THE fast-food chain, Burger King, is withdrawing its ice-cream cones after the lid of the dessert offended a Muslim. The man claimed the design resembled the Arabic inscription for Allah, and branded it sacrilegious, threatening a "jihad". The chain is being forced to spend thousands of pounds redesigning the lid with backing from The Muslim Council of Britain. It apologised and said: "The design simply represents a spinning ice-cream cone."
Wouldn't it have been cheaper just to slap him?
The offending lid was spotted in a branch in Park Royal last week by business development manager Rashad Akhtar, 27, of High Wycombe. He was not satisfied by the decision to withdraw the cones and has called on Muslims to boycott Burger King. He said: "This is my jihad. How can you say it is a spinning swirl? If you spin it one way to the right you are offending Muslims." A Muslim Council spokesman said: "We commend the sensitive and prompt action that Burger King has taken."
I don't. I condemn their pitiful lack of anything resembling a spine. If I ate their food, I'd boycott them. But since I don't like it anyway, I'll just ignore the whole thing after a token roll of the eyes.
#3
Read the comments at Dhimmiwatch - interesting...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
09/17/2005 6:07 Comments ||
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#4
I'm offended by the existance of a religion founded by a pervert that was banging a 9 year old and advocates the murder of non-believers.
Who can I sue?
#5
I'd go after the Saudis, Its not a good idea to sue poor people.
Posted by: bk ||
09/17/2005 8:57 Comments ||
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#6
wow this is really going to far, not that i even eat at burger king but what the fck is going on here. I want a 'Mad Mullah Swirl' please with extra 'Jihadi flakes' on top. What about fckin Pigs in butchers shops eh - we gotta stop selling them too?? this is mad
#10
I wonder how Mr. Aktar would do on the Rorschach test? First, you have to rotate the ice cream whirl drawing a certain way to compare it to the Arabic for Allah, but it doesn't even come close.
Just another case of a bullying Muslim.
#11
This guy probably sees Allah in the skidmarks in his shorts.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/17/2005 13:56 Comments ||
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#12
yeah I can see a shriveled up ice cream cone going on ebay for thousands of dollars that has allah's image right now.
yes it is very pathetic that they give in.
Interesting how this is outrageous to them, but the crescent for the memorial shouldn't be an issue.
Posted by: Jan ||
09/17/2005 14:16 Comments ||
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#13
BK is off the list of crap food places I'll eat now. Buh Bye BK.
#14
Is there a more insecure whining bunch of under-endowed pussies than the typical Islamic male? A sharp elbow blow to the cranium is what his reply should've been, along with public ridicule and mirth
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/17/2005 15:27 Comments ||
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#15
I'm missing something. If BK wanted to intentionally decorate all its products with Arabic slogans celebrating Allah and His Messenger, would that offend Muslims? I suppose Christians would be delighted to find a company that wrote "Jesus" on all its cups. They would assume the company was run by like minded fellow believers. Muslims jump right to jihad. Is there any problem jihad can't solve?
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
09/17/2005 17:58 Comments ||
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#16
Jihad response to the shape of an ice cream cone top????? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
**Bang** **Kapow** **Crack zzzzzzzzzz**
Incoming! **WTF?** Jihad in a Burger King??? These must be the End Timesâ¢. The world has gone mad.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/17/2005 19:09 Comments ||
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#17
They need to turn their sensitivity meter down from Very High to Normal. Achmed, it's ICE CREAM you rube.
Another Iraq war opponent bites the electoral dust. Talk about a trend. The Sheeple clearly get it much better than their self-appointed intellectual superiors. WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Former central bank governor Don Brash appeared on course to upset New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark's Labor-led government on Saturday after a hard-fought election campaign. The promise of personal income tax cuts appeared to have swayed New Zealand's 2.9 million voters despite Clark's track record of strong economic growth during her two terms in power stretching back to 1999. With 20 percent of the vote counted, official election figures showed conservative National ahead with 45 percent compared with 36 percent for Labor.
Those figures would translate into 57 seats for National in an expanded 122-seat parliament, short of an overall majority but with sufficient center-right minor party partners to form a coalition. Labor was on course for 46 seats. Party officials from both sides said it was still too early to call a definitive result. "It will be a nose-to-nose, head-to-head result between the two major parties," Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Michael Cullen told National Radio.
Volatile opinion polls in the final week of campaigning had pointed to a race that was too close to call. A victory would mark a stunning turnaround for 64-year-old Brash, a political novice who had trailed Clark by as much as 10 percentage points in opinion polls before the budget in May. Clark had warned voters the election was a choice between stable government and the economic gains of the past six years, and the likelihood of increased debt and cuts in social spending under National. But she looked set to lose power even though New Zealand has averaged 4 percent growth over the past five years â the longest period of economic growth in half a century â and unemployment at a near 19-year low. Clark disappointed many voters after the May budget with her promise for only small tax cuts to begin in three years. Brash in contrast campaigned strongly on the promise of tax cuts worth more than NZ$9 billion over three years.
#2
The War on Terror is a very peripheral issue in the minds of voters everywhere - as long as their soldiers aren't active participants. This, ultimately, is why various foreign contingents have withdrawn their forces from Iraq - popular pressure.
#3
Labor wins, but with 40 seats, down from 52, whereas the National Party has upped its seat count from 27 to 39. I have to believe that much of this is fatigue - the Labor Party has been in power for most of the past two decades.
#5
I think we are seeing a marked swing to the Right across the developed world as voters reject the parties that advocate big government and one world solutions. Dissatisfaction with Kyoto was probably a bigger factor in NZ than Iraq. BTW, I was doing what the MSM does and inserting my trend into the news.
#6
phil b, wasn't there something about New Zealander levying a Kyoto tax on inhabitants to offset methane production by all those sheep? That would annoy me, too.
From the Dept. of Just Desserts:
A US peace activist deported from Australia for security reasons says he has been asked to reimburse the government some 11,700 dollars (9,000 US dollars) for sending him home. Scott Parkin, who was deemed a threat to national security by the country's main intelligence agency, was put on a plane to Los Angeles on Thursday. A spokesman for Parkin said the government had asked him to pay the 11,700 dollar bill and warned him he could be forced to pay more if he tries to return to Australia. Billing deportees is standard practice in Australia.
#3
A US peace activist deported from Australia for security reasons says he has been asked to reimburse the government some 11,700 dollars (9,000 US dollars)
WTF was up wqith that? Musta flown him first class champagne flight. Oh well: Lifestyles of the pagan socialist, I guess.
#5
Brilliant! - Good on yer mates! (oh, and sorry about the cricket! :)
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
09/17/2005 8:11 Comments ||
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#6
They bill. Collecting is another matter, unless he returns to Oz.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/17/2005 8:34 Comments ||
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#7
If I hear this guy doesn't pay I may ask OZ myself for the collection contract.
Yummy.
I can then use the proceeds to hold a Thank the Military for Your Freedoms party/barbeque, and being the gracious host, invite this loser to make a statement, alone.
Ahead of tomorrow's election, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democratic Party has put up campaign posters featuring images of dead American soldiers in flag-draped coffins, reviving the anti-Iraq war message that helped the party stay in power three years ago.
The posters target Mr. Schroeder's conservative challenger, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Angela Merkel, who is widely expected to become Germany's first female chancellor.
"She would have sent [German] soldiers," the campaign posters read.
CDU officials reacted angrily yesterday to the tactic, which is being used by Rolf Schwanitz, a state secretary in Mr. Schroeder's administration who is running for parliament.
"It's totally tasteless," said CDU Secretary-General Volker Kauder. "There are limits even in an election campaign. You don't use the dead to win votes."
The U.S. Embassy in Berlin declined comment.
Just weeks before a similar election in September 2002, Mr. Schroeder made opposition to the U.S. campaign in Iraq a centerpiece of a previously lackluster re-election campaign.
As a result, his coalition of Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Green party managed to erase a deficit of up to ten percentage points in polls and narrowly retain their parliamentary majority.
Then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Mr. Schroeder's decision to make Iraq a campaign issue had "poisoned" the U.S.-German relationship.
A Western diplomat in Berlin said yesterday that the new posters, which show five coffins wrapped in American flags being loaded on a military aircraft, were "absolutely tasteless and outrageous."
The conservative tabloid Bild, which first reported on the posters, called them "perverse election campaigning."
Unlike three years ago, foreign policy has not been a major issue in this year's campaign, although Turkey's potential membership in the European Union has been discussed prominently in the last few days because of Germany's large Turkish minority.
At a rally in the eastern city of Potsdam this week, Mr. Schroeder sounded a familiar note.
"As long as we are in office, German foreign policy will be made in Berlin and not anywhere else," he said in an apparent reference to Washington, adding that Mrs. Merkel would have crumbled under "the kind of pressure" he faced over Iraq.
Ironically, Mr. Schroeder's SPD supports the U.S. push for Turkey's EU membership while the CDU opposes it.
Mr. Schroeder and Mrs. Merkel spoke at their final rallies in Berlin last night, although officials from both parties said they will continue campaigning through the weekend.
The CDU has focused on Germany's troubled economy and the high unemployment rate, pointing to the chancellor's mistakes during his seven years in office.
Mrs. Merkel began the campaign with a solid lead, but the gap has narrowed in the past couple of weeks.
A Forsa agency poll released yesterday showed her preferred coalition with the Free Democrats would get 48 percent to 51 percent of the vote compared with 38 percent to 41 percent for the ruling SPD-Green alliance. About 25 percent are still undecided.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/17/2005 01:09 ||
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#1
Europeans' appetite for dead Americans isn't exactly limitless, but, they'd sure like to see a lot more dead than they have thus far. Despite their oft-repeated denials that they don't hate Americans, they hate our policies, at heart, pictures of dead Americans make them feel like the scales of international justice are in balance.
Schroeder just happens to be the European maitre d for this monrth.
Cowards. More dead AMricans liek that means less dead Europeans. Consequently, Less dead Americans = more dead Europeans, by a large multiple.
WW1, WW2, Korea, GW1, Afghanistan, Iraq.
Maybe its time we just cut the continent (but not the Brits) loose except for our true allies who have stepped up (Poles and other Eastern Europeans, and the Italians).
Screw em. Treat them as hostile if thats how they want it. See who the better ally is: Us or France. I can guarantee you which one will put the knife in your back.
Of course they hate us, we kicked their ass twice and occupied their country for Ummm, well we're still there.
Watch the hands, not the mouth.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/17/2005 13:27 Comments ||
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#4
Won't work Oldspook, we "cut them loose" and we'll be fighting Germany in World War 3 inside of 20 years.
Gotta watch these backstabbers closely.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/17/2005 13:31 Comments ||
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#5
Though I am for removing all troops from German soil I don't think we can any more. I now am for continuing the "occupation" of Germany. They are not reliable and can't be trusted. They are not our allies. They are not our friends. They can't be trusted. We have offered our friendship and this is just one more sign that Germans are not and will not be good friends. Friends who disagree with us act like Canada and the UK.
Their seems to me to be a national character defect to scape goat die AuÃenseiter for their problems. The others are currently The US and "new Europe". We are first on the list. Keep a boot on their neck to remind them we can, have and will turn their shitty little country into a pile of rubble again.
Before anyone goes off on a tanget on this both my wife and I are directly descended from German immigrants to the US. Screw Germany.
#7
Agreed, TGA, but 1) this was low and 2) it's going to be close, closer than it should be.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/17/2005 16:20 Comments ||
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#8
The American ambassador should simply have commented that he is shocked that a German would do something so rude. The Germans are very keen on showing good manners, and using the dead in a political advertisement shows one to have been poorly brought up.
Good luck with the vote tomorrow, TGA. May the best [wo]man win!
#9
Sorry, didn't read through the article. Both the CDU sec-gen and an anonymous Western diplomat commented on the tastelessness of the campaign. Good.
#10
sorry TGA - but it shows that when we reflexically say "withdraw from overseas, particularly Germany) - there's good reason
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/17/2005 18:23 Comments ||
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#11
No withdrawal, boot on the neck, screw Germany, screw German Citizens. The vote is meaningless Merkel can't and will not change foreigh policy.
They are fat self indulgent swine who take us for fools. Beware of attempts to smooth talk us. They have and will continue to sell the United States out any chance they get. The Vote is meaningless.
#13
German Ally, I'l apologise to you if I've offended you, but I want to make sure that you understand that I'm talking about the German Politicians, and not the German peoples.
With the average German "On The Street" I have no quarrel at all.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/17/2005 21:50 Comments ||
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A judicial inquiry here is turning up evidence that Canadian police and intelligence agencies solicited and used information that was obtained from at least four Canadian citizens under torture by foreign intelligence agencies.
The main purpose of the inquiry is to explore the Canadian role in the case of Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian who has emerged as perhaps the most infamous example of the United States policy of rendition, the transfer of terrorism suspects to other nations for interrogations.
Mr. Arar was detained while changing planes in New York and was flown in an American government plane to Jordan and Syria. But three other Canadians whose cases are now coming to light were apparently handled entirely by Canadian authorities.
As part of their investigation of suspected operations of Al Qaeda in Toronto and Ottawa, according to government documents and public testimony by officials, Canadian security agents sought notes from, or suggested questions for, interrogations that Syrian and Egyptian intelligence agencies conducted between 2001 and 2004 with the three other Canadians, who say they were tortured.
The information-sharing came at a time when Ottawa was trying to tighten security after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Leading rights campaigners say they are dismayed by evidence of what they characterize as a Canadian policy of condoning the torture of citizens while pressing for human rights in other countries.
"The evidence raises all sorts of troubling questions," said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada. "The concern is, do we have a Canadian version of the notorious American practice of extraordinary rendition?"
Mr. Neve and other campaigners and opposition leaders are calling on Prime Minister Paul Martin to broaden the Arar inquiry, but so far the government has resisted the request.
"There is no government policy of subcontracting torture, as has been alleged," said Alex Swann, spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, who oversees security operations. But he added: "Some of these issues are going to be examined. When people make allegations like this, of course we're concerned."
A State Department human rights report released earlier this year identified Egypt and Syria among a number of countries that practice torture in their prisons.
Documentary evidence and some comments by government officials at the Arar inquiry support the claims of two of the Canadians that their Syrian and Egyptian interrogators were fed questions by Canadian officials. The two men, interviewed separately, said several interrogators told them they were using information given to them by Canadian officials. Both men, Abdullah Almalki and Ahmad Abou el-Maati, had for years been identified by the Canadian police as primary terrorism suspects, because of their backgrounds of doing aid work or fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The third reported victim, Muayyed Nureddin, has said Syrian interrogators asked him the same questions that Canadian agents asked him at the Toronto airport during his departure.
In a heavily edited memorandum dated Oct. 30, 2002, and stamped "Secret," Dan Livermore, director general of the Foreign Ministry's security and intelligence branch, wrote that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "are seeking either to directly interview [words deleted] or to send their Syrian counterparts a request that [words deleted] be asked questions provided by the R.C.M.P."
That same month Jim Gould, Mr. Livermore's deputy, spoke with Michel Cabana, then head of the Mounties' task force that investigated the suspected Qaeda cell, about Mr. Arar and Mr. Almalki, also Syrian-born Canadians then held in Syria.
From his notes of the conversation that Mr. Gould read to the inquiry, he recalled that Mr. Cabana had told him, "We would be prepared to share with Syrian authorities if they felt it could be of assistance to their investigation, this in light of their sharing info with us in the past."
From transcripts of public testimony, it is not clear how much information the Mounties sent to the Syrians, but Mr. Gould said his notes of his conversation with Mr. Cabana referred to information "possibly already transmitted to them."
When he testified before the inquiry, Mr. Cabana said, "As appalling as it may sound to you, part of our duties in Canada in trying to protect the Canadian public means that from time to time we deal with countries that don't necessarily have the same record as we do and don't necessarily treat their prisoners the same way we do."
