Former NATO secretary general Lord Peter Carrington has warned that the current mission in Afghanistan could sound the death knell for the organisation. Lord Carrington, who was NATO secretary general from 1984 to 1988, was critical of foreign powers not backing the mission with sufficient troops. He agreed that France and Germany were not pulling their weight and said the organisation was not working.
Lord Carrington told GMTVs The Sunday Programme that if the mission in the country did not succeed, questions would be asked about the usefulness of the organisation. Speaking to fellow former foreign secretary Lord David Owen, who suggested the mission could lead to defeat, he said: Not just defeat, I think it may be the death knell for NATO. I think when you get a situation in which so many countries in NATO are not prepared to join in and those that do join in say We mustnt fight...I think this is very dangerous for NATO.
I think we ought to ask ourselves if this doesnt work, what on earth is NATO for? He added: What happens in Afghanistan is going to have an enormous impact on the future of NATO. Those of us who supported NATO in Afghanistan feel that large parts of it are not really prepared to take any part in it. I think its going to cause a great difficulty.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
NATO has been in danger of "ending" since CHARLES "When the People of France = All Europe made Me [AND ONLY ME]their leader..." "I am France ergo I am Europe" DE GAULLE + successors made French nuclear forces independent from NATO = French-read USA command. Iff my memory is correct, twas started after France formally dev its PLUTON nuke missle. NATO survived De Gaulle, the Brit-induced Euro Common Market/ECommunity, the Falklands War, and Clinton's Bosnian campaign, etc , hence can survive this.
#3
He agreed that France and Germany were not pulling their weight and said the organisation was not working.
It simply wouldn't be cricket if the French and the bloody Krauts were not pissing on us, now would it your Lordship? Some things just never change you see.
#4
NATO is needed more now than ever - but it won't matter if the members in Western Europe continue to ignore the threat within. While Russia may be re-emerging as a threat, the larger concern should be that this time the Gates of Vienna may be attacked from within. Afghanistan IS a reasonable battleground for the defense of NATO against the common foe.
#5
The purpose of NATO was for Americans to die [once again] for Western Europe. The rest was all ritualistic dressing to cover that single fact. When the wall came down, there was no further reason to justify the cost and expense of American hostages being held by a bunch of military welfare queens. Bring the Troops Home Now[tm].
The operative phrase was "NATO is there to keep the Germans down, the Americans in and the Russians out."
I agree that we should be rethinking ALL our alliances. We should work on getting out of Nato and the UN and building up relations with Japan, Austrailia & Japan.
#9
It's almost impossible to continue an alliance created for one purpose when that purpose no longer exists. NATO was created to protect the people of Europe from the Communist threat from Russia and the now-defunct Warsaw Pact. Today, most of the former members of the Warsaw Pact belong to NATO. Today, the people of Western Europe don't believe there's any threat to their continued existence, so they see no reason to fight. While we can (and do) castigate them for being fools, only a VERY hard knock from their islamic invaders will change their minds. In the meantime, the US could use all the help we can get in this fight, and should welcome even temporary alliances against a common foe. Once we bring the threat of militant islam to manageable proportions, we can say what we really think to our fair-weather friends in Europe (and elsewhere - can you say South Korea, Philippines, New Zealand?).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/08/2007 14:36 Comments ||
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Why wouldn't Germany and France want NATO to die and replaced by a European Union military alliance? There they would be kings, while in NATO, second rate powers. In addition, they don't want to take a chance that in the near future the Americans will veto military action when Paris is surrounded and under seige.
Posted by: ed ||
01/08/2007 18:56 Comments ||
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So, if NATO is to die due to lack of interest and equality, then what of the UN ?
(SomaliNet) Somalias Prime Minister Ali Mohamed has set up a national security committee for the Somalia capital Mogadishu on Sunday after a day of violent protests opposing the disarmament program. Mr. Gedi named a 10-member committee on national security and disarmament to restore peace and stability in the capital which seen days of violence.
Most of the residents in Mogadishu voiced their opposition to the presence of the Ethiopian forces in the country. Yusuf Mire Serare, a parliament member was appointed to the panel. Gedi said the group includes civil society members, clan elders and businessmen. The committee is designed to secure the peace in the capital Mogadishu, and their operation will soon be seen, he said.
On Saturday, the interim government postponed plans to forcibly disarm Mogadishu residents until further notice, as hundreds of protesters took to the streets opposing the disarmament program.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The Committee for State Security, huh? Needs a good set of initials, I think.
#3
Infection in the host body needs to be cleansed. It's not pretty and will be painful but these folk will have to be cast out of the west. This is what Saudi money is buying the spread of hate and intolerance. The UK and US need to wake up and understand we are being groomed for destruction. We are a impediment to the diestruction of Israel and must be destroyed.
Follow the money, it's oil money from the Saudi's that pays for this.
An undercover investigation by a leading daily has revealed disturbing evidence of Islamic extremism at a number of Britain's leading mosques and Muslim institutions, including an organization praised by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
According to the 'Observer', secret video footage revealed Muslim preachers exhorting followers to prepare for jihad, to hit girls for not wearing the Hijab, and to create a "state within a state."
Many of the preachers are linked to the Wahhabi strain of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia, which funds a number of Britain's leading Islamic institutions.
A forthcoming channel 4 dispatches programme paints an alarming picture of how preachers in some of Britain's most moderate mosques are urging followers to reject British laws in favour of those of Islam.
Leaders of the mosques have expressed concern at the preachers activities, saying they were unaware such views were being disseminated.
At the Sparkbrook mosque, run by UK Islamic Mission (Ukim), an organization that maintains 45 mosques in Britain and which Tony Blair has said "is extremely valued by the government for its multi-faith and multicultural activities," a preacher is captured on film praising the Taliban.
In response to the news that a British Muslim soldier was killed fighting the Taliban, the Speaker declares: "the hero of Islam is the one who separated his head from his shoulders."
Another Speaker says Muslims cannot accept the rule of non-Muslims. "You cannot accept the rule of non-Muslim," a preacher, Dr Ijaz Mian, tells a meeting held within the mosque. "We have to rule ourselves and we have to rule the others."
The 12-month investigation also recorded a deputy headmaster of an Islamic high school in Birmingham telling a conference at the Sparkbrook mosque that he disagrees with using the word democracy.
"They should call it... Kuffrocracy, that's their plan. It's the hidden cancerous aim of these people." The Darul Uloom School said it no longer employed the teacher and that one of the reasons he resigned "was the incompatibility of many of his opinions with the policies of the school."
Inside the Green Lane mosque in Birmingham, a preacher is recorded saying, "Allah has created the woman deficient." A satellite broadcast from the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, beamed into the green lane mosque suggests that Muslim children should be hit if they don't pray: "when he is seven, tell him to go and pray, and start hitting them when they are 10."
Another preacher is heard saying that if a girl 'doesn't wear Hijab, we hit her.'
In a statement to channel 4, Lord Ahmed, the convener of the government's preventing extremism taskforce, said he was worried about the programme's consequences. "While I appreciate that exaggerated opinions make good TV, they do not make for good community relations."
#1
"In a statement to channel 4, Lord Ahmed, the convener of the government's preventing extremism taskforce, said he was worried about the programme's consequences.
Lord Ahmed (sounds like a real British name, doesn't it?) doesn't like it when the truth is exposed, does he? Doesn't make for good community relations when the infidel is tipped off to what is happening behind closed muslim doors.
Same thing is going on in mosques and islamic centers throughout the USA & Canada. MSM care? Nope.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
01/08/2007 7:43 Comments ||
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#2
The electorate of the US, at least, is slowly and painfully being educated by the negative example so many Muslim exemplars are setting all over the world. The MSM can distort and conceal, but they won't hide it altogether. News like this is eroding the complacency of the infidels, drop by drop.
#5
"An undercover investigation by a leading daily has revealed disturbing evidence of Islamic extremism at a number of Britain's leading mosques and Muslim institutions, including an organization praised by Prime Minister Tony Blair."
No "undercover investigation" necessary, when Islamic extremists™ "hide" their intentions in plain view, where the powers-that-be do their best to ignore them. Hizb ut-Tahrir is bringing its World Slavery Tour 2007 to Oz for a conference in Sydney. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock's spokesman said "group members would have to be careful about what they said at the conference and remember that Australia was a harmonious society."
#7
I anticipate the producer/director of this documentary being nominated in the IHRC's Islamophobia Awards 2007 for daring to criticise Islam.
