AMONG the many battles in his life, Nafaz Khan recalls the long fight for Musa Qala as one of special significance. As the former chief of police and militia commander in the northern Helmand town it was there that he fought alongside British troops against the Taleban.
I loved those British soldiers, he said. They were great fighters and knew each of my men by name. Together we killed many, many Taleban.
Soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment, who were withdrawn from Musa Qala this month as part of a deal with Afghan tribal elders after more than two months of heavy fighting, remember the experience as one of violence, dirt, heat and lack of water. For Mr Khan, though, it held particular deprivation.
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#1
Most of the fighters werent real Taleban, most were local men who were angry with the Government, its robbery and corruption, who were persuaded to fight against the foreigners by our preachers in the mosques.
#2
What is this whole "kill all the enemy in one area, then fail to garrison, opening up room for the enemy to just march right in and take it again"? Didn't we do this in Vietnam, and it was a losing strategy?
#3
But what if the "enemy" is half the residents of the area? The Afghans love to fight with each other. Always have. The Taliban may just ride on the coat tails of one side or the other. We need to let every body know that we'll kill whoever lets the Taleban come back.
#4
It's not the west's responsibility to garrison the whole of Afg. If the locals or central gov cannot or are not willing to do it, then the best use of western manpower is to go in and kill off the idiots every few months. Terminix® care of the western taxpayer.
Posted by: ed ||
11/02/2006 8:45 Comments ||
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#5
For generations, Afghans seem to love and worship entropy. It must be a cultural thing.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/02/2006 11:22 Comments ||
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LANDIKOTAL: The Afghan government has invited pro-Kabul tribal elders in Pakistan for a proposed jirga aimed at stemming the growing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, according to a tribal elder. Kabul has invited certain tribal elders and I am one of them, said Jamir Khan Shinwari (60). He said that joint jirgas on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border would yield the desired results, as tribal traditions were still strong enough to make the two sides agree to the jirgas decisions. The first thing that well do is negotiate a ceasefire between warring sides ... this is a prerequisite for the start of the jirga, said Jamir as the Landikotal Bazaar was completely shut to protest an attack on a madrassa in Bajaur.
Asked if the Taliban would agree to the jirgas decisions, he said that defying the jirga would prove difficult for the Taliban. Jamir Khan, who spent 20 years behind bars for supporting a separate homeland for Pukhtoons, said, The Taliban are our brothers, who are being misled by some invisible forces. I hope they will agree to a ceasefire once the jirga sets conditions for the start of negotiations.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Algeria's chief Islamist opposition member, Rabah Kebir, has decried the rebel bombing, surprising Libyans. "What happened was a terrorist act that I condemn and I believe it was a reaction to the new political dynamic since our return to the country. We strongly support operations by the military and security forces to ensure security for Algerians. Violence is no longer justified. The army has to protect citizens and we obviously support its operations," Kebir said.
This follows the Sunday bombings that left 24 Libyans dead in Algeria's capital, Algiers. The bombings have been attached to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). "(My return) made those who have been benefiting from the crisis unable to know what to do to preserve their interests. They will fail in their isolated attempt. The enemies of national reconciliation are trying to stop this process but they will not succeed," Kebir said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Don't be too quick to dismiss the Nigerians. As a rule of thumb, if a nation was colonized and ruled by Britain for many years, it has much better prospects than colonies of other European powers (esp. France.)
Nigeria stayed with Britain until very late in the game, in 1960, and it was Britain that wanted them to be independent more than they wanted to leave the Commonwealth.
It has some of the most highly educated people in Africa, and 1 in 6 Africans are Nigerians.
Nigeria has a great deal of influence in West Africa. It is an important member of ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) and plays a central role in ECOMOG's (the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group) peacekeeping operation. It also has generally lower HIV/AIDS than the rest of Africa, too.
From East Asia Intel, subscription
South Korea's intelligence chief has resigned after speaking out about the country's engagement policy toward North Korea and while conducting a probe into a major North Korean spy case. The espionage scandal is focusing on several leftist political figures and may implicate members of the ruling Uri Party.
Kim Seung-Kyu, director of the National Intelligence Service, tendered his resignation to President Roh Moo-Hyun last week. Sources said Kim was forced to step down because he opposed Roh's engagement policy toward the North following the communist neighbor's nuclear test on Oct. 9.
Kim, former justice minister, had called for a review of Seouls policy of engaging the North in response to the nuclear test. His remarks angered Roh who has vowed to push for the reconciliation policy toward the North despite its nuclear test, according to the sources. The controversy forced Roh's office to pressure the spy chief to step down, they said.
Kim was also apparently facing discontent from the ruling camp over the NIS's probe into some left-leaning politicians suspected of spying for the North. Got a little close to the top daws, did we?
The NIS said Kim resigned to pave the way for Roh to form a new lineup of officials in charge of security and foreign affairs. Which translates to toadies and appeasers.
The NIS had investigated some politicians from the anti-American Democratic Labor Party on suspicion of spying for the North and for making unauthorized contact with alleged North Korean agents. They were charged with meeting suspected North Korean intelligence officials in China and receiving instructions to report on South Korea's political and labor situation.
The alleged ringleader, Chang Min-Ho, has confessed that he visited North Korea three times and became a full member of the country's Communist Workers' Party, according to the prosecution. The suspects have allegedly maintained close ties with lawmakers from Roh's ruling Uri Party. If links with the suspects were confirmed, ruling lawmakers would suffer a major political blow.
Kim had vowed to expand the probe. "This is a case that involves regular spies, it is very shocking," he said. No sh*t, Sherlock, understatement of the week.
The anti-communist opposition Grand National Party and conservative forces have charged that Roh's office tried to wield undue influence on the ongoing investigation by replacing the NIS chief. "It is very strange that Kim, who is the chief official in charge of anti-espionage activities, has just offered to quit when the investigation of the spy case is set to begin in earnest," GNP spokeswoman Na Kyoung-Won said. "President Roh should not replace him until the investigation is completed."
The party also accused DLP leaders of traveling to the North despite the ongoing spy probe. A 13-member delegation, headed by DLP Chairman Moon Sung-Hyun and several lawmakers, left Seoul on Oct. 30 for Pyongyang. The NIS opposes the visit, but the government approved the controversial trip.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/02/2006 15:39 ||
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wants to rewrite the countrys post-World War II pacifist constitution, including the clause that forever renounces war, in an interview published Wednesday. Abe, 52, is a long-time advocate of revising the constitution. But it is the first time since he became prime minister in September that he has made clear his intention to rewrite the war-renouncing Article 9. I believe this article needs to be revised from the viewpoint of defending Japan, Abe said told the London-based Financial Times. Japanese people should themselves write a constitution that befits the 21st century, he added.
The US-imposed constitution bars Japan from maintaining a military ever again, although the country skirts the rule by calling its troops Self-Defense Forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:54 ||
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#1
I will bet any of you $20 that Japan has nuclear weapons before the decade is over. Honestly: do they have a choice?
#2
Yes they do, and they are spending the money on those alternatives : Ballistic Missile Defense, and a much larger and better equipped conventional military. ABMs are going into Japan right now, SM3s are in the Japanese Fleet along with Aegis-capable cruisers, and the Japanese are planning on building 1 or 2 X-Band radar installation in the next few years.
#3
It's a real good bet they've been working the designs for some time. They either have the most powerful parallel processing computers or near best(claims change every several months). They have the expertise. They have the materials. They may not have constructed anything yet, but have probably run thousands of simulations. Getting everything correct is key to large yields. I would bet the $20 that when they do test, a really big bang will occur, not just a small fart like Kimmie's dud.
#4
The Japanese are smart enough to know there is no military value to or use for nukes and they are a waste of money. The only reason they would develop them is if Uncle withdrew the umbrella or they no longer wanted to be under it. It is difficult to see why either would happen for the forseeable future. The Japanese will spend their scarce defence yen more wisely than we do, on systems that actually enhance their security.
#5
This is exactly the kind of talk that has gotten the Chinese to hammer North Korea recently. It might all be a bluff but this is the nightmare scenerio as far as the PRC is concerned and I hope a few ChiComs are losing sleep right now.
#6
The Japanese are smart enough to know there is no military value to or use for nukes and they are a waste of money.
You should have added "without the will or the need to use them."
It could be said that the USA had the will to use them during the Cold War and that resulted in no one using them on any side. I doubt that could be said today.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said Wednesday it would return to nuclear disarmament talks in an effort to get access to frozen overseas bank accounts, a vital source of hard currency for the impoverished and isolated communist nation.
Shoe beginning to pinch?
The North's Foreign Ministry make only indirect mention of its headline-grabbing atomic test last month, saying in a statement that it hoped to resolve U.S. financial restrictions by going back to six-nation arms talks that it has boycotted for a year. Confirming U.S. and Chinese reports of the agreement Tuesday, the North's Foreign Ministry said Pyongyang decided to return to the arms talks "on the premise that the issue of lifting financial sanctions will be discussed and settled between the (North) and the U.S. within the framework of the six-party talks."
Washington had banned transactions between American financial institutions and Banco Delta Asia SARL - a bank in the Chinese territory of Macau - saying it was being used by North Korea for money-laundering.
And counterfeiting, don't forget that.
U.S. officials also sought to rally other countries to prevent the North from doing business abroad, saying all transactions involving Pyongyang were suspected of being involved in counterfeiting and money laundering.
The Macau ban is believed to have blocked the North's access to some US$24 million, and is thought to have hit the country's leadership in particular, who indulge in luxury goods like cognac and fine wines while the vast majority of North Koreans live in freezing,starving, abject poverty.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
'Shoe beginning to pinch?' - thats one of the funniest one liners i've read in a long while anywhere on the net, thanks for that. Still grinning here picturing kimmy hobbling about in tiny old shoes hehe.
