(SomaliNet) The leader of the ousted Islamic Courts Union on Thursday boycotted the call from the reconciliation conference committee to participate in the congress, which entered its second week.
The exiled leader of the executive council of the defeated Islamic Courts Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed who is now hidingskulking about in the Eritrean capital of Asmara told the London based Sharqa-Awsat Arabic newspaper that the remarks by the so-called reconciliation committee as non-sense and have no value to the minds of the Somali society. This has nothing to do with the Islamic Courts and we the leaders of the ICU are making it clear that as long as Ethiopian forces remain in the countrys soil no talks can be held inside Somalia, said Sharif adding, The country is under occupation by Somalias historic enemy of Ethiopia,
Sure did seem to kick your ass out pretty quick. Hurts, huh?
He reiterated that the Islamic Courts will never accept to attend what he called the plotting conference and described the call by the panel as meaningless.
If the puppet government he said wants to make the congress more inclusive it should pull the Ethiopian troops out of the country. Until the Ethiopians leave our country the ICU can not negotiate with the government.
Crying like a Nancy-boy ...
Western diplomats say the decision by the panel in which it allowed Islamists to participate the conference is a good gesture.
Working well so far, huh.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Tripoli to meet Moammar Gadhafi just 24 hours after the release of six foreign medics. First his wife went to bring out the nurses, then the president went in to do some business. French President Nicolas Sarkozy went to Libya Wednesday to meet with long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi and promised to boost relations between the two countries.
The trip came just 24 hours after Cecilia Sarkozy accompanied five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor out of Libya on a French presidential plane. The six medics had been imprisoned for eight years on charges of infecting over 400 Libyan children with HIV in the late 1990s.
During Sarkozy's visit, which effectively ended Libya's pariah status, the two leaders signed a number of cooperation agreements including one on civilian nuclear power. "I am happy to be in your country to talk about the future!" the French president wrote in a guest book during his trip. And Sarkozy and Gadhafi released a joint statement affiriming their "desire to give new momentum to bilateral relations and to build a strategic partnership between the two countries."
The Libyans have been scrambling to get out of international isolation since accepting responsibility for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland and agreeing to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in 2003. The move prompted the United States and European Union to lift sanctions, and Washington reopened its embassy there in 2006. Since then international investment has been flowing into Libya's oil sector, which provides the bulk of the country's gross domestic product.
But the continuing incarceration of the six foreign medics had been a stumbling block to further ties. Now, following their release, foreign investment in the North African country is likely to increase dramatically. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday she also hoped to travel to Libya soon. "I know that American companies are very interested in working in Libya," she said.
While Sarkozy signed agreements on education, science and culture, the most important and controversial ones were on defense and nuclear energy. France has agreed to help the Libyans build a nuclear reactor to supply drinking water from desalinated sea water.
"If we dare to say that civilian nuclear energy is reserved for the northern coast of the Mediterranean and that the Arab world is not responsible enough for nuclear energy, then we are humiliating them and paving the way for a war of civilizations," Sarkozy told reporters on Wednesday. The deal also has benefits for France. After all, its nuclear industry needs uranium -- and, conveniently enough, Libya has 1,600 tons of uranium left over from its abandoned nuclear weapons program.
Slippery Slope to Nuclear Weapons?
French anti-nuclear group Sortir du Nucleaire accused Sarkozy of handing over nuclear technology to Libya in exchange for the nurses. "Civilian and military nuclear are inseparable," the group said in a statement. "Delivering 'civilian' nuclear energy to Libya would amount to helping the country, sooner or later, to acquire nuclear weapons."
Meanwhile Libya has reacted angrily to Bulgaria's pardoning of the five nurses and the Palestinian doctor. The foreign ministry called in Bulgaria's top diplomat and complained that it was "in violation" of the agreement between the two countries.
The association representing the infected children's families expressed dismay at the release. "We deeply condemn and are deeply disappointed at the absurdity and disrespect shown," it told the Associated Press. The association has called on Interpol to arrest the medics in Bulgaria.
Three of the nurses who were released on Tuesday told a news conference in Sofia that they were prepared to testify against the Libyan officers they accuse of torturing them. "We can forgive but we cannot forget what has happened," said Nasya Nenova.
As predicted: seeing Iran's ambitions unchecked triggers other nations to claim the same ambition, however unrealistic. In a similar vein, Tom Lehrer sang "Who's Next" about Monaco and Alabama wanting the Bomb.
Despite boasting Africa`s largest oil reserves, Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar`Adua thinks his country should be looking to other forms of power, including nuclear energy. The new Nigerian leader who came into office in late May has called for the country to 'develop the capacity to utilize nuclear power for power generation' in hopes of one day alleviating Nigeria`s chronic shortfalls in electricity production. 'Who knows, nuclear power may be the only source of energy in the future, and we must think of the future,' Yar`Adua told Nigerian lawmakers earlier this week.
However, bringing nuclear power to Nigeria isn`t going to be simple. The country faces many obstacles, according to Jon Wolfsthal, a non-proliferation fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington. 'Countries with primitive energy infrastructures (like Nigeria) have a long way to go towards having a productive nuclear power generator,' Wolfsthal told United Press International. Nigeria`s power grid is considered primitive by international standards and would have to be upgraded to be compatible with a nuclear energy source, he said. 'When you build a nuclear power plant, you have to have something to hook it up to,' he said. Oh. Hadn't thought of that.
Fortunately for Nigeria, the state coffers are awash in oil revenue, having earned more than $300 billion since the 1970s. Wolfsthal noted that other oil-producing nations, such as Iran, have also looked to nuclear energy, as rising global oil prices make the fossil fuel expensive for use at home.
Wolfsthal predicted that Nigeria would likely have to shell out somewhere between $1 billion and $2 billion for a single light-water reactor that would have to be contracted out to foreign companies. Meanwhile, the cost of constructing an updated power grid for a population of 130 million and growing rapidly would likely be much higher. In addition to costs, Nigeria must also procure the raw uranium needed for refinement in a nuclear reactor. The country does have some uranium deposits, though it is unclear whether they would meet the nation`s growing energy needs.
#1
An Indian 540MWe CANDU clone (heavy water reactor using natural uranium fuel) costs only 600 million.
They have 220MWe units that are even cheaper, and more easily hooked up to a smaller power grid.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/27/2007 14:35 Comments ||
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#2
I predict an influx of Nigerian Nuclear Disaster spam.
#3
Apart from natural Uranium fuel (no need for enrichment) CANDU units can also be refuelled while in operation and, if you change the rods located in the core edges more frequently, can be used to produce weapons grade Plutonium.
The heavy water moderator/coolant, if allowed to circulate for a long period builds up significant Tritium (used to boost nuclear weapons). Both Canada (the CANDU's designer) and India have developed de-tritiation plants to extract Tritium.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/27/2007 14:42 Comments ||
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#4
Tom Lehrer sang "Who's Next" about Monaco and Alabama wanting the Bomb.
Alabama?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/27/2007 16:15 Comments ||
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#5
Sorry guys, we already have both Civilian and Military Nuke Power, don't lump us with Monaco. (No Alabama Ca-sin-o's yet, no Royalty either.)
(Spaces to defeat automatic nannying)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/27/2007 16:20 Comments ||
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#6
The picture that springs immediately to mind is of the containment vessel with Nigerian pipeline siphoners lined up carrying buckets and jars...
Posted by: James ||
07/27/2007 17:22 Comments ||
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#7
From the That Was The Year That Was album"Who's Next" lyrics
I don't know how trustworthy the source is, but the article was posted at Lucianne.com, and I thought it would be of interest to Rantburg.
