Claims that a Bollywood actress had sex with troops while touring an Australian military base in Afghanistan were under investigation, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Thursday. Rudd was reluctant to comment on the sex scandal claims surrounding London-based Australian actress Tania Zaetta - who has denied the allegations - saying it was best left to Australias defence department. As I understand it, these matters are under investigation within the defence department and I will leave it for that investigation to reach its own conclusions, Rudd told reporters.
So why'd you bring it up, dumbass?
The allegations surround a tour to Australian military bases in Afghanistan last month undertaken by Zaetta and a number of other entertainers. Sydneys Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that unsubstantiated claims Zaetta had sex with troops at one of the bases were detailed in a departmental briefing note prepared for Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon.
Zaetta has strenuously denied the allegations, describing them as ridiculous and hurtful. She said she was never alone with any soldiers and the entertainers were in full view at all times, even requiring an escort to walk to and from the toilets.
If you've ever been to a USO show, you know what she's talking about...
Theres not one iota of truth to it, she told Channel Nine television Thursday. Zaetta said there may have been tensions with other performers because of the attention she received on the tour.
Prob'ly because she's cute as a button...
But I still dont think that irritating somebody is any grounds to make up such horrible, disgusting, vicious, nasty allegations, she said The actress said she wanted an apology from the defence department and feared the scandal could derail her Bollywood career.
I'm guessing she's been slandered.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#3
God, Rudd is such a choad. Why the hell would he speak on such a subject, right wrong or who knows what? If you shouldn't comment, *DON'T COMMENT*. As it is, the papers can still use his name to fly the damned rumor in their filth-mills.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/23/2008 10:37 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Sounds like a good way to make sure she never does another tour.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/23/2008 11:54 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Didn't Marlena Dietrich offer similar support to our troops during WWII?
Posted by: Scott R ||
05/23/2008 11:56 Comments ||
Top||
The Taliban have shown a desire for a political dialogue and serious efforts should be made to establish talks and end the insurgency, a former Afghan president said on Thursday. Burhanuddin Rabbani, a bearded 65-year-old who now leads the opposition in parliament, said he had established contact with the Taliban several months ago and had received a letter in recent days containing "some encouraging messages" from the Taliban addressed to the alliance of parties he leads.
Rabbani said the militants expressed a desire for a political solution to the conflict in which more than 12,000 people have been killed since 2006 alone. He did not say who in the Taliban had sent the messages.
"Um, .. someone ..."
In their messages, the Taliban said they would accept all international conventions, would not oppose education for girls and would oppose Afghanistan being used as a base to threaten any other country, Rabbani said. The Taliban also wanted friendly ties and cooperation with Muslim and non-Muslim countries, he added.
This article starring:
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Would these be the Afghan Taliban or the Pakistani Taliban?
Major General Robert W. Cone said Afghan authorities aimed to have 80,000 trained personnel ready by early 2009, compared to just over 57,000 now, as part of an effort to share more of the burden of fighting with NATO countries.
Asked what that meant for Afghan forces' ability to lead operations against Taliban and other insurgents, Cone told a news conference at NATO headquarters: "I would say leadership certainly of most operations and probably, depending on their readiness, tending towards virtually all operations. That will lift a significant amount of the burden from ISAF forces," he said of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, which commanders currently say numbers around 50,000.
Cone, who leads the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A) training effort, said Afghan troops had led around half of 180 joint operations with international forces in the early months of this year.
However, Afghan forces remain short of aircraft, and Cone acknowledged it could be another five years before they could conduct all their own air operations. "The hardest part is the dropping of bombs from the air. That will require significant training and we are thinking 2013 is when the Afghans will be capable of doing that," he said.
NATO leaders pledged a long-term commitment to Afghanistan at a summit in April while agreeing to give Afghan authorities more control of the peace and reconstruction effort.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
No doubt they'll do better than many of the NATO contingents, required as those are to do nothing about anything, and that only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
(AKI) - The two Italian aid workers taken hostage early on Tuesday in central Somalia "are well", Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Thursday. "We need to treat the information we have cautiously," said Frattini, adding that he could not reveal the Foreign Ministry's sources. "We do not want to do anything that could endanger our two compatriots."
Gunmen seized Iolanda Occhipinti and Giuliano Paganini, as well as a Somali colleague, who were blindfolded and then taken from the village of Awdhegle, 70 kilometres south of the capital Mogadishu, to an unknown location. No group is known to have claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and no demands are known to have been made for the hostages' release.
Kidnapping is a lucrative business in Somalia, and abductors generally treat their captives well in anticipation of a hefty ransom. Somali gunmen are still holding two aid workers, a Briton and a Kenyan, who were abducted in April.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
Okay - a rifle platoon, prob'bly to protect the Germans.
Sweden will send a rifle platoon of 27 soldiers to Afghanistan in the coming days, bringing the number of Swedish troops in the country to 375, the military said on Thursday. "A platoon... will this weekend be sent to Afghanistan to reinforce the Swedish troops," in Mazar-i-Sharif, in the north of the country, a statement from the military said.
The Swedish parliament has decided that Sweden can send a maximum of 600 peacekeeping troops to Afghanistan to take part in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
That's fine, we appreciate it. Now, good Swedes, about the rules of engagement ...
NATO has deployed about 50,000 troops to help the US-backed government in Kabul fight the Taliban and other insurgents. There are another nearly 20,000 soldiers under US command.
A Dutch town has moved two paintings of nude women after complaints from Muslims and other people, stoking criticism that the Netherlands is curtailing artists freedoms. The town of Huizen east of Amsterdam confirmed media reports on Thursday that it had moved two paintings of naked women by Dutch artist Ellen Vroegh from a waiting room in the town hall to a less public position nearby. Visitors and some staff complained, not just Muslims but others too, a town spokeswoman said. We are against censorship but there are people who have different opinions about nudity and nakedness and we wanted to give citizens a choice. The artist said she was the latest victim of heightened sensitivity in the Netherlands about Islam after a cartoonist was briefly arrested last week on suspicion of offending Muslims due to his provocative drawings.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#6
Oh yeah, wait until the art from the Louvre is moved to qatar and subsequently rendered local-friendly. (Then wait until qatar discovers Pei's design there shows the location of the Ark and the chalice of Jesus and there are mass conversions to Judaism and Christianity - shhh).
The art of the Dutch is IMO among the most beautiful regional styles ever (though I am unfamiliar with this artist). Head and shoulders above mosaics in style, composition, and difficulty. It would be a poor sign indeed that if going into a Dutch art museum there were stickers of Islamic Rage Boy adhered to the naughty bits.
#7
I can see dumping them as a matter of taste or national pride - Rembrandt and Vermeer were Dutch, after all - but the turbans complaining is merely tiresome.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 11:24 Comments ||
Top||
#8
philistine
the faces are "cubist" but prettied up in a way Picasso would never have lowered himself to. ther rest seems more gaugainish.
#9
The composition appears to be based on the classical Indian style. Note the triple curves in each figure (hip, knee, foot), the exaggerated proportions of bosom and hip to the waist, the dancerly movement. The palm tree has me puzzled, though, and the hand position looks Western to me.