Posted by: Shep UK ||
11/02/2006 5:22 Comments ||
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#3
Give em five minutes and those accounts will be empty.
RIOT police will be on hand during prayers at Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly's Sydney mosque today.
The sheik has called on his faithful to join him for Friday prayers at Lakemba Mosque for his first public appearances since being rushed to hospital with chest pains on Monday.
Police have already closed the road outside the mosque in western Sydney in anticipation of the thousands of supporters expected to gather before prayers begin at 1pm (AEDT).
Large numbers of police, including riot police, will also be on hand.
Officers with bomb-sniffer dogs had been through the mosque, which has been covered in flowers from the sheik's supporters.
The mufti will speak at the prayers and his appearance is expected to promote a strong display of loyalty from supporters galvanised by calls for his resignation.
The sheik, one of the country's most senior Muslim clerics, has been under fire from sections of his own community as well as others over a sermon he gave last month in which he suggested immodestly dressed women invited sexual assault.
Thousands of Muslims had been marshalled to attend a rally in Lakemba tomorrow but the sheik, speaking on Voice of Islam Radio in Sydney yesterday urged them not to attend.
Clerics had tried to stop the unofficial demonstration, which they feared could degenerate into chaos. Some are worried it could prompt a repeat of the violence of last year's Cronulla riot.
The groundswell of support for the sheik gained more momentum when senior clerics and imams joined dozens of Muslim community groups in backing him yesterday.
A statement signed by 34 Muslim community groups accused the media and politicians of exaggerating the scandal and using it to vilify Australian Muslims.
#1
The groundswell of support for the sheik gained more momentum when senior clerics and imams joined dozens of Muslim community groups in backing him yesterday.
A statement signed by 34 Muslim community groups accused the media and politicians of exaggerating the scandal and using it to vilify Australian Muslims.
So, once again, exactly where are all these moderate Muslims decrying the poor image cast upon them by al-Hilali? Nothing but the usual Thundering Silence. Australians needs to remember this very clearly; Their women are nothing but meat in the eyes of Muslims. Their soldiers in Iraq are nothing more than terrorist targets for al-Hilali's followers. This maggot is a direct threat to Australia and must be ejected immediately and permanently.
NSW Police have made it clear that they don't believe the sons of hippie-turned-extremist Rabiyah Hutchison plotted to bomb Kings Cross station in Sydney. But Mohammed and Abdullah Ayub, children from Hutchison's marriage to the head of Jemaah Islamiah's terror cell in Australia, still have a lot of explaining to do. The two brothers were arrested in Yemen, along with Malek Samulski a Sydney associate, on suspicions of terror and alleged involvement in an al-Qaeda gun-smuggling mission to Somalia. The Yemeni government also nabbed British, Danish and German nationals in a crackdown on terror suspects. However, radical mother Rabiyah Hutchison who reportedly arranged the "study tour" that brought her family to Yemen hasn't been taken into custody.
Born in Mudgee, NSW, a young out-going Hutchison moved to Bali in the early eighties. After a failed first marriage with a Hindu man that produced a daughter, Hutchison married soon-to-be JI Australia leader Abdul Rahim Ayub in 1984. She returned home in 1985, with a husband who was on a mission to set up a terror cell called Mantiki 4 in Australia. With the help of Ayub's twin brother Abdul Rahman, they first set up a JI head office in north Sydney, and then later moved to Perth.
Hutchison and Ayub who was granted Australian citizenship in 1988 had two children in Australia, Mohammed and Abdullah. The pair separated in the late 1990s, and Ayub fled the country in 2002 after the Bali bombings. After settling in Lakemba in 2003, The Australian reported that Hutchison befriended the families of notorious terror suspects, including the wife of imprisoned al-Qaeda associate Willie Brigitte.
In 2004, Hutchison and her sons visited Pakistan and later travelled to Iran. The family was detained by Tehran police, who then turned them over to the ASIO. Although it was claimed that they had been training in Afghanistan, the ASIO released the family and allowed them to return to Australia. Last month Hutchison considered by some to be more fanatical than her ex-husband left Sydney with her sons, headed for Yemen.
Hutchison and her family are currently under close watch of the ASIO, and NSW Counter Terrorism Commander Nick Kaldas says Australia is not at risk of an imminent terrorist attack. "The main message I want to convey today, to the people of NSW, is that there is no imminent threat," Mr Kaldas told reporters in Sydney.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 11:57 ||
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THE embattled Taj el-Din al Hilaly was handed a lifeline yesterday as more than 50 imams and preachers nationwide worked on a statement which would give him qualified backing. Despite intense political pressure for him to step down over his controversial sermon on immodestly dressed women, the clerics have rallied to condemn the "intensified campaign" against him that appeared to "wilfully and deliberately" target Islam and Australian Muslims.
While their statement, being finalised last night, does not directly deal with Sheik Hilaly's comments, it helps shore up his position just as support from Sydney Muslims has begun to mobilise behind him. "Any campaign that deliberately targets Islam and the Muslim community can only have negative repercussions on the wider community, and unfortunately will only incite hatred against Muslims," the imams said. "We stress that it is for the Muslim community, not external sources or pressures, to decide its own affairs and therefore such inflammatory media campaigns do not serve the interest of our Australian community."
Their support comes as a number of prominent Muslim organisations and ethnic associations are said to be willing to sign a joint statement condemning media and political exploitation of the controversy, and calling for restraint while Sheik Hilaly recovers his health.
NSW Counter Terrorism Commander Nick Kaldas says he does not believe two Australian brothers arrested in Yemen on terror suspicions had been plotting an attack on Sydney's Kings Cross train station.
A newspaper report today said the brothers, Mohammed and Abdullah Ayub, were being watched last year by authorities who foiled a suicide bomb plot on inner-city Kings Cross railway station.
The brothers were arrested with a third Australian, Polish-born Marat Sumolsky, 35, in Yemen last month suspected of arms smuggling and having links to al-Qaeda.
BESIEGED Muslim cleric Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly is expected to make his first public appearance since his dramatic collapse by attending Friday prayers tomorrow. As the controversial cleric yesterday checked out of Canterbury Hospital in Sydney and into a private hospital to continue recuperating, the Islamic community was abuzz with speculation he will attend Lakemba Mosque tomorrow.
"The plan was to keep him there for two weeks and after that get airline tickets for him to go to Saudi Arabia (for Haj)."
It comes as The Daily Telegraph can reveal supporters of the lunatic firebrand cleric had concocted a plan to have the Mufti moved to a farm at Goulburn while they "ride the wave" of public outcry following publication of his controversial sermon likening women to uncovered meat. "The plan was to keep him there for two weeks and after that get airline tickets for him to go to Saudi Arabia (for Haj)," former confidant Dr Jamal Rifi revealed yesterday.
The two men have had a major falling out since the reporting of the mufti's controversial comments even though Sheik Hilaly had sought Mr Rifi's opinion the night before the damaging remarks were made public. Dr Rifi said the Sheik had met at his home from 11pm (AEDT) seeking his opinion on how to handle any fall-out.
"Eminence, they are out there to get you and you have to be extremely careful!"
"I told him 'Your Corpulence Eminence, they are out there to get you and you have to be extremely careful'," Dr Rifi said. "It's not like before - this time is very serious and has created a big rift and you have to be careful."
But Dr Rifi said their plan to "ride the wave" was blown after Islamic Friendship Association president Keysar Trad organised for a television crew to interview the mufti in his sick bed. He said the mufti then reneged on a promise not to make any more public statements by attending Lakemba Mosque last Friday and delivering a "fiery" speech.
Sheik Hilaly's daughter Asma said yesterday the family was hopeful the 65-year-old would address worshippers and make a public statement tomorrow. "When he comes out, he'll probably be speaking to the media to put an end to all of this talk about him," Ms Hilaly told The Daily Telegraph.
Despite taking infinite indefinite leave from preaching, the mufti can deliver a sermon tomorrow if he wants to. "If he wants to do a speech on the day, he will," Lebanese Muslim Association president Tom Zreika said.
When you're a mufti, your seniority supersedes everyone else.
"When you're a mufti, you're superior to mere mortals your seniority supersedes everyone else. If the mufti says he wants to talk and you're the guy who's about to hold the sermon, you can't tell him to piss off say no. You would move aside and let him talk," he said. "Or else he'd turn you into a pillar of salt."
Supporters of the mufti yesterday accused worshippers from a rival mosque of trying to discredit him.That was yesterday denied by Bankstown mosque Imam Sheik Ibrahim El-Safie who said: "It's a stunt to deviate the attention away from the inflammatory remarks he's made." Sheik Safie said his group Darulfatwa - the Islamic Council of Australia - does not consider Sheik Hilaly to be the most-senior Muslim in the country. He said the title went to their mufti, Sheik Salim Alwan, chairman of Darulfatwa.
"Our guy's a lot holier," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
When he comes out, he'll probably be speaking to the media to put an end to all of this talk about him
Oh, and go take care of that little matter with the meat comments. Idiots. Tell them they all misunderstood me or something. Tell all our women to be happy about it or they'll be beaten. If that doesn't work, just kill a few of the protesters in the middle of the night. What do you mean 'But this is Australia'?
#4
his group Darulfatwa - the Islamic Council of Australia - does not consider Sheik Hilaly to be the most-senior Muslim in the country. He said the title went to their mufti, Sheik Salim Alwan, chairman of Darulfatwa.
TURF WAR!!!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/02/2006 5:21 Comments ||
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Sheik Safie said his group Darulfatwa - the Islamic Council of Australia
Surely that's a mistaken translation? Working on parallel construction to Dar ul Harb (land of war) and Dar al Islam (land of Islam or submission), one would assume Dar ul Fatwa means land of the fatwa or religious commandment, no?
#6
Hilaly should say that if you study the Quran and conduct yourself according to Sharia all will be well but if you don't you'll be stuck in Iraq; then he can refuse to apologize, then he can issue an insincere apology.
