AFGHANISTAN received promises of economic and military support from the international community at a conference in London today in return for pledges to fight corruption and the illegal opium trade.
Four years after the US-backed campaign which ousted the hardline Islamist Taliban, Afghanistan remains one of the world's poorest countries and security is a major obstacle to development in the central Asian nation.
The meeting will formalise a five-year plan, known as the Afghanistan Compact, to tackle illegal armed groups, impose the rule of law, work towards the eradication of opium production and enforce a zero-tolerance policy on corruption.
"The goals which we have set are ambitious but they are achievable and if we reach them we will be making a real difference on the ground to the lives of many millions," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told a news conference.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Bush administration would seek approval for $US1.1 billion ($1.47 billion) of aid for the Afghan people in the next year, on top of aid commitments of nearly $US6 billion. British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged Stg500 million ($1.18 billion) over the next three years.
But a Taliban leader condemned the gathering as an "American drama and stage show" and warned that the Taliban would continue attacking Western forces in the country.
"In Afghanistan, armed jihadi and suicide attacks against America, Britain and their agents will continue," Mullah Abdullah Akhund, deputy to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, said by satellite telephone.
NATO is preparing to double the size of its force in Afghanistan to 18,000 from 9000 and expand into the dangerous south while the United States cuts its troop levels. Britain announced last week it would send an additional 3300 troops.
But one of the major challenges for Afghanistan will be to crack down on the opium trade, which accounts for about half of the country's economy.
Afghanistan is the world's biggest source of illicit opium. It's refined heroin accounts for about 87 per cent of global supply and many farmers depend on revenue from the drug.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his people had turned to growing opium poppies during three decades of desperation and it would take years to eradicate the trade.
"Let us recognise that this is a tough fight," he said. "Afghanistan will need at least 10 years of strong, systematic consistent effort in eradication, in law enforcement and in the provision to the Afghan farmer of an alternative economy."
One former Afghan minister said billions of dollars of aid that have poured into the country have done little to improve people's lives, and that sweeping personnel changes in government and aid agencies were needed.
"The people are asking themselves 'if these billions of dollars have been donated, which of our pains have they remedied, what ointment has been put on our wounds'," former Planning Minister Ramazan Bashardost said in Kabul.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:22 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
JERUSALEM – Following Hamas' victory by a large margin in last week's Palestinian parliamentary elections, experts watching the terror group closely tell WND it has been aligning itself more than ever with its hard-line Islamic counterpart in Egypt and point to worrying signs the new Palestinian powerbrokers might have designs for an eventual Egyptian takeover.
Sources close to the group say a major Egyptian opposition figure has been serving the past year as spiritual leader of Hamas. "If I were Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, I would look with great concern at the Hamas ascension to power in the territories. This has very dangerous implications for the Egyptian regime," Reuven Erlich, director of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at Israel's Center for Special Studies, told WND.
And bigger impliations for Ho's son.
Hamas was founded in 1987 as a military offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which seeks to create an Islamic theocracy throughout the Middle East and ultimately around the world. Although ideologically connected to the Brotherhood, Hamas' stated goal is mostly focused on the destruction of Israel by "armed struggle." Still, Hamas leaders have long maintained anti-Western attitudes and have talked about the need for secular Arab states to be replaced with Islamic regimes.
Palestinian and Israeli security officials told WorldNetDaily Mubarak is concerned the ascension of Hamas to power will embolden the Muslim Brotherhood, members of which ran in last year's general elections, to seek a similar power grab in Egypt. Analysts say Mubarak considers the Brotherhood a major challenge to his government. It scored very well in the latest Egyptian elections, winning an unprecedented 20 percent of the Parliament and trouncing all other opposition parties in spite of widespread reports of massive election tampering on the part of Mubarak's National Democratic Party. Mubarak also arrested more than 1,500 Brotherhood activists prior to the elections.
Although there are some ideological differences between the Brotherhood and Hamas – the Muslim Brotherhood says they are committed to a non-violent, reformist approach to Islamic takeover – experts say they are concerned by the current level of cooperation between the two organizations.
Erlich points to recently captured Hamas posters and material from the West Bank and Gaza that lists Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna as one of the most important figures to Hamas. "We found al-Banna's face all over Hamas material. He is an important part of Hamas culture and ideology and is held by them in the highest regard," said Erlich.
Palestinian security sources close to Hamas told WND Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahdi Akif has been serving as a replacement Hamas spiritual leader ever since Israel helizapped assassinated former spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin in March 2004. "Whenever there is an organizational spiritual issue, Hamas takes it to Akif," said the Palestinian source. "He gave them the blessing to run in the elections and was instrumental in using Islamic tradition to deduce it was OK to join the government. The Brotherhood in essence is helping run Hamas. And Akif is the most important religious personality in the Hamas leadership right now."
"Cobra leader, I have a new target for you, stand by for coordinates ..."
An Israeli security official said Egypt is especially concerned by the close proximity of the Gaza Strip, which borders the Sinai Desert.
Yup, that's where it is allright, they haven't moved it.
"There is major worry now in Mubarak's regime of losing control in the Sinai. Hamas is already in control of Gaza. There have been indications Hamas has designs for more control of the Sinai along with the Muslim Brotherhood. There is particular concern if they gain any control that al-Qaida cells thought to be in the area will be allowed to flourish and can attack both Egypt and Israel."
A little close to the Israelis, doncha think?
Egyptian forces together with Palestinian security officers and European monitors now control the Rafah Crossing at the Gaza-Sinai border after a deal brokered in November by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Over the past two months, Hamas has numerous times breached the border to allow weapons and terrorists to cross through, one time even ramming a dump truck through the border wall, leaving it open for much of two days. Earlier this month, two Egyptian border guards were killed by gunmen trying again to breach the wall.
One wonders why this didn't cause the Egyptians to bring down the hammer.
Also, Egypt from time to time has accused Hamas of involvement in attacks on its soil. Egyptian security reports hinted at possible Hamas involvement in the suicide bombings of tourist centers in Taba in October 2004, killing 34 people, including 11 Israelis.
Still, Egypt has seemingly friendly dealings with Hamas leaders and regularly serves as a mediator in brokering deals involving the group. Overall Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who resides in Syria, is due to meet with Mubarak later this week to discuss the terror group's formation of a government. The two speak regularly by phone. Last year, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was instrumental in mediating a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian factions, including Hamas. Suleiman and Meshaal held talks yesterday in Damascus.
Yaacov Amidror, former head of research for Israeli military intelligence downplayed the concerns of a Hamas takeover of Egypt. "Mubarak understands the threat of Hamas and he won't allow it to happen," Amidror told WND. "I don't believe Hamas will have the chutzpah to get together with the Brotherhood and attempt a takeover. Still, they are connected historically and ideologically, and at the end of the day, one of the most dangerous options in the Middle East is a network of Muslim Brotherhood cells that become one."
Multiple Brotherhood leaders in Egypt have said the past few days their group is strengthened by the Hamas ascension to power. "Political life in Egypt at present is controlled by two poles: the regime and its security and military agencies on one side and the Muslim Brotherhood on the other," said Brotherhood leader Abdel Rahman. "Maybe Hamas' win will help Muslim brothers to have a bigger influence on Egypt's foreign policy."
And Hamas chief in Gaza Mahmoud al-Zahar has previously made statements denouncing the "secular" Egyptian government and other regional non-Islamist regimes, including Jordan.
Yehudit Barsky, director of the division on Middle East and International Terrorism at the American Jewish Committee, told WND, "I do not believe it is logistically possible for Hamas to take over Egypt. It is conceivable the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood will try. Both groups are fashioned from the same mold and ultimately share the same goals of an Islamic takeover of the region and one day the world."
#1
Slightly off topic but regarding Arab on Arab or green on green conflicts. I've often wondered why Egypt didn't channel their energy into taking over underpopulated and oil rich Libya instead of the endless fight against Israel or meddling in Yemen.
Pride before logic I guess.
At one point they were both Soviet clients so the Ruskies would probably have stayed mum. After that they might have even gotten US help in the matter.
If they'd turned on Sudan afterwards they would have had the blessings of the entire UN. Could have been a player with a bit more imagination.
#2
Egyptians have a multi-millenial history of not thinking much beyond the reach of the Nile, rjschwarz (no t, see?). Perhaps that's it. Or perhaps Mr. Mubarak is intimidated by Mr. Qaddafi's lovely bodyguards.
#3
..and point to worrying signs the new Palestinian powerbrokers might have designs for an eventual Egyptian takeover.
This would be great, as US aid to Egypt could be cut off too. If we're going to waste money, it may as well be on things that have more of an upside....
Israel froze the transfer of millions of dollars in tax rebates and customs payments to the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian officials said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have promised $33 million in quick aid to ease a severe budget crisis.
Saudi Arabia promised $20 million and Qatar pledged $13 million to help the Palestinian Authority pay January salaries to 137,000 employees, a senior Palestinian official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not final.
Earlier, Israel said it was suspending the transfer of $45 million in tax and customs revenues it collected in January while Western nations weigh whether to continue supporting the Palestinian Authority after Hamas, with its history of suicide bombings and rejection of Israel, forms a government.
The Israeli action could cause unrest in the West Bank and Gaza.
Western donors, led by the U.S. and EU, funnel about $900 million to the Palestinians each year, most of it designated for reconstruction projects in the impoverished Gaza Strip and West Bank. They are reconsidering that funding, demanding that Hamas recognize Israel and renounce violence.
The 137,000 people on the Palestinian Authority payroll, including almost 60,000 security officers, are supposed to receive their salaries Thursday. Even with promises of new aid, a Palestinian official said the checks would not be ready until Monday at the earliest.
Even a week's delay could mean hardship for large numbers of Palestinians. The Palestinian economy is in tatters after five years of violence with Israel. Unemployment is 22 percent, and even the meager government salaries support extended families in many cases.
Failure to pay the January salaries could pose the most difficult test yet for Hamas, which has resisted international demands to recognize Israel, disarm and renounce violence.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel was "not out of sync" with the rest of the world in holding up the transfer. He said in the past, when Israel suspected the Palestinian Authority was using funds to support violence, Israel put its money into escrow accounts, releasing it later. He said that would be the practice this time, as well.
Palestinian deputy Finance Minister Jihad al-Wazir, said contacts are in progress with the Israelis and he was hopeful the funds could be transferred in the coming days. He said there are also contacts with world donors aimed at maintaining levels of foreign aid.
Economics Minister Mazen Sinokrot said Israel is in violation of interim peace accords, which require it to transfer the customs and taxes. "The Israeli side is not permitted legally to freeze the money of the Palestinian Authority, which is the money of the Palestinian people," he said, adding that Israel owes $53 million, not $45 million as it maintains.
Regev said Israel and the world cannot be expected to "finance people who believe that the solution is the destruction of Israel by suicide bombings and violent jihad."
In all, the Palestinian Authority needs some $116 million every month to cover the payroll. It has repeatedly borrowed from banks and received additional support from donor countries. However, the Palestinian Cabinet secretary, Samir Hleileh, said it appears unlikely the banks would lend to the government in times of uncertainty.
#1
Great now the EU can quit their funding and still have that nice warm fuzzy feeling at night that the poor paleo civilians suffering are not by their decision. Not holding my breath.
The Arab world actually standing up and having to pick up the tab would maybe spur them to actually try to help the paleo, I donÂ’t know build a nation or economy instead of propagandize their kids into killing the evil JoooooÂ’s. Co-Opting the neighborhood terrorist onto the payroll, as un-needed security that lay around all day doesnÂ’t build a nation, business industry builders ectÂ…build a nation.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdel Aziz said dormant al-Qaida cells exist in Saudi Arabia, but police have aborted 90 percent of planned attacks.
Nayef was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency, SPA, as saying Wednesday "we cannot say at all that we have purged the country from those terrorists as long as certain parties are still offering them training, financing, and leading them in ways that have nothing to do with true Islam."
Nayef stressed Saudi determination "to confront the terrorists with force," vowing that "we will not slacken in combating them no matter how long it takes."
He said Saudi police and security forces have aborted no less than 90 percent of the attacks planned by al-Qaida in the kingdom.
He said the oil-rich kingdom is seeking cooperation with all countries of the world in combating terrorism, stressing the need to upgrade anti-terror efforts.
Nayef asserted that terrorist attacks that have hit Saudi Arabia since May 2003 did not affect national stability and the life of Saudis.
"Activities are normal as we have not found ourselves obliged to declare martial law or emergency measures or curfews ... nothing of that sort happened," he said.
"The biggest evidence of stability and security is economic activity and financial liquidity, which were not affected at all," he added.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:36 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Dormant? Is that how gunfights in the streets and the neighborhoods are defined nowadays?
#2
Nayef's got a well-oiled (heh) machine, now. No more surroundin' and terrs getting away and other inconvenient SNAFUs, no-siree. They're all on the payroll and he can dish up a couple for arrest whenever the PR itch strikes.
#4
#1 Dormant? Is that how gunfights in the streets and the neighborhoods are defined nowadays?
Posted by trailing wife 2006-02-02 12:55
Yep. And don't forget to mention the millions of petro-dollars and Saudi fundraisers's "charitable" contributions to foundations that work at *ahem* spreading "true Islam."
BRITAIN HAS A PROBLEM with Islam. The British Muslim community is mainly comprised of Indo-Pakistani Muslims. Their mosques are dominated by radical Sunnis, representing Pakistan-based jihad movements, and Saudi-backed Wahhabis. Britain does not want to tackle this problem directly, for a reason seldom perceived. Because the majority of the radical clerics in Britain are from the Indian subcontinent, race as well as religion is a factor in public perceptions of the issue. The U.K. authorities don't mind cracking down on radical Islam, but they don't want to be accused of discrimination against South Asians.
That is why in the wake of the London bombings last July, British media focused its attention on marginal Arab radicals rather than the extremist ideology in mosques attended by immigrants from Pakistan. Much of what appeared in British newspapers in the wake of the bombing was not only factually incorrect--an attempt to blame the bombings on sects in "Londonistan" that have no real influence--but also professionally inept because it ignored Pakistani jihadists.
British authorities have managed to trip over their own feet several times since then, but the worst botch came recently when the British Home Office announced that, at a cost of almost half a million pounds, "moderate" Islamic intellectuals would tour Britain in a "roadshow" to counter the radicals. It's a fine idea. But to whom did the British authorities turn for this delicate mission? A raiding party of fake moderates, some of whom have alarming records of advocating jihadism. The speakers included:
* Tariq Ramadan, the Swiss Islamist intellectual who has been barred from entry into the United States. Ramadan has been praised as a moderate by Time magazine and others, but he has been treated with greater realism in Arab media, including the Beirut Daily Star, which noted that Ramadan has "has failed to condemn Palestinian suicide bombers" and that he defended Qatar-based Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a notorious extremist who has also supported suicide terrorism, on a British television talk-show. The Star further quoted Marc Gopin, director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, who said "after closely examining Ramadan's works and positions" he was " 'disappointed in Ramadan's approach' to the crises in the Arab and Muslim world . . . Gopin added [that] Ramadan's message did not provide a real approach to fundamental Islam that would make it 'more peaceful, nonviolent and pluralistic.'"
* Tariq Suweidan, from Kuwait, has also been excluded from the United States. Suweidan preached at a meeting of the Hamas-front Islamic Association for Palestine in Chicago in 2000, "Palestine will not be liberated but through Jihad. Nothing can be achieved without sacrificing blood. The Jews will meet their end at our hands."
* Hamza Yusuf Hanson, formerly Joseph Hanson, who, in 1991, gave a provoking speech about why "Jihad is the Only Way," at an International Islamic Conference held at the University of Southern California. That group is the local unit of the Islamic Circle of North America, a front for the al Qaeda-allied Jama'at-i-Islami movement in Pakistan.
* Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, who is also known for his radical proclivities.
British media, beginning a week ago with the Observer, noted that elementary research on the unsavory records of these "moderates" has caused chaos in the Home Office. There are many more serious and authoritative Muslim scholars in Europe (and America) who could champion moderate Islam among British Muslims. Trying to answer the wild radicals by trotting out allegedly-tame radicals, will only make matters worse.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:29 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Cat Stevens? Some people are nothing without an audience.
#2
Btw, Tarik Ramadan is the posterboy/mouthpiece of the "progressive muslims" wing of the muslim brotherhood in Europe... He's also the grandson of its founder, and his brother was a co-manager of the al takwa swiss bank (along with IIRC neo-nazi-converted to islam Ahmed Hubert) which had tie with AQ, and where swiss intelligence found many muslim brotherhood working documents, including "the project", aka the long-preplanned takeover of Europe through subversion and population shift put into writing (this is not a joke, some swiss journalist recently published a book about it, haven't read it).
He's a takia specialist, and NOT a "moderate". He only plays one on teevee.
#3
The Irish Republican Army was banned in both the UK and Ireland, until they genuinely renounced violence. Getting a Muslim to renounce violence is like asking a Lion to go vegetarian. Therefore: give the Wahabis and Hizbis the same treatment as the IRA, with the exception of recognizing the utter futility of negotiating with koranimal dogmatists. I would like to see their groups banned outright, their mosques turned into Yuppie housing, and foreign born members shipped back from whence they came. Western Civilization needs Paki terrorists like we need the AIDS virus.
