Source: Reuters
British passport photos of an alleged Tel Aviv suicide bomber and his accomplice, staring from newspaper front pages on Thursday, posed an awkward question for Britain â is it becoming a bastion of Muslim militancy? From "shoe-bomber" Richard Reid, who tried to down a transatlantic flight with explosives stuffed in his shoes, to the mastermind of the murder of a U.S. journalist in Pakistan, growing numbers of militants have set off from British shores. Israel says the two men it blames for killing three people at a Tel Aviv nightclub on Wednesday entered the country using British passports. "The two terrorists are British nationals," a police spokesman said. Israeli television broadcast images of those passports, bearing the names of Assif Mohammed Hanif, 21, the alleged bomber, and Omar Sharif, 27. Britain said it was working with Israel to establish the identity of the men. Hanif lived in Hounslow, west London, but was studying Arabic at a Damascus university, his brother told Britain's The Sun newspaper. Sharif was born in Derby in central England. If a British link is confirmed, it will reinforce London's growing and unwanted reputation as a safe haven for militants seeking to strike at targets around the world.
Importing outside Krazed Killers represents a new departure for the Paleostinians. Indications so far have been that they have a plentiful supply of domestically-raised loons. Hamas and al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades say they were the ones who planned the op, working together, as Dire Revenge⢠for the IDF bumping off Mazen Erahpe. Of course, they also say the killer was a Paleo from Tulkarm...
Several British Muslims went to fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan two years ago, fired up by the radical preaching of clerics including Abu Hamza al-Masri, a north London imam who applauded the September 11 attacks in the United States. Egyptian-born Abu Hamza, who brandishes a hook in place of his right hand which he says was blown off when he was in Afghanistan fighting Soviet forces, has become one of Britain's most recognisable and controversial figures. He is accused by Yemen of involvement in a 1998 kidnapping of Western tourists. Britain revoked his citizenship last month, part of a crackdown prompted by the September 11 U.S. attacks.
That's one of them the Brits seem to be cracking down on...
Anjem Choudhary, British leader of the Islamic militant group al-Muhajiroun, described Hanif as a "martyr" and said British Muslims wanted to support Palestinians "as much as they can". "The feeling for jihad at the current time in light of Iraq and Afghanistan and the continuing intifada in Palestine is very hot within the Muslim community," he told BBC radio. Mainstream Muslim groups in Britain dismiss al-Muhajiroun as unrepresentative and extremist. But its message is not rejected by all â several Britons are still languishing in a U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay for alleged links to Osama bin Laden's militant al Qaeda network.
I thik they let Hassan Butt out of jug, though. There were warnings on Azzam.com about 18 months ago that Muhajiroun's jihad funnel was a sting. I'd guess that's why the outfit hasn't been busted up yet, but I think any usefulness it had is ended with the latest boom...
Last year Briton Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who attended an elite London private school, was sentenced to death in Pakistan for the kidnapping and murder of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl. In Britain itself, the threat of attack was highlighted by the discovery in January of the lethal poison ricin in a north London flat.
Omar Sheikh is a giggling psychopath, affiliated with Jaish e-Mohammad, and through them with al-Qaeda. I'm not too sure what he got out of the London School of Economics, except for one of those ties. The ricin plot seems to have been driven by al-Tawhid, an Ansar al-Islam affiliate run by Abu Mussab al Zarqawi, and involved mostly North Africans. It's another al-Qaeda affiliate. So that operation's not really home-grown, except for any involvement by Abu Qatada, who was a buddy of Zarqawi's back in the Olde Countrie...
Analysts say Britons may continue to pay the price of their relaxed attitude to Muslim dissidents before 2001. "For very many years the United Kingdom accepted people who sought safety in Britain and didn't inquire too much into their background," said security specialist Garth Whitty. Britain had traditionally paid far greater attention to the threat from guerrillas fighting British rule in Northern Ireland. "Other countries have been much harder on Islamic groups and kept a far closer watch," Whitty said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/02/2003 07:32 pm ||
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#1
"Is Britain a nest of Islamic militants?"
YES. (Did you need to ask?)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/02/2003 19:48 Comments ||
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What we have here is a failure to communicate.
We have a group of people who are intolerant bigots, who have the advantage of living in a society where everyone else is tolerant and basically afraid of being labelled as a bigot. The end result is a repugnant group of people who are protected by the very system they seek to destroy. There are a lot of very bad people in the world, Virginia.
Assif Mohammed Hanif, a British subject who blew himself up in a bomb attack in Israel on Wednesday, worked for two years at London's Heathrow Airport, the British Airports Authority (BAA) said on Friday. A spokesperson for BAA's Alpha Retail company said Hanif, who killed three people in addition to himself when he detonated his bomb at a beachfront cafe in Tel Aviv, sold newspapers at the airport from August 1998 to December 2000. As an employee at the airport Hanif would have had access to boarding zones at Heathrow's Terminal Three, where he worked, spokesperson Steve Buckley said. Thanks, that makes me feel so much better.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 02:26 pm ||
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A diplomatic row has erupted between Australia and North Korea. The Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says Australia has concerns about possible links between the North Korean Government and a boat recently seized off Australia's coast, carrying a massive amount of heroin. The Foreign Affairs department called in the North Korean ambassador this morning. A spokesman for Mr Downer says Australia has registered strong concern and dismay over the ship - the Pong Su. Mr Downer will not go into detail, but notes that all assets including the ship are owned by the North Korean government. "We understand there was a member of the Korean Worker's Party on board the ship, one of the senior officials from the Korean Workers Party was on the ship. We are very concerned that there could be any associatorion between North Korea and drug-trafficking in order to raise money," Mr Downer said.
Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd says if the evidence is strong enough, Australia should act. "My position is that the North Korean ambassador should be expelled," he said.
If you do that, though, they'll probably consider it an act of war and destroy Australia in a sea of fire...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/02/2003 08:36 pm ||
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The Pentagon, driven by resentment over "Old Europe's" opposition to the war in Iraq, is accelerating plans to move tens of thousands of US troops out of Germany to the former Eastern bloc countries of Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. The first concrete evidence of the shift is the movement of the army's 17,000-strong 1st Armoured Division, most of which went to Iraq from bases in Germany but will not return there, military officials said. That's news to me, anyone else hear about this?
The plans are the most significant reshuffling of US forces in Europe since the end of World War II, when American troops moved into Hitler's army bases to protect the new West Germany from Soviet ambitions. With the Pentagon's recent expansion across Central Asia, the move into Eastern Europe means the US military will span the globe as never before. "If you want to talk about suns not setting on empires, you know, the Brits had nothing compared to this," said John Pike, an American defence analyst. Bwahahahaha!
More than 112,000 US soldiers are based in Europe, 80 per cent of them in Germany. Not for long.
But with some Western European nations increasingly reluctant to house US troops and with formerly communist countries signing up for NATO and eager to host the Americans, Pentagon officials say change is imminent. The move also is being driven by the vision of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for a leaner, faster military. With its clear military supremacy, the Pentagon feels free to flex its muscles with little regard to the diplomatic consequences of moving into Russia's backyard or leaving the impression of snubbing Germany. Details of precisely how many troops will be pulled out of Germany and where they will go are not yet decided.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 10:44 am ||
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#1
[T]he Pentagon feels free to flex its muscles with little regard to the diplomatic consequences...
Excuse me? Isn't it de rigeur in diplomacy to help out the people that help you? Regardless of diplomacy, there are higher callings like practicality and promixity that take precedence. Germany doesn't need 80,000+ American troops since the collapse of the good ol' CCCP, and it's not as convenient to the Middle East, Balkans, and Africa, where we've been more focused of late.
Posted by: Dar ||
05/02/2003 11:31 Comments ||
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This is a logic redeployment of resources closer to the frontier of the alliance. If some elements of German society take this as a snub that is regretable. I would think that the doves in that country would welcome the departure of the American military and a lower profile in the Alliance. As for the Russian's, if they they have an issue they can submit a written complaint and we can discuss it in council at the our earilest conveinence.
#3
BTW: A few days ago I posted an article from the DOD announceing the consolidation of some facilities in Germany. But I haven't heard of anything of this magnitude (relocation of the 1st) being official.
#4
Some info on a few facilities that will be closed in this Defense Link article, but it doesn't sound like it'd impact a whole division. I expect they'll post more details in the next few days.
Posted by: Dar ||
05/02/2003 12:08 Comments ||
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Germany will always be your best choice. Even with a Schroeder government nobody tried to limit overflight rights or use of the bases even when the government was staunchly anti war. This will not change. Check if other countries handle that the same way all the time.
I see a slow reduction of troops. But the best facilities will stay. It takes a long time to develop the kind of infrastructure you have in Germany. Frankfurt/Main airbase, Ramstein, excellent hospitals... you don't give that up easily.
And yes you spend money in Germany. You spent a lot more when we had so many more troops here. But you are no longer there to protect us, you are here because its in your interest. And you have an excellent relationship with the German military (and vice versa). German military protected your bases when your guys went to Iraq, German AWACS personnel guarded US airspace when you were in Afghanistan.
So if you move don't blame us for it. And in 2 years Berlusconi might not be prime minister of Italy but in jail. Not sure how pro American the next Italian government will be.
As for strategic location: Don't you want to have some guys close to the French border??
#6
TGA said: As for strategic location: Don't you want to have some guys close to the French border??
You got us there!
Seriously, we can't pull out of Germany completely; some of the bases there are outstanding and as TGA notes, excellent infrastructure takes time to develop. But having some forces in East Europe makes sense as well.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2003 15:09 Comments ||
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TGA - my impression is that the plan is NOT to create another Ramstein in Bulgaria, but to develop small facilities for the lighter, more nimble "transformed" US military. Which makes me highly doubt the rebasing 1st armoured div story. but I wouldn't expect major recapitalization of the old bases in FRG.
#8
Good article in Stratfore about us leaving saudi but
THE STRATFOR WEEKLY
30 April 2003
by Dr. George Friedman
Beyond Prince Sultan: The New Military Reality
Summary
The United States announced this week that it would be
redeploying forces from Saudi Arabia to the rest of the region.
This announcement should not be viewed in isolation, but in the
broader context of the redeployment of U.S. forces throughout the
Eastern Hemisphere. The force structure and deployment of the
cold War era no longer has institutional or strategic coherence
and will therefore evolve rapidly - not only in Saudi Arabia, but
in Germany, South Korea and elsewhere.
Analysis
The United States announced this week that it would be shifting
its forces out of Saudi Arabia. The news is important in itself,
since it means the restructuring of the U.S-Saudi relationship.
It is, however, only the tip of the iceberg: The shift is part of
a broader redeployment of U.S. forces and a redefinition of U.S.
military capabilities. Far from being viewed in isolation, the
move should be viewed as the end of the post-Cold War world for
the United States and the beginning of a new and fundamentally
different era.
Washington saw the post-Cold War world as one in which military
power was secondary to economic power, and in which Cold War
institutions would continue to play a critical function in
international affairs, despite the fact that their founding
mission had been overcome. The period between the fall of the
Soviet Union and the Sept. 11 attacks has been a period of
inertia in U.S. military planning; the basic assumption was that
no basic institutional or structural changes were necessary.
The United States continued to be embedded in an alliance
structure that was designed to contain the Soviet Union. In this
alliance, the line from the North Cape of Norway to the Caucuses
represented the primary line of defense. Another line ran through
the Asian archipelago -- Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines,
Indonesia -- and South Korea. After the Iranian revolution, the
primary defensive positions in Southwest Asia were intermittent
bases and a naval presence.
The main body of forces was maintained in a reserve in the United
States. Since the United States was in a strategic defensive
mode, it could not predict where an attack might come. In
addition, since U.S. forces were deployed on external lines -- it
was not easy to move forces from one point of the line to another
-- reinforcements would have to come from the United States.
Thus, military forces deployed in Europe or South Korea were
backed up by forces that would come from the United States
through waters controlled by the U.S. Navy.
Nuclear weapons were seen to be the ultimate guarantor of
containment. The United States, facing a Soviet force that had
greater numbers and was operating on shorter strategic supply
lines, could not guarantee that sufficient conventional force
could be bought to bear at any point in time to be effective.
Therefore, the United States treated the threat of nuclear
weapons -- both tactical and strategic -- as the ultimate
guarantor of the balance of power.
