KABUL: US and Pakistani troops launched a massive operation on Saturday along Afghanistanâs eastern border. US soldiers arrived on Friday night with helicopters and vehicles at the border between Nangarhar province and Pakistan, Nangarhar governor Haji Din Mohammad told reporters. âTwo days ago they contacted us and said they wanted to come to the border and they said would be there three to four days,â he said. The troops said they would be taking control of the border and mountain areas rather than searching houses, he added. US soldiers were going along the Kabul river where it forms the border with Pakistan and were accompanied by Afghan interpreters. Mohammad said Pakistan had also sent troops and tanks to its side of the border. âOver the other side of the border thousands of Pakistani troops have arrived two days ago. They have tanks,â he said. The latest operation comes just days after Afghan, US and Pakistani military and government officials took part in their first meeting. General John Vines, commander of US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, headed the US side for the meeting, which included Afghan national security advisor Zalmay Rasoul and Pakistanâs chief of military operations, according to Afghan foreign ministry officials. Security was one of the topics discussed at the meeting.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 3:14:16 PM ||
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Afghanistan is still the source of almost all of the heroin sold in London, even though Britain has poured millions into trying to stamp out the war-wrecked country's resurgent drugs production business. Opium poppies are springing up from the plains to the mountains of Afghanistan in far higher quantities than in the final year of the Taliban, which the US and Britain overthrew, while vowing to end the region's narcotics trade. Opium - from which heroin is extracted - is produced on farms only a few dozen miles from the capital city of Kabul. Local Afghans say that bags of heroin are used in lieu of currency in some parts of the lawless countryside where - more than two years after the Taliban was toppled - the US-backed interim government of Hamid Karzai has failed to establish control. After the war, Britain assumed responsibility for co-ordinating the international effort to crush Afghanistan's opium trade. It is spending £70m over three years on a project to eradicate poppy production by providing Afghan farmers with another livelihood and by training the fledgling and badly under-manned police force. But this bleak picture suggests that its efforts have so far failed to turn the tide. That's about $110 million. Wonder where it all went?
HM Customs and Excise, which is running a programme in Kabul, has admitted that 95 per cent of the heroin sold on London's streets is still of Afghan origin. This has prompted George Osborne, a Tory MP who sits on the Public Accounts Committee, to call for an investigation into what has been happening to the money. Mr Osborne, who fears that much of it may have been pocketed by regional warlords, wants an investigation by the National Audit Office. Figures released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime show Afghanistan now grows more than nine times as many opium poppies as during the final year of the Taliban. The roaring opium trade runs counter to one of the main aims declared by Britain for joining the US in the war on Afghanistan.
I wondered where the Talibs were getting the money to finance their resurgence...
In October 2001, a few days before the start of the Afghanistan war, Tony Blair told the Labour Party conference that "the biggest drugs hoard in the world is in Afghanistan, controlled by the Taliban". He said then that 90 per cent of the heroin on London streets was from Afghanistan: "The arms the Taliban are buying today are paid for with the lives of young British people, buying their drugs on British streets." The Prime Minister repeated this claim a week later in the Commons, when he announced that the military campaign had begun, telling MPs that the Taliban "is largely funded by the drugs trade".
And somebody thinks that's not the case now?
The cultivation of opium reached its peak in 1999, when 225,000 acres - 350 square miles - of poppies were sown, with the complicity or encouragement of the Taliban, who were accused of using part of the proceeds to buy arms. The following year, the Taliban responded to international pressure to start reducing the opium harvest. It banned poppy cultivation, declaring it to be "un-Islamic" - a move which cut production by 94 per cent, although it continued to allow trading. By 2001 only 30 square miles of land were in use for growing opium poppies. A year later, after American and British troops had removed the Taliban and installed the interim government of Hamid Karzai, the land under cultivation leapt back to 285 square miles, with Afghanistan supplanting Burma to become the world's largest opium producer once more. One of the reasons that aid workers have been unable to persuade Afghan farmers to switch to growing crops appears to be the continuing security problem in the country, deepened by the slow rate of recruitment to the national army and police. The Karzai administration has tried offering cash to farmers as compensation for not growing opium, but the money - £1,850 per acre - proved far less than the profits available from staying in the poppy business.
And they still need international aid for groceries...
Mike O'Brien, a Foreign Office minister, admitted that "security in Afghanistan remains a serious concern". A Foreign Office spokeswoman said there was no "quick fix" to the drugs production problem in Afghanistan. But Britain was involved in a "very ambitious" anti-narcotics programme, she said, "especially when you think of the lack of government infrastructure in large parts of the country outside Kabul". Only way to stop this is to start drying up demand. Growing poppies is just too ingrained in that part of the world, and too profitable.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/22/2003 1:40:09 AM ||
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#1
I wonder what would happen if the administration decided to add all the ODs, junkies, and associated drugs into the costs of the WOT.
I wonder what would happen if they decided to expand the patriot act to include heroin traders and dealers as terrorist organizations.
#2
As long as there is a demand each time you close a source of drugs the only thing you do is having the price raise and thus get other people to enter the trade. So the only way is to reduce the demand ie round junkies and tell them "desintoxicate or we send you to the fire squad".
#3
"Local Afghans say that bags of heroin are used in lieu of currency in some parts of the lawless countryside where - more than two years after the Taliban was toppled - the US-backed interim government of Hamid Karzai has failed to establish control."
More than two years? Not according to Earth calendars.
Posted by: Arthur Fleischman ||
06/22/2003 7:34 Comments ||
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#4
After the war, Britain assumed responsibility for co-ordinating the international effort to crush Afghanistan's opium trade.
Heh! Not such a good deal for Blair. I'm surprised he allowed us to dump that lost-cause on him. Maybe it was a principled move rather than a political one.
Dumping it on the British was smooth political move on the part of the Bush administration, though. It was becoming apparent before/during the war, that the left was gearing up (NPR, the Vanity Fair piece, etc.), to try to make the Heroin trade an issue for name-calling and the blame game. IE: with all of our technology, sattelites, intelligence, and spec ops, why can't the Bush administration reduce the Heroin trade?
Somebody in our government sidestepped that one nicely by getting the British to take responsibility. Great idea, since Blair, being from the left, won't have to suffer the politcal harping that that the Bush administration would no doubt have endured from the "quagmire" that is sure to be the result of this issue.
"Report suspects? Damn! I never thought of that!"
