The official results of the Eurobarometer survey, conducted by the European Commission, will be released on Monday. The survey polled about 500 people from each of the 15 EU countries, for a total of 7500 people. Here are some preliminary results:
Question
Response
Which country presents a threat to world peace? (Respondents could choose from a list of 15 countries, which included North Korea, Iran, and Afghanistan.)
Israel (59%)
Who should manage the reconstruction of Iraq?
United Nations (58%)
Who should pay for the reconstruction of Iraq?
United States (65%)
Should Europe send peacekeepers to Iraq?
No (54%)
Is the war in Iraq justified?
No (> 67%)
Posted by: Alex ||
11/01/2003 6:14:47 PM ||
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Many Europeans are frighteningly stupid.
Posted by: g wiz ||
11/01/2003 19:06 Comments ||
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I hope they don't go around rounding up all the Jews and gassing them again.
Posted by: g wiz ||
11/01/2003 19:07 Comments ||
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Yeah, they also should have added in these questions:
Do you have a Job?
Have you ever been had a National Symbol destroyed on live television?
Which is the richest and most powerful country in the world?
Should the US make Europe pay for all the protection it provided against the USSR?
If the US pays for Iraq, would you support diverting US aid to your country to pay for it?
Posted by: Charles ||
11/01/2003 19:36 Comments ||
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Do I give a rat's a$$? No (100%)
Half the nations of Europe have finally worked themselves into a situation where they are totally irrelevant to the really important issues facing the world these days. The United Nations is dead, and needs a decent burial, preferably in a cement coffin. Kyoto was DOA in the US Senate, and the death was further certified with Thursday's defeat of the "mini-Kyoto" that McCain & "friend" tried to push through the Senate. Without Kyoto, the Europeans know they'll never be able to keep up with the US economy. Their only hope for salvation was using Kyoto to destroy our economy, to make their lackluster productivity look halfway decent.
The only Army in Europe that could actually defend its country without help is Switzerland's (and possibly Britain, but it would depend on who was attacking). The European economy is in the toilet, and if Britain is excluded, the number of new patents and innovative ideas coming from Europe - "old Europe" especially - is miniscule. The 'non-government' boycott of France and French products shattered the myth that Europe had something the US wanted, and we'd do anything to get it. Most of the nations of Europe are suffering from a malignant cancer called "Socialism" - a form of feel-goodism that destroys initiative, hard work, thrift, and common sense.
Somebody call the undertakers, and tell them they'll have a 'client' soon.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/01/2003 21:23 Comments ||
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Possibly Britain?
If I had to bet on a European army (and I hope to God I never have to), I would pick the Brits over the Swiss any day of the week.
Daily Ausaf (Pakistan Urdu Daily), Translated by JUS More Islamic indignation over Miss Afghanistan...
Like me, you probably have heard or seen the news about an Afghan female taking part in the Miss World contest in the Philippinesâ city of Manila.
She had a band across her body which read âMiss Afghanistanâ on it, while she displayed her body in front of thousands of spectators. There has been no reaction by the Karzai government on the news, which implies that the government is either criminally negligent or condones this act of cultural terrorism.
Or has more important things to worry about...
Will normal Afghans tolerate this public display of the beauty of a woman in front of men? Can any Islamic country be represented on these kinds of pageants, which are contrary to Islamic laws? The answer to these questions is obviously no.
Don't Muslims have more important things to do with their time? The answer is obviously no. Can't they control that overwhelming urge to tell other people how to live their lives? The answer is obviously no.
So what does the fact that an Afghan women wearing nothing but a skimpy swimsuit and walking in front of thousands of spectators wearing a band stating âMiss Afghanistanâ on it tell us?
That she's a good-looking babe?
The answer seems to be only that under the American pressure to âde-Talibanizeâ the country, Afghanistan is losing its identity as an Islamic nation and it is part of a broader plan to take away the only asset Muslims of these poor countries still have plenty of â and that is honor.
Maybe if they spent less time worry about their "honor" and worked at building businesses instead of mosques they'd be better off?
Why did the Karzai government not take any legal action to stop the display of Afghan pride being displayed in such an abhorrent manner? It speaks volumes about the real goals of the government that was installed by the Americans.
Yup. It's prob'ly a Deep Laid Plotâ¢...
What do the people who called the Taliban âbarbariansâ and âmedievalâ say about the degrading of the Afghan culture by the American installed government? If the Taliban were barbaric towards women, as the western media says, what is the presentation of model wearing minimal clothing in front of thousands of spectators called?
Is that not a virtual trading of women as the participation in these events leads to dehumanizing modeling careers for these women and the selling of their bodies in front of cameras for the pleasure of the consumers? Whatever the Taliban did, it was not against the national honor of the Afghans, but this so-called modernization is a direct attack the honor of the Afghans.
Whatever these direct attacks on the honor of the Afghans does, it doesn't result in corpses, except when the beturbanned minions of the Religion of Peace⢠bump somebody off for looking or participating...
At the time that the Taliban left the cities to engage in guerilla war, the western media triumphantly showed the images of men shaving their beards and women walking across the cities of Afghanistan wearing skirts. And these were shown as proof that the war was over and the people of Afghanistan were free from the Taliban. In fact, it was Islam that the Afghans were encouraged to be free of.
At least it was Islam as personified by mandatory beards, mandatory burkas, and the occasional crucifixion...
The majority of men still sport beards, and the majority of women still wear Burqa which shows that Afghans will not give up Islam no matter how hard the West tries to force them to.
The diffo being that the ones who don't want to don't have to, under penalty of death...
The Taliban did not force Afghans to be Muslims. It was the work of centuries of Saints such as Jamal uddin Afghani and descendents of Chingiz Khan who worked to make these once savage barbarians into the flag bearers of Islam. From this area, Islam was spread to the far Central Asian Republics, and became a threat to the Russian empire. Did the Russian empire and then the Soviet Empire not try to eliminate Islam from the Afghans? History is testament to who eliminated who. Now the once Super Power is again threatened the small nation of Chechnya, 1 million times smaller in area than its own country. This speaks volumes about the force that a population packs when it decides to reverse the tide of imperialism armed with only the weapon of Islam.
It says a lot for the power of fanaticism and the willingness to slaughter anyone who doesn't agree with you...
Those once undisciplined Afghans and now the meager Chechens are making the biggest nation in terms of area lick its wounds over and over. Here lies a lesson for the Americans and its allies; it is better not to play with the Afghan populace that is intent on keeping Islam at its source of power. The conspiracy to destroy the honor of Afghans is clearly shown by the fact that the participant in the pageant lives in Washington D.C. and has been in America for more than seven years.
Either that, or it shows good sense on her part...
Oddly, she is called Miss Afghanistan, however considering there has never been a pageant for Miss Afghanistan held in Afghanistan, how can she represent the country as Miss Afghanistan?
Well, I dunno. Ausaf is an Urdu rag, published in Pakland. How does it claim to speak for Afghans?
The pictures of her cat walking in front of thousands of spectators also shows her leading the procession of the participants, as to imply that she leads them all in indecency.
Couldn't be that "Afghanistan" takes alphabetical precedence over "Albania."
Up until now, no official from the government has said any thing with respect to this event. Furthermore, it is unlikely to become an issue for the government because the people who get their salaries from Washington are not likely to anger their paymasters by criticizing an event that fits perfectly with the American plan to âfreeâ the Afghan women.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 14:51 ||
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How long will this poor woman last before some Fatwa-waving Loonie succeeds in killing her?
Courtesy of the Religion of twisted, pathetic demented frightened gutless mindless fucktards Peace.
#4
Sounds like this was a fine opportunity for the boys at the Urdu Daily to closely examine that photo of Miss Afghanistan. "I gotta look at this photo, mullah! It's my job. Wowser! Now that's what I call shameless!"
Posted by: Matt ||
11/01/2003 18:31 Comments ||
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#5
In other words: Miss Afghanistan makes him horny. End of discussion.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/01/2003 19:40 Comments ||
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#6
He's just mad that she didn't kill any of the otehr competitors.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 19:54 Comments ||
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From 2nd Issue of 'Voice of Jihad' Al-Qa'ida Online Magazine, via MEMRI The magazine continued its biography of Sheikh Yousef Al-Ayyiri, who served as personal bodyguard to Osama bin Laden and manager of the Al-Qa'ida website, until he was killed by Saudi security forces. The biography addresses Osama bin Laden's order for the murder of Ahmed Shah Massoud. According to the biographer, after Sheikh Al-Ayyiri's release from a Saudi prison, he recruited youths and encouraged them to wage Jihad in Afghanistan and take part in the training camps there:
Afterwards, the greatest event in Afghan history occurred â the assassination of the despicable commander, Ahmed Shah Massoud, and there was no describing Sheikh Al-Ayyiri's joy. I remember asking him, 'What happened?' And he replied by saying that Sheikh Osama asked the brothers: 'Who will take it upon himself to deal with Ahmed [Shah] Massoud for me, because he harmed Allah and His sons?'
"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"
A few brothers volunteered to assassinate Massoud and be rewarded by Allah, and you heard the good news. "Afterwards, the happy events took place in America [the September 11 attacks], the bastion of disbelief, and the Sheikh was so joyous he nearly floated on air. I called the Sheikh, and he told me he was in a meeting with the religious scholars of Al-Quseim, because a few of them had been a bit critical of the events that occurred in America. He told me about the discussions and about the meetings conducted with them, which persuaded them to support the Jihad and the MujahideenâŠ"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 12:31 ||
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Alright, so the scholars of Al Quseim meet with the lunatic bin Laden and a few of his wideboys and they end up persuaded that Massoud's murder and 9/11 were all to the good.
Had they persisted in their criticism and even perhaps condemned his actions, would the Sheik say, "Fair enough. We agree to disagree"?. Doubt it. The Scholars would've been condemned as apostate muslims and duly whacked. So naturally they say, "Hokay".
#2
What's the story (rather, what wasthe story) on Massoud?
He's an enemy of an enemy, and all that, but I thought he wasn't a blood-crazy fundy either, but the link to the RAWA page says otherwise.
Hmph?
Saudi Arabia on Saturday strongly denied press reports in India which claim that Pakistani intelligence tried to plant bugging devices in the wing of Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the National Guard Prince Abdullah bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud during his recent visit to Pakistan. An official Saudi source told KUNA today that what reports published in the Times and the South Asia Tribune Indian newspapers are completely baseless and are a desperate attempt to ruin the historic relations between the kingdom and Pakistan.
"Lies! All lies!... Uhhh... Aren't they?"
Saudi-Pakistani relations are strong and are based on values and transparency that do not need either side to resort to such schemes, he said. Indian press reports had said that Pakistani intelligence tried to plant bugs in the wing of Prince Abdullah during his visit to Pakistan on Oct 19 and that Saudi security had discovered and removed them.
"Oh, good. You removed them. No harm done. Where'd you put them?"
"In your underwear drawer, effendi!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 14:17 ||
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Saudi-Pakistani relations are strong and are based on values and transparency that do not need either side to resort to such schemes, he said.
Yes, the values of jihad, Jew-hating, and murder.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/01/2003 17:46 Comments ||
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Excerpts of debates in Saudi Arabia's Majlis ash-Shura or Consultative Council are to be shown in a weekly television programme for the first time as part of moves towards political openness, a member of the advisory body told AFP on Saturday. "What has been agreed upon now in the majlis is that there should be more transparency with the media and a summary of the topics under discussion," council member Ihsan Bu Hulaiga told AFP. The programme, which was to begin broadcasting Saturday night, and thereafter every Saturday, will last 30 minutes.
"Mahmoud! You look so distinguished! But did you really say that?"
The consensus among the 120 council members, who deal primarily with economic and social issues, was that there should be a continuous and gradual move towards openness, according to Bu Hulaiga. "In the end the council is part of this country and it is without doubt that the (transmission) is a good thing for the council as well as informing the Saudi citizen of the council's work, especially when there are cases that affect them," he said. The council that was set up in 1993 has been particularly active since the Sept 11, 2001 suicide attacks on the United States, debating issues ranging from citizenship laws to levying taxes on the estimated seven million expatriates who work in the kingdom. Last month, Saudi Arabia announced that municipal polls in the kingdom would take place within a year to elect half the members of new municipal councils. Semi-official reports have since said polls would be held within three years to fill one-third of the 120 seats on the Consultative Council, which until now has been an all-appointed body offering advice to the government, and that half the members of regional councils would be elected within two years. Pro-reform activists have twice petitioned Crown Prince and de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah bin AbdulAziz since the beginning of the year to demand the liberalization of Saudi Arabia's conservative system, based on a strict interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 14:14 ||
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Why would anyone watch a half hour of a powerless group windbags reading from an approved script?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 19:53 Comments ||
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S-span?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/01/2003 22:52 Comments ||
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No terrorist has infiltrated into Iraq from Kuwait, Al-Rai Al-Aam quoted a security source as saying. "It is impossible for anyone to pass through the electrical fence erected along the Kuwait-Iraq border which was activated two months after the liberation of Iraq," he added. He said check points have been installed every three kilometers on the road leading to Iraq, stressing "these are closely monitored by the Border Patrol." There are only two exit points to Iraq - one in Tampa which belongs to and is controlled by the US forces and the other at Abdali for civilians, which is monitored by Kuwaiti forces, he added.
