NEW YORK - Washington allowed Ethiopia to secretly buy weapons from North Korea in an apparent breach of UN sanctions aimed at punishing Pyongyang for its atomic test, the New York Times reported on Saturday. The purchase went through in January three months after the UN text was adopted as Ethiopia was supporting Somali government troops in a battle against Islamist militias, the paper said, quoting unnamed senior US officials.
The officials said they learned that Ethiopia was planning to get a shipment of military cargo from North Korea after the UN resolution was passed in mid-October. One of the officials was quoted as saying the Ethiopian government appealed to the administration of US President George W. Bush by saying: Look, we know we need to transition to different customers, but we just cant do that overnight.
There's no other vendor for old Soviet tank parts?
Then, following a brief debate in Washington, the decision was made not to block the arms deal and to press Ethiopia not to make future purchases, the paper said. The exact contents and value of the January shipment were unknown, though US intelligence agencies said it was probably ... tank parts and other military equipment.
The sanctions called for the cease of sale to and transfer from North Korea of battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems. The United States had led the calls for a strong international response to Pyongyangs nuclear test in October 2006 and welcomed the unanimous adoption of the resolution.
The US State Department declined to comment on the Times report.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/08/2007 01:06 ||
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#1
This doesn't make a bit of sense, you "Punish" north Korea by giving them business?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/08/2007 11:11 Comments ||
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#2
prob only let them buy the equipment because they where fighting the islamists, needed the shit quick and another deal couldn't be put together fast enough. and they would have too retrain the soldiers too use american arms
#3
What prevented us from sending in a squadron of AC-130 Specters to soften up things long enough for the Ethiopians to retrain on American hardware? Rewarding North Korea with anything more than a kick in the teeth is counterproductive in the very worst way.
(SomaliNet) Despite the fact that a fragile truce is holding for the fifth day, both sides are still getting reinforcements and preparing for possible all out war this creates a greater concern to residents of the capital who are fleeing in their thousands.
Somalinet witnessed that both the Ethiopian soldiers and the Islamists are getting in positions in the event of possible attack. Over the last few days, additional Ethiopian forces were pouring into the capital to reinforce already stationed soldiers while on the other side is conscripting volunteer fighters. The insurgents opposing the presence of the Ethiopian forces in the country are seen digging trenches in their strongholds in the capital.
My money's on the Aethiops in an all-out fight, and heaven help the civilians who get in the way.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/08/2007 00:40 ||
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#1
the same civilians who drug our soldier's dead bodies through the town, mutilating them while whooping for joy? F*ck em
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/08/2007 9:42 Comments ||
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#3
War "seems" to have been the normal state of being in Mogadishu for quite some time now. Only the willfully disingenuous could say otherwise. I am sorry to say that I now think of them as orcs, and have thought so for a while. I try not to think of the enemy as subhuman (too easy to underestimate) but they keep living down to those standards.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/08/2007 10:17 Comments ||
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#4
Oh, and "constripting volunteer fighters? Kind of an oxymoron?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/08/2007 10:19 Comments ||
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#5
That's a shame, I hope no one gets hurt.
Posted by: regular joe ||
04/08/2007 10:36 Comments ||
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#6
Talk to your local Somali taxi driver or security guard (they lack ambition), and you will find that they all support the terrorists. So why did we accept them as "refugees"? Bad judgment.
#9
Easy - at least here is King County / Washington State where the people who count the votes are lackeys of the County Executive (democrat) and Governor(democrat).
Where anyone can vote - as long as they vote Democratic.....
#10
I'm glad they're "digging trenches in their strongholds in the capital". Easy to spot, easy to cover with napalm. Ethiopia isn't as squeamish and politically correct as the US. I predict a lot of deep-fat-fried Somalis in the near future.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/08/2007 12:15 Comments ||
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#11
I predict a lot of deep-fat-fried Somalis in the near future.
I wouldn't be so sure about the deep-fat-frying part. There's a reason our troops called em "skinnies" :-)
more like African Buffalo Wings
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/08/2007 12:18 Comments ||
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(SomaliNet) US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer arrived in Baidoa city, 240km southwest of Somalia on a surprise visit for talks with the country's president and prime minister. Dr. Frazer and her delegation received a warm welcome from the government officials in Baidoa, the seat of the transitional government. Addressing the parliament with the presence of the senior government officials, Mss Frazer hailed the peace efforts in the capital to end the crisis.
Boy howdy and it's worked well too, hasn't it. Positively Paleostinian in its results.
Among the delegates was the US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneburger. She thanked the parliament for welcoming her delegation and said decision to relocate the government into Mogadishu was a positive step. We also as member of the international contact group on Somalia and US government very much welcome the announcement of the transitional government in its planning for the national reconcialtion conference to bring together Somali clans and peace stakeholders like civil society, women groups, business leaders, religious authorities and Diaspora. She said the US government had already provided $40 million and now is ready to pay another $60 million to fund the reconciliation efforts.
Dr. Frazer asked Somalia parliament to form a system to let the security forces restore law and order. The international contact group on Somalia is supporting the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia to restore peace and security but that depends on only when the Somalia government shows unity and fair said Dr. Frezer. We are also ready to help provide security in Somalia so Ethiopia can withdraw quickly,
It was the first visit in several years by a top US official to the country, which has been in the grips of civil war since 1991.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/08/2007 00:36 ||
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RIYADH, April 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has asked Iran to hand over suspected militants plotting against the kingdom's security, the Saudi interior minister said in remarks published on Saturday.
Two chances of that, slim and none.
"We have information on ... wanted people, they are Saudis and they (Iranians) have them and we reiterate to our brothers in Iran to hand them over to us," al-Riyadh newspaper quoted Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz as saying. "We have a list and a formal demand, and we always reiterate to our Iranian brothers that they have to hand over any Saudi or anybody who is targeting the kingdom," he added. He did not elaborate. Interior Ministry officials could not be reached for comment.
Ahmadinnerplate's prob'ly pinning a 'medal of honor' on the perps now.
Iran has extradited a number of Saudi suspects to the kingdom since the Sept 11, 2001 attacks. Some of the suspects have been released after being cleared.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/08/2007 00:43 ||
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Unidentified gunmen shot a local BNP leader at Nayabazar in the capital last night injuring him critically. The gunmen attacked joint secretary of Kotwali BNP unit Haji Muhammad Tajul Islam, 37, soon after he exited Shahzadi Begum Jame Mosque at Nayabazar around 8:30pm.
Tajul, a paper businessman, received two bullets, including one in the chest, from close range, witnesses said. They claimed the miscreants were waiting for him outside the mosque. Locals chased them but they managed to flee the area creating panic among the locals by firing shots in the air. Locals admitted Tajul to a local hospital but he was later moved to Dhaka Medical College Hospital as his condition deteriorated.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Wrong Picture, Bond doesn't shoot "At".
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/08/2007 21:36 Comments ||
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Amid the deaths and the grim daily struggle bravely borne by Britain's forces in southern Iraq, one tale of heroism stands out. Private Johnson Beharry's courage in rescuing an ambushed foot patrol then, in a second act, saving his vehicle's crew despite his own terrible injuries earned him a Victoria Cross.
For the BBC, however, his story is "too positive" about the conflict. The corporation has cancelled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain's youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq. The BBC's retreat from the project, which had the working title Victoria Cross, has sparked accusations of cowardice and will reignite the debate about the broadcaster's alleged lack of patriotism.
#3
I do not know how healthy the discussion was, but from reading through all the comments, which covered the spectrum of views, that those that use the Gitmo and Abu Graib, along with a healthy dose of Bush hate, will NEVER acknowledge the peril that civilization is in.
It will get worse before it gets better. Britain is reaching critical mass. If the Brits wake up tomorrow and start pushing for saving their country, the government will be paralized, and it will take the equivalent of a civil war to sort things out.
And this country is right behind Britain if we keep going down the tranzi road. A country divided against itself will not stand. Those words said over 140 years ago are just as true today.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/08/2007 14:38 Comments ||
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#4
"(I)t will take the equivalent of a civil war to sort things out."
I believe this is correct. Frankly, I can hardly wait. The sooner we sort out the Near Enemy the better chance we have of dealing with the muslims before they are all nuclear armed or some bright spark decides weaponized smallpox will bring on the twelf imam.