The end of the Cold War did not end this deployment. Although
U.S. forces were drawn down substantially, the basic architecture
of deployments did not change: Through Sept. 11, 2001, the United
States maintained forces from Germany to South Korea. These
forces no longer faced a frontier (with the exception of those in
Korea). They certain didn't face a major power operating on
interior lines and seeking to break out of encirclement. They
remained in place partly because of political inertia and partly
because the infrastructure that had been created in the host
countries was too expensive to abandon and replicate elsewhere.
Given that there was no overarching threat to the United States -
- but that Washington had political and some strategic reasons
for maintaining a land-based presence in the Eastern Hemisphere -
- retaining the Cold War basing structure made sense. The
structure did not have an immediate military purpose, but was
useful in the event of unexpected minor operations, such as
Kosovo.
The basing structure faced the same problem as the institutional
structure. Neither NATO nor U.S. forces in Germany were needed
any longer to contain the Soviet Union or repel an attack from
the east. However, it was easier to leave things as they were
than to change things radically, and a good case could be made
that NATO and U.S. troops in Germany represented a convenient
anachronism. It had its uses and was easier than re-architecting
U.S. foreign and strategic military policy.
The situation has changed dramatically for the United States. The
campaigns since Sept. 11 have made the luxury of maintaining an
irrational force deployment structure unsupportable. U.S. troops
no longer serve a symbolic presence as they did in the 1990s:
They are being used in an ongoing war against Islamic militancy,
and they need to be deployed accordingly. While an argument can
be made that, for example, Germany remains a useful point for
housing strategic reserves in the Eastern Hemisphere, it is no
better than many others, and it poses serious and obvious
political challenges.
The countries that were important to the United States during the
Cold War are simply, geographically, not significant to the
current war. Northern Norway is no longer significant, the Fulda
Gap is irrelevant and the significance of the Sea of Japan
concerns a third-rate power -- North Korea -- not a superpower.
The countries that pose problems for the United States
immediately are countries like Syria, Iran or Pakistan -- some
because of their current policies, some because of their
potential policies. Influencing events in these countries cannot
be done within the institutional or strategic framework of the
Cold War alliance structures.
The United States' strategic problem now is influencing the
behavior of Islamic governments. Washington has two military
paths toward this end: One is the deployment of U.S. forces
directly into cooperative or defeated Islamic countries, the
other is forging alliances with non-Islamic countries whose
strategic interests coincide with those of the United States and
whose geography is suitable for operations.
What is clearest, however, is that pure geography is not enough.
The most strategically significant country in the region is
Turkey. Turkey refused to allow the United States to use its
territory to invade Iraq. As an Islamic country, the political
costs of permitting this were simply too high. In spite of
historical ties, strategic interests and geographical usefulness,
the United States did not have access to Turkey. In the same
sense, it did not have full access to Saudi bases.
Therefore, it follows that the geographic proximity of Islamic
states collides with the political difficulties involved in
gaining their cooperation. Basing in the Islamic world requires
enormous politico-military influence in order to be reliable.
Without that, the internal processes of Islamic countries are as
likely to go one way as another. Thus, any U.S. basing policy
that depends on the willingness of Islamic governments to permit
the presence of troops - and on permission to use their soil for
waging war -- leads to the real possibility that troops deployed
there might not be available when needed.
The U.S. basing structure, therefore, has three requirements:
1. It must be close enough to various potential theaters of
operations to be valuable.
2. If troops are based in an Islamic country, that country must
have specific reasons why it cannot reverse its policy.
3. Basing in non-Islamic countries -- or cooperation near the
Islamic world -- is critical.
During the war in Iraq, Ankara's decision not to permit the
basing of U.S. troops in Turkey made Bulgaria and Romania
particularly valuable to the United States, for a range of
logistical purposes. Operations in the Horn of Africa make Kenya
an important potential ally. Above all, the danger that the
political evolution in Pakistan will create severe problems for
the United States makes a close relationship with India
important.
There are issues outside of the Islamic world. In Europe, the
future evolution of Russia is not clear, and many outcomes are
possible. Poland and the Baltics represent the forward line of
interest for the United States there. In this scenario, Hungary -
- able to support operations throughout central Europe -- becomes
particularly important. In Asia, the uncertain evolution of China
requires a redefinition of forces that might anticipate problems
without precipitating them.
The "footprint" that is being adjusted is global, not merely in
the Middle East. Within a year, we would expect to see
substantial American forces in southeastern Europe and very few
in Germany. With this geographical change comes an institutional
change: Bulgaria and Romania are not in NATO, but they are far
more important to the United States than are Belgium or Denmark.
It isn't at all clear that having Bulgaria or Romania in NATO is
in the U.S. interest. NATO operates by consensus. and the
opposition of Germany, France and Belgium rendered NATO's
apparatus inaccessible to the United States for purposes of the
Iraq war. The United States did get support in Europe, but
primarily on a bilateral basis.
It would appear to us that the value of multilateralism as
opposed to bilateralism has declined. NATO was created as an
instrument of collective security, in which an attack on one
meant an attack on all. This might have worked in the days of a
singular Soviet threat (it was never tested), but it did not work
for the United States in 2003. Bilateral relationships have
tremendous flexibility: They can be tailored to the situation
with as many obligations as each side chooses. Multilateralism
can be a trap in which the failure to reach consensus paralyzes
the ability to act. If Washington was to try to create a workable
multilateral system -- which we doubt it will do -- it will be
built around countries relevant to the current challenge. That
will exclude many traditional allies but include many countries
not hitherto regarded as critical to American geopolitical
calculations.
The decision to leave Saudi Arabia, therefore, should be viewed
in the broadest possible context. It does not represent a shift
in U.S.-Saudi relations alone, nor does it represent merely a
shift in the Persian Gulf. We are now seeing a fundamental
restructuring of American forces on a global basis. The
consequences will last a generation.
Posted by: scott ||
05/02/2003 20:36 Comments ||
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#9
TGS, Your arrogance is starting to annoy, please change your handle!
Arabic European League leader Dyab Abou Jahjah is to be investigated on charges of child pr0nography after illicit images were allegedly found on his personal computer by Antwerp police, who had been carrying out an investigation on the financing of the Arabic European League when Jahjahâs personal computer was seized and the downloaded images discovered.
Posted by: seafarious ||
05/02/2003 12:48 am ||
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Stega-something
Posted by: Jon ||
05/02/2003 1:03 Comments ||
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Steganography is the art of passing information in a manner that the very existence of the message is unknown. The goal of steganography is to avoid drawing suspicion to the transmission of a hidden message. If suspicion is raised, then this goal is defeated.
Posted by: Jon ||
05/02/2003 1:40 Comments ||
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2?'s
1.Isn't he supposed to be dead when he gets his 72 virgins?
2.Is he related to Jahjah banks?
Posted by: Ned ||
05/02/2003 13:35 Comments ||
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#6
also, IIRC emir is more than leader - it carries a connotation of sovereignty - the actual sovereingty exercised when the position of caliph became more of a figurehead (like Shogun and emperor in feudal Japan)
EFL
The Bush administration may say major military combat in Iraq is over, but U.S. anti-war activists say their fight is not. The war's over but they just can't give it up. Why don't they protest against World War One while their at it.
"It's true that many people demonstrated with the hope that they would stop the war before it started, but there's another core group that believes that Iraq is simply one phase in an unfolding global imperial war drive by the Bush administration," said Brian Becker of International ANSWER, a coalition of groups that opposed the war. Operation Engulf and Devour. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The Evil Bush must be stopped!
Before bombs fell on Baghdad, millions around the world protested the U.S.-led war in Iraq. After the conflict began, organizers shifted their focus to lobby against continued U.S. presence in the region, but activists now say they are also concerned Bush might send U.S. troops to other nations like Syria, North Korea, or Cuba. No Blood For Hummus! No Blood For Barnyard Grass! No Blood For Sugar! It's always something...
Activists point to polls indicating about 30 percent of Americans opposed the war to show that the peace movement has a base of support in the United States. They also say they continue to be in contact with their international counterparts to coordinate global action. "People are talking about building on the anti-war movement to strengthen and grow the opposition to Bush and (Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld and their plans for empire," said Washington lawyer Mara Verheyden-Hilliard. "It's important the U.S. government not feel it has this ability to wage endless war." Just how deluded ARE these people?
Several groups said they were regrouping and planning meetings on their next course of action. One group, United for Peace, is planning a mass "teach-in" day in Washington on May 31. OOOHH! Teach In! Cool! What, no Die In? I'm disappointed.
Bush's declaration that major military operations were at an end should not be "a cause for euphoria, but a time to thank God that we are closing down the war phase and pray for work on the peace phase," said co-chair of the Win Without War Coalition, Rev. Bob Edgar. Edgar, also general secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, am umbrella group for 50 million people of various religions, echoed the sentiments of other peace activists when he said he was not concerned their movement had not stopped the war. Rev. Bob got the real good credentials. Does he get to fly around on the National Council of Churches private jet like the Elian Gonzales crew?
"None of the prophets of the Old or New Testament ever had a majority," Edgar said. "Those of us who are people of faith have no trouble being in the minority. It's a matter of what's just and what's right." Gee, Rev. Bob. You almost made me feel guilty about being an evil right wing bastard. Note, I said almost...
Posted by: tu3031 ||
05/02/2003 09:52 am ||
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The cause is not dead... Neither is the search for the real killer(s) of O. J.'s wife.
#2
There are "useful idiots" and "useless idiots". These are the latter. Unfortunately, Commies will never go away completely. I predict that when no more countries are attacked they will take credit for stopping the "imperialist Boosh". Why do the media pay any attention?
They are simply USING the issue of the Iraq war to win support for their own battle.
They seek to challenge Bush/ institutional democratic America at every turn. Also the governments in their own countries.
They get a sense of power from organising internationally (yeah it takes such BRAINS to have a website/email list and put up some posters and rent a megaphone/sound system...) anyway it gives them a thrill.
They have an injured sense of entitlement. They believe the world owes them a living and a position of power.
They don't want to work for this, they want to demand it. They feel like they should be the bosses but don't want to have to join the system for it.
What they are in fact agitating for is their own advancement.
They want to make the decisions but they don't want to have to win elections for it or take responsibility when those decisions are wrong.
They are not taking responsibility now when they were proven wrong over Iraq, why should these clowns be treated seriously?
Yet they will continue to organise and protest. again and again over any issue they can find, evolving mutating into more effective forms.
They represent no cause but themselves. Socialism appeals to them and uses them but they are in it for their own sense of personal power and to get to direct things their way. No respect for democracy, no respect for the freedom of speech they make full use of.
In fact I worry they will get so numerous they will start taking over and then woe be to the rest of us.
#7
"Those of us who are people of faith have no trouble being in the minority. It's a matter of what's just and what's right." - Can I quote you in regard to the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election?
#9
Saw a piece on Danny Glover lastnight(MSNBC,Scarbourgh Affair),seems that Bush is a racist(wonder what Connie and Colin feel about that),9/11 was the U.S.'fault,and it is American Policy that cause Castro to run a despotic,police state.
Pakistani police have arrested two more men suspected of having links with the al Qaeda network and seized a large quantity of explosives and some weapons, police said Friday. The two suspects, both of them Pakistani, were detained in the port city of Karachi Thursday night. "They were arrested last night. We are interrogating them about their possible links with al Qaeda," said Syed Kamal Shah, inspector general of police in Sindh province. "As soon as they stop screaming, I'll get back to you."
Another police official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the two were caught while moving about 300 pounds of explosives and some weapons in a van. "The explosives and weapons were stuffed in sacks and were being taken to a central neighborhood in Karachi," he said. The weapons included two submachine guns and two AK-47 rifles. Packing for a elk hunting trip?
It was not clear if the latest arrests were linked to the arrest Tuesday of six al Qaeda suspects, including a Yemeni, Waleed Muhammed Bin Attash alias Khalid Al-Attash, believed to have been involved in the October 2000 attack on USS Cole warship in Yemen. FBI agents would soon join Pakistani investigators in interrogating the six men detained Tuesday, a senior Interior Ministry official said. "My arm is getting tired. John, can you take over?" "No problem, Kamal. Always glad to lend a hand."
