat government have admitted that there has been some 'informal' gathering of statistics of the Christian community. It has been reported in the media the Gujarat police have started a discreet survey of Christians in some parts of the state, filing information on the size of the families, their job profiles and sources of foreign funds. However, both the police, the local government either blame each other for obtaining these surveys and information, and now the Gujarat government blames central government!!!!
It has been stated by the home minister of the State of Gujarat that MP Ram Vilas Paswan had raised a question regarding religious conversions and in order to give a complete reply, the Central government had asked for statistical information!!!
It has to be seen as a targeted survey simply by seeing the questions asked! They survey asks for name, details of Christian institutions in the area; how many people converted in the village during the past year; how many new institutes have started in the past year; details about converted Christians in the village; and what are the reasons behind the conversions in the district.
Several families in Ahmedabad city have been visited late at night (10.0 -11.0 pm asking the questions such as when they converted and who converted them. Not only is this intimidation but also harassment.
Posted by: Kathy ||
03/19/2003 08:45 am ||
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Hmmm...I'm going out on a limb here...and saying that "Assist" news is not an objective source...
#2
I'm skeptical of any Gujarat anti-Muslim conspiracy. The Gujarat Muslims are as militant as any and I'm sure they deserved whatever they got. That said, if India start rounding up Christians I'll certainly be outraged. But I doubt it'll happen.
#3
I won't be surprised if it does happen. The hinduvta bully boyz are just as bad as the Islamic bully boyz. They just prefer to fight it out among themselves, and they regard the Christians as poaching on their territory.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2003 9:40 Comments ||
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#4
The Christians don't fight, which is the reason why both sides detest them: they drain away valuable manpower and resources, as well as show up the inadequacies of the religions from which the converted departed.
Yeah, it'll probably happen. And, as usual, nothing will be done except huffing and puffing and the occasional "they deserved it!" from the bigots of the religion of secularism.
#5
Fred, I feel I have to contest your assertion that "the hinduvta bully boyz are just as bad as the Islamic bully boyz."
The Hindu extremists don't have the support of multiple foreign powers and limit their activities to Indian soil. Plus they have a legitimate bone to pick with the Islamists. That puts them up a notch or two in my book.
#6
The enemy of my enemy is my... Who would we rather align with, long run, Pakistan in it's current political configuration or India under the NDA-BJP-RSS Government?
Posted by: Brian ||
03/19/2003 13:10 Comments ||
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#7
mjh, you're right of course that Assist is not an objective news source. I'm not sure there's an objective news source reporting on local Indian issues, but if someone knows of one please pass that info along. I should have noted that in the post but was in a bit of a hurry this morning. That said, Gujarat doesn't have a stellar track record in supporting religious freedom, so although I can't say if this is true it certainly isn't entirely out of character.
#8
Point taken Kathy. When it comes down to it, is there really ANY objective news source? As consumers of info, I guess its partly our job to ascertain the truth or fiction out there.
#9
In fact, the Gujarat riots were a mob reaction to a murderous attack on a civilian train - Sabarmati Express - by Muslim terrorists. According to eye-witnesses, 6 or 7 attackers carried 20 liter fuel containers toward the train and deliberately doused Hindu women and children, and then set it alight. Muslims covered up the identities of their accused co-religists. As justice through civil means was being obstructed, Hindus took cause to exact mob retaliation.
Keep this in mind: the percentage of Muslims in India has increased from 8% at Partition, to 13% now. During the same period, GW Bush's Pakistani friends and beneficiaries have ethnically cleansed Hindus from 18% to 1%.
Posted by: Brian ||
03/19/2003 21:35 Comments ||
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#9
Could be part of psyop. We say we got the bastard and he has to prove us wrong. Then we pretend it's one of his doubles posing on tv. Could be fun to watch the top heads spinning...
Can we send in Blixie to verify??
#10
Word is that the President's speech was a called audible on the line of scrimmage. It seems that a "target of opportunity" presented itself in an area of Baghdad. It was felt that the President should make a public statement. What do you want to bet that it was SF, SAS or Delta lasing the target of opportunity.
"Always Out Front"
Posted by: Hungry Valley ||
03/19/2003 22:08 Comments ||
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Let Sammy know right off the bat what this war's all about.
NICOSIA, March 19 (Reuters) - The United States, poised to launch a war on Iraq, has asked for access to Cypriot airports and airspace on Wednesday.
Cyprus lies just south of Turkey, already has an agreement with Washington for use of facilities relating to the US-led fight against terror. The US wants this accord to cover Iraq-related operations.
Cyprus, a candidate for European Union membership, appeared to rule out the possibility of allowing the US to use facilities for an Iraqi offensive. "
It would be for purely humanitarian reasons," said Defence Minister Koullis Mavronicolas
. "That means there would be no role for Cyprus's ports or airports in the event of a war".
Under the existing agreement dating from 2001, US aircraft can use refuelling facilities at Larnaca and Paphos airports and its vessels can freely dock at the island's ports.
Britain, the USA's closest ally on Iraq, is allowed unrestricted use of Cypriot airspace under a 1959 treaty which gave the former colony independence. Its RAF base at Akrotiri in southern Cyprus is a refuelling and supplies post. That's convenient, sounds like the Brits can do whatever they want to.
A half-brother of President Saddam, who is regarded as the dictator's closest adviser, has fled in the past week to Syria. Sab'awi Ibrahim Hasan Al-Tikriti, who is regarded in the United States as a possible war criminal, has sought refuge in Damascus. "Sammy, I'm your closest advisor. Lemme give you some advice: get the hell out of Dodge. Like me."
His flight from Baghdad suggests "fractures developing within the regime", according to a secret-level intelligence report which The Times has seen. The reports, which are updated at least four times daily and distributed among senior British and US officers paint a picture of the dying hours of Saddam's 30-year iron grip on Iraq as it finally and dramatically falls apart, even before the British and US invasion gets underway. "We are looking at wholesale desertions in some areas," said an intelligence officer. "In the southern area, where there are six Iraqi divisions, fifty per cent of their officers are planning to surrender once the campaign opens." I'm against counting chickens before they're hatched. On the other hand, some of these little hatchlings are kinda cute, aren't they? Sure hope they keep coming along...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/19/2003 01:37 pm ||
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#1
Saddam,
OK if I leave a little early today? I need to swing by the cash station...
Australian Special Air Service troops and clearance divers aboard the HMAS Kanimbla are moving into position to participate in the initial assault on Iraq, according to military experts. SAS reconnaissance teams are believed to have entered southern Iraq from Kuwait, while navy divers are expected to help clear southern Iraqi ports so that ships can unload troops and equipment for a northern assault towards Baghdad. Australia's other major combat contribution to the invasion, which Foreign Minister Alexander Downer yesterday said was likely to begin at noon today, is 14 FA/18 Hornet fighters. The Hornets will not take part in the first air strikes but should begin combat flights soon after. Believed to be based in Qatar, they may be moved to Kuwait or southern Iraq to launch strikes on Iraqi ground targets.
Australian National University defence analyst Alan Dupont said he believed five or six-man SAS teams may have entered northern Iraq, as well as the south. "They are certainly in there now," Dr Dupont said. "They could be lined up against high-value targets all over the country." A Defence Force spokesman yesterday said Australian troops in the region were moving "into the next phase". Detailing troop locations would breach operational security, he said. Defence Minister Robert Hill refused to comment on the presence of SAS forces in Iraq, but said their tasks included finding and destroying weapons of mass destruction. Locating Scud missiles would be "very useful to a coalition", he said. Senator Hill said it was likely the 150-strong SAS detachment would be undertaking "fast-moving, long-range reconnaissance, searching for targets, bringing in extra force where necessary". Previously, the Government had denied SAS troops were in Iraq. It is understood SAS teams are being dropped inside Iraq by helicopter at night. They will hide and observe key sites, reporting back intelligence and detailing targets to be attacked by the coalition air campaign.
Asked yesterday if war would start at noon, Mr Downer said: "Yes, I think there's every chance that that's going to happen." Lock and load, Check your six, God speed.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 01:33 pm ||
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Aye lads. Keep yer eyes peeled, and God be with y'all.
In northern Iraq, on the border with Kurdistan, up to three-quarters of some Iraqi regiments have already fled.
In the mainly Shia Muslim south, Kuwaiti border guards are having to turn Iraqi soldiers back - telling them that they must wait until an attack begins before they can surrender.
And in a highly significant development in Baghdad a half-brother of President Saddam, who is regarded as the dictator's closest adviser, has fled in the past week to Syria.
[...]
Relying on human intelligence - British and US special forces already within Iraq who are observing Iraqi military movements as well as establishing contacts - and covert aerial surveillance, it is estimated that 73 per cent of the regular Iraqi army in the south of the country has already made up its mind to surrender to British and US troops.
In one dramatic example, the reports note that a US "psy ops" - psychological operation - unit dropped leaflets on Iraq's 51st Mechanised Division on March 9 and March 10.
Four days later, 20 per cent of the division had deserted and was no longer in the area. "Many of those who have already gone are reporting that the rest are preparing to surrender," said an intelligence officer.
In northern Iraq between 43 and 75 per cent of regular soldiers, depending upon their regiment, have already fled. Iraqi tribal leaders in the region have also abandoned Saddam and defected to the Kurds in the Northern No-Fly Zone.