The 15 British military hostages released by Iran were accused last night of cashing in on the ordeal by selling their stories in a string of lucrative media deals. The sailors, who spent 13 days in captivity and at times feared for their lives, have been given permission by the Ministry of Defence to give exclusive interviews. The MoD justified lifting the ban on military personnel selling their stories while in service because of the 'exceptional circumstances' involved.
That's it. I'm thoroughly disgusted with the whole affair as of now.
The former captives are expected to make around £250,000 between them. Faye Turney, the 26-year-old seawoman, is likely to get the most profitable deal. She is said to have sold her story for £150,000 in a joint contract with a newspaper and ITV.
The development was criticised by politicians and relatives of victims killed in the Iraq war. Liam Fox, the shadow Defence Secretary, said: 'One of the great things about our armed forces is their professionalism and dignity. Many people who shared the anxiety of the hostages' abduction will feel that selling their stories is somewhat undignified and falls below the very high standards we have come to expect from our service men and women.'
Undignified, un-British, and unacceptable.
Colonel Bob Stewart, a British commander of United Nations forces in Bosnia, told the Sunday Times that the MoD had turned a military disaster into a media circus. 'The released hostages are behaving like reality TV stars,' he said. 'I am appalled that the MoD is encouraging them to profit in this way.'
One of the ex-hostages reportedly wanted £70,000 for his story. There were reports that the Royal Marines were planning to sell the vases given to them in their 'goody bags' by the Iranians on eBay. The father of one of the hostages said the MoD had suggested the servicemen 'Go out there, tell the truth and make the money.'
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/08/2007 00:33 ||
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#1
Rot in Hell you lousy sniveling little Pommy bastard shits! Churchill would have had your heads on a platter. FOR TEA!
#2
Incidentally, the British Ministry of Defense should confiscate all items sent back with the soldiers, including their own uniforms, as war crime evidence or enemy artifacts. Also, all information regarding their captivity and any accounts thereof should be declared state secrets and subject to publication only with prior ministry approval, which should be forthcoming, NEVER.
These little turds should all be drummed out of the ranks as a disgrace to the service. Every effort must be made to thwart the least attempt to profit from this most shameful episode.
Barring any of the above, the families of those four British soldiers who died yesterday should be invited to visit the fifteen released hostages. Cricket bats to be distributed to all family members prior.
#3
In an era where the word has become devalued - unbelievable.
Seems that the gut instinct of many about this whole thing (from initial incident to behavior in captivity), WRT both the leadership and the 15, was a reliable guide. The actions of all concerned have been both incompetent and shameful, without exception.
The only silver lining (about a micron thick) is that at least SOMEONE in the UK is outraged by this whole mess. But the pessimist in me says that's just the death-ratttle of the small minority with a bit of sense and self-respect. Heard Blair on the radio today snivelling and debasing himself, apologizing if any Iranian had taken offense at British reaction to the situation, stressing that Brits respected Iran's great historic civilization, blah blah blah. Nearly drove off the road. Good thing I hadn't heard about this latest incredible disaster.
#6
Makes me sick to see this. But there is one thing notable here. The story simply assumes that all 15 want to sell their story. I think that is not the case at all, and that the ones who appeared in the propoganda videos in Iran are the looking for some money. The others may very well want to keep quiet. Remember that it was pointed out one of the sailors wasn't smiling while coming back at all? Don't jump to judgement on all of them.
I also say this by looking at the numbers presented. Faye Turner, the Seawoman, is said to have made 150,000 euro. Another sailor is said to have asked for 70,000 euro. The estimated amount for all of them is around 250,000 euro. If the story is to be believed then 13 of the sailors are selling their story extremely cheap, or only a handful are actually a party to the sell-out. I'm more inclined to believe the latter.
Posted by: Charles ||
04/08/2007 1:47 Comments ||
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#7
I am reminded of the words of Winston Churchill, one of the greatest men of the twentieth century: "We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender".
#8
The father of one of the hostages said the MoD had suggested the servicemen 'Go out there, tell the truth and make the money.'
The moral of that story to the rest of the British Armed Forces: Surrender as soon as possible to a vicious Islamic terrorist state, sell-out your brothers and sisters and your country, and make a bundle selling your sad, sad, story to the tabs.
#9
You got to think about it though. In their situation, would you actually believe your own government was that concerned about you or about its image? Guess what played out. They knew their own government would sell them out and they were right. So if a government operates in its own petty interests, why would anyone expect that they shouldn't do so as well? Sic transit gloria. Once again the Romans have left the island.
One of the hostages, Dean Harris, 30, an acting sergeant in the Royal Marines, told a Sunday Times reporter yesterday: I want £70,000. That is based on what the others have told me they have been offered. I know Faye has been offered a heck more than that. I am worth it because I was one of only two who didnt crack.
Dear God... Britain is dead.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/08/2007 7:53 Comments ||
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#12
Good questions from a comment in the Sunday Times.
Are the so called hostages being hung out to dry by the MOD? By encouraging them to sell their stories are the MOD creating hate figures? And in so doing, where does the public look?
Are the MOD simply trying to focus attention away from the real culprits - the people in charge of the operation say? Are they simply trying to create scape goats? Are they simply trying to deflect attention away from the farce that happened in Iran/Iraq?
#13
The only positive spin I can think to put on this is that the MoD (or Tony Blair) made the cynical calculation that if they told what had happened it would automatically be assumed to be untrue or propaganda. Whereas if the troops involved told their stories directly to the press, enough would believe what they read... and the more the press paid, the more the stories would be valued in the current climate. I do agree that the math doesn't add up to very many choosing to talk at all.
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/08/2007 9:32 Comments ||
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#15
Triple Play:
1. Surrender w/out a fight
2. Betray country
3. Sign book deal
Oh yeah -- validate everything the Muzzies say about the weak and decadent West (bonus).
Wonder who will buy "Profiles in Cowardice?"
Posted by: regular joe ||
04/08/2007 10:30 Comments ||
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#16
You forgot that soon-to-be-immortal phrase: "Fighting back was not an option."
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/08/2007 10:37 Comments ||
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#17
Dave D., I can't even look at that sentence w/out blood shooting out of my eyes.
Posted by: regular joe ||
04/08/2007 10:44 Comments ||
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#18
Nice to hear I'm not the only one...
Question: d'ya think the Mullahs had any idea their little stunt would end up paying off like this? I'm sure that they were patting themselves on the back as the hostage's plane took off on their way home-- but I really doubt the MMs could have imagined that the entire British nation would erupt in such a pathetic orgy of abject self-humiliation.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/08/2007 10:50 Comments ||
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#19
Churchill keeps coming to mind in this affair. What he said about Munich and Chamberlain's government is spot on. "They faced a choice between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They shall have both."
Posted by: Mac ||
04/08/2007 10:53 Comments ||
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#20
The Mullahs could not have dreamed this outcome. Doubtless they're calculating what the response would be from a wounded US president, the fecklessness of the Brits has really changed the odds.
Posted by: regular joe ||
04/08/2007 11:03 Comments ||
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#21
To me, the bottom line in this war, the ultimate goal, was to convince the Islamic world to GTF outta our faces. Everything else is subordinate to that.
And the British have just made it a LOT harder to achieve that goal.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/08/2007 11:11 Comments ||
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#22
"They faced a choice between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They shall have both."
What has enabled such a stunning reversal of Western resolve since Churchill's time will be a matter of much speculation for historians of the future. We shall all have to consider ourselves extremely fortunate if those historians are not Islamic.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin
To these two memorable and very timely quotes I can only add: Give them both of the former and neither of the latter.
#23
If I recall correcly, a couple of months back, British Royal Marines were attcking some fortress in Afghanistan. After they pulled out, they realized that one of their fallen mates had been left behind. They were a good distance away, with no transportation back - and just a couple of Apache attack helicopters in support (with no passenger compartment). So - a nadful of the Marines had themselves strapped externally to the flight stabilizers/struts protruding from the sides of the aircraft - and rode this way back to the fort. I think they were under fire - I'm not sure about that part - but they went back into hostile territory to find their mate. He was already dead - but they recovered his body.
I wonder what those Marines think about all of this? I wonder what sort of deals they got for their story.
The current incident - and its aftermath - is a ludicrous farce. The only thing that could have made it any more absurd would have been if the Iranians had dressed the hostages up as bunny rabbits.