#4
This Islamic influence in the UK probably explains why the controversial Danish cartoons have not been published anywhere in the UK up until now. The UK publishers would be terrified to do so.
#5
The Brits ain't what they used to be. They are weak kneed now, kinda like the Yank Dems. They'll come back around at some point, but by the time they do, it'll be tougher than if they had their old grit now. These Muslims are totalitarians at heart. They will continue to intimidate until stopped. At some point, what is at stake will become clear, and how long that takes will determine the amount of blood spilt to stop them.
Russian President Vladimir Putin urged a cautious approach Tuesday to problems in Uzbekistan, warning against reacting in a way that could turn the Central Asian country into a "second Afghanistan."
On the controversial subject of an uprising in Uzbekistan in May in which hundreds of people died, the president, speaking at a Kremlin press conference, said: "We know what happened in Andijan. We know who the people were, where, and in what numbers, that trained those who instigated the situation in Uzbekistan, and in particular in this city. This is not to deny that Uzbekistan has a lot of problems, but it rules out an approach through which we could allow ourselves to agitate the situation in this country."
"We do not need a second Afghanistan in Central Asia. We will act very carefully. We do not need a revolution there. We need evolution."
In answer to a question on Chechnya in Russia's North Caucasus, the president said that the republic had been fully returned to Russia's constitutional sphere.
"The formation of organs of executive power in the Chechen republic has been finally concluded," Putin said, adding that this was one of the main political results of 2005.
"There is no shortage of tasks [in Chechnya] - both economic and social. There are tasks to form organs of central power, but the issue of forming organs of state power has been concluded," he said.
Putin also said anti-terrorist operations in Chechnya were almost fully concluded.
"I think that we are fully able to speak of the end of counter-terrorist operations given the understanding that law enforcement agencies in Chechnya are in practice taking upon themselves the main responsibility for law and order."
"There are now certain regions of the North Caucasus where the situation is more worrying than in Chechnya. It must be said that law enforcement authorities in Chechnya are more and more firmly controlling the situation, and taking on more responsibility."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:31 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
Russia continues to view the Taliban as a collaborator with international terrorists, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
"The international community's view that the Taliban are collaborators with Al Qaeda cannot be reviewed," he told the press in London at an international conference on Afghanistan.
Such a change of approach "would be a significant step backwards in the efforts of the global antiterrorist coalition," Lavrov said.
"We believe a balance should be achieved in Afghanistan between political forces that contributed to opposing the Taliban," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:16 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Russia continues to view the Taliban as a collaborator with international terrorists
We have tested the water and continue to view it as 'wet.'
#3
What the Russians are trying hard NOT to say is that, like BESLAN and BASEYEV, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and Osama, Zark, and Zawi, etal. are decadent imperialist Bushki and Americanski plots and puppet-agents .
VLADIMIR Putin, the Russian president, yesterday announced that the six-year war in Chechnya was over, claiming rebel forces had been defeated.
Chechnya has become very much "Putin's war" after he launched the army into the province while prime minister in August 1999.
Since then, there have been frequent declarations by the army that fighting was over, but each time the rebels launched further offensives.
However, yesterday he told an annual meet-the-press news conference before more than 500 journalists that the conflict was finally at an end. "I believe we can speak of the completion of the counter-terrorist operation," he said.
Mr Putin's comments come after several months of inactivity in the war-torn Caucasus province.
However, observers say rebel groups usually break off operations during the winter months only to resume attacks in the spring.
Mr Putin was tough and assured at the press conference where he accused unnamed foreign powers of trying to become "puppeteers" by infiltrating spies into human rights groups.
The comments come ten days after state television accused four British diplomats of spying on Moscow and of funnelling money to rights groups to buy influence.
However, Mr Putin said the diplomats would not be expelled. "Let them stay. It will be nicer for us to know that we can keep an eye on these people," he said.
Mr Putin also gave new details of a new ballistic missile system Russia says is designed to avoid America's missile defences. "They are hypersonic and capable of changing their flight- path," he said.
And he said there would be no change from his tightly centralised governing system which opponents say has rolled-back democracy. "I am sure that we need strong presidential rule," he said.
There were warnings too for Georgia and Ukraine, both of which have clashed with Russia over gas supplies in recent weeks. He said Ukraine would be asked to renegotiate a deal granting them cheap gas and warned Georgia not to continue allegations that Russia blew up gas supply pipelines to the area.
#3
If there is an actual democratic transition in Russia, as opposed to Putin declaring himself autocrat or ruling through a puppet, nobody will be more surprised than me.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
02/02/2006 10:36 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Part of the problem with non-symetrical warfare is that smugglers and bandits shift into insurgents and then switch back to the old work habits. Its hard to determine at which point the switch occurs, unless you rid the planet of both. Otherwise its a judgement call. Just make sure you're right and nothing spectacular pops up rending your judgement as good as a NYT editorial.
Newspapers across Europe have reprinted caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to show support for a Danish paper whose cartoons have sparked Muslim outrage. Seven publications in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain all carried some of the drawings.
The owner of one of the papers to reprint - France Soir - has now sacked its managing editor over the matter.
The cartoons have sparked diplomatic sanctions and death threats in some Arab nations, while media watchdogs have defended publication of the images in the name of press freedom. Reporters Without Borders said the reaction in the Arab world "betrays a lack of understanding" of press freedom as "an essential accomplishment of democracy."
Not that such trifles are important in an Islamic society, of course.
France Soir and Germany's Die Welt were among the leading papers to reprint the cartoons, which first appeared in Denmark last September. The caricatures include drawings of Muhammad wearing a headdress shaped like a bomb, while another shows him saying that paradise was running short of virgins for suicide bombers.
France Soir originally said it had published the images in full to show "religious dogma" had no place in a secular society. But late on Wednesday its owner, Raymond Lakah, said he had removed managing editor Jacques Lefranc "as a powerful sign of respect for the intimate beliefs and convictions of every individual". Mr Lakah said: "We express our regrets to the Muslim community and all people who were shocked by the publication."
Somebody in the French government or academia got to him, not that it would especially hard to do so.
The president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), Dalil Boubakeur, had described France Soir's publication as an act of "real provocation towards the millions of Muslims living in France".
"Oh, the millions who will seethe, roll their eyes and set cars on fire! You'd better apologize right now!"
Other papers stood by their publication. In Berlin, Die Welt argued there was a right to blaspheme in the West, and asked whether Islam was capable of coping with satire. "The protests from Muslims would be taken more seriously if they were less hypocritical," it wrote in an editorial.
That makes too much sense to have been written in Y'urp.
La Stampa in Italy, El Periodico in Spain and Dutch paper Volkskrant also carried some of the drawings.
European Muslims spoke out against the pictures. In Germany, the vice-chairman of the central council of Muslims said Muslims would be deeply offended. "It was done not to defend freedom of the press, but to spite the Muslims," Mohammad Aman Hobohm said.
That's what we call a 'two-fer'.
Correspondents say the European papers' actions have widened a dispute which has grown very serious for Denmark. The publication last September in Jyllands-Posten has provoked diplomatic sanctions and threats from Islamic militants across the Muslim world.
Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller has postponed a trip to Africa because of the dispute. Thousands of Palestinians protested against Denmark this week, and Arab ministers called on it to punish Jyllands-Posten. Syria and Saudi Arabia have recalled their ambassadors to Denmark, while Libya said it was closing its embassy in Copenhagen and Iraq summoned the Danish envoy to condemn the cartoons.
The Danish-Swedish dairy giant Arla Foods says its sales in the Middle East have plummeted to zero as a result of the row, which sparked a boycott of Danish products across the region.
To be balanced by increased sales in the U.S., I hope.
The offices of Jyllands-Posten had to be evacuated on Tuesday because of a bomb threat. The paper had apologised a day earlier for causing offence to Muslims, although it maintained it was legal under Danish law to print them.
#3
Somebody in the French government or academia got to him, not that it would especially hard to do so.
Raymond Lakah is French Egyptian. Gotta worry for the Coptic relatives/clan in Egypt.
Posted by: ed ||
02/02/2006 11:01 Comments ||
Top||
#5
I've been thinking hard about this situation (because with Rantburg down, I had to do something, or go totally mad). It strikes me that this cartoon brouhaha may well be the beginning of European society's fight against the Islamist invasion. The authorities have been trying to fight back, in their own way, for years (think of all the arrests and prosecutions by France's investigating magistrates, f'r instance, as described in anon5089's post above), but the elites and society at large have ranged between uninterested and deliberately blind to the risks. Cars burning and rapine of the native women have been shrugged off, but the political cartoon is clearly sacrosanct.
Gimme some good old fashioned Koran toilet paper. I'll pay extra for it, I don't care. If the Muslims think this is as bad as it gets, they haven't seen anything yet. Koran diapers, Koran Kotex, Koran insoles ... I'll use them all until they STFU or FOAD.
#8
Interesting take, TW. But...
I've been to a few European forums, and guess what...Bush is being blamed as usual, because it seems, it's only in his best interest to provoke a war between Europe and Islam.
This could go the other way, and it seems that it will. The argument is that freedom of speech should have its limits with regard to people's feelings. You can't insult anyone and not expect a backlash. Hence, the muslim world is right, and the western notion of freedom of speech, is wrong.
Posted by: Rafael ||
02/02/2006 19:40 Comments ||
Top||
#9
natch Rafael you're wrong as usual on this. Defending to the death the prohibition on depictions of their God or prophet brings to mind only one bassackward ignorant religion IIRC. I say fuck em and I'll doodle it whenever I can, even in the workplace. I have the right to do so, if it's not obscene...like say...beheadings of infidels
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2006 20:22 Comments ||
Top||
#10
you're wrong as usual on this.
Frank, I was reporting what I saw on some European forums. That wasn't my opinion I was expressing. The phrase "The argument is..." should have been a tip-off.
Some Europeans are already coming up with excuses, so as not to be seen aligning with the US.
Posted by: Rafael ||
02/02/2006 21:32 Comments ||
Top||
#11
The term "pretzel logic" seems to sum up the Tranzi positions as they duck and cover, knowing full well hoping that others will take up the challenges and save them.
#12
sorry I snarked - I apologize - it made no sense whatsoever. I don't agree with you on many Canuck/US issues, agree on others, and my prejudgement was wrong
Frank
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2006 22:24 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Well, I always strive to be clear as mud in my comments :-) #8 was a good example.
Posted by: Rafael ||
02/02/2006 22:29 Comments ||
Top||
The managing editor of a French daily that republished caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad has been fired, the paper said Thursday, as debate over the drawings mounted among French Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
#3
Other web pages covering the firing, state the owner of the France Soir, Raymond Lakah, possibily also called Remi Lakah, is an Egyptian Coptic Christian.
Firing done very possibly for business reasons, as Mr. Lakah runs a travel agency for haj pilgrims.
#4
French daily = France Soir. It's on the verge of bankruptcy, owner has been trying to sell it before all this happened. The editor may thought he would lose his job anyway. Now will the French boycott France Soir? Will Mr. Lakah's relatives back in the old country keep their heads?
#6
Office of the Chairman
The Joint Chiefs of Staff
Washington, D.C. 20318-999
31 January 20067
Mr. Philip Bennett
Managing Editor, The Washington Pot
1150 15th Street NW
Washington, DC 20071
To the Editor of the Washington Post:
We are extremely disappointed to see the editorial cartoon by Tom Toles on page B6 in the January 29th edition. Using the likeness of a service member who has lost arms and legs in wear as the central theme of a cartooon is beyond tasteless. Editorial cartoons are often designed to exaggerate issues -- and your paper is obviously free to address any topic, including the state of readiness of today's Armed Forces. However, we believe you and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to your readers and your paper's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who have volunteered to defend this nation, and as a result, have suffered tramatic and life-altering wounds.
Those who visit with wounded veterans in local hospitals have found lives profoundly changed by pain and loss. They have also found brave men and women with a sense of purpose and selfless commitment that causes thruly battle-hardended warriors to pause. Where do we get such men and women? From the cities, and farmlands of this great Nation - they serve to be a part of something bigger than themselves. While you or some of your readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, we believe you owe the men and women and their families who so selflessly serve our country the decency to not make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices.
As the Joint Chiefs, it is rare that we all put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered.
Sincerely,
PETER PACE
General, US Marine Corps
Chairman
Of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
EDMUND P. GIAMBASTIANI, Jr.
Admiral, U.S. Navy
Vice Chairman
Of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
MICHAEL W. HAGEE
General, US Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine Corps
PETER J. SCHOOMAKER
General, US Army
Chief of Staff
MICHAEL G. MULLEN
Admiral, US Navy
Chief of Naval Operations
T. MICHAEL MOSELEY
General, US Air Force
Chief of Staff
#7
In the article defending this little dildo (a cheap, plastic, battery-powered imitation of a useful thing), catch the ending jab:
Aravosis from AmericaBlog told E&P: "Now that the Joint Chiefs have addressed the insidious threat cartoons pose to our troops, perhaps they can move on to less pressing issues like getting them their damn body armor."
That makes me sicker than the cartoon. I wanna hit somthing.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001955937
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/02/2006 18:36 Comments ||
Top||
In a letter to President Bush Wednesday, Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha renewed his call for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and warned that the United States was "in danger of breaking our military."
Murtha wrote that Iraq "is not the center for the global war on terrorism" and that Iraqi forces do not need American troops to deal with al-Qaeda in Iraq. "I believe the Iraqis will force them out or kill them after U.S. troops are gone," he wrote.
Murtha, who was the subject of a recent Cybercast News Service investigation of his military and political record, calls for a "redeployment" of troops. Such an action would remove the U.S. forces from Iraq and create a mobile force stationed outside that country, according to Murtha's recommendations.
"Our military presence is the single most important reason why the Iraqis have tolerated the foreign terrorists," Murtha wrote. Those foreign terrorists, the congressman asserted in his letter to the president, "account for less than 7 percent of the insurgency." He added that "the Iraqis are against a foreign presence in Iraq of any kind."
Murtha also urged Bush to replace members of his administration responsible for the "missteps" leading to the war, in order to "restore our credibility."
Too much money is being spent on the war and "we need to reallocate funds from the war in Iraq to protecting the United States against attack," the Murtha letter stated.
But Murtha also criticized cuts in the military budget, writing that he is "concerned that costly program cuts will lead to costly mistakes and we will be unable to sustain another deployment even if there is a real threat."
He said that while the military is "highly capable," it is being stretched thin. "Enlistment for the regular forces as well as the guard and reserves are well below recruitment goals," Murtha stated.
But it is Murtha's criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq that is hurting recruitment, according to recent comments from Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Ed Patru, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Cybercast News Service Wednesday that Murtha's letter expresses a position that "is tantamount to cutting and running before the job is over. It's another surrender message."
Patru said Republicans should give no credence to Murtha because "Republicans don't subscribe to the belief that we can have 535 commanders in chief," a reference to the number of senators and representatives in Congress.
"Democrats are the party of surrender and Republicans believe that the job in Iraq ought to be finished," Patru said, "and that position is consistent with the position of the majority of Americans."
A recent Los Angeles Times poll found that 14 percent of Americans support an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Forty percent support keeping troops in Iraq "as long as it takes."
#2
He knows he'll be fact-checked by the blogs, and still says stupid stuff like "Enlistment for the regular forces as well as the guard and reserves are well below recruitment goals".
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/02/2006 20:29 Comments ||
Top||
#3
What I don't get about Murtha is this: he was a career Marine during one of the absolute worst eras for the US military. Now that we have the best military we've EVER fielded (though smaller than I would like), he's going on about how pathetic and helpless they are.
Is he
a) projecting
b) senile
c) disingenuous
d) all of the above?
It's a shame to see. At least Kennedy and Pelosi, et al never had any honor to lose.
Posted by: Scott R ||
02/02/2006 22:49 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I met Admiral Stockdale a couple years ago (he was barely competent) and he was receiving a lifetime achievement award from the SD City Council - he had to be helped thru the proceedings but his bearing was still majestic. Murtha shows me nothing of th esame, and revels in his attention. I call pathetic fool, demenaning all he's done in serving in the past
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2006 23:31 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I'm sorry to hear that Stockdale is getting so old. He was a true gentleman.
WASHINGTON (AP) - CIA Director Porter Goss said Thursday that the disclosure of President Bush's eavesdropping-without-warrants program and other once-secret projects had undermined U.S. intelligence-gathering abilities.
"The damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission," Goss told the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said a federal grand jury should be empaneled to determine "who is leaking this information."
His testimony came after National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, who directs all intelligence activities, strongly defended the program, calling it crucial for protecting the nation against its most menacing threat.
"This was not about domestic surveillance," Negroponte said.
Negroponte called al-Qaida and associated terror groups the "top concern" of the U.S. intelligence community, followed closely by the nuclear activities of Iran and North Korea.