Two days ago in the town of Chamchamal, 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the Iraqi border with Turkey, soldiers attempted to surrender to the Kurdish civilian population. They were fired upon by their own side, causing civilians to scatter.
In and around Baghdad the desertion rate is lower, but even among Saddam's elite Republican Guard divisions - whose loyalty to their leader has been unquestioned until now - 23 per cent have deserted.
On the Iraq-Kuwait border, where British and US forces are now massing, Saddam's unwilling soldiers are being turned back on an hourly basis.
"We are seeing Iraqis trying to come across the border, saying they want to surrender, but we are having to turn them back and telling them that they must wait until the war begins," said an intelligence officer.
#1
I might be proven wrong in an hour or two but wouldn't it make sense to wait with the invasion a few days longer? A few days of nerve wrecking waiting for the Saddamites who must know that doom is imminent. Maybe Saddam doesn't realize it because he probably kills the messenger of bad news but the smarter lot of the Iraqi military might crack and put things into its own hands. Maybe Saddam is killed and the military surrenders. This could mean a peaceful entry of U.S. troups, a possibly bloody and nasty war could be avoided and it would help mending fences with Europe (I know emotions are running high on France and Germany but somehow we must come together again in the future).
Wouldn't all this be worth a wait of several days or so?
#2
Keeping them waiting, with their eyes to the sky while we move into position to lock down the high risk targets- wmd, oil wells, scuds- sounds like one of the scenarios that may have been considered, hidden under the clock of "shock and awe"... although the 250M "US Weapons inspectors" who replaced the "UN Weapons inspectors" are really ready to see the rockets red glare.
It sounds like a good start, considering the team isn't even out of the tunnel yet.
#3
Indeed, while they "wait out" shock and awe in their bunkers (or hidden country huts?) we'll get the special forces in place? Sounds like a good plan to me.
#4
News is that a sandstorm is keeping everyone holed up for six or seven hours more.
However, I'm sure we may sacrifice a few choppers to move some Special Forces into place under the cover of the storm. (I.e. they'll fly, but may need early maintenance.)
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak said it is Iraq's fault that the region is facing war. But he added a forced regime change was not the solution. The solution is more talk. Everybody knows that...
In a nationwide address Wednesday, Mubarak declared Iraq's big mistake was invading Kuwait in 1990. He stated that "opened the door widely" for an intensive foreign presence in the region. "I hope that the Iraqi government recognizes the dangerous situation it has put itself and us in, and that the international powers recognize the dangerous consequences of any military action on security and stability of Middle East countries as a whole," Mubarak said. Looks like Hosni's already started shooting the wounded, and some of the dead, as well. I don't think he quite realizes that we're trying to end the age of hereditary dictatorships...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/19/2003 01:09 pm ||
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Heh. he's got a partial clue. He doesn't blindly assume it's the USA's fault.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz met reporters in Baghdad on Wednesday dressed in military uniform and with a pistol strapped to his belt, scotching rumors he had defected or been shot trying to flee.
Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani and Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) high-ranking official for regional administration Nechirvan Barzani came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday and met with Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal and Deputy Undersecretary Ali Tuygan. Speaking to reporters while leaving the ministry building, Talabani said they had discussed every issue that concerned both sides, adding that their opinions were very close to Turkey's opinions, and progress was recorded in every issue. Hummm, making nice are they?
Replying a question about representation of Turkmens in the Iraqi National Council, Talabani said that the issue had been clarified at the meeting in Salahhaddin, and it was not a new issue, adding that they would chose representatives also among Sunni Arabs and Assyrians and send them to the Council. Everyone always talks nice before governments are overthrown. It's later when things get sticky.
When recalled of news that Iraqi Vice President Tariq Aziz was currently in northern Iraq, Talabani said that Aziz was not currently in northern Iraq. Replying another question, Talabani said Aziz would have been hanged if he had come to northern Iraq. Bet he's glad he stayed in Baghdad. Well, maybe glad is to strong a word.
Meanwhile, replying a question, Nechirvan Barzani said that there was no need for deployment of troops in northern Iraq for any intervention, adding, ''and if there is a need, Turkey is one of the countries that we ask for help.'' Uh huh.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 12:28 pm ||
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British and American troops were involved in fierce fighting near Iraq's main port today as the war to topple Saddam Hussein began. The firefight broke out near Basra as men of the Special Boat Service targeted the strategically vital city and the oilfields in southern Iraq. At the same time allied troops were flooding into the demilitarised zone on the Iraqi border with Kuwait 40 miles away to take up positions for an all-out invasion. Cruise missiles were also loaded onto B52 bombers at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, a clear sign that the bombardment of Baghdad could be only hours away.
British troops taking up "forward battle positions" were ordered to switch off satellite phones and allied warplanes bombed targets in Iraq after coming under fire in the no-fly zone. By lunchtime, allied forces were in position to strike from the moment the 48-hour deadline set by President Bush for Saddam to quit Iraq expires at 1am British time tomorrow. But the White House had refused to rule out a strike before that.
The fighting reported at Basra was believed to involve British special forces and US marines in an operation to prepare landing sites for amphibious craft during an invasion. Other special units were deep inside Iraq on secret operations to prepare landing strips in the desert for airborne troops. Basra, Iraq's only seaport, lies on the Shatt al Arab waterway where the Tigris and the Euphrates open into the northern Gulf. Surrounded by treacherous sandbanks and marshes it is difficult to approach from the sea.
Artillery, infantry and the tanks of the 7th Armoured Brigade had already moved into Forming Up Positions, and some were already on the start line. An attack could target Basra and proceed up alongside the Euphrates towards the strategic cities of Nasariya, Najaf and Karbala.
Tony Blair said he believed all MPs, irrespective of their views on the war, now wished British troops well. "I know everyone in this House wishes our Armed Forces well," he said in the Commons.
A sandstorm whipped across northern Kuwait as the pace of preparations suddenly quickened Kuwaiti security sources disclosed that allied troops move into the demilitarised zone, which straddles the Iraq-Kuwait border, at around 11am local time, 8am UK time. The source, working in the Umm Qasr area in the east of the zone, said: "American convoys are still driving towards Umm Qasr." A US military spokesman said he could not confirm or deny that troops were inside the zone. A British Army spokesman said only that soldiers had taken up " forward battle positions".
At Fairford, 14 giant American B52 bombers which will lead the fight against Saddam were loaded up with cruise missiles this morning. The first flight of B52s were expected to take off two hours before sunset to give them enough flying time to identify their targets and drop their first devastating payload before heading for home. The missiles were driven to the aircraft in five articulated lorries escorted by police at 10.30am. Troops meticulously loaded the weapons - each costing around £1million - into the bomb bays by forklift truck. With an estimated flight time of only six hours to Iraq the bombers are expected to play a huge part in the initial air bombardment. A single B52 can deliver a payload of more than 70,000lb at a range of 8,800 miles without being refuelled. They are likely to take up positions over the Mediterranean or the Red Sea to unleash cruise missiles or satelliteguided smart bombs. RAF Tornados, Harriers and Jaguars are also likely to be involved in the opening 48-hour offensive.
The Tornados will be given the specific task of taking out air defences and barracks round small missile batteries and air strips in the Iraqi desert. This will enable the enemy positions to be quickly seized by airborne forces and turned into bases for the advancing allied armies. The Harrier force of up to 20 planes has the job of supporting special forces, the SAS and Special Boat Service and American Rangers in the hunt for Scud missile sites and any artillery shells with chemical warheads. Intelligence suggests Saddam has given his generals personal authority to unleash the deadly weapons as a last desperate measure to hold the Allies off from attacking Baghdad.
The mainstay of the bombing attack will be the 750 American and British fighter bombers from Gulf bases and the six American aircraft carriers now at battle stations in the Mediterranean and the Arabian Sea. The aircraft, including RAF Tornados and Harriers, F16s, F15s and F18 Hornets will work on a "taxi rank" basis, forming ranks in the air before being sent in on targets. Along with the B52s from Fairford, other longrange bombers include the almost mythical B2 Spirit bat-wing supersonic aircraft which will fly from bases on Diego Garcia. Also spearheading the attack will be B1B Lancer and F117 Stealth bombers.
Action began in the air today as warplanes from the USS Abraham Lincoln bombed Iraqi positions after coalition aircraft - including two RAF Harrier jets - were fired on by Iraqi forces. "There were, yesterday, four firings against our aircraft flying in the southern no-fly zone," Rear Admiral John Kelly told reporters on board the Lincoln. He said US forces had responded by bombing "a series of targets" he described as "command and control" positions. Sorry for the length; felt it was important.
#1
A post on Little Green Footballs says that local children spotted B-52's taking off from RAF Fairford at 1:08 PM EST (6:08 PM Zulu time, 9:08 PM theatre time). Here we go...
Posted by: Joe ||
03/19/2003 13:15 Comments ||
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#2
Damn--things like this always remind me of that scene in "Blackhawk Down" with the little kid holding up the cell phone as the choppers fly over.
Guess we'll find out if this is it soon enough...
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 13:24 Comments ||
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#3
Taking off and not flying over my house, dammit! Didn't hear a thing...
#5
Alright...an off topic and possibly crazy post.
This idea was prompted by viewing a photo of an Iraqi soldier manning a machine gun on the roof of a Baghdad building.