No doubt the artist got good grades at art school. It's the kind of thing some would hang in the sitting room to demonstrate their progressive taste, and and then decorate the room to match.
#11
"...then decorate the room to match."
TW you are so funny, if I tried to put even one triple curved, exaggerated bosomed girl in my living room 'to match,' Mrs. Ret would be doing things to me that would make Jeffrey Dahlmer cringe. (if he weren't dead)
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved an additional $165 billion to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan for another year after lawmakers rejected proposed timetables for withdrawing American troops from Iraq. A majority of senators approved the war-spending bill, which the Pentagon says it urgently needs to avoid civilian layoffs within months and the interruption of soldier paychecks.
The House of Representatives still must sign off on the legislation. Last week, it passed a drastically different bill that failed to provide any new money for the wars and would withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of 2009.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
ION CYBERCAST NEWS SERVICE > US WARNS OF [armed/small-unit] COMBAT AT MEXICAN BORDER, between Drug Cartels-Mafias and Mexi military and police units. MIL-STYLE ADVANC WEAPONS AND GRENADES, ETC. MILTECHS BEING USED BY ANTI-GOVT/POLICE FORCES IN VIOLENT STREET-TOWN BATTLES FOR CONTROL - US CITIZENS ADVISED TO AVOID.
#2
ION NEWSMAX SCIENCE > SCIENTISTS: GIGANTIC EARTHQUAKE [7.8+ magn/Phased Quake]]WOULD DEVASTATE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. NORTHRIDGE-style quake unlikely to be the standard/norm for the so-called CA "Big One" - likely to be BIGGER.
estiamet > 1800 dead or more, US$200.0 Bilyuhn in damage to SOCAL???
#4
I don't think Congress is capable of passing a straight-up bill that doesn't bleed the American people dry with all the damn pork. The pork is often added to make the bill a political football to force the President into vetoing the bill. The donks, such as Harry Reid, can then say that President Bush doesn't support the troops. Geez, what a bunch of dipwads we have in Congress. As Thomas Sowell said, you could do about as well or better by recruiting a bunch of winos off the street to sit in the halls of Congress.
A prosecutor told jurors Thursday that a man charged with a fatal shooting at a Jewish center knew right from wrong but was using murder to get out a message. "The cost of that message was high and now it must be paid," prosecutor Don Raz said in his closing argument in the trial of Naveed Haq, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murder and attempted murder.
Raz said the way Haq went about killing a woman and wounding five others at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle in July 2006 showed he clearly could perceive the nature of his actions and was not insane.
The case was expected to go to the jury by the end of the day Thursday after the defense attorney's closing arguments.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
Ah, sending a message. In simpler times, we called that mass murder.
#4
Haq was a muslim who converted to Christianity. I think the death sentence was taken off the table. However, if he is given the maximum sentence, CAIR should not CARE since he is now a Christian and not a muslim. If he is a Christian why the sudden Jihad syndrome--a residual from his previous association with islam?
#6
If he is a Christian why the sudden Jihad syndrome
He reconciled with his father and imam some time before the murder spree. Don't remeber if it was a formal reversion to islam, but could a Christian reconcile w/ the two?
Posted by: ed ||
05/23/2008 13:45 Comments ||
Top||
#8
No, King County is in Washington State which (last I've heard) was in the USA.
Seattle Washington is in King County. I only work in Seattle - I live in neighboring Snohomish County. The King County Courthouse is only about 3 blocks from my office.
King County is where the elections office is an fifedom of the Democratic Party and King Country Executive Ron Sims.
#9
my condolences CF, for getting saddled with King Ron's Brighwater debacle, among toehr fun things.
i am lucky i guess to live way out on Whidbey and only have to suffer lack of ferry service and such.
#11
Ah, sending a message. In simpler times, we called that mass murder.
Replicating Muhamhead. This punk may claim to be a Christian convert but since being a liar is an Islamic tradition I'm thinking not a chance. Muzzie to the end.
Here is hoping that will be coming in a prison shower.
Al Qaedas next major attack will likely originate from Pakistans Tribal Areas where top Al Qaeda leaders are hiding, US Army General David Petraeus said on Thursday. He characterised Al Qaedas presence in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) as a Pakistani problem with global repercussions, and said the US should support Islamabads counter-terrorism efforts. Clearly, Al Qaeda senior leadership has been strengthened in the FATA. The organisation of an attack, if you will, would likely come from the FATA. This is a Pakistani problem that has both repercussions, that does create enormous violence inside Pakistan but ... has global implications as well, he told senators considering his nomination to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), adding that Iran was a destabilising influence in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
FYI, WAFF.com Poster > argues that 60% of the Taliban are PAKISTANI, and supported by area PUSHTUNS???
#2
I would drop a hint to the Pakistanis that, if this happens, their newest tourist attraction will be The Great FATA Crater. They'll make tons of money off of it in about a hundred years when it stops glowing.
#3
ALQ Is a Saudi Proxy as much as Hezbollah are an Iranian!!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
05/23/2008 12:08 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I think that 60% is significantly low-balling it, JosephM. From what I've read it appears that even back in 2001 most of the Taliban were sent by the ISI.
#5
TW: #4 I think that 60% is significantly low-balling it, JosephM. From what I've read it appears that even back in 2001 most of the Taliban were sent by the ISI.
tu: #2 I would drop a hint to the Pakistanis that, if this happens, their newest tourist attraction will be The Great FATA Crater. They'll make tons of money off of it in about a hundred years when it stops glowing.
ISI Headquarters is a nice symbolic target.
A Fantasy:
Sure be nice to get unimpaired access to the ISI OPS Plant and unimpaired physical access to the top ten ISI Generals and their staffs before it/they glows....
The United Nations will watch closely a peace deal between Pakistans new government and pro-Taliban militants in Swat, the UN peacekeeping chief said on Thursday. Speaking during a visit to Afghanistan, UN Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno said Afghanistan and Pakistan must work together to tackle extremism. Asked about the deal in Swat, Guehenno said it could only be judged on the impact it has on security. Guehenno said the stability of the two countries was linked.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
They'll monitor Swat and the Talibs just as closely as they monitored Hezbollah as they rearmed and built a parallel communications system, that is.
The government is considering closing down a dormant Madrassa Reforms Project that President Pervez Musharraf had pledged would modernise religious schools, official sources told Daily Times on Thursday.
Of the total Rs 5.76 billion funds that the project began with, only Rs 223 million have been spent in five years. They told Daily Times that an evaluation committee of the Planning Commission had recommended closing down the project. The project was aimed at helping 1.5 million students studying in 8,000 madrassas across the country, but the government could reach out only to 468 religious schools. The government had planned to recruit 32,000 formal teachers to bring the parallel education system into the mainstream, but could only hire 2,291 in five years. Only 50,000 students passed out of these seminaries in five years, the sources said. The federal government had released funds to provinces but they did not provide utilisation reports.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
How much western money has been spent/wasted on the military/Taleban operations????
Posted by: Paul ||
05/23/2008 11:33 Comments ||
Top||
#2
You wanna save some exclamation points and question marks for the rest of us?