Committee Democrats sought to change the focus to the president's decision to authorize the National Security Agency to eavesdrop - without first obtaining warrants - on communications to and from those in the United States and terror suspects abroad.
"The president has not only confirmed the existence of the program, he has spoken at length about it repeatedly," while keeping Congress in the dark, said Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the panel's senior Democrat.
"The administration wants to have it both ways," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
Goss complained that leaks to the news media about the surveillance program and activities such as reported CIA secret prisons abroad had damaged his own agency's work.
"I use the words 'very severe' intentionally. And I think the evidence will show that," Goss said.
He said not only have these revelations made it harder for the CIA to gather information, but they have made intelligence agencies in other countries mistrustful of their U.S. counterparts.
"I'm stunned to the quick when I get questions from my professional counterparts saying, 'Mr. Goss, can't you Americans keep a secret?'" he said.
Goss cited a "disruption to our plans, things that we have under way." Some CIA sources and "assets" had been rendered "no longer viable or usable, or less effective by a large degree," he said.
"I also believe that there has been an erosion of the culture of secrecy and we're trying to reinstall that," Goss said.
"I've called in the FBI, the Department of Justice. It is my aim and it is my hope that we will witness a grand jury investigation with reporters present, being asked to reveal who is leaking this information," he said.
Rockefeller suggested that the "leaks" Goss talked about most likely "came from the executive branch" of the government.
That brought a terse response from FBI Director Robert Mueller, who said, "It's not fair to point a finger as to the responsibility of the leak."
#1
I'm always suspicious on this stuff. I remember during Iran-Contra when Ollie North justified not telling Congress because of a specific program he had briefed Congressional staff about that turned up in the NYT a few days later. The reporter claimed his source for the story wasn't anyone from the Hill - it was Ollie hisownself.
#2
Just for the record, Goss's comments were NOT regarding the NSA leak. His comments were in response to the numerous company secrets that have hit the papers as of late. In fact he went as far as to clarify that very point and defer a follow-up (NSA) question to Hayden.
Another Bang-up job from the AP Pros!
#3
My understanding is that under current laws data mining is OK, but as soon as you identify a specific person who warrants detailed attention, the law requires you to stop until you get a warrant.
'Absurd' is too weak a word to describe this nonsense.
#4
Levin and Rockefeller have been briefed as has Jane Harman. Liars and traitors defines someone who would throw away a measure of national securirt for political advantage. It defines them to a T
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2006 20:19 Comments ||
Top||
Grain of salt, but still a possibility.WASHINGTON – There is a high likelihood of a major terrorist attack next Sunday, say international terror analysts and intelligence sources. The warning is made on the basis of several factors, according to Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin:
There is increased "chatter" in the terrorist world about a major new attack in the West – a sign often leading to an impending strike;
The date Feb. 5 has been specifically referenced in some of this chatter;
The date is significant to Osama bin Laden;
Much of the western world will be watching television that day;
The release of al-Qaida videotapes seems to provide clues about the dates of future attacks and, in this scenario, Feb. 5 becomes the most likely near-term terror strike date. Terror attacks seem to follow the release of al-Qaida videos by about 30 days. Some intelligence analysts are noting the significance of the release of videos recently by both Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.
But there does seem to be an unmistakable pattern involved in the release of videos and al-Qaida attacks. Zawahiri, bin Laden's right-hand man, who narrowly escaped death in the Pakistani missile attack weeks ago, seems to release videos in pairs. After the release of the second video, within 30 days a major event occurs.
For instance:
release dates of Sept. 9 and Nov. 9, 2004, were the first set of videos, followed by the Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, bombings Dec. 6.
release dates of Feb. 20 and June 26, 2005, were followed by the July 7, 2005, London bombings.
release dates of Aug. 4 and Sept. 1, 2005, were followed by the Bali bombings Oct. 1, 2005.
The next set started Oct. 23, 2005, and on Jan. 6, the second video followed.
That, suggests some analysts, makes Feb. 5 a likely target date. Interestingly, it is also a significant date to bin Laden. Feb. 5, 1989, was the day the last Soviet troops withdrew from Kabul, Afghanistan, signaling their defeat at the hand of the mujahedeen. Kabul was the capital of Osama's adopted country and was a major win for him and Islam. Significantly, perhaps, in bin Laden's audio release he referenced the U.S. withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan.
It also happens to be Super Bowl Sunday, when the eyes of the entire world will be watching America.
Authorities in Detroit, where the Super Bowl will be played, are certainly taking the threat of terrorism seriously. According to the FBI and Detroit police, the game will be the focal point of one of the largest security operations in U.S. history, guarding against any threats to Super Bowl XL and aided by more than 50 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Including private security guards, there will be about 10,000 security personnel on duty, more than for any other one-day event in U.S. history. Radiation detectors will be stationed near the stadium. SWAT teams, bomb removal and other specialized law enforcement officials will be on hand.
Despite the recent taped messages, authorities say there are "no credible threats against the Super Bowl."
#4
A lot of any chatter is likely wishful thinking. There's always the chance, though, of someone carrying through.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/02/2006 12:40 Comments ||
Top||
#5
The bad guys would attack the Super Bowl if they could, that's a given. Still, this is coming from World Net Daily, f'cryinoutloud.
Posted by: Mike ||
02/02/2006 12:41 Comments ||
Top||
#6
"Much of the western world will be watching television that day..."
...and so an attack almost anywhere in the U.S. would get a heck of a lot of immediate attention.
#10
Gotta go with CF and djohn on this one. Any attack launched on the Superbowl would galvanize America and give the White House carte blanche to begin cleaning the Middle East's clock.
As usual, the moderate Muslim community doesn't seem to have any particular notions as to just how dangerous such a plot might be to their own welfare. Smart Imams (now there's an oxymoron!) would have Muslims gather around the stadium as a human shield to deter any sort of mass attack.
Imagine the fabulous publicity such a move would give the moderate Muslim faction in America. Now, imagine just how stupid they have to be in order not to begin seizing opportunities like this. Tens of thousands of Muslims gathered outside of the Superbowl protesting Islamist terrorism. The PR value would be nearly infinite.
I predict they will, as usual, never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
#14
Better not allow prayers near the air vents during the game.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/02/2006 17:49 Comments ||
Top||
#15
As usual, the moderate Muslim community doesn't seem to have any particular notions as to just how dangerous such a plot might be to their own welfare. Smart Imams (now there's an oxymoron!) would have Muslims gather around the stadium as a human shield to deter any sort of mass attack.
I fear, Zenster, that such an act would make them apostates - and so, fair game. More infidels. Not pious enough.
#16
gotta think they've paid big PKR's for squares in a SB pool and haven't got their numbers by now - getting nervous. "We should never have bet on a game involving pigskin, stoopid!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2006 20:39 Comments ||
Top||
#17
Frank sez, "We should never have bet on a game involving pigskin, stoopid!"
LMAO!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/02/2006 22:27 Comments ||
Top||
Ayman said that 4 brothers died, so that would seem to confirm that we netted some bigshots.
Pakistan has yet to find the bodies of al-Qaeda operatives thought to have been killed in a U.S. missile strike more than two weeks ago and is still hunting for fugitive leaders of the terror group, an army spokesman said Tuesday.
The comments from spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan follow the airing of a video Monday by the apparent target of the strike, Osama bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, his first appearance since the Jan. 13 attack.
In the video, al-Zawahri branded U.S. President George W. Bush a "butcher" and a "failure"because of the airstrike. Al-Zawahri also condemned Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, calling him a "traitor."
Pakistani intelligence officials have said the strike was aimed at al-Zawahri but that he did not show up for a planned dinner in a border village that was hit. They say four other senior al-Qaeda militants may have been killed, along with 13 Pakistani civilians.
Sultan, who is Musharraf's chief spokesman, said authorities were still investigating how many al-Qaeda suspects were killed in the attack and their identities.
"The investigation is going on but there is no outcome yet," Sultan told The Associated Press.
Asked whether Pakistani security forces are looking for al-Zawahri, Sultan said Pakistan was trying to hunt down terrorists on its soil.
"A commander is always the priority target," he added. Sultan would not comment on the al-Zawahri video, which was broadcast by the Arabic TV news network, Al-Jazeera, 11 days after the latest audiotape by Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader's first public communication in more than a year.
There was no information on where the al-Zawahri video was filmed. Both he and bin Laden have long been suspected to be hiding along the lawless and rugged Afghan-Pakistan border.
In the video, al-Zawahri described Bush as the "Butcher of Washington" and condemned the missile strike. There are conflicting reports over the possible identities of the four dead militants. Pakistani intelligence officials have said they could include a son-in-law of al-Zawahri, an Egyptian bomb-maker on the U.S. most-wanted list and a top al-Qaeda leader behind attacks on U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan.
The missile strike, purportedly launched from a CIA-directed Predator drone, sparked anti-U.S. protests by Islamic hard-liners in Pakistan and drew a diplomatic protest from the government, which says it wasn't given prior notice about the attack although it is a key U.S. ally in the war on terror.
The United States has about 20,000 troops inside Afghanistan, but Pakistan says they are not allowed to operate on its soil or launch cross-border attacks.
On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Washington assured Pakistan at a "very high level" that such attacks would not be repeated inside Pakistani territory.
Separately, security forces arrested two suspected militants near where a roadside bomb on Monday in North Waziristan, another tribal region near the Afghan border, killed an army soldier and wounded nine others, the army said in a statement.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:08 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Feb. 2) - In the most expensive Turkish movie ever made, American soldiers in Iraq crash a wedding and pump a little boy full of lead in front of his mother.
They kill dozens of innocent people with random machine gun fire, shoot the groom in the head, and drag those left alive to Abu Ghraib prison - where a Jewish doctor cuts out their organs, which he sells to rich people in New York, London and Tel Aviv.
Gee, they forgot to take away the women's right to choose and deny the gay couples among them equal rights or cut taxes or anything. You guys are slippin' up!
"Valley of the Wolves Iraq" - set to open in Turkey on Friday - is directed by Michael Moore, with a screenplay by John Forbes Kerry and Cindy Sheehan, adapted from the George Galloway novel Bride of the Son of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion Rides Again, Part II
- feeds off the increasingly negative feelings many Turks harbor toward their longtime NATO allies: Americans.
Wonder if our old troll friend Murat is the executive producer?
. . . The movie's American stars are Billy Zane, who plays a self-professed "peacekeeper sent by God," and Gary Busey as the Jewish-American doctor. . . .
Guess who's DVDs I'm never buying again.
Posted by: Mike ||
02/02/2006 18:17 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"There isn't going to be a war over this," said Nefise Karatay, a Turkish model lounging on a sofa after the premiere. "Everyone knows that Americans have a good side. That's not what this is about."
Oh guess again. I think this is our opportunity to wail and gnash our teeth and declare our feelings truly, truly hurt. Deeply offended are we. We demand apologies and beheadings.
I'm waiting for a movie where islamic terrorists are realistically presented: sawing off hostages heads, raping infidels, taking slaves, exploding carbombs amoung innocent children etc.
THEN the American SOF/marines/infantry decend on them and kill them wholesale. There's a movie I'd pay money to see. 'Coure Hollyweird would never "offend" any islamonuts so that movie will never be made. But - I can dream.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said he expects "good news" in the next 12 months about withdrawing British troops from Iraq. He said a timescale was not yet available, but "active discussions" about withdrawal were being held.
His comments come a day after British forces suffered their 100th death in Iraq since the invasion began in 2003.
Former senior Army officer Col Tim Collins said Iraqis would be "distraught" by a withdrawal.
Mr Straw, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme said: "We cannot publish today a timescale saying we are going to leave on this date." He said discussions were about "how we draw down our troops on a province by province basis as we and the Iraqi government are convinced it is safe for them and for us to do so".
He added: "I think we will see, over the next 12 months, some good news in that respect and that will be a further mark of the worthwhile, very profoundly important job that all servicemen and women have done in Iraq to free and to create a better Iraq."
Anti-war supporters were preparing to mark the 100th death - that of Corporal Gordon Pritchard - with vigils throughout the UK on Wednesday. The Ministry of Defence said Cpl Pritchard, 31, from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, was killed in a blast in Umm Qasr, Basra province on Tuesday. His death followed that of Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, 22, who died on Monday.
Mr Straw said the servicemen and women who had lost their lives in Iraq "have not died in vain", as they had helped the country move from tyranny to democracy.
Col Collins, who gave a rousing speech to troops on the eve of the 2003 invasion, said the mission to stabilise the country had to continue as serious problems remained. He highlighted three serious problems that needed to be dealt with - insurgency within Iraq, terrorism from foreign groups such as al-Qaeda, and crime. "If we leave prematurely, the vast majority of the Iraqi people would be distraught because you are abandoning them to the Iraqi militia," he told BBC Breakfast.
"I think the mission we have undertaken in Iraq is one we must persevere with until the Iraqis are able to take it on themselves."
Defence Secretary John Reid repeated that the handover would start this year "whereby our troops would hand over to the Iraqis as they build up their capabilities and defence of their own security." In reference to Col Collins, he added: "We are not going to be forced into cutting and running by the terrorists any more than we're going to stay there any longer than necessary."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:42 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Meanwhile, a Jordanian gossip tabloid on defiantly published three of the cartoons that have triggered outrage in the Arab and Muslim world.
"Muslims of the world, be reasonable," said the editor-in-chief of the weekly independent newspaper Al-Shihan in an editorial alongside the cartoons, including the one showing the Muslim religion's founder wearing a bomb-shaped turban.
"What brings more prejudice against Islam, these caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras or a suicide bomber who blows himself up during a wedding ceremony in Amman?" wrote Jihad Momani.
He told the AFP news service he decided to publish the offending cartoons "so people know what they are protesting about... People are attacking drawings that they have not even seen."
#5
Strangely enough, I feel a bit better about Jordan after reading this. Especially considering a cousin of mine married a Jordanian in Amman last month. AIEEEE!
Posted by: Scott R ||
02/02/2006 22:46 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Hours later, the Jordanian government threatened legal action against Shihan, and the owners of the weekly said they had fired its chief editor, Jihad al-Momani, and withdrawn the issue from sale
It is widely recognised that the Palestinians are among the most politicised and educated peoples in the world. When they went to the polls last Wednesday they were well aware of what was on offer and those who voted for Hamas knew what it stood for. They chose Hamas because of its pledge never to give up the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and its promise to embark on a programme of reform. There were voices warning them, locally and internationally, not to vote for an organisation branded by the US and EU as terrorist because such a democratically exercised right would cost them the financial aid provided by foreign donors.
The day Hamas won the Palestinian democratic elections the world's leading democracies failed the test of democracy. Rather than recognise the legitimacy of Hamas as a freely elected representative of the Palestinian people, seize the opportunity created by the result to support the development of good governance in Palestine and search for a means of ending the bloodshed, the US and EU threatened the Palestinian people with collective punishment for exercising their right to choose their parliamentary representatives.
We are being punished simply for resisting oppression and striving for justice. Those who threaten to impose sanctions on our people are the same powers that initiated our suffering and continue to support our oppressors almost unconditionally. We, the victims, are being penalised while our oppressors are pampered. The US and EU could have used the success of Hamas to open a new chapter in their relations with the Palestinians, the Arabs and the Muslims and to understand better a movement that has so far been seen largely through the eyes of the Zionist occupiers of our land.
Our message to the US and EU governments is this: your attempt to force us to give up our principles or our struggle is in vain. Our people who gave thousands of martyrs, the millions of refugees who have waited for nearly 60 years to return home and our 9,000 political and war prisoners in Israeli jails have not made those sacrifices in order to settle for close to nothing.
Hamas has been elected mainly because of its immovable faith in the inevitability of victory; and Hamas is immune to bribery, intimidation and blackmail. While we are keen on having friendly relations with all nations we shall not seek friendships at the expense of our legitimate rights. We have seen how other nations, including the peoples of Vietnam and South Africa, persisted in their struggle until their quest for freedom and justice was accomplished. We are no different, our cause is no less worthy, our determination is no less profound and our patience is no less abundant.
Our message to the Muslim and Arab nations is this: you have a responsibility to stand by your Palestinian brothers and sisters whose sacrifices are made on behalf of all of you. Our people in Palestine should not need to wait for any aid from countries that attach humiliating conditions to every dollar or euro they pay despite their historical and moral responsibility for our plight. We expect you to step in and compensate the Palestinian people for any loss of aid and we demand you lift all restrictions on civil society institutions that wish to fundraise for the Palestinian cause.
Our message to the Palestinians is this: our people are not only those who live under siege in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip but also the millions languishing in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria and the millions spread around the world unable to return home. We promise you that nothing in the world will deter us from pursuing our goal of liberation and return. We shall spare no effort to work with all factions and institutions in order to put our Palestinian house in order. Having won the parliamentary elections, our medium-term objective is to reform the PLO in order to revive its role as a true representative of all the Palestinian people, without exception or discrimination.
Our message to the Israelis is this: we do not fight you because you belong to a certain faith or culture. Jews have lived in the Muslim world for 13 centuries in peace and harmony; they are in our religion "the people of the book" who have a covenant from God and His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) to be respected and protected. Our conflict with you is not religious but political. We have no problem with Jews who have not attacked us - our problem is with those who came to our land, imposed themselves on us by force, destroyed our society and banished our people.
