A reminder there's stuff going on behind the scenes that we don't see. Not that I expect much to come out of it, but he's giving it the try: he's offering the Soddies the chance to back off gracefully from their plans for world domination, pretend it never happened so we can all be friends. Eventually they may actually take that generous offer, but it'll only be after they've been backed into a diplomatic and — more important and more difficult — economic corner. He'd better get started on the economic war soon, since I have to fill my tank tomorrow.
The United States has made important progress with Saudi Arabia during consultations on ways to enhance religious freedom in the kingdom, the State Department said Tuesday. The consultations began after the administration listed Saudi Arabia as a "country of particular concern" in a report last September that covered the state of religious freedom in more than 190 countries. Countries so designated can be subject to sanctions. Tuesday was the deadline for reporting to Congress on followup action but State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said more time was needed to evaluate the situation. Also designated for the first time as countries of particular concern last September were Vietnam and Eritrea.
Of the three, Saudi Arabia generated the most interest because the kingdom is a close US friend and had escaped US censure for religious intolerance previously. The report last September accused Saudi Arabia of "particularly severe violations" of religious freedom. Over the past six months, Ereli said the United States has been working for greater religious tolerance in all three countries. "We've made some important progress," Ereli said. "I think we're close to arrangements that respond to issues raised in the report." Perhaps with an eye on Tuesday's deadline, the Saudi government said last week in a statement that it has been carrying out a national public awareness campaign to educate Saudi citizens about the "true values of the Islamic faith and the importance of tolerance and moderation."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
When Jews can live there safely, then we'll know they've turned the corner. When there are Shia and Salifi mosques in Mecca, they will be on the way. Anything less is just words, which they will throw around recklessly as they attempt to divert Bush with bonbons.
#2
Even if the MSM can't see the elephant in the room the Arab states clearly can. Bush invades an Arab country and throws its exleadership in the slammer in defiance of the UN and (tranzi) world opinion. SA's primary interest is how high it has to jump in order to clear the safe from invasion barrier.
#3
Phil_b.
The problem with your argument is that Saudi Arabia isn't a country, let alone a nation---it's just a region dominated by the heirs of el Saud. If they let loose, even a little bit, it's the knife for them.
#4
gromgorru, you are looking at SA through westerners eyes. I have never been, but I have lived for many years in Asia. The Sauds have a godlike position as the protectors of the holy sites and as I have pointed out before deification of the leadership is the surest way to achieve a dynasty. Your argument would apply to Assad or Saddam but the Sauds can claim god selected them and that is a powerful argument in a religous society irrespective of its cohesion as a nation.
The Sauds may fear their own citizens but they fear the Americans more. They know they are only an oil supply interruption away from a US protective force in the Eastern oilfields.
#5
gromgorru, you are looking at SA through westerners eyes. I have never been, but I have lived for many years in Asia. The Sauds have a godlike position as the protectors of the holy sites and as I have pointed out before deification of the leadership is the surest way to achieve a dynasty.
I hardly know where to start.
(a) Observing Asians teaches you nada about Arab societies.
The first managed to surpass tribal stage of development on their own, the second never did (the difference between perciving life as non-zero vs. zero sum game).
(b) Hashemites were protectors of the holy sites before El Saud, as well as direct discendands of the Prothet. It didn't stop their overtrow by el Saud. It didn't stop Paleos killing Abdulah & trying to kill Hussein once a month (or Iraqis exterminating the other branch).
Islam is just not the kind of religion that has semidevine dynasties (read up on califate period) . The only reason Saudis kept power, so far, is because they've been sharing the petrodollar bounty. Now, it's running out (the income is, more or less, the same---but the population has tripled).
p.s. I haven't been to Asia. However, I've been observing Homo Arabicus in action, and reading up on their history, since the first Intifada.
#7
Now, it's running out (the income is, more or less, the same While hard data on Saudi oil revenues and production are hard to obtain, its clear that SA oil revenues have surged (and at least doubled over the last 2 years) and are running at least a half billion USD a day.
#8
Tribes With Flags by Stephen Glass, I do believe. (Mr. Wife is painting the office, so all the books are stacked elsewhere, and I'm not to touch them until he's done.) Written after his stint as a reporter based in Lebanon, as I recall, in which he openly admits that all the Arab world based reporters including him lie through their teeth in order to maintain access and not be killed while over there. He gives examples of reporting about Israel to support his accusation. An interesting book, but smacks a bit too much of the butcher's apology to the pigs for my taste.
Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev claims that the whereabouts of killed rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov were discovered by Russian Security Forces because they managed to intercept his mobile telephone calls, Chechen separatist Web site Kavkazcenter.Com reports. Maskhadov made a number of phone calls every day after negotiations were suggested by Russian authorities in the fall of 2004, Basayev says. He spoke to his representatives abroad and to rebel leaders based in the Caucasus Mountains, and sent lots of SMS text messages. Although he did not use the cell phone himself, it was obvious that the answers on his behalf were given immediately.
Either Binny's not making the same mistake, or taking out Qazi's guesthouse in Lahore isn't politically feasible at the moment.
"Aslan did not need arms. Concealment was the best way to stay alive and he broke it by excessive use of a mobile," the warlord stresses. "Thus, there were no traitors in Maskhadov's inner circle, and the $10 million reward will go to the head of Russia's Federal Security Service, Nikolai Patrushev, who will get about $5 million, and the people who work at the local FSB branch," Kavkazcenter quoted Basayev. The rebel warlord stresses that his combatants received the news of Maskhadov's death with satisfaction because it inspired them to continue jihad against the "unfaithful" in the name of their great leader.
"He's dead, Dzhim!"
"Ooooh! That just makes me wanna DZHIHAD!"
Rebel intelligence reported to Basayev that the operation in the Chechen town of Tolstoi-Yurt which led to Maskhadov's death on March 8 was aimed at eliminating the Chechen separatist leader, but not at preventing a terror act, as the Russian authorities said. Shamil Basayev claims that the underground shelter where the dead body of the Chechen leader was found had not been the place where he lived. It was built for the house owner's cousin, who had been on the run for several years. Aslan Maskhadov and his aides occupied a separate house and only moved to the bunker at the beginning of the siege. Basayev describes Vakhita Murdashev and Viskhan Hadzhimuratov who were with the rebel leader during the attack as untrustworthy people. He stressed that they should not have left the bunker and surrendered. Their fate was to die for Maskhadov. "There was no chance for FSB officers to capture Aslan. I made a belt of explosives for him last year and it was permanently with him. Dying in the name of Allah he became a 'Shakhid' (a suicide-bomber who kills himself according to Islam traditions of revenge MosNews). The Russians only abase themselves by idle talk over his dead body," Basayev concluded.
This article starring:
VAKHITA MURDASHEV
Chechnya
VISKHAN HADZHIMURATOV
Chechnya
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 12:04 ||
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#1
Well, now we all know just how dangerous those cell phones are.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
03/18/2005 12:28 Comments ||
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because they managed to intercept his mobile telephone calls,
ima get by with a litter hep from my friends, ima gonna die with a litter hep from my friends.
Posted by: imna non ||
03/18/2005 13:56 Comments ||
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"everyday ya gotta cry some ... everyday ya gotta die some!" It is very funny talk coming from pegleg Basayev about how people "only abase themselves" in idle talk about bodies. He's talked alot about the corpses he's made. I like the part about personally making the "belt-O-Explosives" for old nasty Maskhadov. Didn't Basayev himself try to get rid of the man not so many years ago? You could read that part about "making the belt" quite differently if Basayev wasn't such a nice and honorable person. Moral of the story is cellphones can distract the user resulting in deadly accidents (they did want to take him alive ... right?).
We must have done something right to appoint John Bolton as UN envoy. The Norks went ballistic on this one (no pun intended).
North Korea blasted President Bush's appointment of Undersecretary of State John Bolton, one of the toughest critics of Pyongyang, as new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, saying he would only raise tensions in the international community.
"The most undesirable person was named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, thus raising tension in the United Nations and international community," said Choson Sinbo, the newspaper run by a Pyongyang-aligned organization of ethnic Korean residents in Japan.
"Bolton's speaking style is so violent the North has labeled him as human scum," said the paper, considered a mouthpiece of the communist regime in Pyongyang. "He is the worst UN envoy," it declared. Correction: he is THEIR worst envoy.
