US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad and State department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US would soon present evidence of Irans hand in the violence besetting Iraq. The spoke as US-Iran military tensions over Iraq continued to rise. The ambassador stressed too that the charges against the Revolutionary Guards al Quds Brigade agents detained at the Iranian liaison center in Irbil on Jan 11 would be made public. The detainees are still in custody. McCormack spoke of solid evidence that Iranian agents sent by the Iranian government are working with individuals and groups in Iraq. He quoted President Bush who vowed to confront the networks and individuals trying to harm our troops.
Eight days after the US raid on Irbil, DEBKA-Net-Weekly 286 exclusively revealed some of the evidence referred to by the two US officials of Irans Revolutionary Guardss direct involvement in terrorist operations in Iraq.
Quote: Their biggest catch was Iranian colonel Fars Hassami, No. 3 in the Revolutionary Guards al Quds Brigades hierarchy, two below the Brigades commander, General Qassem Sulemaini. Officers of the al Quds Brigade also serve with Hizballah combat units in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The interrogation of Hassami and his four fellow detainees yielded some eye-openers, supplemented by sweeps of their offices and computers.
1. Col. Hassam was found to have been in charge of Iranian operations in northern and central Iraq - from Kurdish Irbil down to the northern outskirts of Baghdad and all links with Iraqs Shiite militias, including Moqtada Sadrs Medhi Army, and Sunni insurgent groups.
Hassam was the live wire behind Irans military, intelligence and logistic operations in the violence-stricken towns of the northern half of Iraq, Tal Afar, Mosul, Haditha, Kirkuk, Samarra, the Banji refinery town, Tikrit, Ramadi, Falluja and Baquba.
2. This same RG colonel managed an intensive recruitment campaign for the Sadrist Mehdi Army, which controls a large section of Baghdad and against which a combined Iraqi-US crackdown is under preparation.
Hassams recruiting center in Ur (birth town of Abraham) north of Baghdad appealed to volunteers aged 15 to 45. Each was handed $1,500 in cash.
3. A second US raid in Irbil uncovered a stockpile of Iranian weapons. It consisted of 40 tons of explosives, shoulder-borne anti-air missiles, anti-tank missiles, hundreds of automatic rifles and a pile of ordnance made in Iran.
4. Inventories of the weapons and ammo supplied the Medhi Army in Baghdad and Kirkuk by Iran in the last two months were detailed on computer hard disks. Maps showed the locations of anti-air missile positions for shooting down American helicopters.
5. Questioning of the captives yielded the identity of the RGs overall commander for orchestrating Tehrans program to dominate Iraq. The name of Col. Bassem Abtakhi struck a familiar chord with the American interrogators. Informed Middle East intelligence circles have come up against him before as the RGs representative attached to the Hizballah command in Lebanon in 2004 and 2005. They were told he now operates out of the Fajr base in Ahwaz, capital of the southern Iranian province of Khozestan.
Another familiar face is that of the RG officer nicknamed Mahdi Muhandes (Mahdi the Engineer a terrorist euphemism for bomb-maker). His real name is Col. Muhammad Ali Ibrahimi and the captured men named him as responsible for smuggling Iranian supplies of arms and military equipment into Iraq.
Khalilzad pointed out Wednesday, Jan 24, that Shiite political groups now dominating the Iraqi government had developed close relationships with the Iranian security forces while they were opposing Saddam Hussein. He singled out the biggest Shiite party, SCIRI for mention.
DEBKAfiles military sources note that the threat by high US officials of detailed disclosures of Irans clandestine campaign to control Iraq and its hand in the spiraling sectarian violence further raises the military tensions between Iran and the United States. It adds fuel to the fears in Tehran that Washington may not be satisfied with filing a UN Security Council complaint against Irans complicity in terrorism, but may also conduct cross-border commando raids against the RGs al Quds bases near the Iranian-Iraqi border.
FWIW...Even if only 1/2 is true this will almost certainly lead to escalation. ADVICE TO BUSH: Don't waste ordnance on anything but the gasoline and diesel refineries and import terminals.
#1
fight fire with fire inside iran. special ops. provide weapons to dissidents. create discord among the unwashed masses by destroying infrastructure (electricity, transportation, sewerage, etc) and make it seem like it was perpetrated by dissident iranians. kill leaders.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 21:59 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Iff Dubya's critics want to compare the ME wid CUBA, besides also VIETNAM, let 'em learn such, like life, is often a two-way street. Time for "Adlai at the UN" redux???
The deep-seated Somali animosity towards Ethiopia and the unpopularity of the interim government are pushing the US to seek the help of Islamic Courts leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed to stabilize the strategic Horn of Africa country, experts believe. "Washington does not want Ethiopia to have the upper hand and believes its role ended with routing the Supreme Islamic Courts of Somalia (SICS)," Abdullah Nour, a Somali writer and researcher, told IslamOnline.net in an interview.
US Ambassador in Nairobi Michael Ranneberger plans to meet Sharif, the head of the SICS Executive Council, as early as Tuesday. "The ambassador will urge Sheikh Sharif to counsel his supporters not to carry out violence and to support the development of an inclusive government," said US Embassy spokesman Jennifer Barnes.
Using Sharif to split the IC? Not sure that will work but perhaps worth a try.
"The US knows pretty well that the presence of loathed Ethiopian troops in Somalia would not secure the much-sought political stability and drive away those Washington sees as extremists and Al-Qaeda loyalists," Nour said.
Abu Bakr el-Badri, a Somali journalist, said the US considers Sharif as a moderate leader who can play a pivotal role in stabilizing Somalia. "The Americans seem him as someone they can work with and the US ambassador in Nairobi had praised him," he noted. The journalist said the US wants Sharif to influence his followers. "They want him to urge his followers to engage the political process and eschew military confrontation with the government."
Badri said the embassy's confirmation that Ranneberger would be meeting Sharif is an enough proof that the Americans are willing to work with him.
The US, which backed Ethiopia's offensive and then launched unprecedented air strikes allegedly targeting Al-Qaeda operatives, had already said it believed Sharif could be a worthy interlocutor. During recent talks with Somali Premier Ali Mohamed Gedi, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer pressed for talks with "moderate" SICS leaders. She said Washington had already opened dialogue with Sheikh Sharif.
Ranneberger, whose mandate includes Somalia, met with Sharif in Nairobi last year after the SICS seized Mogadishu.
But Nour doubts Sharif's ability to stem resistance attacks. "It is a grassroots resistance that emerged after the collapse of the courts fighters," he explained. "Resistance fighters don't receive their orders from SICS leaders, but rather operate independently in small groups, mainly in the south."
Sorta like everyone else in the country.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 00:58 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Media BS. What exactly has the interim government done to earn unpopularity?
However, the US would make an approach to a defeated political leader if only to reveal the void of position of strength. The unfortunate aspect of Somalia stability is the fact that that country's huge phony refugee community, supports the Islamofascists. We would do well to strip citizenship of these subversives, and send them back where they came from.
#5
Looks like someone in State is trying to f$$k up something that was done right. Typical - and one reason State needs to be cleaned out with a fire hose.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/25/2007 15:10 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Like it sez on the front page... An alternative source of news and views
Ethiopia's answer to the Madison Angry Emquirer & Militant Voice.
(SomaliNet) The Nigerian government has accepted to send one battalion of its troops to Somalia and join the peacekeeping mission in the country. It is the third nation that agreed to send troops to Somalia as Uganda and Malawi already pledged to offer peacekeepers to Somalia.
The announcement came as the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has made it clear that his troops will remain in Somalia capital Mogadishu. Speaking with the reporters in Addis Ababa, Mr. Meles refused to give a date for the withdrawal of his forces in Somalia. His latest comment came following yesterday two hundreds of Ethiopian forces left Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
(SomaliNet) Nairobi based Daily Standard newspaper reported on Wednesday that Somalia Prime Minister Ali Mohamed said his government wants Sheik Sharrif and his supporters to participate in the ongoing reconciliation talks. Premier Gedi made the statement before flying from Nairobi and returning to Mogadishu. "We want all UIC officials and supporters including Sheikh Sharrif to come to Mogadishu for talks in Somalia," he was quoted as saying.
Gedi added that none of them would be persecuted in Mogadishu since his government's aim is to restore peace and order rather than revenge. The prime minister addressed several diplomats at a Nairobi hotel to highlight on what his government has done.
He made the address hours after the Kenyan government admitted that it was holding the UIC leader who surrendered on Sunday. Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua said the police are still interrogating Sharrif without disclosing his whereabouts. The Somali government wants Kenya to hand over the top official of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), Sheikh Sharrif Ahmed, according to the paper.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(SomaliNet) Military forces of the transitional federal government Wednesday took over the security control of Lower Shabelle province, southern Somalia where weak police force was in control earlier. Witnesses say that heavily armed Somali forces with pick up tracks mounted with anti aircraft guns have been positioned in Afgoye town, about 30 km south of the capital Mogadishu to restore law, orders and security to the province in southren Somalia. Reports say the troops led by Col. Abdullahi Abdi Ahmed were warmly welcomed at the town. Col. Ahmed said the troops would soon launch operations to restore the peace and the security in the town of Afgoye. The move came after armed gangs began disturbing the taxes collection activities by the government police in Afgoie.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Prime Minister Tony Blair rejected calls Wednesday to withdraw British soldiers from Iraq by October, then dodged a debate in Parliament in which there was almost unanimous condemnation for the war and little optimism for a U.S. plan to boost troop presence in Baghdad.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett suggested that British troops might complete handover of security responsibilities in southern Iraq to the Iraqi government by November. But she said a withdrawal would depend on conditions and circumstances. Blair insisted it would be wrong to commit to any date. For us to set an arbitrary timetable ... would send the most disastrous signal to the people whom we are fighting in Iraq, he said. It is a policy that, whatever its superficial attractions may be, is deeply irresponsible.