In November 2002, Franco D. Pillarella, then the Canadian Ambassador to Syria, asked for and received from the Syrian government a report on the results of interrogations of Mr. Arar. The Foreign Affairs Ministry handed the report to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the primary spy agency, according to an official report released to the Arar inquiry.
That same month, documents and testimony show, Canadian intelligence agents traveled to Syria, where they discussed Mr. Arar's case with Syrian intelligence.
Also, Mr. Pillarella testified before the inquiry that he "opened the door" for a Mounties officer to discuss investigations with the head of Syrian intelligence.
The government's written brief to the Arar inquiry, which will deliver a report next year, admitted that Canada will at times use information gathered through torture. Referring to the government's top spy agency, the brief said "C.S.I.S. will take intelligence from all sources. If information it suspects has been obtained by torture can be independently corroborated and is important to an investigation of a threat to Canada, the information would be used."
A cable from the Foreign Affairs Ministry dated July 17, 2002, notes that the Mounties requested that Egyptian security give them access to Mr. Maati, a Kuwaiti-born Canadian, "in order to further a major investigation in Canada." Mr. Maati, 40, joined the mujahedeen in Afghanistan as a young man and took flying lessons for a short time in Canada.
In an interview, Mr. Maati accused Canadian officials of being responsible for his arrest in Syria in November 2001. He said he was traveling to Damascus for a second wedding ceremony with his new wife when Canadian police officers followed his car to the Toronto airport and interrogated him about his travel plans at the airport. Police officers escorted him to his gate.
When he arrived in Syria, he said, he was arrested, hooded and hauled away for torture. "All the context of the questions was related to Canada," he said, adding that interrogators knew where he lived in Toronto and even the color and make of his car. While he was held in Syria, Canadian police and intelligence agents questioned his family members in Canada.
On Jan. 22, 2002, the Mounties searched Mr. Maati's home in Toronto and seized his trucking travel log books, computer and other personal records. Three days later, the Syrians transferred Mr. Maati to Egypt, where, he said, he was tortured for the next two years.
At one point the Egyptians asked him about his will and about a television remote control he bought in Canada, information he said they must have obtained from the Canadians' search of his home.
In an interview in his house on the outskirts of Ottawa, Mr. Almalki, who Canadian officials thought was the leader of the suspected Qaeda cell, said he went to Syria in May 2002 to visit his ailing grandmother but was seized at the airport. In two years of countless torture sessions, he said, he was repeatedly asked about phone calls he made from Canada, his friends in Canada and how he conducted his Canadian-based business.
He said the questions were almost identical to those from Canadian investigators in 2000. He was presented with detailed information about his electronics components business that he said could only have come from the Mounties' search of his basement home office.
Testimony in the inquiry revealed that the Mounties regularly shared information with American intelligence agencies, so much of the information theoretically could have come to Syria from Washington. But Mr. Almalki said his interrogators repeatedly told him that it was Canada that was interested in him.
He quoted one interrogator as telling him: " 'We have not found anything about you but what we are getting from Canada is different.' He didn't mention the United States. He said Canada."
Mr. Almalki and Mr. Maati say they never worked for Al Qaeda or sympathized with the group. Neither has been charged with a crime, although the Canadian investigation of both of them was never officially closed.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:11 ||
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The Pentagon is pressuring the Senate Judiciary Committee to close to the public next week's hearings on a former secret military intelligence unit called "Able Danger," two congressional sources have confirmed to FOX News.
Witnesses from the Pentagon are expected to testify at that hearing; that's why they want it classified. FOX News has learned that committee Chairman Arlen Specter's office is vigorously resisting the request.
Some former Able Danger analysts and Rep. Curt Weldon (search) say the formerly clandestine intelligence unit identified Mohammed Atta (search) and three other of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers one year before the attacks that left over 3,000 people dead. They also claim that their repeated requests to turn over the information to the FBI were ignored.
Weldon said a former Army officer will testify next week that he was also ordered to destroy data that included reference to Atta.
"In the summer of 2000, he was ordered and, or, he would go to jail if he didn't comply," the Pennsylvania Republican said. "He was ordered to destroy 2.5 terabytes of data specific to Able Danger, the Brooklyn [terror] cell and Mohammad Atta. He will name the person who ordered him to destroy that material."
Other witnesses will include an FBI agent who will testify that she set up three meetings in 2000 between the FBI's Washington field office and the Able Danger, but each was cancelled at the last minute, Weldon said.
The Pentagon has changed its position on this story, from originally questioning the very existence of Able Danger (search) to now confirming that the Defense Department has identified five former members of the unit who all say they remember Atta's picture or name, on a chart in 2000.
Weldon wrote a letter over the summer that ignited a debate over what the Sept. 11 commission (search) probing the attacks knew or didn't know about the intelligence group, and whether it ignored evidence that would have helped shed light on the timeline of investigations into the hijackers' presence in the United States. The commission also has been criticized for not including the Able Danger project in their report last summer.
"The Sept. 11 commission's statement that it does not believe a secret military intelligence unit discovered a group of future hijackers more than a year before the terrorist attacks is "a total denial of the facts," Weldon said Thursday. "For the 9/11 commission to say that this did not exist is just absolutely outrageous. It's a total denial of the facts."
The commission's chairman, Thomas Kean, said that the panel had acquired no evidence anyone in the government knew about lead hijacker Atta before Sept. 11, 2001.
According to Weldon and several members of Able Danger, the secret group identified Atta and three other hijackers as potential members of a terrorist cell in New York City. Weldon and the Able Danger analysts â Army Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer (search) and Navy Capt. Scott Phillpott (search) â maintain that Pentagon lawyers rejected the unit's recommendation that the information be turned over to the FBI in 2000 based on immigration rules at the time.
Shaffer and Phillpott also say they met with staff members on the Sept. 11 commission about their findings. But commission members have denied that Atta was mentioned by name at those meetings, some of which were in October of 2002.
While the Pentagon says Shaffer and Phillpott are credible, the Defense Department says it has found no documents to back up their claims. However, the Pentagon confirmed this month that documents associated with Able Danger were destroyed because of strict regulations governing the collection of data on foreign visitors in the United States.
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States, informally called the Sept. 11 commission, was set up in 2002 to investigate pre-attack intelligence and communication failures between U.S. law enforcement and spy agencies. On Wednesday, former members of the Sept. 11 commission said they weren't buying the story that the Able Danger group identified the hijackers so early.
"Bluntly, it just didn't happen and that's the conclusion of all 10 of us," said Sept. 11 commissioner Slade Gorton, a former Republican senator from Washington state.
The panel had appeared at a news conference to argue that the response to Hurricane Katrina (search) might have been more successful if more of the recommendations it had made last year had been implemented.
During the press event, the commissioners criticized the government for not putting in place changes recommended last year for homeland security and emergency response. They pointed most notably to the failure to improve communication systems, which they said might have saved lives after Hurricane Katrina.
"It is a scandal in our minds that four years after Sept. 11, we have not yet set aside radio spectrum to insure that police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians can communicate reliably during any kind of attack or any kind of major disaster," Kean said.
The commissioners also faulted state, local and federal authorities responding to Katrina for not having a clear chain of command, leading to some of the same confusion that plagued the Sept. 11 rescue effort.
"Many of these recommendations proposed by the Sept. 11 commission one year ago might have made a difference in saving lives and preventing loss of lives in this hurricane," said member Tim Roemer, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana.
The commissioners, who now belong to the Sept. 11 Discourse Project (search) to oversee the translation of their recommendations into reality, also played down claims by the Defense Department's secret intelligence unit.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon confirmed in a briefing that it had identified five people involved with Able Danger who claimed they had either seen a picture of Atta or had seen his name on a chart prepared in 1999 by the intelligence unit. It was the first extensive briefing by Pentagon officials since questions about Able Danger began circulating last month.
But while Pentagon officials call these sources credible, they say that after interviewing some 80 individuals associated with Able Danger and reviewing hundreds of thousands of documents, they still have not found such a chart and don't even know if it exists. The Pentagon said that documents associated with the project had been destroyed.
The Defense Department did confirm that documents associated with Able Danger were destroyed in accordance with strict regulations about collection, dissemination and destruction procedures for intelligence gathered on people inside the United States.The officials denied that military lawyers ordered the destruction of the documents.
Navy Commander Christopher Chope of the U.S. military's Special Operations Command added that the Pentagon investigation found no evidence to back up claims that the military refused to share key information gleaned by Able Danger with the FBI.
While the document review is now over, the Pentagon says it continues to interview and re-interview people associated with the program.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:55 ||
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Sorry, but this sounds too much like the Pentagon suits trying to cover their tracks. This is now the time to bite the bullet and do this publically so no one can hide their dirty laundry. The 'potential' to compromise processes is out weighed by making sure that official know that now and in the future they will be held accountable for their decisions. Let the sun shine. Let us all know who said what when.
#2
If you understand how data mining works (both in general and in detail) then its fairly easy to avoid detection. Able Danger was more than 5 years ago and the technology has matured since then. I expect it is being widely used today. I think the Pentagon are right in not wanting to publicize how the technology works, for the same the same reason I'm not going to tell you how to avoid detection.
A Missouri charity financed terrorism and is connected to a similarly named organization in Sudan, a federal judge in Washington has concluded.
The findings came Thursday in a 36-page order from U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton in which he threw out a lawsuit filed by the Islamic American Relief Agency-USA, which is based in Columbia, Mo. The charity had sought to thaw its assets, which the Treasury Department froze last year.
Lawyers for the Missouri charity have denied any link to terrorism and have said the charity is entirely separate from the Sudanese organization.
Drawing both on public records and classified documents, Walton concluded that the Treasury Department had ample authority to freeze the charity's bank accounts as part of the government's war on terrorism. The FBI raided the group's office, and Treasury agents labeled the group as a terrorist supporter on Oct. 13, 2004.
The judge ruled on two issues that had lingered over the charity since then: Did the charity directly support terrorists? Was it connected to the Islamic African Relief Agency in Khartoum, Sudan, which the government also has labeled a terrorist supporter?
Quoting an opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Walton wrote: "As the circuit court stated, `There is no constitutional right to fund terrorism.' And the record evidence supports the conclusion that the IARA-USA has done exactly that."
Federal authorities alleged that the Columbia charity is part of an international network of nonprofits, including IARA in Sudan, that have supported al-Qaida and its predecessor, the Maktab Al-Khidamat.
Treasury officials also accused five international IARA charity officials of supporting other terrorist groups, such as Hamas and the Taliban.
Walton also dismissed IARA-USA's contention that it was entirely separate from IARA in Sudan.
"In fact, contrary to the plaintiff's argument, this court must conclude that there is substantial evidence in the record to support the defendants' conclusion that the IARA-USA is related and connected to the IARA," Walton wrote.
Shareef Akeel, a Michigan lawyer representing the charity, said he was disappointed with the ruling and was exploring the charity's legal options, including an appeal. Akeel, who was not permitted to review the classified evidence, said nothing in the public part of the record showed that the Columbia charity had sent money out of the country for illegal purposes.
"We did not fund terrorism," Akeel said. "There is no evidence to suggest that."
Akeel acknowledged that IARA-USA occasionally had partnered with the Sudanese charity on individual projects. And he pointed out that the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, contracted with the Sudanese group to rebuild three schools in Iraq. After a U.S. bank declined to process the check because of the terrorism designation, UNICEF backed away from the contract.
Akeel asked why the U.S. government had not also sanctioned UNICEF.
"They had a contract with IARA in Sudan two months after the raid," Akeel said.
The judge, however, did not see a problem.
"There is simply no basis to conclude that UNICEF has even remotely the same type and number of ties to the IARA, or any other organization with terrorist ties, as does the plaintiff (IARA-USA)," Walton wrote.
Molly Millerwise, a Treasury Department spokeswoman on terrorism issues, said her department was pleased with Walton's decision.
"The ruling ... affirms the Treasury's authority to designate and freeze the assets of those bankrolling terrorism," she said. "We are committed to utilizing our financial tools to identify and disrupt the financial webs of terrorist organizations worldwide."
The Treasury Department designation also made it illegal for people and institutions to send contributions to the charities.
Local FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza declined to comment about IARA-USA, saying he could not speak about an ongoing investigation.
IARA-USA sued the government in December. After that, both sides filled the case file with thousands of pages of evidence and legal arguments.
While most of the evidence was public, much attention has been focused on classified Treasury Department documents.
As part of its motion to dismiss the charity's lawsuit, government lawyers submitted a 36-page document, which they said contained undisputed facts that showed the charity's links to terrorism. But in the public version of the document, 29 pages either were blank or partly censored of classified information.
The charity also appealed to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to administratively reconsider its terrorist designation. The office, however, ruled against IARA-USA's request in March.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:25 ||
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DEMING â Border protection efforts along New Mexicoâs southern border will be boosted with the addition of 105 new Border Patrol agents, but it remained unclear Thursday how many of the agents will be on patrol in Doña Ana County.
The increase in agents was announced Wednesday by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. The agents are scheduled to be in place Saturday in Deming and Columbus.Maria Najera, spokeswoman for Bingaman, said the additional agents could have an effect on Border Patrol operations in Doña Ana County, but she didnât know to what extent.
âThat would be a law enforcement administrative decision,â Najera said. âBut it is our understanding that the majority of the additional agents will be in the Columbus and Deming area.â Officials with the El Paso sector of the U.S. Border Patrol said Thursday they could not comment on the additional agents until the agency issues a new release today.
An increase in agent assignments was expected, but the number previously mentioned was 70 agents. The new agents will increase the number of agents working from the Deming station to 279. The 174 agents currently working in Deming is 70 percent more than last year. The El Paso sector includes West Texas and all New Mexico...
There has been increased Border Patrol activity in California, Arizona and Texas in recent years, and an increased flow of undocumented immigrants in the Deming Corridor â Lordsburg to Santa Teresa. Daily apprehension of migrants has become the norm. Many arrests follow traffic stops of vehicles with outdated registration, no registration, plates from another vehicle or overloaded vehicles.
Early Wednesday, agents apprehended 14 undocumented immigrants lying on the ground west of Columbus. The group included Francisco Perez, 47, wanted in Cook County, Ill., on a 1987 warrant for aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
#1
spokeswoman for Bingaman, said the additional agents could have an effect on Border Patrol operations in Doña Ana County, but she didnât know to what extent.
The one main route north of the border is I-25. The Customs and INS have a 24 hour check point on the interstate in Dona Ana. The back road north out of Silver City had a major bridge wash out this past spring. The other two exits are either way on I-10 which only lead to other checkpoints just in Texas beyond El Paso and Arizona.
Don't know if they're going to stop the Mexican school kids to continue to use Columbus schools. The local officials for years have been allowing their classrooms to fill with these kids cause the state funds per pupil. The Dems who run the state look the other way. 10 years ago when the BP hit the El Paso area heavily, the school population dropped in Las Cruces and had the school administation whining - who didn't give a damn that it was in effect stealing funding from other New Mexico students. The local sheriff however was pleased because car theft dropped significantly.
#2
better late than never. Hopefully this will help some.
How about when cops stop folks for traffic offenses, along with asking to see the license and car registration should be proof of citizenship. Send them back. We've got to stop all of the free stuff available. It's really draining our economy. If these hospitals and schools stopped getting funded for them then we'd see a turn around. It's time!
Posted by: Jan ||
09/17/2005 14:27 Comments ||
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#3
How about when cops stop folks for traffic offenses, along with asking to see the license and car registration should be proof of citizenship.
Ummm, just what would be acceptable?
I'm a native Alabamian, I don't carry proof of citizenship, and know of no others who do.
Are you suggesting a national ID card?
