Palestinian security forces are investigating the possibility that missing BBC correspondent Alan Johnston staged his own kidnapping, an Arab newspaper reported Monday.
According to London-based Arab language newspaper, Al-Hayat, Johnston staged his capture by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip after he received notification from his superiors that he would be forced to leave his position in the near future.
Johnston, said the report, waited 15 minutes for his "captors" to pick him up, and has been held willingly in an undisclosed location for over a month.
Is it "p-u-s-i-l-l-a-n-i-m-o-u-s" or "p-u-s-i-l-a-n-i-m-o-u-s"? I can never remember.
BBC representatives refused to comment on the report.
"We got nuttin' to say."
Last week, Palestinian Journalists called on the local and foreign media to boycott the Palestinian Authority in response to the alleged kidnapping.
Now they can boycott the Beeb.
Johnston, 44, was supposedly abducted on March 12 when four masked gunmen snatched him from his car as he headed to his apartment in Gaza City. We'll see. Johnston is strongly pro-Paleo and just happens to have written rather positively about the Gaza kidnap gangs in the past.
The Brits should ban the BBC in Britain. That would do a lot to end the whole rotten mess. Get rid of that stupid TV tax at the same time.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/09/2007 13:28 Comments ||
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#6
Johnston staged his capture by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip after he received notification from his superiors that he would be forced to leave his position in the near future.
Yeah, really, I mean, who would ever want to leave Gaza...
Eritrea is fuelling the insurgency in Somalia in order to wage a proxy war against its arch-foe Ethiopia, according to the top US official for Africa. Jendayi Frazer, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said that Eritrea was the largest foreign backer of guerrillas who are fiercely resisting attempts by Ethiopia and the Somali government to pacify Mogadishu.
"No insurgency group can survive without support from neighbouring countries," said Ms Frazer in Nairobi on Saturday night, just hours after becoming the highest ranking US official to visit Somalia for 14 years. "Certainly Eritrea is the country of greatest concern," she said.
Color me impressed, I didn't think the State Dept would say anything that blunt. Is she a Bolton protégé?
Ethiopia and Eritrea have a bitter history, and fought a brutal war over a border dispute that saw more than 70,000 people die between 1998 and 2000. Both countries remain in a state of war-readiness because Ethiopia refuses to accept the judgment of an independent boundary commission as to the location of the border.
Fears of a proxy war in Somalia have existed since the Somali Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) took control of Mogadishu in June last year. Ethiopia, which accused the Islamists of terror links, immediately signalled its military support for the Somalia's weak Transitional Federal Government. Eritrea sided with the SCIC by supplying training and weapons, according to a UN report. Eritrea denies supporting the SCIC or insurgents.
"Wudn't us. Must have been the Yemenis. Shifty lot, them."
But Ms Frazer said that Asmara was backing the remnants of the SCIC, in particular the hardline Shabaab fighters who form the core of the guerilla movement along with clan and warlord militias who are opposed to the government.
Ms Frazer said that while the "global jihadist network" was also supporting the Shabaab, Eritrea's sole motivation was "anything that will hurt" its southern neighbour. "This is very much aimed at Ethiopia," she said.
Her comments will anger Eritrea, which accuses the US of favouring Ethiopia in the border dispute because of prime minister Meles Zenawi's status as an ally in the war on terror. During the brief war to oust the SCIC in December and January, Washington provided logistical and intelligence support to Ethiopia, and launched two air strikes aimed at fleeing Islamist fighters.
But the US is now coming under pressure at home and abroad to justify its unflinching support for Mr Zenawi's regime. An operation by Ethiopian troops to flush out insurgents from Mogadishu last weekend has drawn severe criticism after nearly 400 people were killed. The main security adviser to the European Commission warned that war crimes might have been committed by Ethiopia.
Boy does that have us and the Aethiops shaking in our shoes. Excessive force is the usual state of operations in the Horn of Africa.
Ms Frazer said that both sides had used "excessive force", but stopped short of directly criticising Ethiopia's action. She said that the US had a "very good relationship with Ethiopia, so we don't have to discuss matters [of concern] in public".
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"No insurgency group can survive without support from neighbouring countries,"
Certainly Eritrea is the country of greatest concern,"
Gloves have come off. A couple of carrier battle groups off their coast should get the message across...
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/09/2007 8:56 Comments ||
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#2
By all means let the Eritreans get their asses kicked next.
#3
I confess that when the Eritreans were first fighting for their independence that I had some sympathy for them. This was back in the '90s when the Aethiops were still mostly a commie state, and here were the brave freedom-loving Erits fighting for their homes.
Hmmmmmph. Shows you what I knew.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/09/2007 11:49 Comments ||
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#4
I didn't used to know anything about any of these countries. I'm not sure I wasn't better off being ignorant.
#5
"Color me impressed, I didn't think the State Dept would say anything that blunt. Is she a Bolton protégé?"
No, just new. In fact she is probably in the process of cleaning out her desk.......
(SomaliNet) Reports from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northeast Somalia say that the army commander of Sool region in Puntland state defected into the self-declared break away republic of Somaliland on Sunday.