If Lord Ahmed gave a shit about community relations he'd be doing something to expose the nutters as well - expect this story being turned into an example of the victimisation of a minority and such bleating being promptly reinforced by the UK MSM.
Close all mosques where extremist opinions are heard... if you have the balls.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
01/08/2007 10:51 Comments ||
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#8
"Close all mosques where extremist opinions are heard... if you have the balls."
A secret list of young Britons who have left to join the Iraqi terrorists cause has been drawn up by MI5, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday. The report said that the security service was now preparing for a backwash of highly trained guerrilla fighters returning to Britain. It fears the group will form a new hardcore of terrorist recruiters similar to jailed cleric Abu Hamza, who came back from fighting in Afghanistan to preach hatred at the Finsbury Park mosque. Whitehall sources told the Daily Mail that the MI5 had a working figure of 50 known British recruits involved in Iraqi terror attacks against coalition forces, but the true figure is likely to be double that number because of the difficulty in tracking movements in and out of Iraq. Immigration officials in Britain and across Europe are being warned to be on the lookout for returning fighters, the source said. These people have knowledge of weapons and are prepared to use them. They are also potential recruiters for a new generation of terrorists. Four British Muslims blew themselves up on Londons underground trains and a bus on July 7, killing 52 people and wounding 700.Shehzad Tanweer, one of four bombers who attacked Londons subway and bus network, claimed in a video recorded before his death that the invasion had been a motivating factor. He said attacks on Britain would continue until forces were withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq. Britain has around 7,000 soldiers in Iraq, mainly based around the southern city of Basra.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Pity they cant work 9-5 like the rest of the UK!!!!Instead they live for jihad/suicide- sad but true!!!
NATIONAL security concerns relating to an Adelaide mosque have prompted the Federal Government to block $200,000 in Saudi Arabian funding.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer yesterday revealed the Government had "expressed a view" to the Saudi Government about the mosque's application for money to help fund a new building.
The unspecified "security concerns" are understood to relate to at least one person associated with the Islamic Centre SA, based at 658 Marion Rd, Park Holme. The Advertiser yesterday confirmed the mosque's leadership was told early last year the transfer of funds from Saudi Arabia had been stopped after a request from the Australian Government.
Details of the proposed funding emerged as authorities confirmed a former mosque member, Warya Kanie, 39, had been held in Iraq since October on charges of allegedly conspiring to commit acts of terrorism against U.S.-led forces.
Mr Downer said he was "sure there is no link" between the Park Holme mosque's funding application to the Saudi Arabian Government and Kanie's arrest by Coalition forces in Baghdad last October.
He said federal authorities closely scrutinised broader concerns about whether Islamic extremists from Saudi Arabia had sought to fund Australian mosques or Islamic institutions.
"In relation to one (Adelaide) mosque, there was an application for funding from the Saudi Arabian Government, not from extremist organisations, and the Australian Government expressed a view about that," he said.
Mr Downer said the decision to halt funding would have been made by the Saudis, taking into account Australia's security advice.
He said there was a clear distinction between appropriate Saudi Government funding and money from extremist groups based within the Middle Eastern country.
The Federal Government wanted to ensure mosques and other Islamic institutions in Australia had "no linkages with extremist organisations".
The Advertiser understands the Park Holme mosque has been closely watched by the Australian Federal Police and Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation for several years.
Moderate Adelaide Muslims have repeatedly expressed concerns about some activities at the mosque, particularly sermons by its spiritual leader, Sheik Charif Hassine, opposing the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
An Adelaide Islamic leader who attends the mosque yesterday said it was not involved in extremist activity but "only exercising its democratic right to oppose American oppression in Iraq".
Islamic Society of SA secretary Ali Vachor said there had been no explanation from the Federal Government about why it stopped the transfer of money from Saudi Arabia.
Mr Vachor declined to identify the sources of the Saudi money, saying they were among many donors to the fundraising appeal to build a newmosque at the Park Holme site.
"They give to charity to please Almighty Allah," he said.
"Some people have given large amounts of money. They don't want to be known. They are keeping it between them and Allah."
Mr Vachor said the Islamic Society had written several letters to Mr Downer seeking an explanation for why the funding was stopped early last year.
"We have tried to ask him why he stopped the money from entering the country but he has shut the door on us," he said.
Mr Vachor said members of the Park Holme mosque were entitled to democratically express their opposition to "American oppression".
"The Americans are the ones who have invaded, they are the ones who have killed innocent people, they are the ones who have destroyed mosques," he said.
Mr Vachor said AFP and ASIO agents had raised no concerns during regular meetings held as part of a national liaison project with Australian Muslim leaders introduced after the US terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
AN Australian man arrested in Iraq who told authorities he was looking for a wife clearly raised greater concern from Iraqi and coalition officials, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today. Mr Downer said the man, who came to Australia in 2003 as a refugee and was granted Australian citizenship in 2005, had told Australian consular officials in Baghdad that he returned to Iraq to find a wife.
But he said Iraqi authorities and the coalition forces clearly had greater concerns. "That is what he has told our consular officials, that is what he says," Mr Downer said on ABC radio. "There obviously is among the Iraqi authorities and coalition forces some greater concern, that is why he is being detained and the case is being investigated. He wouldn't have been detained if there wasn't at least some prima facie concern," Mr Downer said. "If it turns out all he is looking for is a missus and he's turned up in the wrong place at the wrong time, then he'll be released."
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said the 39-year-old man was detained by coalition authorities in Baghdad in mid-October. He was being held under the authority of The UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1637 for engaging in anti-coalition activity.
Australian consular officials met the man on November 10 and spoke to him by telephone on December 15. Newspaper reports identified the man as Warya Kanie, who left Adelaide about seven months ago, telling his family he was going to look for a new wife in Iraq. Mr Downer said the man could be detained for up to 90 days and would then have to be released or referred to the Iraqi Central Court for prosecution.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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He was granted Australian citizenship in 2 years!?!
Yusuf Islam is to be awarded the Mediterranean Prize for Peace today January 4, 2007 in Naples, Italy. Yusuf is being awarded the prestigious award as a result of the work he has done to increase peace in the world. [ ] The prize is assigned each year to personalities of political, cultural, and artistic worlds that contributed with their actions to reduce tensions and begin an upgrading process of cultural differences and shared values in the area of the Greater Mediterranean.
In 1997 the Fondazione Mediterraneo funded the Mediterranean Prize (with its sections: Peace, Culture, Art, Diplomacy, Institutions, Social Promotion, Information, Literature, Cinema, Creativity, Architecture and Silver Dolphin). It is yearly assigned to personalities of political, cultural, and artistic world that contributed with their action to reduce the tensions and begin an upgrading process of cultural differences and shared values in the area of the Greater Mediterranean. In 2005 the Fondazione Mediterraneo in partnership with the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures decided to launch a special category of the Mediterranean Award entitled The Euro Mediterranean Award for the Dialogue Between Cultures. NB : on the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures see this (paragraph 2).
Our so-called leaders through the European Union are busy selling our continent and the freedom of our children down the river, and smile while they are doing it. The only way to stop this is to dismantle the European Union. All of it. If we don't do so, and soon, Europe simply wont survive.
#5
These awards don't mean sh*t other than to indicate how far things have spiraled down across the pond. Didn't Arafat receive the Nobel Peace Prize--a bribe to try to get him to stop his shennanigans in the mideast.
#9
Civilizations, like individuals, age and die. Europe is beyond saving. Limiting the damage should be the primary concern.
Gromgoru, I value Israel's interests in the name of our common heritage and general belonging to western civilization, I think you're the proverbial canary in the coal mine and bastion behind ennemy lines... BUT if/when Europe falls, then Israel doesn't even makes the list to my preoccupations. I only value Israel from an european perspective, and the same is true for the USA (less so, because I have an intimate cultural, affective relationship with them).
In a schadenfreude way, and bear in mind I'm NOT a true believer in PCT or an antisemite, having Israel wiped off the map after the fall of Europe would even be a small, bitter consolation, given the jewish role in the current cancer of western civilization (just looks at the 60's european students "revolution", the Frankfort school)...
Of course, this cancer/civilizational AIDS is also affecting Israel ("Peace Now"); I do not see joooooos as the Hidden Masterminds, but as actors who were involved, along with others (gnostics, german and french philosophers, french revolutionnaries,...) in a deep politico-cultural trend because of a particular jewish psychology forged in part by History and relations with the majorities of host Nations.
This is truly a death-embrace, jews and non-jews influencing each others for the worst outcome possible for both. The eurabia sell-outs and the liberals jews.
