Richard Jewell, the former security guard who was erroneously linked to the 1996 Olympic bombing, died Wednesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. Jewell, 44, was found dead in his west Georgia home.
"There's no suspicion whatsoever of any type of foul play. He had been at home sick since the end of February with kidney problems," said Meriwether County Coroner Johnny Worley. The GBI planned to do an autopsy Thursday.
Jewell was initially hailed as a hero for spotting a suspicious backpack in a park and moving people out of harm's way just before a bomb exploded during a concert at the Atlanta Summer Olympics. The blast killed one and injured 111 others. Three days after the bombing, an unattributed report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described him as "the focus" of the investigation. Other media, to varying degrees, also linked Jewell to the investigation. He was never arrested or charged, although he was questioned and was a subject of search warrants. The media circus that followed the FBI investigation obscured the fact that Jewell saved the lives of many members of the technical staff working on live TV coverage of the Olympics.
Richard ran all the way up and down the four stories of the tower and evacuated everybody, it must have been between 40 and 50 people. Seconds later the thing exploded, said Bruce Rodgers, president of Tribe Inc and designer of the AT&T Global Village, where the explosion happened. "Had he not gotten those people out, I know that at least 20 people on the first two floors of the tower would be dead.
Eighty-eight days after the initial news report, U.S. Attorney Kent Alexander issued a statement saying Jewell "is not a target" of the bombing investigation and that the "unusual and intense publicity" surrounding him was "neither designed nor desired by the FBI, and in fact interfered with the investigation."
In 1997, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno expressed regret over the leak regarding Jewell. "I'm very sorry it happened," she told reporters. "I think we owe him an apology." The Atlanta newspaper never settled a lawsuit Jewell filed against it. The case was still pending as of last year. A lawyer for the newspaper did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Eventually, the bomber turned out to be anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph, who also planted three other bombs in the Atlanta area and in Birmingham, Ala. Those explosives killed a police officer, maimed a nurse and injured several other people. Rudolph was captured after spending five years hiding out in the mountains of western North Carolina. He pleaded guilty to all four bombings last year and is serving life in prison.
As recently as last year, Jewell was working as a sheriff's deputy.
Poor bastard. Ten years later and still no settlement for having his character smeared. Justice delayed is justice denied. I hope someone spends a few minutes hours pointing this out to Eric Rudolph in the quiet and uncomfortable corner bunk of a lonely jail cell sometime.
#2
In 1997, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno expressed regret over the leak regarding Jewell. "I'm very sorry it happened," she told reporters. "I think we owe him an apology."
.......interesting that unlike Alberto Gonzales, no Dems in Congress asked for Reno's resignation, or for the resignation of anyone in the Federal Bureau of Idiots. Reno and Slick slid through the Wako fiasco without a negative comment from Congress as well. Rest in Peace Mr. Jewell.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/30/2007 4:19 Comments ||
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#4
I believe he received some compensation from the Feds. After he was smeared, he was hounded and tagged as the "Bubba Bomber." Fortunately, state police services didn't impede his law enforcement career.
#7
The biggest lawsuit was against print media - the Atlanta Constitution Journal and is still pending 10 years later believe it or not. The ACJ managed to delay things to this day and prevent him from getting any money. Even CNN manged to settle with the guy!
The ACJ ought to be ashamed but liberal mental midgets like that have not the intelligence to be capable of moral judgment, much less shame.
#8
Richard Jewell v. Piedmont College
According to CNN "Also named in the suit is Piedmont College, Jewell's former employer, located in Demorest, Georgia, Piedmont College President Raymond Cleere, and college spokesman Scott Rawles. Jewell's attorneys contend Cleere called the FBI and spoke to the Atlanta newspapers, providing them with false information on Jewell and his employment there as a security guard."
Richard Jewell v. NBC
Jewell sued NBC News for this statement, made by Tom Brokaw, "The speculation is that the FBI is close to making the case. They probably have enough to arrest him right now, probably enough to prosecute him, but you always want to have enough to convict him as well. There are still some holes in this case". Even though NBC stood by its story, the network agreed to pay Jewell $500,000.
Richard Jewell v. New York Post
Jewell sued the New York Post for libel for $15 million over a series of stories and a photograph caption. The newspaper reportedly called Jewell "a Village Rambo" and "a fat, failed former sheriffs deputy."
Richard Jewell v. Cox Enterprises d.b.a. Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jewell also sued the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, which stated Jewell was "an individual with a bizarre employment history and aberrant personality". It also said Jewell "fit the profile of a lone bomber." According to Jewell, the paper's headline, which read FBI suspects 'hero' guard may have planted bomb, "pretty much started the whirlwind". The Atlanta Journal went as far as to compare Richard Jewell's case to that of serial killer Wayne Williams.
The newspaper was the only defendant that did not settle with Jewell. As of April 2005, the lawsuit remained pending, after having been considered at one time by the Supreme Court of Georgia, and had become an important part of case law regarding whether journalists could be forced to reveal their sources.
#9
I take back what I wrote above about the Feds and Jewell. In fact, rather than admit wrongdoing the FBI insists that laws be interpreted to make ersatz right of everything they do. In Idaho in 1992, FBI snipers killed Vicki Weaver while she held a baby in her arms. At Senate hearings into the "Ruby Ridge" incident, Larry Potts (Asst FBI Director), testified that the FBI had the "right" to shoot and kill anyone if they believed that person was holding a gun. When Sen. Arlen Spector refuted same by citing both case law and FBI policy on use of deadly force, the FBI held their ground as Janet Reno (Attorney General) made a bare defense of the FBI fiction. Earlier, Reno repudiated a Justice Department report finding that the sniping - from 200 yards and without a demand for target compliance - was unconstitutional. Again, Reno did the George III act and didn't give reasons for her abuse of power. I guess tyrants aren't bound by law.
#11
I don't think so, this guy got the shitty end of the stick so the media could sensationalize the story. They took a risk that it would turn out to be him, and they lost.
