From Geostrategy-Direct When is GW gonna admit that SA is a real enemy? Whatâs the deal here?
A new report says Saudi Arabia has been a major contributor to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. This includes Saudi investment in Syria and in Syrian-controlled Lebanon. RB link here.
In return, Syria has prepared special forces that could be called upon to back up unreliable Saudi security forces and ultimately replace U.S. troops in the kingdom. "This open alliance between an Arab nationalist Saudi monarch and a terror-sponsoring Damascus regime — a marriage of money and muscle cemented by family ties — is likely to endure for the foreseeable future," a report by the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin stated. "Tested by near-continuous engagement in several Arab-Israeli wars, vigorous internal policing, and action in Lebanon, Syrian troops contrast sharply with the inexperienced and largely inefficient Saudi military," the report stated.
When you hire other people to fight your wars for you, you never learn how to do it yourself. Soldiering's hard and often undignified work — which I'd guess is by now beneath the dignity of a nation of "managers"...
"This battle-hardened Arab-Muslim force is a low-premium insurance against a day that the Americans decide to leave the Saudis to defend themselves against external threat."
It's the direct descendent of the battle-hardened Arab-Muslim force the Israelis kicked the bejabbers out of in 1967 and 1973...
Syrian troops have remained longer than most other U.S.-led coalition members in the 1991 war against Iraq, said the report, "The Syrian-Saudi Arabian Nexus." The report also said the Saudi royal family, particularly Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, has relied on Syrian intelligence agencies to battle internal threats to Riyad. Is there anything that the Saudis do themselves?
I think they beat their own servants...
Saudi reliance on Syrian intelligence dates from the mid-1990s, when Abdullah brought in Syrian officers trained in East Germany to help train the crown princeâs National Guard. "Nominally there to help train the praetorian National Guard that Abdullah commands, the Syrian intelligence network in the Kingdom soon became identified as a weapon in his arsenal if and when sibling rivalry broke out in earnest for the throne, which is still held tenuously by the ailing King Fahd," the report said.
"Nurse! He's doing it again!"
"Abdullahâs gambit also gave an opportunity to Syria to solidify its presence in what is presumably the most important American ally in the region." The report said Syrian intelligence officers played a key role in the 1996 bombing of the U.S. military base in Khobar, which killed 19 people. Where the Saudis dished up a few "guilty" chaps in a vain attempt to pacify the US.
Saudi Arabia refused to cooperate with an FBI investigation of Khobar. "Known as a pan-Arabist nationalist and markedly less fond of the West than his half-brothers, Crown Prince Abdullah may well draw ever closer to his wifeâs Syrian family as king," the report said. "Under Saudi succession rules, King Abdullah will have exclusive rights to name a successor and it is not unlikely that he may pick his Syrian-Saudi son rather than the presumed third in line, Prince Sultan." The Saudis go down and 60% of the funding is dried up.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/26/2003 5:23:31 PM ||
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Whatever happened to the Pakastanis giving nuclear cover to the Saudis for $$$? Now it is the Syrians providing muscle (ala gangsters). And Iran brings in the Hezbella to keep their own population under control. None of these governments dictatorships seems to have any faith in their own people.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2003 21:03 Comments ||
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BTW - I like the numbering of comments - I hit the "end" button and when it gets in the 30's and 40's I know Murat, NMM, or stevey trolled commented
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 21:07 Comments ||
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Yemeni security forces are pursuing a second top al-Qaida figure a day after arresting the alleged mastermind of the attacks on the destroyer USS Cole and a French oil tanker, government officials said Wednesday. Abu Ali al-Kandahari is one of two top al-Qaida leaders in Yemen. The other, Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, was arrested by security forces that surrounded his hide-out west of the capital, Sanâa, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday. Four men, believed to be al-Ahdalâs security guards, were also arrested. Guess he is too important to have put up a fight.
Al-Kandahari is believed to be hiding in the northern provinces of Marib and Jawf, and security forces are closing in on him, said officials. Even if they arenât, itâs a good message to put out.
He is reported to have replaced Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi in the Yemeni al-Qaida leadership after he was killed by a missile fired from a U.S. drone last year. Joined the "Hellfire" club.
Saudi-born al-Ahdal, 32, has been described as the main coordinator of al-Qaida activities in Yemen, supervising the terror groupâs finances, weapons smuggling and operational planning and was well-connected to other extremists in Persian Gulf countries, the official said. Need to suck his brain dry.
Yemeni security officials believe he was one of the masterminds of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden harbor, which killed 17 U.S. sailors, and the 2002 bombing of the French oil tanker Limburg off the Yemeni coast, which killed a Bulgarian crew member. Al-Ahdal, who is on the U.S. list of wanted terrorists in Yemen, is also accused of planning an abortive attack last year on a five-star hotel in Yemen where FBI investigators were staying. He had a $25 million dollar bounty on his head. Somebody may get a "Happy Eid al Fitr" present.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2003 10:20:45 AM ||
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#1
It would be fine if Yemen didn't have revolving doors installed in their prisons.
#2
Jarhead - I don't think this guy's ever going to make it to prison. Can't escape if you never get anywhere where you can. Once Yemen gets through with him, I'm sure he'll be 'invited' to Gitmo for a couple of centuries.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 10:53 Comments ||
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I'm afraid I agree with Jarhead on this - I have minimal faith in the Yemenis good intentions. I'll feel a lot better if al-Ahdal ends up in our custody.
Saudi security forces who stormed a militant hideout in Riyadh on Tuesday found enough explosives for an even bigger attack than the blast which killed 18 people in the capital two weeks ago, a Saudi daily said on Wednesday. Okaz newspaper quoted security sources as saying the suspected militants planned to hit either a residential compound or other "vital sites" in the east of the city before a clash with security forces thwarted their plans. "The quantity of explosives seized greatly exceeded that which was used in the (November 9) Muhaya compound explosion. It was enough to demolish a whole compound," the paper quoted a security source at the scene of the clash as saying. Sounds like the Saudis got lucky this time.
The Interior Ministry said on Tuesday two "terrorists" were killed in a clash as their "terror operation...was about to be carried out." It said police found a car primed with explosives. Okaz said one of the militants was killed by security forces while the other died when he detonated an explosive belt as he headed for them "screaming hysterically." "HOLYSHITTHISISGONNAHURT!!!..........KABOOM!"
It said the man was carrying a will, but said its contents were unknown. The explosives-packed car, which was found inside a villa rented by the militants, had been painted with the same markings used by military guards at most residential compounds in Riyadh, the paper said. Same tactics as the last bombing
Several militants escaped in a stolen car, it added. They always eacape, donât they?
Another local newspaper, Al-Riyadh, said police found rocket propelled grenade launchers, machine guns, electronic equipment and pamphlets for "incitement."
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2003 9:01:06 AM ||
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It said the man was carrying a will, but said its contents were unknown.
Probate must be a bitch for a suicide bombers' estate. OTOH a lot of self-boomers smoke, leaving their estates an opening to sue Big Tobaky.
Bahrain plans to impose a series of measures as part of a long awaited crackdown against Islamic unrest. The Bahraini Cabinet has drafted legislation meant to impose stiff penalties on those convicted of what was termed terrorism. Officials said the new laws would be in accordance with those of other countries that have joined in the war against Al Qaida and related groups. The government's intention was discussed at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Khalid Al Khalifa. Al Khalifa is also minister of Islamic affairs. Officials said the measures would involve revisions to the criminal code and would deal with a range of offenses classified as terrorist. The Directorate of Legal Affairs was authorized to coordinate the proposed amendments with the ministries.
I wonder if they're going after the money, too? That's even more important than the cannon fodder. Without it, they'd have to get jobs.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2003 23:45 ||
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But, if they go after the money--there would be a trail involved--one that a lot of people won't want to see uncovered--right back to Riyadh and the Crawford ranch's former guest--Nope, can't have that!
#3
The unrest in Bahrain comes from the Shi'ites, not al Qaeda types
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
11/26/2003 0:29 Comments ||
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point made, Paul. I'm getting to the point where I don't want to worry about such subtleties ;-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 0:33 Comments ||
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That newly proclaimed King created his current problems when he granted amnesty. The little Emir, whom I respected far far more, had exiled the dipshits.
And NMM has all the answers. The King should've consulted him. Oh, and Geo43, too. He could set them straight and solve oh so many problems.
That reminds me very little of a story...
Samuel Clemens was an old man when he met Rudyard Kipling - who was not known outside of India at that time. Twain was quite taken with Kipling and enjoyed his company immensely. When asked by a reporter about the visit, Twain enthusiastically characterized the visit in this quote:
"He is a stranger to me, but he is a most remarkable man -- and I am the other one. Between us we cover all knowledge; he knows all that can be known, and I know the rest."
I guess we all feel that way about NMM, which is prolly what brought it to mind. Kinda chokes me up. Go, bro, go!
#8
Actually what is probably happening is that the Formual 1 cars are due for their first ever event in the ME -- Bahrain. So, the eyes of the world will be on what happens and how next year. I am sure the turbans will want to have a very, very peaceful event (which is on world-wide television). THis is just a beginning.
#9
I usually don't get involved in flame wars, but after this morning's threads, NMM get some therapy, Dude. "Fanaticism is redoubling your efforts after forgetting your goal."
#10
Poor Bahrainis. The poor cousins, stepped all over by their nasty Saoodi brethren. They flood in on weekends, make a mess, and then skedaddle. They even have traffic signs that say "Get in Lane. Stay in Lane" and HUGE signs pointing the way back to the causeway to SaoodiLand. Numbers are down now, though, cuz the fundi's have taken root again and are shutting down lots of the bars. Eliminates about half the Saudis right there.
And now, as you point out, here the Bahrainis are trying to get on the world stage and act all normal and decent and everything - and the whole time they're terrfied their trailer-trash cousins will blow show up and screw up their debut. Bummer.
Posted by: .com (Abu Bad Relations) ||
11/26/2003 10:25 Comments ||
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EFL
The British Embassy in Bulgaria is to be closed on Thursday for security reasons, the Foreign Office has said. A spokesman said the closure in the capital Sofia was a precaution as a result of information received. Security officials in the UK have been on a high state of alert for more than a week, due to terror intelligence.
Bin Laden âbodyguardâ is jailed
A German court has jailed an al-Qaeda suspect for four years for helping plot terror attacks against Jewish targets. Shadi Abdellah, a Jordanian of Palestinian origin, had told the court he was briefly a bodyguard to al-Qaeda head Osama Bin Laden. The court in Duesseldorf found him guilty of membership of a terror group and falsifying passports. He is believed to have received a lesser sentence for giving what prosecutors called valuable testimony. Abdellah, 27, was one of nine suspected extremists arrested in Germany in April 2002 on suspicion of plotting imminent terror attacks. The targets were believed to be two Jewish restaurants in Duesseldorf and a Jewish community centre in Berlin. German intelligence officers told the court that the group of which Abdellah was a member, al-Tawhid, had links to al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Former CNN Watcher ||
11/26/2003 4:54:52 AM ||
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Vandals desecrated tombs at a Jewish cemetery in southern France, carving swastikas and other Nazi symbols into the headstones. Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin condemned the attack in Marseille as a ``hateful manifestation of anti-Semitism.ââ
Ooooh. He said the word.
Seven tombs at the Trois-Lucs cemetery were covered with graffiti or damaged by pelted rocks, said Alain Marc, an official at the regional prefecture. French President Jacques Chirac promised a tough crackdown on anti-Semitism after an arson attack on a Jewish school outside Paris this month. There were no injuries, but the building was gutted. In the last two years, France has suffered a wave of violence against Jewish schools, temples and cemeteries that coincided with new fighting in the Middle East. Many of the attacks have been blamed on young Muslims. Wasnât there a report about anti-Semitism in the EU just recently? Oh right, never released.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2003 1:35:10 AM ||
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Mr. Bush needs to both make a bold statement about European anti-Semitism AND make Chiraq look like the scumbag everyone already knows he is. How? Simply announce that 250,000 or so French Jews can enter the U.S. as political refugees.
Posted by: Jeff ||
11/26/2003 1:47 Comments ||
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Steve, don't you see?! Last week's report was about Muslim anti-Semitism. This incident is entirely different. When the LePen nutcases write nazi graffitti, then the Euro grandees spring into action. However, when the Algerian immigrants, spouting Palestinian propaganda terrorize synagogues - that's entirely different. So now you see how they are entirely unrelated. If there were any incidents at all. This act was probably committed by Jooooos, or at least provoked in some fashion in order to draw attention to anti-Semitism. They're cleaver like that.
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
11/26/2003 3:02 Comments ||
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Absolutely right TT--the Euros have their head in the sand and their asses exposed to the home-grown Muslim shit going on in their countries--but the Italians have finally awakened thanks to Forza and MSI
#7
Naah, Euro-nuts like Aris just love the morally cowardly EU, especially when Jew-killing and defamation is involved. (it's a Greek thing)
Posted by: Ernest Brown ||
11/26/2003 14:27 Comments ||
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NMM--
Now I'm super-confused. You don't like GWB but you DO like not only Berlusconi (Forza) but also Fini (MSI)! NMM, you do know what the Movimento Sociale Italiana comes from, right? (Here's a hint: the name of the entity established at Salo' was "Repubblica Sociale Italiana") And if you're worried about antitrust violations here, don't you think that Berlusconi's media ownership would be a question too? Don't get me wrong, Berlusconi lives in reality a hell of a lot more than his opponents do....
How odd.
Posted by: Brian (MN) ||
11/26/2003 15:28 Comments ||
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Follow-up to Asia Times story from yesterday with some more information, this time from CNN.
As investigators continue to probe who may have orchestrated the string of deadly suicide bombings in Istanbul this month, authorities are pointing the finger at Turkish radicals with links to conflicts in Chechnya, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Tap, tap, tap ... anybody surprised?
Officials fear extremist Turks whoâve been waging conflict abroad, have brought their fight home. Investigators say the trail of the Istanbul suicide bombers starts in Turkey, leads through Chechnya and Bosnia, along with Afghanistan and Iran, before ending back in Turkey. With the exception of Bosnia, that pretty much makes it the usual suspects, all you need is a Pakistani link (which the bombers may already have) and Saudi funding and the picture is complete.
Turkish media have reported that one of the bombers in the November 20 suicide blasts at the HSBC bank and the British consulate was a Turk believed to have fought with Islamic radicals in Afghanistan and Chechnya. All in the name of Armed Struggle(TM), no doubt ...
But authorities are seeking to answer whether the Turkish bombers were lone actors or did larger terrorist groups such as al Qaeda manipulate them. My guess would be the latter. The synagogues could easily work for homegrown extremists, but the British consulate and that bank? Most Turkish Islamist krazed killers generally direct their struggle more against folks who arenât towing the line or against the government than against foreigners, even as an attention ploy.
Though Turkish leaders have said it is too early to confirm al Qaedaâs involvement in the blasts at the British targets or earlier bombings at two synagogues, officials say the attacks bear the hallmarks of Osama bin Ladenâs terror network. CNN has learned a coalition of Arab, Israeli and European investigators working the case strongly suspect that Abu Musab al Zarqawi helped organize the Turkish attacks. Like Fred said, heâs the pivot guy.
Though Zarqawi is a close associate of bin Laden, he directs his own network of terrorist groups. So did Hanbali, who was involved in everything ranging from MILF to Abu Sayyaf to Jemaah Islamiyyah to God knows what else in Southeast Asia and he was still taking orders from Binny. So does Zulkarnaean, if his bio was anything to judge by.
Zarqawi, a Jordanian, is the leading suspect in the suicide bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad on August 7. He is also believed to be a leader of the Iraqi terror group known as Ansar al-Islam. The U.S. has posted a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. I think we can also probably lay the UN HQ bombing, the multiple police station/Red Cross booms, and the Nasiriyah suicide bombing at his doorstep with a fair degree of certainty ...
Zarqawi has been named by the Bush administration as an al Qaeda terrorist who fled to Iraq from Afghanistan in May 2002 for medical treatment and then stayed to organize terror plots with Ansar al-Islam. Intelligence sources suspect Zarqawi is now hiding in neighboring Iran. Heâs in good company, given how many other al-Qaeda top brass seem to be hanging out in the same place. Maybe heâs important enough to be "in custody" again ...
They say he also plays a lead role for two radical Islamic groups who operate in southeast Turkey near the Iraqi border — Turkish Hezbollah and an equally dangerous and reclusive group called Beyyeat al-Imam, or Allegiance to the Imam. According to Middle Eastern intelligence agencies, members of all three groups trained in Zarqawiâs camp in Afghanistan from the late 1990âs until 2001. Bayat al-Imam I knew about, but al-Qaeda (or more specifically, al-Tawhid) taking over the Turkish Hezbollah is a new connection to me. I guess Zarqawi really does tie up all the loose ends ...
The groups may not be al Qaeda by name, but certainly by inspiration and methodology. And cash and the slight fact that their supremo takes his marching orders from Saif al-Adel ...
"Al Qaeda is not only a terrorist organization that attacked the U.S. on 9/11. Al Qaeda is also morphing into an ideology which unfortunately a lot of people have signed on for," explains terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
The ideology is Qutbism, and amalgamation of Islam, fascism, and takfir-wal-hijra, with overtones of Trotsky. Abdullah Azzam passed it on to Binny in Afghanistan and Binny, with the money to get it running, has developed it.
Turkey had already been in al Qaedaâs crosshairs. Richard Reid, sentenced to life in a U.S. Federal prison for plotting to blow up an American airliner with a shoe bomb, reported back to bin Laden on a scouting mission he undertook in 2001 to identify future targets. According to court documents, one of the countries he visited was Turkey. Anti-terror coalition intelligence sources tell CNN that another figure, Abu Zubayda, established a network of al Qaeda safe houses in Turkey beginning in 1998.
Meaning they've had a structure in place since then. Now who would that structure be, do y'think? My guess would be existing Islamist organizations, maybe down on their luck, who could use a few petrodollars and a side order of ideology.
In other developments in the Turkish investigation, authorities are tracing one more link to al Qaeda which leads to fundamentalist mosques in Germany in the heart of the expatriate Turkish community there. Iâd still like to hear someone explain to me with a straight face why these mosques are still in operation given what their congregations appear to have been up to. My God, even the Brits finally shut down Finsbury Park ...
It is believed to be the same radical Islamic community in Germany that, for a time, nurtured many of the 9/11 hijackers.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/26/2003 12:47:25 AM ||
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First I've heard that Finnsbury Park was shut down. Dan your doing top grade work. A true warrrior. Iran is the new front on this war. But how to crack that nut is something else. Iranians are not fools like SA's and Tribal Pakis.
#3
Oho kafr! Dan is a moron? And you are, what? Oh, my bad, you're the eminent authority. I've forgotten all of those deep and insightful posted articles and comments. Please forgive me, I too, thought Dan was contributing - when all along he has been duping us. Dan! You're Evil!
NMM, you've saved us yet again! How can Rantburg ever repay you? The debt is so great.
#4
And we know .moron is an asshat-- who has been given a free ride on Rantburg by people afraid of his spuming personal attacks---while I've reread my comments--they are more thought out than his idiotic personal attacks
#5
Hey Moore, what's with you? You've got a personal insult for anyone who posts something you don't like? You destroy any point you try to make with your absurd junior high insults.
#6
Is this just me, or are today's comments much more tense than usual? What's the point of all that, btw? I shudder to think what will happen when Murat shows up...
#7
No - must be you. I always shudder when muRat shows up.
Posted by: .com (Abu The Turkeys Com Home To Roost) ||
11/26/2003 8:18 Comments ||
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Anon -- I posted a theory in a comment a little above this one. Yesterday's good economic news has the left frothing; trolling and picking fights online is one way they work out their anger.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 8:42 Comments ||
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RC didn't believe it the first time I read it, but after reading thru todays posts I suspect you are dead on. We made need to get a net if the employment numbers are as good.
#11
NMM, I don't really see what me being a FReeper has to do with any of us this. The last I checked, anybody can post here at Rantburg, provided that it's in accordance with the posting guidelines ... even Murat. I really don't see what domestic political affiliations have to do with my ability to post news or provide analysis, so long as you take the latter into account when reading that analysis.
All I can say is, if you don't like my analysis, don't read it. Same goes with the news articles that I post, if you don't like them than either don't read them or post your own.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/26/2003 10:45 Comments ||
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#12
Hey NMM last I checked you weren't paying for this website so you just so you could insult people, how bout YOU tone it down a few hundred notches hmm? Your personal attacks on several different threads today are getting tiresome.
Posted by: Val ||
11/26/2003 14:39 Comments ||
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Watching the comment threads here and elsewhere, I see a lot of cognitive dissonance among people like NMM, who really, really, really would like all this "War on Terror" stuff to be about the warmongering militarists and their neocon ideology. How rude of you, Dan, to insist on assembling uncomfortable facts and reasonable chains of evidence that make the Islamacist threat so *vivid*.
I suspect that al-Q's rather high profile threats about imminent major attacks have the left really nervous, in part because such an attack would destroy the last vestiges of closed-eyes syndrome in a dramatic way. Dan's patient work is more gradual, but it too erodes comfortable illusions and seems to leave NMM and similar minded folk more than usually frothy about the mouth lately.
I truly hope a major attack does not happen, but most of us here know it's quite possible and even likely that one will be attempted. This holiday weekend is a target-rich environment in the States.
Lomali left his job in a Turkish factory and headed for Chechnya, where he volunteered as an Islamic fighter and fought alongside al-Qaida militants in pitched battles against Russian infantry. Nice to know that somebodyâs finally figured out who Basayev is working for ...
Lomali — or Ali the Lion, the name his Chechen comrades gave him — is one of hundreds of Turks who fought in Chechnya, Afghanistan or Bosnia, some as members of al-Qaida. Turkish police are focusing on these Islamic warriors as key suspects in a string of Istanbul suicide bombings that have left 57 dead. Police fear Turks who fought abroad were trained or influenced by radical groups like al-Qaida and may have been behind the Istanbul bombings, which shocked police in their sophistication. Lomali, a 28-year-old Turk, says he fought in Chechnya in 1996 alongside Chechen separatists seeking to break Chechnya away from Moscow, learning to use a heavy machine gun and plant land mines. He was captured by Russians when he attempted to sneak into Chechnya to fight again in 2001 and was sent back to Turkey. Like many Turks who went overseas to fight, Lomali said he was motivated by both Islam and nationalism. Like some 5 million Turks, Lomali traces his ancestors to the Caucasus, which includes Chechnya. "I went there to help the struggle of our Muslim brothers against occupiers," said Lomali, a soft-spoken, athletic man. Although Lomali is deeply religious and wears a beard, common among Islamic radicals, he had little to do with al-Qaida fighters he met in the area, who he said criticized him, saying he was not religious enough. That would explain why he was initially only doing affiliate work in Chechnya, he wasnât holy enough to serve as a vanguard warrior against the Great Satan.
In 2001, Lomali met al-Qaida militants on the Chechen-Georgia border, where many radicals were gathering to enter Chechnya. "There were small cells of al-Qaida giving training" after Quran classes, he said. Iâm guessing that this is somewhere in the Pankisi Gorge.
Or the Kodori Gorge. Or one we've never heard of...
At one point, Lomali and fellow Turkish fighters had dinner at a wedding in the Georgian village of Duisi. Their Chechen hosts introduced them to several al-Qaida militants who wore long shirts over baggy pants, a style common in Afghanistan. The turbaned al-Qaida militants were the guests of honor at the wedding. "We had dinner together, but when we lit cigarettes, they began chiding us as if they were going to declare us infidels. They told us that smoking was a sin," he said. Mayor Bloomberg, is that you?
The militants also criticized Lomali and others for dancing at the wedding, saying it was un-Islamic. But of course ...
Lomali said, however, that the al-Qaida fighters were well trained and were admired for their fighting skills. "I remember one day we engaged in a fierce fight against Russians in Sercen Yurt," east of Grozny, he said. "They fought like real professionals. We survived, but many, many were killed." Serzhen-Yurt has apparently fallen just yesterday, incidentally ...
When asked about the Istanbul bombings, Lomali said it was a "pity that several civilians were killed." The infidels on the other hand ...
Like many Islamic fundamentalists, he said he believes that Israel and the United States were behind the blasts and were trying to manipulate the tragedy to draw Turkey closer to the West and distance Turks from Islamic groups. All part of Conspiracy(TM), no doubt ...