#7
This asshole needs to be silenced with a .45 calibre slug. It would be the perfect message to send Australian Muslims; STFU and get about with integrating or look forward to the same.
#8
This asshole needs to be silenced with a .45 calibre slug.
Naaaa, that's too quick. He needs to be exiled to preach among the black Muslims in Darfur for the rest of his life, with no chance of being relieved. Who knows, he may even share their fate from the jangaweed - if the world is lucky.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/02/2006 15:44 Comments ||
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#9
Hell, ah coulda told ya that!
Posted by: Bill ||
11/02/2006 16:13 Comments ||
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#10
He needs to be exiled to preach among the black Muslims in Darfur for the rest of his life, with no chance of being relieved.
He won't get anywhere within quick-flying range of Egypt.
More than 70 Muslim workers at France's main airport have been stripped of their security clearance for allegedly posing a risk to passengers.
The staff at Charles de Gaulle airport, including baggage handlers, are said to have visited terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. One man is thought to have been a friend of Richard Reid, the so-called British shoe bomber.
Earlier this year officials at Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, conducted a security review of staff and questioned dozens of Muslim workers. More than 100 baggage handlers and aircraft cleaners had been under surveillance for months. In all, 72 people were later told their passes allowing access to secure areas were being withdrawn.
Airport officials say some of the workers had frequently visited Pakistan and Afghanistan the previous year. It is also believed another worker had been close to a senior figure in an Algerian terrorist group with links to al-Qaeda.
But some of the men who have lost their security clearance are suing airport authorities. They claim they are being discriminated against because of their religion.
However, about a dozen other workers who have been identified as security risks still have access to sensitive areas of the airport because under French law they must be allowed an opportunity to respond to the charges before they are suspended.
#2
I always thought CDG's security staff was highly effective, consisting as it does mainly of heavyset African females. They're very nice, and very professional. They are also absolute bruisers, and their demeanor simply screams, don't f*** with me.
#3
We could never have such an outrage in our country. CAIR would not allow it. Thank goodness the rights of the poor down trodden baggage handlers are being protected here. /sarcasm
It looks like the French have finally figured it out and are preparing to overreact.
On Tuesday a Lutheran vicar set himself alight in the German town of Erfurt. The 73 year old Roland Weisselberg poured gasoline over himself and set fire to himself in the Erfurt monastery, where Martin Luther took his monastic vows in 1505. Bystanders rushed to extinguish the flames. The man later died of his injuries. We understand, padre, but there were better ways. May you find the peace you could not find in life.
In a farewell letter to his wife the vicar wrote that he was setting himself on fire to warn against the danger of the Islamization of Europe. During the past four years the vicar had frequently expressed his concern about the expansion of Islam, urging the Lutheran Church to take this issue seriously. As the fire started the vicar cried: Jesus and Oskar! Oskar Brüsewitz was a 47-year old German vicar who died after setting himself on fire 30 years ago, on 18 August 1976, in the market square of the German town of Zeitz in protest against the Communist regime in East Germany. Both Erfurt and Zeitz are situated in the former East German province of Saxony.
Axel Noack, the Lutheran Bishop of Saxony, said he is shocked by the tragic event in Erfurt. Bishop Noack emphasized that the motive for the suicide complicates matters. He said he hopes that the affair and the question of how Christians should relate to Muslims will not lead to unrest. The Bishop emphasized that Christians reject a culture war. Fear of other cultures is the result of our own insecurity, he said, adding that since there are not many Muslims in what was once East Germany, there is not much of a debate about Islam there. This cowardly weasel of a Bishop should have been set alight instead.
Last Saturday Mama Galledou, a 26-year old Senegalese medical student, suffered severe burns in an arson attack by Muslim thugs, a.k.a. youths, on a public transport bus in the French city of Marseille. Muslim thugs have torched eight buses in France during the past days. They hijack the vehicles and empty jerrycans of gasoline into them. Sometimes they allow the passengers to get off first, sometimes they do not. I wonder if Galledou's fear of Muslim thug culture is caused by insecurity?
#1
Tragic! Unfortunately, the Euro nanny state has bought - with debt funds - sufficient Socialist and Muslim support to keep the alliance going for a while.
Perhaps a center-right majority would form if the Euros took an objective look at their belligerent Muslim class and compared Israel to the Palestine entity. Otherwise, the future doesn't look good.
#3
CC7867, that's absolutely correct. In addition to the welfare, "tolerance" (i.e., surrender) is also a big draw. Throw a tantrum, get what you want.
Doesn't work that way in the east. You'll notice that "there are not many Muslims in what was once East Germany" -- which isn't so easy and free with its welfare money or its tolerance of foreigners.
Subsidize and tolerate a problem = get more of it.
#4
From my experience in London Muslims dont want to work using the veil as well as providing places to pray amongst reasons they cant work.
The MCB said recently only 15% of muslim women work and blamed racism.I blame Muslim culture where women are encouraged to stay at home and breed as much as they can.I also blame the muslim culture of taking as much as you can ie benefits and offer nothing to the economy/community at large ie leeches!!!!
If you were to look at immigration populations in the UK they must have the highest unemployment rate by far.This however is by choice the lazy feckers!!!!
#5
So far, no mention of this on french teevee, even on the cable/sat news channels... kinda like the eid cairo mass sex assaults, or closer to home, the acknowledged black out on frenchifada.
#9
Unfortunately, our favorite muslim imams agree with the vicar -- they too think he should be set on fire.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/02/2006 11:40 Comments ||
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#10
Fear of other cultures is the result of our own insecurity,
Self-blame writ large. Let me know when the self-loathing begins. Is Noack completely unaware of what happened in Regensburg? Can he really be so stupid as to ignore the vital message that Weisselberg gave his very life to broadcast? Islam is out to abolish all other religions, so get a clue, everybody.
While it is easy to project sloth and laziness upon the European Muslim community, Bright Pebbles may be closer to the truth. Muslims are simply making themselves a burden wherever they go in order to accelerate the collapse of their host cultures. America does not provide the featherbed lined safety net that socialist Europe does, so we just see less of it here.
#11
What happens when the reality of having to fight for life is completely diluded by utopian wishfulness? The instinct to attack outwardly in self-preservation morphs into an instinct to attack inwardly just to deny that reality; a being destroys its own life so that it will never have to choose attacking an aggressor. The aggressor survives. And the worser of two evils prevails.
The era embracing martyrdom over self-preservation has formally begun in Europe.
There has never been an American army as violent and murderous as the one in Iraq Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh slams Bush at McGill address
"The bad news, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh told a Montreal audience last Wednesday, is that there are 816 days left in the reign of King George II of America.
The good news? When we wake up tomorrow morning, there will be one less day.
Hersh, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine, has been a thorn in the side of the U.S. government for nearly 40 years. Since his 1969 exposé of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, which is widely believed to have helped turn American public opinion against the Vietnam War, he has broken news about the secret U.S. bombing of Cambodia, covert C.I.A. attempts to overthrow Chilean president Salvador Allende, and, more recently, the first details about American soldiers abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
During his hour-and-a-half lecture part of the launch of an interdisciplinary media and communications studies program called Media@McGill Hersh described video footage depicting U.S. atrocities in Iraq, which he had viewed, but not yet published a story about.
He described one video in which American soldiers massacre a group of people playing soccer. Three U.S. armed vehicles, eight soldiers in each, are driving through a village, passing candy out to kids, he began. Suddenly the first vehicle explodes, and there are soldiers screaming. Sixteen soldiers come out of the other vehicles, and they do what theyre told to do, which is look for running people.
Never mind that the bomb was detonated by remote control, Hersh continued. [The soldiers] open up fire; [the] cameras show it was a soccer game.
About ten minutes later, [the soldiers] begin dragging bodies together, and they drop weapons there. It was reported as 20 or 30 insurgents killed that day, he said.
If Americans knew the full extent of U.S. criminal conduct, they would receive returning Iraqi veterans as they did Vietnam veterans, Hersh said.
This is his agenda -- one more chance to villify our military. spit
I'm not saying there weren't actions that deserve reproach, or more. No doubt someone somewhere did something we would find repugnant. But does this puke not realize how MANY different people are serving / have served in Iraq due to the use of reservists and national guardsman? If this sort of thing were common or tolerated, we would know about it I think.
And I don't believe the story just told. You got video Sy? Show it. Show it all. I don't believe you.
In Vietnam, our soldiers came back and they were reviled as baby killers, in shame and humiliation, he said. It isnt happening now, but I will tell you there has never been an [American] army as violent and murderous as our army has been in Iraq.
Hersh came out hard against President Bush for his involvement in the Middle East. In Washington, you cant expect any rationality. I dont know if hes in Iraq because God told him to, because his father didnt do it, or because its the next step in his 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program, he said.
Sy Hersh is an asshole, but I think we all know that.
Hersh hinted that the responsibility for the invasion of Iraq lies with eight or nine members of the administration who have a neo-conservative agenda and dictate the U.S.s post-September 11 foreign policy. You have a collapsed Congress, you have a collapsed press. The military is going to do what the President wants, Hersh said. How fragile is democracy in America, if a president can come in with an agenda controlled by a few cultists?
Throughout his talk Hersh remained pessimistic, predicting that the U.S. will initiate an attack against Iran, and that the situation in Iraq will deteriorate further. Theres no reason to see a change in policy about Iraq. [Bush] thinks that, in twenty years, hes going to be recognized for the leader he was the analogy he uses is Churchill, Hersh said. If you read the public statements of the leadership, theyre so confident and so calm . Its pretty scary.
#1
You have a collapsed Congress, you have a collapsed press. Everybody's insane except me.
(Him, that is. Seymour, not Bobby)
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/02/2006 5:50 Comments ||
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#2
As I was reading this article, I noticed a Blogad on the right for "Conspiracy Clothes."