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 09:53 am ||
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A Pakistani police roundup of al-Qaeda figures in Karachi Tuesday has netted a Bin Laden bagman who funneled nearly $120,000 to ringleader Mohammed Atta and other 9/11 hijackers to finance their flight lessons and living expenses in the US, according to FBI and U.S. intelligence officials. More good news Ali Abd al-Aziz (also known as Ammar al-Baluchi), a nephew of captured al-Qaeda operations boss Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and first cousin of 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Ramzi Yousef, was arrested with a higher-ranking al-Qaeda lieutenant, Walid Ba 'Attash, aka "Khallad" or Tawfiq Bin Attash an Osama bin Laden intimate who is believed to have organized the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. Both men are believed to have crucial information about the 9/11 attacks and other spectacular al-Qaeda schemes. More important, authorities believe the men were captured just as they were setting in motion new attacks on the U.S. and its allies. Perhaps most important, they may know where Osama bin Laden is living. Or if
While the capture of the more notorious Attash has dominated the headlines, Aziz, about 25, is also a prize catch. He is believed to have provided the 9/11 hijackers with about a quarter of their financial support. If he cooperates, he can expose details of secret financial channels used by al-Qaeda in other operations, including those still in the planning stages. The FBI and CIA have quietly sought Aziz ever since investigators determined that he was behind a number of wire transfers to the 9/11 hijacking team. An FBI/CIA financial investigation has determined that the first transfer, dated April 18, 2000, was sent from one "Ali," believed to be Aziz, to Nawaf Al Hazmi, then in flight school in San Diego. On June 29, 2000, using the alias Isam Mansur, Aziz wired $5000 via Western Union from the United Arab Republic to hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi in New York City on June 29, 2000. From July 18 to September 18, 2000, Aziz, using the Mansur alias or calling himself "Mr. Ali" or "Hani" of "Fawaz Trading", wired another $109,500 from the UAE Exchange Centre in Dubai to an account at Sun Trust Bank held jointly by Al Shehhi and 9/11 hijack team leader Mohammed Atta, while both men were attending Huffman Aviation school in Venice, Florida. Atta, who conceived the hijacking-attack scheme while living in Hamburg, Germany, flew American Flight 11 into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Al-Shehhi, a member of Atta's Hamburg al-Qaeda cell, crashed United Flight 175 into the World Trade Center's south tower. Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar spearheaded the hijacking of American Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon.
According to U.S. intelligence reports, Aziz traveled with his lover uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qaeda's chief operating officer, until Mohammed was arrested in Rawalpindi on March 1 and placed in CIA custody. Mohammed's entourage also included Aziz's cousinsAbd al-Karim Yousef and Abd al-Mun'im Yousef, the older brothers of Ramzi Yousef, now serving a life term in a US prison for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. One of the Yousefs (U.S. officials won't say which) was captured recently. The other Yousef and Aziz were attempting to carry on the terror plots Mohammed was overseeing at the time of his arrest. The family that slays together, stays together
After his uncleâs arrest, Aziz hooked up with Attash, who got to know bin Laden well while serving as his bodyguard in the 90s. That relationship and the capture or death of other al-Qaeda figures has caused Attash to rise rapidly in the al-Qaeda ranks to become one of the organizationâs most senior executives. U.S. officials say Attash presided over a key al-Qaeda convocation in Kuala Lumpur in January 2000, along with hijackers al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/02/2003 03:16 am ||
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STATEMENT BY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE RUMSFELD Jay Garner is doing a truly outstanding job for the nation. Any suggestion to the contrary is flat untrue and mischievous. The White House has made no announcement regarding other appointments. What's all this about?
#1
I know there was story circulted in the news about a state dept. guy being appointed to run Irag and that Jay Garner would be reporting to him. However I can't find mention of it now. Any Old Spooks care to give some insight as to what might be going on ?
#2
Garner is in charge of reconstruction, etc. Zalmay Khalilzad is special US envoy to the region and has been involved in Iraqi political process. Recently an ex-diplomat named Bremer has been appointed over both, to be in charge of ALL US civilian activities in Iraq. There are several possible reasons for this - for example to put a more "civilian" face on US position. But some may have been spreading that the white house was unhappy with Garner - either that he hasnt been competent enough, or that hes too close to Chalabi, or whatever. Rummy is trying to stomp on this rumor.
WaPo this morning reported L. Paul Bremer III, "conservative career diplomat" (sheesh, with a name like that how could he be anything else?) "will be named special envoy and civil administrator of Iraq in the next few days, the officials said. He will report to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and will be the new boss of Jay M. Garner, the retired Army lieutenant general who has been in charge of rebuilding Iraq." Here are some choice excerpts:
"State Department officials said they view the appointment of Bremer, who was a top aide to six secretaries of state during 23 years as a foreign service officer, as a small victory in their bitter turf war with Pentagon rivals.
"Garner, director of the Pentagon's new Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, will continue to oversee policing, the restoration of communications and utilities, and planned improvements to Iraq's schools and roads, officials said.
"Negotiations with potential Iraqi leaders will continue to be handled by Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy overseeing Iraq's political development, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ryan C. Crocker.
""Ambassador Bremer is going to help oversee all the responsibilities we and coalition partners have to help the Iraqi people restore and renew their country after 30 years of tyranny," a senior administration official said. "
So - there will be a three-way group grope to run things, thus guaranteeing that it will be your typical DC-style screwup. Makes it sound like Bremer is there to kiss up to people/countries (France?) that don't want to dirty themselves by getting too close to (shudder!) a military man.
Sofia
Posted by: Sofia ||
05/02/2003 15:44 Comments ||
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sofia - i was very concerned yesterday (see my post) info today says that Bremer is close to civilian leadership of DoD, and that he will report to DoD. Sounds like an attempt at compromise in the turf war.
Saddam Hussein appears exhausted, confused and resigned to defeat in a newly released video. It is believed to be his last wartime speech and it has not yet been broadcast. Those who have seen it say the video bears a presidential stamp and came from a former employee of the Iraqi satellite television channel. In it Saddam says: "The faithful will be victorious over the sinners, regardless of the duration of the struggle and the forms it might take." The employee said it was made the day American troops streamed into central Baghdad. Wonder if he means the first incursion from the airport? That would have been before the bombing of the International House of Dictators resturant.
In it Saddam wears open-necked olive drab uniform and black beret. There are bags under his eyes and his speech is slow but it can't be proven that it is him on the tape. At the end, Saddam asks an aide: "How was my reading as a whole?" and then adds, "It's OK." He said: "The duration of invasion or occupation will be the exception, a brief period, compared with the period in which people live free in their homeland." His references to a changing "form of struggle" seemed to imply the possibility of a long-term resistance movement or guerrilla war. "The ordeal, regardless of how bad it might become, requires patience to be overcome, so that those behind it are expelled," he said. Interesting, has anyone heard anything at all about if the search of the crater has turned up any body parts? Seems to have dropped off the radar.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 02:30 pm ||
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#2
I think what they got was the raw video of the recording session. Let the tape roll until you get a good take, then edit it for air. Sounds like they didn't have time to finish it. Still does not answer the question if it was Sammy or a double.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 15:36 Comments ||
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Definitely a double: Why would a megalomanical dictator ask someone else's opinion about his delivery?
This is an old article (13.April), but a visit to the 13.-15.April archives didn't turn it up, so I'm posting the link. Too long to post the article here in entirety and too much good info to summarize effectively and do it justice. Just go read it! This battle makes Duke Nukem sound like a bona fide combat simulator.
Posted by: Dar ||
05/02/2003 12:32 pm ||
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Moe..Larry....cheese!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
05/02/2003 13:32 Comments ||
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One Op I was on had objectives Coors, Miller and Budweiser. Also had PL Tavern, PL Barfight, and the LOD PL Chug. The LTC in charge loved beer I guess (he was a vietnam combat vet)...
Then again, that was "back in the day" - I dont think they allow them to use such stuff now.
Former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, whose colourful daily briefings earned him cult status, is to take Britain's nightclubs by storm. Record producers are planning to record a dance track sampling some of his most popular catch-phrases. "It is set to be massive," one of the track's backers, Les Molloy, told the British 'Sun' newspaper. "There has already been a lot of interest from record stations and club DJs." With his trademark beret and sly smile, Sahaf astonished Western television viewers by denying US troops were anywhere near Baghdad, even as tanks rolled into the city. He regularly berated British and American troops as "infidels" and vowed "God will roast their stomachs in hell". Thats where Bob went, he's been in a recording studio. Next time we see him will be at the Grammys, getting his "Best New Artist" award.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 10:27 am ||
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#1
Can't devulge my sources but watch for him as the warm up act for the Dixie Chicks "Belly Roast Tour"
#3
That would be cool! A combination Dixie Chicks and Sahhaf tour! Maybe he could incorporate some of the innovative and colourful Saddamite diversions into the act, such as flogging. I'll bet the fans would go wild!
There's a great picture of this guy at the above link. I think I saw him in a old Sinbad the Sailor movie.
An Iraqi Shiite Muslim cleric said at a sermon Friday in a run-down Baghdad neighborhood that bars should be closed, women should be veiled and men should grow their beards. Sheikh Jaber Khafaji told tens of thousands assembled outdoors in the area formerly known as Saddam City that Muslims and non-Muslims alike should follow those rules. "From now on, I tell you don't allow the women to go out without veils, not one bit of their hair should appear," he said. "Most ulemas (religious scholars) agree that shaving your beard is forbidden; why do you continue to do so now that you have no reason to fear" the secular regime of ousted president Saddam Hussein, he asked. Ah, because they don't want to?
"Why do you obey the miscreant West and disobey your ulemas?" asked Khafaji, a cleric close to Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr, the young heir of the influential al-Sadr religious family persecuted under Saddam. "Don't let the bars open; tell them to close," said Khafaji. From what I've read about Iraq, I don't think that will go over too well.
"Those rules should be implemented on everyone, Muslims and non-Muslims, and the Muslims should implement them with more fervor," he said. "Cuz we're holy!"
The United States has made clear it will not accept a future Iraq run by Muslim clerics although religious leaders have been invited to help form a "mosaic" interim government. Khafaji asked the population not to mix with US troops, who he accused of inciting the widespread looting that followed the collapse of the regime and of corrupting the population. "I sometimes see women and children gathering around coalition forces. The soldiers give them sweets and candies but also immoral magazines," he alleged. Khafaji urged the population to obey the directives of the theological school of the holy Shiite city Najaf known as the Hawza, which he said was "the target of the miscreant enemy and Israel." "Obey, obey, obey!!! Hey, come back!"
Last week, another close aide to Sadr, Sheikh Mohammed Yacubi, spelled out the conditions for the future government and constitution in Iraq, saying the ruler should be a Muslim and the laws in line with Islam. No
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 10:12 am ||
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TGA--I think you just described Fox's new show, "Mr. Personality".
Posted by: Dar ||
05/02/2003 12:48 Comments ||
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"Those rules should be implemented on everyone, Muslims and non-Muslims, and the Muslims should implement them with more fervor,"
#3
Is that the best beard that guy's able to grow? Did he only reach puberty last week? Honest to gosh, that's the kind of beard normal American guys get after two weeks of camping.
Now, it's possible he may be trimming his beard, but that seems very non-Shiite.
Note how I'm avoiding the obvious "Benny Hill" approach, which would be to say something about covering the men and letting the women grow their beards.
#7
TGA--I think you just described Fox's new show, "Mr. Personality".
Posted by: Dar ||
05/02/2003 12:48 Comments ||
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Three cheers for TGA! He may irritate me at times, but friends are allowed to do that, and he's DEFINITELY got the right idea here!
(BTW, TGA.. can you do me a favor? If you're in Germany, I could use a current photo of Sudkaserne in the Nurmberg-Furth area. I was stationed there when it was still "Merrill Barracks" for the US Army.)
Ed Becerra
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
05/02/2003 14:45 Comments ||
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Merril Barracks? Holy Cow - I remember that place!
Merril is the top 1/3 of the picture. Main barracks were the two "Sqares" at the top and the walls between them - those things are about 3-4 stories high, concrete with brick facings. Brick walls still had bullet holes from WW2 in the exterior. 2ACR HQ, 82nd Engineers, 72nd Field Artillery and 502 MI were all there (If my memory serves me right). 9ft tall concrete wall all around the whole thing.
I remember the "new" SCIF they had when I visited friends there: thats the little building sitting in the top of the "H" there in the linked photo. Main gate is very top, center. Motor Pool over on the far right. Out the left a way down the road was the entrance to the UBahn. Brings back memories - the UBahn "Weisserturm" stop sticks in mind (conductors really rolled the R in the middle), and getting off one (or two?) stops later at the Hauptbahnhof to go downtown (or else to catch the train back to Munchen). And from there, barhopping at "The Wall" to get drunk on overpriced beer. Iremember one of my few sober visits I made was to the Kristkindlmarkt - beautifyl. My mom still has the stuff I bought there and sent to her.