Bolton took a vehement stand against North Korea when he was serving as undersecretary of state for arms control. He once described North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Il as "tyrannical" and called the life in the Stalinist state a "hellish nightmare." He lacked a certain, uh, nuance, in his statements.
Bolton also blasted North Korea as "the world's foremost peddler of ballistic missile-related equipment, components, materials and technical expertise," saying the Bush administration would push for the UN Security Council to urge North Korea to drop its nuclear programs. That will really get us nowhere fast.
North Korea, in return, referred to Bolton as "human scum" and a "bloodsucker." Your mother was a hampster and you father smelt of elderberries!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/18/2005 3:25:17 PM ||
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#1
I've been looking for the official KCNA screech job since this was announced and haven't seen anything yet. They must be trying to find Sea of Fire guy and bring him out of retirement. Only the best will do. I just hope no one up there has killed and eaten him.
#7
The most undesirable person was named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, thus raising tension in the United Nations and international community,
And they must have photos of him abusing dogs and stealing milk bottles from babies too!
"Wolfowitz did this to me"
-Choson Sinbo, the newspaper run by a Pyongyang-aligned organization
Posted by: Army First Guy ||
03/18/2005 19:44 Comments ||
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#9
Why is a NoKo-aligned organization tolerated in Japan? shut it down. Send the people in that organization back to North Korea if they like it so much.
My diplosource tells me that this is no great surprise, that they knew when the missiles were moved and hollered about it in the appropriate diplomatic manner to the Ukes and to the countries where the aircraft made pit stops on the way to turbanland. All this took place prior to 9-11, and the press was, of course, oblivious. Just another reminder that there are things going on behind the scenes that we don't hear about at the time, and often never hear about.
Ukrainian weapons dealers smuggled 18 nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran and China during former President Leonid Kuchma's administration, prosecutors said Friday. The missiles have the range to reach U.S. allies. The Kh55 cruise missiles were smuggled out of Ukraine four years ago, the Prosecutor General's office said Friday in a statement. Prosecutors said the missiles, which have a range of 1,860 miles, were sold illegally and were not exported by Ukrainian enterprises.
The Associated Press reported exclusively on Feb. 4 that a government probe into lucrative illicit weapons sales by officials loyal to Kuchma has led to secret indictments or arrests of at least six arms dealers accused of selling nuclear-capable missiles to Iran and China. On Friday, prosecutors said, "The proceedings against persons implicated (in the illicit sale) have been forwarded to the Kiev Court of Appeals and are being heard behind closed doors." Last month, the AP reported that missiles purportedly ended up in Iran and China although export documents known as end-user certificates recorded the final recipient of some 20 Kh55 missiles as "Russia's Defense Ministry," according to a letter written by a lawmaker to current President Vladimir Yushchenko.
The letter by lawmaker Hrihoriy Omelchenko did not say what happened to the other missiles. The Kh55, known in the West as the AS-15, is designed to carry a nuclear warhead with a 200-kiloton yield. The missiles allegedly sold to Iran were unarmed. The United States and other Western nations have accused Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapons program, an allegation Tehran denies. Iran does not operate long-range bombers but it is believed Tehran could adapt its Soviet-built Su-24 strike aircraft to launch the missile. The missile's range would put Israel and a number of U.S. allies within reach.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 10:30:24 AM ||
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Posted by: imna non ||
03/18/2005 13:59 Comments ||
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I discussed this with someone who knows the technologies involved. His comments:
- the missiles are 20 yr old, terrain-following, not pinpoint accurate
- to launch them offensively would require access to a detailed digital terrain map of the target territory
- it takes considerable expertise beyond just having a nuclear bomb to engineer warheads to fit them
So they have some intimidation value for Iran and some intelligence / technology learning curve for China but aren't likely to present a sophisticated threat in Iran's hands in the near future unless they are getting far more help than has been made public so far.
Posted by: too true ||
03/18/2005 16:09 Comments ||
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So would satellites give the mullahs access to detailed digital terrain map? These old things are also air launched, yes? How high do ya hafta be to drop/launch one? And could a JSTARS see the launch vehicle? Do the MM's have a Tupolevs to launch them?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/18/2005 17:43 Comments ||
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Prosecutors in the Netherlands have formally charged a Dutch businessman with complicity in genocide for selling chemicals to Iraq's former regime. Frans van Anraat, 62, is accused of selling US and Japanese chemicals which were used to produce poison gas. The gases are said to have been used to kill more than 5,000 in a 1988 attack on the Kurdish Iraqi town of Halabja. Mr van Anraat earlier admitted selling chemicals but told Dutch TV he had not known what they would be used for.
The full trial of the businessman - the first Dutch national to be prosecuted for genocide - is not due to begin for several months. Dutch finding a spine after van Gogh's murder?
Evidence being used by prosecutors includes information obtained from the former head of Iraq's chemical weapons programme, Ali Hassan al-Majid, otherwise known as Chemical Ali. Frans van Anraat listened to the charges on Friday in the Rotterdam courtroom in the presence of four survivors of the Halabja attack.
The prosecution said there was a direct link between the injuries of two victims and a chemical substance known as TDG, allegedly supplied by the businessman. He is charged with supplying thousands of tons of raw materials for chemical weapons used in the 1980-1988 war against Iran and against Iraqi Kurds. According to prosecutors, the United Nations has described Mr van Anraat as "one of the most important middlemen in Iraq's acquisition of chemical material".
The prosecutors say the suspect was aware of the final purpose for the base materials he supplied. But in a 2003 interview, Mr van Anraat denied being aware of the attack. "The images of the gas attack on the Kurdish city Halabja were a shock. But I did not give the order to do that," he told Dutch magazine Revu. "No, no ... I thought they would use the chemical weapons for peaceful uses."
Prosecutors say the Dutchman had been a suspect since 1989, when he was arrested in Milan, Italy, at the request of the US government.
Kurds have demanded justice over the Halabja attack But he was later released and fled to Iraq, where he remained until 2003. which means he was there before, during and after Gulf 1
During that time, reports say he fed information to the Dutch intelligence agency on Saddam Hussein's weapons programme.
After the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, he returned to the Netherlands and was arrested in December 2004 at his Amsterdam home. The UN suspects he made 36 separate shipments of chemicals via the Belgian port of Antwerp through Aqaba in Jordan to Iraq, the prosecution says.
Posted by: too true ||
03/18/2005 8:23:07 AM ||
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That's not something we should be letting happen...
The Kurdish insurgency in Turkey has returned to the level of the 1990s during the height of the war against Ankara. Officials reported a sharp rise in the number of insurgents from the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK. They said at least 2,500 PKK members have entered Turkey from Iraq over the last 18 months in a move that has restored the Kurdish insurgency. "The number of terrorists in Turkey equals the number at the time of PKK head Abdullah Ocalan's 1999 capture," Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said. In 1999, Turkey forced Syria to expel Ocalan. He was later captured in Africa and brought for trial to Turkey in a move that crippled the PKK for the next five years.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Posted by: seafarious ||
03/18/2005 12:01:37 AM ||
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#1
O.K. so there are some things looking good, but Bush is claiming too much credit, and a lot of things could still go wrong, and it might not have been worth the price.
There! Now you don't have to read the whole thing.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/18/2005 9:16 Comments ||
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#2
Ten years from now Bush won't have been involved at all.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 11:05 Comments ||
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#3
who?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/18/2005 11:15 Comments ||
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"Ten years from now Bush won't have been involved at all." At least in the histories of the countries that changed. Which is not all bad:
"When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'"
- Lao-tsu
Posted by: James ||
03/18/2005 12:28 Comments ||
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#5
I like your thinking James..... hummmmmmm.... The Iraqis did it!
Posted by: James Carville ||
03/18/2005 14:01 Comments ||
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#6
Hey, that was mah plan all along. But with all the beanahs I was gettin on the side, I nevah had the time to implement it. But that was mah plan.
Posted by: William J. Clinton ||
03/18/2005 15:03 Comments ||
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Ah, yes, Bono. Where would the planet be without Bono?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Paul Wolfowitz, whose nomination as World Bank president has stirred controversy, discussed poverty and development issues with Irish rock star Bono in two phone conversations on Thursday, an adviser said. The only thing I'd be interested in asking Bono is where he gets his dope.