Mere coincidence? I don't think so.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/02/2006 6:22 Comments ||
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#3
I'm sick of the goddamned left turning traitors into heroes while spitting on the real heroes.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/02/2006 6:22 Comments ||
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#4
They say we're young and we don't know
We won't find out until we grow
Well I don't know if all that's true
'Cause you got me, and baby I got you
Babe
I got you babe I got you babe...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/02/2006 7:04 Comments ||
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#6
I am to understand that if I am in the middle of a war zone and they shoot at me before I respond I am supposed to ask all the pertinent questions to try to identify if they are enemy combatants or whatsoever.................
#9
"The bad news, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh told a Montreal audience last Wednesday, is that there are 816 days left in the reign of King George II of America.
"...And then will come the Millennium in the form of the reign of the Goddess Hillary..." has been a thorn in the side of the U.S. government for nearly 40 years.
And, frankly, hasn't been right since. He didn't jump on Abu G until after the word was out, and all he's done since is refer to tapes and pictures that no one - except of course, Saint Sy - has ever seen. If Americans knew the full extent of U.S. criminal conduct, they would receive returning Iraqi veterans as they did Vietnam veterans, Hersh said.
...Soooooooo, ALL Vietnam vest are sadistic killers, as are ALL Iraqi vets? Boy, you and J. F'n. K. need to do lunch sometime. In Washington, you cant expect any rationality.
Well...okay, stopped clock and all that. You have a collapsed Congress, you have a collapsed press.
The Congress part, I'll give him, but he needs to look at which way the press collapsed - or is he just referring to the few MSM outlets that haven't gone over to the Dark Side? How fragile is democracy in America, if a president can come in with an agenda controlled by a few cultists?
Oh, you mean like when the Clintons tried to shove national health care down our throats on an agenda laid out by one of Hilary's former professors? Or when Jimmah Cartuh told us we had to luuuuv our enemies? Like them? If you read the public statements of the leadership, theyre so confident and so calm . Its pretty scary.
Oh yeah Sy, I'd MUCH prefer them running around like chickens with their heads cut off, like the people who are screaming we have to get out NOWFORGAWDSSAKEBEFOREITSTOOLATEANDTHEBROWNSHIRTSTAKEUSAWAY - whoops, sorry there, was channeling the LLLs for a moment. I dont know if hes in Iraq because God told him to, because his father didnt do it, or because its the next step in his 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program,
The possibility that it's the right thing to do hasn't occurred to you, has it?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/02/2006 8:56 Comments ||
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#10
Another coward going to a foreign country to mouth off.
Posted by: ed ||
11/02/2006 9:06 Comments ||
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#11
If Americans knew the full extent of U.S. criminal conduct, they would receive returning Iraqi veterans as they did Vietnam veterans, Hersh said.
Actually, there has been a surprising number of prosecutions. All done in house by the military. Cleaning its house far more effectively and efficiently than any other American institution has shown the stomach for. Outside of crimes which could be found during peacetime, the number of 'war crimes' that the American armed forces have pursued among its own ranks far exceed anything per capita that any other military has done in history. Not that rectal orifices like Mr. Hersh would ever be satisfied. Their standard is perfection, one they so miserably fail to achieve themselves
#12
If such a video exists -- we haven't seen it yet, we only have Seymour's word on it -- the responsible thing to do would be to give it to the JAG office with jurisdiction over the unit involved.
So why hasn't Seymour done this? Makes ya wonder.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/02/2006 10:46 Comments ||
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#13
I'd like to smack this guy in the face and then give him a swift kick in the nuts for good measure. I am not a veteran but am lucky enough to have customers who are active duty soldiers and Marines. I am in awe of what our military men and women do on a daily basis in theater. For this asshole to say these things, especailly to a foriegn utterly pliant audience such as the one at McGill, makes me so mad I could spit.
#14
You know what to do? Go to library, find a recent copy of New Yorker magazine. Write down all the advertisers. Send them all an email note that you are boycotting their products until such time they stop advertising in a magazine with such seditious writers. If all Rantburger and others on the blogs like LGF, Mudville Gazette, BlackFive, etc. did something like this it would get results. I mean Jesse Jackson does it all the time and look at his bankroll:)
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
11/02/2006 13:36 Comments ||
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#15
I am trying to think what would happen to him if this were 1942.
#16
I can't stand this guy, not to mention the myopic morons who hang on his every word. They literally make my blood boil. At least that's what it feels like.
Will someone please FedEx Mr. Seeless (er, I mean Seymour) Hersh a fresh copy of THIS. Thanks!
#18
Will someone please FedEx Mr. Seeless (er, I mean Seymour) Hersh a fresh copy of THIS. Thanks!
I loved "Ender's Game" have read it over and over again many times) and his (short) book on writing sifi and fantasy is a must read for any prospective author.
#19
You know all that stuff you say you'd never wish on anybody? That nobody deserves that?
I wish it all for Sy. He deserves it. Slow, creeping, interminable and excruciating...
Lots of WaPo analysis, spin, and quotations from Dems at link
Kerry tried twice to explain himself yesterday. After a Democratic candidate asked the senator not to campaign with him, Kerry canceled the rest of his schedule and called in to the Don Imus radio talk show, which is simulcast on MSNBC. Kerry said it is Bush who owes the nation an apology, for a botched war.
"They're trying to change the subject," Kerry said. "It's their campaign of smear and fear. . . . This is Swift boat stuff all over again." Yeah, man, it's 1969 all over again!
Asked why not apologize for the misunderstanding, Kerry said: "Of course I'm sorry about a botched joke. You think I love botched jokes? I mean, it's pretty stupid."
26 years in the Senate and he can't tell a two-line snarky joke. The man is a blockhead.
Imus reflected Democratic anxieties by asking Kerry to stop talking publicly because it might "ruin" the party's election chances. "I love you, but just stop it," Imus said. "I'm begging you."
"Well, I think it's important to talk about Iraq," Kerry said.
"I'm begging you," Imus said.
"I hear you," Kerry said. "You do not have to beg. You're my friend. I understand what you're saying. But I'm telling you, I'm not going to let these guys lie and smear."
"Stop now, stop now," Imus said again. "I'm begging you."
"You got it," Kerry said.
Kerry's apology did not satisfy critics, so by day's end, he issued a written apology: "I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform and I personally apologize to any service member, family member or American who was offended." Ya, I didn't say anything wrong, you misinterpreted. You guys are too stoopid to understand the nuance.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/02/2006 06:21 ||
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#1
Senator, does your apology cover what you did in 1969, when your words were not only misinterpreted, but flat out fabrications to grab the limelight ? Does your apology cover the smear campaign you launched against the 350 or so members of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ? I believe they and their family members were offended.
#2
This was the most politically stupid gesture I've seen in years. I believe he exposed his real, Vietnam era, view of the military (draftees vs college deferment) and by doing so got a lot of lefties to stand up and defend him, exposing their own disrespect for the military.
Then he took two days to apologize, leaving those same lefties trying to cover both sides.
A smart politician would have been all over the evening news that night saying it was a dumb joke, I meant no disrespect to our military and I'm horrified that it was taken that way.
If he'd done that it would have been dead the next day. Then, he could have attacked Bush/Rush or not depending upon the mood of the country. Instead he jumped on the attack and left the insult hanging out there. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
President George W. Bush said Wednesday that he wants Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to remain in his administration until the end of his term in January 2009.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Bush wants Cheney, Rumsfeld to remain entire term
When we win the House and Senate [hoping like holy hell we do] next week, can you imagine the fun that will be had when rubbing the Donks nose in it!! LOL!
#2
Just wondering what the purpose of announcing this now is? GMA spun it as just more evidence Bush is incapable of change in Iraq.
Threat or promise?
#4
I like Rumsfeld but sometimes you've gotta make symbolic gestures. Rumsfeld is disliked by a large portion of the military (because his light footprint means minimal time between combat rotations) and he's been taking the heat for most of the Iraq policies. Letting him go would be understandable and helpful.
Cheney? Forgot all about him after the Qual hunting incident.
#5
Bush can NOT replace Cheney. Cheney is an elected official. Bush could ask him to resign, but I don't think there is any way that the president can force the vice president to go. Cheney could be impeached by the House, and then tried by the Senate, but there is nothing that Bush could do to force him out of office.
#6
Nimble,
Thanks for clarification- didn't know how this came up.
However, that being said, there are no unscripted answers at critical spotlite times like this week, are there? He could have chosen answer more ambiguously, if he wanted to.
I guess I am reading too many tea leaves.
#7
Had Bush answered ambiguously, it would have been blown up into a big story to cover up the Kerry blunder. NPR gave this heavy coverage this morning, but it was obvious the question was being asked to create news by making it look like Bush had lost confidence in Cheney and/or Rummy. So Bush gave them 100% support. Given that the LLL spin is Bush is inflexible. Given that the MSM will spin whatever answer it gets negatively, that's the least worst alternative. And, as Kissinger said, it has the additional benefit of being the truth.
After 12 years in the military and three college degrees, U.S. Army Recruiter Raul Narvaez is offended by Senator John Kerry's comments. In fact, many of the young men and women who come to him for information about the service sign up to earn money for college. And a lot of high school students join the military having already earned up to 24 college credits.
Narvaez said, "A lot of people coming in [to the recruiting office] believing that they've got nothing else going on so they'll just join the military, when seven times out of ten, those people aren't qualified - whether it be through educational levels, moral, or even medical, they're just not qualified."
Before the Vietnam War, a high school diploma was not needed to join the military, but that changed after the draft. "A lot of times, they are believed to be some of the 'bottom of the barrel' type people and that's just not the case," said Narvaez. "They are the most intellectual people that you'll ever meet in your life because of what they have to go through everyday. Not just in a war zone, but there are hundreds of humanitarian missions going on around the world that they have to deal with and being in a situation like that, you've got to be able to think on your feet and be an intellectual person and an educated person in order to handle the mission in that type of situation."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"They are the most intellectual people that you'll ever meet in your life because of what they have to go through everyday."