To a chorus of criticism, he then departed before the start of the first full debate in the House of Commons on the Iraq war since 2004. Beckett and her junior ministers were left to confront the frustrations of Parliament members dismayed over the chaos in Iraq, frustrated the conflict has hurt Britain's ability to act as a credible broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and fearful of a new military engagement in Iran.
Problems accused Ottawa terrorist Momin Khawaja faced building electronic bomb detonating devices stopped a London terror cell from successfully striking the British capital around Christmas 2003, a British court heard Wednesday.
In closing remarks at the 10-month trial of seven young British Muslim men accused in the plot, Crown prosecutor David Waters told jurors how a flurry of activity proved the men were initially planning to act in December 2003, months before the eventual spring 2004 attack date alleged by authorities. Waters suggested Khawaja's technical difficulties were a crucial factor for the delay.
Precisely when London police and MI5 security service agents learned of the group's activities has not been revealed. But evidence introduced in court points to early February 2004. The timing is significant because it means the initial alleged attack date was nearing long before authorities were aware of the plot.
Continued on Page 49
Muktah Said Ibrahim, age 29, the alleged ringleader of the July 21 terrorist bomb conspiracy, admitted yesterday that he had made the gangs explosive devices. Mr Ibrahim said that he had built five devices, but, along with the five other men charged, denies conspiring to commit murder or to cause explosions likely to endanger life.
Mr Ibrahim undertook jihad training in Sudan and returned from a three-month trip to Pakistan in March 2005.
Mr Ibrahim undertook jihad training in Sudan and returned from a three-month trip to Pakistan in March 2005. The Crown alleges that Mr Ibrahim tried to set off one bomb on a No 26 bus in East London on the Thursday in 2005; three other rucksack devices were partially detonated on Tube trains and the fifth was abandoned in a park.
In each case the detonator had gone off but the main charge had failed.
The devices were of a type never before seen in Britain by explosives experts. In each case the detonator had gone off but the main charge had failed. Forensic laboratory tests revealed the main components to be hydrogen peroxide and polysaccharides, a starchy material found in flour, and nails, tacks, washers and screws had been attached to the devices. The material recovered from the scenes was highly volatile;
Remains of the device were stored in protective bags and attempts were made to keep them cool, but they burned through three layers of material.
the remains of the Oval device were stored in protective bags and attempts were made to keep them cool, but they had burnt through three layers of material. At Shepherds Bush station the peroxide mixture was smoking and burning when it was found. Tests run on samples indicated the explosive was almost as powerful as TNT.
#1
IOW, kill andor maim as many unsuspecting Brits as possible, aka as obeying the QURAN by giving them an fair = reasonable oppor to individually convert to Islam. KIIL FIRST, THEN ASK TO CONVERT???
#4
I just wish for once these a-holes would admit that they did it, that they're proud they did it, and that they did it for allan. Instead, they plead "Not guilty."
They're only fearless if they send others to do their dirty work, don't get caught or go to paradise. No courage of their own convictions?
Britains laboratories have been ordered to strengthen security on stocks of more than 100 deadly viruses and bacteria after an MI5 warning that Islamic terrorists are training in germ warfare, actively recruiting scientists and students. The biological agents include polio, rabies, tuberculosis and avian flu. Food poisoning bacteria such as E. coli and the sources of a number of rare tropical and Middle Eastern illnesses are also included.
Scientists and laboratory staff in universities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies who deal with agents will have to be vetted by police, and their laboratories will be checked by government safety inspectors. Stock will have to be regularly audited.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in America, security at laboratories was stepped up amid new intelligence on the ambitions of al-Qaeda and its allies, and restrictions were placed on 47 agents under the Antiterrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Yesterday the Government announced that the list was being increased to 103, including 45 viruses, 21 bacteria, 2 fungi, 13 toxins and 18 animal pathogens.
The additions to the list include many of the bacteria and viruses that strike at animals, such as foot-and-mouth disease. These might not be harmful to humans but could be devastating to the economy, as was the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Britain in 2001. Others such as Rift Valley fever normally infect animals but have spread to human populations and caused widespread illness and death as the illness did in Egypt in the 1970s. Guanarito virus or Venezuelan haemorrhagic fever can be fatal in a third of cases, while Shigella boydii can cause dysentery.
John Wood, of the National Institute for Biological Standards and Controls, said scientists will have to show a valid reason for working with the agents. He said the changes mirrored controls in the US and would probably mean much stricter access to laboratories.
Alistair Hay, Professor of Environmental Toxicology at Leeds University, said that the measures were prudent. He said the introduction of the first controls had been accepted by the scientific community. He said that in the 1980s a cult in Orgeon used a bacterium to spread food poisoning and sabotage elections that threatened them.
Britain's top prosecutor set himself at odds with Prime Minister Tony Blair's government Wednesday, saying the "war on terror" does not exist and urging restraint on laws threatening human rights. The director of public prosecutions, Ken Macdonald, warned of a "fear-driven and inappropriate response" to the new threat that could lead to the abandonment of respect for fair trials and due legal process. In a speech to the Criminal Bar Association, reported by the Guardian newspaper, Macdonald rejected the assertion that a "war on terror" was being played out in Britain.
"On the streets of London, there is no such thing as a 'war on terror', just as there can be no such thing as a 'war on drugs', said Macdonald, who heads the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). "The fight against terrorism on the streets of Britain is not a war. It is the prevention of crime, the enforcement of our laws and the winning of justice for those damaged by the infringement."
One of the primary aims of groups and individuals who committed atrocities such as the July 2005 suicide bombings in London was to encourage a response that ran counter to British values, he added. Since the bombings -- and even after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States -- there have been criticisms that anti-terrorism legislation unfairly targets British Muslims. Blair has tried -- and failed -- to increase the maximum period of detention without charge for security suspects to 90 days, while detention without trial -- the government's response to September 11 -- was ruled unlawful.
The courts have also criticised an alternative system of "control orders" -- a loose form of house arrest for security suspects -- as incompatible with human rights laws. Macdonald said a "culture of legislative restraint in the area of terrorist crime is central to the existence of an efficient and human rights compatible process". Without such restraint, there would be a greater number of less safe convictions, he added. The criminal justice system's response to terrorism must be "proportionate and grounded in due process and the rule of law", he told his audience. "We must protect ourselves from these atrocious crimes without abandoning our traditions of freedom."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Another Brit who has taken leave of his senses.
#2
Should be happy then - PRAVDA/MENEWS/OTHER > besides JORDAN + EGYPT, ALGERIA + MOROCCO + NIGERIA + SCO are all contemplating dev nukies. Gotta wonder how PARIS is gonna react to anti-French Radic elements in GREATER FRANCE potens having access to nuke tech. FILM AT 11.
#3
resignation letter due today - "to spend more time with my family"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 7:04 Comments ||
Top||
#4
"The fight against terrorism on the streets of Britain is not a war. It is the prevention of crime, the enforcement of our laws and the winning of justice for those damaged by the infringement."
Too bad Kerry's out. This guy coulda been his Attorney General...
#6
It is time to start hanging traitors. A few examples now would save us a sea of blood later. But it seems we never learn until we have to all over again.
#7
CPS seeks to reassure and listen to Muslim communities
And we should neither seek to "reassure" nor "listen" to people who would destroy us and our way of life. My people have called England home for more than a thousand years. The notion a foreign swarm should demand not only refuge and opportunity but compliance with their demon-god does not call for hang-wringing and apologies: It is a call for war.
#8
The never ending War on Subway Cars and Double Decker Buses.
Posted by: ed ||
01/25/2007 10:03 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Sorry this guy forgot his meds, oh dear seems he has taken his own life, I hate it that so many of my country men are fu***** pussies. Maybe we should ask the germans to open up a couple of those camps they have
Posted by: Alex ||
01/25/2007 12:14 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Tipper, Excalibur,
The Crown Prosecution Service, UK, are treating GWoT like part of a Public Disorder Act; see their lumping together of racial and religous crimes, unfortunately no names mentioned. And the definition of a (racial) crime on the basis it alarmed the victim, lol, only the victim need be the accuser, no-one else, no witnesses.
Where is the breakdown of ALL racial AND religous elememnts in all these prosecutions?
It would more than alarm some people if it got out, so it's not getting out.
#11
He's right. There's no war on terror, there's a war with islam, the line being if we (the West, for what concerns us, but the hindus or christian africans,... too) are at war with a re-awakened and morphed militant islam only, or with the intrinsic predatory nature of that religion-civilization.
And, in addition, we're at war with our inner ennemy (The Forces Of Progress, aka socialists, marxists and all other assorted tripes, including the EUcrats) and we may be in a proxy war with the chicoms and the ruskies.
Russia's defence minister yesterday criticised US plans to deploy missile defence sites in central Europe, saying that Moscow doesn't trust American claims that they are intended to counter Iranian and North Korean threats.