Wolfowitz adviser Kevin Kellems told Reuters the deputy U.S. defense secretary initiated the lengthy conversations with the lead singer of the rock group U2, whose name had been bandied about for the World Bank presidency. Hey, Bono. It's Wolfie. Yeah, George said to give you a call. Yeah, said maybe these yahoos would get off my case a bit if it looked like I was kissing your beautiful person ass a little bit?. You know, like I was actually interested in what you had to say? Sooooooooooo... what's with that guy The Edge? Is that his real name or what?
President Bush on Wednesday named Wolfowitz, a key architect of the Iraq war, to be the next World Bank president, but the choice has been controversial, especially in Europe. An endorsement by Bono, who campaigns extensively for African aid and debt relief, could defuse some of the criticism of Wolfowitz. If BONO says it's okay, then it's okay with us. Bono knows EVERYTHING!And we're very naive and gullible.
Kellems said the discussions "were incredibly substantive about reducing poverty, about development, about the opportunity to help people that the World Bank presidency provides and about charitable giving and social progress around the globe. "They clicked. They were very enthusiastic, detailed and lengthy conversations," Kellems said. Tom Hart, government relations director for DATA -- Debt, AIDS , Trade and Africa -- the lobby group co-founded by Bono, said the rock star believed it was important to share his views on Africa and poverty with Wolfowitz. I'm sure Wolfie was thrilled...
"Bono thought it was important that he put forward the issues that are critical to the World Bank, like debt cancellation, aid effectiveness and a real focus on poverty reduction," Hart said. Wolfowitz first telephoned Bono on Wednesday to schedule the conversations. In the past 24 hours, Wolfowitz had spoken with a broad range of foreign leaders, bank officials and advocates for poverty reduction and international development, aides said. Coming up next: Wolfie talks to Cher about the Law of the Seas Treaty.
#2
I know that this is crazy, but if Wolfie talks to Bono, and Bono talks to the concerned Euros, and everything is OK with good vibes, love, cosmic harmony, and the Euros jump on and are reassured, who cares? It is one hell of a way to run a railroad, though. Right, Dar?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/18/2005 17:18 Comments ||
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At least it's Bono, and not Babs or Baldwin or any of those other douche bags. Bono seems to know who he is "a spoiled, arrogant rock star" as I heard he quoted himself a couple years back.
It's been way too long since the last ScrappleFace article here
(2005-03-15) -- In an effort to squelch controversy over government-produced PR videos which local news stations have used without attributing the source, President George Bush today announced that federal agencies would begin sending additional faux news videos that portray administration policies in a bad light.
"We want to be fair and balanced," said Mr. Bush in a 60-second pre-packaged video as an American flag waved in the background. "So, along with every pro-administration, pro-American video we send to a local affiliate, we'll include an anti-administration, anti-American video of the same length."
Mr. Bush said the new initiative would require no additional taxpayer dollars, "since we're just going to tape the opposition stuff from existing, well-known, publicly-available sources. I'm not going to mention names, but I could give you several sets of initials."
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
03/18/2005 9:40:00 AM ||
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Lots of World Bank nom stuff, but this is the interesting part...
The Pentagon's often-reliable vote for tough action against state sponsors of terror in interagency meetings is in jeopardy as Mr. Wolfowitz leaves his position as deputy secretary of defense along with the no. 3 civilian at the Defense Department, Doug Feith, whose departure was announced this summer.
The names floated as possible replacements for Mr.Wolfowitz have built their reputations as managers willing to work closely with a bureaucracy often hostile to the president's broad foreign policy vision. Among those said to be eyeing the job Mr. Wolfowitz is leaving are Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone, the secretary of the Navy, Gordon England, and the outgoing administrator for NASA, Sean O'Keefe. NASA!?
One administration official told the Sun that Mr. Wolfowitz initially did not want to leave the Pentagon, where he has played a key role in shaping Iraq policy and helped draft many of Mr. Bush's foreign policy speeches during the presidential campaign. "This is starting to look like neoconservativism without neoconservatives," this official said. To lose the Pentagon just as we're starting to reclaim State would, obviously, be a giant mistake. But Bush has been pretty good with his noms so far this term.
Posted by: someone ||
03/18/2005 12:14:39 AM ||
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#1
Is Wolfie's appointment to World Bank the first step in getting rid of Rumsfeld? I guess we'll know after Wolfowitz gets confirmed...
#2
That's the question, isn't it? Is Bush seeding other institutions -- broadening the war, brilliantly playing offense for defense against the tranzi elite as he's done against Islamism -- or falling back to some level of status quo ante? We'll see by whom he puts in their place.
#4
It is an unconventional concept, if the President is "infiltrating" these institutions in hopes of co-opting or *ahem* getting them in line -- and so far the bad guys are saying all the right things:
"[T]he determination of the United States to maintain its control of the World Bank, not to develop its original mission, which is to promote development, but to integrate it into its political-military strategy." - Jacques Nikonoff, head of the French branch of anti-globalization group Attac
"The administration in power will put people in charge who fit their world view, so clearly the Bush administration is going to put a Bush appointee into its little fiefdom at the World Bank." - Matt Phillips, head of public affairs at Save the Children UK
"[A] disaster for sustainable development, as we fear Wolfowitz will serve US interests first." - Greenpeace International
MISSION COMPRETE! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
03/18/2005 9:04 Comments ||
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#5
To lose the Pentagon just as weâre starting to reclaim State would, obviously, be a giant mistake.
what you mean "We" kemosabe? :). IE, you assume Condi on the one hand, and Wolfie-Feith on the other, are the same team. While Im not sure if there is policy distance between Condi and the neocons, theres almost certainly bureaucratic faction distance. It really looks like Condi is attempting to takeover DoD, while cleansing State of potential troublemakers like Bolton. Theres certainly evidence that Condi was not completely keen on Rummys approach - OTOH Im STILL not convinced Wolfie and Rummy saw eye to eye on everything. I still see Wolfie as more of a neocon idealist, and Rummy as more of power player unilateralist.
Again, OTOH, i could be reconciled to the change in personnel. Sometimes having the exactly right policy is less important than having a united policy. In Dubya1 you had Powellite soft realists, Condi hard realists, Wolfie soft neocons, and Rummy-Cheney hard neocons ( to invent a categorization) pulling in different directions, and often undermining admin policy. Dubya2 is looking like Condi uber alles, which may mean alot less of the admin tripping over its own feet.
dont forget. pre 9/11 this admins top defense priority was missile defense. Also O'keefe ia a finance guy, not a rocket head - his job at NASA was to do more with limited funds. Hed be picked for his bureaucratic skills, to handle the "five-sided nut house", which apparently Wolfie wasnt so good at.
#8
Ah, it must be spring. The inner beltway sniping season is now officially opened. Can't tell your sources without a playbook, get your playbook now! Who's on first?
or the reason that Messrs Bolton and Wolfowitz are being lined up for these appointments, however prestigious they are, is that their progress has been blocked at home. Wolfowitz was passed over for the post that he wanted of National Security Adviser; Bolton was passed over for the post he wanted of deputy Secretary of State. And who was the person who passed them over? Reportedly, none other than the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.
So maybe the whole bit about Condi changing State is a hoax?
#2
No, what's needed is for the necks of government officials that are in charge of things to be put onto figurative chopping blocks. What's also needed is to drive home to GWB about the necessity to get serious about out-of-control illegal immigration, which means Mexico.
Paul Wolfowitz, whose nomination as World Bank president has stirred controversy, discussed poverty and development issues with Irish rock star Bono in two phone conversations on Thursday, an adviser said.
Wolfowitz adviser Kevin Kellems told Reuters the deputy U.S. defense secretary initiated the lengthy conversations with the lead singer of the rock group U2, whose name had been bandied about for the World Bank presidency.
President Bush on Wednesday named Wolfowitz, a key architect of the Iraq war, to be the next World Bank president, but the choice has been controversial, especially in the LA Times Editorial Board Europe.
An endorsement by Bono, who campaigns extensively for African aid and debt relief, could defuse some of the criticism of Wolfowitz.
Kellems said the discussions "were incredibly substantive about reducing poverty, about development, about the opportunity to help people that the World Bank presidency provides and about charitable giving and social progress around the globe.
And that's the other side of the neocon movement.