#3
The left's stereotyping and demonizing of our military hasn't left the 70's. The Army left that behind when Dutch took office in 1981 and went full blast back to a professional force. Gone are the days of wide scale drug abuse, constant Article 15s and Courts Martial, race riots, high AWOL and desertion rates. Those are decades are way behind except for those who still inhabit their little paradise of 1970. Strange though, those same folks seem to think it is alright to send those same illiterate uneducated economic throw-aways to do the grunt work whether it is Katrina or Save Darfur while they organize and hold charity function to raise monies in the comfort of their little warm cocoons.
#6
I echo TW's comment! RB is the best in terms of snarkery, knowledge and hands-on expertise! Plus, the pics help owt dose of us'n hoo r stoopid.
Posted by: BA ||
11/02/2006 13:17 Comments ||
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#7
LETTER FROM A FARM KID,
(NOW AT San Diego MARINE CORPS RECRUIT TRAINING)
Dear Ma and Pa,
I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled.
I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.
Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you until noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.
We go on "route marches," which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.
The country is nice but awful flat The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.
This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.
Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake . I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and near 300 pounds dry.
Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.
A group of alleged terrorists arrested in London in August planned to blow up airliners over U.S. cities to maximize casualties, rather than over the Atlantic Ocean as many intelligence officials originally thought, according to recent remarks by a senior FBI official.
The comments by Mark Mershon, head of the FBI's New York field office, indicate that U.S. and British intelligence officials now think that the airliner plot was aimed at maximizing the potential loss of life and economic impact.
"The plan was bring them down over U.S. cities, not over the ocean," Mershon said Oct. 24 at the Infosecurity 2006 conference in New York, according to Government Security News, which first reported the remarks this week.
Authorities had previously said it was unclear where the alleged terrorists intended to detonate liquid explosives, which they planned to smuggle onto as many as 10 transatlantic flights. Michael P. Jackson, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said shortly after the plot was thwarted that while the conspirators appeared to be targeting nonstop flights to the United States, "the real focus was to blow up airliners and the people on them."
Mershon told cybersecurity conference attendees that representatives of MI5, the British intelligence service, briefed the FBI on the liquid explosives case in recent weeks. "It would make your hair stand up to be in the room to hear that presentation," Mershon said, according to GSN.
Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert and Georgetown University professor, said the case indicates that Islamic extremists remain focused on attacking U.S. cities. "They were clearly desirous of exceeding 9/11," Hoffman said. "The loss of life on the air and ground would be significant."
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/02/2006 06:16 ||
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The media had better shout this one to the treetops. It's about time that the American public begins to understand just how vicious and psychotic our enemy is.
GUWAHATI: Security chiefs in Indias northeast states Wednesday called for a new strategy to combat the twin threats of separatist insurgencies and Islamic militancy that afflict the region. There is a need for an effective counter-insurgency operation having full synergy between all security forces to deal with the many insurgencies in the region, besides the serious threat from fundamentalist pan-Islamic groups, Dipak Narayan Dutt, police chief of the northeast state of Assam, said. Smuggling of arms and explosives, narcotics and counterfeit currency notes is another area of serious concern in the region, Dutt said.
Dutt made the remarks at the start of a two-day conference of police chiefs of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh states.The meeting in Assams main city of Guwahati, was also attended by police chiefs of West Bengal and Sikkim, as well as army, paramilitary, intelligence and federal home ministry officials.
Indias resource-rich northeast, wedged between Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Myanmar, is home to more than 30-odd rebel armies with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:44 ||
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KHAR: Hundreds of troops completely sealed off Bajaur Agency and part of Mohmand Agency on Wednesday as protests against air strikes on a local madrassa on Monday continued for a third day here. No-one is allowed into Bajaur. We are searching vehicles at all entry routes for suspected people and most notably journalists, a security official told Daily Times. Markets and schools in Khar also remained closed for a third day.
Protestors in Mohammad Ghot attacked a grid station and an under-construction security check-post and burnt down tents of tribal police at makeshift roadside posts, eyewitnesses said. Around 4,000 protestors participated in a demonstration in the same area led by Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, while there were also demonstrations in Khar, where speakers called for President Gen Pervez Muhsarrafs resignation.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Maybe Musharraf could study how the US Bureau of Indian Affairs (& predecessors) managed the American 'tribal areas' back in the 1800's? Andrew Jackson & the Tenn. Cherokee? Chief Joseph? A few slip-ups like Little Big Horn, but overall, no troubles out of the reservations in over a century.
(sarc - mostly)
October 25 2006 at 0515 LT at Dar es Salaam anchorage, Tanzania. Robbers boarded a chemical tanker via anchor chain. They stole ship's stores and escaped. Masters attempt to contact port control was futile.
And from the Better Late Than Never Desk:
October 18 2006 at 1400 LT off Ticala, San Pablo, Samboanga del Sur, southern Mindanoa, Philippines. Armed pirates attacked a group of fishing vessels engaged in fishing. Four fishermen were killed in the shootout.
October 13 2006 at 0400 LT, Navimca, Cumana, Venezuela.
Robbers boarded a yacht at anchor and stole two outboard engines.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said at a conference in Paris on Thursday that US-led troops would be needed for another two to three years until Iraq has built up its own security forces. Two to three years are needed to build our security forces and say goodbye to our friends, Talabani said in France while on a six-day visit.
President Jacques Chirac will meet with the Iraqi President, who is expected to push for closer ties with France. France has suggested announcing a schedule for a gradual pullout, which they believe would help soothe tensions in Iraq.
It's worked so well in Lyon.
US President George W Bush said it was hard for him to tell whether US troops would still be in Iraq when he leaves office in January 2009.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 09:12 ||
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CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Nov. 1, 2006 Two 4th Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade soldiers serving together here as both comrades in arms and husband and wife, had a decision to make re-enlist together and move the family to enjoy the palm trees and beautiful beaches of Hawaii or turn down the opportunity to re-enlist and return to Fort Hood.
Staff Sgt. Derek Scott and Sgt. Dawana Lynch-Scott stood side-by-side just as they did when they got married more than a year ago. But, instead of saying their wedding vows, the couple repeated the oath of enlistment in a ceremony before a crowd of about 30 soldiers in the CAB conference room, Oct. 26.
Its an honor being able to re-enlist with my husband, Dawana said, following the ceremony, especially considering where we are. Not too many people have the privilege of re-enlisting with their spouse, so really, its an honor and a pleasure especially when its with someone you love so much.
The Scotts met during the 4th Infantry Divisions previous deployment in support of Operation Iraq Freedom I. The fact that they hit it off and struck up a lasting friendship eventually led to marriage. They were married on July 5, 2005.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/02/2006 06:01 ||
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On Wednesday, a fight broke out between Sunni politicians in parliament, where Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani accused other Sunni lawmakers of corruption and of stalling ratification of a religious edict intended to end sectarian clashes. Al-Mashhadani was holding a news conference to condemn lawmakers for failing to show up for a vote when he suddenly shouted at a rival lawmaker in the audience, Abdel-Karim al-Samarie, a member of the main Sunni parliamentary bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front. "You did not attend (parliament) because of your corrupt political affiliation," al-Mashhadani screamed, adding: "You are dishonest and a dog" a deep insult in Iraq and other Arab societies. Al-Samarie responded by calling al-Mashhadani a false patriot. The speaker, who belongs to a rival Sunni group The National Dialogue Council lunged at al-Samarie and tried to punch him, but was held back by bodyguards. This is a snip from a larger story about the kidnapping of two Sunni athletic coaches, one of them blind.
by James Palmer, Washington Times It's the good kind of a "baby boom."
In the face of relentless violence, political chaos, economic uncertainty and nightly curfews, Iraq's maternity wards are experiencing an unlikely baby boom.
Despite the obstacles, the birthrate in Iraq actually has increased since the U.S.-led invasion 43 months ago, according to the country's Health Ministry. The rate of births in the country has jumped from 29 births per 1,000 people in 2003 to 37 per 1,000 last year, according to government figures.
In neighboring Iran, the birthrate is half that -- 21 per 1,000 population, while the average birthrate in the Middle East is 25, according to the World Bank. The birthrate in the United States is about 14 births per 1,000 people, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This is a good sign. It is sometimes said that babies are God's judgment that the world should continue. It's also an indicator of parental optimism--peoples who don't think there's anything in the future worth living for (*cough* Old Europe *cough*) don't have babies. It would seem there are a lot of people in Iraq who believe things are going to get better.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Don't birth no IEDs
Posted by: Captain America ||
11/02/2006 0:36 Comments ||
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This ties in with articles 1 - 2 years ago that marriges in Iraq have more than doubled. During the the last 10 years in Iraq, many people delayed getting married because conditions were so bad.
Of course you will never hear about this in the MSM. The fact is, despite all the doom and gloom coming out of Iraq, the Iraqi are the most optimistic people in the Middle East, and their economy is booming.
Al
Posted by: frozen Al ||
11/02/2006 10:20 Comments ||
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As the 19th-century Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore observed, "Every time a child is born, it brings with it the hope that God is not yet disappointed with man." It seems the Man upstairs isn't yet ready to cut and run from Iraq.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/02/2006 15:57 Comments ||
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If Saddam Hussein is condemned to death when the verdict in his first trial is handed down next week, it would "open the gates of hell" to US forces in Iraq, a lawyer for the deposed president said Wednesday. Bushra al-Khalil, a Lebanese lawyer who was thrown out of Saddam's trial in May, also accused US President George W. Bush of exploiting Saddam's expected death sentence for "electoral purposes."