Would it be impossible to field a kevlar dirigible with a bullet-proof firing platform for snipers to use over Baghdad? This would give our snipers a stable and safe firing platform from which to pick off Iraqi snipers.
Presumably after the first wave of airstrikes, a majority of Baghdad's anti-aircraft weapons will be disabled. Even if said Iraqi snipers were to subsequently move inside, wouldn't infrared scopes help us to acquire targets inside buildings? Even better, just the knowledge that we had such a thing would hasten the surrender of hard-liners in and around Baghdad.
I know I know...sounds crazy...but anything to save our troops from urban warfare...
Sources Contradict Reports Of B-52s Leaving U.K.
Mar 19, 2003
Stratfor sources near the Fairford air base in the United Kingdom contradicted earlier reports, saying B-52 bombers have not yet left the base. The sources also say they have not been armed
Posted by: scott ||
03/19/2003 16:12 Comments ||
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As it turns out, it was a false alarm regarding those B-52's. Bret Baier of Fox News reported just a couple of minutes ago that those bombers aren't on a combat mission, they're being moved to forward bases in Southern Europe (possibly Romania or Bulgaria.) Looks like we'll have to wait just a little bit longer.
Posted by: Joe ||
03/19/2003 17:10 Comments ||
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FIFTEEN Iraqi soldiers have crossed the border into Kuwait and surrendered to US troops, a US officer said. The 15 were handed over to Kuwaiti police after laying down their arms and giving up, said Captain Darrin Theriault, headquarters company commander of the First Brigade of the US Army's Third Infantry Division. The surrenders came amid the 48-hour ultimatum given by President George W. Bush to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to leave his country or face a massive attack. Line forms on the right, take a number, no pushing, please!
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 12:13 pm ||
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#1
Technically, they're illegal immigrants, not POWs, since the war hasn't started yet.
"In the mainly Shia Muslim south, Kuwaiti border guards are having to turn Iraqi soldiers back, telling them that they must wait until the attack begins before they can surrender, he said"
#6
hey sorry but if we tell these guys to surrender shouldn't we tell them in our leaflets that war starts when they hear big kaboom? Not earlier.
Sending them back? Isn't that like killing them?
#7
This is just, like, so funny! That being said, I must say that I really feel sorry for the Iraqi people. It must be terrifying to be under the full and complete wrath of the US and Allied military - the mightiest and most lethal force known to mankind. I feel bad for them, they must be very scared right now.
I don't think these soldiers are cowards...why wouldn't they do this? No Darwin awards here.
I hope that the good Iraqi people (and of course, our troops) make it through the night ok.
Tehran, March 19, IRNA -- Former Iraqi army chief, Nizar al-Khazraji, who has escaped from Denmark in defiance of Swedish court ruling banning his movements for his part in war crimes has joined the US command council in Qatar, Iraqi opposition source said on Wednesday. He had told IRNA so far that the US has invited several opposition figures to join the command council to conduct attack on Iraq. Nizar al-Khazraji, suspected of crimes against Kurds in the late 1980s, is not allowed to leave Denmark. He has surrendered his passport and is required to report to police three times a week. These restrictions were imposed by a local court on November 19. Khazraji was head of Iraq's armed forces from 1987 to 1990, fled to Jordan in 1995 and four years later applied for political asylum in Denmark. He was denied asylum as immigration authorities thought it likely he was involved in chemical weapon attacks on Kurds in northern Iraq in the late 1980s. The source on this is the Islamic Republic News Agency (Iran), so I'm doubtful. He would be useful in convincing Iraqi officers that he had served with to give up and not use WMD, so we'll have to wait and see.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 10:46 am ||
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Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate
March 18, 2003
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Consistent with section 3(b) of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), and based on information available to me, including that in the enclosed document, I determine that:
(1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic and other peaceful means alone will neither (A) adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq nor (B) likely lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq; and
(2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-243 is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.
Sincerely,
GEORGE W. BUSH
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 10:45 am ||
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#1
So did Iraq plan, authorize, commit, or aid the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001????????????
#5
How did Iraq aid 9/11? Did Florida "aid" them too because a school taught people how to fly without landing? Hamburg because they lived there? The INS because it gave them visas?
#6
Read it more carefully (and/or read the original resolution). Basically, as I read it, W's required to certify (1) that diplomacy failed, and (2) that attacking Iraq won't make it impossible for us to continue to prosecute the GWoT (that's the "is consistent with" bit).
#7
jrosevear's right, Anon. Read it more closely. He's not saying Iraq is directly responsible for 9/11. He's saying it's a terrorist sponsor nation and will be treated as such, like the ones directly responsible for 9/11.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 11:55 Comments ||
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#8
It's the same old trick. Mentioning two things in a sentence that have no connection still associates the two.
Re "terrorist sponsor nation"... the U.S. should be very busy the next decades. Sooner or later it will run out of money. Because other nations that are heavily invested in the U.S. economy might not want to "sponsor" the U.S. wars anymore. And with a 1.8 trillion deficit looming things might get rough for the U.S.
You know what you get when you try to squash a fly on a window with a sledgehammer?
Two things: A broken window... and a fly happily buzzing around.
Happy hunting USA
#10
Gawd, I love liberals! Point out they've misunderstood something, they'll call it a trick, and then they'll toss in some bizarre, off-the-wall metaphor that's supposed to pass as logic.
I stand here in awe of your superior reasoning!
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 12:58 Comments ||
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#11
Dar...here's a great quote I think you'll appreciate:
Trying to teach a liberal linear thinking is like trying to teach a pig to sing. At the end of your effort, all you'll have to show for it is a sore throat and a confused pig"
- Emperor Misha I.
Edited for length
Armed with high-tech weapons, night-vision goggles and pictures of their targets, small teams of Delta Force commandos will soon descend on the outskirts of Baghdad to begin the most anticipated mission of the war: capturing or, if possible, killing Saddam Hussein. Teams of the Army's elite 360-man force have been assigned to hunt down Saddam, his sons Qusai and Uday, and at least a dozen of Iraq top military and political leaders, according to senior Pentagon officials with direct knowledge of the mission. The commandos, now based in Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and northern Iraq, are prepared to storm Saddam's presidential palaces, attack his convoys and suffer casualties to bring Saddam's 24-year rule to an end, the officials say. The Delta Force — a commando group so secretive that the U.S. government regularly denies its existence — and the CIA have been training clandestinely for this mission for several years, U.S. intelligence officials add. "Come out, come out, where ever you are."
Posted by: Domingo ||
03/19/2003 09:45 am ||
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#1
God, I know it's too "Hollywood" to be plausible, but it would be ideal if they could take this a-hole out immediately, then in the resulting confusion at the strategic command level the orders never get issued to blow the oil wells and launch the nerve gas. *sigh* I can still dream, can't I?
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 9:51 Comments ||
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#2
God, I know it's too "Hollywood" to be plausible, but it would be ideal if they could take this a-hole out immediately, then in the resulting confusion at the strategic command level the orders never get issued to blow the oil wells and launch the nerve gas. *sigh* I can still dream, can't I?
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 9:51 Comments ||
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#3
Good luck, good hunting, and may the Good Lord send his Angels ahead to clear the way, shield you from danger, and bring you home safe and whole.
#7
Choose your favorite dictator exit scene: Dead like Hilter in his bunker, or the Italian way- hung upside down and pelted to death by his constitants, like Mussolini, or hunkered down like Noreaga in a palace, listening to looping Kid Rock/Mettalica/Tiny Bubbles CD's with the volume on "11" 24/7 for the next 5 days? Vote now on cnn.com
This is the al-Bawaba article Steve was talking about in the comments below...
The Iraqi opposition is trying to verify reports indicating that Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz may have been killed on his way to the Kurdish part of the country. Ismail Zayer of the Iraqi opposition broke the news Wednesday, interviewed for Radio Free Europe. According to BTA, Zayer expressed hope that this news will be confirmed by an independent source by Thursday. "The Iraqi opposition has reasons to believe that Aziz has attempted to escape into the Kurdish region of Iraq," Zayer said. I guess it's only the parliament that's going to stay and be martyrs, then...
"We have received no confirmation of such information," Iraqi Charge d'Affaires in Sofia Yahya Mahdi told BTA. "This is not true. Mr Tariq Aziz is a well-known patriot, he will stay in Iraq and he will be in Iraq till his last moment," the charge d'affaires said. He conveyed that the murder allegation is "cheap propaganda against Iraq." Maybe the last moment's come and gone?
"We have no concrete information about Tareq Aziz," Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Lyubomir Ivanov said. "We have lost the direct channels of information from Iraq because we have pulled out our embassy officers from that country. We are now trying to obtain information by cooperating with other services." I imagine it's just rumor, but it'd be funny if it wasn't...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/19/2003 09:14 am ||
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#1
Sometimes rats trample eachother when they all try to leave a sinking ship at the same time.
#4
Hmm... seems to me I remember hearing that Aziz's son is in one of Saddam's prisons (here's one reference), which might have made him think twice before defecting.
Then again, if he was assuming the US would take over the prisons and save his son, getting out of harm's way might have seemed like a good idea, too. Interesting development, if it's true.