JEDDAH â Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, urged citizens yesterday to âfulfill their religious and national dutyâ by informing authorities about any members of militant groups or those who support or sympathize with them. âThese misguided groups, whose membersâ minds have been possessed by the devil, will be punished and defeated, God willing, along with those who support them,â he said. The prince said terrorists and their supporters and sympathizers violated the Islamic faith and were shunned by Saudis and all Muslims.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 12:21:41 PM ||
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#1
Big chink in the armor for Jihad. They were better off when the kept their focus on hating the West and the Jews. Now that they are openly attacking other Muslims...they have apparently decided to embrace the concept of "Divide and Conquer" against themselves.
Six soldiers were injured Saturday when members of an outlawed militant group attacked their convoy in southern Yemen, police said. Five of the soldiers were in serious condition after their six-truck convoy was fired upon with Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades in the Hatat area in the southern province of Abyan, police said. Police blamed the attack on members of the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, a group sympathetic to al-Qaeda that has been charged with carrying out anti-government and anti-Western attacks inside Yemen.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 12:13:09 PM ||
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Why doen't Yemen ban those damned rocket propelled grenades. And are those fully automatic Kalashnikovs? Because if they are there's another snafu.
Four women believed to be linked to suspected al-Qaeda militants were detained in a new raid by Saudi police in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, a newspaper reported Saturday. Al-Watan, quoting security sources, said police also seized three AK-47 automatic rifles, a gun, six loaded magazines, two bombs and a suitcase full of jewellery and cash. The raid was made on Friday at a flat in a building rented by Musaed al-Khuraisi, one of 12 suspected militants arrested by Saudi police in Makkah last week. The women were found to be related to Khuraisi and other members. Two children were also picked up in the raid.
"What'll we do about the women and kiddies, Mahmoud?"
"Forget about them. We don't need them anymore."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 11:51:24 AM ||
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Looks like these gals will get deported from the holy lands for sure. And they wont get those Ak's back either. Soups on in Cuba, send them there.
JEDDAH: Saudi security forces unraveling an alleged plot to attack the holiest city in the Islamic world say many of the suspects were mere teenagers, including one as young as 15 years old, whose boyish features and hairless cheeks may have helped mask a violent assignment.
That also gets them light sentences. "They're just lads. They didn't really know what they were doing."
The suspected Makkah plot uncovered earlier this month, coupled with May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh that killed 35 people, kick-started Saudi efforts to crack down on militant groups here. The recent attention also showed that terror groups appear to have been fishing for recruits among the vast pool of young men in this kingdom, where more than half the population of about 20 million is under 18.
Guess we know what Soddies do at night. And taking the pill is un-Islamic...
"They are being recruited at this young and impressionable age and are being taken advantage of," an Interior Ministry official told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Toldja so...
"Some of them were students in high school." Of 12 suspected al-Qaeda militants arrested last week in the Makkah plot, six were minors, the official said. The raid on a bomb-filled, booby-trapped apartment in Makkah left five suspects and two police officers dead. "The average age of these young men, whether those involved in the Riyadh attacks, or those detained in Guantanamo Bay, or the ones involved in Makkah last week, is around 20," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Makes sense when you're utterly ruthless. Get your cannon fodder young, and any surivors can be promoted. Except for relatives, of course. They start at the top, 'cause they're too important to The Movement™.
The roughly 660 detainees in the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay hail from 42 countries, with more than 120 from Saudi Arabia. Among these is the youngest detainee, a Saudi who is 17 years old. Al-Qaeda leaders have been open about their policy of recruiting young Saudis, said an expert on militants. "Osama bin Laden has said publicly in interviews that he is targeting people in the 15 to 25 age range. They are the most valuable and the most malleable of the organization's foot soldiers," said Abdul-Rahman al-Motawa, who recently published a book on Saudis detained in Guantanamo Bay. Al-Motawa said many Saudi youth who end up as members of al-Qaeda cells are recruited through Web sites and private gatherings. "The Internet is very dangerous. Many of the young men were lured to Afghanistan with the promise of work with relief organizations. Once there, they were trained and sometimes sent back to Saudi Arabia to carry out attacks here," he said.
Nobody buys the "relief organization" story anymore, Abdul.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 11:46:46 AM ||
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Anti-capitalist goofs nuts rustics thugs communists anarchists rioters and Greek police were in an uneasy stand-off last night in Thessaloniki after a day of street battles that marred the end of the European Union summit held at a seaside resort outside the city.
By now it's a tradition. You have a summit, you have goofs breaking things outside.
More than 2,000 self-proclaimed small-minded wingnuts anarchists barricaded themselves inside the campus at the Aristotle University after rampaging through the city centre smashing shop fronts and fighting with police. This was to prove how peaceful they were.
Under Greek law police cannot enter the campus but a large force of riot police surrounded it while police helicopters hovered overhead. The city's streets were carpeted with rocks and broken glass as fire crews toiled to put out fires left by a mob of leftist freaks rioters that had run amok earlier. Underfoot thousands of spent tear gas canisters mingled with trampled protest placards calling on people to "Stop Nato, US and EU". But KCNA tells us that only reactionary Americans 'run amok.'
Late in the afternoon the anarchists broke from the group of 50,000 unwitting peaceful accomplices demonstrators, throwing petrol bombs and starting fires, while riot police responded with volleys of tear gas that filled the city centre with acrid smoke. The first major attack was against a McDonald's on Thessaloniki's main Egnatia Avenue. The steel shutters were torn and the property set alight. Hooded men attacked journalists trying to take pictures of the blaze. I guess the old saying about how 'any press is good press' isn't true!
Rioters, dressed in black, many wearing gas masks, body armour and carrying sticks and metal bars fought a running battle with riot police, setting alight cars and targeting outlets of international brands like Vodafone. In the worst of the clashes hooded anarchists, from the so-called Black bloc and Salonika action group, wheeled supermarket trolleys filled with rocks into Aristotle Square to throw at police. They wouldn't stand a chance against Chicago cops. Wonder why the Greek cops were so restrained?
Thousands of protesters from Greece's General Workers' Union were caught in the crossfire and had to run for cover under a hail of gas canisters, petrol bombs and rocks. "This is like Iraq, you can't breath and they've turned this into a war zone," complained resident Yiannis Fantis. Come with us to Baghdad, Yiannis, and we'll show you a realwar zone, and some mass graves as well.
The main mob of violent protesters escaped the police cordon to retreat to the university, which they have used as a base throughout the three days of protests, staged to coincide with EU meetings on immigration and security. "There have been around 25 to 30 arrests and several people have been rushed to hospital," the police said.
Arrests are pretty useless unless there's a punishment involved. The arrest becomes a badge of honor for the anarchokiddy. He and his buds sit around and sneer at the "system."