If convicted, Saddam could be condemned to death by hanging, but he will have the right to appeal. "A death sentence against Saddam Hussein will have grave consequences," al-Khalil told reporters. "It will lead to a major security flare-up in Iraq and to stepped up attacks on the US Army."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"A death sentence against Saddam Hussein will have grave consequences..."
Well then, how 'bout a death haiku?
Poor al Tikriti
Civilizations cradle
Grave of your carcass
Hang him first, then announce the sentence and appeal date.
#4
It's been a while since we've had poetry here. Well written, Hyper -- gorgeous juxtaposition of alpha and omega images reflecting from the individual to the universal and back again.
#5
How about sentencing him to run from say Basra to Kirkuk? If he can make it without succumbing to the love of the locals he can go free. Think "The Naked Prey".
Posted by: bruce ||
11/02/2006 8:51 Comments ||
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#6
Hmm, it scans, but is missing a weather/seasonal allusion. Not quite a haiku. Might I suggest:
Desert heat cooling
And the swaying promise of
His dangling corpse.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/02/2006 9:48 Comments ||
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#7
BTW, since the start of this trial, how many of Saddam's lawyers have been 'offed'?
#8
An Iraqi mean man named Saddam
Could only be loved by his mom
If one asked for a pardon
His arteries would harden
And his heart would blow up like a bomb
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/02/2006 11:40 Comments ||
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#9
Shoulda shot his sorry ass in his hole.
Now the Romanians, THEY knew how to handle a deposed dictator...
#10
'Ode to a Splodeydope's Plaque*'
by Al-Aska Paul
An Iraqi mean man named Saddam
Could only be loved by his mom
If one asked for a pardon
His arteries would harden
And his heart would blow up like a bomb
[/applause] thank you Paul!
Moderators historical note: Amongst ancient Mesopotamian Drs. the tune is ketchingly kalled:
*Ode to the Big Kaboom from the Heart caused by deposits of fatty material on the inner lining of an arterial wall, characteristic of atherosclerosis .
/have fun RBees, ima off to do Battle at the job site!
#5
According to Miss Rice, "The great majority of the [Palestinian] people just want a better life. I just don't believe mothers want their children to grow up to be suicide bombers. I think mothers want their children to grow up to go to university. And if you can create the right conditions, that's what people are going to do."
I agree; it's just that nobody has any idea how to create those conditions without a lot of blood and eons of time.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/02/2006 6:52 Comments ||
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#6
This kind of BS is why I am disappointed with Condi. If it is the administration's policy, it represents a retreat from W's original moral clarity and is a disappointment as well.
#7
It shows how powerful the bureaucracy is in DC. And what it takes to change it is a hide as thick as Rumsfeld's and a willingness to make mistakes. Both are rare commodities. Frankly, I'm glad they at least tackled DoD. maybe the next Administration can tackle the CIA/NSA/BFD. Then State.
"The IDF offensive in Beit Hanun proves that Israel is not interested in peace," Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday night. Israel Radio quoted Abbas as saying that the IDF was carrying out targeted killings in Gaza and was, without reason, escalating the tensions between the two sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
If the killings are targeted, how can they be without reason? Wouldn't the killings be random otherwise?
(KUNA) -- Outlawed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) Wednesday alleged that Sri Lanka's Air Force bombed their targets today as part of a military operation. The LTTE also claimed that the Sri Lankan army on Wednesday fired artillery and rocket launchers on civilian targets, Indo-Asian News Service reported. There were no immediate reports of casualties from LTTE locations at Batticaloa in northern Sri Lanka, bombed by Sri Lankan Air Force today.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Defense Ministry said today in Colombo that the Navy on Tuesday sunk a boat transporting arms and ammunition to the LTTE, the news agency said. Peace talks between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government remained inconclusive over the last weekend in Geneva, raising apprehensions of violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Despite the 20,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon, the United Nations admits that weapons smuggling from Syria continues unhindered. A German report finds UNIFIL does not patrol after dark.
Hizbullah terrorists are free to roam at night without fear of being identified by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), according to a report by the German paper Der Spiegel.
Spanish UNIFIL official Richard Ortax admitted to the paper that no patrols are carried out at night because of the danger involved. Who knows what Things That Go Bump In The Night prowl the lebanse countryside?
UNIFIL commanders said their function is to "observe changes in the behavior of the local population."
One junior officer told Der Spiegel he was glad that his battalion had only left its camp once. "It's absurd," he said. "We landed here and set up our tent city, but since then we've only left the camp to drive around and to make sure that we're seen." "Please, don't kill us."
The report cites a long tradition of UNIFIL inaction, which it says allowed time for a Finnish contingent to construct a giant sauna and an Indian contingent to decorate its base with traditional Indian artwork. Well, at least they keep themselves occupied.
The UNIFIL troops and the 14,000 Lebanese soldiers stationed in the region add up to a total of around 20,000 troops in the 18-by 31-mile region of southern Lebanon. Another 6,000 troops are still expected to arrive.
The United Nations itself has admitted that Syria was still successfully smuggling arms to the Hizbullah, which neither UNIFIL nor the Lebanese army plan to stop.
Israel has maintained overflights in the region in order to monitor and discourage the smuggling, yet UNIFIL officials condemn the continued Israeli maneuvers. The Lebanese army even attempted to shoot down Israeli fighter jets on Tuesday. France and the European Union have been accusing Israel of violating Resolution 1701 with its flights over Lebanon.
The current state of affairs has led Israeli officials to speak about rethinking the implementation of Israels commitments made in the context of the UN-brokered cease-fire.
The UN Security Council noted with regret [that] non-Lebanese militias in the country had not been disbanded or disarmed, an allusion to the Iranian and Syrian-backed Hizbullah. The statement on Tuesday was termed a presidential statement, which is the weakest of all available Security Council actions.
Following the meeting, UN envoy to the region Terje Roed-Larsen explicitly admitted that Syria was actively smuggling weapons into Lebanon. He said that Lebanese government officials "have stated publicly and also in conversations with us that there have been arms coming across the border into Lebanon."
Roed-Larsen added that Syria itself does not deny the flow of weapons, claiming only that the arms are not being dispatched by the Syrian government. "The consistent position of the government of Syria has been that, 'Yes, there might be arms smuggling over the border, but this is arms smuggling and the border is porous and very difficult to control,'" Roed-Larsen told reporters.
Roed-Larsen ducked UN responsibility for the smuggling, saying UN troops had not been asked by the Lebanese army to monitor the border.
#1
Hez has given the Siniora adminitration a one-week deadline (starting last Monday?) to form a national "unity" government. It's been announced that the "first" round of talks will be held by interested parties this coming Monday. Nasrallah won't be at that meeting because he's concerned about personal security matters.
All this stuff, to me, appears to be about prying Syria's (and ultimately Iran's) fingers off the collective throat of the Lebanese people.
Nasrallah has imposed a deadline, now let him enforce it.
#4
How can Hezbollah command anyone? They are less that 5% of the population! If the Lebanese werent lesbians they would have taken care of this problem LONG ago. Clearly the unFIL can be termed ad UNFUFILLED force because they are not up to protecting or stopping anyone. They will only get in the3 way when the Hezbollah (and they will) launch their next attack. un is as useless as tits on Hillary.
#5
The report cites a long tradition of UNIFIL inaction, which it says allowed time for a Finnish contingent to construct a giant sauna and an Indian contingent to decorate its base with traditional Indian artwork.
Hello Mudda
Hello Fadda
Here I am at
Camp Al-Nada...
CHOUF: Mount Lebanon Mufti Mohammad Ali Jouzou had harsh words for Hizbullah and its allies Wednesday, bluntly accusing the resistance of serving Iranian and Syrian interests.
"All of the exploits Hizbullah brags about are purely Persian deeds, and do not benefit the Arabs or Arabism in any way," the mufti said.
In comments made during a meeting with a delegation from the Progressive Youth Movement (PYP), Jouzou said that Lebanon - through Hizbullah - was being controlled by Iran.
"Whoever does not see eye to eye with them is accused of being pro-American, and that is illogical," Jouzou added.
The Mount Lebanon leader said he could not see the logic in bringing "a country to rubble" for the liberation of three detainees in Israeli prisons, in reference to the number of Leb-anese detainees held by Israel.
Jouzou added that Hizbullah's claims of having maintained close ties with former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri were unfounded, "especially given that directly following the murder of Hariri, Hizbullah organized the March 8 rally in tribute to Hariri's murderers," in reference to the Syrian leadership.
Responding to President Emile Lahoud's remarks on the formation of an international court to try those accused of Hariri's assassination, Jouzo said: "Lahoud's stance serves a sole purpose, that of defending his position along with that of the four former security chiefs and the Syrian regime."
MP Alaeddine Terro, who presided over the PYP meeting with Jouzou, said the delegation had come to express support for Jouzo's stands.
The PYP and Druze MP Walid Jumblatt "condemn the harsh campaign against Jouzzo" being led by Hizbullah and its allies, he said.
Terro added that the opposition's demands for the formation of a national unity government and Lahoud's recent report on the establishment of an international court were aimed at preventing the formation of an international tribunal and concealing the identities of "Lebanese and Syrian parties who assassinated Hariri."
#1
Mohammad Ali Jouzou is a Sunni I think. bout a decade ago he made the news for criticizing the Pope for stating that Jesus was a Jew (Muslims claim Jesus as a non-divine prophet of Islam).
(see 5th para under News in Brief at: http://www.lebanon.com/news/local/1997/4/16.htm)
BEIRUT: Washington warned of "mounting evidence" Wednesday that Iran, Syria and Hizbullah are "preparing plans to topple" the Lebanese government. White House spokesman Tony Snow said in a statement that "support for a sovereign, democratic and prosperous Lebanon is a key element of US policy in the Middle East."
"We are therefore increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hizbullah and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically elected government, led by Prime Minister [Fouad] Siniora," Snow added.