"They clicked. They were very enthusiastic, detailed and lengthy conversations," Kellems said.
Tom Hart, government relations director for DATA -- Debt, AIDS, Trade and Africa -- the lobby group co-founded by Bono, said the rock star believed it was important to share his views on Africa and poverty with Wolfowitz.
"Bono thought it was important that he put forward the issues that are critical to the World Bank, like debt cancellation, aid effectiveness and a real focus on poverty reduction," Hart said.
Wolfowitz first telephoned Bono on Wednesday to schedule the conversations. In the past 24 hours, Wolfowitz had spoken with a broad range of foreign leaders, bank officials and advocates for poverty reduction and international development, aides said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Peter Hardstaff of the World Development Movement called Wolfowitz's "a truly terrifying appointment," and the environmental group Greenpeace International saw him as "a disaster for sustainable development, as we fear Wolfowitz will serve US interests first." Sustainable development, apart from being an oxymoron, is a disaster because it attempts to legislate a solution which will almost certainly not work, replacing markets which demonstrably work and produce more outputs from fewer inputs (resources) every year (the avowed objective of sustainable development when you sift through all the greenie econobabble). I have no doubt Wolfowitz understands this and hence the dismay amoungst greenies and lefties.
#2
The Greens and sustainable development folk are Marxists in sheeps clothing. Marxism is the opiate of the Asses.
These appointments are sending a message to the TRANZIs. Not everyone is asleep. The Man you like to make up funny names and slogans about isn't and he doesn't waste time with the likes of you.
#3
note Joe Biden and Pat Leahy are supportive of Wolfie for this post.
OTOH - im not sure im pleased. While I think Wolfie would be good there (no hes not an economist or banker, but he'll have more than enough economists and bankers reporting to him, and hes smart enough to decide what advice to take) and he will make a lot of people HERE unhappy - IE he will make the bank an effective tool for development in poort countries, and will emphasize the importance of development and poverty elimination to global security, including the WOT - implementing a fundamentally liberal agenda (which is NOT to be confused with the radical agendas of the far left) my concern is what this does to US security policy. With Feith gone, and Bolton off to Turtle Bay, Condi and company have removed all the ideological neocons from the admin - we're left with the neorealists and the uber hardliners like Rummy and Cheney. Now IF Condi is really committed to the democracy promotion agenda that was the heart of neocon grand strategy thats ok - its the policy that matters, not the personnel. And arguably Wolfie was in the way as an individual, esp cause of his poor relations with the Army brass. OTOH I cant shake my sense that IF Condi DOESNT want to keep the pro-demo agenda, this move would also make sense. I would keep a close eye on admin policy on Hezbollah, Iran, KSA, Egypt, etc.
#10
liberalhawk, take a good look at Wolfowitz' academic training in international relations and his long and successful stint as ambassador to Indonesia.
Indonesia, largest muslim country in the world, one that is NOT inherently inclined to wahabism, has natural resources and where the young people polled as positive towards the US after the tsunami aid. That latter an emotion that could change, but think about the value of having Wolfowitz working to make the World Bank successful in helping Indonesia transition to a free and stable country.
Lots at stake here, folks - and Wolfowitz reportedly asked for this job after touring the tsunami-hit region.
Posted by: too true ||
03/18/2005 20:25 Comments ||
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#11
And also, in addtion to being the most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia is NOT ARAB, in fact is in Asia where the real future lies.
Posted by: too true ||
03/18/2005 20:30 Comments ||
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Adding fuel to the controversy is concern within the bank staff over Wolfowitz's reported romantic relationship with Shaha Riza, an Arab feminist who works as a communications adviser in the bank's Middle East and North Africa department.
Both divorced, Wolfowitz and Riza have steadfastly declined to talk publicly about their relationship, but they have been regularly spotted at private functions and one source said the two have been dating for about two years. Riza, an Oxford-educated British citizen who was born in Tunisia and grew up in Saudi Arabia, shares Wolfowitz's passion for democratizing the Middle East, according to people who know her
If the EU and Internationalists can't tolerate a relationship between a Jew and an Arab, F*&k EM
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/18/2005 20:41 Comments ||
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At least 19 of 23 inmates who were killed in a bloody prison revolt were suspected Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for some of the Philippines' worst terror attacks, prosecutors said yesterday. Police stormed the maximum-security jail in a hail of gunfire Tuesday, ending a 29-hour standoff that started when suspected Abu Sayyaf guerrillas attacked guards, then took over the facility when their escape plot fizzled, officials said.
Grieving relatives on Wednesday buried the 22 Muslim inmates in a mass grave in a large Muslim community in Manila's Taguig suburb. Their bloody remains were not cleaned and were wrapped in white cloth — a local practice that indicated they were regarded as martyrs. Prosecutor Aristotle Reyes said 19 had been charged and detained in connection with kidnappings and bombings. Three of the dead inmates were suspected commanders of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf. "These rebels would have been convicted just the same because of overwhelming evidence and their identification by witnesses," Reyes said. It was not clear what charges had been brought against the other four who died, including three Muslims. An Abu Sayyaf leader still at large, Abu Sulaiman, has warned of revenge, leading police to tighten security that already was high after a trio of deadly bombings a month ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The Saudi's have prison fires, the Bangladeshi's have crossfires, and now it looks like the Filipino's have found their niche...
The United States has charged that China continues to supply unconventional weaponry and dual-use technology to Iran, despite numerous appeals. Which the Chicoms probably blame on renegade companies.
China has transferred components and expertise to Iran's weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, officials said. They said some of the Chinese components have arrived via Pakistan, another key ally of Beijing. The Paks are our schitzophrenic ally, too.
"Unacceptable proliferant activity continues," Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control Stephen Rademaker told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on March 10. "We are particularly concerned about continued transfers of CBW- and missile-related technology by Chinese entities to Iran, despite the imposition of sanctions." Sanctions will not work, with the Iranian, Pak, and Chicom Sanctions Busters working in harmony.
The components were said to have included dual-use missile components, raw materials, and expertise to Iran's solid-fuel missile program. Officials said Beijing has also supplied dual-use chemical weapons-related production equipment and technology to Iran.
A key Chinese supplier to Iran has been identified as Q.C. Chen, a Chinese national under U.S. sanctions since 1997. Officials said Beijing has failed to stop Chen, who has sold components to Iran's chemical weapons program. "We've failed to stop Chen after numerous calls. We give up. Nothing to be done. Sorry."
Another leading Chinese proliferator to Iran and Sudan has been identified as China North Industries Corp., or Norinco. Officials said Beijing has not taken any steps to stop missile and WMD exports by Norinco to the Middle East. "We've failed to stop Norinco after numerous calls. We give up. Nothing to be done. Sorry."
Officials said China has sold major weapons and components to oil-producing countries in the Middle East banned from receiving Western defense systems. They said Beijing has rebuffed U.S. appeals to halt the weapons supplies. "Screw you, capitalist running dogs!"
In 2000, Congress formed the commission to investigate and report on national security implications of trade and economic relations between the United States and China. Since 2001, the United States has imposed 60 sanctions on Chinese entities in connection with missile and WMD sales to Iran. Obviously, sanctions do not work. The sanctioned companies must form new companies or change a name and they are back on track. Maybe Congress needs general trade sanctions with some teeth in them.
Norinco was said to have supplied advanced weapons systems to Sudan as well as military training to quell the rebellions in the south and in the Darfour province. Norinco was a leading exhibitor at IDEX-2005, which took place in the United Arab Emirates in February. The Chicoms have been puttering around the Sudan for a while. It is all about oiiiiilll there.
"Norinco has been particularly active in WMD-related transfers to Iran, resulting in the imposition of U.S. sanctions five times," Rademaker said.
In 2004, China became a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and announced the imposition of penalties on two companies that violated Beijing's missile export regulations. China has also pledged to refrain from providing nuclear supplies to any country that does not honor safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Like one can trust their word.