Controlling the violence was made more difficult by organisers' decision to stage five separate and simultaneous marches, with thousands of demonstrators spread across the whole city. The main bloc of peaceful demonstrators converged on the American and British consulates, both protected by a huge security force. Marchers carried banners denouncing Tony Blair and the US President, George Bush, as "Imperialist Murderers". I'm sure the protesters feel like they did something.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/22/2003 1:28:58 AM ||
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#1
I recall reading a few years back that public opinion in Europe was largely pro-death penalty and strict enforcement of laws. The article also said that typically it was the "elites" in the parliments that refused to implement the death penalty or crack down on crime through tough sentencing laws. I remember quite clearly one MP stating that if he and his brother lawmakers didn't "vote their consciences" that then the rude masses would have pushed through all sorts of barbaric laws. As much as we whine about our own American lawmakers and their addiction to polls, at least they try to listen to their constituents (not masses) and implement their will for better or for worse.
#2
If the "elites" in the parliaments of Europe had listened to their constituents and implemented their will for better of for worse, then there's no single country in continental Europe that would have offered the slightest moral or physical support for America's war on Iraq... Not Poland, not Spain, not Denmark, not Italy, not any of the "new" *or* "old" Europe.
As for the death penalty... yes, sometimes polls seem that people want it, mainly as a punishment for drug dealers. But no party really seems to want it *enough*, or be undivided enough in its support of death penalty, so as to make it an election issue and change what many others consider a human rights achievement.
Posted by: Brian ||
06/22/2003 3:40 Comments ||
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#4
Greek police are under permanent orders "not to provoke." In Thessaloniki, they remained under the strictest instructions from above NOT to touch demonstrators unless attacked, repeat, attacked. Interpetation of such orders is yours... Do we stand by while the wingnuts burn and loot, or do we go in there and wipe the asphalt with their faces? If you were a Greek police commander, you'd probably decide to do the former lest you end up before a board of inquiry with the question of dismissal. Note that the plundering and pillaging is ALWAYS the handiwork of some 500 bloody goons at the most. Now try to figure out how 5,000 police, armed to the teeth, are unable to deal with such a group... Answer: leftwing government trying not to hurt the feelings of assorted barbarians, "militants," "ideological purists," "socialist fighters," you name it. In short, lack of resolve and an inherent (yet always vehemently denied) tolerance of domestic terrorism.
#5
Lack of resolve, yes I think I'll pretty much agree with that.
I'd have really liked to see all these bastards rounded up and summarily tried and imprisoned for several years each, their families forced to pay for all the damage they caused.
But unlike Nik, I won't blame it on the ills of "left-wing governments". If anything I think a conservative government would act with even greater reserve fearing of antagonizing political forces even more than a socialist government would... Especially under the leadership of their current president Karamanlis, whom I've generally considered to be lacking any sort of moral backbone whatsoever...
#6
"...I think a conservative government would act with even greater reserve..."
I guess your Greek governments are of a different character to ours in the UK. Labour governments in the 20th C were habitually brought down by Union activity (this is one of the reasons why it wasn't until the late 90s that a Labour government enjoyed a second consecutive term in office) precisely because they were reluctant or unable to deal resolutely with left wing activists.
#7
I'd have really liked to see all these bastards rounded up and summarily tried and imprisoned for several years each, their families forced to pay for all the damage they caused.
Right you are,Aris.
I'm all for Freedom of speech,Freedom to Demonstrat.But do not tolerate hurting people or destruction of property.
#8
I don't understand why they can't sue the organizers of these events for the damage that they cause. Just like they did with the KKK or Aryan Nations. It would put them out of business real fast.
I guess it's tough to sue the Union's without getting the pleasure of trying on cement shoes in a deep pond.
#9
Becky asks an obvious question, but who would do the prosecuting in Greece? The overall climate is not exactly conducive to going after the pillagers in any determined way whatsoever... To give you an example, just before the opening of the EU summit, leftist organizers announced they had prepared criminal complaints (!) that they would lodge with prosecutors against the police if tear gas was used against their demonstrators. Tear gas has been used, so I'm waiting to see what happens with the lawsuits. For as long as I can remember, I've been watching the courts turning loose swarms of bastards and rejecting punishing any of them for major destruction of property. In 1995, some 800 anarchists were arrested after exiting the Athens Polytechnic campus, where they had burned the administration building and the School of Fine Arts causing losses amounting to millions of dollars. Not even a SINGLE person among them was eventually prosecuted.
#11
*snort* I like America more than I like my own country.
What you consider hatred of America, is only criticism of it. You've never seen gloat over the idea of USA's destruction the same way I've seen *many* people here gloat about EU's destruction, have you now?
Now, UK... *that's* the country I dislike more than my own. I could gloat over *that* one's destruction. :-)
#12
"UK... *that's* the country I dislike more than my own. I could gloat over *that* one's destruction."
*blissful sigh* Thanks, Aris. You don't know how warm and tingly that makes me feel inside! :))))) Can I be so bold as to hazard a guess at which is your favourite country? Belgium, perhaps?
#14
Bulldog> I guess about as warm and tingly as the dreams of EU's destruction make me, hmm? :-)
I don't have a favourite country. Switzerland might have been, if it did not always choose neutrality. The Scandinavian countries seem cool. [pun half-intended]. Or Netherlands. There are several European nations I could choose from.
Outside Europe, Canada sounds decent enough.
Were it not for United States' death penalty, it would have been a strong candidate for my "top favourite country" though, regardless of their foreign policy...
Of course for my *future* favourite country, and always it depending it'll turn out for the best, a federal European Union stands on the top... :-))) It'd have the one cool distinction that United States also has, as a country founded on principles, rather than on ethnic boundaries or happenstance -- except more so. :-)
#16
RW> Was talking about Greece. European Union isn't a country yet, IMNSHO. And btw "US of E" is a rather awful name... It sounds more like a parody than a real possible name. In the end I hope that European Union shall remain named such. Though "European Federation" might be also good enough... :-)
#17
It's not conducive to going after the pillagers, it's not conducive to going after the November terror group...I fear for the state of the body politic.
Also, a standing question to Aris: how can you be willing to see everything that Greece accomplished on their own be submerged to Belgium? It's incomprehensible to me to place so much blind trust in Brussels and to foresake national pride on the alter of unaccountable Eurocrats...
Posted by: Brian ||
06/22/2003 15:30 Comments ||
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#18
It's simplisme, isn't it? Aris doesn't like Greece. Why should he care?