"Any attempt to destabilize Lebanon's democratically elected government through such tactics as manufactured demonstrations and violence, or by physically threatening its leaders, would, at the very least, be a clear violation of Lebanon's sovereignty" and UN resolutions, he said.
Continued on Page 49
#1
If the Israeli's had a ball sack instead of LLL putang they would have humiliated Hezbollah on the field. A thunder run into the Bekka would have shown Hezbollah as nothing more than a bullseye for Lebanon not a shield.
Instead they the Isreali LLL gov played games and wether they degraded Hezbollah or not the impression was Hezbollah held the line like the SHIELD of Lebanon. Now Isreal is looking to US to pull them out.
Pitifull. Isreal I think can be pretty much considered a non-ally like much of EU just open debts with no return when we need them at least until the Isreali people wake up and kick Olmert to the kurb.
#2
Isreal I think can be pretty much considered a non-ally like much of EU just open debts with no return when we need them at least until the Isreali people wake up and kick Olmert to the kurb.
I hadn't really looked at it that way, but the continued presence of Olmert et al in power makes me think you're more right than wrong there. Boy, if Israel doesn't get it...
#3
Before you're too yard on Israel consider they've been on the front lines for decades while we nit-picked everything they did. Sometimes stopping short builds the political capital required to do everything and more next time.
The White House said today that there was mounting evidence that Iran and Syria are involved in a plot to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of Lebanon, but senior officials refused to describe in any detail the intelligence they said they had collected. In an unusual statement, the White House said it was increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanons democratically elected government.
American officials who were pressed today about the assertion on Lebanon said they had evidence that Syria and Iran were trying to engineer the creation of a new unity government that they could control, partly through the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. One senior American official, who did not want to be identified because he was discussing an intelligence issue, said there were also indications of planning for a more violent attack on the government, but he gave no details.
In the White House statement, issued by President Bushs press secretary, Tony Snow, the administration said there were indications that Syria was trying to block passage of a statute by the Lebanese Parliament that would cooperate with an international tribunal being put together to try those accused of involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In a warning to Syria, the statement said the tribunal would be established no matter what happens in Lebanon.
Syrian intelligence officials, including close family members of President Bashar al-Assad, have been implicated in the attack. Syria has denied being involved in the attack in February 2005, which ultimately led to protests that forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon after nearly three decades.
Talking isnt a strategy, the presidents national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, said in an interview late last week.
In interviews in recent days, senior American officials have alluded less directly to concerns about Syrian and Iranian interference in Lebanons affairs. They have suggested that the concerns are one reason that the United States could not engage in negotiations with Syria or Iran, as several leading Republicans, including former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, have urged. Talking isnt a strategy, the presidents national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, said in an interview late last week, before he headed to Iraq. The issue is how can we condition the environment that that Iran and Syria will make a 180-degree turn, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Another domino fall into place before the green light is given to the carrier battle groups and the 2 Surface Action Groups hanging around Iran's coast????
Hizbullah on Wednesday denied a White House accusation that it sought to topple Lebanon's government, and the Lebanese parliament speaker - a guerrilla ally - voiced suspicion about America's intentions with such statements. The guerrilla group accused Washington of interfering in Lebanese politics by trying to shore up Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's government. "It is just one more American interference in Lebanese affairs," chief Hizbullah spokesman Hussein Rahhal told al-Arabiya television.
Hizbullah and its allies demands for a "national unity" Cabinet in Lebanon "has nothing to do with Syria and Iran," he said. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday that "mounting evidence" showed Syria and Iran were teaming up with Hizbullah to topple the Lebanese government. Syria and Iran are the guerilla group's primary backers.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Democracy is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, Iran's former president said Wednesday, criticizing US President George W. Bush's attempt to impose Western-style government on the Middle East.
Freedom is, democracy's not.
After facing more than 100 protesters as he arrived in central London to speak at Chatham House, an independent think tank, Mohammad Khatami took questions from a specially selected group. "One of the greatest jokes Mr. Bush makes is when he says he wants to export democracy. Democracy is not something to get exported or be given," Khatami said. "The seed was cultivated in the West, but the seed shall be cultivated in the East, in Islam, in a different way because the conditions are different."
Curiously, we were able to impose both democracy and individual freedom on both the Japanese and the Germans. Of course, we had to kill quite a few of them to do it. Perhaps that's the difference between them and the Muddle East: we're trying to kill as few of them as possible.
"Historically, human affairs depend on social conditions and experiences. The experience of one country, one nation, cannot be extended to another geographic area with a different culture and conditions," Khatami said, speaking through an interpreter.
"Except for Japan, of course. And Korea. And Taiwan. And Europe. But that's it."
"And Nicaragua. And El Salvador. And Chile. And Panama. And Grenada. But that's really it."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Khatami: West can't impose democracy on Mideast
Maybe we can pacify the Islamic world by imposing Western-style democratic governance along with its notions of individual rights and individual responsibility, maybe we can't. We'll see.
We did it with Germany and Japan, and it certainly has done the job for the last 60 years: neither of those countries has shown even the aggressive impulses of the average garden vegetable in all that time.
Maybe the reason it worked so well with Germany and Japan, and hasn't worked well at all with the Islamic world so far, is that in WWII we pounded the absolute living CRAP out of those two countries; we beat them, literally, to near death.
Maybe that's the missing ingredient.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/02/2006 6:52 Comments ||
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#2
we pounded the absolute living CRAP out of those two countries; we beat them, literally, to near death.
Maybe that's the missing ingredient.
Yup. But I fear it's another decade or so before we have the necessary domestic consensus to do it.
#3
And the price we'll have to pay for reaching that domestic consensus, thanks to the anti-war Left, will probably be smoking holes in the ground where a couple of our cities used to be.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/02/2006 7:06 Comments ||
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#4
True, we can't impose democracy, but we can bounce the rubble.
#6
But we can impose desolation and call it democracy. The current methods won't work, just as democracy in Japan or Germany could not have worked if Nazism and Emperor god/Bushido were enshrined as the basis of all law. Instead it took the deaths and conversion of the Nazis and Virtue of the Sword acolytes. Imperialistic islam is no different and in many ways worse.
Posted by: ed ||
11/02/2006 8:36 Comments ||
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#7
Khatami: West can't impose democracy on Mideast
#8
If Mr. Khatami is right, and that is what the current experiments in Iraq and Afghanistan are testing, then we will be forced to move to the alternative of total war. Their choice.
#9
Khatami: West can't impose democracy on Mideast
While we may not be able to "impose" democracy upon the Middle East, what we can do is make every alternative to it so uninviting whereby the sole choice that doesn't involve trmendous loss of life, military domination or nuclear annihilation just happens to be democracy.
#10
We can impose democracy in one of three ways: (1) Provide security and the help the middle east set up democracy as we are doing now (Afghanistan) (2) Allow "our" dictators to pacify their nations and then push them towards democracy (South Korea, Latin America, Greece, Italy). (3) Smash the countries and rebuild them with a democratic structure (examples are Germany and Japan)
I think we give (1) a try, if that fails we step back and give (2) a try. Then option (3) awaits. I expect increasing brutality as we shift down the scale.
#11
"Of course, we had to kill quite a few of them to do it"
Yah well it helped that between the two of them, theyd gone to war with Britain and its dominions, Russia, China, almost of Europe, etc before we even got involved.
Iran, Syria, etc cant, and wont do us that favor. (Plenty of the others are even trying to stay "allies") So wed better be a bit more creative, and not just long for the glory days of 1946.
#12
We have a choice, Khatami. We can either get people to learn to govern themselves, allow individual freedoms, and encourage personal responsibility, or we can destroy the Middle East, from Pakistan to Morocco. Now, what was that you said again?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/02/2006 19:06 Comments ||
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#13
If Mr. Khatami is right, and that is what the current experiments in Iraq and Afghanistan are testing, then we will be forced to move to the alternative of total war.
Methinks that is what he and his ilk are counting on.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that a European draft resolution imposing sanctions on Teheran over its nuclear program would isolate Iran, suggesting that Moscow would not support approval of the measure in its current form, Russian news agencies reported. "We cannot support measures that in essence are aimed at isolating Iran from the outside world, including isolating people who are called upon to conduct negotiations on the nuclear program, Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying.
Lavrov also reiterated his claim that the draft resolution, meant to punish Iran for its persistent refusal to halt uranium enrichment activities that have heightened fears it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, goes beyond existing agreements among nations seeking to rein in Teheran's nuclear ambitions. "The draft ... goes far outside the framework of agreements," Interfax quoted him as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Don't worry Sergey, we'll leave an undefended corridor going directly north for Iranian ballistic missiles.
Posted by: ed ||
11/02/2006 9:44 Comments ||
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#2
We need to promise that there will be no retaliation if an Iranian nuclear warhead lands in Moscow. That might wake them up.
The terrorists told WorldNetDaily an electoral win for the Democrats would prove to them Americans are "tired."
They rejected statements from some prominent Democrats in the U.S. that a withdrawal from Iraq would end the insurgency, explaining an evacuation would prove resistance works and would compel jihadists to continue fighting until America is destroyed.
They said a withdrawal would also embolden their own terror groups to enhance "resistance" against Israel.
"Of course Americans should vote Democrat," Jihad Jaara, a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group and the infamous leader of the 2002 siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, told WND.
"This is why American Muslims will support the Democrats, because there is an atmosphere in America that encourages those who want to withdraw from Iraq. It is time that the American people support those who want to take them out of this Iraqi mud," said Jaara, speaking to WND from exile in Ireland, where he was sent as part of an internationally brokered deal that ended the church siege.
Jaara was the chief in Bethlehem of the Brigades, the declared "military wing" of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.
Together with the Islamic Jihad terror group, the Brigades has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing inside Israel the past two years, including an attack in Tel Aviv in April that killed American teenager Daniel Wultz and nine Israelis.
