Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have deteriorated sharply over the past year, underscored by a lack of trust, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday. Ties between the countries, major US allies in the war against terrorism, have been hurt largely due to the help resurgent Taleban rebels get on the Pakistani side of the border, Karzai said after meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
There's just something about having a bunch of spittle-flecked crazy men coming across the border repeatedly, murdering the innocents and burning schools, that tends to make one angry.
I explained ... about terrorism, about the burning of schools, Karzai told a news conference with Aziz in Kabul. And that, unfortunately, the gap in ties is increasing between Afghanistan and Pakistan ... It is with a lot of regret that relations face a lack of trust, he said.
Putting the very best face on it, Perv is constrained by Pakland's peculiar constitution and its delicate internal balance of power. He's incapable of bringing Pashtunistan to heel because he doesn't have the raw power to do it. When he tries to use the mighty Pak army against the locally grown fundos his political position becomes more tenuous, to the point where he could end up losing it all.
Putting an more realistic face on it, Perv's part and parcel of the system, not a passive player. Afghanistan is in the same category as Kashmir to the Punjabi military geniuses and the domestic Talibs -- there's actually no difference between the Pak an Afghan variety, as we've seen pretty clearly for the past five years or so -- represent an auxilliary force just like the one we saw used in Kargil. They're not going to destroy the Taliban, just as it's doubtful they'll ever allow the Talibs to actually take over the country; Mullah Omar's regime was too independent when it was in power, and as "amir al-moumineen" (Prince of the Faithful) he had some funny pretensions.
It looks like the Paks let the mask slip sometime in the past year. They're more open in lording it over the Afghans, even contemptuous. It's obvious a deal's been worked between ISI -- and likely the Army Staff -- and the Talibs, while another deal's been worked between the Talibs and al-Qaeda. There is a patchwork of Talib and Qaeda fiefdoms running from Khyber to Quetta and points south and the gummint's withdrawn to let the turbans run things while Islamabad makes occasional soothing noises and plays both ends against the middle.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Bet Fredmans remarks make the superdooper secret Earlybird.
#2
Napalm works wonders in changing minds. Nukes are messy, but they do put the fear of God into one. I'm sure the US and its allies will finally get tired of the duplicitious games being played in Pakiwackiland and do something. I just hope it's not the WRONG thing. We need to show perv we have the will to tear his little feifdom apart if he doesn't start playing straight with us. Of course, that would require someone in Washington to have cojones, which is highly in doubt.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/06/2007 14:22 Comments ||
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It has been more than five years since the Talibans supreme leader, Mulla Omar, vanished into the trackless terrain outside Kandahar, and his likeliest source of sanctuary is thought to be the belt of rugged tribal territory straddling the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, in Kuchlak a dusty desert crossroads in Balochistan Mullah Omar is still referred to by the title of amir al-mominin, or commander of the faithful. The report said that Omars feat of eluding a long manhunt by the Americans and their allies was celebrated in Kuchlak as proof of his mystical powers.
With all their sophisticated satellites, they cannot find him, said Fazil Mohammad Baraich, a district chieftain. It is no surprise that God protects him this increases our faith. To admirers, the near-completeness of Omars vanishing act after fleeing his compound outside Kandahar in 2001 is a triumphant rebuttal of the allies characterisations of him as a simpleton. If that is the case, why has he been able to hide so well and for so long? said Baraich.
Rumours of Omar sightings abound, and are repeated by locals with an air of satisfied certainty. I have heard on good authority that he is living in a camp in the military enclave outside Quetta, the report quoted Muhammed Ashiq, head of a merchants association in that provincial capital, as saying.
The report said that in tribal communities such as Kuchlak, sympathy for the Taliban was undiminished. It said that the cult-like devotion to Omar in mosques and makeshift classrooms of tribal territories helped ensure a steady supply of Taliban fighters.
Kuchlak, 10 miles north of Quetta, is a convenient way station for anybody looking to move surreptitiously in and out of the tribal belt. One road out of town leads north to the Afghan border and continues to Kandahar, while another, with only a single police checkpoint in more than 100 miles, leads to Waziristan. Because of Omars longtime aversion to being photographed, few in the border hinterlands would be in a position to positively identify him. The report said that in any event, many observers believed that betrayal from within Omars tribal milieu would be unthinkable.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Western and African diplomats meeting in Nairobi, Kenya have issued on Friday joint communiqué calling for immediate dispatch of peacekeepers to Somalia to stabilise the country after a two weeks of clashes in which Ethiopian backed interim government forces routed Islamist fighters.
The International Contact Group on Somalia, which includes the United States, European and African nations, held closed-door talks in Nairobi with Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf amid fresh concerns over Islamist threats to carry on fighting and the return of warlord militias to Mogadishu.
Earlier Yusuf had told the Group there was a rare opportunity for a real political breakthrough in Somalia, which has been mired in chaos and poverty since the overthrow of a dictator in 1991. He called for the speedy deployment of the peacekeeping force, which was approved by the U.N. Security Council before the war, and for funds for aid work and his government. "The Group felt clearly it was important there not be a security vacuum," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer told reporters after the meeting, which she chaired. "We felt therefore that it was urgent to get a stabilisation force into Somalia."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Security services have opened inquiry into Shia groups activity in the area to spread Shia beliefs and thoughts as well as propaganda for Islamic Republic of Iran, well-informed sources in Mascara (west) have said. Investigations led by security services have started last week following information on two groups, activating in two different places in Mascara. Both groups are working to convert young men, university students mainly, into Shia creed and specifically Twelver or duodeciman Shiism prevailing in Iran and Iraq, the same sources said.
According to first investigations, some individuals, converted into Shiism since several years, including a Public Works Directions executive another working in Social Insurance Company and a young lawyer -whose brother, leaving in France now, is one of the first converted into Shiism in Mascara-, are holding debate meetings into houses and public places to spread Shia beliefs and thoughts. Those converted have taken advantage of the feedback of Iranian President Amadinejads statements against the US -stressing Iran will go on nuclear program- among the population, in addition to the good reputation, among the Algerians, of Lebanese Hezbollahs Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah following Israeli war on Lebanon, last summer.
Shia proselytizers in Mascara administrative centre have created a local association, months ago, holding many cultural meetings at National Liberation Army Veterans Associations building. The second group, activating in the neighbouring district of Mamounia, is framed by four people, including a merchant, professor, an instructor and a Private Companys employee. They have been proselytizing among young men through casting doubts on some historical facts relating to the Prophet (PBUH). Concerning the prophets companions and first three Caliphs, disdained by Shiite, mainly. The group was staging discuss meetings and distributing Shia books.
Mascara Religious Affairs Directions executives we contacted on the matter told us they knew about it and condemned it, as proselytizing to a certain Muslim creed among a different Muslim community is forbidden.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) has refused to give up armed fighting as it was called for by President of the Republic, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in his speech before Nations executives on December 26. The GSPC invited Home Minister to tell the truth about security situation in Algeria.
The Salafist Group is awaiting Ben Ladens instructions for the coming stage, it adds. Abdelmalek Droukdal alias Abu Musaab Abdelouadoud, Chief of the GSPC, released via internet a long message dated December 3, in which he rejects the Presidents call, saying the Salafist Group is determined to carry on its path. Headed Word, the message explained that GSPC which came out of the GIA (Islamic Armed Group) in the Fall 1998 got no foreign support. Yet, it is mentioned that the group had obtained lately quantities of arms and ammunition.