That sounds pretty hermetic...
Earlier, Al-Rai Al-Aam had reported some Kuwaitis had entered Iraq for Jihad against the Americans. The daily said eight Kuwaitis, including two brothers M.A., 26, a jobless youth and N.A., 22, a student of College of Basic Education from Waha in Jahra governorate infiltrated into Iraq along with a bedouin and an Arab expatriate for carrying out attacks on the US forces stationed in Iraq. A reliable source said "the two brothers were found missing last week."
Ah, those Bedouins! Picking up a few bucks on the side by hiring young jihadis to watch their camels. Hoof it west, to the Soddy border, then cut north...
The parents of these youth - who located their car at one of their friend's farm in Abdali - were sure they had entered Iraq. Once they had tried to go to Iraq posing as vehicle exporters but failed. He also said the brothers were in touch with six other Kuwaitis from southern Kuwait regarding their plans. Meanwhile, the Assistant Undersecretary for State Security, Maj. General Abdullah Al-Fares says a team of securitymen are following a lead on a number of Kuwaitis - who have been described as Arab Afghans - who were under surveillance since their release last year. Sources say security authorities are checking the list of people - who were given permission to enter Iraq for trade purposes - to identify the suspects.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 14:05 ||
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#1
I appreciate the effort Kuwait has gone to to make it harder for jihadis and other dirtbags from inflitrating Iraq. Unfortunately, their "electric fence" doesn't extend into the Persian Gulf, and boats can still get through. It's risky, but I'd bet a few make it whenever it's tried. Secondly, there isn't a similar fence between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It's a long trip from Kuwait, down INTO Saudi Arabia, the back out of Saudiland to Iraq. People determined enough will make the trip.
Maybe the US should advertise just how short an infiltrator's lifespan is. It might slow down the current flow considerably.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/01/2003 14:13 Comments ||
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I would open a base/prison in the middle of the waste of South/Western Iraq. I would put some of the Gitmo 600 out their to try to attract as many kooks as I could. It might slow some things down in the Sunni triangle.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 15:52 Comments ||
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>I would put some of the Gitmo 600 out their to try to attract as many kooks as I could. It might slow some things down in the Sunni triangle.<
That is an insanely attractive idea.
Posted by: g wiz ||
11/01/2003 21:36 Comments ||
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Maybe I can get a job at the DOD think tank where all the good ideas get shot down by irate congressional leaders.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 22:13 Comments ||
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Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid
Dubai has the effect of making other Arab countries look bad. Quite a few visitors set foot in Dubai and think that this is the Arab world â affluent, modern and bustling with activity. But what if following their visit to this wondrous emirate, these visitors should then go on to another Arab city? They will notice remarkable differences.
Not quite so affluent, not quite so modern, not quite so bustling?
Dubai also has a negative effect on the reputation of its sister countries when citizens return from there to their own countries, holding a grudge not against Dubai but against their own country. They are of the opinion that Dubai is not unique, it is we who have a problem.
And that problem is?
On a recent brief visit to the city, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Maktoum, the crown prince, queried me about a comment I had made that the people of Dubai are crazy.
"Loons! Every one of them!"
I told him that I had written this a while ago but that what happened later proved it true. The World Bank-IMF conference was scheduled to take place at a time when the world was burning â nevertheless, it went ahead as scheduled with more than 15,000 participants, all of whom went to sleep peacefully in respectable hotels. There they will have noticed that Dubai paid for nothing. They were the ones who paid to attend the conference â unlike the many international conferences we host which cost us heavily and yet are so badly organized that some guests end up sharing a bed for the night.
Maybe that's why you have to pay for them to come?
As though 15,000 wasnât already a high enough number, Dubai has agreed to play host to another conference at the end of next year which will be attended by 60,000 people.
They probably won't manage to mismanage that one, either...
The people of Dubai, who have already sold their land to the hospitality industry, both Arab and foreign, have now also rented out their water. A hydraulic engineer came to them with the idea of building an underwater hotel, and they agreed to rent him the sea. Again they didnât pay a single dirham of the investment of the hotel.
They didn't tap the taxpayers? What were they thinking?
Then came the idea of âDubailandâ which is another crazy project. We must not forget that they also carry out activities in other peopleâs waters â they sold India the idea of using the port of Dubai to unload huge cargo ships, thus easing the pressure on Indiaâs ports. They also work on some ports in the Read Sea and have recently won a contract to administer a British port. While many Arabs are in love with Britain and spend all their vacations there, Dubai has taken vengeance, for the English have fallen in love with Dubai, and currently the principal Western tourists there are British. Its most famous football players are queuing up to buy villas on its shores. When I read that Dubai will also be hosting the Qurâan memorization contest, I protested to Sheikh Muhammad: Leave us this at least â it is our specialty.
I think I might see your problem, Abdul...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 13:41 ||
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"Jeez, and the Dubai wimmen are better looking too - will they leave us nuthin for our blessed honor?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/01/2003 15:36 Comments ||
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Dubai is a good place. Yhe Venice of the ME. I understand Beruit used to be a nice place too. Reputation is a fragile thing. I don't expect that tourism to Egypt has recovered; killing and kidnapping tourists is economic suicide.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 15:49 Comments ||
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They will notice remarkable differences.
No kidding. The thing is, folks show up in Dubai and are surprised. They figured it was going to be a dive like the rest of Arab countries (except, IMHO, for Muscat in Oman).
#4
Supe __ you're right about Beruit; it used to be called the "Paris of the MidEast." Given the way France seems to be imploding, Paris may soon be be called the Beruit of Europe.
#5
It will be interesting to see whether Najah and Karbala can capitalize on Shia pilgrimages. If managed properly, those two cities should be naturally prosperous. Initially Najah looks to be trending toward a place that will be as atractive to visit as Belfast when it was at it's worst. In Belfast, though, I don't think visitors would have ever had to worry about some Sadarite street gang kicking your nuts in on trumped up charges.
Let the future unfold; the learning curve shall be steep.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 19:37 Comments ||
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#6
Super Hose---Belfast pub crawling was always interesting, especially travelling between pubs. Sometimes it seemed like Bladerunner.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/01/2003 22:55 Comments ||
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Looks like they're back to where they were before the Riyadh bombings. Attention spans are short...
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News Staff Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, has denounced what he called a smear campaign against Islam and the Kingdom and said it was an outpouring of jealousy of its resources and Islam.
I lie awake at night, gnashing my teeth — they're ground down to stumps now — eaten with jealousy of Islam and Soddy Arabia...
Prince Sultan made this verbal burp comment while addressing senior military commanders who came to offer their Ramadan greetings on Thursday. The defense minister underscored the unity and solidarity of the countryâs military organizations including the National Guard and the armed forces. âI would like to emphasize the total solidarity between the armed forces â from the National Guard to the land, naval and air defense forces and the security forces,â he said. Prince Sultan hailed the efforts of the armed forces and security officers in defending the Kingdom and protecting its security. He also reminded them of their great responsibility. âThe Saudi leadership and people and the royal family have full confidence in the National Guard, the armed forces and security officers,â he said.
"Without you, we'd be living in Biarritz!"
Prince Sultan urged Islamic scholars, businessmen, academics and others to work with the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, in the service of the country. He quoted Prince Abdullah as saying that the Saudi officials would always remain committed to the service of Islam and the country despite any difficulties they might face. âOur country is based on four points. First, we will defend Islam at any cost. Second, we will do anything to serve our country. Third, we will stand firm and persevere, and fourth, we will work hard to achieve our objectives,â he said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 13:30 ||
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From 2nd Issue of 'Voice of Jihad' Al-Qa'ida Online Magazine, via MEMRI The second issue of "The Voice of Jihad" opened with an editorial by Suleiman Al-Dosari:
"âŠOur war with the enemies of Allah continues everywhere⊠We will not let the Americans occupy the land of the two holy places [i.e. the Arabian Peninsula] [and feel] secure and safe, and we will not cease our Jihad until we liberate every inch of Muslim land. We draw the attention of the Mujahideen to the strategy adopted by the Sheikh of the Mujahideen, Abu Abdallah Osama bin Laden, and Sheikh Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and agreed to by many of the great Mujahideen, regarding combat against the enemy: Our number one enemy is the Jews and the Christians, and we must free ourselves to invest all our efforts until we annihilate them â and we are able do this if Allah allows us to do it â because they are the main obstacle to establishing the Islamic state.
I feel like Horatius at the bridge, or the little Dutch boy with his finger in the Islamic dike...
âŠWe must take note of the ploy used by the tyrants [i.e. Arab rulers] in many countries. They attempted to stop the Jihad project in these countries by shifting the confrontation with the occupying enemy (the masters) to confrontation with his guards (slaves) [meaning Muslims], because the tyrants see the killing of one American or Westerner as more serious than the killing of a hundred of their country's soldiers; the blood of an American, in their view, is worth the blood of all Muslims. They are ready to cast hundreds to their deaths so that Americans, in exchange, will enjoy security and comfort. âŠWe must guard ourselves against this ploy and avoid, as much as possible, confrontations with the armies and forces of the state, so that we can strike lethal blows to the occupiers, Allah willing. This does not mean we will surrender to those who defend the Crusaders if they attack us; on the contrary, in this case we must resist with all the strength we have, and we must punish them so that they turn their swords toward the Americans and fight among our ranks, or refrain from entering [into] a confrontation with us â or they will stand against us and wait for what lies in store for them [at our hands], thanks to Allah and His strengthâŠ
Seems like Dosari realizes that the Riyadh bombing were a mistake, having fired up the Soddies against the jihadis they were previously supporting or blind-eying. By avoiding confrontation with the security forces they allow the short Middle Eastern attention span to kick in, while they patch things up behind the scenes. Haven't heard much about shootouts in Soddy Arabia in the past month or so, have we?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 11:34 ||
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And I'm sure Sulieman will be right out front leading the charge. Oh, wait, that's the "little people's" job in the jihad. He's more in the public relations end...
#2
"I feel like Horatius at the bridge..." Yeah me too sometimes, but then I remind myself that Horatius couldn't call in B-52 strikes.
Posted by: Matt ||
11/01/2003 12:41 Comments ||
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Fred - this is the most chilling thing I've read in months... and I think you're dead right about the apparent cease-fire in SA.
Cutting a deal with Nayef would be the answer - for he controls the internal police and can work on behalf of the top 7 to protect the Royals' interests - and they control the Emergency Forces through the Clown Prince. The level of activity has, indeed, dropped off to nothing recently...
If OBL is still running the show, and that's no certainty, the Royals will still have to go, sooner rather than later. If he's gone, the others have shown a more pragmatic approach of late, and may not force it for some time - we know they've been slowed down, so the revenue stream is needed to ramp up the show. That worries me much more than the OBL version - they won't need the barter system the UN has just come to recognize as a financing alternative - they'll have state coverage and full protected access to the int'l banking system.
Additionally, it means that we would see some signs of a more cooperative attitude toward the Black Hats. The harboring of AlQ will have to be tolerated or the deal would not mean as much to AlQ. I don't mean trust - the Royals will still want the Pakis to offer them some nuke protection to keep pace. But a test of this may be the level of Saudi cooperation we get as the US gears up for the inevitable showdown with the Black Hats. They complained bitterly not long ago about Iranian lies and prevarication over AlQ leaders hiding out in Iran and the turnover of some wanted AlQ people. If that little row subsides it could be another point of confirmation.
I would dearly love to read the CIA assessment prepared for Dubya as all of the possible implications sink in. If this is on-target, then we will see well-funded attacks resume soon. That will help wake up all the sleeping dipshits in the West, but it may hurt like hell. I guess we all knew that more serious attacks was what it would take anyway - to make it real to the conspiracy morons.
I wish we had a corroborating source besides MEMRI to enhance the credibility. Thx for the post!
#4
Looks like there's been a power shift inside the "royal" family.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/01/2003 13:51 Comments ||
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#5
Sounds like we need to get to work on helping the eastern quarter Shi'a 'liberate' their part of Arabia from the Saudis -- the sooner the better before the Pakis transport a couple of nukes into Soodiland. Then we and the newly-grateful Shi'a can sign the kind of non-aggression and mutual defense treaty that would make Kimmie jealous.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/01/2003 14:40 Comments ||
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#6
If we have another sucessful AQ attack that kills abunch of Westerners(other than Canadians) or is in a Western country(othe than Canada), how much will the pressure increase on Iran?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 19:49 Comments ||
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Leading businessmen here have reportedly donated millions of rupees in the name of the "freedom struggle" in Jammu & Kashmir. The industrialists living in posh colonies gave the money to Tehrik Khuddamul Islam (TKI) Ameer Maulana Masood Azhar on Friday. The Maulana said he would personally deliver the donations to the "mujahideen" (freedom fighters). His outfit was called Jaish-e-Mohammad before it changed its name following ban on it by US and some other countries. "He took four sacks full of rupees with him," The Daily Times quoted a TKI source as saying. The actual amount collected for the purpose could not be known. After receiving the donations, Masood Azhar said, "they (Kashmiris) deserve your help. Your donations are equal to your direct participation in jihad."