On Tuesday, an Istanbul court charged nine people with involvement in the suicide attacks. Ankara police detained 10 suspected members of a little-known militant group, Warriors of Islam, the daily Hurriyet reported Tuesday. The suspects are believed to have links with one of the suicide bombers. Police said the 10 underwent military training in Afghanistan and Iran and were planning attacks, the newspaper said. Police refused to confirm the report. Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran all seem to keep popping up as the names of locations where these folks received training and ideological indoctrination. If Zarqawi was indeed the pivot man this time around, my guess would be that heâs returned for his fourth quarter meeting with al-Adel and the Black Hats ...
Lomali, however, said he has seen no evidence of a police crackdown against militants. "If there were such a crackdown, I would hear about it," Lomali said. Be careful what you wish for ...
He hinted some of his fellow warriors were sympathetic to radical groups in Turkey like the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders Front, which jointly with al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the Istanbul blasts. Two other groups also claimed responsibility in al-Qaidaâs name.
Everybody wants a piece of the glory...
Lomali grew up in western Turkey and left his job at a milk packaging factory in 1996 to volunteer to fight in Chechnya. He refused to give details on how he reached Chechnya or trained for combat. He said, however, that the second time he traveled to Chechnya in 2001, he went with eight other Turks to Georgiaâs Pankisi valley, where the group underwent military training with Islamic Chechen warriors. Those would be al-Qaeda by any other name ...
The training mainly involved physical exercises. The group did not use weapons to avoid a crackdown by Georgian forces under pressure from Russia. "We were only having theoretical training on guns, otherwise, we were complete soldiers. We were getting up early running, doing sit-ups and push-ups every morning," he said. After several weeks of training, Lomali was called to battle by fighters of Chechen warlord Ruslan Gelayev, but was caught by Russian soldiers near the Chechen border. The Russians deported him and gave his name to Georgian authorities, to bar him entering the country. That at least settles the issue of who Gelayev is working for these days, though Iâm surprised that the Russians didnât just shoot this guy and leave it be. If heâs planning to go back or carry out attacks elsewhere, it might in all honesty have been in everyoneâs best interest.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/26/2003 12:18:55 AM ||
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Yea, this guy seems to have gotten the soft glove treatment. Sometimes we here seem to think that it's all brutal, all the time. But by this acount there are many instances where humanity is king.
Nine people have been charged by a Turkish state security court over the attacks on British targets in Istanbul. Media reports in Istanbul, the commercial capital, said the nine arrested have been charged with membership of and aiding and abetting an "illegal organisation". The semi-state Anatolian news agency said the court had charged the nine people in the early hours of Tuesday after a lengthy interrogation of the suspects. The suspects include relatives of the bombers, all of whom came from Bingol, a stronghold of hardline Islamists in Turkey's impoverished and mainly Kurdish southeast near the border with Iran. State security court officials told reporters on Monday evening that four of 16 people sent to the court had been released after giving testimony to prosecutors. The nine, who are being held in custody, are suspected of helping the men who drove truck bombs at the British consulate and the offices of London-based banking giant HSBC on 20 November, killing at least 28 people and injuring 450 more.
Have a nice, long talk with them. I'll bet they know more people you can talk to, as well...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2003 23:45 ||
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âEvidenceâ for Link Is Administration Ploy
By Christopher Scheer Christopher Scheer is the co-author of the "The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq," co-published this month by Seven Stories Press and Akashic Books. (Sounds like a moderate to me)
Two weeks ago, a flurry of opinion polls from CBS News and elsewhere showed that Americans were increasingly unhappy with the war in Iraq and didnât believe that it had achieved its aims or made us any safer. The following week, the Weekly Standard, the organ of the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party, published extensive excerpts of a leaked, top-secret memo sent to the Senate Intelligence Committee the previous month by Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith, a leading neocon ideologue in the Bush administration. (So explain to me how these two things are connected? How about that poll that shows the majority of Americans believe that Saddam and Al-Qaeda had ties? Makes more sense doesnât it?)
The memo sought to retroactively defend the debunked claims that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden had meaningful ties. Coincidence? Perhaps. But the leak and publication of the Feith memo, which selectively presented a few dozen raw intelligence items plucked from more than a decade of debriefings by national and foreign intelligence agencies, not only shows a certain desperation on the part of the administration to shore up support for the occupation, but it also fits squarely into the cynical pattern of abusing Americansâ trust we have seen since 9/11. That, you will remember, was when the administration made the calculated political decision to exploit American anger and grief as the launching pad for an unrelated and extremely reckless foreign policy hatched up in a pair of right-wing think tanks. (What did you just say? Give me some of that stuff youâre smoking.)
"This is made to dazzle the eyes of [those] not terribly educated" about intelligence methods, said Greg Thielmann, a longtime veteran of the State Departmentâs Bureau of Intelligence who retired in late 2002. (So this is why you didnât use the more relevant poll. I believe itâs called Susan Sarandon Syndrome (SSS). If you donât believe what I believe then youâre, how shall I say it, not terribly educated. Harumph!)
For those who have watched this pattern, the modus operandi is familiar: Leak to the media or place in speeches intelligence nuggets of questionable value â aluminum tubes, Nigerian uranium, the undocumented Prague meeting â then retreat when pressed. Keep the story alive in the friendly pockets of the media, like William Safireâs column or Fox News. When the factoidâs cracks start showing, replace it with a new one. Repeat as needed. (Yup, thereâs that Conservative Media Bias everyone keeps telling me about.)
Is this just business as usual for American government? No, it is not. Despite all our tough talk about not trusting politicians, Americans living in a democracy are always forced to some extent to trust our leaders to not exploit our lack of knowledge by lying to us, especially about matters of national security. This is one reason the intelligence agencies have long-established ground rules for how intelligence is vetted and distributed within the government: to make it less open to political manipulation. Raw intelligence, for example, shouldnât be divulged publicly because it is riddled with unverifiable hearsay. But these best practices have been ignored at the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has bypassed the department intelligence agency in favor of an ad hoc, Feith-based system where any flotsam that echoes the White House position is deemed solid. (Donât touch the Memo. Attack the Memo writer. It doesnât matter that the Memo was a response to specific questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee asking for the specific "raw-intelligence" that Feith used in his prior testimony before the panel. Oh right, but the Intelligence your using to back your assertions is above pale. How silly of me.)
Feith, who has been playing the cherry-picking role as an amateur intelligence chief for two years, could have just as easily gone into the mountains of intelligence data assembled every year to paint a picture of the much stronger links between Al Qaeda and the Saudi royal house, for example, or the Pakistani intelligence agency â (Donât say it if you donât really mean it. However, since you mentioned it, weâre a little busy right now. Give us some time to clear our schedule and then will consider you proposal for squeezing the Saudis and Pakistanis. Thanks for the input.)
both from nations that are our allies. But the White House position since the first days after 9/11 has been that remaking Iraq was to be the centerpiece of the "war on terror." Unfortunately for the president heading into an election year, it doesnât wash. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that a full 79% of Americans didnât believe the war in Iraq had made them safer from terrorism. (10 bucks the poll asking Americans if the Dems make them feel safer comes in at less than 15%.)
This is why eight months after we took Baghdad, the conservatives continue to leak questionable secrets to justify their actions. The simple fact is, Al Qaeda didnât need Iraq to pull off 9/11 or any of its other savage attacks, and (brace yourselves)
even if all the anonymous statements in Feithâs memo panned out, there still would be no evidence Iraq significantly aided the extremists. (Thank you Perry Mason. Better change that poll to less than 10%.)
We are, whatever the neocons might want us to believe, waging the wrong war in the wrong way. (Do I detect a little War envy?)
Long-time listener, first-time ranter.
Painful, huh? Youâre witnessing the destruction of the foundation of the Bush-haterâs worldview. Youâve been warned. It wonât be pretty. At any moment, weâll get word from any of the multiple top Al-Qaeda or Iraqi prisoners further detailing the relationship. Itâs painfully obvious.
The Democrats hitched their partyâs success on the Saddam Hussein billion-to-one longshot. They havenât quite grasped the ramifications of it yet, even though they have caught glimpses of it (lost seats in the House and Senate in 2002, a Republican Gov. of California, lost Governorships in Kentucky and Mississippi).
Bush will get re-elected and Republicans will gain seats in the House and Senate. Ushering in a period in which the Republicans will run the show much like FDR and the Democrats did during the 1930s.
This is a political screed, so hopefully nobody's taking it too seriously. Wonder if Christopher Scheer is related to Robert Scheer? He sounds about equivalently biased. Nepotism at the LA Times?
I don't know who Greg Thielmann is, but I suspect he wasn't in the collection, analysis and reporting end of things. He sounds like a consumer, even though he's said to have retired from the Department's Bureau of Intelligence. (I think it used to be called something else, can't recall what off the top of my head.)
Finished intel â presumably what Thielmann read as a consumer â is made up of bits and pieces of raw data, much like the bits and pieces of raw data we see every day on Rantburg. Given a large enough quantity of bits and pieces, they form the overall picture that makes up the finished product. As the pieces of data wend their weary way through the process they pick up bits of spot analysis â rather like the comments on Rantburg articles. Significant items can be the subject of fairly lengthy meetings, where they're subjected to a peer review process. The larger picture tells you which pieces aren't valid â if Abu Tourab was captured this week, he wasn't really bumped off six months ago. Some data fits recognizable patterns and some doesn't â strikes in Europe make me think first of al-Tawhid; seeing Jemaah Islamiyah or Jaish e-Mohammad fingered would make me thing there was either something wrong or that there was a basic change in the way the Bad Guys were operating. The "few dozen raw intelligence items plucked from more than a decade of debriefings" passes that smell test, while Scheer's vitriol doesn't convince me of the opposite.
Posted by: Daniel King ||
11/26/2003 9:55:22 PM ||
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#1
God damned newbie. Can't even follow directions.
Sorry about the double post. This should be the thread. Please cancel the other one.
Pretty proud of the title if I do say so myself.
Posted by: Daniel King ||
11/26/2003 22:02 Comments ||
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#2
I Woosley (ex CIA director) is just not sophisticated in the ways of intelligence. He said that if you didn't believe the memo, you were illiterate.
I'll raise you not my terribly educated with his illiterate.
This is definitely a wholesale rant. AS 2004 election time starts to come around, the loony factor will be raising to infinity
Posted by: capt joe ||
11/26/2003 22:26 Comments ||
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#3
Akashic Books? An obvious sign of lunacy. It's time to get out Martin Gardner's old book, Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. Look up the chapters on Theosophy and the Akashic Record.
Any publisher that would use that name could only be printing fiction, if you know what I mean.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
11/26/2003 23:17 Comments ||
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#4
Weekly Standard, the organ of the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party
and MoveOn.org would be what "organ" of the DNC exactly? The rectum isn't an organ......
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 23:18 Comments ||
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#5
That bin Laden was colluding with Saddam is hardly an invention of the Bush administration; indeed, one of the counts in the November 4, 1998 indictment of bin Laden by the Clinton justice department (usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98110402.htm) was that "al Qaeda reached an understanding with the Government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq."
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/26/2003 23:57 Comments ||
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Iâve read this guyâs stuff in the WSJ and LA Times. He was always very anti-Islamo-facist and pro-American. He was even under police protection against threats from the fundos. Either the fundos got to him or he was lying. There ainât no such thing as a moderate Muslim... Professor Khaled Abou Al-Fadl, originally of Egypt, was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Commission on International Religious Freedom, where he is the only Muslim member. Recently he gave an interview to the Egyptian government weekly October in which he strongly criticized the American president. The following are excerpts from the interview:
âBush Makes Continued American Aid in the World Contingent Upon Permitting Missionary Activityâ
"When Bush came to the presidency, there was a revolution in American policy. He brought in religious Christian people. In the field, Bush permitted missionaries into Iraq before medicines. He is the first president in the history of America whose policy includes supporting Christian missionaries and applying pressure through them on some countries. He links them with continued American aid to some countries.
â20% of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Suffer from Mental ConditionsâThe losers always have to bring up the "American soldiers are really cowards" meme. Arab candy asses wouldnât know courage if it bit them in the ass. Question: "What is American public opinion on what is happening in Iraq?" Prof. Abu Al-Fadl: "In Congress, I heard testimony by soldiers and officers regarding the mental illness and nervous conditions that have struck the American soldiers in Iraq. An officer who reported in his testimony on disorders that harmed soldiers [said] that this loss was greater than the military loss; the disorders [struck] 20% of the soldiers. Some of them were panic-stricken in their sleep and wet themselves, not only because of the [Iraqi] resistance, but also because of the lies of the government that had convinced the soldiers that the Iraqis would greet them with flowers... In several articles I wrote for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, I predicted what would happen. The White House wrote to me and asked me: âHow did you know?!â I told them, from analysis, from studying history, and from political science, I knew that this is what would happen. [I told them,] âYou were misled by the situation in Afghanistan, but the resistance will increase and if you intervene in Syria and Iran, even double the sum you are requesting [from Congress] will not meet your needs, and the Shiâites will rise up against you.â" No more WSJ columns and prestigious government appointments for you, eh Fadl? I hear Al Qaeda is recruiting.
I'd also wonder how much of the content was what he said and what the Egyptian editors inserted. It read really familiar...
#1
And in what way has he "gone over to the enemy", may I ask?
Or do you call it "going over to the enemy" when people don't like the American president supporting missionary activity in other countries, or when they have a different outview on what the future will hold if Bush keeps on with his policies?
#2
C'mon Aris, did Bush really allow missionaries into Iraq before medicines? We changed the name of the Afghan operation (Infinite Justice), remember, so that we wouldn't torque Muslim sensibilties. Read the whole article, then let me know what you think. Also the "Yankee GIs are really a bunch of bed wetting cowards behind the kevlar" meme is straight out of the AQ propaganda manual. I know you've read OBL's epistles and interviews, right?
#3
Fred, I considered that, but I also know that MEMRI is a professional organization and assumed (we all know what happens when you assume) that they would have provided Al Fadl with an opportunity to read and refute their translation as a professional courtesy. Al Fadl also has a tremendous bully pulpit with his editorial access to several major papers. Why isn't he using it to refute the interview?
#4
Oh, look, another appearance of the mental problems Big Lie.
They're really pushing that one, aren't they?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 13:13 Comments ||
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#5
The best Arab News story during the war was about the thousands of GIs that were buying headresses and defecting to Syria. Every GI can't wait to go live in the socialist utopia that is Syria. They only wish that our troops were wussies like MOST Arabs are. Yes they do very well against a terrorized civilian populace, but come in contact with a REAL Army? They run for the hills. Don't believe me? Then explain why they have Israel ounumbered about 100-1 and yet they have NEVER defeated them in a war and never will. The Arabs are bullies by nature and when confronted with strong force they flee or surrender.
#6
So 1 in 5 have PTSD? That's a good one. I'd say its true that out of every five of my lads, one of them pisses the rack, but that's from being drunk ;)
#7
Wonder, too, how much of this is the total misunderstanding the rest of the world has of American soldiers. I have NEVER met anyone in uniform that didn't hate is current duty assignment, while bragging about how great the last one was. It doesn't matter whether it's a plush assignment in Europe or Hawaii, or the boondocks of Korea or the Middle East. Who was it said, "If they ain't bitchin', they ain't happy"?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 13:51 Comments ||
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#8
OP - right on. I'm convinced that there is no good duty station while your there. But everyone's last duty station was great.
Hat tip LGF
A cartoon of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon eating the head of a Palestinian baby against the backdrop of a burning Palestinian city has won first prize in the British Political Cartoon Societyâs annual competition. We learned at the Oscars that you have to lie to win awards.
There were 35 entries in the Cartoon of the Year competition, sponsored by the British Independent newspaper, from some of the countryâs leading cartoonists. And the Honest ones were culled, I sâpose
Dave Brownâs winning cartoon was published in the Independent a few months ago, when it was claimed that it was inspired by a Goya painting. Except that Goya wasnât an evil liar like Dave Brown is.
In the cartoon, Sharon says: "Whatâs wrong? Have you never seen a politician kissing a baby?" The background shows Apache attack helicopters sending missiles from the cockpit with the message "Vote Likud" - the prime ministerâs party. In his acceptance speech, Brown thanked the Israeli Embassy for its angry reaction to the cartoon, which he said had contributed greatly to its publicity.
#2
I know it's tough for Europeans to see, but pushing the blood libel is definitely pro-Holocaust.
And, no, Europeans don't need to pretend anymore. We're well aware you don't care about the truth.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 13:14 Comments ||
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#3
I think Aris is technically correct.
If the cartoonist depicted Jews being killed and advocated it as good or right for society, that would be pro-Holocaust as well as obviously anti-Semitic. This cartoon is definitley Anti-Sharon though. I'm not saying the cartoonist is not anti-Semitic (I'd have to know more about him or be in his head so to speak), but being Anti-Sharon does not make one automatically Anti-Semitic. Just as those who are Anti-Bush are not automatically Anti-American. Just as those of us who think affirmative action is a total f*cking joke are not also racists. Though some people in all the cases I just listed are definitely both. For example, my Dad hates Bush but loves the country and is former mil & for the troops 100%.
#4
"Pro-Holocaust"??? I was un aware that the Palestinians were responsible for that. I think that the point of this political commentary is being overlooked.
#7
Aris, it's clearly anti-Semitic in that it repeats the "blood libel": that Jews murder non-Jewish children and drink their blood/consume them. The Arab press and media has used this libel frequently over the years to whip up anti-Jewish/Israel sentiment.
Given that a special subject of their ire in recent years has been Mr. Sharon, what the cartoonist did was (IMO, of course) truly reprehensible: he combined the vitriol Euros/Arabs have against Mr. Sharon with the blood libel to create that cartoon.
As RC notes, the Palestinians wish for a 2nd Holocaust (please don't deny this, it's been expressed by many, many Palestinians in many forums). One doesn't have to stretch one's mind too far to see how this cartoon, by using Sharon and the blood libel, feeds into that.
Anon: we get the point. The cartoonist uses the blood libel to depict Israelis as butchers of Palestinian children. It's anti-Semitic on its face. We get it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2003 15:13 Comments ||
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#8
"Aris, it's clearly anti-Semitic in that it repeats the "blood libel": that Jews murder non-Jewish children and drink their blood/consume them."
No, it's clearly anti-Sharon in that it says that Sharon murders non-Jewish children and eats them alive.
Robert> If you've lost so much sense of the meaning of the words that you'll call this cartoon pro-Holocaust, then you've simply lost all credibility whatsoever. But that's nothing new for you, I guess.
Jarhead> You are behind on things - being anti-Bush definitely makes one anti-American according to 99% of the people in this forum, just as being anti-Sharon makes you an antisemite and a supporter of the Holocaust.
It's only when you *actually* say things like "All Muslims are our enemies" that you won't be called a genocidal maniac here. You *will* be called a genocidal maniac if you simply disagree with Sharon's policies on the Palestinian issue.
#9
The Palestinians "wish" for a second Holocaust, but since they totally lack the means. It's sort of like me wishing I was a billionaire, and just about as likely.
On the other hand, the Jews in Israel know all about the Holocaust, and manifestly have the means to bring about another one. Only this time they would be on the giving end rather than the receiving one. By reasonable estimate, they have between two and four hundred thermonuclear weapons, enough to kill approximately a third to a half of the arabic population of the middle east, and put the rest back somewhere in the bronze age.
It's a good thing for the arabs that the Jews have resisted applying what they know regarding the "final solution."
#11
Neither side in the unfortunate political and ideological impasse that is the middle east can cling to any moral high ground. The cartoon is a clever (albeit sad) illustration of the dispicable blood lust exhibited by all parties involved. Perhaps, if either side, for once, were able open their eyes and objectivly see the horrors they commit against each other in a rational light then an honest and intelligent discourse on peaceful resolution could exist.
#12
I stand corrected. Shipman is of course correct, although morally the arabs would have to progress up several millenia just to get to the bronze age.
To Anonymous: "neither side can cling to any moral ground?" Please. The jews returned from the diaspora to resettle what was essentially a barren piece of rock and sand, with the English and the rest of the western world fighting them every inch of they way. At least those who were still alive did. Some of my people weren't so lucky. They had the unfortunate circumstance of living in southwest Poland in 1939, and they're all gone. Again, the arabs should consider themselves lucky that the jews haven't done to them what they tried several times to do to the jews. If the arabs opened their eyes and saw the things they had done to their own people and had let them resettle in some of their own vast countries, none of this would have come to pass.
Honest and intelligent discourse with the likes of Arafat? The mind boggles.
#13
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"
"You must be the change you seek in the world"
Both quotes from Gandhi a man who actually believed in the concept "change" and the possibilty of "peace". Are you implying in your last posting "Slumming" that Israel would be justified in implimenting a final solution similar to the one Germany carried out on your people? Where is the logic in this. How are you any different from that which you so obviously despise if under similar circumstances 50 years later you threating the same thing.
#14
Anonymous: I'm not implying that the jews would be justified in wiping out the arabs. I threaten nothing. You (deliberately?) miss my entire point. I'm pointing out the enormous moral difference between the jews and the arabs. The jews COULD wipe out the arabs, but choose not to. If the arabs HAD the ability to destroy the jews, they would do so in a heart beat. I admire the jews for their forberence in the face of great temptation. I have nothing but scorn for the hatred of the arabs.
As for the peacefull solution. The only reason Gandhi succeeded was because he was dealing with the guilt of the British. That doesn't mean he wasn't a great man; it means he was smart enough to know his enemy. The arabs don't think like that. They would have killed him as soon as they got their hands on him.
#15
Point noted and taken. But in all honesty how much forberence has Israel really shown? I'm not sure the current government deserves the admiration you give them just because they haven't nuked the middle east.
#17
I admire the jews of Israel for one thing: they have survived. I can agree or dis-agree with individual policies, but they have survived. "Never again." Not a bad national slogan.
#18
...Last year's winning cartoon was from the (you've guessed it) Guardian! You have to scroll down over half-way, but it's on this page. Themes are emerging. And they're not pretty at all. Standard left-wing hatreds and a fixation on the nether regions of the usual suspects. Somehow I doubt this organisation will be proudly opening exhibitions of cartoons such as these in 60 or 70 years time, alongside those penned by genuinely insightful political cartoonists such as Low...
#19
If you've lost so much sense of the meaning of the words that you'll call this cartoon pro-Holocaust, then you've simply lost all credibility whatsoever. But that's nothing new for you, I guess.
Oddly, Aris, your comments mean nothing to me. That you are not troubled by a blatant expression of the blood libel just confirms my impression of you.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 18:17 Comments ||
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#20
Robert Crawford> A blatant expression of the blood libel would be to say: "The Jews sacrifice Christian children on their altars".
A blatant expression of the blood libel *isn't* "Sharon kills Palestinian children".
Your 'impression' of me means less than nothing when you seem incapable of understanding such a plain thing as "attacking Sharon isn't the same as attacking the entire Hebrew nation".
#21
"attacking Sharon isn't the same as attacking the entire Hebrew nation".
-Again, on that point, I agree w/Aris. I even looked at the picture again because I thought maybe you guys saw something I didn't. And as Slumming put it, one can agree or disagree w/certain individual policies they have, doesn't mean they're anti-Semitic or do not believe they have a right to exist. Quite the contrary, I do support Israel.
#22
To all: if the cartoon had depicted some sort of nameless Rabbi engaged in the same activity (i.e. killing babies, whatever), I would then say the cartoon was definitely anti-Semitic.
#23
My major objection is not the readily-construable reference to the blood libel, but the fact that the cartoon is blatantly anti-Israel propagandist crap. It's odious, asinine, cheap and puerile; not worthy of dignifying with the label "political cartoon". With respect to the image's alleged anti-Semitic or anti-Israel meaning, I find it hard to imagine any other world leader portrayed in this way. Arafat? Saddam? Kimmie? Show me a cartoon from the Guardian or the Independent with Arafat doing something as vile as biting the head off a baby...
#24
I respect Jarhead's opinion, but point out that to me at least, the 'blood libel' image leaped off the page the instant I saw the cartoon. One can view Mr. Sharon unfavorably without being anti-Semitic, but I don't think that was the intention of the cartoonist. Mr. Brown knew exactly what he was drawing, and it's my belief that he meant to incorporate the blood libel into the cartoon.
I rather like Bulldog's challenge, and hope that Aris can produce such a cartoon forthwith. Aris? .... Aris?
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2003 21:31 Comments ||
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#25
Steve W., I respect you opinion as well.
To be honest, I couldn't find a picture of Arafish, Saddamizer, or Kimmie as Bulldog mentions in the magazines he mentions. Does the Weekly Standard or any other more conservative publications do cartoons? The possibility exists that somewhere someones clowned on the aformentioned asshats. The bottom line is, prolly not in the forum of a big publication as Bulldog mentions or not too the degree of Brown's pic.