The Salafist Group has unprecedently admitted it was assisted by foreign persons to carry out terrorist attacks, young men are getting up and are keen to bear arms from inside the country and from abroad as well, said Droukdal who made a call foreigners as well as Algerians to join his rows. El Khabar had previously published stories on Tunisians, Libyans, Moroccans and some people from African Sahel who have been fighting until now- under the banner of the GSPC. El Khabar also mentioned some Algerian young men joined the group lately.
Abdelouadoud invited Interior Minister, Yazid Zerhouni, to disclose the real figure about the young men who have joined Jihad ground in the last months. It is wrong to speak of residual terrorists, adds the message mentioning latest terrorist attacks. The message also addressed to what it called our dearest Abi Abdallah Osama Ben Laden, renewing allegiance to him, and qualifying GSPCs members of Bin Ladens soldiers. The United States and NATO are supporting, logistically and financially, African Sahel countries to fight us, he explains adding evil axis has started to move after we announced allegiance to al-Qaeda in mid-September. We are awaiting your instructions and recommendations for next stage, Abu Musab Abdelouadoud affirmed addressing Bin Laden.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
A message from Bin Laden!
It says...
DRINK...
MORE...
OVALTINE!
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/06/2007 9:23 Comments ||
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#7
If Binnie's followers await his personal instructions and Mookie awaits personal instructions from the 12th guy coming back from the well, then this whole Religion of Pieces will be ok.
#10
You want instructions from Ben Laden?
Kill yourelf, talk to him personaly, report back what you learned.
We'll wait.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/06/2007 12:53 Comments ||
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#11
LOL! Clever ditties, folks. Keep em coming. We need a sense of humor with all this Tali-Pak idiocy abounding and no leader with the will to clean it up.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/06/2007 13:30 Comments ||
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#12
Jackal wins the 'Understated Snark of the Week' award!
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/06/2007 14:05 Comments ||
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#13
Spending Saturday nights around the ouija board again?
From East Asia Intel, subscription.
Chinese companies have bought a controlling stake in a major North Korean mine, boosting its influence over its communist client in the event of the collapse of the Kim Jong-Il regime. The ChiComs will run the NORK horse till it dies, then take over the pasture.
Beijing has already secured agreements providing it access to a number of other mines in resource-rich North Korea. Hebei-based Luanhe Industrial Group and another Chinese company signed a deal giving them a 51 percent stake in the North's Hyesan Youth Cooper Mine in Yanggan Province, according to Seoul's Yonhap News Agency. The contract was signed on Nov. 27 in Pyongyang, the agency said, citing industry sources in Beijing.
Hyesan Youth Cooper Mine, located near the North Korean-Chinese border, is one of the North's largest copper mines. It is estimated to have 420,000 tons of copper, with 250,000 tons that are buried 600 meters from the surface already being mined. Roughly 2,000 tons of copper ore are excavated daily. The reserve tonnage figure seems wrong. Mining 2000 tons of ORE per day seams reasonable, being that it may be anywhere from say 10% to 1% copper. Normally ore bodies are measured in tons with the equivalent percent of copper. Maybe they mean that in the ground there is 420,000 tons of the equivalent of pure copper.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Can we finally stop trying to get the Chinese to go along with sanctions? How in the hell could it be any more obvious than this?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/06/2007 2:14 Comments ||
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#2
See also ASIA TIMES > RUSSIA's GRAND BARGAIN OVER IRAN article; + WORLDNEWS > RUSSIA TO BUILD GAS PIPELINES [US$10.0Bilyuuuhns]TO CHINA; + HINDUSTAN TIMES > USA econ = financially = morally, etc. no longer a SUPERPOWER.
#3
China is the worlds largest consumer of copper. But currently there's an oversupply and copper futures have plummeted. Hope they got a good price (actually, I hope they DIDN'T).
Banzai! Pyongyang, January 4 (KCNA) -- The director general of the Japan Defence Agency and other samurais were recently reported to have provoked the DPRK by crying out for military sanctions against it. This comes under fire by a signed commentary of Rodong Sinmun Thursday. It is not only an intolerable insult to the DPRK but an undisguised war outcry that the group of militarists of this island country dared compare the DPRK with Japan before the World War II, the commentary notes, and goes on: My money's on Toshiro Mifune... Lurking behind this diatribe is their sinister intention to impose international blockade upon the DPRK and, furthermore, use force against it by labeling it a "dangerous state." This is clearly evidenced by the fact that the ruling quarters and the gentry of the Liberal Democratic Party of the island country called for stepping up the preparations for its participation in the above-said military sanctions. The DPRK has already clarified that it would regard any sanctions against it as a war declaration. Well...what isn't in Kimmieland? The Japanese militarists' talk about military sanctions against the DPRK is intended to seize it through preemptive strikes as they precisely mean military attacks on it. This reflects the nature of the samurais who have grown corpulent through aggression, war and plunder and are keen to get richer by the same method in the future, too. Sooooooooooo...you have grown corpulent, have you!
The above-said militarists are leaving no means untried to revenge the defeat suffered by the Japanese imperialists in the past, far from drawing a lesson from it. They have watched for a chance to stage a comeback to Korea for several decades since the end of the war, whetting their swords. Remember. Only a ninja can kill a ninja!
This is one of the reasons why the ruling quarters in the land of Japs have deliberately deteriorated the DPRK-Japan relations, persistently raising the "abduction issue" which had already found its settlement. The Japs? My, how unPC. Look for a strongly worded statement from the UN. You can test nukes, but they draw the line at name calling.
The aggressive nature and ambition of the Japanese militarists remain unchanged and their moves for reinvasion of Korea are getting more frantic as the days go by. Should the Japanese militarists dare preempt invasion of the DPRK to put it under their control, its army and people will deal merciless blows at them by the force of Songun and vent the towering grudge of the Korean people against their sworn enemy. Merciless blows, I tell you! Merciless blows!!
#5
IONews, INTERFAX.ru/Other > Russian Navy will hold more Joint + Strategic NAVEX's in 2007 + Russian strategic aviation will hold more OTH training flights over the seas + Russia needs more smaller but potent Hunter-Killer attack subs. STRATEGYPAGE > China to selectively modernize wid hi-tech circa 20% of PLA Army divisions + other Units.
#6
See also NORKIE NEWS, aka KCNA.com via DRUDGE < NK accuses Japan of kowtowing to US masters/overlords/imperialists by agreeing to intercept missles on way to USA + allowing nuke-armed US warships passage to Koreas via Japanese waters. Also accuse Japan in separate article of helping USA start a new inter-Korean War as cover to enter back [read in NK-speak- abuse, dominate and reconquer] Asia as before and during WW2. WORLDNEWS > NK accuses USA of practicing for aerial strikes agz it.
#7
There is also some interesting subtle slams in there. The use of the island country term for example, as in, that island not part of glourious main land Asia. Those not as pure as us, etc.
#8
JosephMendiola, back in the day I used to sit iron bomb alert at Andersen AFB with North Korean targets, mostly power generation facilities IIRC. When the heavy hitting is done in North Korea, it will come in the form of B-52s, B-1s, and B-2s from Andersen. The carrier F-18s will suppress the NorK fighters and SAMs.
#10
RVW: Prety good analysis of air power. You left out the carrier-based EA-6B ECM assets. There is a squadron of them based @ Atsugi Japan (VAQ-136, IIRC) and MCAS Iwakuni could host a squadron or two also. The Prowlers are the only ECM assets left to the US since the EF-111s were retired, but I suspect they could be reactivated w/in 3 or 4 months. Any USAF ECM experts out there that could / would elaborate?
#11
Not an expert, but the USAF uses podded ECM such as ALQ-131 and ALQ-184. Not as powerful at blanking out half a continent as dedicated platforms. There were also plans to add high power ECM pods on B-52 wing pylons for standoff jamming, but don't know the current status. Doesn't really matter since the NorKs have nothing to challenge US EW.