#12
Mr. Jewell wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was a genuinely nice guy whose actions saved lives. Just another unfortunate victim of the Clinton/Reno brand of justice and fairness. Rest in Peace, Richard. God bless.
Jason Tomlinson should be a commissioned officer preparing to begin a Naval career in surface warfare. Instead, the standout football player is still a midshipman and is working at the Naval Station facility on the Severn River.
Tomlinson elected not to graduate from the Naval Academy last May, a personal decision that stunned his coaches and fellow players with the football program. By all accounts, Tomlinson was on course - both academically and militarily - to graduate and simply chose not to do so.
"I came to realize during my senior year that the military just was not for me. I had been thinking about it for a long time, I prayed about it a lot and I had to do what I felt was right in my heart," Tomlinson said yesterday when contacted by The Capital. Did God tell him that the NFL pays better? And is a lot less dangerous?
"I did not think it would be fair to the men I would be serving alongside and leading to go into this with reservations and misgivings. My heart wasn't in it."
Deborah Goode, director of media relations at the Naval Academy, said the privacy act prevented her from discussing Tomlinson's situation."We can confirm that a first class midshipman who was a football player has submitted a voluntary resignation. The case is being reviewed for final disposition," said Goode, who referred all further questions to the Navy Office of Information at the Pentagon. Lt. Candice Tresch, a Navy spokesperson at the Pentagon, said the options available to a Naval Academy midshipman who voluntarily does not graduate are limited. According to numerous sources, Tomlinson could be required to repay the cost of his education (approximately $140,000) or to serve in the fleet as an enlisted man.
Tomlinson, a native of Arlington, Texas, was a key figure in the resurgence of the Navy football program. The sleek 6-foot-1, 208-pound wide receiver saw significant playing time as a plebe in 2003 when Navy snapped a string of five straight losing seasons by posting an 8-5 record and earning a berth to the Houston Bowl. He was then a three-year starter from 2004-2006 when Navy compiled a 27-10 record and made three more postseason appearances. The Midshipmen never lost to service academy rivals Army and Air Force during Tomlinson's career. He led Navy in receiving each of his last three seasons and completed his career with 67 catches for 1,078 yards. He ranks 10th all-time at Navy in receiving yards and added 511 yards as the team's primary punt returner the past four years.
Tomlinson has said many times that he hoped to attend Stanford along with Kennedale High teammate Landon Johnson. However, Stanford never offered a scholarship and the youngster's desire to play Division I football led him to the Naval Academy. It seemed a logical choice since Tomlinson had two older brothers who enlisted in the Navy. He once joked that upon graduation he would outrank Dwight and Machell Tomlinson.
Over the course of his career, Tomlinson was known as a quiet and humble player who always displayed confidence and character and led by example. He spoke often of his love for drawing and had a keen sense of humor that was often only seen by close friends.
Navy head coach Paul Johnson said yesterday he was aware that Tomlinson did not graduate in May and that he tried to talk the player out of that decision."I talked with Jason at length, but ultimately the final decision was his," Johnson said.
Tomlinson regularly attended bible study at the Naval Academy along with Sunday services at Mariners' Church, both of which are directed by Pastor Bill McKinney.
Sources said McKinney and several football teammates also tried to convince Tomlinson to go forward with graduation.
#2
Four years as a non-rated seaman, hauling lines, swabbing decks and chipping paint, should give him a lot of time to think about his decision.
The sad thing is that he took an appointment that someone else could have used. Someone who might not have helped the Academy win football gabes, but someone who might have been an outstanding Naval officer.
#5
put him on a small boy, as described by Rambler. he will really wish that he had stuck it out. And God forbid that he try to use the 'I went to Annapolis' routine when it comes to working with the HT's unclogging the plumbing......
HT= the Navy's answer to the Roto-Rooter man, among other desirable traits [think McGyver with a welding torch])
#6
USN, ret - I was thinking more of putting him on the deck gang. The bosun's mates don't like Annapolis people any more than the HT's.
Too bad there aren't a lot of steam powered ships any more. He would do well on the boiler tender gang - nothing like crawling into a fire box and cleaning out the accumulated soot to humble a man.
#11
I dunno Rambler; swinging from a bosun's chair to chip the hull is (marginally)better) than donnning a full tyvek suit to work the CHT tank ( for non-navy, its pronounced just like sh!T, but the new spelling makes it printable)
and i would be willing to bet that all the ship's company divisions would love to have midshipmen dickweed for their own. and the Chief would probably be 'attending to matters elsewhere' if the poor lad had a 'problem....'
(worked for me in a past life, he said).
#12
Yep, what rambler said. He took someone else's spot at the academy. Make him payback the money & cut him loose. To serve in the Military is a privelege, I wouldn't want that puke around my lads.
#13
Dragging God into your cowardice and misrepresentation? Despicable! If Jason Tomlinson ever plays in the NFL, I hereby promise to boycott his games.
GHAZNI, Afghanistan - Taleban insurgents freed 12 South Korean hostages in Afghanistan on Wednesday, a day after reaching a deal with Korean and Indonesian negotiators on the release of the 19 Christian volunteers.
I'm no mathemetical genius, but it doesn't seem like 12 and 19 are the same.
Three South Korean women were released first, followed by four women and a man -- handed over to members of the International Committee of the Red Thingy Cross (ICRTC) in Ghazni province, Reuters witnesses said. A third batch comprising three women and a man were released later on Wednesday, they said.
A Taleban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, said by telephone he expected all of the hostages to be free by Thursday.
South Koreas presidential Blue House said the final agreement was on condition it withdraw its troops from Afghanistan within the year and stopped its nationals doing missionary work in Afghanistan. However, South Korea had already decided before the crisis to withdraw its contingent of about 200 engineers and medical staff from Afghanistan by the end of 2007. Since the hostages were taken it has banned its nationals from travelling there.
This article starring:
QARI MOHAMAD YUSUF
Taliban
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Taleban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, said by telephone he expected all of the hostages to be free by Thursday.