Posted by: Steve Gigl ||
03/19/2003 10:06 Comments ||
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#5
I'm thinking along the lines of Martin Borman, myself. I don't think we will charge him with any war crimes, however, the Iraqi people may have different ideas. He may be trying to ride out the war under US protection in hopes of being a part of any future Iraqi government.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 10:32 Comments ||
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#6
He's been a buddy of Sammy's since very early days, and is one unctuous piece of s***. No way Aziz is getting off the hook. Just put him through the shredder - feet first - with the rest.
#9
IRAQ'S deputy Prime Minister has appeared on TV to scotch rumours he had defected or been shot.
"I decided to meet you ... to affirm that we are ready to fight," Tareq Aziz told reporters in the live broadcast. Rumours had been circulating that he had either defected or been shot trying to flee Baghdad.
Oh, well.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 12:18 Comments ||
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I have thought there was the possibility someone like Aziz was actually feeding us intel on Iraq. The US seemed to be awfully carefull about revealing its sources when asked to present evidence on WMD, meanwhile assuring everyone that we know for certain they exist. If not Aziz, then someone else on the inner council is probably our mole.
Edited for maximum spittle value:
Iraq's parliament held an emergency session on Wednesday with loyal deputies pledging to lay down their lives for President Saddam Hussein as a deadline for a U.S.-led attack neared. "We'll sacrifice our blood and souls for Saddam," several legislators chanted, waving their fists in the air and drawing applause from others in the chamber as the session started.
Okay by me. Dontcha love it when they make faces and jump up and down?
Echoing defiant statements from the top Iraqi leadership and Saddam's own family, legislators rejected a U.S. ultimatum for their president to leave the country within hours or be overthrown by an invasion. "It is unthinkable for Saddam Hussein to leave," Speaker Saadoun Hammadi told reporters after the session, which concluded with lawmakers sending a letter of allegiance to Saddam and vowing to defend Iraq.
"Yes, by damn! A letter! We're gonna send a letter! Take that, you Merkin imperialists!"
"The people of Iraq, who gave us this responsibility by electing us, stand today as one rank, as one voice, as one rifle against the criminal aggression of the U.S. and its allies," parliament said in its letter to Saddam. "We pledge to you that we will follow the path of heroism and martyrdom and we will all be martyrs defending Iraq."
"You may rely on the fact that when this is all over, each and every one of us will be heroically dead, just like you."
In a separate news conference, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said U.S. and British commanders were deceiving their troops by predicting an easy victory over Iraq. "This is a stupid lie they are telling their soldiers. What they are facing is definite death," he said.
In parliament, Hammadi said Iraq was not the country that would accept what the U.S. administration dictates. "We reject and denounce it and we are all standing together behind our leader, and we're ready to defend our land. The fate of invaders is the same â failure and the curse of history."
"We'll show 'em, just like we showed all the others. Like the Arabs."
A succession of deputies, some in traditional Arab dress, some wearing funny hats, most in Western-style suits, addressed the chamber, unanimously rejecting the U.S. ultimatum and pledging loyalty to Saddam. Some warned the United States would face "unexpected" reprisals if it went ahead with its pledge to invade. One deputy also called on Muslims to attack U.S. interests across the world, while others called on Bush to go into exile, one denouncing him as the "pharaoh of our time."
"Yeah. Sammy ain't gonna get out of Dodge! You get out of Dodge! Howdya like them apples, huh?"
"The whole world has a right to say to little Bush: step down you rabid criminal. Step down you pharaoh of our time, you Nero... before you burn America and spread more discord in the world!" bellowed deputy Khaled Abdel Aziz Salim. Now, how many of these deputies do you suppose we'll find hiding under their beds when we get to Baghdad?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 08:54 am ||
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Early teams to seek hidden arms
The Bush administration has deployed mobile labs and new specialized teams of intelligence officials and disarmament experts to Kuwait to help the military find Iraq's hidden weapons of mass destruction as soon as war begins, according to senior administration officials. It is also reaching out to former international inspectors. These and other steps are part of an ambitious effort to find, secure and rapidly destroy the caches of chemical, biological and other unconventional weapons that the administration asserts that Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader, is hiding. The Pentagon has deployed new tactical units called "mobile exploitation teams," state-of-the-art equipment and novel tactics to find and survey what officials estimate are at least 600 sites considered most likely to be hiding prohibited weapons. In addition, they said the military is making plans to find and interview hundreds of Iraqi scientists who worked on germ, chemical, and nuclear-related projects and to seek their cooperation in disarming Iraq of the weapons Saddam was required by the United Nations to destroy after the 1991 Gulf War. I always suspected the US withheld intel so that the inspectors would fail. One good bust and France would have won. "See, inspections work."
Posted by: ShlepRock ||
03/19/2003 09:00 am ||
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Of course, it's a given the anti-U.S./anti-war rabble will insist that if any NBC materials are found that we planted it
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2003 8:58 Comments ||
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#2
It's not that we held information back; it's that we were never supposed to provide any in the first place. Saddam was supposed to tell everything, and the inspectors were just supposed to verify what he said.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/19/2003 9:13 Comments ||
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Justice Minister and Government Spokesman Cemil Cicek said on Wednesday that the U.S. urgently wanted Turkey to permit the transit passage of American planes, adding ''this is the only thing that they requested from us at this stage. Thus the motion will cover this issue.'' Cicek said that Turkish soldiers' presence in Northern Iraq was accepted in principle as a result of talks with the U.S. Cicek issued a second statement after the end of the council of ministers meeting. Noting that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called Prime Minister Abdullah Gul twice, Cicek said that the two officials talked about the Iraqi issue in a very friendly atmosphere.
Cicek listed the issues which Turkey agreed with the U.S.: ''what the U.S. has only requested is for transit passage of American planes. Therefore the second element in the motion that will be submitted to the parliament will be completed in this way. The motion will cover firstly sending Turkish soldiers abroad and secondly permitting the transit passage of American planes. Another issue on which we reached agreement is that Turkish soldiers' going to Northern Iraq and their presence there has been accepted in principle. Thirdly the U.S. has confirmed our political sensitivities: the territorial integrity of Iraq, usage of the resources of Iraq by the whole Iraqi people, Turkmens' being the essential element of Iraq, and the representation of the whole Iraqi people by the new administration to be formed in Iraq. Fourthly, cooperation against terrorism will continue and no chance will be given to terrorism to get strong in Northern Iraq. Fifthly the assistance of the U.S. to the economic programme and market stability of Turkey will continue. A statement will be issued about this issue today. Lastly Turkey will benefit from the advantages of being a coalition state. Negotiations about other issues will continue in a friendly manner.''
Later reporters asked questions to Cicek. Here are the questions and answers:
Question: Does not the motion cover deployment of foreign soldiers in Turkey? Does not the U.S. have demands about it?
Cicek: The motion will be submitted to the parliament under Article 92 of the Constitution. That issue was mentioned there. The U.S. only requests us to permit the transit passage.
Question: There were military, political and economic agreements with the U.S. An economic assistance package was in question. Was any step taken regarding them?
Cicek: I tell you once again, what they have only requested is for transit passage. It is only related to transit passage, and the agreements about the issues we mentioned have been confirmed once again. Negotiations about other issues will continue.
Question: In your earlier statement, you mentioned sending Turkish soldiers abroad and deployment of foreign soldiers in Turkey...
Cicek: As the motion will be sent to the parliament according to Article 92 of the Constitution, I used the expression there. Transit passage over the airspace also necessitates permission of the parliament under Article 92 of the Constitution. The second part of the motion will be submitted to the parliament in this form and the permission will be asked at this issue. This is what the U.S. has requested from us at this moment.
Question: Are the signatures complete?
Cicek: Yes, they are.
Question: When will the motion be discussed in the parliament?
Cicek: Probably on Thursday.
Question: How many Turkish soldiers will be in Northern Iraq?
Cicek: Their number will be as much as necessary.
OK, we are only asking for transit through Turkish airspace at this time. That means the heavy armored assault from the north is most likely off. Airborne and light forces most likely be flown in and join up with Kurdish forces. The Kurds are saying that they have been in contact with Iraqi commanders in the north and they won't fight. We'll see.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 07:52 am ||
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#1
Seems like the Turks are really worried about the Kurds setting themselves up in the North. Good let them be worried.
#2
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal today, Kurdish leader Barzani has been paying the salaries of the Iraqi Vth Army Corps in Kirkuk/Mosul recently. (He is a billionaire from smuggling Saddam's oil out during the sanctions era.) It seems certain they won't fight.
#4
I believe it was the Roman politician Crassus who said you couldn't really call yourself rich unless you could maintain a legion (6000 men) out of petty cash. (Crassus could.)
Posted by: Dr. Weevil ||
03/19/2003 11:48 Comments ||
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#5
Crassus would have met a better fate if he'd maintained several more legions.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2003 12:10 Comments ||
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#6
or if he'd refrained from attacking the Parthians in the first place
Iraqi regular army commanders in the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, and Arab tribes in the surrounding region, have told Kurdish leaders they will not resist in the event of a US-led war in Iraq, an Iraqi opposition official said on Tuesday. "The tribes and the army have switched to Masoud Barzani," said Saad Bazaaz, a member of the co-ordinating committee of the Iraqi opposition, referring to the head of the Kurdistan Democratic party. "We expect deep cooperation from the army and the tribes," he said. "We have had their representatives over here in the past few days, especially from Monday night. "If there is resistance, we will try to deal with it politically," he said. "If we pass Mosul and Kirkuk, the way to Tikrit and Baghdad will be clear."