Sergei Ivanov, speaking during a trip to India where he co-chaired a bilateral commission on military ties, said that neither Iran nor North Korea has or will have a capability to build missiles capable of reaching Europe. "They don't and won't have intercontinental ballistic missiles," Ivanov said at a news conference. "And a question comes: whom it's directed against?" Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek of the Czech Republic - like Poland, a former Soviet satellite that is now a Nato member - said that Washington had asked to base a radar station in the country that would serve as another part of the system.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Sure the Norks won't have ICBMs. They won't have nukes either. I believe you, I really do.
Everybody knows its in case Russia ever figures out how to get make missiles fly, why play the game comrade? Just call it what it is. A way to box your silly asses in.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/25/2007 0:51 Comments ||
Top||
#2
So I guess that means Russia will help us attack NorK should the need arise? /sarc
#3
If you aren't planning on launching on someone, or intimidating someone with the treat, why would you care? It's like the muggers arguing against concealed carry.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/25/2007 10:09 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I'm guessing the Rooskis are not concerned about their launchers being neutralized so much as the missile defenses queering their arms sales to certain parties.
#7
Some journalist should get a globe, draw the shortest path between the Middle East and the US and demonstrate how the defence sites fall along those paths. Same thing between Russia and the US and even Russia and Europe. In those scenerios these sites are worthless.
The guy is either a moron or trying to save arms sales which makes him a villian.
#8
#1: Sure the Norks won't have ICBMs. They won't have nukes either. I believe you, I really do.
And whales can fly, really they do, they just make sure no humans are around first
Yes I realize it was sarcasism.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/25/2007 18:17 Comments ||
Top||
#1
It's incredible! Once again one of those very rare extremists-who-don't-speak-for-the-rest-of-us-Muslims happened to be the person who happened to be in the mosque who happened to declare that people who joke about islam should be killed. What are the odds that such a rare person would be encountered, when there are so very many more moderate muslims!?! Must be 1 in a billion!
Veterans For Peace Launches "Support and Defend the Constitution"
(Stop The Madness of George Bush)
WHEN: Thursday, January 25th, 2 p.m.
WHERE: U.S. Capitol Building, West Front Lawn, Washington D.C.
POC: Daniel Fearn, aldermn@earthlink.net, (612) 529-9345
On Thursday, January 25 Veterans For Peace will kickoff our Support and Defend the Constitution effort, to advocate for impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, force the President to follow the will of the people and Bring The Troops Home Now, stop illegal acts of the Bush administration such as unwarranted surveillance and torture and repeal laws that are in violation of the Constitution such as the Military Commissions Act. This VFP action will lead up to the January 27th Mobilization in Washington, DC to remind congress they were elected to end the war.
All veterans are welcomed to participate. The general public is welcomed and encouraged to attend.
The goals of the action are to:
To demand congress follow the will of the people, de-fund the war, use the money to Support Our Troops, Bring Them Home Now!
To restate our oath of service as veterans to support and defend the Constitution.
Remind Congress (House and Senate), that they took a similar oath, thus they have a responsibility to hold in check the powers of the Executive. Tell Congress they are a branch of our government, not an arm of the President.
To invite veterans across the nation to unite with us in our effort to defend and support the Constitution by advocating for the impeachment of President George Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney.
To highlight President Bushs disregard for his oath of service and office, in contrast to VFP and other veterans continued commitment to Support and Defend the Constitution.
We ask Chapters and members to organize a similar event any date from January 25 to February 19th, Presidents Day. We would like as many events as possible on Jan 25th.
Event components:
Reading of appropriate sections from Constitution.
Retaking oath to Support and Defend the Constitution
Review of Veterans For Peace charges for impeachment.
Try to follow up with a visit to your local Congressional Representative or Senators
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/25/2007 17:09 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Silly me and my scanning eye! I thought the address said the "Wet Front Lawn." :O
#9
D ***ng, forgot her name right now, but she was a pro-Dem poltical strategist appearing on O'REILLY this AM, and was atttempting to differentiate between Democrats and Lefties. That US Dems + US Leftists are NOT two peas in the proverbial [ideo] pod, to which I believe Bill warned? or advised? her not to try to argue are different.
the self-confident Democratic leadership is uninterested in being cut into potentially disastrous outcomes in Iraq. It wants to function as a coordinate branch of government, not as friendly colleagues in the spirit of bipartisanship. Pelosi and several Democratic chairmen are leaving for Iraq on Friday. They SHOULD be safe enough from the 'insurgents', being allies and all, but anytime you're in a war zone there's a risk of 'friendly fire'.
In his Jan. 10 speech on Iraq, Bush called for a "new, bipartisan working group that will help us come together across party lines to win the war on terror." That prompted the Pelosi-Reid letter of Jan. 19, rejecting the offer.
WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush on Wednesday received a stinging rebuke of his Iraq policy, as a Senate panel condemned his plan to pour more US troops into the war-ravaged country. By a 12 to nine vote, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution slamming Bushs plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, just one day after he asked respectfully pleaded with Americans to give his plan a chance to work.
But US Vice President Dick Cheney bluntly dismissed the no-confidence measure, telling CNN television: It wont stop us.
The bipartisan resolution written by the panels chairman, Joseph Biden, fellow Democrat Carl Levin, and Republican senators Olympia Snowe and Chuck Hagel, criticized an escalation of US forces in Iraq as not in the national interest.
My intention was to send the first of many messages direct and unequivocal to the president: Stop what you are doing, Biden said during the hearing. The Democratic chairman added that he was likely to submit even tougher, binding Iraq legislation if Bush fails to heed the message of the proposed symbolic measure.
Do it now. Get it on the record. I want to see how many of you -- especially Republicans -- vote for a binding resolution, so I know exactly where not to send my 2008 contributions.
The committee hearing was held after Bush delivered his annual State of the Union address Tuesday, in which he made his case for additional US troops in Iraq. Unswayed, however, opposition Democrats after the speech accused the president of recklessly leading America into war, and they continued to heap disdain on the presidents Iraq strategy during Wednesdays hearing.
The draft bill is only one of several proposals slamming Bushs surge plan, including some that would cap the number of troops, cut off funding for the deployment of additional troops or gradually pull US forces from Iraq altogether. One bill deemed most acceptable to many Republicans proposed by Republican Senator John Warner, former head of the Senate Armed Services Committee opposes an escalation in troops and urges the president to reconsider his options.
Biden said at the hearing he would be willing to work with Warner to craft acceptable language for a revised measure before it goes to the full Senate for approval.
Republicans on the Senate panel also expressed dissatisfaction with the way things are going in Iraq, but said the resolution would make matters even worse. This vote will force nothing on the president, but it will confirm to our friends and allies that we are divided and in disarray, said Republican Senator Richard Lugar, the committees former chairman and a highly respected voice on foreign policy matters.
It's okay to be frustrated about Iraq -- we're frustrated here at the Burg, and the President expressed his frustration in the SotU address. That doesn't mean you cut and run.
Several Democrats have proposed to cut and run stiff amendments to the bill, including bills capping US forces at the existing level or even cutting war funds altogether. Legislation has been proposed, among others, by senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Chris Dodd all considering vying for the White House in 2008.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Time to name names. News reports indicated all 11 D's on the committee plus one R (Hagel) voted for the resolution, all remaining R's voted against. Interesting that news article didn't give a complete list of those for and against. Here it is:
For the Resolution:
Joseph R. Biden Delaware
Christopher J. Dodd Connecticut
John F. Kerry Massachusetts
Russell D. Feingold Wisconsin
Barbara Boxer California
Bill Nelson Florida
Barack Obama Illinois
Robert Menendez New Jersey
Benjamin L. Cardin Maryland
Robert P. Casey Jr. Pennsylvania
Jim Webb Virginia
Chuck Hagel Nebraska
--------------------------
Against the resolution:
Richard G. Lugar Indiana
Norm Coleman Minnesota
Bob Corker Tennessee
John E. Sununu New Hampshire
George V. Voinovich Ohio
Lisa Murkowski Alaska
Jim DeMint South Carolina
Johnny Isakson Georgia
David Vitter Louisiana This was not a bipartisan resolution. Make your list and check it twice
#2
Decapitation = Assassination = "justified" anti-US retaliation Amer Hirsohima looming, ala JERICHO + "24"??? DEMS > WE KNOW AMER'S ENEMIES WANNA HURT US OR KILL US, ERGO MUST PROTECT OURSELVES + USA BY MAKING SURE USA GETS ATTACKED.
Still comes down to COURAGE OF LEADERSHIP, EVEN UNTO BODILY HARM-DEATH, vs NOT BEING BLAMED FOR ANYTHING, the merits of a DEAD FREE HERO vs LIVING/CONTROLLED SLAVE.
#4
I was annoyed before but now I am downright pissed. IF the surrender monkeys and their enablers truly believe that this war is not right and that sending reinforcements is wrong they should de-fund it immediately. Dont wait a Day, Month, or a Year bring the troops home starting on Friday. No Non Binding Resolutions or puff speeches about Lies , Missteps, or Wrong Direction step up and demand that the troops there be withdrawn TODAY. How about it are they Leaders? I doubt it, because they are on record against an immediate withdrawal but there actions seem to support a slow painful defeat. IMHO the surge work before to stabilize the country for elections and it can work again.