Pakistani Taliban militants said Thursday that the success of a peace deal with the government in a northwestern area depends on the complete enforcement of Islamic law in the region.
The agreement in the scenic Swat Valley ends months of fighting between troops and rebels loyal to a pro-Taliban commander, Maulana Fazlullah, who was campaigning for the introduction of harsh Sharia law. Under the terms of the deal signed on Wednesday the government agreed to gradually pull out troops and introduce an Islamic justice system, while the rebels said they would halt attacks and surrender arms.
"We have accepted to give up the armed struggle because the government has agreed to the complete enforcement of the Sharia laws," Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told AFP. "We are happy about the agreement but the success of it depends on the conduct of the government, especially in enforcing the Sharia laws," Khan said by telephone from an unknown location.
Pakistan's new government launched negotiations with militants in Swat and separately in the lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan after routing President Pervez Musharraf's allies in elections in February.
The army launched a major offensive in October to clear Swat of militants loyal to Fazlullah after they drove police and paramilitary forces from their posts and effectively established their own law. Dozens of people have died in suicide bombings in Swat over the past year.
Residents said they were happy about the prospect of peace finally returning to the picturesque valley. "Thank God, we will be able to live peacefully and resume our normal lives," a shopkeeper in Mingora, the main town in Swat, told AFP.
A senior government official in North West Frontier Province said secular courts would be assisted by an Islamic scholar to decide disputes according to Islamic laws, but a parallel mainstream judicial system would still function. "It will be the choice of the complainant whether to go for settlement according to Sharia or the Pakistan penal code," the official said.
The United States said Wednesday it would "reserve judgment" on the peace deal and would monitor how effective it was in stopping attacks. Pakistan is a key partner in the US-led "war on terror" launched after the 9/11 attacks. "We'll see. We'll reserve judgment on these things," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno meanwhile said during a visit to Afghanistan that the world body would "watch closely" the peace deal. "Certainly any cross-border movement is bad, is dangerous," he told reporters. "We will watch closely the situation in the area concerned and make sure that the situation does not deteriorate on the other side of the border."
US, NATO and Afghan officials have criticised previous peace deals in Pakistan, saying that they have led to an increase in suicide attacks on international and Afghan forces across the border in Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Khan said the United States and Britain should "mind their own business and stop interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs."
The 15-point peace deal in Swat also says that the militants had agreed to shut down training camps, but Khan denied there were any training centres to prepare suicide bombers in the district. Khan said a committee would decide about the release of some 100 men who were arrested by security forces. "About an amnesty for Maulana Fazlullah's followers, any decision will be taken later. He has thousands of followers," Khan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Mohammad Iqbal alias Abdur Rehman (31), arrested from New Delhi railway station on Wednesday night, had information about recent Jaipur blasts, Delhi Police said today. He is also wanted for last years UP blasts in Varanasi and Gorakhpur and the Samjhauta Express blasts in Panipat.
Joint Commissioner of Police Karnal Singh told the media today that Rehman, a militant of Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islami (HuJI), was also wanted in a Delhi case in which his associate Shabbir Ahmad was arrested last year in Delhi with one kg of RDX.
Two others, Babu Bhai and Naushad, were caught by the UP Special Task Force in June 2007 for their involvement in blasts there.
The police said that during the interrogation, Rehman has revealed that he had information regarding the Jaipur blasts. One of his associates is also lodged in Jaipur jail, whom the police will interrogate, Singh added.
Police sources said the Rajasthan Police has also contacted the Delhi Police to seek Rehmans custody. The HuJI is the prime suspect behind the Jaipur serial blasts.
Rehmans arrest was made at Chelmsford Road near New Delhi Railway station and as per his information, an empty ground near a madarsa in D block in Janakpuri was dug, where, the police said, that he had hidden 3.1 kg RDX, 5 electronic detonators and one timer. The recovery was made on Wednesday night. More raids are being conducted.
The police said Rehman stayed earlier in Janakpuri with one of his associates, who was to help him execute his plans. A hunt is on for the latter. Singh said the consignment of RDX was given to Rehman by Qamar alias Nata, a HuJI leader in Bangladesh, in February last year. But after the arrest of Babu Bhai and Naushad in UP, he buried the RDX in Janakpuri.
Nata himself had visited Rehman in a masjid in Sitapuri, Dabri. Rehman had worked as a Maulana in several masjids in western UP, Delhis Dabri, Janakpuri and Seelampur and has some relatives and friends who arrange hideouts for him. He knows Delhi very well since he has been coming here since his childhood, Singh added. This was his third visit to Delhi to carry out blasts. The two earlier attempts were unsuccessful. He was to carry out attacks in crowded places. The specific plans were to be revealed later.
The police said Rehmans HuJI handlers had asked him to stay in his native Shyamli in Muzaffarnagar, UP. He was to contact one Shabbir Ahmad for carrying out the blasts in Delhi.
But after the arrest of Babu Bhai and Naushad last June, he was recalled to Bangladesh in October. He had stayed in Dhaka, Singh said.
Delhi Police had issued warrants against Rehman and his movements were being tracked.
Rehman, Singh said, had left Muzaffarnagar in 2002 and came in contact with Babu Bhai in UP, who sent him to Bangladesh from where he went for the Daura-e-Khas training in Pakistans Sindh.
The Delhi Police alleged that Rehman is trained in handling AK-47, operating LMG, TT pistol, rocket launcher, grenade, sniper rifle, SLR, RDX for making Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) with timer and detonator and making petrol bombs and other time bombs.
During his stay in Bangladesh this January, he was also taught to make IEDs. He has told us that Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are supporting HuJI in its activities and provide training to Indian youths in their camps in Pakistan with the help of ISI, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: HUJI
Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday said top Shiite cleric Ali Sistani expressed his support to the government measures taken to impose the rule of law.
PM Al-Maliki paid a visit to Najafs Shiite shrine and top cleric Sistani days after overseeing anew assault in Mosul to crack down on al-Qaeda. Talks with Sistani centred on issues serving Iraq, said PM office statement received by Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq(VOI).
The PM noted the religious authority supported the government measures in imposing the rule of law, adding he stressed the importance of holding weapons by government forces only, delivering services and carrying out reconstruction projects.
Iraqi PM has lately launched two major offensives in Basra and Mosul to crack down on violence wracking the two provinces.
#1
given that neither of the two seemingly contradictory positions come from the horses own mouth, so to speak, its not that surprising they contradict. Clearly he IS concerned about a gang up of Americans, sunnis, and seculars on Sadr accompanied by a break up of Shia unity, apparently instigated by teh Americans. OTOH when maliki walks on and hands him a laundry list of Sadrs crimes and a detail of the situation on the ground in Basra before and after, its kinda hard for Sistani to say "we shoulda left the thugs in control of Basra"
Interesting chess game Maliki is playing, to keep Sistani in line.
#2
Hard for me to imgagine Sistani has much affection for the marble-mouthed pretender to Shi'a scholarship, whose outfit was so popular the last time it dominated Sistani's hometown of Najaf that the locals were moved to capping straggling JAM members on their own initiative even before the US and the Iraqis moved in to wipe them out (er, fight them to a "standoff", in MSM parlance).
