WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Libya, citing cost and liability concerns, has informed the United States of plans to back out of a contract to destroy its mustard gas stocks as promised under a landmark 2003 agreement, U.S. officials said. The State Department played down the development and insisted Tripoli remains committed to getting rid of its chemical weapons agents.
Striped pants brigade always makes excuses for others. Typical.
But some officials and experts worry that a critical opportunity to destroy Libya's remaining stocks -- believed to include 23 metric tons of old mustard gas and 1,300 metric tons of precursor chemicals -- could be lost. "We can't let this opportunity slip by," said a U.S. official.
Under the 2003 agreement -- hailed by the Bush administration as a major foreign policy success and a model for other countries -- Libya promised to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction and long-range missile programs. Libya has already allowed the removal of more than 1,000 metric tons of critical nuclear and missile equipment as well as the destruction of 3,500 chemical-weapons capable munitions.
The remaining chemical agents were due to be destroyed this year. In December 2006, the United States and Libya signed a contract to cooperate in carrying out the chemical destruction portion of the agreement. That contract would have Washington pay $45 million or about 75 percent of the destruction costs, a State Department official said.
So we even pay for most of it.
But Libya recently sent the department a letter declaring its intention to withdraw from the contract on June 14, officials said. The letter "cites Libyan dissatisfaction with the U.S. refusal to pay for the entire (chemical destruction) effort as well as unacceptable legal requirements raised during contract negotiations between the private contractor (hired to do the destruction work) and the Libyan government," one official said.
Some officials and experts said they believe Libya is just trying to get more money out of the United States.
They're Libyans, after all.
Others speculated that Tripoli had real concerns about some liability issues associated with the project, or that it wanted to avoid the kind of strict accountability that comes with having the United States directly involved. "The bottom line is, I don't know what the Libyans are up to," one U.S. official said.
"They're kinda like North Koreans," the official added.
But another official told Reuters, "I don't think there is any question they will get rid of the chemical agent."
One option would be to have Washington assume the full financing burden but U.S. officials said they didn't know if that would satisfy Libya or if the U.S. budget could afford it. In the past, Defense Department officials had expressed concern about spending the department's limited threat reduction funds on such an expensive project, which involves construction of a special incinerator. The chemical agents are stored in a remote desert location about 370 miles from Tripoli without easy access to the large quantities of water needed to demilitarize chemical stocks.
U.S. officials said the stocks were reasonably secure and were more of an environmental hazard than a proliferation hazard. "The United States believes our financial assistance and expertise can help to expedite the (chemical agents') destruction and we will be working with Libya to address its concerns and play a role in the destruction effort," a State Department official said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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We'll end up paying for 125% of the process and the destruction will happen. It's the Middleast.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/09/2007 11:55 Comments ||
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#3
Or Gadaffi Jr. will intervene personally, and the deal will go through at 100% of cost to the US. That way, Gadaffi Sr. can ensure that his son gets brownie points with the West and that he doesn't have to pay for destroying the WMDs he has.
Egyptian border guards have arrested 14 Sudanese and two Eritreans who were allegedly tried to illegally cross from Egypt into Israel to look for jobs, a police officer in the northern Sinai Peninsula said Friday. All the Sudanese, who carry temporary asylum permits from Egypt, and the Eritreans, a man and a woman, told police that they paid money to some Beduin to help them cross into Israel to find better jobs.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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PRINCE Harry has decided to quit the army early over the debacle of his deployment to Iraq. The 22-year-old, who is on a training exercise in Canada, has told friends he "just couldn't face the humiliation" of being withdrawn from frontline service again.
Instead, the prince hopes to join his father and grandmother to become a full-time working member of the royal family.
He also plans to travel extensively in Africa and develop Sentebale, the charity he set up in memory of his mother which supports AIDS orphans in the poverty-stricken kingdom of Lesotho.
A source close to the prince said: "Harry has wanted to serve in the army since he was a small boy and the debacle over his deployment to Iraq hit him hard.
"The poor lad really is beside himself and more than a bit depressed.
"He keeps up nearly by the hour on what is happening with his boys in the Gulf.
"He knows in his heart of hearts that pulling him out was the death knell for his army career.
"He has decided he will devote his time to charity work and travel. Harry has a list that his mother once made of things she wanted to help to change in the world and he wants to check all of them off.''
Reconnaissance officer Harry was due to go with his 12-strong troop from the Blues and Royals to Iraq to begin a six-month tour of duty at the beginning of last month.
But the head of the army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, reversed the decision after receiving intelligence that to send Harry to the war zone would put him and his men at "unacceptable'' risk.
One insurgent group had threatened to kidnap the young royal.
The prince is now on exercise with the British Army Training Unit in Alberta, Canada, in preparation for a possible deployment to Afghanistan this summer.
He is said to be encouraged by the move but concerned because there is already talk that the posting is in jeopardy due to rising casualties on the battlefield.
Sources say the prince will probably stay for another couple of years as a face-saving exercise but is likely to quit after that.
#1
When his brother Wm becomes king, I hope they correct the situation by awarding Knighthoods only to decorated combat veterans. That would be one in the eye to a multitude of individuals who slight the crown in many ways.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Japan has requested the possible missile defense upgrade to one of its sea-based Aegis air defense systems and nine SM-3 interceptor missiles, the Pentagon said Friday. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency estimated the value of the proposed sale at 475 million dollars.