There are innumerable great, brave, dedicated soldiers in the British Armed Forces - and they just got themselves painted as witless pansies by the 15 surrender monkeys. A painful injustice.
If I understand correctly, Britain has suspended it maritime inspection operations in the Gulf. Point, set, game, match to the Iranian thugs.
#24
"The only thing that could have made it any more absurd would have been if the Iranians had dressed the hostages up as bunny rabbits."
Right now, watching the pathetic, self-pitying spectacle being put on by the Brits, the MMs are no doubt kicking themselves for not having done precisely that.
Next time, they probably will.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/08/2007 13:11 Comments ||
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#25
Sad news, but I'm sure there's some fight over there, somewhere. Perhaps the MOD should open temporary recruitment offices in the UK's football stadiums. Sergeants can promise the yobs booze, prize money, and grateful wimmen, just like the good ol' days.
#27
Surrender Monkeys and "Fighting back was not an option" paint all the sad picture I want to see about this. In parallel, I was watching the Fox News show this Easter Sunday and the talking head was Steve Centanni. I looked really hard for the prayer callous on his forehead, but maybe it hadn't former yet. The sense of integrity and honor that was instilled in previous generations of the West seems to have vaporized for this latest generation. Pockets remain here for sure, if you could just cut Minnesota and parts of each coast away, but the rot is much, much deeper in the UK and Europe.
islam is on the march, and even the most openly moderate are contributing to the madrassahs and the movements. Violence is coming, in Europe and here. Ugly retribution will follow and the nature of who we are as a people will change, in some ways for the worse. This is all brought to you by the sloth of the good people who should have been paying attention to the cultures slide, and liberal idiots who thought everything could be improved with "progressive ideas".
We will win in the end, but the bill keeps getting higher....
#29
Heard Blair on the radio today snivelling and debasing himself, apologizing if any Iranian had taken offense at British reaction to the situation, stressing that Brits respected Iran's great historic civilization, blah blah blah. Nearly drove off the road. Good thing I hadn't heard about this latest incredible disaster. per Verlaine
unf***ingbelievable they care more about hurting Iran's feelings than what actually happened. To actually apologize.
If any of these paid for stories get out and have an impact on future POW's what a crime that will be.
Posted by: Jan from work ||
04/08/2007 14:47 Comments ||
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#31
According to The Guardian, the US offered to mount aggressive air patrols over Revolutionary Guards bases in Iran, but Britain told them to keep out of the affair and instead tone down armed forces activity in the Gulf. A senior Iranian source close to the Revolutionary Guards told The Guardian: "If this had been between Iranian and American soldiers it could have been the beginning of an accidental war." link
Separately, to the honour of some of the captives, Lieutenant Felix Carman and Royal Marine Captain Chris Air insist they do not want to profit financially from the experience. Lt Carman would only accept money for donation to charity, and Capt Air said the incident "didn't seem that traumatic to him" link
#32
tw, thank you for bringing a ray of consolation to this revolting spectacle. It's nice to know that some amongst them retained a modicum of integrity.
#34
I do not even know where to begin. I expect even after this degrading spectacle Rosie will still believe these cowards and traitors were somehow meant to provoke a war. It seems no grovelling is sufficient to the lust of the Moon Cult and no self-aggrandizing self-abasement too degrading for the Moonbats.
#35
"Never before have I felt ashamed to be English."
If it's any consolation it doesn't feel a whole lot better to be American right now, knowing there were enough flatheaded, drooling, microcephalic submorons voting last Fall to get us a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/08/2007 17:11 Comments ||
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#36
Don't feel bad Excalibur, we have Nancy and Hoyner and Richarson. Wheeeee
AUSTRALIA'S most senior Islamic cleric, Taj Din al-Hilali, called on the Muslim world to unite behind the radical Iranian regime and to serve in its "trenches" in published comments during a visit to Tehran last weekend.
As Tehran was involved in a tense standoff with Western powers over the detention of 15 British naval personnel seized after they were accused of trespassing in its waters last month, the Iranian media were using Sheik Hilali's quotes in a propaganda drive.
The controversial Australian mufti was quoted as saying that the global Islamic nation would never "kneel" to its enemies.
In reports published in Iran on Saturday, Sheik Hilali was quoted as saying that Muslims needed to overcome their sectarian divisions that have led to much "bloodletting" in Iraq. Leaders in Australia's Muslim community have attacked the Egyptian-born cleric over his reported comments, saying he had no authority to speak on their behalf. The comments will increase the pressure on the mufti, who caused a national furore last year when he compared scantily clad women with uncovered meat.
He is under investigation by police over allegations that he passed money raised by members of the Muslim community in Australia to supporters of al-Qa'ida and Hezbollah's terrorist arm during a visit to Lebanon lastyear.
The Australian revealed last week the Sydney-based Lebanese Muslim Association had raised $70,000 in conjunction with other Islamic bodies following the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon. The money was earmarked for war victims.
The weekend reports of Sheik Hilali praising Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hardline Islamic regime follow his January outburst on Egyptian television when he described Westerners as "the biggest liars".
"Anglo-Saxons came to Australia in chains, while we (Muslims) paid our way and come in freedom. We are more Australian than them," he told Egyptian television. They came as phony refugees, and accepted "settlement" funds.
In Tehran, the mufti was billed as a celebrity by the Islamic Republic's newsagency. "The mufti of Australia has called on the Islamic world to stand in the trenches with the Islamic Republic of Iran which possesses the might and power," Iran's al-Alam News reported on its website in Arabic on Saturday.
It reported that Sheik Hilali - who was in Tehran for the three-day International Islamic Unity forum - told Alalam TV on Friday following the conference opening that he was committed to the unity of the Islamic nation.
"(Islamic unity) is what has brought all participants together at this Islamic unity conference, to show the whole world that they are dedicated to the one God and dedicated to Islamic unity and the Islamic nation will not kneel in front of its enemies, never," Sheik Hilali was reported as saying.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock yesterday told The Australian he was concerned about Sheik Hilali's reported comments.
"I would be concerned if any Australian was offering support and succour to Iran, particularly as it is intent on pursuing the development of the nuclear fuel cycle outside international scrutiny," Mr Ruddock said...
Top Senate Democrats on Sunday appeared to reject their leader's suggestion that lawmakers set a date for cutting funds off for U.S. troops in Iraq, even as they prepare for a veto from President Bush on a supplemental spending bill that sets a timetable for withdrawal. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he would not back a plan – to be introduced this week by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and already endorsed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid – to cut off money for the Iraq war effort by March 31, 2008. That's the same date Democrats included in the emergency supplemental spending bill as a target withdrawal for all combat forces. "We're not going to vote to cut funding, period," Levin said. "But what we should do, and we're going to do, is continue to press this president to put some pressure on the Iraqi leaders to reach a political settlement."
"Nothing – nothing – will stand in our way of supporting the troops in every way," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., acknowledging that President Bush is likely to veto the $122 billion legislation currently on the table. If that veto happens, Schumer told FOX News, "We will try to come up with a way, by talking with the White House, trying to compromise with the White House, that both supports the troops and yet changes the strategy in Iraq, which we feel is misguided."
The House and Senate are still trying to work out discrepancies in their versions of the legislation to be sent up for a presidential veto. The Senate bill would require a U.S. troop exit to begin within 120 days, with a completion goal of March 31, 2008. The House bill would order all combat troops out by Sept. 1, 2008. Regardless of either scenario, Bush has said he will reject it. Both chambers have enough votes to sustain a veto, which means lawmakers will have to go back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, military officials claim they need additional funding before late April to avoid adding to strain on troops in the field and preparing for deployment.
The new bill language by Feingold, one of the most ardent pro-defeat anti-war Democrats in Congress, says no funds "appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after March 31, 2008."
But Schumer said the Reid-Feingold bill doesn't call for a complete defunding of the troops. "It calls for continued funding even after March of 2008, which is a year from now, for three missions: Counterterrorism, which is what the original mission was to always be, protecting our forces and retraining Iraqis," Schumer said. "We are not going to leave the troops high and dry, plain and simple. Senator Reid has said that. I've said that. Every leader of the Democratic Party has said that," Schumer said.