Putting the Ditzy Twits under Fifth Column is giving them waaay more credit than they deserve. EF the good bits. Ethel Ditzberger [Natalie] Maines upset many country fans last March when she told a London audience shortly before the Iraq war that the group was "ashamed" President Bush is from her home state of Texas. She apologized for the phrasing of her remark, but some radio stations banned the group's singles. Maines said Friday on NBC's Today Show that she was "saddened" by the war. Asked whether she felt vindicated by how the war has unfolded, she said, "No ... I would have liked to have been proven wrong."
I'm "saddened" that the Ditzy Chicks couldn't stick to singing, which they do passably well, and keep out of politix, of which they seem to know nothing, and national policy, of which they seem to know less...
The Dixie Chicks also expressed disappointment in President Bush's remarks about Maines' overseas comments. The president said of the group, "They can say what they want to say. ... they shouldn't have their feelings hurt just because some people don't want to buy their records when they speak out. I mean ... you know, freedom is a two-way street." Dissent is crushed! Emily Robison said Mr. Bush "wasn't standing up for the principles that our country are founded on."
"Our country was founded on the principle that we can say anything we want and nobody can point out that we're asshats. Wudn't it?"
Martie Maguire said he basically was saying, "You got what you deserved" and "This is what's going to happen if you keep speaking out." "At least, that's what it means on Planet Koozbane, where I come from."
The group also said they have no regrets about what's happened. Maines said she would speak out again given a similar situation. "I would still say something, and I would still say something against the war and against everything that was going on," Maines said. "But it would have been very intelligent and well thought out." "If I only had a brain."
#2
I agree Lucky--us Librulz don't like country music--so the Hell with them--just kinda interestin' how Clear Channel, which stirred the boycott pot has donated so generously to the GOP--just a coincidence--and the sheeple won't notice anyway
#3
Welcome back, NMM. Guess you should explain to Natalie some basic concepts in "cause and effect", which Rantburgers are real keen on: Natalie's free to say what she likes, we're free to be upset by what she says, then we're free not to buy her music, then she's free to take back her old job at the truck stop on I-35.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2003 1:04 Comments ||
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#4
Don't know weather you like Fake Twangy Crap or not. I don't. Heard Glenn Campbell had a little problem with the law lately. And I was hopeing to see the guy. "Galviston oh Galviston..." Why wouldn't you like country music?
OH MAH GAWD, MA, ah feel ah've dun bin inn-sulted by sumun with tha soo-pir-er intilek! Gaaaawwwww-dam, ah'm all so haff-simpul ah jes' cain't magin kleer chanul comyunikations is rilly the DEVIL!
Wasn't it shown a while ago here that NMM doesn't believe in cause and effect?? The discussion revolved around Johnny Depp if I remember correctly.
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/26/2003 1:19 Comments ||
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#7
Don't you know Liberals don't have to accept responsibility for their actions? It's the natural order of things, since they are, of course, Smarter Than Everyone Elseâ¢. They can never be wrong, QED there are IS no cause and effect in regards to their actions.
#10
Uh no Rafael--I know cause and effect--the Pharma lobbyists bought the legislation today; Haliburton bought the conttracts in Iraq all with contributions to your political party.
Anonymous--Conservatives are never resposnsible for their actions--just look at Faux News's Bill O'Reilly gas bag and Rush Limbaugh the law-breaking druggie who should be in prison with the crack whores
#11
And JFM, you angry Bourbon apologist--remember prostitution is legal in your country which is universally hated on Rantburg except by me and a few other people--just hate it for you Algeria Tunisia have overrun it
#12
"just kinda interestin' how Clear Channel, which stirred the boycott pot has donated so generously to the GOP--just a coincidence--and the sheeple won't notice anyway"
And your point is? Why is this interesting? Did someone suggest that it was coincidence? Are you suggesting that it is improper for ClearChannel to choose its own programming or donate to the party of its choice?
#14
Ok Atomic Conspiracy--you believe companies should not just donate but influence the political process? Sounds to me like the US gov is for sale--only under your party even more openly than anyone ever imagined
#16
As Jeanine Garofalo (certainly a noted legal scholar) recently declared, "All of your criticism of the peace activists is suppressing free speech!" One might wonder where they get this vision of their rights.
As a public service, I have researched this subject, and have discovered the text of an otherwise unknown Constitutional Amendment that seems to be common knowledge among lefties. I wanted to call it Amendment "X" for unknown, but this might cause confusion with the real Tenth Amendment, so I have changed it to "XYZ":
The first article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
The right of all progressives, socialists, dissidents, and protestors to be free from criticism, ridicule, opposition, or hostility shall not be abridged.
The right of such persons to the forum and audience of their choice shall not be abridged.
The right of such persons to be taken seriously shall not be abridged.
The right of such persons to vandalize property or perform any bodily act in public in furtherance of ideological expression shall not be abridged.
Congress and the people's Commisariat for the Suppression of Thoughtcrime may, at their discretion, direct the creation of a special authority, to include informal deputies, to police compliance with this amendment in thought, word, and deed.
#18
This has the promise to be one of those threads! keep it up guys..
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/26/2003 2:12 Comments ||
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#19
I decide what I think. What kind of influence was bought by ClearChannel's donations? You made the accusation, now spell it out.
Ever heard of George Soros or Ted Turner? What kind of influence are they trying to buy?
#21
Oh-and BTW Angie Schultz just showed her self for being a dumbass country music lover--who else pays attention to the Chixie Dix but rednecks, whores and Clear Channel loving Repooplicans--Rantburg gets the short bus award for that dumbass post
#22
Short bus, long bus, whatever. When your a Rinestone Cowboy and your recieving cards and letters from people you don't even know and, get this, offers coming over the phone.
NMM, what are your trying to say? Cause, man, I'm with you, Man.
#24
Simple cause and effect. What is the problem, with that, or with folks donating to a political cause they agree with. Or is it only those NMM disagree with that should not be donated to.
What Bush said was right, Freedom is a two way street. The only reason why NMM is upset at Clear channel's donation to the GOP is because he disagrees with their goals and cause. Just as many of us disagree with him. It is folks like NMM and the Chix, that see freedom as only one way. They get to do what they want, and to hell with everyone else.
Posted by: Ben ||
11/26/2003 4:08 Comments ||
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#25
OK Ben/Dumbass did you forget how all those bills got passed in the Repugnant Congress to allow Clear Channel to have a monopoly that would have made Teddy Roosevelt (Repub_-weep?) Didn't think so 'cause you are a typical Repub asshat
The troll came bopping by, poked a few people in the eye with a sharp stick and they noticed! I guess it's cuz they were here in real-time! Doesn't pay to post when people are looking, eh? I guess few know about your midnight tough-guy gig, huh? Now they do.
Looks like it's getting out of hand. You'd better post something extra-witty and smarm a little, bro. Maybe Jarhead will come along and save you. But mebbe not. Mebbe you're just being seen for who you really are, today. Oops!
NaziMediaMike wants everyone to like him, but he also wants to poke them with his little stick. It's apparently important to him. We're all suppose to marvel at the trite unwitty crap, forgetting that he's an asshat in our admiration, and love him for it. That's apparently the plan, since it's the only thing that fits the facts. Fucking stupid gig, IMO. Any kind of attention better than no attention, NMM?
Congrats, you're the self-assigned red-headed stepchild of Rantburg. Knock yourself out. Oops, you already did. What a fucktard.
#27
As usual your head is up your ass--please give those 15 year old girls in Thailand a break from your old man lechery--I could care less what you think of me--and obviously your pin-head had nothing intelligent to add to the discourse--you are pathetic! Jarhead and I may disagree but know what civil discourse is when we disagree--you are just a shithead (old french expression)
#30
Since you seem so fascinated with 15 yo girls, something you spewed at me once before, methinks that is YOUR fantasy, pedoboy.
Me? I want a PRO. I want someone who can not just clean my clock, but stop time dead in its tracks. That takes someone at least in their late 20's, bro. Sorry, you can have the babies, they wouldn't have a clue and would be a total waste of time for me.
#32
NMM: We don't have to buy anyone's products. We don't have to listen to their "music." Radio stations can choose their programming and yes, they can NOT play some group's records. The President is just as free to speak his mind as you are or the Dixie Chicks. You don't like it? Send a letter to the Editor.
#35
The proper way to crush dissent:
Hold your arm out towards the dissenter, with the hand pointed across your body.
Extend your thumb and forefinger horizontally.
Repeatedly open and close your thumb and forefinger while saying, "I'm crushing your dissent."
#36
Voww, that's a very long comments thread. All this for a pop singer's "interesting" opinion...
NMM : "Rush Limbaugh the law-breaking druggie who should be in prison with the crack whores";
I don't really know who RL is (a radio host IIRC), but I assume he's some middle-aged conservative white male, presumably repressed and with a lot of spent-up frustration.
Frankly... do you really think being locked up with a bunch skanky sex-crazed, morally-challenged furies of various ethnic backgrounds (whose minds are clouded with withdrawal symptoms) is a very deterrent punishment for the likes of him? My guess is he's going to ask for more.
#37
NMM(Not Merely Mundane)Lets see if I can wrap my sheeple mind around what your saying.
The Dippy Chicks can say anything they like(on this we agree,Right of free speech),the Priesident of the U.S.can't disagree with them(he does not have the Right of free speech).The Dippy Chicks can disagree with getting rid of one of the worst mass murderers in the last 50 years(Saddam supporter by proxy),but Clear channel can not directly support the Priesident of the U.S.(who overthrew Mass-murder Saddam).It is wrong for Clear Channel to donate to the GOP,but ok for Clinton/Gore to except money from the Communist Chinnies.The Dippy Chicks can say/do anything they want,but I have to buy thier music because if I do not give them my money I am violating thier(Dippy Chicks)Right of Free Speech.
NMM,I am not a Republican,nor a I a Democrate I vote for who I think is the best Person for the job.Right now that person is Bush,we certainly do not need a Priesident who is more interested in getting his knob polishied than killing terrorists.
Heard a little thing awhile back(on one of the T.V.news magizines)from one of Clintons military advisors(ret.)seems the military/CIA had Binney located and was ready to kill his ass.They went to Clinton for permision to launch the strike.Guess what,NMM?
Your hero Slick Willie reamed thier(military/CIA)ass for interrupting his golf game.
#38
"Ok--let's drop the personal attacks and argue issues--I'm done with that"
What you're done with doesn't set the agenda here, clueless power-freak.
You should have thought about arguing issues in the first place. You never responded to any of my questions, other than to try to tell me what I think, you clairvoyant authoritarian baboon. (btw, trying to tell people what they think is a clinical symptom of alcoholism)
"how all those bills got passed in the Repugnant Congress to allow Clear Channel to have a monopoly that would have made Teddy Roosevelt (Repub_-weep?)"
Care to provide any facts to back up your claim that Clear Channel has a monopoly or that this is the result of improper influence?
Your word alone isn't good enough, no matter how many insults you use to reinforce it, at least not until Naderite fruitbats gain control and abolish all dissent.
Insults and authoritarian pronouncements are all you have (again) since the FACT is that Clear Channel owns or programs about 1200 radio stations, of the more 13,000 licensed stations in the United States. Some monopoly. What are numbers to a left-authoritarian, though? 9% is morally equivalent to the 99% ownership of the steel trust that Teddy Roosevelt busted 100 years ago, right?
You're also the post-mortem spokesman for Teddy Roosevelt now, I see. Is there no end to your clairvoyance? What does Calvin Coolidge have to say about it? We already know what you and the old folks you channel think of Hoover (ad populem post mortem?).
I work for one of Clear Channel's competitors, so I would have the incentive to demonize them if self-interest controlled my positions on issues, but I think it's more important to expose the authoritarian left's Chomsky-inspired media takeover push and strangle it at birth.
Your advanced psychic powers have failed you in another respect as well. It happens that I am a registered Democrat, and have twice been elected to public office as such. I was thinking about a switch to the Libertarians, but I've decided to stay in the hope that we can net the rest of the fruitbats and transfer them to the Watermelons (green outside, red inside) or the Socialist Workers Party where they belong.
It is often said that Nader cost Gore the 2000 election by skimming off wacko votes. Too bad. Nader, of course, denies it and for once I agree with him.
If we couldn't beat Dubya without the fruitbat vote, we didn't deserve to win.
The Repubs put up about their 15th best candidate and we put up our best and it was dead even. The SCOTUS did the right thing. The Repubs could have found irregularities and excuses for recounts to match ours, one for one, to this very day.
What do you care? President Dennis Hastert could have provided plenty of ammunition for juvenile invective, so he suits you as well as Bush does.
Keep making an ass of yourself telling Repubs how stupid they are. That'll get Dubya out of the White House, won't it?
#39
INCOMING! That thread had more shrapnel flying around then Khe San back in the day.
For the record, I love country music. I also love Rock, the blues, flamenco, blue-grass, & celtic music. I've been playing guitar for over 17 yrs & am a big music fan.
I own a couple Dixie Skanks cd's from before - paid hard earned dough for them. I'm not going to throw them away but will not purchase any music from Ms. Maines & Co in the future.
Four reasons:
1) My free choice as a consumer.
2) I will economically sanction in my own small way those who embarass me as an American fighting man. - You run your cookie cruncher in another country about your C-N-C to score cheap points & pander to the local Brit anti-war crowd while our lads are going into harm's way - then fuck you Natalie Maines & the other two nit wits in your band. Freedom of Speech does not equal freedom of responsibility from that speech - that's what GWB was saying, & that's what I'm saying - no $17 for one of your cd no matter how good you say it is.
3) They come back to the states and get naked on the cover of entertainment weekly in order to capitalize on the "bad press" & go on Diane Sawyer, etc. - too bad, didn't work. Nice p.r. stunt though, ala Jacko, lizzie Taylor, & half-dozen other worthless celebs.
4) I'm a vindictive redneck.
#43
Troll? look you guys, you gonna keep posting stuff that, while not peshawar, is essentially domestic focused, and somebody's gonna respond. And its gonna get ugly on both sides which it has here, and in the threads about Helen Thomas (who, BTW, I despise) and Hillary Clinton (who i definitely dont despise) Once again folks, this war aint about the Dixie Chicks. Hillary is relevant, but its her foreign POLICY positions (which have been mixed) not general snarkiness at personality thats relevant. Helen Thomas is relevant - but knocking JFK? Look I understand there are conservative Republicans who continue their obsessive hatred of even moderate Dems, and there are liberal Dems who have intensified their bittred for all Republicans. Frankly Im fed up with bitter haters on both sides, and I think no small number of Americans share my feeling. Id like to see a President Leiberman, or a Pres. McCain, cause while they both have their partisan positions, both are genuine American Nationalists who put the interests of the nation over partisan bitterness, which while theoretically about issues, looks (and has looked for years) essentially petty.
And now when we are at war, it strikes me as less appropriate - attack policy positions if you will, and even attack personalities if you must - when they take a position on the WOT you find unacceptable. But dont attack all "liberals"
Once again - not only do many liberals support this war (and I explicity INCLUDE Operation Iraqi Freedom when I say "this war") but the essence of the war IS LIBERAL, its a war for the expansion of freedom, with the knowledge that our own security depends on that. Its not a Nixonian war, and its not a Buchananite war. Even George Will is generally cool to it, and decidedly negative about spreading democracy in the Mideast. Reagan fooled everyone - he was a conservative with a decidedly unconservative view of foreign policy - perhaps a residue of his youth as a Truman Democrat, and a labor unionist?
#45
LH - Defending Helen Thomas is just silly. I'll go with everything else you said, but not on Helen. She should've retired well prior to the onset of her condition, whatever it is, for she is as looney as a cave full of Maureen Dowds - geez, that's a scary image!
BTW, I don't hate NMM - I disrespect him because he is intellectually dishonest and lazy. He has never strung 4 consecutive sentences of his own design together to demonstrate he has the capacity for original thought. This is Fred's site - he can ban us both if he wants. Fact: if NMM contributes something other than his usual snarky dogmatic tripe straight from the looneybin at NaziMedia, he won't get any shit from me. I've told him this before, but he chooses to be a stooge and a prick. He chooses every time he hits Submit.
Keep it up - you rock, bro. Just lose Helen, ok? And BTW, prior to 9/11, McCain and Lieberman were my choices, as well, as I think I made clear some time back.
Posted by: .com (Abu Pure Spin) ||
11/26/2003 9:41 Comments ||
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#46
C'mon, everybody! Group hug! ;-)
Posted by: Dar ||
11/26/2003 9:42 Comments ||
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#47
#11 And JFM, you angry Bourbon apologist--remember prostitution is legal in your country which is universally hated on Rantburg except by me and a few other people--just hate it for you Algeria Tunisia have overrun it
Hookers are legal in La Belle France again? I thought the virtuous outlawed them 30 years ago or so?
People on Rantburg don't like hookers? Who? I have nothing but respect for a skilled professional...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2003 10:44 Comments ||
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#48
Wow, I didn't expect such a reaction.
NMM: Angie Schultz just showed her self for being a dumbass country music lover--who else pays attention to the Chixie Dix blah blah blah
As a serious reflection on my intellect, I find this...inadequate. Which pretty much sums you up, doesn't it?
And liberalhawk, I originally put this in Short Attention Span Theater, for the reasons in my first comment. I think Fred misunderstood and moved it to Fifth Column. In my opinion, the meaning of "fifth column" is stretched beyond the breaking point for most of the items that get put there, which is why I put this under SAST.
There's a heavily sarcastic post on my own blog, if anyone's interested. And later today there should be something on the guy who is Mike Moore. German speakers especially requested to attend.
#49
I read a number of people who demonstrated that the Blixie Hicks are rather chicken. And they crany out turkeys, so America should be eating their stuff up tomorrow.
#50
looking at a other threads it does look as if NMM is trolling
Yeah. I expect NMM had a bad day in the textile mines, waited to post at the last minute, then ran into Abu TrollSlicer. The rest is history. Hilarious History. Reminds me of that ever popular 10 second war clip when the Japaneese plane is smoking, breaking apart and hits the water and is still being targeted by 50 .cal, 20mm, 32mm, and 5 inch 10 seconds after the splash.
#51
JFM: I don't know what Natalie did before making it big with the Dixie Chicks; it's an expression. Natalie ought to know that she has life pretty good right now. Pissing off her customers isn't smart, and a country singer who lays smack on the President while overseas is guarenteed to piss off her customers. It's a red state thing, NMM wouldn't know.
Atomic: if you don't mind, what sort of public office? You don't have to be specific, just local, county or state? I've occasionally thought of public office (definitely local) but have never pulled the trigger.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2003 12:45 Comments ||
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#52
When someone comes in and deliberately starts kicking over the tables, my first response is "what the he$$ is going on here?". After reading through about six threads, I get the distinct feeling that someone's trying to stir up trouble to keep us from paying attention to something else. THAT would be fifth-column behavior, but it didn't originate with the Ditzy Twits. Now I'm curious as to exactly what No More Memory is trying to keep us from discussing.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 13:11 Comments ||
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#53
#47 Fred
What was made illegal in 1948 was brothels not prostitution. Pimpry is also illegal
then maybe if this singing thing doesn't work out, Ms. Maines will always have something to fall back on in France. Unfortunately, I'm sure w/that twangy voice of hers she will really butcher the language of love. Or, she can just move to Nevada and join the employees of the "cotton-tail ranch" (not that I've been there) ;)
Now I'm curious as to exactly what No More Memory is trying to keep us from discussing.
That's the basis of my theory about good news for Bush bringing the leftist trolls out in a full froth. Yesterday we got really good economic news; today we're seeing the trolls running amok.
I suspect other sites have similar troll problems today; I saw the same thing when Baghdad fell.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 13:53 Comments ||
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First: Bourbon apologist? Please, be so kind to not invent things about me. Find one occasion in my posts where I told something kind about the Bourbons (unless you are talking about Juan Carlos I de Borbon y Borbon aka King of Spain)
Second: I don't need anyone's help for dealing with those who rack my nerves on the cheese-eating surrendering monkeys.
Third: the France you are defending is the France of Chirac, of the cynicism and of the wet dreams of world domination through the EU. I vomit that France
Fourth: Don't try to make me believe that your heart bleeds about what France did in North-Africa. There is a thing I learned throught the years, through Cambodia, Rwanda, Afghanistan and Irak and is that the left couldn't care less about the Nyakwe, Niggers and other untermensch unless their death can serve to undermine the West.
Five: About French North Africa. I am just finishing to read a book about the shameful treatment France gave to the harkis (Algerians who fought for France). However the writer (the daughter of a harki) tells how her uncle who had fought with the FLN told her "the FLN is worst than the French, they rob it all, we got nothing but misery, I wish I had fought for the French: my child would have a future". But there are also the tens of thousands who were cut to pieces, burned alive, raped, forced to eat their relatives by the darlings of the left ie the FLN. The greatest sin of France tword the Algerian people is to have abandonned them to the FLN. But abandonning people to monsters is not a sin for the left, it is a virtue.
Good riposte. (The French Resistance is on a roll today!) I would only add, in response to the charge that you are a "Bourbon apologist," that there is no reason to apologize for bourbon--it is one of the finer adult beverages.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/26/2003 16:50 Comments ||
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#60
But abandonning people to monsters is not a sin for the left, it is a virtue.
See Cuba and Vietnam for further examples.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 18:22 Comments ||
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#61
Damn straight,Mike.JD Black on the rocks with a beer back.
The grandmother of Canadian terrorist suspect Abdul Rahman Khadr, who was released from a U.S. jail at Guantanamo Bay last month, said Tuesday her grandson is not being allowed back into Canada. But Foreign Affairs spokesman Reynald Doiron said Khadr has not been denied a Canadian passport. He said Khadr chose not to return to Canada upon his release. I can sympathize. The winters in Canada are just too damn cold. but I love it!
Liberal Leader Paul Martin said Canada would acept Khadr. "Why is the Canadian government just sitting impotent⊠to not only defending its citizensâŠbut also getting really nasty and refusing them re-entry when they have a right to re-enter," said the familyâs lawyer, Rocco Galati. Khadr, 20, was sent to Afghanistan late last month. He was arrested there as part of a round-up of suspected al-Qaeda members after the fall of the Taliban in November 2001. His brother Omar made headlines for his suspected involvement in the killing of a U.S. medic during a battle in Afghanistan last year. He remains in Guantanamo Bay. U.S. officials say their father, Ahmed Said Khadr, is a fugitive senior member of al-Qaeda.
Obviously that makes Sonny just the sort of fellow you want to have knocking around Canada. What's Yellowknife without a few turbans, eh?
There are reports that Ahmed Said Khadr and one of his sons died during a raid on an al-Qaeda camp in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Canadian officials have been unable to confirm those reports. Abdul Rahman Khadr called his grandmother a week ago to say he had been taken from Guantanamo to Afghanistan and left there without money or identification. Identification shouldnât be problem for him, just visit Pakistan next door!
He told her the Canadian consulates in Pakistan and Turkey had refused to help him return to Canada. Galati said Khadr twice asked for assistance and travel documents in Turkey but was denied help. "Heâs on the streets, heâs without any money or support. His physical health is not good⊠his mental health is obviously very fragile," Galati said. "Guantanamo was better!!"
But Doiron denies Khadr was refused help by consular officials, and thereâs no record he asked anyone for assistance. "What we can say is Mr. Khadr can return to Canada as his right⊠provided of course he would have to step forward and request consular assistance," Dorian said. Doiron said his information indicates Khadr ended up in Afghanistan because that was his choice. Missed his pals I bet.
"Suffice to say he was sent to a place that was, letâs say, negotiated between him and the American authorities."
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/26/2003 2:08:07 AM ||
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#1
It will no doubt be interesting to see where he goes and with whom he meets .....
Seven more militant organisations are likely to be banned after Eidul Fitr and âa number of othersâ put on a watch list, official sources told Daily Times here on Tuesday. âHarkatul Jihad Al Islami (HJI), Jamiatul Mujahideen Al Aalmi (JMA) and Tehrikul Mujahideen Pakistan (TMP) may face the ban for militant activities, while Ahl-e-Hadith Youth Force (AYF), Tehrik Difa-e-Sahaba, Jamiat Ishaat Touhed-wal-Sunnah, Almi Tanzeem-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat (ATAS) may be banned on account of their sectarian activitiesâ, sources said. Sources said HJI Ameer Qari Saifullah Akhtar was reportedly an adviser to Taliban chief Mulla Omar. They said Akhtar was also involved in a 1995 coup attempt by senior army officers, Brig Mustansar Billa and Maj Gen Zaheerul Islam Abbasi. Harkat ul Jihad Islami is actually the biggest or second biggest Deobandi Jihadi outfit in Pakistan. They are virtually unknown compared to the Jaish or Lashkar, but despite the low profile, they were extremely close to the Taliban, because Mullah Omar fought in the same faction as the HuJIâs leaders, back in the anti-Soviet Jihad. Its Jihadis operate in Burma, Chechnya, Tajikistan and elsewhere; and is part of Osamaâs International Islamic Front.