Funny that you express you admiration for Switzerland, Aris. The country immediately recognisable for so long as the 'hole' in the map of the European Community. So what is it that the Swiss do that you find so admirable? Are you hooked on chocolate? Besides that, I don't see much to rave about. Unless you're just clutching at a multilingual state to hold up as your beacon. Perhaps you admire Swiss banking ethics? A history of admirable foreign policy? Or perhaps it's the crayzeee popular culture they export? The delights of Geneva? The gun in every household? From my own experience, chocolate and mountains are about the only things I'd be keen to return for. I even regretted spending a day there whilst holidaying in France once - each visiting vehicle was required to pay a full year's road tax upon entry!
And why are you so anti-UK? Is it just because you want your marbles back? Or something else...?
#19
Brian> Be submerged to "Belgium"... Pfft. This doesn't even deign a response. That's like saying that Macedonia or Epirus or Crete was submerged to Attica...
"National pride"? It wasn't my choice to be born here, it was just chance, so why should I be proud for something that isn't my choice? Is "national pride" something like "racial pride", and should I be against interracial relationships for the same reasons you seem to indicate I should be against EU?
"Everything that Greece accomplished on their own"? Actually I look at what Greece has accomplished on their own and it can't even compare to what it has accomplished in unity with other nations. Or do you think that the defeat of the 3rd Reich is just a triviality? We fought with the allies. National independence? A united European fleet helped us do that at the bay of Navarino. Balkan wars? We were never alone in those either.
So what exactly is it that "we accomplished on our own" that outweighs the stuff above? Unless you mean something like "invent democracy", in which case it'd be kinda silly to isolate ourselves from the countries that adopted the same idea.
The draft preamble in the European Constitution begins with a Greek phrase by Thucydides. If there's national pride to be found here, is that alongside Rome we gave birth to European civilisation. And that pride can be found *inside* the EU, far more than it can be found outside it.
And stop the cliched propagandist ploy about the "unaccountable Eurocrats", speaking about them as if it's an integral characteristic of the Union. People who babble about this, tend to be the ones who *don't* want to see more democracy and accountability in the Union. By speaking as if it's a *given* in the Union, they remove from themselves the responsibility to try and improve the situation.
Bulldog> "So what is it that the Swiss do that you find so admirable?"
Direct democracy, you idiot.
The "gun in every household" isn't a problem when it's not accompanied by the belief many Americans have that said gun is the solution to every single problem in the world.
"And why are you so anti-UK?"
I think I've already explained this in past discussion. In a great deal of length. UK's role in Europe has been that of the hypocritical saboteur, who not only doesn't want to move forward itself, but actively tries to stop everyone else from going forward on their own either. Oh, no, we don't want to join the euro, but at the same time we'll stop the euroland countries from having a financial council of their own. Oh, no, we don't want federal taxation, but instead of just *opting out* ourselves of such federal taxation, we'll prevent everyone else from doing it. Oh, no, we don't want common defense but where countries such as Denmark just choose to *opt out* of such common defense, we'll actively move to prevent the rest of you countries forming a common defense either.
Why should I not despise the country that's warring on the greatest project currently taking place on the face of the earth?
*Besides* that we have their ridiculous monarchy and House of Lords and stuff, at the same time accompanied with the iron belief that they are more democratic than the rest of the continent. They are themselves a federation of nationalities, but *gasp* say the word "federation" where pertains to Europe and they'll faint. Federations evil. Scottish and Irish nationalism *bad*, British nationalism *good*. Pfft. They speak of French domination in the Union, and they don't seem to see the much stronger English domination in their own "United Kingdom".
Cool authors though. Tolkien. Rowling. Pratchett. That's one good thing, definitely.
So, yeah. I dislike UK the most of all the countries in the EU. Greece comes second worst, because of such things as the power of Church in politics, the nationalistic hysterias, stuff like that. We're still far better than the rest of the Balkans, but that's not much comfort, is it now?
English domination of the UK? You don't pay much attention to your nemesis, do you? Of course the English, representing approximmately 2/3rds of the population of the UK, will appear to 'dominate' because of their strength of numbers, but as usual, you let your assuptions guide your opinion. The smaller nations benefit disproportionately highly, per capita, from government expenditure. The smaller nations are disproportionately highly represented by MPs, per capita, in parliament in Westminster. In addition, they have their own parliaments, whereas decisions made regarding exclusively English issues are decided and voted on by English, Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish MPs. There is no equivalent English parliament. You're also ignoring, or are ignorant of, the fact that individuals from the smaller nations are currently, and have been historically, disproportionately highly represented in parliament in the mainstream political parties. All the leaders of the big three parties right now are from Scotland. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is Scottish. This is your idea of "English domination"?!
The British sabotaged European defence? When the weasels anounced their intention to create own tri-nation army just a couple of months ago, without bothering to mention it to, or invite, most of the other EU member states?
Switzerland is so great because of its passion for referenda? I guess that explains why they colluded with the Nazis and shunned EU membership. Fantastic country, shame about the voters, huh?
So I have an "iron belief" that my country's more democratic than the rest of the continent? Well, you learn something new every day, I suppose. You don't like the monarchy. Well, bully for you. So hate me. The House of Lords incurs your wrath? Well, all I can say is, try to live with it. You ain't going to see Westminster burning in eternal hell in your lifetime, so put your emotions to more productive use somewhere else, please.
#21
This kind of behavior will ONLY stop when someone makes it so painful the perpetrators will not wish to continue it. We had a small group of demonstrators here in Colorado Springs that tried to incite a riot among a larger crowd. The peaceful demonstrators tackled them, held them down, and turned them over to police. They knew that, if they didn't supervise the activity of ALL the demonstrators, the police would treat them all equally, regardless of who was actually at fault. The problems lasted less than three minutes, and 27 demonstrators were arrested. None of them had a local address - they had all driven down from Boulder, 85 miles to the north of here.
The only thing that ends this nonsense is rapid force, applied where necessary, with just enough restraint that the wackos live long enough to serve their jail terms.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/22/2003 19:37 Comments ||
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GHALANAI: Tribesmen in Mohmand Agency have started armed resistance against checkposts in the area. Armed men from the Khugakhel tribe and militia forces on Saturday exchanged fire in the Anargai area. The political authorities had given a Saturday evening deadline to local tribes after which fire was exchanged between the militia and locals. The military has been deployed for the first time in the agency along the Afghan border. The military for the last three days was busy in setting up checkposts in Chartana Kandao, Shunkari, Gostry Kandao, Sam Ghahi, Aylzai Kandao and Kudakhel areas.