But finding Democratic support for Feingold's bill may not be easy. The Democratic supplemental legislation passed 51-47 on almost a straight party line. But already Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., who supported the timetable, has said he won't back cutting off funding for U.S. forces. "I do not believe I can get re-elected if that we can or should cut funding for our troops in Iraq or Afghanistan while we anticipate that our troops will be in harm's way," Salazar wrote in a letter sent to Bush and key Senate Democrats. The letter also urges implementation of recommendations made by the Iraq Study Group. They include setting a date for withdrawal.
Levin said that while Senate Democrats will largely continue to support funding the troops, he will insist that President Bush live up to his goal of insisting the Iraqi government reach benchmarks for reconciliation. "We're very strong in supporting the troops, but we're also strong on putting pressure on the Iraqi leaders to live up to their own commitments. Without that political settlement on their part, there is no military solution," Levin said. "We can keep the benchmarks part of the bill without saying that the troops must begin to come back within four months. And what we will leave will be benchmarks, for instance, which would require the president to certify to the American people if the Iraqis are meeting the benchmarks for political settlement, which they, the Iraqi leaders, have set for themselves," he said.
For their part, Republicans who voted against the supplemental, insist that Congress let the president be the commander in chief without impediment. "We cannot leave the troops unfunded in the field. That just can't be done. And Congress is not in a position to micromanage the war," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., told a cable news channel. "But we do not have any good alternative. Right now, you can't see the end of the tunnel, let alone a light at the end of the tunnel."
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said lawmakers who support a withdrawal date are basing it on a false notion that the Iraqis are not listening to the United States. "I was over there about a month ago. We saw the reaction of the Iraqis. They are cooperating with us. So that's old news that they're not cooperating. That's one of the reasons this new surge strategy is working," he said on ABC's "This Week."
Kyl said withholding money from troops with the aim of sending a message to Iraqis that they must do better would be self-defeating. "You're also sending a message to our troops and to our enemies, who know that all they have to do is wait the conflict out. This is not the way to try to micromanage a war from the U.S. Senate," he said.
#2
Anything Schumer says is a lie, including "the" and "and"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/08/2007 18:36 Comments ||
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that both supports the troops and yet changes the strategy in Iraq, which we feel is misguided.
Fair enough now tell me whats your strategy is again
"It calls for continued funding even after March of 2008, which is a year from now, for three missions: Counterterrorism, which is what the original mission was to always be, protecting our forces and retraining Iraqis."
Thats it? Hmmm now where did I hear that strategy before wait dont tell me oh yeah now I remember kinda sounds exactly like the three pillars of the Rummy 2005/06 campaign. If I remember correctly that didnt go as well as hoped. You remember hell you were the ones bitching about it everyday? Gosh one wonders how even the Code-Pinkers have caught on to you so quickly?
One of the subjects of a Dallas police intelligence bulletin, Asma Al-Homsi, says she's known convicted terrorist Wadih el Hage and his wife for more than two decades. Mr. el Hage, a former Arlington resident and naturalized U.S. citizen, was the personal secretary of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden before he was sent to prison for taking part in a worldwide conspiracy that included the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The bombings killed more than 200 people and injured thousands. Mr. el Hage was given a life sentence. But Ms. Al-Homsi said she still considers him and his wife to be close friends.
Ms. Al-Homsi and her friend, Aisha Abdul-Rahman Hamad, 50, of Irving were the subject of a March 5 Dallas police intelligence bulletin after the two women, both dressed in camouflage pants under their Muslim robes and scarves, were seen conducting what appeared to be surveillance and acting suspiciously at Dallas Love Field. Surveillance video showed one of the women walking back and forth, apparently pacing off distances. When confronted, the women told officials they were looking for the Frontiers of Flight museum. Two days later, Ms. Al-Homsi was spotted sitting on the hood of a car, looking through binoculars at the airplanes.
The women deny that they were scouting the airport and say they were watching planes for recreation. They deny any links to terrorist groups.
After news of the intelligence bulletin became public, Ms. Hamad said she was put on administrative leave Friday from her job at Outsource Partners International. The company did not return calls for comment. Ms. Hamad has never been arrested or charged with a crime.
Ms. Al-Homsi is on probation in connection with a December 2005 road rage incident involving a fake grenade she waved at a motorist. In an earlier interview, Ms. Al-Homsi bragged about being a trained sniper but denied having any ties to terrorism and said she wasn't a "dangerous individual." Ms. Al-Homsi also is believed to have explosives training, according to the intelligence bulletin. She is an accountant who has dual Syrian-U.S. citizenship.
A US court has authorized the reopening of a Palestinian bank in New York and ordered the transfer of $30 million to the Palestinian Central Bank. The decision was made after the court ruled last week that the bank was a separate body which was not linked to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The bank was ordered to discontinue operating in 2005 as a part of the general decision to freeze PA funds. That move followed a court case filed by the family of Yaron Ungar, a Brooklyn-born rabbinical student, killed along with his wife Efrat in a 1996 shooting. That suit held the PA responsible for not preventing such attacks. The Supreme Court of the State of New York said the Palestine Monetary Authority "is a separate entity from the Palestinian Authority and the money in its name should be released."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Bloody nonsense. Literally. What does the judge think the Palestinian Monetary Authority will do with the money that passes into its hands? I do hope this decision is overturned on appeal.
#2
Odd thing about New York: The New York State Supreme Court is not the highest court in the State. The Court of Appeals is. This might still be appealed.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
04/08/2007 11:32 Comments ||
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CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A top U.S. Democratic congressman met a leading member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed opposition group, during a recent visit to the country, the Islamic fundamentalist group and U.S. officials said Saturday.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer met with the Muslim Brotherhood's parliament leader, Mohammed Saad el-Katatni, twice on Thursday - once at the parliament building and then at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, said Brotherhood spokesman Hamdi Hassan.
U.S. Embassy spokesman John Berry would only confirm that Hoyer, who represents Maryland, met with el-Katatni at U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone's home at a reception with other politicians and parliament members.
Though officially banned since 1954, the Brotherhood is tolerated by the government and has become Egypt's largest opposition group and President Hosni Mubarak's most powerful rival. Its members, who run as independents, make up the largest opposition bloc in parliament, holding about one-fifth of its 454 seats.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has refused in the past to meet with the Muslim Brotherhood.
A couple days old. Christian community claims Muslim neighbors reported five people to the police for blasphemy without evidence
Police in Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan, opened an investigation into blasphemy claims against five local Christians, including an 11-year-old boy. Local activists and priests say the case has been fabricated and Christian families in the area barricaded themselves in their homes during Holy Week celebrations.
The group of five is accused of disrespecting Mohammad (PTUI) and of having desecrated pieces of paper bearing the prophet's name.
One of the five, Salamat Masih, has been arrested while other four are at large including 11-year-old Daniel. The police are searching the province for him. Upon apprehension, all will be tried under article 295 C of Pakistan's Penal Code, the blasphemy law. The law provides life imprisonment or a death sentence for infractions.
Fr. Bonnie Mendes, a priest of Toba Tek Singh, told AsiaNews, "The Christians did nothing. It is a totally fabricated case against innocent Christians". Fr. Mendes also said the situation in the area is tense although local police claim the situation is under control.
Shahbaz Bhatti, chairman of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, strongly condemned the blasphemy charges against the five Christians. He urged the government to provide full protection to Christians in Toba Tek Singh and demanded a judicial inquiry of the incident. In an interview he said "there is only one solution to stop the misuse of this law and that is the total repeal of the law. Procedural changes are just paper work and bring no relief to poor people who are still being trapped by extremists just because of this law."
Fr. Mendes explained that the root of the problem is a quarrel between families. He claimed that local Muslims were Offended by the behavior of the five Christians during a procession, agreed to report them, then attacked them during a march. The five ran away but Ratan Masih, who is disabled, did not succeed in fleeing and was brutally beaten. He remains in the hospital.
After Salamat Masih's arrest, local Christians began a campaign asking the authorities to intervene. They explained there have been substantial procedural errors made during the course of investigations including that the police have not investigated the accusations made against the Christians and that they simply arrested them on the hearsay of the Muslim's claims.
The government promised full cooperation with the Christian community and sent police to guard the Christian schools and churches in the area to avoid extremist reprisals. The delegation then met with Muslim leaders, explaining the situation to them.