The dynamics that boosted JAM, as defender of the Shi'a, were driven entirely by Sunni barbarism and terror, accompanied by US passivity, in 2005 and early 2006. When the combo of Sunni switcheroo and demonstration of US will (the surge) turned the tables, mookie's oxygen supply suddenly was nearly choked off.
An internal audit of some $8 billion paid to U.S. and Iraqi contractors found that nearly every transaction failed to comply with federal laws or regulations aimed at preventing fraud, in some cases lacking even basic invoices explaining how the money was spent.
Of the money paid during a five-year period from 2001 through 2006 $7.8 billion in payments skirted billing rules with some violations egregious enough to invite potential fraud, warned the Defense Department's inspector general.
The findings provided fresh fodder for anti-war Democrats, who say the Bush administration has turned a blind eye to the problem of corruption and fraud by relying too heavily on contractors to manage the war.
"There is something very wrong when our wounded troops have to fill out forms in triplicate for meal money while billions of dollars in cash are handed out in Iraq with no accountability," said Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Results of the investigation were released at a committee hearing on Thursday, the same day the House approved legislation by Waxman intended to strengthen anti-fraud measures and increase transparency in contracting. Waxman's bill was passed as part of a major military policy bill, which authorizes $601.4 billion in defense spending.
In its report, the IG estimated the Army made more than 180,000 commercial payments from stations in Iraq, Kuwait and Egypt in the five-year period. The payments were made for various supplies and services, including bottled water, food and trucks.
In one example, $11 million was paid to a U.S. company without any record of what goods or services were provided, the IG wrote.
Overall, investigators estimated that the Army made some $1.4 billion in commercial payments that lacked even minimum supporting documentation, such as a certified voucher or invoice. "Payments that are not properly supported do not provide the necessary assurance that funds were used as intended," the IG concluded.
#1
Since Roman times, the means the political losers employed to discredit the victors is always turn to the books to impeach the reputation of those who deliver the victory. War is messy. War by definition is chaos. You're going to lose accountability for a funds and stuff. The more constraints you put on moving resources, the less latitude you have in executing the mission. Don't recall too many accountants being successful military commanders.
Looks sorta like a German Shepherd. Until he smiles. And then you better hope that's a smile on his face if he's looking at you!
Although getting bitten or attacked by their partners is an occupational hazard, Marines on the al Asad airbase northwest of Baghdad say theirs is the most coveted job in the military.
After all, they're paired up with what Westerners although not all Muslims consider man's best friend. This sprawling base's K-9 teams, which consist of one dog and one Marine, are a mainstay in Iraq's once restive Sunni Muslim Anbar province.
More than four dozen teams are working in the province with dogs that are trained to attack and subdue detainees and track insurgents. Nowadays, the dogs are used primarily to detect explosives, either on or off a leash and as much as 500 feet from their handlers.
"Nobody had ever utilized dogs in a real combat offensive since Vietnam," said Staff Sgt. Joseph Evans , of the Provost Marshals Office at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, based at Twenty Nine Palms, Calif. "A lot of the knowledge and a lot of the know-how has slipped away through time, so we really had to reinvent the application of our jobs on the fly."
#1
I am surprised that the US Army has never tried to recreate the Roman war dog, Pugnaces Britanniae, which is extinct. They were wiped out because they were too dangerous a weapon. However, a smaller descendant of the breed is the Mastiff.
Makes you wonder what an armored Pentagon specs dog would look like.
Some Iraqis, however, resent the high priority the military gives its dogs.
"Iraqi citizens have lost all their rights, but dogs have rights?" said Wafa Dawood , who's searched whenever she enters Baghdad's Green Zone, the fortified space where U.S. and Iraqi officials live and work. Nasreen Rahman said that having dogs search her is humiliating. "It's like I'm a terrorist or I've done something wrong," she said.
She, too, found irony in the fact that the military's dogs have more rights than Iraqi citizens. "This is our country, this is our land, and we are the people of this land," she said. "But the dogs are treated better than us."
#3
The local police here often use Belgian Malinois in the K-9 corps. Anonymoose, I recall reading somewhere that the Romans also used Rottweilers as war dogs.
#4
Some Iraqis, however, resent the high priority the military gives its dogs.
"Iraqi citizens have lost all their rights, but dogs have rights?" said Wafa Dawood , who's searched whenever she enters Baghdad's Green Zone, the fortified space
Ah, the good old times when the master race had the right to gass the Kurds.
#5
Interesting article - but my jaw dropped when I hit the nonsense that tu and JFM note. While the wires do seem to be demoralized by the situation in Iraq - the other day I read all the way through an AP dispatch, something I haven't done for ages, and marveled at how the slug paragraphs that used to be uniformly distorted and negative now are straightforward and recognize the huge changes.
But let's not forget the special contribution made by Iraqis in all this - they've been quote machines for the most idiotic anti-US nonsense since '03. This is a gem - since when have Iraqis "lost their rights?". Uh, that would be, GAINED their rights, but remain affected by a security situation created mostly by the same idiots who made the place a prison under the old regime, a security situation that, uh - makes use of bomb dogs extremely helpful for everyone.
Seems to be an Arab thing. Not universal by any means, including inside Iraq of course, but that region does produce the most consistent supply of idiocy for us here at the 'burg to fisk and annotate.
#6
I hope that after their service is done, these dogs are treated better than the dogs we used in Viet Nam. IIRC, when we left Viet Nam, we put the dogs down - even though their handlers begged to be allowed to take them home. The dogs were considered to be "surplus war material" and were "disposed" of.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/23/2008 11:58 Comments ||
Top||
#7
The Marines are already in Afghanistan, which has plenty of bombs and bad people, Rambler. Who knows where they'll go from there -- but most assuredly bombs and bad people will be part of the local environment. ;-) Besides, our Armed Forces have figured out a lot of things as a result of the mistakes of Viet Nam.
Posted by: ed ||
05/23/2008 12:23 Comments ||
Top||
#10
The one thing that keeps us in business is that these dogs don't know that we can't do what they do," Staff Sgt. Joseph Evans said. "If they ever figure out the truth of the game, they'll never work for us again."
Sorry Staff Sgt. Evans but you are wrong! [unless you said it in jest]
Dawgs will do all the dangerous stuff that their handler's will do and then some!
#15
I googled "Pugnaces Britanniae" to see what I could find. Natch, wikipedia was the first hit, and I followed the link to an article about a Greek war dog -- Mollossus. When I was exiting, I noticed the other google hits and was amused since the breed is extinct -- "The best place to find Pugnaces Britanniae puppies on the web." "A community of Pugnaces Britanniae owners." "The place to find images and illustrations of Pugnaces Britanniae." "Find Pugnaces Britanniae breeders." It's nice to be reminded how much utter BS there is out there on the 'net.
Posted by: Tibor ||
05/23/2008 17:03 Comments ||
Top||
#16
barbara: "The references by Roman writers to the 'canes pugnaces' of Britain suggest a dog of a large and heavy type. Oppian says the fighting dog had light brown eyes, truncated muzzle, loose skin above the brows, a broad back, great stature, and muscular legs."