We shall never recognise the right of any power to rob us of our land and deny us our national rights. We shall never recognise the legitimacy of a Zionist state created on our soil in order to atone for somebody else's sins or solve somebody else's problem. But if you are willing to accept the principle of a long-term truce, we are prepared to negotiate the terms. Hamas is extending a hand of peace to those who are truly interested in a peace based on justice.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:31 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#4
Hey, I thought "the most politicised and educated peoples in the world" were us sophisticated, nuanced europeans!
Now, I don't know what to think anymore, I'm so confused...
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2006 19:31 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Yo, Khalid - recognizing your democratic right to choose a government doesn't imply any requirement to fund same. Fuck you. And the horse you rode in on.
The children's website Al Fateh, property of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, demands in its most recent issue the return of the Spanish city of Seville to the "lost paradise" of Al Andalus, as the Muslim part of Spain was called during its existence between 711 and 1492. The web magazine, whose name means "conqueror," says it is for "the young builders of the future."
The web magazine, whose name means "conqueror," includes an article in which the city of Seville itself is the narrator, saying, "I beg you, my loved ones, to call me to return along with the other cities of the lost paradise to Muslim hands so that happiness may reign in my lands. Dress me, for I am the bride of the land of Al Andalus."
"I was once the capital of the Kingdom of Seville, connected to the Atlantic by the Guadalquivir River. I wear around my neck the scarf of the most beautiful river, more than the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Nile, where gondolas and fishing boats navigate for 24 miles, under the trees with the singing of the birds," the article says.
The Al Fateh website says it is for "the young builders of the future." It contains, along with typical children's content like drawings, poetry, and stories, a great deal of references to resistence and martyrdom. Its main subjects are Palestine and the Arab and Muslim worlds, especially their religious aspect. The lives and deaths of the Palestinian "martyrs," many of them suicide bombers, are a constant theme, as well as descriptions of important cities in Muslim history.
This particular article tells the story of Asbilia, the Arabic name for Seville, in language understandable to the smallest children. It explains that the city "was the capital of the Kingdom of Seville." The history of the city begins, according to Al Fateh, with the Muslim conquest. The story ends when Seville was reconquered by King Fernando III, and concludes, "So the golden age of the Muslims who lost me ended, but the marks of their civilization remain."
"The lost paradise of Al Andalus," explicitly mentioned in the text, is a common meme in the Muslim world. It has led to concrete fatwas declared in order to recover territories conquered by Christian "infidels," such as that of three years ago by the Islamist sheik Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, which explicitly says that "Islam will return to Europe as the conqueror." Al-Qaradhawi is the leader of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, the president of the International Association of Muslim Scholars, and the spiritual leader of many other Islamist organizations around the world.
#2
As is the case throughout Islam, the gunnies run the show, have everyone cowed, and there is no one left to appeal to on any level to resist or ovethrow the asshats. In PaleoLand it's likely 10x worse than anywhere else - The Hate Machine™ has been spewing at Max for 3 full generations, now. There's basically no one alive there who didn't grow up with the volume on 10 and a pressurized IV. They're just plain phuqed. The only solutions I can see are, well, biblical. Sorta on the scale of the flood thingy:
1) Wall 'em up, accept whatever damage they can still do, but take their children away from them for the next 3 generations and raise them somewhere in the West sans Islam and The Hate Machine™.
2) Or wipe 'em out. Utterly. The Hate Machine™ goes with 'em right to Paradise.
#4
The land of my ancesters thought that by voting for appeasement after the Madrid booming, they would buy peace from the Lions of Islam. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Take that asshats! Guess again.
SAUDI Arabia and other Arab states are expected to send money to the Palestinian Authority within days to help it pay its employees after Israel stopped handing over tax payments.
Caretaker prime minister Ahmed Qurie said the cash-strapped governing authority was forced to turn to its "Arab brothers" to cushion the economic blow of Israel's decision.
But Mr Qurie and other Palestinian officials still held out hope that the Jewish state, under United States pressure, would agree to transfer the money it owed.
Palestinian customs revenue collected by Israel is the main source of funding for the Palestinian Authority's budget, and is used to pay 140,000 government workers.
Israel froze automatic payments yesterday, a week after the Palestinian election victory of the Islamic militant group Hamas.
It had been due to transfer nearly $US55 million ($73 million).
#2
damn, you beat me to it tipper. Was gona post this myself.
Looks like the electing of Hamas had good result after all. Israelis cease paying those who want to kill them. A good first step.
On Daily Telegrapn breaking news, says story written by By Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah, West Bank.
I'm wondering why the Jewish state "owed" money and why the US would pressure it to transfer it.
From my memory, Israel doesn't owe them anything for goods/services rendered. It simply pays for the PA much like the US pays the UN: to be a good citizen and help them out. It's a charity.
So they don't own them anything.
Cut the funds.
I also liked Bush saying he would wean the US off Saudi Black Skag and get us all on ethanol for cars instead.
Goddam best president the US ever had since Lincoln.
#3
What a great opportunity for the US to save $400 million a year and for the Wahabis to have $400 million less a year to preach hatred. Now, about that Egyptian black hole.
P.S. Think the Arabs will pay the Israelis for the Palis past due electric bills?
Posted by: ed ||
02/02/2006 11:59 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Anon1, as I understand it, the monies Israel is freezing are tax transfers -- eg taxes on the incomes of Palestinians working for Israeli companies, sales taxes on Palestinian goods sold in Israel, taxes levied on exports/imports to third countries handled through Israeli ports, that kind of thing. By treaty, these are actually Palestinian monies, not Israeli.
#8
Of course you're right, gromgoru, and I'm glad Israel finally made this move. My meaning was that it isn't that Israel was actually giving her own money to the PA.
#9
TW. it isn't that Israel was actually giving her own money to the PA.
Know any other case where the country of employment transfers the income tax of "guest workers" to their country of origin, TW?
#10
gromgoru, when we lived in Europe Mr. Wife's employer hired Deloitte & Touche to do our income tax return every year, to reconcile the taxes between the U.S. and the countries where he worked. In fact, the company continued to pay D&T to do our taxes for five years after we returned, until various tax credits were exhausted. I imagine that at some point each year there is an exchange of credits between Germany and the U.S., or perhaps even actual money, to reconcile the balances of taxes collected in each country but owed to the other.
And, should Germany ever finalize their tax laws for American ax-pats working there, D&T will have to recalculate ten years of tax returns for us, not to mention all the other Americans who'd been taxed in Germany since 1946.
So as far as I can tell, this tax thingy is a first normalization of relations -- on at least one aspect -- of the relationship between Israel and the proto-State of the Palestinian Authority. As such, it perhaps would have been wiser for Israel to make it clear before now that continuation was entirely dependent on the Palestinians enacting their commitments, but better now than never.
This is so f*ing pathetic.
Armed militants angered by a cartoon drawing of the Prophet Muhammad published in European media surrounded EU offices in Gaza Thursday and threatened to kidnap foreigners as outrage over the caricatures spread across the Islamic world. Any excuse to kidnap infidels
About a dozen gunmen with ties to the Fatah Party approached the office of the EU Commission. Three jumped on the outer wall and the rest took up positions at the entrance. Will the EU finally realize the stupidity of funding the Paleos? Nah.
In a statement read by one of the gunmen, the group demanded apologies from the governments of Norway, Denmark, France and Germany and called on Palestinians to boycott the products of these countries. Of course, the EUroweenies will bend over...
Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank city of Nablus said they were searching apartments for foreigners from several European countries to try to kidnap them to protest the drawings. The claim by the gunmen could not immediately be verified independently. Is there anything that does not offend mooselimbs?
#1
I guess that flushing Q'u'o'r'a'n's is passe now, so it's on to cartoons. Maybe the next shot over the bow to spin some turbans should be an Islamic adaption of Itchy and Scratchy from the Simpsons.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/02/2006 11:18 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Somehow, this hypersensitivity should be exploited as psyops.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/02/2006 11:19 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Good point AP.
"Muhammad Does Mecca". Get the CIA right on it...
#4
I smell business opportunity. Why not combine Mo cartoons and flushing qurans ala Mohammed toilet paper. Infinitely better than 3 small rocks and fun for the entire family.
Posted by: ed ||
02/02/2006 11:29 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Been watching this story develop for some time now it's really grown legs.
The cartoons were FIRST published in the wake of the Islamist execution of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh who made a film critical of Islam. His co-filmmaker is living in hiding.
The Danish newspaper put out the idea that cartoonists would not be brave enough to depict the Prophet as freedom of speech has been compromised.
12 cartoonists did.
2 of them are now living in hiding.
This is really great illustration of Islamist intolerance it is waking some lefties.
#6
This is really great illustration of Islamist intolerance it is waking some lefties.
No, it's not. A hell of a lot of them are saying the cartoons are "racist", are saying that, hey, if the Muslims don't want Mohammed depicted, then we should respect their wishes and not do it.
We're talking about people who weren't woken up after 9/11, or Bali, or Beslan, or Madrid, or 7/7, or all the arrests around Europe, or the terror campaign in Iraq that specifically targets civilians and not military, despite claiming to be resisting military occupation. Why do you think this will wake them up?
They'll do as I've already seen them doing -- excuse it, then blame the victims.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/02/2006 12:44 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Really sucks when shit like this happens, don't it, boys?
Posted by: The Descendents of Monkeys and Pigs ||
02/02/2006 17:00 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Tell you what, someone print up some Koran toilet paper and I'll use it. I'll pay extra for it. Tell the Muslim world to STFU and we'll consider withdrawing it from the market. Until then, the Suras can kiss my @ss until it shines.
Another blog site had a superb quote about the Titanic collision that is happening between a society that protects the right to give great offense and a religion that takes great offense at the least slight.
#10
Unfortunately I can't draw, but could someone put together a cartoon of Mo holding a lollypop out to a nine-year old and title it "Mo courts his Last Wife".
"Palestine means Palestine in its entirety - from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, from Ras Al-Naqura to Rafah. We cannot give up a single inch of it. Therefore, we will not recognize the Israeli enemy's [right] to a single inch. That is one thing.
"The second thing is that if the right of return is an individual right, neither Mahmoud Al-Zahar nor Abbas Zaki can relinquish it, because all these concessions will constitute a national catastrophe.
"The third point is that we can found a state on any piece of the land, and this will not mean we give up on any other part of the land." Read the translation.
When the inevitable attacks come, the IDF should respond to them with overwhelming force. Collateral damage or casualties? Not even worth worrying about.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are expected to speed money to the Palestinian Authority within days to help it pay its employees after Israel halted tax payments, Palestinian officials said.
Ahmed Qurie, prime minister until the formation of a new post-election government, said the cash-strapped governing authority was forced to turn to its "Arab brothers" to cushion the economic blow of Israel's decision.
But Qurie and other Palestinian officials still held out hope that the Jewish state, under U.S. pressure, would agree to transfer the money owed.
Israel froze automatic payments on Wednesday, a week after the election victory of the Islamic militant group Hamas. It had been scheduled to transfer nearly $55 million.
Palestinian customs revenue collected by Israel is the main source of funding for the Palestinian Authority's budget, and is used to pay 140,000 government workers.
To make up for lost revenue, the Palestinians had hoped to receive an initial cash infusion of at least $33 million on Thursday from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
But Jihad al-Wazir, the acting Palestinian Minister of Finance, said Arab states were not expected to make any payments before Saturday. He said negotiations were ongoing.
"This aid is for the Palestinian people and its authority so it can carry out its duties," Qurie said.
The Saudi contribution was expected to top $20 million. Qatar was expected to provide more than $13 million.
Wazir said the United Arab Emirates would also make a contribution, but he did not provide a figure. Talks were also underway with Kuwait, Egypt and Jordan, officials said.
"We expect that (Palestinian) employees can withdraw salaries next week," Wazir told Reuters.
But a Palestinian diplomat in Qatar denied that the $33 million figure was emergency aid. The diplomat told Reuters in Doha that Qatar and Saudi Arabia had agreed to donate $13 million and $20 million respectively before the elections.
A Riyadh-based Palestinian diplomat said Saudi Arabia will begin talks this month with the Palestinian Authority over financial aid of at least $1.2 billion to plug its widening budget deficit.
U.S. PRESSURE
The United States has urged Israel to keep up the tax payments, at least until Hamas formally enters the government.
Israel has not ruled out restarting payments after completing a policy review ordered by interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
But Olmert has called for a boycott of any Palestinian government that includes Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction.
"We hope that Israel will release the money immediately," Qurie said at the start of a cabinet meeting in Ramallah.
Hamas, which has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000, trounced Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's long-dominant Fatah movement in the January 25 parliamentary election.
In a joint statement issued in Islamabad, Islamic allies Pakistan and Saudi Arabia urged the world to accept Hamas's victory and "avoid premature judgments and hasty conclusions."
Hamas has urged foreign donors to maintain aid but says it could still find other sources of funding in the Arab world. It has sent a delegation on a tour of Arab countries to urge them to keep the money flowing.
Unemployment in the Palestinian territories runs high, at 22 percent, and half the Palestinian population lives in poverty. In Gaza, many Palestinians live on an average of $2 a day.
This story could just have easily been filed in the "Europe" section, is it too early to start a "Eurabia" file?
Armed militants angered by a cartoon drawing of the Prophet Muhammad published in European media surrounded EU offices in Gaza Thursday and threatened to kidnap foreigners as outrage over the caricatures spread across the Islamic world. About a dozen gunmen with ties to the Fatah Party approached the office of the EU Commission. Three jumped on the outer wall and the rest took up positions at the entrance In a statement read by one of the gunmen, the group demanded apologies from the governments of Norway, Denmark, France and Germany and called on Palestinians to boycott the products of these countries.
Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank city of Nablus said they were searching apartments for foreigners from several European countries to try to kidnap them to protest the drawings. The claim by the gunmen could not immediately be verified independently. In a phone call to The Associated Press, a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a violent offshoot of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, said members of his group are also asking hotel owners in the city not to host citizens of five European countries, including France and Denmark.
In Paris, the daily newspaper France Soir fired its managing editor after it republished the caricatures Wednesday, and Pakistani protesters chanting "Death to France!" The furor over the drawings, which first ran in a Danish paper in September, cuts to the question of which is more sacred in the Western world — freedom of expression or respect for religious beliefs. The drawings have divided opinion within Europe and the Middle East, where they have prompted boycotts of Danish goods, bomb threats and demonstrations against Danish facilities. France Soir and several other European papers reprinted the pictures in a show of solidarity with the Danish daily.
#1
Thank God Rantburg is back! It gave me a small taste of what Iran's president would feel if his nuclear bomb-making capacity were to be suddenly taken away from him - inshallah!
I take it that the amazon honor system link is the preferred method of contributing to the cause?
Israel has lifted its imports licensing requirements from World Trade Organisation members that have no diplomatic relations with the Jewish state or prohibit imports from Israel. “Israel hopes that this unilateral step will be reciprocated by those countries,” which are mostly Muslim, according to a WTO statement released at the conclusion of a trade policy review of Israel at the WTO headquarters in Geneva.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
“Israel hopes that this unilateral step will be reciprocated by those countries,” which are mostly Muslim
Sweet, but unlikely. Put a window on it, then slam it shut on those nations which refuse to reciprocate.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Egypt took a tough line with Hamas on Wednesday, setting a renunciation of violence and the recognition of Israel as conditions for the Islamist movement to form the next government.
Right. Any one of them is likely to happen.
After a meeting in Cairo between Abbas and President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman urged Hamas to take steps on three key issues. “One, to stop the violence. Two, it should become a doctrine for them to be committed to all the agreements signed with Israel. Three, they have to recognise Israel,” he told reporters. “If they don’t do it, Abu Mazen (Abbas) will not ask them to form the government. Abu Mazen will (instead) form the government with other parties,” said Suleiman, who attended the meeting and also met Abbas on Tuesday. “If they don’t accept to commit themselves to these issues, nobody will deal with them,” said Suleiman.
Doesn't matter. If they've got a majority in the Paleoparliament they'll be free to obstruct anything the minority gummint tries to do.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also held talks with Mubarak shortly after Abbas. “We are in a very sensitive situation. We shared, President Mubarak and myself, ideas about the situation in the region and it was for me very enlightening,” she said before a meeting with her Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Marines in Iraq will soon be watching for terrorists using the same technology that American police departments use to keep tabs on their local gang bangers.
Lockheed Martin will be establishing a counter-insurgency (COIN) surveillance technology that will allow them to use cameras to monitor activity on the streets and observe the activities of suspicious characters.
The result will be not only real-time intelligence, but a means of learning the identities, habits and movements of people in a particular area to help troops get wind of insurgent activities or ensure the coast is clear for an approaching convoy.
"The approach will enable our troops to target specific areas, observe people behaving in ways that they disguise when they see a Marine and collect and link investigative data to identify patterns and key insurgent locations," said Lt. Col Nick Marano. "This data will be available to the tactical unit in the field, as well as command and intelligence centers."