Posted by: ed ||
01/06/2007 21:03 Comments ||
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Thanks, I figure that all that is needed, ECM-wise, is enough to jam the SAM sites; even if they do light up, the Prowlers can put a HARM down their chimney after locking into the radar signal.
#13
The F-16's carry their own HARMs and target them via their radar warning receivers. Their was an instance in the 2003 Iraq invasion when a Patriot battery (older revision Patriot radar/fire control plus software error) locked onto an F-16 and the F-16 pilot immediate fired a HARM and shredded that radar.
Posted by: ed ||
01/06/2007 21:59 Comments ||
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#14
Cool, I did not know that, thanks.
I read that there were some F-16s being retired last week; are all the Falcons going away, or is it just some of the older models?
The head of the Royal Navy believes a new Danish warship could be best used as a patrol vessel in the Indian Ocean - specifically in the Arabian Sea where it would be close to hotspots in the Middle East and the African horn of Somalia and Ethiopia.
The navy has ordered a total of five warships from Maersk-owned Odense Steel Shipyard, and Rear Admiral Nils Wang of the Naval Command thinks at least one ship should be permanently deployed for peacekeeping duty in the Arabian Sea. The navy currently has two of the ships, but the fifth is not expected to be delivered until 2012.
'If you hope to be within reasonable sailing time to where something serious happens, you shouldn't be positioned outside Tromsø, Norway,' Wang told daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende.
Wang believes a Danish warship on permanent global patrol would be a natural progression of the nation's active security policy. From the Arabian Sea, the ship could reach nearly all the hotspots in the eastern hemisphere within three days. Wang said that in addition to military assignments the crew would also be able to help combat piracy and provide humanitarian assistance to Danish citizens. 'I can confirm that the foreign affairs ministry is placed under an unyielding requirement from our citizens to come and save them, regardless of how they've gotten into the situation they've found themselves in,' said Wang.
Defence Minister Søren Gade agrees that a permanently stationed ship in the Indian Ocean would be beneficial. 'Defence is an important tool for foreign policy and today the army conducts operations in places we wouldn't have dreamed of 10 years ago.'
The opposition Social Liberal party is also open to the idea of having a ship in the area. 'It's parliament that decides what operations the armed forces participate in, but I'm open to discussing it, especially if there are practical reasons for putting a ship in the Indian Ocean,' said Morten Helveg Petersen, the party's spokesman on defence issues.
Per Kaalund, the Social Democratic defence spokesperson, was less enthusiastic. 'We're not building patrol ships in order to send them to the Indian Ocean.' After reading about the British Navy's travails, this article is a breath of fresh air. More on Admiral Wang's POV linked here.
#3
One problem with deploying EU ships to the Indian Ocean is lack of logistical and maintenance facilities. Someone, somewhere, is going to have to provide those facilities. Diego Garcia is a long way away. Iraq, Kuwait, and the rest of the Gulf States are too bottled up (Straits of Hormuz). Two logical places would be Djibouti and Mumbai (Bombay), or Goa, India. That's going to take a lot of diplomacy (i.e., money).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/06/2007 15:21 Comments ||
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#4
Djibouti won't take that much money : it is the home of USSOCOM's Horn of Africa Command, and a major naval and Coast Guard basing location. The French effectively dumped Djibouti a couple of years back by pulling out most of the French Foreign Legion, and the US stepped in and saved the day. A surprising large part of the Djibouti GNP is now due to USSOCOM and the Navy/CG bases.
#9
Any bets on how long after taking station in the Gulf, somebody flys a 'signal' flag that has one of the offensive cartoons printed on it? In plain view of some of the natives????
The Italian interior minister has said that the threat of terrorism remains a reality in Italy, and vowed to take a close look at who is financing Italys several mosques and who is teaching at Islamic schools, in remarks published on Friday in Italys leading dailies and confirmed by his office. The spread of mosques in Italy that are built with money from foreign states is unacceptable, Amato told reporters. Theres something about that that I dont like. I want to know who is financing what in my country.
The idea is to at least have foundations so we can have some transparency, said Amatos spokesman, Fabrizio Forquet.
In Italy, mosques are set up by whomever and are financed by such foreign countries as Saudi Arabia, Forquet added. So what are these mosques? Are they a religious site or centres for propaganda?
Hamza Roberto Piccardo, secretary of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, an umbrella group for Italys Muslims that has a reputation for radicalism, dismissed the idea.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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They are armories. Put bugs in all of them. Do fire inspections weekly. Harass them into a frenzy which provokes seething and great gobs of spittle all over their bagaloons.
ROME - Italy wants to tighten controls on foreign cash arriving to build mosques and is studying a French proposal to create a state-backed foundation to filter religious funds for Muslims, the interior minister has said. Giuliano Amato told Italian reporters that Rome currently had little control over money coming into the country -- especially from foreign governments -- to help build mosques. He did not name any countries. I find the spread of mosques with cash from governments of other countries unacceptable ... I want to understand who is financing what in our country, Amato was quoted as saying in La Stampa newspaper on Friday.
Strange attitude for an interior minister, huh?
I am studying, exactly like the French are doing, the hypothesis of creating a foundation that has a national component, he said. The French fund would be run by a board of Islamic leaders with an Interior Ministry representative.
As the article notes elsewhere, that French fund, while announced, isn't yet in operation. How typically Phrench.
Amato also said he wanted to make sure teachers in Islamic schools were properly qualified.
You mean the state isn't already certifying teachers in Italy? What kind of socialist paradise is this anyway?
Italys right-wing opposition applauded the move, with outspoken former reforms minister Roberto Calderoli saying Amato should also limit the numbers and strange activities of Islamic cultural centres.
But Omar Camiletti, a spokesman for the Rome Mosque, one of Europes largest, criticised the proposal. He said the government should be looking instead to better integrate Muslims into Italian society, instead of restricting their charities. I think it (Amatos concern) is wrong-headed, Camiletti told Reuters. You must not hinder charitable assistance from international organisations or from individuals. This is a principle of our open society.
You can do all the charity you like as long as you obey the law. And if any of the money is going to the Widows Ammunition Fund we're going to have to have a talk.
Mario Scialoja, of the Italian Muslim League, played down any controversy, saying Amato had every right to seek restrictions. I think they are concerned that funds might be flowing, not so much from governments, but Islamic associations which might be used for unclear purposes. So they are quite right to check, Scialoja told Reuters, adding his groups would be unaffected.
Is that a moderate Muslim I see?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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That's right, choke off the cash flow from the Wahhabi's. Stop the trouble while you can control it.
#2
Why is it that a socialist Italian can figure this out, but a certain conservative American can't?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/06/2007 1:08 Comments ||
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#3
Why is it that a socialist Italian can figure this out, but a certain conservative American can't?
Because that certain conservative American isn't a conservative, and he no longer has to keep the mask in place. He knows what the deal is, he's another one of the facilitators.
Posted by: Chuck Darwin ||
01/06/2007 11:09 Comments ||
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Posted by: Bobby ||
01/06/2007 08:53 ||
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What a hot steamy pile of horsehsit....K 3/1 was one of the units that had to kick down doors in Fallujah '04. These guys are warriors. I'll take their side until they are convicted by a jury of THEIR peers.
#2
The irony is, we need soldiers and Marines to do more of this (not less) so we can get the phuech out of here. It's the only language these bastards understand.
#3
If the testimonies are TRUE then these Marines went way beyond acceptable actions. Big 'if'. But sh*t like that has happened before, in this war (Zayed's cousin who was forced into the canal and drowned), and all others before it (eg. My Lai.) Combat can do things to peoples' minds.