#6
If the surge fails, they're on record being against it. If it succeeds, their water carriers in the press will spin it as failure. So either way - they gain political capital.
#8
I guess they don't have the guts to say what they really think: That Arabs are violent by nature and can't understand democracy and like being ruled by violent dictators.
Kinda like the DemocRats' other main belief: That minorities (blacks and hispanics only; Asians don't count since everybody knows how smart they all are) can't make it on their own and have to have the government hold their hands and give them everything they have.
F*cking bigots, the lot of them.
*spit*
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/25/2007 19:54 Comments ||
Top||
seems like a lot of activity in the western pacific and Persian Gulf lately....hmmmmm
SAN DIEGO -- USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Carrier Strike Group (CSG), with more than 5,000 sailors, will surge deploy Jan. 27, while USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) undergoes scheduled maintenance in Yokosuka, Japan.
The Ronald Reagan CSG is deploying under the Navy's Fleet Response Plan (FRP) and will operate in the western Pacific in support of U.S. commitments in the region. FRP provides the U.S. with the ability to respond to any global commitment with flexible and sustainable forces and the ability to rapidly respond to a range of situations on short notice.
The Ronald Reagan CSG, commanded by Rear Adm. Charles W. Martoglio, is comprised of Commander, Carrier Strike Group 7 (CCG 7), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), the guided-missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG 59), and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 11, Detachment 15.
"Our nation relies on flexible, credible forces forward deployed, ready for immediate employment to address the challenges we face today. Being able to project forces both rotationally and through surge readiness makes us more effective and responsive," Martoglio said.
The squadrons of CVW-14 include the Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA) the Redcocks of VFA-22, the Fist of the Fleet of VFA-25, the Stingers of VFA-113, the Eagles of VFA-115, the Black Eagles of Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 113, the Cougars of Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron (VAQ) 139, Providers of Carrier Logistics Support (VRC) 30 and the Black Knights of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 4.
The Ronald Reagan CSG returned from its maiden six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf and western Pacific Ocean in July. During its maiden deployment, the Ronald Reagan CSG supported Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, conducted maritime security operations, and participated in joint and coalition exercises and operations with many countries and U.S. military services.
"We've maintained a high operational tempo since we returned from deployment, and our ability to surge now is a testament to the hard work of this crew in keeping the ship battle ready," said Capt. Terry B. Kraft, Ronald Reagan's commanding officer.
Ronald Reagan was commissioned in July 2003, making it the ninth Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The ship is named for the 40th U.S. president; its motto, "Peace Through Strength," was a recurrent theme during the Reagan presidency.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 15:58 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The Reagan will insure that the Norks and China behave themselves if and when we get into a knock down drag out with Iran.
#4
Here's hoping that Fitzgerald and Nifong can become roommates someday. They are both corrupt individuals who happily seek to deny American citizens their liberty in exchange for furthering their own political ambitions. Disgusting.
#5
Patrick Fitzgerald should be forced to pay back the several million dollars of taxpayer money he wasted on this show trial. He knew before he started his investigation who the guilty party was, but continued to try to involve others. This man doesn't deserve to keep his law license or remain a free man. He needs some "corrective therapy" in the Big House.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/25/2007 16:40 Comments ||
Top||
Construction began Wednesday on vehicle barriers that will be part of a mix of border fencing along some of the most God-forsaken land in the world the Barry M. Goldwater Range in Southwestern Arizona.
The first-phase construction, on about nine miles at the western edge of a 37-mile stretch of desert, will consist primarily of vehicular bollards – reinforced, concrete-filled tubes of varying heights set vertically in the ground to deter vehicles.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said some areas in the initial phase will consist primarily of the bollards, but a small portion will involve a mix of those barriers and traditional fencing.
The construction is part of the Secure Border Initiative the Bush administration announced last year, intended to provide a mix of high-tech virtual fencing and a traditional barrier.
Power Contracting Inc. of Pittsburgh, a subcontractor of the Boeing Co., is doing the first-phase work, which could cost in the range of $20 million.
On Jan. 12, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff cleared the way for the work to start by waiving environmental regulations and laws impeding construction along the 2.8 million-acre bombing range, used by Air Force and Marine Corps aviators for training runs.
The full 37-mile fencing will include five miles west of the Goldwater range but will not include the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge to the east. Attention smugglers: that's your entry point.
Authorities said there were more than 17,000 known attempts to enter the country illegally on the Goldwater Range and 9,600 apprehensions in 2005, with 15,200 entries and nearly 8,600 apprehensions last year.
From the good folks at StrategyPage. As a clarification, our tactical a/c have been able to drop mines for years - A-6s and A-7s did the heavy lifting for the mining of North Vietnamese ports during Linebacker, but up until now, B-52s weren't capable - they would have had to get in too close to some very heavy AAA threats. But I'm guessing that with JDAM style guidance, GPS tracking of where the lil' beasts went - and a suppressed enemy AAA system - My Lady Buffy will be able to get in quite close and drop what should be at least fifty of these beasts per sortie. Fifty mines is enough to close any port on the planet for months, even with Western sweeping technology.
Now, let's not forget that within the last few weeks there have been quiet stories - posted and commented on here at the 'Burg - about Royal Navy and USN minesweepers showing up in the Gulf. Those are not your Grandpa's minesweepers - they're Mine Warfare Ships, capable of leading a thorough and complete mining campaign. If I were Ahmanidinnerjacket, I'd be worried - but I think he's too busy getting the 12th Imam's room ready to notice that the noose may be very slowly closing...
January 23, 2007: The U.S. Air Force recently held, and publicized, a B-52 training mission that involved dropping naval mines. This is something the air force has been doing since World War II, and with great success. The current air force naval mine is the Mk-62 "Quickstrike." This is basically a 500 pound bomb, with a sensor package attached to the rear. There are three different sensor packages, each providing a different set of sensors to detonate the mine. The Mk-62 is a "bottom mine," which is dropped in shallow water, and then detects a ship passing above using pressure (of the ship on the water), magnetism (of the metal in the ships hull), or vibration. The sensor also comes with a computer, to enable the mine to follow certain instructions (like only detonate for ships that meet a certain criteria.)
The B-52 drops the mines at an altitude of about 1,000 feet, while moving at 500-600 kilometers an hour. The mines are usually dropped in known shipping lanes, especially those that serve as approaches to a major port. During World War II, air dropped mines proved devastating to Japanese shipping. Same thing with their use against North Vietnam during the Vietnam war.
The B-52s are also equipped to use Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Minor clarification - about two wings' worth of B-52s were converted about 20 years ago to launch Harpoon. IIRC those birds are still in the inventory, but the Harpoons aren't - I'm not sure, but I don't think the USAF and USN air-launch Harpoons are cross-system compatible.
Together, these two systems make the B-52 a lethal naval weapon. The F-18, B-2, B-1B and P-3C can also deliver naval mines. Publicizing the exercise apparently sends a message to North Korea, Iran and China, about how quickly their seaborne lifelines could be cut.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/25/2007 06:59 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Interesting Mike. Looks to me like an "enhanced sanctions" scenario - blockade their ports (we know they don't have airlift capability;).
#3
RE: Harpoons, for once the USAF and USN got together and played nicely, they are compatible, but surface launch (ship-board) and air-launch are not.
at 50 / pass, the sealanes should be closed with only a couple of aircraft being exposed to hostile fire. and with a little radar jamming exercises, or 'technical malfunctions,' (complete with bogus apology) the BUFFS could sneak in undetected and leave a surprise right on DinnerJacket's doorstep.
Re; IFF: the US has documented acoustic signatures for years; it would be easy to program the mines' computer to recognize good guys. anybody else gets wet.
#13
Re; IFF: the US has documented acoustic signatures for years; it would be easy to program the mines' computer to recognize good guys. anybody else gets wet.
Yep. I s'pect the mullah's subs have already been acoustically recorded.
Mines can also be programmed to detonate on other criteria, say like on a 2nd data match, or a numerically-selected target (say let the first two ships pass, then detonate against a third).
#16
The Buffs could've done it during 'Nam, but then INTERSERVICE PATRIARCHY reared its head - the USN claimed that the USAF was trying to control a "clearly/obvious" "Navy mission" [water/harbors = Navy]; plus the Navy + many Pols argued that Navy air and Subs could do the job more cheaply than the USAF.
Pakistan on Wednesday conveyed its concern to NATO over the killing of one of its soldiers in cross-border firring in North Waziristan, and said that such incidents could jeopardise the Pakistan-US partnership in the war on terror. According to a press release, the issue was discussed at a meeting between Defence Secretary Lt General (r) Tariq Waseem Ghazi and a NATO delegation, led by Baldwin De Vidts, the head of NATOs legal office. Baldwin hoped that such incidents would not take place in future. The two sides also exchanged views on the facilitation and coordination of transit arrangements.
Sources privy to the meeting told Daily Times that Pakistan turned down the delegations demand that NATO be exempted from taxes and duties on the import of its military paraphernalia. The sources said that issue of providing diplomatic immunity to NATO soldiers while they were in Pakistan was also discussed, but Pakistan refused to provide this facility as well.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
This should serve as a warning to Pakistan to do a better job at their border posts ie not turning a blind eye to truck loads of taliban.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett revealed Wednesday that her nation may turn over control of the Iraqi city of Basra to local authorities soon. Speaking at the first complete House of Commons debate on the situation in Iraq since 2004, Beckett said that by spring British forces could be withdrawn from Basra as a first-step maneuver, the Kuwait News Agency KUNA reported.