Probably just picking up all their lovely parting gifts...
(SomaliNet) Ethiopia has accused neighboring Eritrea of supplying illegal arms to Somali Islamists groups violating regional protocol that bans the circulation of illegal arms in the Horn of Africa.
According to representative of the office of the protection of movement of illegal arms at the Ethiopian Federal Police, Deputy Commander Yemane, the Eritrean government is violating the Nairobi Protocol for the prevention, control and reduction of small arms and light weapons in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa.
The deputy commander said Eritrea giving illegal arms to the Somali Islamists militants. He further said that the conflict in Somalia had intensified the circulation of illegal arms, and added that the establishment of a responsible government would greatly reduce the insecurity threat.
The establishment of a responsible government in Somalia will be decisive for peace and stability in our country. If the government controls and limits the movement of illegal arms, then anti-peace elements will not be able to get what they want due to the lack of these arms. This will in turn have a positive impact on our countrys security and stability. He said.
11 eastern Africa and Great Lakes countries signed the Nairobi Protocol in April 2004 to control the movement of illegal arms: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. The Islamic militants vowed in December to conduct an Iraq-style insurgency after they were toppled by Ethiopian troops supporting Somalias U.N.-backed transitional government.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) The opposition wing of the traditional elders in the Hawiye clan, the dominant clan in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia said on Wednesday that nothing has been successful in the reconciliation conference which is to due to be concluded on tomorrow.
The remarks by the Hawiye opposition leaders came when the reconciliation committee chairman Ali Mahdi Mohamed said that there were achievements in the congress. Mr. Mahdi who returned from Nairobi today said tomorrow will be the closure of the 45-day reconciliation conference. Mahdi said he had briefed the donor nations in Nairobi for the achievements in the dialogue. The elders accused the congress committee of misleading the public into disastrous way. "The aim of the so-called conference is to hold the country into conflict," said Salad Barwaqo, the Hawiye opposition wing adviser.
Mr. Barwaqo recommended that the conference should be held out of the country or a safer place in order the Somalis to reconcile. He argued that Somalis fought on politics but not on clan and these issues of politics can be overcome with by pulling together the disagreeing groups. Some of the delegates told Somalinet that the conclusion of the congress was hasty step.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Poland and the United States may be nearing a breakthrough in talks to locate parts of a US anti-missile shield on Polish soil, Poland's deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Witold Waszczykowski, who represents Poland in the talks, said a deal could be clinched within weeks after Washington signaled a compromise was possible on a Polish request for Patriot missiles or similar air protection to defend its cities. "I will try to finalize the text of the document within a few, maybe a dozen or so, weeks," Waszczykowski told the Dziennik daily. The Americans will promise that if a threat appears, they would give Poland the necessary equipment, including the Patriots (missiles). Another round of talks is due early next month. Washington wants to place up to 10 ground-based interceptor missiles in northern Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic to protect against attacks from what it calls rogue states such as Iran and North Korea.
Extreme right-wing organisations like Blood and Honour and Stormfront have hired buses to bring people to the banned anti-Islam demonstration in Brussels on 11 September.
Yay. Stormfront. We win.
City councillor for Brussels Emmanuel Jacobowitz said that the Brussels police have found indications on internet forums that buses are being organised to take people to the protest. The attendance of right-wing extremists was one of the reasons for Brussels mayor Freddy Thielemans to ban the protest.
A visit to the Stormfront website indicates that the organisation certainly does not plan to stay home. "The demonstration and/or manifestation will therefore definitely take place. The buses from Rotterdam will also operate as planned," writes one Stormfront forum poster who seems to be well up to date on the demonstration.
#2
Extremism is fueled when reasonable statements concerning jihad obligations of Muslims, are treated as: "islamophobia."
A phobia is an irrational fear, as opposed to a fear that has a factual basis. When will someone smeared by CAIR, sue that group for defamation? Maybe their targets fear physical retaliation.
#3
I really do not want these types of people as allies. Their bigotry, twisted worldview and advocacy of various noxious conspiracy theories make them an easily caricatured liability at best.
#6
I expect Stormfront are probably whoring for publicity and spoiling for a fight more than anything. A quick look at the Aryan Nations website, for example, shows many "right wing extremists" still take any anti-semitism as their highest priority. It is also easy to find quotes from Mein Kampf celebrity Arab horsemen, etc. These were, after all, the Germans' wartime allies.
Osama bin Laden forever put the lie to that hackneyed Arab saw. Helping insurgents fight the Soviets in Afghanistan won us nothing but the almost instant betrayal that Muslims are so exceedingly fond of. The West needs to abandon such flawed realpolitik notions and begin dropping the hammer on fair-weather allies like the Saudis and Musharraf. The 9-11 atrocity should have forever shown us what such alliances of convenience are worth. Too often they are anything but.
In our rush to befriend the people of Afghanistan and Iraq we are sowing the exact same seeds of self-destruction all over again. Allowing these two fledgling nations to incorporate shari'a law into their respective constitutions will only see the breeding up of more Islamic psychopaths. Better we ran these two hellholes with brutal military dictatorships than allowed such Islamic filth to become legitimized or institutionalized once again. We must begin to learn from our mistakes. Wherever it arises, Islamic theocracy must be crushed into dust and ashes.
#8
In Afghanistan the guy who did the job was the prowestern Ahmad Shah Massoud. The one who was geeting Americva's money was the Taliban-like Gulbudin Hymatayar who did about nothing against the Soviets and much against Massoud. Bin Laden had Gulf money but his guys little or no fighting and much torturing of prisoners taken by others.
The jihadi SOBs have a whole lot to answer for. This stuff is seriously beginning to piss me off.
Pilgrims on the Vatican's fledgling airline were stunned to discover that holy water from Lourdes, in southwest France, cannot be taken on board for security reasons, media reports said Wednesday. French security officers seized the liquid -- reputed to have miracle-giving qualities -- under a Europe-wide anti-terrorism rule that forbids more than 100 millilitres (3.5 British ounces) in each passenger's carry-on baggage.