Europe will be destroyed, at least in its present form, and jews will be ethnicaly cleasing out of it. It only took, what?, a couple of centuries, for the cycle to be completed.
#10
Hum, on second thought, the later comment about Israel being wiped is rather mean, I aplogize, but I'm still pissed off by that writing off of Europe and downright anti-euro prejudice.
1) We're the same people (despite what the extremists say), 2) you're not immune, you're just less advanced on the Death curve, but you're *fully* engaged in (at least your own Enlightened Elites, regardless of political affiliation), 3) when we die, you're next in line.
#11
A friend once commented that the next time I heard a smarmy Cat Stevens single on the radio, I should think of it as performed by some screaming punk death metal band.
#12
the stuff about the Frankfort school is pretty lame as well. But geez, youre still regretting the French revolution. Why should a Bourbon nostalgic Ultra-montane french rightist be interested in the survival of the only progressive state in the Middle East?
Too bad some minor EU bureaucrat gave a prize to Stevens, though. I mean the man doesnt have the manliness to apologize to Rushdie.
But I suggest that anon may not want to read Rushdie either, youd probably find him way to multicultie for your tastes.
#13
#9 Europe is dead because European birth rate is below replacement level. How I feel about Europe and Europeans have nothing to do with it.
As to the rest of your view, can't say I'm surprised---I was rised among gentiles.
Several media outlets have been citing FBI documents claiming mistreatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. However, these documents are the basis of what is really a big non-story. Why? Because the allegations of torture based on these documents have already been investigated by the Department of Defense (DOD) in 2005 and found to have no basis in fact. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
01/08/2007 17:59 ||
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And, presumably (admits being busy and lazy and not having checked), as per usual, the USG has not responded to this latest slander. The big lie, repeated, may work - but leaving it unchallenged almost guarantees its success. This, of course, has been the administration's greatest failing (ranking just above remaining silent on the war, and not insisting on results from Casey and Abizaid).
Since coming back I've been fighting the feeling that the country is just too otherwise busy, and disinclined to difficult messy problems, to be a serious country about Iraq and the wider war. My resistance to the idea declines with every passing week, and almost every conversation.
#2
Yes. It influenced them to create a secular republic lest they fall into the muslim model. (Nitwit.)
Posted by: Jonathan ||
01/08/2007 12:58 Comments ||
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#3
So, I guess if it's okay with you, this gets him a pass on the slave owning thing, right, Keith?
Monticello: 2,345,678,907,234th Most Holy Place in Islam.
#5
"It (the Koran) would have been something that contributed to his own thinking."
No doubt, it did. Note, however, the principles this country was founded on are the complete polar opposite of Islam:
Freedom of speech and religion.
Separation of Church and State.
No established state religion.
Equal rights for all. Even women! (yeah, I know about the slavery thing. It took us a couple hundred years to get it right. Slavery is still practiced under Islam after how many centuries?
Gosh, a person might come to the conclusion that Islam is incompatible with the Constitution!
#6
This, of course, is why Franklin used a hypothetical Muslim arguing against slave-taking jihad raids in the Mediterranean as a stand-in for pro-slavery arguments.
*sigh*
Seems to me that anymore, the only people who DIDN'T influence the Founding Fathers were white Europeans.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/08/2007 13:20 Comments ||
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Also, women and minorities continued to make many valuable contributions throughout this period.
#8
Which would explain why majority Muslim countries are known for the separation of powers, free and fair elections, equality of opportunity, etc. etc. etc.
#9
old time read the Christian bible, and took from it only what he wanted. So he could have read the Koran and took from what he wanted, as well. Though AFAIK theres no particular evidence he took anything from it. But his intellectual curiosity led him to own it and read from it, and not to fear it, as he didnt really fear any ideas.
#12
I'm not sure on this but I suspect Jefferson's possession of a Quran was after he retired from the Presidency and became a collector and all around philosopher.
Jefferson did, however, learn about Islam during the period when American ships were being taken by the Barbary Pirates. The pirates justified their actions via the Quran.
#14
the Koran was in the consciousness of people who brought about democracy
Of course, he assumed it made a favorable impression. Likely not! Rather, it probably gave them some ideas on what not to do. If they weren't Christians, they certainly weren't Mohammedans.
Many of us have Korans, that doesn't mean we view it positively. Know your enemy.
#15
Considering Jefferson's response to the Barbary Pirates of "Millions for defense, not one penny for tribute", and his inquiring mind, the most likely reason for him to have a Koran is that he was researching the mentality of his enemies. Remember, the Barbary Pirates controlled several Arab city-states on the Med, and had been raiding European shipping for slaves and booty for centuries. And just like today, they used the Koran and Islam to justify their attacks of terrorism and piracy - they were only hitting the infidels.
#16
Exactly Shieldwolf. Thomas Jefferson was so influenced by his dealings with the islamic Barbary emisasries when Jefferson was the ambassador of France and studying his copy of the koran (which Ellison used to swear into office) that when he became president he declared war on the islamic Barbary Pirate States (he United States first war). Thomas Jefferson had no illusions about the islam. Too bad our current leadership and media are not as intelligent.
Posted by: ed ||
01/08/2007 17:55 Comments ||
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#17
It influenced them all right. It prompted them to load up the Marines, go to the Med, and manhandle the Barbary pirates until there werent any left. It influenced them to end the white slave trade that was responsible for kidnapping over a million whites over a hundred year period.
Yeah, it influenced them.
While the Second Barbary War (Prez Madison) did not destroy the Barbary States, it weakened them enough to sign a treaty to no longer capture American slaves. France and Britain learned that they did not need to pay jizya either and eventually overran the Pirate States.
Posted by: ed ||
01/08/2007 19:32 Comments ||
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Of course this makes the America's forever Muslim land right?
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Some of the other leading Democrats in Congress aren't ready to echo House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suggestion that lawmakers might hold up funding for additional troops in Iraq.
On CBS's ''Face the Nation'' today, Pelosi said Democrats won't cut off money for those troops already in Iraq -- but that President Bush would have to ''justify any additional resources.'' The comment comes as Bush puts the finishing touches on a plan that could put thousands of additional U.S. troops in Iraq in an effort to stem the sectarian violence.
But Pelosi's second-in-command in the House Democratic leadership, Steny Hoyer, told Fox News he doesn't ''want to anticipate'' that possibility. And the Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden, says Congress doesn't have the power to second-guess Bush's military strategy -- because lawmakers had voted to authorize him to wage war. Biden appeared on NBC's ''Meet the Press.''
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2007 00:11 ||
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Pelosi was well on her way to making it sound like she thought Congress was some kind of Politburo. She was way out of line constitutionally and she's just getting started as Speaker. They know they have to kill this themselves before the Republicans use it to drive a stake through that bitches heart.
The dems are having to check their swing already. Now that they've hesitated, I half ass expect Bush to bring the heat and blow it right by them on his next pitch. This might have given him a chance to make this weeks speech something to remember.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/08/2007 1:01 Comments ||
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#3
JERUSALEM POST/DRUDGEREPORT > NUCLEAR IRAN UNACCEPTABLE. Hoyer comments - Military option still on table iff diplomacy/negotiations fail.
#5
I heard a sound bite of Nancy on the radio this morning. It's clear to me that she's in charge! The President is "going to have to have a conversation" if he wants to increase troops.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/08/2007 6:27 Comments ||
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#6
Hoyer sounds a whole lot different from Pelosi. Maybe if she continues to raise hell in Congress, the Dem legislators will fire her & elect someone with a sense of decency. Remember Pelosi is 2nd in line for the Presidency.
#7
Pelosi isn't commander in chief and has no say in military strategy.
But aside from that why should Bush trust her and the left? After all most of those people voted for the Iraqi war then reversed their field within just a few months of the liberation after claiming, falsley, that Bush lied.
Why should Bush think after three years of this backstabbing in wartime, he should even negotiate. They won't live up to their end of the bargain.
#8
Pelosi isn't commander in chief and has no say in military strategy. Scary damn thought if she did. She and her idiot co-conspirators can try to cut off funding at some point.
They don't have to cut funding. They just hold hearings ad infinitum, delaying passage, so as to cripple operations. Anyway, the real power in stopping additional troops will come from the general public. I cited a Bloomburg poll two weeks ago showing only 12% showing support for more troops. Newsweek poll from last week shows this same level. Even if these numbers are inaccurate, the majority of the public is not in favor. They haven't been in the streets becuase they view our current military as hired guns..mercenaries. But, things could pick up with mass demonstrations if this is pushed. This is what really influenced Nixon to depart the bombing campaigns. He had half a million rowdy civilians right outside the White House. Really focused his attention.