Also the huge Zepplinplatz over by Merrill Barracks (off pitcure to the right if I remember) - where Hitler gave his rallies. Last I recall it was turned into a recreation area with some football pitches put up on it. Supposedly there were "secret tunnels" leading from the Kaserene to the Zepplinplatz, plus an underground pistol range and a motorpool underground as well, from the Nazi days. Rumor had it the 2ACR kept nuke artillery ammunition cores underground there. Been years. Damn I'm getting old.
#11
Nurnberg... yes, most of the stuff is still around. I remember the city back in 1946, all in ruins. I went to the Zeppelinfeld to scream my anger against the man who had ruined my youth... an eerie place at that time. Then I was called as a witness at the Nurenberg Trials. I saw the (no longer so fat) Nazi bosses sitting and pretending that they just followed orders, and I remember the Russian judge encouraging me to talk and talk.... until we came to the point about what the Soviets did with Buchenwald shortly after they took over from the Americans, and I remember how his smile froze and he ordered me to shut up which I didn't.
An American intelligence official gave me the advice not to return to the "Zone" after what I have said. But I went back because my family was there. And two days later, at 4 am in the morning, the Soviets banged at the door.
#13
TGA: Thanks for the story. You should think about doing some memoirs. I'm a composition/language teacher, and you got style.
Posted by: michael ||
05/02/2003 20:38 Comments ||
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Thanks, TGA! Lord, that brings back memories of another time.. *sigh*
Hey, OldSpook, were you 2ACR? I was, from about 1981 to 1984. And yeah, there were tunnels and cellars below the barracks. One of my buddies got into serious trouble by smuggling some SCUBA gear into the barracks and going spelunking in the flooded areas without permission.
And yeah, among the units stationed there were the 614th Maintinance, to which I was attached.
TGA - 1946? Damn, you're lucky to have survived.
Ed.
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
05/02/2003 21:16 Comments ||
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TGA, OldSpook - what creeped me out most about Sudkaserne was the chapel. Didn't notice it at first, took me about three weeks to "get it".
The black & white tiles set into the floor were arranged in an interlocking pattern of swastikas, huge ones.
THAT was when I had my "epiphany".. all the movies, newsreels, and history books suddenly became REAL for me in that single instant. Germans became real people, and not cardboard cutouts, stage dressing in a play the size of a planet.
Strange what it takes to open a kid's eyes...
By the way, TGA.. still have a chunk of the Wall sitting on my bookcase. When I start getting depressed and thinking my life was a waste, I pick it up and know that it was worth it.
Ed Becerra.
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
05/02/2003 21:22 Comments ||
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Ed, i got a chunk, too, hammered out on Nov. 9th 1989, which was quite a night to behold. Don't be fooled by recent developments in German politics: Older people will always remember what America did for us. The younger... well for them this is history. They don't want to hear about it anymore. Thank you Michael for your kind words but... concentration camps, GULAG... who wants to hear the old stories again. Maybe they have all been told already. Who could top Elie Wiesel or Alexandr Solshenizyn? Hope some Iraqis will tell the world a few stories now.
Re Nurenberg: Quite a few witnesses from the East disappeared later. Maybe this is a story not often told. And I can already see all the Baathist at court rolling their eyes: "Moi? I only followed orders and didn't know anything." And the KGB thugs never got tried at all. If the ICC wants work I'm happy to help out.
The Virgin Atlantic 747 which touched down at Basra International Airport Friday was also the first British passenger plane to land in Iraq for 13 years. It came hours after U.S. President George W. Bush declared that major hostilities were over in Iraq. Traveling on the plane was the airline's CEO, Richard Branson, who was greeted by dozens of British soldiers as he walked off the plane. Lets hear it for Branson, a man with flair. Perhaps he could run Iraq?
Branson said the need for humanitarian aid was a priority in Iraq. The plane carried medical equipment, including incubators and defibrillators, as well as drugs for tuberculosis, blood pressure and heart disease, for hospitals in Basra and the southern region.
Posted by: liberalhawk ||
05/02/2003 08:40 am ||
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world food program ship has arrived in Umm Qasr with 14000 tons of US donated rice. First really big ship to arrive at Umm Qasr.
#9
Well snellenr, that is what happens when one gets ones head into Fatwas, even from a distance. I am now just a shell of a man that I once was.......
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/02/2003 19:11 Comments ||
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US military officials say another two senior members of Saddam Hussein's regime have been taken into custody. A statement from Central Command in Qatar says the US is now holding a deputy prime minister and a vice-president from the ousted administration. Their apprehension would take the total number of leaders now in coalition custody to 17. One of the men is named as Abdul Tawab Mullah Hwaish, minister of military industrialisation and number 16 of 55 "most-wanted" members of the former regime. No details have been given on whether Mr Hwaish, who was also a deputy prime minister, was captured or gave himself up. The other man said to be now in coalition custody is identified as Taha Mohieddin Ma'rouf. Central Command says he was a vice-president and a member of the Republican Command Council. He was number 42 on the list of targeted officials. 17 out of 55, not too bad.
Yeah. And notice they're starting to come in batches now?
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 07:49 am ||
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Make that three: The captured officials - all on the U.S. most-wanted list of 55 regime leaders - were identified as Abdel Tawab Mullah Huweish, director of the Military Industrialization Organization; Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf, a vice president and member of the Revolutionary Command Council, and Mizban Khadr Hadi, another Revolutionary Command Council member who had been an adviser to Saddam since the early 1980s. Huweish was listed as No. 16 on the most-wanted list, Hadi was No. 41 and Marouf was No. 42.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 8:24 Comments ||
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A veteran Danish diplomat has been appointed post-war head of one of Iraq's four administrative regions, the key southern province of Basra. Ole Woehler Olsen has worked in several Arabic countries in more than 30 years with the Danish foreign service. Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said that Mr Olsen, who is currently ambassador to Syria, knew the Arab world "to his fingertips" and would "create the foundation to the new Iraq". Mr Moeller made the appointment jointly with his UK counterpart, Jack Straw, because British troops currently control the region. It is not clear when Mr Olsen will take up his post.
Denmark has been involved in plans for the post-war redevelopment of Iraq because of its support for the US-led war. It sent a submarine and escort ship to the Gulf as part of the coalition's war effort. It is now also considering leading a 3,000-man mainly Eastern European peacekeeping force. You play, you get to have a say.
Mr Olsen, who is a fluent Arabic speaker and a Muslim, began his diplomatic career in 1969. Mr Moeller said his background was an advantage, adding that it had been agreed that a Danish leader would meet less resistance than an American or Briton regarded as a representative of the occupying powers. Among other posts, Mr Olsen served as ambassador in Saudi Arabia for six years and has been ambassador to Syria since 1999. He is described as a keen traveller and adventurer. Anybody know anything about this guy?
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 07:45 am ||
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Nothing on Google about Olsen. That could be good or bad...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/02/2003 10:23 Comments ||
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The Danes don't seem to know much about him either. But I suppose Danish diplomats lead a rather quiet life. It's been a while since Vikings went plundering on Muslim shores...
#5
dont know anything about him - glad to have a Dane aboard though.
Would also like to follow up to my panicy post yesterday about Bremer, new head honcho for Iraq. Although an Ex-Dept of State guy, and formerly of Kissinger Associates, today's WaPo says he is close to civilian leadership of DoD. Seems like this pick was an attempt at compromise - someone more acceptable to State, CIA, and the Europeans but still able to communicate with and work with DoD. So its not as bad as I thought, but still bears close watching.
A faded door at number 206, Alley 57 opens into a cramped concrete courtyard. For years here, in a pale-green fountain, the father of Iran's Islamic revolution washed himself before he said his fatwas prayers. The dilapidated house in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf was once the home of the old goatAyatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Shiite Muslim imam lived in Najaf from 1965 to 1978 during his exile by Iran's former ruler, the Shah, and preached his brand of political Islam, which would eventually change the landscape of the Middle East — and, in some ways, the nature of the religion itself. ``I feel the imam's spirit here,'' said Zainab Darwish Manwan, 33, the current tenant. "It's a cold, clammy spirit. Then again, the heater's broke."
But in Najaf these days, not everyone does. A generation after Khomeini left Najaf and led Iran's Islamic revolution, little of his legacy here remains. And as Shiite religious leaders begin to build their own power base in a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, many are rejecting Iran's guidance. Shiites are gathering in this southern Iraqi city — freely, for the first time in years — to mark the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Amid the religious and political maneuverings is a sense that, although mostly Shiite Iran looms large, it and its model of rule by Muslim clerics will not guide Iraq's Shiites toward their future. ``Our relations with Iran will be like with any neighboring country,'' said Sheik Adel Najm al-Saedi. ``Of course the special bond of Shiites will connect us. But that is all.'' It had better be or there's trouble.
Now that they have the opportunity, they've decided they don't want to be Lebanon...
``Times have changed,'' said 35-year-old Jalil Jawad Fatlawi, preaching at Sheik al-Ansari Mosque. ``There's too much politics here. A lot of parties have come here from the outside, including Iran and the West.'' Liberators from the west, meddlers from the east.
The U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Saddam did not severely damage Najaf, but it left the city in disarray. Almost one month after Najaf fell, people remain insecure. In this power vacuum, Shiite religious leaders are rapidly building up support, providing welfare assistance to communities and appointing followers to posts of responsibility. Most religious leaders express public distrust of the Americans. Others favor cooperation with U.S. and British forces, and take risks by doing so: One, Khoei, was slain April 10. However, Shiite leaders do not agree among themselves about what the future should look like. C'mon, they're Shiites! Of course they don't agree on anything!
Religious and secular Shiites alike have challenged U.S.-proposed civilian administrations by organizing local committees, doling out funds to pay salaries, retrieving looted property and sending militias to secure government buildings. Ayatollah Ali Hussein al-Sistani, who enjoys the largest following here, said he does not want direct political power. Al-Sistani left Najaf about 20 days ago, and clerics in his office insist they don't know where he's gone. Didja check the bottoms of the wells? Look under the rocks? Go down to the wooded areas of the parks?
But among the rank and file, talk is not of Iran but of Iraq. During the pilgrimage of the past few days, for example, pictures of Iraqi Shiite grand ayatollahs were omnipresent; images of Khomeini were few. Many of those praying in Najaf this week are too young to remember when Khomeini lived here, when his lectures drew huge crowds who watched, rapt, as he sat on a wooden chair and spoke of revolution. At Khomeini's former house, Sheik al-Saedi frets about Najaf's future. It is, he says, one of chaos and uncertainty. ``There are too many voices that have come in. America will not remain uninvolved. There are many conflicting opinions. Each has its own agenda,``he said. ``This is not the time for that kind of democracy.'' There's time for democracy. Don't blow it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2003 02:10 am ||
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#1
I admit to speculating, but it is probable that a strong majority of Iraqi Shiites support a modernist regime, as do a majority of Iranian Shiites. The problem is that the real Iranian elite - Rafsanjani's billionaire class - bind themselves to a Shariah constitution, notwithstanding the public will. The choice between Shariah and more Shariah is hardly a democratic choice. While it is possible, the Coalition must impose a secular constitution on Iraq. The last thing Iraqis need is a parasite class like the leaderships of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
#2
todays WaPo has very interesting article about situation in Amara thats the city on the Tigris, between Basra and Kut. The guy who has taken over there is one Karim Mahoud, who had led anti-Saddam guerillas among the Marsh Arabs and, amazingly, had survived. He seems to working with US and UK forces, and is apparently bitterly resented by SCIRI. SCIRI says all will change when Hakim returns from exile, Mahoud says let him, Hakim has no local base.
An East Java trader who sold the chemicals allegedly used in last yearâs Bali nightclub bombings, was on Thursday sentenced to seven months in jail for not possessing a valid business license. Silvester Tendean, who owns a chemicals store in Surabaya, East Java, was the first suspect to be tried in connection with the October 12 explosions that killed 202 people. He had initially faced the maximum penalty of death under tough new anti-terrorism legislation, but judges at Surabaya District Court said he was not part of the group of Muslim militants that plotted the bombings. "Tendean was given a light sentence for selling chemicals without a permit because there was no proof he was part of the bomb plot," presiding judge Muhammad Alim was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.
I actually agree with this verdict, I guess. Somehow I can't see somebody named Sylvester as a bloodthirsty terrorist.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/02/2003 08:50 pm ||
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Abu Bakar Bashir, the Indonesian Muslim cleric on trial for treason and terrorism, will be moved to a prison because he is uncomfortable being detained near Maluku separatist leaders and women at police headquarters. One of Bashir's lawyers Muhammad Assegaf says the court has granted the request and Bashir is to be moved to Salemba state penitentiary in central Jakarta. "He feels uncomfortable being detained near people whose political convictions are totally different from his," Mr Assegaf said. "Besides, women are also among the detainees there so he is kind of edgy."