"You guys have bought your way into Paradise. Virgins await you!"
The Maulana, who delivered a Friday sermon at Jamia Mosque Khalid in Cavalry Ground, asked the people to help the Kashmiri mujahideen. After the Friday prayers, he met the businessmen and asked them to give "zakat" (donation) for the mujahideen, the paper said.
Posted by: TS ||
11/01/2003 9:54:17 AM ||
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In this case, the terrorists have nothing to do with Jihad, but instead belong to the ethnic terrorist party known as the Muttahida Quami MovementMQM, which like the Sipah-e-Sahaba, is also a political party. But as long as these killings are going on, it canât be good for the rounding up of al Qaeda in Karachi.
When Zeeshan Qazmi, a police official, was mysteriously murdered recently in Karachi, hacks were quick to note that at least 24 police officials had been murdered in the last twelve months and all of them had been part of the Operation Clean-up from 1992-96 that was targetted against one particular party of terrorists. This has so scared other police officers from those times that most have begged to be transfered out of the province immediately. But no such luck. The administration is in the hands of the very party whose associates and cadres were then at the receiving end of the stick from the police and rangers in the 1990s. The Home Depot has refused to consider the transfer requests and ordered a complete ban, thus making scores of police oficials sitting ducks in Karachi and Sindh. This is the price for the real PMâs guided democracy. The background to this is very complex, and not that relevent to the WOT, suffice to say, the MQM are made up of Indian Muslim immigrants to Pakistan, who dominante Karachi but are politically under represented. Back in the 90âs all hell broke lose as the MQM fought a miniture civil war with their ethnic rivals, this was just before the Shia-Sunni conflict went into full swing. The Pak authorities dealt with the MQM problem by encouraging a splinter faction (of course!) which then went to war with the MQM. At the same time, the police declared open season on MQM members, extrajudicial killings claimed hundreds of lives, while the MQM leader fled to England. But that was a long time ago, and now the MQM has reached an agreement with the Pakistani government, and are being allowed to kill members of the splinter faction, as well as the cops who had formerly had state authorization to hunt down and kill them.
Incidently, the ISI used groups like the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Jihadis as a way of weakening the MQM, which lead indirectly to the sectarian terrorism that has plagued Pakistan ever since.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
11/01/2003 12:56:22 AM ||
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This has been said before, but I'm ever impressed by Mr. Moloney's knowledge of the "land of the pure", especially since, IIRC(?), it 's research-based (not an expatriate). Frankly, I can't even begin to make sense of what's going on there...
Btw, the WOT seems to be mostly a war against an arab fascism which is sweeping the muslim world (including french arabs, now officially represented by the muslim brotherhood), and its awed followers; I find it very depressing, that the people successfully trying to impose their beliefs all hail from corrupt, failed and ugly societies. What I find even more depressing is the unability for democracies to acknowledge this and stand for their values. In this sense, whatever may be the afterthoughts for the WOT, the US position might be considered the most "moral". Statu quo is not our friend.
Police on Wednesday arrested president of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Makhdoom Javed Hashmi at for supporting India and maligning the armed forces and attempting to incite them to mutiny. The note said Mr Hashmi was arrested because he read out and circulated a letter on a fake Pakistan Army letterhead at a press conference on October 20 in the National Assembly cafeteria and owned its authenticity. Mr Hashmi also claimed at a press conference on Wednesday that he had received hundreds of letters from Army officials who purportedly expressed disappointment with President Musharrafâs policies. So they must have been fake..
Party and police sources told Daily Times that Mr Hashmi, who is also acting president of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), was arrested near the gate of Parliament Lodges. âThey (the government) are preparing a high treason case against me. I might be arrested,â Hashmi told the journalist at a press conference a few hours before his arrest. Abdul Ghafoor, the driver of the arrested political leader, said they were stopped at the gate of the Parliament Lodges by uniformed and plainclothes personnel. PML-N information secretary Muhammad Siddiqul Farooq claimed the ISI was involved in Mr Hashmiâs arrest.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
11/01/2003 12:39:07 AM ||
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This is starting to look like Sadaam started off in the 1980's.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/01/2003 12:32 Comments ||
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An association of Sunni Muslim clerics on Friday urged Iraqis to shun contracts with Americans as much as possible, saying that their religion prohibited cooperation with the occupation authorities. "Beware of supporting the occupiers and know that contacting them, without a legitimate necessity is sinful," the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq said in a statement read to worshippers. "Supporting them is apostasy and animosity to Muslims."
The grouping of clerics and religious leaders is one of several formed in Iraq after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. Its leaders, who have adopted an attitude of hardline opposition to the US presence in Iraq, say their aim is to unite the country's Muslims. "Cooperation with the occupiers against the people angers God and represents a betrayal of religion," said the statement read after Friday prayers at Mosul's al-Haj Sedeeq Rashan mosque.
"Being religious is much more important than making a living, or clearing out krazed killers, or ensuring justice and equality..."
It said it was acceptable for Muslims to join the US-sponsored police force in order to protect Iraqi lives, honor and property, but warned policemen not to exceed these duties and help in defending the occupation. "We call upon you not to violate the sanctities of Muslims by confronting them or by reporting on those who do not commit a crime in the eyes of God."
Potting Americans, of course, isn't a crime in the eyes of God...
Iraqi police have been targeted by resistance fighters who see them as collaborators with the US forces. Some police stations in Baghdad have been hit by suicide bombings, and in Mosul police have come under fire on several occasions. "We tell America that we will not accept its occupation," Sheik Ibrahim Al-Naama, member of the association told worshippers. "It is not honorable for our country to be occupied and that a Muslim accepts this occupation. We are hopeful and are waiting for the day when the occupiers will leave our country," he said.
In that case, stop inciting violence, stop jumping up and down, stop making faces, hang up the turban and try and build a civil society...
The US military monitors some mosques in Baghdad anti-American sermons, and Iraqi police have in the past gone into some to search for weapons. It was not immediately clear whether there would be any reaction to Friday's statement by the clerics' association. "The occupation forces must respect mosques and the feelings of Muslims and their rituals," the group said. But it also asked Muslims to make sure not to provide the Americans with any pretext to violate the sanctity of mosques.
"Yeah. We wouldn't want them closed down or something. Us holy men gotta make a living, you know."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 14:27 ||
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For a while after the major fighting stopped I was optimistic that we could help the Iraqis build a federated, civil society with all the major ethnic and religious groups. Now I'm thinking that the Sunni triangle ought to be fenced in, sealed off and declared to be a giant penal colony. We can arrange for air-drops of food at periodic intervals until the locals figure out how to behave.
Let the Kurds form South Kurdistan and let the Shi'a form a federated state with the to-become-independent Shi'a from the eastern quarter of Saudi-controlled Arabia. We'll guarantee the independence and safety of each as long as they work with us.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/01/2003 14:49 Comments ||
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And when do we help liberate North Kurdistan? 8->
I like the idea of walling in the Twilight Zone of Sunni Iraq. Dunno about the food drops, though. Ammo would be good. I vote for frequent small-arms ammo drops.
#4
.com -- Why small arms ammunition? I say we occasionally drop MOABs and cluster bombs.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/01/2003 17:50 Comments ||
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RC - Remember the last time I offered what I thought was the solution to Sunni back-shooting and ambushes? But since you say it, awriiight! I definitely stand corrected! Can we toss in some flechette rounds, too? ;-)
In a high-stakes escalation of US strategy in Iraq, the Bush administration has decided after an intense internal debate to work with Iraqi security forces to crack down on the radical Shiite leader, Moqtada Sadr.
'Bout damned time, I'd say...
Administration officials were reluctant to disclose details of the new approach for fear of tipping their hand to Sadr. But they said the Pentagon had concluded it was crucial to show resolve in the face of Sadrâs attacks over recent months on Americans and their Iraqi allies. âA decision was made to move against Sadr head-on because he crossed a red line. The US military believes he is responsible for the deaths of Americans and Iraqis and is actively hostile to the American presence,ââ explained Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA officer and now a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. The decision to clip Sadrâs wings carries risks because it could trigger a reaction within the Shiite Muslim community, which has been Americaâs key ally in Iraq. So far, the senior Shiite clergy in Najaf have tacitly supported the US-led occupation, and most of the Shiite population has followed the clergyâs lead. If the United States ever lost that support, its position in Iraq would quickly become untenable in the view of many analysts.
Yep. That's the risk. That's why we haven't moved against the kid yet...
The administration decided to get tough on Sadr in part because it wanted to defend the authority of the senior Shiite leaders. The clerics in Najaf, led by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and known collectively as the Hawza, regard the 22 30-year-old Sadr as an upstart and a troublemaker, and most would quietly welcome a crackdown  so long as it didnât put them even more in the firing line. âA growing number of moderate Shia believe that decisive action needs to be taken against him,ââ said one senior administration official. âThey want it done with an Iraqi lead, but they feel it is our responsibility.ââ
We're pretty much constrained to letting the Iraqi cops take care of it, under the aegis of the IGC. Direct use of U.S. forces involves an attack on a "holy man" and probably an assault on a mosque. This week everybody approves, six months from now, after repeated "reinterpretations" of the story it'll all be our fault. To my surprise, though, the Iraqi cops seem to be up to the task. They're one of the big surprises of this operation...
The debate over what to do about Sadr has been going on for several months. The crackdown has been controversial because of fears among some US military officials, reportedly including Centcom commander General John Abizaid, that it could widen the Iraq war at a time when American troops are already vulnerable. But both Abizaid and occupation chief Paul Bremer are said to have signed off on the new policy.
Using the cops makes it a civil operation, rather than military. And they can "accidentally" bump Moqtada off and get away with it. We couldn't.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 13:11 ||
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But they said the Pentagon had concluded it was crucial to show resolve in the face of Sadrâs attacks over recent months on Americans and their Iraqi allies.
Note to GWB and administration:
It's crucial to show resolve in ANYTHING that you believe is proper, and especially in the Middle East. Oh, and that applies here at home, too.
From WaPo - EFL and Fair Use
By KATARINA KRATOVAC, Associated Press
TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) -- The tribal elders from Saddam Husseinâs home region extended an invitation to U.S. soldiers for talks — and told them townspeople are against "terrorists" throwing bombs but also donât like soldiers putting guns to menâs heads during searches. Hmmmm. Uja actions seem to have paid off...
The freewheeling discussion between some 30 tribal leaders clad in traditional white robes and headscarves and American forces marked a renewed effort by coalition forces to win support from the elders in an area that has been a hotbed of anti-American resistance. The tea service was very impressive, Iâd bet...
"Who could imagine that we could sit openly and talk like this, say what we think without threats?" Lt. Col. Steve Russell said. His 4th Infantry Division troops have been hunting for Saddam supporters and Fedayeen militants in the area and have come under constant attack from insurgent forces. Now we have pictures of everybody for our, uh, keepsake album...
Joined by local religious leaders, the police chief and the town mayor, Thursdayâs meeting was organized by tribal sheiks in Salah Ad Din province to adopt a resolution denouncing anyone who attacked U.S. forces as a terrorist but also endorsing the "right to resist" the occupation. Damn, he almost got it right...
"I am against terrorists and their attacks, but I am also against (American) soldiers putting guns to the heads of our men and trampling on our dignity," said town elder Mahmud Yasin, an arts professor at Tikrit University. First we have to agree on what is dignity is... No doubt their definition differs, since they come from a dozen centuries in the past... at least.
In turn, Russell reassured the group that he understood their sensitivities, but said that the guerrilla attacks should be rejected. "I understand no one likes coalition forces being here. It is a matter of your national pride. We understand this. But armed resistance is completely unacceptable," he said. And we will continue to demonstrate this by killing your asshat sons and nephews when they attack us or innocent citizens until you get the message.
...More... LTC Steve sure gets some weird missions. Perhaps this will help. Perhaps not. One thing is certain, after all that tea, Iâm sure they double-timed out of the tent...
Posted by: .com ||
11/01/2003 8:07:29 AM ||
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In Somalia strengthening the elders worked well in establishing local peace. A strongeman like Sadaam would have played different elements of this group against each other. Dealing this way may work. Evidently, the "elder" structure is still working in several places in Somalia that have not reverted to total chaos.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 21:04 Comments ||
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A strong explosion Friday shook the center of this tense Sunni Muslim city west of Baghdad, and thick black smoke billowed from the mayorâs office, witnesses said. The blast was heard about 1:35 p.m., and Iraqi police blocked off the roads leading there. More details were not immediately available. Damn.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/01/2003 2:47:56 AM ||
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Update from ABC news:
"Firemen extinguished the flames, and no casualties were reported, but authorities said one Iraqi was killed and one wounded when residents converged on the scene outraged that their district was again the target of an attack because it was associated with the U.S. occupation. Police shot and killed the man during the argument, said civil defense officer Ahmed Khalil."