Deployed on Japanese ships, the upgraded Aegis system and SM-3 Block IA missiles will provide "the initial ballistic missile defense for mainland Japan," the agency said in a statement. "Although comparable weapons are not currently deployed in Northeast Asia, the proposed sale of SM-3 missiles and BMD upgrades to the Aegis Weapon System will not significantly alter the existing military balance in the region as the proposed sale enhances only defensive capabilities," it said.
Congress has 30 days in which to block the sale if it is opposed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Since they aren't defending the US, I have no objection.
Posted by: Senator Levin ||
06/09/2007 0:26 Comments ||
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I don't think that 9 missiles would do much against a Chinese saturation attack. I think this message is intended for their wacky sidekick.
I don't understand why Japan would only use a ship based Aegis system. It has always seemed wasteful to tie up a mobile asset in that type of role.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/09/2007 11:50 Comments ||
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I can think of 3 reasons why the Japanese went the way of the Aegis and SM-3 missiles : 1) it is a proven combination with a good track record of interceptions; 2) they already have th Aegis online and in-service, and they already used Standard missiles in their Navy; 3) no fight with the Dhimmocrats over buying one of the land-based systems, which the Dhimmocrats would block just to spite President Bush.
The American Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to rescind certain portions of the Military Commissions Act a move that will draw few headlines, but which holds the potential to do great damage to intelligence agencies, which are vital in the war on terror. Should the practice of giving terrorists access to federal courts be resumed, the Department of Defense would face the choice between protecting the means of gathering intelligence and the sources of intelligence, and letting terrorists go free, or placing the information gathered on the record, and risk aiding terrorists' counter-intelligence efforts. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
06/09/2007 08:27 ||
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This is really not a surprise. Many in the new Democratic Party congressional leadership opposed the Military Commissions Act, echoing complaints from human rights groups like the Center for Constitutional Rights and Amnesty International. The Democrats are now tossing this over to their supporters, in essence, seeking to score political points from their supporters and get positive press from the mainstream media.
More dhimmicrat shennanigans. No wonder they feel like they can declare the war lost. They are working assiduously to bring about defeat.
#2
The committee can vote, and the whole Senate can vote, then the House, and then the President vetoes it.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
06/09/2007 11:26 Comments ||
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#3
Why the hell anyone is insisting that foreign born terrorists should be permitted access to citizen based jurisprudence goes beyond all comprehension. To do so merely justifies the use of rendition, black ops and other below-radar field practices. Counter-terrorist measures are at the same level as foreign espionage. No one in their right mind would expect the government to openly identify its foreign agents or targets. Why then do these morons think we should do so with our Islamic enemy? There should one simple blanket response to this sort of counter-productive judicial nonsense, a polite "no" loud FOAD!
The Bush administration yesterday attempted to wipe the slate clean on the Iraq war and chart a new way forward with the surprise announcement that it was replacing General Peter Pace as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The defence chief, Robert Gates, said he had reluctantly decided on the reshuffle - despite his initial support for Gen Pace - to avoid a "divisive ordeal" at the Senate which would have had to approve an extension of the general's term. "The focus of this confirmation process would have been on the past rather than on the future," Mr Gates told the press conference. "There was a very real prospect that the process would be quite contentious."
He said he had nominated Admiral Mike Mullen, who is currently chief of naval operations, to replace Gen Pace. In another house cleaning move, the vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Edmund Gambastiani, also announced his retirement yesterday.
A career marine, Gen Pace has been at the centre of military decision-making by the Bush administration on Afghanistan and Iraq for the last six years. As vice chairman and then chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, he was a key architect of the 2003 invasion to remove Saddam Hussein, as well as the post-war planning.
The decision not to fight for Gen Pace was seen as a sign of the administration's eagerness to open a new chapter in the Iraq war, and so help rebuild wavering Republican support for the troops increase. Mr Gates denied any doubts about Gen Pace's performance. "I am disappointed that the circumstances make this kind of decision necessary," Mr Gates told reporters. "I wish that were not the case." The secretary said the political figures he had conferred with were unanimous in their respect for Gen Pace - and unanimous in their feeling that a change in Pentagon leadership was needed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
He sealed that one when he expressed his views on gays.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/09/2007 12:28 Comments ||
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MIAMI - Jurors in the terrorism support and conspiracy trial of Jose Padilla heard his voice on an FBI wiretap for the first time Friday, in a conversation that prosecutors say proves he was getting ready to fight jihad overseas.
In the July 1997 intercepted phone call, co-defendant Adham Amin Hassoun tells Padilla in English that "the most important thing is that you tell me you're ready." The FBI's lead investigator in the case testified that Hassoun was talking about going to an area of jihad, or Islamic holy war. "God willing ... it's going to happen soon," Padilla responds. He later adds: "Believe me, brother, it's going to happen soon."
Padilla also tells Hassoun that he is prepared to obey an "emir," or commander, wherever he is sent, even if that person is younger. "You have to have a lot of discipline too, brother," Padilla says on the tape. "You have to have discipline and obedience."