The US Congress new Democratic leaders warned President George W Bush on Friday that surging more troops into Iraq would fail and it was time to end the war. New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and new House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Bush to start a phased redeployment of US forces within four to six months. After nearly four years of combat, tens of thousands of US casualties and over 300 billion dollars, it is time to bring the war to a close, the two leaders wrote.The American people demonstrated in the November elections that they do not believe your current Iraq policy will lead to success and that we need a change of direction for the sake of our troops, the letter said. Surging forces is a strategy that you have already tried and that has already failed. Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain. ... We are well past the point of more troops for Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I think we should have a full national vote.
Choice A: We WIN whatever that cost it will be done NO SURRENDER NO DEFEAT
Choice B: We will accept defeat immediatley initiate Dimmini taxes for all Jews & Christians that wont covert kill all athiest, fornicators, ect.. by stoning as per our newly adopted Sharia Law right after we burn both the Bill of Rights and of course every Legal book in the country.
On 9-11 or 93' or Cole or Narobia or Kenya or ect... we had NO TROOPS IN NEITHER IRAQ OR AFGHANISTAN why is it that people are so f*cking retarted that some dimwitt pansie LLL can say "if we bring them home we wont have to fight no more we can stop the casualties" without being drouned out in laughter, (by the way just latley after 2invasions, conquest, & 4yrs of occupation of highly hostile populations we just recently matched the number of dead civilians we suffered in 2hrs on 9-11).
An old Indian chief sat in his hut on the reservation, smoking a ceremonial pipe and eyeing two US government officials that were sent to interview him. "Chief Two Eagles," asked one official, "you have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his
technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done." The Chief nodded in agreement. The official continued,
"Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?" The Chief stared at the government officials for over a
minute, and then calmly replied. "When white man found this land, Indians were running it. No taxes. No debt. Plenty buffalo. Plenty
beaver. Women did all the work. Medicine man free. Indian man spent all day hunting and fishing. All night having sex."
Then the Chief leaned back and smiled... "Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve a system like that."
#3
Only in America = Amerika do we have to unilater "obey" a UNO = World Community that won't uphold its own credibility-resolutions unless the USA takes the lead; and talk of "exit strategy" before we actually invade/attack any one - you know, "USSA, NOT USSR etc" ergo USSA must surrender first to USSR, etc.
#4
After careful thought, I must conclude that the Dem's view has much merit. We need to withdraw our forces immediately.
We need to protect out troops from harm during the withdrawal process. We should use air power and deal harshly with any forces resisting our withdrawal. On the way out we should destroy any assets that can be used militarily by our enemies.
We should immediately commence the withdrawal and consolidation of our forces. Since we already have considerable forces in Afghanistan, we should withdraw our Iraq forces overland to a new consolidated position in Afghanistan. To provide additional protection to our withdrawing troops, part of our Afghan contingent should meet the withdrawing troops halfway in order to escort them.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 -- As President Bush prepares to present his new strategy on Iraq to the American people, Democratic Congressional leaders said today they will fight any approach that calls for deploying more United States troops there.
We want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed in the future but, like many of our senior military leaders, we do not believe that adding more U.S. combat troops contributes to success, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, wrote to Mr. Bush. Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain, the Democrats letter said.
Thanks for your opinion.
Also reiterating his deep opposition to any troop increases was Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin. The administration refuses to acknowledge the devastating impact that keeping our brave troops in Iraq is having on our national security, and now the president is considering sending even more troops, Mr. Feingold said in a statement.
We should be bringing our troops out of Iraq, not the other way around, he said. The American peoples message at the ballot box was loud and clear, and it is past time that the administration listened.
Gee Mr. Feingold, by any chance are you running for president? Sure hope so, would love to see the American people tell you what they think of your ideas.
The Pelosi-Reid letter, and Mr. Feingolds allusion to the November elections, underscored the new political reality for the White House. As President Bush prepares to take his case to the American people, and assembles a new military and diplomatic team to go with his redefined Iraq strategy, he is encountering fierce opposition from the newly empowered Democratic leadership.
Were talking about security. Were talking about terrorism. And weve got to try to do whats right for victory in Iraq. -- Joe Lieberman
In fact, Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid are digging in more firmly than some of their Democratic colleagues who have not ruled out at least a modest, temporary troop increase. President Bush must be heartened, for example, by the stance of Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who is the new head of the Armed Services Committee, who has said he would not prejudge the presidents proposal, provided that any troop increase is linked to a broader approach to disentangle the United States from Iraq.
Mr. Levin announced today that the Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on Iraq next Friday, with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testifying.
So begins the death-by-a-thousand-paper-cuts.
Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi made it clear they have already made up their minds on troop increases.
Senator Joseph Lieberman, Democrat of "Connecticut who lost the Democratic primary at least in part because of his support for Mr. Bushs Iraq policy, and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, warned today against any stampede to get out of Iraq. Americans are frustrated, Americans are angry, and that anger and frustration is justified, said Mr. McCain, who has advocated an increase in troops. But when you ask most Americans should we get out right away, most of them say no.
Mr. Lieberman said he hopes the presidents proposals do not set off partisan political combat or some kind of inside-the-Beltway compromise. Were talking about war here, Mr. Lieberman said. Were talking about security. Were talking about terrorism. And weve got to try to do whats right for victory in Iraq.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Dubya is still commander in chief and the resolutions that sent us to Iraq gives Bush what he needs to continue the war.
That the left welshed on their commitments doesn't mean the war will end as a defeat or a retreat.
#2
She's gonna discard the gavel and use that whip. She's been practicing for more than 2 years. Gonna take the lips right offa any Pub speaking out of turn. Every time Ellison starts mouthing off, she's gonna whip him like a mule.
#4
Mighty nice of the democrats to make a public mockery of the Constition by telling America that Congress intends to tell the POTUS how to run a war.
I wonder what SCOTUS would say about that?
Might be something for Trent Lott to make mention of. Publicly. Sunday morning on TV.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/06/2007 0:57 Comments ||
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#5
I can only hope that this kind of idiocy from some on the left leads only to serious infighting. And perhaps leading to the exodus of a couple people from the party.
Joe, party of one, you're table's ready. Joe, party of one.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/06/2007 1:27 Comments ||
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DEBKA.com > Dubya's shakeup actually is in line for prepping for US mil confrontation agz Iran in ME, espec where OFFENSIVE naval and air opers are concerned; + WAFF.com > IRAN > is secretly building underground storage for nuclear = Atomic materials - may had been building simil underground facilities = bases for Govt + Milfors for decades since after fall of Shah and US Embassy-Hostages incident.
Well, in fairness, you can want a military and political victory (which I believe is MORE than possible) and not necessarily agree with the surge option.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/06/2007 7:56 Comments ||
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-- Iran has imported huge subway drilling machines but hasn't been building any subways.
-- The electorate's message at the ballot box is not what the Dems say it was.
The Dems say, "The elections show the public wanted change."
{Maybe, maybe not}
But now they say, "Well, not that kind of change. No, no, the vote meant we should withdraw."
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/06/2007 8:59 Comments ||
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Oh, BTW, this article is also on the front page of the Washington Post this morning.
My wife subscribes; I just glance at it every once in a while to remember how much I hate it.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/06/2007 9:00 Comments ||
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#11
You don't need more troops. You need to allow the troops you have there to go Mongol on the wretched hives of scum and villainy when they find them. No apologies.