"A Roman Officer (L. Procurator Cynegii), was stationed in Winchester and responsible for selecting these dogs, which were exported to Rome for contests in the amphitheatre and for integration into the military as war dogs."
Modern Mastiff breeds have a peak weight of about 175lbs. Pugnaces Britanniae may have weighed over 200lbs.
According to one Roman historian, four such dogs were needed to best a lion.
BAGHDAD - Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad.
The edicts, or fatwas, by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani suggest he seeks to sharpen his long-held opposition to American troops and counter the populist appeal of his main rivals, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.
But unlike al-Sadr's anti-American broadsides the Iranian-born al-Sistani has displayed extreme caution with anything that could imperil the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The two met Thursday at the elderly cleric's base in the city of Najaf south of Baghdad.
So far, al-Sistani's fatwas have been limited to a handful of people. They also were issued verbally and in private rather than a blanket proclamation to the general Shiite population according to three prominent Shiite officials in regular contact with al-Sistani as well as two followers who received the edicts in Najaf.
All spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Al-Sistani who is believed to be 79 or 80 has not been seen in public since a brief appearance in August 2004, shortly after returning from London for medical treatment for an unspecified heart condition. But his mix of religious authority and political clout makes him more powerful than any of Iraq's elected leaders.
For American officials, he represents a key stabilizing force in Iraq for refusing to support a full-scale Shiite uprising against U.S.-led forces or Sunnis especially at the height of sectarian bloodletting after an important Shiite shrine was bombed in 2006.
It is impossible to determine whether those who received the edicts acted on them. Most attacks except some by al-Qaida in Iraq are carried out without claims of responsibility.
It is also unknown whether al-Sistani intended the fatwas to inspire violence or simply as theological opinions on foreign occupiers. Al-Sadr who has a much lower clerical rank than al-Sistani recently has threatened "open war" on U.S.-led forces.
The U.S. military said it had no indications that al-Sistani was seeking to "promote violence" against U.S.-led troops. It also had no information linking the ayatollah or other top Shiite clerics to armed groups battling U.S. forces and allies.
A senior aide to the prime minister, al-Maliki, said he was not aware of the fatwas, but added that the "rejection of the occupation is a legal and religious principle" and that top Shiite clerics were free to make their own decisions. The aide also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Fatwas are theological opinions by an individual cleric and views on the same subject can vary. They gain force from consensus among experts in Islamic law and traditions.
In the past, al-Sistani has avoided answering even abstract questions on whether fighting the U.S. presence in Iraq is allowed by Islam. Such questions sent to his Web site which he uses to respond to followers' queries have been ignored. All visitors to his office who had asked the question received a vague response.
The subtle shift could point to his growing impatience with the continued American presence more than five years after the U.S.-led invasion.
It also underlines possible opposition to any agreement by Baghdad to allow a long-term U.S. military foothold in Iraq part a deal that is currently under negotiation and could be signed as early as July.
Al-Sistani's distaste for the U.S. presence is no secret. In his public fatwas on his Web site, he blames Washington for many of Iraq's woes. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with a blood thirsty religious interpretation shared by many of his followers?
But a more aggressive tone from the cleric could have worrisome ripples through Iraq's Shiite majority 65 percent of the country's estimated 27 million population in which many followers are swayed by his every word.
A longtime official at al-Sistani's office in Najaf would not deny or confirm the edicts issued in private, but hinted that a publicized call for jihad may come later.
"(Al-Sistani) rejects the American presence," he told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to media. "He believes they (the Americans) will at the end pay a heavy price for the damage they inflicted on Iraq."
Juan Cole, a U.S. expert on Shiites in the Middle East, speculated that "al-Sistani clearly will give a fatwa against the occupation by a year or two." But he said it would be "premature" for the cleric to do so now.
Between 10 and 15 people are believed to have received the new fatwas in recent months, the Shiite officials told the AP.
Most of those seeking al-Sistani's views are young men known for their staunch loyalty to al-Sistani who call themselves "Jund al-Marjaiyah," or "Soldiers of the Religious Authorities," according to the Shiite officials.
Al-Sistani's new edicts which did not specifically mention Americans but refer to foreign occupiers were in response to the question of whether it's permitted to "wage armed resistance," according to the two Shiites who received them.
Al-Sistani's affirmative response also carried a stern warning that "public interest" should not be harmed and every effort must be made to ensure that no harm comes to Iraqis or their property during "acts of resistance," they said.
"Changing the tyrannical (Saddam Hussein) regime by invasion and occupation was not what we wished for because of the many tragedies they have created," al-Sistani said in reply to a question on his Web site.
"We are extremely worried about their intentions," he wrote in response to another question on his views about the U.S. military presence.
Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army twice revolted against U.S. forces in 2004. It has since periodically attacked U.S. troops and battled them for seven weeks in Baghdad this year.
In perhaps another sign of al-Sistani's hardened position, he has opposed disarming the Mahdi Army as demanded by al-Maliki, according to Shiite officials close to the cleric.
Disarming the Mahdi Army would in the views of many Shiites leave them vulnerable to attacks by armed Sunni factions that are steadily gaining strength after joining the U.S. military fight against al-Qaida.
"Al-Sistani would love Muqtada (al-Sadr) to disappear but he will not break the community by openly going against a popular Shiite cleric," said Vali Nasr, an expert on Shiite affairs at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. "If he orders militias disbanded and a car bomb again kills many Shiites, he will be held responsible."
#2
For all those who like to say, "the moderates are on our side, or at least neutral."
There are no moderates.
They are the other side.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/23/2008 9:10 Comments ||
Top||
#3
sistani hasnt been particularly helpful since the outbreak of severe sunni-shia fighting in spring 2006. hes clearly more concerned with maintaining the Hawzas influence over the Shia than with with Sunni-shia reconciliaton and Iraqi state building.(His insistence on a united Shia slate in 2005 was also harmful, although at that point simply supporting the elections was enough to be thankful for)
Its a bit odd that NOW, when Sadrs influence seems to be waning, this comes out.
Why?
1. Hes very unhappy with the growing influence of the Sunnis and of secularists (Kurds and Allawi followers) on the Iraqi govt, and the dilution of Shia power
2. Hes very unhappy with continued American influence which hes long been suspicious of.
3. Both of the above - hes suspicious of the Americans BECAUSE he believes the US will ultimately favor the Sunnis
4. He sees Maliki and other Shia pols acting more and more like secular pols, independent of the Hawza.
5. With Maliki turning on Sadr with US backing, to not stand up for Sadr would weaken the Hawza with the most conservative elements in the Shia community. Sistani is more concerned with the Hawzas appeal there than with the political outcome, which he may not think he can control anyway.
6. He is nervous about the SOFA and about the lack of US plans for withdrawl below the immediate pre-siege level. See above
To recap, gossip of private verbal conversations for which nobody will go on record are a threat to US troops.
IERs or Improvised Explosive Rumors. Shaped, to suit today's agenda.