Saudi Arabia is clandestinely developing nuclear weapons, according to a report appearing Wednesday on a Saudi Arabic-language news website.
Pakistani nuclear scientists who secretly entered Saudi Arabia during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in 2003 have been the driving force behind the covert nuclear program, reported the Sawt Al-Salam website. Iraqi nuclear scientists were also said to have been recruited. The Pakistanis reportedly instructed their Saudi hosts to construct their nuclear facilities under prisons to avoid detection. The website cited intelligence reports that indicated the Saudis are constructing a massive underground nuclear center and missile base south of the capital of Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia was widely believed to be a major financier of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program in the 1990s. This does comport with a dispatch at the Middle East Media Research Institute website from November of last year, the key section which states, "In Light of Current Events in the Region, the Time Has Come to Renew the Saudi Nuclear Program".
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
We know this already. Lovely Iran "dove of peace" sparked an arab arms race. How peaceful is that. Now I AM looking at all of Ishmael with detest and disgust. What a rotted place they put themselves in. But again, it is easier to drill through glass than through their thick heads.
#2
Also one related article on RIAN and WAFF.com, where the PAKIS nuke arsenal is indic as consisting of up to 40 devices = weapons, excluding missles. Pakis themselves also reportedly construx underground, deep and wide. WAFF.com > ISRAEL's nuke arsenal reportedly listed as comprising 00's of both fusion and fission bombs, wid 450 KT-yield warheads upon JERICHO missles.
#3
And then there's RENSE/RUMORMILLNEWS > THE NUCLEAR DELIVERY TORPEDO article involving secret North Korean nuke tech transhipments aboard NK maritme freighters.
#4
Hmmm. Seems that Soddies are keen to fulfill the old Arab prophecy that Mecca would be burned with heaven's fire and turned into glowing gravel. No, not by us. It sez by people of their own creed.
#6
The Saudis have oil and want nukes
The Chinese have nukes and want oil
The deal WILL be made. Why would the Saudis go to all the trouble of developing a full nuclear program when they can just do what they normally do? Cash on the barrel-head so to speak.
#10
Among other premises or agendas, WOT > STATUS QUO is no longer acceptable or tolerable. Ergo, WOT > for the enemies of the USA-West > IS AN "APOCALYPSE", A CATASTROPHIC EPOCH-APEX = POINT OF DECISION = POINT OF NO RETURN.
#16
Folks, this is one of the consequences of us losing in Iraq: the increased nuclearization of the middle east - in response to the Persian nukes and the lack of a counterbalance to the Persians in the region (with Iraq gone that is).
Hang this on Murth's fat bejoweled head - him, Pelosi and Reid and the whole the peace at any price movement.
#18
how does one hide nuclear facilities under a prison? Or why a prison?
My guess is it would be a large area that satellite photos wouldn't pick up as suspicious. Any Gitmo detainees returned for Saudi incarceration or Iraqi scientists supposedly under arrest following Saddam's demise would be on site & not draw attention by activity.
#20
Rumor was the Saudis had nukes under Pakistani guard. They were to be delivered by the 40-60 Chinese CSS-2 ballistic missiles (2500km range) the Sauds bought. The CSS-2 had no other use since with a 1-2km target error they could barely hit a city center but could easily lift the 1000kg warhead design the Chinese gave to the Paks.
Posted by: ed ||
07/27/2007 13:33 Comments ||
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#21
thanks
Posted by: Jan from work ||
07/27/2007 14:32 Comments ||
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#22
"Under Pakistani Guard" more or less means a Pakistani armored brigade, or so I understood.
#25
One Helluva tea party? I'd better start baking now, and count my tea cups. I did get a second set of dessert plates some months back, so that won't be an issue... and I've plenty of demitasse cups for the caffeine fiends. ;-)
Darling, tw. If you waitress the party how in the Hell will we have any sort of fun?!? Don't bother counting the silver, just set back and let us brutes do the heavy lifting and all that. Emkay?
#27
Maybe the rumor is "under prisons" because their head-choppers arms are getting tired and having some prisons vaporised by any player gets the head-choppers a vacation.
#28
Oh, I wouldn't dream of waitressing, Zenster dear. I'll just sit quietly and pour out the tea, and all you great big strong types can help yourself to the something strongers over there on the sideboard, should y'all prefer. Never let it be said I don't know how to throw a proper tea party, with the occasional dancing on the tables as necessary. ;-)
[DailyMail] Ministers are secretly considering plans for an all-Muslim prison after a series of attacks on jailed Islamic terrorists, it is claimed.
The prison could house the growing number of Muslim extremist inmates, it is said, after increasing signs of tension at the jails in which they are housed.
But critics said terrorists must not given the appearance of special status within the justice system.
On Sunday, a fire was started in the cell housing Hussein Osman, in Frankland high security prison in County Durham.
Osman was jailed this year for his role in the July 21 bomb plot. He tried to repeat the July 7 carnage by attempting to blow up a train at Shepherd's Bush, West London, in 2005.
Nobody was hurt in the cell fire, which is under investigation, but officials believe it may have been an attempt on his life.
It was the third incident in three weeks involving convicted Islamic terrorists at the prison.
Earlier this month Dhiren Barot, 34, an Al Qaeda plotter jailed for life last year, was seriously burned when he was scalded with boiling water.
There are also said to have been death threats against 25-year-old Omar Khyam, who was convicted for masterminding the fertiliser bomb plot and is also serving life for conspiracy to murder.
About 10 per cent of Frankland's inmates are thought to be Muslims.
Rows are said to have broken out among prisoners about where Muslim prayers should be held on the wing.
Prison insiders claim that the tensions were being made worse by the presence of far right extremists in the same cell block, Channel Four news reported last night. Officials at the newly-formed Ministry of Justice have held private discussions about how to cope if the trend of Muslim inmates continues, Channel Four said.
One option would be to designate a Muslim- only prison where inmates, including convicted terrorists, would be less at risk of attack because of racial or religious tensions.
It would also be easier to cater for their religious needs in terms of diet and prayer.
Lawyers acting for suspected and convicted Islamic terrorists have already called for fanatics to be granted special status in jails as "prisoners of war".
Last week the controversial solicitor Mudassar Arani, whose firm has been paid more than £1million in legal aid to represent extremists, said her clients feel it is unfair that they must undergo frequent searches and curbs on meeting other imprisoned radicals.
Miss Arani, who claimed she was speaking on behalf of Barot, said: "Why should he suffer? Isn't it bad enough to have to serve your sentence? Why does he have to be placed in segregation? He asked me to mention prisoner of war status."
But Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a former Army commander, said: "They are not soldiers, they are not warriors. They have simply broken the law."
The Prison Service insisted it had no plans for a special Muslim jail.
A spokesman said: "We will continue to treat these prisoners like all other criminals. We will do what is necessary to protect them but we have no intention of creating special conditions for them."
Prisoners who believe they are in danger can be moved to a Vulnerable Prisoners' Unit.
The number of Muslim inmates has more than trebled in the last decade.
By the middle of 2005 there were around 7,500 Muslims behind bars - around 12 per cent of all UK prisoners.
#2
Last week the controversial solicitor Mudassar Arani, whose firm has been paid more than £1million in legal aid to represent extremists, said her clients feel it is unfair that they must undergo frequent searches and curbs on meeting other imprisoned radicals.