COIN systems are currently used by big-city police departments to monitor street corners and other areas prone to gang activity, drug dealing and other criminal activities.
The system features a large data base of persons of interest and other observations made by the operators, and a spoken-word recording system to help the Marines keep up with the activity on the streets.
Gang unit officers, SWAT commanders and bomb squad members from the Los Angeles and Chicago police departments are assisting with the development of the system and getting the Marines using the system accustomed to spotting subtle criminal activity.
Lockheed has been testing the COIN system at an undisclosed desert location prior to its shipment to Iraq.
#2
I agree. They shouldn't announce such system deployments.
Second, the article says they are currently in use and also thst is in development. The always clear press. My issue is if they are using it, it sure ain't helping. I don't know about the rest of the USA, but here in the SF Bay Area, gang warfare is on the rise.
THE emergence of an offshoot of terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) should result in enhanced anti-terrorism co-operation between Australia and Indonesia, a US strategic thinktank says.
Indonesia is investigating links between JI, al-Qaeda and the new Islamist militant group Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad (Organisation for the Base of Jihad) – headed by Malaysian militant Noordin Mohammed Top.
US strategic analysis and intelligence group Stratfor says the emergence of Top's group reinforces earlier suggestions JI is a split organisation.
The news comes at a key time for Jakarta, now in the process of negotiating a security pact with Australia.
"For Jakarta, the announcement that Top has spun off from JI to form his own regional group offers benefits both in dealing with internal sentiments and in tightening security relations with Australia and other Western nations," Stratfor said.
"Australia has incentive to aid in Top's capture as Indonesian police recovered a videotape believed to be from Top in November, which threatened attacks against Australia, the US, Italy and the United Kingdom."
Australian counter-terrorism co-operation would be easier to sell to the Indonesian public because the new group was headed by a Malaysian, it said.
It has been claimed for some time that JI had split into two factions, with one, which included Top, favouring mass casualty terrorist attacks while the other sought a return to its roots.
The emergence of the new group highlighted al-Qaeda's difficulties in gaining a following in Indonesia and offered Jakarta new options in regional and domestic relations in its fight against militants, Stratfor said.
"This does not mean militancy in Indonesia has ended. There were militants of Islamist and other bents long before JI's emergence and these have not gone away," it said.
"However, the schism between JI's factions shows that the Wahhabist ideology and the internationalism of JI and al-Qaeda continue to face recruiting trouble in Indonesia, despite the nation's massive Muslim population.
"Indonesian Islam is much different from that which al-Qaeda proselytises."
Australia has incentive to help capture Top after Indonesian police in November recovered a videotape believed to be from Top, threatening attacks against Australia, the US, Italy and the UK.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:41 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and his South African counterpart, Thabo Mbeki, in a telephone conversation on Wednesday, underlined the importance of cooperation among Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries.
President Ahmadinejad, over phone, expressed his gratitude for the statement issued by NAM countries in defense of Iran's undeniable right to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful ends.
"There are some countries that want to monopolize nuclear energy and for this reason are trying to deprive other nations of this valuable resource. They think that if they can prevent Iran from gaining access to nuclear technology they can also do the same with other countries."
Referring to the threat of Iran being referred by the West to the UN Security Council for its nuclear activities, he said, "We will not overlook our right. The Islamic Republic of Iran would have to come out of the NPT if its nuclear case is referred to the Security Council."
"Iran believes that all nuclear countries should be disarmed. But they have equipped an illegal regime in the region with atomic arms but cry ‘foul’ on Iran's scientific research," he pointed out in sarcastic reference to the hypocrisy of the West over the nuclear issue.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, for his part, said: "We respect the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to access peaceful nuclear technology."
"We support Iran and urge other countries to do so in order achieve a peaceful way out of the current confrontation and disagreement," Mbeki told his Iranian counterpart in their phone conversation.
He added that Iran's undeniable right to access peaceful nuclear technology is of great importance not only to the country but to all developing countries as well, adding that South Africa will take this into consideration when deciding on the issue.
#2
Belated thanks to F.W. Le Clerc for his decision to renounce South Africa's nuclear weapons. A most wise and far sighted decision. Imagine where we would be if he had not...
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Wednesday evening that the "political games" of enemies of the Islamic Revolution of Iran are aimed at squandering the government's chances of administering the country's affairs.
Addressing a group of elites of the southern province of Bushehr, the president said, "The enemies initial impression was that if the new Iranian government finds the chance to implement its policies for one year, their withdrawal from the region and the Middle East will be definite.
"That is why they (enemies) are trying to waste our time by getting us involved in the nuclear case and political games in this respect.
"But we have called their cards," said President Ahmadinejad.
He stressed that a group of Iranian experts has been assigned to follow up the case to reach a final result. At the same time the government will spend its time performing its duties.
As for the issue of instigating some "elements inside Iran" by outside enemies, the president said, "Enemies of the Islamic Revolution know it very well that they can by no means deal a blow on the Iranian nation from outside the country and that is why they are making use of their elements inside Iran."
Ahmadinejad stressed that part of the enemies' anti-Iran propaganda campaign is aimed at helping the "cowed elements inside the country to find the chance for disinformation, sowing discord and poisoning the domestic atmosphere of the country." President Ahmadinejad called on the Iranian nation to further close their ranks and be vigilant and united to thwart the enemies' plots.
Stressing that enemies of the Islamic Revolution of Iran cannot do a damned thing, President Ahmadinejad said "They will withdraw when they see that our nation have stood firm."
Ahmadinejad noted that the world condition has changed now and most of the world nations currently back the Iranian nation.
The president also stressed that Iran has been considered as a model for the world and that the attention nations pay to the Iranian government, nation, and leadership is unparalleled.
#1
LOL, Moose! Great title, lol. I had to go check the article to be sure... That first sentence certainly makes your title far more accurate, lol.
:-)
#4
Sounds like Kim Jong Il traded his NK publicist to Iran for a main dish to be named later. I half expected read something about turning the Hormuz strait into a sea of fire.
Posted by: Scott R ||
02/02/2006 16:12 Comments ||
Top||
#5
I think if anyone has a copy of the libretto to the opera "Einstein onm the Beach" , by Philip Glass, study of it may help in interpreting the speeches of Prez Ahmadisnutz.
Britain has told Iran it should not ignore the world's demands to freeze its nuclear program. London also is urging international unity in dealing with the Iran issue.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has told parliament the international community needs to send Iran what he calls "a signal of strength" that Tehran must curb its nuclear ambitions.
"It is important surely, at this moment, above all else that we say that they have to come back into compliance with their international obligations and we all support the action necessary to do so," he said. "Now we are pursing that, as I say, in front of the U.N. Security Council but its important that they understand from this House, I hope, that we are united in determining that they should not be able to carry on flouting their international obligations."
The five permanent members of the Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - have joined Germany in agreeing that the Iran issue should be reported to the Council after a meeting this week of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.
Such a move could lead to sanctions against Iran, and the Iranian leadership has vowed to end all cooperation with the IAEA, if the matter ends up before the Security Council.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has pressed the case with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who has been in London for a conference on Afghanistan.
A Foreign Office spokesman says the Iranian has been warned not to abandon cooperation with the IAEA, and he has been told Iran must stop making threats.
Meanwhile, in Tehran, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani says the Islamic republic will resume industrial-scale uranium enrichment if its nuclear program is reported to the Security Council.
In a related development, British diplomatic sources confirm that senior Russian and Chinese officials have arrived in Iran for talks on the nuclear issue. A senior British official says the trip is significant because Russia and China are considered sympathetic to Iran.
The official said Iran should take, as he put it, "some pause for thought" from the fact it is getting a united signal from the major powers.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:39 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Heh, if Tony seriously wanted to send "a signal of strength", he'd have to get himself a "Live! From #10 Downing Street" prime-time slot and use it to shoot Jack Straw in the head.
#4
Iranian bloggers are reporting major worker discontent, since the Basijis broke a truck driver strike on Christmas day. I seem to recall regime change when Chilean truckers challenged the Allende lunatocracy. Maybe. Organized US labor declared support for the Iranian workers. Check out this Google cache material:
#7
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has told parliament the international community needs to send Iran what he calls "a signal of strength" that Tehran must curb its nuclear ambitions.
#8
Those drones, er UFO reported by folks living around the nuke plants ought to be a sign we are going to grab Ahmadisnutz by the family jewels eventually, one way or another!
Iran's president lashed out Wednesday at the United States and vowed to resist the pressure of "bully countries" as European nations circulated a draft resolution urging that Tehran be brought before the U.N. Security Council for its nuclear activities.
In a speech to thousands of supporters hours after President Bush's State of the Union address, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad derided the United States as a "hollow superpower" that is "tainted with the blood of nations" and said Tehran would continue its nuclear program.
"Nuclear energy is our right, and we will resist until this right is fully realized," Ahmadinejad told the crowd in the southern Iran city of Bushehr, the site of Iran's only nuclear power plant.
"Our nation can't give in to the coercion of some bully countries who imagine they are the whole world and see themselves equal to the entire globe," he added.
The crowd responded with chants of "Nuclear energy is our right!"
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said at a news conference that the Islamic republic would halt intrusive U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities and resume large-scale enrichment of uranium if it is taken before the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions.
Larijani also said Iran remains committed to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, despite calls from hard-line newspapers to withdraw from the agreement if the International Atomic Energy Agency reports Iran to the Security Council on Thursday, as expected.
Iran's main enrichment plant at Natanz "is ready for work," he said.
"We only need to notify the IAEA that we are resuming enrichment. When we do that is our call," Larijani said. If Iran is reported to the Security Council, we will do it quickly," he added.
Referring to the IAEA meeting, he added: "In case the issue is reported or referred to the Security Council, we will have to stop implementation of the Additional Protocol" a procedure that allows IAEA inspectors to carry out intrusive searches of a country's nuclear facilities without warning.
"The result would be Iran's cooperating with the IAEA at a low level, which is against our wishes. All our suspensions on nuclear activities would be lifted," he said, meaning that Iran would feel free to enrich uranium without hindrance.
Iran insists its nuclear program is civilian only and has no other purpose than to generate power. Enrichment can produce either fuel for a nuclear reactor or the material needed to build a warhead.
In Vienna, Austria, a draft IAEA resolution requests agency director general Mohamed ElBaradei "to report to the Security Council" on steps Iran needs to take to dispel fears that it might want to make nuclear arms. It was being circulated among the 35-member IAEA board for comments before being submitted for approval at Thursday's board meeting, and a copy was made available to The Associated Press.
The development was a boost to Washington, the main proponent of bringing Iran before the Security Council.
The draft calls on Iran to:
Re-establish a freeze on uranium enrichment and related activities.
Consider whether to stop construction of a heavy water reactor that could be the source of plutonium for weapons.
Formally ratify an agreement it has so far honored as if it were in force allowing the IAEA greater inspecting authority.
Give the IAEA more power in its probe of Iran's nuclear program, including "access to individuals" for interviews, as well as to documentation on its black market nuclear purchases, equipment that could be used for nuclear and non-nuclear purposes and "certain military-owned workshops" where nuclear activities might be going on.
The draft also asks ElBaradei to "convey to the Security Council" his report to the next board session in March along with any resolution that meeting might approve.
"Iran's many failures of its obligations ... constitute noncompliance" with the nonproliferation treaty, the document said. Although the text is likely to undergo some changes before it is submitted for approval, the countries that authored the draft Britain, France and Germany were unlikely to agree to substantive modifications, according to a European diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing confidential strategy on Iran.
Ahmadinejad referred to Bush directly and the U.S.-led war in neighboring Iraq.
"Those whose hands are tainted with blood of nations and are involved in wars and oppression in any part of the world ... we, hopefully, in the near future will put you on trial in courts that will be set up by nations."
Defense Minister Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar also warned all countries against considering an attack on Iran's nuclear installations. "Any attack against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities will meet a swift and crushing response from the armed forces," Najjar said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
The comments came after Bush increased the pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, saying in his address Tuesday night that "the nations of the world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons." He said the United States "will continue to rally the world to confront these threats."
Bush also said Iran was "held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people" and must stop sponsoring terrorists in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin spoke with Bush by telephone about Iran, the Kremlin said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons on Wednesday it was crucial for the international community to "send a signal of strength" to Iran in the dispute.
"It is important that they understand ... that we are united in determining that they should not be able to carry on flouting their international obligations," he said.
The five permanent members of the Security Council agreed Tuesday that Iran should be hauled before the powerful body.
The top U.N. body has the power to impose economic and political sanctions, but none of those measures is immediately likely. Under the deal agreed to by Moscow and Beijing, the Security Council will likely await a new IAEA report at the next board meeting in March before deciding on substantive action, leaving more time for talks with Iran.
On Tuesday, the IAEA said Iran obtained documents and drawings on the black market that serve no other purpose than to make an atomic warhead. The findings were contained in a confidential report for presentation to the IAEA board and provided in full to AP.
A three-year IAEA inquiry has not found firm evidence to back assertions by the United States and others that Iran's nuclear activities are a cover for an arms program but has not been able to dismiss such suspicions either.
First mention of the documents linked to constructing a nuclear warhead was made last year in a longer IAEA report. At that time, the agency said only that they showed how to cast "enriched, natural and depleted uranium metal into hemispherical forms."
In the brief report obtained Tuesday, however, the agency said bluntly the 15 pages of text and drawings showing how to cast fissile uranium into metal were "related to the fabrication of nuclear weapon components."
The report said the documents were under agency seal, meaning that IAEA experts should be able to re-examine them, but Iran has declined to give the agency a copy.
Iran has claimed it did not ask for the documents but received them anyway as part of other black market purchases.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:38 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
..and vowed to resist the pressure of "bully countries"..
#2
All this lashing out and vowing and chanting -- not too bright. If he had a lick of sense, he'd let the Russians enrich his uranium and he'd sit it out until the U.S. reduced its presence in his neighborhood. But he doesn't. He's going for extinction and he's totally clueless about it.
#4
The leader of the world's biggest sponsor of international terrorism calling democratically run countries "bullies." Rich. I'm sure Iranian women would find that hysterical if they ever had the chance to actually laugh out loud. It is now merely a matter of principle to make sure Ahmadinejad takes the dirt nap post haste. If there are any casualties incurred during the assault on Iran's nuclear facilities, let this maggot be the first one.
#11
Frank, he "lashed out" in Bushehr, the site of Iran's only nuclear power plant. Those crowds know what nuclear energy is. They just want their nuclear energy jobs instead of being vaporized. Oh well.
#12
you think the actual workers were in the crowds? they're too important, and I doubt the Iranian secret police allows them to gather at all - these were the ignoranti rounded up by the Basij to do their bidding
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2006 22:14 Comments ||
Top||
The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said in a report Tuesday that Iran obtained documents and drawings on the black market that serve no other purpose than to make an atomic warhead. Tehran warned of an "end of diplomacy" if plans to refer it to the U.N. Security Council are carried out.
The report by the agency, ahead of a meeting of its 35-member board Thursday, also confirmed information recently provided by diplomats familiar with the Iran probe that Tehran has not started small-scale uranium enrichment since announcing it would earlier this month.
Nevertheless, the findings added to pressure to refer Tehran to the Security Council within days. Such a move, Iran said, would lead to a halt in surprise U.N. inspections beginning Saturday and prompt it to resume frozen nuclear activities. "If it happens, the government will be required under the law to end the suspension of all nuclear activities it has voluntarily halted," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said late Tuesday, speaking on Iranian television.
European and Russian officials insisted the opportunity for negotiations was not lost, even after envoys from Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States agreed in London overnight to recommend that the IAEA's board report Iran to the council when it meets in Vienna.
The top U.N body has the power to impose economic and political sanctions, but none of those measures is ever going to happen immediately likely. Under the deal agreed to by Moscow and Beijing — previous opponents of referral — the Security Council will likely await a new IAEA report at the next board meeting in March before deciding on substantive action, leaving more time for talks with Iran. "For us, the diplomatic path is not closed," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said in Paris. The process of taking Tehran to the Security Council is "reversible, too, if Iran makes the gestures we're waiting for."
They're making a gesture at you, J-B, but you didn't understand it.
The EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, insisted that talk of sanctions was premature. "We are in a diplomatic channel," he said. But U.S. Ambassador John Bolton called the decision to report Iran to the Security Council "about goddamned time" a "major step forward."
In an attempt to reassure Tehran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov underlined that the Council "will not make any (immediate) decisions." Russian and Chinese diplomats will head to Tehran shortly to explain the meaning of the London agreement and urge Iran to meet IAEA demands, he said. Moscow is trying to prevent the referral from scuttling negotiations it hopes will persuade Iran to accept a compromise proposal moving any Iranian uranium enrichment to Russia to eliminate misuse for a weapons program.
But Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said a move to the council would "be unconstructive and the end of diplomacy." "We will have to start all nuclear work that has been voluntarily suspended," Larijani said, though he stopped short of saying explicitly that Iran will restart its uranium enrichment program.