#12
Unfortunately, all the Iraq Study Group recommendations do not include anything about Taking out Tater, putting the hurt on Syria and Iran, and Sunni makers of mayhem. We do not allow our military to do its job. We can excuse the Dems, 'cause they are moonbats. But there are no excuses for the Republicans, who have had 6 years to un-f*ck Clintons messes.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/06/2007 13:38 Comments ||
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#13
The Pelosi-Reid letter, and Mr. Feingolds allusion to the November elections, underscored the new political reality for the White House.
Whoaaa a terse letter with absolutely no teeth and public speeches filled with empty rhetoric? How very uh UN of them. Cmon Russ ole boy dust of that Presidential censure proposal we double-dog dare ya.
#15
I wonder, is her next step to go over to Iraq like Kerry and talk with top officials? Pretty damn scary.
So much for a united front, let her bring her whip there and see what happens. lol
Posted by: Jan from work ||
01/06/2007 16:11 Comments ||
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No Jan, but a call on Iran to get her marching orders might be in order....
After all they did push the Dhimmiocrats into power.
(KUNA) -- Pakistan Saturday said that it earnestly desired lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and has made efforts in this regard as instability there was detrimental to the interest of Pakistan and the whole region.
President General Pervez Musharraf said while addressing a ground breaking ceremony of the natural gas supply that Pakistan wanted to contribute in bringing normalcy and peace to war-ravaged Afghanistan and is not helping the elements polluting the atmosphere. "We will take every possible step and measure towards betterment of Afghanistan. We will not allow any one to stay on our soil without proper travel documents," he said.
President Musharraf urging people to rise against anti-state elements, said the extremist elements, under whatever nomenclature they operate and whether they are Taliban or anyone else, shall not be allowed to hold sway in the society.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 13:54 ||
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I'd like to see more Stability in Pakland....as in "pining for the fjords"-type stability
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/06/2007 14:45 Comments ||
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I wish him the same type of "stability" that Arafat enjoys.
Muttahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain said on Friday that his health did not allow him to lead the party anymore. In a statement issued from the partys information secretariat in London, Hussain said that many MQM leaders had adopted feudal attitude and they considered the party their property and violated the party discipline. I sacrificed my desires and several sincere workers sacrificed their lives for the party, but many MQM leaders have now adopted feudal attitude and are violating the party discipline, Hussain said while addressing party leaders and workers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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President General Pervez Musharraf will ask the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) to get two-third majority support to keep his uniform on, but it is yet to be seen what the president concedes to the two parties in return for their support, Daily Times Editor Najam Sethi said on Friday.
In an interview to Geo television, Sethi said that Musharraf would not remove his uniform in a hurry. He said that the MMA and the ARD would not unite, adding that PPP Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto wanted a deal with Musharraf some way or the other. There is a split in the MMA because unlike the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the JUI-F wants a deal with the government, said Sethi.
The Daily Times editor said that Musharraf was expected to make a deal with the PPP on his terms or he could enter into an agreement with the JUI-F. He added that Musharraf would loose legitimacy if he tried to get re-elected from the present assemblies. Sethi said that Musharraf wanted a majority win for the ruling PML and its coalition parties in the National Assembly and Punjab and he would not hesitate to rig the elections for this purpose. He added that the NA elections could be held in November or December and the provincial assemblies elections in April or May. Musharraf will come to know which way the wind blows if he holds the provincial assemblies elections before the NA elections, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Miscreants are likely to attack VVIPs during the latters movement in the country, Daily Times has learnt. Intelligence agencies have submitted reports to the Interior Ministry, according to which, the miscreants have persuaded Najeeb Khan, a resident of Rawalpindi, to attack VVIPs.
The reports said that Khan was a member of a tablighi jamaat and had extremist inclinations. Sources said Khan was not in Rawalpindi, but he might return to the city to carry out the attacks. In the backdrop of the intelligence reports, Rawalpindi police have been asked to remain vigilant and keep an eye on the activities of Najeebs family. Police have also been directed to arrest the man when he enters the city. The Interior Ministry has also directed home secretaries of the four provinces and the Islamabad chief commissioner to improve security for VVIPs.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Not just "important", not even just "very important", but "very VERY important people!"
(KUNA) -- The Iraqi government is to summon a number of its ambassadors in regional countries in objection for some countries' reactions on Saddam Hussein's execution, an MP said Saturday.
Member of the Security and Defense Committee in the Iraqi Parliament Hassan Al-Sanid told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) the US Administration should prevent its regional allies from triggering sectarian conflicts in Iraq. He added that the Iraqi government may summon some of its ambassadors in the region for consultations, noting that the Foreign Relations Committee in the Parliament is discussing regional and foreign countries' stands following Saddam Hussein's execution, which took place last Saturday. Al-Sanid did not name specific countries, but said the government would discuss its future relationship with these countries after their intervention in Iraqi internal affairs.
Earlier today, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki threatened to reconsider Iraq's relations with the countries that criticized the execution of Saddam Hussein and did not respect the Iraqi people's desires. Al-Maliki stressed that executing Saddam is an internal affair and the government rejects all official and non-official reactions of some countries, which he did not name, describing the foreign criticizing of Saddam's execution as provocation of strife, a clear intervention in Iraqi internal affairs, and an insult for families of Saddam's victims.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry sent a protest message to Libya through the Arab League, considering the Libyan three-day mourning against executing Saddam as an "irresponsible" intervention in Iraqi internal affairs and a challenging of the Iraqi judicial system.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 13:52 ||
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"Al-Sanid did not name specific countries, but said the government would discuss its future relationship with these countries after their intervention in Iraqi internal affairs."
Heh.™
May I suggest you start with IRAN?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/06/2007 14:47 Comments ||
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United States President George Bush is embarking on a sweeping overhaul of the US diplomatic and military leadership in Iraq as he puts the finishing touches on a retooled war-fighting strategy.
Bush, expected to unveil his new plan for Iraq in a speech as early as Wednesday, also filled a critical diplomatic vacancy in Washington and named a new US spy chief.
The reshuffle -- begun when Bush dumped defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld late last year -- came on Friday as Democrats who now control the US Congress warned against sending more US troops to Iraq and demanded an end to the war.
The Republican president moved to replace the head of the US Central Command that oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the commander of the US-led forces in Iraq, and pushed ahead with plans to make the US ambassador there, Zalmay Khalilzad, the new US envoy to the United Nations.
Replacing Khalilzad in Baghdad, officials said, would be Ryan Crocker (57), the US ambassador in Pakistan since November 2004. Crocker is one of the State Department's most experienced Middle East experts and a fluent Arabic speaker.
Admiral William Fallon (62), currently head of US forces in the Pacific, would replace retiring General John Abizaid at the Central Command, which manages the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Fallon was a navy combat pilot during the Vietnam War, commanded an attack squadron during the first Gulf War in 1991 and was involved in Nato's Operation Deliberate Force in Bosnia.
In Iraq, Lieutenant General (It's a Great Day to Be in Iraq) David Petraeus would replace General George Casey as the man in charge of all US and coalition forces, according to White House-endorsed recommendations from Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
#2
If he doesn't jump out of a perfectly good aircraft, he's a 'perfumed prince'. Command of an attack squadron, an attack wing, a carrier wing during Desert Storm, a carrier group, a battle force (CTF 60) during Bosnia, the Second Fleet,, Striking Fleet Atlantic doesn't count. Oh, and joint task force work in the Magic Kingdom and with NATO doesn't count either...
I'm not crazy about Fallon's 'reach out to the Chinese'. However, considering Iran is still in the picture, it might not hurt to have somebody with air combat and JTF experience and who's on speaking terms with the Chinese defense establishment.