This would seem to be associated with the American-Pakistani operations along the border...
When security forces went to set up a check post at Anargi Kandao, local tribesmen armed with heavy weapons started firing on them. The political administration and army officers tried to ward off the conflict but in vain. Unconfirmed reports suggest a militia soldier received minor injuries. However, no tribesman was reported injured till the filing of this report.
Guess we know which side the tribesmen are on. Comes as a surprise, doesn't it?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 3:20:59 PM ||
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Finally got around to it, did they? And it's only going on two years...
Bank accounts and assets of Osama Bin Laden and several Pakistani organisations suspected of backing terrorism have been frozen by Pakistani authorities. A list of the 15 organisations and individuals whose assets were frozen was presented to the Pakistani parliament and published in the newspaper, the News. The report in the News said 640 million rupees (about $10m) belonging to suspected terrorists and their organisations had been frozen. Among them was just under $2,000 held in a bank in the western city of Peshawar by Osama Bin Laden. Pakistani officials were not available for comment.
Binny's chicken feed...
The United Nations passed a resolution after the suicide airliner attacks in America on 11 September 2001 obliging nations to freeze the assets of terrorist suspects. Pakistan has submitted the details to international watchdogs in the United States. The disclosure came as President Musharraf left Britain for the United States for a summit early next week with George W Bush. Accounts belonging to several banned Pakistani militant organisations were also frozen but again the sums were paltry. They include those fighting in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Harkat ul-Mujahideen, as well as several Arab aid organisations. Four dollars was found in a dormant bank account held by the man described as al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahri.
Yeah. This sounds like a really big-time operation.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
06/22/2003 7:30:51 AM ||
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#1
It'd be more interesting to see how the funds have been drawn down...any one-armed guys, real tall, walking with a limp, with big lips been cashing checks on this lately?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/22/2003 10:38 Comments ||
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Well, it's reassuring to see that they zipped closed the OBL petty cash funds. Only took them two years.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/22/2003 15:44 Comments ||
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US forces stormed the headquarters of the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI), arrested three employees and confiscated computers, the leading Shiite group told AFP on Saturday. âA group of American soldiers entered the headquarters on Friday and arrested three of our employees after treating people inside roughly,â SAIRI official Mohammed al-Hashemi said. âThe soldiers confiscated documents, computers and disks without explaining why.â US troops also raided a suburb of Ramadi, 100 km west of Baghdad, after sunrise on Saturday.
That's unusual. They've been leaving SAIRI pretty much alone...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 3:18:01 PM ||
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The SARI offices are where the secret documents were obtained on nukes.
But then again after reading your commenbts on this one http://rantburg.com/default.asp?D=7/27/02#5979 one would wonder.
Unless of course you support the MEK now.
Everyone, scratch your head and figure out an answer to who will lead Iraq.
Latest out says, those who supported the slain Shi'ite leader who came from Iraq are now protesting against the U.S.
Sabotage has been blamed for an explosion at a pipeline which supplies oil to the Iraqi capital. Flames were seen shooting into the sky after the blast late on Saturday near the town of Hit nearly 140 kilometres (90 miles) north-west of Baghdad. US officials say there are no reports of American casualties, but in what appears to be a separate incident in the same area, two American soldiers were hurt when their vehicle struck a landmine. Meanwhile, a US soldier was killed and another was wounded in a grenade attack on a military convoy about 20km south of Baghdad, the US military said. Local Iraqis and oil officials told the BBC's Caroline Hawley that the pipeline explosion was blown up deliberately. Iraq's oil infrastructure has come under attack several times - most recently 10 days ago when another supply route from Iraq to Turkey was damaged.
Iraq resumed limited oil sales on Sunday from storage tanks at Ceyhan in Turkey - the first Iraqi oil export since the US-led invasion began on 20 March. But Iraqi officials say they will not be able to start pumping oil from the northern fields of Kirkuk to Ceyhan because the pipeline remains damaged. Oil officials said the incident could mean the return of fuel shortages that swept Baghdad and the rest of Iraq after US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein. Petrol queues eased only recently after imports filled the gap. The blast will also affect power production at Baghdad's major electrical plant, the head of the refinery that supplies the power station told the French news agency AFP. The head of the Northern Oil Company Adel al-Qazzaz said that repairs to the damaged pipeline would take another three or four days. The export of crude oil is the primary way for Iraq to secure foreign revenue and get its defunct economy back on track. The United Nations' recent decision to lift all sanctions on Iraqi exports other than arms has paved the way for the battered country to begin cashing in on its natural resources once again. But damage to oil installations during post-war looting has squashed hopes of a rapid build-up in the quantity of exports.
Aris, you left a few things... ;)
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece said on Sunday its special forces found 680 tonnes of explosives on board a Comoros flagged ship owned by a Marshall Islands registered company.
Greece's Merchant Marine ministry said it had transferred the vessel to a western Greek commercial port for further checks after special forces boarded the ship and found the explosives.
The government did not specify what the type of explosives were, what they thought they were intended for or where the ship was bound for.
Alk running?
Posted by: Brian ||
06/22/2003 5:00:06 PM ||
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An Arabic-speaking guerrilla, his face wrapped in a black turban, said the al-Qaeda terror network was behind suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco and warned of more attacks in a new videotape. If authentic, the video would be the first al-Qaeda claim of responsibility for the bombings of foreign housing compounds in Riyadh, and the attacks in Casablanca.
The videotape was obtained by The Associated Press from a senior intelligence official for Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan rebel leader allied with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network and the Taliban. The man on the scratchy videocassette, who identified himself as Abu Haris Abdul Hakim, said he was speaking on behalf of al-Qaeda, the Taleban and Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami organization. But he did not say either his nationality or his affiliation.
We can probably guess. To both, in fact.
"The recent attacks in Riyadh and Morocco were planned and they were part of our martyrdom operations. You will see such more attacks in the future," he said. The intelligence official confirmed that the speaker on the tape was speaking for Hekmatyar's party, which the official said was working with al-Qaeda and the Taleban. During the Taleban rule, Hakim was known to speak in the name of al-Qaeda in interviews with the official news agency Bakhtar. In the video, the speaker is seen seated on a strawmatted floor in a brick mud hut with a Kalashnikov assault rifle by his side as he read from several sheets of paper.
"Those people who say our jihad is wrong and that we are not active are fooling themselves. Osama is alive and in Afghanistan. Jihad is compulsory for all Muslims in this present situation," he said.