It would be immediately counterfited as the other forms of ID currently are.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/17/2005 15:53 Comments ||
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#4
I can imagine that even if you had documentation that you were a citizen of New Mexico it wouldn't still register with the patrolman pulling you over that you are an American. If you ever see a New Mexico license plate, look carefully. I think its the only plate which not only lists the state name, but its immediately followed by "USA". That's because god too many of our American citizens lack a basic knowledge of our 50 states. Way too many instances of confusing the 47th state of the union [1912] with Old Mexico, a separate country, by local law enforcement beyond the borders of the Land of Enchantment. You a foreigner, a boy?
Two men awaiting trial on charges of recruiting soldiers for worldwide radical Islamic holy war were ordered Friday to remain in solitary confinement after prosecutors said they could continue spreading Muslim extremism if allowed into the regular jail population.
"It would be a combustible, risky situation to put these individuals into the general population," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Frazier (search). "That facility is full of young, angry, disaffected young men."
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke denied motions by Adhan Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi (search) to be moved out of the special housing unit at Miami's downtown federal detention center. But Cooke also said she will insist that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons provide them with greater access to their lawyers to prepare for what will be a lengthy, complex trial in fall 2006. Kifah Wael Jayyousi is likely related to Azmi Jayyousi, the guy who tried to gas the good people of Amman.
"I have to say this case raises a lot of concerns," Cooke said. "I'm going to hold the government's feet to the fire to make sure these things happen."
Hassoun, a Lebanese-born Palestinian (search), and Jayyousi, a Jordanian who has U.S. citizenship, are accused of raising money and recruiting operatives beginning in 1993 to fight for radical Islamic causes in Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Somalia and elsewhere. Much of the government's case is based on some 50,000 telephone wire intercepts dating back a decade or more.
Among their alleged recruits was Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member who converted to Islam and allegedly plotted with top Al Qaeda commanders to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in a U.S. city. Padilla, whose plot never materialized, was designated an enemy combatant by President Bush and is being held without criminal charge in Virginia.
Lawyers for Hassoun and Jayyousi argued that they should not be held in restrictive solitary confinement based solely on the charges against them, which have not been proven in court. The Miami detention center's special housing unit holds up to 90 inmates at a given time, including Colombian drug kingpins and inmates who have violated prison rules.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:09 ||
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President Bush and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia tried to play down some obvious differences between them today, declaring that they agreed on the importance of keeping Iran and North Korea free of nuclear weapons.
"We both, we have the same goal," Mr. Bush said as he stood beside the Russian leader. "We don't want the Iranians to have nuclear weapons, and we don't want the North Koreans to have nuclear weapons. We talked about ways to achieve those goals."
But it was clear, despite Mr. Putin's statement that Russia's position was "very close with the American partners here," that some significant disagreements remained. Perhaps Mr. Putin hinted at that when he said, according to a translator, "On our part, I'd like to point out the potential of diplomatic solutions to all these questions is far from being exhausted."
A crucial difference on Iran is the United States' desire to have Iran's suspected nuclear weapons activities brought before the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions. Mr. Putin has said recently that, while Russia agreed that Iran needed to be kept from making nuclear arms, it was too early to take up the matter at the United Nations.
Russia has been participating, along with the United States, in the six-nation talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear aspirations. Those on-again, off-again sessions have seemed to be stalled of late, with North Korea complaining frequently about supposed provocations by the United States.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin, standing in a White House setting resplendent with the flags of their respective countries, shook hands, referred to each other often as "Vladimir" and "George" and shook hands after the brief question-and-answer session with reporters. And Mr. Putin nodded occasionally in apparent agreement as he listened to a translation of Mr. Bush's remarks.
The two men said they had discussed a broad range of issues, including economic ties between their countries, particularly in energy, and Russia's desire to become part of the World Trade Organization. Mr. Bush said he hoped Russian membership in the W.T.O. could be assured by the end of the year.
Mr. Bush said the United States and Russia were united in their struggle against terrorism. Both countries have known the September horror of terror attacks, Mr. Bush noted - the United States in 2001, and Russia in 2004, with the slaughter of schoolchildren in Beslan.
Mr. Bush said he appreciated the Russian's expression of sympathy, during their private conversation today, for the loss of life and destruction along the Gulf Coast. Mr. Putin said publicly, through a translator, that he wanted "to relay the words of most sincere compassion and support to the American people with regards to the strikes of mother nature."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:47 ||
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The United Nations 60th anniversary summit ended yesterday, with the three-day event attended by a record 151 world leaders. News was made mostly from the sidelines, rather than from the speakerâs podium, where a leader from each country gave a 15-minute speech. Iranâs nuclear intentions and rare Israeli-Arab contacts following the Gaza were the sideline showstoppers. Central themes did run through leadersâ speeches: The global war on terror, fighting poverty and world health. Saudi Crown Prince Sultan called for the renewal and implementation of the King Abdullah peace initiative, and for the creation of an international center to counter terrorism. Jordanâs King Abdallah yesterday called for âzero toleranceââ against extremism. He said his kingdom was working to promote moderate Islam across the globe. King Abdallah also called for the Muslim community to oppose extremist interpretations of Islam.
Like Salafism, maybe?
âJordan wants true, moderate, traditional Islam to replace fundamentalist, radical and militant Islam everywhere in the world for every single Muslim,â he said before the world body. Referring to what the Amman declaration, he sought to clarify the true nature of Islam. The king said the declaration exposed the illegitimacy of extremist fatwas (edicts) justifying terrorism, which contravene the traditional schools of Islamic religious law and are in clear violation of Islamâs core principles. The declaration also condemns the practice known as takfir (calling others apostates), a practice that is used by extremists to justify violence against those who do not agree with them.â
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
âJordan wants true, moderate, traditional Islam to replace fundamentalist, radical and militant Islam everywhere in the world for every single Muslim,â
Well, then we ought to be about the business of inventing it then. Somehow some Muslims seem to have gotten it into their heads that Mohammed did violent things to non-believers, so those Hadiths are going to be a problem. And all that "slaying the infidel" stuff and the bit about death for the sake of Allah from the Koran, that's a sticky bit as well. I'm sure the King will explain how all that's supposed to work. Just wait. I'm sure its coming right up. Any time now.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
09/17/2005 0:45 Comments ||
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#2
Birthday? Why didn't 'ya tell me?
Happy birdaay to you
happy birday to you
happy birday dear wuz is name again?
THUD
Posted by: K Shaleen ||
09/17/2005 8:36 Comments ||
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Three persons allegedly involved in a string of explosions in Yogyakarta, Central Java five years ago, including an attack on the Gede mosque, have gone on trial. During the first court session, the defendants were charged with plotting and executing the bombings and violating the state emergency law, which carries a maximum sentence of death.
The three defendants are Syaifulloh, alias Wahyu Diarto, thought to be the man behind a post office bombing, Taufiqurrochman, suspected of bombing the Gede Mosque, and Suhardi, who funded and plotted the bombings. The trial was adjourned until next week to hear pleas from the defendants' lawyers.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:21 ||
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SHAH ALAM, Sept 16 (Bernama) -- Selangor police have foiled an attempt to smuggle firearms out of the country in a ship container bound for West Asia. They seized nine firearms and 424 bullets kept in two bags hidden among home decorative items in a 20-foot container at the Customs Complex in Northport, Port Klang on Tuesday at 9.15pm.
Selangor police chief Datuk Yahaya Udin said policemen from the Klang police headquarters and Selangor headquarters, headed by ASP Sapii Ahmad, checked the container after receiving a tip-off.
Yahaya said the police had identified a single suspect, a foreign national, who was believed to be overseas.
"For the time being, we believe there is only one suspect and we are getting Interpol's help to track the suspect down and find out the motive as well as tracing the origins of the firearms," he told a news conference Friday.
The firearms include a Chinese-made Norinco Mak-90 rifle, a Stevens 311R sawn-off shotgun, three Italian-made F. Llpietta revolvers and an American-made MRSportsmen .22 Long Rifle.
The others are a Ruger .357 Black Hawk revolver, a Ruger .22 semi-automatic pistol and a Sports King High Standard .22, also a semi-automatic pistol, all of which are American-made...
#1
9 firearms and 424 bullets, that's not "Smuggling" that's a (Small) private owner shipping to his new home.
3 .22"s, 1 7.62X39,1 shotgun, 1 .357, sounds very much like a single family's selection for home defense, plinking, and small nusance game (Shotgun=varmit gun=snake gun)
I know folks who could lose that much on a move, and not notice until an inventory was taken.
Hell a "Brick" of .22LR is a thousand rounds, I've probably got several thousand rounds in my closet waiting on cleaning sorting and reloading alone. (Practice makes perfect)
"Acting on a tip?" sounds like a personal grudge.
Methinks this guy has an enemy.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/17/2005 23:33 Comments ||
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KOTA BAHARU, Sept 16 (Bernama) -- More soldiers have been deployed to intensify patrols along the border since 131 Thai nationals sneaked into Malaysia on Aug 30 to seek refuge claiming violence in their hometown. Eighth Brigade Infantry Commander Brig-Jen Datuk Mahdi Yusof said Friday the personnel involved were from his brigade in Pengkalan Chepa and the Penang-based Second Division.
He said the Eighth Brigade was given the task of conducting surveillance along the border spanning 129km from Kubang Rambutan in Rantau Panjang to Perak... Mahdi said the situation along the border was under control and the military had not detected any fresh entries.
All the 131 Thais from Sungai Padi, Narathiwat province, are being detained at the Immigration depot in Tanah Merah.
Thai education minister rejects call to shut down madrassas; increases funding & support
Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng yesterday rejected a call by Thai Rak Thai MPs for a blanket closure of Islamic schools, saying these institutions had constitutional rights to give religious lessons. Mr Chaturon said not only would the government allow these religious schools to continue their operations, but it would also assist them in achieving sustainable development. Also, the government would not take any steps in this direction without first consulting local Muslim leaders on ways to proceed with development plans for Islamic schools, he said. ``The government will not stop but promote the development of Islamic schools. And it will do it with the help of local Muslim leaders,'' Mr Chaturon said. His comment came after a group of 25 Thai Rak Thai MPs urged the government to shut down all Islamic schools, claiming that they were the ``spawning grounds'' of the radicals behind the violence in the region. Mr Chaturon said budget allocations had already been made to ponohs for infrastructure development, and tadikas, weekend Islamic schools for small children, would enjoy the same benefits. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Pol Gen Chidchai Wannasathit called on the media not to report the calls for the closure of Islamic schools and for more troops to be deployed in the deep South.
Private schools struggling to survive
Continued southern violence and inadequate state assistance may force many private schools in the deep South to shut down. Decha Kasemsap, director of Kasemsap School in Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district, said the government has never paid attention to the plight of local private schools affected by southern violence. The government, he said, focused mainly on problems of private Islamic schools and other state-run schools. He said many private schools in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces faced a shortage of teachers as their staff had opted to apply for teaching jobs at public schools to fill slots left vacant by state teachers who had transferred out of the region due to ongoing violent attacks. ``Some private schools have suffered a reduction in enrolments by 50% after a string of violent attacks rocked the region,'' the principal said. ''Several families moved out of the areas and so did their children. Some families have had to stop sending their children to study at private schools as they have no money,'' he added. He called on the government to provide a full subsidy to private schools like that received by private Islamic schools. Private school teachers should also be entitled to a risk allowance.
``Teachers at private schools never get a single baht in risk allowance despite working in the same areas as state teachers. Little state assistance has reached the private schools in the three southern provinces. The Education Ministry should set up an agency to directly supervise local private schools,'' said Mr Decha. Executives of privately-run schools in the deep South are to meet tomorrow in Yala town to discuss their problems and draft a proposal to call for state assistance, including the subsidy. Private schools are popular among wealthy Thai Chinese and Muslims who send their children to study there.
Many private schools have been badly affected by the violence. Some plan to shut down due to low enrolments and a shortage of teaching personnel.
Incredible though it may sound there are signs that Tehran may be preparing for a military confrontation with the United States, and has convinced itself that it could win.
The first sign came last June with the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of the Islamic Republic, an event that completed the conquest of all levers of power by the most radical elements of the establishment.
Since then the revolutionary factions have conducted a little publicized purge of the military, the security, the civil service, and state-owned corporations and media.
The most significant purges have affected the military high command.
Among those replaced are the defense minister, the commander-in-chief of the regular army and his four deputies, 11 senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and five commanders of the paramilitary Mobilization of the Dispossessed. Some of the purged officers have been âparkedâ in a mysterious new organ called âThe Defense Guidance Commissionâ attached to the office of the âSupreme Guideâ Ayatollah Ali Khamenehi.
The minister of intelligence and security and the minister of the interior, who controls the police and the gendarmerie, have also been replaced.
Another sign that Tehran may be preparing for war is the appointment of military officers to posts normally held by civilians, such as governors, mayors and directors of major public corporations.
But, perhaps, the surest sign yet is the military build up under way in the five provinces bordering Iraq. The region, with a population of 20 millions, has been put under the control of the IRGC which has also taken over units of the regular army, including the 88th Division, and the border police. Iran is estimated to have 250,000 troops in the area, its biggest military build-up since the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988.
One of the first acts of the new Cabinet led by Ahmadinejad was to approve an âemergencyâ fund of $700 million to be disbursed at the discretion of âthe supreme guideâ for âsacred defense purposes.â
The new administration has also decided to speed up defense disbursements under a five-year plan approved by Khamenehi last year. The plan aims at doubling the military budget by 2010. But it now seems that, thanks to rising oil revenues, most of the plan could be completed by 2008.
In the past few weeks top regime figures, including Khamenehi and Ahmadinejad, have made a series of unscheduled visits to Mashâhad, Iranâs second largest city. One curious fact revealed during these visits is that a bunker-like structure to house the âsupreme guideâ is being completed close to the âholy shrineâ of Reza, the eighth imam. The complex could also house the top echelon of government, including the president, the Cabinet and members of the Islamic Majlis (Parliament).
The choice of Mashâhad is not accidental. The city is located 1,000 km from Tehran and thus as far as possible inside Iran from American fire power in Iraq and the Gulf. The US is also expected to shrink from attacks against the Mashâhad bunker for fear of collateral damage to the âholy shrineâ of the imam a few hundred yards away.
The summerâs comings-and-goings in Mashâhad have provoked rumors that Khamenehi plans to appoint Abbas Vaâez Tabasi, the mulla who runs the eighth imamâs foundation, as âdeputy supreme guideâ, just in case!
The belief that the Americans would not attack sites close to âholy shrinesâ has also led to the creation of a massive new military base at Fadak, a suburb of the âholy cityâ of Qom where the eighth imamâs sister is buried, south of Tehran. Work on the base that covers an area of 7.2 square km started in August.
Piecing together the bits of the jigsaw one may guess the outline of Tehranâs scenario for what it believes is an inevitable clash with the US:
⢠The diplomatic tussle over Iranâs nuclear plans goes to the Security Council that will fail to take a decision thanks to Russian and Chinese vetoes.
⢠The US, after much huffing and puffing launches air strikes against Iranâs nuclear installations. (Tehran loves Israel to also participate because that would give the Islamic Republic a better claim to be fighting on behalf of Islam as a whole.)
⢠Iran retaliates by ordering the forces it controls inside Iraq to attack American and British troops. At the same time the Lebanese branch of the Hezbollah launches massive rocket attacks against Israel while Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, whose leaders spent the past month in Tehran meeting Khamenehi and his aides, organize a wave of suicide operations against Israel from Jerusalem and the West Bank.
⢠The US and its British allies, stationed in southern Iraq, launch a three-pronged attack, from Shalamcheh, Hamroun and Shatt Al-Arab to seize control of Khuzestan, the province that accounts for 70 percent of Iranâs oil production.
⢠Iranian Special Forces attack Iraq from the Zaynalkosh salient, south of the Kurdish provinces, some 80 km from Baghdadâs first defenses in Baâaqubah.