"China needs to do a consistently better job in identifying and denying risky exports, seeking out potential violators, and stopping problematic exports at the border," Rademaker said. "These issues matter to us because China's success in ending proliferation by Chinese entities is critical to ensuring that weapons of mass destruction do not end up in the hands of terrorists or rogue states prepared to use them." It is not our problem, say the Chicoms, as they accommodate the needs of their oil supplier Iran.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/18/2005 4:33:27 PM ||
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Yeah, Right-t-t-t - its about as funny as Russia proclaiming that they won't and don't help anyone build nuke weapons, and that Russia and China are staying Communist or Communist-controlled/centric because the Cold War is over and Communism is dead and they're all friends with the USA-NATO now!? SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH - no Commies or enemies of the USA, only "Regulators", assorted Betty Crocker=crats, and the Party of Prudence, Protection, and Protectionism,...etc.; Regulation and Super-regulation is good for Baby, Grandma, Lassie and Empire - by "empire" they mean Mackinder's World Island Empire, aka Communist Asia, not Amerika/USSA!?
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, said on Wednesday that Iranian nuclear negotiators have definitively and officially told Europeans that Iran will never accept a permanent halt to its enrichment programme. "Iran's negotiating team has openly told Europeans Iran will not accept a permanent suspension of uranium enrichment and this is Iran's definitive and official position," Rowhani said to the members of Experts' Assembly of clerics who appoint the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic.
He asked Europeans not to be influenced by political pressures from the United States and "not to disrupt the confidence-building process between two sides," state television reported. The two sides are to convene on March 23 for a high-level steering committee meeting, and Tehran hopes to see an agreement on "a formula that recognizes the right of Iran to continue enrichment and lifts the concerns over the Iranian nuclear programme," Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi told a press conference on Tuesday. "In exchange, the Europeans have to give firm guarantees that open the path towards greater cooperation in the fields of politics and investment," Kharazi said.
Meanwhile, President George W. Bush said Wednesday he expects Iran to be brought before the UN Security Council if it rejects economic incentives to give up a nuclear program that the United States says is intended for weapons. Asked at a news conference about a possible military conflict with Iran, Bush said diplomatic efforts are just beginning. "There's a certain patience required in order to achieve a diplomatic objective and our diplomatic objective is to continue working with our friends to make it clear to Iran we speak with a single voice," he said. The United States agreed last week to support European talks with Iran by dropping opposition to Iranian membership in the World Trade Organization and to allow the sale of some spare parts for civilian aircraft.
Iran has already indicated it would reject the offer. Kharazi, said Tuesday that that the incentives might improve foreign relations, but won't stop his country from pursuing a nuclear program it says is for generating electricity. But Bush said, "we're waiting for an Iranian response." "The understanding is, we go to the Security Council if they reject the offer. And I hope they don't. I hope they realize the world is clear about making sure that they don't end up with a nuclear weapon," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Who cares exactly what the UNSC may or may not do?
I'd be curious to see where the carriers are come the end of June after the Iranian election, that's what matters.
The Ain al-Tineh gathering's follow-up committee called on all political parties Thursday to support Premier-designate Omar Karami's efforts to form a national unity Cabinet. In a statement, the committee repeated its call for talks and urged all parties "to facilitate the formation of a national unity Cabinet." "The Ain al-Tineh gathering will therefore cease all its future demonstrations to help Karami form a Cabinet," it said. This isn't over yet, by a long shot. Syria and Iran are going to fight the Lebanese with everything they have, and Jumblatt knows how to play their game. I think he can win it, though, and that Lahoud will end up stepping down. Damascus is going to be isolated. The question is whether Hezbollah's going to restart the civil war to keep its own power.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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We had the first echo of this yesterday. Here's more detail and context. The ghost of Anna Comnena is enjoying herself. She's thinking of buying a computer to keep up with the ins and outs of the diplo-political war...
Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has rejected an international inquiry into the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, emphasizing his distrust of the UN Security Council because of its U.S. influence.
"Nope. Nope. Just won't do. Much too neutral."
In an interview broadcast by Beirut-based Al-Manar television on Wednesday night, he said: "Any biased sentence by the supposed inquiry team would set the whole country on fire because we are going through a very fragile and decisive moment." He added: "The UN investigative teams in Iraq and Palestine oblige us not to risk putting Lebanon's fate in the wrong hands."
"Who knows what'll happen if the wrong findings are brought in? Somebody could start shooting people up. And we wouldn't want that, would we?"
Disputing rumors that he was serving as an envoy for the resistance, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said from Washington on Thursday that he had not carried any messages from Hizbullah to U.S. President George W. Bush. Confirming Sfeir's stand, Nasrallah said: "Patriarch Sfeir sent his representatives to meet with us [earlier in the week] as part of ongoing dialogue over national issues that do not concern Bush." Sfeir told reporters in Washington on Thursday that he had not mentioned Hizbullah in their talks, nor had Bush asked. Replying to the Lebanese opposition's demands for security heads to resign after the killing of slain former Nasrallah said: "We cannot sack security officers without a fair trial; it would be humiliating to them, their families and colleagues."
"And they can't resign, either. What's good for security heads is good for the country, by Gum!"
The resistance leader called for an Arab League investigation team to "guarantee neutralism and give surety to the Hariri family." The opposition has demanded the dismissal or resignation of the country's security chiefs based on their alleged - partial or total - involvement in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, a demand so far rejected by the government. Following Nasrallah's comments on the issue, the head of the Security General Directorate, Major General Jamil al-Sayyed, held a news conference Thursday on behalf of his colleagues and declared his willingness to stand in any court, inside or outside the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Yeah, the Arab League. They'll get to the bottom of it...
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir reiterated the U.S will to support the Lebanese people one day after meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. Speaking at the American National Press Club, Sfeir said the U.S. had expressed its commitment to support the Lebanese people in their quest for full sovereignty and independence. He said: "The administration of President George W. Bush has expressed its determination to help the Lebanese rebuild their democratic institutions, starting with the upcoming parliamentary elections."
The prelate added that the crime that took the life of late Premier Rafik Hariri has made the Lebanese closer and more united than ever. Sfeir said: "The perpetrators of the crime did not take into consideration that the Lebanese people would rise to face the shock and demand that true democracy take place in the country." He added: "The Lebanese are united in their demand to unveil the true criminals standing behind the assassination of Hariri. That is the only way we can avoid such crimes in the future." Responding to a reporter's question, the prelate said he did not discuss the possibility of sending U.S. troops to Lebanon during his meeting with President Bush. Sfeir said: "We did not hear anything about sending American troops to Lebanon. It might be true, but we did not discuss it." The prelate also said the opposition would not demand President Emile Lahoud's resignation until after the parliamentary elections take place. He said without elaborating: "Maybe it is better to postpone it till after the elections happen." Answering another question, Sfeir said the upcoming parliamentary elections should take place within the constitutional time frame, adding that they should also take place in the light of a full Syrian withdrawal.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Even Kofi can see the way this is going, even though Nasrallah can't. That's why he's pretending to have a backbone...
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expects a complete withdrawal of all Syrian forces from Lebanon before May's parliamentary elections. The announcement comes after UN special envoy to the Middle East Terje Roed-Larsen, reported his findings to Annan following his whistle stop tour of Europe and the Middle East during the last week. Following the meeting Larsen said: "The conclusion after my briefing today is that the secretary general expects the full withdrawal of all Syrian troops, including the intelligence apparatus and military assets, to take place before the Lebanese parliamentary election." Syria's President Bashar Assad has committed to a first-phase pullout of troops and intelligence agents by April 1 but will not give a final timetable for a complete withdrawal until a meeting between Syrian and Lebanese security officials scheduled for April 7.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Lol! He's become one hell of a camp follower. A week or two after Bush says something - ol' Buttercup realizes he means it and it's going to happen, so we hear an echo. Fucking useless, except for the entertainment value, but he is following the tune. The pretense that he and his kleptoklub have anything, anything whatsoever to do with any of the positive efforts (tsunami) or changes (Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, little squeaks of democracy all over the ME, possible coup in Syria, pending removal of Black Hat + nukes, etc.) is, well, it's just precious. Lol! If Dubya decided not to say anything or meet with anyone for a week, Kofi would stumble around in circles -- followed by an army of equally useless MSM wankers.
The UN, as the deleted opinion piece of yesterday itemized, is a pointless burden, a millstone at best, while at worst it is an manipulative impediment which deserves ripping out by the roots and immediate exile to the dustbin of history.
We've learned a lot about what does and doesn't work in such an organization, after 2 tries. Time to begin designing a replacement org with membership rules and goals and methods which actually make sense, given the lessons learned. After we've passed the pipe around the circle a few times, the who what how etc will be fairly clear. We can certainly continue via bilateral agreements and coalition of the willing arrangements in the interim.