Mohamed Hussein escaped into Somaliland where he was welcomed by the Somaliland authorities in Aynaba district of Sool. It is not yet clear why he joined Somaliland and there is no word from Puntland on his defection so far. There has been territorial dispute between Puntland and Somaliland for many years.
Why shouldn't there be a territorial dispute, everything in that region has been up for grabs for centuries.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Hawiye clan elders opposing the transitional government today appointed a committee that will asses the casualties resulted from the fighting in the Somalia capital last week. 11 members of intellectuals and former army officers were designated for assessing and reporting of the loss brought by the four-day fighting in Mogadishu. Around 400 people have been killed in the recent Mogadishus clashes after the warring sides exchanged heavy weaponry which mainly hit populated areas.
Meanwhile, a meeting, which was due be to held today by Ethiopians and Hawiye leaders was postponed to Tuesday. Many people in the Somalia capital eagerly await what will be the out of the coming round of talks between both sides fearing of possible resumption of war if the talks end in failure.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Somalis president Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi have today returned to the capital amid tightened security after meeting with the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer and the US ambassador to Kenya Michel Renerberger in Baidoa over the crisis.
President Yusuf and premier Gedi with their delegates have reached the capital today by road. They were heavily guarded by Ethiopian forces who followed them from Baidoa, 240km southwest of the Somalia capital. Heavily armed Ethiopian forces were deployed on many key roads in the capital like KM4 roundabout and the main road to the presidential palace, stopping all cars briefly where the government officials passed.
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The Roman Catholic bishop who oversees the [UK] armed forces has provoked fury by praising the Iranian leadership for its "forgiveness" and "act of mercy" in freeing the 15 British sailors and marines last week. The Bishop of the Forces, the Rt Rev Tom Burns, said that the religious beliefs of the Iranians had played a large part in their decision to release the hostages after holding them for more than two weeks.
There's a word for a national leader who kidnaps foreign nationals and then releases them, and then touts his 'forgiveness': but it's a Yiddish word and it might offend the followers of Allan.
His words were echoed by a leading Anglican figure, the Right Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, who said Iran had acted within the "moral and spiritual tradition of their country" and contrasted this with Britain's "free-floating attitudes".
He manages to insult all the good, decent Persians suffering under the yoke of the Mad Mullahs, as well as his own countrymen.
Bishop Burns, who ministers to the 40,000 Catholics and their families who are members of the armed forces, said the decision to release the captives had demonstrated "faith in a forgiving God".
Or scheming by completely cynical politicans. But hey, which is more likely?
But his comments were angrily denounced yesterday by politicians and soldiers as "naive" and "wishful thinking" for failing to recognise the illegality of Teheran's actions.
Bishop Burns doesn't worry about illegality, he's already demonstrated that.
In a statement welcoming the hostages' release on Thursday, Bishop Burns said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had spoken of forgiveness, and appealed to the religious traditions of Islam. This might seem puzzling, said the bishop.
But it had to be seen in the context of the Iranians' belief that Britain had violated their territorial waters. "So, if that is the case they are putting forward, then by their own standards, the standards enshrined in their religion, they have then chosen to put their faith into action to resolve the situation," said the bishop.
Except that both the Brits and the Iranians know, and knew at the time, where the seizure had taken place. Rather blows a big hole in your theory, eh Your Worshipfulness?
"Faith in a forgiving God has been exemplified in action by their good deeds. They are offering to release the sailors and marines, not just as the result of diplomacy, but also as an act of mercy in accordance with their religion."
He can't be this clueless.
Bishop Burns said he had issued an appeal to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, "in the name of his nation and in the name of Islam", to free the sailors and marines, but he could not be sure whether his appeal had reached the authorities in Iran.
He added that the Iranian's Islamic faith shared many religious values with Christianity.
Other than the beheadings, fourth-class treatment of women, persecution of Bi'hais and Zoroasterians, hatred of Jews, and suppression of civil rights and personal liberties?
"Over the past two weeks, there has been a unity of purpose between Britain and Iran, whereby everyone has sought justice and forgiveness where that is appropriate," he said. "Repentance has a common root in each religion. We all profess to hold a faith that comes from Abraham - the Father of all Nations. "All nations form one community: we come from the one God who created us, and we will return to the one God as our common destiny."
Why is this man a bishop? Isn't he supposed to, you know, defend his own faith?
Bishop Nazir-Ali said the Iranians had scored "something of a coup" by appealing to their religious traditions in freeing the hostages.
That's a more revealing statement than he recognizes.
In sharp contrast, Britain had failed to refer to any higher values.
That's also true: the Brits could have stood for the virtues and values of their ancestors, men like Wellington, Churchill, Lt. Chard, and so on. They could have stood for their rights unter international law. They did none of those things, and so the criticism is (not in the way he intended) correct.
"I saw on the one hand what Iran was doing, and what the president [of Iran] said had much to do with the moral and spiritual tradition of their country," he said. "The president talked about the religious background to the release, with reference to the Prophet's birthday and the passing over of Christ. What struck me was that if there were any values on the British side they were free-floating and not anchored in a spiritual and moral tradition."