"So y'all grab your guns and turbans and come join us, hear?"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 12:11:45 PM ||
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The court of appeal of Rabat started on Friday the hearing of Mustapha Alaoui, a journalist sued for publishing a communiqu? whereby a group, "Assaika," claims responsibility for last May 16 attacks in Casablanca. The journalist, who edits and manages the independent Al-Ousbou weekly in Arabic, had been interrogated by the judicial police, before being put in custody in a Sal jail, near Rabat. The public prosecutor of the Casablanca court of appeal had said in a release that the publication by Al-Ousbou of the statement, which other publications abstained from circulating, was a violation of the law, especially the anti-terrorism law, enacted on May 29.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 3:00:56 PM ||
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French soldiers today exchanged fire with gunmen in the volatile north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) town of Bunia and were targeted by a hand grenade that failed to explode, a spokesman says. Colonel Gerard Dubois says the EU-led Interim Emergency Multinational Force sent a patrol to the south-western suburb of Tchemtchem after residents reported that armed men were looting a nearby dispensary. "The militiamen attacked the patrol, which responded," he said.
"Hot damn, Mbosa! They're shootin' back! Quick! Throw the grenade!"
"The militiamen then fled, throwing a grenade which did not explode."
"Pull the pin next time, Mbosa."
"Sorry, boss."
The spokesman says no casualties have been sustained on either side during the incident. It is the third time the force had engaged armed men in Bunia, where it has been mandated by the United Nations to secure the town and protect its population from inter-ethnic clashes that have claimed hundreds of lives in recent weeks. On June 16, two armed men, reportedly drunk, were shot dead after they pointed their weapons at patrolling French special forces.
Dumbasshes... [hic!]
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 1:55:12 PM ||
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The spokesman says no casualties have been sustained on either side during the incident.
The Frogs couldn't hit any of them? That's pathetic. They should be embarassed (if the French were capable of embarrassment). How'd they manage to hit the 2 drunks? Oh..... never mind.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/22/2003 14:59 Comments ||
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Come out of the bush, they are only marauding youths.
The Israeli army has received new rules of engagement for its operations in the Palestinian territories to avoid hitting "innocent civilians" when firing. The report says the army commander of Israel's central region, which includes the West Bank, says firing orders have been modified following several operations during which "innocent Palestinian civilians" were killed or injured. General Moshe Klaplinsky did not elaborate on the new rules of engagement. But he says the army could reinforce its checks of Palestinian ambulances after it uncovered an explosive belt aboard an ambulance in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. He is also quoted as saying that an army officer manning the largest checkpoint on the West Bank had been dismissed. The radio reports he was removed after Palestinians complained against his behavior that "contradicted orders".
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 1:46:38 PM ||
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A rally for solidarity with the Korean people, a lecture and a film show took place at the head office of the New Communist Party of Great Britain, in Brazzaville of Congo and Indonesia from June 6 to 13 on the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of the publication of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration. Andy Brooks, General Secretary of the New Communist Party of Great Britain, in a speech said that the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration was a result of the determination and will of leader Kim Jong Il who is carrying through the instructions of President Kim Il Sung for national reunification. Christopher Coleman, spokesman (leader) of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), in a speech said that the publication of the joint declaration opened a bright prospect of national reunification, adding that the party, allied with progressive political parties of Britain, would always extend support and solidarity to the Korean people in their efforts to implement the joint declaration.
Wow. The NorKs are really making a splash! Britain's teetering, I can see...
The Korean film "The Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong Il Meets with President Kim Dae Jung" was shown in Indonesia.
Had people lined up for blocks, too...
The Bohemian, Moravian and Silesian Trade Unions' Association of the Czech Republic on June 13 released a statement expressing full support to the historic June 15 North-South Joint Declaration.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 1:41:01 PM ||
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Israel has pressed the Palestinian Authority to rein in those opposed to peace talks. The source at the prime ministerâs office said Israel had agreed to give the Palestinians three weeks to organize forces for a crackdown on militants. Palestinian officials did not immediately comment on the offer. But the Palestinian Authority has long demanded Israel end its assassinations, which bolster militants.
But weed out the upper ranks...
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas fears a crackdown on militants could spark a civil war and would prefer to pursue a truce. But after meeting Powell on Friday, Abbas said cease-fire talks with militant groups led by Hamas would come to nothing unless Israel halted incursions and blockades.
So stop giving them reasons...
Israel rejected Abbasâ approach. âA truce is in itself a ticking bomb, so it cannot last in the long run,â Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told Israel Radio. âThere cannot be a situation where the Palestinian extremists decide when this ticking bomb becomes a live and real bomb.â Militant groups have yet to decide on a truce. âI think the dialogue (with these groups) is over... We are waiting for the results, for (their) response,â Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 12:28:12 PM ||
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A day after US Secretary of State Colin Powellâs visit to the region, Israel yesterday vowed to pursue its policy of targeted assassination of Palestinians. âThere will be no immunity for âticking bombsâ,â a source in Prime Minister Ariel Sharonâs office said, referring to Palestinian fighters. Hours later, Israeli troops killed a high-ranking Hamas official. Abdullah Qawasmeh, considered the top Hamas official in the West Bank, was killed by an elite army unit which had come to arrest him in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, an Israeli military source said. Qawasmeh tried to flee and was shot dead, the source claimed.
Scratch another one...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 12:24:34 PM ||
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Gee, what kind of official he was? A high-ranking murderer is a much more fitting description, isn't it?
Posted by: marek ||
06/22/2003 17:00 Comments ||
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TEHRAN: Faced with renewed domestic unrest and international alarm over their nuclear programme, Iran's clerical leadership have begun an urgent debate over whether to offer concessions or withdraw into siege mode, diplomats say.
My guess is that they'll go into siege mode...
Most analysts agree that more than a week of student-led protests posed no real threat to the nearly 25-year-old Islamic republic, largely because of the efficiency of the security forces and lack of any organised opposition network. But the sporadic unrest has nevertheless served as a reminder that frustrations remain as high as ever among Iran's massive and burgeoning youth population. And while protestors had previously voiced most of their anger over the ongoing reformist-conservative deadlock, backing moderate President Mohammad Khatami, the latest demonstrations have taken a new twist with the legitimacy of the regime itself coming under attack.
The tipping point moved a notch closer...
"The authorities were very quick to get on top of the whole thing," noted a European diplomat who closely monitored nearly 10 consecutive nights of protests around Tehran University, which appear to have largely fizzled out. "But the problem," he added, "is that hardliners see it as yet another reason to pull up the drawbridge, and the reformists see it as another argument for reforms." Behind the scenes, debate over a bid by the embattled president to boost his powers is reported to be heating up, with officials nervous that legislative elections in early 2004 could result in a catastrophically low turnout.