Miss Arani, who claimed she was speaking on behalf of Barot, said: "Why should he suffer? Isn't it bad enough to have to serve your sentence? Why does he have to be placed in segregation? He asked me to mention prisoner of war status."
Apparently, Miss Arani qualifies. Give her POW status.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/27/2007 20:29 Comments ||
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#3
The number of Muslim inmates has more than trebled in the last decade.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate was poised to pass the first of 12 spending bills on Thursday night and smash President Bush's budget for border control and other homeland security programs. The $40.6 billion measure was expected to pass by an overwhelming vote, with the tally virtually certain to be high enough to overcome a promised Bush veto.
The already popular bill became more so with the addition of $3 billion above budget caps set by both Bush and his Democratic rivals to secure the U.S-Mexico border and seek out immigrants who have overstayed their visas. The Senate bill also greatly exceeds Bush's request for homeland security grants to state and local governments for improving disaster planning and training and paying for new fire and rescue equipment.
The border security money was broken out of Bush's immigration bill, which failed last month. The money would go toward seizing ``operational control'' over the U.S.-Mexico border with additional Border Patrol agents, vehicle barriers, border fencing and observation towers, plus a crackdown on people who overstay their visas.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Hopefully there have more money for cargo inspections than pork projects in the bill.
George Bush's plans to establish a European missile defence system suffered a big setback yesterday when a Congressional committee slashed the funding. The House appropriations committee cut $139m (£69.5m) from the $310m the Bush administration wants for preparatory work on the missile project in Europe. It approved funds for a radar system in the Czech Republic but cut the $139m Mr Bush requested to establish a missile interception system in Poland, the most controversial part of the defence system.
In addition, the committee cut a further $159m from US-based parts of the missile plan.
John Murtha, chairman of the committee, said the Bush administration has "got to convince us this is worthwhile".
Good luck convincing that old goat of anything. Maybe tell him we'll 'redeploy' the missiles to Germany.
In a report attached to the revised budget, the committee said: "It is premature to provide full funding for the European component, given the uncertainty surrounding the programme".
The budget cuts are part of $3.5bn that the committee has slashed from the overall defence budget, which now stands at $459bn. The committee's pared-down budget will go to the full House for a vote next week but is almost certain to be passed.
As well as reducing the budget, Congress is shifting priorities from futuristic programmes to more immediate concerns, such as improved healthcare for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, pay rises for soldiers and marines, and much-needed weaponry for Iraq, such as the heavily-armoured Stryker vehicles.
The House and Senate have questioned whether establishing the system in eastern Europe is sensible given the extent of the opposition it has aroused in Russia. They also question its technical feasibility and the failure of other Nato countries to commit fully to it.
Republicans on the committee joined the Democrats in voting for the bill. Mr Murtha said Congress was trying to change the direction of the defence department across the board, not just on missile defence.
I think we know the changes he wants. Might as well ask Kucinich to start up the Peace Department.
Bill Young, the most senior Republican on the committee, said: "I don't think this bill is subject to a veto." He said it had been designed for quick passage.
Even if Mr Bush was to block it, the extent of congressional opposition will leave doubts over the European missile defence system, signalling that if the Democrats take the White House next year the plan would be scrapped. The congressional opposition will also embolden Russia to maintain its opposition.
Which is all the Dhimmis really want to do here.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Looks like the Congresscritters missed reading THE GROWING THREAT article describing Pakis + Saudi nucdevprogs [Muslim = Radic Islamist? proliferation] this morning, didn't we!?
#3
Murtha is scrapping $139 million in a total budget pushing $500 BILLION for missile defense for Europe? I guess someone's got some pork plans ready for his district, eh?
While personally I'd like to see Europe step up and pay for this themselves, we still (somewhat) rely on NATO and the Euro militaries. And, while I almost even understand cutting the European portion of this, why cut the US homeland portion? Good grief, what's it gonna take for PA to vote him out of office?
*slaps forehead*
Posted by: BA ||
07/27/2007 8:16 Comments ||
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#4
Can someone explain to me why we should be providing a missile defense umbrella for EUrope at our expense?
I say let them reap the harvest of their own stupidity, or start writing us BIG CHECKS. We, the U.S.A. need to stop being the worlds protector and policeman, unless, these folks want to contract our services for lots of money.
As a tax payer, I'm sick of being robbed, fleeced or otherwise liberated from a significant amount of money to pay for other countries defense, or whatever, when our own nations infrastructure is in such bad shape. And let's not even talk about the fact that we borrow a lot of the money to pay for it. From the Chinese no less.
Someone needs to pull the chain on Washington, yesterday!
Posted by: Natural Law ||
07/27/2007 8:20 Comments ||
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#5
While we no longer need or want large armies in Europe, we do need staging areas for materiel and we also need allies for a variety of reasons.]
Missile defense is a deterrent against Iran and others; basing it in eastern Europe and Britain makes it more likely to stop Iranian missiles soon after launch & shields allies who have been and continue to be useful to us.
That said, we are going to face some really tough financial decisions over the next 2 decades. Baby boomers retiring (altho I suspect that many, like me, will work until they're 70 or so) and needing health and other care. A workforce whose participants in many cases have had lousy preparation in science, math or critical thinking - not to mention fact-based history and civics. An infraqstructure like highways and bridges that should have been upgraded during the Clinton years and continues to be patched on an ad hoc basis.
Tough issues in good times, made much harder by the political and cultural vitrio splashing around since the Clinton impeachment days. (And earlier ... this Scott Thomas jerk and his like are bringing back rally bad memories of the late 60s and early 70s.
During a high-level meeting in Riyadh in January, Saudi officials confronted a top American envoy with documents that seemed to suggest that Iraqs prime minister could not be trusted. One purported to be an early alert from the prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, to the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr warning him to lie low during the coming American troop increase, which was aimed in part at Mr. Sadrs militia. Another document purported to offer proof that Mr. Maliki was an agent of Iran. The American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, immediately protested to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, contending that the documents were forged. But, said administration officials who provided an account of the exchange, the Saudis remained skeptical.
Now, Bush administration officials are voicing increasing anger at what they say has been Saudi Arabias counterproductive role in the Iraq war. They say that beyond regarding Mr. Maliki as an Iranian agent, the Saudis have offered financial support to Sunni groups in Iraq. One senior administration official says he has seen evidence that Saudi Arabia is providing financial support to opponents of Mr. Maliki. He declined to say whether that support was going to Sunni insurgents because, he said, That would get into disagreements over who is an insurgent and who is not.
Senior Bush administration officials said the American concerns would be raised next week when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates make a rare joint visit to Jidda, Saudi Arabia.
Officials in Washington have long resisted blaming Saudi Arabia for the chaos and sectarian strife in Iraq, choosing instead to pin blame on Iran and Syria. Even now, military officials rarely talk publicly about the role of Saudi fighters among the insurgents in Iraq. The accounts of American concerns came from interviews with several senior administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they believed that openly criticizing Saudi Arabia would further alienate the Saudi royal family at a time when the United States is still trying to enlist Saudi support for Mr. Maliki and the Iraqi government, and for other American foreign policy goals in the Middle East, including an Arab-Israeli peace plan. In agreeing to interviews in advance of the joint trip to Saudi Arabia, the officials were nevertheless clearly intent on sending a pointed signal to a top American ally. They expressed deep frustration that more private American appeals to the Saudis had failed to produce a change in course.
The Bush administrations frustration with the Saudi government has increased in recent months because it appears that Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts to undermine the Maliki government and to pursue a different course in Iraq from what the administration has charted. Saudi Arabia has also stymied a number of other American foreign policy initiatives, including a hoped-for Saudi embrace of Israel.