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/01/2003 2:49 Comments ||
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The home leave program for troops serving in Iraq is being expanded to fly more people out of the region every day and bring them to more U.S. airports, the military said Friday. Beginning Sunday, some 480 soldiers, up from 280, will leave daily from the Kuwait facility where troops are gathered for departures. "The expansion of the R&R leave program is an opportunity to get even more of our heroes serving in the region a deserved break," said the U.S. Central Command. And they will have a choice of flying to Atlanta and Dallas as well as the previous destinations of Baltimore and Germany. "The addition of two airports (is) to get troops closer to their homes," the Command said in a statement.
Morale has been a concern, since troops and families in the summer began complaining about extended deployments and repeated deployments prompted by the longer-than-expected violence in Iraq on top of increased duties owing to the global war on terror. Of some 10,000 troops who have received their rest and recuperation trips, some 2 percent, or about 200, have not returned at the appointed time and place, officials said. Some have mitigating reasons for not getting there on time, but the numbers are unclear and changing as people are tracked down. Officials said a rate of 2 percent absent without leave is not unusual during a conflict or even sometimes for returnees after a holiday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/01/2003 2:44:31 AM ||
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....Question: WHY aren't these nice people scheduling flights into St Louis, Oakland and Philly, not only major airline hubs, but the military PODs for anyone going to or coming from overseas?
Or would that be easy?....
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/01/2003 21:16 Comments ||
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It would be cool to arrange for these soldiers to be interviewed by their local papers about the war while they are on leave. I bet the positive stories would sift out into society.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 21:22 Comments ||
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Syria said Friday that it had invited Iraqâs foreign minister to a weekend Arab League meeting called to discuss the impact on Baghdadâs neighbors of the U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein. After Iraqi complaints about not being invited to the meeting that starts Saturday, Syria issued a last-minute invitation to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. But Zebari, reached by telephone in the Iraqi capital late Friday, said he had not yet received the invitation. ``Even if they have invited us, it is too late now,ââ Zebari said. ``We might not be able to go to Damascus for logistical reasons.ââ "So screw âem and their mustaches!"
Zebari said any meeting about Iraq should include Iraqis. That certainly went over the heads of all the other Arabs.
Baghdad was expected to urge its neighbors at the meeting to work to stop the infiltration of militants into Iraq. U.S. officials have said foreign fighters may be behind a recent upsurge in attacks against coalition forces, international aid agencies and Iraqis in Iraq. Bushra Kanafani, spokeswoman for the Syrian Foreign Ministry, said Friday an invitation was extended to Zebari even though the meeting was ``not to discuss Iraqi internal affairs.ââ "Nah, we wasnât going to talk about âem, we was going to talk AT âem!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/01/2003 1:17:59 AM ||
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Pretty poor fence mending by the Syrians.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 21:26 Comments ||
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The man who was reported to have escaped from a kidnap gang yesterday recanted his statement that his companions were executed by their captors in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi. Novelito Arcosel was one of six people seized on Oct. 5 by bandits at the Borneo Paradise Eco-Farm resort in Sabah, Malaysia, where he worked as a front desk clerk. On Monday, police claimed to have rescued the 19-year old man after a supposed gunfight with suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in Tawi-Tawiâs Languyan town. On the other hand, Arcosel, who passed himself off as an Indonesian national to Filipino interrogators, claimed that he was the only survivor of an execution by their captors. He said two of the victims were his parents. Military investigators, however, said yesterday that Arcosel recanted his story after he was identified by an informer as a Filipino. âNow he admitted that he is a Filipino, but he would not say why he lied. Most of the time, Arcosel would remain silent and refused to cooperate with the military or tell us the truth,â a security official, who asked not to be named, said.
Don't ask me. A nut case? Some sort of Deep Laid Plot™?
The military said it was not sure whether the five Sabah hostages are still alive or dead.
Could they verify whether the shootout took place? They were there, after all...
The military stepped up the search for the five resort workers yesterday in hopes of finding them alive. Suspecting that Arcosel has links with the kidnappers, the military has detained him for further interrogation.
So he was the inside man, and gave the tug-at-the-heartstrings story after the shootout?
A verification by the Philippine military in Sabah also showed that Arcoselâs parents are alive.
Whoops! A bit inconvenient, that...
The military said the five remaining hostages were identified as Indonesians Amir Nanggi, 50; Arsyad Sagoni, 45; Suwito, 23; Annuar, 27; and Azarah Saraban, 50, a Filipino.
There's a distinct odor of rare, aged flounder associated with this episode...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 13:59 ||
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Some 60 Indonesian maids will be repatriated to Jakarta in the next few days amid growing protests from a number of Indonesian NGOs about the treatment of maids in the Gulf. âNearly 60 maids will be repatriated to Indonesia in a few days,â said Tumpal Martua Hutasuhut, head of consular affairs at the Indonesian Embassy here on Thursday. âLast year, 3,610 maids who filed harassment claims against their employers were sent back to Indonesia after they ran away and took shelter at a safe house belonging to the embassy.â
Presumably these are Muslim maids? .com, can you verify? I.e., they're members of the Master Religion, but not members of the Master Race or the Master Sex...
A migrant workersâ institute affiliated with NU has called on the Indonesian government to immediately terminate selling the export of female workers to the Middle East. A 19-member strong NU team has urged the government at least to establish bilateral ties with countries receiving Indonesian workers, mostly in the Middle East, and dispatch more labor attaches and police liaison officers to handle cases involving workers,â an NU report said. Tumpal said many migrant workers, especially maids, suffer harassment, violence and sexual abuse. But he said 60 percent of cases of runaway maids involved unpaid salaries and only five percent involved sexual abuse at the hands of the employers.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 13:50 ||
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Those from Indo would probably be Muslims. Note that only Saudis can have female maids, officially. This is absolutely true within Dhahran Camp - everyone else has to use "house boys" which is a real let-down. Outside of the camp, in the shit, you can get a female maid if you live in a compound. I had one who came twice a week - "Mimi" - she was from Ehtiopia. Cooked food that put Mexican to shame, certainly in terms of the heat generated.
Back to Saudi, I doubt his percentages about sex-related problems. I would only believe they're true if the maids aren't reporting most cases of sexual abuse, which may be the case. If they're Muslim women, then they prolly are afraid to report it. ALL of the Saudi men I knew are fucked up in this area and would abuse them if they wanted. ALL of them.
In '92-'93 I lived in a regular apartment building in Al Khobar. In the shit. This was right after the end of Gulf I - and while the no-fly was ramping up. We would sit on the roof and, since we were only about 1/2 mile from the end of Dhahran Air Base's main runway, we'd watch the no-fly air pkgs depart... Air cap first, then the weasels, then the mud-movers. One night, we heard what sounded like a cat - in distress. We looked all over the roof. We finally found out what it was: there was an apartment entrace on the roof for the penthouse apartment. It was padlocked - from the outside. There was a woman in there crying and keening. We couldn't get in and she just wailed louder when we asked her what was wrong - so went down to the bldg "Mgr" to find out WTF was going on. He told us that we should forget it and say nothing. When we threatened to kick his ass and break the lock off, he told us. It was the owner's apartment for when he was in town - he lived in Riaydh. This was a Phillipino nurse he had, for all intents and purposes, kidnapped. She had not "cooperated" so he was punishing her. He had gone back to Riyadh for a few days to let her think it over. He had left her locked up with only water and rice to cook - those were his orders to the Mgr. We went ballistic and threatened to call the police if the Mgr didn't get her out of there. He got on the phone and the owner showed up several hours later, in the middle of the night, and the next day she was gone. So even this moron, who owned many buildings so was connected, was afraid of being confronted with such an act.
There are other stories I could tell, but this is the only one I know first-hand to be factual. We never heard anything from that apartment again - and I never saw the owner, though I lived there for over a year. The Saudis have zero respect for infidels - and less for women. Even their own.
Half of the population of this planet should rise up and cut these cretins down - mebbe Lorenna Bobbit should be brought out of retirement and enlisted as our #1 weapon against the jihadis.
#2
.com, a buddy of mine trained w/the egyptians on some joint training op we were doing w/them a while back. He said a lot of the 'rab commanders had 'man servants', -clean their tents, polish their boots, make their chow & crap like that. Apparently, they were also passing around these 16 yr old boys for pleasure. Pretty f*ckin gross, I thought my bud was full of it but he swears to God it's true. So there you go.
#3
Egyptian men have a notorious facination with young men.
It's sad that countries like the Philipines would allow their citizens to be prostituted in this way, but the cash flow probably keeps the Governemtn of the Phillipines quiet.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 21:52 Comments ||
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Source: Middle East Online, JUS News Desk
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network is planning a "death blow" against Americans during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, a Saudi magazine reports in its issue due out Friday. "Al-Qaeda is going to carry out a death blow against Americans during the month of Ramadan," Al-Majallah said, quoting an e-mail sent by Abu Mohammed al-Ablaj, identified as a senior member of al-Qaeda.
I get e-mails regularly, too. One of them â actually quite a few of them â tell me I've won the lotto in Europe... Ablaj, aka Mullah Seif el Din, and Thabet ibn Qais, by the way, are the guys who gave the brag on the Riyadh bombings...
Ablaj, who regularly communicates with the London-based weekly via e-mail, did not specify if the threatened strike will be carried out in the United States or against American interests abroad. "Muslims have the right to draw the blood of Americans, civilian or military, everywhere in the world," Ablaj said.
"That's because... ummm... we're Muslims."
He did not dismiss the possibility of a "painful" strike in Iraq, which is currently under a US-led occupation following the overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein.
I doubt that would be a "death blow."
"Bin Laden has ordered his supporters to carry out a guerrilla war against Arab and Muslim countries where there is an American military and commercial presence," Ablaj said. "The guerrilla war decided by bin Laden and his assistants won't be limited to martyr (suicide) operations mentioned in his last two messages. This war will be carried out by other means and using different types of weapons," he added.
We'll be curious to see what they are. Or if the weapons are nothing but wind. Remember Sully telling us to "fasten our safety belts"? And Binny was soon going to appear on the teevee?
In a message purported to be from bin Laden and aired October 18 by Qatar's Al-Jazeera television station, the terror chief threatened to send suicide bombers to the United States and attack any forces joining the US-led coalition in Iraq.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 14:59 ||
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Remember: "Rivers of blood and mountains of bodies..."???
Even if this twit is right about an attack, there are 300 million of us and they tend to have diarrhea of the mouth -- exaggerating beyond comprehension. In the West, you'd get laughed out of town for telling a whopper, In Islam, everybody tells lies: small, medium, large, and Mother-of-All sized. The saddest thing is how hard it is to prove when some asshat act has been stopped in advance. One can only guess how many, but one or two will get through even while they're running Ops on a shoestring. Sigh. The PR (and the media's eagerness to trumpet hits) goes to the braggarts.
#2
If the result of this "death blow" brings about Al-Qaida's demise, then let's get it on already. The sooner those losers are out of the way, the better it will be for those Muslims that WANT to be part of the modern world.
#4
Another hit by Al-Q, especially a big hit will result in Waziristan becoming a big smoking hole in the ground and nothing but empty goat trails leading to nowhere. And other sites, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/01/2003 17:03 Comments ||
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#5
Alaska Paul -- sadly, I think you're wrong. Any future attacks will be blamed on Bush, and the domestic enemies of civilization will restrain us from doing ANYTHING.
The 9-11 attack temporarily shocked the left into silence because they thought the world really was at peace during Clinton's term. Now, though, they have their balance back and know "who the real enemy is". Any future major attack will be blamed on either the invasion or Iraq or the US support for Israel, or both.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/01/2003 18:10 Comments ||
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#6
Unfortunately, I think Robert Crawford is right on both counts.
While I hope this threat is just hype, there has been enough missing nuclear material from the ex-Soviet Union, for example, that I'm not ready to totally discount the possibility of an attack that would kill or contaminate tens of thousands of people somewhere or other. Even discounting a dirty bomb, there are still hundreds of tons of conventional arms we keep stumbling on in Iraq. As I recall, Saddam stockpiled about 1/3 of the tonnage that the whole US military maintains. We haven't begun to find and destroy most of that stuff yet and a whole lot of it is in hand I'd rather not see have it, as the contents of recent car bombs makes clear.
Remember that these are people who don't hesitate to destroy other Moslems, or other Arabs, in their fanatical war against us and all we stand for. They would have no qualms about spreading nuclear material or chemical poisons across the Iraqi countryside, or blowing up a lot of Iraqis in order to kill Americans.
I agree that a really nasty strike, especially somewhere in the US itself, would unleash a demand by many Americans for massive retaliation. But would we actually respond that way? Whom do you attack? I know who I'd like to attack, but can the case be made clearly that the ordinary people of Syria and Iran, for instance, should be attacked?
Unless there were overwhelmingly convincing evidence of governmental involvment in the attack, international pressure not to respond would be very very strong and could possibly include cutting off oil exports to the US, central banks selling off dollars and other economic sanctions against us. Not likely, but not impossible either.
#7
Yes, Robert Crawford is right. The U.S. won't be defeated by ragtag Islamists or "international pressure," but it might defeat itself, if those "domestic enemies" gain some traction in the political debate that would surely follow another attack.