#6
Awards and decorations earned by General Petraeus include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Defense Superior Service Medal, four awards of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal for valor, the State Department Superior Honor Award, the NATO Meritorious Service Medal, and the Gold Award of the Iraqi Order of the Date Palm. He is a Master Parachutist and is Air Assault and Ranger qualified. He has also earned the Combat Action Badge and French, British, and German Jump Wings. In the fall of 2005, he was recognized by the U.S. News and World Report as one of Americas 25 Best.
If on top of all these decoration he's perfumed then he's a real Prince!
#7
Like I said yesterday...Fallon is hired becasue he is an appeaser. That's his MO in WESTPAC with the PRC. He was brought in as a signal that the war is over.
#8
Wesley Clark is a bean-counter. Petreus is a warrior. There's a world of difference between the two men. Petreus wants to change the ROE in the entire Middle East to something far more aggressive than it currently is. Bush and Casey will have their hands full with him. He's also intelligent - someone who can be convincing without being overbearing, and who can provide excellent reasons for doing what he wants to do. He's not Patton - more like Bradley - but he can get the job done.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/06/2007 16:17 Comments ||
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#9
Fallon is hired becasue he is an appeaser. That's his MO in WESTPAC with the PRC.
Much as I dislike it, Fallon didn't conduct rapport with the PRC as a 'lone ranger'.
Like I said, if Iran becomes the next in line, it might not hurt to have somebody who has experience, and is on speaking terms with the Chinese.
#10
I'm pleased with the new line-up. It's time to get serious about Baghdad-Anbar-Tehran-Damascus. The new line-up strikes me as equipped for a regional take-down.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/06/2007 19:45 Comments ||
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It's time to get serious about Baghdad-Anbar-Tehran-Damascus
#12
Put me down in the "Too little, too late" column.
The Dems will strangle any serious moves by cutting funds, or earmarking them so the only thing you can do with them is 1) bring troops home, and 2) buy mass quantities of K-Y for what is going to happen to us next.
#13
USN, ret. don't buy it, the donks will continue to play to the Angry Left but don't want to go down in history as the party that called for our defeat.
Bush is calling their hand.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/06/2007 23:37 Comments ||
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Iraqi forces backed by US troops will begin a neighborhood-by-neighborhood assault on militants in the capital this weekend as a first step in the new White House strategy to contain Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite death squads, key advisers to the prime minister said Friday.
The first details of the new plan - a fresh bid to pacify the capital - emerged a day after US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki spoke for nearly two hours by video conference. Both leaders were expected to detail their vision of a new strategy in the coming days. The al-Maliki aides would not address the scope of the planned new assaults nor where specifically they were planned.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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More hand holding. Send us a telegram if it works any better than the last time.
#2
If they don't actually do what's necessary, this will all be for naught. Again. They need to make it crystal clear to the civilians that cooperation is the only way they can be certain of seeing tomorrow.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/06/2007 0:44 Comments ||
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Back off for 24 hours, and bomb every Kill Zone in Sadr City with B-52's and turn the landscape into pea-gravel. This SHI* will end immediately! It's the only thing they understand, GIVE IT TO EM!
#4
What say and what we do can be two very different things. For example, Saudi intelligence has informed us that there are about 3000 Iranian agents operating in Iraq.
Now, if the Saudis have any more specific information, like names and addresses, that would be particularly useful in policing up such people. And yet, it's pretty hard to cast a net over 3000 without the bulk of them getting away.
#5
Besoeker - you've obviously never experienced an ARCLIGHT strike. It's not like you can bomb a neighborhood and leave the next-door neighbors alone. The average ARCLIGHT strike had a kill radius of FIVE MILES either side of center-line. Blast and shock would break eardrums and rupture blood vessels as far away as 15 miles. I was 22 miles from centerline, and I have serious hearing issues. Besides, ARCLIGHT are area denial attacks, not precision destruction, which is what we need. I'm sure the F/A-18s and F-16s could do quite a job during the day, and the F-117s could strike at night. Do it around the clock for about five days, and you won't need an ARCLIGHT strike. "Civilian casualties" would be high, but anyone in Sadr City would be in a state of shock. All without destroying downtown Baghdad or the Green Zone in the process.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/06/2007 16:26 Comments ||
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#6
Glad to see the Iraqis leading this operation; after the public crucifixion already being applied to the Marines accused of those civilian murders, to you really think a lot of US Grunts want to try the hew shoes on for size? Especially with the Dems in control?
I'm partial to extensive carpet bombing 24/7, but what do we have for a night attack platform, other than the F/A-18s? The 117s were retired last month or so.
Iraqs prime minister accused a leading Sunni Muslim clerics group yesterday of stoking tension by saying that militias were preparing attacks on Sunni neighbourhoods in Baghdad. The Association of Muslim Scholars, an umbrella grouping of religious leaders of Iraqs Sunni Arab minority, said in a statement on Thursday that militias linked to an unnamed political group were planning attacks. The statement from the Association of Muslim Scholars is totally baseless and raises tension, and we hold the Muslim Clerics responsible for any action that results from this, said a statement from Prime Minister Nuri Al Malikis office.
The clerics statement did not identify the militia or say that it was Shiite. But the use of the word militia and the suggestion of links to government parties is an unmistakable indication to Iraqis that it was accusing Shiite groups.
Sectarian tension has been particularly high over the past week, since Maliki rushed through the hanging of former president Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, and a video circulated showing him being taunted on the gallows by supporters of the Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr. Rumours and fears of militia activity were reported by residents on Thursday but there were no reports by Friday of anything out of the ordinary in a city where dozens of bodies turn up every day, apparent victims of death squad kidnappers.
Washington has identified Sadrs Mehdi Army militia as the greatest threat to security in Iraq. Various other groups in government are linked to militias. We know from well-informed sources that militias affiliated to a well-known political power are intending to attack many districts in Baghdad, the Association of Muslim Scholars said in its statement, posted on its Web site. We also know that some officials in the current government are well aware of this criminal plan, it said. It said Sunnis patience could run out and they would respond in an appropriate way that preserves the unity of Iraq.
The Association of Muslim Scholars is headed by Sheikh Harith al-Dari, who lives outside Iraq. The government has ordered his arrest on suspicion of aiding terrorism. Sunni Arabs blame the Mehdi Army and other militias for the operations of the death squads and Washington has urged Maliki to crack down on them. But he depends on the support of Sadrs political movement in parliament and has struggled to act.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- GCC secretary general Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah on Saturday condemned the Israeli "barbaric" incursion into the West Bank town of Ramallah last Thursday killing four Palestinians and injuring others. Al-Attiyah said in a press statement that these "criminal actions" showed the Israeli hostile policies which were fueling tension and not serving neither peace and security nor the entire peace process in the Middle East.
He reiterated rejection of the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to the "terrorist" actions committed by the Jewish state. He said these actions were violating the UN resolutions and the international law. Al-Attiyah called on all Palestinian factions to be committed to dialogue and national unity, as well as placing the national interest as priority.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 13:55 ||
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(KUNA) -- Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday considered as illegal a force affiliated to the Hamas-led government following a surge in internal violence in occupied territories. Abbas, in a statement carried by the Palestinian News Agency, said so-called "Executive Force" would be considered "illegal" if it was not merged with the "legitimate" security bodies.
Abbas adopted this decision following security uncertainties in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the past few days killing and wounding several people. The Palestinian factions had yesterday called on the government to dissolve the Executive Force, affiliated to the interior ministry. Hamas announced following Abbas' decision it would double the size of the Executive Force to 12,000.
In a related development, an official in the interior minister's office was shot and wounded by unknown gunmen earlier today. Sources at the interior ministry said gunmen kidnapped Baha Suleiman, director of the minister's office, in Ramallah for a few hours. Suleiman was later found and had three bullets in his foot.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 13:51 ||
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Suleiman was later found and had three bullets in his foot.