It's all those women's prison movies he's watched...
He says among the detainees at national police headquarters is Alex Manuputty, whose mainly-Christian separatist group is campaigning for a separate state in eastern Maluku province.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/02/2003 08:47 pm ||
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Seeing Wendy O. Williams and Sybil Danning among the guards probably factored into it, as well...
(Yeah, I know that WOW's RIP, but couldn't resist...)
The bloody Israeli incursion into eastern Gaza Thursday, in which at least nine Palestinian civilians, including two small children were killed, has apparently embarrassed the new Palestinian government of Mahmoud Abbas. A high-ranking official in the Information Ministry intimated that Israeli crimes will make it difficult for the government to carry out its tasks. âThere is no doubt that these actions of wanton killings will make it extremely hard for the government to function,â said the official who asked for anonymity. The official said âhow will Abu Mazen now ask the resistance groups to give up their weapons when Israeli soldiers are slaughtering Palestinian children and women in Gaza?â
Asked if the new government is embarrassed by Shujaiya atrocity, the official said after a short pause âthe government is embarrassed but powerless.â Further asked if Thursdayâs killings would weaken the governmentâs standing and image in the eyes of the Palestinian public, the official said âthere is no doubt about it, a government that canât protect its people will not gain much respect.â
The government, which was sworn-on Wednesday, has vowed to disarm Palestinian resistance groups fighting Israeli occupation forces. However, resistance leaders, including Fatahâs military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, have vehemently opposed unilateral disarmament âas long as Israeli soldiers continued to occupy our country and murder our people.â The latest Israeli atrocity in Gaza is expected to strengthen the opposition stance vis-Ã -vis the Palestinian Authority.
Of course, that was the whole idea, wasn't it? As soon as the new government's approved, Boom! The IDF will, of course, react. The PA can, of course, do nothing about it. Everybody knew that before the latest booming, of course. But what this one does is line the Yasser boyz up with the Hamas/Jihad boyz, in opposition to the "legitimate" Abbas boyz. Despite its 23 separate "security agencies," I'm not aware of any of them that are clean, i.e., not involved in terrorism. Abbas doesn't even have a tool to fight back against them yet.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/02/2003 08:35 pm ||
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To keep the record straight:
The purpose of the incursion was to arrest the terrorists who were making and operating the Kassam rockets. The perps were hiding among civilians. When IDF arrived it was confronted by tens of Hamas fighters. In the final score of 12 dead there were at least 7 armed men.
One might call this an attrocity, but basically there is a minimal chance for an orderly arrest of terrorists under these circumstances. And I see no reason why should Israel agree to have her towns bombarded by palestinian rockets.
Posted by: marek ||
05/02/2003 21:03 Comments ||
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The word "atrocity" comes from the original headline, on the Hamas website.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2003 21:17 Comments ||
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The two British suicide bombers who blew up a seafront bar in Tel Aviv, killing three people, had posed earlier as peace activists, acting as "human shields" for Palestinians. As Israeli police and intelligence agencies stepped up their hunt for Omar Khan Sharif, who fled after failing to blow himself up, it was reported that the two had spent at least four days in the Gaza Strip. Sharif and Assif Mohammed Hanif, who died at the scene, were believed to have entered Israel separately. They travelled to the Gaza Strip last week through the heavily-guarded Erez border crossing. It was unclear if this was to receive orders, obtain explosives or establish their cover.
Used the useful idiots, did they? I am so surprise! I think. My surprise meter doesn't seem to be working...
Britain has pledged to do all it can to assist the Israeli security forces, and officers from MI5 and MI6 have been drafted in.
Does that mean they're going to disband al-Muhajiroun?
Sharif, 27, who is married with two children, was a pupil at Foremarke Hall, the prep school for Repton, before attending a state school in Derby. He became a devout Muslim while living in London, where he attended university, and returned to Derby five years ago following the death of his mother. Hanif, 21, was a secondary school pupil at Cranford Community College, Hounslow, west London, where he achieved good results in business studies. After leaving school he travelled extensively in the Middle East and studied Arabic at Damascus university. Scotland Yard said neither was known to police. The investigation in Britain will concentrate on their backgrounds, how they came to be radicals and who they associated with in London.
Ummm... Lemme guess, here. Finsbury Mosque, or something like it. Abu Hamza al-Masri, or somebody very much like him. They might also look into where he got the money to travel extensively in the Middle East â it's not free, y'know â and how he paid the tuition at Damascus U...
Al Muhajiroun, the extremist group led by Omar Bakri Mohammed, held meetings at the mosque in Hounslow where Hanif worshipped and has a strong presence in Derby.
Comes as a surprise, huh?
Security sources said Hanif and Sharif might have met in Damascus. This may point to a link with other extremist groups, such as Lebanon's Hizbollah.
Maybe Powell can ask Bashar about that little item...
A Palestinian taxi driver who declined to give his name said he picked them up on Tuesday last week and dropped them off in Gaza City after an argument over the fare to Rafah. A Western pro-Palestinian activist said the two later took part in a protest march in Rafah to commemorate Rachel Corrie, an American "human shield" killed by an Israeli bulldozer last March. "As soon as I heard the names, my heart sank," he said. "I did not need to see the picture, but when the picture came, they are there."
Guess it's not quite in the same category as filling ambos full of boomers, but it's in the same vein, isn't it?
Hanif and Sharif returned to Israel to carry out the attack on a tourist bar called Mike's Place, close to the American embassy, early on Wednesday. Hanif detonated his bomb when a private security guard asked to see his papers. Hanif's body was torn apart but the guard survived. Sharif also tried to blow himself up but the device apparently failed to go off. The public has been urged to call police with information on Sharif's whereabouts. Cdr Yossi Sedbon, the Tel Aviv police chief, said: "We believe he is still in the country."
"And we'd really, really like to have a long, long talk with him..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/02/2003 07:49 pm ||
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Secretary of State Colin Powell accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of misleading him about oil deliveries from Iraq as they prepared to meet on the implications of the fall of President Saddam Hussein. "I want to hear from him. What is his assessment of the situation; what are they looking for," Powell said on his arrival in the Arab country. He was greeted at the airport by Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shaara, who then accompanied Powell to his hotel, where they shook hands before a throng of reporters. Two years ago, Powell said, Assad assured him that oil from Iraq was not flowing through a pipeline to Syria. No siree, that's the olive oil pipeline
That, he said, turned out to be false. Powell said he had not forgotten that Assad made the promise. "I will always have that lying in my background software and on my hard drive," Powell said. Oh no, he's a state-bot!
The oil shipments from Iraq circumvented a U.N. program that permitted Iraq to sell some oil provided the revenue was used for the benefit of the Iraqi people. The pipeline provided Syria with oil below market rates and provided Iraq with additional revenue. Powell also was due to talk to Assad and al-Shaara about U.S. allegations that Syria supports terrorism, that it sent technology and fighters to Iraq and gave haven to Iraqi officials as Saddam's regime disintegrated.... Gee, after they lied about the pipeline, they COULD be stretching the truth on terror support, d'ya think? Glad Powell at least brought it up.
Posted by: Mark IV ||
05/02/2003 05:52 pm ||
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Backbone re-implant secure
yessssss
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2003 18:11 Comments ||
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Powell doing the good-cop bad-cop routine again?
"Hey you behave, or I'll have to get out of the way and let him (motioning at Rumsfeld) take care of you while I get this knife out of my back"
A three-judge panel in Washington struck down major provisions of the new campaign finance law this afternoon in a much-awaited ruling, setting the stage for a final showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court later this year that will determine the shape, style and bank accounts of the nation's major political campaigns.
Nearly five months after the McCain-Feingold law was argued before the panel, most of the soft money prohibitions were declared to be unconstitutional by a 2-1 majority, possibly clearing the way for major political parties to begin raising the large, unregulated sums of money from corporations, trade unions and wealthy individuals that critics said had plagued major election campaigns during the past two decades. That decision, like the other parts of the new law declared to be unconstitutional, is effective immediately, the panel ruled.
Barring a stay from the Supreme Court, that means campaign fundraising will enter a confusing standard of regulations, as political parties and interest groups raise funds regulated by a set of laws that may change again when the Supreme Court rules, lawyers in the case said today.
The panel also voted 2-1 to strike down the ban on most "issue ads," or thinly veiled political ads, that corporations, unions, interest groups and individuals can run on radio or television in the run-up to elections. But the court allowed the ban on a secondary definition of the ads to be enforced in more limited situations.
The 1,600-page ruling, the longest in the history of the U.S. District Court in Washington, is largely seen as at least a temporary victory for free speech advocates, major interest groups such as the National Rifle Association, and the Republican National Committee, who were some of major plaintiffs among the more than 80 groups that challenged more than 20 different provisions of the law.
"The ruling restores the ability of political parties to be major unifying players in the political process, and it will stop special interest groups [who would not have faced the ban on accepting unregulated sums] from taking over," said Benjamin Ginsburg, one of the lawyers representing the RNC. Ginsburg said late today it wasn't clear if the national political committees would start raising soft money again, or wait on a Supreme Court ruling.
The Justice Department, the Federal Election Commission, 19 states, two U.S. territories, several members of Congress and a handful of self-styled good government groups filed briefs supporting the new law. Soft money contributions started out as $18 million in the 1980 cycle of elections, according to the Federal Election Commission, but ballooned to $458 million by 2000, a system growing out of control, they said.
In arguments made before the judicial panel on Dec. 4, former solicitor generals Seth P. Waxman and Kenneth W. Starr squared off, with Waxman defending the law as a necessary antidote to a system overrun with big money, while Starr attacked it as a violation of the First Amendment, riddled with other problems.
Opposition to the law was immediate, swift and broad.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) became the lead plaintiff in the case by filing suit minutes after President Bush signed the bill into law last year. The National Rifle Association, the Republican National Committee, the California Democratic Party, the American Civil Liberties Union and dozens of others followed.
The ACLU and others said the prohibition on issue ads was a clear violation of constitutional protections of free speech, a core constitutional challenge that went back to the founding of the republic. The RNC said the law divorced national parties from their state affiliates, thereby weakening the national political structure. And when attorneys representing the plaintiffs noted during oral arguments that no one had alleged a single actual case of a donation buying a vote in Congress, Judge Leon seemed to agree, noting that appearance did not inherently equal corruption.
When oral arguments were concluded, the three judges had to work through more than 50,000 pages of evidence and 1,600 pages of briefs.
Posted by: John Phares ||
05/02/2003 05:28 pm ||
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No surprise - the free speech restrictions always were constitutionally invalid
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2003 17:50 Comments ||
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The 1,600-page ruling, the longest in the history of the U.S. District Court in Washington...
If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullshit.
Fifty-two years after he left the former Morris Harvey College to pursue a political career, Sen. Robert C. Byrd is graduating. The school, now called the University of Charleston, has awarded Byrd a bachelor of arts degree that he began work on in 1950. You would have thought it would be a bachelor's of pork, or an associate's degree in cross burning.
"It is a great honor for me to receive this degree," Byrd said. Welch said the degree isn't an honorary diploma often awarded to dignitaries, but is a real degree based on Byrd's 27 hours of class work at the school and the skills and knowledge he gained in more than 50 years in Congress. What a concept. Class credit for skillfully pulling at the public teat!
"Our process is that we recognize students' knowledge and skills. We give them credit. You don't have to be in the class to demonstrate a rather high level of knowledge and skills needed to graduate," Welch said Wednesday. But you should be required to have a modicum of class. And playing the fiddle doesn't suffice.
Byrd majored in political science from September 1950 to May 1951, attending classes while serving in the Legislature. Now, will someone show this old coot the door and how to get to the retirement home?
#3
Why'd I just have this vision of the Marines taking Robert Byrd airport and renaming it, followed by statues being torn down all over West Virginia?
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2003 21:20 Comments ||
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Will he have to give a speech? It always gets interesting when the Kleagle gives a speech. Edge of your seat excitement...
Edited for brevity.
Lawyer Stanley M. Chesley told Cincinnati City Council on Tuesday that he could not justify moving forward with the city's 4-year-old lawsuit against the gun industry, dealing a major disappointment to gun control advocates across the nation. Awwwwwww...