AYF is the youth wing of the Markazi Jamait-e-Ahl-e-Hadith, while ATAS had attempted to besiege the Armyâs General Headquarters in Rawalpindi in 2000 to press for the enforcement of Sharia law. Iâm pretty sure that ATAS tried to press for Sharia law back before Musharaf came to power in the military coup, which would be in 1999. I remember the government of the day trying to figure out what to do about this guy threatening to storm the capital, and in the end the government had to send envoys to his house to beg him not too.
The organizations likely to be put on the watch list are Al Badr Mujahideen, Tehrik Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Sahaba, Jamiat Ghurba-e-Ahl-e-Hadith, Al Mohajeroon, Al Akhtar Trust and Al Rasheed Trust. Al Akhtar Trust and Al Rasheed Trust have been declared sponsors of terrorism in some countries. Al Badr is reportedly involved in jihad in Held Kashmir. Jamiat Ghurba-e-Ahl-e-Hadith runs the Karachi seminary Jamia Abu Baker, from where Indonesian and Malaysian students were arrested last month
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
11/26/2003 12:47:30 AM ||
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The Indian and Pakistani armies have agreed to stop firing from midnight Tuesday across their frontier in a further easing of tensions between the two South Asian neighbours.
Oboy. Another hudna.
It is the first full, formal ceasefire between the two since insurgency began in Indian administered Kashmir in 1989. The two armies that exchange small-arms and artillery fire almost daily will observe the truce along the international border, the Line of Control dividing Kashmir between them and the frontier along the Siachen Glacier, said a statement from India's External Affairs Ministry. "Directors-general of military operations of India and Pakistan, in the course of their weekly conversation today, agreed to observe a ceasefire with effect from midnight tonight," said the statement.
Hafiz Saeed will be working overtime to break it, of course...
In Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan confirmed that the two countries' militaries had agreed on the ceasefire, which he said was indefinite. The latest announcement came a day after India welcomed Pakistan's unilateral ceasefire along the volatile frontier dividing Kashmir, called the Line of Control. Pakistan later clarified that it also would stop firing along the line that divides the two countries in the high Himalayan Siachen Glacier. The reference to the international border, the rest of the frontier that divides the two countries along several western and northern states, was added on Tuesday. India said on Monday that a lasting ceasefire depends on Pakistan ending the infiltration of armed fighters into India's portion of Kashmir. India has accused Pakistan of using artillery fire as a cover to help fighters sneak into Jammu and Kashmir to attack government forces and civilians. Pakistan denies the charge.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2003 23:45 ||
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The Italian mission in Baghdad has been hit by rocket or mortar fire, Italian officials say. The offices were empty and no one was injured in the blast, at 2300 (2030 GMT), a foreign ministry official said. Italian state-run Rai television said the second floor of the Italian mission had been hit. Only a few people were in the building at the time, and everyone escaped injury, it said.
Good thing American girls know how to play catch!
Staff Sgt. Gina Gray, a broadcast journalist assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, found herself in the unusual position of playing doctor, nurse and midwife to an Iraqi mother too poor to afford a trip to the hospital to give birth. "Thank god Iâve watched âE.R.,â" was about all she could mutter as she emerged, from the building holding a baby boy. The newborn, Zuher Ahmed Mohowed, was not even an hour old.
Good thing she didn't watch American Idol. She'd have sung them a song...
While searching a house in Kirkuk Nov. 17, the paratroopers of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne) were asked by the house owner not to disturb one of the rooms. Further investigation with an interpreter only revealed that there was a âsick womanâ inside. The commander in the area, trying to be sensitive to the ownerâs wishes while still wanting to conduct a thorough search, sent for the only female soldier in the area, Gray. Putting her video camera aside, she approached the house and was told to see if everything was ok in there and "oh, by the way, see if there are any weapons in the room while youâre at it."
"Explosives? Nuclear weapons? Bubonic plague..."
"Piss off! I'm havin' a baby in here!"
"I really had no idea what to expect," Gray said. "When I went in there, the baby had just finished coming out. She, the mother, was just laying there in pain and the other women were wiping the baby down."
"Hey! That kid wasn't in the room a minute ago!"
"I just didnât want all of you coming in there," she said with a grin to the male soldiers. "I didnât want any of the tough infantry guys fainting."
#1
broadcast journalist assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade
Another DINFOS trained killer. Boy, AFRTS and S&S are gonna run this story to death, one of their own delivering a baby while covering herself doing it.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2003 15:30 Comments ||
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Americans everywhere should be thankful for service members serving in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today. "Weâre truly fortunate there are so many wonderful young men and women who are willing to step forward and volunteer to serve," he said at a Pentagon news conference. "Their accomplishments deserve full recognition." The secretary delivered a list of coalition accomplishments for the week of Nov. 17-23. During that time, coalition service members conducted almost 12,000 patrols and more than 230 targeted raids. They captured about 1,200 enemy forces and killed 40 to 50 and wounded 25 to 30. "It provides a sense of the determined offensive pressure which the coalition is applying against the enemy," Rumsfeld said. In one day, soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division in the Baathist Triangle of Baghdad, Ramadi and Tikrit confiscated a huge stock of weapons. Included in their catch were 17 AK-47 assault rifles, 11 other rifles, one pistol, three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 53 grenades, six containers of artillery propellant, 60 120 mm and 250 60 mm mortar rounds, 50 blasting caps, 10 blocks of C-4 explosive, 10 sticks of TNT, 50 mortar fuses, and 40 spools of wire used to detonate improvised explosive devices. Rumsfeld also listed the rebuilding accomplishments in Iraq. All the hospitals and 95 percent of the clinics are open. More power is being generated than in pre-war days. About 2.1 million barrels of oil are flowing from Iraqi wells for home consumption and for export earnings. The Iraqi courts are running, there are 170 free newspapers, and the education system has 5.1 million Iraqi children back in school, with 97,000 young Iraqi men and women applying for college. Average SAT 1070
So Dod is back to body counts? Probably makes more sense here, where we're dealing with a more fixed number of enemies, than it did in Nam, but still Im a little nervous.
#2
hawk: For months we've been subjected to the news stories of one American killed here, two there, day after day. CentCom has purposely avoided announcing enemy deaths.
I have pleaded with them via e-mail to change this policy. There is no surer way to demonstrate that we are in a quagmire, or losing than to fail to show that our losses are significantly less than the enemy's. About three weeks ago, the policy changed. It is vitally important that the American public know that their young men and women are not dying in vain, that their enemies are being killed in greater numbers.
#3
This is a win-in-progress...despite the best attempts by the Donks to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
11/26/2003 15:12 Comments ||
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#4
I'm with Chuck.
Something has to balance the "bodycount journalism" that our press and quagmire proponents spew.
Posted by: Daniel King ||
11/26/2003 15:32 Comments ||
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#5
I'm with LH to a degree... kill ratios and body piles need to be downplayed, but reminding folks that it's a bad idea (suicidal) to shoot at Coaliton forces is necessary.
145,000 pounds of turkey. 71,000 pounds of smoked hams. 71,000 pounds of prime rib. 38,000 pounds of shrimp. 576,000 servings of stuffing. 270,000 servings of corn on the cob. 150,000 servings of cranberry jelly. 41,000 pies - apple, pumpkin, cherry, pecan and sweet potato. And donât forget the decorations, eggnog, candies, nuts, ice cream and sparkling non-alcoholic wine. When the Coalition Forces Land Component Command goes grocery shopping for Thanksgiving supper for its family, it does it big time. And it starts its shopping early.
#2
Invite a couple of thousand kids, especially any orphans. Give them a full GI Thanksgiving dinner. They MAY stop talking about in in fifteen, twenty years - but then, may not.
My wife and I invited a German family we knew to Thanskgiving dinner. They couldn't believe the amount of food had been prepared for just TWO FAMILIES. From then on, we were "rich Americans". Boy, were they fooled - I was a SSgt (E-5) at the time.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 18:54 Comments ||
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Elements of the 82nd Airborne Division successfully raided a house north of Ar Ramadi as part of ongoing operations in the area to capture individuals involved in anti-coalition activities. Elements of the 1st Battalion, 16th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, conducted a raid on a house north of Ar Ramadi suspected of insurgent activity. At approximately 3:00am, the unit established a cordon of the area and entered the house, capturing four Iraqi personnel. Brig. Gen. Khalid Arak Hatimy, a former bodyguard of Saddam Hussein, was one of the men captured.
#2
If four Iraqi insurgents were in the house, including a former bodygaurd, we may have just missed Sadaam. We could have even gotten there alittle to early, and he drove right past the house to the next safe-house.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/26/2003 11:50 Comments ||
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#3
#2 we may have just missed Sadaam.
If that's true, I'm sure he is a very nervous man right now. Let the pig sweat a bit more - sooner or later, there will be one slip too many, and GOTCHA!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 18:57 Comments ||
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The 82nd Airborne Division, Task Force âAll American,â continued to conduct operations in order to bring peace to Iraq and to assist in reconstruction efforts. These missions will continue to move Iraq toward becoming a free and independent nation. During the past 24 hours, the 82nd Airborne Division and subordinate units have conducted seven offensive operations, including three raids and four cordon and searches. Soldiers also conducted 178 patrols, including eight joint patrols with the Iraqi Border Guard and Iraqi police. In addition, three improvised explosive devices were discovered and disarmed. During these operations, one enemy was killed, one wounded, and 24 captured.
Along the Syrian, Jordanian, and Saudi Arabian borders, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment continued border denial operations. There were 34 personnel denied access into Iraq over the last 24 hours at these checkpoints, the smallest number in 10 days. Operation Rifles Blitz continued with the capture of 15 enemy personnel and confiscation of various small arms weapons. Additionally, the local Iraqi police and members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps continue to work closely with the soldiers during this operation.
Civil affairs teams continue to receive a positive response and cooperation from the local citizens in 3rd ACRâs area during Operation Rifles Blitz. Tribal leaders have stated that clothing and toys given to needy families in the area are well received and much appreciated. Since the operation began, coalition forces have paid over $43,000 in compensation and reward payments to locals. Residents continue to come to the Civil Military Operations Center with information to assist coalition efforts in the area. Civil affairs personnel with 1st Brigade received supplies and backpacks for 1000 students in Ar Ramadi and began distributing them today to 550 primary and 450 secondary students. The civil affairs team with 3rd Brigade continued to work with the Veteransâ Administration in Hillah in an effort to screen potential candidates for the upcoming ICDC class. The next class is scheduled to begin on Dec. 9, and 400 recruits have already been identified. The advertising campaign has proven to be a highly effective mechanism to attract potential candidates and reinforce Coalition cooperation with existing institutions.
#1
Tribal leaders have stated that clothing and toys given to needy families in the area are well received and much appreciated. Since the operation began, coalition forces have paid over $43,000 in compensation and reward payments to locals
Is this in context? I'm not sure about paying off kids with toys. Been there, done that bought a truncheon.
An assortment of weapons were confiscated and nine individuals detained by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), during operations Tuesday in northern Iraq. Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team conducted heavy presence patrols and traffic control points in Mosul. The missions netted 15 AK-47s assault rifles, two pistols and 23 AK-47 magazines. During the operations, three people were detained, two for weapons violations, and one individual who was wanted for planning attacks against Coalition Forces. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team conducted a cordon and search at the home of a person suspected of subversive acts against Coalition Forces. One individual was detained for questioning. Another individual was detained in a separate operation, for weapons trading. A patrol in the 1st Brigade Combat Team area detained four suspects and confiscated four AK-47 assault rifles, two rocket propelled grenade sights, and various components to create car bombs, during a cordon and search.
EFL
U.S. troops arrested the wife and daughter of a top Saddam Hussein deputy suspected of masterminding attacks on U.S. troops, and a major pipeline linking northern Iraqi oilfields to the countryâs biggest refinery was ablaze Wednesday. snagging the family may bring the bastard to heel?
Hours after large explosions shook the center of Baghdad near U.S. headquarters, the visiting British foreign secretary said Iraq will be a safer place once the U.S.- and British-led coalition hands over power to an Iraqi government. Troops of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division in Samarra, 70 miles north of Baghdad, arrested the wife and daughter of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a top Saddam associate, division spokesman Lt. Col. William MacDonald said Wednesday. Heâs the one suspected of masterminding much of the attacks...wonder if the reward brought this news in?
Under Saddam, al-Douri was vice chairman of the ruling Revolutionary Command Council, and shortly before the war began March 20, Saddam placed him in charge of defenses in northern Iraq. U.S. officials have said they believe al-Douri has planned some of the attacks against U.S. forces, and last week offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture. Al-Douri is No. 6 on the list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. MacDonald said a man he identified as the son of a physician was also taken into custody in the raid Tuesday.
Witnesses near the village of Sharqat, 170 miles north of Baghdad, said sheets of flame and thick black smoke were shooting from the damaged pipeline, only 30 miles from Iraqâs largest oil refinery. There was no immediate explanation for the cause of the blaze, but guerrillas have repeatedly attacked pipelines in the general area. The attacks have complicated efforts to revive Iraqâs giant petroleum industry, the key to its economic recovery. no explanation?
Iraq has the second-largest proven petroleum reserves in OPEC. But many companies are holding back until they see an improvement in security against attacks by militants opposed to American troops and the U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, on a two-day visit to Iraq, said a political transition to Iraqi rule will improve the security situation. More than five dozen U.S. troops have been killed by hostile fire in November, more than any other month since the official end of major combat in Iraq on May 1. "Iâm absolutely sure that a more rapid political process will assist the security situation," Straw said at a news conference. "The more that we can give all Iraqis a stake in their future and a stable political architecture in which to work, the more I believe more Iraqis will become committed to that future and fewer will think that terror and quiescence in terror is the way forward." Straw said he met with members of the coalition-appointed Iraqi Governing Council to discuss the political process, in which the council is to hand over power to a new, transitional government by June 30. "Iraq is a better place and will become a far better place as a result of that transition," he said. "Life for a very large number of people in Iraq is considerably better ... and will be infinitely better when we can get on top of the security situation."
Three large explosions shook downtown Baghdad on Tuesday evening, triggering a warning siren in the "Green Zone" housing the U.S. headquarters. Capt. David Gercken, a spokesman for the U.S. 1st Armored Division, said rockets hit a bus station, a propane station and an apartment building, wounding two Iraqis, near — but not in — the "Green Zone."
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 10:52:54 AM ||
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from the London Times
General Jay Garner, the American first put in charge of running postwar Iraq, has revealed the extent of rivalry in Washington that affected plans for rebuilding the country. The General, former chief of Iraqâs interim administration, said that the communication between his bosses at the Pentagon and the State Department was so bad that he was unaware that Colin Powellâs team had carried out a year-long project to plan for post-conflict Iraq until just weeks before the invasion. When he learnt of the existence of the project by chance in February, he immediately co-opted one of its senior planners onto his team. But he said that he was the ordered against his will to sack him by Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary. "Thereâs enormous rivalries between the agencies, but that didnât start with this war," he said. "That is just part of Washington".
The decision to hand over power more quickly to an Iraqi government was something that should have been done much earlier, General Garner said. He told BBC Radio 4âs Today programme: "I donât think we are speeding things up now, I think we are trying to catch up to where we should have been. I think we are finally placing more trust in Iraqis, which we should have done to begin with." Garnerâs expertise is post-disaster recovery. Heâs less than impressive at counter-insurgency and made some major errors early on, which is why he had to be replaced. This smacks of self-justification ....
General Garner said that the failure to administer Iraq properly had attracted foreign terrorists to Iraq to fight the coalition. The General added: "Thatâs not all bad. Bring them all in there and we will kill them there".
The General was replaced by Paul Bremer, a civilian administrator, within weeks of beginning his work in Iraq, amid claims that he had failed to restore essential services or impose order quickly enough. General Garner also reserved some criticism for Mr Bremer, saying that his decision to disband the Iraqi army, which effectively threw hundreds of thousands of breadwinners out of work and provided potential recruits for insurgency, was a mistake. The original plan had been to pay the army to take part in reconstruction work. And if Garner had been better at the security work early on, this might have been feasible.
He also acknowledged that not enough effort was put into winning over ordinary Iraqis by getting Americaâs message across to them after the war. "We did a bad job of executing that. Thereâs no excuse for that. The consequence of that is all they got to listen to was [the Arab-language satellite TV station] al-Jazeera," he said. Again, Garner was supposed to be good at outreach, but somehow this never made his radar.
His comments are in stark contrast to those of Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, who made a surprise visit to Iraq today. He said that the transition of power in Iraq was on course in spite of the continuing security problems. He said that he strongly believed the handover of power to Iraqis would go ahead as planned by June, although he declined to give a date when British troops could be withdrawn. He said: "There has been a great deal of progress in many areas. The security situation remains difficult. But I am very clear that the combination of political progress and military effort will ensure that there is a transition on schedule by the end of June, and unquestionably that Iraq not only is a better place, but will become a far better place as a result of that transition and the work of the coalition and our partners internationally, but above all by the work of the Iraqi people." He said the security situation in Iraq would improve with the transfer of power. He said: "Everybody understands that there are security problems, and I for one never sought to underestimate those. But what Iâm told, and I believe, is that life for a very large number of people in Iraq is considerably better in terms of their living standards, and would be infinitely better when we can get on top of the security situation. One crucial way of doing that is by ensuring as rapid a transfer of power as possible, and thatâs what weâre seeking to achieve." Rapid is not the same thing as effective, though.
On the other hand, playing hardball just might be a winning strategy in a few places:
US forces said today that they have captured a wife and daughter of Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri today in Samarra, north of Baghdad. Al-Douri stands accused by the coalition of playing a leading role in the persistent attacks on its troops. The United States is offering a reward of up to $10 million (£6m) for the capture of al-Douri. He is the former vice-president of Iraqâs Revolution Command Council and is believed to have more than one wife. He is the most senior Iraqi leader still at large after Saddam himself.
Posted by: rkb ||
11/26/2003 9:15:11 AM ||
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#1
I wouldn't shoot down all of Garner's statements. Let's analyze somethings, make tweaks where necessary and then move on. I don't dismiss everything he says, I'm sure we've fucked shit up - heck, that's to be expected w/any plan. As the old Bushido saying goes when something unexpecte or bad happens "That is War". Things will keep improving, matter of time, too many people w/the instant gratification syndrome running around yelling the sky is falling.
#2
"think we are finally placing more trust in Iraqis, which we should have done to begin with."
I think he's dead on. Placing more trust in Iraqis, including exiles, was the gameplan going in. Problem with that was State Dept and CIA didnt trust the exiles, and thought they could cultivate people they liked better - so they nixed putting large numbers of INC in during the war, and they pushed out Garner. well they havent yet raised a viable local leadership - looks like that will take years. While the guerilla war grinds on. And the euros and UN, who were supposed to like the State dept and oppose the neocons, turned out to be unwilling to go along with a long US occupation - so we dont have the foreigners as a substitute for the locals, in terms of troops or legitimacy. And it hasnt helped that by all accounts (not just the press, but Iraqi bloggers, troops in blogs and other reports, etc) the CPA under Bremer has been less than competent in reconstruction. Ever notice how many of the reconstruction success stories involve US troops improvising on the ground, generally doing stuff that the CPA SHOULD have been doing. State has even had difficulty getting enough folks over there to staff up the CPA.
Well now it appears Condi and Dubya may have wised up. We cant win this by marginalizing the existing Iraqi leadership (IE the exiles and their allies) And we cant win this by making Iraq a US colony for 5 years. Thats why the about face on the political plan for Iraq - the admin realized the old one had F*cked up. Kudos to the admin for realizing that and being willing to change. Now Garner is getting in his licks at Bremer - licks which as far as I can tell, are richly deserved.
#3
does anyone recall that Iraq was supposed to break apart into separate ethnic regions ? (you'll never hold the country together) And the unavoidable humanitarian crisis ? (BBC was predicting millions would starve) When was the last time you heard about the electricity being better under Saddam ? And lets not forget the WWIII as the entire middle east erupts in turmoil.
#5
Liberalhawk, I agree with you re: State & the CIA distrusting the exiles, and the problems that has cost us. Not so sure on one account, though, which is that you see Bremer as their man vs. Garner as DOD's. Not quite my take on things, but I could be wrong.
Reservists I've talked to are frustrated with the CPA's slowness. From where I sit, though, it's hard to separate out the Army's culture, which is to try for an 80% solution and then do more if needed, vs. "doing it right since it's for posterity". It's one thing to show initiative in rebuilding a school or a cement plant. Creating a stable civil society, including local, regional and national governance with courts, police etc., requires more thought and care IMO.
Insofar as Bremer might have a State Dept / bureaucratic bent, I can see the point you make. But Garner didn't strike me as being the right man for reconstruction. He would have been exactly the right person if we had needed to deal with hundreds of thousands of refugees or massive civilian medical casualties, though.
#6
That Garner would publicly choose Tom Warrick as his deputy showed a real lack of political acumen. Warrick made his State Department bones during the Clinton Administration, had no use for the Iraqi exiles, and was anathema to the DOD. I agreee with rkb that Garner would have been terrific had the war generated a million refugees. When that didn't occur he was not the right man for the Baghdad job, and Colin Powell had much better candidates to push.
#7
The problem is, we still have three enemies to face: the Iraqi "fedayeen" hard-liners from the old Ba'ath government, the foreign Arab fighters, and the bureaucrats in Washington. We need to stomp all three, instead of concentrating on one or two. Colin Powell has proven totally ineffectual in bringing the State Department into the new government, and deserves to be canned. The government "union" needs to be smashed, and the people that believe they run the government, instead of elected officials, hanged.
The problem's been there for forty years - it's time to 'make it go away'. It's graduated beyond turf wars into ideological and political forces that are not working in the best interests of the people of the United States. It's now limiting our ability to win the War on Terrorism. We don't have the luxury of having two governments: one of them needs to cease to exist. Gonna be bloody, but it HAS to be done, if we're to remain a free people. I hope Dubya's got the cojones to do it, but I'm beginning to lose hope.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 19:12 Comments ||
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EFL & Good Clean Fun
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and his top military adviser said yesterday they have evidence that the Arab television news organizations Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya cooperated with Iraqi insurgents to witness and videotape attacks on American troops. Tap, tap...nope, nothing.
Mr. Rumsfeld said the effort fit a pattern of psychological warfare used by remnants of the Baathist government, which want to create the impression that no amount of U.S. firepower can end the insurgency. "Theyâve called Al Jazeera to come and watch them do it [attack American troops], and Al Arabiya," he told a Pentagon news conference. " âCome and see us, watch us, here is what weâre going to do.â " Called? Probably just turned to the left and said, âare you ready?â
Pressed for details, Mr. Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, both indicated that U.S. forces in Iraq had collected more than just circumstantial evidence that one or both of the Arab news organizations might have cooperated with the attackers. Cooperated? Hunch Alert: They are part of the network of terrorists.
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
11/26/2003 7:19:03 AM ||
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#1
Is the Arab Street seething, yet? This is no real surprise, as Dragon Fly's Suprise Meter indicated. Perhaps Al Jizz will be disinvited to cover events in Iraq, as well... assuming Talebani can be bothered to stay in-country long enough to lend his autograph.
Regards those Press Credential fees discussed awhile back, let's add "By Invitation Only" to the mix. Those "news" orgs that "cooperated" with Saddam to maintain their access would be automatically barred.
And further on that topic, I wonder how the Iraqis would take it if that was widely known? Think they'd be impressed with the press' disingenuos reasoning blather? Nahh, me neither. 8->
Posted by: .com (Abu Need to Know) ||
11/26/2003 8:33 Comments ||
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#2
Such types used to be called "fellow travelers"
#3
Then there should be a way to counter them. Everything has an antithesis. Need the CIA to get to work uncovering where & when shit's going to happen. Bug Al-Jizz offices, tap phone lines, whatever it takes. Let a sniper team kill a camara man whose on the scene of one of these attacks......