One pilgrim was so distraught that he drank the holy water on the spot, rather than surrender it to the authorities, Italy's Il Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.
Holy water from Lourdes has a price. One French website, lourdes-water.com, offers a one-litre (35 British ounce) plastic bottle for 100 euros (135 dollars).
Lourdes, a major European centre for Christian pilgrimage, is the first destination for the new air service created under a five-year deal between Mistral Air and the Vatican's pilgrimage bureau. Service is to be expanded in 2008 to other places sacred to Roman Catholics, including Fatima in Portugal, Santiago di Compostella in Spain and the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico.
#2
NPR reported this morning that Vatican staff made sure there was a bottle of holy water waiting on each seat of the airplane when the passengers arrived on board.
#5
tw, why are you listening to the propaganda on NPR?
It's next to the classical music station on the dial, Rambler dear. And they do have the old radio shows, like Fibber Magee and Molly. Admittedly, when I've listened to NPR for too long I start speaking firmly to the radio, which upsets the trailing daughters if I'm driving. But then, trailing daughter #2 just got her learner's permit, so she's a tad hypersensitive about distractions.
#6
TW, They have a whole channel on XM devoted to old time radio. And Fox News. And three classical music stations. And just about everybody you'd want to listen to except Rush. For $10 per month. And they do have NPR, but I just don't know where.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan &0151; In the pitch darkness of night, the Canadian military's new C-17 transport plane touched down softly at Kandahar Military Airport on Wednesday in southern Afghanistan. The pilots landed the giant carrier with its lights extinguished, guided solely by night-vision goggles.
"We took a tactical approach with the night-vision goggles, with the airplane lights turned off, with the engines idling,'' said Maj. Jean Maisonneuve, chief check pilot at 429 Transport Squadron, 8 Wing, in Trenton, Ont. "In a way, we're sort of pioneers.''
The gigantic, 200-tonne bird of steel is expected to have an effect on Canadian troop confidence as they continue to battle with Taliban insurgents, Maisonneuve said in a short interview shortly after landing.
"This plane will have a positive impact on the morale of the troops. Speaking with my colleagues, I can tell you that everyone is happy to know that we have modern tools at our disposal and a better (transport) No more Ukrainian rentals capacity than before,'' he said.
#2
On a normal approach, you cut the power to idle as you cross the runway threshold--at least, that's what they told me to do in the Flight Simulator tutorial!
Posted by: Mike ||
08/30/2007 11:34 Comments ||
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#3
bird of steel
Sounds like the Grumman navalized version.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/30/2007 14:07 Comments ||
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#4
Let's count the errors in this story, shall we?
First off it is an aircraft not a carrier. a carrier is either a class of warships or a person that has a disease.
and 'bird of steel?' I doubt it; while there are some steel fittings on it, the vast majority of the aircraft is aluminum, with some composite secondary structures. to build the entire thing from steel would be, well stupid.
#5
All I can say is that the C-17s sure look nice when they fly over my house on their way to Peterson AFB. We get about three a month. The Canadians just jumped ahead of every other NATO country outside the US in airlift capacity.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/30/2007 23:54 Comments ||
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#1
That is an opinion poll, not to be confused with reality. Unfortunately, opinion polls most accurately reflect the knowledge of the masses. Also unfortunate is that information is normally gained thru media reporting and school classes, both of which have declined as a truely good source of facts. So, the best the polls can do is measure how far misled the public have become.
"Kambakhat bhag gaya hai (the wretched fellow has run away)," says Mohmmad Abdul Waheed , father of Shahid alias Bilal, while talking exclusively to rediff.com.
Shahid is suspected to be the mastermind behind the bomb blasts in Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad and, although it is not yet confirmed, investigators suspect his involvement in last Saturday's twin bomb blasts as well. . . .
. . . Waheed's father was in the police force and for many generations the family lived in the Telangana area of Andhra Pradesh.
On seeing me, he did not try to avoid me nor was he reluctant to face questions.
He said, "I am a Sunni Muslim but I am neither a Tablighi (member of the conservative Tablighi Jamaat) nor linked to any other such outfits."
He says Shahid, like him and other family members, performed namaz five times a day. "I feel ashamed that I could not give my children better education, I made them study in Urdu schools. But you know how these Urdu schools are run." . . .
When asked what he would do if his son is found guilty, he says, "Then don't spare him. We are born here. We are happy to be Indian. We live in this land and we don't want anything done to this land. If he is a terrorist kill him."
If I ever have to hold a bridgehead, I want Papa Waheed in my foxhole.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/30/2007 14:37 ||
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What Mike said. How heartbreaking that a son would force his father to say such a thing - and how courageous that this father said it.
(KUNA) - Police in the Southern Indian city of Hyderabad Wednesday released the sketch of a man who could have planted the bomb at Lumbini Park in the city last Saturday. Ponna Rao, Indian police Additional Commissioner for Crime in Hyderabad who is heading the investigations, told reporters in that city that the sketch was based on descriptions given by an injured eyewitness.
The suspect is aged twenty-five years, about five feet 9 inches tall with a fair complexion and smooth hair. He was wearing glasses, Rao told reporters, the news agency Indo Asian News Service reported. The eyewitness told police that the suspect was sitting beside him at the laser show in the open-air auditorium at Lumbini Park. He was carrying a black bag, the eyewitness said. The eyewitness later changed his seat in the park, the news agency said.
Based on the description the police made the photo sketch of the person. An expert from the Western Indian city of Mumbai was called to sketch the graphic description. When the sketch was completed, the police again cross checked it with the witness, who said it was more than 90 percent accurate, Rao said. He urged the people, who were present at Lumbini Park on that day, to approach the police if they had seen the suspect. Five hundred and ninty four persons watched the laser show in the park last Saturday. Ten people were killed in the explosion at the Park. Minutes later, 34 people were killed at the popular eatery Gokul Chat in the city.