Cincinnati's lawsuit accused 25 gun makers, distributors and trade groups of marketing guns in such a way that they were destined for children and criminals. Um, no, that would be your liberal, pro-gun control buddies in Tinseltown that make all kinds of prime time garbage with gun fights, car chases, and abundant immoral and violent acts. "Do as I say, not as I do."
Posted by: Dar ||
05/02/2003 02:47 pm ||
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They're not legally available to children and criminals, argument musta been depending on how they hook the kids using water squirt guns. After that the kids and criminals have absolutely no responsibility for their own actions
kinda like politicians
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2003 15:52 Comments ||
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EFL
Young Western activists living with Palestinians to act as "human shields" against Israeli raids are debating how to minimize their risk of dying after suffering a sudden rash of casualties. In March, an Israeli military bulldozer killed a 23-year-old American woman while demolishing a Gaza home alleged to belong to a Palestinian militant. A British man aged 21 and a 25-year-old American were shot and gravely wounded this month."The whole issue is under discussion. We have to find better ways of protecting ourselves," Tom Wallace, spokesman for the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM), told Reuters."Maybe we will have to (keep more distance) from areas near soldiers or where they are carrying out action in the refugee camp because this provokes them too much," said Tom Dale, 18, a British ISM activist in the violence-torn Rafah area of Gaza. In the words of Orin Hatch...."Dumbass!!"
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
05/02/2003 01:03 pm ||
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We have to find better ways of protecting ourselves
#2
TU - NOOOOOooo! We don't want them here! They're achieving their highest best use as fodder
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2003 13:42 Comments ||
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Not to worry, the Israeli's are not going to let any more in: Meanwhile, an Israeli government official confirmed on Friday that Israel intends to crack down on pro-Palestinian peace activists, although the official said it had nothing to do with the case of the two British citizens.From now on, so-called peace activists will be denied entry to Israel, said the official who asked not to be named. Anyone visiting a Palestinian Authority area must pass through an Israeli airport or seaport or cross through Israeli border controls. If activists are already in the PA areas and are found in a closed military zone, they will be detained and deported, the official said. "The army will be less lenient toward peace activists. They'll be sent back to their country," he said. According to the official, the decision was taken after an unnamed British woman, working for one of the activist groups was found to be hiding a wanted Palestinian terrorist in her office last week.
The two British suicide bombers posed as human shields in order to get into Israel.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 13:45 Comments ||
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Not only did the "activists" get shot and bulldozed, but one of them got blown up in an Israeli bar!
#5
And here we see the difference between Human Shields and Soldiers:
Soldier: I will die to bring peace to your land.
Human Shield: I am not willing to put myself in harm's way to bring peace to your land unless someone can convince me that I won't be in any actual harm. Otherwise, you're on your own. It's the liberal way!
#6
The concept of a human shield is puzzling at best. Even a suicide bomber seems to have a more straightforward reasoning. But they're more properly called 'homicide bombers', and for murdering others, they deserve no sympathy.
But these misguided protesters are 'suicide activists'. Possibly endangering soldiers, but mostly not. Their purpose is not to shield anything, but rather to attract attention.
The big question is why. I'm not jaded enough to rejoice at other people's deaths. And laughing it off as insanity just doesn't smack. It kind reminds me of those buddhist monks who self-immolated protesting Vietnam. I don't hold to the method, but it sure made me stop, stare and wonder, Why?
Posted by: Scott ||
05/02/2003 14:32 Comments ||
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"We have to find better ways of protecting ourselves"
#9
The human shield depends on the goodness and humanity of the soldier or airman attacking the installation that the human shield is protecting. Once the soldier or airman realizes that the human shield is aiding and abetting the enemy, then the human shield is now an enemy combatant and is subject to the same treatment as the protected enemy. A couple more shield pops and they will become a non-issue to everyone.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/02/2003 16:21 Comments ||
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Maybe not, AP. Not if they believe in what they're doing.
The individual soldiers may be good enough, but the people that send them (and their policies) may be far from it. Take Tiananmen for instance, who do we honor, those under the tanks or the tank drivers? (or just those who stopped?) Or must the cause be approved, for us to regard the sacrifice and it's message?
Posted by: Scott ||
05/02/2003 16:44 Comments ||
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Scott---good point. Regardless of the cause, the human shield must go in there with the understanding that they're betting their life on the issue, and they may take the big fall. Whether or not it is worth it will be something that the H.S. must weigh carefully. The cause, ah the cause---that is the question. One palestinian, Provo, etc. martyr may be another person's dumbshit. Who do we honor, and who does the approving? That is a good question. It is obvious that the Palestinian H.S.'s believed in the cause enough or were stupid enough )depending upon one's point of view) to try to stand down the IDF. If at all possible it is smarter to not be a martyr. That is a last resort thing.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/02/2003 17:29 Comments ||
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Human Shields are used as cannon fodder by both the socialists and the anti-Israeli palestinians.
they are pawns.
They are taking the gamble with their lives but they are also being manipulated.
therefore they are brave but silly.
Notice they are all young? Nary a one is over 30.
I think that speaks volumes. Get them home get them safe, they will change their minds by the time they're 35.
Some said that at 9 years old, Sho Yano was too young for college. Then he graduated in three years. Summa cum laude. This June, the shy 12-year-old, who speaks barely above a whisper, will defy the skeptics once again when he becomes perhaps the youngest student to enroll in a medical school. He has been awarded a full scholarship to the University of Chicago. The pudgy cheeks of his freshman year at Loyola University are gone, but there's still plenty of growing to do. He stands 5 feet 5 inches tall, his voice hasn't yet changed and his parents rarely allow movies that aren't rated G.
His application raised red flags at some of the nation's top medical schools, a fact that perplexes Sho. "They said I was just too young," Sho said. "One person said he thought patients would be shocked." University of Chicago medical school officials had similar concerns but overcame them after meeting what they saw as an amazing, gentle prodigy who answered tough questions with maturity and thoughtfulness. Sho will enter one of U. of C.'s most competitive programs, the medical scientist in-training program leading to both an MD and a PhD.
There have been reports of students as young as 14 entering medical school, but no high-profile cases of 12-year-olds. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, less than 1 percent of medical school students are under 18. Sho had perfect scores in the quantitative and analytical sections of the graduate school admissions test. His Medical College Admissions Test scores--at 13 or 14 out of 15 for each of the sections--make him among the best of the best. But at the California school interviews--his mother prefers not to identify the school--one medical school administrator accused Sho's mom of using her son to set a world record.
After years raising an exceptional son, Kyung Yano is used to accusations that she's a pushy mom. Even if it was always Sho asking to advance, some outsiders figured mom was behind it all. "From the beginning, some psychologists said he would be miserable all through his life," she said. "They'll say again how much he'll suffer." The U. of C. admissions team had some of the same reservations about Sho that Loyola faced three years ago. Could he handle the intellectual demands, the lack of sleep? Would he be ostracized by a group of students twice his age? Would he miss out on the normal pleasures of a 12-year-old's life? Because of those concerns, Sho met with triple the number of U. of C. professors and students compared with typical applicants. The university's acclaimed child psychiatrist, Dr. Bennett Leventhal, evaluated him.
Medical school professors asked Sho a number of questions about working with patients. In each case, his answers showed a remarkable sense of empathy for patients and their families, said Dr. Lawrence Wood, dean of students and medical education at U. of C. For example, they asked Sho what he would say to a severely ill mother who had just delivered newborn twins? Sho paused for a long while, which is his style. The first words out of his mouth convinced Wood this demure child had the right stuff. "She must be very scared," Sho told Wood that day.
The overwhelming feeling was that Sho should be welcomed, that U. of C. had a shot at enrolling a budding scientist with great potential. But U. of C. also made some accommodations. Sho will earn his doctorate first, then complete medical school, not having regular interaction with patients until he's 17 or 18. The family will also move to Hyde Park.
Sho has read the Bible several times and talks about how his decision to enter medicine comes from a desire to help people. He rarely watches television and has never played a Nintendo video game. There are no Britney Spears posters on the bedroom wall in his home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Glenview. Instead, there were only yellowed newspaper articles on genetics research. A music prodigy who was playing entire Mozart pieces and composing his own music by 4, Sho spends most of his free time at the piano. He also finds time, though, for swimming and tae kwon do (he's a black belt).
Sho whizzed through Loyola, studying over the summers and earning a 3.9 grade point average. (He says he didn't deserve the one B, but doesn't want to get into the details.) After spending hours in a biology laboratory studying retroviruses in soybean plants, he presents research papers at campus symposiums with such titles as: "Structural and Functional Components of Putative Plant Retrotransposon Diaspora."
"We have to appreciate that he's 12 years old and he has completed college," said Michelle LeBeau, a U. of C. professor of medicine who leads the cancer biology program in which Sho hopes to study. "He's ready to move on to the next step of his education. It's not practical for him to stay at home. What do we expect him to do?" That's the main question Sho's parents have been asking for years. The Yanos are highly educated and bright. His mother is a Korean immigrant with a master's degree in art history. Sho's father, Katsura, is a U.S. business executive for a Japanese company who was a stellar student in his native Japan. But neither of his parents' talents ever matched their son's, nor those of their 6-year-old daughter, who seems to be on the same track as Sho. As a small child, Sho's IQ measured around 200, well above the range for geniuses. Some elite primary schools said he was too bright for them. He spent several years at a California gifted school, but his mother often supplemented with lessons at home when he still soared beyond his peers.
By 9, Sho craved bigger challenges. He desperately wanted a university education. "I just wanted to learn at my own pace," he said in his family living room as he chased his pet rabbit. "I don't see why I have to be held back." Although Sho had the support of top leadership at Loyola, his family saw right away how the campus was divided over his admission. "It was rocky, rocky, rocky," Sho's mom said of his first year. Then a 4-foot-7-inch undergraduate who needed a stool to reach the laboratory microscopes, Sho was ridiculed by some students and faculty who thought he was too young for university life. There was also a deluge of media coverage, including a front-page story in the Chicago Tribune followed by a feature on "60 Minutes II." He wrote a book for a Japanese publisher, an account of his first year at Loyola titled "The Diary of a Wonder Boy."
"People said it was a media circus and that we were trying to make a show," his mother said. Sho's mom was frustrated by the critics because she carefully limited the interviews, turning down many requests. Over time, Sho's cadre of friends and supporters grew. Many were impressed not only with his intellect, but with his ability to move quickly from a child's awkward concerns to the demands of university work. "Socially, we treated him like a little brother," said classmate Erich Gerhardt. "But academically, he was above us."
Sho doesn't speak a lot. He seems to prefer more formal communication, and leans toward e-mails over phone conversations. "Sho is remarkably thoughtful and mature in his thinking. That's the key," said Loyola classical studies professor Gregory Dobrov. "He regularly can produce reflections on questions that you'd expect to only make sense to a middle-aged person or a fully-formed adult." Sho is disciplined and diligent--he read an entire 800-page genetics textbook before the course even started. He says he never procrastinates. But he doesn't need to study much. "People think I study all the time," Sho wrote in an e-mail, "but I sleep 9-10 hours a day and sometimes my mother and my little sister consider me too lazy."
Sho's brilliance makes it easy to forget he's still a kid, said Howard Laten, a biology professor and adviser to Sho. But there were funny reminders. Sho grew impatient with fellow students, grabbing papers out of their hands when he wanted to move quicker. He sometimes left his work area a mess. His sweet-faced little sister, Sayuri, is known to frustrate him too, especially after she colored all the rabbits in his biology textbook in pink permanent marker. Sho worried classmates might think he colored the book, so he folded over the colored parts.
Laten also saw the ugly side to what Sho experienced at Loyola, especially in his first months. As Sho applied to medical school, Laten worried about attitudes he would confront there as well. "It was really clear to me that wherever he went, the university should take it on as a personal responsibility and help him succeed," Laten said. "These issues will come up in spades. It's the nature of the medical profession." Yet the boy himself doesn't see a need for special treatment. He would rather just dive in and ignore all the attention. "People just need to know my talent is from God," he said in his quiet tone one day on campus, "and I will use it for other people as much as I can."
Posted by: Ken ||
05/02/2003 11:06 am ||
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Sorry - It accidentally got posted before I could edit it for length.
Posted by: Ken ||
05/02/2003 11:29 Comments ||
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I pity - truly pity - anybody unlucky enough to be under his care when his voice changes and he starts acting like a real teenager.
Nurse: "Is that Vaseline in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
Edited for pertinent material
The search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq should continue, but coalition forces don't need to find them to justify the war against Saddam Hussein, U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle said. Wow! What a remarkable admission. Do you think the left that controls the heart and soul of the Democratic Party is going to go nuts?