The findings about the design obtained by Iran on the black market were contained in a confidential report for presentation to the 35-nation IAEA board and provided in full to The Associated Press. The four-page report also criticized Iran for refusing to provide interviews with at least one nuclear scientist linked to the military and dismissing requests for information on "tests related to high explosives and the design of a missile re-entry vehicle, all of which could have a military nuclear dimension."
A three-year IAEA probe has not found firm evidence to back assertions by the United States and others that Iran's nuclear activities are a cover for an arms program but has not been able to dismiss such suspicions either.
And never will, either, because then they'd have to do something about it.
First mention of the documents linked to constructing a nuclear warhead was made late last year in a longer IAEA report. At that time, the agency said only that they showed how to cast "enriched, natural and depleted uranium metal into hemispherical forms."
In the brief report obtained Tuesday, however, the agency said bluntly that the 15 pages of text and drawings showing how to cast fissile uranium into metal were "related to the fabrication of nuclear weapon components." Asked about the finding, a senior diplomat close to the IAEA declined to elaborate but emphasized that the documents had no other use. He demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing confidential information.
The report said the documents were under agency seal, meaning that IAEA experts should be able to re-examine them, but "Iran has declined a request to provide the agency with a copy."
The documents in question were given to Iran by members of the nuclear black market network, the IAEA said. Iran has claimed it did not ask for the documents but received them anyway as part of other black market purchases. The papers were shown for perusal as part of unrelated documents, leading to speculation among diplomats accredited to the IAEA that Iran had revealed them in error.
The same network provided Libya with drawings of a crude nuclear bomb which that country handed over to the IAEA as part of its 2003 decision to scrap its atomic weapons program.
In other findings, the report confirmed information provided over the past few weeks by diplomats familiar with the Iran probe that Tehran has not started small-scale uranium enrichment since taking off IAEA seals on enrichment equipment Jan. 10-11. It spoke, however, of "substantial" maintenance work at Iran's small pilot enrichment plant at Natanz and testing of components there and at another site — all evidence that Iran was planning to resume enrichment. And it said Iran was continuing to convert material into the uranium gas that is the feed stock for enrichment since restarting that program in November.
Iran's decision to resume uranium conversion led Britain, France and Germany to break off talks meant to persuade Iran to scrap that program and others related to and including enrichment. Its announcement that it would resume small-scale enrichment earlier this month escalated the nuclear crisis, leading to the agreement Monday by the five permanent Security Council members to ask the council to focus on Iran's potential nuclear threat.
Under IAEA rules, a nation can be reported to the Security Council or the U.N. body can be notified of a case. Notification is less serious but the Europeans have not made clear which step they intend to take.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:34 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
ROFL! This is a laugh-riot! Ready-made for a fisk-fest.
#2
Fortunately, an end of all diplomacy is precisely what the doctor ordered. Iran has had far too many opportunities to resolve this issue peacefully. It's time to let them have a whiff of the dragon's breath.
Any takers that Ahmadinejad and Baghdad Bob are really twins separated at birth? I swear that DNA analysis of the bile they spew would come up with a perfect match.
#6
Diplomacy end threatened? Had me fooled. I thought that the MMs were just jerking the EUniks chain for a bit of innocent merriment. That was diplomacy?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/02/2006 22:36 Comments ||
Top||
Iran struck back Tuesday at the Big Five powers' decision to refer Iran's nuclear file to the U.N. Security Council, saying the move would mean the end of diplomacy over its atomic program.
Still, in what appeared to be an attempt to show it was cooperating with the West, Iran handed over documents last week to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency on casting uranium into the shape of a warhead, diplomats in Vienna, Austria, said.
At a London meeting that lasted into the early hours of Tuesday, envoys of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States decided they would recommend Thursday that the International Atomic Energy Agency should report Iran to the Security Council. They also decided the Security Council should wait until the IAEA issues a report on Iran in March before tackling the issue.
"The breakthrough agreement by all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council sends a united message to Iran that the world will not tolerate nuclear weapons development," said CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk, interviewed on CBS News Up To The Minute, "but the agreement was achieved by the decision to take no action until the final International Atomic Energy Agency report in March, giving Iran a face-saving way to get back on track with its commitment to close down its facilities."
A document obtained by Iran on the nuclear black market serves no other purpose than to make an atomic bomb, the IAEA also said Tuesday.
The finding was made in a report prepared for presentation to the 35-nation IAEA board when it meets, starting Thursday, on whether to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to impose economic and political sanctions on Iran.
The report was made available in full to The Associated Press.
First mention of the documents was made late last year in a longer IAEA report. At that time, the agency said only that the papers showed how to cast "enriched, natural and depleted uranium metal into hemispherical forms."
The agency refused to make a judgment on what possible uses such casts would have. But diplomats familiar with the probe into Iran's nuclear program said then that the papers apparently were instructions on how to mold highly enriched grade uranium into the core of warheads.
In the brief report obtained Tuesday, however, the agency said bluntly that the 15-page document showing how to cast fissile uranium into metal was "related to the fabrication of nuclear weapon components."
Asked about the finding, a senior diplomat close to the IAEA declined to elaborate but emphasized that the documents had no other use.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, reproached Europe for the London decision and repeated that Tehran will resume suspended nuclear activities and bar surprise U.N. inspections of facilities if it is referred to the Security Council.
"In case of referral ..., we have to stop all nuclear work that has been voluntarily suspended and stop implementation of the Additional Protocol," Larijani told reporters.
Uranium enrichment is the chief activity that Iran has suspended, but Larijani stopped short of specifying a resumption of enrichment.
Under the protocols, Iran agreed to allow IAEA inspectors to carry out surprise inspections of its nuclear sites with as little as two hours' notice. The deal also lets them inspect sites Iran has not officially declared as nuclear facilities — such as the Parchin military base outside of Tehran that inspectors visited in October, suspecting that nuclear activity was taking place there.
Iran's parliament passed a law last year requiring the government to block intrusive inspections of Iran's facilities if the IAEA refers the Iranian program to the Security Council.
The law also requires Iran to resume all nuclear activities it had stopped voluntarily, foremost among them enriching uranium.
Iran insists it has the right as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to build nuclear power stations and produce fuel by enriching its own uranium. But the United States and Europe suspect Iran aims to use enrichment to produce nuclear weapons, an accusation Iran denies.
Earlier, state television reported that Larijani said referral to the Security Council will be "unconstructive and the end of diplomacy."
"Europeans should pay more attention. Iran has called for dialogue and is moving in the direction of reaching an agreement through peaceful means," he said. "The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn't welcome this. We still think that this issue can be resolved peacefully. We recommend them not to do it."
But French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said the international community could reverse course if Tehran cooperates. "For us, the diplomatic path is not closed," Mattei said.
Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who also runs Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said there was no "legal justification to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council," according to the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency.
In Vienna, Iran's oil minister said the nuclear issue would not affect Iranian oil policy.
"We have no reason to stop our exports" because of the nuclear issue, Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said before Tuesday's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, where members agreed to hold crude-oil production steady at 28 million barrels a day. "From our point of view there's no link between the two."
British, French and German representatives met Larijani's deputy, Javad Vaedi, in Brussels on Tuesday for talks on the dispute but failed to make any progress.
The decision by Russia and China to vote for referral surprised observers as they have consistently counseled caution on Iran's nuclear file. Both have major economic ties with Iran.
In an apparent attempt to reassure Tehran, Russia underlined that referral to the Security Council will not mean immediate action.
"The Security Council will not make any decisions," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Moscow is trying to prevent the referral from scuttling negotiations that it hopes will persuade Iran to accept a compromise proposal, that Iranian uranium enrichment take place on Russian territory.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:33 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Iran handed over documents last week to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency on casting uranium into the shape of a warhead,
"Oh No" they said, "Our Nuclear research is only for peacefull generation of electrical power"
Is there any printable saying stronger than "Bullshit?"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/02/2006 19:58 Comments ||
Top||
After a missile attack on Israel from south Lebanon on December 27, 2005, the Organization of al-Qaeda in Iraq, or the Land of the Two Rivers, issued an audio-recording for its leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in which he claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was ordered by al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden. The attack, combined with the statement of responsibility, raised questions about al-Qaeda's presence in Lebanon. Following the attack, Lebanese authorities arrested a group of al-Qaeda members or followers of the Salafi-Jihadist movement. While the Lebanese authorities did not disclose details about the arrested suspects, the news leaks raised several questions about the presence and nature of the Salafi-Jihadist movement in Lebanon.
Among Arab societies, Lebanese are least affected by Salafi ideas (al-Jazeera Channel, January 13, 2006). Since independence, Lebanon has been a multi-cultural state with a fairly open society, making Salafi-Jihadist ideology less attractive. This explains why most of the arrested men were not Lebanese. Nevertheless, questions remain about the reasons behind the increase in the number of the movement's followers in Lebanon: some sources indicate that there are more than 100 Salafi-Jihadist followers in the country (al-Watan, January 15, 2006). The attack on Israel also raises questions about the movement's true motives in Lebanon.
Among the names announced by Lebanese authorities, four of the suspects were Lebanese nationals. The rest of the accused include seven Syrians, one Palestinian and one Jordanian. They were all accused of the attack on Israel. Among the Lebanese were Khader and Malek Nab'a, who are relatives of the suspects in the Dinnieh incidents of 2000 (see the indictment in Lebanon-based al-Nahar newspaper, July 11, 2000).
In addition, Khader Nab'a is associated with the appearance of the Salafi-Jihadist movement in Lebanon, when the leader of the al-Ahbash religious sect, Nizar Halabi, was assassinated in 1995. Since Salafi-Jihadist ideology is less popular in Lebanon than in other Arab countries, recruitment takes place among relatives and friends. The exceptions to this were the suspects in the Dinnieh incidents, since most of them were Lebanese veterans of the Afghan war. Yet, most of the individuals arrested in Lebanon after the Dinnieh incidents were not Lebanese nationals. Indeed, recent arrests of Salafi-Jihadists have uncovered plans to target U.S. interests, restaurants and diplomats (see feature on the record of al-Qaeda in Lebanon, al-Sharq al-Awsat, September 23, 2004).
The attack on Israel appears to be an attempt by Salafi-Jihadists to gain popularity among the Arab public after it began losing support in the Arab world due to its violent operations and targeting of civilians. The Arab-Israeli conflict remains one of the major issues that affect Arabs. This does not mean, however, that the conflict with Israel is not important for Salafi-Jihadists; on the contrary, it is considered an "ideological priority."
Nevertheless, it seems that Israel is not the main reason for al-Qaeda to increase its operations in Lebanon. For instance, as mentioned earlier, the ideology of Salafi-Jihadists is generally not popular among Lebanese. Additionally, south Lebanon will not become a base for Salafi-Jihadists because the region is controlled by the Shiite party Hezbollah. Salafi-Jihadists hold intense animosity toward the Shiite sect, which makes unlikely any coalition between the two parties.
The primary reason behind al-Qaeda's increasing presence in Lebanon is that since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and the Syrian withdrawal that ensued as a result of that assassination, Lebanon has entered a state of security upheaval. According to Moroccan researcher al-Mahjoub Habibi, the Salafi-Jihadist movement is facing difficulties operating in many regions of the world, and the lack of security in Lebanon is drawing the movement's members to the country (http://www.rezgar.com, March 31, 2005). Habibi, a secularist, also argued that Jordan will serve as new ground for al-Qaeda; like Lebanon, it is close to Israel and fits into al-Qaeda's strategy of establishing a Caliphate after dominating Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Al-Qaeda and the Salafi-Jihadist movement are always trying to establish a presence in regions suffering from a lack of government security. In light of this analysis, the recent attack on Israel was likely an attempt by Salafi-Jihadists to recover the popularity lost with the Arab public over its recent choices of targets, and to move closer to establishing its presence in all of the Middle East.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:19 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
A well-organised militia linked to al-Qaeda's pointman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has operated in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley recruiting local fighters to join the insurgency in Iraq, a Lebanese newspaper said Tuesday, citing state security sources. Authorities learnt of the militia's existence through the interrogation of 13 alleged members of an al-Qaeda cell based in Lebanon, the as-Safir daily reported. The men were arrested in a December 2005 sweep in which rockets, explosives, handgrenades and assault rifles were also seized.
"Those captured have confessed that they recruited a number of young Lebanese in the northern part of the Bekaa Valley and many Palestinians from refugee camps based in Lebanon with the aim of forming 'suicide groups' to send to Iraq," the report said, citing unidentified security sources.
"Once recruited the men were trained in training camps situated in neighbouring countries," it said without naming the countries.
The alleged head of the Lebanese al-Qaeda cell, a Syrian national named Khaled Taha, was not caputred in the December raid and is still at large, the sources told as-Safir.
Taha apparently recruited Abu Adas, an Islamic extremist who appeared in a video after the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, claiming that he was responsible for the attack. However Lebanese investigators, as well as a United Nations commission of inquiry into the bomb blast that killed Hariri and 20 others, have ruled out any al-Qaeda involvement.
Still, Lebanese authorities believe that besides dispatching fighters to Iraq, the al-Qaeda cell also planned terrorist attacks in Lebanon, the as-Safir report said.
On Monday Lebanon's security forces announced that they plan to create a "Special Agency to Combat Terrorism, with branches located throughout the country. Agency staff will receive special training from international anti-terrorism experts, they said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:14 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
Posted by: DanNY ||
02/02/2006 12:10 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Eh, I don't think so... we're tied down elsewhere, we don't have the logistics in place, etc.
We could do it anyway if things go haywire, but it would be a BIG mess.
Plus the author is a german intel analyst. Home of the 'sure, invade Russia with no winter clothing' strategy.
#3
If Iranian missiles have chemical warheads (in fact or presumed), the US will immediately use nuclear weapons to destroy the Iranian military and industrial infrastructure.
I'm thinking it would take more than that for the US to get out the big booms.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
02/02/2006 17:22 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I'm confident that you're right, LotR.
The character of this war will be completely different from the Iraq war. No show-casing of democracy, no "nation-building", no journalists, no Red Cross - but the kind of war the United States would have fought in North Vietnam if it had not had to reckon with the Soviet Union and China.
I can only hope that the article's author is right as well.
#6
All the signs are out there.... something's going to happen.
While the MSM parades Cindy and Howard Dean throws childish tantrums, it seems as if the "civilized" world has been busy planning for war. I just hope we don't get screwed by France, Turkey and Russia... again. I hope no one is counting on them to do anything but sell us out. IMHO, would be a mistake to assume otherwise.
#7
The Iranians are all but officially demanding to be attacked and invaded, wherest vv Osama, etal. the Spetzlamists proclaim the next attacks are being planned and will be against the America - THE ONLY QUESTION FOR DUBYA IS WHOM WILL ATTACK AMERICA OR AMER INTERESTS FIRST. Remember, iff America does NOT atack or wage war, America will be attacked or warred against no matter what Dubya, or his successors, do. 9-11 and the WOT IS ABOUT DEFEATING AMERICA AND WHOM WILL CONTROL THE WORLD - America's enemies have no scruples about waging and militarily destroying the USA vv global nuke war iff need be. WHAT THEY WANNA KNOW IS WHETHER MAINSTREAM/ORDINARY AMERICANS HAVE THE GUMPTION TO DO THE SAME AND FIGHT A WAR FOR CONTROL OF THE WHOLE WORLD. Leftism-Socialism and Communism have nuthin' to lose except the human cannon fodder, i.e. econ prod units, their -isms can't afford to take care of anyway. OPER GMD > HYPERPOWER+ AMERICA IS GETTING TOO STRONG FOR EVEN STATE/REGION-SPECIFIC NUKE ARSENALS TO THREATEN. THE GREATEST ALL-AROUND THREAT TO AMERICA IS FROM WITHIN, FROM "CREEPING/GRADUAL SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM" AND THE WAFFLIN' POLICRATS WHOM SERVE AND ADHERE TO SAID IDEOS AND GRADUALISMS.
#11
"CREEPING/GRADUAL SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM?" That makes it sound like they ain't loyal - like they's working against us. Like they'd rather see us look like a different country. Our own Dems? Say it can't be true.
VIENNA - Iran’s nuclear program is not an ”imminent threat,” the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said on Thursday as his agency met to hear a call to haul the Islamic Republic before the UN Security Council.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
Depends on your definition of "imminent," doesn't it?
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Iran needed to do “confidence building” but that the international crackdown on Teheran’s nuclear ambitions, which the United States says involves making atomic weapons, “is not about an imminent threat. I should make that very clear.”
I always get a queasy feeling when somebody burps the words "confidence building." You can buil my confidence by showing that you don't intend to beat the crap out of me, true. But if you're lying, then I can be as confident as I please and I still end up with most of my teeth missing and bruises all over me.
“We are reaching a critical phase but it is not a crisis situation,” ElBaradei told reporters.
It's critical but it's not a crisis. Do I need to be a diplobat to understand what he said?
I think he's calling for something called "willing suspension of disbelief."
The IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors is debating a European Union draft resolution to report Iran to the UN Security Council, calling on it to suspend all nuclear fuel work and to cooperate fully with a now three-year-old IAEA investigation into its nuclear program. The resolution is a compromise to Iranian ally Russia’s demands as it allows for a month-long pause before the Council can move ahead on any action, which could include punitive sanctions. “I think what the board is trying to do is to send a very clear message to Iran but also to provide a window of opportunity” for diplomacy, ElBaradei said.