Currently, the Christian community of Toba Tek Singh remains in fear of what will happen to them. Salamat's family fears for his life, and believes that he will be attacked by inmates while in prison. Family members refuse to leave their homes believing that the accusations of blasphemy could also be used against them.
#2
Not incomprehensible, newc, but business as usual for muzzies. If you don't worship the moon god Allan, you're an infidel. If you worship any other god, you're participating in blasphemy. This charge has been used against Christians and Jews for over a thousand years. It's just another example of islamic tyranny.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/08/2007 12:32 Comments ||
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How any Infidel thinks it is possible to tolerate or be tolerated by the world's most intolerant religion is beyond me. All who seek to impose sharia law by force, or even democratically, need to die. Sharia is inimical to human life.
#5
Zenster: I am in lock-step agreement as per usual. Growing up I never understood the Spanish Inquisition (I could hardly be expected to) but now I feel a visceral agreement: Convert, leave or die. Any muslims caught making a fake or half-hearted conversion to the gallows.
#6
While I find your sympathies for the Spanish Inquisition not entirely unexpected, there still is a bit of trouble at the mill. The Inquisition lacked one fundamental positive conerstone of jurisprudence in that no defendants could prove a negative, (i.e., "I'm not a witch.").
In an altogether different manner, Sharia unequivocally declares its hostile intentions for all other established (not speculative), religious affiliations. While the Inquisition's tortures brought forth many false confessions of witchcraft, Sharia suffers from no such genuine mistake. It is simply a xenophobic monoculture of extremely limited purview which suffers no inhibition with respect to inflicting itself upon any and all.
RAWALPINDI: Two-day talks between the defence secretaries of Pakistan and India ended here on Saturday without substantial progress on the Siachen dispute. However, they agreed to continue discussions to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner.
Sources in the Defence Ministry said that the talks failed due to Indian stubbornness. India has become rather arrogant after getting closer to the US, they said.
They said that the Indian attitude was a great disappointment for Pakistan. India had also failed to respond to proposals made by Pakistan in November 2006 during foreign secretary talks in New Delhi, they said, though India had so far not rejected the proposals.
The Indian delegation returned soon after the talks ended. No joint statement was issued. A brief statement issued here by the Foreign Office late evening said that the defence secretary talks were held within the framework of the composite dialogue, in Rawalpindi on April 6-7. The Pakistan delegation was led by Defence Secretary Kamran Rasool, while the Indian delegation was led by Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt, and the discussions were held in a candid and constructive atmosphere. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the November 2003 ceasefire between the two countries, which is holding successfully, said the FO statement.
It said that the defence secretaries agreed to continue the discussions to resolve the Siachen dispute in a peaceful manner. However, the sources said that no dates were set for future talks on the issue.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/08/2007 00:00 ||
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India should fly over Siachen dusting it liberally with Norit Activated Charcoal power....
Within a few years there would be no glacier to fight upon and the minerals underneath would be accessible. If they have to fight after that it would be on terrain that is cheaper to defend or attack upon.
#2
India wanted Pakistan to demarcate the present troops positions using GPS and with foreign observers present.
Pakistan refused.
This suggests Pakistan has plans to reoccupy the glacier once the Indians leave.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/08/2007 7:30 Comments ||
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dusting it liberally with Norit Activated Charcoal power....
That would affect the Indus river (the glacier is the major water source) and violate the Indus Water treaty.
Under that treaty, Pakistan is granted exclusive rights to the waters from the Indus, the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers. India may not interfere with the water flow.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/08/2007 7:57 Comments ||
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From wiki
Pakistan has launched several attempts to displace the Indian forces, but with little success. The most well known was in 1987, when an attempt was made by Pakistan to dislodge India from the area. The attack was led by Pervez Musharraf (later President of Pakistan) heading a newly formed elite SSG commando unit in the area. A special garrison with eight thousand troops was built at Khapalu. The immediate aim was to capture Bilafond La but after bitter fighting that included hand to hand combat, the Pakistanis were thrown back and the positions remained the same.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/08/2007 8:00 Comments ||
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The Indian Army controls all of the Siachen Glacier and the three main passes of the Saltoro Ridge immediately west of the glacier, Sia La, Bilafond La, and Gyong La, thus holding onto the tactical advantage of high ground.[4] Gyong La (Pass) itself is at 35-10-29N, 77-04-15 E; that high point is controlled by India. The Pakistanis control the glacial valley just five kilometers southwest of Gyong La. The line where Indian and Pakistani troops are presently holding on to their respective posts is being increasingly referred to as the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL).[5][6]
The Pakistanis have been unable get up to the crest of the Saltoro Ridge, while the Indians cannot come down and abandon their strategic high posts.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/08/2007 8:01 Comments ||
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The glacier is also the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 13, 1984. Both countries maintain permanent military personnel in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres.
India has built the world's highest helipad on this glacier at a place called Sonam, which is at 21,000 feet (6,400 m) above the sea level, to serve the area.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/08/2007 8:03 Comments ||
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Destroy the glacier and you destroy the Indus river. No amount of minerals is worth the destruction of the second longest glacier outside the polar regions.
The Indus (after which India itself is named) is important in Indian history and culture. It is considered sacred by hindus and India would never destroy it.
Look at this NASA photo
That line at the western edge of the Indian subcontinent is the Indus river. As you can see, Pakistani population and economy is concentrated along the banks of this river.
Destroying the glacier would be a civilizational ending act.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/08/2007 10:06 Comments ||
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#9
I agree it would not do to destroy the glacier, John, but declaring the end of Pakland and all life in it as a "civilizational ending act" severely stretches the definition of "civilization" :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/08/2007 10:23 Comments ||
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#10
As I wrote that I actually paused to consider the term.. lets give them the benefit of the doubt.. 1000 years of islam may have not totally eradicated the native Indian civilizational memory..
Meanwhile, voices in India call for scrapping the IWT. A Pak general has said in the past that this would be a "red line" that would result in the use of nuclear weapons against India.
A redundant treaty
By M.S. MENON
THE 46-YEAR-OLD history of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) is the story of a tragedy that began with hope as demonstrated by past events and confirmed by the recent verdict of Raymond Lafitte, the World Bank appointed neutral expert for the Baglihar project.
The treaty, signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan with the aim of achieving the optimum development and utilisation of the Indus waters, has miserably failed not only in accomplishing the objectives but also in settling water disputes between the two all these years.
A perusal of the treaty would reveal that it is biased in favour of Pakistan, ignoring international rules on equitable distribution of waters. Against India's rightful share of more than 40 per cent of the Indus waters, we got only about 20 per cent in the allocation.
Further, using the loopholes in the treaty, Pakistan succeeded in stalling/delaying Indian projects, 30 in all, planned for the development of Jammu and Kashmir. At every stage, India agreed to the demands of Pakistan such as stopping the Tulbul project works and closing the sluices in the Salal project, only to maintain good neighbourly relations. This conciliatory approach emboldened Pakistan to allege IWT violations by India on the Baglihar hydroelectric project (450 MW).
India had given the project features of Baglihar to Pakistan in May, 1992 as per treaty provisions. Despite many meetings at Commissioner and Secretary levels, Pakistan continued to harp on treaty violations by India on project designs, etc. It was willing for negotiations, if India stopped the work, but this time India did not oblige. Our neighbour then approached the World Bank seeking the appointment of a neutral expert to look into the dispute. Accepting Pakistan's plea, the Bank appointed Raymond Lafitte.
After site visits, discussions with the parties concerned and studying the presentations made by them, the expert has now given his verdict.
Both India and Pakistan have claimed that their contentions have been upheld by the expert. But will the incendiary politics of the subcontinent further trigger more conflicts?
A perusal of the verdict would reveal that while provision of sluices and gated spillway has been accepted by the expert, India would have to modify the design to reduce the height of the dam, limit the pondage and raise the level of the power intake. India has therefore to incur additional costs to carry out these changes and get reduced peak power benefits and flood moderation advantages. By awarding such a decision the expert has overlooked the very basis of the treaty i.e. the maximum utilisation of Indus waters for mutual benefit.
Years of wrangling in the interpretation of the clauses has proved beyond doubt that the treaty has outlived its utility, to address the changing geopolitical situations and emerging norms of international laws. Hence India has to insist on a review of the treaty.
The rights and obligations of the parties to a treaty are well laid down in Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties, 1969 which inter alia states that "a treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context in the light of its object and purpose."