If true, that would mean the northern campaign is over before it started...
Mr Barzani would not confirm the latest contacts on Tuesday but he said he hoped a transfer of power in the two cities would be peaceful. He told the Financial Times, however, that such contacts had taken place over a number of years. The KDP leader is on good terms with many of the Arab tribal leaders, who have nevertheless remained loyal to Saddam Hussein. The relationship was cemented in the past two years when he allowed Arab farmers to bring their flocks to Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq during a drought to the south. Mr Bazaaz said envoys of the army commanders had been told to keep quiet and to co-operate with US and opposition forces. In return, the Kurdish leadership would offer assurances that a takeover of the two cities would be peaceful and that their forces would prevent acts of revenge by Kurdish refugees returning to claim their expropriated properties in the region. A confident Mr Barzani told the FT: "It's the first time that the Kurds have the luck not to have the great powers against them."
And Tom Daschle was saying just a day or two how inept our diplomacy's been...
Friction in US-Turkish relations over Ankara's refusal to be used as a US staging post in the war, has helped Iraq's Kurds emerge recently as a potentially vital component of US President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing". Thousands of refugees from Mosul and Kirkuk are waiting in Arbil and elsewhere in the Kurdish- controlled north to reclaim their homes and lands once the Saddam Hussein regime falls. These are currently occupied by Arabs brought, sometimes unwillingly, from southern Iraq. Some are marsh Arabs displaced by the regime's destruction of their traditional habitat.
And feeling out of place â not to mention vulnerable â in the north...
Mr Barzani said it was not Kurdish policy to open a war front. "The main thing is to reverse the Arabisation programme." The Kurdish leadership would use all its efforts and influence with Arab tribes in the region to ensure that this process would not involve any fighting, he said. Some Kurdish officials have expressed concern that a sudden flood of refugees returning to the cities to reclaim their property could result in bloodshed. They said the role of KDP forces would be to try to manage the migration in an orderly fashion.
Try to keep it down to name-calling and maybe a few fistfights...
The head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri) â the largest Shia opposition group â claimed that his forces had attacked security and command facilities in Baghdad and elsewhere in the south of Iraq. Ayatollah Bakr al-Hakim said military operations had been under way "for the past few days".
Posted by: becky ||
03/19/2003 09:43 am ||
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oops..I'm not quite sure how I posted that, but I think it was from hitting enter after putting in my name. Sorry!
This from Debka, so apply appropriate sodium dosage:
The invasion has begun. US Marines and British 1st Armored Division have just advanced into Iraq in the direction of southern key naval port of of Umm Qasr
I think it's a little early yet, though it could be a recon team, maybe a feint...
DEBKAfileâs military sources report persistent rumor that two leading powerbrokers of Saddamâs regime have fled Baghdad: deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz, who is thought to be hiding in Kurdistan in northern Iraq, and vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan who has not been seen for three days. I haven't seen any confirming reports as of this moment...
Posted by: jrosevear ||
03/19/2003 09:03 am ||
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#1
Debka has a followup now claiming that Aziz was caught by the Kurds and is now having a chat with "US intelligence officials". Usual Debka disclaimers apply.
#2
This was picked up from Bulgarian Khorizont Radio by BBC monitoring - http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk/nfnews.shtml#third - although they claim he's dead...
#4
Aziz was on an Iraqi (supposedly live?) broadcast yesterday wearing his XXL Iraqi army monkey suit in a meeting with Saddam and his generals - Saddam was also wearing his ill-fitting Iraqi army uni... Aziz looked no deader than usual
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2003 7:25 Comments ||
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#5
More Debka now: "US warplanes taking off from the USS Abraham Lincoln are bombing Iraqi military targets along the US-UK line of advance."
I suppose kicking off in daylight would have the advantage of surprise, at least...
#8
"We gave a 48-hour deadline,"
Sen Joe Biden (D) was asked last night, since Saddam rejected the ultimatum do we have to honor it ? He stated no, so it seems as if there is plenty of cover for going early.
#9
This is being reported in the Jerusalem Post: Iraqi deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has been shot by Iraqi troops while attempting to defect, media reports said. Reports on the BBC and MSNBC said that Aziz had been shot while attempting to defect to Turkey. His condition was not known. The BBC said their information was based on reports generating from the British Parliament.
However, the Arabic Al-Jazeera and Kuwaiti TV said that there were reports that Aziz had escaped into northern Iraq, territory currently held by the Kurds. A spokesman for the Pentagon could not confirm the report and said that they had no knowledge of Aziz's whereabouts.
How sweet would this be if true?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 8:44 Comments ||
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#10
From Al-Bawaba: The Iraqi opposition is trying to verify reports indicating that Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz may have been killed on his way to the Kurdish part of the country. Ismail Zayer of the Iraqi opposition broke the news Wednesday, interviewed for Radio Free Europe.
According to BTA, Zayer expressed hope that this news will be confirmed by an independent source by Thursday. "The Iraqi opposition has reasons to believe that Aziz has attempted to escape into the Kurdish region of Iraq," Zayer said. "We have received no confirmation of such information," Iraqi Charge d'Affaires in Sofia Yahya Mahdi told BTA. "This is not true. Mr Tariq Aziz is a well-known patriot, he will stay in Iraq and he will be in Iraq till his last moment," the charge d'affaires said. He conveyed that the murder allegation is "cheap propaganda against Iraq."
"They are aggressors and have no grounds whatsoever in terms of international law or the practice of international relations," the diplomat said in connection with the planned military operation against his country. "We have no concrete information about Tareq Aziz," Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Lyubomir Ivanov said. "We have lost the direct channels of information from Iraq because we have pulled out our embassy officers from that country. We are now trying to obtain information by cooperating with other services," Ivanov said.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 9:02 Comments ||
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#11
I'd much rather have him alive than dead, not so much for intel value, but for postwar propaganda purposes. Think of what he knows, and what he's been through...
#12
Just to add more confusion to the stew, Instapundit links to another report that claims that Tariq Aziz did in fact defect successfully and is now in Kurdistan (though he may have been wounded in the process).
Posted by: Joe ||
03/19/2003 9:30 Comments ||
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#13
I am with jrosevear that Aziz is one guy I would like to see interviewed in the "post game" show. You don't live through that many of saddams performance reviews without having some unsavory skill sets.
Severe sandstorms have hit parts of the Kuwaiti desert reducing visibility to a few metres where US forces are poised to invade Iraq. The second storm in a week has has cut visibility down to approximately 500 metres in the capital and closer to 200 metres in the desert. The storms, which are not uncommon in the region, are expected to start subsiding this evening and weather over Kuwait should be clear from tomorrow onwards. If the storm continued, it could delay the start of a ground assault and limit the ability of pilots to carry out an accurate bombing campaign, risking civilian deaths. Troops have complained that they are repeatedly having to clear sand from their equipment which could hinder their effectiveness in an invasion. However, it would have some benefits for the allied troops as it cools the desert and blinds the opposing side. 'Blinding' could only help the enemy
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/19/2003 04:04 am ||
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#1
GW1, the left hook's first contact was in a sandstorm. Downside is that now the Iraqis know that we're willing to operate in the middle of a sandstorm.
Crazy Americans.
#4
I hope the weather is easier to predict in Iraq than Western PA--or maybe their metereologists are just better than our local ones!
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 8:12 Comments ||
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#5
My major concern is the weather. The longer we wait the worse the weather will gets now. That is the main reason why the US is not prepared to wait another month.
The 3th March was the right date and we missed it. No moon.
#6
Den beste at USS Clueless posts a letter where the writer thinks we deliberately picked a date near the full moon to allow us to see the Iraquis surrendering.
Weathermen only TRY to predict the weather. General Patton, during the Battle of the Bulge, knew Who to ask to get the weather changed...
An Islamic youth group threatened Wednesday to force U.S. and allied diplomats to leave Indonesia, amid rising condemnation of the imminent war against Iraq. Y'know, this might be getting to be a habit with them. Indon thugs threatened the same thing when we went into Afghanistan... Anshor, the youth wing of Indonesia's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama, said it also plans a national boycott of U.S. products. We could boycott Indonesian products, too, if they had any...
"Anshor will demand the expulsion of U.S. diplomats and government representatives and also those of its allies," the head of its communications department, Munawar Fuad Noeh, told AFP. If the diplomats did not leave voluntarily within 48 hours from the start of any attack, "there will be the possibility of a forced expulsion by the people," an Anshor statement threatened. Are we talking about occupying the U.S. embassy and holding hostages? It's been done. It won't be a long drawn-out hostage crisis this time...
Should war break out, the movement will also try to close down all U.S. companies operating in the country, lower U.S. flags in public places and launch a national boycott of American products. I suppose we could just take our losses and get out of Indonesia entirely and leave them to suppurate, but Australia does have more extensive commercial interests there...
"This decision did not come from Anshor itself but following intensive discussions with other youth and religious groups and leaders," Noeh said. Anshor claims millions of members. "Washington should realize that these anti-war sentiments are not just small ripples that it can ignore. You go and make war and you will see what you will reap," said Noeh, terming any attack a "modern form of barbarism." Roving gangs of Islamic bully boyz are something else?