I think you're willingly fooling yourself.
They've been crawling in and out of that window of opportunity for at least the past three years.
The message is that “Iran needs to take more confidence-building measures,” such as suspending enrichment and other nuclear fuel work, ElBaradei said. He said full cooperation by Iran could lead to the Security Council backing off from sanctions.
On the other hand, if they'd been cooperative, the Security Council could be attended to other important matters, like whether to have the veal or the lamb.
El Baradei said that in speeches on Thursday board members had made clear that the goal “is simply a continuation of diplomacy by having the council lend its weight to the agency’s effort, to my effort, and everybody is stressing renewing the commitment to negotiation,” ElBaradei said, referring to now broken-off talks between Iran and the EU.
It's not like the UN would take any action.
There is a “window of opportunity until I submit my report in March,” El Baradei said, referring to a report on Iran’s cooperation with the watchdog’s investigation that is to be filed before the next IAEA board meeting on March 6. “Nobody is questioning Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy but they are really saying at this stage, when there are still question marks about Iran’s porgram that Iran should not engage and should exercise restraint on engaging in enrichment which is a very sensitive technology and could lead to nuclear weapons,” ElBaradei said.
Why yes it could, couldn't it? What will you do when Iran tests a nuke?
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/02/2006 11:16 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
One of the big problems with this guy is that, when he finally gets his dope slap, a couple of million people will probably be dead.
#3
And this is relevant why?
ElBaradei's problem besides being full of shit is that no one except tranzi's take him as seriously as he takes himself.
On second thought that could be said for the UN as a whole.
It's a very good thing that those with teeth and spines and gumption and guts don't pay him (or the pap IAEA reports he waters down) any mind.
It's a very good thing that Bush is our President and that Kerry spent the SotU staring at his impotent lap. Prolly wishing he was still in Davos, basking in the attention for his moronic call for a sure-fire fizzle filibuster 'n sportin' a beret, methinks.
There appears to be a serious rift in the cabinet of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some of his supporters are urging a hard-line against the US and adventurism abroad, while others believe that war with the US is not inevitable and that Iran can benefit from maintaining a low profile. Ahmadinejad has apparently let all the international media attention go to his head. Ahmadinejad always was a news hound, and enjoyed getting recognized for accomplishing things while mayor of Tehran.
But now many Iranians are getting nervous, because Ahmadinejad is talking war and not getting anything done for the poor and oppressed (by the corrupt clergy who control the government and much of the mismanaged economy). Iranian Internet chatter is full of such misgivings. But Ahmadinejad's playing of the nationalism card makes open demonstrations of opposition dangerous.
More than a week after Osama Bin Laden's Qaeda deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, resurfaced in an audiotape posted on the Internet, Al Jazeera aired a video of Zawahiri berating the United States for a bombing attack on a place where he had been suspected of being, and threatening further attacks on the United States.
In another broadcast Monday evening, the Arabic-language network based in Doha, Qatar, broadcast a videotape of Jill Carroll, the American correspondent kidnapped in Baghdad in mid-January.
Zawahiri, shown wearing white robes and a white turban, said the Jan. 13 airstrike in the northeastern Pakistan village of Damadola had killed only "innocents," and called President George W. Bush a "butcher" and a "failure" for the attack. He said the United States had lost its chance for a truce offered by bin Laden in an audio recording broadcast by the Arab satellite television station Al Jazeera on Jan. 19.
"Butcher of Washington, you are not only defeated and a liar, but also a failure," he said, speaking of Bush. "You are a curse on your own nation and you have brought and will bring them only catastrophes and tragedies."
A U.S. counterterrorism official said that the videotape "demonstrates that Al Qaeda's propaganda apparatus is still functioning." The official, who asked not to be identified because of the rules of his government office, called Zawahiri's message "an attempt to reassure the Al Qaeda rank and file that he's still alive" after the January missile strike in Pakistan.
Thirteen villagers were killed in the strike, setting off widespread protests in Pakistan. U.S. officials say that several Qaeda figures were among those killed, but have not determined who they were. In the video, Zawahiri refers to the strike as aimed at "my humble self and four of my brothers."
"The videotape proves that Ayman is closely following what is happening around him," said Mohammad Salah, Cairo bureau chief of the pan-Arab daily newspaper Al Hayat, an expert on Islamist groups. "He is talking about events that happened as recently as last week."
Zawahiri issued seven public statements during 2005, becoming the public face of the terrorist network, the intelligence official said, and U.S. officials had expected him to speak out after the missile attack to silence any rumors that he might have been killed.
The Al Jazeera broadcast of Carroll was the second videotape of the journalist and showed her dressed in a white Muslim head scarf and weeping as she spoke to the camera.
Carroll's voice is almost inaudible on the tape, but the network said she had called for the U.S. and Iraqi governments to release all women held in the jails of the Iraqi Interior Ministry and the U.S. Army, and said doing so would help to win her release.
The 30-second video clip bore a date stamp marked Jan. 28. In the upper left corner of the screen were the words "The Revenge Brigade," the same logo that appeared in an earlier videotape of Carroll broadcast on Jan. 17.
In the new videotape, Carroll, who was abducted in western Baghdad on Jan. 7, looks directly at the camera, speaking quickly, her face contorted with anguish. Her voice, tremulous and breaking, can be heard at one point saying "hope for the families," but at other times it is obscured by the network voice-over.
It was the first sign of Carroll since the first videotape, in which her captors threatened to kill her in 72 hours if the U.S. military did not release all Iraqi women from its jails. Carroll, a freelance journalist, wrote mostly for The Christian Science Monitor, an American daily published in Boston.
A number of prominent Iraqi and Arab figures, including some with ties to insurgent groups, have issued public calls for her release.
The U.S. military freed five Iraqi women from detention last week, but military officials said the decision had no relation to the kidnappers' demands.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:25 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Of course Al-Qaeda's propanganda network[s] still up and running:
CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC are still on the air, last I checked.
The Mawsu'at al-I'dad ("Encyclopedia of Preparation") stands out as a prime example of an illustration of the "data mining" capability that the internet provides. As earlier indicated in Terrorism Focus, this work is unique in its form since it constitutes an ever-expanding e-compendium made up of a multitude of data links (Terrorism Focus, Volume II, Issue 7).
Among the titles in the work is a course on codes and ciphers. The Dawrat al-Shahid al-Qa'id al-Maidani Khattab ("The Martyr Field Commander Khattab's Course") is more precisely an exhaustive treatment on the use of symbols in the planning of military operations, specifically with reference to mapping in the field. It is part of a series on military terminology, planning and mapping signals prepared for the web by Abu al-Darda, "the Salafist," and published by al-Markaz al-Islami al-I'lami ("the Islamic Information Center"). There is no indication as to who Khattab is in the title. Nor is any date given, but it is likely that the work ultimately derives from the Afghanistan period when training for open military conflict had more significance. In more up-to-date works, the emphasis is on urban and guerrilla warfare and activities related to covert operations and intelligence gathering.
After presenting the basics on the employment of military symbols, the author illustrates how, from a simple figure, minor additions and adaptations can be made under certain pre-agreed conditions to produce economically drawn symbols to express precise information. "The symbols have to be kept simple and clear," the author states, "since densely packed marks on documents, or an [overly] complicated single sign (such as a combination of symbols and numbers not previously agreed) will prejudice the clarity of the required representation, and possibly cause doubt [as to interpretation]."
The construction of intelligence symbols is presented in a logical progression, and the use of adaptations (size, thickness and type of line) to denote information such as the number or group of numbers (indicating the function or identity of a unit and its affiliation, date, time, caliber of weapons), the size or importance of the unit, its level of readiness, its verified presence, whether the located point is under surveillance, or whether there are doubts as to the quality of the information available. The use of color is categorized to indicate: friendly forces (units, bases, tactical conditions, preparedness), enemy forces (units, bases, tactical conditions, preparedness), areas contaminated by enemy or friendly activity, zones of destruction, minefields or artificial barriers and lines marking off friendly units and zones of artillery fire.
Over the course of the 76-page document, the author carefully tabulates intelligence marks for agreed symbols to denote sizes of military units, from small bands up to detachments, battalions, divisions, corps and brigades. Then he lists symbols denoting the configuration of the military units, marks for weaponry, and marks corresponding to detailed specifications of this weaponry or concentrations of armaments at one point. Following are symbols for communication points and communication methods, barriers and obstacles, crossing points and lines of fire.
The author illustrates, by way of example, the symbols employed for units of the Lebanese army. Yet, it is the section on FEBAs (Forward Edge of the Battle Area) that gives some indication of the ultimate origin of the work or its indebtedness to Western military manuals, since the Arabic terminology used in this section is consistently related to its English-language equivalent. The inclusion of Khattab's course in the Encyclopedia of Preparation is clearly intended as part of an overall course in military training—part of the "Virtual Afghanistan" imperative provided for the internet, and which saw the production of the Mu'askar al-Battar ("Al-Battar Training Camp") periodical that ran for 22 issues until its closure late in 2004.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:20 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Sounds like AQ may have infiltrated Avalon Hill.
On January 19, 2006, al-Jazeera Television broadcast a new statement by al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. The statement was bin Laden's first since October 31, 2004. The U.S. government announced that the voice on the tape almost certainly is that of bin Laden (Bloomberg, January 20, 2006). Al-Jazeera speculates that the tape was recorded in December 2005 (al-Jazeera, January 20, 2006). As always, bin Laden was calm and dispassionate, reminding the American people and the West that the mujahideen cannot be deterred, saying, "He who swims in the ocean does not fear the rain Â… you won't be able to prevent us from dying in dignity." Bin Laden gave a clear indication that preparations for more al-Qaeda attacks in the U.S. are complete [1].
The content of the statement is familiar and fascinating. With what has been described as his familiar low, reedy voice, bin Laden promises that the worldwide, al-Qaeda-led Sunni insurgency will continue. He argues that in the current marquee theaters of the insurgency—Iraq and Afghanistan—"our [the Islamists'] situation is getting better and better, and your [America's] situation is the opposite." Rejecting U.S. claims of progress in Iraq, bin Laden said "that the war in Iraq is bubbling up without end … [and] Iraq has become a point of attraction [for would-be Muslim insurgents] and [the] restorer of [our] energies." In Afghanistan, bin Laden explained, "the operations … are continuing in our favor, all praise be to Allah." In the statement, bin Laden also makes a selective use of domestic U.S. polls to claim Americans oppose the war in Iraq and that "the wise among you know that Bush does not have a plan to reach his alleged victory in Iraq."
After offering this positive assessment of the al-Qaeda-led insurgency, bin Laden moves to the two-part heart of his message. He provides another warning to Americans that they will be attacked inside the United States if U.S. policies in the Islamic world remain unchanged, and, for the first time, he offers a truce. Implicitly referring to his October 31, 2004 speech, which he said was a final warning to Americans, bin Laden said, "I was not intending to speak [again] about this subject. Â… What motivated me to speak out is [sic] the repeated fallacies made up by your president Bush..."
Bin Laden then specifically focused on the Bush Administration's oft-repeated argument that the U.S. must fight al-Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan to prevent bin Laden's fighters from entering the United States to conduct attacks. "The results of your polls show that an overwhelming majority of you want the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq," bin Laden said, "but he [Bush] has opposed this wish and said that withdrawing troops sends the wrong message to opponents, that 'it is better to fight them [Muslims] on their land than their fighting us [Americans] on our land.'" Americans know that this is a false assertion, bin Laden argued, but its falsity is "the one thing that went over his [President Bush's] headÂ…" Also, "at the heart of polls calling for withdrawing the troops," bin Laden claimed, is the belief of Americans that "It is better that we [Americans] don't fight Muslims on their lands, and they don't fight us on ours."
Speaking past the Bush Administration to the American people, bin Laden agrees with the poll results he cited and says that it would be best for Muslims and Americans not to fight each other. In this context, he offers Americans "a long-term truce on fair conditions that we adhere to." In making such an offer, bin Laden followed the ancient and recent traditions of Islamic history, as well as his own practice. Bin Laden offered the truce because he believed a cease-fire, rather than war, is temporarily in the immediate interests of Muslims. A truce should be declared, bin Laden explained, "So both sides can enjoy security and stability under this truce so we [Muslims] can build Iraq and Afghanistan which have been destroyed by war." In making the proposal, bin Laden followed a model set by the Prophet Mohammad during his struggle to establish the Islamic religion, by Saladin during his years of war with the Christian crusaders and by the Afghan insurgents during their decade-long war against the Soviet Union.
Bin Laden also mirrored his own past behavior. In 2004, he offered a cease-fire to the European countries so al-Qaeda and its allies could concentrate on the war against the United States. The Europeans somewhat contemptuously refused bin Laden's offer and afterward al-Qaeda staged attacks in London. In all of these cases, the offers were not made as proposals for a permanent peace. According to bin Laden, there can be no permanent peace with infidels, only truces or cease-fires for time periods that benefit Muslims and prepare them to resume fighting.
For the United States, the most prudent conclusion to draw from bin Laden's new statement is that al-Qaeda has fully completed preparations for more attacks in the United States. Bin Laden chose to speak at this time because he wanted to clearly tell Americans that al-Qaeda can attack in the U.S. whether or not it is engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq. That he intended the warning to be clear for Americans to understand is shown by the fact that the statement contained even fewer quotations from the Quran and the Hadith than did the statement of October 31, 2004, which, until then, was the sparest of all bin Laden's speeches in terms of such quotations. Adding to the alarming nature of this warning was bin Laden's pointed reminder that the "mujahideen, all praise be to Allah, have managed repeatedly to penetrate all security measures adopted by the unjust allied countries. The proof of this is the explosions you have seen in the capitals [Madrid and London] of the European nations who are in this aggressive coalition [in Iraq]."
Bin Laden's message also was meant to resonate positively across the Islamic world, and it is likely to do so. Bin Laden's claim that "If you [Americans] are sincere in your desire for peace and security, we have answered you," will be seen by Muslims, according to the editors of Pakistan's Daily Times, as consonant with "the classical Islamic tradition of warfare Â… [in which Muslims] offer a truce to an adversary before an armed conflict. This was meant to give the adversary a chance to avoid a conflict" (Daily Times, January 21, 2006). Not only is the warning to Americans keeping with the Prophet's injunction that the enemy be warned before being attacked, but it is also in keeping with bin Laden's three-plus year effort to make sure the Muslim world is aware that he has gone the extra mile to avoid having to stage additional attacks in the United States.
Perhaps Pakistan's Daily Times has given Americans the most concise bottom-line for bin Laden's statement: "Al-Qaeda seems to be preparing for another round."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:11 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"You won't be able to prevent us from dying in dignity"
Simply pathetic.
#2
Not only is the warning to Americans keeping with the Prophet's injunction that the enemy be warned before being attacked, but it is also in keeping with bin Laden's three-plus year effort to make sure the Muslim world is aware that he has gone the extra mile to avoid having to stage additional attacks in the United States.
Such a noble man is that bin Ladin! Just like he gave fair warning and the option of a truce in the way of Mohammed, before flying the highjacked airplanes into American buildings on 9/11.
The eminently political nature of Ayman al-Zawahri's latest videotaped message is reviving the debate on the nature, structure and strategy of al Qaeda. In his statement broadcast Monday on al Jazeera, Osama bin Laden's deputy seemed to directly address the American and British people by urging them to turn against their own leaders.
The key to preventing the next attack by al Qaeda is understanding what's really happened to the organization since Sept. 11, 2001. Where are its pressure points? Where is it still strong? Where is it weak? Where do the United States and its allies need to focus their efforts and resources? Pakistan? Iraq? Saudi Arabia?
Our collective security depends on how accurately these questions can be answered by intelligence and law enforcement officials in the next few months. Many analysts and so-called terrorism experts describe the post-9/11 al Qaeda as "fatally wounded." It has suffered the loss of its sanctuary, the arrests or deaths of hundreds of its members, and the isolation of its leaders. Weakened by the pressure of a worldwide intelligence effort, cut from its financial networks, and incapable of communicating in the open, al Qaeda, these commentators say, has been reduced to a loose collection of cells, or merely an ideology in which the "call to action" is executed by "amateurs" without specific instructions or links to the organization.
While there is mounting evidence that bin Laden and al-Zawahri have had to radically rethink how they do business, the essence and ambitions of their organization have not fundamentally changed.
Al Qaeda is known for trying to influence the political life of Western democracies. Indeed there are many indications that the March 2004 Madrid bombings, which killed 191 people, were explicitly scheduled to influence the Spanish elections. They ultimately did. In a speech broadcast a few days before the 2004 U.S. presidential election, bin Laden exhorted the American people to vote against George W. Bush — and incidentally, Sen. John Kerry.