The Bush administrations relationship with Saudi Arabia has deteriorated steadily since the United States invasion of Iraq, culminating in April when, bitingly, King Abdullah, during a speech before Arab heads of state in Riyadh, condemned the American invasion of Iraq as an illegal foreign occupation. A month before that, King Abdullah effectively torpedoed a high-profile meeting between Israelis and Palestinians, planned by Ms. Rice, by brokering a power-sharing agreement between the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the militant Islamist group Hamas that did not require Hamas to recognize Israel. While that agreement eventually fell apart, the Bush administration, on both occasions, was caught off guard and became infuriated.
#1
Nuke Riyadh and conquer Saudi Arabia. It'll do wonders all over the world, as well as giving the US an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" just 90 miles from Iranian territory.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/27/2007 18:42 Comments ||
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#2
US officials have 10,000 reasons - at last count - to deal with frustration stemming from our Saudi "allies."
See? It's just the "study", "portraying" all those poor shepherds and students as a "threat". Agence France Presse has nearly exhausted its annual supply of sneer quotes:
Nah - Chirac designated them a critical national industry. There are scads of damp limestone caves incubating them by the thousands ... whole piles of white, eyeless squirming grubs eating decaying French pride, moldy cheese rinds and the dregs of wine grapes. When they change over to their black flying form the skies are darkened for hours and the only thing the cow milk is good for is bad cheese, for days thereafter.
A new report commissioned by the US Defense Department argues inmates held at the Guantanamo detention camp in 2004 and 2005 posed a clear threat to US forces.
The report, by a center at the US Military Academy at West Point, runs counter to the picture painted by human rights groups and other critics who have charged that most detainees held at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are harmless and not linked to Al-Qaeda, the New York Times said on Thursday. Based on an analysis of information presented at military hearings for the detainees, the report found that 73 percent of inmates represented a "demonstrated threat" to US and allied forces, the Times wrote. And 95 percent were at minimum a "potential threat," including detainees who had played supporting roles in terrorist groups or had expressed a commitment to extremist goals, the report said, according to the Times.
The detainees included men who had been fighters with Al-Qaeda, attended terrorist training camps and had experience with explosives, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, the report said.
Nope, none of them a threat, nope, send 'em home to Wazoo ...
The study was written by the evil warmongers at the Combating Terrorism Center at the West Point military academy, which according to its website is "actively involved in supporting the global war on terror through education, research and policy analysis."
A previous analysis of the same evidence presented at military hearings by the right sort of people at Seton Hall University School of Law came to a much different conclusion. The Seton Hall report found that only eight percent of detainees had been described by the US military as Al-Qaeda fighters and that 55 percent had not committed any hostile acts against the United States.
Though 100 percent of those had been planning to do so.
The reports are based on hearings called combatant status review tribunals that decide whether detainees should be held as "enemy combatants."
The Pentagon-sponsored report includes specific criticism of the Seton Hall study, saying it ignored the context of the some information on detainees and engaged in speculation, the newspaper said. While the report comes as the Pentagon seeks to shape domestic and international attitudes toward the camp, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Felter, director of the Combating Terrorism Center, told the Times it was an independent evaluation and carried out without Pentagon supervision. But Felter added: "They had been getting a lot of inquiries related to this previous study... They had a lot of concerns with the conclusions, but they did not have another study."
The United States still holds about 375 detainees at the camp after opening the prison in January 2001 as part of its "war on terror."
#3
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Felter, director of the Combating Terrorism Center, told the Times it was an independent evaluation and carried out without Pentagon supervision.
#6
Note that these 2 studies looked at 2 completely different sets of data (at least, as reported here). So, being somewhat into science myself, several questions quickly popped in my head:
* How long ago was this Seton Hall "study" and how many of these goons had NOT gone through hearings, where some of this info would've been hashed out?
* Note that the Seton Hall study (again, as reported here) only cited those who actually fought against us via AQ. Almost as if the Taliban never picked up a rock against us, eh?
* Note that (probably) some of these goons have been handed off between these 2 studies, which in itself skews the % numbers. Also, what exactly does a "demonstrated threat" mean vs. "actually" committing hostile acts against us.
And, I came up with these in just 2-3 minutes.
Posted by: BA ||
07/27/2007 12:14 Comments ||
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Taliban leaders told local residents on Thursday to shoot on sight anyone looting public property disguised as Taliban, as the presence of government security forces in the main town of North Waziristan vanished completely, locals said.
Police in the tribal region recently stopped performing their duty in the face of threats from Taliban militants. This occurred after tension with the government intensified over the build-up of army personnel at security check-posts in the area. Any looters disguised as Taliban must be shot at and killed immediately to restore peace, members of the Taliban shura announced on loudspeakers from the three main mosques in Miranshah, residents reported.
The announcement indicates that the Taliban leadership realises that their public image is at risk as the local population also holds them responsible for the present crisis in Waziristan.
Miranshah is at the mercy of people holding guns who do what they want, looting public property.
Miranshah is at the mercy of people holding guns who do what they want, looting public property, a fruit vendor, Shaukat, told Daily Times.
Neither police nor Taliban militants have been prominent in Miranshah for the last few days. A local doctor described the situation as reflecting absolute anarchy and chaos. A member of an all-tribes jirga in Peshawar welcomed the announcement, hoping it would send a goodwill message to the government that the Taliban would ensure peace, which the NWFP governor had said was a pre-requisite to removing military check-posts.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds more like "Fellow Taliban, consider this your warning to stop looting public property in your uniform. It looks bad."
"You! Halt! Why did you just air out the beturbaned holy warrior of Islam?"
"Uhhh, cuz he was lootin'!"
"He was in the middle of the street."
"Well he was on his way to be lootin'! He had those lootin' lookin' eyes!"
DIR: The defunct Tehrik-e-Nifaz-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) has distanced itself from recent bomb attacks on law enforcing agencies and condemned the killing of security personnel. TNSM district chief Badshah Zeb alias Gorkoi Mulla said that his movement had never resorted to violence against the government in its struggle for Sharia enforcement in the area. Security forces personnel are our Muslim brothers and Islam does not allow killing of Muslims. No Mufti has issued any Fatwa (decree) to attack army or police and those carrying out attacks on forces or in public places are committing murders, he said. He said the TNSM had nothing to do with Maulana Fazlullah, who, he added, was not following the orders of his imprisoned father-in-law and TNSM founder Maulana Sufi Muhammad.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
Top|| File under: TNSM
National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain on Thursday formally accepted the resignation of MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmed.
"Thanks ever so. Now scram."
Qazis NA seat in Nowshera has been declared vacant and the assembly secretariat has informed the Election Commission about his resignation. The EC will later announce the schedule for a by-election on the vacant seat.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
Ever since the Lal Masjid operation, President Pervez Musharraf has had to face retaliatory action from militant factions all over Pakistan, who are backed and continuously urged by the Al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri, Newsweek magazine said.
While Osama bin Laden has been keeping a low profile - he may be ill, US intelligence officials say - Zawahiri has moved aggressively to take operational control of the group. In so doing, Zawahiri has provoked a potentially serious ideological split within Al Qaeda over whether he is growing too powerful, and has become obsessed with toppling Musharraf, according to two jihadists interviewed by the magazine last week.
After years in which Zawahiri seemed constantly on the run, his alleged orchestration of last weeks attacks would be further evidence that Qaeda and Taliban forces are newly empowered and have consolidated control of a safe haven along the Pakistani border.