#5
Those "news" orgs that "cooperated" with Saddam to maintain their access would be automatically barred.
I think that would result in every network being removed from Iraq.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 10:29 Comments ||
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#6
I am not surprised. Zeyad at healingiraq spoke of an incident near his house where a bomb went of and some bearded guy was immediately in front of an Al-Arabiya camera spinning a story. The crowd started chanting "liar, Liar" and the Al-Arabiya crew started yelling them to be quiet. Zeyad also said that people in the crowd pointed out the bearded guy as the one who planted the bomb.
no surprised at all.
Posted by: capt joe ||
11/26/2003 12:42 Comments ||
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#7
Perhaps the sattilite Al-Jizz uses needs to be hit by a 'meteor'.....
EFL & BBCias Greg Dyke, director-general of the BBC, used the award of an International Emmy to round once again on US coverage of the Iraq war — suggesting the American media had become a "cheerleader" for the anti-American moonbats Bush administration. 5, 4, 3, 2, ...
Mr Dick Dyke, receiving the award in New York, told leading broadcasters and media executives: "News organisations should be in the business of balancing their coverage, (yes, so far, so good)
not banging the drum for one side or the other. (I knew it couldnât last long)
This is something which seemed to get lost in American reporting during the war." He doesnât spend much time watching American media, eh?
"For any news organisation to act as a cheerleader for government is to undermine your credibility," he added. Note to Dyke: The terrorists have no formal government... Oh, wait, thatâs not what he meant. My bad.
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
11/26/2003 6:46:17 AM ||
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#1
This reminds me of a remark I saw 20 years ago where someone was talking about how horrible the Holocaust was and someone else was complaining about balanced coverage.
BBC really has to make a choice. They can either give up this idea that reporting two sides of, for example, an act of evil, means that you must in some way endorse the evil itself; that refusing, in the view of all the evil that is being done, to accept that right is right and wrong is wrong is not balanced coverage of events.
An example would be: A crime reporter reporting a cop being shot by a druggie, and then telling the world that the druggie has a good excuse to shoot the cop, or any excuse. At that level, who cares the reasons the cop was shot, or even if it was justified? A crime has been committed. Do you really think that reporting such an event not as a crime but as a simple event is balanced coverage? The BBC does, and it is a central reason why their coverage mostly comes off as unbalanced and unfair.
OR, they can chuck this mantle of impartiality they tote around, that few objective people really believe they have, and truley come out of the closet as a pro-Muslim and pro evil "news' organization.
Heck, they may as well. The second item is how I view them. What do they have to lose?
#2
When I hear the BBC self-promotion BS in which they say "Demand a broader view." I am always reminded of how unusual nice it would be just to get the phreakin' facts for a change, sans all that imaginary value-added broader view. I can take care of the "what it means", Beeb, thank you.
Posted by: .com (Abu Pure Spin) ||
11/26/2003 8:56 Comments ||
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#3
"For any news organisation to act as a cheerleader for government is to undermine your credibility,"
Come again? - the BBC IS the British government, supported by compulsory fees!
#4
I wonder if Mr.Dick will apologize for the BBC's blatant pro-British behavior during WWII. What with giving code on the air to the French and everything. They should have been more objective about Hitler. Horrible, simply unexcusable.
#5
"News organisations should be in the business of balancing their coverage, not banging the drum for one side or the other. This is something which seemed to get lost in American reporting during the war."
Well this is amusing. Someone from the BBC criticizing U.S. media as biased?
#7
This would be the same BBC that had to hire someone to monitor it's own coverage of Israeli and/or Jewish news.
Posted by: Stephen ||
11/26/2003 18:07 Comments ||
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#8
The Blathering Bigots of Croydon want US to "balance" our reporting, while they go out of their way to convince half the world we're doing everything wrong. What's wrong with this picture? Why is this idiot still employed in an agency that's supposed to "present to the English-speaking world a first-hand view of what's important in the world today". The BBC is a total failure - their "news" is more biased than CBS, their programming would rate "UUGH" on most scales, and they couldn't draw more than 30 people to their own hanging. BBC deserves a large helping of American Raspberry: BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRBBBBBBBBBPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 19:36 Comments ||
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EFL
The National Guard and Reserve will take on more of the combat burden in Iraq next year, replacing some Army troops with a smaller, lighter and more mobile force equipped with fewer tanks and more Humvees. Nearly 40 percent of the American forces in Iraq will be from the National Guard and Reserve after the Pentagon completes a massive switchout of troops starting in January — up from about 20 percent now. Three National Guard infantry brigades will go, at least two of them slated for combat duties. And it wonât be just Army reservists; the Marines plan to use about 6,000 of their citizen-soldiers.
The first changes will be seen even before the newly designated replacement force gets there. A contingent of 5,000 soldiers in a combat team called the Stryker Brigade, from Fort Lewis, Wash., is training in Kuwait in preparation for duty in Iraq. They are equipped with a new, speedier, lightly armored troop carrier and sophisticated communications tools to enable soldiers to locate guerrilla threats. The Stryker Brigade is likely to see action in the so-called Sunni Triangle, the area between Baghdad, Ramadi and Tikrit where the resistance to U.S. forces has been deadliest. "It is absolutely optimized for this kind of fight," said Lt. Gen. Richard Cody, the Armyâs deputy chief of staff for operations, who oversees the Armyâs provision of fresh forces.
An armored division like the 1st Cavalry Division will equip two of the three battalions in each of its brigades with Humvee utility vehicles instead of tanks and Bradleys. The 1st Cavalry, based at Fort Hood, Texas, will actually be larger than a normal division, since it will operate with the 39th Infantry Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard. The switch away from heavy armored forces has created such demand for Humvees that the Army is pulling every available one — fortified with add-on armor — out of the United States and Europe, Cody said.
The 1st Cavalry is likely to be given responsibility for the Baghdad area, replacing the 1st Armored Division. The 1st Infantry Division, coming from several locations in Germany, will be joined by the 30th Infantry Brigade of the North Carolina National Guard. They are likely to operate in place of the 4th Infantry and 101st Airborne divisions in northern Iraq, including the Kurdish area.
Multinational divisions led by Britain and Poland will continue operating in the less volatile south-central and southeastern parts of Iraq. Elements of the 1st Marine Division, joined by one active-duty Army brigade, are expected to be assigned to western Iraq, including the Fallujah area, which has especially hostile to U.S. forces. Good job for the Marines to take on. Jihadis will wonder what in the heck just hit them.
The Army, which has shouldered most of the burden in Iraq in recent months — and taken almost all of the casualties — is stretched so thin that it must extend soldiersâ tours in Afghanistan to make the Iraq 2004 rotation plan work. The 10th Mountain Division had been scheduled to end a six-month tour in Afghanistan in February, but will stay three months longer. Its replacement, the 25th Infantry Division, will serve for 12 months instead of the previously planned six months. 25th, eh? Wonder who will back up the 2ID in Korea; thatâs been the 25thâs job.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2003 1:45:04 AM ||
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#1
The Stryker Brigade is new. May God bless them.
#2
May GOD bless all of our boys put into peril by this insane administration. They have got us into a situation where failure is not an option but where many soldier's lives will be lost--may GOD damn those Republican Neo-cons that have killed these guys by their arrogance and hubris! Just imagine the lives lost--that could have been someone who ended up being a doctor/researcher who could cure cancer, his blood spilled in Iraq for this bullshit administration of Texas assholes
#3
I'm with you NMM, Lets be afraid, very afraid. Do nothing that will cause alarm. Except we should chase boogiemen in Afganistan until we find Osama.
Anybody that thinks the war on terror should be fought in Afganistan has their head UP THEIR ASS. Afganistan is is a sand box. AQ, donks and ABC news would gladly have the war fought there. And you, NOTMIKEMOORE, AKA Berwexen, should go to bed so as not to miss OPRAH. And me wonder, HUH!
#4
No Lucky--you're with the crazy-ass administration that refuses to have all those flag-draped coffins photographed--Mission Accomplished my ass! If you believe so strongly why don't you go risk your useless ass in Iraq?
#10
NMM, I am glad you care about the boys over there. I know you hate GWB, but I don't think your un-patriotic because you have made it known that you care about the troops welfare. That is more then I can say for a lot of your brethren on the far left at the protest rallies. Those folks hate GWB more then the war. Some of things you say remind me of my dad's sentiments toward this admin (my ole man is a 101 'Nam Vet & loves our country, he just hates rich politicians). He said one Good Marine is not worth a 1,000 Iraqis. He said the same thing about Kosovo to. I agree in principle, but, we all volunteered for this. We have no illusions. If we had a conscripted service then your vehement attitude would be totally justified imho.
I don't hold the same reservations about the administration that you do though. On the contrary, the troops' love GWB immensely more then his predecessor. We felt Clinton was more of a mockery to us. I'm not a huge GWB fan, but we like his plain (yes, sometimes dumb-sounding) talk and cowboy rhetoric. Heck, that represents prolly more then half of us. Now, the elite left (which I don't truly believe you belong to) will never understand that, and therefore, will never understand us. Thank God.
Most of us are glad the coffin thing was shot down. I don't want my coffin turning into some asshole's ad campaign or some mother fucker from ANSWER using it at their next peace rally. That's between my wife, my son, my family & my God. For the record, I know that Democrats are not anti-American. I don't like Kerry but his mil record speaks for itself. I do like Lieberman. Zell Miller is the man, John Glenn, Truman, JFK all were total patriots, undeniable.
#14
"25th, eh? Wonder who will back up the 2ID in Korea; thatâs been the 25thâs job."
I think the divisions rotated back from Iraq do that - not ideal, we really hope we dont have to fight NKor in the next 6 months, but in an emergency you use everything youve got I suppose.
#15
The entire 4th Marine Regiment(augmented/reinforced) is in Okinawa w/the Korea contingency plan (4 Bn's of infantry). Not huge numbes on paper but enough to plug the hole sufficiently. The rest of the 3rd Marine Division out of Hawaii is also there. You have usually 2 Marine Expeditionary Units in or around the area.
#16
NMM, Like I've posted before, I'm a VN ERA, AF Weather-weenie cold warrior, Det 4/31st WX Squadrn/MAC. Spent my time in the UK sipp'n at pints of Green Kings Bitter and piss'n and moan'n about shit that didn't matter. Worked an eight hour, 3 day work week with three day weekends. Most of the senior guys were VN vets and not one ever talked tough about it. Most would gladly tell you they were REMFs. I have such a high regard for all those people.
About those flag draped coffins. Americans know they are there. Read Jarheads comment again.
#19
Ship, 4th Marine Division (HQ based in New Orleans)is supposed to put up 6,000 Marines for Iraq. Not sure the composition. My guess is a Regiment Reinforced w/aviation assets and a artillery battalion from the 14th Marines, also maybe some tanks from Washington State (remote possibility). Probably the guys from New York's 25th Marines, Michigan's 24th Marines, and maybe some Recon assets out of Florida & Nebraska as well. Again, just my swag (scientific wild ass guess)on it. The 4th Marine Regiment (part of 3rd Marine Division) in Oki is always training, either on the island, in Nippon, in SKor, or w/the Thai's or Phillipinos. Korea is their baby. When I was in Oki, Korea was one of the things we focused on doing.
#20
May GOD bless all of our boys put into peril by this insane administration.
This administration is insane. What the hell, then, was the previous one? Kosovo - damned near a disaster. Two embassies in Africa, and some Tomahawks tossed around. A US WARSHIP smacked in Aden Harbor, and NOTHING.
We've been at war for twenty years, and it took 9/11 to wake us up to the fact. Since then, we've ripped OBL and his 'children' from Afghanistan, and put a bunch of them in shallow graves. Those donkey-brains can't hurt us any more. We completely conquered an Arab nation that's been thumbing its nose at the entire Western world, tried to develop sufficient chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons to hurt us as badly as it could, and turned it into a killing field for Jihadi cannon-fodder. In the end we'll have a secure base in the center of the Middle East, with the capability of causing some severe heartburn for the next donkey-brained turban-top that wants to cause trouble (Can you say Syria? Saudi Arabia? Iran? Yemen? Things are changing there because the US is in Iraq to stay).
As for this piece of donkey-crap: Just imagine the lives lost--that could have been someone who ended up being a doctor/researcher who could cure cancer.
Can't the same thing be said about the World Trade Center? What about those innocent civilians aboard the airliners that crashed into the twin towers, the Pentagon, that Pennsylvania field? Could it be just a tad bit remotely possible that one of them could have been the next Einstein? Where is the concern for them?
IF we do NOT stomp these arrogant, "GOD IS ON OUR SIDE" tightly-twisted turbantops, the next person that might die may be one of MY friends. If some idiot with a big mouth and little brain is responsible for it, by NOT standing up to them now, by NOT stopping them now, then that idiot is in my sights, too.
War is hell. Been there, done that, have the scars (physical and mental) to prove it. I would much rather see us fight a war against the Jihadis in Iraq than in eastern Kansas. And we will HAVE to fight them. Their version of the world and ours is far too different for us to live together in peace. Their only understanding of "peace" is the peace of the sword, the destruction of anyone NOT LIKE THEM. If any of the people on this message board don't understand that, they need to relocate their head from below their waist to the top of their head. Wipe the brown stuff off. THESE PEOPLE WANT TO DESTROY EVERYTHING WE HOLD TO BE TRUE. If I have to go back on active duty and fight this war, I'll go, gladly - 60 years old, bad back and all. I can still shoot straight, and I'm willing to use force to protect what I believe in. If you don't believe as I do, that's fine. Just don't get in front of me and try to stop me, because I'll leave either tire tracks, track marks, or shoeprints all over your ass. You either are willing to fight for what you believe in, or you believe in nothing.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 19:59 Comments ||
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Looks like Hanbali didnât travel alone ...
Thailand has put on its watch list the names of 220 foreigners, including key international terrorists linked with al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah who have passed through the Kingdom in the past three years, Thai intelligence sources told The Nation yesterday. After recent warnings from the US of a possible new round of terrorist attacks, Thai security officials went through stacks of immigration records from 2001 to the present, isolating the names. The names became significant when compared with most wanted lists supplied by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as other international security organisations.
The sources said that the 220 names comprised 128 al-Qaeda followers, including 45 Iraqis and 16 Iranians, 13 members of Jemaah Islamiyah, three Egyptian Islamic militants and another 21 members of other terrorist groups. Thai and US intelligence officials are working closely to prevent anyone on the lists from slipping into Thailand to bomb socalled âsoftâ targets such as hotels, entertainment venues or offices of private companies. The US has said that although Thailand is considered a âlesserâ target of international terrorist is far from immune. The intelligence sources, who requested anonymity, said this was the first time Thailand had screened incoming and outgoing persons so meticulously. All available information on foreign visitors was analysed.
Some of those listed have used Thailand as a safe haven during their yearlong campaign against soft targets around the world, the sources said, confirming that 10 terrorists with links to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah had visited Thailand in 2001 and 2002. The alleged terrorists who visited Thailand include Kuwaiti-Canadian Mahammed Mansour Jabarah who was arrested in Canada after the September 11 events, Hassan Igbal chaudury, a Pakistani, and two Yemeni men â Abdul Karem Ahmed Al Tuwayti and Abdul Hakim Mohamed Al Kumin. All are linked to al-Qaeda. The sources said the rest were six alleged members of Jemaah Islamiyah from Singapore who frequented Thailand â Mas Selamat Kesteri, Ahmed Sahgi, Hassan bin Ismail, Zainal Abidin Mohamed Rashid, Ishak Mohammed Noohu, Mohamed Hassan Bin Sayudin. All are on CIA wanted lists, the sources said, adding that each has a US$5 million (Bt200 million) bounty on his head. Thai authorities at all border checkpoints have already reinforced their procedures.
The alleged terrorists came to Bangkok during 2001 and 2002, the sources said, adding that Mohammed Mansour Jabarrah was in Bangkok in January 2002 to allegedly plan for the Bali bombing. Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, also attended the meeting. He was captured by Thai police and the CIA in August in Ayutthaya. The intelligence sources admitted it had been difficult to monitor immigration sufficiently as most operatives used several forged passports and some crossed the porous borders without going through official entry points.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/26/2003 12:31:02 AM ||
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.com? Abu Sabbatical? Why do we have you stationed there if you're gonna let this shit slip by while you amuse yourself with beautiful women and fruity alcohol beverages?
sounds like the Thais get it....
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 0:37 Comments ||
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#3
.com----Prolly arrested with German sex tourists--but that's always OK--look at Swaggert, Baaker etc--as long as they're right wing and repented---hmm I bet Michael Jackson is going for the Repugnants very soon--they excuse anything (drugs for Rush) Gingrich screwing his secretary, JC Watts from OK with an outta wedlock chile that he's behind on chile support payments--Hyde screwing a friend's wife, Livingston of Louisiana screwing around----it's all ok as long as they are GOP--asshats
#4
LOL! NMM! You are a singular treasure! You're just so, uh, how shall I put it? Sucky. Yeah, that's it. I know it will come as a surprise to most Rantburgers, but it's not your amazing intellect that impresses me most about you - it's your astonishing suckiness.
On the specifics, so as not to inadvertantly offend, it's something along this line of thought...
What you say: sucks. How you think: sucks. Your contribution: sucks. Your pathetic political outlook: sucks. Your poor grammar: sucks. Your inability to write coherently: sucks. Your opening comment on any thread always being a blindly trite insult: sucks. Your automatic follow-up attack insult to anyone disagreeing with you: sucks. Your inability to engage constructively: sucks. Your inability to deal with anyone without further insulting them: sucks. Your inability to accept that you bring this shit on yourself: sucks. Your response when your suckiness is pointed out: sucks. Your wasted pointless time visiting Rantburg: sucks. Your suckiness is so powerful that you generate a giant sucking gravity well. In fact, you suck so much that small sucking objects orbit you.
It's your accretion disk, man. It's a sucking mind wound. That's why I keep my distance. Nothing personal. See Dr. Steve for assistance.
#5
You forgot to mention that he sucks so much that the Real Mike Moore hired him as a advisor.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/26/2003 8:44 Comments ||
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#6
Damn, .com. That brought a tear to my eye it was so beautiful. I'm gonna have to remember some of that to use later -- "sucking mind wound" is classic!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 8:51 Comments ||
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#7
In fact, you suck so much that small sucking objects orbit you. It's your accretion disk, man. It's a sucking mind wound
That's what I like about Rantburg. Orbital dynamics, cosmology and health all in one carefully sculptured sentence.
Jemaah Islamiah spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir claimed yesterday that Australian officials were behind a ban on him delivering a jail cell tirade accusing the US, Christians and Jews of trying to destroy Islam. Bashir, convicted in September of treason and falsifying documents, planned to tell his fellow inmates in Jakartaâs Salemba prison that they should fight against the machinations of Zionist Jews, extremist Christians and the Bush Government. Instead, he sat passively as a fellow cleric implored a few hundred prisoners to be good Muslims during the Islamic feast of Idul Fitri, which began yesterday with early morning prayers.
The speech, which jail authorities apparently had earlier given permission for him to deliver, was printed in booklet form and distributed to prisoners and journalists. The sharp-tongued Bashir, despite first saying he was "not allowed to speak", later told reporters that Australia was responsible for the cancellation by Indonesian authorities. A spokesman for the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Kirk Coningham, denied it had anything to do with the cancellation. "Itâs bizarre and ludicrous to suggest that we would have any interest in cancelling his speech or the capacity to do so," Mr Coningham said.
That's Australian for "Wudn't us."
Bashirâs sermon said "the satanic group which is undermining Islam and trying to destroy it, on this day is led by the US Government which is exploited by the Zionist Jews. The US Government and its lackeys have become the lackeys of Zionist Jews and extreme Christians. They have resurrected their desire for war against Muslims, they have already beaten the drums of war against Islam and its followers; the cursed onesâ crusade has flared again." Bashir cited the "invasion and war" in Afghanistan, and the installation of a "puppet government to crush Islam in Afghanistan", as evidence of the global oppression of Muslims. He also condemned the US invasion of Iraq and American assistance for Israelâs treatment of the Palestinians.
Bali bombing mastermind Imam Samudra made a rare public appearance yesterday to mark the holy day, joining fellow bomber Amrozi in the mosque at Baliâs Kerobokan prison, where the pair are waiting to appeal their death sentences. Witnesses said the two were greeted like celebrities by their fellow prisoners. The pair, smiling broadly, sent their regards to their fellow Muslims before being escorted back to their cells.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/26/2003 12:27:38 AM ||
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"Smiling broadly", big ol' toothy smiles, softly spoken with batted eyelashes.
#2
Why is Bashir claiming ANYTHING? He's SUPPOSED to be serving a piddling 4 yr sentence for plotting to kill then VP, now Prez, Milliwati. What sort of prison sentence is this? Indos. Shit.
Remember this mewling crying little asshat - feigning illness for a couple of months to line up his duck story - and then whimpering in court?
If an Izzoid cretin is higher than cannon fodder, then the Indos are spinless. Anyone still want to turn any captured asshats over to them?
#3
Fire up the fire, bring out the cauldron, start melting pig lard. Let's see how well Abu Bakr can swim in melted fat at 375 degrees. If he makes three laps, we'll even let him out.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 21:13 Comments ||
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#4
DA$$$$ cheap Mickeysoft mouse - double posting again. Feel free to clean it up or leave it, Fred.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 21:15 Comments ||
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Granting that the difference between pirates and Abu Sayyaf is largely one of semantics ...
Pirates are demanding a five-million-dollar ransom from the Philippine government for five people kidnapped at a Malaysian jungle resort last month, a top military official said. General Mohamad Zahidi Zainuddin, chief of the Malaysian defense force, said the pirates had reduced their price from 50 million dollars because they were getting desperate. The band of pirates numbering between 10 and 15 were operating in the seas off the Tawi-Tawi and Jolo islands in the southern Philippines, he said Monday. "Based on the Philippine military intelligence the five hostages are still alive and their abductors have become desperate and are now moving from place to place following heightened military operations against the Abu Sayyaf and other militant groups," Zahidi was quoted. Gunmen widely suspected of being Filipino Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels operating in the southern Philippines seized six foreign workers - Filipinos and Indonesians - from the Paradise Resort in the Malaysian section of Borneo Island on October 5. But one hostage, Nonoy Arkusil, who was rescued late October in the Tawi-Tawi island group near Malaysiaâs eastern Sabah state, told Philippine authorities that his companions had been killed by the gunmen.
Of course, he also turned out to be full of... ummm... prunes.
Zahidi said the pirates had initially demanded 50 million dollars from the Philippines government. Malaysia had earlier refused to pay a reported 10 million ringgit (2.6 million dollars) demanded by the pirates for the workers, who are believed to be illegal immigrants.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/26/2003 12:25:56 AM ||
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#1
think how much good a $5 million armed forces action against these guys could do...
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 0:39 Comments ||
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#4
Hey where's NMM's comment? He must have something positive to say about these pirates...C'mon mike, show us your stuff, your pithy remarks. Bush had to be the blame for this. Don't fall down on the job now.
#7
Get your history straight Mr. McLeod it was the Reagan spending cuts that caused these homeless pirates.
We stopped sending welfare payments to Borneo? And this is a bad thing because???
Personally, the only good pirate is one swinging from a yardarm, or going swimming with a cannonball in his teeth. I hope someone catches them. When they do, they should take videos of what they do to them. I'm sure they would play well in Holeyweird.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 21:24 Comments ||
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Not a bad article, for Pepe Escobar
A constant smirk is imprinted on his face. In his black-padded traditional Uzbek cloak, black boots, white skullcap and sporting an incipient beard, Alisher (not his real name), a young man in his mid-20s, is either despondent, extremely self-assured, or both. Alisher is a member of the Islamic movement Hizb ut-Tahrir (HUT). Most HUT members, like Alisher, are ethnic Uzbeks, living in the country itself or in neighboring Central Asian republics. Uzbek President Islam Karimov simply does not tolerate what he views as radical Islam. His war against the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) — affiliated with the Taliban — has been merciless, and vice-versa.
Thousands of HUT militants now languish in Uzbek jails — the HUT claims there are more than 100,000 — as well as in other parts of Central Asia. The HUT is not the same thing as the IMU. IMU supporters are basically impoverished farmers living in the Fergana Valley - in Uzbekistan a densely-populated area including the cities of Namangan, Andijan, Kokand and Fergana. The HUT appeals to what passes as the urban intelligentsia in Central Asia: students who have finished college and who are unable to find a decent job.
That's what happens when you waste four years on a B.A.Lit...