Rao said that substantial progress had been made in the investigations into the twin attacks. Police are probing the role of Shahid alias Bilal, a resident of Hyderabad and suspected Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami guerrilla, in the blasts. He is presently based in Bangladesh and had masterminded the blasts in Makkah Masjid also in Hyderabad last May.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) President Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Wednesday denied that there was a deal between the government and Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Rumours to this effect are an attempt to create a rift among the ranks of religious alliances, he told PTV. He said that the leadership of the MMA remained in constant and close contact with each other, adding that the existence of minor differences of opinion among the partners notwithstanding, the alliance was intact.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Iraq's government has demanded that Iran stop shelling predominantly Kurdish-populated areas inside Iraq's northeastern border, warning that relations would be hurt, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said late on Tuesday.
Iraqi Kurdish officials have complained about cross-border shelling from neighboring Iran since the middle of the month.
Cross-border fighting occasionally occurs as Iraq's neighbors, Turkey and Iran, combat the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the anti-Iranian Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), linked to the PKK, operating from bases in Iraq's mountainous and remote north and northeastern regions.
"Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Moham-med al-Haj Hamoud summoned the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday to protest the shelling," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The deputy foreign minister demanded the Iranian side immediately cease these attacks," the statement said. "The affair would affect negatively the good neighborly relationship between the two countries," it added.
The government in Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region said on Tuesday that 450 families from 20 villages along the border had been evacuated due to the shelling.
"Meanwhile, the regional government in northern Iraq was prepared to send a letter condemning Turkey to Baghdad, to be passed on to the Turkish government," private CNN-Türk said Wednesday.
However, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials contacted by Today's Zaman said there was no such document received by Ankara as of Wednesday afternoon. There has been no official comment from Tehran about the shelling.
Over the weekend, Iraq's beleaguered Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took a swipe at the governments of Turkey and Iran, both countries he has visited recently, and challenged their recent artillery bombardments inside Iraq in the Kurdish-dominated northern region where PKK and PJAK terrorists have found refuge. "The bombardments by Iran and Turkey are violations of Iraq's sovereignty. We will not allow these violations, but this must come through diplomatic channels. We will inform our brothers in Turkey and Iran about that through the Foreign Ministry," al-Maliki said at a news conference held in Baghdad.
Maliki's remarks came after Turkey's former foreign minister, now President Abdullah Gül, voiced support for a possible cross-border operation by neighboring Iran into Iraq to fight PJAK there last week, asserting countries have the right to defend their borders. Also Wednesday, the regional Kurdish parliament in northern Iraq held an emergency meeting led by Parliament Speaker Adnan Mufti and called on both Iran and Turkey to resolve the existing problems through dialogue instead of launching bombardments on the Iraqi soil.
#1
"Islam, of course, is a key identity marker when dealing with non-Muslim outsiders, but when all involved are Muslim, kinship trumps religion."
Read the whole thing, but this is a money quote.
(KUNA) -- Iraqi president Jalal Talabani denied on Wednesday reports that the Iraqi Islamic Party opposed the "joint agreement" aimed to boost the political process in the country. On arrival at the Sulaimaniyah airport from Baghdad, Talabani referred to the "quartet" pact as a giant step to put an end to the political differences in Iraq. He emphasized that the agreement gathered all the Iraqi sects noting that the implementation of the pact would be "a victory for all the Iraqi people and the involved parties." Referring to the Iranian shelling of the borders of the Iraq Kurdistan province, Talabani said he had met with the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad who vowed to stop the shelling. In the meantime, Talabani described Turkey's shelling Kurdish areas in northern Iraq as a bad deed that contradicted the agreements cncluded with the Iraqi government.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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If this current batch of wannabe warlords and gangsters can't get on the same page and be damn quick about it, we should give all of them the boot and hold a new round of elections. And please don't give me any "sovereignty" crap. Iraq is our piece until we deem otherwise. We were the worst sort of fools to let them incorporate shari'a law into their constitution. If we had any brains, we'd cite that as ample reason to send them all back to the drafting board and come up with a document that doesn't reach back to the Stone Age.
(KUNA) -- The United States will take a "wait and see" attitude toward the announcement by Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr that he was freezing operations of his Mahdi Army, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said on Wednesday. "Statements have been made by Muqtada al-Sadr in the past, and sometimes we have seen an impact as a result of them. Sometimes we have not," Casey said. "So I think we will just have to wait and see what occurs on the ground."
The Mahdi Army, as well as other militia groups, have been responsible for prompting sectarian violence, including killings, and the existence of these kinds of militia groups outside the security forces and structures of Iraq is something that needs to change, Casey said. To the extent that the al-Sadr announcement has an impact on either limiting violence or getting the Mahdi Army "one step closer to going out of business, it would be positive," Casey said. "But I think it is pretty hard to say, at this point, what impact it would or would not have. " Coalition and Iraqi security forces will continue to stand against sectarian violence and take actions against any militias that are trying to undermine security in Baghdad and elsewhere, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki flew to the holy city of Kerbala on Wednesday and declared order had been restored after gunbattles among Shiite factions killed 52 people and forced thousands of pilgrims to flee. But the violence among Shiites spread overnight, with gunmen attacking the offices of a powerful Shiite party in at least five cities and setting many of them ablaze. The prime minister said his troops had restored calm to the city and blamed outlawed armed criminal gangs from the remnants of the buried Saddam regime for the violence.
He ordered army Major-General Salih Al-Maliki, the head of the Kerbala command centre, to be sacked and investigated in the wake of the chaos, a defence ministry spokesman said. The situation in Kerbala is under control after military reinforcements arrived and police and military Special Forces have spread throughout the city to purge those killers and criminals, the prime minister said in a statement.
Sporadic and occasionally sustained gunfire could still be heard after dawn in the city, coming from the area around the revered shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas. Sirens of police cars and ambulances wailed and police loudspeakers ordered pilgrims out of the ancient centre of the city.
The fighting on Tuesday killed 52 people and wounded 206, a senior security official in Baghdad said. The general director of Kerbalas Al-Hussein hospital said its morgue had received 34 bodies and treated 239 wounded.