⢠Hazara Shiâites strikes against Kabul, the Afghan capital, from Maydanshahr while Pushtun warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the remnants of the Taleban, some of whom are under Iranian protection, attack across Afghanistan.
⢠The Americans and their allies attack Khuzestan.
⢠Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz.
⢠The Americans attack the Iranian provinces of Kermanshahan and Kurdistan.
⢠US-led forces attack across the Mandali-Ilam axis. The Iranians retreat to the Zagross mountain range, the first line of Iranâs natural defenses. (To fight along the Zagross the IRGC is building new bases at Khorramabad, Pessyan, Borujerd, Zagheh and Malayer in the province of Luristan. The bases would assure the logistics of a quarter of a million troops, and provide temporary shelter for half a million refugees from the border. These bases will complement older ones further west, at Sahneh and Kangavar. )
⢠Oil prices top $100 and the global economy plunges into a crisis.
⢠Americans launch cruise missiles against âregime targetsâ in Tehran. But the regime is already in Mashâhad.
⢠Global TV networks air images of âindiscriminate carnageâ and âwanton destructionâ in Iranian cities.
⢠The Security Council meets in emergency and orders a cease-fire while the American media and Congress revolt against President George W Bush and his âpre-emptiveâ strategy.
⢠Anti-Bush marches in Washington and dozens of other cities with Hollywood figures and other celebrities calling for Bush to be overthrown.
⢠Bush accepts a UN-brokered cease-fire and withdraws his forces.
⢠The Islamic Republic emerges victorious from what Ahmadinejad sees as âa clash of civilizations.â
⢠The Americans leave Iraq and Afghanistan as Bush becomes a lame duck for the rest of his presidency.
⢠The Islamic Republic gains new domestic legitimacy and proceeds to crush its opponents as âenemies of the nation and of Islam.â
⢠Iran can speed up making its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles without being harassed by Washington.
⢠Iran becomes âthe core powerâ of a new âIslamic poleâ in a multipolar system with China, the European Union and Latin America, Under the Bolivarist leadership of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez emerging as other âpolesâ.
⢠Bushâs successor acknowledges Iranâs new status and sends Bill Clinton, who apologized to Iran for âour past misdeedsâ in 2000, to Tehran to offer another formal apology on behalf of Bushâs successor and offer Ahmadinejad âa grand bargainâ.
⢠The Islamic Republic is now free to proceed to address what Khamenehi has described as its âgreatest historic taskâ which is the destruction of Israel.
Sounds outlandish? Well, it is. The Islamic Republic is a fragile structure in a zone of political earthquakes. Logically, the last thing it should want is war. Nevertheless, former President Muhammad Khatami has warned that Tehran may be boxing itself into a position in which it will either have to surrender or fight.
Posted by: DanNY ||
09/17/2005 12:17 Comments ||
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#2
Incredible though it may sound there are signs that Tehran may be preparing for a military confrontation with the United States, and has convinced itself that it could win.
I'm afraid they're right. Not win militarily, but politically. Even W isn't going to attack Iran any time soon, if at all. Short of a massive attack by Iran, he'd never get Congressional authorization to do so. And fuggeddaboutit if a Dem is elected in '08.
#5
The problem is that thugs like this always go one step too far. In '09 the MM will test the new President. If a donk wins, it is likely they will overplay their hand, leaving the country so outraged that the Donk will have no alternative but to respond vigorously. Especially if Hildebeast is having hot flashes.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/17/2005 12:57 Comments ||
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#6
Also sounds like preparations for in-country unrest.
#7
I see air attacks to destroy nuclear facilities. But an actual occupation is another matter altogether. What the heck do we get from holding Iranian ground?
And the idea that the Security Council can compel Uncle Sam to do anything is a joke. Countries that wouldn't participate in the invasion of Iraq or Afghanistan are going to go toe-to-toe with the US? Gimme a break.
#8
The other thing I can't figure out is how they're going to resuscitate their nuclear program when their scientists are buried under tons of rubble, 90% of their facilities are destroyed and billions of dollars of investment goes up in smoke. You can't just press a button and have a nuclear program automatically regenerate, just like that.
#9
To me the most interesting part is the purges of the command staff. By itself it could mean almost anything, but in conjunction with the other preperations it sounds more like coup-proofing than war preperations.
If the MM's were realy panicking about american invasion, they would not be getting rid of their most experinced/competent military types. I think they realize that any regime change wont start untill after 2009.
OTOH, we are not hearing much about porter goss over at CIA. (insert Hopeless optimistic speculation about covert ops here.)...
Posted by: N guard ||
09/17/2005 13:48 Comments ||
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#11
Regime change within 24 months. No choice, US doesn't want Israel to take action, and Israelis security is endangered.
Bush prefers to have Europe reach the same conclusions that he has, which to some extent that have, but the Euros aren't likely to support conclusions resulting in actions.
The goal is regime change, rather than lobbing missles at nuke sites, is essential. A fundamental mind change is necessary. Otherwise, Iran has all that is necessary to expeditously rebuild under the same management.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/17/2005 14:58 Comments ||
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#12
If Iran expects war with the US, then they will first try to close the Straits of Hormuz to US re-supply. Assuming they can, US forces in Iraq would have to be re-supplied via Turkey or Saudi Arabia. Can the Iranians get Turkey to deny supply? I don't know, you'll have to ask these two guys.
#14
CA: The goal is regime change, rather than lobbing missles at nuke sites, is essential. A fundamental mind change is necessary. Otherwise, Iran has all that is necessary to expeditously rebuild under the same management.
No support for this in Congress. Iran has a population of 60m. Budget at least 6,000 American dead in the first 2 years. Even Iraq was a hard sell, and that was 18 months after 9/11.
A nuclear weapons program can't be rebuilt "expeditiously". Israel's attack on Iraq's Osirak reactor was such that Iraq hadn't recovered by the time of Desert Storm - a full decade later or by the time of Operation Iraqi Freedom, two decades later.
#15
Zpaz: If Iran expects war with the US, then they will first try to close the Straits of Hormuz to US re-supply. Assuming they can, US forces in Iraq would have to be re-supplied via Turkey or Saudi Arabia.
They weren't able to do it during the 80's (during the Iran-Iraq War), when they had pretty up-to-date equipment inherited from the Shah. Reagan sank a good chunk of their navy back then. These days, the Iranians are using crappy equipment from Russia and China. There is no chance of them being able close the region's waterways today. Uncle Sam has air supremacy in the region, which means that Iran's Navy is as good as sunk - they just don't know it yet.
#16
My scenario.
Iran Attacks.
The nation of Iran ceases to exist.
The new nation of East Israel is formed (As soon as the radiation dies down)
The collective world's nations say "Iran?" What's that.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/17/2005 16:04 Comments ||
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#17
Honestly, I think this could be a push to take Iraq. They might think we've become so disillusioned that we wouldn't fight back, and instead retreat. It would be interesting to see where in the next couple of months most of the military on the border is going. Where it is on the border might give an indication of what the intent is.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/17/2005 16:26 Comments ||
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#18
Charles: Honestly, I think this could be a push to take Iraq. They might think we've become so disillusioned that we wouldn't fight back, and instead retreat.
I doubt it. They know our capabilities. The one thing that would prompt Congress to write a blank check for regime change in Iran would be an Iranian invasion of Iraq. But the mullahs know that with air supremacy on our side, we'll cut their infantry formations to pieces. I don't think they're that bone-headed. They're not going to invade even if we smash their nuclear facilities to bits for the same reason - any Iranian attack on Iraq is all the casus belli we need to go all the way from Iraq to the Afghan border.
#19
An Iranian invasion is a bad idea for Iran for yet another reason - it will unite all the jihadis and Iraqis of all denominations and ethnicities against Iran. Zarqawi did not show up in Iraq just to hand it over to a bunch of stinking Shiites. For Uncle Sam, an Iranian invasion is the best of all possible worlds. This is why the Iranians won't attack Iraq.
#20
This scenario might have been correct...THIRTY YEARS AGO...However, Jimmy Carter is no longer POTUS.
First of all, I believe the US assumption is that the US will not have to unilaterally invade Iran, as such. That is, we will not conduct an Iran campaign like Gulf War I.
Instead, we have reached agreement with Europe, Russia and China to wait until Iran actually launches one or more nuclear missiles. We also take into account that this may be done in concert with North Korea doing the same. And we fully intend to shoot down any and all missiles launched.
As far as NK goes, we would have an understanding with China that it would be obligated to immediately invade NK and neutralize its nuclear and war-making capability.
Though, by launching nuclear missiles, the entire nation of Iran would be forfeit by Cold War-era protocols, the US would probably blanket broadcast across all electronic media that the people of Iran had only 24 hours to arrest their government, for the Iranian army and Revolutionary Guard, along with other any armed forces to stand down and return to their barracks, and for Iranian cities to indicate compliance and surrender by turning on all lights at night, or lighting large bonfires if they do not have electricity.
If they did not satisfactorally comply, then first of all, the US would detonate a low-level neutron weapon over the city of Qom. This would both cause significant material destruction, and would also demonstrate the horrific nature of death by radiation. It would also destroy the center of the regime's support.
Immediately afterwards, a massive air and ground campaign would commence simultaneously. The intent would be to isolate any non-compliant military units away from population centers and annihilate them.
Special Operations Command would be tasked with locating and neutralizing all nuclear sites in the country, with emphasis on securing any remaining nuclear weapons.
#21
Regardless of everyone's opinions about the Iraq war, people are tired and wary of a war without complete support like we did in the Persian Gulf war. This has to be a larger multi-national coalition, with larger players including France (yes yuck). We need clear conditions for victory and a quick as possible exit plan. Learn the lessons from the Iraq invasion, we don't need to babysit another country, but our firepower is definality needed. Destory the nuke plants and replace the regime then get out and let arab democracy form. The main variable I see is the media.
#22
The hell with multinational crap. Keep out the reporters - including taking out muslim/arab sats then clean house as needed with what ever weapons are appropriate.
If the MM's were realy panicking about american invasion, they would not be getting rid of their most experinced/competent military types. I think they realize that any regime change wont start untill after 2009.
Ahem! Stalin, WW2, even post-invasion by Nazi Germany was still purging his officer corps. Many of the best Russian field commanders were executed despite the fact that Stalin (and his generals) knew that war with the Nazis was right around the corner (or actually ongoing). Zhukov himself barely escaped being purged.
Ascribing intelligent thought and war planning to the Iranian leaders and Revolutionary Guard is asking to be shown an alternative solution.
#24
The future of Iran looks like Yugoslavia and its twin Kosovos will be the Kurdish areas and Khuzestan. As Kurds and Shiia Arabs prosper in the new Iraq, their ethnic cousins across the border will become increasingly restless. Atrocities will follow and Iraq will not stand by and watch Kurds and Arabs being massacred in Iran. The USA will not let Iraq go to war with iran and risk losing, so it will intervene, and the campaign will look remarkably like the Kosovo campaign. However, the Persians have more to lose than the Serbs so it will last longer and result in more destruction. Iran is a big place with difficult terrain and many infrastructure chokepoints. To win all you need to do is destroy their capacity to move around and resupply. The nuclear facilities are irrelevant as the rump Iran (sans Khuzestan, Kurdish areas, the Gulf islands and possibly the Azeri northwest) will have destroyed infrastructure and no oil money to repair it.
#25
I still think that this is telling us that the Iranians will detonate a uranium-based nuke in the next six months. They wouldn't be afraid of a US attack unless there was a major shift in the status quo to provoke such an attack. Conventional defense is key in the period between a prototype detonation and the possession of a credible deterent. And such a deterent would not have to directly target the US or its forces either. The threat against the Straits or the Gulf oil fields would be pretty credible.
#26
France, China and Russia will never explicitely agree to military action against Iran. If Iran explodes and experimental nuclear device to demonstrate that it can, or it shoots off missiles (nuke-tipped or not), those three will advocate discussion until long after the cows come home. They cannot effectively go to war against Iran, therefore they will do their best to keep on Iran's good side (such as it is) by preventing anyone else from taking any real action. President Bush is letting them demonstrate the futility of their approach... and I do hope he has a plan for when we (not they) have had enough of such futile posturing.
#27
We need to encourage regime change by supporting those elements that can make significant contributions, not those big mouths that just suck down resources and produce nothing.
We need to also plan for a major decapitation of the military and political leadership. Lop off the head and the body just jerks around, so to speak.
As far as the underground uranium concentrators go, they could become tombs. They also need power. Lots of power to run the processes. Power plants require combustion air and cooling. Go after them. Bushehr reactor needs to be taken out before it is loaded with nuclear fuel rods. Otherwise you have a highly contaminated Persian Gulf. Iranian propaganda and comm needs to be incapacitated. Shut off their satellite feeds, fiber optics, target sat phones. This is what we need to be willing to do and we should have plans set for this now.
We need to be putting all the pieces of the puzzle in place. The stakes of not doing so, a la the EUniks, are too high to ignore.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/17/2005 19:33 Comments ||
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#28
Bushehr reactor will probably be loaded with fuel rods in 2006.
#29
ZF: This isn't the Clinton administration (thank God), and this isn't a remote threat. All is a matter of timing.
As Iran moves to come its four-cycle enrichment process, as the EU-3 finally resolves in its own mind that discussions result in nothing, Congress will increasingly become more alarmed. All of these conclusions will be reached within the next 6-9 months. In fact, if history is any indication, you will probably hear from the donks in Congress about how the "real threat" is (was Iran ((and NoKo)).
Coincidentially, the timeline for Iraq's military build up and the formation of its political processes will be much further along 6-9 months hence.
In essence, the clock is ticking in an unfavorable direction for Iran's regime. To do anything less than regime change is meaningless.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/17/2005 20:37 Comments ||
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#30
Closing the Straits of Hormuz is the one thing short of a missile launch guaranteed to bring down an attack. The US has never accepted that any nation would shut off an area to its shipping. Even in the Watergate/VietNam era of US weakness, Ford sank the Cambodian Navy for seizing a ship. When Libya declared the "Line of Death," the 6th fleet immediately went across it, and destroyed any Libyan aircraft/boats attempting to enforce it. Heck, in the middle of the Civil War, we were prepared to go to war with the British Empire over their assisting the Confederates in destroying our shipping.
We don't have any neutron bombs, at least in the "white" world, and I would be surprised if we had them secretly, giving our agreements with Russia. I don't see our using any nukes at all on Iran unless they actually successfully used one on someone else. Even if they launched one at Israel, and it was intercepted, or fizzled, I think we would limit our actions to conventional (albeit massive) attacks.
But, if they actually succeeded in destroying Tel Aviv or Rome or Washington, then we wouldn't mess around. Our policy has always been massive retaliation, unlimited by any sense of "proportionality." It has to be, for otherwise, someone will think a trade is worth it. There would be millions of dead in Iran, many of them women and children. There would be all kinds of resolutions and demonstrations aimed at the US. We'd probably do best to pull all of our troops out of Europe so they don't get arrested for "War Crimes" (and we have to threaten those countries with bombing to get them back). Several countries would break relations. China and Russia might even make threatening noises (big pucker factor there). And many, many people in the US, not all of them leftist idiotarians or fifth-column moslems, would be horrified at our government and its leaders.
That's why this whole establishing democracy thing has to work. Because if it doesn't, we go to Plan B. If the Wilsonians don't end this war, the Jacksonians will.
#31
CA: In essence, the clock is ticking in an unfavorable direction for Iran's regime. To do anything less than regime change is meaningless.
I think this is politically impossible in the current political environment. We're looking at 6,000 American dead, minimum, not to mention perhaps $500B in incremental war and reconstruction expenditures. GWB can't go to war without Congressional approval. He can do air strikes, but regime change, with the consequent commitment of ground troops, is out of the question. We have seen in Iraq that the coercive powers of the reigning government are such that it has taken two years before we were somewhat confident that the government we installed could take care of itself. Two years in Iran means 6,000 American dead (since Iran has 3x the population of Iraq). This is assuming that the Shiite government in Iraq doesn't decide to fight Uncle Sam for attacking their Iranian brethren.