The HUT - whose underground headquarters is now probably in Jordan - has defined itself in a communique on its website as "a political party that does not undertake material actions". It has been branded as an illegal Islamic movement all over Central Asia. As configured by Alisher, it is above all a giant proselytizing machine that has not resorted to guerrilla warfare - at least not yet. Inside Kyrgyzstan, the movement has been blamed for two recent bombings, on a market in Bishkek and an exchange office in Osh. But no evidence has been produced. I actually think that if they were involved in those bombings, it was probably decided at the local level rather than by the leadership.
The HUT is essentially a pan-Islamic secret society, founded in 1953 in Saudi Arabia and Jordan by a Palestinian from the diaspora, Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, who studied in the famous al-Azhar University in Cairo. Sheikh an-Nabhaniâs writings remain very influential: they are the letter of the law as far as HUT is concerned. The sheikh hates "depraved democracies" imposed by the West on Muslim nations and advocates "a single state over the entire Muslim world". He clearly equates Islam with a permanent, global revolution: Leon Trotsky meets the holy Koran. A winning combination.
Imagine a world where "pagan sects" like Buddhism and Hinduism are banned, along with Islamic "sects" such as Shiâism and Ismailism. A world where only Islam, Judaism and Christianity - "peoples of the Book" - are allowed to practice their faith. A world where all religious matters are regulated by Sharia law, according to the Sunni hanafi interpretation. A world where all non-Muslim nations face a stark choice: either they join a worldwide caliphate or they pay a tax. And failure to pay the tax entails a military attack by the caliphate. This is the world envisaged by HUT. Forget about democracy - as well as capitalism, socialism or nationalism, all of them "depraved Western notions". Democracy as practiced in the European Union is considered "a farce". The US, the United Kingdom and Israel are "the work of the devil" - although they would be given the option of joining the caliphate. Forget about cinema, music, modern art, rap videos, fast food and Internet chat rooms. As for Jews, they will be invited to leave "because they do not belong in Central Asia". In this Sharia-induced paradise, women would be permanently veiled outside their homes, and Christians and Jews would be able to drink alcohol "only inside their own communities".
And in only in connection with their religious rituals...
Karimov may be fighting a movement whose platform is not even relevant to the harsh daily lives of most people in Uzbekistan, not to mention Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. But the HUT is tremendously popular, not only in Central Asia but also in Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and the Maghreb. The HUT is now active in at least 40 countries around the world. HUTâs intolerance proves how its ideology is an Arabian import that does not even bother to connect the Middle East with the real problems of Central Asia. While southern Kyrgyzstan is being Islamicized, northern Kyrgyzstan is being slowly Christianized. This nationwide split in the long run is working towards the HUTâs aims. Christians represent at least 17 percent of the whole Kyrgyz population of almost 5 million. Russian Orthodox followers are building churches everywhere. Christian evangelists are very active - profiting from Akhmad Akayevâs drive to halt the exodus of skilled Russians. The HUT views this situation as a total disgrace.
"Who needs skills when you've got the Koran?"
Alisher is mum about the HUT leadership. They may have been leading the movement from "Londonistan" - but as European intelligence sources told Asia Times Online a few months ago, Londonistan has been effectively neutralized by Prime Minister Tony Blairâs government, via a couple of media-frenzy-inducing arrests. Primarily Abu Qatada, I would think.
Alisher confirms that the HUT usually operates invisible five-man daira (cells, or circles) in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Uzbek secret police may have arrested hundreds of cell members, but no leaders so far. The HUT leadership remains essentially invisible: no photos, no records, no addresses, just avalanches of books, pamphlets and leaflets translated from Arabic to Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Dari and Russian and churned out by a network of underground desktop publishing presses all over Central Asia. There are also posters and shabnamas - night letters - surreptitiously appearing in the morning under peopleâs doors. Like al-Qaeda, the HUT massively uses the Internet and digital technology to propagate its own version of globalization: not neo-liberalism, but the one-system, worldwide Sharia-law government. Urbanized Uzbeks in the capital Tashkent say that the model may be the Ottoman Empire - something that pan-Turkic Uzbeks can easily relate to as many eyes and minds follow closely what happens in Istanbul and Ankara. Alisher, though, is vague on the economic and social policies of this one-global-state caliphate. Once youâve found the key to utopia, it doesnât matter how you actually get there.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
11/26/2003 12:39:14 AM ||
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Christians represent at least 17 percent of the whole Kyrgyz population of almost 5 million. Russian Orthodox followers are building churches everywhere. Christian evangelists are very active - profiting from Akayevâs drive to halt the exodus of skilled Russians.
This is Pepe letting his bias show. Islamic proselytization is good, but Christian proselytization is inflammatory.
#6
This belongs under "Short Attention Span"! If they really understood how POORLY the Caliphate functioned, how poor the majority of Islamic nations were under the caliphate, they probably would want to re-think their ideas. We're talking about 2/3 of the Arab world where the 10th Century AD would be considered "heretical" in its MODERNITY.
One of the few things that keep me going is the knowledge that if these turdbrains ever did get in charge, the government they implemented would either totally collapse in six months, or the non-Muslims would walk all over them.
Two key factors: Islam does NOT encourage innovation, improvisation, or individual thought; and is inimical to non-Islamic inspiration. Those two factors have kept the Islamic world always playing catch-up. If you can't think for yourself, you can't find answers to questions others are not asking. The West will either self-destruct or come together to stand against the Islamofascists, but under either scenario, the Islamofascists cannot win in the long run. There are too many people in this world who will NOT become willing slaves, and most of them are capable of doing something these nutjobs are not - thinking for themselves.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 22:02 Comments ||
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JPost Reg Reqâd - Tell me again about the Hudna? I like fairytales
Reservist Paratroopers shot and killed three Palestinians near the Kissufim Road — one of the passages from Israel into Gush Katif — in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night. Deployed in the area, the soldiers spotted a group of five armed men approaching the road and pursued them. Two fled into a car and drove towards the Palestinian areas. The soldiers opened fire and killed the three — the two suspected terrorists and the driver. Soldiers are still searching the area for the other two men.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 7:06:58 PM ||
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Western intelligence sources said the Al Qaida effort was detected in early 2003 and has been aided by the Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call. They said the Salafist leadership has provided Al Qaida with hideouts and logistics in the mountain region. "The area is ideal for Al Qaida training and command functions," an intelligence source said. "The area is isolated and is located along the border with Mali, where there is no trace of government control." The sources said the Al Qaida operatives use the Sahara as a base to move into neighboring countries as Libya and Mauritania. The focus of the Al Qaida presence is the Mali desert near the Algerian border.
Wonder how Muammar is going to take to outsiders moving in on his territory?
#2
The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC),which is led by Hassan Hattab, held at least 31 European tourists hostage from about February of this year. Seventeen were freed by Algerian commandos in May. Fourteen more hostages were released in August. CNNs August story is here.
Methinks these tourists got too near these secret bases. I hope someone debriefed these folks with that in mind.
#3
new MOAB test range?...and if it's on RB, they aren't really all that secret, are they....should've shopped VillainSupply.com for the best in secret lairs
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 19:26 Comments ||
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#4
BTW - on the same page - Ex-Al Qaeda Caves are on sale! Cheap!
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 19:34 Comments ||
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#5
Not anymore, Hattab was deposed and replaced by Nabril Sahraoui last month, when the GSPC formally merged with al-Qaeda. Sahraoui brought back 15 mid-level al-Qaeda leaders with him and is the brains behind this African safety net of sorts for the organization.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/26/2003 19:40 Comments ||
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#6
Amazingly cooperative - pick a spot W-A-A-A-A-Y out in the middle of nowhere (how far can it be from Timbuktu?), and set up where there's almost no chance of collateral damage. Now, if we could just get them to lay out a nice, big bulls-eye.....
#7
First y'gotta find them. There's an awful lot of sand around there...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2003 21:02 Comments ||
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#8
I doubt they'll be able to hide for long. There are NO permanent settlements to speak of in that area. There are a couple of former French Foreign Legion posts about 40 miles north of the border, but unless they're in the mountainous area in the far southern tip of Algeria, they probably stick out like a sore thumb.
There are two major problems with establishing a headquarters in that area: there are NO indigenous people to hide among, and resources are pretty poor (if there were resources, there would be people). Too many people, and you over-burden what few resources are available. Also, that's an extremely LONG, open supply line. Not just easy to cut, but depends on a lot of people. The more people, the less chance of keeping anyting a secret.
As for finding them, give me ten people and control of a satellite, and I'll find them. May take a month, may take six, but I'll find them.
THEN we can draw circles!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 22:49 Comments ||
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Slightly EFL.
The Argentine Government says it has received intelligence about possible terrorist attacks in the country. Defence Minister Jose Pampuro said there could be attacks against US, British or Spanish targets. He said vigilance had been stepped up at "strategic zones" following national and foreign intelligence warnings. Mr Pampuro told a radio station: "We received information from national intelligence services and two foreign intelligence services that Argentina could face some kind of attack". He told the Clarin newspaper that there had been a similar alert four months ago, after which the government took action. On that occasion it increased security around sensitive sites and imposed controls on people going in and out of the country. Argentina is considered at risk of being attacked because it has a large Jewish community and a border region with Paraguay and Brazil that is hard to police. The US suspects this region of bankrolling Islamic militants.
From Geostrategy-Direct
An internal Japanese government document has revealed that North Korea is upset with China over its position in the six-party nuclear talks. Pyongyang has continued the talks out of concern that it could lose access to military procurement centers in Hong Kong and Macao. According to the government report obtained by the Sankei Shimbun newspaper, North Korea is participating in the nuclear talks because of pressure from China and to prevent the issue from being taken up by the United Nations, which could impose sanctions. "North Korea has strong misgivings against China for advocating a ânuclear free East Asiaâ and for being too much in agreement with the United States," the report stated. "However, since it has no choice but to rely on China economically and diplomatically, it is making efforts to maintain relations with China." So it all comes back to the ChiComs. How they deal with Kimmie and Co will determine the fate of North Korea. The Chicoms have the handle on the Big Valve Wheelâ¢.
China could increase pressure on North Korea by banning the procurement and shipment of goods in Hong Kong and Macao. North Korea opened a consulate in Hong Kong in 2000 and the port has become a major trading point for missiles being delivered to the Middle East. North Korea also used Hong Kong for financing its exports. And with Tokyo increasing its pressure on North Korea by blocking the use of Japan for business, Hong Kong and Macao are now becoming more important ports for the North Koreans. For instance, a North Korean trading company run by a North Korean resident in Japan has been caught attempting to illegally export electronic equipment to North Korea through Hong Kong. "Since the closure of the Hong Kong-Macao route is a matter of life and death for North Korea, it is willing to make whatever compromise it takes in its effort to maintain relations with China," the report stated. One government official told the newspaper that, "The United States thinks that China could really exercise stronger influence on North Korea. It seems to be uncomfortable with China acting as the intermediary between the United States and North Korea." Understatement of the week.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/26/2003 4:37:10 PM ||
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A human rights activist whom the U.S. government helped free from a Chinese prison in 2001 pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally sending $1.5 million worth of high-tech items to China. Oops!
Gao Zhan entered the plea in federal court in Alexandria, Va., to one count of unlawful export and another count of tax evasion. Her husband, Xue Donghua, also pleaded guilty to tax evasion. Gao, a permanent U.S. resident alien, was arrested by Chinese authorities in February 2001 and convicted of spying for Taiwan. She was released after five months in jail under intense pressure from the U.S. government and worked until spring 2002 as a researcher at American University here. Gee, a Chinese researcher stealing sensitive technology. Whoâd have thought that could happen?
According to federal prosecutors, from August 1998 through 2001 Gao ran Technology Business Services, a business specializing in exports of technology to China. The exports were made to Chinese companies tied to "institutes" which perform research and development for the Chinese government, including the Chinese military. Among the items sent to China were microprocessors that can be used in digital flight control and weapons systems, including identification of targets. Although these microprocessors also have commercial uses, they cannot be exported without permission of the U.S. government. Gao was paid $1.5 million by China for the microprocessors and other items, but prosecutors say she and her husband did not report most of the income on their tax returns. IRS has them, theyâre in real trouble now. Should have filled in block 64a: "Income from Spying".
Gao faces a maximum of 37 months in prison, with her husband facing up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Prosecutors say they will ask for a reduced sentence because Gao has been working with the U.S. government to identify people in the Chinese government who are seeking to import sensitive American goods. Just keep her away from any male FBI agents.
Gao was one of several Chinese-born academics, writers and entrepreneurs with ties to America who were detained in 2001 by China, contributing to tense U.S.-Chinese relations at the time. "Xue, this is Chinese Security. We have your wife, Gao. Send more microprocessors if you want to see her again."
Her release was secured in part by direct intervention from President Bush in a phone call to Chinese President Jiang Zemin and came only a few days before Secretary of State Colin Powell was due to visit Beijing. Being jailed by China and released only after pressure from the President. You couldnât buy a better cover story than that.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2003 3:04:57 PM ||
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#1
Woah! Lets see here....
I bet she only gets 1 year because she is turning on her former associates...so...
1 Year in Prison and be paid 1.5 million dollars (less 100K means 1.4 Mil).
Plus what she was paid by the U.S. Government while she was spying....
#2
Prosecutors say they will ask for a reduced sentence because Gao has been working with the U.S. government to identify people in the Chinese government who are seeking to import sensitive American goods.
And then what? Is the A.G. going to try to arrest these schmucks and put them on trial? Is the U.S. government going to refuse to do business with these individuals?
Seems to me that the Commerce Dept. (or whatever dept is in charge of technology exports) needs to wake up. China isn't just a "market", but is also a potential adversary.
#3
A Chinese national caught spying for the US by the Chinese counter-espionage service would have been shot. It's a real shame she's only getting 3 years.
#4
A Chinese national caught spying for the US by the Chinese counter-espionage service would have been shot. It's a real shame she's only getting 3 years.
#5
What's this?! A Chinese Espionage case that didn't involve American Intelligence agents dropping their pants - literally, that is. Figuratively speaking, this event fits the metaphor perfectly "getting caught with pants down, bent over...."
Then again, the woman looks kinda cute in the photos in my newspaper this morning...maybe there's a side to this that hasn't come to light yet.
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
11/26/2003 20:41 Comments ||
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Hat tip LGF. EFL.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog condemned Iran on Wednesday over an 18-year cover-up of sensitive atomic research and said any future breach of non-proliferation obligations would not be tolerated. "The UN said it! Eek!"
The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stopped short of reporting Iran to the Security Council, which could have imposed sanctions. However, some countries think Tehran has more secrets and will eventually face the U.N.âs supreme body. "We will have to answer to the UN! Oh hold me Fatimah!"
The IAEA governing board adopted a resolution that "strongly deplores" Iranâs cover-up over the past 18 years of a program that involves uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing — both of which could be pointers to a nuclear arms program. It walks, like a duck, it has webbed feet, it quacks, it lives on the lake.
"Hmmm...," Kofi said. "It must be an emu."
The resolution, which passed after more than a week of tough negotiations between its sponsors France, Germany and Britain, and Washington over how to balance encouragement and condemnation, also praises Iranâs promises of "active cooperation and openness." And its ink falls off.
The United States has described Iran as part of an international "axis of evil" — together with North Korea and pre-war Iraq — and believes it has been using a secretive atomic energy program to hide development of nuclear arms, which Tehran denies. *twang* *sprong* "Oh shit, that damn harp."
IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei told a news conference he was pleased with the resolution, but added: "The board is sending a very serious and ominous message that failures in the future will not be tolerated and that the board will use all options available to it to deal with these failures." "Oh hold me, Fatimah! Then you AishaâŠ"
Iranâs Foreign Ministry hailed the resolution as an "achievement" for Tehran. However, Iranâs ambassador to the IAEA was disappointed the text left out the IAEAâs conclusion in a recent report on Iran that there was "no evidence" of a weapons program.
#1
The United Nations nuclear watchdog condemned Iran on Wednesday over an 18-year cover-up of sensitive atomic research and said any future breach of non-proliferation obligations would not be tolerated.
Are the mullahs cowering in their turbans at the thought of UN action? I seriously doubt it.
(edited for brevity.)
Americaâs manufacturers saw orders for big-ticket goods go up in October by the largest amount in more than a year, an encouraging sign that the economic recovery was on firm footing at the start of the final quarter. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new orders for "durable" goods â costly manufactured products expected to last at least three years â rose by 3.3 percent last month, up from a 2.1 percent rise registered in September. "Businesses are more confident that the recovery is real, that it is beginning to turn into an expansion and that general economic conditions will continue to improve into 2004," said David Huether, chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers.
In other economic news, consumer spending held steady in October, while peopleâs incomes grew by a solid 0.4 percent, the department said in a second report. The figures matched economistsâ forecasts. The growth in income was encouraging because it provides a critical foundation for future spending. New claims for unemployment benefits last week dropped by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 351,000, the lowest level since January 2001, the Labor Department said in a report that provided fresh evidence that the jobs market is turning around. Octoberâs manufacturing performance was considerably stronger than economists were expecting. They were forecasting durable orders to rise by 0.7 percent last month. The 3.3 percent increase represented the best showing since July 2002, when orders soared by 8.1 percent. The economy grew by a stunning 8.2 percent rate in the July-to-September quarter, the fastest pace in nearly two decades. That strong showing â along with a surge in consumer confidence in November â raised hopes for the recoveryâs staying power.
Economists have been predicting that the brisk pace of consumer spending, which helped the economy grow at such a red-hot pace in the third quarter, just couldnât be sustained and that spending would slow in the current quarter. Even so, economists still expect consumers to keep their pocketbooks and wallets sufficiently open in the months ahead to help the recovery. Economists are hopeful that stronger growth from elsewhere in the economy_ notably capital investment by business â will help compensate for any slowdown in consumer spending. Consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States and has been a main force helping the economy get back on surer footing after the 2001 recession. Nice to hear good news on the homefront, this has got to be pissing off the terrorist supporters. 9/11 was supposed to tank our economy for good. Sorry!
Posted by: Jarhead ||
11/26/2003 11:34:26 AM ||
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#1
It's certainly pissing off the Bush-haters to 25.
#3
Also up here in Alaska, the Red Dog zinc mine (world's largest zinc mine) in NW Alaska is showing a good profit with the price of zinc at a high. Note that primary metals (copper, zinc, aluminum) start improving quite a while after a recovery starts, so we are definitely in an economic upturn.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/26/2003 16:11 Comments ||
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#4
NMM and his buddies ought to start screaming bloody murder any time now.What'do ya' wanta' bet the start whineing"Somebody cooked the books".
EFL & Very Weak Stomach Hat tip to Drudge Hillary Clinton has suggested that she may run for US president in 2008 but would stay out of the campaign for next year, in an interview with a German magazine released yesterday. Asked by Bunte magazine why she was not standing in 2004, a race already well under way, the New York senator said she didnât have a chance in Hell was happy with her job. But people are disappointed she was not competing, she was lied to told. "I know. I know. I know. I am great. Look at me! Lalalalala! Well, perhaps Iâll do it next time around," she replied. (Emphasis added)
In the interview, Mrs Clinton said her philanderer husband, who won two terms as president until 2000, remained her Jungian Shadow best adviser. "It is actually a kind of ream job rotation. First, Bill focused on slaying the hoeâs his career, now itâs my turn. Bill supports me and gives me tips, heâs my best adviser, as I tried to be for him when he was cheating on me, time, and time again! fulfilling political office." OHMYGOD
She said she hoped the United States would one day have a female president but that it was up to women to show that they could do the job. Start you engines 5, 4, 3, 2, ...
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
11/26/2003 11:20:12 AM ||
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#1
Shocker: Maybe, says Hillary Clinton to 2008 run for presidency
#2
Wassa madda BAR don't you like these buy one get one free deals? Just imagine another 4 years of Clinton co-presidents. Gotta go my stomachs acting up.
#7
If this is true she is going to be treated to a mainstream media luvfest in 2007 like we haven't seen since her perjuring husband ran in 1996. ugghhhh!!!
And the difference between the Paleos and the Israelis?
In an act of compassion that sometimes seems unimaginable in that war-torn part of the world, Israeli doctors worked Wednesday to save the life of an Iraqi baby who was born with a congenital heart defect.
Doctors do that sort of thing in the civilized world...
And Israel and Iraq havenât exactly been friendly neighbors over the years. During the first Gulf War in 1991, former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein fired 39 scud missiles toward Israelis in Tel Aviv and Haifa. And Israel was on high alert for more attacks earlier this year, which makes the story of Bayan Jassem all the more remarkable. The tiny Iraqi baby, wrapped in a red and yellow blanket, arrived in Israel on Tuesday from Iraq, along with her mother and father, for an operation to correct the heart defect. The week-old infant was born in a hospital near Kirkuk, Iraq, with the arteries to her heart reversed. An American doctor working with U.S. forces in Iraq discovered Jassemâs problem and went looking for help. He was put in touch with an Israeli hospital that was familiar with treating this type of heart defect. A doctor in Israel instructed an Iraqi physician on how to stabilize Jassem before she left the country. No child in Iraq has ever had this kind of surgery, because no Iraqi doctors had ever been trained in this procedure. The baby and her parents flew to Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday then drove to Jerusalem, arriving at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, a southern suburb of Tel Aviv, Israelâs largest city. Doctors said the infant is very sick, but they can save her. They know whatâs wrong and were conducting the operation on Wednesday. If all goes well, Jassem will recover in Jerusalem for anywhere from two weeks to two months. Then, she and her parents will head back home to Iraq. The cost of the surgery and the familyâs expenses were being covered by "Save a Childâs Heart," an Israeli-based charity that is registered in the United States and has given medical treatment to nearly 1,000 children since its establishment in 1995. Children who have been treated by the organization come from all corners of the world, including China, Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, Kinchasa, Moldova, Nigeria, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam and the Island of Zanzibar. The difference is that the Paleos would blow up the hospital doing the surgery if they could reach it
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 11:13:57 AM ||
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#6
The Israelis may fight and piss on each other politically, but bottom line----they are true human beings with a real sense of values and humanity. My hat goes off to you, Israel.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/26/2003 17:30 Comments ||
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#7
By next week Al Jiz will claim that the Jews drank the girls blood and performed medical experiments on her. I have $5 for any takers?
Hundreds of Christians who fled Egypt to the United States claiming persecution under Islam showed up outside a Southern California middle school yesterday to protest an extra-credit assignment urging students to participate in the Muslim Ramadan fast....
"The teacher at Royal Oak Intermediate School in Covina, Calif., wrote parents of students in his world history class, saying he wanted to take advantage of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan âto promote a greater understanding and empathy towards the Muslim religion.â" If we had a greater understanding we would have no empathy at all.
"But on a public sidewalk adjacent to the school grounds yesterday afternoon, about 500 people, according to organizers, gathered peacefully to âtell the truth about Islamâ as classes ended for the day...
"About 450 of the protestors were Coptic Christian immigrants from Muslim-majority Egypt, whose families had suffered discrimination and persecution because of their faith...
"âMany of them were in tears, thrilled that they could come out and assert their First Amendment free-speech rights, which are found in no Islamic nation,..."
Backpedaling furiously, "Superintendent John Roach insisted the teacher meant only to promote empathy with Muslims, not with Islam. He conceded the instructor told parents in his letter the assignment was about empathizing with the Islamic religion. âIf I had the opportunity to correct the letter before it was sent out, I would have changed that paragraph,â...
Posted by: mhw ||
11/26/2003 10:48:11 AM ||
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#1
Good, the Arab Christian voice will carry more weight than the American Christian voice in this matter. They're not as likely to be automatically labled as racists, for one thing, and they are speaking from experience for another. Keep it up folks, we need your voice, we need this debate.
#2
And so the teacher will face administrative discipline, just as a christian-promoting teacher would?
Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 11:03 Comments ||
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The teacher at Royal Oak Intermediate School in Covina, Calif., wrote parents of students in his world history class, saying he wanted to take advantage of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan âto promote a greater understanding and empathy towards the Muslim religion.â
{...}
About 450 of the protestors were Coptic Christian immigrants from Muslim-majority Egypt, whose families had suffered discrimination and persecution because of their faith...
Just another instance of idiot teachers and their stupid little agendas.
#4
No doubt they get an earful about how evil the U.S. and Israel is from this a-hole on a daily basis. Good job by the Egyptians to do something about this. But I wonder how many of these leftist whacks get away with this, without anyone raising any flags?