An official at the shrines media office, Ali Kadhum, said the two shrines had been slightly damaged, with bullets hitting their domes and minarets and an electric power station ruined.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had gathered to commemorate the 9th century birth of Imam Mohammad Al-Mahdi, the last of 12 imams that Shiites revere as saints. The battles appeared to pit the two biggest Shiite groups against each other followers of cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia, and the rival Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), which controls police in much of the south.
According to Reuters, police said gunmen torched SIIC buildings overnight in Baghdads Kadhimiya neighbourhood, in the city of Kufa, in Iskandariya and in the Al-Hamza district of Babil province. Police said five people were killed in clashes between the rival militias in Baghdad and six were killed in the attack on the SIIC building in Al-Hamza.
Meanwhile, gunmen raided an Iraqi police checkpoint near the city of Mosul and killed six people, including five policemen, Brigadier General Saaed Ahmed Al-Juburi from Nineveh provincial police said. He said assailants armed with Kalashnikovs attacked the checkpoint in the town of Hamman Al-Alil, south of Mosul. Five policeman and a bystander have been killed in the attack, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Contrary to various news reports, senior defense officials said Wednesday that the IDF had not reduced its level of forces on the Golan Heights. The officials noted, however, that "certain messages" had been received by both Israel and Syria indicating that neither was interested in going to war.
Earlier Wednesday, several news outlets reported the IDF had decided to transfer its forces training on the Golan Heights to bases in southern Israel, in an effort to reduce tensions with Syria. According to sources in the Northern Command, however, the IDF is maintaining a high-level of alert along the border with Syria and is not withdrawing forces from the North. The sources said, however, that recent diplomatic developments had allowed for a slight reduction in the tensions between Jerusalem and Damascus.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that Syria was "showing preliminary signs of easing tensions with Israel." "Israel does not have an interest in escalating tensions with Syria, and I think the Syrians don't have an interest in escalating tensions with us," Barak told the committee.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas warned Wednesday that a US-sponsored international peace conference planned for November could fail if no plan for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was devised ahead of the meeting. Following closed-door talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman, Abbas told state-run Jordan Television that the proposed conference "lacked clarity." He said he did not know an official date, other than mid-November, for the conference and was unsure who would attend. "The third issue is related to the content of the meeting," Abbas said. "If we go to a conference without clarity on a solution and without a declaration of principles within the framework of a work plan, I don't think that the conference will be beneficial."
On Tuesday, Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tackled the core issues that have tormented Mideast peacemakers for decades - Palestinian refugees, final borders and the fate of Jerusalem. It was the first time both leaders addressed such issues in depth and represented an important building block for the fall peace conference.
In Amman on Wednesday, Abdullah discussed with Olmert in a telephone conversation the efforts to "push forward the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis," the official Petra news agency reported. It did not say if Abdullah's call to Olmert was after his meeting with Abbas. Abbas said he briefed Abdullah on his talks with Olmert and outlined the "daily hardships" facing the Palestinian people, including Israeli delays at checkpoints and prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
PA chairman urges US to map out peace plan
I've got'cher map, right here Mahmoud. Keep it up and you'll inherit the wind.
#7
IIRC the plan is for the paleos to: renounce violence, recognize Israel and keep their promises. It's a good plan and should be stuck to until Pals fulfill all conditions. Until then, they can starve in the dark.
And one that can be achieved with conventional weapons quite readily. Abbas needs to have a gun held to his head until he understands that the only result of incessant Palestinian betrayal has been a voluntary forfeiture of everything they might once have hoped for.
The Road Map is dead. It never really lived at all save in the hearts of some overly-generous and fatally optimistic Jews. The Palestinians have violated every single agreement willfully and repeatedly with such cheerful abandon that Israel is no longer under any obligation to respect any notion of statehood. The Two State concept has served only to needlessly prolong this agony and facilitate the murder of more Jews.
The charade is over, this farce is at and end. Run down the curtain on this abortion of justice and evict all Palestinians from Israeli land without compensation or compassion.
Though the breakup was bloody and public more than two months ago, the Palestinian unity government with the Islamic Hamas and secular Fatah is alive and well - at least on the Internet. The deposed Hamas-led government launched a Web site for the national unity coalition on Monday, despite its demise on the ground.
The Hamas Cabinet has refused to step down, though Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah fired it after the Hamas takeover of Gaza and appointed an emergency government, based in the West Bank city of Ramallah. That leaves the deposed Hamas regime still in power in Gaza. "Welcome to the official site of the Palestinian Cabinet," reads a message on the Web site. "This electronic Web site is a window to the Palestinian government and Palestine."
Explaining the decision to launch the site, spokesman Taher Nunu said, "We are bringing our voice to everybody," rejecting the authority of the West Bank government. "Its decisions are not legitimate," he said.
The home page of the Web site shows a picture of deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, collaged with the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, an iconic leader for Palestinians. There was no mention or picture of Abbas. Arafat and Abbas are closely identified with Fatah.
In a challenge to the Ramallah government decision, the Web site features a copy of the Palestinian official newspaper, which publishes laws and presidential decrees, but this one only featuring decisions signed by the deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and localities under Hamas control.
Ibrahim Ibrach, the culture minister in the Ramallah government, said the Web site launching is another step to reinforce the separation between Gaza and the West Bank, and shows that Hamas is not interested in reconciliation. "The deposed government can't call itself a national unity government," he said. "This is telling of Hamas's aims and course: that it really wants and accepts an authority for itself ... even a state in Gaza only."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Jerusalem Ma'an The Palestinian Mufti General, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, has called for the editor of a Swedish newspaper to apologise for publishing an offensive cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammad. Oh, was that one of that guy with the beard?