A new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) out of Washington last week also concludes that Al Qaeda is resurgent in Pakistan - and more centrally organised than it has been at any time since 9/11.
The anti-Zawahiri faction in Al Qaeda fears his actions may be jeopardising the safe haven they have reportedly established within the lawless tribal northwest of Pakistan, according to the two jihadists. They are Omar Farooqi, the nom de guerre for a veteran Taliban fighter and chief liaison officer between insurgent forces in Afghanistans Ghazni province, and Hemat Khan, a Taliban operative with links to Al Qaeda.
They say Zawahiris personal jihad has angered Al Qaedas so-called Libyan faction, which intelligence officials believe may be led by Abu Yahya al-Libi, who made a daring escape from an American high-security lockup at Baghram air base in 2005. The Libyan Islamists, along with bin Laden and other senior Al Qaeda leaders, would love to see Musharraf gone, too. But they fear that Zawahiri is inviting the Pakistani leaders wrath, prematurely opening up another battlefront before the jihadists have properly consolidated their position.
Pakistani intelligence officials believe Zawahiri was behind two attempts to kill Musharraf that failed in December 2003. Since then, Zawahiri has been on an almost personal crusade to assassinate or overthrow the Pakistani leader. In his latest video, Zawahiri condemned the Lal Masjid raid and urged Pakistani Muslims to revolt, or else Musharraf will annihilate you.
Both jihadist sources who spoke to Newsweek say there is now what Khan calls a clear divide between the Zawahiri-controlled Egyptian and Yayha-controlled Libyan faction. In part, the Libyans seem to be irked by Zawahiris unchecked ego and self-righteousness. The Libyans say hes too extremist, says Farooqi, and they resent Zawahiri for appearing to speak for bin Laden. Libyans tell me that [bin Laden] has not appointed a successor and that only the US government and the international media talk of Zawahiri as being the deputy, Farooqi says.
A senior US official involved in counter-terrorism policy, speaking on condition of anonymity, agrees that there are tensions between the two factions, as well as between Saudi and Central Asian elements. These guys are not immune to nationalist tendencies, he says.
John Arquilla, an intelligence expert at the Naval Postgraduate School who closely follows radical Islamist traffic, calls it the battle for Al Qaedas strategic soul. There is a profound strategic debate over whether to focus on overturning the government in Pakistan because that puts them in control of a nuclear capacity.
Bin Laden himself has not personally intervened to end the internal feud, according to the jihadist sources. Instead, bin Laden has tried to resolve the dispute by dividing duties between the two factions and appointing a pair of mediators, these sources say.
The infighting also hasnt prevented Zawahiri and his Qaeda brethren, along with Afghan Taliban and militant Pakistani tribal leaders, from establishing a complex command, control, training and recruitment base largely in Waziristan, according to US and Pakistani officials. US officials say Al Qaeda has vastly improved its position there since Musharraf signed a controversial peace deal with North Waziristans Pashtun tribal elders in September 2006, which gave pro-Taliban tribal militants full control of security in the area. Al Qaeda provides funding, training and ideological inspiration, while Afghan Taliban and Pakistani tribal leaders supply the manpower: both fighters and the growing ranks of suicide bombers.
Last week tribal officials, who have become increasingly radicalised, indicated the deal was off. The governor of Afghanistans Khowst province, Arsala Jamal, told Newsweek that Qaeda and Afghan and Pakistani militants had moved some of their top fighters and commanders from Waziristan into safe areas in Afghanistan in case Pakistani and US forces launched retaliatory raids.
US counter-terrorism operatives have been reluctant to cross into Waziristan for fear of violating Pakistani sovereignty and upsetting Musharraf.
But Hank Crumpton, a longtime Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) senior official and former counter-terrorism coordinator for the State Department, says US reluctance must be overcome because Musharraf cannot deal with the problem alone. The Pakistani leader sent more than 100,000 troops to the tribal areas last year, but they lacked the requisite counterinsurgency skills, Crumpton says. And if Musharraf does not confront the situation more squarely, hell face a growing Taliban movement in Pakistan, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#2
These guys are not immune to nationalist tribal tendencies, he says.
Fixed that for ya, "Mr. Anonymous"
The Pakistani leader sent more than 100,000 troops to the tribal areas last year, but they lacked the requisite counterinsurgency skills, Crumpton says. And if Musharraf does not confront the situation more squarely, hell face a growing Taliban movement in Pakistan, he said.
I have a "gut feeling" (thanks, Mike Chertoff for that one) that we may soon be getting an "unofficial" green light to do some cross-border hot pursuits (if we aren't already doing so) by Perv. I don't trust Perv any further than I could throw him, but quite a few assassination attempts has gotta rattle his cage at some point. I just hope our "Mr. Black, Mr. White and Mr. Brown" know where the nukes are in case things go south for Perv, which I'm sure someone, somewhere in the DoD is already prepping for.
Posted by: BA ||
07/27/2007 8:10 Comments ||
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#3
i say let them infight,maybe someone will get trigger hapy at the right moment and pop a cap in lumps head
#5
The Pakistani leader sent more than 100,000 troops to the tribal areas last year, but they lacked the requisite counterinsurgency skills, Crumpton says.
Does anybody remember the last time the Pak army won a war? Didn't think so. I sure don't feel very comfortable with these guys protecting the nukes from Zawhiri.
Britain will work with Pakistan to fight militants on the Afghan border, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Thursday, noting all sides must work more effectively in the struggle. Weve got a strong partnership with the government of Pakistan on counter-terrorism measures, Miliband told Reuters as he wound up a visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our determination is to work with the government of Pakistan, he said. He refused to get into ruling in or out hypotheticals and said his words should speak for themselves.
But Miliband said Pakistan, Afghanistan and Britain, as well as other allies, needed to step up counter-terrorism efforts. We all want to do more. Weve all got to make sure our combined efforts achieve as much as possible, he said.
He steered clear of criticising Afghan President Hamid Karzai or President Gen Pervez Musharraf for not doing enough on terrorism, adding he had listened rather than lectured on his first trip outside Europe since Prime Minister Gordon Brown named him foreign secretary last month. Miliband, 42, met Karzai, British troops, civilian officials and Musharraf during his tour of the countries that began on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Fifty-one students of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa, mostly belonging to Kashmir and the NWFP, were released after clearance by intelligence agencies and police on Thursday. Twenty-one students detained at Aabpara Police Station and 11 at Kohsar Police Station, indicted in various cases of terrorism and kidnapping, were released.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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#4
Got it all figured out, don't they.
These guys are spun, even to the point of delusions.
And why couldn't we afford them just one Tomahawk for their little party? If they really are the "core" of the resistance, who cares if it pisses off Syria.
#6
And why couldn't we afford them just one Tomahawk for their little party?
2000 pound JDAMs, dropped from a B-2 on the dinner party at night.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/27/2007 9:08 Comments ||
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#7
Under the new leadership, all Iraqi citizens who worked for or cooperated with the current, coalition-backed government would be arrested. A "reconciliation council", drawn in large part from the ranks of the armed insurgency, would then draw up plans for a permanent "technocratic" government � which would immediately seek criminal charges and file civil suits against the U.S. government and major American war supporters in international court.
Now, where have we heard of "reconciliation councils" before. The phrasing sounds vaguely familiar. Hmmm, with several tens of thousands of citizens under arrest, and these reconciliation councils in operation...damn, this sounds familiar...