#32
This is assuming that the Shiite government in Iraq doesn't decide to fight Uncle Sam for attacking their Iranian brethren. Ethnicity trumps religion in the middle east. The Shiite government in Iraq will decide to fight Iran for attacking their Arab and Kurd brethren.
Countries that don't enforce non-proliferation shouldn't receive US BDM technology promise.
Cracks appeared yesterday in the U.S.-European diplomatic drive to curb Iran's nuclear weapons programs as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepares to reveal a new compromise to the U.N. General Assembly today.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday that Paris would not object to Mr. Ahmadinejad's suggestion that Iran share its nuclear energy technology with other Islamic countries, as long as the Iranian program fully adhered to the international treaty against nuclear proliferation.
That comment came after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other U.S. officials said the idea of Iran sharing nuclear technology with anyone only underscored the dangers of Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Denis Simonneau, spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Paris yesterday that France had no objection to Iran sharing nuclear energy technology "so long as it remains under the terms of the [nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]."
"Each signatory to the treaty can cooperate with other nations" under the terms of the pact, said Mr. Simonneau, if they adhere to the rules against developing or exporting military nuclear material.
But Miss Rice, in an interview with NBC News that was released yesterday, said Mr. Ahmadinejad's idea of sharing Iranian nuclear technology showed again why Tehran's nuclear programs must be halted.
"Generally, that's called proliferation and so I would think that would probably not be within the responsibilities of a state operating within the [nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]," she said. "I hope people were listening."
The United States and the group known as EU-3 (Britain, France and Germany) had been united in a push to halt Iran's clandestine efforts to enrich uranium, a critical step in the development of nuclear weapons.
Iran, an oil-rich nation, insists its nuclear programs are intended for peaceful civilian energy uses, but the United States thinks Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons.
The EU powers had taken the diplomatic lead, offering a combination of political and economic sweeteners if Tehran curbed its nuclear programs and agreed to international inspections.
But the campaign to pressure Iran has faltered internationally. Opposition from China, Russia and others has undercut a drive by the Bush administration and its allies for a quick referral by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, of the Iran question to the Security Council a necessary first step for punitive sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting with President Bush at the White House yesterday, sidestepped a question of whether Russia would back a Security Council referral next week, saying he had been told directly by Mr. Ahmadinejad in a private meeting here Thursday that Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons.
Mr. Bush said there was a strong international consensus that Iran should not be allowed to obtain nuclear arms.
"I am confident that the world will see to it that Iran goes to the U.N. Security Council if it does not live up to its agreements," Mr. Bush said.
Mr. Ahmadinejad reportedly will offer to bring in major international partners for its nuclear programs as a way to ease fears that its efforts could be secretly diverted to making nuclear bombs.
European diplomats in Vienna yesterday confirmed an account that first appeared in the British Financial Times that Iran is proposing to form "joint ventures" for its nuclear programs, perhaps including control of the critical uranium-enrichment process.
The model appears to be the Russian-built nuclear plant near the southern Iranian city of Bushehr. Moscow has tried to ease intense U.S. concerns about the plant by keeping control of the spent fuel the site will generate, material that could be diverted to make weapons.
Not clear is the extent of Mr. Ahmadinejad's compromise or whether it would cover a network of secret nuclear sites that Iran only recently was forced to admit existed.
EU-3 foreign ministers and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with Mr. Ahmadinejad and top Iranian negotiators Thursday, offering no firm verdict on the Iranian proposal.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said the ministers had a "frank discussion," and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the European incentive package "remained on the table." The little-known Mr. Ahmadinejad, an Islamic hard-liner who was the surprise winner in the presidential election in June, has been a star attraction of the massive United Nations summit.
Although shunned by U.S. officials, he met with the American press, with Mr. Putin, with Mr. Annan and European officials, and with leaders from Turkey, Nigeria and Kuwait, among other countries.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/17/2005 00:44 ||
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#1
Iran's Revol Guard Corps spokeman > KATRINA = ANTI-US NUKES = Amer can suffer war-devastated areas or war zones at any time. It is also feasible that America can break up in many small independent states. IOW, the IRGC and its God-based SOcialism and Theocracy has just threatened America.
#2
I'm tired of this circle-jerk.
There is no negotiation with the Mullahs. They are hell bent on the bomb and will have it. Let them give it away, they are going to anyway.
This administration and all subsequent ones should have a Kennedy type policy toward Tehran.
Any nuke that goes off in the Western hemisphere we will presume to be an attack on the US by Iran which will result in Iran's complete destruction.
They want to be assholes about it?, hold them directly accountable with their country's life.
NEW DELHI: India will vote with the United States, France, Britain and Germany in the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board of governors if forced to make a choice on referring the question of Iran's nuclear intentions to the United Nations' Security Council.
Highly-placed South Block sources told The Hindu that such a decision to vote with the U.S. in a crunch situation was taken even before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went into a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in New York.
At this bilateral meeting Iran is said to have come up for discussion.
According to reports from New York, it appears that the U.S. and the European Union "three" are backing off from asking the IAEA's board to refer Iran to the Security Council on September 19 itself.
The board is meeting in Vienna on Monday,
In such a scenario, where the E.U. "three" Foreign Ministers have had diplomatic contacts with the new Iranian leadership in New York, it appears that India will not immediately be called upon to vote one way or another in the IAEA board.
Posted by: john ||
09/17/2005 16:07 Comments ||
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In a spirited attack, the State Department's spokesman on Friday accused Syria of making trouble not only for Iraq, by allowing foreign fighters to infiltrate the country, but also for Lebanon and the Palestinians.
"Syria, more and more, is being recognized as a destabilizing element in the region," Adam Ereli said Friday. "It's not just about Iraq; it's about Iraq, it's about Lebanon, it's about the
Palestinian Authority. Because there's a connection between Syria and terrorism and murder and mayhem in each of these three different areas."
Syrian President Bashar Assad's government insists it is doing what it can to keep foreigners from crossing its border into Iraq and has said in the past it was trying to control militant anti-Israeli Palestinian groups based in Damascus.
The Americans contend that many of the suicide bombings in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion 2 1/2 years ago have been committed by foreign fighters who entered the country through Syria. State Department and other U.S. spokesmen have alleged the bombers pass through Damascus' airport with impunity on their way to the border.
"Innocent people are getting blown up in Iraq because Syria is allowing its territory to be used by terrorists bent on sowing murder and mayhem in Iraq," Ereli said. "And they're not going to succeed. The international community is not going to let this continue to happen."
He accused Syria, which removed its occupying army from Lebanon this year, of maintaining "a residual presence" that endangers Lebanon's sovereignty and its people.
As for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and the
West Bank, Ereli said Syria continues its association "with terrorist elements that are bent on sabotaging the peace process. ... And they are certainly out of step with the rest of the world on that."
Last Saturday, Assad hosted leaders of 10 Palestinian groups based in Damascus. The news agency SANA said he told them to close ranks and continue their struggle to achieve a Palestinian state.
Ereli said Syria has ignored pleas to stop the border crossings from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, current Secretary Condoleezza Rice and other State Department officials.
"Does Syria not care that young guys from Yemen or Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan or Iran come into Damascus airport with a one-way ticket and no job and no place to stay and then find their way into Iraq where they strap bombs to themselves and blow themselves up and kill children in a market? Women and children in front of a market?" Ereli asked.
"I mean, why does Syria continue to let that happen unless there's a deliberate decision to do it? There certainly seems to be an unwillingness to take actions to stop it."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:43 ||
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Lebanese MP and leader of the parliamentary majority, Saad Hariri, currently in the U.S for a series of meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, reaffirmed the importance of discovering the identities of those responsible for his father, former Prime Minister, Rafik Harirâs murder, and indicated his intention to complete his four-year term as representative. He denied wanting to eclipse Lebanese President Emile Lahoud who was also attending the session, indicating the purpose of his visit was to maintain the excellent relations his father enjoyed with world leaders. âLebanon needs all its friends and allies", he said. Refusing to be drawn into a discussion about whether Lahoud should resign, he said, "âIt is still too early. I donât believe too many significant development will occur in the short term. I will discuss this at length when I return to Lebanon.â
Asharq al Awsat spoke to Hariri and asked him about the ongoing UN investigation into his father's murder. He reaffirmed his support for international calls âto establish the truth surrounding the death of Rafik Hariri and punish those responsible.â He added, âPersonally, the death of my father has left an immense and irreparable void. We need to try the murders to ensure the stability of Lebanon.â The international support enjoyed by the UN commission "protected Lebanon, its people and politicians so they can practice true democracy.â
On his upcoming meeting with US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, Hariri said he expected the discussion to center on the conference, which the US administration is organizing next week in this city to support Lebanon, which Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is expected to attend.
Hariri praised the German investigator Detlev Mehlis and described him as âa specialist without any political affiliation who is diligently doing his job and trying to find out who committed the crime.â Commenting on the recent arrests of four security chiefs close to the Lebanese presidency, Hariri would only say, âAll that is needed is to go back to the day of the murder, 14th February, 2005, and examine the political situation at the time. These men were not working for the benefit of Lebanon, but against the country.â In Beirut, the investigation gathered pace, after its head, Detlev Mehlis, obtained, on Thursday, the results of the analysis of thousands of telephone conversations, which took place in specialized laboratories, in Germany and France, which apparently shed light on the identities of the perpetrators and featured discussions on the success of the operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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Syria strongly condemned bomb attacks which have killed scores of people in Baghdad this week and said it was ready to do "whatever it takes" to cooperate with US and Iraqi authorities in bringing security and stability to its neighbor.
Gonna surrender, are they? We'll believe it when the terror orgs are out of Damascus.
In a statement released two days after US President George W. Bush publicly warned Damascus to stop foreign fighters entering Iraq, the Syrian embassy here said the country was making "great efforts" to seal the border between Syria and Iraq. "Syria strongly and categorically denounces the terrorist explosions, which have killed and injured many innocent civilians in Iraq during the past couple of days," the statement said. "In this hard time, Syria would like to reiterate its position calling for the unity of the Iraqi people as a path to insure stability and security in Iraq. To help the Iraqi people in achieving security and prosperity and because the Iraqi quagmire has dangerous implications on the entire Middle East, Syria has exerted and continues to exert great efforts to seal the Syrian-Iraqi border," the statement said.
"Moreover, Syria reiterates our willingness to do whatever it takes to cooperate with the US and Iraqi authorities for the sake of achieving these objectives," it added. Bush warned Syria on Tuesday that it faces growing isolation because of its failure to stop foreign fighters from entering Iraq and because of its actions in Lebanon. "These people are coming from Syria into Iraq and killing a lot of innocent people," Bush told reporters following a meeting at the White House with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. "They're trying to kill our folks as well. And the Syrian leader (President Bashar al-Assad) must understood, we take his lack of action seriously," Bush said.
"The (Syrian) government is going to become more and more isolated as a result of two things: one, not being cooperative with the Iraqi government in terms of securing Iraq and, two, not being fully transparent about what they did in Lebanon," the president said. Bush did not specify what Syrian actions in Lebanon he was referring to but Damascus and its allies in the then-Lebanese government have been widely blamed for the February 14 bomb blast on the Beirut seafront that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, issued a strong warning to Damascus on Monday over providing help to radical groups in Iraq and said "our patience is running out." When asked how the United States could respond, Khalilzad said "all options are on the table," including military. "I would not like to elaborate more, they should understand what I mean." Asked about the military option Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that was "not the issue right now with Syria."
"The president never takes any option off the table, but I think that's not the issue right now with Syria," Rice told reporters at the United Nations, where she was attending a summit. "I think the issue right now with Syria is that Syria is really internationally isolated."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
My take has simplified, given the long time that has elapsed with this obvious situation. Ignore what they say, both sides, and watch what they do. Syria hasn't done dick to stop jihadis and supplies crossing back and forth across the border. Since pulling out of LebLand they surely have the troops to beef it up, were they inclined. The US has blathered as much about Syrian actions as the IAEA has about "progress" with Iran.
STFU and do something. No. More. Talk. Punishment.
#2
I agree that Assad hasn't done much other than look innocent and say "Who me?". Coalition forces, however, are working closer and closer to the Syrian border with increasingly effective particpation from the Iraqis. My take is that in the near future, the good guys will be straying across the Syrian border. Must be those cheap imported GPS units! Little Assad will eventually realize that being unhelpful in the Rumsfeldian sense is not a good thing.
#3
Z-man isn't a stable commodity. He appears to lash out against the 'world' when things are not going his way. Keep hammering him and his buds on our side of the Iraq border while letting slip little bits of info that imply Syrian authorities are playing a double sided game leting the Coalition know who, what, when, where. Soon you'll start hearing 'booming' in Damascus. Create an environment exploiting the Z-man's paranoid behavior and he'll become a much more real threat to Asad than State Department threats.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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Who cares? They'll never be trustworthy and anything less than the worst-case assumption is truly stupid. Plan it and kill this bunch, all elements of the regime and all mil or nuke related sites.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud called yesterday for the international community's continued support for his country's campaign of reform. Speaking before the world leaders in the UN's 60th General Assembly, Lahoud said: "Lebanon will continue to look to the United Nations and the international community for their support of our government's wide and bold program of reforms. This interest in my country is one that exemplifies a world's support of freedom."
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is due to present his Cabinet's reform plan during a sideline conference at the World Summit grouping several members of the international community on September 19, and will appeal for economic aid in order to implement these reforms. Lahoud said the achievement of a politically secure world becomes reality only through world order based on a respect of the rule of international law and human rights and the implementation of legitimate resolutions. "In this regard, the Middle East remains an example of a region suffering from a failure to implement [internationally recognized] resolutions," he added.
Earlier in the day, Lahoud described his meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Friday as "excellent." Lahoud's comments came after a tete-a-tete meeting held with the top UN diplomat on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Sources close to Lahoud said the pair discussed several topics, including United Nations resolutions related to the Middle East and Lebanon, but refused to elaborate. Annan's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told The Daily Star the meeting focused on completing the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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Posted by: john ||
09/17/2005 16:10 ||
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"India was the only country outside the Soviet bloc to be most successfully penetrated by the KGB, right up to the office of the prime minister"
"Leonid Shebarshin, telling the story of how, in one instance, he paid a midnight visit to Delhi's corridors of power, "bringing two million rupees around as a gift from the Politburo to Congress (R)". "
"The KGB files, reproduced in 'The Mitrokhin Archive II', show that ten Indian newspapers as well as one press agency were on the Soviet payroll. In 1972, the KGB claimed to have planted more than 3,500 articles in Indian newspapers. "
Posted by: john ||
09/17/2005 20:16 Comments ||
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#2
Meanwhile, "ally" Russia denies visas to two Indian businessmen - Anil Ambani and Anand Mahindra (of Reliance Industries and Mahindra and Mahindra).
Not any old businessmen mind you, both are billionaires (in US dollars not rupees), heading major industrial groups and are well connected politically.
Posted by: john ||
09/17/2005 20:25 Comments ||
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#3
Indira GandhiââVANOâ in KGB parlanceâfigures prominently. The KGB orchestrated her welcome to the Soviet Union in 1953: âAs well as keeping her under continuous surveillance, the Second Chief Directorate also surrounded her with handsome, attentive male admirers.â
Page 322 claims juicy details: âOn at least one occasion a secret gift of 2 million rupees from the Politburo to Congress (R) was personally delivered after midnight by the head of Line PR in New Delhi, Leonid Shebarshin. Another million rupees were given on the same occasion to a newspaper which supported Mrs Gandhi.â
âDuring 1975,â pages 328-9 say, âa total of 10.6 million rubles was spent on active measures in India designed to strengthen support for Mrs Gandhi and undermine her political opponents.â
In 1977, âfiles noted by Mitrokhin also identify by name 21 of the non-Communist politicians (four of them ministers) whose election campaigns were subsidised by the KGB.â
Posted by: john ||
09/17/2005 20:43 Comments ||
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#4
You mean that that whole Non-Aligned Movement that India instigated in the 1970's was really Soviet front bought and paid for by the Kremlin? Boy, I'm really floored. Never figured that one out.