"We remain confident that at some point this spring we will be able to recommend that Basra province too is ready for this process of transition," she said. "We have told the House (of Commons) over and over again we are not setting, never have set and never will set, because we think it would be dangerous and irresponsible, a specific date, a specific deadline or specific timeline." Following the exchange of power in Basra, Beckett said that Britain could then potentially hand over control in all 18 Iraqi provinces to area officials by November.
Jeeez, I wonder why that is?
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Poverty levels in Gaza have soared to record levels because of Israeli restrictions and the destruction of Palestinian infrastructure, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday. I knew it! Those damn Jews!
"Unemployment and poverty have reached unprecedented levels, with 79 percent of people in the Gaza Strip living below the poverty line, of which 51 percent live in utter poverty," Abbas said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. What percentage live in "utter dire poverty"? Or "double utter dire poverty"? I'll bet he's got numbers...
Western donors suspended financial support to the Palestinian Authority last year after the militant Islamist group Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel and renounce violence, swept to victory in parliamentary elections. Abbas, who has been caught in a power struggle with Hamas, repeated his call for early elections if factions fail to reach agreement on a unity government that might be able to end sanctions and ease the economic plight.
United Nations officials say Israel's military offensive in Gaza following the cross-border abduction of an Israeli soldier also worsened the humanitarian crisis. Yes. Like we expected otherwise from the UN...
Abbas said the situation in the West Bank, where 2.5 million Palestinians live, was just as bleak as conditions for the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza. He did not specify what figures were used to define poverty and utter poverty. "Utter poverty"? Look for the UN to be adding that to their statistical database. Should be good for guilting a few mil out of somebody...
"This is all because of Israel's full control over borders, restrictions on travel, massive destruction of the infrastructure (and) fragmentation of the Palestinian territories," he said. What about that little Mob War you got going, Mahmoud? Think that has anything to do with anything?
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said last month that living conditions among Palestinians had slumped to levels not seen since the 1967 Middle East War, adding the crisis deepened dramatically last year. I guess that means...the UNRWA needs even more money! To continue doing their fine work, of course...
But an International Monetary Fund report said an increase in humanitarian aid meant the economic deterioration had been less severe than originally predicted. The European Union set up a temporary mechanism bypassing the Hamas-led government to channel funds for Palestinians' basic needs."...Without the help of the international community, which relatively alleviated the tragedy, a complete collapse of the economic and social situation would have happened," Abbas said. Oh. That hasn't happened yet? No offense, Mahmoud, but it's really hard to tell...
On top of the Western sanctions, Palestinians say Israeli settlements, military checkpoints and a barrier cutting into the West Bank have also hit their economy because they seal off towns from workplaces, schools and farm fields. ...and targets.
#1
Let's review that "destruction of Palestinian infrastructure" phrase, shall we? Who reduced to rubble the highly efficient greenhouse systems built by the Jews before they were moved? And who torched any and all markets / factories set up and working by the Jews before they were moved?
Live in your own sh!t, and like it.
A military court on Sunday released Fawaz Damra, the former imam of Ohio's largest mosque, who was detained earlier this month on suspicion of fundraising for Islamic Jihad. The decision to release the suspect was made after the Shin Bet came to the conclusion that there were not sufficient grounds for an indictment.
Damra, originally from the West Bank city of Nablus, had his American citizenship revoked due to suspicions that he raised funds for the militant group 15 years ago. Following his release from Kishon prison, Damra traveled to visit relatives in Nablus.
Damra, the imam of the Cleveland mosque for several years, was detained in a joint operation between the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Israeli security forces. He was taken to Jordan on a "secret flight" and from there transferred to Israel.
Earlier this month, Damra admitted to raising money for the Palestinian cause, his lawyer said. He also told U.S. judicial authorities that his sermons had included harsh words against Israel and the Jews, whom he described as "pigs and monkeys." Nonetheless, Damra said he changed his worldviews after 1993, attended university and began working at organizations that promote interreligious dialogue.
Damra said his citizenship was revoked despite his change in opinion. Earlier this month, he boarded a special plane destined for Jordan at New Jersey's Newark Airport, along with six drug dealers. Following a short interrogation, Jordanian authorities transferred him to the Shin Bet and Israel Police via Allenby Bridge. After his losing contact with him, Damra's family contacted the Center for the Defense of the Individual in Israel to locate him.
Damra was suspected of raising funds through an organization known as the Islamic Committee for Palestine. The leader of the group, Dr. Sami al-Rian - a Palestinian-American lecturer at the University of Florida - has been acquitted on several suspicions of belonging to terror organizations.
He was arrested in the United States about a year ago on suspicion of raising funds for Islamic Jihad in 1991, but not enough evidence was found to prosecute him. To avoid an acquittal, the U.S. ruled to revoke Damra's citizenship in a legal proceeding, arguing that Damra had violated immigration laws by not handing over information on the organizations with which he was involved prior to receiving citizenship.
Damra's situation is unique, as he is a U.S. citizen who was arrested on U.S. territory. Most suspects transferred via secret flights have been arrested in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Egypt.
#1
Damra's situation is unique, as he is a U.S. citizen who was arrested on U.S. territory
No, actually Damra was a US citizen. He lost his citizenship and was deported because he lied when he applied for citizenship.
They should not have flown him to Jordan. They should have just dropped him off over the West Bank. Say from 10000 feet or so.
Hat Tip: DefenseTech.org
Attacking hardened and deeply buried target is one of the Air Forces biggest challenges. They are meeting this challenge with a devastating new approach: a focused underground shockwave that amounts to an artificial earthquake.
At present the kinetic approach a.k.a. brute force is favored; the most powerful weapon in the inventory is the BLU-113, a 4,600 lb weapon with a thick steel casing capable of piercing 22 feet of concrete -- or 100 feet of dirt -- before exploding. There are plans to go even bigger, with a monster 30,000 lb Massive Ordnance Penetrator which would take the maximum depth to 60 feet. Thats about as big as you can carry on a plane.
Ive described Deep Digger here previously. Unlike earlier weapons this is an active penetrator, a bomb that actually burrows into the ground by drilling a shaft with volleys from seven cannon. In a demonstration last year a Deep Digger prototype penetrated more than 30 feet of limestone. The makers were tight-lipped about how much further it could go.
This presentation from David Burns of the Medium Caliber Weapons Systems Branch of ARDEC reveals much more about the weapon than previously released. In particular, it is described as being able to dig down to 150 feet. Thats impressive on its own, but the Concept Of Operations in Slide 4 is staggering: an array of 20 Deep Diggers would be detonated together to produce a shockwave which will collapse all underground structures to a depth of 300 feet over a 200-yard square area.
#3
Uhh, yeah, nice try. But when the 12th Imam arrives he will fly superfast around the Earth backwards and it will be like your little ground penetrators never even existed.
#4
Oh the humanity! It would kill baby ducklings, too! Quick, we need a UN condemnation and international outcry! Get the press working on slanting everything against this! The people they kill in any undergroud bunkers are mothers/fathers, sons/daughters, etc., who cares if they are trying to make Uranium to hand to terrorists so they can wipe me out! Make sure they can only use it if they do an environmental impact study on the local endangered Persian Fluffy Bunny herd!
#6
It's the Barnes Wallis Grand Slam for a new generation.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/25/2007 14:37 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I certainly hope we get the video on You Tube.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/25/2007 14:38 Comments ||
Top||
#8
It would seem to me to be a lot more cost-effective to make a deep digger that was a massive thermobaric bomb. While such targets are hardened against compression, a massive implosion, sucking all the oxygen out of the air, would be a major bummer.
The initial explosion, maybe propane and oxygen, would fracture the "shell", then it would be like a massive simultaneous cave-in.
#11
I've always had this fantasy dream... you know one of those late at night vivid dreams you can remember... where...
Seismic sensing is used to measure time to target from various radial distances and arcs to the center.
Now you have oil drilling rigs drill deep shafts and set noise makers to aid the sensing.
This can be done a various distances on the radial lines from a target. (Maybe hundreds of miles away...)
anyway so enough holes are drilled to make a circular wave front compressing in toward the center target.
enough inner circles are created along these radials to create second and third wavefronts to wall in and compress the initial wavefront when it bounces back.
This will create an extreme pimple effect..
Now these holes should be drilled into continental bed rock outside the target country involved.
Now. Insert nukes into these holes that are timed off the wave speed to target.
Fill the holes with concrete (even if in the sea)
Set off in proper sequence and slip away.
(from the distance seismic waves should appear to come from the center and you have just enabled haliburton's earthquake division...
#13
:>
Good Heavens! You're channeling MooseyMan, how many of these rigs would be needed? Tens? Hundreds? Thousands? Is there any chance the rigs could be made smaller? I mean realy small, tiny even?
#16
Why not drop a series of bunker busters down the same hole, if you want to get your boom way down deep? Imagine four or five going down an ever deeper crater.
#21
Or, yeah, we could just nuke 'em and deny it. Who's to gainsay us? Hell, we need to steal a chapter from our adversaries. No need to go through great roundabout ways of destroying things and leaving a thin vaneer of deniablity. Hell, forget the nukes, just bomb 'em and deny it.