Former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz, who collapsed in a US military prison earlier this month, is in failing health and he has threatened to go on hunger strike, his son told AFP on Thursday. I spoke to my father on the phone yesterday. His voice was weak and inaudible. I could hardly understand him but he is clearly in bad shape, Ziad Aziz said, in a telephone interview. He said that he understood from his father that he and 14 co-detainees plan on starting a hunger strike next week if the court continues to deny him the right to have a lawyer present during interrogations. My fathers lawyer Badih Aref Ezzat is not allowed in Iraq for mysterious reasons and as a result my father is without a lawyer, said Aziz who has lived in Jordan with his family since April 2003.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Baath Party
#3
He's been in poor health since before checking in to the Hotel Cropper. I have no direct knowledge any longer, but it's extremely unlikely that he's being "denied" legal representation - the "defense" counsel were often quite dirty, not even kosher to enter Iraq, and of course they have been pulling stunts like this since No. 1 tried his hunger strike thingy (twice).
The sympathy meter in Iraq and the region (ahemm, we should post it here) looks about like the usual one we see on the 'burg. Near zero.
As I recall, Aziz is a defendant in the marshes case. Seemed odd given my knowledge of the case, but then I didn't know much about it.
#4
It's 119f here right now and it just started raining hot mud thru a dust storm. First time it has rained since February or March. Tareq old boy, you've got a lovely country here so you might as well be hot, muddy wet, miserable AND hungry with the rest of us.
Cue Rage Boy...
Bethlehem Ma'an The private secretary of the Pope warned of the threat of Islamic values invading Europe during an interview with the weekly Sueddeutsche Magazin to be published on Friday. Monsignor Georg Gaenswein advised of the Islamisation of Europe and appealed for the continent's Christian roots to not be ignored. "Attempts to Islamise the West cannot be denied," he said, adding, "The danger for the identity of Europe that is connected with it should not be ignored out of a wrongly understood respectfulness." Whiny infidel...
At the same time Gaenswein defended comments made by the Pope last year in which he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who alleged that the Islamic religion was spread by violence. "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached," said Manuel II Paleologus. Islam is a religion of Peace! Kill him!
But he's been dead for 700 years.
Kill him anyways!
The comments generated widespread outrage throughout the international Muslim community. Yes, well... which time was this? I get my Islamic widespread outrage incidents mixed up sometimes...
Posted by: tu3031 ||
07/27/2007 09:15 ||
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#1
So all you Europeans who thought the church was just for your grandmother get your butts back in them pews.
#2
Pope Benedict has a penchant for being complete correct on matters of religion and culture, and consequently pissing off the liberals and the Muslims.
#3
Without wishing to be too strident, Pope Benedict needs to get behind the wheel and make this message a whole lot more clear to this world's Catholic population. I'd also hope that he could rally all the globe's religious leaders and get them to openly declare Islam a cult until it abandons shari'a law, abject gender apartheid, taqiyya, global terrorism, nuclear war upon the remaining world, capital punishment for spitting on the sidewalk ... but I digress.
The section alluded to by the posted article follows:
MG[Monsignor Gaenswein] : The attempts at Islamization of the West cannot be put aside. The danger for the identity of Europe that is connected to it must not be ignored for reasons of a wrongly understood respect. The Catholic sides sees it very clearly and talks about it. Especially the Regensburg speech should counter a certain naivete ("blue-eyedness"). One thing has to be pointed out - there is no Islam as such, no voice that ties all Muslims together and leads them. There are many different currents, often at war with each other, up to extremists that claim the Koran for their actions and go to work with guns. On an institutional level, he Holy See tries to make contacts and lead dialogs via the Papal Council for Interreligious Dialog.
And, Zen, there are a LOT of us out here who realize Islam for what it is. In fact, there are many Southern Baptist preachers who've gotten raked over the coals for saying pretty much the same things as the Pope. But, from the pulpit is where the REAL fire and brimstone and speaking out against Islam is happening.
Just one more reason many of us absolutely loathe "hate crimes/speech" legislation. It has been (and will be) used against the Church to quiet the truth from being told. Right now, mostly for the gay agenda pushers, but believe me, CAIR and their ilk will use it too.
Posted by: BA ||
07/27/2007 14:42 Comments ||
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#6
And, Zen, there are a LOT of us out here who realize Islam for what it is. In fact, there are many Southern Baptist preachers who've gotten raked over the coals for saying pretty much the same things as the Pope. But, from the pulpit is where the REAL fire and brimstone and speaking out against Islam is happening.
Please believe me, BA, that I want what you say to be really, really true. Since participating at Rantburg the 9-11 atrocities I have gained an ever-increasing appreciation for the proper self-sacrifice that Christianity demands of its worshippers. Especially so when compared to the vicious predation that Islam exacts from non-believers. My estimation of the entire Christian faith has undergone a dramatic revision in these last few years. Again, with no small thanks due to Rantburg.
Just one more reason many of us absolutely loathe "hate crimes/speech" legislation. It has been (and will be) used against the Church to quiet the truth from being told. Right now, mostly for the gay agenda pushers, but believe me, CAIR and their ilk will use it too.
Yup, "hate speech" should already be legally precluded by appropriate and existing constitutional law. The current round of protective and coddling bullshit for same had better be reversed in a New York Minute if we want worthwhile society to survive.
#7
And, Zen, there are a LOT of us out here who realize Islam for what it is. In fact, there are many Southern Baptist preachers who've gotten raked over the coals for saying pretty much the same things as the Pope. But, from the pulpit is where the REAL fire and brimstone and speaking out against Islam is happening.
Please believe me, BA, that I want what you say to be really, really true. Ever since participating at Rantburg the 9-11 atrocities I have gained an ever-increasing appreciation for the proper self-sacrifice that Christianity demands of its worshippers. Especially so when compared to the vicious predation that Islam exacts from non-believers. My estimation of the entire Christian faith has undergone a dramatic revision in these last few years. Again, with no small thanks due to Rantburg.
Just one more reason many of us absolutely loathe "hate crimes/speech" legislation. It has been (and will be) used against the Church to quiet the truth from being told. Right now, mostly for the gay agenda pushers, but believe me, CAIR and their ilk will use it too.
Yup, "hate speech" should already be legally precluded by appropriate and existing constitutional law. The current round of protective and coddling bullshit for same had better be reversed in a New York Minute if we want worthwhile society to survive.
More plainly put: Christianity has a far betterand more well-deserved chanceof saving this world than Islam has, ever, or will possibly show in the foreseeable future. I'll close by saying that all of you can guess where my money's been bet.
Show News has learned that Russia's Rosoboronexport (ROE) is close to signing a defense order with Iran that may be the largest in three decades. A number of advanced Russian systems have been on the Iranian shopping list for some time, including the Almaz-Antei S-300 series of long range SAMs, and Iran is in desperate need of finding substitutes for its fleet of 1970s-era American fighters.
The centerpiece of this sale is reportedly and order for 250 Sukhoi-SU30MK fighters, the largest order ever made at any one time for this aircraft. It is unclear what the configuration of the aircraft would be, however.
Recently, Irkut delivered its first SU-30MKM versions of the aircraft to Malaysia, an "Islamic" version based on the Indian Air Force's SU-MK30I, sans its Israeli kit.
But this variant of the aircraft contains European content from Thales and others, and it is unclear if the French avionics maker would do business with the Iranians when Tehran refuses to halt its uranium enrichment program. In the past, Thales officials have declined to discuss other military business with Iran, such as an upgrade program for the IRIAF's Mikoyan MiG-29 fleet.