Prosecutors say Hassoun recruited Padilla to fight for Islamic extremist causes overseas as part of a North American jihad support network. Hassoun, who was a prominent speaker and fundraiser in South Florida mosques, met Padilla while both were living in Broward County just north of Miami. Padilla, Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi are charged with being part of a support cell for Islamic extremist groups worldwide, including al-Qaida. Another alleged Hassoun recruit, Mohamed Hesham Youssef, is on many more of the tapes. Youssef was also indicted in the Miami case but is in custody in Egypt and is not part of the current trial.
The FBI wiretaps from 1994-2001 form the heart of the prosecution's case against the three defendants. Padilla's voice is heard on seven intercepts, and he is mentioned on about two dozen others. Several intercepted calls were played Friday between Hassoun in Florida and Youssef in Cairo; prosecutors say they discussed where Youssef should travel to fight in Muslim causes. They allege Hassoun wanted Youssef in 1997 to go to an area along the Ethiopia-Somalia border where Ethiopian soldiers were battling Muslim fighters.
In one call, Hassoun tells Youssef that "about 56 of the brothers got married." The lead FBI investigator, Agent John T. Kavanaugh, testified that was code for mujahedeen fighters killed fighting the Ethiopian army.
Got their virgins, did they?
On other calls, Youssef mentions a "partner" that the FBI identified as Padilla, who was using the alias "Ibrahim" at the time. "Does he intend to go through with it?" Youssef asks Hassoun. "Yes, he had reservations about the price, but then he said all right, if this is the only price, we will buy," Hassoun replies.
It's not clear in that conversation whether Hassoun is referring to money or sacrifices that Padilla would be expected to make. Earlier, he was recorded telling Youssef not to worry about his possessions and family in getting ready for jihad. "Just get yourself ready and forget about the worldly brides and worldly home," Hassoun says.
Padilla eventually traveled to Egypt and then made his way to Afghanistan, where prosecutors say he filled out a form in 2000 to attend an al-Qaida training camp. On the July 1997 tape, Padilla complains at one point to Hassoun that Youssef "talks too much" and that Hassoun reminds Padilla to be careful on the telephone.
Prosecutors will likely continue to play FBI wiretap tapes when testimony resumes Tuesday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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In one call, Hassoun tells Youssef that "about 56 of the brothers got married." The lead FBI investigator, Agent John T. Kavanaugh, testified that was code for mujahedeen fighters killed fighting the Ethiopian army.
NEW YORK - The investigation into the thwarted plot to bomb John F. Kennedy International Airport is widening beyond the four men in custody, with more suspects sought outside the U.S. for their suspected roles, a law enforcement official said Friday.
The defendants identified last weekend were "just a piece of it," the official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because of not being authorized to speak publicly. "We are definitely seeking more players. We are targeting others overseas." The official declined to provide details about the possible suspects, or in what countries they are being sought.
The four suspects made trips to the airport, took video and photographs, drew diagrams and collected information. They then hoped to shop their information to individuals with the capacity to pull off their stated plan of causing "greater destruction than the Sept. 11 attacks," the official said. According to court documents, the men sought the help of Jamaat al Muslimeen, or JAM, a Muslim organization based in Trinidad a known violent group involved in killings, kidnappings and weapons trafficking over the past two decades. The group staged a coup attempt in 1990, storming the Trinidad Parliament building and taking the prime minister hostage.
Some experts have called the plot far-fetched, saying it would have been virtually impossible to achieve the kind of destruction the suspects envisioned. But the official said that if the men had lined up with people who had the right resources, the plans could have been carried out in a short period of time.
You get the idea that some 'experts' won't be happy unless it's an earth-shattering kaboom.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Unless Carl Levin has his way, of course.
President Bush signaled Friday the United States will press ahead with a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe despite Russia's heated objections. Poland's president expressed support for installing interceptor rockets in his country. The administration made clear it was not abandoning plans for a missile-defense program in Poland and the Czech Republic despite a surprise counterproposal Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin to instead use a Soviet-era radar tracking station in Azerbaijan.
Putin had more suggestions on Friday for locations for missile interceptors: "They could be placed in the south, in U.S. NATO allies such as Turkey, or even Iraq," Putin said. "They could also be placed on sea platforms."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in an Associated Press interview in New York, said Friday, "One does not choose sites for missile defense out of the blue. It's geometry and geography as to how you intercept a missile. This is an idea that has not yet been vetted," she said of Putin's offer. "We have to see whether Azerbaijan makes any sense in the context of missile defense."
The U.S. system calls for a radar screen in the Czech Republic to watch for missile threats, and 10 interceptor rockets in Poland to shoot down any missiles. Both Bush and Kaczynski said the system would not threaten Russia. The Kremlin argues that the system would undermine its nuclear deterrent. "The system we have proposed is not directed at Russia," Bush said after talks with Kaczynski at the presidential retreat at Jurata, a resort on the Baltic Sea. "Indeed, we would welcome Russian cooperation on missile defense."
Bush said a working group including the United States and Russia would "discuss different opportunities and different options, all aimed at providing protection for people from rogue regimes who might be in a position to either blackmail and/or attack those of us who live in free societies."