The Mufti said in a statement on Thursday that the Swedish newspaper, Nerikes Allehanda, has published offensive cartoons about the Prophet Mohammad claiming that it was part of the freedom of expression. The Mufti described it as immoral uncivilized conduct, which contradicts the "alleged" freedom of expression of the West. He added that all heavenly religions prohibit offense against places of worship or religious symbols. Consequently, he called on the newspaper and its chief editor, Olav Johansson, to apologise. Okay. I'm really sorry you're a tight ass, Muffy...
The Mufti of Palestine also appealed to all Arab and Islamic countries to fight such dangerous phenomenon against Arabs and Muslims. Oh-oh. A call for Arab unity. You're gonna get it now...
#2
The usual one-way street of offended sensitivities and endless Muslim grievances. Sheikh Muhammad Hussein needs to spend a few quiet hours pounding hot sand where the sun don't shine. More cartoons!
#3
What's important about those cases is that those folks are actually affirming the supremacy of muslim law over western sovereignties. That started with the death fatwa against Rushdie, when muslim law "overflowed" muslim lands and were declared to hold sway even in non-muslim ones. This infringement is a feature, not a bug, it's an another form of cultural aggression and imperialism (think about it : the mufti of the *rsehole of the world telling what to do to a swedish newspaper).
#4
This infringement is a feature, not a bug, it's an another form of cultural aggression and imperialism (think about it : the mufti of the *rsehole of the world telling what to do to a swedish newspaper).
I remember the movie "Bowfinger", where Eddie Murphy had a dual role of a lead actor, and his nerdy brother... There was a con with Steve Martin playing the part of a Movie Producer...
Because of this, one has to wonder if Ahmnadisnutz may have met with Vlad Putin's simpleton brther, Vanya, who thought the Iranian dictator was talking about a microwave oven.... And the Ahmnadisnutz thought he was talking to the real Vlad Putin...
Iran on Monday offered some cooperation with an International Atomic Energy Agency probe of an alleged secret uranium processing project linked by US intelligence to a nuclear arms programme.
The Iranian pledge was contained in a memorandum reached between Iran and the IAEA and published on the agency's Web site at the request of Tehran's mission to the agency. In it, Tehran also outlined its timetable for providing other sensitive information sought by the IAEA in its probe of more than two decades of nuclear activity by the Islamic republic, most of it clandestine until revealed more than four years ago.
The document reiterated Iran's allegations that the search for information on the so-called "Green Salt Project" was "politically motivated" and founded on "baseless allegations." But as a "sign of good will and cooperation with the agency .. . Iran will review" documentation on the project provided by the agency "and inform the agency of its assessment," according to the memorandum There was no official comment from the IAEA.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Nothing new, Iran can review, assess, and slowly reveal (albeit by lag) all it wants, but bottom line the clock is ticking toward their completion phase on 'the bomb' and Israel knows this. Israel also knows that a rudimentary underground test has to be scheduled [[one wouldn't want to assemble and deploy a device that could explode in your face]]; and the 'Fat Hitting The Fan (preemption)' has to occur before that point!
The top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East met with Lebanese officials Wednesday as his government reassured Beirut of support for the Lebanese army's fight with al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militants in northern Lebanon.
Adm. William Fallon, head of the U.S. Central Command, met separately with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Defense Minister Elias Murr during an hours-long visit to Lebanon. In a statement after the meetings, U.S. Ambassador to Beirut Jeffrey Feltman praised Lebanon's efforts and reiterated "the strength of the strategic partnership between the United States and Lebanon." Fallon made no comments after his meetings.
The statement said the U.S. remains committed to providing the Lebanese army with the "supplies they need to battle - and conquer - the armed extremists in the North. And the United States is delivering on our promise."
The army here has been locked for over three months in fierce battles with Fatah Islam militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. A total of 148 soldiers have been killed in the fighting, along with an unknown number of militants and about 20 civilians. Washington and some of its Arab allies have airlifted supplies, mostly of ammunition, to the Lebanese army in the early days of the fighting. The military in Lebanon is an all-volunteer force of 56,000, with about 220 battle tanks, no effective air power and no air defense system. After last year's war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militants, the U.S. decided to increase military aid to Lebanon to $40 million a year.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#3
Bush might send the Marines back to Lebanon but I don't see the Congress paying for it - the money would have to come from the Halliburton slush fund (which would be no problem, of course), or private donations or something. I'm in - for a box of M-16 ammo.
#4
Maybe we could get some airspace access rights to that 'refugee camp' seeing as how we can no longer practice bombing in Puerto Rico. gotta keep our aviators' skills sharp.
#5
Who needs military force/pressure nowadays - HOT AIR > LEGAL JIHAD ONLINE > HEZBOLLAH TO SUE ISRAEL FOR 2006 WAR. Dare IRAN for US intereference in IRAQ??? WHEN LAWYERS ATTACK!
Lebanon's Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh on Wednesday slammed Hezbollah for installing a private phone network, branding the move as a "state violation." Hamadeh said that the Hezbollah network, which started out in south Lebanon and ended up in Beirut and its suburbs, "went beyond logic." He criticized Hezbollah 's move as a "commercial, security and military project" related to the group's "state within the state." Hamadeh uncovered that Hezbollah's "independent network" is an indication that the group intends to cover two-thirds and three quarters of Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
ssshhhhh ...don't tell the Mossad. Oops!
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08/30/2007 8:21 Comments ||
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Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir warned of a "disaster" if upcoming presidential elections were boycotted, saying such a move would produce "two presidents, two governments and two Lebanons." " There are those who talk about boycotting the presidential elections. This is something unfair and ruinous for the country," Sfeir told reporters on Tuesday.
He stressed that presidential elections should go on in accordance with the constitution, starting with a two-thirds simply majority vote "and then maybe" with half-plus-one of the members of parliament. "But if a half-plus-one (vote) was adopted in the first electoral session, this is very dangerous," Sfeir cautioned. "Because the other camp could claim this to be a violation of the Constitution which would prompt them to respond similarly."
"As a result we would get two presidents, two governments, two Lebanons and so on, and this would be ruinous for the country as a whole," Sfeir warned.