Hundreds of students at Palu in Central Sulawesi barricaded a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet on Tuesday, March 18, and scared away customers. Syafii Ma'arif, head of the second largest Muslim group Muhammadiyah, described President George W. Bush as a "war criminal." Yeah, yeah...
"Bush needs to see a psychiatrist because his mindset is no longer normal. It is a pity to see a superpower country having a leader like him," he was quoted as saying by the Detikcom online news service. Boy, am I getting tired of hearing this kind of talk coming from Third World religious fanatics in the process of peeing in their own soup. It just bothers me more, the more it's repeated.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/19/2003 09:37 am ||
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Is that Hamburglar? Looks like he's had it with the clandestine approach.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 10:12 Comments ||
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It's easy to be flip about Indonesia but it IS the worlds 4th most populous country, after China, India & the USA. They also have a growing high-tech electronics production industry. Of course being an archipelago of thousands of islands, there are certain constraints on transportation and centralized authority...
#4
"We could boycott Indonesian products, too, if they had any..."
Wait a second. Doesn't Indonesia provide all the wood for that crappy "first apartment" furniture they sell at Cost Plus? But I guess since Sweden isn't supporting us, I can't get any replacements from IKEA. It's back to cinder block shelves for me...
In other news, McDonald's does appear to be responsive to its customer base (see story below).
Maybe they should introduce the "Milk Sheikh" to the Indonesian market...
The top National Security Council official in the war on terror resigned this week for what a NSC spokesman said were personal reasons, but intelligence sources say the move reflects concern that the looming war with Iraq is hurting the fight against terrorism. So, does that mean that leaving Sammy alone to get WMD would help the War on Terror?
"Hardly a surprise," said one former intelligence official. "We have sacrificed a war on terror for a war with Iraq. I don't blame Randy at all. This just reflects the widespread thought that the war on terror is being set aside for the war with Iraq at the expense of our military and intel resources and the relationships with our allies." Again, I realize that Arab intelligence services may be less likely to cooperate with us due to the Iraq campaign, but isn't it likely that the benefits outweigh the costs even if this particular guy's job gets harder?
"Randy said that he was 'just tired' and did not have an interest in adding the stress that would come with a war with Iraq," the source said. I guess we can be glad he das not in an operational role where this attitude could have been even more contagious. I guess this is bad news, and I do not have the details to know how legitimate this criticism is, but it seems to me that Sammy and terror are parts of the same problem.
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Former President Jimmy Carter on Wednesday said he had been working quietly with the United Nations to find a peaceful solution to the standoff between the United Statesand 30 other countries and IraqSaddam Hussein, but vowed to support U.S. troops if war did break out. Once again, the failed former president can rack up a huge success in foreign policy. But remember, only measure his intents,not his results( He's a liberal, they arent interested in the results of their actions, just that their intentions are good).
Carter, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, said he and other officials from his nonprofit Carter Center had spent several months trying to bolster U.N. efforts to disarm Iraq and prevent a war in the Middle East.
"That effort has not been successful," the Democrat told participants at a forum in Atlanta to discuss campaign finance reform in the Americas.
"The only comment from the Carter Center now and in the future will be to support our troops overseas and to pray that the casualties among them and the innocent people of Iraq are minimized," Carter added. Mr. Carter can't wait to try to interfere with the North Korean show, scheduled for later this year.
Carter, who earlier this week described a war against Iraq as "completely unnecessary," had favored strengthening the U.N. arms inspection process as the best way to disarm Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein Sometimes this stuff just writes itself.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
03/19/2003 07:28 pm ||
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We know how "supportive" he was in the NYT a few days ago.
#2
This really explains a lot. Thanks again, Jimmy.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/19/2003 19:54 Comments ||
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Current Coalition members:
Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.
Now, its true that we are the mass of the actual combatants, but its important to remember that most other countries dont have much of a military anyway, and in many cases they cant work with US or UK troops because their equipment is so far out of sync with ours.
Canada, for example( great people, love them dearly), Has no way to do heavy airlift. Last week they had to return a frigate to Harbor because the 'helicopter' broke and there were no spares. No spare parts, and no spare helicopters either. People in uniform and carrying a rifle is not necessarily an army, you ahve to have a way to deploy them, feed them, clothe them house them, and if you want to work with other armies, you have to train together, and that all costs money. Our military budget, though much smaller than in the past is currently TWICE the size of the other 18 members of NATO combined.
Its not that we are so big, but that other countries are so small. Most of the world has abrogated its responsibilities in regards to guaranteeing peace in the world.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
03/19/2003 19:54 Comments ||
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It was Jimmy Carter's failures as President that allowed the start of the Iran-Iraq War, and thus he is directly responsible for the misery we are enduring.
The man is a failed leader.
Unrelated question: Is the USS Jimmy Carter DOA? When will it be commissioned?
#6
Carter cares, so few despots left, so few tryants, if we don't work to protect and conserve them think how much off the earth will be.
Posted by: TJ Jackson ||
03/19/2003 21:54 Comments ||
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OK, I'll bite. What does Mr Peanut, Iraq diplomacy, and campaign finance reform have in common?
Canadian helos are another sad story altogether.
Posted by: john ||
03/19/2003 22:10 Comments ||
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Jimmy, the Israelis called. They want to know if you want borrow a bulldozer for one of those new feel-good houses you like to put up. Just show them where you want it.
This is a Reuters raw video of US troop movement in Turkey...it's pretty cool. You definitely need broadband
To see the video, click on the (title above or link below) and under the "raw video" box, you have to click on "troop movement"...
TROOP MOVEMENT IN TURKEY
Troops Continue Preparations
Mar. 19 - As Turkey's govermnet works towards a deal to help the U.S. in a war against Iraq, U.S. troops already based in there continue their war preparations.
#1
Hmmm... They show a lot of trucks loaded with crates and a handful of Humvees with American soldiers, but no Bradleys or Abrams or major troop convoys. Could just be supplies being moved up.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 17:31 Comments ||
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I was thinking that perhaps there are troops in those busses they showed. A long line of them on the road. Why else would they be filmed?
#3
A look at the Reuters site suggests the video is actually coming from Kuwait?
Posted by: Kevin ||
03/19/2003 18:06 Comments ||
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You don't reject a $30 BILLION dollar aid package for no apparent reason. Somebodys somewhere allowed wishful thinking to blind them to the painfully obvious. Unless this is a ruse, this deal lost all signs of life weeks ago.
Edited for brevity
The Global Positioning System started out decades ago as a satellite-based network for military location and navigation, but in the past few years itâs spawned a host of civilian applications â including high-tech direction-finders for automobiles and hikers. Now GPS is going to war again, raising questions about what happens on the homefront.
THE U.S. MILITARY is using GPS as the backbone for its battlefield communication system, as well as the guidance system for a wide array of "smart bombsâ â including the "Mother of All Bombsâ.
Such satellite-based guidance systems arenât foolproof, as was demonstrated during the Afghan war, but theyâre considered far less vulnerable to the smoke and fog of war than the laser-guided munitions that played such a large role in the first Gulf War.
All this makes the GPS network, which relies on radio readings from a constellation of 27 orbiting satellites, a powerful weapon â and a potential target â during any war in Iraq. Iraqi forces may well try jamming GPS signals, or âspoofingâ GPS transmissions to lead the invading forces astray. Saddam Husseinâs troops also may be using GPS, or Russiaâs less capable Glonass satellite navigation system, for their own purposes.
On Slashdot and other forums, GPS users have been debating whether the U.S. military will be âdumbing downâ the satellite readings for civilians, as it once did. Until three years ago, civilian GPS readings were accurate only to a resolution of a football field or so â and thatâs not good enough for todayâs high-precision applications.
Back in 2000, the U.S. military said it wouldnât go back to the bad old days of âintentional degradationâ of GPS signals. Instead, it would use more targeted tactics, including selective signal-jamming in the theater of military operations.
âPeople outside the theater can expect to use GPS as they have. ... Of course, national security overrides any statement that may have been made,â Langley said. Good news--your GPS toys here should continue to work normally.
Bad news--The many GIs using civilian GPSRs (GPS Receivers), like Garmin and Margellan models, might be disappointed.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 02:22 pm ||
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1. Margellan = Magellan
2. Should have included paragraph stating that, even if Iraqis attempt to jam GPS signals, they do not have the military's "P code" to do so, per the article.
3. (To self) Proofread before you post, dummy!
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 14:28 Comments ||
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1. The military P code is highly encripted, so that is not too much of a worry for us.
2. Enemy spoofing of GPS satellites with directed transmissions toward the satellites will put the enemy in HAARM's way, literally with the enemy getting an enema, so to speak.....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/19/2003 14:41 Comments ||
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But while there are thousands of civil users of GPS worldwide, the system was designed for, and is operated by, the US military.
The German automobile club AvD said experts fear that just before military action against Iraq, which seems likely to start later this week, the signals will be encoded in order to make them less accurate.
The argument is that by doing so, the enemy -- in this case Iraq -- would not be able to exploit the system to pinpoint US-led forces sweeping into the country.
Currently, the GPS system has an accuracy to within around five metresfeet), but AvD said it could be reduced to more than 100 metres.
Not a big problem for a ship at sea, perhaps, but bad news for drivers in crowded cities.