Kaczynski voiced strong support for putting the interceptors on Polish soil. "As far as the missile defense system is concerned, the two parties fully agree," Kaczynski said. "The Russian federation can feel totally safe," said Kaczynski. He said Moscow must recognize that the world has changed since the fall of the Soviet Union nearly two decades ago.
Bush thanked the Polish president for sending troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Poland has nearly 900 troops in Iraq, and Bush noted that the country had recently agreed to keep them there at least through the end of the year.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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The Balochistan Government Friday categorically held Hamid Karzai-led Afghan Government responsible for providing shelter to Baloch separatist fighters, which they believe was clear evidence of Afghan involvement in the instability created in Balochistan.
There is ample evidence to substantiate our allegations that Afghanistan is creating trouble in Balochistan and extending full support to Baloch fighters, Raziq Bugti, spokesperson for the Balochistan Government, told a news conference held in the Chief Minister Secretariat.
Bugti said that from day one, the government had not ruled out the involvement of a foreign hand in creating trouble in Balochistan. However, he said, the governments stance became self-evident since the Governor of Afghan province of Kandahar Asadullah Khalid stated that several Baloch had taken shelter in his province after fleeing from the conflict-stricken province of Balochistan.
He said that the Balochistan Government had made a formal request to the Afghan Government for handing over the people who the government believed were involved in terrorist activities across the province. Though we have not received any response from the Afghan Government yet, we expect a positive reply, Bugti said.
He hoped that Afghanistan would not give shelter to Baloch sanctuaries who were wanted by the Pakistan Government in serious cases such as bomb blasts, rocket attacks and blowing up of railway tracks in Balochistan.
According to Bugti, a majority of the people who were hiding in Afghanistan had escaped from Dera Bugti and Sui areas last year when the conflict between the government and Bugti tribesmen intensified. Referring to the latest crackdown on the activists of Balochistan National Party (BNP), Bugti said that the government did believe in complete freedom of expression and political dissent. However, certain political parties exploit the liberty granted to them by the government and use it for the purpose of creating ethnic strife and unrest in the province. The government would not tolerate such elements. We will have to take action against them in order to ensure peace and harmony in the province, he said.
When asked about the upcoming visit of the non-functional chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to his hometown Quetta, the spokesperson said that, the CJP was not visiting Quetta on the governments request. Rather, he clarified, he would visit the provincial capital on an invitation extended to him by certain political parties. However, the provincial government would ensure foolproof security arrangements for the CJP should he decide to visit.
He regretted that some elements were taking political mileage out of the judicial issue. Since the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) is already hearing the matter, there is no justification of politicising a purely judicial matter, he remarked, adding that the use of provocative language against the Pakistan Army inside the Supreme Courts building in Islamabad was deplorable. The Opposition should exercise restraint and wait for the decision of the SJC. Any decision given by the council would be willingly accepted by the government because we believe in the supremacy of the judiciary.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Put under 'international' since this bad boy is an international arms dealer who has wrecked havoc on multiple continents.
NEW YORK - A wealthy international arms dealer who once "considered himself untouchable" sought to supply millions of dollars in weapons to Colombian rebels to attack American forces there, U.S. officials said Friday. A federal indictment unsealed in New York charged Monzer al-Kassar, 61, with conspiring to support terrorists, conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers, conspiring to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, and money laundering. The Syrian weapons dealer was arrested Thursday in Spain.
U.S. officials said undercover agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration had convinced al-Kassar previously accused of arming militants from Iraq to Somalia that they represented the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a rebel army classified in the United States as a terrorist group.
In a series of recorded phone calls, e-mails and meetings, al-Kassar and the agents struck a fictitious $8 million deal for him to supply surface-to-air missile systems, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, thousands of machine guns and tons of explosives obtained in Romania and Bulgaria, officials said. About $400,000 was wired to Spain from New York as a down payment, they allege. Al-Kassar and his cohorts were told the missile systems were "intended to take down U.S. helicopters," U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said at a news conference.
Though no weapons exchanged hands, the defendants believed "the arms deal was absolutely real," the prosecutor said. "They demonstrated their willingness to support a terrorist organization and their capacity to do so."
The defendant, a longtime resident of Spain, was captured at Madrid's Barajas airport after he arrived on a flight from the southern resort city of Malaga, officials said. On Friday, investigators searched his palatial home in Marbella, near Malaga. "Someone who considered himself untouchable is now sitting in a jail in Spain," said Karen Tandy, the DEA administrator.
Two other men indicted on the same counts in Manhattan's U.S. District Court, Tareq Mousa al Ghazi and Luis Filipe Moreno Godoy, were arrested in Romania, officials said.
The indictment said al-Kassar has provided weapons and military equipment to violent factions in Nicaragua, Brazil, Cyprus, Bosnia, Croatia, Somalia, Iran and Iraq. His customers included known terrorist organizations determined to stage "attacks on United States interests and United States nationals," it said. Profits were laundered through bank accounts around Europe, the indictment said.
Al-Kassar also is reportedly on the Iraqi government's most-wanted list for allegedly arming insurgents, and has been accused of aiding militants in many of the world's bloodiest conflicts. He stood trial in Spain in 1995 on charges that he supplied assault rifles used by Palestinian militants in the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985, but he was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Ooooh! Does he have any computers or cell phones that can be hacked into? Our undercover agents and informants have quietly been doing a bang-up job for a while, it appears. Well done, DEA!