If the elections don't result in any changes, why have them? It's more rewarding to lock yourself in the bathroom and explore your sexuality...
The local press has also recently revived speculation that a state of emergency could be declared. Under that scenario, conservatives - possibly those loyal to powerful and pragmatic former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani - would formally take power in a bid to reel in radicals from both sides.
Rafsanjani, recall, lost his presidential bid to Khatami...
Iran's right-left dispute has been rumbling along since Islamic clerics took power in 1979. But observers see the current international climate, especially with the new US doctrine of pre-emption, as having brought the internal debate over Iran's future to a head. And as the authorities were seeking to restore order to the streets around Tehran's university and others in the provinces, pressure has also come from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It has been focusing on Iran's atomic energy programme, something the United States sees as a top-secret bid to acquire nuclear weapons. Despite emphatic Iranian denials, widespread suspicions that Iran is on the path to having the Bomb have translated into concerted demands from the United States and Russia, as well as the European Union, Australia and the IAEA itself that Iran immediately open up to a tougher inspections regime.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 12:19:02 PM ||
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The Arab Times, can say what it wants but I think it will take a mini war between factions of the mullahs to precipitate the end of the regime. The mini war would divide factions of the army, the police, the republican guards and make them vulnerable to being paralyzed by the next big popular event.
Gaborone â A journalist has filed assault charges against Zimbabweâs ambassador to Botswana who he says attacked him over an article he wrote. Hloniphani Chengeta, a journalist for Botswanaâs Sunday Tribune claimed Phelekezela Mphoko grabbed him and held him against a wall after the diplomat objected to a report he had written. âWe have received a complaint and we are dealing with it,â Botswanaâs Police Commissioner, Norman Malebogo said. It is unclear whether Mphokoâs diplomatic immunity would frustrate attempts to prosecute him.
I'd guess it would...
The incident followed the publishing of an article in which the journalist quoted the information and publicity secretary of Zimbabweâs ruling party, Nathan Shamuyarira, saying that Botswana was being used by British and US troops to launch a regime change in Zimbabwe. Shamuyarira was also quoted as claiming that Botswana was working with Zimbabweâs opposition party and Western powers to remove President Robert Mugabe from power. Chengeta said that Mphoko âgrabbed me by the scruff of the neck and held me against the wall. One of my colleagues managed to pull him off.â
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 11:32:04 AM ||
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The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party yesterdays said several of its supporters in Nkayi communal lands in Matabeleland South province have fled their homes after being attacked by suspected ruling ZANU PF party militias.
Brownshirts are rampaging, are they?
MDC Member of Parliament for Nkayi Abednico Bhebhe said many of the villagers had fled to Bulawayo where they have sought sanctuary with relatives and friends. [Welshman] Ncube, who claimed that some of the vehicles that have been used to ferry the youths to their victimsâ homes appeared to have been painted in Zimbabwe Republic Police colours, accused the law enforcement agency of turning a blind eye to the marauding youths. Police at Nkayi however dismissed the allegations that police vehicles had been used to transport the marauding youths. âWhy should the police involve themselves in politics? We donât have such a report,â an officer at Nkayi Police Station said.
"Nope. Nope. Wudn't us."
Some of the villagers who escaped the youths told this newspaper of how their relatives and loved ones were severely tortured by the militia men and of how they themselves were lucky to escape to the safety of Bulawayo. MDC secretary for Nkayi district Aleck Nkiwane recounted how he fled to Bulawayo after being tipped off that the suspected ZANU PF militias were looking for him. But the opposition official said the pro-government mob kidnapped his wife whom they are now holding as ransom until Nkiwane surrenders himself to them. Another MDC official Vita Masuku, who contested last yearâs rural council election on behalf of the opposition party but lost, said she fled at the middle of the night after being informed that the suspected ZANU PF militias were planning to raid her home in Nkayi. Masuku, who said several villagers from her area had been severely injured during torture sessions by the militias, said, âThey are taking people to their base near Ngwalande Clinic where they torture them. Some of my neighbours are actually living in the bush for fear of the youths.â
Bob's opened Pandora's box really wide with the ZANU-PF "youths." Chances are he's going to kick it or be expelled within the next year, two at the outside. The brownshirts are what he's going to leave behind, and they're still going to be there even if ZANU-PF dies with him.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 11:24:16 AM ||
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By Philip Ochieng, Nairobi
Doesn't any Kenyan know the extreme danger of allowing the American government's proposal to build a military base Kenya? Ambassador Johnnie Carson complains that I pose such questions merely because I hate "Americans". That is familiar obscurantism by the US intelligentsia. It uses the words "state" and "nation" as synonyms.
How can that be? The German nation lives in several states - including Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The British state embraces several nations - including the English, the Scots and the Welsh.
Interesting interpretation. I can see where this is going...
But the intelligentsia needs that falsity. It enables it to unload onto the American nation the horrendous crimes which the American state commits overseas on behalf of the corporations. I do not hate nations, tribes, clans and such other purely culturo-linguistic concepts. I leave ethnic chauvinism - and the racism which laces it - to the neo-cons, the televangelists and Heritage Foundation.
They have those in Kenya?
As a nation, America - a great people - do not wrong me. But, as a state - a purely politico-legal category, America certainly does. That's what I hate - not its nationality but only the hideous inhumanity of its system.
Some of his best friends are Americans, no doubt...
If they could shed their corporate media clutch to discover their own objective interests, Americans themselves would abhor the corporate state even more deeply. Many Kenyans - long-time victims of the same transnational media - believe the US hovers over the rest of mankind only to free, civilise, democratise and make it as rich as America.
That's kind of like the view I hold, and I'm not even Kenyan...
Because those media are deliberately silent on it, those Kenyans just cannot see the causal link between their society's skinniness and Anglo-America's obesity.
Yep. We're playing zero-sum games again...
They are so mesmerised by America's "success", they will give up important jobs at home to work as janitors in US megalopolises.
That's quite true. It's the way lots of people start out. I had a girlfriend once who had held a management job with Citibank in Rio. She came to the U.S. because of the crime levels in the City by the Sea, and she was cleaning houses for a living. I havne't heard from her in years, but I'd bet that by now she's got a pretty comfortable business. I knew quite a few Salvadorans who were hanging drywall — I think speaking Spanish or Portuguese may be a job prerequisite for the trade. Most of them wanted to have their own drywall or construction-related companies when they'd made enough money and had enough contacts to start up. It's called ambition, and the willingness to do what's necessary to get ahead. Those who don't have it stay home.