The Patriarch reiterated that he was against constitutional amendments unless they are introduced to serve national interest, adding that a constitutional amendment in Lebanon takes place at every juncture "and this is bad."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) group is set to publish a report on Thursday condemning Hizbullah for human rights infringements committed during the Second Lebanon War. The HRW report focuses on the extent "Hizbullah targeted or indiscriminately fired its rockets toward civilians and civilian objects" during the war, according to a statement by the group.
The report states that on many occasions missiles were fired at sites that were far removed from any legitimate military targets, adding that statements on the part of Hizbullah leaders to the effect that they would attack Israeli towns and cities left no doubt as to their intention to perpetrate war crimes. Israel Radio reported that HRW called upon Hizbullah to put an end to its attacks on civilians, and demanded that Syria, Lebanon and Iran prevent munitions shipments to the organization.
HRW announced that on September 6 it planned to release another report documenting Israeli attacks that killed Lebanese civilians. The report aroused harsh responses in Lebanon, and Crowne Plaza Beirut, the hotel in which the group was to present the report Thursday, called off a planned press conference.
"Israel, during the attacks of July 2006, violated all international conventions," Lebanese Prime Minister Faud Saniora's office said in a statement. "It killed nearly 1,200 Lebanese and injured thousands more and 72 hours after UN Resolution 1701 was adopted, it dropped 3.5 million cluster bombs in the south of the country."
"We were the victims during this war and people have a right to defend themselves," Hizbullah spokesman Hussein Rahal said. "We did not target civilians but Israel on the other hand did target the civilian population in Lebanon."
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08/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Hezbollah needs to go screw a rock. I notice that nowhere does anyone mention their vile practice of erecting launchers in civilian Lebanese neighborhoods. Let me know when HRW finally declares shari'a law a violation of human rights. Until then, they are morally void.
#2
Well, thanks Human Rights Watch! Just in the nick of time! It looks like you really saved the day there, since the war was a year ago. Nothing like timely intervention, eh?
#6
This declaration took a year to come out, BUT the declaration that Israel committed war crimes came out DURING the war.
I demand to know why Human Rights Watch took so long in the one case and so short in the other.
If terrorism works for Hezbollah, but not for Israel, what prevents ME from engaging in terrorism against Human Rights Watch to ENSURE EQUAL TREATMENT?
A search of all current news items on "human rights watch" and "hezbollah" produced a grand total of 99 articles.
A search of the word "palestinian" produced over 1000, mostly dealing with the children killed by Israel when they went after a rocket launcher where children were allowed to be.
#9
Obviously I woke up in Bizarro World this morning. The ever lame Human Rights Watch is denouncing the Hezbies for war crimes, The PA is saving IDF soldiers from lynch mobs. WTF! It is almost a relief to see the Palestinians are still using their children as cannon fodder.
...a recent discovery by Chevron has signaled that soon there may be vastly more oil gushing out of the ultradeep seabeds more than even the optimists were predicting four years ago. In 2004, the company penetrated a 60 million-year-old geological stratum known as the "lower tertiary trend" containing a monster oil patch that holds between 3 billion and 15 billion barrels of crude. Dubbed Jack, the field lies beneath waters nearly twice as deep as those covering Tahiti, and many in the industry dismissed the discovery as too remote to exploit. But last September, Chevron used the Cajun Express to probe the Jack field, proving that petroleum could flow from the lower tertiary at hearty commercial rates fast enough to bring billions of dollars of crude to market. It was hailed as the largest publicly reported discovery in the past decade, opening up a region that is perhaps big enough to boost national oil reserves by 50 percent. A mad rush followed, and oil companies plowed more than $5 billion into this part of the Gulf The real war on terror
#1
While this was a significant discovery, don't get too carried away by it. It in no way 'proves' 15 billion barrels of future production - it just increases the level of confidence that there might be some commercial production from a new trend, a trend which might contain a number of future fields which might total 3 billion or 15 billion barrels of future production. Lots of 'mights' which will take a lot of time and money to to convert to 'ares' - gas in your SUV.
#3
I'll believe this is a significant discovery when I pump some of its production into my tank. It's only 30,000 feet below the ocean's surface. Meanwhile on the refining front, a ridiculous controversy over a proposed expansion of an existing BP refinery on the shores of Lake Michigan. The proposal would increase US gas refining capacity by about 0.44% of its total consumption, a very small step in the right direction. The usual suspects have piled on to object to a project already approved by the Indiana EPA.
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.
GHAZNI, Afghanistan - Taleban insurgents freed 12 South Korean hostages in Afghanistan on Wednesday, a day after reaching a deal with Korean and Indonesian negotiators on the release of the 19 Christian volunteers. 
(KUNA) -- Iraqi president Jalal Talabani denied on Wednesday reports that the Iraqi Islamic Party opposed the "joint agreement" aimed to boost the political process in the country. On arrival at the Sulaimaniyah airport from Baghdad, Talabani referred to the "quartet" pact as a giant step to put an end to the political differences in Iraq. He emphasized that the agreement gathered all the Iraqi sects noting that the implementation of the pact would be "a victory for all the Iraqi people and the involved parties." Referring to the Iranian shelling of the borders of the Iraq Kurdistan province, Talabani said he had met with the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad who vowed to stop the shelling. In the meantime, Talabani described Turkey's shelling Kurdish areas in northern Iraq as a bad deed that contradicted the agreements cncluded with the Iraqi government.
Contrary to various news reports, senior defense officials said Wednesday that the IDF had not reduced its level of forces on the Golan Heights. The officials noted, however, that "certain messages" had been received by both Israel and Syria indicating that neither was interested in going to war. 
Iran on Monday offered some cooperation with an International Atomic Energy Agency probe of an alleged secret uranium processing project linked by US intelligence to a nuclear arms programme. 
The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) group is set to publish a report on Thursday condemning Hizbullah for human rights infringements committed during the Second Lebanon War. The HRW report focuses on the extent "Hizbullah targeted or indiscriminately fired its rockets toward civilians and civilian objects" during the war, according to a statement by the group. 