#2
I don't understand why the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency)is involved in gun running busts. I don't really care what agency brings this bad boy down--it just seems surprising the DEA is involved.
#3
DEA website has a release on this story. Also the indictment charges are listed:
The Indictment announced today charges Kassar, Ghazi, and Moreno-Godoy with four separate terrorism offenses:
Count One: Conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339B;
Count Two: Conspiracy to kill United States nationals, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2332(b);
Count Three: Conspiracy to kill United States officers or employees, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1114 and 1117; and
Count Four: Conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2332g.
In addition, Kassar and Moreno-Godoy are charged in Count Five with money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956.
#4
I would think that the connection to "Colombian Rebels" put the file on a DEA desk.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/09/2007 12:00 Comments ||
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#5
Ever since Pablo Escobar, the DEA has been interested in anyone trying to sell guns to either the narcoterrorists or the local commies which operate as rent-an-army to the narcos. Plus, when the DEA catches someone and that someone is facing life in maximum security in the US, that person tends to rat out everyone that he can think of. Since so many of the narcos, commies, terrorists, and mafias are intertwined, one high-level snitch can give us all sorts of interesting people.
CANBERRA (AFP) - Australian soldiers who shot and killed a US civilian truck driver at a checkpoint in Iraq have been cleared of any wrongdoing, the army said Thursday. An Australian Defence Force (ADF) investigation found they had acted within the law and the rules of engagement when they opened fire after the contractor failed to stop, Brigadier Gus Gilmore told reporters.
The driver, Hector Patino, 58, was a decorated Vietnam war veteran working for the US company Kellogg Brown and Root. His family has rejected the Australian military's findings and called for an independent inquiry.
Gilmore said that despite clear signs and repeated requests for Patino to stop at the checkpoint near the Australian embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone on January 13, he drove on. Soldiers, concerned that he could be a car bomber, opened fire, he said. "The key findings of the ADF investigation found that the soldiers involved acted lawfully, entirely in accordance with their orders ... and their rules of engagement," Gilmore said. "The approach of the truck and the actions of the driver were interpreted by the military personnel involved as an imminent threat to life. In these circumstances their actions were appropriate."
An independent investigation conducted by the US Diplomatic Security Service concluded Patino's actions contributed to the shooting, Gilmore said.
The contractor's family had written to Prime Minister John Howard in March, asking for information about the shooting and would be informed of the findings. "On behalf of the chief of the defence force I would again like to extend our condolences to the Patino family," he said.
But Patino's brother David called for an independent inquiry, saying the family was "upset and angry." "The report really doesn't answer any questions," Patino told the Australian Associated Press from his home in Texas. "Why didn't Hector stop? That's what we'd like to know."
Patino had worked inside the Green Zone for two years and had passed through the Australian checkpoint countless times before, his brother said. "It doesn't make sense he would ignore the checkpoint," David Patino said. "He knew the soldiers had guns."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Now, if it had been US soldiers that did the accidental killing, that would have been a War Crime and they would need to be arrested and tried.
Seriously, it's sad when this happens. We killed a lot of our own, or our allies, in WWII, but the Germans and Japanese did so many more that no one really noticed. Here, the Jihadis are unable to kill more than a handful in cowardly attacks, so everyone we hit stands out.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
06/09/2007 0:35 Comments ||
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"The report really doesn't answer any questions," Patino told the Australian Associated Press from his home in Texas. "Why didn't Hector stop? That's what we'd like to know."
A glitch right there... Hector is not available to answer any questions, let alone why he did not stop, which only he can answer.
#4
Patino may have zoned out (nodded off) and not noticed the check point. Or maybe it was a temporary checkpoint and he mistook it for a terrorist roadblock. Or maybe, as a 'senior citizen' of my generation he mistook the brake for the gas pedal. Or did he have a 'passenger' (or hostage holder) who forced him to run the checkpoint - they do that all the time with VBIED drivers. I am saddened by this death of course, as by all the other victims on our side, but I am also surprised it does not happen more often, given the nature of our enemy.
#5
Mr Besoeker - I take it you do not think DS is capable of a) being independant and b)conducting an investigation. Please provide some evidence to support your statement. Otherwise do not malign professional law enforcement and security officers who have lost friends and colleagues in numerous terrorist attacks (including Iraq and Afghanistan) while doing their jobs. I've walked the walk for ten years and before that four years as a Marine officer.
#6
Poor Hector had probably been driving that truck for the last 30 hours straight when the incident occurred. He was probably on auto-pilot when he got shot.
Wants Tehran To Change Behavior by Year's End or Risk 'Next Level'
A senior Israeli delegation, here for strategic talks with top American government officials, is calling for an expiration date on the diplomatic approach to Iran of the end of the year.
Speaking to the Israeli press on Wednesday evening after meeting Secretary of State Rice, Israel's deputy prime minister, Shaul Mofaz, said, "Sanctions must be strong enough to bring about change in the Iranians by the end of 2007." According to a source familiar with discussions yesterday with the undersecretary of state, Nicholas Burns, Mr. Mofaz said, "Technical developments for the Iranian nuclear program will not follow a linear progression," a clear warning that America's official estimate that Iran will not attain an atomic bomb for at least five years could be dangerously optimistic.