Such are the individuals likely to support Washington's pressure to set up a military presence here. Many are MPs and civil bureaucrats. The Cabinet may be a tad more enlightened. But even it has hungry members most likely to fall for a familiar White House bait.
The Masses™, of course, do as they're told...
As the official corporate voice, the US government will try to twist our Cabinet's arm by tying the military pressure to "aid" resumption by the IMF and the World Bank. If the Cabinet is still adamant, DC will not hesitate to push a few dollars into the pockets of key ministers - the hungry ones - to sanction that naval base. Cabinets all over the world have mortgaged away their whole countries to US and other Western corporate interests for 30 pieces of silver. Nothing is special in ours to make it the exception.
Good. It's done, then?
We can only hope self-interest of a different kind will prevail - the kind that recently forced Istanbul to reject a permanent US base in Turkey despite an attempt at a massive bribe. It was too dangerous. No matter how much the dollar offers, nothing can be more perilous than to allow a US military base in Kenya, especially in the present international security climate. Kenya is already a prime terrorist target. It is not that we have acted on self-interest to kindle the wrath of any terrorist group.
"Don't make them mad at us. They might blow up more things than they already have."
It is only that certain groups see Kenya as an accomplice in the US, British and Israeli corporate injustices in the countries which those terrorists hold dear - Iraq, for instance. To those terrorists, the US is the arch-devil and Britain and Israel are the devil's advocates. Kenya has massive British and Israeli investments - tourism, oil, agribusiness, chemicals, telecommunications.
"We should get rid of all of them. Then maybe they'll leave us alone."
Thus whenever terrorists attack us, it is US, British and Israeli property that they aim at, not ours. Yet, in the end, we suffer much more. What utter stupidity would allow a state already sitting on a powder keg caused by the devil to invite even more of it by allowing the devil a permanent presence? You will have pawned all your sovereignty and become a permanent US puppet. Even if you change your international orientation, the base will be here to stay. Ask Cubans and Guantanamo.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 11:15:48 AM ||
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Damn, this crap pisses me off with all of its prattling on about masses and intelligentsias. At least OBL is more honest, recognizing as he does that America is a democracy and that its people are responsible for its foreign policy. Of course OBL also uses this as a justification to kill us, but that's another rant. In line with Sun Tzu's dictum to know your enemy, I sometimes try to get into the heads of morons like this. Does he have to knock back a couple of stiff ones before he writes crap like this? When the government forces punitive taxes on entrepreneurs or abrogates property rights of the "masses" does he lose a minute of sleep? Does it ever strike him that the inability of him and his cronies in the "intelligentsia" to lead the "masses" is the true reason for his nation's failure? Nah, it's just easier to keep blaming whatever bogeyman is convenient at the moment. I think he hits them all: The US, UK, the Jews, the World Bank, and the IMF. Enjoy the bribes, servants and Renaults while they last, because in the game you're playing, someone meaner and hungrier is eventually going to take them away.
The government yesterday banned flights to Somalia and closed Kenyan airspace to planes from that country in a security operation aimed at preventing a possible terrorist attack. At the same time, a major security operation by the Anti-terrorism Police Unit and the General Service Unit continued in Nairobi's Eastleigh area, home to thousands of Somali refugees. The swoop started on Friday and continued throughout the night and most of yesterday. About 100 people, mostly young men, were taken in for questioning.
Got a little bit of detail to work on, did they?
At the same time, the US embassy in Nairobi has been closed until possibly Wednesday in what US officials are describing as "new and concrete information concerning the continuing threat of terrorist activity in Kenya and East Africa". The closure came as it was confirmed that US President George Bush would be visiting Africa next month, but would not come to Kenya, again because of "security concerns". Mr Bush will start his six-day visit, his first to the continent, on July 7 and is expected to visit Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria, according to the White House. Though the intended destinations were not announced before the original trip, which was postponed because of the war in Iraq, Kenya was among the countries likely to be visited. It has now been ruled out.
And now the Bad Guys will have to change their plans. We tend to forget how much Bush's life remains in danger. Dick Cheney's occasional "undisclosed location" is something to joke about â unless the Bad Guys get lucky.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/22/2003 10:54:01 AM ||
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Sure he will.
CNN - President Charles Taylor told CNN on Saturday that he will step down from his presidency at the end of his term in January and won't participate in a transitional government. "I am making a major sacrifice," he said in an exclusive interview with CNN International anchor Rosemary Church. Wonder what CNN and Rosemary had to do/say/pay to get this exclusive?
"At the end of my term in January, I will be stepping aside. I will not be part of the transition. I have no interest in the transition." "I only have interest in absolute rule. As you American TV people like to say, 'stay tuned.'"
The Liberian government and rebels signed a cease-fire agreement Tuesday after weeks of bloodshed during which hundreds of civilians were killed. The accord calls for the eventual formation of a transitional government that would exclude Taylor. He told CNN that he wants to be available to help the government, but said "I stand on my word" and will keep his pledge to step down, an assurance he made at a summit June 4 in Accra, Ghana. One that he'll make again next June, and the June after that.
Taylor stressed that the cease-fire agreement his government signed in Akosombo, Ghana, with the rebels has nothing to do with how long he is staying in office. The cease-fire calls for a 30-day deadline for talks on a comprehensive peace accord and on the transitional government. Mediators fear that warfare could resume if an exit strategy favored by Taylor isn't developed. Some reports have said Taylor is backing away from the signed truce.
Well, I am so surprised...
Taylor has said he would step down from office only if U.N. war crimes charges against him are dropped. He was indicted this month by a joint U.N.-Sierra Leonean tribunal on charges of arming rebels in Sierra Leone, which borders Liberia, leading to a prolonged civil war in the 1990s in which up to 50,000 people were killed. In the interview, Taylor would not be drawn into a discussion on the matter, but he indicated that there are many diplomatic "scenarios" that could address his concerns. He did not indicate whether his stepping aside in January would hinge on those concerns. Three guesses, though.
The Liberian leader said he has a commitment to his colleagues in the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to step aside. When asked whether he feels he can hold out until January, Taylor said he has no choice but to defend the country from its liberators enemies. A small contingent of U.S. military personnel have been standing by in the region in case they get an opportunity to bag Charlie U.S. citizens in the country are endangered.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/22/2003 1:10:50 AM ||
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CNN should have asked him if he meant January 2004.
I guess the move buys him some temporary relief from the unrelenting pressure. I'm going to step down! I promise! You may all go home while I re-group and fortify for the next 6 months.
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.