Iran has been interested in a licensed production agreement to manufacture the MiG-29 and Tupolev TU-334, and had come close to signing a deal, but negotiations reportedly collapsed over constantly shifting demands by the Iranian side. Sukhoi and its associated production plants, KnAAPO and Irkut, have a good deal of experience in setting up licensed assembly agreements.
Also, over the past 10 years or more, ROE has continued to maintain good relations with Iran--positioning itself for just this kind of a sales opportunity.
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
07/27/2007 09:56 ||
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#1
Targets. Lots of 'em.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
07/27/2007 12:00 Comments ||
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#2
an "Islamic" version
Read as mucho simplified using comic books for instruction manuals, minimum instruments so as not to obscure the pilots Islamic rage, etc. etc.
Posted by: Almost Anonymous5839 ||
07/27/2007 12:57 Comments ||
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#3
This should soak up an entire year's worth of Iranian oil exports revenue and 30 minutes of US pilots' time to create 50 new aces.
Posted by: ed ||
07/27/2007 13:02 Comments ||
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#4
As long as the French provide the inside information on defeating any advanced avionics, by all means let the knuckleheads in Teheran but the russian planes. The costs will be enormous, maintenance quickly degrading the aircraft and rendering the fleet increasingly inop, and actually prompting them to think that active air defense with aircraft is a viable option for them. So much better than belts and belts of modern SAM/ADA systems clustered arount key nuc weaps sites and ISRC4 sites.
But, we mustn't not lose site of the funding for these procurements.....the West and our petroleum addiction. We must aggressively find a fuel cell technologic solution ASAP!
#6
Good. The same money spent on bombardment missiles would've made Iran truly dangerous. I like it when Lions(TM) delude themself into thinking they can fight stand up battles.
#7
"Of course, the cash-hungry rooskies may be happy to sell some of those too. As long as they are not paid by check."
So what difference does the nationality of the paymaster make to you Steve, Chechoslavakian, French, who care.. oh, you mean method of payment....?? oops, my bad.
A newly-established Shiite political party blasted Gen. Michel Aoun, saying the upcoming by-elections would prove whether allegations by the Free Patriotic Movement leader about being the right representative of Christians are legitimate or not.
Aoun has been claiming that he represents over 70% of the Christians , but recent elections of representatives of trade organizations have proven that Aoun has lost many of his supporters as a result of his alliance with Hezbollah according to local analysts . The Lebanese Option Gathering (LOG) also urged the Lebanese in a statement to take part in the August 5 by-elections to fill parliamentary seats left vacant following the assassination of anti-Syrian MPs Pierre Gemayel and Walid Eido. The group, led by Ahmed Asaad, son of former House Speaker Kamel Asaad, aims at giving the Shiite voters a third option, apart from Hezbollah and Amal movement.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Lebanon's government which is headed by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora accused Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of inventing facts regarding last summer's war in Lebanon. A lengthy statement issued by Siniora's office also accused Nasrallah of "intelligence violations."
It said Nasrallah focused on two points in his interview with the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera television network aired in two parts on Monday and Tuesday. The first point, the statement said, was to boast of Hezbollah's victory against Israeli troops in the 2006 July-August war, while the second centered on accusing the "others of conspiracy and deception." Moreover, the statement said, Nasrallah provided "new data" about the Israeli aggression facts that did not exist before which is a violation of intelligence."
The statement, published Thursday by Lebanese newspapers, expressed surprise over Nasrallah's remarks when he told Al Jazeera that the request to deploy Lebanese army troops and beef up U.N. peacekeepers in the south to end the month-long fighting between Israel and Hezbollah was his idea. "Our national army was deployed in line with a decision taken by the Lebanese government," it said, stressing that the duty of protecting Lebanon and defending the country was solely that of the army.
It said Nasrallah's claims that he did not approve of the seven-point plan that ended the Lebanon-Israel war were also inaccurate. It said the Hezbollah chief had ignored the fact that Siniora was authorized by the cabinet to negotiate an end to the Israeli onslaught based on a five-point plan in return for exercising full government jurisdiction over all Lebanese territory. The statement said among those points were an immediate ceasefire, the recovery of Shabaa Farms, the release of prisoners and obtaining a copy of mine maps.
The statement said Nasrallah has charged that the pro-government team had rejected the formation of a national unity government following the end of last summer's war, while in fact the multi-confessional Lebanese government was present. The statement said one year after the Lebanon-Israel conflict, Nasrallah was still looking for "excuses" for the war.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Top French diplomat Jean-Claude Cousseran on Wednesday wrapped up a three-day mission without making much progress in breaking an eight-month deadlock among Lebanon's feuding political parties. Cousseran told reporters that his meetings with Lebanese leaders were useful and aimed at paving the way for a Beirut visit this weekend by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. He did not elaborate.
But several sources said Cousseran's efforts were hampered by the refusal of the powerful Shiite Hezbollah party, which leads the opposition, to agree to join discussions with rival factions in Lebanon. "I believe Hezbollah does not want to move forward on a meeting in Beirut among the country's political parties," said Youth Minister Ahmad Fatfat, who is a member of the anti-Syrian majority in parliament.
Another member of the majority told reporters on condition of anonymity that it was suggested to Cousseran that talks similar to the ones held in France among all the rival parties take place in Beirut, but Hezbollah refused.
The July 14-15 meeting at Saint Cloud, near Paris, sought to nudge the parties into ending a crisis that threatens to scuttle presidential elections set for September, thus plunging the country further into chaos. Nawaf Musawi, in charge of international relations for Hezbollah, said his party was keen on the French initiative succeeding, but that this could only take place once a government of national unity was formed. "We must not waste time in discussions," Musawi told reporters. "A national unity government must be put in place and it would be up to that government to discuss lingering problems."
Hezbollah is pushing for the opposition to be better represented in government in order to give it veto power. The majority, however, is demanding that the opposition beforehand stop blocking parliamentary sessions in order to ensure the quorum needed for the presidential elections to replace pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud.
Cousseran has met with officials from across the political spectrum since his arrival in Lebanon on Monday, including representatives from Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran. On Wednesday, he met with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a member of the Shiite opposition, and said the two had discussed Cousseran's recent visit to Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. "We had a lengthy and useful conversation that touched on the recent conference in Saint Cloud," Cousseran told reporters. "We also discussed my meetings in neighbouring countries and with a number of Lebanese officials."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Edited for information new to Rantburgers. I don't think poor Pvt. Beauchamp is going to have the writing career he joined the Army to get. Mr. Foer may want to rethink his career aspirations as well -- this is the third time the magazine has fallen hard for a liar (Shalitt, Philip Glass, and now the intrepid private). Oh, and I found the comment thread interesting -- Confederate Yankee shared with the punters.
The magazine's editor, Franklin Foer, disclosed in an interview that Beauchamp is married to a New Republic staffer, and that is "part of the reason why we found him to be a credible writer." Foer also said Beauchamp "has put himself in significant jeopardy" and "lost his lifeline to the rest of the world" because military officials have taken away his laptop, cellphone and e-mail privileges. Beauchamp did not provide any documentation for his three published columns. He is married to a reporter-researcher at the New Republic, Elspeth Reeve.
As conservative bloggers yesterday continued to challenge the veracity of Beauchamp's accounts, Foer said: "It is really unfortunate that someone like Scott, who was really only trying to tell his particular story, has become a pawn in the debate over the war and the Weekly Standard's efforts to press an ideological agenda."
#1
TW: my respect for you is huge, but I won't let that stop me fact-checking your asscomments:
Stephen Glass is the guy that duped TNR, Philip Glass is a minimalist [some would say alleged] composer.