The delegation headed by Mr. Mofaz also pressed in side talks for America to halt a proposed sale to Saudi Arabia of precision Joint Direct Attack Munitions. Already the proposed sale, which was announced in April by Secretary of Defense Gates, has caught the attention of a handful of lawmakers in the House, who on May 24 threatened to block any such sale once Congress was formally notified.
The combination of Israeli jitters on Iran's continued effort to pack its Natanz facility with more centrifuge reactors with its jitters about providing precision munitions to the Saudis presents America with a dilemma. Since last fall, Ms. Rice has tried to forge a new alliance among Israel, Turkey, and Sunni monarchies in the Gulf to oppose what she sees as rising Iranian influence throughout the Middle East.
The prospect, however, of all these parties cooperating diplomatically was tested in March, when the Saudis brokered a unity government deal between the Palestinian Arab president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Iranian-backed Hamas Party in the Palestinian territories, which controls the legislature and Palestinian Authority.
Channel 2 News in Israel reported that Mr. Mofaz said Israel would take military action if Iran did not cease its uranium enrichment by year's end. However, a source familiar with yesterday's discussions disputed the Channel 2 report. Mr. Mofaz only alluded to such action in the meeting, the source said, saying, "All options are on the table" if the diplomacy with Iran does not work. "The Israelis are talking about taking it to the next level with a targeted and focused security coalition," he said. "The other measures include working with Europeans and getting more action on the European side with specific sanctions. There has been some of this, but there has not been enough."
The issue of Iranian nuclear enrichment was also broached yesterday in icy talks between President Bush and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The Russians have supported the two U.N. Security Council resolutions sanctioning Iranian banks and entities, but also have helped rebuild an Iranian nuclear facility in Bushehr.
The source familiar with the American-Israeli talks also said the Israelis raised the prospect of focusing sanctions on Iran's energy sector, noting that the Iranians import more than half of their refined gasoline despite having the world's third largest known reserves of oil and natural gas.
Publicly at least, Prime Minister Olmert has not said he would unilaterally bomb Iran. Last year he appointed one of Israel's most hawkish politicians, Avigdor Lieberman, as a deputy prime minister and announced that Mr. Lieberman would oversee Iran policy. Other Israeli politicians such as a former premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, have openly called for Israel to take out the known Iranian nuclear facilities.
Within the American intelligence community, there is some debate about Israel's capabilities in this regard.
Some argue that the Israelis still lack the midair refueling capacity they would need to conduct a bombing mission over Iran as a unilateral move. Other analysts, however, point out that Israel's fleet of American made F-15s has such refueling capacity, not to mention the capability of Israeli nuclear submarines. On background, Israeli former military officials have told The New York Sun that the option of a unilateral strike is there for Israel should Israel choose to take it.
In addition to discussing Iran, Mr. Mofaz shared new intelligence he said proved that missiles being shipped by land and air through Syria to Hezbollah positions in Lebanon could strike even at Tel Aviv and points south. One transshipment point for Syria, Mr. Mofaz said, was Turkey an American ally and ally of Israel.
In last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the terror group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, threatened to send rockets to Tel Aviv but never fulfilled his promise.
#3
The Israelis should know by know that if they seek to have the UN impose a new deadline and Iran doesn't meet it, the UN will spring into action and propose a new deadline.
#4
"Technical developments for the Iranian nuclear program will not follow a linear progression," a clear warning that America's official estimate that Iran will not attain an atomic bomb for at least five years could be dangerouslyfatally optimistic.
#5
They never take into account the obvious, that nothing the Iranians are doing is unknown technology. This means that at no time can they say, "it takes this long", or "they can't do that yet."
It is the same mistake the French made at Dien Bien Phu, when they *knew* that the Viet Minh *couldn't* get artillery they *didn't have* into the mountains surrounding the French.
In the case of Iran, for example, anything they "have" to make they could have instead bought on the black market.
So their breakthrough in nuclear weapons may not be the ability to make a bomb, but the ability to mass produce bombs, a very different kettle of fish.
What if long ago they purchased a working bomb and have been reverse engineering it? That could take years off their program. Of if their entire enrichment program is a ruse, if they bought enriched uranium or plutonium elsewhere?
Just as important as their bomb is their delivery system. Their missile technology must be good enough to carry the bomb to its destination. So their missile program might be a good indicator of their nuclear program's progress.
#6
They never take into account the obvious, that nothing the Iranians are doing is unknown technology. This means that at no time can they say, "it takes this long", or "they can't do that yet."
It is the same mistake the French made at Dien Bien Phu, when they *knew* that the Viet Minh *couldn't* get artillery they *didn't have* into the mountains surrounding the French.
In the case of Iran, for example, anything they "have" to make they could have instead bought on the black market.
So their breakthrough in nuclear weapons may not be the ability to make a bomb, but the ability to mass produce bombs, a very different kettle of fish.
What if long ago they purchased a working bomb and have been reverse engineering it? That could take years off their program. Of if their entire enrichment program is a ruse, if they bought enriched uranium or plutonium elsewhere?
Just as important as their bomb is their delivery system. Their missile technology must be good enough to carry the bomb to its destination. So their missile program might be a good indicator of their nuclear program's progress.