#5
"India was the only country outside the Soviet bloc to be most successfully penetrated by the KGB, right up to the office of the prime minister"
I guess they're counting Carter as merely incompetent, not an enemy agent.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/17/2005 21:45 Comments ||
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#6
According to Seymour Hersh, the Indian PM Moraji Desai (famous for his bizarre habit of drinking a glass of his own urine every morning) was a paid CIA informant for decades.
Posted by: john ||
09/17/2005 22:02 Comments ||
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#7
Right, RC. It was China who bought a US President. Though I suppose Carter might have used the Galloway defense: he didn't need to be bribed to work against his country.
Palestinian riot police fired in the crowd air Saturday to keep back dozens of stone-throwing trespassers, and cranes and bulldozers plugged breaches along the porous Gaza-Egypt border, in the first signs of a clampdown after days of chaos. The fate of the border and a new Israeli demand that the terrorist group Hamas be barred from upcoming Palestinian elections are expected to be raised at an upcoming meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. A summit is tentatively set for Oct. 2, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday.
The border mayhem is emerging as Abbas' most immediate failure test as he tries to assert control in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal a week ago. Thousands have crossed between Gaza and Egypt in recent days, virtually without controls, to shop or reunite with relatives after years of separation, but also to smuggle weapons and drugs. Abbas is faced with a dilemma. He needs to secure freedom of movement for his people ahead of parliament elections in January, and that means keeping the Gaza-Egypt border open. However, the chaos increasingly makes him look weak as if that could be worse in the eyes of the world, and will make it tougher to negotiate a future border deal with Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told Israel Radio that recent events in Gaza "were not encouraging," and that it's unlikely Israel will make more concessions if the Gaza experiment fails.
On Saturday morning, helmeted Palestinian riot police patrolled the border strip, checking documents and bags of Palestinians returning from Egypt. Police also prevented Gazans from entering Egypt, witnesses said. At one point, dozens of Gazans waiting at the border threw stones at police, who fired in the air for several minutes and threw stones back at the crowd. "I can throw bigger stones than you can. I used to be a rioter, too."
Wonder if any of 'em can throw a slider.
Later in the day, Palestinian bulldozers and cranes began closing holes in the border barriers. A crane piled large cement blocks on top of each other. On the Egyptian side, border guards rolled out barbed wire to keep out trespassers.
Abbas said Friday evening, after a meeting with senior Egyptian officials, that he hoped to restore order along the border in coming days. However, the Palestinians say they can only do so if the border's Rafah crossing â closed by Israel as part of the pullout â is reopened quickly for terrorist attacks passenger traffic. Israel says Rafah needs to remain closed for at least six months, both for a technological update and to test Abbas' ability to control terrorists militants in Gaza. In the meantime, traffic from Gaza would be routed through alternate Israeli-controlled crossings. The Palestinians have rejected the proposal. OK. Then stay there.
In another sign of a clampdown, Palestinian police on Saturday arrested six Palestinians for looting greenhouses in abandoned Jewish settlements. American Jewish donors had bought more than 3,000 greenhouses from Israeli settlers for $14 million and transferred them to the Palestinians to secure thousands of farming jobs. In recent days, officials estimated looters had taken about 30 percent of the greenhouse equipment and wrecked most of the rest.
Sharon told The New York Times that if Hamas runs, Israel could make it difficult for Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank to reach polling stations, by not easing travel restrictions on the day of the vote. "I don't think they (Palestinians) can have elections without our help," Sharon told the newspaper. Oh, that's going to help. "Abdul owes his election to the Joooooooooooos. [bang][bang]
"Way to go, Abdul, now remember, you owe us."
Hamas is responsible for dozens of deadly terrorist attacks on Israelis in the past two decades, and Hamas terrorist leaders have said the terrorist group will continue to build its private terrorist army and carry out terrorist attacks in Israeli-controlled areas. Abbas hopes Hamas, which is expected to make a strong showing in the election, will eventually transform itself into a political party and disband its armed wing. I hope the lion will lie down with the lamb. Abbas and I are both going to be disappointed.
#1
Ah yes, the deadly porous border. Not sieve like, not permeable mind you but porous. Yep. It's easy. BTW, what's the topography of New Orleans? Yep, it's still Bowl-like. And yes the levess were porous.
#2
Israel would be best served by washing their hands of Gaza and the crossing with Egypt. Why they try to maintain any pro forma activity at all is almost a mystery.
Hamas is in de facto control of the Paleos in Gaza, and remain so solely at the patience of the Egyptians. The Israelis have no more say in their electoral exclusion then they do about most everything in Paleo-land.
The best bet as far as the Israelis is concerned would be to reinforce the wall, set up anti-mortar and anti-rocket lasers, then let the Egyptians and Hamas come to an agreement, as it were. This would probably involve a lot fewer Hamas walking around.
The turbans never get tired of this sort of thing, do they? That's okay, though. I never get tired of trying to look up her dress...
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza will receive extra security at the Sunfeast Open, commencing here on Monday, following threats by some Islamic clerics of stopping her from playing in the city unless "she is properly dressed".
"We're in charge here!"
Kolkata's Jamaet-e-Ulema-e-Hind has allegedly threatened to stop Sania from playing here if she wears dresses which are against "Islamic traditions".
Meaning dresses she won't trip over, of course...
Additional Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, Gautam Mohan Chakraborty said here today that police personnel would always guard Sania Mirza in view of a threat issued by an Islamic body over her skimpy attire. "We are not leaving anything to chances. All possible precaution would be taken," Chakraborty said, adding that spectators would be frisked and a strong vigil maintained to prevent any untoward incident.
"We're pretty used to dealing with nutbags by now..."
Earlier, Sania had refused to be drawn into a controversy over her dress and denied she faced any racial discrimination while on tour. A religious scholar had reportedly issued a 'fatwa' about her dress code saying that Islam did not permit a woman to be so skimpily-clad. Sania has also decided not to walk the ramp in a fashion pageant featuring competing players at the $1,700,000 WTA tour Sunfeast Open.
Damn. I was looking forward to trying to look down her cleavage...
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
09/17/2005 07:37 ||
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#1
It's a different culture you see. It would look different if we could walk a mile in their slippers. The infidel game of tennis is dying slowly kept alive only by skimpy atire and the inertia thing.
The decision to adopt Islamic Shariah law in the draft Iraqi constitution has left the so-called "Baghdad Blogger" -- a homosexual Web logger in Iraq -- worried about his rights.
The blogger, who uses "Salam Pax" as his Internet name, says the position of homosexuals in Iraq has deteriorated since the establishment of the new government.
Salam Pax earned widespread online readership with his acerbic and blunt commentary about life in Iraq during the war. The 32-year-old architect has worked as an interpreter for an American journalist and lives in Baghdad and continues to write his blog, or Internet commentary.
Homosexuality is a taboo subject in Iraq. A group of American homosexuals came to Baghdad last year to register a nongovernmental organization, only to be warned that they would probably be killed by irate Iraqis if they attempted to do so.
Not sure that Sharia law was adopted in constitution, but I am not gay either. Consult with Andrew Sullivan, one suggests...
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/17/2005 00:58 ||
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#1
The constitution, as I understand it, implements a form of a sha'riah with respect to how family law is works. Israel, per a number of ppl, uses something very similar as far as dealing with its own Muslim population.
That said, I think it goes without saying that there isn't going to be gay marriage in Iraq or anything like the visible gay community here in the US active there in the near future - which I think most of us already knew would be the case going into this. Near as I can tell, the constitution is silent on subject of homosexuality altogether, which likely better than the previous regime with its fondness for hadd punishments that would seem to contradict the current constitution.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 1:29 Comments ||
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#2
typical for Islam - what the women don't know/find out about.... is OK with Allan. If someone else gets caught - death
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/17/2005 1:36 Comments ||
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#3
Pax was a consummate ass. Mebbe he should haul that precious ass of his back to London where they loved him. Loved him long time.
#4
That's actually a pretty good summation of it, Frank. I've been reading a book on Saudi society that was published in the early 1980s (before PC took over Middle East studies) and it's quite up-front about homosexual acts among Arab men quite similar to what the ancient Greeks did as far as pederasty goes.
Some of my army buddies who recently got back from Afghanistan were pretty candid as far as that kind of stuff goes at least amongst the Pashtuns.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 1:53 Comments ||
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#5
All I can say is to watch your six, Pax, if ya know what I mean....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/17/2005 1:58 Comments ||
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#6
Big Pharaoh talks about an interesting experince he had in Alexandria recently,check it out.
http://bigpharaoh.blogspot.com/
The rash of car bombings in Baghdad this week has once again thrown into debate whether the American and Iraqi counterinsurgency strategy is working.
The explosions underscored how the loosely knit and elusive networks of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, former Baathists and other extremists still can recruit discontented Iraqis and foreign fighters to launch well-coordinated attacks, even as American and Iraqi forces stage offensives intended to root out the insurgents.
Before the latest round of bombings, one senior officer at the United States Central Command conceded that Mr. Zarqawi's organization remained "a very robust network" despite the heavily touted capture and killings of numerous underlings in Mosul, Tal Afar and other communities where the insurgents found refuge and even safe haven. One Marine officer in Anbar Province, a stronghold of the insurgency, described the military effort against the insurgency as "punching a balloon in the fog."
Melting away ahead of gathering forces, only to set up planning and bomb-making cells in another hideaway, the insurgents have avoided calamitous defeats. But recent changes in American and Iraqi tactics, plus gains in their intelligence on the insurgency - offered mostly by Iraqis angered at the antigovernment violence - have helped them capture or kill many fighters, including some identified as leaders, American commanders say.
The latest offensives against the insurgents and their rampage of violence in Baghdad come at a crucial time, as Iraq prepares for a constitutional referendum on Oct 15. "We are convinced we are going to fight our way to the elections," said Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the deputy chief of staff for coalition forces in Iraq.
Brig. Gen. Muhammad al-Askari, a strategic adviser to Defense Minister Sadoun Dulaimi, acknowledged that there was little security forces could do to prevent another round of attacks - and that it was impossible to prevent every suicide bomber from reaching a target in Baghdad.
"Any crazy guy anywhere in the world with weapons can create a catastrophe, no matter what the security measures," he said.
Although the attacks in Baghdad suggest that there may be cells of insurgents there, or at least that they can sneak into the city to plant bombs, senior officials at the Pentagon and in Iraq say they believe that Mr. Zarqawi and the insurgency's "center of gravity" is now in the bends and towns of the Euphrates River valley near the Syrian border.
Commanders say they plan to squeeze the Zarqawi leadership and Iraqi insurgents in those areas. Throughout the spring and summer marines and Army forces staged raids into those same towns, confiscating weapons and killing scores of insurgents. But many fighters melted into the countryside, and there were not enough coalition troops to keep a sufficient presence in the villages.
Commanders say new offensives in Anbar Province in coming weeks will be modeled on the siege of Tal Afar, which used 8,500 American and Iraqi troops.
"You will see the same thing down along the Euphrates Valley to push back out and restore Iraqi control to the area around Qaim," Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top American commander in Iraq, said in an interview in Baghdad. General Casey said the Iraqi forces had little control of the country's border with Syria on either side of Qaim, a desolate town on the Euphrates.
The weeklong offensive at Tal Afar, and the major fight for Falluja last year, demonstrated that insurgents could not be wholly bottled up and prevented from fleeing.
In recent days, one new tactic was tried: in advance of the Tal Afar offensive, Col. H. R. McMaster, commander of the Third Armored Cavalary Regiment, ordered his troops and Iraqi security forces to stake out villages where guerrillas might seek refuge. Although the solution may have been imperfect, scores of insurgents were intercepted - including a group of five men disguised as women.
But independent analysts suggest that the strategy of driving the insurgents from urban centers and trying to capture or kill as many as possible, aiming especially at leaders, may be flawed. The violence in Baghdad is only one problem. Another is that the fighting may work against the search for political consensus among Iraqis.
Iraqi defense officials insist they are still trying to come up with a political solution that will avoid an all-out battle in Samarra, another insurgent base, because the offensive may further alienate the Sunni minority, who would view it as a means of suppressing the Sunni vote. Similar attempts failed to head off the offensive at Tal Afar, as they did a year ago in Falluja.
The insurgency knows it cannot win a conventional battle with American forces, but it has become quite proficient at fighting "the asymmetric war," said Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"They are protected by the sheer number of cells and elements and different groups involved," he said. "There is no central structure to attack."
Some independent critics say that the unabated violence suggests the military has been focusing too much on hunting down and killing insurgents and not enough on providing security in population centers like Baghdad - safe zones that could spread like "oil spots," as Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr. wrote in the current issue of Foreign Affairs.
The offensive near Tal Afar is far from major populated areas, "so you are not building from your base of support out," said Mr. Krepinevich, executive director of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, in an interview. "The way you really defeat an insurgency is not so much by killing them, but by asphyxiating them."
Military sweeping operations are "like sticking your fist in a bucket of water," he said. "Things are changed as long as you're standing there, but they change back to the way they were when you pull our fist out."
Mr. Krepinevich's assessment is that the United States currently has "more than enough firepower in Iraq" to secure Baghdad and other significant population centers, should that become the military's focus. The real shortfall, he said, "is a matter of intelligence."
Commanders say their intelligence on the insurgency is improving. Col. Robert Brown, commander of the 25th Infantry Division's First Brigade, operating in northwest Iraq, said the best intelligence sources were Iraqis whose family members had been killed by insurgents and, in revenge, offer their services to the American military or the new domestic security services.
"So we have a number of sources that provide information," Colonel Brown said. " Some of these sources have moved up to pretty high-level positions, and it helps us quite a bit."
A senior Central Command officer said insurgents had detonated over 300 bombs so far this year. The officer said insurgents had launched 65 to 75 attacks a day against coalition forces in Iraq - 30 to 35 of them in Baghdad alone - a number that had remained steady for two months until this week's attacks.
Military and intelligence officials are reluctant to provide assessments on the size of the insurgency, since it is hard to count, drawing its members from foreign fighters, former Baathists, radical Shiites, disenfranchised Sunnis and criminals. The number of insurgents, which some have placed at 8,000 to 12,000, swells when sympathizers or covert accomplices are included. Officials estimate that there could be as many as 1,000 foreign fighters active in Iraq.
Commanders in Iraq say the answer is not more American troops, but to prepare enough Iraqi security forces to battle insurgents and patrol the cities, allowing American forces to step back from the front lines and away from the image of occupier.
Gen. John P. Abizaid, the head of the Central Command, said in an interview this week that the trend was to deny insurgents their goal to infiltrate large urban centers. But at the same time, General Abizaid warned that progress in Iraq "won't be a straight line" and that "there will be a certain amount of violence, and we should expect it."
General Abizaid discounted the idea that more American troops were necessary, noting that many of the more than 180,000 newly trained Iraqi soldiers and police officers were flowing into the region, and taking larger roles in operations.
When asked how long the United States would remain in the lead in the military effort, General Abizaid said: "It's certainly our goal that in 2006 the Iraqis are out in front in counterinsurgency operations. However, I can't tell you that we will achieve that goal."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:40 ||
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#1
Typical NYT article - an editorial disguised as news.