#2
TNR picked him not for his talent but for his slant. Do think a story about troops repairing or building a school would get published? I have a sneaking feeling that Pv2 Beauchamp is about to get a whole lot rougher.
#3
xbalanke dear, thank you, and please continue to do so. I lose less credibility when one of my stupid mistakes is caught early and publicly than if I continue enthusiastically spouting nonsense. (And while I would argue that Philip Glass is a legitimate composer in that he writes compositions that are subsequently publicly performed, his pseudointellectual excretions are a large part of the reason classical music now struggles for an audience. Although admittedly I much prefer Bach and Mozart to the modern stuff because it's so much more fun to play -- my high school orchestra once did a piece by Sibelius: the second violins played pages of slurred open D string, alternating with the occasional G, or so I remember it.)
#4
TW, you're too kind. I actually like some of Glass's non-vocal work - when I'm in the mood. I bought the Koyaanisqatsi DVD mainly for the soundtrack.
I wonder if I can still enlist in Instapundit's Army of Pedantic Geeks?
#7
Beauchamp's writings may have been fake, but they were accurate.
Posted by: Dan Rather ||
07/27/2007 16:16 Comments ||
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#8
At least that's what it's like in my house when my two self-labelled grammar nazi daughters and I go at it.
Sounds like a setup for a Monty Python sketch.
Back on topic: Foer also said Beauchamp "has put himself in significant jeopardy" and "lost his lifeline to the rest of the world" because military officials have taken away his laptop, cellphone and e-mail privileges.
Oh, the humanity! Beauchamp's probably safer than he's been since entering Iraq being as he won't be going on any missions.
"It is really unfortunate that someone like Scott, who was really only trying to tell his particular story, has become a pawn in the debate over the war and the Weekly Standard's efforts to press an ideological agenda."
Does Foer have a progressive-think BS generator to write this crap?
#9
I would be extremely interested to hear what some of pvt B.'s squad mates have to say about him..... and his writings.
Posted by: Omeretle Protector of the Brontosaurs7618 ||
07/27/2007 16:38 Comments ||
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#10
"It is really unfortunate that someone like Scott, who was really only trying to tell his particular story, has become a pawn in the debate over the war and the Weekly Standard's efforts to press an ideological agenda."
Posted by: Hupalet Prince of the Nebraskans3594 ||
07/27/2007 16:38 Comments ||
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#11
I meant:
"It is really unfortunate that someone like Scott, who was really only trying to tell his particular story, has become a pawn in the debate over the war and the Weekly Standard's efforts to press an ideological agenda."
"It's really unfortunate that we got caught trying to pawn fiction off as fact."
#12
Actually, the fact that Pvt. Beauchamp is in a unit with Bradleys makes his ignorance even more frightening. How could he not know about the engine on the righthand side? He must really be ignorant of his military craft.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/27/2007 17:11 Comments ||
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#13
Anyone notice the Tu quoque fallacy?
Accuse your critics of pressing a political agenda with their criticism when your boy has been caught 'telling his story' to push a political agenda.
#14
Besides being a really bad, derivative writer, he is also appaulingly unobservant one. How caught up in yourself do you have to be, to not notice that the Bradley makes a most noticable racket. My daughter about fell over laughing, over the account of it running over a sleeping dog. ("What, was the dog dead, already, that it didn't hear it coming? And cutting it clean in half? So was it a dog the size of a shetland pony?)
Most appauling of all, is that he didn't realize that nothing in the military happens in a vacuum. Someone else is almost always there, most likely, a lot of someone elses, given an identifiable unit, location and time frame. Kind of sad, that idiot-writer-boy couldn't figure this out.
My daughter and I agree... an idiot E-2, with delusions of adequacy, and bigger ambitions than he has the talent to achieve.
#17
Pv2 Beauchamp now calls his critics "Chickenhawks." Confirms my point made yesterday that there's a sense of superiority among some of those that have worn the uniform over those of us that have not. But last I checked citizen-soldiers get one vote per election, one vote as a member of any jury, and have the same laws that apply to the rest of, apply to them.
Simply stated, wearing a uniform does not make you a better citizen or person per se. Here's a guy that assumed the uniform only to bad mouth his fellow soldiers while those of who love this country even though we've not served are defamed by this Quisling as "Chickenhawks." Well give me a million chickenhawks over this ratbag anyday. At least we're not aiding the enemy by providing anti-American propaganda that will be used by insurgent terrorists to justify the murder of captured American troops. In such a future scenario, Jihadists will say they executed a U.S. soldier as payback for our troops allegedly wearing Iraqi children skull-tops. And where would these Jihadis have gotten such a lurid tale?
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.
(SomaliNet) The leader of the ousted Islamic Courts Union on Thursday boycotted the call from the reconciliation conference committee to participate in the congress, which entered its second week. 
French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Tripoli to meet Moammar Gadhafi just 24 hours after the release of six foreign medics. First his wife went to bring out the nurses, then the president went in to do some business. French President Nicolas Sarkozy went to Libya Wednesday to meet with long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi and promised to boost relations between the two countries. 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate was poised to pass the first of 12 spending bills on Thursday night and smash President Bush's budget for border control and other homeland security programs. The $40.6 billion measure was expected to pass by an overwhelming vote, with the tally virtually certain to be high enough to overcome a promised Bush veto.
George Bush's plans to establish a European missile defence system suffered a big setback yesterday when a Congressional committee slashed the funding. The House appropriations committee cut $139m (£69.5m) from the $310m the Bush administration wants for preparatory work on the missile project in Europe. It approved funds for a radar system in the Czech Republic but cut the $139m Mr Bush requested to establish a missile interception system in Poland, the most controversial part of the defence system.
Taliban leaders told local residents on Thursday to shoot on sight anyone looting public property disguised as Taliban, as the presence of government security forces in the main town of North Waziristan vanished completely, locals said.
Ever since the Lal Masjid operation, President Pervez Musharraf has had to face retaliatory action from militant factions all over Pakistan, who are backed and continuously urged by the Al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri, Newsweek magazine said. 
Fifty-one students of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa, mostly belonging to Kashmir and the NWFP, were released after clearance by intelligence agencies and police on Thursday. Twenty-one students detained at Aabpara Police Station and 11 at Kohsar Police Station, indicted in various cases of terrorism and kidnapping, were released.
Former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz, who collapsed in a US military prison earlier this month, is in failing health and he has threatened to go on hunger strike, his son told AFP on Thursday. I spoke to my father on the phone yesterday. His voice was weak and inaudible. I could hardly understand him but he is clearly in bad shape, Ziad Aziz said, in a telephone interview. He said that he understood from his father that he and 14 co-detainees plan on starting a hunger strike next week if the court continues to deny him the right to have a lawyer present during interrogations. My fathers lawyer Badih Aref Ezzat is not allowed in Iraq for mysterious reasons and as a result my father is without a lawyer, said Aziz who has lived in Jordan with his family since April 2003.
Lebanon's government which is headed by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora accused Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of inventing facts regarding last summer's war in Lebanon. A lengthy statement issued by Siniora's office also accused Nasrallah of "intelligence violations."
Top French diplomat Jean-Claude Cousseran on Wednesday wrapped up a three-day mission without making much progress in breaking an eight-month deadlock among Lebanon's feuding political parties. Cousseran told reporters that his meetings with Lebanese leaders were useful and aimed at paving the way for a Beirut visit this weekend by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. He did not elaborate.