#7
Somehow, I think the Jews might be averse to any operation called "the final solution". But I may be wrong.
If the Jews do indeed have such a plan (and they do, it's call the Samson Option), one thing is certain, Muslims are not at all fond of it's goals. As I have predicted before, it is Muslim obsession with genocide against Israel that will get them their own holocaust. Islam's intractable hatred and total recalitrance regarding any sort of reformation literally guarantees this.
#8
Somehow, I think the Jews might be averse to any operation called "the final solution". But I may be wrong.
If the Jews do indeed have such a plan (and they do, it's call the Samson Option), one thing is certain, Muslims are not at all fond of it's goals. As I have predicted before, it is Muslim obsession with genocide against Israel that will get them their own holocaust. Islam's intractable hatred and total recalitrance regarding any sort of reformation literally guarantees this.
#9
A winter attack would be much better. I oppose direct attacks on Teheran, because I think the regime is so vulnerable that loss of nuclear war preparations would result in its collapse. Attack nuke sites, then pick up the pieces. Iranians are mindful of the billions of private wealth that the Ayatollahs have acquired. The Shah of Iran removed only a few million dollars out of the country, after Jimmy Carter stabbed him in the back.
#10
In order to get to the nuke program, the Joos are gonna have to take out Irans AA and airforce (if you can call it that). As long as their air defenses are smoldering anyway, we should destroy every military installation we can find and take any gold reserves they have.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/09/2007 21:12 Comments ||
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#11
... and take any gold reserves they have.
I'm really glad to see someone else subscribe to this notion. We need to begin backbilling rogue regimes for the damage they do and expenses we incur in being forced combat their nefarious enterprises. Israel should excise a vast sum out of all the Palestinian taxes they are holding to compensate families of bomb vest victims and those killed or injured in rocket attacks. Property damages and any other medical costs should all be chargeable as well.
Saudi Arabia is running up the biggest tab of all. I no longer have the least compunctions about America simply appropriating their Eastern oil fields as compensation for 9-11 and the bulk of costs related to fighting the GWoT.
The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has passed a secret message to Syria offering to return the Golan Heights as part of a broad peace deal, a well-connected Israeli newspaper reported today. There was no confirmation of the claim and Syrian diplomats were reported as saying their government had received no such overture. Meir Sheetrit, an Israeli cabinet minister, said that any future agreement with Syria would involve Israel handing over sovereignty of the Golan back to Damascus, but retaining the territory under a lease of at least 25 years.
In return, Israel wants Syria to end its support for Iran, Hizbullah and armed Palestinian groups. A number of Palestinian groups have leaders based in Damascus, including notably Khaled Meshal, head of the Hamas political bureau.
Anyone believe that Assad would honor a deal to break away from Iran and Hezbollah? Anyone? Bueller?
According to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Mr Olmert spoke by for an hour by telephone to George Bush on April 24 and told him he wanted to restart talks with the Syrians. Previously, the US administration has been opposed to such contact because of its criticisms of Syria's role in the Iraq insurgency and support for Hizbullah.
Mr Olmert then sent a secret message to the Syrians through German and Turkish officials, the newspaper said. "I would like to hear from you whether, in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, Syria would be willing to fulfill its part: To gradually dissolve its alliances with Iran, Hizbullah and the Palestinian terror organizations, and to stop financing and encouraging terror," the paper quoted Mr Olmert as saying.
The report follows a series of high-profile articles in the Israeli press citing Israeli military and intelligence sources as saying Syria was building up its military on the border and may be preparing for an attack.
Syria makes preparations for an attack, and Olmert offers them the Golan. He's hopeless.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Golan is more valuable to Syria (more correctly, to the Assad regime) as a Israeli hostage than as a reintegrated part of sovereign Syrian soil. For one thing, it's full of Paleos.
#3
Maybe Nancy brought this little message to Pencilneck from Olmert during her recent junket to the ME.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/09/2007 0:35 Comments ||
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#4
the eyes look deranged.
Before the war last year I thought Olmert was a schmart customer, but with a style that was purposefully slo and unflashy... holding his cards close so to speak.....but.... we waited.... and waited... for a great Springing of the Grand Trap on Hezbollah!
Olmert 'offers Golan Heights in peace deal'
This evening i think he's more like a autistic simpleton.
#6
The Golan Heights rise from 400 to 1700 feet in the northeastern section of the country. Israel's highest mountain, Mt. Hermon, is located here. The plateau was once actively volcanic and the northernmost points remain weathered and desolate. The Golan overlooks the Hula Valley, Israel's richest agricultural area. The area of the Golan is roughly 38 miles long and varies in width from 9 to 16 miles (444 square miles). The Banyas River flows through the region and the Yarmuk River separates the Golan from Jordan.
By 1970 there were 12 Jewish settlements on the Golan Heights and in 2004 there were 34 settlements populated by around 18,000 people
Olmert 'offers Golan Heights in peace deal'
#11
Give away strategic high ground that allows for devastating artillery shelling?
As the Israeli graffiti goes:
SHARON, WAKE UP, OLMERT IS IN A COMA!
It's difficult to imagine Olmert getting any stupider but this new development certainly puts the lie to that notion. This jerkoff seems ready to give even our own moron politicians a run for the money in the national suicide competition.