#10
Donks were just using Iraq as a club to beat Bush and will most likely back off on it now that they control Congress and Bush is a lame duck. Can you say "Cynical"?
#11
1. the Dems have been divided on the war a long time. This hasnt ended. Pelosi is NOT in the same place ideologically as Hoyer and Biden. Wake me when theres something new.
2. WRT Biden. No speaker of the House, whatever party, whatever ideology tells the goddamned Senate of the United States what to do. Esp on foreign policy. Institutional prerogative and all that. See Gingrich vs Dole.
#13
With Biden having to try to bring Pelosi back to reality, I really think it puts them in a bad position for next few days until they can get reorganized and get a coherent, unified position to present to the public.
This is a fantastic opportunity for Bush to make them fan on the filthiest god damned slider they have ever seen.
On Wednesday we shall see if he still has enough arm to finish the game.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/08/2007 18:12 Comments ||
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#14
Okay, kudos for the baseball metaphors, but stink on shit so describes Sheehan and the donks, that the old favorite is my pick for snark o de day.
I can't wait for Bush to have that conversation with Pelosi like she wants. Its been far too long since a conversation in the Whitehouse started with, Well, Nancy....
Hopefully it goes something like this. Well Nancy, I'm sending more troops. Thanks for coming in. I trust you can see yourself out?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/08/2007 19:30 Comments ||
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#16
The White House needs to hammer again and again that Pelosi is by trying to set foreigh and miltary policy of the US usurping the office of the President. Taunt her to run for president.
Posted by: ed ||
01/08/2007 19:40 Comments ||
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#17
I heard a sound bite on the radio today of osamalamadingdong saying something to the effect of his "staff was looking into what can be done in regards to restricting funding for the war".
I hope the Republicans can tie him to Pelosi in this game of "we want to be the Politburo".
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/08/2007 20:29 Comments ||
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#18
If this was not so serious, I would say "pass the popcorn" as the dems dividing faster than mitosis. Maybe we better get Barbara Skolaut's gormet popcorn batallion on standby for us.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/08/2007 21:41 Comments ||
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#19
Bush has to draw the line here in order to protect the powers of the office of the President of the United States. If he lets Pelosi walk over him on this we may as well close the office of the president.
And I'm not so sure Bush will defend the powers of the President.
#20
of course he will....jeebus. Even Carter did....
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/08/2007 22:13 Comments ||
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#21
Maybe Bush should send an AC-130 up to Napa some night and shoot up a couple of her vineyards. Just to let her know who's really in charge of the big toys...
ISLAMABAD Emphasising that the country is standing at a critical juncture President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has warned the people that there is utter darkness ahead in case the people took wrong decision in the upcoming elections.
Gen. Musharraf said he would quit his army office when he felt it was in the national interest to do so and urged the people not to be misled by those who are making his military uniform an issue. My uniform has nothing to do with democracy, he said, adding that it is because of the uniform that he has been able to restore genuine democracy.
"The army also has nothing to do with democracy! Nor does our government! None of us have anything what-so-ever to do with democracy! It's ucky!"
Addressing a public rally in Dera Ismail Khan, the hometown of leader of the opposition and Secretary-General of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Musharraf asked the masses to reject elements opposed to moderation, progress and prosperity in the next elections. He said these elements are hell-bent to enforce their own beliefs on others.
"They don't have anything to do with democracy either! In fact there isn't a single Pakistani who has anything to do with democracy! You can take my word on that!"
Musharraf said extremism, terrorism and sectarianism were the only threats the country was facing at the moment, adding there was no danger for Islam in the country. The country was created in the name of Islam and no law would be made in the country contrary to the injunctions of Islam, he added.
"And you all know that Islam, especially, has nothing to do with democracy!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Musharraf is absolutely right as far as Pakistan goes. Democratic elections there would overwhelmingly put Osama bin Laden in command with Mullah Omar as vice commander. This is the "utter darkness" Mush refers to.
Democracy. It's not for everyone.
Certain tribes are likely to face restrictions on their movement across the Pak-Afghan frontier if the government goes ahead with its plan to fence and mine the border. According to political observers, only those tribes with close relatives on both sides of the border will continue to be allowed to interact with each other for commercial and social purposes under the easement rights clause of the Durand Line agreement of 1893. Tribes without close relations on the other side may find their movements restricted.
Political historians and observers point out that the Achakzais of Quetta, the Waziris of Waziristan, the Toris and Mengals of Parachinar, the Shinwaris of Khyber, and the Mohmands of Mohmand Agency have cousins still living in Afghanistan. Except for the Afridis and Mehsuds, almost all Afghan tribes have kith and kin in Pakistan. People belonging to tribes with close relations on both sides but who have settled outside FATA could find themselves restricted as the political agents and maliks of their ancestral areas might not be able to facilitate their free movement across the border under the new situation. The Achakzais living outside the tribal areas, many of them in Balochistan, could be denied entry to Afghanistan. Achakzai tribesmen living in Afghanistan could also be subject to a similar restriction.
Observers said that Afghanistans opposition to Pakistans move to fence and mine the border most of it is currently not demarcated or monitored - at selective points was not likely to force Islamabad to rescind its decision. The Durand Line has not been recognised as an international border by any Afghan government and the current Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, is a Pushtoon and unlikely to want to earn the ignominy of dividing the Pushtoon on both sides of the border. But Kabuls concerns and considerations are of little import to Islamabad, which was left with no other option but to take measures aimed at discouraging militants freely crossing the border from both sides. These measures will have positive results in both the short and long terms, according to the observers.
Mass migration of Powindas from Afghanistan, particularly in the 1940s, to FATA and NWFP greatly strained the food supply, particularly in the provinces settled areas. The fence is also ostensibly aimed at discouraging a mass influx of Powindas.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Except for the Afridis and Mehsuds, almost all Afghan tribes have kith and kin in Pakistan
Well if that's the case it's pretty much meaningless
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's trial for the killing of 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s resumed Monday with the late dictator's seat empty, nine days after he went to the gallows. The court's first order of business was to drop all charges against Saddam.
Six co-defendants still face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in a military campaign code-named Operation Anfal during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war. Shortly after the court reconvened Monday, a bailiff called out the names of the accused and the six men walked silently into the courtroom one after another.
Chief Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa said the court decided to stop all legal action against the former president, since "the death of defendant Saddam was confirmed." Saddam was sentenced to death for the killing of 148 Shiites and hanged on Dec. 30 in a chaotic execution that has drawn global criticism for the Shiite-dominated government.
All seven defendants in the Anfal case, including Saddam, had pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Saddam and one other man also pleaded innocent to the additional charge of genocide.
The six remaining defendants all senior members of Saddam's ousted regime include his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged use of chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds.
The other defendants are former Defense Minister Sultan Hashim al-Tai, who was the commander of Task Force Anfal and head of the Iraqi army 1st Corps; Sabir al-Douri, Saddam's military intelligence chief; Taher Tawfiq al-Ani, former governor of Mosul and head of the Northern Affairs Committee; Hussein Rashid Mohammed, former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi Armed Forces and Farhan Mutlaq Saleh, former head of military intelligence's eastern regional office.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/08/2007 06:28 ||
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#4
This was just another way to fark the Kurds. The execution was rushed, IMO, because the Shia ddin't want too much spotlight and symapthy for the Kurds. Halabja was so much worse than Dujail and I personally am sorry we couldn't have seen that trial to completion. Not to mention the evidence and sourcing was so much better for trial two, Sammy's hanging would've been more meaningful and harder to criticize, not that that would stop the anklebiters. And now that the charges are dropped, we can't dig him up and hang him again.
#5
And now that the charges are dropped, we can't dig him up and hang him again.
I personally would not have a problem with that.
If it were up to me, we would have had an ass-kicking before the hanging. Everyone in Iraq lines up and gives Saddam one good kick. You can have another turn, but you have to go to the end of the line. When the line is gone, it's hanging time!
#7
Halabja was so much worse than Dujail and I personally am sorry we couldn't have seen that trial to completion.
I draw your attention to paragraph two of the article posted:
Six co-defendants still face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in a military campaign code-named Operation Anfal during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war. Shortly after the court reconvened Monday, a bailiff called out the names of the accused and the six men walked silently into the courtroom one after another.
Only the charges against Saddam have been dropped, the others still face trial and justice. The revelations you desire will happen.