"German drivers could potentially notice the start of the war quicker than the chancellor," AvD spokesman Jochen Hoevekenmeier quipped.
#4
Read an article in GPS World recently about Europe's problems with agreements on details for the formation of their Gallileo GPS system. Like who gets the contracts to build what, etc etc. This article gives a brief background of the problem.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/19/2003 14:56 Comments ||
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I gave up on GPS powered navigation system in cars when it insisted that I should drive right into a canal in Amsterdam. Maps are safer.
#6
Well, I love and trust my Garmin StreetPilot III. Throwing me off by a football field would hork the address finder somewhat, but I could still manage on the highways and cross country.
I'd be willing to sacrifice that capability for a few weeks/months for our troops' sake, though!
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 16:28 Comments ||
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The United States expects to offer a plan within months to relocate a military base from Seoul as part of a realignment of U.S. forces in South Korea that could include the possible removal of American troops from the country. At issue is Yongsan Garrison, the headquarters for the U.S. military force that has been in South Korea since the Korean War 50 years ago to protect the south against possible incursion from communist North Korea. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told Reuters that the United States wanted to have at least a preliminary blueprint for a revised military relationship with South Korea by October.
"Y'see this? This is South Korea. An' this here, this is North Korea. And way, waaay over here? This is the USA. You've got your troops here, an' they've got their troops up there. We're gonna put ours waaay over here. If anything changes, give us a call, okay? And try and keep your kids out of the street if you do."
This would include "rebalancing some of our roles and responsibilities, relocating Yongsan and having some preliminary ideas for repositioning some U.S. forces south of the Han river" at the south end of downtown Seoul. The United States had said in 1991 that it wanted to move the facility, Davis said. He said U.S. officials were working with the South Korean government to identify within months areas where Yongsan could be relocated. The talks follow a series of demonstrations against U.S. forces by South Koreans and coincide with a tense stand-off between the United States and North Korea over the communist state's nuclear program.
The SKors want us out of the way, so they can get on with the task of reunification. The NKors want us out of the way so they can get on with the task of, ummm... reunification.
Davis said any moves in South Korea "would be a phased process that would take place over several years." Yongsan Garrison is in the heart of the South Korean capital. It occupies more than 600 acres (240 hectares) and has many facilities associated with a small city. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said earlier this month the stationing of U.S. troops near the border with North Korea had become intrusive to South Korea, and said forces could be moved southward or out of South Korea altogether. Rumsfeld said Army Gen. Leon LaPorte, commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, and others were involved in the process of considering ways to realign the American force of about 37,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.
Lotsa room for them around Lincoln, Nebraska, I think...
Davis said U.S. facilities, especially those near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that cuts across the peninsula, were "not sustainable." He said: "A lot of that is due to urbanization as Seoul has grown over the last 50 years. Much of it has grown to the north such that a lot of these areas — these remote camps, bases that abut the DMZ — are now surrounded by residential areas." He said this "makes it difficult for us to be good neighbors," noting that people anywhere "don't like to live next to military bases — they're loud, they cause problems."
Building your house next door to an airbase, and then complaining about the noise, seems to be a universal habit. Stupid, but universal...
Davis said having U.S. troops surrounded by heavily urbanized areas also had tactical disadvantages. "It would prevent us from rapid mobility," Davis said. "The idea here is if there is an attack from the North, we want to be able to be mobile, to move quickly and to consolidate our forces."
"I don't care if it is a school day! Get those kids out of the streets! There's a human wave of screaming juche communists coming!"
The presence of U.S. troops has become increasingly controversial, with some critics in South Korea saying the Bush administration has hindered closer ties between Seoul and North Korea. There also is concern in South Korea about alleged crimes committed by U.S. troops. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has asked the United States to study the bilateral relationship.
"Tell you what: you're not a poor, Third World country anymore, like you were back in '51. You're a major industrial power. Do it yourself."
#4
"Yongsan Garrison is in the heart of the South Korean capital. It occupies more than 600 acres (240 hectares) and has many facilities associated with a small city." To include a world class 18 hole golf course. Fore!
"Much of it has grown to the north such that a lot of these areas â these remote camps, bases that abut the DMZ â are now surrounded by residential areas." To include at least a dozen 'recreational' bars just outside each of their front gates. 12 million served! Short time or overnight. Doc, watch where you put that needle in. Hell, son you took your pants down to get it, you might was well take them down to get rid of it. Ouch!
Posted by: Don ||
03/19/2003 17:15 Comments ||
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I sometimes wonder if we don't organize these demonstrations ourselves just so we can get the SKOR's to beg us to leave. The military budgets are being slashed with battle axes and I'm sure the Pentagon planners are are all greedily looking at those troops thinking, hey, I could use a few of those guys for my shrinking little empire.
Those poor troops are sitting there with trouble in front and trouble behind and now that NKOR has nuclear weapons..it just has to be in our interests to get out of there as gracefully as possible.
A US-led invasion of Iraq will awaken Arabs and Muslims, ultimately leading to Israel's destruction and an end to American dominance in the region, according to the leader of Lebanon's Hizbullah movement. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah referred to Washington's desire to get rid of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime during a Tuesday night address to supporters. "The Americans may come and succeed in toppling this or that regime, but this could be a blessing in disguise," Nasrallah told thousands of Shiites. "This American invasion will lead to an unprecedented awakening within this (Islamic) nation and among its youths, and to a holy war and revolutionary (movement) placing this nation before an inevitable decisive battle." He's making the assumption he and the other proponents of Armed Struggle® are going to win that battle...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/19/2003 01:18 pm ||
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Yes, the Arab Street will be aroused! AGAIN!!! If I was the Sheikh, I'd sleep with one eye open (unless that's all he has).
Hizbullah gunners have deployed Katyusha rockets along the Israeli-Lebanese border. According to a report in the Beirut based A-Safir daily on Wednesday, the Lebanese resistance movement went on full alert, fearing an Israeli aggression during the U.S.-led war in Iraq. On its part, Israel warned Syria and Hizbullah not to launch any attack on its northern border. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Tuesday that Israel had done everything to prevent getting dragged into a possible war, including sending clear messages to Syria and Hizbullah via diplomatic channels. It's the Solidarity® thing. Y'gotta have Solidarity® if you're gonna have Armed Struggle®...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/19/2003 01:14 pm ||
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The confrontation between the Muslim Student League (MSL) and secular student organizations at the Lebanese University (LU) in Tripoli is expected to escalate, as MSL pressed charges against the Peopleâs Rights Movement and the Communist Party and which in turn prompted a meeting in Beirut Tuesday for 25 secular and leftist student groupsâ representatives. Wissam Alam, a supporter of the Communist Party and a student at the university, was physically assaulted three days ago while circulating the publication, Studentsâ Rights, on LUâs campus. Oooh. A commie bully boy gets beaten up by Islamist bully boys. I hope there were lots of bruises on both sides...
Fares Shoufani, from the Peopleâs Rights Movement, a national non-student body and the publisher of Studentâs Rights, told The Daily Star that âMSL has always objected to the circulation of the publication claiming it encourages indecent behavior.â "Indecent" meaning something the turbans don't agree with...
âThis magazine contains blasphemy and atheism which only a handful of people believe in,â a statement by the MSL said. âThey are attempting to propagate among students and this is against the Lebanese constitution and laws.â The MSL also said that it had requested the administration to prohibit circulation because it contains âscornful statements against the divine being and sarcasm against Muslim rituals, the veil, prayer and worshipers and because it encourages sin, sex and sarcasm.â The statement added that the attack on Wissam Alam was because of his âinsistence on distributing the publication on purpose and in a provocative manner.â They're commies. They're supposed to be atheists. Feeling a little uncertain, are we? Expecting all the devout young Islamists to flock to the red flag so they can indulge in sin, sex and sarcasm, instead of piety, chastity, and small arms practice?
According to the statement âsome zealous (Muslim) youth who have enough sentiment to defend their religion, even with their souls, became involved in a fight with the offenders.â Sounds like there were move of the Islamists on hand than there were commies, so, being bully boys, they did what bully boys do best...
The MSL called on the judiciary and security forces to âface this ferocious atheist offensive,â saying that the attack began with a recent column by An-Nahar journalist Aql Awit and that it would not end with the Studentsâ Rights magazine. Awitâs column prompted negative reaction among northern religious figures last week after he published a column entitled: A Letter to God. Oh, dear! An article! In a magazine! On paper! Heavens! What if somebody read it, instead of the Koran?
The confrontation between the two parties also has its roots in a story published in Studentsâ Rights, in which LU Arts School in Tripoli is described as âthe Islamic World.â Under the title Between Religion and Politics at the (LU) Stage, Dina Jouny fell heavily on the Muslim groupsâ behavior in the different LU branches in Tripoli. In her article, Jouny claimed that in MSL-dominated branches, the MSL harasses women who âthey think are not decently dressed.â The writer also describes a ceremony on campus celebrating the veiling of nine female students and relates a story in which the president of the student council, a member of the MSL, orders a couple to keep âthe legal distanceâ as they hang out on campus. Being an Islamist lets you be in charge of everybody else...