#13
Before Israel took the Golan Heights, Syria lobbed artillery on the settlements below. Olmert is brilliantly setting a "trip wire" so that Israel is justified in attacking Syria (although I shouldn't think they need much justification)??? His brilliance is overlooked for some reason. Must be the Lebanon thingee or that he is just kind of a dumb arse. Israel wil have no peace and no land. Israel has a lot of lefties as does the U.S. that don't seem to care much about survival. For example, Nancy Pelosi going to Syria to suck up to Assad.
#14
Look at the terms of the deal. "In return Israel wants Syria to end its support for Iran..." That's like Charley McCarthy to ignor Edgar Bergen. Maybe it's even like asking Geraldine to ignore Flip Wilson.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/09/2007 12:41 Comments ||
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"Prime Minster Ehud Olmert's defeated and weak government is not a partner for negotiations," a senior Syrian diplomat said Friday in response to a report that Olmert was willing to hold direct peace negotiations with Syria and give up the Golan Heights. Army Radio reported that in an interview the diplomat gave to a Syrian newspaper, he said that Damascus had not received an invitation from Washington or from any other officials to renew negotiations.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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SYRIA: "Prime Minster Ehud Olmert's defeated and weak government is not a partner for negotiations," a senior Syrian diplomat said Friday in response to a report that Olmert was willing to hold direct peace negotiations with Syria and give up the Golan Heights.
wow for real, i did not even see this article last night, just read it now!
*OK, I'll speculate anew. ["giving Olmert to much credit"]
The primary purpose of Olmert's new Golan Height's PR fluff job, is to sop Israel's own Peacniks and the bleeding heart Y'urp-peons both.
Because the Pin Head As'ad is riding pretty high right now he doesn't have to jump at Olmert's offer, and if As'ad eventually accepts it, well Olmert can easily at his leisure inject a poison pill during the negotiations and kill it.
A peace agreement with Syria could pull Damascus out of Iran's orbit, a senior Western diplomat based in Israel said Thursday. The secular Sunni nation, ruled by minority Alawites, has nothing in common with Iran, a Shi'ite theocracy, he added.
The diplomat said this assessment has been relayed to Israeli officials. He said despite the flurry of media reports about a greater openness among some in the government for engaging the Syrians, he had not seen any change in the formal Israeli position that any such talks could not take place until Damascus ended its support for Hizbullah and Hamas. "We can break Syria away from Iran," the official said, adding that what was needed in Israel was the "political will and courage" to negotiate with Damascus over the return of the Golan Heights.
The official said that given the political weakness of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, he doubted the prime minister would be "strong" enough to sign an agreement with the Syrians that would entail the return of the Golan. The official said Syria understood that a deal with Israel would necessitate breaking away from Iran and ending its support for Hizbullah and Hamas.
The Jerusalem Post has learned that in the past few months Turkey approached the Syrians to "test the waters" about negotiating with Israel and that the Turks concluded Syria was serious about talks. The Turks, however, did not get a similar sense of interest from Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
A peace agreement with Syria could pull Damascus out of Iran's orbit, a senior Western diplomat based in Israel said Thursday. The secular Sunni nation, ruled by minority Alawites, has nothing in common with Iran, a Shi'ite theocracy, he added.
Who's the senior dipwad? This is B.S. Someone conned this senior diplo. When it comes to the West, the islamics are united against the Great Satan and the Little Satan. It doesn't seem to matter whether they are Sunni or Shia. They all do their part in the war against the West.
Syria has announced to European emissaries its willingness to reach a deal with Israel that would include the return of kidnapped reservists Elad Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who are being held by Hizbullah, the Nazareth-based A-Sinara newspaper reported on Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Syrai admits it has control of these men? They are openly saying they are part of what is an 'act of war' against Israel? And Olmert is talking about giving up the Golan? WTF???
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Japan has requested the possible missile defense upgrade to one of its sea-based Aegis air defense systems and nine SM-3 interceptor missiles, the Pentagon said Friday. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency estimated the value of the proposed sale at 475 million dollars.
The Bush administration yesterday attempted to wipe the slate clean on the Iraq war and chart a new way forward with the surprise announcement that it was replacing General Peter Pace as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The defence chief, Robert Gates, said he had reluctantly decided on the reshuffle - despite his initial support for Gen Pace - to avoid a "divisive ordeal" at the Senate which would have had to approve an extension of the general's term. "The focus of this confirmation process would have been on the past rather than on the future," Mr Gates told the press conference. "There was a very real prospect that the process would be quite contentious."
MIAMI - Jurors in the terrorism support and conspiracy trial of 
NEW YORK - The investigation into the thwarted plot to bomb John F. Kennedy International Airport is widening beyond the four men in custody, with more suspects sought outside the U.S. for their suspected roles, a law enforcement official said Friday.
The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has passed a secret message to Syria offering to return the Golan Heights as part of a broad peace deal, a well-connected Israeli newspaper reported today. There was no confirmation of the claim and Syrian diplomats were reported as saying their government had received no such overture. Meir Sheetrit, an Israeli cabinet minister, said that any future agreement with Syria would involve Israel handing over sovereignty of the Golan back to Damascus, but retaining the territory under a lease of at least 25 years.