Posted by: Chuck Darwin ||
01/08/2007 20:25 Comments ||
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BAGHDAD Iraqs Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and members of Iraqs military forces commemorated the 86th birthday of Iraqs army during a ceremony Saturday at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Baghdad. The birth of the modern Iraqi Army came about with the establishment of its first battalion in 1921, and although Army Day commemorates the establishment of the Iraqi Army, the Air Force and Navy branches were also represented during the celebration.
Maliki presided over the ceremony that began with the playing of the Iraqi national anthem and was followed by a reading from the Holy Quran. Won't be able to do that after you get your ICLU! (Iraqi Civil Liberties Union)
Maliki then inspected the Honor Guard and placed his wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.
Maliki addressed the assembled dignitaries, military officers and national and international news agencies on the importance of the Iraqi military working for the principles of a free and democratic Iraq. The armed forces are in charge of all the security tasks, and we should distance these institutions from party politics and sectarian motives, Maliki said.
These sentiments were mirrored by Iraqi Army Maj. Gen. Ibrahim when he was asked the importance of this event in Iraqs future. Ibrahim is a 35-year veteran of the army who began his career as a second lieutenant in air defense in charge of a radar station.
According to Ibrahim, the Iraqi Army will play a pivotal role in securing Iraq for democracy and freedom for all its people, regardless of their personal religious beliefs or backgrounds. We (the military) are helping the political process to continue this work, Ibrahim said. Perhaps the military will be a force for unity.
Navy Lt. Mohammed explained why its important for him to be a part of his countrys military. I want freedom and democracy for my family, myself, my people and my country, said Mohammed. We are one country and the military is not in charge of the country, but it is responsible for restoring and maintaining safety for everybody.
One aspect of the ceremony the participants were particularly proud of was the playing of the countrys national anthem, which had been abolished during the reign of Saddam Hussein. Composed in the 1950s, the anthem stands as a monument to the difficulties the Iraqi people have experienced over the course of history, according to Iraqi Army Lt. Hussain, the conductor of the 41-piece band that played at the event and an 11-year army veteran.
The anthem honors the suffering of Iraqs people and offers a brief history of my people, Hussain said. His sentiments mirrored Malikis statements about a military loyal only to Iraq and accountable to its citizens. I feel the national anthem is the symbol of Iraq and I feel inspired by it, Hussain said.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/08/2007 06:13 ||
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 President Bushs new Iraq policy will establish a series of goals that the Iraqi government will be expected to meet to try to ease sectarian tensions and stabilize the country politically and economically, senior administration officials said Sunday.
Among these benchmarks are steps that would draw more Sunnis into the political process, finalize a long-delayed measure on the distribution of oil revenue and ease the governments policy toward former Baath Party members, the officials said.
Without saying what the specific penalties for failing to achieve the goals would be, American officials insisted that they intended to hold the Iraqis to a realistic timetable for action, but the Americans and Iraqis have agreed on many of the objectives before, only to fall considerably short.
Mr. Bush is expected to refer to the benchmarks in a much-anticipated speech this week outlining his new Iraq strategy, including plans to send as many as 20,000 additional troops. Administration officials plan to make the benchmarks public sometime after the address.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2007 00:19 ||
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NAJAF, Iraq, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Radical young Shi'ite cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr met the reclusive spiritual leader of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al- Sistani, on Sunday, aides to Sadr said. The reason for their first meeting in more than a year was not clear.
It annoints Mookie.
The talks at Sistani's residence in the holy city of Najaf are part of delicate power relationships among the Islamist leaders of Iraq's now dominant Shi'ite majority, all of whom acknowledge Sistani's role as patron of their movement. An aide to Sadr, Issam al-Moussawi, said the meeting was "cordial" and touched on "the security and political situation".
It unfortunately prob'ly didn't convey the message to Mookie of 'sit down and shut up'.
Sadr's political bloc is part of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's national unity government but has been boycotting cabinet and parliament for the past month in protest at Maliki's renewal of the U.N. mandate for the U.S. forces.
Sadr's Mehdi Army militia is blamed by U.S. and some Iraqi officials for some of the worst sectarian violence afflicting Baghdad and other parts of the country, although Sadr himself has pretended to disowned groups carrying out death squad killings.
Maliki announced on Saturday a major crackdown in Baghdad on armed groups "regardless of sect", suggesting he may be ready to move against some Mehdi Army groups after months of resisting pressure from Washington and minority Sunni leaders to do so.
Sistani is the sponsor of the United Alliance bloc to which Sadr, Maliki and the other main Shi'ite political leaders belong. He has urged Shi'ites not to employ violence, although the rise in sectarian bloodshed over the past year has demonstrated that they aren't listening highlighted the limits of his authority.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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sistanis problem is that the obvious Iraqi govt to crush Moqtie is Kurds+moderate Sunnis+ secular Allawi followers - maybe + SCIRI. And sistani doesnt trust the Sunnis OR the secularists farther than he can throw them, and he probably doesnt really trust the Kurds much either. So hes still a lot more comfortable with a united Shia bloc - OTOH that means giving the Sadrists enough room to keep the country in horrible shape. So all Sistani can do is go around talking, trying to figure something out.
I presume what he told Moqty was something on the lines of - "look, I had left politics, but I came back cause of this genocidal shit, and I want it to STOP, and I like you Moqty, I really do, and I want you to have influence, I really do, BUT if you dont do SOMETHING to stop all this killing I wont have a choice but to back up SCIRI in a coalition that excludes you"
BAGHDAD - The new commander of US combat forces in Iraq said on Sunday it may take two to three years to meet American goals but that an increasingly independent Iraqi government may change the US role there within a year.
Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, who took up the second ranking US military post in Iraq a month ago, told reporters the American public would need patience to see a stable Iraq but also said he hoped Iraqi troops could be in control of Baghdad within months after a new operation mounted with US help.
Speaking ahead of Washingtons expected announcement of a new approach in Iraq, Odierno said: The mission now is to defeat the ... insurgency and to train Iraqi security forces.
Over time we can accomplish the mission. That time I put two or three years from now. The issue becomes are we willing to wait two or three years or do we want to speed it up? He said: It takes patience and it takes time ... Unfortunately what were starting to show some lack of is patience ... I think its too important not to have patience.
Among constraints, he said, was a possibility the Iraqi government would in December change the United Nations mandate under which the United States has charge of Iraqs security. Saying Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki had nearly changed the annual mandate last month, Odierno said: They almost did it this time and I think by next December theres a good potential that could happen ... They more and more want to move toward independence and so they might put some conditions on it.
Asked if that could even mean a US withdrawal, he replied: I dont know. That all depends.
US commanders have said they hope to complete a transition to Iraqi control of all of Iraqs 18 provinces and of its army by this autumn, with US troops remaining in a support role.
Might help to have some additional provinces transferred wtih big ceremonies, video, etc. The MSM will sniff but some signs of progress would help here back home.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#3
Nor will the US State Department share with you the mindless tribal brutality these Islamic morons are heaping upon themselves, ie, such practices as gutting their murder victims, stuffing them with a dead dogs, and depositing on the doorstep of the deceased. Lovely bunch of folks here, quite lovely.
#4
Besoeker, at least Saddam's hit men used to have the decency of putting the heads of his victims in plastic bags before depositing them on the doorsteps of the newly bereft. Those were the good old days in Iraq.
#5
Now if only our troops are allowed to FIGHT, it will work. More and more I'm for pulling all the troops out of Iraq and using them to invade Washington DC.
#7
Might get 3 weeks; esp. if LeftWwingNan gets her way regarding $$ for the cause. I expect the rank and file Dems to fall in place after the minimum required huffing and puffing about not cutting the funds, blah blah.
Might as well start packing your gear, boys. game over.
JUST days after taking control of Congress, Democratic politicians warned today that US President George W. Bush would not get a blank cheque to expand the number of US troops in violence-wracked Iraq. New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CBS television that the burden was on Mr Bush to justify any extra spending on the nearly four-year-old war. "If the President wants to expand the mission, that's a conversation he has to have with the Congress of the United States,'' she said. "But that's not a carte blanche, a blank cheque to him to do whatever he wishes there.''