If Pakistan does not agree for a review, India must draw its attention to Article 62 of the Convention which permits terminating or withdrawing from a treaty due to a fundamental change of circumstances.
Pakistan has already cut out its strategy to delay the Indian projects, next in its agenda being the Kishanganga project (J&K). Hence we cannot and should not allow our development efforts in J&K to be sabotaged by Pakistan wrongly using the provisions of a redundant treaty.
(The writer is former Member-Secretary, Indian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage)
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/08/2007 11:50 Comments ||
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#10: "A Pak general has said in the past that this would be a "red line" that would result in the use of nuclear weapons against India."
Well, that's stupid. Doesn't he think India might use them back?
Who has the most? Enquiring minds, etc. ....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/08/2007 12:01 Comments ||
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Barbara, India probably has the most, and the largest nukes. I don't see Pakistan using nukes against India for any reason - it would be national suicide. At the same time, the only "country" I feel deserves to die more than Pakistan is North Korea. As I've said before, destroy the pakistani army, its military infrastructure, and its government. Divide the former nation of pakistan between India and Afghanistan, along the Indus River. Destroy all the mosques and madrassahs, and hang those that taught at them. Life would become quite a bit more peaceful all across the globe. The only "losers" would be corrupt, Urdu-speaking Punjabis. No great loss for the rest of the world.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/08/2007 12:41 Comments ||
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India has both a quantitative and qualitative advantage here, having started earlier (first bomb test was in 1974) with a much larger nuclear industry and scientific capability.
Apart from being able to answer Pak's A-bombs with larger H-bombs, Pak is a smaller country. India is more than a million square miles. The former FM Jaswant Singh has noted that India can actually absorb several nuclear strikes (with a population of a billion, spread all over the country, the loss of a few million people changes nothing) while Pakistan would be obliterated by stikes along the narrow populated band along the Indus.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/08/2007 12:52 Comments ||
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#14
When I worked in the mining business, a mineral discovery sometimes resulted in two companies staking claims, with some overstaked on the other. Who owned the claim was based upon who staked it first AND recorded it. Well, this could get to be a sticky wicket, and could result in long and expensive litigation. So, often the disputed claims would be joint ventured if the deposit turned out to be a viable mine.
What is lacking here is good will on the part of the Paks. They have carved out their bit of Islamic heaven on their border, so they have Allan on their side. Nothing will come of an agreement as long as Pak-Land is a land of nut cases. Hell, they cannot even administer their own tribal areas. This treaty that they have is worthless.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/08/2007 14:52 Comments ||
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... destroy the pakistani army, its military infrastructure, and its government. Divide the former nation of pakistan between India and Afghanistan, along the Indus River. Destroy all the mosques and madrassahs, and hang those that taught at them. Life would become quite a bit more peaceful all across the globe. The only "losers" would be corrupt, Urdu-speaking Punjabis. No great loss for the rest of the world.
I could not agree with you more, Old Patriot. Pakistan is nothing but a nest of terrorist vermin who are hell bent on perpetuating global jihad. Its utter destruction would not even represent a speed bump for actual history.
Only the Palestinians rival Pakistan for the amount of needless suffering that they cause. I'd wager that due to Pakistan's global spread of its population, they have caused even more. It's long past tea for an end to this murderous charade.
The residents of sector G-6/1-4 on Saturday said they would strongly resist return of accused owner of a brothel Shamim Akhtar to her house in the area. Addressing a news conference here at street 87 of sector G-6/4-1, the office bearers of Mohalla Committee said they have heaved a sigh of relief after Shamim left the house along with her family. They alleged the quarter No. 303-C in the sector was being used as brothel by the family.
Other residents of the area said that they have called the press conference of our own will. They said they along with residents of 45 other government quarters in sector G-6/1-4 have given applications to prime minister, interior minister and housing minister to cancel allotment of the government which was allotted to son of Shamim Akhtar. They said that son of Shamim Akhtar is an employee in the education department. Asif Kamal, Chaudhry Shaukat and Nisar Ahmad before action taken by students of Jamia Hafsa were frightened of registering any complaint against Shamim and her family as she was an influential. "But now we have picked up courage," they said.
The whole street was decorated with buntings and small flags. The residents of the area said they had made the arrangement to celebrate 10 days of 'Nijat' (Ashra-e-Nijat) following departure of Shamim Akhtar from the area. They said their families particularly college and school going females had been feeling insecure due to objectionable activities of Shamim and her family. "We still fear she could return to her house by using her influence, therefore, the government should cancel allotment of the quarter," they stressed.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2007 00:00 ||
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The Iraqi army on Sunday was handed a British army base in the city of Basra, 550 kilometres south of Baghdad. The Iraqi flag was ceremoniously hoisted over the base, one month after another base in central Basra was given to the Iraqi army forces.
The handover comes as part of a phased partial troop withdrawal from Iraq, which was announced on February 21 by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Under the plan, by the end of this summer the troop numbers will be down to 5,000. Currently, around 7,100 British troops remain in Iraq, with large bases in the south - mainly in Basra and Amarah.
Separately, Adel Muhajir, governor of Amarah, around 390 kilometres south of the capital, said that local forces were 'ready' to take over security from the multi-national forces in the city.
BAGHDAD -- Four years after Saddam Hussein's ouster, Iraq's new judiciary is dismantling piece by piece the remnants of the dictator's ruthless regime built up over a quarter of a century. The executed president's inner circle of family members and many of his cronies - mostly Sunni Arabs from the Tikrit region of northern Iraq - have been hunted down and are being sent to the gallows one by one.
Former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan, like Saddam, convicted for crimes against humanity over the killing of 148 Shiites in the 1980s, was hanged last month on the anniversary of the start of the 2003 invasion.
Even ordinary Iraqis who despised Saddam were surprised by the sudden December 30 hanging of the man who ruled Iraq with an iron fist - although thousands took to the streets to noisily celebrate his downfall. Footage of Saddam being taunted and then executed was circulated on the Internet, to the delight of many Shiite Iraqis who suffered under his regime, but was widely seen internationally as a public relations blunder.
We rather enjoyed it.
The masked executioners and their sectarian chants were seen as undermining the legitimacy of the process - but this did not unnerve the Iraqi government. Calling Saddam's execution a "gift to Iraq," Bassem Ridha, advisor to Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki, said Iraq was determined to hunt other followers of Saddam. "Definitely this was historic for us. Nobody believed Saddam would be executed. Now that it is done, it has given us a boost, courage despite the mistakes we made," he said.
Barzan Ibrahim Hassan Al Tikriti, a half-brother and former chief of the dreaded Mukhabarat intelligence service, followed Saddam to the gallows January 15. His head was ripped from his body by the rope.
As someone said here at the time, the drop table is in feet, not meters.
Uday and Qusay, Saddam's two sons who were pillars of the regime, were killed in a fierce gunbattle with US troops backed by air power in the northern city of Mosul in July 2003.
Over three and a half years since Uday last raped an Iraqi woman. Thank you American soldiers.
All four have been buried in their home village of Awjah near Tikrit, along with Awad Ahmed Al Bandar, the executed chief judge of Saddam's disbanded Revolutionary Court.
Days ahead of the anniversary of the fall of Saddam's regime April 9, 2003, prosecutors Monday demanded death in the Kurdish genocide trial of Ali Hassan Al Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali." A defiant Majid has been appearing in court with a copy of the Koran holy book, which Saddam had also carried almost up to the gallows, and sits in the same front row seat that had been used by Iraq's fallen leader.
He'll be defiant right up to the moment he's hanged. Then he'll be dead.
Among those closest to Saddam's seat of power only Izzat Ibrahim Al Duri, who has a $10 million bounty on his head, has escaped capture, amid frequent unconfirmed reports of his death. He was Saddam's number two in the decision-making Revolutionary Command Council, having stood by his side ever since the 1968 coup that brought their Baath party to power.
Former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz, who represented the acceptable face of Saddam's Iraq on the international scene, appeared in court earlier this month to heap praise on the executed dictator. "I had the honor to work with the former regime and with the hero Saddam Hussein," Aziz said from the witness stand in the Anfal genocide trial. "He is the hero behind the unity of Iraq and its sovereignty."
I'm going to enjoy his hanging also.