Posted by: Alan Sullivan ||
11/01/2003 20:49 Comments ||
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#8
The looney-tunes may whine and bitch that it's all our fault, but from what I've seen - on Rantburg, in the local super market, in my daily newspaper, and in a dozen other places, the message isn't selling. If it's a really BAD hit - dirty nuke in DC, an exploding oil tanker in Baltimore, or some other such crap - I think you'll see the guy in the street start blaming the appologists, as well as the turbantops. That could get really, REALLY nasty in a hurry.
Could you imagine what would happen if a large shipment of ammonium nitrate or some such blew up in the Mississippi River at New Orleans, killing a few hundred longshorement? Then have Peter Jennings and Dan Rather quote some left-wing nutcase from the Democratic Party say it's all our fault? How high do you think that will fly with the Teamsters?
The truth is, the islamofascists have finally gotten THEIR message through - they want to kill us all, simply because we're not exactly like them. There are still enough people in this country that don't want Islam imposed upon them to stand up - not only to the crackpots on the left, but to the bombers and baby-killers in the Middle East.
Bin Laden cannot be that stupid. If he is, he has the potential of bringing total destruction not only on Islam, but the House of Saud and the governments of some twenty Islamic nations. If the Islamic nations want to continue to survive, they need to stop this fruitcake before he REALLY makes us mad.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/01/2003 21:53 Comments ||
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#9
I'm with AP and OP in terms of how the American public would react if, God forbid, there were to be a second major strike. They don't call it the Silent Majority for nothing. Our response to 911, despite all the hot air coming from our own defeatists, has been controlled and rational. We're using JDAMS to make sure we get Achmed but not Mahmoud. The next time, if there is one, we may use weapons that are not nearly as precise. And I agree with OP too that if there is a next time I wouldn't want to be a Berkeley professor who happened to be visiting Fort Benning.
Posted by: Matt ||
11/01/2003 22:33 Comments ||
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From 2nd Issue of 'Voice of Jihad' Al-Qa'ida Online Magazine, via MEMRI This issue also includes a sequel to an interview with Abd Al-Aziz bin Issa bin Abd Al-Mohsen, also known as Abu Hajjer, a name high on Saudi Arabia's most wanted list. Abu Hajjer stated that his goal was
"to wave the banner of monotheism⊠and expel the enemies of Allah â the Jews and the Crusaders â from the land of the two holy places, to conquer the Muslim nations and restore them to their previous state. And may Allah lengthen our days to allow us to infuriate the enemies of Allah, kill them, and strike them by the sword until they either join the religion of Allah or we kill every last one of them. Our model is [the Prophet] Mohammad, who said to the infidels of Qureish: 'I have brought the slaughter upon you.'"
After characterizing his relationship with Osama bin Laden as similar to that of father and son, Abu Hajjer described his reaction upon hearing that his own name was among the top 19 on the Saudi's most wanted list:
I was in a course in which we trained the brothers in one of the valleys. This was a special course, a practical urban warfare course, and after we got back [to the city]⊠I met with one of the brothers, who told me⊠they published a list and my picture was on it⊠I said, 'Allah be praised'⊠When I entered the land of the two holy places, I felt â and I also told the brothers â that the day would come when we will get exposed. We had done everything in our power to delay that day. But now that Allah had put us to this test, we needed to act patiently.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 12:43 ||
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And may Allah lengthen our days to allow us to infuriate the enemies of Allah, kill them, and strike them by the sword until they either join the religion of Allah or we kill every last one of them.
Yup. the RoP⢠just does not leave much wiggle room for negotiation. How often will you see this hate-speech in the mainstream media? President Bush ought to be talking about this stuff instead of Ramadan platitudes. Let the so-called moderate Muslims crank out their own propah-gandah.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/01/2003 15:00 Comments ||
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#2
And may Allah lengthen our days to allow us to infuriate the enemies of Allah, kill them, and strike them...
#4
They want longer days because they're scared of US troops with NVGs.
Posted by: Dar ||
11/01/2003 16:44 Comments ||
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#5
They forgot option three: We kill them first.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/01/2003 19:41 Comments ||
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#6
I can't convert, I'd never make it through Ramadan unless I could work third shift and sleep through the day. Would dripping coffee directly into my veins via an IV be legal? Is there a fatawah on that?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 22:10 Comments ||
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#7
Never bring a sword to a smart bomb fight. Stupid jihadis.
From 2nd Issue of 'Voice of Jihad' Al-Qa'ida Online Magazine, via MEMRI
One page of the issue is devoted to quotes in praise of Jihad by " the Imam of the Mujahideen, Osama bin Laden," "Sheikh Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri," and "the Mujahid Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdallah Al-Seif." The final name most likely refers to Sheikh Abu Omar Muhammad Al-Seif, who appeared recently in a film distributed by Al-Qa'ida that also included the final statements of the Riyadh suicide bombers. Al-Seif has been identified on Islamic websites as the number two leader of the Chechnyan Jihad.
Pretty notschit information. I included this for the ID on al-Seif.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 11:54 ||
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That would make him #2 man to Shamil Basayev, who seems to be the main driver of the Chechen jihad. Throw that in with an al-Ghamdi (Abu Walid) running al-Qaeda ops up in Dagestan and the large number of Chechens that seem to keep turning up alongside al-Qaeda and I'd call that a pretty firm link.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/01/2003 12:06 Comments ||
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From 2nd Issue of 'Voice of Jihad' Al-Qa'ida Online Magazine, via MEMRI The second issue also features an article by Sheikh Nasser Al-Najdi, who wrote:
Islam is an all-encompassing religion. It is a religion for people and for regimes⊠At a time when people are given the choice [of believing] in Islam or paying Jizya [a poll tax paid by non-Muslims living under Muslim rule], Islam is the only alternative for the countries [of the world.]⊠Therefore, the crime of the tyrants in infidel [i.e. non-Muslim] countries, who do not rule according to Allah's law, is an enormous sin⊠and we are obliged to fight them and initiate until they convert to Islam, or until Muslims rule the country and he who does not convert to Islam pays Jizya. That is the religious ruling with regard to infidel countries and all the more so with regard to those who rule Muslim countries by way of the cursed law [i.e. a man-made law]âŠ"
So much for the principle of "to each his own," "live and let live," and freedom of religion. The plan remains World Domination⢠(insert maniacal laugh, cue salaaming officials in robes and turbans, cue dancing girls... Enter the satrap, a bit portly, his beard hennaed to hide the gray, wearing a large jewelled turban, followed by his Grand Vizier...) To my undeducated eye, there's no difference between this and what Hezb ut-Tahrir is demanding. That might be why we want to beat up on Muslimdom.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 11:44 ||
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From WaPo
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Osama bin Ladenâs al-Qaida network is adapting to U.N. sanctions by converting money into gold and precious stones, the BBC reported Friday. Besides figuring out how to enlist the aid of the Black Hats, this is the smartest move theyâve made since 9/11.
Heraldo Munoz, the Chilean ambassador to the U.N. and chairman of the U.N. sanctions committee against al-Qaida and the Taliban, just returned from a fact-finding mission to Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Singapore. He told reporters Friday terrorist groups were avoiding bank transfers that could be traced and were either no longer using front companies or getting better at hiding them. "The interesting thing is that these funds have not been transferred through banks ... again underlining that al-Qaida or the al-Qaida network has adapted to our sanctions." Duh. Or should that be "F**king Duh?", Mike?
I nominate this as the new default UN response.
This included using what is known as the hawala system â transferring money by couriers and through informal banking structures rather than commercial banks. "They are being creative about this," and are becoming "more dangerous", he said. Well, "F**king Duh!"
He also said the Taliban was charging drug traffickers to pass through the areas they control and then using the proceeds to buy weapons. Mountain Trolls, standard toll.
They havenât become more sophisticated, just the opposite - theyâve reverted to the ancient ways. What this indicates is that the financial actions against them have been working. Now if we can keep Emirate & Gulf Air, not to mention Air Phrawnce, from accepting diamonds in payment for air travel... Next, of course, is to formalize the international travel system to use copy-proof ID systems and thus isolate the terrorist states who enable the shits with phony passports, sorry Canada - and deny their airlines landing rights in civilization. If we get serious, we can eventually bottle up the Trolls in their lairs... This would also stop most of the idiocy of air travel security today - locking up Granny for carrying her knitting needles. I would be happy to submit to one intensive scrutiny to get my bio-data in the system as a safe traveler, rather than what passes for security today.
Posted by: .com ||
11/01/2003 7:53:18 AM ||
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U.S. domestic airlines have been talking about your suggestions for a good while. I agree it would be better to submit to a pre-screening in exchange for breezing through security, rather than what we have today
#2
Nice work, Heraldo! Thanks for figuring out what we already knew.
On a more important issue, any good new restaurants in Kabul, UAE, Indonesia, and Singapore? Make sure that's in the report. Good intel for the next UN junket.
This is an interesting insight into the mind of al-Qaedaâs resident military commander.
For the first time, a senior al-Qaida official has provided an assessment of the U.S. war against the terrorist group in Afghanistan, criticizing its communications security and while also claiming that some in the Taliban provided intelligence to coalition forces that resulted in the deaths of al-Qaida members and their families. "We wuz betrayed!" SAIF AL-ADIL, currently the al-Qaida military commander, claims that during one night in October 2001, U.S. missiles came close to killing him three times. Shame they didnât succeed in that task or we might not have had Mondayâs bombings.
The critique is carried in a magazine called The Voice of Jihad (Sawt Jihad), parts of which were published this week in Sharq al-Awsat, a respected Saudi newspaper, and translated by the U.S. intelligence community.
One senior U.S. official said the intelligence community had seen the article and believed it to be authentic, although since there are no time references in it beyond 2001 it is impossible to know when it was written. Another official noted that al-Adil âfancies himself as a military strategist and thinkerâ and such a critique would fit within what he sees as his responsibilities. As to the content of the after-action report, the first official said he would not comment on whether the United States was able to take advantage of the al-Qaida failings to the extent al-Adil described. Nor would he comment on any alleged Taliban betrayals of al-Qaida positions. "I can say no more!"
âI am not going to say whether it gives us more or less credit than we deserve,â said the official. âBut itâs good to see someone giving us credit.â Snip.
According to the al-Qaida version of the war, the terror group hastened its own defeat. Al-Adil said reckless use of satellite phones and betrayal by âsome Taliban elementsâ permitted American forces to easily pinpoint the âArab Afghansâ â al-Qaidaâs Afghan-based fighters â in Kandahar during October and November of 2001. Among those killed as a result of the lapses in security was Mohammed Atef, also known as Abu Hafs, al-Adilâs predecessor as military commander of al-Qaida, and several other al-Qaida leaders along with their wives and children. I thought that Abu Zubaydah took over after Atef and then Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, unless thereâs a distinctions between global ops chief and being the military commander.
Al-Adil described how cruise missiles and U.S. military aircraft, apparently helicopters, tracked down and killed carloads of al-Qaida operatives and their families and almost killed him one night in October 2001. In another incident, he noted a deadly strike in Kandahar. âWe heard suddenly the sound of a big explosion far away. I asked the brothers by telephone and learned the second house of the Al Wafa Charity Foundation in Kandahar had been pinpointed and hit by a cruise missile because satellite telephones were used. The hit killed Brother Abdal Wahid.â
Good rule of thumb: bang an Islamic charity, kill a jihadi...
As al-Adil and his men were preparing a meal for themselves just before daybreak, âWe heard a missile passing over our heads immediately before we had finished eating and it exploded 100 meters from the house. We immediately started to leave, fearing that we were the target and the targeting would be corrected so as to hit us.â A second missile did hit close by but al-Adil was unhurt. Later, he said, another helicopter-fired missile came even closer. âThe aircraft fired the missile and I saw it moving toward us and threw myself on the ground. The missile fell close to Brother Asim and I donât know what happened next.â Asim was severely wounded, he says, but he was not.
Hope it was very painful. Was he badly maimed?
Regarding the deaths of al-Qaida family members, again al-Adil says it was the result of a security breach. âAircraft were following the vehicles [all of which were Toyota Corollas, long known to be an al-Qaida favorite] and the brothers stopped to talk a little before moving toward the village. The helicopters engaged them as soon as the distance between them got down to 5.1 kilometers [3.2 miles],â al-Adel wrote. In all, he reported, 10 people were killed in the attack â three al-Qaida members, five woman and two children. I found this somewhat interesting because the standard al-Qaeda press releases are generally propaganda pieces like the reports of hundreds of thousands of US troops dying every day in Afghanistan. While Iâm not dumb enough to think that the leadership believes their own propaganda, it does provide an interesting look into the mind of the key driver of the nuts and bolts aspect of the terror network these days.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/01/2003 1:44:30 AM ||
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Interesting story and, as you point out, not a propaganda piece. I'm sure many would like to know more about how Sawt Jihad came by it, what it is supposed to be and to whom was it delivered and where are they? Obviously, this bit is tantalizing to WoT authorities.
Regardless, it is revealing assuming the translation did not take many liberties - an excellent find - Thx!