Couching her comments by saying that the Democrats would "always support the troops who are there", Ms Pelosi warned that "the President is going to have to engage with Congress in the justification for any additional troops he may wish". "Escalation of the war is opposed by the Democrats,'' she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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FREEREPUBLIC.com > MENSNEWSDAILY via AZCONSERVATIVE.org > IRAN THREATENS NUCLEAR STRIKE AGZ AMERICA WHILE DEMS STILL CELEBRATING > Iran officio claims = infers that Iran may have up to 250 nuke bombs. 250 tons of UF-6 gas <>/=? 250 Uranium bombs as per abovesame different sources??? Various Netters/NetPerts argue that 1.0 ton of UF6 is enuff = sufficient for low-yield nuke detonation. i.e. as Tactical or Battlefield Nuclear Munitions???
Just like the Donks have always supported quality education for blacks by backing the ever inefficient and non-productive agenda of the NEA. Her lips were moving.
Iraqs massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days, according to a report in The Independent on Sunday.
The Independents report said that the US government has been involved in drawing up a law, which would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972. The report said that the huge potential prizes for Western firms would give ammunition to critics who say the Iraq war was fought for oil. They point to statements such as one from US Vice President Dick Cheney, who said in 1999, while he was still chief executive of the oil services company Halliburton, that the world would need an additional 50 million barrels of oil a day by 2010. So where is the oil going to come from?... The Middle East, with two-thirds of the worlds oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies, he said.
According to the report, oil industry executives and analysts say the law, which would permit Western companies to pocket up to three-quarters of profits in the early years, is the only way to get Iraqs oil industry back on its feet after years of sanctions, war and loss of expertise. But it will operate through production-sharing agreements which are highly unusual in the Middle East.
Opponents say Iraq is being forced to surrender an unacceptable degree of sovereignty. Proposing the parliamentary motion for war in 2003, Tony Blair denied the false claim that we want to seize Iraqs oil revenues. He said the money should be put into a trust fund, run by the UN, for the Iraqis, but the idea came to nothing. The same year Colin Powell, said: It cost a great deal of money to prosecute this war. But the oil of the Iraqi people belongs to the Iraqi people; it is their wealth, it will be used for their benefit. So we did not do it for oil.
Supporters say the provision allowing oil companies to take up to 75 per cent of the profits will last until they have recouped initial drilling costs. After that, they would collect about 20 per cent of all profits, according to industry sources in Iraq. But that is twice the industry average for such deals, said the report.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
But that is twice the industry average for such deals, said the report.
Of course that 'average' includes a lot of places where the locals aren't shooting up the place...
#3
#1. Good point. The Iraqi oil fields are far from the average oil field.
We have been hearing from the left that price of oil is so high because bush started a war so his friends could make more money. Having western companies pumping Iraqi oil will probably bring stability as well as more oil to the market, bringing the cost of oil down. Once that happens, we will get to hear from the left about how American companies are stealing oil from Iraq so they can make money selling I
us cheap gas.
I can hardly wait.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/08/2007 0:50 Comments ||
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#4
S: Arrgh. Finally, the spoils.
Don't count your chickens. There's no guarantee these companies will find any oil. The Independent says exploitation. It's more like exploration. Exploitation comes *after* you find the oil. If it were that easy, Saddam would have found it already.
#5
Besides which, there is the 30 years of neglect by Saddam and the Baathists to make up for in the fields. That rehabilitation work will take at least 3-5 years but will bring the present Iraqi fields back up to full production. Since both Saudi Arabia and Iran are reporting declining production recently, the idea that the Iraqi fields can be brought back to their potential is a very exciting prospect. It will also have major geopolitical ramifications since Iraq will have the population, the oil, the ancillary economy, and the US support/weapondry to be the regional power there.
Major counterbalance to Iran in the making, and an important step in the diminution of the Saudi Royal Family.
And besides, when has the flipping Left ever been happy about a capitalist success story? So sure, they will bitch and whine about the profits being enjoyed by the Western oil companies - but the Iraqi public will be the ones really benefiting from the arrangement, since it appears that some sort of National Oil Trust Fund will be in the offing for Iraq. Something along the lines of the oil fund that Alaska has, where Alaskans get a check every year from the oil profits. Of course the Left will also bitch about that, since the Shia and Kurds are the two groups with all the best oil fields in their zones.
#6
--- The Islamic fascists have been bitching & whining about the sale of Islamic oil to any infidel nation for decades now, equating this sale with robbery. Their ultimate aim is subjugation of the infidels and collection of jizya. The infidel supporters of the Jihad and fellow travelers of Islam all over the world will regularly be issuing headlines like "Western firms set to profit from Iraq oil" in order to push their agenda against property, profit, government by consent of the governed, etc., goals orphaned by the fall of the Soviet Union.
--- If Muslim nations had never had a capacity to export oil, their fascists would never have had resources other than persuasion, and jihadis would never have gotten to be a problem for the rest of the world. This dilemma will not be resolved until 1) Muslim oil becomes of little importance to the world economy (so many ways this could happen, none of them quick or painless) or 2) the Jihad is neutralized. The Jihad is fueled by oil money. The world economy runs on oil.
--- It is highly likely there is a lot of oil yet to be discovered in Iraq since Saddam's regime was mostly interested in plunder and oppression. That's why foreigners are willing to invest huge sums in exploration. Oil experts feel profits are highly likely, even more so now that Arabian and Iranian oil production is falling off and the price per barrel inevitably rises. If Iraq ever stabilizes, it could become rich far beyond its wildest dreams, becoming the largest oil exporter in the world as other exporters fall by the wayside. The enemies of the West will find some way to bitch about that outcome, should it come to pass, I'm sure.
#7
Article: Supporters say the provision allowing oil companies to take up to 75 per cent of the profits will last until they have recouped initial drilling costs. After that, they would collect about 20 per cent of all profits, according to industry sources in Iraq. But that is twice the industry average for such deals, said the report.
Sounds like the Independent is confusing revenues with profits. Before the participating oil companies recoup their drilling costs, they haven't made any profits yet. Profit = revenue - cost. I think the Independent and sources within the Iraqi government are operating under the impression that billions of dollars of foreign investment in oil exploration ought to be considered a gift to Iraq. The fact is that the Iraqi government hasn't done any drilling on its own because it can't or won't come up with the billions required to do it. I think some of these Iraqi officials are also unhappy that an opportunity to steal money has been taken away from them.
The development of new operational procedures and the establishment of a new mechanism for approving operations in the West Bank were decided upon Sunday during a meeting between Defense Minister Amir Peretz, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz and OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh, following Thursday's botched Ramallah raid.
Naveh came under harsh criticism over the weekend from diplomatic officials in Jerusalem, who claimed that the IDF should have taken into consideration and even foreseen the effect the botched operation in Ramallah had on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt on Thursday. Three Palestinians were killed during the raid and another 30 were wounded.
On Sunday, a high-ranking officer in the Central Command took responsibility for the outcome of the operation and admitted that it was a mistake. The operation was approved by Naveh and Judea and Samaria Division head Brig.-Gen. Yair Golan. According to procedures stipulated by the General Staff, Naveh and Golan are authorized to approve such operations and do not have to take them to Halutz or Perez for approval.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Six Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip on Sunday threatened to assassinate "collaborators and traitors" in response to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's decision over the weekend to outlaw Hamas's "Executive Force." The groups warned Abbas and senior Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan against trying to implement the decision which, they claimed, was taken at the request of Israel and the US. Dahlan, who according to Palestinian sources has been asked to head the PA security forces in the Gaza Strip, responded by issuing a threat to eliminate Hamas leaders.
One of the six groups that issued the threat belongs to Abbas's own Fatah party. The five others are: Izzadin Kassam, the Abu Rish Brigades, Sword of Islam, the Brigades of Unification and the Salah Eddin Brigades. Abu Obaidah, a spokesman for the six groups, told reporters in Gaza City that Abbas's security forces were not carrying out their duties to restore law and order. It was a mistake to hold the Executive Force responsible for the anarchy, because it had existed long before the Hamas force was established, he added. Obaidah said a "rebellious" group inside Fatah was trying to topple the Hamas-led government with the help of the US and Israel. He criticized Abbas for the move against the Hamas force, branding him the "President of the Oslo Accords."
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians braved torrential rain and the cold to participate in a rally marking the 42nd anniversary of the founding of Fatah. The rally, the largest of its kind since 1994, turned into a show of support for Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas. Chanting "Long live Fatah" and "Death to the Hamas murderers," many of the demonstrators carried pictures of Yasser Arafat and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The main speaker at the rally, which was held at Yarmouk Stadium, was Dahlan who, along with other Fatah officials, used the platform to launch a scathing attack on Hamas. Condemning Hamas as a "bunch of murderers and gangsters," Dahlan said: "They are murderers. If they harm one of us, we will harm two of them. If the Hamas leaders think that they are immune, they are mistaken."