Saddam's wife Sajida Khairallah Tulfah Hussein, and his eldest daughter Raghad, are among the women and children in the former ruler's family who fled abroad before the US occupation, and remain on a US wanted list.
Living a life of ease in Amman. I'd remind King Abdullah that if he wants to have continued access to American military equipment, we want Raghad in our custody.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/08/2007 00:53 ||
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Thanks to the American soldiers (and a few others who've made the trials possible like the US Marshals), and to a few brave Iraqis who have put themselves in the middle of this process. The Iraqi side has a few warts when viewed up close - but considering the history, they're doing a very good job. Perhaps in time the global insanity regarding Iraq will abate, and these things will be properly appreciated.
Iran refused to allow the Iraqi prime minister to fly across its airspace as he was traveling to Tokyo, members of the delegation traveling with Nouri al-Maliki told The Associated Press early Sunday. The delegation members said al-Maliki's plane was diverted on Saturday night to Dubai where al-Maliki stayed in the airport for more than three hours while his government aircraft was refueled and a new flight plan was filed. Al-Maliki was traveling to Japan to finalize a loan for Iraq to repair and upgrade the Iraq's energy industry. When it was announced in December, the loan was worth $707.53 million.
Two members of the delegation told AP about the incident by telephone from Dubai. A government official in Baghdad confirmed their account. All spoke on condition of anonymity. All three said the Iranians told al-Maliki's pilot that they were not informed in advance of the prime minister's need to cross Iran by air. None of the three had any information on whether that was true or an Iranian action designed to inconvenience and embarrass al-Maliki.
If the refusal to allow Iraq's leader to cross Iran in his government plane was anything more than the result of confusion or poor communication, the incident would be a major snub for al-Maliki. He is not known to have flown to Iran or crossed its airspace since he became prime minister in June. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani flew to Tehran in November for meetings with government officials.
Iraq has found itself in a very difficult diplomatic position since the U.S.-led invasion four years ago. It has found it necessary to court good relations with Tehran, its neighbor on the east, while not angering the Americans. The relationship became further complicated when the United States detained five Iranians in the northern city of Irbil in January and refused to release them or allow Iranian officials a chance to visit the men. Iraq's position grew even more complicated last month when Iran captured a British navy crew and held it for 13 days. Britain, which has more than 7,000 troops in southern Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition in the country, patrols the Iraqi coastline in the Gulf.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite who owes his position to support from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, would be expected to find favor with the Iranian regime, a Shiite theocracy. Tehran is said to be aiding al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia with weapons and money in its fight to force an American troop withdrawal. Al-Maliki, however, bowed to U.S. pressure early this year and demanded that al-Sadr rein in his militia in advance of the U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown in Baghdad. That operation is now in its eighth week and has seen several key Mahdi Army members detained by the U.S. military.
Al-Maliki has been unable to persuade the Americans to free a top Mahdi Army official, Qais al-Khazaali, who is believed to be Iran's main link to the militia. Al-Khazaali was captured by U.S. forces last month.
British troops could be serving in Iraq until as late as 2012, a UK newspaper reported, quoting a confidential planning document. The information comes from the Operational Tour Plot, a confidential planning document drawn up by defence chiefs and circulated last month, which lists which units are to be sent on operations when, the paper said.
The report contradicts the impression given by Prime Minister Tony Blair when he announced Britain's first major troop reduction in Iraq in February. Blair announced that numbers of British troops -- the United States' main ally in the 2003 invasion -- would be cut from 7,100 to 5,500 by the middle of the year. He added that British forces would remain in Basra "into 2008, for as long as we are wanted and have a job to do," but the report suggests that the deployment may be considerably longer than that.
Two of four provinces in southern Iraq are now under Iraqi forces' control, while Maysan is due to be handed over later this month. Basra province will be controlled by the Iraqi military from later this year. The report comes three days after four British soldiers were killed in an attack in Basra. The attack brought the British death toll in the country to 140 and prompted renewed media questioning of Blair's strategy over Iraq, criticism of which has dogged the latter years of his premiership.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2007 00:00 ||
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That decision will be out of Mr Blair's hands as soon as he steps down... and his successor is not keen on such foreign adventures.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that the Palestinian security establishment should act to stop rocket attacks on Israel, allowing the Palestinians to live in "security and dignity." Abbas spoke at a ceremony in Gaza City for new recruits to the Presidential Guard, Israel Radio reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Ask any OSHA inspector about the difference between "should" and "shall".
Allowing Israel Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman to join Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition is Labor chairman Amir Peretz's only regret, Peretz told a rally of supporters on Saturday night. Peretz said he did not regret accepting the Defense portfolio because of his impact on socioeconomic issues in the army and his desire to prove that a minister who is not a former general could succeed in the post. He said he did regret not fighting Labor ministers who insisted in remaining in the cabinet when Lieberman joined.
"My only political decision that I regret is not causing a coalition crisis over Lieberman," Peretz told the crowd. "That's where I think I made a big mistake. I shouldn't have let [Lieberman's joining happen]. Even if I would have been a minority in the party and even if I would have been the only one to vote against in the government."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Hopefully this POS was wrung dry, but whether he was or not, the message should be passed that he was and then watch for any changes in anything important. And based on those changes, a few random unexplained things could occur that will cause just that much more paranoia in the land of the paranoid.
#2
This is one of those they've had for two months? I'm sure if his brain wasn't completely wrung dry, his computer and cell phone were -- not to mention all the bits of paper that were lying about when our guys walked in. (I know, I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this, but it's the kind of thing we're really, really good at.)
A senior Lebanese anti-Syrian politician alleged on Saturday that Lebanese security agents were involved in helping Hizbullah smuggle in weapons across the country's porous border with Syria. Druse leader Walid Jumblatt told the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television channel that there is "complicity" between Hizbullah and some Lebanese security agents on the border who are allowing trucks to pass without being searched. "Nobody knows what's inside these trucks," Jumblatt said without elaborating.
Jumblatt, a legislator and key government supporter, also said in the interview that he believes the Lebanese army should enter Hizbullah training camps along the Syrian-Lebanese boundary. The existence of such camps has never been confirmed by the Hizbullah or Lebanese security officials. Also, such a crackdown against the Hizbullah would spark a major upheaval. The Lebanese army has so far been refused to be drawn into a conflict with the guerrillas and has taken a neutral stand in the political crisis between government and the Hizbullah-led opposition.
The army has said it will not move against either side, but also that it would not allow the dispute to degenerate into street violence, as was the case in December and January, when clashes took on a sectarian tone. Nine people were killed in the violence. At the time, the army came out onto the streets and briefly imposed a rare nighttime curfew.
Jumblatt's comments came a day after France circulated a draft UN Security Council statement expressing "serious concern" at mounting reports of illegal arms transfers across the Lebanon-Syria border and authorizing an independent mission to assess how the frontier is being guarded. The draft, sent to Security Council members late Thursday, welcomes the Lebanese government's "determination" to prevent transfers of weapons - banned under a UN resolution that ended last summer's war between Hizbullah and Israel. It also urges all countries, especially Hizbullah backers Syria and Iran, to enforce the arms embargo.
"There is a state within a state," Jumblatt said of Lebanon in the interview. "There is a Hizbullah army alongside the Lebanese army. There is Hizbullah intelligence alongside Lebanese (army) intelligence and there are Lebanese territories that the army is prohibited from entering. The Lebanese army should have ... entered the areas between Lebanon and Syria that are off-limits," he added.
Jumblatt, a one-time ally of Hizbullah, turned against the group last year and has been among the most ardent callers for disarming it. Mahmoud Komati, the deputy leader of Hizbullah's political bureau, promptly denied Jumblatt's allegations, telling Al-Jazeera that "all these accusations are part of the conspiracy against the resistance."
The Hizbullah-led opposition in Lebanon has been locked in a bitter struggle with the US-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. Despite his anti-Syrian stance, Saniora recently conceded that "not one single case of arms smuggling across the border" with Syria has been recorded. The opposition has been staging protests and an open ended sit-in since Dec. 1 to try and force Saniora to resign after he rejected its call for a national unity government that would give it a veto-wielding share in Cabinet.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Walid should have said that the agents are probably doing it for money.