The timing and contents of Monday's message suggest that al Qaeda's No. 2 wants the world to know he's alive, and is also trying to squeeze himself into Bush's limelight. So does this strategy suggest a shift away from terrorist attacks? Fifty-five months and about 1,000 arrests after 9/11, the threat of a terrorist attack inside the United States is still high, as evidenced by bin Laden's latest announcement that "the operations are under preparation and you will see them in your homes." The U.S. intelligence community certainly takes these words seriously. From bin Laden's call to attack the West in 2002, which preceded the Bali bombings, to al-Zawahri's condemnation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in 2003, which led to two unsuccessful assassination attempts, it seems that every warning in these tapes has been followed by action.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/02/2006 12:07 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
A U.S. soldier in khaki fatigues gently cradles a bloody Iraqi girl in the muddy streets of Mosul.
Blogger Michael Yon snapped the photo May 2, 2005, moments after a suicide bomber attacked the unit he was embedded with. The little girl, Farah, died on her way to the hospital.
The next day, the picture ran in hundreds of newspapers and TV news shows throughout the world. It hit the front page of the Washington Post. USA Today. Fox News. ABC News. Time magazine.
The exposure should have been a career highlight for an independent journalist trying to get his coverage noticed. While millions of people saw the photo in their morning newspapers — and thousands more logged onto his blog — Yon could barely stand to see the picture.
"I was still upset about the bombing," he said. "There were months I couldn't even look at the photo."
He never wanted it to get out. He told Army officials they could use the photo in internal training manuals. Instead, they put it on the news wires, originally attributing it only as a U.S. Army photo without Yon's name.
The Army's decision to release the photo has Yon, widely considered one of the most pro-military voices covering the war, readying a copyright infringement lawsuit.
In an Oct. 13 letter to Yon denying his request for compensation for the alleged infringement, Army intellectual property lawyer Alan Klein wrote that Yon had given up his right for compensation when he signed the standard liability form all embedded journalists must sign.
The form states that Yon agreed to "release the (military) of any liability from and hold them harmless for any injuries I may suffer or any equipment that may be damaged as a result of my covering combat."
In his letter, Klein argues that an injury to Yon's copyright is the same as an injury to his leg or his camera.
The release frees the Army "from any liability for any injury he may suffer," Klein wrote. "The claimant asserts he was injured by the distribution of his copyrighted works to the news media. This release absolves the Army of any liability for that injury."
The Army contends that because Yon shared the photo with the soldiers in his embed unit, he should have understood the photo could be distributed further.
"(W)hen embedded journalists voluntarily share some of their photos with the Soldiers and units that they live and work with, typically through email, embeds fully understand that those individuals and units may distribute them," Lt. Col. Pamela Hart of Army Public Affairs wrote in an email.
Yon's attorney, John Mason, is trying to regain as much control over the photo as possible. He has asked dozens of news organizations to remove it from their archives unless they were willing to pay a substantial licensing fee.
Mason and Yon granted the Daily Southtown permission to run the photo for free because the paper was writing this article specifically about the photo's back-story.
If Yon moves ahead as planned with his suit against the Army, the photo could become a symbol of press rights in the military embed program.
Alicia Wagner Calzada, president of the National Press Photographers Association, said the Army's rationale for denying compensation appears questionable.
"(Yon) owns the copyright to that photograph," she said. "I would certainly never embed on the grounds of turning over my copyright to the military."
Yon wants people to know that he is not a military shill. He worries that the way his most famous photo got out to the world may have tarnished that image.
"I really am as fiercely independent as the Kurds are," he said. "The only thing I had was my independence. That was it."
#3
I like Yon's reporting. But his actions as an embed blurred a couple lines. For instance, IIRC at one point during a firefight he picked up a rifle and began shooting. His agreement allowing him to embed specifically forbids that -- and as an ex- soldier he knows why that is: the local commander CANNOT have people who take it upon themselves to join in but who aren't under his command. No matter how serious the fight - in fact, precisely due to the intensity of the fight - Yon's unilateral actions were out of line and he was reprimanded for them, as I recall.
I doubt it endeared him to the command chain or them to him. Whether or not this brouhaha over the pic is part of a larger bickering, I don't know. But while I can sympathize with his desire to control that photo, he does sound like a bit of a loose cannon.
FWIW - and I suppose I should just go put on my asbestos suit at this point. I hate when I have to do that - the damn thing is itchy ....
#4
lotp, leave the asbestos suit in the closet. Yon forgot he was a reporter and in the heat of the firefight did what any of us military types would do, BUT, he did violate his reporter status. I'm not going to judge him TOO harshly though the bottom line is he did something he wasn't supposed to do. He might very well have saved Kurilla's life but he should not have gotten in the fight.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/02/2006 19:56 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I think both sides were right. Yon was obligated to defend himself & the men around him. The Army was obliged to reprimand him and possibly pull him out of his embedded position. Sometimes there's no good outcome.
The Army [brass in the rear] should find a clue here.
It's bad enough that the MSM and their fellow travelers are stuck on stupid and tear down our Military everyday, but it galls me to no end when the 'Public relations Div' does such a through job shooting itself in the foot.
Here they've have a tremendous talent in Michael Yon, who along with Duce 4 has captured the immigration of millions all over the world.
How hard would it be for the Army to do the right thing and give him photo rights.
Think, what the film possiblities with Bruce Willis, a known fan of Duce 4 would do for recruting... And what about future work for the DOD, Marines, Air Force, Navy etc.
The DOD let SLA Marshall profit from his books, Army maps etc..
Regards the copyrights issue on the photo, well, if Yon signed away his rights to the pic, and they've decided to fuck him regardless of any unwritten / good faith understanding, then he loses - but learns not to deal with JAG fucks. Period. Ever.
As for your remark about Yon, well sheesh, yeah, put it on. I'll stick to the facts, but...
but only a little bit, a singing, perhaps, for being lazy and too quick to become a ring-knocker's stooge.
This is the story you haphazardly referred to. If read in full, it's a no-brainer and clear Yon was directly in the middle of a deadly firefight and was no "loose cannon" or cowboy. Just as the others he was suddenly there, in the middle of it, and acted in a manner -> I <- consider far above reproach - especially from anyone who was not there. You want a piece of him? Get it from the people of that Deuce-Four patrol. If they say he's a bad actor, a loose cannon, I'm good. If not, then you're over the voyeur's line.
About halfway down the entry is where you'll find the picture sequence and narrative of the engagement in question. LTC Kurilla is hit 3 times, including one which breaks his femur in half, but continues fighting back from the ground -- and demonstrates very clearly that this was a deadly encounter and there was no warning for any of the people involved.
Yon, unlike any other embed I know of, doesn't need babysitters - wasting patrol members / resources.
Read on. I think the facts bear out that he was (or should've been unless he's insane) in fear for his own life and for the lives of the people he was with - and acted accordingly - even when some greenies froze. Much advantage in experience.
I don't think your heart is in synch with your posted words, but that's up to you to clarify. What he did is precisely what makes -> ME <- think he rocks. Yeah, I'd go on patrol with him, in a heartbeat. And I'll bet you a month's wages that would go for anyone in Deuce-Four, anytime, anywhere.
#11
What in the hell is the Army thinking? Michael Yon has done what 10^6 public affairs hacks officers could not do: Put out one super favorable and true PR campaign for the Army. The picture embodied what the ideal US Army soldier is: tough but compassionate. It embodies what Americans are.
Then some REMF f*cks it all up. General Honare needs to be called in to have a talk with above REMFs and get them to quit being Stuck on Stupid™.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/02/2006 22:13 Comments ||
Top||
In a protest with an unusual number of high-level signatures, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and each of its five members have fired off a letter assailing a Washington Post cartoon as "beyond tasteless."
The Tom Toles cartoon, published Sunday, depicts a heavily bandaged soldier in a hospital bed as having lost his arms and legs, while Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, in the guise of a doctor, says: "I'm listing your condition as 'battle hardened.' " Toles said he meant no offense toward American soldiers.
My thanks to the Generals. Sick cartoon and the balance of this piece of kak at link.
#1
Meant no offense? BULL - he lives to offend and then cite freedom of speech. Classic LLL schtick. This time he crossed the wrong folk and is getting called on it big time.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/02/2006 15:01 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Sorry for the duplicate, I added the Joint Chief's letter verbatum at the other posting on today's Rant.
#3
Office of the Chairman
The Joint Chiefs of Staff
Washington, D.C. 20318-999
31 January 20067
Mr. Philip Bennett
Managing Editor, The Washington Pot
1150 15th Street NW
Washington, DC 20071
To the Editor of the Washington Post:
We are extremely disappointed to see the editorial cartoon by Tom Toles on page B6 in the January 29th edition. Using the likeness of a service member who has lost arms and legs in wear as the central theme of a cartooon is beyond tasteless. Editorial cartoons are often designed to exaggerate issues -- and your paper is obviously free to address any topic, including the state of readiness of today's Armed Forces. However, we believe you and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to your readers and your paper's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who have volunteered to defend this nation, and as a result, have suffered tramatic and life-altering wounds.
Those who visit with wounded veterans in local hospitals have found lives profoundly changed by pain and loss. They have also found brave men and women with a sense of purpose and selfless commitment that causes thruly battle-hardended warriors to pause. Where do we get such men and women? From the cities, and farmlands of this great Nation - they serve to be a part of something bigger than themselves. While you or some of your readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, we believe you owe the men and women and their families who so selflessly serve our country the decency to not make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices.
As the Joint Chiefs, it is rare that we all put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered.
Sincerely,
PETER PACE
General, US Marine Corps
Chairman
Of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
EDMUND P. GIAMBASTIANI, Jr.
Admiral, U.S. Navy
Vice Chairman
Of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
MICHAEL W. HAGEE
General, US Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine Corps
PETER J. SCHOOMAKER
General, US Army
Chief of Staff
MICHAEL G. MULLEN
Admiral, US Navy
Chief of Naval Operations
T. MICHAEL MOSELEY
General, US Air Force
Chief of Staff
Here it is once again. My thanks to the Joint Chiefs.
#5
But he predates Scrawl by, what, 20 yrs? I think he's been around since the bad old days when I actually subscribed to things called "newspapers" and actually thought I was getting the "news" 'n everything. Toles has always been a Tranzi socialist asshole, AFAIK.
#6
There must be some kind of Cartoonist Kool Aid.
President of Cartoonists Association Hails 'Wash Post' for Backing Toles
By Dave Astor
Published: February 02, 2006 1:40 PM ET
NEW YORK: Clay Bennett said the Joint Chiefs of Staff have more important things to do than write a letter criticizing a Tom Toles drawing.
"They should be as concerned with the soldiers in the field as they are with a cartoon in The Washington Post," said Bennett, president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC), when reached Thursday by E&P. "Maybe they should provide the body armor soldiers need to help avoid the sort of injury shown in the cartoon."
This Sunday's Toles cartoon pictured a quadruple amputee being visited in a hospital by "Dr. Rumsfeld," who says: "I'm listing your condition as 'battle hardened.'" The Joint Chiefs letter, published in Thursday's Post, said Toles was making fun of the soldier, and called his cartoon "reprehensible." Others noted that Toles was actually commenting on Rumsfeld, the state of the Army, and the carnage caused by the Iraq War. The Post has defended running the cartoon.
"It appears they [the Joint Chiefs] interpret cartoons as accurately as they do pre-war intelligence," Bennett said. The Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for The Christian Science Monitor added: "It was a tough cartoon on [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld, but he certainly deserves tough cartoons."
People, said Bennett, can be "purposely obtuse to pick a fight. You can always take a cartoon at face value -- rather than looking at it as a metaphor -- and make it something it's not."
Bennett concluded by praising the Post for backing Toles: "It's great to see a newspaper supporting their cartoonist under this kind of pressure. A lot of papers would have buckled under far less pressure."
Redacted by moderator. Comments may be redacted for trolling, violation of standards of good manners, or plain stupidity. Please correct the condition that applies and try again. Contents may be viewed in the sinktrap. Further violations may result in
banning.
#9
With freedom comes responsibility. If there is not an equal amount of responsibility taken, freedom becomes license.
Mr. Toles' cartoon crosses the edge of metaphor and gets into licenscious behavior.
Let's say, for example, that someone makes an editorial showing a loved one of Mr. Toles being tortured and gang-raped by some caritures of well-known national political figures. Would that be ok in freedom of speech? After all, it is just a metaphor for, ummmm, something.
Most people would find that abhorrent, but based upon Mr. Toles' twisted sense of values, it would be OK. Of course, Mr. Toles would go apesh*t over the cartoon, but what would you expect with the LLL disconnect? I rest my case.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/02/2006 16:06 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Come on folks. Anyone see some similarities between the Mohammad cartoons and this one? Toles' cartoon is tasteless and ill thought out, at best. I find it offensive and, yet, remain glad that I live in a country where such drivel can be published without fear of retribution.
Want to make your displeasure felt? Boycott all papers that carry Toles' cartoons. That's how we do it in America. Hit 'em in the pocketbook.
Toles has stepped on his own d!ck, as I'm sure he'll soon find out. I'll add that the generals were well within their rights to protest such callous disregard for our fallen troops.
#11
If history has taught me anything it is this - do not make the military mad at you. With MSM support diving to that of Congressmen [of either party] in the basement and the public standing of the military outside small coastal European enclaves being multiple degrees higher, its not the time to play with fire. When the pols of both parties can't get their act together on disaster relief and have to call upon the uniform services to get the recovery back on track, you're showing the American people who they can really count on. Remember the phrase in Jefferson's declaration - Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed. Keep pissing people off. History is not kind to those who ignore the patterns of the past.
#13
How many of us knew who Tom Toles was before this happened? I'm sure he's thrilled with all of this publicity.
The sad thing about our society is that if you want to be noticed by the media - you have to act like an ass. I hope Tolls enjoys his fame. His cartoon will be around for his grandchildren to see what an asshole he was.
#14
Ted Rall's enjoyed oh so much popularity since he was exposed (/sarcasm)- this asshole needs the same sunlight on his "product"...perhaps the WaPo declince curve can take a dip?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2006 23:24 Comments ||
Top||
#15
Where does Toles live ? I need to drag something behind my pickup.
A suburban family is homeless after a candle that was part of a shrine to a soldier killed in Iraq started a house fire. It's the latest in a string of bad fortune for the family.
You will forgive 57-year-old Jesse Alcozer if he is not exactly in the holiday spirit. The Elmhurst man, wounded seven times in Vietnam lost his job in 2004, then last year, his VA benefits were cut 20 percent. It got worse, in November his 21-year-old son Christopher was killed after his army unit was attacked in Mosul, Iraq. At Christopher's funeral, protesters carried a sign that read "thank god for dead soldiers." then two days after Christmas, a candle lit as a shrine to Christopher, sparked a fire that tore through their house.
So on Monday, with the Alcozer's boarded up home as a backdrop, lieutenant governor Pat Quinn urged the community to come to the aid of this now homeless family. Setting up a fund to defray their mounting expenses.
If there is any positive news here at all, it's that when firefighters were battling the blaze, they managed to retrieve the flag that draped Christopher's coffin, and a collection of his military medals.
In addition the lieutenant governor is now sponsoring legislation that would prohibit protests within 300 feet of a military or civilian funeral, and would ban such protests 30 minutes before and after the service. That would ensure that other families would not have to endure the insult to fatal injury like the Alcozer's did."
For more information about how you can help the Alcozer family visit: www.operationhomefront.org
#1
Huh? Did the son have a family already or were the parents the NOK? If the parents were the NOK why didn't they get the SGLI? Something doesn't make sense here. The family has the medals which I would have thought the wife or NOK would have gotten. If a wife doesn't have them, then the parents appear to be the NOK. SGLI was 250K at the beginning of the war and iirc Congress got around to upping it to 400K. So what gives?
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.
Palestinian security sources close to Hamas told WND Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahdi Akif has been serving as a replacement Hamas spiritual leader ever since Israel 
Newspapers across Europe have reprinted caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to show support for a Danish paper whose cartoons have sparked Muslim outrage. Seven publications in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain all carried some of the drawings. 
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said he expects "good news" in the next 12 months about withdrawing British troops from Iraq. He said a timescale was not yet available, but "active discussions" about withdrawal were being held.
It is widely recognised that the Palestinians are among the most politicised and educated peoples in the world. When they went to the polls last Wednesday they were well aware of what was on offer and those who voted for Hamas knew what it stood for. They chose Hamas because of its pledge never to give up the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and its promise to embark on a programme of reform. There were voices warning them, locally and internationally, not to vote for an organisation branded by the US and EU as terrorist because such a democratically exercised right would cost them the financial aid provided by foreign donors.
"Palestine means Palestine in its entirety - from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, from Ras Al-Naqura to Rafah. We cannot give up a single inch of it. Therefore, we will not recognize the Israeli enemy's [right] to a single inch. That is one thing. 
The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said in a report Tuesday that Iran obtained documents and drawings on the black market that serve no other purpose than to make an atomic warhead. Tehran warned of an "end of diplomacy" if plans to refer it to the U.N. Security Council are carried out.
VIENNA - Iran’s nuclear program is not an ”imminent threat,” the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said on Thursday as his agency met to hear a call to haul the Islamic Republic before the UN Security Council.