Palestinian legislator and Hamas supporter Mushir al-Musri called upon Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday to refuse to receive funds from the USA.
The accusation follows a report that the Bush Administration intends to transfer $86.4 million to the security branches of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Al-Masri accused Washington of assisting the 'revolution' against the Hamas government. "We demand that Chairman Abbas reject this American policy which only increases the rift in the Palestinian nation," al-Masri said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Damn! Ham-ass and I agree on something.
Was that a pig flying past my window?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/06/2007 0:13 Comments ||
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#5
If the money goes to Abbas, it goes on directly to Fatah, which then funds the war against Hamas. This is Hitler threatening Stalin not to accept military aid from Roosevelt. I'm amazed that Hamas even TRIED to BS Abbas into rejecting the money, as if they thought Abbas was a gullible fool instead of a ruthless terrorist posing as the president of a non-country.
In the largest pro-Saddam demonstration to date, some 3,000 protesters marched through the Jordanian capital on Friday to lash out at American and Shi'ite Muslim influence in the Arab world.
The protesters, mostly from Sunni Muslim or leftist opposition groups, accused Iran of being involved in the hasty hanging of the former Iraqi dictator, who was executed Saturday in Baghdad. "Death to America and to Iran," shouted the crowd, who marched from a mosque in down town Amman after the noon prayers, bearing portraits of Saddam and waving the Iraqi flag.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Whatta drag the big cheese says ta cool it on the gun sex. Buck up my little gunnies theres still plenty of car swarmin to keep yall entertained.
Noted Islamic scholar Dr Yousuf Al Qaradawi rued the condition of Muslims in 2006 and described their plight as disastrous. In his regular Friday sermon, Qaradawi stated the world is under the control of the US and Israel. The world is living under the total control of the Americans and Israel. They murder whom they want. Americans are wandering around our region as if it is their own farm, he said.
The scholar said Muslim nations lost a lot in the past year. No progress has been realised internally or externally, even though there are plenty of natural resources. The main reasons for failure are a lack of human resource development, freedom and democracy, he said.
Al Qaradawi also mentioned Afghanistan and the US military operations there. He said that the US thought the operation was just a picnic but was surprised by the strong opposition. Similarly, the American military adventure in Iraq was faced with strong opposition which has made us proud, he said.
He condemned Israels operation in Ramallah and the assassination of four people. He also condemned the armed fighting between Fatah and Hamas factions in Palestinian territories. He described the competition between both factions as ridiculous. There is no real government or authority with sovereignty which controls Palestine, he said.
The kutba (sermon) also mentioned Somalia and how the Ethiopians, backed by the US, attacked the Union of Islamic Courts whose members were dedicated to bring peace and security to the country.
Speaking on Iraq, he warned of a sectarian war which could explode at any time. If Shiite leaders in Iraq and Iran did not intervene immediately, the situation in Iraq would deteriorate. Keeping silent on the situation there could further aggravate an already dangerous situation, he added.
He said the execution of Saddam Hussein, on the first day of Eid Al-Adha, was a great mistake and no Muslim would accept such an act by any means. The cleric said that he had no objection to Saddam Husseins trial but said that a leader should be tried by his own people.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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"The world is living under the total control of the Americans and Israel. They murder whom they want. Americans are wandering around our region as if it is their own farm, he said.
Somehow, I knew the word "farm" would be in this post. :)
To borrow fellow Rantburger Joseph Mendiola's language algebra:
Islam=Animal Husbandry. If Islam the mounting, then Islam is pissed. Mr. Qaradawi is upset because he thinks he is being mounted by the US, just like one of his favorite farm animals is mounted by...you get the idea.
The presidents of France and the United States have said the key to a settlement in the ongoing political crisis gripping Lebanon is the formation of an international tribunal to try suspects of the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri.
U.S. President George Bush said the answer in resolving Lebanon's impasse was to move "as fast as possible" with the Special International Tribunal for Lebanon. Bush was speaking after a Washington meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday on reviving the Middle East peace process and promoting closer transatlantic economic ties.
Merkel also supported the Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora. "We also want to strengthen, to bolster, the evolution of a strong Lebanon. We discussed this today, too, and we also discussed the measures that we think need to be taken," said Merkel.
Bush has rejected calls to broaden the quartet's mandate to issues like Lebanon.
French President Jacques Chirac, in a wide-ranging New Year's foreign policy speech on Friday, hailed Saniora's government measures recently announced that aimed to boost investment, increase sales tax and extend privatisation over the next five years. Chirac appealed to the Lebanese people to rally behind Saniora to "build their future regardless of outside interference and look for the truth, particularly through the formation of an international tribunal."
Substitute Friday prayers leader of Tehran mullah Ahmad Khatami said here that the US was humiliated in Iran's nuclear case. "The US was humiliated in Iran's peaceful nuclear case as the world people observed it," said Khatami, who is also an all-mullah 'Experts Assembly' member, in his first Friday prayers sermon to group of bassijis in Tehran University campus on Friday.
Substitute? Substitute?? That's all we rate? We're the Great Satan, you imbecile, we deserve the best!
Mullah said Americans suffered disgrace and humiliating defeat in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq too. He then quoted a westerner as point to west's intention to humiliate Iran in its nuclear case and said, "Iran can not be humiliated."
"One of the westerners had said that in nuclear energy issue we want to humiliate Iran, while Iran can't be downgraded and it is and will always remain dear; this means Americans' lack of wisdom."
#3
A few of us are still angry over the Embassy mess 25 years ago. We don't put up with much, and we're long-suffering, but we're getting pretty da$$$$ sick and tired of all this "humiliation" crap. Perhaps we'll bomb you back BEYOND the Stone Age to the Cave-Dwelling Trogdolytes age. Maybe we'll get really pissed, and bomb all your ports and harbors until you can't import or export anything, and your refineries and oilfields until they can't even produce enough to cook a hot dog. You're like a puny, hairless beach ape kicking sand in King Kong's face. In a little while, he's going to notice, and do nasty things to you. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when that happens.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/06/2007 17:51 Comments ||
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#4
I wonder how many incidents with mysteriously appearing sea mines it would take to stop traffic at their ports.
#5
No doubt the Iranians have rubbed Americans noses in crap and will keep doing it, though next year with nukes to back them up. For the US government, don't start no shit or demand any action unless Americans are fully prepared to snuff out said nation. And as a corollary, when Americans are prepared to get medieval, don't waste the opportunity.
Posted by: ed ||
01/06/2007 21:48 Comments ||
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Hizbullah officials recently made surprising promises to the family members of Lebanese prisoner, Samir Kuntar, according to which he would be released from Israeli prison "very soon". In the past, Hizbullah regarded releasing Kuntar as an obligatory precondition for any future prisoner exchange deal with Israel. The militia's chief also declared that if Kuntar would not be released Hizbullah would not negotiate any exchange whatsoever.
A Hizbullah delegation recently met Kuntar's family in the city of Abiya. The Lebanese Sheikh who came with the envoy, Sheikh Atalla Hamoud, told Kuntar's family that his release would happen very soon. "Your meeting with us is at hand," he turned to Kuntar in the meeting with his family members. During the meeting Kuntar's brother, Bassam, who in recent years has been leading the campaign to release his brother, thanked the Lebanese prisoners captured during the recent Lebanon War and the "Shahids who defeated the enemy."
Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said many times in the past that releasing Kuntar is one of his top priorities. Last April Nasrallah made a speech in which he promised to continue resistance to Israel and Jihad actions until Kuntar's release. "You will return by the force of the resistance's guns, the resistance's blood and the resistance's actions. I want to promise you and your brothers that when we practice Jihad we rely on our right to release our prisoners by any means possible," Nasrallah said.