Posted by: Creling Darling of the Lichtensteiners8341 ||
05/23/2008 10:17 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Well things weren't so good under Saddam. Did the Grand Dragon issue any fatwas against Saddam. Probably not--for health reasons. These guys (religious types) don't want democracy and never will. Democracy tends to make them irrelevant. It diminishes their power. The biggest threat to the other muslim mid-east countries is to have a democratic government, a free people, and a thriving economy in iraq.
#6
Sistani's desired end state is no different than that of Khomenei's or any other muslim holyman. The domination of islam over over the entire world, and specifically the Shia sect. The only thing negotiable is the time line and the amount of blood spilled.
Sistani will be grudgingly supportive of our efforts only when it directly increases Shia power. Now that the Sunni have turned, accepted to be included into government and American power is no longer working to destroy them, our usefulness to Sistani has vastly diminished.
Posted by: ed ||
05/23/2008 12:32 Comments ||
Top||
#7
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers
...... Juan Cole, a U.S. "expert" on Shiites in the Middle East, speculated that "al-Sistani clearly will give a fatwa against the occupation by a year or two." But he said it would be "premature" for the cleric to do so now
plz use article as Shit Liner....
Juan Cole is paid for America Hater employed by the University of Michigan and Arab Slush Funds.
#9
Cole is a strong critic of Israel's foreign and military policy and its treatment of Palestinians. He criticizes the nature of America's support for Israel and the activities of the "Israel "Lobby",[58] and claims that some senior US officials such as Doug Feith have dual loyalties to America and the Israeli Likud Party.[59]
Cole's "positive" prescriptions can be summarized thus:
It wouldn't take much now to settle the Israel-Palestine thing, and the time is ripe to have Israel give back the Golan to Syria and the Shebaa Farms to Lebanon in return for a genuine peace process. The Israelis are not made more secure by crowding into the West Bank or bombing Gaza daily. South Lebanon has demonstrated the dangers of ever more sophisticated microwars over rugged territory. It is time for Israel, and for the United States, to do the right thing and rescue the Palestinians from the curse of statelessness, the slavery of the 21st century. Ending this debilitating struggle would also be the very best thing for the Israelis themselves. In one fell swoop, the US would have solved 80 percent of its problems with the Muslim world and vastly reduced the threat of terrorism.[61]
#11
A good history of peace initiatives can be found at: http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.3002199/
There have been many peace initiativessome by Israelis. Some by Arabs. And many efforts by the U.S. There are many complex issues that have stalled peace in the mid-east. The Taba Conference in 2001 proposed returning 97% of the land requested by the Palestinians but agreement did not occur on right of return. The Arabs proposed on March 28, 2002 what has been called the Arab Peace Initiative a plan that supported the 'right of return' for all Palestinian refugees and their descendents; and the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Shimon Peres responded that no accord can come to fruition unless terror activities are ceased, a condition not mentioned in the Arab Initiative.
Couple this with the kind of climate created by Ahmadinejad in his bellicose statement about destroying Israel. The history of attacks on Israel by surrounding countries does not create much confidence that the Muslims would comply with any agreement.
(AKI) - The US military "sincerely regrets" killing two children in a helicopter attack on militants with suspected links to al-Qaeda leader, officials said on Thursday.
In a statement, US officials said they were investigating the operation against insurgents in northern Iraq's Salaheddin province, just south of Baiji.
During the attack an American helicopter reportedly targeted vehicles on a farm in the area late on Wednesday, killing eight people, including two children. "Unfortunately, two children were killed when the other occupants of the vehicle, in which they were riding, exhibited hostile intent," US military spokesman Colonel Gerald O'Hara said. "The terrorists were believed to be associated with a suicide bombing network."
The military "sincerely regrets" when any innocent civilians are injured as a result of terrorists locating themselves in and around them. "We take every precaution to protect innocent civilians and engage only hostile threats," O'Hara said.
The US helicopter strike came on the same day two journalists were killed in Baghdad.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
Unfortunately, the six adult criminals aren't able to make a similar apology for attempting to induct two children into their ranks.
#2
So often these terrorists use children so that they will be in harm's way and then they can ratchet up the propaganda machine when the kids get injured or killed. Our MSM falls for this and goes right along with reporting this propaganda.
Geez, I wonder why?
BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Gaza's business people were the poor relations at a Palestinian investors' conference on Thursday, chasing backers but struggling to find any willing to risk their capital before a yearlong blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory is lifted. Psssst...wanna buy a rocket? Need a tunnel dug? Used Egyptian motorcycles?
More than 100 conference participants, or almost one in 10, came from Gaza. An entire session was dedicated to the territory which has been virtually cut off from the world since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized control by force last June. Here is what we have to offer................
Okay. How about lunch?
However, the big money hundreds of millions of dollars from Qatar and Saudi Arabia passed them by. Yes, we love our Pali brothers...but not in that way.
"The only hope we have comes after the lifting of the embargo," said Faisal Shawwa, who has resorted to smuggling raw materials for his pharmaceuticals factory through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. The Gaza Tunnel Authority. Somebody's tax dollars at work...
And I'd like to know what he's making at the "pharmaceuticals" factory ...
Gaza's priate sector has been all but wiped out by the closure, imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Hamas takeover. Tens of thousands of jobs were lost because most imports and exports are banned, except for shipments of humanitarian supplies. Israel has increasingly restricted fuel and electricity in hopes of halting Palestinian rocket fire on Israeli border communities. Geez, I wonder what would happen if they stopped firing rockets?
The moderate Palestinian government in the West Bank says it won't negotiate with its Hamas rivals until they step aside, but can't be seen as ignoring the 1.4 million residents of the impoverished territory. Lip service, gentlemen! We need more lip service! Harrrumph harrrumph harrumph harrrumph....
The international community supports the boycott of Hamas, but has voiced growing concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. Despite the grim prospects, the Gazans were invited to the conference and even asked to present projects. Hmmmmmm...The Aerodynamic Properties of Sewer Pipe. That looks interesting.
The conference has not yielded results, said Azzam Shawwa, general director of the Al Quds Bank in Cairo. "All we heard here so far is emotional talk about Gaza and solidarity with Gaza and investment with Gaza," Shawa said. "There has been nothing concrete." Ya don't understand, Azzam. That is their business.
And you especially won't hear them talk about concrete ...
Gaza businessman Mamon Abushahla said the Gaza delegation prepared $180 million worth of investments that he believes are feasible, even during the blockade. The projects included fish farms, recycling and agriculture. ...and a new invention, a toilet you can flush money into.
Abushahla said that if the situation gets worse, he might return to Britain, where he spent much of his adult life. I'm sure they're rolling out the red carpet as we speak...
Many Gaza business people have already emigrated, said Faisal Shawwa, who heads an 180-member association of Gaza companies with assets of more than $1 million. Fifteen members have left and many others would follow if they could sell their assets, said Shawwa, whose construction companies stand idle. Well. So much for Resistance...
Earlier, the World Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a U.S. government agency, presented plans to offer political risk insurance to Palestinian businesses, in hopes of encouraging foreign investment. Oh, hey. What a great idea...