#2
Typical NYT - give you numbers but omit context if its favorable ot the US. The number of attacks "held steady" - month to month, but is DOWN a large amount compared to last year. If they were up conpared to last you, I guarnatee you THAT bit of context would have made it into the NYT article.
I'm sick to death of the press trying its best to distort the news in order to try to hurt Bush/Republicans/Conservatives politically, at huge cost to the country's morale here and huge detriment to vital operations over there, as well as aiding those who propagandize against the US and democracy and liberty.
These bastards should bear some consequence for aiding and abetting the enemy in a time of war. Someone find a tree limb and get me a rope...
Iraq's foreign minister said Friday the political process is on track following completion of the hotly debated draft constitution that will be put to a referendum next month.
Hoshyar Zebari said the document was completed after "difficulties and tough negotiations," and was the "best deal for all communities" though not everyone got everything they wanted.
"We have completed a draft constitution and the Iraqi people will have the final say," he told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. summit when asked whether he expected the constitution to be approved.
"All those who participated in drafting this document ... made mutual compromises." he said. "They could not agree on every single thing but really what we have agreed was what is achievable, what we think is the best deal for all the communities."
"There will always be chances for amendment in the future," he said, but stressed "we are all looking to complete the process, to improve the security."
Zebari said the United Nations was printing five million copies which would be distributed soon. The United Nations said it was waiting for the Iraqi parliament to sign off on the document, hopefully by Sunday.
The Iraqi minister's comments came as the country endured a third consecutive day of sectarian killings, including a suicide car bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed at least 12 worshippers as they left Friday prayers.
The bombing in Tuz Khormato, where a young Saudi man was later arrested wearing a bomb belt on his way to a second mosque, was the latest suicide attack following al-Qaida in Iraq's declaration of all-out war on Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority.
Zebari said the insurgents were acting out of desperation because of the "successes we are making in some parts of the country."
The Iraqi minister said he thinks Iraqi forces are capable of containing the violence, adding that the "the effectiveness of the new Iraqi army units" had been proven during the operations in Tal Afar and elsewhere in Iraq's turbulent western regions.
But he stressed that Iraq would need foreign troops until the political process is complete.
"There is no complete immunity against terrorist attacks or suicide bombers or people who are ready to blow up ... car bombs or themselves and downtown markets or schools or to kill children and so on," he said. "This is a multifaceted effort. It is better intelligence, better forces better coordination and still there is a need for continued support from the coalition forces to complete the job."
Zebari said it was important to keep Iraq moving toward democracy as the country prepares for the referendum on the constituion that is to be followed by new parliamentary elections in December.
"These remaining few months of the political process are crucial to the success of all our efforts to build a prosperous democratic Iraq," he said. "This is the time really to stay the course."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:26 ||
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"Days go by, and events follow one after the other. The battles are many, and the names used are varied. But the goal is one: a Crusader-Rafidite war against the Sunnis.
"The interests of the Crusaders have converged with the desires of their brothers, the hate-filled Rafidites, and the outcome was these crimes and massacres against the Sunnis â from Al-Falluja to al-Madain, Al-Diyala, Al-Samarra, and Al-Mosul, through Al-Ramadi, Hit, Haditha, Al-Rawa, Al-Qaim and other places, and recently â but not last â at Tel'afar. This battle came at this time in order to cover up the scandal of Allah's enemy, Bush, in his dealing with what was left behind by one of Allah's soldiers â the devastating Hurricane Katrina, which revealed to the entire world the great helplessness in dealing with the destruction caused by this hurricane, because of the tremendous attrition of the American army's resources in Iraq and Afghanistan. This hurricane has once again brought to mind the manifestations of racial discrimination among the American people, and has exposed the fragility of the foundations upon which it is structured. The acts of assault and killings have spread, as well as robbery and looting, and what is still to come will be even more terrible, Allah willing.
"This battle has come in order to unveil the ugly face of the government of the descendants of Ibn Al-'Alqami and to remove the shield behind which they hide. The Rafidite neighborhoods [in Tel'afar] have been isolated in order to spare them from the bombings and destruction, and in order to use some of them to launch a war of total annihilation on the Sunni neighborhoods, as a step toward eliminating any sign of life in those neighborhoods. It has been proven to us beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Crusaders are using toxic gases in their battles against the mujahideen, even if the masters of the Black [i.e. White] House and their followers deny it. Ask the hospitals of Tel'afar about the widespread cases of asphyxiation and poisoning among those admitted there.
"Sunnis who managed to escape from the hell of the Crusader bombing were seized by the treacherous hands of the treacherous [Badr] corps and others, who abused and murdered the men and who desecrated the women's honor and stole their jewelry and ornaments.
"This is an organized sectarian war, whose details were carefully planned, against the will of those whose vision has been blinded and whose hearts have been hardened by Allah. Beware, oh Sunni scholars â has your sons' blood become so cheap in your eyes that you have sold it for a low price? Has the honor of your women become so trivial in your eyes? Beware. Have you not heard that many of your chaste and pure sisters from among the Sunnis of Tel'afar had their honor desecrated, their chastity slaughtered, and their wombs filled with the sperm of the Crusaders and of their brothers, the hate-filled Rafidites? Where is your religion? Moreover, where is your sense of honor, your zeal, and your manliness?
"Behold the Rafidites' lackey, [Iraqi Defense Minister] Sa'doon Al-Dulaimi, may Allah keep him miserable, bragging about their victories at Tel'afar. If only I knew what victory they are talking about â these cowards, none of whom dares to leave his lair unless he is shielded by the women of the Marines. Does this traitor believe that bombing houses, with women and children inside, constitutes a victory? By Allah, what a miserable victory.
"For this battle, against this small group of believers, which numbers no more than a few hundred, they mobilized over 10,000 soldiers, 4,000 of whom were Crusaders. If this points to anything, it points to the degree of fear and horror that has gripped their souls. You see how they falsely claim that they killed dozens and imprisoned hundreds of Arabs and Afghans. These are all lies, because there are no Arab mujahideen in the city [of Tel'afar]. If they are speaking the truth, let them produce these prisoners.
"This lackey [Al-Dulaimi], who betrayed his religion and his nation, and agreed to serve as a tool of the Crusaders and Safavids [a reference to the Shiite Safavid dynasty of Iran] threatens that he and his angels of destruction are advancing towards Al-Anbar, Al-Qaim, Rawatha and Samarra. To him we say that the mujahideen have prepared for you and for your soldiers, by Allah's virtues, a slashing sword and lethal poison. Allah willing, you will be given to drink from the various goblets of death, and the lands of the Sunnis will contain your rotting corpses. Come, if you want, now or later.
"This is a call to all the Sunnis in Iraq: Awaken from your slumber, and arise from your apathy. You have slept for a long time. The wheels of the war to annihilate the Sunnis have not and will not halt. It will reach the homes of each and every one of you, unless Allah decides otherwise. If you do not join the mujahideen to defend your religion and honor, by Allah, sorrow and regret will be your lot, but only after all is lost.
"Based on all that I have mentioned, and after the world has come to know the truth about this battle and the identity of its true target, the Al-Qaeda organization in the Land of the Two Rivers has decided: First, since the government of the descendant of Ibn Al-'Alqami and the servant of the Cross, Ibrahim Al-Ja'fari, has declared a total war against the Sunnis in Tel'afar, Ramadi, Al-Qaim, Samarra, and Al-Rawa, under the pretext of restoring rights and eliminating the terrorists, the organization has decided to declare a total war against the Rafidite Shi'ites throughout Iraq, wherever they may be. This is a fitting reward, because you started the aggression.
"Beware. By Allah, we will not treat you with compassion, and you will have no mercy from us. Any sect that wants to spare itself the attacks of the mujahideen must immediately renounce the Al-Ja'fari government and its crimes. Otherwise, their fate will be the same, and he who warns has done his duty.
"Second, from now on, whoever is proven to belong to the Pagan [National] Guard, to the police, or to the army, or whoever is proven to be a Crusader collaborator or spy â he shall be killed. Furthermore, his house shall either be destroyed or burned down, after the women and children are taken out of it. This is his reward for betraying his religion and his nation, so that he shall serve as a clear lesson and a preventive warning to others.
"Third, 'Abu Righal' Al-Dulaimi tried to sow division and discord between the mujahideen and the tribes, when he claimed that it was the tribes' sheikhs who had asked him to come to their aid. This is an utter lie. The tribesmen are among the most important mainstays of the Jihad. These tribes have been very supportive of the Jihad and its men. Be that as it may, we warn the tribes that any tribe, party, or association that has been proven to collaborate with the Crusaders and their apostate lackeys â by God, we will target them just like we target the Crusaders, we will eradicate them and disperse them to the winds. There are only two camps â the camp of truth and its followers, and the camp of falsehood and its Shi'ites. You must choose in which of the two trenches you lie. What befell some of the traitors at Al-Qaim is the best proof of this.
"Finally, we say to the Crusaders and the Safavid Rafidites: Your crime and cowardly deed at Tel'afar will not go without severe punishment, Allah willing. I challenge the government of the descendants of Ibn Al-'Alqami, headed by Al-Ja'fari the Zoroastrian and 'Abu Righal' Al-Dulaimi, to come out of their lairs in the Green Zone [in Baghdad], and to confront the brigades of the mujahideen."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:22 ||
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#2
It's a derogatory term for Shi'ites. A close approximation would be substituting "papist" or "Romanist" for Catholic, but that really doesn't have the same degree of scorn to it anymore.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 0:29 Comments ||
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#3
Did we kill his favorite goat or something? I know its a full moon and he's a loony without Meds but this rant is way over deep into the land of straight-jackets.
#5
I am still waiting for the US political ad that shows one clip of Sen Kennedy Pelosi, Moore or X freeko LLL then a quick of Zark on a rant saying the exact same party line Katrina Bush Fault Troops in Iraq blah blah blah Emperialist Crusader blah blah blah then at the end in big white on black background letter "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???????" little letters at the bottom "can we question thier patriotism now???"
A fifteen-page guide published by the Global Islamic Media Front, an al-Qaeda mouthpiece, titled: âHow to Prepare for the Battle, How to make the Nation Ready for Jihad, and How to Bear its Consequences,â was recently disseminated across several jihadist forums. The document does not indicate a date of publication, but it seems to have been written sometime before March 2003. The guide, an advocacy and motivational piece, is divided into two sections: preparation for battle, and how to unify the nation and bring it into battle. The former part discusses Islamic doctrinal and political prefaces to jihad, while the latter extrapolates the these prefaces and includes psychological and military strategies for enabling the Islamic Nation to confederate, execute jihad, and endure its consequences.
The author predicates his instruction on the belief that the West, which âexists on caste and profiteering, and race and national sovereignty,â is encroaching on Islam and its developed, ârighteous society.â To prepare the nation, it is advocated that an incentive and goal to justify the battle be defined, to âpush the nation to the fight to win it or become a martyr for it if required,â create a fiduciary climate of war, and resist the psychological warfare waged by the enemy. As such, the guide calls for a boycott of the Middle East media because of its slander of the mujahideen and alignment with the âcrusader-Judaic scheme.â
To arm and unite the nation, the guide delineates a seven-point process, which includes a strategic media arm to motivate the nation and explain the upcoming war, form jihadist cells composed of youths, and to geographically enlarge the theater of war so as to make the enemy troops more separate and sparse. Importantly, the author states: âOur first mission is to expand the war outside Iraq⊠we must start the jihad operation as of now everywhere⊠We have to make them suffer in all the Islamic countries while the war is taking place in Iraq.â Further, the target of jihad is expanded to include all nations within the âJuadic-crusadersâ confederacy with the policy of equal treatmentâ and specifies that âAmericans, the Jews, the British, and their alliesâ are to be killed.
The guide concludes with a final call upon various stratum of Muslim society to jihad, instructing students to leave school for war since the ânation is full of educated people,â parents to offer their children, men and women to âprepare for the sacrifice,â and merchants to supply money and sons.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:16 ||
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After an absence of a few months, al Qaeda has resumed its media activities with the recent appearance of a number of written and recorded statements published by an extremist website, www.asnar.net.
The statements include a voice recording by one of Saudi Arabiaâs 36 most-wanted terrorists, Mohammad al Suwaylimi, in which he denied being killed in the recent confrontations between Islamic militants and the police in the eastern city of Dammam. The interior ministry had issued a retraction earlier this week and confirmed DNA analysis had shown that Ahmad, the fugitiveâs brother, died in the clashes.
Details emerging about the statement, confirmed to be of Mohammad by those close to him, indicated the militant recorded his message prior to the ministry clarifying the identities of the dead but was not published until afterwards.
Suffering from a dwindling popularity in Saudi Arabia, the terrorist group praised al Qaedaâs leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who had celebrated the siege of the villa in Dammam in a statement published a day after the clashes began. It is believed the two branches of al Qaeda have been coordinating of late. Zarqawi's announcement, last July, of the death of Abdullah al Rashud, whose name is at number 26 on the most-wanted list, in Iraq, could be a mere smokescreen and an attempt to mislead the security forces. In this respect, the families of a number of terrorists on the run have been informed by anonymous individuals in countries neighboring Iraq their sons and husbands had joined the insurgency or were already dead.
Given his computer skills, observers believe Mohammad himself recorded the statement and published on the internet site, www.ansar.net, known for showcasing statements from terrorists in Iraq and which periodically changes its domain name whenever it is shut down. It is currently available to members on www.irhaab.com/ansar.net. This indicates the tape was smuggled outside of Saudi Arabia as police in the Kingdom have cracked down on those publishing terrorist material leading to a number of arrests.
The latest statement, entitled âthe 21st news bulletin on the incidents in Dammamâ did not include any new information. Instead, it stole heavily from reports published in the media and discussions on internet message boards. In an attempt to win favors with the public, the report alleged the terrorists did not possess any explosives, thereby exaggerating the might of the besieged men.
In what is being seen as an attempt to encourage terrorist activity in Arab countries, the statement depicted a picture where most of the region was in the throw of a military confrontation specifically named Syria and Egypt.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/17/2005 00:05 ||
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KATHMANDU - The UN official in charge of investigating torture allegations around the globe said on Friday that Nepalâs police and army systematically use torture to extract confessions.
Manfred Nowak, UN special rapporteur on torture, said his findings were based on interviews with prisoners and former prisoners in the kingdom which has been racked by an increasingly deadly Maoist revolt. âTorture and ill-treatment are systematically practiced in all of Asia Nepal by everyone the police, terrorists armed police and the Royal Nepal Army in order to extract confessions and to obtain intelligence, among others things,â Nowak told a news conference.
The statements by Nowak, who was speaking after a week-long visit to the Himalayan kingdom, were immediately denied by security officials.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
Nowak urged the government to state publicly that no torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment would be tolerated. âThe need for the government to send a clear and unambiguous message against torture and ill-treatment could not be made clearer to me,â he said.
Attaboy.
âI received repeated and disturbingly frank admissions by senior police and military officials that torture was acceptable in some instances, and was indeed systematically practised,â he added.
A Royal Nepal Army spokesman, Brigadier General Dipak Gurung, denied the UN officialâs charges. The army âhas no such thing as systematic torture,â Gurung said. âWe have not tortured anyone.â
"Except a bunch of Maoists, and they ain't human, know what I mean?"
Nowak said methods of torture used by the army and police included âbeating with bamboo poles and plastic pipes, kicking with boots, electric shocks to the ear and rolling rods over the thighs.â
âOther methods included being bound to a pole and hung upside and beaten, specially on the soles of the feet, prolonged periods of being blindfolded and handcuffed,â he said.
He said the army and police detained the suspected prisoners in narrow, cage-like cells where there was barely enough space to stand and sleep. He added he had also âreceived shocking evidence of torture and mutilation carried out by the Maoists in order to extort money, punish non-cooperation and intimidate others.â
But that's different, of course.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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PARIS - Al Qaedaâs leader in Iraq, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, is dead but Washington continues to use him as a bogeyman to justify a prolonged military occupation, an Iraqi Shia cleric said in an interview published here on Friday.