#23
send Joe Wilson to sift through the radioactive debris but don't mention Valerie
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 19:09 Comments ||
Top||
#24
Shipman: yes and no. Even Truman didn't use nukes until he got an estimate that it would take an invasion force of 2M to take Japan, at tremendous loss of life. And sure he was right to use them, then.
However, nukes really aren't that hard to make anymore. So you save the US and the world an s-load of problems by getting into the habit of not using them. By remaining the weapons of last resort, it saves us a lot of grief in the long run.
Right now, Iran is trying to build weapons. This forces Egypt, Saudi, and probably several others to want nukes, too. The Norks get obnoxious, so Japan and Taiwan want nukes.
So it puts us on the spot. If, by whatever conventional means, we can stop Iran; and if we and the Chinese can stop Nork, then we can migrate several nations away from wanting nukes, too.
And less is better with nukes. If not right now, in a decade or two I don't want some pissant country thinking that it has "plausible deniability" in sneaking a nuke into the US and popping it in, say, Chicago.
So the big question becomes how many US lives is it worth it to conventionally attack Iran, instead of using nukes. George Bush is asking himself that same question right now.
No one likes us
I don't know why.
We may not be perfect
But heaven knows we try.
But all around even our old friends put us down.
Let's drop the big one and see what happens.
We give them money
But are they grateful?
No they're spiteful
And they're hateful.
They don't respect us so let's surprise them;
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them.
Now Asia's crowded
And Europe's too old.
Africa's far too hot,
And Canada's too cold.
And South America stole our name.
Let's drop the big one; there'll be no one left to blame us.
Bridge:
We'll save Australia;
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo.
We'll build an all-American amusement park there;
They've got surfing, too.
Well, boom goes London,
And boom Paris.
More room for you
And more room for me.
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it'll be;
We'll set everybody free;
You'll have Japanese kimonos, baby,
There'll be Italian shoes for me.
They all hate us anyhow,
So let's drop the big one now.
Let's drop the big one now.
Posted by: Rd up out of the Well ||
01/25/2007 20:19 Comments ||
Top||
#27
SPACE 1999??? I hear PRAVDA now - first the Moon now the Earth. Hear us, SUN, now we're not only gonna destroy the Moon, next we're also gonna crack the Sphere of the Earth too, just becuz we can. Surrender unconditionally now or we'll destroy our own planet. That'll teach/show the Sun who's boss, you betcha. LIKE RADICAL ISLAM, NOTHUN' SAYS SHEER POWER + MIGHT THAN SELF-DESTRUCTION/SUICIDE.
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. The military calls its new weapon an "active denial system," but that's an understatement. It's a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they are about to catch fire.
Apart from causing that terrifying sensation, the technology is supposed to be harmless a non-lethal way to get enemies to drop their weapons. Military officials say it could save the lives of innocent civilians and service members in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The weapon is not expected to go into production until at least 2010, but all branches of the military have expressed interest in it, officials said.
During the first media demonstration of the weapon Wednesday, airmen fired beams from a large dish antenna mounted atop a Humvee at people pretending to be rioters and acting out other scenarios that U.S. troops might encounter in war zones. The device's two-man crew located their targets through powerful lenses and fired beams from more than 500 yards away. That is nearly 17 times the range of existing non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets.
Anyone hit by the beam immediately jumped out of its path because of the sudden blast of heat throughout the body. While the 130-degree heat was not painful, it was intense enough to make the participants think their clothes were about to ignite.
"This is one of the key technologies for the future," said Marine Col. Kirk Hymes, director of the non-lethal weapons program at Quantico, Va., which helped develop the new weapon. "Non-lethal weapons are important for the escalation of force, especially in the environments our forces are operating in."
The system uses millimeter waves, which can penetrate only 1/64th of an inch of skin, just enough to cause discomfort. By comparison, microwaves used in the common kitchen appliance penetrate several inches of skin. The millimeter waves cannot go through walls or glass, but they can penetrate most clothing, officials said.
The weapon could be mounted aboard ships, airplanes and helicopters, and routinely used for security or anti-terrorism operations. "There should be no collateral damage to this," said Senior Airman Adam Navin, 22, of Green Bay, Wis., who has served several tours in Iraq.
Navin and two other airmen were role players in Wednesday's demonstration. They and 10 reporters who volunteered were shot with the beams. The beams easily penetrated various layers of winter clothing.
Airman Blaine Pernell, 22, of suburban New Orleans, said he could have used the system during his four tours in Iraq, where he manned watchtowers around a base near Kirkuk. He said Iraqis constantly pulled up and faked car problems so they could scout out U.S. forces. "All we could do is watch them," he said. But if they had the ray gun, troops "could have dispersed them."
#3
Flamethrowers also make people feel like they're going to catch fire...and then they do. And whatever you wanted to stop them from doing, they'll never, EVER do again.
#4
SO its NOT a HUGE SOLAR EXPLOSION from yestiddy _ D*** ng it, here I am thinking its was too much cola during day, mixed wid too many onions and jalapenos wid din-din at nite.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/25/2007 6:48 Comments ||
Top||
#10
"and then I caught fire and burned up!"
"but you look perfectly fine to me"
"I got better"
/monty python
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 7:10 Comments ||
Top||
#11
lol, Frank! Somehow, I had a mental picture of hawaiian-shirt cladded engineers testing this thing out (I read about it in my local paper). I wouldn't wanna be the first guinea pig, that's for sure!
Posted by: BA ||
01/25/2007 9:56 Comments ||
Top||
#18
Ive put my hand in front of a small version of this thing and believe me, it works! Very cool technology that only needs to be made smaller/more portable to be deployable.
Yes, the moonbats will tell you this causes everything from hair loss to dropped gonads and so must never be used.
#19
Everytime they claim it shouldn't be used, just tell them, "Fine, we'll use flamethrowers and gatling guns instead. That way, instead of maybe getting cancer in 80 years, they'll be dead and crispy! Just think of the medical savings."
#1
Abu Bakar Bashir, accused by Australia and the United States of being a key figure in the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, said Muslims should stop serving in the police's anti-terror squad on Indonesia's conflict-ridden Sulawesi island. "If Muslims are being killed, then we must fight back," the 69-year-old cleric told around 100 hard-liners outside the National Human Rights Commission in the capital, Jakarta, where they were protesting Monday's killings.
"If necessary, we must organize a jihad," he said.
The Indos should've chopped Abu into little itty bitty pieces when they had the chance...
#2
"The Indos should've chopped Abu into little itty bitty pieces when they had the chance..."
tu3031: I agree with your stated wishes but you've been around long enough to know that a mulsim killing an infidel is hardly deemed to be a "true criminal offense" (of consequence) in any muslim dominated country. Why is that? Because it's in the koran...(and hadith and sunnah).
Posted by: Mark Z ||
01/25/2007 13:20 Comments ||
Top||
Up to 30 young Muslims from five southern border provinces will go to Malaysia on an exchange programme sponsored by the government, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinondh. The exchange programme was put forward by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont during his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on Oct 28. It was hoped that the visits would bring about better understanding between the two countries and broaden the young participants outlook.
The Foreign Ministry will work with the Education Ministry and the Southern Border Province Administrative Centre (SBPAC) to select students aged between 15-18 to take part in the programme.
They will go to the Malaysian state of Kedah and visit a secondary school. While there, they will have a chance to learn about the peaceful coexistence of Buddhists and Muslims in the state which borders Thailand, according to Mr Kitti. They will then go on to Penang, where Muslims and Chinese have lived side by side for decades. After that, they will go to Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya to visit a religious school and an Islamic university.
Mr Kitti said that the exchange programme would show the young participants how moderate Islam could be integrated into modern education, economic development, science and technology. We want them to bring back what they learn on the trip and use that in their study. We also want them to see how people of different ethnicity and religion in Malaysia can live together in peace and harmony. Thats a positive example, added the spokesman.
Officials in violence-wracked southern Thailand plan to use more policewomen in delicate standoffs involving female Muslim villagers, believing they can handle potential conflicts more sensitively. Around 65 policewomen in Pattani province are attending a three-day training course to prepare them to manage crowds containing women and children, Pattani Provincial Police Commissioner Maj. Gen. Korkiat Wongworachart said Wednesday.
The decision to conduct the special course comes as protests by female Muslim villagers have become more frequent. Such protests are linked to unrest throughout Thailand's Muslim-dominated southernmost provinces, where an Islamic insurgency that flared in January 2004 has led to the deaths of almost 2,000 people.
Villagers protesting government efforts to suppress the insurgents often put women and children in the front line in face-offs with police and soldiers. "We have seen a pattern in which they are using women to block roads and demand the release of suspected insurgents," Korkiat said.
Last year, a Buddhist teacher held hostage by villagers at a government school in Narathiwat province was beaten unconscious by a female-led mob demanding the release of suspected Islamic insurgents in custody. She died after nearly eight months in a coma. In the most recent such protest, more than 100 female villagers in Pattani demonstrated on Jan. 9 in front of a police station to demand the release of a suspect in the killing of a government official, Korkiat said.
The use of male police officers in such situations poses a problem because of Muslim taboos on mixing of the sexes, he said. Korkiat said the use of female police officers would facilitate body searches, considered necessary because there have been cases of male troublemakers disguising themselves as women during protests.