#2
Many Gaza business people have already emigrated, said Faisal Shawwa, who heads an 180-member association of Gaza companies with assets of more than $1 million.
I AM A REPRESENTATIVE OF A PRINCE OF NIGERIA AND AM INTERESTED IN INVESTING IN YOUR REGION. I HAVE ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS OF FUNDS TO INVEST IN A WORTHWHILE BUSINESS, SUCH AS HIGH TECH GREENHOUSES. UNFORTUNATELY, I AM EXPERIENCING SOME DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY MOVING MONEY OUT OT MY COUNTRY. IF YOU COULD ASSIST WITH CERTAIN EXCHANGE FEES ...
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, said the movement would not declare a cease-fire unless Israel lifts the blockade and reopens crossings with the outside world. "We will not give a calm if we continue to be humiliated, and certainly not before Israel halts its aggression," Haniyeh said Thursday at a news conference in Gaza. He said the group's leadership would decide its next step after internal consultations.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
TOPIX > JORDAN TIMES - WHY THE MIDDLE EAST DOESN'T MATTER. Israel faces becoming a MUSLIM-MAJORITY STATE in approxi TEN YEARS, and the TWO STATE SOLUTION is no longer viable as ISRAEL = APARTHEID-ERA, PRE-DE KLERK SOUTH AFRICA [minority oppresses the majority. AS PER APARTHEID-ERA SOUTH AFRICA, ISRAEL IS SLOWLY BECOMING UNLIVEABLE FOR JEW AND MUSLIM ALIKE, hence NEW SOLUTIONS ARE NEEDED. US + World should stop viewing the ME as "strategic" and leave, thus forcing both Jew and Muslim to find a common way of getting along and living peacefully together???
#2
Jew and Muslim to find a common way of getting along and living peacefully together
Well, it has been done in the past. Wuz called dhimmitude. But I am not sure that the majority of Israelis would like to repeat that kind of experience.
Leading Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told The Jerusalem Post that he would fully back Israel's peace talks with Syria and criticized efforts to block such engagement. "I am encouraged that Israel and Syria have renewed peace talks and fully support Israel's efforts to advance peace with all its neighbors," he said in statement e-mailed to the Post. "I have consistently said that the United States must stand ready to help Israel achieve peace with its neighbors and should not block Israel from the negotiating table, nor force it to negotiate."
His statements emphatically welcoming Wednesday's surprise announcement of Israeli-Syrian talks contrasted with the reception offered by Bush administration officials, who provided a tepid response and noted the US was not involved in the ongoing indirect contacts, which are being brokered by Turkey.
The campaign of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain offered a reaction more in line with that of the current White House occupants, though emphasizing Israel's independence as Obama did. "Senator McCain's view is that the sovereign government of Israel should be free to make its own decisions on how best to defend Israel and whether to engage in negotiations," said Randy Scheunemann, the campaign's director of foreign policy and national security, who wouldn't comment on the potential for an American role in the talks.
The campaign of Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton, though, stressed the need for America to support Israel's diplomatic overtures. "It is incumbent on the United States to support Israel in its efforts to make peace with its Arab neighbors. It is in America's strategic interest to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, and it's a fulfillment of our commitment to Israel's security and well-being, living in peace with its neighbors," said Lee Feinstein, the campaign's director of national security. "As Hillary Clinton has said before, when she is president, she will, once again, make working to resolve conflict in the Middle East a priority."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
As contingency vv anti-Israeli ME proliferations, ISRAEL desires membership in NATO [EU?], inclusion in US-led GMD-TMD, pro-Western "regime change" in Iran, + pro-Peace/West in GAZA = PA State.
#2
certainly Israel has the right to make peace with its neighbors, and that offers some big upside prospects for the US, if Syria can be turned away from Iran.
The admins concern, as I see it, is that Syria will turn from Syrian policy on ISRAEL, but will continue to cooperate with Iran on the internal situation in Lebanon. Which is not only about the Leb-Israel relationship, despite what some think. Thats a perfectly legitimate concern for the administration to have, and one they have the right to express as israel pursues negotiations.
While this is a nice domestic political opportunity for Obama, a chance to sound more pro-Israel than the admin (without pissing off ultradoves in his base) if and when he becomes president he will have to deal with the situation in Lebanon. To abandon Lebanon will piss off the Saudis, Egyptians, and French. Maybe Obama thinks he can save Lebanon through a deal with Iran. Im skeptical myself.
#5
You can't talk with or negotiate with someone who already has their minds made up. BO must not take Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at his word--height of dangerous naivette.
A suicide truck bomb at one Israeli checkpoint and violence at a rally by Hamas at another on Thursday highlighted frustrations in the Palestinian enclave at slow progress in efforts to secure a ceasefire with Israel.
A pro-Hamas website said Cairo talks on a proposed truce between Gaza's militant groups and Israel had close to broken down. It blamed an Israeli refusal to allow a full and immediate reopening of Gaza's crossing to Egypt, at Rafah.
A senior Hamas official who took part in talks in Cairo with Egyptian mediators said on his return to Gaza on Thursday that he would not confirm a breakdown of the talks and that the group would seek further clarification of the Israeli position. "We have listened to the Israeli responses," Hamas's Khalil al-Hayya said. "These responses require clarification and some answers and we await these answers in a few days. We hope they will be positive so that the siege on our people can be lifted."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he is not encouraged by the lack of progress in the Egyptian-mediated talks. "The latest information doesn't give much hope. During the past months I have asked our brethren in Egypt to intervene to achieve this truce," Abbas told a news conference with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Ramallah. "Today I cannot say that we have satisfactory news. Until now there are still obstacles," he said.
Palestinian officials familiar with the talks said Israel offered to hold back military activity, open what was previously the main freight crossing from Israel to Gaza at Karni, boost supplies into Gaza and to increase fuel shipments.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
"The Syrians know what we want and we know what they want," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday, the day after the opening of diplomatic negotiations with Damascus were announced.
"And we know that they know what we want, and that we know what they want!"
Speaking to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Jerusalem, Olmert said that Israel intends to conduct negotiations on both the Syrian and Palestinian tracks, with neither coming at the expense of the other.
"And they know that we know that they know what we want, that that they know that we know what they want!"
The prime minister made it clear that Israel aspires to reach peace with the Palestinians in the coming year and added that both his talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on this issue and the talks between the heads of the negotiating teams - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and PA negotiator Ahmad Qurei - were "serious and important."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
But we know there are things that we don't know, and they know we don't know those things. That much remains clear.
#2
FREEREPUBLIC > SYRIA, HAMAS, AND ABBAS = As per its covert talks wid ISRAEL [one year[,IS SYRIA INDIC A WILLINGNESS TO SWITCH TO AMERICA + ISRAEL FROM IRAN???
#4
"Olmert said that Israel intends to conduct negotiations on both the Syrian and Palestinian tracks, with neither coming at the expense of the other. "
Not at the expense of each other, from Israels POV, but with added leverage in each one from the existence of the other.
#8
I think Ehud wants Syria to "come to the rescue" in Leb and clamp down on Hizballah.
That was the situation prior to the March 14 uprising, when Syria controlled Lebanon.