Sources from the Communist Partyâs youth department denounced the MSLâs behavior and said that even if MSL swept the branchâs recent student elections, that did not grant them the right to impose their rules on LUâs campus. Sources said the Studentsâ Rights magazine did not only criticize Muslim factions on campus as it also attacked what it called âsectarian practices as opposed to religious activity.â Once they're in charge, they make the rules for everybody, Charlie, and they enforce them ruthlessly. Kinda like commies do, in fact...
âHow come only the MSL was offended? The publication also criticizes Hizbullah, Amal and Christian student factions,â said Rami, a communist student who preferred not to give his last name. âThis reminds us of the dark ages in Europe. They appointed themselves the defenders of God and the prosecutors of all others who profess different opinions.â It's not the dark ages in Europe, though. It's the dark ages in the Middle East. Have a nice time. Oh, and don't forget to oppose American imperialism, now. You know they push concepts foreign to Arabs, like freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and individual liberty. Couldn't have that sort of thing imposed on us, could we?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/19/2003 12:35 pm ||
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âThis magazine contains blasphemy and atheism which only a handful of people believe in,â
"...and, since this is not a democracy, the minority has no rights and will be quashed forthwith!"
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/19/2003 13:56 Comments ||
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"Awitâs column prompted negative reaction among northern religious figures last week after he published a column entitled: A Letter to God."
Which came back unopened, marked "address unknown"...
Iran on Tuesday strongly rejected allegations of Tehran's financial assistance to resistant Palestinian groups, including the Islamic Jihad. The reaction came from Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi when asked by IRNA to comment on a recent report of the Washington Institute for Foreign Policy Watch, which claimed Iranian financial assistance to resistance groups in Lebanon was funneled to Palestinian groups. "Iran, based on its fundamental and transparent support of the Palestinian cause, backs the genuine ideals of the Palestinian people for freeing their lands from the Zionist regime's occupation, but it strongly rejects any (allegations of) financial assistance to Palestinian groups, including the Islamic Jihad movement," he said. "Allegations of this type are made by pro-Israeli groups in America in order to deviate the world public attention from the ongoing terrorist and ruthless actions of the Israeli regime against the oppressed Palestinian people." "Lies! All lies! An' lookit them Zionists! They're even worse!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/19/2003 12:13 pm ||
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Too loud. Too frentic. They know this could be the kiss of death.
A Yemeni man accused of involvement in terror attacks in East Africa has been arrested in Somalia and flown to Kenya. Kenyan National Security Minister Chris Murungaru said the man was suspected of being a member of the al-Qaeda network. Earlier reports from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, said that a wounded man had been handed over to United States FBI agents. Al-Qaeda was blamed for last November's attack on Paradise Hotel near the Kenyan resort of Mombasa, which left 15 people dead. It was also blamed for the 1998 attacks on US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, in which more than 200 people died. Thanks to Chuck for the headzup!
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/19/2003 11:09 am ||
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The company that makes French's mustard wants Americans to know the spicy condiment isn't French. It's British, but that's beside the point. Reckitt Benckiser PLC â the British behemoth that manufactures Lysol, Spray 'n Wash and French's mustard â issued a press release yesterday through a New Jersey subsidiary to remind reporters of the condiment's American seeds. "For the record, French's would like to say, there is nothing more American than French's mustard," the statement said. R.T. French Co., a Reckitt Benckiser precursor, introduced its "cream salad mustard," alongside the hot dog, in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair.
We knew that. Gulden's isn't really golden, either. It's kinda brown. Tasty, though. Gray Poupon, on the other hand, has a problem, even though it's not really gray...
Americans expect this sort of thing from politicians. But a press release, on the eve of war, to declare French's mustard isn't French? Isn't that laying it on a little thick? What's next? Is Betty Crocker going to hit the talk-show circuit to remind us that German chocolate cake isn't really from Germany? Ba-Zing
Posted by: Anonymous ||
03/19/2003 11:16 am ||
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And New Orleans was never French, no no!
OMG, St. Louis????
#5
Actually, back during a playoff game between St. Louis and New Orleans, a New Orleans newspaper called the St. Louis's Laclede's Landing a rip off of New Orleans French Quarter, apparently not realizing that St. Louis was originally founded by the French, too.
Posted by: Jeremy ||
03/19/2003 16:58 Comments ||
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St. Louis was a French king of the 13th century, the last crusader.
Picked the wrong place for his last stand though: Tunis. Died from malaria. Natural biological warfare then...
#7
And St. Louis really was a saint. His appalling descendants lived off of the moral capital his generosity and fierce pursuit of Justice created for centuries.
#8
Amazing how many places the French have left their mark in America. Detroit, Demoines, Debuque, St Louis, Louisville.
Samuel de Champlain thought the Mississippi flowed all the way to China.
But the French in Louisiana actually came from Canada when the British booted them out from Nova Scotia or l'Acadia as it was then called.
Of course, rather than invade and occupy Louisiana in the traditional European way, America just bought it. So much for violent agressive tendencies.
Posted by: john ||
03/19/2003 22:25 Comments ||
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Actually, the Cajuns came from Nova Scotia. Cajun is a corruption of Acadian. They are not so big in New Orleans as in the Bayous to the south and west. The French did colonize LA first. Eventually having children here and coming to be known as Creoles, completely different from Cajuns. Interesting side note, the French Quarter is really the legacy of the brief period when Spain owned New Orleans. They instituted building codes. Before that, the French stuff kept burning down.
Posted by: Alex ||
03/20/2003 9:05 Comments ||
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#10
I am looking for the email address of the R T French Co.
Thanks,
Posted by: alan matula ||
09/28/2004 16:38 Comments ||
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PRIME Minister John Howard today led a scathing attack on France for its strong opposition to war on Iraq as a senior French minister called the criticism of his country "stupid."
Is that kind of insult something that's going around? Uday calls Bush "an idiot." Muslim street thugs in Indonesia call him a nut. And anybody who criticizes La belle France is "stupid". Whoo, boy. These grapes are really sour!
Since the government threw its support behind a US-led strike on Iraq yesterday, a succession of coalition MPs have attacked Paris for threatening to veto a resolution backing war in the United Nations Security Council. Four months before Jacques Chirac becomes the first French president to visit Australia, Mr Howard said the French were simply trying to capitalise on council divisions to further their own interests. "I think the stance taken by the French has been completely opportunistic and without any merit at all," Mr Howard told ABC Radio. "They want the benefits of the American and British military presence to put pressure on the Iraqis to keep the weapons inspectors there. But they criticise and oppose the policy which brought the presence of the troops about in the first place."
Federal parliamentary secretary Warren Entsch called the French international vultures, despite strong backing for Paris from China, Russia and Germany. "When you start to compare (permanent security council members), America is the eagle, China is the tiger, Russia is the bear, and in my view France is the vulture," he said. "It circles around and does nothing for itself, waiting for the opportunity to go and pick the benefits of other peoples' hard work." God, I love the Aussies!
France was also condemned in the parliament by several MPs as treacherous, duplicitous, World War II Nazi-collaborators and makers of inferior wine whose talents were restricted to cooking. Ooooh, that must of hurt!
French Trade Minister Francois Loos, in Australia for talks with senior ministers including Treasurer Peter Costello and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, dismissed the criticisms as ill-informed. "It is stupid. There's no other word, it's stupid," he said. "Our position on Iraq is the same since the beginning and we have conviction on this opinion: that it is dangerous and that (arms) inspections produce effect. When you are convinced of something, you cannot negotiate your conviction." He said France's political beliefs came before economic concerns, including the accusation Paris was only interested in Iraqi oil. But Mr Loos said he hoped the spat would not have any lasting political fallout, with Mr Chirac's visit still expected to go ahead and France hoping to foster stronger economic links with Australia. "We have a saying that the caravan passes and the dogs go with it," he said. Did he just call the Australian's dogs? I believe he did.
He said ministers had not been overly critical of France in private, although Mr Downer said he would have preferred French backing for the US resolution. Mr Loos said he believed the current differences in the security council over Iraq would strengthen the UN, helping ensure robust democracy. "I consider that power is always to be mixed with counter-power, and if you consider that the UN can only exist if they follow the US, they have no sense," he said. I have no idea what the hell he just said. And I don't care.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2003 10:44 am ||
Comments ||
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#1
The French saying is "la caravane passe, les chiens aboient" -- which is to say that he compared the Australians to barking dogs. Not very good. Anyway, what is there for the French to trade in Australia?
Posted by: Kalle ||
03/19/2003 10:05 Comments ||
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#2
The Aussies remind me of us, before we got too politically correct.
#3
The French saying is "la caravane passe, les chiens aboient" -- which is to say that he compared the Australians to barking dogs. Not very good. Anyway, what is there for the French to trade in Australia?
Posted by: Kalle ||
03/19/2003 10:05 Comments ||
Top||
#4
"...and makers of inferior wine whose talents were restricted to cooking."
France had no cooking skills till they stolethem from the Greeks... look it up if you don't believe me!
#7
I was in Australia when France resumed nuke testing in Mururoa. French wine was used for a lot of things then... except drinking.
Btw in Sydney or Melbourne restaurants are far better and cheaper than in Paris. Of course you are going to miss the Parisian "arrogant waiter experience" down under. Can't have it all.
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An Islamic youth group threatened Wednesday to force U.S. and allied diplomats to leave Indonesia, amid rising condemnation of the imminent war against Iraq. 