#2
This suprised me greatly. I didn't think such a well-educated man was running Al-Queada's operations. Ok, that didn't suprise me. What suprised me is that we missed him three times in one night.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/01/2003 12:39 Comments ||
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#3
An Al-Qaida linked Web site had posted the grisly beheading of an American civilian. They stated that this was done in revenge for the abuse that prisoners at Abu Ghraib had endured yelling âAllahu Akbar!â --- âGod is great.â âFor the Mothers and wives of American soldiers, we tell you that we offered the U.S administration to exchange this hostage for some of the detainees in Abu Ghraib and they refused,â one of the men read from a statement.
âSo we tell you that the dignity of the Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib and others is not redeemed except by blood and souls. You will not receive anything from us but coffins after coffins ⦠slaughtered in this way.â
If this is true then why havenât these so called men of Allahu turned on themselves revenge for the slaughter that they inflect on innocent men, women and children? They state that Americans and others like them are at fault for all of their troubles but do not want to point to themselves for their own failings. These so called righteous Muslims state that they are for all Muslims who are under the threat from outsiders but it is OK for those Muslims to kill, torture and inflect their own will and pain on Muslims. This all done in the name of Allahu!
Dignity, these men do not know what the word means. They twist ideas and the words of Allahu to suite their own purpose! They claim that others are responsible for the suffering of Muslims in the world but it is they who are destroying the dignity of Muslims. They are destroying the grace and dignity of Allahu!
Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shiite Holy Man who is accused of killing a moderate rival cleric why does he not come forward to claim his innocence? If he is not guilty then why does he hide behind his Al-Mahdi Army? Why is he fighting those forces in Iraq, these same forces who removed a tyrant and are attempting to bring about change to the people of Iraq? What does he truly want? Freedom! Freedom is not part of his vocabulary.
If he truly wanted freedom for the people of Iraq, where was he when Saddam was in power. Why was not his voice heard then? Why did he not insight the people of Iraq as he does now for the hundreds of thousands slaughtered by Saddam and his regime? Could it be that he was one of Saddam Husseinâs puppets and that he was receiving favors for looking the other way or could it be that He wants to be the one in power to force and inflict His will on the people of Iraq as Saddam had?
âI appeal to the fighters and mujahedeen in Karbala to stand together so as none of our holy sites and cities are defiled,â al-Sadr said at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, another holy city. Defiled, defiled by whom? He and those who blindly follow him are the ones who are defiling the Muslim holy sites and cities by bring weapons of hatred and destruction into those same holy sites and cities he claims to defend!
It is sad to see those who are prayed upon buy others, who force their will either by money, such as Osama, or by twisting the words of Allahu to suit their own needs instead of the needs of the people they are suppose to serve, causing the suffering of the innocent.
Rage continues to surge throughout the Arab world after the shocking photographs were published showing the abuse and humiliation at Abu Ghraib prison. Where was this rage when Saddam, his sons and others of his regime were detaining, torturing and murdering innocent individuals for their own sadistic pleasures? One can not believe that those in power of other Arab countries did not know what was happening, they could not be that blind!
Maybe it is time for the true people of Iraq, the true people of Islam, to stand up against those pretenders of the Muslim faith and say enough. They need to take back their faith and show the world what a true Muslim is, what Islam truly stands for! I donât believe that Allahu, in his infinite wisdom, would condone the torture and murder of men, women and children whoâs only concerns are to live in peace and the freedom to worship him the way that they want and believe. To do this is Freedom!
#4
Welcome Anonymous5236. I assume you are an Arab/Iraqi. While some here sound vitriolically anti-Arab, most would welcome a rational Arab voice (including me).
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/16/2004 8:39 Comments ||
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Confused over the Lt. Gen. William Boykin furor? There may come a time when the futureâs historians explain the controversy this way:
"The âwar on terror,â later rechristened - sorry, renamed - the âwar for Muslim outreach,â began on Sept. 16, 2001, the day President George W. Bush carelessly spoke of a âcrusade.â His remark was heard neither as an echo of Dwight D. Eisenhauerâs World War II book âCrusade in Europe,â nor as a sober pledge to avenge thousands of American dead still smoldering at Ground Zero - victims, as Muslims on the outer reaches would reveal, of a joint CIA-Mossad plot. Instead, the word âcrusadeâ was perceived as a calculated insult to all of Islam still stewing over Holy Land incursions by Really Old Europe a millennium earlier.
Early victories in the war for Muslim outreach were small but significant, such as forcing a new name onto âOperation Infinite Justice,â the distinctly dis-lamic moniker for the war in Afghanistan. This was necessary, of course, since it is Allah who dispenses infinite justice, not the United States military. It wasnât long before âIslam is loveâ was the word from the president, and post-Sept. 16 outreach included annual Ramadan suppers at the White House.
But there were setbacks, too, including the rapid disintegration of the democratic Baathist republic of Iraq, the elevation of Daniel Pipes to the U.S. Peace Council, and the stubborn refusal of the United States to âseek a new paradigm,â as Syafii Maarif, head of the second-largest Muslim group in Indonesia, advised President Bush during a presidential visit in Oct. 2003.
âWe told him U.S. foreign policy should seek a new paradigm if the U.S. wants to be respected by the world community and be safe,â Maarif explained at the time, exuding only the faintest whiff of blackmail. âNew paradigm,â of course, was a fancy phrase for ditching Israel and bailing on Iraq. Which would come later. Muslim outreach was still a work in progress in the fall of 2003, when The Washington Post reported, âThe administrationâs close ties to Israel are a perennial complaint of these (Muslim) critics, and the invasion of Iraq inflamed opposition overseas.â
Luckily, the president had already green-lighted a commission on public diplomacy to investigate Muslim discontent. âHostility toward America has reached shocking levelsâ in the Muslim world, the commission concluded, adding sagely: âSurveys show that specific policiesâ (read: specific policies on Islamic terrorism, Israel and Iraq) âprofoundly affect attitudes towards the United States.â In other words, the United States could have its Muslim outreach or it could have its âspecific policies,â but it couldnât have both.
Then along came Gen. Boykin. In every war, there are generals who want to fight an earlier war. This was true of Gen. Boykin. He wanted to fight the war of Sept. 11, the attack that is now, of course, but a tiny footnote to Sept. 16th, Death to Crusades Day, the first new national holiday since Martin Luther King Day.
Gen. Boykin saw in the emergence of Muslim terror networks a resumption of the old wars of Islamic expansion against the Judeo-Christian West. And he saw fit to explain his vision in stark religious terms when he spoke in American Christian churches. Islamic terrorists hate the United States, he said in June 2003, âbecause weâre a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian. And the enemy is a guy named Satan.â When such statements became public through the now-defunct Los Angeles Times, all hell, pardon the expression, broke loose, spreading a plague of damning liberal editorials, columns and statements.
General Boykin, the New York Times editorialized in calling for his head, âshould not be ... providing ammunition for those who portray the war against terror as a war against Islam.â (Note the implicit denial of the specifically Islamic character of the terrorism aimed at the non-Islamic West - a semantic victory dating back to early outreach.) Fareed Zakaria, a Washington columnist of the day, suggested Gen. Boykin be fired simply to assuage Arab/Islamic suspicions of the United States. Others compared the American officerâs biblical perspective with that of holy war-mongering Osama bin Laden.
But it was the president himself who may have tipped the balance when he rejected even the basis of the three-star generalâs worldview - that the war on terrorism had its undeniable religious dimension in being a response to Islamic jihad on the West, a civilization with Judeo-Christian roots.
Some say that was the point at which outreach trumped terrorism as the warâs priority. Once Gen. Boykin was history it was just a matter of time before Hamas had its AWACS, and jailed Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr was installed as supreme ayatollah of the United Nations Mandate of Iraq. Soon, the warâs ultimate objective - high U.S. poll numbers throughout Muslim culture - was ours."
#1
The Boykin hubub strikes me as simular to the mini-firestorms on Santorum and Paige. Careful contextual editting always plays a key role in creation of the "quasi-scandel."
Is anybody really surprised that a military officer is a strong christian, and might talk about how he reconciles his faith with the business of killing people ... and speaks on the subject at a prayer breakfast?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 20:14 Comments ||
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SH - exactly bro. It was said at a prayer breakfast in a church if I'm not mistaken. We used to have sponsored prayer breakfasts once a quarter in my old unit. My old C.O. was a big time bible thumper & all of us loved him even if we didn't always agree w/his stances. He cared big time about the lads in our unit. General Boykin is right for the most part as well. This is a war on us from radical islamists. I'm surprised the looney left has not called for a separation of chaplains outta the services yet. Since the tax payers pay them to be in the military and support religion at the same time. BTW- I responded to your question yesterday on the latin American strategy.
#3
Jarhead, I had real trouble making heads or tails out of this article. The future vision at the end seemed to be written after one too many Jose Cuervos.
Thank you for the response. I get frustrated sometimes having some of Venezuala that the US doesn't pay more attention to South America. It's like we expect Latin America to be messed up. If they ever turn things around, I wnat to take my wife down there. Never to Rio, though.
I got mugged walking on the beach with a chaplain and a buddy. The chaplain was from California and missed the beach.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 21:13 Comments ||
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Lebanon has charged a Yemeni national with carrying out "terrorist acts" and masterminding a string of bomb attacks against American fast food outlets. Judicial sources in Beirut said Muammar Awwama, suspected of ties to Usama bin Ladin's al-Qaida network, would be tried by a military court on charges that also include membership of "terrorist cells", attempted murder and attempts to blow up US-style restaurants. The charges carry the death penalty. Awwama, also known as Ibn al-Shahid, was arrested earlier in October by Palestinian Fatah fighters in the southern Ein el-Hilweh camp and handed over to Lebanese authorities. Security sources identified the man at the time as Muammar Kawama. Around two dozen Lebanese and Palestinian individuals are also on trial in the case, facing charges of attacks on food outlets such as McDonald's and Pizza Hut. Some of them are also charged with planning to kill US ambassador Vincent Battle. Lebanese authorities cracked the cell after a large car bomb was found outside a McDonald's restaurant in Beirut in April. It failed to explode.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 18:08 ||
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The Lebanese are never going to get a Starbucks or a Krispy Kremes if they blow up the existing franchises and A friendly's is defintiely out of the question.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 21:56 Comments ||
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Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe plans to overhaul his cabinet and the central bank in an attempt to rescue the economy, state-run media has said. Mr Mugabe has said he is worried by the dominance of the black market, the official Herald newspaper reported.
The Daily News reporting nothing on this. It's being... ummm... reformed.
A former BBC Harare correspondent says the remarks are an acknowledgement of the hardships suffered by millions.
Finally noticed, huh?
Aid agencies estimate more than a third of the population will be unable to feed themselves by the end of the year.
In the former breadbasket of Africa...
Mr Mugabe told a meeting of his ruling Zanu-PF party that restructuring of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe would begin next week "to make it much more of a developmental institution that protects the national interest," the paper reported. Other government bodies, including the cabinet, would also face reforms, the report said. Zimbabwe is struggling to cope with an annual rate of inflation of more than 450%, along with shortages of most essential goods. On the black market, foreign currency, fuel, and basic goods are selling at much higher levels than those set by the government. Mr Mugabe said the black market trade threatened to replace the formal business sector, destabilising society and derailing his land redistribution programme. "The (black market) is run and supported by a mercenary breed of wily and selfish merchants, a breed that neither sows nor sweats, but harvests millions from base speculative activities that have spawned so much grief and ruin for honest citizens," the Herald quoted Mr Mugabe as telling his party. At the root of the problem lies the collapse of the Zimbabwean dollar. The BBC's former Harare correspondent, Grant Ferrett, says the currency crisis was triggered, in part, by the wave of illegal invasions of white-owned farms which began three years ago.
Shucks. You can hardly blame Bob for that...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 16:21 ||
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Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe plans to overhaul his cabinet
#2
No amount of paper and people shuffling can correct what's really wrong with Zimbabwe - Robert Mugabe and the Zanu PF party. Eliminate those two, and something good just might happen. Otherwise, forget it - the elevator will continue to descend.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/01/2003 18:02 Comments ||
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#3
jeez and here I was thinking Bobland agriculture was the black market. Did anyone see him attend these meetings? anyone credible?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/01/2003 18:12 Comments ||
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#4
1)The government prints too much money to fill its coffers,2)this causes inflation,3)the state tries to fix it with price controls,4)the price controls create a black market,5)the gov' blames the 'speculators',6)tries to correct situation by breaking heads... ..and 7)the Roman Empire collapses.Nud'n new under the sun.
Posted by: El Id ||
11/01/2003 18:24 Comments ||
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#5
Bob Mugabe: WED - weasel of economic destruction.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 19:39 Comments ||
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The head of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission has confirmed the arrest and detention of a Iranian-American academic on suspicion of spying. Mohsen Mirdamadi, a reformist, said he had been informed by the intelligence ministry that Dariush Zahedi - who lectures at the University of California, Berkeley - was arrested several months ago while on a visit to Tehran. But Mirdamadi said that after an investigation, the intelligence ministry concluded the academic was not a spy and should be released — although this has been rejected by the hardline-run judiciary and Zahedi was now being held by a "parallel intelligence service."
"We've decided he's a spy, so he's a spy, even if he is from Berkeley!"