"Today you have come to respond to the murderers who are shedding Palestinian blood," Dahlan told the crowd. "As the Israeli army was raiding Ramallah, the forces of disgrace were attacking the home of Palestinian security officer Muhammad Gharib last Thursday [in the northern Gaza Strip]. If they think that the murderers will go unpunished, they are mistaken."
But Dahlan stressed that Fatah was still interested in forming a unity government with Hamas. "Our hand remains extended for national unity," he said. "The rifles of Fatah are used against the occupation, but they will also be used to protect the sons of Fatah."
Dahlan drew thunderous applause when, at the beginning of his speech, he asked his bodyguards to step aside, saying: "I don't need bodyguards to separate me from these Fatah masses. If Hamas wants, let them shoot me."
Hamas legislators in the Gaza Strip issued a statement in which they described Abbas's decision to ban their Executive Force as illegal. They said the force had been subjected to "a campaign of incitement that began in the US State Department."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Hamas legislators in the Gaza Strip issued a statement in which they described Abbas's decision to ban their Executive Force as illegal. They said the force had been subjected to "a campaign of incitement that began in the US State Department."
I think Mo's been active throughout, just thats he left most of the speechifying to Abbas. A public apperance by Dahlan is particularly provocative to Hamas. That he spoke is a sign that Fatah really is giving up on negotiating, and is going all out.
From IslamWatch.com, dateline 1/1/07. this addresses questions raised repeatedly about what moderate Muslims are doing about their extreme brethren; it appears increasing numbers are disowning them.
According the reports of the various missionary organizations and news medias. The Salem Voice Ministries is evangelizing to Muslims in India and many other Muslim nations, said Idris Salahudeen, the Pastor of the Salem Voice Ministries. There are about 500 evangelists ministering among Muslims in different African, Middle East and Asian countries.
"More Muslims converted to faith in Jesus Christ over the past decade than at any other time in human history. A spiritual revolution is underway throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. As a result, a record number of ex-Muslims are celebrating Christmas this year, despite intense persecution, assassinations, and widespread church bombings," said Joel C. Rosenberg, the author of a New York Times best selling political thriller.
Why don't you send a couple battalions of evangelists into Europe? They got lotsa Moose limbs there that need converted, and they don't have government protection from religious competition.
Rosenberg lived in the Mideast for three months. During that time, he interviewed more than three dozen Arab and Iranian pastors and evangelical leaders throughout the region. The picture they paint is one of Christianity being dramatically resurrected in the region of its birth.
More than 10,000 Muslims converted to Christianity throughout India during the last year. The Bible Society of India published thousands of New Testaments in different Indian languages and Tazi language. In Iraq, more than 5,000 Muslim converts to Christianity have been identified since the end of major combat operations, with 14 new churches opened in Baghdad, and dozens of new churches opened in Kurdistan, some of which have 500 to 800 members. Also, more than one million Bibles have been shipped into the country since 2003, and pastors report Iraqis are snatching them up so fast they constantly need more Bibles.
The Egyptian Bible Society used to sell about 3,000 copies of the JESUS film a year in the early 1990s. As per the figures taken from the Millennium campaign in 2000, they sold 600,000 copies, plus 750,000 copies of the individual cassette tapes (in Arabic) and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament.
"I had the privilege of visiting the largest Christian congregation in the Middle East, which meets in an enormous cave on the outskirts of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. A prayer conference the church held in May 2005 drew some 20,000 believers", Rosenberg said.
There were only 17 Christians from Islam in Afghanistan on 2001. But there are more than 10,000 believers at present. Every week dozens of baptisms are held there.
In 1990, there were only three known Christians in Kazakhstan and no Christians in Uzbekistan, but now more than 15,000 in Kazakhstan and 30,000 in Uzbekistan. There were only 500 Christians in Iran on 1979, but more than one million in Iran today, most of whom meet in underground house churches.
In Sudan, more than one million have converted since 2000, and some 5 million have become Christians since the early 1990s, despite a radical Islamic regime and an on-going genocide that has killed more than 200,000. Seminaries are being held in caves to train pastors.
In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Al-Jazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity," Al Qataani warned. "Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity." These statistics were questioned here when this quote was posted, but something certainly seems to be happening. Surely not all the bibles given to eager Muslims are being used for toiled paper!
#3
I had written a speculation on this a couple of months ago; wondering if what we are seeing in Islam is the last spasm of the bitter-enders, lashing out because Islam is crumbling from the foundations, with so many either quietly converting, or just walking away. With a death penalty for apostacy, of course everyone has a good reason to remain quiet about abandoning Islam... but it is kind of telling, don't you think, that generally the sort of Westerners that convert to Islam are either prisoners, or the sort of unstable people that shop around among religions a lot?
#4
All the numbers are suspect. However, there is good reason to believe that the Muslims in India could be converting to Christianity in relatively large numbers.
- There is a rising level of literacy.
- There is a rising level of knowledge of the six hundred year Islamic genocide against Hindus.
- Relatively Little fear of reprisals.
- Relatively little society pressure and intimidation.
- Converts to Hinduism don't get a particularly warm reception - for one thing they can't be Brahmin.
#5
On the other hand, I'm willing to bet that a large fraction of these converts will relapse to Islam if they are persecuted to any extent. Most people, when confronted with a choice between their faith and the welfare of themselves and their family, will choose the easier path.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
01/08/2007 12:56 Comments ||
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#6
"In 1990, there were only three known Christians in Kazakhstan"
LOL!!!
I take it our evangelical friends dont count Russian Orthodox as "Christians" since Kazakastan is over a third ethnic Russian, and they cant all be good Marxist atheists.
#9
Why don't you send a couple battalions of evangelists into Europe? They got lotsa Moose limbs there that need converted, and they don't have government protection from religious competition.
But the evangelical Christian churches are growing - in Western Europe, at least. There was an article here not long ago how the young people of Holland are joining house churches in droves while the traditional Dutch-whatever cathedrals sit empty, and the same in France. The ministers are coming with Christian refugees from the Mid East and Africa, and also being sent from the US, if I recall correctly.
#10
my general impression is that the biggest religious conversion movement on the planet is the decline of african paganism at the hands of BOTH Christianity and Islam. And the biggest threat of apostasy from Islam, by far, is the defection toward secularism (like that Ali woman in Holland) not conversion to Christianity.
#11
Why don't you send a couple battalions of evangelists into Europe? They got lotsa Moose limbs there that need converted, and they don't have government protection from religious competition.
My church sponsors a protestant mission church in France.
#12
"More Muslims converted to faith in Jesus Christ over the past decade than at any other time in human history. A spiritual revolution is underway throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. As a result, a record number of ex-Muslims are celebrating Christmas this year, despite intense persecution, assassinations, and widespread church bombings," said Joel C. Rosenberg, the author of a New York Times best selling political thriller.
#16
#6,7,8. Darn you guys. I had to check out Kazakhstan in the CIA Factbook:
Ethnic groups: Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Tatar 1.7%, Uygur 1.4%, other 4.9% (1999 census)
Religions: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
I agree with LH. Salem Voice must not be counting Russian Orthodox as Christians.
However, significantly increasing the number of Protestants among the population can't be a bad thing.
#18
So now we know where all the moderate muzzies have gone. It's the better option, no doubt. I don't think it will have a direct influence on jihad for a decade or two. But, this is in step with my final solution, the end of Islam, final and forever.
#19
SalemVoice was probably counting only ethnic Kazakhs. Mission orgs are increasingly focusing on ethno-linguistic groups without an indigenous Christian church.
#20
This troubles me greatly, it implies (Correctly) that Christianity is the closest religion to Islam.
Converts therefore have to make the least changes to assimilate into being Christians.
Very disturbing.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/08/2007 20:24 Comments ||
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#21
HHMMMMM, HHHMMMM , e.g. physical evidence of Mother Mary atop an Eqyptian Coptic Church, non-Marian apparations + prophecies/dreams/visions said to had come true etc.; versus Talking Animals = Weird Fruit - Its a quagmire, they tells ya, a quagmire. *BRADGELINA/ANGELINA vs MADONNA on proper adoptions = future OWG > DAD SAYS SETTLE DOWN OR ITS OFF TO MILITARY BOARDING SCHOOL = RIFLE DRILL TEAM LIKE HILLARY DUFF ON DISNEY CHANNEL 51.
U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey will make an announcement on Iran at a news conference on Tuesday, the Treasury said on Monday.