Annan and his bloated ineffective expensive bureaucracy should have the plug pulled, feeding tubes removed, and the certificate issued. Stick a fork in it, they're done.
#3
I like your idea of bilateral agreements and coalition of the willing, .com. The main thing is that they would be agreements on issues that are relavant to all parties. When the issue goes away, so can the bureaucracy, instead of the present system of perpetuating useless organizations that suck up resources like leeches or black holes. And if anyone should have their feeding tubes pulled, it should be the UN bureaucrats.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/18/2005 10:59 Comments ||
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#5
They should just give the old fellow his pension and wheel him out of the UN and back to whence he came. "Camp follower" about sums it up for the man though I'd add the adjective "reluctant".
#6
Afterwards, Annan was seen making off color jokes of a lewd and lascivious nature about pulling out early and 'isn't Assad a wimp' that had impeached former president Clinton in stitches.
Annan and Clinton quickly regained their composure when someone said that the cameras were still rolling. Red faced and contrite, they appeared to be trying to repair the damage with Prilosec, when the same someone said, after a brief pause, the words "Gotcha!"
Annan and Clinton said later that they were both glad and relieved that they hadn't suffered the old "pies in the face" treatment along with it. Clinton himself admitted it was a pretty good joke, because, in his words. "They hadn't overdone it"
Posted by: an dalusian dog ||
03/18/2005 16:46 Comments ||
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Former Lebanese Parliament Speaker Hussein Husseini held talks with Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and expressed his support for the resistance movement. Husseini said there was a need to implement the Taif Accord but in a barely concealed swipe at UN Resolution 1559 dismissed what he referred to as "external interference."
"I mean, we've gotten to our present state of stability without any external interference. Except for Syria, of course."
Husseini said: "The resistance does not belong to a certain person or party. It is part of the jurisdiction of the constitutional institutions held responsible for the protection of the country." Husseini added: "We are about to reinforce these institutions as stipulated by the Taif Accord and the Constitution, and not according to the demands of some parties in Lebanon, or to some external interference."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON — US President George W. Bush said during a Press conference yesterday that "Iran should adopt democracy," but declined to say he thought there should be regime change in Teheran. Asked whether he believed there should be "regime change" in Iran, Bush replied: "I believe that the Iranian people ought to be allowed to freely discuss opinions, read a free Press, have free votes, be able to choose among parties."
Keep saying that to the youngins' in Teheran. Loudly.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Ima would settle for a little peck on the cheek for starts.
Posted by: abu Jimmy Carville ||
03/18/2005 14:04 Comments ||
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Israel on Friday welcomed a temporary truce declared by Palestinian militants and promised to hold its fire in return, but demanded that the Palestinian Authority eventually dismantle the armed groups. The 13 main Palestinian militant groups announced Thursday they would halt attacks on Israel for the rest of the year, so far the longest period of promised calm and a success for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Negotiating with the militants, rather than confronting them, is a cornerstone of Abbas' policies.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 11:35:43 AM ||
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Negotiating with the militants, rather than confronting them, is a cornerstone of Abbas' policies.
I don't know why the Israelis keep demanding that Mazen dismantle terrorist groups in his territory. He hasn't done so, and is not likely to. Further talks between the Israelis and the Paleos would a clear demonstration of insanity.
#2
meanwhile the "friendship fence" building continues
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/18/2005 14:43 Comments ||
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BAR - I suspect they know PRECISELY what Abbas' capabilities are at this point, and know that his actions arent that far behind capabilities - OTOH they have to keep the demand up, so that he doesnt slink out as his capabilities grow.
and as Frank says, the fence grows. Syria is chased out of Lebanon. Jordan is proposing a regional deal that drops the right of return, among other things. Egypt returned its ambassador to Israel for the first time in 4 years. Tunisia renewed contacts with Israel. Why force a confrontation when time is on your side?
unfortunately, so do paleo armaments. I'm afraid it's merely a matter of time before they decide that Israel has "violated" the agreement. My only hope is that Israel has effective plans for that eventuality.
Shiite and Kurdish negotiators have agreed that the National Assembly should reconvene March 26 to elect a president, an official said Friday, amid reports some Kurds were dissatisfied by Shiite assurances concerning the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and a Kurdish militia. Ali al-Faisal, an alliance deputy and member of the team negotiating with the Kurds, said, "There is a preliminary agreement that the next National Assembly session is to be held on March 26 to choose the president, his two vice presidents, and the speaker." That date matches one given Thursday by Azad Jundiyan, a spokesman for Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, who said the government will be named after Kurds celebrate Norwuz, their six-day new year holiday ending March 26.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 10:24:10 AM ||
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In the East they can, maybe, but in the West, the rails are running near capacity. And for some reason, every possible expansion or new route just happens to run across one or more habitats of endangered species.
Until recently, it was a bad sign in the al-Taie household when the generator went silent. It generally meant thieves had stolen the family's power source. Lately, the silence signals something else: Electricity is flowing again to their middle-class neighborhood in Baghdad, so the generator has switched off automatically. Two years after the U.S.-led invasion that brought down Saddam Hussein's regime, progress for typical Iraqi families is measured in small increments.
Some changes are apparent: Streets in the capital are lined with fruit markets, furniture sellers, sidewalk kebab stands and neighborhood coffee shops. The number of cars in Baghdad has more than tripled in the past two years. U.S. troops remain a regular presence, but Iraqis increasingly regard the troops as part of the scenery. The outside world has penetrated what was once a closed society. Most homes have satellite television, which brings in Arab news stations and Western programs. Satellite dishes were outlawed under Saddam. Thousands of people now carry cell phones, also forbidden by the former regime. Computers and televisions are pouring into a country starved by years of war and sanctions.
Some Iraqis still have not fully adjusted to freedom. When 75-year-old Radiyah Abbas Ali, the matriarch of the al-Zubaidi family, speaks of Saddam, she lowers her voice and looks left and right, as if someone were listening in. "The most important thing is that we got rid of Saddam," says Ali, a mother of 13. "Deaths after deaths, this is what Saddam offered. He did not give us anything."
USA TODAY visited several families to gauge how Iraqis have fared in the two years since Saddam was ousted. These are their stories.
The al-Taie family
The al-Taie household is a cluster of three generations, a common arrangement in Iraq. The patriarch, Fadhil Abdul Ridha al-Taie, 74, is a Shiite; his wife, Khawla Assim al-Rawi, 66, is a Sunni Muslim. They share several modest houses inside a walled compound with their three sons, all married. There are three grandchildren and two more on the way.
The family got the land in 1965 from the government, which steered choice jobs and land to Sunnis. Khawla is retired from a Baghdad bank where she worked as a branch manager. The job and the connections it brought gave her access to property in the quiet al-Harthiya neighborhood.
The 9,149-square-foot lot is packed. There is one large home flanked by two smaller ones, each two stories high. The large house has a small garden in front.
Family meals are group affairs, and the Iraqi diet, with a few exceptions, would require no major adjustments for Westerners. Saddam's demise has not changed mealtime for this family. For breakfast, there are eggs, cheese, bread, jam, honey, tea and milk. For afternoon and evening meats: grilled meats, especially chicken and lamb, along with salad, yogurt, vegetables, rice and fruit. Various family members contribute separate dishes during meals. They also help one another with cooking, shopping, cleaning and the family budget.
Members of the al-Taie Family Watch television at Home
A beat-up 1979 Datsun is parked out front. The father and the three sons take turns using it for shopping or visiting friends. "We would like to change it, but we don't have enough money," Fadhil says. Fadhil is retired, but two of his sons work for the government and draw salaries of several hundred dollars a month. Under Saddam, government officials earned significantly less.
The al-Taies have one landline telephone but have purchased four mobile phones for security's sake. "We need to contact each other when we are out of the home," Ali says. Ihssan, Ali's son, lives close enough to his school to walk. But he is driven there. "We prefer to send him by bus in order to be sure that there is always someone taking care of him," Ali says. Ihssan's school has improved. He is getting training on computers the school has acquired since the U.S. invasion. "We are part of this world, and we should catch the developments out there, or at least some of them," Ihssan's grandfather says cautiously.