"Using male police for body searches would definitely make things worse," Korkiat said, adding that policewomen are also expected to be able to negotiate better with female protesters. "It's easier for them to talk the protesters out of it. They are likely to be more understanding and willing to use softer means," he said.
Yes, when you cooperate with your own defeat, it's so much easier on everyone involved - sheesh!
This exposition of the mentality of Iran's Ayatollahs, reveals the folly of even suggesting negotiation or planning dainty, surgical strikes against the terrorist entity. Any reader of the following should understand that we have only one choice: annihilate Ayatollah power. I don't forsee that that will require large losses of life, not that I give a damn.
(1): "Miracles of the Messiah Will Soon Be Here"
" Where is man moving to? What will happen in his future? What fate will today's nations and civilizations have in the future? Will they destroy one another? Will a power, nation or civilization prevail? And finally to what direction will the speed of technology and modernity take man?...
"In the current era new interpretations of happiness and prosperity for man have been brought up. In these interpretations there is talk about welfare and worldly tranquility. Some believe that science and material progress automatically bring about prosperity, and man can attain sublimity on earth But the world's reality shows that man more than any other time is searching for prosperity and tranquility. The daily increasing production of destructive weapons, domineering tendencies, racist wars, genocide and instability of world markets, all threaten the world's security and tranquility. Now western rulers under the slogan of liberal democracy are tyrannically and oppressively looting the capital of oppressed nations. The weakness of the family foundation, crime, violence, narcotics, human trafficking, anxiety and depression have faced the world's future with serious danger...
#1
So, if the Mahdi doesn't show up when you predicted, do we get to say "ayatollah you so"?
Posted by: Mike ||
01/25/2007 13:49 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Ole' Mo must be laughing himself silly down in hell alongside with Satan.
It's obvious (to me anyway) he took pieces of the Book of Revelations and rewrote it such that the AntiChrist appears as the 12th/Hidden Imam and returns to save all of Islam.
Former UN Ambassador John Bolton says the United States may not be able to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons because it is following a flawed diplomatic strategy. In an interview with Fox News, Bolton said that, contrary to administration claims, the UN Security Council resolution against Iran that was approved last month is "very weak."
Bolton stepped down in December after serving as UN ambassador for 16 months. He was the point man for the administration in the diplomatic debate over the resolution. The former envoy said the diplomatic means chosen by the administration to halt Iran's nuclear program may not achieve the desired ends.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
A weak U.N. Resolution? Whoever heard of something like that.
We didn't need Bolton to tell us that, 'cause we already knew of course.
Why is he talking to the press? That's what I would like to know. Either Fox wanted him for his name, or he's thinking about a career in politics.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/25/2007 1:04 Comments ||
Top||
#2
What? Bolton is smart enough to know that international relations is 2-track: diplomatic and military. Elliot Abrams played the military track in Central America for President Reagan. If we didn't have diplomats, then who would declare military ultimatums.
#15
a new IslamoChewToy! Tu Mama tambien, Splenda boy!
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 16:15 Comments ||
Top||
#16
You seem to know a lot about molestation, justice. Like your very familiar with it.
How's that twinkle in your eye?
Was it as good for dad as it was for you? Do you think you were better then the goat?
#19
It"s hard to argue with such Broad-ranging Deep-rooted Stupidity JUSTICE Displays here
Better JUSTICE? no bad words, just truth, and I'll bet it Stings right smart to hear it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/25/2007 16:54 Comments ||
Top||
#22
Poor, poor Justice, etc. Claiming copywrite on another man's site, one where so many posters are lawyers. Let this be a lesson to all Rantburgers: never marry anyone whose family tree is not merely braided but snarled beyond untangling... and never, ever be the offspring of such a mating. Some 25% of Saudi births show gross physical, mental or psychological deformities, which means it's safe to presume that another 25% are recessive or unnoticed. And if Daddy has enough wasta, such get married off anyway, making the entire sorry situation that much worse.
gromgoru, the marriages may be first cousin, but who knows what really happens in such baroque households where too many only nominally related look suspiciously alike?
As for me. My family kept Thor's holy grove.. You really don't want zerker Vikings on your whimpy ass. You can have your choice of ways to be offered..
to Thor or as a sacrifice to Odin ..
#28
tu3031, the poor thing is still trying to figure it out. It's all a matter of chemical levels and producing enough energy to goose the nerves, you know. Give his brain a couple of years to process, and if he still is able to remember all the words of the question, an answer may present itself to him.
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollahs leader, said Wednesday that Lebanons opposition movement had decided to stop short of toppling the government of Fouad Siniora, fearing civil strife. He warned, though, that Hezbollah and its allies would continue to ratchet up the pressure on Mr. Siniora in coming weeks and vowed not to back down on the oppositions demands. The opposition has the political, popular and organizational strength to bring down the unconstitutional government today or tomorrow, Sheik Nasrallah told worshipers commemorating the Shiite holiday of Ashura in Beiruts southern suburbs. What has so far prevented the fall of the government that is clinging to power is not international support but the patriotic feelings of the opposition and its desire to preserve civil peace.
The speech followed a crippling and violent strike on Tuesday that brought life to a virtual standstill in Lebanon and led to violence that left three dead and scores injured. Sheik Nasrallah blamed what he called the government of militias for Tuesdays violence, insisting that the opposition had respected the rule of law in its protest. The war in July showed how many weapons we have, he said. But we did not resort to those weapons yesterday. Those who insist they have none, however, did use weapons.
He was referring to accusations made on Tuesday by Hezbollah members that their supporters had been protesting peacefully when residents of the area started throwing stones at them. The police said Tuesday that at least three people died in the violence and that 100 more were wounded throughout the country. It was the worst since Hezbollah began demanding more political power and began a series of protests late last year. For the past two months Lebanon has been gripped by a political crisis pitting the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies against the American- and Saudi-backed government of Mr. Siniora.
Hezbollah has demanded that Mr. Siniora step down or form a government of national unity that would give the opposition veto power and hold early parliamentary elections. Mr. Siniora has refused to resign, insisting that the opposition come off the streets and negotiate. Sheik Nasrallah, at the end of November, called for a huge demonstration in the center of Beirut in an effort to paralyze the government. Hundreds of thousands of people came out on Dec. 1 and began a sit-in. The protesters camped out in tents, and Sheik Nasrallah called for them to remain until the government fell.
The violence began Tuesday when groups of protesters set up roadblocks along major streets leading into Beirut, blocking them with burning tires, trucks and rubble. They set fire to vehicles and attacked cars trying to pass. Many of the clashes in Beirut took place in mixed neighborhoods, where young men on each side shouted epithets and hurled stones at one another. Some of the most violent clashes took place on a highway north of Beirut, where supporters of Gen. Michel Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian group and a Hezbollah ally, fought with men loyal to Samir Geagea, a government ally.
Lebanon slowly inched back to life on Wednesday as cleaners removed roadblocks and debris from streets across the country and as the Lebanese tried to take stock of the political and social implications of Tuesdays action. Gunfire broke out again on Wednesday during the funeral of one of two people shot dead in the northern city of Tripoli a day earlier, wounding two mourners.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Maybe the Shiite supporters of Hezb didn't enjoy smelling buring tires.
US President George W. Bush has called Iranian-backed "Shiite extremists" as great a peril to his nation as Al-Qaeda, singling out Lebanon's Hizbullah as well as the Shiite militias which his war in Iraq helped to power. Back in Baghdad, Iraqi and US forces launched a major assault Wednesday to wrest control of one of the capital's districts from insurgents.
In his annual State of the Union speech late Tuesday, Bush raised the "nightmare scenario" of a premature US pullout sparking an "epic battle between Shiite extremists backed by Iran and Sunni extremists aided by Al-Qaeda and supporters of the old regime." But despite his plea, the Democratic-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee dismissed Bush's plans to increase troop strength in Iraq as "not in the national interest," an unusual wartime repudiation of the resident. The vote was 12-9, largely along party lines.
An official from a top Shiite party in Iraq bristled at Bush's remarks, but some Sunni politicians welcomed his focus on the danger from Shiite militias, as well as Sunni insurgents. "Comparing Shiite militias to Al-Qaeda is ridiculous," said the Shiite official, who asked not to be identified. "They are protecting their own communities after a three-year onslaught by terrorists and only a few outlaws take revenge. How are the militias a threat to the United States?"
There was no immediate official reaction from Tehran. Iran has reached out to Saudi Arabia in an apparent effort to keep sectarian warfare in Iraq from igniting in Lebanon and beyond.
Bush said Sunni militants such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in Iraq, and Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were just one part of a "totalitarian" threat from Islamist radicals. "In recent times, it has also become clear that we face an escalating danger from Shiite extremists who are just as hostile to America, and are also determined to dominate the Middle East," he told Congress. "Many are known to take direction from the regime in Iran, which is funding and arming terrorists like Hizbullah - a group second only to Al-Qaeda in the American lives it has taken," Bush said, accusing "Hizbullah terrorists" of "seeking to undermine Lebanon's legitimately elected government."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
The Higher Shiite Council's vice president, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, praised the Lebanese Army on Wednesday for its efforts during Tuesday's opposition's strike, saying the army would remain the "savior" of the country. "Do not listen to anybody except your wise commander [General Michel Suleiman]," Qabalan advised soldiers. The sheikh also called on religious leaders to send representatives to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora asking him to resign. "I do not hate Siniora and I do not hate anyone," he said, "but there is a situation that calls on us to surpass all obstacles in order to preserve Lebanon."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
Lebanons embattled premier has pinned the blame on Iran and Syria for a Hezbollah-backed nationwide opposition strike during which three people died, in remarks published here on Wednesday.