A Treasury spokeswoman declined to provide further details about the announcement, scheduled for 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT), but the Bush administration has been ratcheting up pressure against Iran over its nuclear enrichment program.
The scheduled news conference comes three after weeks the United Nations Security Council voted to impose sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology in an effort to halt enrichment work that could be used to produce nuclear bombs. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
As Treasury's point man for combating terrorist financing and money laundering, Levey has warned international banks in recent months to watch for flows of money from Iran to finance illicit activities such as terrorism or weapons proliferation.
In September, Levey announced measures to cut off one of Iran's main state-owned banks from dealings with the U.S. financial system, accusing the Iranian government of using the bank to transfer money to terrorist organizations.
He charged that the bank, with 3,400 branch offices, was transferring money to Hizbollah and Hamas as well as other groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
#3
Based on recent speculations, comments + articles on the Net zabout Radical Islam's links wid world Mafias or "Mafia-style" activities/orgs, dare to find the new "RFK vs MAFIA" which led to DALLAS = AMER HIROSHIMA(S) agz Dubya??? Iff the 12th Imam/Mahdi does NOT "appear" this Spring, Moud + Mullahs will likely suffer deep humiliation and ideo-political discreditment - Radical Iran must give up its support for Terror, OR ATTACK.
1) Squeeze the Iranians financially. They have lots of money but there's all sorts of things we do can around the edges to make life uncomfortable.
2) Squeeze their oil industry. Financing for new projects and infrastructure, spare parts, maintenance (insha'llan!), key imports. We can meddle with all of that.
3) Squeeze them politically/ diplomatically. Harder to do with friends [cough] like the Euros, IAEA and UN, but we can make life harder for them.
4) Squeeze them in their internal public opinion. The Mad Mullahs aren't well loved, and we ought to be working that quietly, continuously. Expect setbacks, keep going forward.
5) Rattle the saber. Is that a carrier air battle group over there? No, it's two carrier air battle groups! Gorsh, whatever could they be doing?
Bush could conceivably have his cake and eat it too -- depose the Mad Mullahs without bombing/invasion. Wouldn't that be sweet?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2007 20:34 Comments ||
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#5
"whatever could they be doing?" Lol!
Deposing the Mullahs without bombing would be much then less fun than deposing them via bombing. Plus, Bush gets 30 days before he needs Congressional consent. If done right, a lot could be done in that time frame.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/08/2007 21:52 Comments ||
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#6
SW-
I thought the same thing, more or less, after reading the Spengler article earlier today.
#7
Iran is immune to western sanctions. China is their largest trading partner and would gladly accept their entire oil exports. The Chinese would gladly sell Iranian consumers any goods they require.
All sanctions do is delay war until the Iranians have a nice stockpile of nukes on top of their North Korean ballistic missiles.
Posted by: ed ||
01/08/2007 22:22 Comments ||
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#8
really, Ed? How would they do that? By shipping? Trains or roads through Pak or Afghanistan? Air? just how would that happen?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/08/2007 22:26 Comments ||
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#9
Do you recommend sinking Chinese ships, the same ones that bring consumer goods into the US? How about the second largest importer of Iranian oil and gas, the Indians?
Posted by: ed ||
01/08/2007 22:31 Comments ||
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#10
Actually Japan could still be number 2. They have been cutting drastically back on Iranian oil due to expectations of war. Still want to sink, Chinese, Indian and Japanese shipping?
Posted by: ed ||
01/08/2007 22:38 Comments ||
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Iran vowed on Sunday to continue cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) despite the UN Security Council sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.
It is not on Irans agenda to halt cooperation with the IAEA, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said. Tehrans cooperation with the agency will continue within the previous framework. The Iranian government said on Tuesday it was keeping open the option of quitting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, if Western countries stepped up pressure on the Islamic republic over its atomic programme. Hosseini said if a special condition is created, a decision will be made for that, without specifying Irans reaction.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2007 00:00 ||
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A lot of short stories (below is one example). The Islam-watch.org site is a good one.
I started to realize how much hate there was in Islam. Especially after September 11th. I couldn't believe the support from a large number of Muslims for Osama bin Laden had for his crimes. Overtime, I started to have doubts about certain hadiths and ayats [a sentence or group of sentences, typically thematic from the Quran] - later I found a website of other stories of people who left Islam. I looked closer at the ayats of scientific proof, I researched the "Satanic versed"... Everything just piled up against Islam... I just woke up... Anonymous
#2
It's quite telling that the posters on this website (islam-watch) elect to remain anonymous. Muzzies like to claim there's no compulsion in their religion, but the reality is so much different.
The jihadis will claim the posters are not former muslims at all, but rather infidel stirring up some islamophobia.
OT: I got a nice thank you letter from US Rep. virgil Goode's office last Friday in appreciation for a letter of support I sent to him due to his position on wanting to stop muslim immigration into the USA. He's not backing down. Wish there were about 400 more like him in the US House of Reps.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
01/08/2007 10:26 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Former NATO secretary general Lord Peter Carrington has warned that the current mission in Afghanistan could sound the death knell for the organisation. Lord Carrington, who was NATO secretary general from 1984 to 1988, was critical of foreign powers not backing the mission with sufficient troops. He agreed that France and Germany were not pulling their weight and said the organisation was not working.
An undercover investigation by a leading daily has revealed disturbing evidence of Islamic extremism at a number of Britain's leading mosques and Muslim institutions, including an organization praised by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
A secret list of young Britons who have left to join the Iraqi terrorists cause has been drawn up by MI5, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday. The report said that the security service was now preparing for a backwash of highly trained guerrilla fighters returning to Britain. It fears the group will form a new hardcore of terrorist recruiters similar to jailed cleric Abu Hamza, who came back from fighting in Afghanistan to preach hatred at the Finsbury Park mosque. Whitehall sources told the Daily Mail that the MI5 had a working figure of 50 known British recruits involved in Iraqi terror attacks against coalition forces, but the true figure is likely to be double that number because of the difficulty in tracking movements in and out of Iraq. Immigration officials in Britain and across Europe are being warned to be on the lookout for returning fighters, the source said. These people have knowledge of weapons and are prepared to use them. They are also potential recruiters for a new generation of terrorists. Four British Muslims blew themselves up on Londons underground trains and a bus on July 7, killing 52 people and wounding 700.Shehzad Tanweer, one of four bombers who attacked Londons subway and bus network, claimed in a video recorded before his death that the invasion had been a motivating factor. He said attacks on Britain would continue until forces were withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq. Britain has around 7,000 soldiers in Iraq, mainly based around the southern city of Basra.
AN Australian man arrested in Iraq who told authorities he was looking for a wife clearly raised greater concern from Iraqi and coalition officials, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today. Mr Downer said the man, who came to Australia in 2003 as a refugee and was granted Australian citizenship in 2005, had told Australian consular officials in Baghdad that he returned to Iraq to find a wife. 
Certain tribes are likely to face restrictions on their movement across the Pak-Afghan frontier if the government goes ahead with its plan to fence and mine the border. According to political observers, only those tribes with close relatives on both sides of the border will continue to be allowed to interact with each other for commercial and social purposes under the easement rights clause of the Durand Line agreement of 1893. Tribes without close relations on the other side may find their movements restricted. 
NAJAF, Iraq, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Radical young Shi'ite cleric and militia leader 
JUST days after taking control of Congress, Democratic politicians warned today that US President George W. Bush would not get a blank cheque to expand the number of US troops in violence-wracked Iraq. New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CBS television that the burden was on Mr Bush to justify any extra spending on the nearly four-year-old war. "If the President wants to expand the mission, that's a conversation he has to have with the Congress of the United States,'' she said. "But that's not a carte blanche, a blank cheque to him to do whatever he wishes there.'' 
Iraqs massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days, according to a report in The Independent on Sunday. 
The development of new operational procedures and the establishment of a new mechanism for approving operations in the West Bank were decided upon Sunday during a meeting between Defense Minister Amir Peretz, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz and OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh, following Thursday's botched Ramallah raid. 
Six Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip on Sunday threatened to assassinate "collaborators and traitors" in response to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's decision over the weekend to outlaw Hamas's "Executive Force." The groups warned Abbas and senior Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan against trying to implement the decision which, they claimed, was taken at the request of Israel and the US. Dahlan, who according to Palestinian sources has been asked to head the PA security forces in the Gaza Strip, responded by issuing a threat to eliminate Hamas leaders. 
Iran vowed on Sunday to continue cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) despite the UN Security Council sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.