#8
Let's see: Christianity derived from Judeasm, the teachings of the Jews handed down from the time of Moses to the present. Jesus, himself, was a Jew, dedicated in the temple in Jerusalem. He was born in Bethlehem, not far from Jerusalem. He grew up in Nazareth, between Jerusalem and Haifa. He preached on the banks of the Sea of Gallilea, was baptised in the Jordan River, and was crucified in Jerusalem.
The first Christian churches were founded in Jerusalem. Paul (formerly Saul, a Pharasee) preached extensively all over Judea and Israel before being taken to Rome and murdered.
Yeah, I guess Christianity has a pretty good claim to a long tradition in the Middle East!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 14:11 Comments ||
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Posted by: Rawsnacks ||
11/26/2003 10:30:43 AM ||
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#1
I wonder how AQ plans on doing that. I know a bit about those communications. Triple-redundancy of the redundancy. It's designed to survive a nuclear war.
One of the big problems OBL would have with using WMD against the United States is that it would give us the excuse to do whatever we pleased in response. I would certainly NEVER want to be on the 'catch' end of that kind of an arrangement.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 10:50 Comments ||
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#3
It would make sense to a westerner that they might target Fox News, but, if the media is the target, I suspect that NYT or one alphabet channels might come more readily to the (sick) mind of a terrorist.
#4
No. These guys have proven that they can use open source intel to understand our comms. But, as commentors mentioned above and 2 days ago, they might not understand all of the survivability features we have built into our networks. Let's hope.
These guys might be talking smack, but I am glad, as is clear from this story, we are taking the threat seriously. Hopefully the fact that we are being more vigilant will pay off.
I still can't figure out how they could take down our comms without a significant ASAT capability and/or use of EMP weapons in all locations where we have troops.
You just know I cannot resist!
Israeli customs have seized a shipment of 450 singing, dancing, and explodingOsama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein dolls under a law banning incitement, an official said on Wednesday. But itâs almost Christmas! What will all those Paleos get under the tree...ah, er, umm,...oops. My bad.
The hate-filled battery-powered Chinese-made figurines were confiscated at the northern port of Haifa, Customs Authority spokeswoman Idit Lev-Zerahiya said. Dancing dolls in Isreal, bologna from Mexico...Cheez.
An Israeli Arab âbusinessmanâ from the northern village of Qafr Qara admitted under questioning to importing the 400 copies of the al Qaeda leader and 50 of the deposed Iraqi ruler, as a "gimmick" for sale to Jews and Arabs, a customs statement said. 400 vs. 50. Itâs all about supply and demand, is it not?
"The law doesnât exactly say that you cannot own a bin Laden doll, but neither he nor Saddam Hussein are exactly good educational role models," Lev-Zerahiya told Reuters. The Power of Reason(TM).
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
11/26/2003 10:18:13 AM ||
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#1
I just reviewed the story I posted above. In an ealier version the dingbats at AP had this gem:
"While Palestinians have held some demonstrations in support of Osama bin Laden, there have been no mass displays of affection for the accused terror mastermind."
If someone demonstrates support by attending a rally, do they really need to own a singing, dancing doll to show "affection" for an individual? The very fact that someone has shown support is guilt enough for me. This wordsmithing by the AP is tragic!
A Muslim chaplain accused of taking classified material from the U.S. prison for terrorist suspects in Cuba was charged Tuesday by the military with adultery and storing pornography on a government computer. Gee, Yee, I thought Islam says porn is haram.
The military released Army Capt. James Yee from custody and will allow him to return to duty at a base in Georgia, said Raul Duany, a spokesman for the U.S. Southern Command. Return to duty? WTF?
The new charges include making a false statement, storing pornography on a government computer and having sexual relations outside marriage, which violates military law. Liar, spy, perv, cheater. A model Muslim.
Yeeâs lawyer, Eugene Fidell, said he was pleased that his client was released but disappointed by the new charges. "Weâre thrilled that Chaplain Yee was released, but on the other hand, the additional charges are the kind of thing that can give military justice a bad the name, especially the adultery charge," Fidell said. And your client is the kind of Muslim who gives Islam a bad name.
Posted by: growler ||
11/26/2003 10:09:16 AM ||
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Sounds like military justice is doing their job - unlike the issue with LtCol West, there are some specific and clear violations of the military code here.
#2
arrest the guy for espionage, convict him of porn? If they dont have proof of espionage, they should drop all charges. This porn conviction just makes them look petty.
PS - Illegal muslim combatants should have to eat bbq pork sandwiches until they puke.
#3
Flash, the military loves to âpile-onâ charges. If you steal from the BX you would be charged with not only theft, but also conduct unbecoming. Nothing special here. They probably have the proof for espionage, but during the investigation they found additional charges. Kind of like when they arrest a drug dealer and also find a gun on them. They would be charged with possession, intent to distribute, and unlawful handgun
#5
Anyone know what happened to the espionage charges? Are they releasing him for "singing"? Or are they just letting people think he sang and see who moves to silence him?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 14:02 Comments ||
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(2003-11-26) -- U.S. President George Bush today converted from Christianity to Islam, declared himself to be a Grand Ayatollah and issued a fatwa, a religious edict, against those who have slowed the transition to democracy in Iraq.
The move comes as the Bush administration faced increasing criticism that it was trying to impose its brand of American democracy upon Iraq. The Washington Post reported today that Coalition transition efforts had faltered because an influential cleric had declared a fatwa against allowing foreigners to write the new Iraqi constitution.
"Itâs good to see that the Bush administration finally understands how to get things done in Iraq," said one unnamed member of the provisional Iraqi Governing Council. "All of this âcultivating stakeholder buy-inâ may work at IBM, but we Shiites wait until an influential ayatollah tells us what to do."
In Mr. Bushâs first official statement after the Rose Garden fatwa-signing ceremony, Islamâs newest Grand Ayatollah said, "Death to the infidel Baathists with their shoulder-fired rockets. Their blood will turn the sand red, God be willing. May God show them His wrath and give them what they deserve."
Posted by: Atrus ||
11/26/2003 9:30:42 AM ||
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EFL
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will spend Thanksgiving in Afghanistan before traveling to Iraq with a former Army paratrooper turned senator to meet with soldiers and ask questions about the United Statesâ ongoing nation-building efforts. The former first lady and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., have both been critical of the administrationâs handling of post-combat problems in the war on terrorism, particularly after major military operations ended in Iraq. Clinton and Reed said Tuesday they were concerned about the current efforts to win the "hearts and minds" of Iraqis. "This administration is run by people who have been obsessed with Saddam Hussein for more than a decade," Clinton said. "And the fact that they could have been so poorly informed and prepared raises a lot of serious questions about the decisions they are making now." What type of reception will Hillary receive from the troops?
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
11/26/2003 7:09:34 AM ||
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#1
Well, I hope the lads at least get better chow then normal because of Billary showing her ugly mug.
#2
I wonder how they'll pick the units which will be forced to put up with her honored with her presence. Think they have an HQ shit honor list they'll work from?
#3
"Look, Sarge, the Senate sent us a turkey for Thanksgiving."
Posted by: Mike ||
11/26/2003 8:13 Comments ||
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.com, look for all the pc decorations. They'll need to find a soldier of each different race & ethnic background, females, and even a homo if they can find one. LOL. I'm sure HRC's staff will ask that any Jewish or Puerto Rican soldiers be present for photo ops as she'll definitely want to score the points. Trust me, I've seen this stuff asked for. Even if the combat unit she visits is 90% white & male, it will not look that way in the photo for her constituents - just an observation from experience.
#5
They're going to be hard pressed to get Hillary into a combat suit. It would alienate her left-wing voters if they thought she was pro-american.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/26/2003 8:40 Comments ||
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#6
Same thing happened in Saudi when the Clown Prince came to visit Aramco - all the expats were told to put important-looking shit on the screen and get out. Then properly connected and dressed (in dresses, of course) Saoodi's were herded in to sit at the computers. They were told not to touch anything! I guess His Royalness didn't ask for a demo, it certainly would've been a disaster if he had. All the press photos Aramco distributes show these sycophants giving their best "ah hah!" or "serious deep thought" looks while gazing at computer screens or blueprints of refineries. SOS the world over!
Posted by: .com (Abu Pure PR) ||
11/26/2003 8:41 Comments ||
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#7
.com --
Today's NY Post says Hillary is going to "spend time" with guys from the 10th Mountain Division. That's because they're from Fort Drum, NY. She'll pretend to care about them just like she pretends to care about all of us NYers.
#9
Oooooo raw meat real voters! She'll be beside herself - and one was already one too many! Poor guys. (Sorry LH, but Freedom sez it's OK) Their cumulative kharma must be negative. Prolly got an unusual clustering of serial killers from previous lives in there. ;->
Posted by: .com (Abu Bad Luck) ||
11/26/2003 10:33 Comments ||
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#10
Jarhead, Yes look for the PC. Even if the unit is almost snow white it will 'become' the most diverse unit in the military (for at least a few hours). Look for Black, Latino, Muslim (gotta cuddle up to them too), Asian, lots of women and mothers of course. All will be pretty and hansome and 'photogenic'....
And of course Hillary carving the turkey 'taking care of the men and women which Bush put in harms way based on a lie...'. Interviewing people (women and children) who lost their parents or relatives to american imperialism.
You wont see her at any re-constructed schools or hospitals or any mass graves or interviewing any torture victims though... Wont want to show us in a good light or Saddam in a bad light you know.
#11
I always HATED when these yahoo's would show up during the holidays. We spent way too much time painting and cleaning. Also whenever they had a reception for the honored guest it was ALWAYS on my time off. I natually had to forgo any sack time so I could go listen to how much they love us. BLAH! Unless she brought a lot of hard liquor or some cheap hookers (or both) these guys could care less about the visit. And also we had to spend unit funds to cover the cost of the visit, which if these two had there way would not have passed.
#12
What the hey! I thought I posted this early this am. Hmmm, Fred, wot happened?
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2003 12:49 Comments ||
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#13
Sarge, good point. Troops do not give a flip if these people show up. We know the deal. Unless they're bringing great-home cooked chow, presents, and good liquor, stay home. Waste our time w/their half-hearted speeches & dog/pony shows.
BTW - All you Rantburgers have a Happy Thanksgiving.
#14
#12 Steve - You posted it last night. It's a dupe. Rather than ditching all the comments that were on it, I left it in...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2003 13:06 Comments ||
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I remember a couple of these "visits" during holiday times in Germany. Mostly they hit the Army units, and left us alone. That was good, because we'd practically have to shut down to let one in the door. We did have one show up - a congressman from somewhere, don't remember now. He wanted to visit for the sole reason that he'd been a member of the unit 20 years earlier, or something. Turned out to be an all-right guy who understood not only the work, but the skill and dedication of the people doing it. Even had a few good 'war stories' to relate - things that were still going on much the same twenty years later.
Hillary should visit the soccer field in Kabul, the Marsh Arabs in southern Iraq, and the City Council in Mosul. Maybe spend a bit of time with the REAL troops in all three places (yeah, even the non-US military providing the peace and security the Iraqi people are beginning to enjoy). If she's really there on a 'fact-finding mission', that's about the extent of what she needs to see. My bet is she spends the entire time trying to score propaganda points, and only end up alienating anyone that had to put up with her sh$$.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 14:26 Comments ||
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#16
I hope she gets in a photo with a couple of Burqua Babes (in donk blue).
#17
Those diddly damn donkeys just boil me to the b'Jesus-belt!
/Flanders
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
11/26/2003 16:20 Comments ||
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You know it just came to me! Hillary is going to personally lead an attack in Afghanistan and capture Bin Laden. Then she is on to Iraq to find and kill Saddam. After that she will zip on over to Israel and help them and the Arabs finally find peace. Then she will stop by Sweden and pick up her peace prize. Finally, she wings it back to the states, picks up the Democratic nomination, and the rest is history.
#21
#18 Cyber Sarge: man, what HAVE you been smoking? That has to be some powerful stuff!
Hillary couldn't find her butt with both hands in Afghanistan. She's kaffir, woman, and has absolutely no inckling of how to read a map, much less find anything. I can just see her - grabbed by Mullah Omar, crammed into a burkha, and traded for a donkey.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 18:07 Comments ||
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OP: now that would be a great trade. You can at least train a donkey. The animal, not most of their party.
EFL & All Skate
Declaring President Bush has done more to save American lives break down the so-called separation of church and state than any other chief executive, veteran White House assclown correspondent Helen Thomas told a large audience at the University of North Carolina that the war with Iraq is a "mindless invasion ⊠without provocation." Speaking to hundreds at UNC Monday night, Thomas wondered aloud, "Whereâs the national outrage?" reports the Durham Herald-Sun. âWhereâs the national outrage?âAh, er, umm, just wait until election day 2004 when Bush wins the White House, again, and we pick up seats in the House and Senate.
"Who is demanding to know why we invaded Iraq â a country that did absolutely nothing to us?" she asked. âWhy we invaded Iraqâ: UN resolutions, relationship with Al-Q, mass murder of innocents, blah, blah, blah.
Thomas has covered the White House for over 227 40 years. She described the first president she covered, George Washington John F. Kennedy, as inspired and eloquent. Such words did not come up, however, as she talked about Bush. Bitter, bitter, bitter.
Thomas claimed the Iraq war is "a violation of international policy under any circumstance and is immoral." Logic Alert: Therefore, what Sammy was was doing was...
"I think this war with Iraq put a hole in the hornetâs nest," Thomas responded. "The whole world is dangerous, not just Pakistan." The hole assclown Helen, is hallmark of a large munitions. And inside the hornetâs nest are a lot of dead terrorists.
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
11/26/2003 6:31:39 AM ||
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Why does anyone give a rats ass what that addled old battle axe has to say? She's living in that BS camelot timewarp. Its alot easier to shoot holes in Kennedy's foreign policy than Bush's. I don't remember the Veit Cong flying airliners into skyscrapers.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/26/2003 7:26 Comments ||
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Perhaps most alarming is that the UNC thought enough of her to host a lecture.
#4
UNC having her there is not a surprise at all. Its a bastion of liberalism. I imagine the applause was overwhelming. I'm from NC but would disown any of my children who went to UNC. There was a controversy a few years ago about a required book for reading by upcoming freshman on the Koran. They backed down some but not all the way. Those who didn't had to write about why they wouldn't read the book or something like that. Imagine they went on a "watch" list.
Posted by: AF Lady ||
11/26/2003 7:54 Comments ||
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Helen Thomas should get more exposure. She is a symbol of the convergence of old left socialism, arab jew hatred, global trade paranoia and the reinforcing opinions of the elite cocktail circuit.
Finally, some evidence that the cries for the governement to tighten up the border with Mexico have been heard.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized the 81 rolls of Mexican bologna at the Paso Del Norte bridge as the pickup entered the United States. Every drug dog in the patrol station alerted simultaneously.
"Mmmmmm! Baloney!"
"It puts the ultimate consumer at risk," said customs spokesman Roger Maier. "Who knows how long these products have gone without refrigeration or without proper handling."
I dunno. Who?
Maier also said that there is a possibility of diseases such as hog cholera and classical swine fever being introduced into the United Statesâ pork industry. Thanks, Iâm going to end up a vegatarian at this rate. Still have trouble eating processed turkey products after an eighth grade field trip to an Amish turkey farm.
Children were sitting on top of the illegal load before it was discovered, Maier said. The rear seat had been removed from the extended-cab pickup and the bologna was put in its place. Were the kids wearing seat belts? No. Will throw the damn book at him.
He said the agency plans to pursue civil penalties against the Juarez, Mexico, man driving the truck. Maier said the agency wonât release the manâs name until the case goes to trial. Maier said the bologna goes for about $1 a roll in Juarez. When it is sold to a customer it can go for between $5 and $10 a roll in the United States, he said. I predict an immediate drop in the price of bologna nationwide to 50 cents a roll.
Civil penalties could include seizure of the merchandise and a fine, which he said will be at least $1,000. He said the driver and three passengers also had their border crossing cards revoked. To cover his court cost, I recommend to counsel that this man be advised to sell the rights to the idea of edible seating to my company.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/26/2003 4:43:44 AM ||
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#8
Becoming vegetarian due to swine cholera or swine fever? No way. If this is as what the spanish and french name swine plague then it is completely harmless for humans.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday the United States was very pleased with a resolution on Iranâs nuclear programs — the result of a compromise between Washington and three European countries. The United States struck a deal on Monday with France, Germany and Britain on a U.N. nuclear resolution that condemns Iran for hiding its atomic program in the past but encourages its stated new policy of total honesty and full cooperation. The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to discuss the resolution in Vienna on Wednesday, after beer and sausages
and all 35 members are likely to accept it. "Iâm very happy with the resolution. Iâd like to thank my European Union colleagues who worked so hard on it. ... Weâre pleased with it," Powell told reporters. After he chugged on litre mug without spilling a drop.
He said the United States especially welcomed a part of the resolution which immediately refers any future Iranian violation of international agreements to the IAEA board. "Thatâs ... an element that we wanted to see in the resolution, which points out that action will be forthcoming — appropriately so — if there is any indication in the future that Iran is not meeting its obligations," he said. The United States had originally pressed for a stronger resolution, including an immediate referral to the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions. But it backed down in the face of opposition from the three European governments — Britain, France and Germany. Iâve been hung up on Iran lately as I think they are the front lines in this war. God knows itâs not Afganistan and itâs not Aq boogiemen, which are flies.
Posted by: Lucky ||
11/26/2003 3:14:18 AM ||
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U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday the United States was very pleased with a resolution on Iranâs nuclear programs -- the result of a compromise between Washington and three European countries.
Resolutions mean diddly squat. Actions count, and the only time to be "pleased" is if and when Iran is reliably certified to have no capability/program to create a nuclear weapon. Until then, this is just a small step on the path, and should be viewed accordingly in that light (really nothing to make a big deal out of).
#2
Pacifist Powell has done it again. I hope he isn't kept after the election.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/26/2003 11:48 Comments ||
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#3
This smacks of good cop-bad cop. Since any resolution is worthless, even as t.p., it does the US no harm to participate in a paper exercise. Rest assured that the US and Israel will not allow a nuke in Iran, submit to nuclear blackmail, or allow Iran to give/sell to proxies. There is just too much at stake. So if all the other bureaucrats want to have an orgy of self-congradulation, hey, knock themselves out.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/26/2003 13:20 Comments ||
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Andrei Petrov (not this soldierâs real name) knew heâd never have a better chance than this. It was a scorching August day in 1999 and Petrov â commander of a Russian special-ops team in Dagestan, a Russian republic bordering Chechnya â had Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev in his sights. Earlier that month, Basayev had led an invasion of Dagestan and called upon local separatists to help in the fight against Russia. With a simple squeeze of his finger, Petrov could take out Basayev, the Chechensâ most effective guerrilla general and the man responsible for some of the conflictâs worst terrorist attacks. But Petrov says he received the following order over his walkie-talkie: "Hold your fire."
What?
"We just watched Basayevâs long column of trucks and jeeps withdraw from Dagestan back to Chechnya under cover provided by our own attack helicopters," Petrov recalls. "We could have wiped him out then and there, but the bosses in Moscow wanted him alive. They want the war to go on indefinitely [because of] the money: millions made in oil, millions made in the arms trade, millions siphoned off from funds earmarked for reconstruction. Thatâs why the war can never end."
I'm not too sure that statement makes any sense. Sounds like a war story to me...
Though a senior Russian Federal official dismisses Petrovâs story as "improbable," other Chechnya vets have told similar tales, and in his book Forgotten Chechnya the late State Duma Deputy Yuri Shchekochikhin stated that the Basayev column was escorted out of Dagestan by Russian choppers. President Vladimir Putin, who came to power in 1999 vowing to quell the Chechen insurgency, says that the battle there is part of the global war against terrorism. But for many Moscow officials and Russian soldiers on the front lines, it has become a form of government-sanctioned organized crime. Last May, General Victor Kazantsev, Putinâs envoy to the Southern Federal District that includes Chechnya, said that $6 million earmarked for Chechnya had been siphoned off by officials in Moscow. According to Usman Masayev, deputy head of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration, only 20% of $148 million earmarked to reconstruct Chechnya last year made it to the republic.
That part sounds likely enough. Not too sure about the ratios, but I'm not surprised somebody's raking off...
#2
IIRC, this widespread army corruption problem was already quite present during the first chechen war. I wonder what Poutin is willing/able to do about it?
#3
The widespread army corruption problem has existed since BEFORE WW II. There have always been Russians - from lowly privates to Field Marshalls - that did their bit to siphon off whatever they could in order to have a bit more enjoyment. A quarter of all gasoline, alcohol, and anything else easily converted to non-military use disappeared in Germany on a routine basis. There was a constant 'investigation' ongoing, and people were caught, but it didn't stop the corruption.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 10:45 Comments ||
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SEVEN Russian soldiers and three policemen were killed in rebel attacks in Chechnya over the past day, an official in the Kremlin-backed Chechen administration said. A Russian military official meanwhile reported that 22 rebels have been killed over the past two days in an operation in one of the republicâs southern areas. The casualty toll is one of the largest reported by Russia from an operation in several months. The Chechen official said four servicemen died when Russian military outposts came under fire and three others died when a truck was blown up and then fired on. He said the three policemen died in attacks in or near Grozny, the Chechen capital, which is deeply infiltrated with rebels despite a massive Russian military presence. Russiaâs soldiers vastly outnumber the rebels and have heavier weaponry, but they have been unable to uproot rebels from Grozny or from the mountainous southern third of the republic. The rebels attack soldiers near-daily in hit-and-run assaults and kill others with land mines or remote-controlled explosives.
It doesn't sound like their operations are being driven by reliable intel...
Col. Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for the regional headquarters for the Chechen operation, said that 22 rebels had been killed near the southern Chechnya village of Serzhen-Yurt in fighting that began after Russian reconnaissance forces discovered a rebel base, the Interfax news agency reported. Serzhen-Yurt, as I noted before, was Khattabâs old digs back during the initial invasion of Dagestan. From the looks of things, his successors decided to try and reopen the training camp there with predictable enough results.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/26/2003 12:09:31 AM ||
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#1
Is Russia fighting PC style? They killed 22, when there are probably 2222 in area.
#2
All of this Chechen BS should be looked at in the light of the Terrorist attack on the Nord-Ost Moscow theater--what happened there will probably encourage that crap around the world--thank God it hasn't made it's way to NY--the Television show about that was UNBELIEVABLE!
#3
(Pssst -- NMMM. "Nord-Ost" was the name of the musical being performed, not the theater.)
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 8:30 Comments ||
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#4
"Is Russia fighting PC style? They killed 22, when there are probably 2222 in area"
What do you mean PC style? Finding irregular combatants is hard, and overstepping the rules of civilized war doesnt change that. Unless you meant killing every human being in the place. Surely you didnt mean that. I hope not.
#5
Years of communist stupidity in managing their economy and their armed forces is coming home to roost. This is too bad as the Russian soldier is the one who bears the burden for this past stupidity.
Hardline elements in Beijing who are getting increasingly alarmed over Taipeiâs "creeping independence" — and Washingtonâs apparent connivance at Taiwan separatism — have proposed "doing a Thatcher" to the Americans. Soon after Sino-British negotiations over Hong Kongâs fate began in the early 1980s, late patriarch Deng refused to entertain suggestions by then British Prime Minister Thatcher about alternate ways to prolong Britainâs lease over the crown colony. Listen up CNN, Iâm just going to criticize this one instance of bias. Deng was no "late patriarch." Deng was a murderous Communist Dictator. Sure, he looks like an Angel when compared to Mao, but in the relevant terms he was a murderous leech, nothing else.
In a heated exchange in 1982, Deng simply told the Iron Lady that times had changed, China had become much stronger — and there could be no nonsense over Hong Kongâs return to the motherlandâs embrace at the stroke of midnight, June 30, 1997. Score one for the thugs.
Despite significant improvement in Sino-U.S. relations since the September 11, 2001 incident, Beijing is convinced that for purposes including "containing" China, there will always be strong American support for some form of Taiwan independence. There has been NO improvement in Sino-U.S. relations, none whatsoever.
In an interview with the Washington Post last week, Wen indicated that Beijing would "pay any price" to safeguard national unity, and that the U.S. "must be crystal clear" in opposing President Chenâs separatist agenda. If they are willing to pay any price, letâs make the price so high it breaks them.