Lebanon has been paying the price of imposed decisions coming from outside countries, like Iran and Syria, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora told Japans Kyodo News. The decisions made by the opposition in Lebanon are decisions coming from outside like Iran and Syria, he was quoted as saying. In the interview, conducted in Beirut on Tuesday, Siniora also criticized Hezbollah over the summer war with Israel, which launched raids on Lebanon in response to rocket attacks by the Shiite Muslim militia. When Hezbollah went into war with Israel, it didnt ask for our opinion, Siniora said.
Hezbollah, which is supported by Syria and Iran, led Tuesdays one-day nationwide strike in a bid to bring down Sinioras Western-backed government. Three people were killed and 133 others were wounded in armed clashes, fistfights and stone-throwing in various areas of the country. Siniora denounced the protests as an undemocratic way of expressing ones opinion. If they say they have the majority of people supporting them, then they shouldnt resort to such an action, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Maybe, but you still asked for it anyway even though it was totally obvious it was coming. Those that will trade liberty for their life deserve neither.
Various reports suggest that Al Qaeda leaders Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahri have developed differences and are operating separately now, President General Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday In an exclusive interview with Al-Arabia television, Musharraf said the Taliban is solely Afghanistans problem and rumours that the Al Qaeda leadership is in Pakistan are a distortion of facts.
He said that a perception is being created that the Taliban is more of Pakistans problem than Afghanistan, which is not true. He said that Pakistan could help Afghanistan by taking action against Pakistan-based religious parties who were providing funds to the Taliban. The president said that the Pakistani government would closely monitor Afghan refugee camps set up near the Pak-Afghan border, but the Afghan government should also take practical measures in this respect.
President Musharraf said that Al Qaeda leaders Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahri were in Afghanistan and the Taliban were being supported by Jalaluddin Haqqani and Mulla Dadullah, who were also in Afghanistan, therefore the Afghan government should capture them instead of accusing Pakistan of harbouring terrorists.
He said that Pakistan wanted peace in Afghanistan because a stable Afghanistan was in the interest of Pakistan and other countries in the region. Musharraf said that Pakistan had taken several measures against terrorism and the world community acknowledged Pakistans efforts. Musharraf said the peace agreement in Waziristan had yielded positive results and those criticising the deal had no knowledge of the ground reality.
On relations with Israel, the president said that Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, but is willing to talk with Israel for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. He said that settlement of the Palestine issue was vital for durable peace in the Middle East. On former Iraqi president Saddam Hussains hanging, Musharraf said that the manner and timing of Saddams hanging was inappropriate. He added that Pakistan does not support military offensive against Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Zawahri is making videos for the Democrats and Bin Laden is taking a dirt nap.
Submission Part Two, the follow-up to the controversial short film made by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Theo van Gogh, will be a feature at least 90 minutes long and a potential nightmare for lawyers.
Radio Netherlands Worldwide talked to former Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali during a visit to Barcelona. Since her dramatic and rancorous departure from the Netherlands, Ms Hirsi Ali has been attached to a conservative think tank in Washington DC. She was in Spain to promote the appearance of Mi Vida, Mi Libertad, the Spanish translation of her autobiography Mijn Vrijheid(published in English as The Infidel ).
In 2004, while still a member of parliament, she wrote the script for an 11-minute film, Submission Part One, about the repression and abuse of Muslim women. Director Theo van Gogh paid dearly for his part in the film. He was assassinated by a Muslim extremist who was unable to get at Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
"Theo van Gogh was killed, so I know someone can get killed. The lesson we learned from Part One is to talk more about the dangers, be explicit, even sign contracts. It's crazy. Many of the people who are engaged in it think it's crazy that in making a film you have to take into consideration your security and security measures."
The craziness extends to detailed contracts establishing precisely who does what and who is responsible for what - just in case anything goes wrong. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is not prepared to say anything about when the new film will be released or through which medium. That secrecy is a reflection of the tight security with which the project is surrounded.
"I can't give you a date, I can only tell you that we are working on it and it's a bigger project than Submission Part One. My part is very small in the sense that I am the one with the idea. All I can do is write down how I see things, but the marketing, the publicity, the presentation, there are experts who are going to do that."
While the Muslim woman was the central figure in Submission Part One, the sequel focuses on the Muslim man. There are four main characters, one of whom is a homosexual.
"I have focused on passages in the Qu'ran which express an attitude totally different to our western liberal views. Homosexuality is almost a non-issue in Europe and the Netherlands. At present there is only one group in the Netherlands who form a threat to homosexuals and that is young Islamic men who attack homosexual teachers and homosexuals on the streets. It shows anyone living in a democracy just how vulnerable the system is."
Ms Hirsi Ali made a relaxed impression during her visit to Barcelona. She seems more at ease having exchanged the snakepit that is Dutch party politics for the very proper American Enterprise Institute. The Somali-born Dutch nomad, as she proudly describes herself, says she does not particularly miss the cut and thrust of political debate in which she often played such a central role.
"I don't miss the excitement of politics. You have to realise that it's a political arena where you compete and you do that not with knives and guns, as we are doing in Somalia today, but with words and through the media. I love what I do now because I have the combination of work that is satisfactory, that is meaningful and that I have the feeling that I am in control. When I was a politician it was like the circumstances were in control of my life. Here with the American Enterprise I feel like I am in control."
Despite the problems and the controversy, she does not regard her time in the Netherlands as wasted or frustrating - far from it.
"When I was in the Netherlands as a member of parliament I found my work satisfactory in the sense that I reach the aims that I set for myself. I wanted to create awareness for the violence against Muslim women in particular and women in general in the Netherlands. I also wanted to create awareness for the fact that Islam as a doctrine is incompatible with rule of law and with liberal democracy. I succeeded and I'm very proud of that. And I'm very grateful to the Netherlands for allowing me to do that."
#1
Hirsi is also about to publish a book called "Infidel".
I heard from some folks that she realizes she will never be able to date a muslim again - she was looking forward to doing that in the US. The problem is that even a secular or progressive muslim would be a target of the jihad.
#2
Mhw - I understand Ms. Ali would prefer to date a muslin but one of the best parts of the States is the freedom to date cross cultural or cross religious lines. It may not be easy of course.
A brave, talented woman of her convictions certainly should attract a wide range of brave, talented men as suitors.
#3
Submission Part Two, the follow-up to the controversial short film made by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Theo van Gogh, will be a feature at least 90 minutes long and a potential nightmare for lawyers.
No, being slaughtered in the street with an Orcish note stabbed into your chest as a warning to artists is a nightmare. Legal complications are an inconvenience.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The deep-seated Somali animosity towards Ethiopia and the unpopularity of the interim government are pushing the US to seek the help of Islamic Courts leader 
(SomaliNet) Nairobi based Daily Standard newspaper reported on Wednesday that Somalia Prime Minister Ali Mohamed said his government wants Sheik Sharrif and his supporters to participate in the ongoing reconciliation talks. Premier Gedi made the statement before flying from Nairobi and returning to Mogadishu. "We want all UIC officials and supporters including Sheikh Sharrif to come to Mogadishu for talks in Somalia," he was quoted as saying. 
PM avoids first Commons debate on Iraq since 2004 
Russia's defence minister yesterday criticised US plans to deploy missile defence sites in central Europe, saying that Moscow doesn't trust American claims that they are intended to counter Iranian and North Korean threats.
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. The military calls its new weapon an "active denial system," but that's an understatement. It's a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they are about to catch fire.
Former UN Ambassador John Bolton says the United States may not be able to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons because it is following a flawed diplomatic strategy. In an interview with Fox News, Bolton said that, contrary to administration claims, the UN Security Council resolution against Iran that was approved last month is "very weak." 
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollahs leader, said Wednesday that Lebanons opposition movement had decided to stop short of toppling the government of Fouad Siniora, fearing civil strife. He warned, though, that Hezbollah and its allies would continue to ratchet up the pressure on Mr. Siniora in coming weeks and vowed not to back down on the oppositions demands. The opposition has the political, popular and organizational strength to bring down the unconstitutional government today or tomorrow, Sheik Nasrallah told worshipers commemorating the Shiite holiday of Ashura in Beiruts southern suburbs. What has so far prevented the fall of the government that is clinging to power is not international support but the patriotic feelings of the opposition and its desire to preserve civil peace. 
US President George W. Bush has called Iranian-backed "Shiite extremists" as great a peril to his nation as Al-Qaeda, singling out Lebanon's Hizbullah as well as the Shiite militias which his war in Iraq helped to power. Back in Baghdad, Iraqi and US forces launched a major assault Wednesday to wrest control of one of the capital's districts from insurgents.
Lebanons embattled premier has pinned the blame on Iran and Syria for a Hezbollah-backed nationwide opposition strike during which three people died, in remarks published here on Wednesday.
Various reports suggest that Al Qaeda leaders Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahri have developed differences and are operating separately now, President General Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday In an exclusive interview with Al-Arabia television, Musharraf said the Taliban is solely Afghanistans problem and rumours that the Al Qaeda leadership is in Pakistan are a distortion of facts. 