The extended family keeps the household going on a total of about $80 per week in expenses, which covers food, clothing and other costs. The home is paid for. The elder couple used to receive less than a dollar per month in pensions. Now their combined pensions are about $215 per month, and their children's salaries add about $400 more per month.
The family members seem more worried about the present than the future. They are optimistic that the insurgency will eventually be defeated, but that doesn't mean they are casual about stepping outside. "From time to time, we hear some shooting," Fadhil says. "I think it is between the police and the thieves or insurgents ... nearby."
Though the family members are observant Muslims, they regard themselves as secular, and they decry what they see as creeping religious extremism in Iraq's daily life. One of 6-year-old Merriam's classmates covers her head with a hijaband warns Merriam not to play with the boys because they are "devils." Such peer pressure on Merriam angers Fadhil. "If it ever happens again, I need to see the principal," Fadhil tells his wife.
Western-style dress for men and women is common in Baghdad, and in families that do dress conservatively, girls generally don't wear head coverings until their teens. "Until now, no one has forced any female in this family to wear the hijab," Khawla says. "But I am sure this day will come."
The Muhaisen family
A pair of shoes made for a young girl are nailed at the entrance to the squatter's shack in central Baghdad where Zahra Khamis Muhaisen, 53, and her family live. Two years ago, U.S. bombs rained on the city, turning the night sky red. But the dusty plastic shoes, considered a good-luck talisman in Iraq, served to keep the house and its occupants safe. Zahra's neighbors fled the airstrikes, she says, but she and her family stood fast and came through unharmed. "Do you know why I stayed?" asks Zahra, 53, her arms muscular from work and her skin dark from the sun. "Because I believe the best place for a rock is where it lays."
It is one of many blunt assessments the hospital cleaning woman makes about life. When American soldiers arrived here, Zahra says, her husband ordered her to lock herself and her daughters away. "I replied: 'The Americans did not come for me. They came for Saddam.' " Yet Zahra says postwar Iraq is neither better nor worse than during Saddam Hussein's regime.
She is a Shiite Muslim but recognizes no difference between Sunnis and Shiites. She says the ethnic rifts people speak of emerged only recently, as political posturing. For that reason, she takes no great pride in the ascendancy of Shiite political and religious leaders.
And though her husband, Ali Alaibi Karim, 60, works as a caretaker at the mosque across the street, for which he receives about $20 a month in gratuities, Zahra does not believe that religion - or religious parties - will save her and her family.
Rather, she observes, as a woman she's not allowed to attend services at the mosque. And it's her pay of about $65 a month that supports the family of eight. "When the truth is to be spoken," she says, "I speak the truth." Zahra has four daughters and two sons. She recently withdrew her
Zahra's family eats rice and lentils, mostly. Seven chickens provide eggs for the family. Zahra says the family rarely has meat. "Forget about meat. It's too expensive." Sometimes they get food donated by the mosque or neighbors. "That is when we taste meat."
Food prices are much higher now, Zahra says. She cites increases in the price of a single egg - to the equivalent of about 10 cents, from about 4 cents before the war - and in the price of rice, to about 20 cents a pound from 6 cents. Zahra says that her neighborhood is safe but that she doesn't feel secure walking at night and doesn't let her daughters go out. Her greatest fear is kidnappers.
She used to visit the graves of family members buried in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad. Now her daughters won't let her go because of dangers on the road. "When things went bad on the road to Najaf, the girls stopped me from going any more," she says.
The al-Zubaidi family
In 1993, Col. Abdullah Hussein al-Zubaidi, an Iraqi army physician, was abruptly fired from his job as director of Kut Military Hospital. The charge, say his relatives, was participating in a conversation in which someone else criticized Saddam. "They arrested him and tortured him for a crime he did not commit," says his wife, Amira Ahmed al-Zubaidi. For Abdullah, 65, regime change has brought no relief. Suffering from chronic depression, he remains in his room and does not join family discussions. He is on medication. Amira had to quit her job as a schoolteacher to take care of him.
The extended family lives in a comfortable Baghdad neighborhood. Before 1985, when Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay started confiscating land alongside the Tigris River near here, there were few strangers seen in the largely Shiite neighborhood of Zuwaiyeh. The word itself means "the corner," and refers to a sharp bend along this stretch of the Tigris.
Behind a metal gate in a yellow brick wall, the al-Zubaidis live among uncles, aunts and cousins. As with the al-Taie family, this is a three-generation household. Preteen children dart about chasing soccer balls. Matriarch Radiyah Abbas Ali, 75, slowly shuffles out the back door to see how her pickled dates, stored in a sealed drum in the backyard, are progressing.
Radiyah lost one son, Salman, in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. The year before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, another son, Nazar, deserted from Saddam's 51st Mechanized Infantry Division, positioned in southern Iraq directly in the path of the coming invasion. He was caught and issued a red military identity card labeling him a deserter. It was a badge of shame in Saddam's world, one that would prevent him from getting a good job in the private sector.
Now the identification card is a badge of honor, something he shows prospective employers to prove that he was no friend of the old regime. When coalition forces crushed his unit in Basra during the opening days of the war, Nazar, 35, shouted to his family, "I won, I won!" He turns to his mother during a recent interview and says, "See, Ma, you did not lose me." She replies, "Yes, I know, and may Allah and Ali keep you safe always."
Prayers and blessings from the Koran are framed in elaborate Arabic script in the entry hall, and portraits of the holiest Shiite imams hang on the living room wall. In the small yard around the spacious but plain two-story home are orange trees laden with fruit, date palms and ficus trees; inside is an array of potted plants. The television is tuned to soccer matches and motorcycle races that mesmerize the children while the adults talk.
Most of the talk is not about politics but matrimony, revolving around when Nazar, the youngest son, will marry. The women do most of the talking. "Let us marry him off, Mother. What are we waiting for?" asks Amira Ahmed, one of Nazar's four older sisters, all of whom are teachers. "Let him collect some money, daughter," Radiyah replies.
Nazar has a future bride in mind, but his first indulgence after getting his job was the purchase of a television. Most middle-class men need to save about $1,000 before marrying, though a bride would bring a dowry to help with starting a household. The couple would live in the family compound.
Amira taught before the invasion and got her teaching job back recently. Now she earns $400 a month, much more than she used to make. Post-Saddam, government jobs pay well and are highly prized. She says she paid a kickback to an official at the Education Ministry to land the job. Such bribes are illegal but common. "He asked me for $400, and I accepted," she says. "You know, that is the way things sometimes go."
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/18/2005 8:56:37 AM ||
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The days when a US Army truck could fill up for free at a gas station in this oil-rich state are coming to an end. Kuwait's energy minister said Thursday that US troops are going to have to start paying for fuel. Translation. We're not afraid of Iraqi invasion anymore.
Posted by: gromgorru ||
03/18/2005 5:59:13 AM ||
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#1
Last time I was there, I think gasoline on the open market was about $0.21 a gallon or so. This won't hurt to bad.
Somali MPs traded physical blows as parliament voted against the deployment of peacekeepers to Somalia. The president wants regional troops to help with the relocation of the administration from neighbouring Kenya, but key warlords oppose the move. Dressed in suits and ties, the MPs threw heavy chairs at each other and beat each other with sticks. Since 1991, when the government fell, rival warlords have divided Somalia into a patchwork of fiefdoms. Bleeding wounds According to the BBC's Caroline Karobia in Nairobi the scuffles began after the parliament speaker asked MPs to raise their hands in the vote. More than half of them were against sending regional troops to Somalia. "There was a big fight because the opposition was not happy with the vote," MP Abdalla Boss Ahmed told Reuters news agency. Kenya television showed footage of the brawl, with parliamentarians tending to bleeding head wounds.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 12:23:02 AM ||
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#3
This is a seriously crappy piece of BBC tranzi reporting. The UN's (not mentioned) plan was rejected by the presumably elected representatives. The UN supporters in response attacked the majority. The whole Somalia mess was a UN creation in the first place and that is where the blame lies, not with the 'warlords' who are tribal and regional leaders. And before someone attacks me on this, despite the dire warnings, there has been an almost complete absence of bad news out of Somalia for years.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
The delay in forming a government has angered many Iraqis, after more than eight million people defied suicide bombers and mortar attacks to vote in the Jan 30 elections. They want urgent action to improve security and restore basic services. Some Iraqis say the deadlock is playing into the hands of insurgents determined to wreck the political process.