"After the intelligence ministry investigated the possibility of espionage activity, they found nothing on him and decided he should be freed," Mirdamadi told IRNA. "But the judiciary did not follow the advice of the ministry of intelligence, and they took him and gave him to one of the parallel intelligence apparatuses."
"Kick him in the head a few times. He'll talk!"
Mirdamadi warned that Zahedi may confess to spying "under pressure (and) after serving a long time in solitary confinement," and advised the judiciary that it could not risk another death in custody case.
We may not be as polite as the Canucks.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 14:10 ||
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Sad thing is, Bush and his team will care more about this guy than any of his colleagues in Berkeley.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/01/2003 14:45 Comments ||
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#2
Sad thing is, Bush and his team will care more about this guy than any of his colleagues in Berkeley.
You say that like it's a Bad Thing. :)
The occasional level-headed person aside, Berkeley is full of wackjobs.
#4
If this professor is brutalized, will Fidel break diplomatic realtions with Iran?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 20:49 Comments ||
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#5
BTW, if the guy isn't released ASAP, it's time for operation smackdown. I doubt this guy is a lefty, but really it doesn't matter - he's American. We should protect Americans unless they go out and join Hamas or the Shining Path; then they're on there own.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 21:18 Comments ||
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Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will hold talks with Palestinian leaders next week, after his chief of staff said a harsh security clampdown on Palestinian areas was backfiring. It would be first such ministerial meeting between the two sides since Ahmed Qurei was nominated Palestinian prime minister last month and marks a more moderate Israeli stance which has raised a glimmer of hope for the troubled âroad mapâ peace plan.
I wouldn't get any hopes up.
Israeli political sources said the head of the Defense Ministryâs diplomatic and security branch, Amos Gilad, had exploratory talks with Palestinian Authority officials this week to pave the way for a meeting involving Mofaz next week.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 13:01 ||
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Faten, 20, and her sister Abir, 19, experienced the tough side of the oriental patriarchal society when they escaped their family home in Damascus and took a trip to Beirut to live and work here after their father tried to force them to marry two of his acquaintances. âThe two men accompanied our dad to our home and they proposed to marry us, but we refused,â Faten told The Daily Star on Friday. âOne of them is Saudi and the other is a Syrian from Aleppo.â
"Dad! He's... ummm... 72 years old!"
"What's that thing on his forehead? It looks like a finger, only it's purple!"
Faten said she comes from a middle class family of eight. She has one sister who is married to her cousin.
"Their children all have buck teeth, hemophilia, and the IQ of a brussels sprout!"
âMy father has been working in Saudi Arabia for the past two decades, but in the last few years, he has been in debt,â Faten said. According to Faten, her father intended to â marry them to well-off men who he thought would give credit to him and salvage his financial situation. For her part, Abir said they tried to invite relatives to intervene and convince her father to drop the idea, âbut to no avail. He told them we were his breeding stock daughters and that nobody has any business with our marriages except him,â Abir said.
"Butt out, dammit! It's either sell them or sell my car! I still owe on the car."
âA couple of days ago, he called home saying he was on his way to Damascus coming from Jordan. He also said that the two grooms-to-be were set to meet him and finalize the marriage deal,â she added. âUpon hearing the news, we ran away and came to Lebanon.â
"Faten! We can't let him do this to us!"
"Hell, no! Sometimes that thing on that old man's forehead wiggles when he talks!"
"What can we do?"
"Let's run away to the colonies!"
"Grand idea! I'll get the suitcases!"
The young lady said she hated her father because he would not let them continue their education. âWhen both of us finished high school, our dad asked our mother to keep us at home and prepare us for marriage by teaching us how to cook and sew.â
"Yeah. It'll give 'em something to do when they're not popping out babies."
Abir added that her dad was always afraid that if his girls finished school and went to college, âthey might meet boys, fall in love and marry them.â
Oh, horrors! Oh, held me, Ethel!
She also said that her dad always sought to get well-off husbands for his daughters. âNow we are in Lebanon and we donât have many options,â according to Faten, who said that she found a low-paid job and that her sister was still looking for one. âLiving poor and free is much better than living rich and miserable.â
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/01/2003 12:55 ||
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#1
She has one sister who is married to her cousin.
#2
I see asylum in their future, if this story reaches the right people. On any grounds they wanna make up, it'd be okay with me. I couldn't do anything to help the poor little Saudi girl I used to see at the schoolbus stop in '92 - maybe this time we can save a couple from the RoP. Let's hope this story gets picked up and repeated. Win-win - for everyone but dickhead Daddy.
#3
It could have been worse for her dad. He could have spent a bunch of cash and dumped her in a New England finishing school hoping she would have made a high quality match for herself then had her return home for the summer and announce that she had become a lesbian.
Seriously, if you're running from a Syrian father, maybe Lebanon isn't the place to stop. Run a little farther.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 22:05 Comments ||
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--oriental--
I love how this term is being used. Yes, one can argue that it fits, but.....
A prominent Washington attorney taking on the defense of a former professor indicted on charges he raised money for Islamic terrorists said Friday his first challenge to the government is to justify the conditions under which his client is being held. William B. Moffitt said the U.S. Justice Departmentâs insistence that Sami Al-Arian be held under strict confinement at a federal prison northeast of Tampa is violating Al-Arianâs right to assist in his own defense. A hearing will be held Nov. 7 in U.S. District Court in Tampa on the matter. Moffitt said Al-Arian, who faces a 50-count indictment that he used an academic think tank and a charity at the University of South Florida as fronts for financing the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is being treated as if he has already been convicted of a crime. Al-Arian is housed in the same unit as inmates who have assaulted corrections officers or other prisoners and are considered too dangerous to be held elsewhere. (snip)
Moffitt joined the case this week after Al-Arianâs family and supporters were able to raise enough money for a retainer. Moffitt declined to discuss the finances; Al-Arianâs family had previously said it would cost as much as $1.5 million for Moffittâs services. Not doing this pro bono.
At least two groups are helping raise money for Al-Arianâs defense: the National Liberty Fund in Washington and the Muslim Civil Rights Center in Hickory Hills, Ill. Ahmad Tansheet, community outreach coordinator for the Muslim Civil Rights Center, said a fund-raiser held in Chicago on Oct. 19 raised about $7,000 for Al-Arianâs defense. Telephone calls to the National Liberty Fund were not returned Friday. Tansheet said raising money for Al-Arian has been difficult, despite his long standing as a community activist, because people are afraid to donate to him and draw the attention of federal investigators. I blame John Ashcroft.
Moffitt is the former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a legal commentator on national news programs. Among the big cases he has handled is the 1995 trial of William Aramony, the former president of United Way who was charged with defrauding the charity of more than $1 million (details of outcome of trial here). More recently, Moffitt represented Agus Budiman, an Indonesian man living in Virginia who federal agents said had links to the Sept. 11 hijackers. Budiman denied any connection and in May 2002 was convicted of document fraud. "Lies, all lies."
The judge gave Budiman a sentence equal to the seven months heâd spent behind bars awaiting trial and Budiman was deported. At the time, Moffitt said his client was a victim of guilt by association and criticized the governmentâs prosecution.
I've yet to hear a lawyer say, "Hell, yes y'r honor! My client's guilty as sin!"
#2
He defended a guy who defrauded a charity? Then he already knows most of al-Arian's defense, since a lot of the jihad cash collected is earmarked for "charities".
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/01/2003 13:53 Comments ||
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#3
I wonder which embassy provided the funs - not.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 20:18 Comments ||
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Part of the budget process is setting priorities. Even in the federal budget, where the dollars flow in breathtaking quantity, there are only so many dollars. New, high priority requirements are supposed to edge out lower priority requirements.
"As Congress further pares back the administrationâs funding request, a Hobsonâs choice has emerged between funding for core development programs versus high-profile new initiatives and emergencies, such as HIV/AIDS, conflict prevention or post-conflict reconstruction," the InterAction report contends. InterActionâs members include such organizations as Save the Children, World Vision International, Mercy Corps, Catholic Relief Services and Oxfam America. The report comes amid a debate over the goals and function of U.S. foreign aid.
Given the membership of InterAction, I think we can guess how the debate's going to line up...
Next year, President Bushâs pledge to "lead by example" is scheduled to begin with the funding of the Millennium Challenge, designed to reward countries that battle corruption, reform their economies and channel help to their people. The program, pledged to deliver $5 billion annually by 2006, is joined by Bushâs promise to contribute $15 billion over five years to fight HIV/AIDS in 14 countries. The leaders of InterActionâs member organizations welcome the expanded efforts but see an "increasingly stark gap between funding rhetoric and reality." In calling for a full-scale review of U.S. foreign assistance programs, the aid consortium contends that "flaws" of the U.S. Agency for International Development have "largely been ignored" as separate government entities have been created to manage fledgling projects. "Foreign aid activities in the field are scattershot," the report maintains, "as representatives of as many as five separate U.S. agencies may be carrying out activities on HIV/AIDS, for instance, often without the knowledge of the U.S. ambassador, the USAID mission director or appropriate local government officials." Reorganizing Aid efforts would probably make a lot of sense as Iâm sure there are overlaps and gaps - there seem to be a lot of cooks in the kitchen. What surprises me most (How naive I am - is everyone else aware of this???) is this:
Interaction is composed of NGOs who receive US Foreign Aid, our tax dollars, and they are playing politics in unconcealed attempts to undermine US Foreign Policy - especially in Iraq.
Hmmmm. How, um, fascinating. I recall watching an Oxfam Intâl spokesdink on the BBC who relentlessly bashed the US and Bush for the Iraqi War - this was while it was in progress. It was very personal and very offensive. And I distinctly recall that Oxfam pulled out months ago. And these assholes get to distribute and take credit fo my tax dollars? Do I get a refund if they pull out? Grrrrrrr. Damn right itâs time to reorg how our money is spent - and especially by whom.
Posted by: .com ||
11/01/2003 9:36:52 AM ||
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#1
Here's a simple criteria: if you support us, you get aid. If you don't support us, you don't get aid.
Of course, this being the federal government, it'll take a "blue-ribbon bipartisan commission", millions of dollars, and a couple of years to figure that out. And even then, it'll never happen.
#2
Egypt receives several billion a year yet criticizes us whenever possible in official media and government officials. It also allows the smuggling of weapons, drugs and prostitutes into gaza. I vote Egypt off the aid island
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/01/2003 12:15 Comments ||
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And even then, it'll never happen. = awaiting Senate approval.
#5
In researching this before posting I went through the USAid site. You guys may find these links interesting, they come from the main USAid site (http://www.usaid.gov)
Note that you can view the USAid contracts awarded in Iraq, thusfar from here.
The Greenbook - who we've loaned or granted money to 1946 - 2001. Yes! Org'd by country...
http://esdb.cdie.org/cgi-bin/broker.exe?_program=gbkprogs.ctypage_1.sas&_service=default
The Yellowbook - who we've given contracts to for 2001 - 2002 on the way. Prev years unknown.
http://www.usaid.gov/business/yellowbook/
Note that on this page you can check out monies disbursed to West Bank and Gaza orgs by USAid via the "Asia and Near East (ANE)" link to that USAid Mission's page. Fascinating reading - including the program for higher education - some of which was to be awarded by the US people killed recently.
Note that this ONLY covers USAid activity. More money goes out via other avenues. We sure are some nasty sumbitches, giving out money, and much / most of it in outright grants. No WONDER everyone hates us. A measly half-trillion, unadjusted for inflation, so prolly closer to a full trill. Shit, we're phreakin' skinflints! Y'know what? I think I hate us too. I think I'll go out a buy a t-shirt or bumper sticker. Tomorrow.
#6
Frank: the money to Egypped isn't aid money, it's control money. We provide military and civilian aid to keep the Egyppians from doing stupid things like attack Israel. We haven't conditioned the money on having them shoot all the mullahs who blabber on about the Jooooos, since that's seen as a safety valvue for a dictatorship.
So don't think of it as aid, think of it as a leash. Now, where did I put that choker chain?
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/01/2003 14:44 Comments ||
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#7
Once Rumsfeld is finished with the DOD I would like to see the State Dept, CIA and USAID reconstituted.
If a study is going to be done on fixing USAID, please feel free not to get input from OXFAM and all the other NGOs. That would be like asking HR Block to give input on tax reform.
I have not been a big fan of USAID, but its function could be critical for American PR. In that interest I would have all foriegn aid be delivered through a person wearing a snazzy USAID shirt. I don't see any PR value in passing the cash through anti-American groups like OXFAM or any arm of the UN.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 20:30 Comments ||
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#8
Let's make it real simple - eliminate ALL the "foreign aid" money, force the NGOs to make do solely on donations, offer all "military assistance" as training and familiarization only, and stop wasting untold billions of dollars on our current and future enemies. Let the NGOs eat dirt and actually perform some physical work for a change.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/01/2003 23:37 Comments ||
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From WaPo
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea accused the U.S. military on Saturday of conducting at least 200 spy flights against the communist state in October. Ooooh. Really? Thatâs a lot - wonder why weâd be interested in checking you out more than 6 times per day...