The Democratic leader in the Senate, who had criticized President Bush's failure to find a diplomatic alternative to war, on Thursday applauded the president's leadership and the military's performance in toppling Saddam's regime. Again, this is remarkable and shows what a couple of bad polls will do to adjust Tommy Boy's attitude.
"In 21 days, we eliminated somebody who, for 20 years, has repressed and tortured his own people and posed a serious risk not only to his country, but to countries all over the world, including the United States," Daschle said in a conference call with South Dakota reporters. Doesn't this sound as if it was written by Karl Rove?
"Obviously, if these weapons exist, they still pose a threat, so I think the search must continue, but I don't think there's any more justification required than what we've already seen in terms of the purpose of the military operation. Regime change was a legitimate goal, it was accomplished, and I think that's laudable in and of its own right." What an unbelievable statment. This will provide cover for Edwards, Gephardt, Lieberman, and (to a lesser extent) Kerry for their "support" for the war. Tepid support by most standards, but rabid by leftist standards.
Posted by: ColoradoConservative ||
05/02/2003 10:57 am ||
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Its good but not all that surprising - despite some out of context remarks, Daschle has NOT taken the leftist line on the war. As indeed, more than half of Dem senators did not. And Liebermans and Edwards support has NOT been tepid - its been as firm as the support from any GOP Senators - again Lieberman was clear on the problem in Iraq before the administration was. If the GOP wants to make hay of this from the point of view of Bush's competence thats fair - Bush won, why shouldnt he get a boost. If GOP wants to take digs at Dean or Pelosi for their opposition, or Kerry and Gore their waffling, thats also fair. But if the GOP goes after Edwards, Gephardt or Lieberman for alleged "tepid support" they will be engaged in slander and will forfeit whatever moral capital they have gained (IE they will be showing themselves to be slime)
You're missing my point. Daschle is providing "cover" for Gephardt, et al, from the leftist wing of the Democratic party. Daschle doesn't want to see a Dean or Kucinich or - God forbid - Al Sharpton to make inroads in the primaries and position themselves for a damaging speech during the convention (think: Pat Buchanan and the '92 Republican convention). The GOP wouldn't go after Lieberman. You are right - I was wrong to characterize Lieberman's support as tepid. Joe has been staunch on this. I disagree with you on Edwards' support. I would still characterize it is tepid.
However, Daschle's comments will be used to deflect the invective spewing from Helen Thomas and the NY Times crowd.
#7
Everything this guy does is based on political calculation. Nothing he says on anything carries any substance. A slimeball of the first order. Buh-bye Tommie.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
05/02/2003 12:33 Comments ||
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#8
Helen thomas and the others will go after Gephardt anyway - Daschle simply doesnt carry much weight outside the Senate itself. Gephardt has done more to protect himself by proposing a health care plan that outflanks Dean on the left - much more important than anything Daschle says.
In any case I think the hawks Lieberman, Edwards,and Gephardt - would like to see Dean do well - they dont think he can win, and he hurts Kerry. As for speaking - Dean will get to speak at the convention if he wants to whatever Daschle says. And Kucinich and Sharpton wont, barring them doing much better than expected in the primaries.
Im surprised that you think Daschle has so much pull with voters in NH and Iowa - I dont think so.
#9
From the New Republic - what happened at a panel at the Childrens Defense Fund (Marian Wright Edelman - definitely left side of Dem party)
"On April 9, this is where the Democratic field found itself. The tone was set when the candidates were introduced one by one, and Sharpton's name generated the rowdiest applause. Lieberman used his opening statement to praise Saddam's ouster. "As I saw that statue of Saddam Hussein falling in Baghdad, I could feel the hopes of the children of Iraq for a better life rising," he said. On my recording of the event, one can just hear the faint sound of a lone pair of hands clapping slowly three times and then abruptly stopping, as if cowed into silence by the obvious lack of enthusiasm in the audience.
Unlike Lieberman, Moseley Braun was unimpressed by the scene in Firdos Square earlier in the day. "If we spent eighty billion dollars to kill Saddam Hussein," the ex-ambassador to New Zealand explained, "that's seventy-nine billion dollars too much." She would rather have seen the money spent on health care and other domestic priorities. Howard Dean echoed Moseley Braun's lefty isolationist belief that rebuilding Iraq would simply cost too much. (Only Edwards made the obvious point that Democrats could actually be in favor of spending money abroad on Iraq and at home on health care.) Dean then added perhaps the most stunning line from a Democratic candidate during the war: "We should have contained Saddam. Well, we got rid of him. I suppose that's a good thing." "
Lieberman's support was strongest, but Edward's point was salient as well. And he said it in a hotbed of leftism - he did NOT pander to the crowd.
#10
Daschel is running interference. I think this is a move to pull the Dems back towards the center. I move that was not possible during the war and one that is vital to keep the dems relevant.
Regarding your comment: "Im surprised that you think Daschle has so much pull with voters in NH and Iowa - I dont think so." I would disagree as to Iowa. Daschle has represented South Dakota since 1978 and worked closely with Iowa Senators and Representatives on such hot-button issues as the ethanol subsidy (a pork-barrel boondoggle if there ever was one), downstream water issues and union issues. All of these issues greatly affect Iowans and Daschle and Sen. Tom Harkin are joined at the hip on these things.
#12
Liberal Iowa guy1: That Dean talks straight, hes a rural guy, and hes against this damned war, Im gonna vote for him. Not one of those hawkish pseudo-democrats.
Liberal Iowa guy2: Daschle said the wars a success even if we dont find anything more dangerous than the fertilizer you and i use.
Liberal iowa guy1: Damn, and Daschle works real close with Harkin on Ethanol, so he's a guy we can trust. Guess I'll be giving Gephardt and this Leiberman fellow a second look.
Somehow this sounds like a stretch to me. I suspect Daschle is just trying to protect himself, thats all.
This is the same Tom Daschle who said before the war that he was disgusted that CIC had been such a total diplomatic failure and had allowed the risk of one human life during a war. He said the same during the war. Today's statement is a reversal to say the least.
I wish he and Pelosi would continue to "energize the base" and to let the American people "never go to the polls and not know where the democrat party stands."
#14
LH - I don't think so - this is revisionist backpedal by the weakest former senate majority leader in modern times .... poll- governed ass-covering at its best - they should pay dearly at the polls and not be given a pass for their transgressions
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2003 17:48 Comments ||
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Alexander Oshmyansky is no ordinary teenager. The University Of Colorado student is getting his degree after just one year. That's right, just two semesters at college. The 18-year-old graduated from Dakota Ridge High School in Littleton last year. While attending high school, Oshmyansky had taken advanced classes and amassed about 100 college credits, which is equivalent to more than six semesters of a class load of 16 credit hours. Although he could have cruised through high school in less than four years, he chose not to. "I sort of hung around high school for the social aspect," he said. "I didn't want to be one of those 12-year-old kids wandering the halls at a university."
Now, with his biochemistry degree in hand, he's headed to medical school. Some of his professors say he's smarter than a lot of the university faculty. He "tested out" of most of the college's required classes and he didn't have to pay a lot of attention in the classes he did attend. "There was always a lot of free time on campus. In fact, last fall I did a musical with my spare time," said Oshmyansky. He also had enough free time for a genetic research job at a campus lab.
His professors say he's one of a kind. "I was writing letters of recommendation for him for medical school before he'd even gotten any grades," said Steve Langer, his chemistry professor. "He has a handle on chemistry that most of us don't have. We don't think that way." His chemistry professors would even ask for Oshmyansky's opinion on their own research projects.
Oshmyansky said he tried to hide his age from his classmates. "The subject didn't come up that I was 18 until 5 or 6 weeks in when the guys in the lab said, do you want to go bar hopping with us? And I said 'that might be a little rough,'" he said. Now, after being the youngest student in his college classes, he's ready to be the youngest kid in medical school. Oshmyansky said he plans to attend medical school either at CU Health Sciences Center, Duke University or Washington University in St. Louis. "I'm pretty passionate about becoming a doctor and feel I can learn the most about medicine and become the best doctor I can be by learning the subject at this age," he said. He said ultimately, he wants to focus his research on developing a new cancer treatment. "I wanted to get into a field where you can really do groundbreaking research," he said. "With the human genome coming out, that opens a whole new area for discoveries."
Posted by: ColoradoConservative ||
05/02/2003 10:36 am ||
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Two stories about genious kids going to medical school. Two kids with foreign last names. God its good to live in a country where people fight to get into and where we are on the advantage side of the brain drain.
#3
It is so nice to have some positive stories to counterbalance all the stories about crazed Middle Easterners, crazed North Koreans, dirty politicians, and idiot celebrities. It's like a breath of fresh air.
Right on, Yank.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/02/2003 13:37 Comments ||
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#4
Three words:William James Sidis.All the best to Mr. Oshmyansky,but how many of these wonderkids actually live up to expectations?
Posted by: El Id ||
05/02/2003 13:45 Comments ||
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EFL
In late April or early May 2003 70 sailors on board the No. 361 submarine were killed in an accident that occured off the Chinese coast, east of Neichangshan. China's Xinhua reported the news on May 2 stating that the submarine was either being towed or had already been towed back to an unidentified port. The cause of the accident was not initially disclosed.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
05/02/2003 10:05 am ||
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The submarine was on an exercise when the accident occurred, and "because of a mechanical malfunction, the 70 crew members on board died," the Xinhua report said.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/02/2003 15:43 Comments ||
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#7
Too many possibilities to speculate. And, there is no reason to give a gram of weight to what appears in the official Chinese press on this.
Could be "friendly fire" during a training exercise. Could be enemy fire. Could be sabotage by a crew member or dockyard worker. Could be a weapons malfunction. Could be a suicide by the captain or an officer. Could be an awful lot of things. I doubt we'll ever know the truth.
All that matters is, we have little to fear from Chinese submarines in a battle environment. The Japanese submarine force did a pretty good job of extinguishing itself during WWII as well, so perhaps it's a regional tradition.
April must be party time in North Korea. Lot's of cake and ice cream. Well... maybe not.
The world progressives joined the Korean people in commemorating the Day of the Sun, the birth anniversary of President Kim Il Sung, and the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong Il's election as Chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and the 71st anniversary of the heroic Korean People's Army, auspicious days in April. Congratulatory letters and messages, floral baskets and gifts came from the Russian President, the King of Cambodia, presidents of Laos, Uganda and Palestine, leaders of political parties, political figures and delegations of different countries. They're big on flower baskets. They're probably good eats.
Praying for the eternal life of Kim Il Sung and the good health of Kim Jong Il, they extended highest tribute and glory to them. Seminars and lectures were held in at least 80 countries with their high party, state and government dignitaries attending. Commemoration meetings, book and photo exhibitions, film shows and joint art performances took place in many countries. I missed our party. Maybe next year...
Famous works of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were published in booklet in Russia, Pakistan, Iran, the Czech Republic and Guinea. The Egypt-DPRK Friendship Association opened the "Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il E-Library" on its internet homepage to post on the first page of its file photographs of the three generals of Mt. Paektu and famous works of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Damn! I can't find the link! How will I get through the day?!
Posted by: tu3031 ||
05/02/2003 09:00 am ||
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"...the Russian President, the King of Cambodia, presidents of Laos, Uganda and Palestine... Praying for the eternal life of Kim Il Sung and the good health of Kim Jong Il..."
Hey, that's an interesting prayer group!
Posted by: Tom ||
05/02/2003 13:56 Comments ||
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Kind of makes that old football injury of yours look pretty lame, doesn't it?
A Colorado climber amputated his own arm Thursday, five days after becoming pinned by a boulder, and he was hiking to safety when he was spotted by searchers, authorities said. Aron Ralston, 27, of Aspen, was in serious condition late Thursday at a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo. Ralston was climbing Saturday in Blue John Canyon, adjacent to Canyonlands National Park in far southwestern Utah, when a 200-pound boulder fell on him, pinning his right arm, authorities said. He ran out of water on Tuesday and on Thursday morning, he decided that his survival required drastic action.
Using his pocketknife, he amputated his arm below the elbow and applied a tourniquet and administered first aid. "Ouch" just doesn't seem enough, although after having a 200lb rock sitting on your arm for five days, there most likely was not a lot of feeling left in the arm.
He then rigged anchors, fixed a rope and rappelled to the canyon floor. After he had just cut off his own arm!