I guess when the Sunnis are in control, the reign of terror will stop?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/18/2005 23:00 Comments ||
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Representatives from southern Sudan's former rebel army, its political wing and pro-Khartoum militias yesterday agreed to hold a national reconciliation conference later this month in Kenya, officials said. The meeting, which drew representatives from militias that supported the Sudanese government before a January peace deal as well as those allied with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement Army (SPLM A), agreed to open the conference on March 28, an SPLM official said. "The meeting ended today and agreed that a south-south reconciliation conference will start on March 28 in Kenya," the official said yesterday. Earlier, a SPLM official told AFP the technical committee, made of officials from all groups, was discussing the way forward for the region as well as preparing for a major south-south dialogue, a sort of reconciliation conference. SPLM officials said the meeting also agreed that the reconciliation conference will be convened by Kenyan former President Daniel arap Moi, who championed the peace process, in Kenya. "It will be convened by Moi, under his foundation, Moi Africa Foundation," the official added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Sudan imposed restrictions on the movement of US diplomats yesterday, in what it said was retaliation for similar measures ordered by Washington. Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said US diplomats would in future be required to obtain prior authorization to travel more than 25 kilometers from the presidential palace in Khartoum. The tit-for-tat moves come amid a mounting war of words between Sudan and the United States.
Bad move if the Sudanese escalate to anything other than words.
Earlier this month, a senior Sudanese security official accused the US Embassy of carrying out "hostile activities" against the Khartoum regime. "The American Embassy in Khartoum leads hostile activities against the Sudan," Brig. Hassan Al-Umdah told a seminar without elaborating. His comments came just days after the US State Department issued a stark warning to Khartoum over its failure to rein in government-sponsored militias blamed for a reign of terror in the western region of Darfur.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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The Bad News: Read the text of their announcement.
Cairo Declaration:
(1) Those gathered confirmed their adherence to Palestinian principles, without any neglect, and the right of the Palestinian people to resistance in order to end the occupation, establish a Palestinian state with full sovereignty with Jerusalem as its capital, and the guaranteeing of the right of return of refugees to their homes and property.
"We can continue to seethe and explode anytime we choose, we can flood the Territories with millions of Paleo wannabes, and Jerusalem is ours."
(2) Those gathered agreed on a program for the year 2005, centered on the continuation of the atmosphere of calm in return for Israel's adherence to stopping all forms of aggression against our land and our Palestinian people, no matter where they are, as well as the release of all prisoners and detainees.
"Israel can't fight back, and they must return all our failed splodeydopes and bloodthirsty loons. It's just not the same without them. We miss Mahmoud so..."
(3) Those gathered confirmed that the continuation of settlement and the construction of the wall and the Judaization of Jerusalem are explosive issues.
"Mr. Sharon, tear down this wall! We can't get close enough to your buses and nightclubs from over here. Oh, and Jerusalem is ours."
(4) Those gathered explored the internal Palestinian situation and agreed on the necessity of completing total reform in all areas, of supporting the democratic process in its various aspects and of holding local and legislative elections at their determined time according to an election law to be agreed upon. The conference recommends to the Legislative Council that it take steps to amend the legislative elections law, relying on an equal division (of seats) in a mixed system, and it recommends that the law for elections of local councils be amended on the basis of proportional representation.
Sounds good to me. Voting is good, democracy is good, proportional representation is good.
(5) Those gathered agreed to develop the Palestine Liberation Organization on bases that will be settled upon in order to include all the Palestinian powers and factions, as the organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. To do this, it has been agreed upon to form a committee to define these bases, and the committee will be made up of the president of the National Council, the members of the PLO's Executive Committee, the secretaries general of all Palestinian factions and independent national personalities. The president of the executive committee will convene this committee.
"We stand as one...down with Jooos!"
(6) Those gathered felt unanimously that dialogue is the sole means of interaction among all the factions, as a support to national unity and the unity of the Palestinian ranks. They were unanimous in forbidding the use of weapons in internal disputes,
Heh.
respecting the rights of the Palestinian citizen and refraining from violating them, and that continuing dialogue through the coming period is a basic necessity toward unifying our speech and preserving Palestinian rights.
Somehow, I fail to be reassured...
Posted by: seafarious ||
03/18/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
The first passage alone indicates that they aren't serious about a meaningful solution. There is NO "right of return". Take what's on the table now and show some good will and build something worthwhile out of it, and there will be good reason to go even further. Otherwise, there is no justification for any further discussions on any subject regarding a Paleo "state".
#4
Day after Cairo agreement, Chief of staff says terror groups utilizing calm to arm and re-group.
That's how it's always been. Other than the fact that Yasser is pushing up daisies, there's no other reason to believe that it's going to be any different this time around. Anyone that does think it's different is only fooling themselves.
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.
Ukrainian weapons dealers smuggled 18 nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran and China during former President Leonid Kuchma's administration, prosecutors said Friday. The missiles have the range to reach U.S. allies. The Kh55 cruise missiles were smuggled out of Ukraine four years ago, the Prosecutor General's office said Friday in a statement. Prosecutors said the missiles, which have a range of 1,860 miles, were sold illegally and were not exported by Ukrainian enterprises.
At least 19 of 23 inmates who were killed in a bloody prison revolt were suspected Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for some of the Philippines' worst terror attacks, prosecutors said yesterday. Police stormed the maximum-security jail in a hail of gunfire Tuesday, ending a 29-hour standoff that started when suspected Abu Sayyaf guerrillas attacked guards, then took over the facility when their escape plot fizzled, officials said.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, 
The 
Maronite Patriarch 
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expects a complete withdrawal of all Syrian forces from Lebanon before May's parliamentary elections. The announcement comes after UN special envoy to the Middle East 
Former Lebanese Parliament Speaker 
Shiite and Kurdish negotiators have agreed that the National Assembly should reconvene March 26 to elect a president, an official said Friday, amid reports some Kurds were dissatisfied by Shiite assurances concerning the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and a Kurdish militia. Ali al-Faisal, an alliance deputy and member of the team negotiating with the Kurds, said, "There is a preliminary agreement that the next National Assembly session is to be held on March 26 to choose the president, his two vice presidents, and the speaker." That date matches one given Thursday by Azad Jundiyan, a spokesman for Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, who said the government will be named after Kurds celebrate Norwuz, their six-day new year holiday ending March 26.
Somali MPs traded physical blows as parliament voted against the deployment of peacekeepers to Somalia. The president wants regional troops to help with the relocation of the administration from neighbouring Kenya, but key warlords oppose the move. Dressed in suits and ties, the MPs threw heavy chairs at each other and beat each other with sticks. Since 1991, when the government fell, rival warlords have divided Somalia into a patchwork of fiefdoms. Bleeding wounds According to the BBC's Caroline Karobia in Nairobi the scuffles began after the parliament speaker asked MPs to raise their hands in the vote. More than half of them were against sending regional troops to Somalia. "There was a big fight because the opposition was not happy with the vote," MP Abdalla Boss Ahmed told Reuters news agency. Kenya television showed footage of the brawl, with parliamentarians tending to bleeding head wounds.
Representatives from southern Sudan's former rebel army, its political wing and pro-Khartoum militias yesterday agreed to hold a national reconciliation conference later this month in Kenya, officials said. The meeting, which drew representatives from militias that supported the Sudanese government before a January peace deal as well as those allied with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement Army (SPLM A), agreed to open the conference on March 28, an SPLM official said. "The meeting ended today and agreed that a south-south reconciliation conference will start on March 28 in Kenya," the official said yesterday. Earlier, a SPLM official told AFP the technical committee, made of officials from all groups, was discussing the way forward for the region as well as preparing for a major south-south dialogue, a sort of reconciliation conference. SPLM officials said the meeting also agreed that the reconciliation conference will be convened by Kenyan former President Daniel arap Moi, who championed the peace process, in Kenya. "It will be convened by Moi, under his foundation, Moi Africa Foundation," the official added.
Sudan imposed restrictions on the movement of US diplomats yesterday, in what it said was retaliation for similar measures ordered by Washington. Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said US diplomats would in future be required to obtain prior authorization to travel more than 25 kilometers from the presidential palace in Khartoum. The tit-for-tat moves come amid a mounting war of words between Sudan and the United States. 