North Korea said such maneuvers by the U.S. military questioned Washingtonâs public stance that it seeks a peaceful solution to a standoff over the Northâs suspected development of nuclear weapons. Pyongyangâs official news agency KCNA said U-2, RC-135 and other reconnaissance planes of the U.S. military flew "day and night" near the border between the two Koreas to "spy on strategic targets of the (North)." Just, uh, trying to make sure the SKors didnât steal âem.
The number of such flights increased from 160 in September, it said. "This fact clearly indicates what they really seek in talking about âpeaceful solutionâ to the nuclear issue and âwritten assurances of nonaggression,â" KCNA said. Okay, Iâll bite. What?
Earlier this month, President Bush proposed that the United States and North Koreaâs four neighbors provide written security guarantees for the North if it dismantles its nuclear weapons program. North Korea has said it would consider the offer. Uh, you begged for this for months. Bush says weâll talk about it. You now say youâll think it over. Phugg off, Poofyboy.
In talks with China this week, North Korea agreed "in principle" to return to the six-nation talks aimed at ending the nuclear crisis. The talks have stalled since August. Your masters whistled. You heeled.
The U.S. military does not comment on North Korean claims on spy flights, although it acknowledges monitoring North Korean military activity. The United States keeps 37,000 American troops in South Korea - a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. Yup. Just keeping tabs on the local looney. Yawn.
Posted by: .com ||
11/01/2003 8:22:45 AM ||
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#1
200 spy flights in ONE MONTH? That is OUTRAGEOUS!! I would much rather see 200 ground attack flights! Teminus: Pyong Yang.
#2
The satellites go by evey 90 minutes or so...is that what they're talking about?
Posted by: Mr. J ||
11/01/2003 14:45 Comments ||
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I doubt the Air Force stationed in South Korea flies 200 sorties a month, but maybe. I do know we keep an eye on the place north of the DMZ, since it's kinda like a 60 gallon tub of nitroglycerine sitting in the middle of a Los Angeles freeway. I'm sure Japan, Russia, and China also take a peek at Kimmieland fairly frequently, for the same reason. None of us want to trigger the explosion, but the situation in the north is so unstable a sneeze could do it.
Watching Kimmieland is kinda like trying to work through a hostage situation with a krazed killer: you do everyting possible NOT to upset the guy, while trying to rescue his hostages at the same time. Having a 600-pound gorilla walk over a crate of eggs without breaking any may be easier.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/01/2003 18:16 Comments ||
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#4
...I think we need to do some translating here. The Norks classify ANY US flight over the peninsula as a spy flight, but they only really exercise themselves over two kinds - the big intel gathering planes (EC-135, EP-3, etc) and flights that get too close for their comfort to the Z. When I was at Kunsan in 84-85, we routinely flew 2000 sorties a month, and more during exercise season, which didn't end all that long ago. Anytime they could even see it from the Z, they started screaming and filed formal compaints with the folks at Panmunjom.
BTW, if you were pilot or observer on a specific flight that got complained about, you got a 'Yankee Air Pirate' patch. They were highly prized souveniers of a tour at the Kun.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/01/2003 21:21 Comments ||
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The government has asked an appellate court to restore its right to present the horror of Sept. 11, 2001, at the trial of al-Qaida defendant Zacarias Moussaoui. Not that the jury should need reminding.
In a written brief released Friday, the Justice Department sought to reverse a lower court ruling that barred Sept. 11 evidence and the death penalty in the only U.S. case to arise from the suicide hijackings. Idiot judge: the whole blinkinâ case is about Zac and 9/11, and he bars 9/11 evidence?
The lower courtâs decision was punishment for the governmentâs refusal to allow Moussaoui to question three al-Qaida witnesses who might have helped his case. Prosecutors argue a person accused of terrorism has no right to question his al-Qaida colleagues, held abroad as enemy combatants. Apparently the judge didnât learn anything from the 1993 WTC bombing trial.
The edited government brief, from which references to the captivesâ names were deleted, was filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., which will hear oral arguments Dec. 3 on the governmentâs appeal. The eventual decision could determine whether the government will be able to prosecute future terror cases in civilian courts or try the cases in military tribunals, which remains a possibility in Moussaouiâs case. Zac ought to take his chances with the civilian court.
"Given that defendantâs preparation for his involvement in a hijacking mirrors the preparatory acts of the 19 hijackers, ... evidence of the Sept. 11 attacks is critical to demonstrating both the fully horrifying scope of the conspiracy .... and defendantâs intent and objectives in joining it," the government said. Prosecutors said they could prove Moussaoui was part of a broad al-Qaida conspiracy against the United States even without the Sept. 11 evidence. Elimination of the evidence, however, "sends a troubling message to the family members of the victims," who may be excluded from testifying about the impact of the attacks on their lives, the government said. Prosecutors also would lose their plans to present cockpit voice recordings of a hijacked airliner, show video footage of the attacks and introduce photographs of victims. Not that the jury needs reminding.
The brief, originally filed Oct. 24, said that allowing Moussaoui to question captured terrorists "provides defendant a breathtaking right to interfere with the conduct of warfare." U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema had ruled that Moussaoui, who is charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism, has a constitutional right to witnesses who might reinforce his story that he was not involved in planning the Sept. 11 attacks. The government contended the court has no authority to apply the Constitution to enemy combatants captured in a war. "Indeed, as more and more high-level leaders of al-Qaida are detained by our forces, claims identical to the one in this case, if permitted, would undoubtedly become terrorist defendantsâ favorite trump card, for they would guarantee either the hobbling of a prosecution or the hobbling of interrogation efforts," the government warned. Not to mention the boys would be able to pass info back and forth.
The written brief gave hints of what the captives have said about Moussaoui in statements that are not always consistent. One prisoner suggested he was added to the Sept. 11 hijacking plan relatively late. Prosecutors said this would be devastating testimony against Moussaoui. Prisoners also told interrogators that Moussaoui may not have known precise details of the plan that became the Sept. 11 attacks. He could have lacked knowledge of the date, the final target list or the identities of the hijackers, they said. Some of the hijackers didnât quite know what was going to happen.
Moussaoui also was described as an intended participant in a second wave of attacks, a plan that was halted when he was arrested in August, 2001, on immigration violations. The defendant has made statements that he was training for an al-Qaida operation outside the United States against non-American targets. District Court or Gitmo, Zac. Your choice.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/01/2003 2:42:02 AM ||
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#1
Just another indicator that our Judicial system needs a major overhaul, including the creation of term limits for judges, and the firing of judges who want to create law rather than uphold it. A nice piece of rope over a lamp post or two, with an idiot judge at the lower end, would work wonders for reform.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/01/2003 10:15 Comments ||
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#2
There is no question our legal system, the people in it, have lost their way. This article with S.D. O'Conner yesterday is just another in a long line of examples of how our legalists are all too happy to sell our American ideals and our nation for liberal/socialist ones.
The Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with their operatives on the run, have increasingly forged a common front against Israel, and there are signs they are also being guided by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas. Who are subsidiaries of the Ayotallahs.
Days after issuing a joint statement calling for coordinated "resistance" against Israel, the two groups attacked an Israeli army base Friday in the Netzarim settlement in the Gaza Strip, killing three soldiers and reviving heated debate in Israel over whether to hang on to the Jewish enclave.
If they were to dump Netzarim, Hamas and IJ would be bragging for the next 20 years how they ran the Zionists out, just like Hezbollah claims credit for running Israel out of Lebanon...
The two groups have cooperated to a lesser degree in the past, with militants joining forces at the local level, but last weekâs call for coordinated attacks signals closer ties â a consolidation that might make the groups more efficient and more difficult to bring down.
I'd say it's a sign they've both been whittled down to the point where they have to combine resources to stay in business. That leaves one target, rather than two sometimes competing targets...
Adnan Asfour, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, said the alliance with Islamic Jihad is a response to Israelâs increasing military pressure, including its hunt for members of the groupsâ military wings and, more recently, political leaders. Israeli officials are clearly concerned, especially by what some say is a growing involvement in the Palestinian territories of Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Syria and Iran. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and the army chief, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, told the Cabinet on Sunday that Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah are planning joint attacks in Israel. Since Israeli-Palestinian fighting erupted three years ago, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have carried out 15 joint operations, mostly gunbattles, according to Hamas. The deadliest, a strike June 8 that also included the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militant group with ties to Yasser Arafatâs Fatah movement, killed four soldiers before the gunmen were fatally shot. The two groupsâ leaders convened a meeting Oct. 20, led by Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamasâ political bureau, and Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, leader of Islamic Jihad. A statement faxed that day to the Associated Press in Beirut said "the two movements agreed to confront the Zionist aggression on our people in Palestine and to urge all [Palestinian] factions and resistance forces to coordinate among each other to confront this aggression."
"we've been whittled down to two pointy little nubbins, so we're going to combine our resources so we still have enough cannon fodder to carry on operations against the common enemy, who's been beating the crap out of us..."
The extent of Hezbollahâs involvement in the Palestinian territories remains murky. Osama Hamdan, a Hamas leader in Lebanon, said Hezbollah had not been actively involved in attacks against Israel and the group was not present at the Oct. 20 meeting. Mr. Asfour said Hamas leaders later met separately with Hezbollah representatives "for the purpose of political and public-relations cooperation." And if you canât trust Osama, who can you trust?
Still, Fridayâs attack in Netzarim was the latest of a series of Palestinian attacks with Hezbollahâs fingerprints. Hamas and Islamic Jihad spent weeks spying on Netzarim, planning the attack and waiting for ideal weather conditions â a pea-soup fog â to move in. Two gunmen, one of whom escaped, burst into the soldiersâ sleeping quarters, spraying machine-gun fire in all directions. Surveillance footage of the settlement â showing settlersâ cars and bike riders moving along the townâs roads â is reminiscent of images Hezbollah would release after successful attacks on the Israeli army. I tend to think that the rivalries between these groups are more in terms of friendly competition over who can kill the most Jews, rather than some ideological dispute. Often times family members will belong to different groups, or change orgs depending on how much they get paid.
The Hezbollah involvement probably involves training and tactics at this point, but not structural support. IJ's funding used to come from Iran through Hezbollah, but was split off last year. Hamas has been more a Soddy creature. So there are conflicting lines of (ultimate) control. Hezbollah wants to stay in the Armed Struggle⢠game, but runs the risk of causing a major military confrontation in south Lebanon, which wouldn't please its Syrian masters â nor probably its Iranian masters at this moment.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
11/01/2003 1:24:34 AM ||
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#1
It seems to me that these factions make and break alliances more frequently that the various groups in Professional Wrestling.
#2
simplisme! - snag a Hamas guy, and leak that it was an IJ stooge that fingered him, then do the same with an IJ big and a hinted Hamas stoolie, lather, rinse, repeat. Let their paranoia do your work for you
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/01/2003 9:20 Comments ||
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#3
The intraparty dynamics of these groups: they cooperate for a while, then there is fight over who gets what money. The fights sometimes result in people who are so ticked off that they end up as Israeli agents.
A series of recent memoirs by former cooks, a bodyguard and the sister of one of the lovers of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il have all served to conjure up a lurid portrait of a mercurial and extravagant dictator. But besides detailing Mr Kimâs lifestyle, they have also given important indications as to who may go on to succeed the 61-year-old leader — if one of the worldâs most secretive, and arguably most dangerous, regimes survives. Analysing events inside North Korea is notoriously difficult, and the question of succession is mired in doubt and speculation. What does seem widely agreed upon is that Kim Jong-il has produced an indeterminate number of children with a string of women. Only one of these is known to have married him — Kim Young-sook, chosen for him by his father. But his eldest son was born to another woman - North Korean movie star Sung Hae-rim, who suffered from depression and died in Moscow last year.
Wonder what could have made her so depressed?
For a long time, analysts assumed that Kim Jong-ilâs most likely successor would be this boy - Kim Jong-nam. Pyon Jin-il, editor of the Korea Report Tokyo, said he believed this was still the case. "North Korea is a feudalistic country. Under feudalism the eldest brother is the heir of the father," he said. But many believe Kim Jong-nam ruined his chances in 2001, when Japanese officials caught him trying to sneak into Japan using a false passport, an incident which caused severe diplomatic embarrassment to Pyongyang. But apparently he only wanted to go to DisneyLand.
They argue that one of Kim Jong-ilâs sons with his "favourite" consort, Ko Young-hee, is the anointed successor. The question is which son: Kim Jong-chul, or his younger brother Kim Jong-woong? Many analysts believe Kim Jong-chul is the most likely, if only because he is the elder. But a Japanese sushi chef who worked for Kim Jong-il for 13 years believed Kim Jong-woong to be the heir apparent because he considered his older son "like a girl". Other key players are Kim Jong-ilâs younger sister, Kim Kyung-hee, and her husband Chang Song-taek - one of the North Korean leaderâs closest aides. But Katy Oh, co-author of North Korea Through the Looking Glass said: "Kim Jong-il will be shrewd enough that his power will not go to his brother-in-lawâs family."
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
11/01/2003 1:18:34 AM ||
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#1
If I were on Let's Make a Deal and won the job of being Kim's sucessor, I would go for broke on door number two because even if it were a camel or a jackass, I would still be better off.
Being in charge of NK is like puffing on a stick of dynamite with your eyes closed.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/01/2003 21:38 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.