After the kidnapping of the two IDF soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, in July 2006, Nasrallah held a press conference in which he repeated his commitment to release Kuntar in a prisoner exchange deal with Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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The Shiite Hezbollah group and its allies will step up a campaign of protest and disruption next week to try to topple the Lebanese government by paralysing the country, a senior opposition politician said. The move is an attempt to break a deadlock that has defied mediation efforts and fuelled Sunni-Shiite tensions.
The opposition is putting the final touches to the second phase of its campaign. Things will start moving next week, said the opposition politician. Protesters have camped outside the heavily guarded office of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in central Beirut for the past five weeks to try to force him to concede veto power to the opposition in a unity government or call an election.
Siniora has stubbornly resisted, even though his cabinet had already been weakened by the resignation of six ministers from Hezbollah and its allies in November.
The impasse has hurt Lebanons recovery from the July-August war with Israel and raised fears of instability in a land where Christians, Druze, Sunnis and Shiites coexist uneasily. All political and diplomatic efforts are deadlocked, the opposition politician said. There is no option for the opposition but to step up pressure on the authorities, who are proceeding as if there is nothing wrong ... The moves will culminate in a stage where most of the country would be paralysed.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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An influential Iranian cleric said yesterday the United States wanted to use Saddam Husseins execution to stoke tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. A mobile phone video of Shiite Iraqi officials taunting the former Sunni president on the gallows has inflamed sectarian passions inside Iraq, already on the brink of civil war, and sparked growing outrage from Sunni Arabs.
Saddam, who was executed on Saturday, was tried in a US-sponsored court but the US military says it had no role in the hanging and would have handled it differently.
Americas method is to start sectarian differences, Ahmad Khatami told worshippers at Friday prayers in a sermon broadcast on state radio. They want to use Saddams death to portray divisions among Shiites and Sunnis. Dictators have no religion. Saddam was not a Sunni and he did not believe in any religion, he said. Saddam did not kill just Shiites.
Do not doubt that the enemys plan in Iraq and Iran is to inflame differences among Shiites and Sunnis. In Iran and Iraq, for years, Shiites and Sunnis have been living together peacefully, said Khatami, a member of a powerful clerical body, the Assembly of Experts and a regular leader of Friday prayers in the capital, Tehran.
Officials in predominantly Shiite Iran, which fought Iraq from 1980 to 1988 when Saddam was in power, have said the former presidents execution was a victory for Iraqis.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
United States wanted to use Saddam Husseins execution to stoke tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
Blazing infernos of tension need little "stoking." But feel free to blame the US anyway.
#3
FRED BARNES hit it on the head this AM, at least where Sunnis are concerned > says Sunnis are now realizing made a huge Huge HUGE mistake both in not voting + protecting armed pro-Shia/Iran militias just becuz are fellow Muslims.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2007 10:16 Comments ||
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#5
#2: It's always someone elses fault!
Sounds exactly like my wife speaking.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/06/2007 13:05 Comments ||
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#6
In Iran and Iraq, for years, Shiites and Sunnis have been living together peacefully.
Yeah sure there has been a few centuries of acrimonious relations but except for that little eight year war that kilt a couple mill. And come to think of it those pesky death squads reeked a little havoc. Oh yeah there were some occasional retaliatory bombings and assassinations. But aside from that and some of those indiscriminate slaughters here and there, overall, its been pretty damn peaceful.
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Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have deteriorated sharply over the past year, underscored by a lack of trust, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday. Ties between the countries, major US allies in the war against terrorism, have been hurt largely due to the help resurgent Taleban rebels get on the Pakistani side of the border, Karzai said after meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. 
It has been more than five years since the Talibans supreme leader, Mulla Omar, vanished into the trackless terrain outside Kandahar, and his likeliest source of sanctuary is thought to be the belt of rugged tribal territory straddling the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, in Kuchlak a dusty desert crossroads in Balochistan Mullah Omar is still referred to by the title of amir al-mominin, or commander of the faithful. The report said that Omars feat of eluding a long manhunt by the Americans and their allies was celebrated in Kuchlak as proof of his mystical powers. 
(SomaliNet) Western and African diplomats meeting in Nairobi, Kenya have issued on Friday joint communiqué calling for immediate dispatch of peacekeepers to Somalia to stabilise the country after a two weeks of clashes in which Ethiopian backed interim government forces routed Islamist fighters. 
Security services have opened inquiry into Shia groups activity in the area to spread Shia beliefs and thoughts as well as propaganda for Islamic Republic of Iran, well-informed sources in Mascara (west) have said. Investigations led by security services have started last week following information on two groups, activating in two different places in Mascara. Both groups are working to convert young men, university students mainly, into Shia creed and specifically Twelver or duodeciman Shiism prevailing in Iran and Iraq, the same sources said.
Pyongyang, January 4 (KCNA) -- The director general of the Japan Defence Agency and other samurais were recently reported to have provoked the DPRK by crying out for military sanctions against it. This comes under fire by a signed commentary of Rodong Sinmun Thursday. It is not only an intolerable insult to the DPRK but an undisguised war outcry that the group of militarists of this island country dared compare the DPRK with Japan before the World War II, the commentary notes, and goes on: 
ROME - Italy wants to tighten controls on foreign cash arriving to build mosques and is studying a French proposal to create a state-backed foundation to filter religious funds for Muslims, the interior minister has said. 
The US Congress new Democratic leaders warned President George W Bush on Friday that surging more troops into Iraq would fail and it was time to end the war. New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and new House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Bush to start a phased redeployment of US forces within four to six months. After nearly four years of combat, tens of thousands of US casualties and over 300 billion dollars, it is time to bring the war to a close, the two leaders wrote.The American people demonstrated in the November elections that they do not believe your current Iraq policy will lead to success and that we need a change of direction for the sake of our troops, the letter said. Surging forces is a strategy that you have already tried and that has already failed. Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain. ... We are well past the point of more troops for Iraq.
(KUNA) -- Pakistan Saturday said that it earnestly desired lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and has made efforts in this regard as instability there was detrimental to the interest of Pakistan and the whole region.
President General Pervez Musharraf will ask the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the 
(KUNA) -- The Iraqi government is to summon a number of its ambassadors in regional countries in objection for some countries' reactions on Saddam Hussein's execution, an MP said Saturday.
Iraqs prime minister accused a leading Sunni Muslim clerics group yesterday of stoking tension by saying that militias were preparing attacks on Sunni neighbourhoods in Baghdad. The 
In the largest pro-Saddam demonstration to date, some 3,000 protesters marched through the Jordanian capital on Friday to lash out at American and Shi'ite Muslim influence in the Arab world. 
Noted Islamic scholar Dr 
Substitute Friday prayers leader of Tehran mullah Ahmad Khatami said here that the US was humiliated in Iran's nuclear case. "The US was humiliated in Iran's peaceful nuclear case as the world people observed it," said Khatami, who is also an all-mullah 'Experts Assembly' member, in his first Friday prayers sermon to group of bassijis in Tehran University campus on Friday. .JPG)
The Shiite Hezbollah group and its allies will step up a campaign of protest and disruption next week to try to topple the Lebanese government by paralysing the country, a senior opposition politician said. The move is an attempt to break a deadlock that has defied mediation efforts and fuelled Sunni-Shiite tensions. 
An influential Iranian cleric said yesterday the United States wanted to use Saddam Husseins execution to stoke tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. A mobile phone video of Shiite Iraqi officials taunting the former Sunni president on the gallows has inflamed sectarian passions inside Iraq, already on the brink of civil war, and sparked growing outrage from Sunni Arabs. 