Muhammad Saadi, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, said the Democrats' talk of withdrawal from Iraq makes him feel "proud."
"As Arabs and Muslims we feel proud of this talk," he told WND. "Very proud from the great successes of the Iraqi resistance. This success that brought the big superpower of the world to discuss a possible withdrawal."
Abu Abdullah, a leader of Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip, said the policy of withdrawal "proves the strategy of the resistance is the right strategy against the occupation."
"We warned the Americans that this will be their end in Iraq," said Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared "resistance" department. "They did not succeed in stealing Iraq's oil, at least not at a level that covers their huge expenses. They did not bring stability. Their agents in the [Iraqi] regime seem to have no chance to survive if the Americans withdraw."
Abu Ayman, an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, said he is "emboldened" by those in America who compare the war in Iraq to Vietnam.
"[The mujahedeen fighters] brought the Americans to speak for the first time seriously and sincerely that Iraq is becoming a new Vietnam and that they should fix a schedule for their withdrawal from Iraq," boasted Abu Ayman.
The terror leaders spoke as the debate regarding the future of America's war in Iraq has perhaps become the central theme of midterm elections, with most Democrats urging a timetable for withdrawal and Republicans mostly advocating staying the course in Iraq.
President Bush has even said he would send more troops if Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Baghdad, said they are needed to stabilize the region
The debate became especially poignant following remarks by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the 2004 presidential candidate who voted in support of the war in Iraq. Earlier this week he intimated American troops are uneducated, and it is the uneducated who "get stuck in Iraq."
Kerry, under intense pressure from fellow Democrats, now says his remarks were a "botched joke."
Terror leaders reject Nancy Pelosi's comments on Iraqi insurgency
Many Democratic politicians and some from the Republican Party have stated a withdrawal from Iraq would end the insurgency there.
In a recent interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, stated, "The jihadists (are) in Iraq. But that doesn't mean we stay there. They'll stay there as long as we're there."
Pelosi would become House speaker if the Democrats win the majority of seats in next week's elections.
WND read Pelosi's remarks to the terror leaders, who unanimously rejected her contention an American withdrawal would end the insurgency.
Islamic Jihad's Saadi, laughing, stated, "There is no chance that the resistance will stop."
He said an American withdrawal from Iraq would "prove the resistance is the most important tool and that this tool works. The victory of the Iraqi revolution will mark an important step in the history of the region and in the attitude regarding the United States."
Jihad Jaara said an American withdrawal would "mark the beginning of the collapse of this tyrant empire (America)."
"Therefore, a victory in Iraq would be a greater defeat for America than in Vietnam."
Jaara said vacating Iraq would also "reinforce Palestinian resistance organizations, especially from the moral point of view. But we also learn from these (insurgency) movements militarily. We look and learn from them."
Hamas' Abu Abdullah argued a withdrawal from Iraq would "convince those among the Palestinians who still have doubts in the efficiency of the resistance."
"The victory of the resistance in Iraq would prove once more that when the will and the faith are applied victory is not only a slogan. We saw that in Lebanon (during Israel's confrontation against Hezbollah there in July and August); we saw it in Gaza (after Israel withdrew from the territory last summer) and we will see it everywhere there is occupation," Abdullah said.
While the terror leaders each independently compelled American citizens to vote for Democratic candidates, not all believed the Democrats would actually carry out a withdrawal from Iraq.
Saadi stated, "Unfortunately I think those who are speaking about a withdrawal will not do so when they are in power and these promises will remain electoral slogans. It is not enough to withdraw from Iraq. They must withdraw from Afghanistan and from every Arab and Muslim land they occupy or have bases."
He called both Democrats and Republicans "agents of the Zionist lobby in the U.S."
Abu Abdullah commented once Democrats are in power "the question is whether such a courageous leadership can [withdraw]. I am afraid that even after the American people will elect those who promise to leave Iraq, the U.S. will not do so. I tell the American people vote for withdrawal. Abandon Israel if you want to save America. Now will this Happen? I do not believe it."
Still Jihad Jaara said the alternative is better than Bush's party.
"Bush is a sick person, an alcoholic person that has no control of what is going on around him. He calls to send more troops but will very soon get to the conviction that the violence and terror that his war machine is using in Iraq will never impose policies and political regimes in the Arab world."
#1
I sent the link and first few lines to an older friend who is on the forward-all-the-cute-stuff circuit. If this hits her as it hit me, look to see this in lots of email in-boxes in the next few days, like that Jon Carry Halp Us! photo.
#4
I've got a real bad, hinky feeling about next Tuesday, and I'm steeling myself for the worst.
If the Democrats win big, the first indication to the American people that they've just done something really, REALLY stupid will be the wave of ululating and gun sex that makes its way around the Islamic world as the election results become known; for a Democratic takeover of the House and Senate will truly be a victory for the Islamists, for it will tell them that America really has lost its nerve-- as well as its balls and its spine.
And if it happens, prepare for some hard times ahead. Real hard.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/02/2006 17:25 Comments ||
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#5
I wrote this on the eve of the 2004 Presidential election. It can be applied to this one just as well.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/02/2006 18:19 Comments ||
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#6
Good advert .com, I hope it's broadcast far and wide before next week!
#7
Absentee voting is favoring republicans quite heavy.
Therefore, donks will appear to have vote leads in the first counted ballots, but then be overtaken as absentee counts are added. So, expect exit poll bullshit slanted toward the great donkey. Keep the faith, bros.
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.
AMONG the many battles in his life, Nafaz Khan recalls the long fight for Musa Qala as one of special significance. As the former chief of police and militia commander in the northern Helmand town it was there that he fought alongside British troops against the Taleban.
LANDIKOTAL: The Afghan government has invited pro-Kabul tribal elders in Pakistan for a proposed jirga aimed at stemming the growing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, according to a tribal elder. Kabul has invited certain tribal elders and I am one of them, said Jamir Khan Shinwari (60). He said that joint jirgas on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border would yield the desired results, as tribal traditions were still strong enough to make the two sides agree to the jirgas decisions. The first thing that well do is negotiate a ceasefire between warring sides ... this is a prerequisite for the start of the jirga, said Jamir as the Landikotal Bazaar was completely shut to protest an attack on a madrassa in Bajaur. 
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wants to rewrite the countrys post-World War II pacifist constitution, including the clause that forever renounces war, in an interview published Wednesday. Abe, 52, is a long-time advocate of revising the constitution. But it is the first time since he became prime minister in September that he has made clear his intention to rewrite the war-renouncing Article 9. I believe this article needs to be revised from the viewpoint of defending Japan, Abe said told the London-based Financial Times. Japanese people should themselves write a constitution that befits the 21st century, he added.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said Wednesday it would return to nuclear disarmament talks in an effort to get access to frozen overseas bank accounts, a vital source of hard currency for the impoverished and isolated communist nation.
NSW Police have made it clear that they don't believe the sons of hippie-turned-extremist Rabiyah Hutchison plotted to bomb Kings Cross station in Sydney. But Mohammed and Abdullah Ayub, children from Hutchison's marriage to the head of Jemaah Islamiah's terror cell in Australia, still have a lot of explaining to do. The two brothers were arrested in Yemen, along with Malek Samulski a Sydney associate, on suspicions of terror and alleged involvement in an al-Qaeda gun-smuggling mission to Somalia. The Yemeni government also nabbed British, Danish and German nationals in a crackdown on terror suspects. However, radical mother Rabiyah Hutchison who reportedly arranged the "study tour" that brought her family to Yemen hasn't been taken into custody. 
BESIEGED Muslim cleric Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly is expected to make his first public appearance since his dramatic collapse by attending Friday prayers tomorrow. As the controversial cleric yesterday checked out of Canterbury Hospital in Sydney and into a private hospital to continue recuperating, the Islamic community was abuzz with speculation he will attend Lakemba Mosque tomorrow.
More than 70 Muslim workers at France's main airport have been stripped of their security clearance for allegedly posing a risk to passengers.
KHAR: Hundreds of troops completely sealed off Bajaur Agency and part of Mohmand Agency on Wednesday as protests against air strikes on a local madrassa on Monday continued for a third day here. No-one is allowed into Bajaur. We are searching vehicles at all entry routes for suspected people and most notably journalists, a security official told Daily Times. Markets and schools in Khar also remained closed for a third day.
Recently reported incidents
If Saddam Hussein is condemned to death when the verdict in his first trial is handed down next week, it would "open the gates of hell" to US forces in Iraq, a lawyer for the deposed president said Wednesday. Bushra al-Khalil, a Lebanese lawyer who was thrown out of Saddam's trial in May, also accused US President George W. Bush of exploiting Saddam's expected death sentence for "electoral purposes." 
BEIRUT: Washington warned of "mounting evidence" Wednesday that Iran, Syria and Hizbullah are "preparing plans to topple" the Lebanese government. White House spokesman Tony Snow said in a statement that "support for a sovereign, democratic and prosperous Lebanon is a key element of US policy in the Middle East."
Hizbullah on Wednesday denied a White House accusation that it sought to topple Lebanon's government, and the Lebanese parliament speaker - a guerrilla ally - voiced suspicion about America's intentions with such statements. The guerrilla group accused Washington of interfering in Lebanese politics by trying to shore up Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's government. "It is just one more American interference in Lebanese affairs," chief Hizbullah spokesman Hussein Rahhal told al-Arabiya television. 
Democracy is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, Iran's former president said Wednesday, criticizing US President George W. Bush's attempt to impose Western-style government on the Middle East. 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that a European draft resolution imposing sanctions on Teheran over its nuclear program would isolate Iran, suggesting that Moscow would not support approval of the measure in its current form, Russian news agencies reported. "We cannot support measures that in essence are aimed at isolating Iran from the outside world, including isolating people who are called upon to conduct negotiations on the nuclear program, Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying. 