A policy which will probably prove too clever by half
I don't know. The impression I get is that it's preferable to have a known enemy, any known enemy, in charge of the country, than the present situation.
Information minister says "Olmert isn't making a single concession" because "the Golan is our right."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
TOPIX > IRAN WINS IN LEBANON + IRAN NOW IN CHARGE OF LEBANON + IRAN NUKES SPARK ME ARMS RACE, etc.
Again, any so-called PREEMTIVE = FIRST STRIKE attack by Israel agz Lebanon-based Terror groups andor Syria now must consider an IRANIAN MIL RESPONSE to such MILOPS - in addition, pro-IRAN/ISLAMIST factions are acting up in JORDAN. ISRAEL KNOWS THAT, OVER TIME, WID NUC TECH + WEAPONS PROLIFERATION IN ME NOT EVEN "PREEMPTION/
FIRST STRIKE" STRATEGICS MAY SUFFICE TO PROTECT ISRAEL FROM BEING OVERWHELMED.
#4
Joe, simple. Start with Iran and then follow up with Syria. Hezboys may be a thorn, but in this scenario, their goose is eventually cooked by default.
Sure, the logistics are a bit complex. But that is the only workable scenario.
The UN Security Council is giving strong backing to the deal to end Lebanon's 18-month political crisis.
But the council dropped a specific reference to a 2004 resolution demanding the disarmament of Hizbullah, which is widely seen as the victor in the agreement reached Wednesday in Qatar's capital, Doha.
A statement approved Thursday by the 15 council members calls for full implementation of the Doha agreement, in conformity with an agreement that ended Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war "and all relevant Security Council resolutions..."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
(AKI) - Lebanon's new political accord will be shortlived without the disarmament of the militant Shia opposition movement, Hezbollah, according to international experts.
David Schenker, a senior fellow from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Adnkronos International (AKI) on Thursday that the Shia opposition group posed an "ongoing threat" to the country. "This is a temporary truce or hudna," Schenker told AKI from his office at the Washington think-tank. "The loyalty of Hezbollah is not to the state of Lebanon, but to the Shia spiritual leaders of Iran."
Schenker, a Middle East expert, said despite the accord mediated by the Arab League in Qatar this week, fundamental issues divided Lebanon's political leaders. He said issues such as disarmament , telecommunications and differing views of the world had not been addressed. "The group's weaponry was a top agenda item for the government, but both the Qataris and Hezbollah prevented any serious discussion on the issue," he elaborated in a report.
"In the end, it was agreed that a national dialogue -- chaired by incoming president (General Michel) Suleiman -- would discuss 'weapons of organisations' . This 'solution' suggests that nothing will be done about Hezbollah's weapons anytime soon.
"This is a short-term agreement," he told AKI. "It is not worth the paper it is written on."
Nadim Shehadi from the London think-tank Chatham House said the reputation of Hezbollah had been tarnished by the recent violence in Lebanon. "Hezbollah went berserk, occupied the city (Beirut) and lost a lot of credibility," Shehadi told Adnkronos International (AKI). "They showed an ugly face and they lost the 'halo' they had as the party of god."
Like Schenker, Shehadi said the disarmament of Hezbollah was a crucial issue in the future of Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
The United States and Britain said on Thursday they believed Hezbollah had been weakened by this month's fighting in Beirut despite the greater influence the militant group gained in Lebanon's Cabinet.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband rejected the view that the show of force by Hezbollah had increased its power. "Hezbollah lost something very important, which is any argument that it is somehow a resistance movement on behalf of the Lebanese people," Rice told reporters traveling with her and Miliband on a trip to her California hometown. "What it is, is a militia that, given an opportunity, decided to turn its guns on its own people. It is never going to live that down," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#3
So how does it work that Hezbollah has gained greater influence in the cabinet and that has weakened them? Last week, Lebanon was about to break out in a civil war. So much manure for the MSM grist mill--there are deadlines to meet. Sometimes when I read MSM stories, I feel like I am in the supermarket checkout reading the National Enquirer headlines or some other tabloid headlines. I guess the MSM and the tabloids must have merged at sometime and I just missed it.
A senior Al-Qaeda operative in Afghanistan, Abu Yahya al-Libi, on Thursday slammed calls for closer ties between religions made by the Saudi monarch, warning in a video statement that it would bring churches to the heart of Islam. Without naming King Abdullah, Libi warned: "If you don't face up today like heroes to this mischievous tyrant, and let deviant ulamas [Muslim scholars] justify his stupidity, soon would be the day when you see church bells ringing in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula."
"I swear by Allah, it is the moment of gain for the one who wants to be among the leaders of martyrs ... to stand up to this insane apostate, and falsify his nonsense," Libi said. "No moderation. No rapprochment, no cooperation between us and other religions."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/23/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
"Moment of gain..," > 2008 - 2012/13 = TURNING POINT for both the USA + Radical Islam.
* "One whom wants to be the Leader among the Martyrs" > ISLAMIST HIDDEN IMAM-MAHDI???
#2
This coming from the heretical filthy heathean branch of a death cult that is not only adulterous but trains young children to become "suicide" bombers.
Church bells are about all that can save your collective rotted souls now. That is unless your REALLY wanted to be religious scholars because that would require Synagogues.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Claims that a Bollywood actress had sex with troops while touring an Australian military base in Afghanistan were under investigation, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Thursday. Rudd was reluctant to comment on the sex scandal claims surrounding London-based Australian actress Tania Zaetta - who has denied the allegations - saying it was best left to Australias defence department. As I understand it, these matters are under investigation within the defence department and I will leave it for that investigation to reach its own conclusions, Rudd told reporters.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved an additional $165 billion to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan for another year after lawmakers rejected proposed timetables for withdrawing American troops from Iraq. A majority of senators approved the war-spending bill, which the Pentagon says it urgently needs to avoid civilian layoffs within months and the interruption of soldier paychecks.
The United Nations will watch closely a peace deal between Pakistans new government and pro-Taliban militants in Swat, the UN peacekeeping chief said on Thursday. Speaking during a visit to Afghanistan, UN Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno said Afghanistan and Pakistan must work together to tackle extremism. Asked about the deal in Swat, Guehenno said it could only be judged on the impact it has on security. Guehenno said the stability of the two countries was linked.
The government is considering closing down a dormant Madrassa Reforms Project that President Pervez Musharraf had pledged would modernise religious schools, official sources told Daily Times on Thursday.
Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday said top Shiite cleric Ali Sistani expressed his support to the government measures taken to impose the rule of law.
BAGHDAD - Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad. 
(AKI) - Lebanon's new political accord will be shortlived without the disarmament of the militant Shia opposition movement, Hezbollah, according to international experts.
A senior Al-Qaeda operative in Afghanistan, Abu Yahya al-Libi, on Thursday slammed calls for closer ties between religions made by the Saudi monarch, warning in a video statement that it would bring churches to the heart of Islam. Without naming King Abdullah, Libi warned: "If you don't face up today like heroes to this mischievous tyrant, and let deviant ulamas [Muslim scholars] justify his stupidity, soon would be the day when you see church bells ringing in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula." 