Sheikh Jawad Al Kalesi, the imam of the al-Kazemiya mosque in Baghdad, told Le Monde newspaper: âI donât think that Abu Musab Al Zarqawi exists as such. Heâs simply an invention by the occupiers to divide the people.â
Kalesi claimed that Zarqawi was killed in the Kurdish northern region of Iraq at the beginning of the US-led war on the country as he was meeting with members of the Ansar Al-Islam group affiliated to Al Qaeda. âHis family in Jordan even held a ceremony after his death. Abu Musab Al Zarqawi is therefore a ploy used by the Americans, an excuse to continue the occupation. Itâs a pretext so they donât leave Iraq.â
"He's a ghost, an apparition, though as good Moose-limbs we don't believe in that sort of thing."
Kalesi made the comments to Le Monde as he passed through Paris after attending an inter-religious gathering in the eastern French city of Lyon organised by the Roman Catholic SantâEgidio Community,
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
"Heâs simply an invention by the occupiers to divide the people.â
To make us stay? So we can see more Americans killed? Truly, your intellect is dazzling.
#6
O brother, Why have a peaceful rebuilding plan when we can intensify it with a bogeyman, who blows people up our own soldiers, women and child, then so we can have civil war? I mean, Bush really didn't care about his image, he just wanted to kill and kill, that's his secret goal! (heh)
Fresh calls for the reunification of Kashmir were made, on Friday, at a conference on the future of the disputed territory. Six Pakistani lawmakers from Kashmir attended the Intra-Jammu and Kashmir dialogue, held, over two days, in the winter capital, Jammu. The conference was organized by a number of leaders from the Indian side, in collaboration with the University of Jammu.
I wonder if the reunification includes rejoining Pak-absorbed Kashmir into it?
Arif Shah, member of the Jammu and Kashmir All Party Alliance, in Pakistan-held Kashmir, expressed his desire to see Kashmir reunited and returned to its previous status as a princely state, which existed before the partition of India in 1947. âThe only solution for the conflict in Kashmir is to reunify the province. This will appeal to those, on either side of Jammu and Kashmir, who want peace at all costâ, he said.
It can then be subverted and overthrown by the jehadis, of course. But in theory that would present the best "compromise," assuming the jehadis were all dead.
Another politician, Choudhary Munir Hussain, of the Peopleâs Party, also from the Pakistani side, indicated a united Kashmir would improve the lives of its people and relations between the two neighboring countries, adding that a return to an independent state âwould end all conflictsâ in the region.
I notice he doesn't dwell on the fact that if the jehadis were all dead and gone the place would be a lot more peaceful, too...
Bhim Singh, who coordinated the conference said history was being made at the conference as politicians from India and Pakistan were meeting together. âGovernments should respect the feelings and desires of the people of Kashmir from either sideâ, he said. Commenting on recent peace overtures between India and Pakistan, Prof. Khalid, member of the National Party in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, welcomed the thaw in relations and hoped it would pave the way for a peaceful solution to the dispute. He warned, âIndia and Pakistan should give the people of Kashmir the right to determine their future.â
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
If the partition of Kashmir was so bad, maybe they should look into the reunification of India?
A Waziristan under the control of the Indian state would be significantly less hospitable to the likes of OBL.
There would be an army there that actually hunts and kills jihadis.
And Perv could be a hotel doorman or something more suitable. They'll even let him keep the uniform.
Posted by: john ||
09/17/2005 7:25 Comments ||
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Israel is considering creating a no-man's land to the north of the Gaza Strip to bolster security after its historic pullout in a move set only to further isolate the impoverished Palestinian territory. The possibility was raised after thousands of people illegally streamed across Gaza's border with Egypt since Israeli troops left the territory on Monday, exacerbating fears that militants could infiltrate the Jewish state. "We want to build an electric fence or wall on Israeli territory, north of the Gaza Strip, to create a no-man's land prohibiting access to the Palestinians and alleviating the danger to Israeli towns in the sector from the chaos in Gaza," said a spokeswoman from the Defense Ministry. "We also want to ask the Palestinians to establish their own no-man's land of a few dozen meters, in consultation with Israel," she added.
Another indication that Gaza will get thumped if the Paleos act stooopid.
Palestinian Planning Minister Ghassan Khatib said the "unilateral" decision was proof that Israel remained an occupation force regardless of its withdrawal of all troops from Gaza following 38 years of military rule. "Israel is working on a unilateral basis. They didn't ask us to do this. Israel is still an occupying force," Khatib charged.
That statement makes no sense to me. It suggests the Paleos aren't real clear on the concept of "border," and they're not real good with the concept of "mine" and "yours."
Sure they are, Fred. "What's mine is mine, and what's yours is...mine."
In the four days since Israeli troops rolled out of Gaza, the largely unstemmed flow of people in and out of Egypt has exacerbated Israeli fears that the porous border is becoming prey for weapons-smuggling militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Here is a map based upon a satellite image of the area around Gaza. Check out the northern border of Gaza. Lots of buildings and stuff along the border. Tempting targets for Paleos with mortars or rockets. Israel better thump hard from the git go when the Paleos start firing.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/17/2005 0:07 Comments ||
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#2
Love the map, AP. Notice how green the Israeli side is, and how brown the Gaza side is.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/17/2005 15:02 Comments ||
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#3
Yes, Steve. Notice all the irrigation, even the big circular irrigated fields. Paleos have nothing. They depend upon Israeli water mains for their potable water. Pumped the Gaza wells saline. It seems that water would be a good weapon if the Paleos get too frisky with rockets and missiles. Bad PR, though. The MSM would be all over it. I say give the Paleos ample warning. They start terrorizing, shut off their spigot. No water, no terrorists.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/17/2005 19:16 Comments ||
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Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told Egypt and the Palestinians to restore order and that "the current situation cannot go on a day longer," a spokeswoman said. Senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad accused the Egyptians of long neglecting the Sinai peninsula where "there have been very serious attacks from terrorists operating under their noses," he said. Nearly 70 people were killed in July when bombs ripped through Egypt's flagship Sinai resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.
Abbas said on Friday the chaotic border situation would be brought under control. "We are going to work with the Egyptians to plug the breaches in the barrier along the border ... within two or three days, and to return order in this sector," Abbas said in Rafah, where he met with Egyptian General Mustafa al-Bouheiri to discuss the situation.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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The left-leaning coalition expected to form Norway's new government is likely to withdraw the country's tiny military contingent from Iraq after it takes power, the bloc's leader said. The news coincided with the announcement by Italy's premier that his country would continue to reduce its military presence in Iraq. Labor leader Jens Stoltenberg, who is seeking to form a new government after winning this week's national election, said he informed U.S. President George W. Bush of the Norwegian position during a telephone conversation late Thursday. "We made it clear that Norway should not have officers in Iraq, but want to continue close cooperation with the Americans and participate in the fight against terrorism," Stoltenberg said on the state radio network NRK on Friday.
Bush had called Stoltenberg to congratulate him on winning the parliamentary election. A withdrawal would be a largely symbolic gesture, since Norway, which strongly opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, only has about 20 liaison officers in Iraq. Half are attached to the U.S.-led coalition and the other half are under NATO command. Stoltenberg is opening negotiations next week with two coalition partners. The timing and size of a Norwegian withdrawal from Iraq would not be clear until the three parties complete negotiations on a joint political platform, a process expected to take several weeks. It would be the second time a coalition member pulls out its troops from Iraq following the outcome of elections. Spain's Socialist government withdrew its forces after sweeping to power last year in a poll largely dominated by popular resentment against the Spanish involvement in the Iraqi war.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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Seems the Socalists still can't deal with their LOSS in THE COLD WAR.
#2
Spain's Socialist government withdrew its forces after sweeping to power last year in a poll largely dominated by popular resentment against the Spanish involvement in the Iraqi war.
Didn't something, I can't remember what exactly, happen in Madrid a few days before the election?
#3
From what little I read on the election, bread-and-butter issues dominated the election. One article I read reported that Norway has lost 50,000 manufacturing jobs over the past several years, making the populace long for a change of direction. The left-leaning leadership promised that they would emphasize greater equity in the distribution of Norway's wealth. Nowehere did the article -- in Le Figaro -- mention the U.S. or Iraq. The very fact that Bush called to congratulate labor leader Stoltenberg and that Stoltenberg has promised to continue to cooperate in the WOT suggests a very different sort of relationship than with Spain.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
09/17/2005 11:53 Comments ||
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#4
I feel sorry for the brave Norwegian troops that have put it on the line for Liberty only to have the rug pulled before the job was finished. NORDKAPP showed me how tough a bunch of SOBs the Norweigians can be. Sorry to see them go under these circumstances.
LEts see what the Socialists are REALLY saying
"We made it clear that Norway should not have officers in Iraq, but want to continue close cooperation with the Americans and participate in the fight against terrorism,"
Yes, we Socialists will fight the war on terror, as long as we dont have to do icky stuff, like kill people, or get soldiers harmed. Armies are for parades and peacekeeping in Africa, and for serving the United Nations; An army is not for fighting, at least in the world of Socialist brotherhood. You go get your guys killed, and we will cheer from the sidelines.
#6
OldSpook has it right. We need to realize that for the next generation or so we are on our own. We will fight the terror movements ourselves or we will give up ... but don't hold your breath waiting for real partnership over the long haul, except perhaps from the Aussies.
Britain? Check out the dhimmitude re: Burger King for a taste of what's happening there. Then talk with the British Jews who are seriously thinking of emmigrating.
Sudan's former Southern rebels threatened Friday to seek third-party arbitration in their dispute with the ruling party over the line-up of their much-delayed national unity government. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) warned it may request the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) intervene in a bid to settle the dispute holding up the formation of the Cabinet. IGAD, a grouping of eastern and central African states, was the main driving force behind a January 9 peace deal which ended more than two decades of North-South conflict in Sudan that left some two million people dead and four million displaced.
The peace agreement set power-sharing quotas to guide the formation of the national unity government. But the SPLM and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) have been locked in acrimonious talks over the distribution of economic portfolios, especially the Energy Ministry. "That has been the obstacle," senior SPLM official Pagan Amun said. "We are working intensively to overcome it."
The government was due to have been in place by August 9, but its formation was also disrupted by the death in a July 30 helicopter crash of Southern leader and First Vice President John Garang. Amun said his group has presented a number of proposals to the NCP on how to resolve the dispute and was awaiting an answer. "If the alternatives that are being presented (are rejected), we will have no choice but to go not only to the IGAD but to the international community," he warned. The SPLM official added that Garang's successor Salva Kiir would hold further talks with President Omar al-Bashir in a last-ditch effort to break the deadlock. Both sides want the crucial Energy Ministry to control oil resources. Sudan's crude output is expected to reach 500,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.
Khartoum has admitted that another factor delaying the unity government had been difficulties in persuading the exiled opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to come on board. The NDA said it was prepared to accept the handful of seats offered to them in the National Assembly (Parliament), but wanted better representation in government.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with Jordanian King Abdullah, their first talks in months in a further sign of warming relations between the Jewish state and the Arab world after Israelâs Gaza withdrawal. The meeting, on the sidelines of the UN summit, was Israelâs latest diplomatic reward for ending its 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip â its first evacuation of territory Palestinians claim for a future state. In just two weeks, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia have held high-level public meetings with Israel â a rare event for Muslim countries â and Sharon has received particular praise at the UN summit for the Gaza pullout, deemed a âcourageousâ act by US President George W. Bush as well as Pakistanâs president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2005 00:00 ||
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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.
THE fast-food chain, Burger King, is withdrawing its ice-cream cones after the lid of the dessert offended a Muslim. The man claimed the design resembled the Arabic inscription for Allah, and branded it sacrilegious, threatening a "jihad". The chain is being forced to spend thousands of pounds redesigning the lid with backing from The 
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Former central bank governor Don Brash appeared on course to upset New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark's Labor-led government on Saturday after a hard-fought election campaign. The promise of personal income tax cuts appeared to have swayed New Zealand's 2.9 million voters despite Clark's track record of strong economic growth during her two terms in power stretching back to 1999. With 20 percent of the vote counted, official election figures showed conservative National ahead with 45 percent compared with 36 percent for Labor. 
News was made mostly from the sidelines, rather than from the speakerâs podium, where a leader from each country gave a 15-minute speech. Iranâs nuclear intentions and rare Israeli-Arab contacts following the Gaza were the sideline showstoppers. Central themes did run through leadersâ speeches: The global war on terror, fighting poverty and world health. Saudi Crown Prince Sultan called for the renewal and implementation of the King Abdullah peace initiative, and for the creation of an international center to counter terrorism. Jordanâs King Abdallah yesterday called for âzero toleranceââ against extremism. He said his kingdom was working to promote moderate Islam across the globe. King Abdallah also called for the Muslim community to oppose extremist interpretations of Islam. 
Lebanese MP and leader of the parliamentary majority, 
Syria strongly condemned bomb attacks which have killed scores of people in Baghdad this week and said it was ready to do "whatever it takes" to cooperate with US and Iraqi authorities in bringing security and stability to its neighbor.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud called yesterday for the international community's continued support for his country's campaign of reform. Speaking before the world leaders in the UN's 60th General Assembly, Lahoud said: "Lebanon will continue to look to the United Nations and the international community for their support of our government's wide and bold program of reforms. This interest in my country is one that exemplifies a world's support of freedom." 
Indian tennis star 
KATHMANDU - The UN official in charge of investigating torture allegations around the globe said on Friday that Nepalâs police and army systematically use torture to extract confessions.
Fresh calls for the reunification of Kashmir were made, on Friday, at a conference on the future of the disputed territory. Six Pakistani lawmakers from Kashmir attended the Intra-Jammu and Kashmir dialogue, held, over two days, in the winter capital, Jammu. The conference was organized by a number of leaders from the Indian side, in collaboration with the University of Jammu. 
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told Egypt and the Palestinians to restore order and that "the current situation cannot go on a day longer," a spokeswoman said. Senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad accused the Egyptians of long neglecting the Sinai peninsula where "there have been very serious attacks from terrorists operating under their noses," he said. Nearly 70 people were killed in July when bombs ripped through Egypt's flagship Sinai resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.
The left-leaning coalition expected to form Norway's new government is likely to withdraw the country's tiny military contingent from Iraq after it takes power, the bloc's leader said. The news coincided with the announcement by Italy's premier that his country would continue to reduce its military presence in Iraq. Labor leader Jens Stoltenberg, who is seeking to form a new government after winning this week's national election, said he informed U.S. President George W. Bush of the Norwegian position during a telephone conversation late Thursday. "We made it clear that Norway should not have officers in Iraq, but want to continue close cooperation with the Americans and participate in the fight against terrorism," Stoltenberg said on the state radio network NRK on Friday.
Sudan's former Southern rebels threatened Friday to seek third-party arbitration in their dispute with the ruling party over the line-up of their much-delayed national unity government. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) warned it may request the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) intervene in a bid to settle the dispute holding up the formation of the Cabinet. IGAD, a grouping of eastern and central African states, was the main driving force behind a January 9 peace deal which ended more than two decades of North-South conflict in Sudan that left some two million people dead and four million displaced.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with Jordanian King Abdullah, their first talks in months in a further sign of warming relations between the Jewish state and the Arab world after Israelâs Gaza withdrawal. The meeting, on the sidelines of the UN summit, was Israelâs latest diplomatic reward for ending its 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip â its first evacuation of territory Palestinians claim for a future state. In just two weeks, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia have held high-level public meetings with Israel â a rare event for Muslim countries â and Sharon has received particular praise at the UN summit for the Gaza pullout, deemed a âcourageousâ act by US President George W. Bush as well as Pakistanâs president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