A Beijing source familiar with Chinaâs Taiwan policy said given the gap between the military strength of China and that of the U.S. — and Chinaâs dependence on the U.S. market — a showdown over Taiwan was not yet imminent. He pointed out, however, that the hardlinersâ belief that an ugly Sino-U.S. confrontation is inevitable is gaining ground among a growing number of moderate leaders. "A showdown may be sooner than most people think because Beijing has begun taking a multi-pronged approach to prepare for the day when it will bluntly tell the U.S. to buzz off on the Taiwan issue," he said. Hereâs the deal: we encourage Taiwan to move even faster towards independence, say, 2005, and catch the Chinese unprepared for war. The ChiComms attack, we defeat them, they donât attack, they are exposed as paper tigers (my guess is theyâll attack.) What we shouldnât do is let the Chinese choose the moment of the engagement, as our ridiculous "one-China policy" allows them to do.
Posted by: Sorge ||
11/26/2003 12:07:03 AM ||
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#1
We won't encourage Taiwan right now because we're involved in Iraq. I sincerely wish we could, but the fact remains that going to war would endanger the troops in SK. Not too mention the whole damn country of SK. We need to take out NK first, then look towards Taiwanese independence.
Unless we have more troops, that is. We're stretched thin even for a technological army like ours.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/26/2003 0:18 Comments ||
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#2
Sounds like a plan Sorge--just remember--when we did the "push them into a corner routine" with Japan we got Pearl Harbor! When we played that with Russia it more or less worked--are you ready to roll the dice with another nuclear power? (albeit a smaller one)
#3
I still say that it's hard to invade Taiwan when millions of starving NorKs are streaming across your borders and your wheat harvest was bad so you'll have to rely on outside sources for food.
#4
Charles; People don't realize that the South Korean Army is vastly superior to the North Korean one. Better armed, better trained, better feed, and an air force better than China's, let alone North Korea. The South Koreans don't realize how brittle the Norks hordes are.
NotMikeMoore; The point of the article is to move faster so China cannot have their own Pearl Harbor. China doesn't have the Air Force or the Navy--or the Army for that matter--to challenge us right now. Strike while they're weak.
#6
China won't try to take Taiwan. It's beyond their ability to prepare for a sure victory. Don't forget that China is a very big country with many problems. Their long term approach will be to have the US pave the way. So lets not pave the way.
#7
I think Lucky's right - what I fear is an irrational striking out by China in the face of an epidemic or AIDS or financial catastrophe to try and rally the masses regardless of cost. I think they'd lose badly, but the cost would be high (but still worth it)
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2003 0:52 Comments ||
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#8
Willy Lam: He pointed out, however, that the hardlinersâ belief that an ugly Sino-U.S. confrontation is inevitable is gaining ground among a growing number of moderate leaders.
A moderate Chinese leader is like a moderate al Qaeda member - the distinction is kind of pointless.
#9
This has nothing to do with us. If the Taiwanese want to become Chinese they will. If they don't China doesn't stand an ice cubes chance in hell of making them. Taiwan's got over 20 million people and I believe around a 300 billion dollar GDP. Can you imagine how difficult it would be for us to take over a country that didn't want to be ruled with those stats? Now imagine China doing it. Impossible. Why the hell does China even want Taiwan anyway and now I hear they want to annex parts of north korea? These guys are living in another century.
#10
NMM: when we did the "push them into a corner routine" with Japan we got Pearl Harbor!
Like many of NMM's other left-wing anti-American* theories, that's kind of silly. In no sense did the US push Japan into a war - declassified Japanese documents show that the Japanese military was planning on taking Southeast Asia to get their own supplies of oil anyway. The American embargo merely hastened Japanese operations. (A China under Japan's domination would not have been a benefit for American interests - the Chinese would have proven to be willing and capable servants of Japanese empire, just like the Koreans in the Imperial Japanese Army, whose atrocities against Allied troops were particularly notorious).
China has big plans for East Asia. What we do on Taiwan may speed up or slow down the timetable, but won't alter the essence of China's plans. At the time of the Sino-Japanese War, there was no essential difference between the Chinese and the Japanese ideologies - except that the Japanese were in a position to bend the region to Japan's will. Now that China is coming into its own, its traditional expansionist tendencies are coming back into focus.
* that blame America for everything bad that happens in the world
#11
I wrote: A moderate Chinese leader is like a moderate al Qaeda member - the distinction is kind of pointless.
That should have read: "Comparing a hardline Chinese leader with a moderate Chinese leader is like comparing a hardline al Qaeda member with a moderate al Qaeda member - the distinction is kind of meaningless".
#12
The article notes that a good time for Taiwan to declare independence would be right before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Apparently Chinese diplomats are warning other countries that the Olympics would not stop the PRC from invading Taiwan if the latter did make such a move.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2003 1:12 Comments ||
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#13
Oh, NMM...
Seeing as how you're possessed of the typical leftist's superior intellect, please enlighten us as to how AmeriKKKa really caused the Rape of Nanking.
Posted by: Jeff ||
11/26/2003 1:31 Comments ||
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#14
Zhang Fei,
When you say China has big plans for east asia... Do you mean China is looking at Taiwan as the first of many invasions to grow the chinese empire or are you just referring to their attempts at strengthening their sphere of influence in the region?
#15
OK Zhang Fei--the US has never done anything wrong--we are always 100% right--happy now? And we'll just forget there was "ever" a Chinese Empire predating the Japanese that was just as militaristic, but lost? Ethnic anger anyone?
Jeff--I never said that--what I said was we pushed an inferior power into a corner--in the case of Japan by not selling them raw materials they needed--I certainly don't justify Japanese actions--so get off your Fox News bandwagon! What I meant was if the Chicoms felt threatened enough by Taiwanese Independance--how would you/we react to them threatening the nuclear option on LA to keep us Non-involved ?
#16
One item in the CNN article that was edited out is rather interesting -- that in the event of a confrontation over Taiwan, China would warn regional allies of the US not to allow us basing and other support in any conflict. Brilliant plan! If true, this would indicate that China remains comparatively inept in foreign policy. Rattle sabers at the neighbors and they'll probably have Vietnam asking us in to Cam Ranh Bay, besides cementing Japanese-US cooperation.
I continue to assume Taiwan will play it smart and prosper and reform while continuing with the charade that they're part of China (in any meaningful functional sense). If not, I suppose China might try something stupid, but odds still seem against it.
I'm no keen observer of internal Chinese affairs but its seems unlikely the political class would go along with some adventure that would end up having the country humiliated, its military devastated, its economy in crisis, and the region inflamed against it. All of which would be results of any mistaken attempt to challenge the US.
#19
This all seems quite silly. China is well known for taking the long view of things, and modernization and democratization on the mainland seem to be a requisite for Taiwan reunification. All they really have to do is wait a few years, or decades, and they will get Taiwan. Trying to take it by force would end up destroying the very reason for having it as part of China in the first place.
Posted by: Ben ||
11/26/2003 4:19 Comments ||
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#20
Zhang Fei--as usual you are an Ameri-fascist--but I'm really scared for agreeing with Ben
#21
Can China nuke LA,certainly,last I heard China had something like 2 dozen ICBM's.
Could the U.S.totally and competely destroy China,certainly.
Hell a couple of Cruise missles on the 3 Gorges Dam would pretty much destroy China.
#22
NMM--If China threatens to nuke L.A., we should threaten to nuke the whole of China. We cannot allow nuclear blackmail, or it will happen over and over again. Incidentally, in the view of the ChiComms having nukes, do you support research towards an Strategic Defense Initiative?
Ben--You've got to be kidding me. China is doing nothing, absolutely nothing towards democratization. And they have uttered three threats in three days, that doesn't sound much like "the long view of things" to me.
#23
I think I've figured it out. I've noticed in the past that good news for Bush makes the loony left go frothing insane, and their trolling and idiocy goes through the roof.
Yesterday we saw revised economic numbers; NMM went apeshit.
Looks like another point of data supporting the theory, IMHO.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/26/2003 8:40 Comments ||
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#24
Ice Cold, you made a great point about Cam Ranh Bay, the Vietnamese are already asking us to come in. It's already in the works but on the down low. W/Okinawa & Japan getting skittish about us there, the U.S. has been looking at alternatives (inevitable really) Viet Nam would be of interest right off China's flank. Very strange, 30+ yrs later and we may be back in Danang & Saigon City as friendly's w/bases. There was a big write up about this in the Marine Corps Times last week.
#25
Perhaps we could pay the Vietnameese enough to set up another National Training Center specializing in guerilla warfare. I expect we could find some locals who would make kick ass OpFor.
#26
Hell a couple of Cruise missles on the 3 Gorges Dam would pretty much destroy China.
That's the way to do it. Instead of nuking China and causing radiation everywhere, just have a miniature Noah's Ark! It would be cruel wiping out all those lives (Estimated 300 million), but more would die if we used Nuclear Weapons.
Although washing away all that top-soil into the sea might cause a slight hunger epidemic....
Posted by: Charles ||
11/26/2003 8:59 Comments ||
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#27
ben is correct and yet not correct (understand grasshopper?)
China DOES stand a good chance of getting Taiwan peacefully in the long run, and is prepared to accept the status quo. But that is not what the article is about. It is rather about China's fear that Taiwan, with US support would break the status quo by declaring independence. That would be a humiliation to a regime that is no longer Marxist and, in the absence of democracy, relies on nationalism for legitimacy.
This may be excessive saber rattling - but it seems to me be true that if we dont restrain Taiwan from going to far in the direction of independence WE will be provoking the war.
Now, as some have pointed out, thats not necessarily a bad thing. If a war with China is inevitable someday anyway, better in 2005 then in 2025, when we are likely to be less dominant. (Iraq is not all that relevant, since this would essentially be a naval and air war, not a land war - if we keep air and naval superiority China can't land a battalion on Taiwan - if we lose it a landing isnt needed - taiwan is an industrialized trade dependent economy - if China can blockade the island, the society will desolve.It would be desirable to improve our relations with Russia before such a war though)
So the question is whether a US-Chinese war is inevitable. Thats a huge question, and one I think beyond our ability to debate seriously here.
#28
NMM: And we'll just forget there was "ever" a Chinese Empire predating the Japanese that was just as militaristic, but lost?
For a change, NMM writes something sensible. This is what I've been pointing out all along - that China is today a huge country because of its traditional expansionistic tendencies. Empires have difficulty with the status quo - they either expand or contract. Minorities on an empire's boundaries can look over the border at other nations and wonder why they're being ruled by people of another ethnic group. Something has to give - either the empire expands, to quash the nascent nationalism by annexing the nations on its borders, or the empire contracts, riven by wars for national self-determination.
NMM's claim was that FDR pushed Japan into an unnecessary war - i.e. the trade embargo to protest Japan's invasion of China caused Pearl Harbor, which was not in America's interests. My point is that NMM (together with the assorted anti-American leftists who cooked up this theory), in his haste to blame America and sanctify the Japanese, has overlooked the crucial fact that a China under Japanese control was not in the American interest, from a national security standpoint. In time, the Japanese would have pacified China, because they were prepared to do what was necessary, meaning large-scale massacres of any among the civilian population who aided the Chinese resistance (anchored by Moose Dung on one end, and Cash My Check on the other)*. A Japanese empire incorporating China would have been a significant threat to American interests in the Pacific, especially the Philippines. The US oil embargo was just an attempt to slow down the Japanese war machine - why feed the enemy when you may have to fight him in a few years? (Note that we still weren't spending any real money on the military back then - it took Pearl Harbor to change that, meaning that continued trade with the Japanese would have strengthened the Japanese military relative to the US military).
NMM seems to be saying that FDR imposed the embargo with the mistaken notion Japanese militarism was uniquely immoral. The truth is that, whatever its morality, the Japanese conquest of China threatened American interests by giving Japan's military machine access to China's population and resources for warfighting, which, coupled with an expansionist ideology that would have been familiar to and easily accepted by the Chinese, would have posed a significant threat to US interests in the Pacific. The analogy is to the Napoleonic Wars - where FDR merely imposed an embargo on Japan, the British actively intervened to stop Napoleon from conquering all of Europe.
* And the Japanese are not unique in doing this. The Chinese have been known to massacre entire cities. In the Taiping Rebellion of the 19th century, the Chinese Imperial Army is reputed to have executed 100,000 rebels after they had surrendered.
#29
One question that bears asking is how much money does Taiwan business have tied up in investments in China. The island is not going to risk a conflagration and lose everything, from the Taiwanese businessman's economic point of view. I wonder how many people in Taiwan actually have independence fever that are not invested in the mainland. I am sure that there are alot of Taiwanese that are doing underground things for the PRC. I also wonder if the PRC is beating this Taiwan drum as national policy, or is it semi schitzofrentic with the PLA-types stirring the pot.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/26/2003 11:04 Comments ||
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#30
The intense saber-rattling, the bickering over NKor, and several other, less-obvious occurrences in China, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines, makes me wonder what role Russia is playing, and why. Some of the things I see don't make sense, either militarily or diplomatically:
Is China using Korea to push the Japanese into rearming, or is NKor doing that all on its own? Does China understand that Japan is even contemplating building a nuclear arsenal because of the fiasco in Pyongyang? Is that in China's best interest?
Does China understand that its behavior in the Spratleys has alerted Vietnam and the rest of Southeast Asia that China has the same type of hemispheric dominance in mind that Japan had in the 1930's?
Does China understand that the problems with Uigurs in western China aren't going to go away, and they're digging an even deeper hole alienating India?
China's behavior appears to be irrational. We've seen irrational behavior several times before in China's recent history: the border clashes on the Indian, Vietnamese, and Nepalese borders, as well as their infiltration of northern Burma, have always come back to bite them. The "Great Leap Forward" was an unmitigated disaster that severely damaged China economically, militarily, and politically. They share a LONG, mostly open border with Russia, yet constantly pick minor quarrels over the smallest of incidents. The current "rapproachment" was a farce, and disintegrated almost as soon as it was begun.
The Japanese tied up millions of its soldiers occupying territory that never paid for itself. There is a clandestine independence movement in Tibet that requires thousands of Chinese soldiers be stationed there, and most (if not all) hate it. Will China make that same mistake by invading territory simply to provide a "border cushion"?
China thinks the United States is totally occupied in the Middle East, and doesn't have its eye on anywhere else. Hopefully, that's not true. In the meantime, China's neighbors are beginning to understand that the Dragon to the north and west is a dangerous menace, and are preparing themselves for the worst. Whether their current rhetoric is merely sabre-rattling or an attempt at intimidation, they grossly misjudged the potential effect. Many of China's neighbors are preparing for what many see as an unavoidable showdown with the Dragon, and are acquiring the necessary capabilities to inflict serious injury, if not totally destroy it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 11:26 Comments ||
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#31
NMM wrote: what I said was we pushed an inferior power into a corner--in the case of Japan by not selling them raw materials they needed
Indeed, one could note that Mr. Roosevelt's policy of incrementalism pushed the Japanese into attacking us as part of their war strategy. Lesson to be learned: incrementalism doesn't work with thugs.
Something every Democratic presidental candidate ought to learn. For further examples, see this white paper:
Kennedy, J, and Johnson, LB, "Incremental Punishment of a Communist State as a Policy of Stopping Insurgency in a Neighboring Country", McNamara Press, Washington, DC, 1962-1968, pages 1-58,554.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2003 12:27 Comments ||
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#32
The Japanese tied up millions of its soldiers occupying territory that never paid for itself. There is a clandestine independence movement in Tibet that requires thousands of Chinese soldiers be stationed there, and most (if not all) hate it. Will China make that same mistake by invading territory simply to provide a "border cushion"?
Actually, OP, from some intel reports that a friend allowed me to see, the Chinese appear to be moving towards an "ethnic submersion" method. They're offering incentives - not the least of which is freedom from the draconic birth control the central government is trying to impose - for all Chinese citizens who are willing to move to Tibet and settle there permanantly.
Their hope is to render Tibet as Chinese as Taiwan. Or any Chinatown in the US, for that matter. Slowly squeezing out all of the native ethnic groups by outbreeding and outnumbering them, reducing them to minorities in their own lands.
Ed Becerra.
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
11/26/2003 18:30 Comments ||
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A special operation to destroy the remainder of the armed formation routed by the army commandos near Serzhen-Yurt settlement on the day before is going on in the Shali district of Chechnya, spokesman for the Regional Operations Staff (ROSH) for controlling the counterterrorist operation in the Northern Caucasus Colonel Ilya Shabalkin said. "Additional elements of the Interior and Defence Ministries were sent to the above-said area to pursue the remainder of the armed formation, as well as other smaller armed formations hiding in this locality, and five more bandits were destroyed in the course of the ambushes and pursuit," Shabalkin said. According to him, a lot of firearms and ammunition was taken in the places of fighting, and measures are being taken to identify the killed banditsâ bodies. "It is possible that odious figures from-among the leaders of illegal armed formations and foreign mercenaries are among them," the ROSH spokesman noted.
According to the ROSH information, on the day before the Defence Ministry commandos found a base of militants in the course of the search operation. As a result of fighting, the reconnaissance men killed seventeen bandits. There are no reports of the federal forcesâ losses. Bands subordinated to armed separatistsâ ringleaders Shamil Basayev and Abu al-Valid operate in this region. As noted before, Abu al-Valid = Abu Walid, yet another member of the now-infamous al-Ghamdi tribe.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/26/2003 12:06:58 AM ||
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Iran and the lion's share of Arab countries have refused to report weapons deals to the United Nations. Virtually the entire Arab League, with the exception of Jordan and Lebanon, did not reply to the UN Register of Convention Arms for 2002. Jordan reported imports of weapons and Lebanon did not report any arms transactions. Only Greece and Turkey reported the size and composition of their militaries and weaponry. Israel, Greece and Turkey reported both imports and exports to the UN. Israel reported the sale of 18 large-caliber artillery systems to Uganda and 30 AGM-142 Popeye missile to Turkey. Turkey also exported 80 combat vehicles to Malaysia.
Got something to hide, perhaps?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2003 23:45 ||
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#1
I'm shocked! The Arab League actually hiding something from the UN? The Zionist entity must have intercepted and destroyed their reports!
Posted by: Charles ||
11/26/2003 0:21 Comments ||
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#2
HAHAHA and the US never sells weapons--poor General Dynamics/Martin Marietta never get to participate in the world's rush to arms--Bwahahaha
#3
As usual, you miss the point as it is inconvenient and doesn't fit your NaziMedia dogmatic response. You really are lame and pathetic. I'm starting to feel badly about this game of Whack-a-Tard. There's no challenge. As you posted earlier, "YAAAAWWWWNNN" - or something stupid to that effect.
#5
Bomb, he (she)'s merely diverting the issue. The issue isn't arms sales, the issue is who is reporting arms sales IAW the UN Charter while who is ignoring the UN Charter when it's inconvenient. Gaze at the troll and focus on the issue.
#7
I prefer to gaze at trolls with a 40x scope. Any distance up to 1000 yards will do. Unfortunately, the sight of trolls causes my trigger finger to itch something uncontrollably.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/26/2003 20:08 Comments ||
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The Georgian parliament has set 4 January as the date for a presidential election in the former Soviet republic after Eduard Shevardnadze was forced to resign. Opposition leader Mikhail Saakishvili, who led weeks of opposition protests against Shevardnadze, has said he will run in the election. Earlier, the highest court in Georgia quashed most of the results of the parliamentary vote held under the deposed Shevardnadze, paving the way for fresh elections. In a televised statement on Tuesday, a Supreme Court judge said that the election of 150 deputies were found invalid. The election of the other 85 deputies will stand. Georgia's acting President Nino Burjanadze, another potential candidate, promised that the elections would establish a new democratic era following the overthrow of Shevardadze. "We are going to hold democratic and fair elections within the next few weeks. I'm going to do everything to maintain stability and peace in the country," she told lawmakers.
Good luck to Georgia. It'll be nice if they manage to pull off a reasonably honest election. But whoever's going to run the government next is still going to have some major problems to clean up.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2003 23:45 ||
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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has canceled another major appearance amid increasing fears of his health. Mubarak canceled a major meeting with his government on Saturday. Instead, the president flew to Sharm el-Sheik for what was termed by Egyptian sources as a vacation of several days. The sources said Mubarak canceled his attendance of a meeting in Cairo on Saturday on orders from his physicians. On Wednesday, Mubarak was said to have collapsed during a speech to parliament. Mubarak has been weakened by a combination of flu and low blood pressure, the sources said. But the Egyptian president has reduced his public appearances steadily over the last few months amid reports that he has been growing weaker.
It takes more than Grecian Formula, I guess. Shall we start the Hosni Deathwatch?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2003 23:45 ||
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#1
And while we're doing that start counting how many millions of dollars we're sending to a soon to fail dictatorship in the "soon to be democratized" Middle East? Oh, the irony!
#10
And what wisdon, pray tell, did you impart? I guess you should enlighten me for I am indeed so painfully ignorant. You, safe within your coccoon in the US, know all about the rest of the world. Been there / done that in your vast intellect. That's why we are so frequently wowed by your eminent learned discourses and insight.
You get all your miracles second-hand, yet you are the authority on all things. Of course, that's obvious.
Keep going. Nothing can stop you now. You've proven yourself, the rest is pure glory.
#11
Of course your view .nothing is suspect since you don't even live in our country--when you get done being a sex tourist in Thailand and start paying taxes to pay for this war your guy has started then you may have a point--until then the point remains on your head
#12
No sweat, asshole. I'll be home around Xmas. Puhleeeeze let me know where you live and I proooomise I'll drop by. No kidding. I'm looking at living in Nevada, but I'll make a special trip, just for you. Yeah, I know. No problem, my man, I'm just that kind of guy.
BTW, Geo43 wasn't my guy UNTIL he responded as he did to 9/11. THEN he became my guy.
#13
Are you really threatening me you cromagnon refugee? Bring it on! Nevada sounds like a place YOU should live in since people on the East Coast have crazy ideas about civilization
#14
Whatever, bro. You wanna play, hey - we'll play. You wanna go fuck yourself, be my guest. You do not contribute. You are a troll. You are an asshole troll. You want a size 11 shoved up your ass sideways - give me an address.
#19
RMcLeod - Easy, bro, I'm pretty sure that sneering at an entire state is permitted in the NaziMedia LLL Style Handbook. After all, it's merely of "flyover America" to our betters - a traveller's inconvenience. Were it not for the taxes they pay...
Three MPs criticized on Monday a French petition calling for the withdrawal of the Syrian Army from Lebanon as âblatant interference into Lebanese affairs.â
"Have the foreign occupiers pull out of our country? Leave us to our own devices? Never!"
Some 110 French MPs signed a petition urging President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin to work with the international community to implement UN Resolution 520 stipulating the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon.
"But... Tha'd leave us with nobody to tell us what to do!"
Jezzine MP George Najm said that any condemnation made by a foreign country regarding Lebanese-Syrian relations was an intrusion into Lebanonâs affairs.
"Yeah. So butt out, froggies!"
He added that such relations were determined by the Lebanese and Syrian governments, which were in the best position to judge both peopleâs interests, rather than any foreign government.
"'Specially the Syrian government. Ours ain't squat. That's why we need to be occupied."
Najm accused the French legislators of being âmanipulated by Israeli and US interests that are working to separate Lebanese and Syrian relations in order to target and weaken Lebanon and deprive its Islamic resistance from preventing the resettlement of Palestinians in Lebanon.â
"If we dump Syria, what'll happen to poor Hezbollah? They'll be all alone!"
Beirut MP Nasser Qandil said that a number of French MPs were often influenced by the Zionist lobby, adding that some had previously signed a petition in support of former army commander General Michel Aoun.
You know how those Zionists are always pushing the Frenchies around...
However, he also said that France will always support Arab causes, Lebanonâs sovereignty and its cooperation with Syria against the Israeli scheme, asserting that âFrance will not alter its policies based on such political movements.â
So what the hell did he actually mean when he said two contradictory things?
Sidon MP Osama Saad said that such foreign interference did not serve Lebanonâs aspiration to develop relations with Europe. âWe know our interests better than anybody else,â he said. He asked: âWhere were they when Lebanon and the Lebanese suffered from Zionist occupation?â
We might ask where Syria was, too.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2003 23:45 ||
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#1
Uh, Fred..Syria was busy occupying the country ans supporting terrorists--and no one said jack..
#5
On a couple key issues, yes. Not a whole lot, but on a certain few. And that's only if you're not a politician.
............................
Ok, I'm bsing you. This is just a freak anamoly in the world that we agree.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/26/2003 8:15 Comments ||
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#6
For a half-century or more Syria has been "buying" the support of Lebanese politicians. Still, these days it is hard to say who is more corrupt, those Lebanese who are suborned by Chirac and his gang, or the Lebanese paid by the Assad family and who bang the drum for a "Greater Syria".
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