An Iranian official said Saturday that allegations of mistreatment from a British naval team seized last month in the Persian Gulf were unfounded and stage-managed. "The mistreatment of the sailors is a lie," said Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Iran's presidential press adviser, according to Agence France-Presse. "By dictating certain statements made by the freed troops, the British authorities are seeking to improve their situation and diminish the pressure of British public opinion."
The crew began two weeks of compassionate leave Saturday. In a news conference Friday, six of the crew members said they were psychologically intimidated during their 13 days of captivity, and described being blindfolded and lined up facing a wall in a Tehran prison while guards cocked their guns. A spokesperson for Britain's Defense Ministry said the Iranian "accusations of stage management speak for themselves."
In an interview with the Financial Times, the Iranian ambassador in London, Rasoul Movahedian, said: "We played our part, and we showed our goodwill. Now it is up to the British government to proceed in a positive way." Although no strings were attached to the release, the ambassador said Iran would welcome "any steps that could defuse tensions in the region." The United States, Britain and Iran had said there would be no bargaining in the case. Iraqi officials said Saturday that the release of an Iranian diplomat on Tuesday -- the day before Ahmadinejad freed the British crew -- was coincidental.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Must be a lie cause all those self important posturing 'human rights' organizations, both government sponsored and NGO, aren't whining and complaining like they did about the Geneva Convention and Gitmo. Right? Bueller?
#2
keeping in mind Iran's thought process, (if I dare even try to understand it)
I worry if there is ever another episode of holding sailors for whatever their reasonings, that they may be less likely to let them go knowing they will tell of mistreatment.
Posted by: Jan from work ||
04/08/2007 14:22 Comments ||
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#3
There will at least be more attempts, Jan. It's already been announced.
#5
Trailing wife, thanks for the link. "It is also clear that the Iranian government believes that the outcome has strengthened its position over such contentious issues as its nuclear programme." I agree, I think it has too.
With all of the apologies given to the Iranians for not wanting to hurt their feelings and not acting on the crisis, they know that they have the upper hand. That nothing will be done.
I'd like to see a much stronger defense, before it becomes more evident that we need to have a strong offense.
Posted by: Jan from work ||
04/08/2007 17:57 Comments ||
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The Pantsyr 1 (known in the West as SA-19 GRISOM) system is designed to engage aerial targets, including missiles; the Khrizantema (9M123), to strike advancing tank columns at long range and destroy bunkers.
Our military sources report that the two weapons systems combined are built to repel advancing armored units while at the same striking at helicopter commando drops behind their lines. A third recently-delivered Russian system, the TOR M1, has been put into service by the Revolutionary Guards to protect nuclear and other strategic sites against missile attack, including cruise missiles.
The Israeli military fears Moscow is also planning to supply Syria and Hizballah with the sophisticated SA-9 and 9M123. DEBKAfiles military sources say that the two weapons in Syrian hands could seriously impair Israeli tank and helicopter movements and hit IDF positions and command posts deep inside the Golan.
Col. Yury Solovyov, commander of Russias Air Defense Forces Special Command, told Novosti news agency Friday, April 6, that Irans air defense system is strong enough to repel a US strike. "Currently Iran has our defense missile systems which are capable of tackling US combat aircraft," he said. "Iran also has French and other countries defense systems."
Earlier, Russian Dept FM Alexander Losyukov stated that no US attack on Iran is expected in the coming days, contradicting a previous quote by Novosti from Russian intelligence officials who predicted a US missile strike against Iran, codenamed Operation Bite, at 4:00 a.m. April 6. Other Russian sources speak of an April attack.
The Pantsyr 1 is a radar command-guided, two-stage surface-to-air missile battery mounted on a 2S6 integrated air defense system, which is fitted with two banks of four missiles in blocks of two. Each can be independently elevated vertically. The weapon can engage aerial targets moving at a maximum speed of 500 meters per second at altitudes ranging from 15 to 3,500 meters. Its effective range is 2..4 to 8 km. A high-explosive fragmentation warhead is activated within 5 metes from target with a kill probability of 70%.
The Khrizantemas supersonic missiles shoot at a speed of 400 meters per second to hit moving targets, including armored vehicles, at a distance of 6 km. This weapon can pierce 1,200mm of steel armor even explosive reactor armor (ERA) - making both the US Abrams and Israeli Chariot tanks vulnerable. It can also destroy bunkers and engage low-flying helicopters. The Khrizantema uniquely features two guidance modes - automatic by roof-mounted radar, and semi-automatic by a laser beam rider.
#1
Col. Yury Solovyov, commander of Russia's Air Defense Forces Special Command, told Novosti news agency Friday, April 6, that Iran's air defense system is strong enough to repel a US strike. "Currently Iran has our defense missile systems which are capable of tackling US combat aircraft," he said. "Iran also has French and other country's defense systems."
Enemy Helping to kill Americans
Russia - Check
France - Check
Other? - Check (china, NKor ...)
So is the CIA tasking somebody to take out the factories making this shit in Russia, France or OTHER?
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.
NEW YORK - Washington allowed Ethiopia to secretly buy weapons from North Korea in an apparent breach of UN sanctions aimed at punishing Pyongyang for its atomic test, the New York Times reported on Saturday. The purchase went through in January three months after the UN text was adopted as Ethiopia was supporting Somali government troops in a battle against Islamist militias, the paper said, quoting unnamed senior US officials.
Unidentified gunmen shot a local BNP leader at Nayabazar in the capital last night injuring him critically. The gunmen attacked joint secretary of Kotwali BNP unit Haji Muhammad Tajul Islam, 37, soon after he exited Shahzadi Begum Jame Mosque at Nayabazar around 8:30pm. 
The 15 British military hostages released by Iran were accused last night of cashing in on the ordeal by selling their stories in a string of lucrative media deals. The sailors, who spent 13 days in captivity and at times feared for their lives, have been given permission by the Ministry of Defence to give exclusive interviews. The MoD justified lifting the ban on military personnel selling their stories while in service because of the 'exceptional circumstances' involved.
A US court has authorized the reopening of a Palestinian bank in New York and ordered the transfer of $30 million to the Palestinian Central Bank. The decision was made after the court ruled last week that the bank was a separate body which was not linked to the Palestinian Authority (PA). 
Christian community claims Muslim neighbors reported five people to the police for blasphemy without evidence
The residents of sector G-6/1-4 on Saturday said they would strongly resist return of accused owner of a brothel Shamim Akhtar to her house in the area. Addressing a news conference here at street 87 of sector G-6/4-1, the office bearers of Mohalla Committee said they have heaved a sigh of relief after Shamim left the house along with her family. They alleged the quarter No. 303-C in the sector was being used as brothel by the family.
BAGHDAD -- Four years after Saddam Hussein's ouster, Iraq's new judiciary is dismantling piece by piece the remnants of the dictator's ruthless regime built up over a quarter of a century. The executed president's inner circle of family members and many of his cronies - mostly Sunni Arabs from the Tikrit region of northern Iraq - have been hunted down and are being sent to the gallows one by one. 
British troops could be serving in Iraq until as late as 2012, a UK newspaper reported, quoting a confidential planning document. The information comes from the Operational Tour Plot, a confidential planning document drawn up by defence chiefs and circulated last month, which lists which units are to be sent on operations when, the paper said. 
Allowing Israel Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman to join Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition is Labor chairman Amir Peretz's only regret, Peretz told a rally of supporters on Saturday night. Peretz said he did not regret accepting the Defense portfolio because of his impact on socioeconomic issues in the army and his desire to prove that a minister who is not a former general could succeed in the post. He said he did regret not fighting Labor ministers who insisted in remaining in the cabinet when Lieberman joined. 
A senior Lebanese anti-Syrian politician alleged on Saturday that Lebanese security agents were involved in helping Hizbullah smuggle in weapons across the country's porous border with Syria. Druse leader Walid Jumblatt told the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television channel that there is "complicity" between Hizbullah and some Lebanese security agents on the border who are allowing trucks to pass without being searched. "Nobody knows what's inside these trucks," Jumblatt said without elaborating. 
An Iranian official said Saturday that allegations of mistreatment from a British naval team seized last month in the Persian Gulf were unfounded and stage-managed. "The mistreatment of the sailors is a lie," said Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Iran's presidential press adviser, according to Agence France-Presse. "By dictating certain statements made by the freed troops, the British authorities are seeking to improve their situation and diminish the pressure of British public opinion."