He hiked downstream and was spotted about 3 p.m. by a Utah Public Safety Helicopter. The search for Ralston had begun the same morning, after authorities were notified he was four days overdue reporting for work. Ralston was described by authorities as an avid outdoorsman in exceptional physical condition. They said he was known to have climbed 49 of Colorado's major peaks. Somehow I don't think that a little thing like this is going to slow him down.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 08:09 am ||
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's a climber and therefor in pretty good shape. The rock ws 200-pounds and he didn't have to deadlift it or anything. He must have been in an awkward position or pretty badly injured if he couldn't move the rock enough to get his arm out.
Depending upon the rock I probably would have been chipping away at the rock with my knife.
#5
Going climbing alone is way stupid, too many bad things can happen - one slip or fall and your well chewed bones get found by a hiker in the summer.
Avid Outdoorsman? Maybe. But not a smart one. You dont go out in the Rockies in the springtime alone and without sufficent gear, including radio gear if you have it - and you let people know where you are going (including your route of travel), your expected return, and when to call the authorities if you dont check in at the right times. I teach that to the kids on weekends here in the Denver area.
On a humorous note, he better hope he never hooks up with a "coyote ugly" - he'll have no arms left!
#7
Its too bad the rock didn't fall on his left hand, then he would be all right now.
Posted by: John G in Chicago ||
05/02/2003 16:00 Comments ||
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If you are going to go by yourself, you need additional backups, a couple of flares, smoke, signal mirror, etc. And an EPIRB is a cheap insurance policy. I carry one with me even on my plane in case its internal ELT lunches out or the plane goes in the drink. Our unhappy camper would still have all his limbs if he had an EPIRB.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/02/2003 17:16 Comments ||
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#9
A 1000lb boulder just sorta fell on him?
Posted by: john ||
05/02/2003 22:19 Comments ||
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Vieques Libre! Ooooops, so's my job at Roosevelt Roads!
What began as a peaceful celebration of the official closing of the U.S. Navy target range quickly turned violent as protesters tore, destroyed, and set fire to everything in their path. In a matter of minutes, the mob tore down the metal fence, destroyed the concrete structure that served as U.S. Camp Garciaâs entrance, and set fire to three military vehicles. What's a good lefty celebration without a riot!
Chaos took over the scene and neither Gov. Sila Calderon nor Police Superintendent Victor Rivera were able to control it. Riveraâs decision to drastically cut police presence in Vieques for the closing of the target range could have played against him as the less than 100 agents present at the site were not enough to handle the over 800 demonstrators. The chief of police blamed organizers for allowing alcohol consumption at the site as some of the most violent offenders were visibly drunk. Yeah, it was the booze. It always is.
Rivera tried three times to send in his riot squad but was forced to retrieve them. Some riot squad. Let's send the Oakland PD down to show them how it's done.
Calderon, who arrived at the site one hour behind schedule, took the microphone to say that those who were acting with violence were not representatives of the Vieques cause. âThis has been a struggle of peace not of violence,â Calderon said. Calderon, who was invited to participate in an ecumenical service to commemorate the end of military practices in the target range, was quickly rushed away from the site after the insults by the crowd against her grew louder. By the time Calderon spoke, 1:30 a.m., things had already gotten out of hand. "The crowd's revolting! Yes, and it's ugly, too!"
In fact, signs of possible turmoil were evident at 11 p.m. when anti-Navy leaders, lead by Ismael Guadalupe, walked toward Camp Garciaâs main gate to place a banner across it. âThis gate will only be opened by the people who struggle for it,â read the banner. Yeah, it was the booze...
Guadalupe and the leaders who have maintained the anti-Navy movement in Vieques for decades and more intensely since the accidental killing of civilian guard David Sanes argued that it was up to them to enter the site first. They noted that the gates would be open Thursday morning when more people who had been arrested for trespassing arrived on the island. Municipal employees and organizers of the main event thought otherwise Adios, amigos...
Posted by: tu3031 ||
05/02/2003 08:00 am ||
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KISS your $300 mill into the economy goodbye! Hope you can eat peace.
So, what's the quickest way to fill the budget hole? Drugs. ugh.
#3
lets see - rush into a former bombing and gunnery range, in the dark, without knowing where the unexploded ordnace is, with stuff that goes BOOM dating back to WW2 embedded there...
Yeah, thats real smart. They want in NOW? Fine, I'd have opened the gates and let them go in - and let Darwinism do its work...
More than 160 foreign artists and intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez, have come out in defense of Cuba even as many of their peers condemn recent repression on the Communist-run island, one of the campaigners said on Thursday. Latin American Nobel laureates Garcia Marquez, Rigoberta Menchu, Aldolfo Perez Esquivel and South African writer Nadine Gordimer, also a Nobel prize winner, have signed a declaration of support, Mexican sociologist Pablo Gonzalez said. Continuing to drag the Nobel prize down to the lowest level of hell.
U.S. singer Harry Belafonte and U.S. actor Danny Glover are also among the personalities who have signed the two-paragraph declaration "To the Conscience of the World" so far, Gonzalez announced to a May Day rally in Havana. Let's see a show of hands of those who are surprised that these two losers signed on. Just what I thought.
"A single power is inflicting grave damage to the norms of understanding, debate and mediation among countries," the declaration says, referring to the United States and the war in Iraq. "At this very moment, a strong campaign of destabilization against a Latin American nation has been unleashed. The harassment against Cuba could serve as a pretext for an invasion," it continues. President Fidel Castro's government has come under unprecedented international criticism from friends and foes after sentencing 75 dissidents to long prison terms last month, and executing three men who hijacked a ferry in a failed bid to reach the United States. Havana has said the crackdown is in response to a U.S. plot to topple the Castro government after more than four decades of failed efforts to do so. Fierce criticism of Cuba's moves has come not only from Western government's such as the United States, but also from disillusioned foreign writers and artists, apparently sparking the pro-Cuba drive. Portuguese Nobel Prize winning novelist Jose Saramago, a longtime supporter of Castro, wrote last month that, "from now on, Cuba can follow its own course, and leave me out," saying Cuba had cheated his illusions. At the Thursday rally Castro told critics, particularly on the left, that their words could be used to justify a U.S. invasion. The intellectuals who signed the declaration defending Cuba apparently agree, though they did not specifically express support for Castro's policies. The declaration concludes with a call to governments and others to "uphold the universal principles of national sovereignty, respect for territorial integrity and self-determination, essential to just and peaceful co-existence among nations." Gonzalez did not say who originated the declaration but said it would continue to be circulated among cultural figures around the world. How many of these "cultural figures" live in one of the workers paradises they keep defending?
Posted by: Steve ||
05/02/2003 07:55 am ||
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#1
I think this is great! One more example of how totally full of shit these hypocritical bastards are.
#5
'...the universal principle of national sovereignty...' yeah.
Castro should have remembered that when he sent his troops to mess things up in Angola, Mozambique, Colombia, Bolivia...for twenty years, under the orders of USSR. And his agents are working today in Venezuela to help Chavez to destroy democracy. Great intellectuals these, really great. If these morons are intellectuals, I am Mozart AND Einstein.
#6
It's an absolute shame that "intellectuals" continue to applaud a regime that jails other intellectuals (brave ones for a change) for 20 years just for speaking their mind.
#7
Notice not a thing about the rights of individuals - all the "rights" they list belong to the state, and the people serve the state as personified by the leadership. Like good little communists, they cannot concieve a world where individual rights are paramount and trump the issues of "territorial integrity and national sovereingty".
Zim-Bob-We's president, Robert Mugabe, is battling against a whispering campaign within his Zanu-PF party begun by some of his deputies and lieutenants vying to oustoffcack succeed him. The Guardian revealed yesterday that Mr Mugabe faced unprecedented pressure from fellow African leaders to retire, and the presidents of South Africa and Nigeria, Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo, were due in Harare on Monday to urge him to end his 23-year rule. Amazing! They finally noticed! Ole' Bob finally stunk up the joint enough.
But even as the 79-year-old leader struggles with causing Zimbabwe's severe famine, fuel and power shortages, economic collapse and international criticism, he is also confronted by growing pressure from ambitious officials in his own party. "Damn whippersnappers! I'll show them! Jes' as soon as I finds my teeth!"
Interviews with senior members of Zanu-PF show that substantial elements of the party think it is past time for Mr Mugabe to go. But it is bitterly divided over who should succeed him and remains at a loss for a strategy for pulling the country out of its most severe economic freefall and famine ever. Rantburg readers could give 'em a working strategy in about 15 minutes or so. But would they listen?
"The party is fully aware they have lost the population," a former Zanu-PF member of parliament said. "Cabinet ministers and party officials sit over beers and admit the party has failed the country. But when Mugabe comes into the room they all sit up and tell the president what he wants to hear. They are all afraid." "Please don't kill us!"
They fear that Mr Mugabe will cut them out of the party's inner circle of wealth and power. They are also afraid of Mr Mugabe's revenge. Some cabinet ministers privately say they are unhappy with the situation but are frightened of violent retribution if they resign. "Zanu-PF is not just a political party, it is a bloodthirsty bunch of goons liberation movement that fought a bitter and bloody war to gain power," said Wilfred Mhanda, a prominent war veteran, now director of the Zimbabwe Liberators Platform, a group critical of Mr Mugabe. "That violent struggle 30 years ago shaped Robert Mugabe and many others in the party. They are committed to keeping power, not to democracy. They are not afraid to spill blood now to keep power." It's the proper education at Patrice Lumumba U. that makes a police state the likely outcome of all that struggle.
Mr Mugabe's use of the army, police, war veterans and youth militia frightens many people, but he cannot intimidate an economy back to prosperity or win back popularity. "There are several in Zanu-PF who have been waiting for years to succeed Mugabe and now they fear they are losing their chance," said a former ambassador. "They fear Mugabe will drag the party down with him and they won't have a chance of power. That is why they want Mugabe to step down now." "Git! I was here first!"
The most prominent faction became public in January when the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, revealed that he had been approached by the parliamentary speaker, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and the chief of staff of the armed forces, General Vitalis Zvinavashe, who asked him if he would join a "transitional government" if they got Mr Mugabe to retire. Mr Mnangagwa, a former defence minister, is widely considered to be Mr Mugabe's likely successor. "They are powerful men, but their weakness is that they are not popular," said a Zanu-PF MP. "Mnangagwa cannot even win an election within the party, not to mention a parliamentary seat. How could he lead the nation?" Clubs, goons, guns? Works for Bob!
Party leaders can rattle off other factions vying to succeed Mr Mugabe, but virtually all of the various challengers are devoid of any new economic policies to reverse Zimbabwe's decline. The one Zanu-PF contender who is an exception is Simba Makoni, a former finance minister. He has spoken out for rational economic policies and avoided associating with the more lawless side of the party. He hasn't a chance, of course.
He told the Guardian that Zimbabwe's daunting problems demanded a national effort in which all Zimbabwean parties and civic organisations worked together. "We are faced with a crisis, both economic and social, that calls for a national effort that cuts across party lines," Mr Makoni said. Mr Makoni's statements are treasonous earth-shaking, particularly coming from within Mr Mugabe's always often thuggish belligerent ruling party. "It is a hallmark of democracy that the different political parties can work together. Anyone who suggests that our problems can be solved by an exclusively partisan approach from any one party is suggesting a path that will be longer and more painful," said Mr Makoni. "And to work with our regional and international partners would also be beneficial." He clearly didn't do well in Marxism 101 at PLU!
A Zanu-PF member of parliament said: "Moderates within Zanu-PF are comfortable with Makoni and even the general public likes him. He is not tainted by corruption. But he does not have a proven constituency, he does not have an elected seat." Another party member said: "Makoni is outside the inner circle but he could well come to power with a bit of support from South Africa." South Africa's economic pressure and President Mbeki are the most decisive factors influencing Mr Mugabe. "South Africa's key strategy in dealing with Zimbabwe is to try to get Zanu-PF to make an internal change in leadership. If they finish up the land redistribution, that could allow Mugabe to retire as a hero and get a successor," said Ivor Jenkins, director of the International Democratic Alternative for South Africa. Just go, Bob.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2003 01:58 am ||
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Y'know, Ian Smith is still alive and cranky down there. He should be pretty well rested - perhaps he'd like another crack at things?
Posted by: The Marmot ||
05/02/2003 3:40 Comments ||
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#2
Today's question: By June 1, will Bob & Grace have left on the Concorde, or been shot by a firing squad?
Posted by: Baba Yaga ||
05/02/2003 7:24 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