The latter is what happens in a post-Christian, secular, progressive-liberal state that lacks any anchorage in traditional beliefs and virtues. But the idea that Ahmadinnerplate somehow believed a single word he was spouting demonstrates that the good Bishop is a lamb amongst wolves.
He added, however, that he believed that both sides were acting from mixed motives, and challenged the Iranians to demonstrate similar tolerance in their treatment of religious minorities.
Which will in turn be attacked by the Iranians as 'interference in their domestic affairs'. The bishop then will apologize. You heard it here first.
Bishop Burns came under fierce attack yesterday for his more naïve and foolish trusting remarks. Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, called him "naive in the extreme". He said it appeared that the bishop had been "taken in by the clever propaganda" of the Iranian regime. "This is a regime that illegally captured our servicemen and held them in quite dreadful conditions for some time. The true moral worth of a leader is in his or her deeds, not words." Dr Fox added: "I think that those who talk in religious terms while practising abduction should be judged on what they have done, not what they have said. To do otherwise is naive in the extreme."
There's one Tory who understands the issue.
Col Tim Collins, who led the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, said: "It's a close call as to which organisation is in the deepest moral crisis - the Church or the Ministry of Defence."
Good point; they're both in the abyss.
Col Edward Armitstead, a former Coldstream Guards officer who is a member of the Church of England's General Synod, said: "You have to ask, why did the Iranians capture our people in the first place? The bishop is naive and guilty of wishful thinking."
Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said: "We will never know whether the Iranian president's decision to release the hostages was motivated by his religion or, most probably, by a desire to ensure that his best interests were served. "It would be naive to take what the president said at face value but perhaps we should not dismiss his words entirely."
Nick demonstrates his captivity to his constituency: the LD's are even worse than Labour in believing this foolishness.
Bishop Burns was unavailable for comment yesterday.
#1
I can respect wanting to avoid war, or wanting to avoid until the last minute, but one has to ask himself HOW IS THE GLOBAL ISLAMIST AGENDA AVERTED FROM WAR - put another way, HOW IS GLOBAL ISLAMISM ACHIEVED IFF RADIC ISLAMIST-PROCLAIMED
"CRUSADER AMERICA-WEST" IS ONLY "HURT", NOT DESTROYED OR REMOVED, AS A COUNTER TO ISLAMISM??? Lest we fergit, Radical Enviros want approxi 90% OR MORE of the World's Population to be eliminated in order to save the planet - ITS "NECESSARY", ITS "JUSTIFIED", ITS "SO THAT HUMANITY + EARTH CAN SURVIVE", while CHINA wants 200Milyuhn Amers goners + 1/2 of CONUS-NORAM for Chinese/Chicom-centric "living space". HISTORY CHANNEL > JESUS married Mary Magdalene, had children or a daughter Sarah by same, + may NOT had been crucified nor died on the Cross. WOT > WAR FOR SECULARISM, SECULAR + INTELLECTUAL ATHEISM, AMORALISM + APOLITICISM, .........ETC.
KYOTO > means the USA = WEst? must give up their consumption = quality-of-life while weaker Nations-Societies can pollute all they want.
#6
I love the RCC, but this is one of the most depressing reads in months, and confirms my gloomiest predictions for the future. There WILL BE NO organized religious or cultural resistance now that we're being cornered. I keep praying that someone, anyone will organize and fight back -- mafia, neo-nazis, soccer hulligans, ANYONE! I realized years ago, that in the Church, just like American government, the more Liberal (read, power-hungry and amoral) rise to the top.
Posted by: Captain Lewis ||
04/09/2007 8:58 Comments ||
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What's queer about this is that the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, Anglican Bishop of Rochester, was born in Pakistan, if I recall correctly, and usually is more forthright about the danger Islam poses to the world as it is too often practiced... unless I'm confusing him with that lovely African (Nigerian?) bishop who is taking on so many of the break-away American congregations.
#10
This is the second article posted on RB within the past week where, upon reading the article, my first thought was: I hope Old Spook doesn't read this since it'll cause severe heart palpitations.
This bishop is a prime example of why there are many lapsed Roman Catholics.
Yesterday afternoon at Easter brunch my mother in law (an old school pious RC) asked me the status of my faith. I told her my faith in Christ was strong, but not so much in the Church. I wish this artilce had been posted a day earlier so I could have cited it as the most recent example of my lack of faith in current church leadership.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
04/09/2007 11:33 Comments ||
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Were I a Brit, I would want a total embargo on all further comment about this debacle. The British lion has been shown to be old and feeble, unable to muster the will to even threaten the use of his shriveled military muscle.
#12
Good grief, trailing wife, you're absolutely right! Nazir-Al is usually much less conciliatory about Islam's perpetual misdeeds. I'll have to give the Bishop of Rochester a pass on this one in light of his outspokeness on so many other even more critical issues, but I'm still a wee bit disappointed. Nazir-Ali is a lone voice in Britain's clerical wilderness with respect to the Islamic threat.
The PLA's acquisition, since 1991, of nearly 300 Sukhoi Su-27/30 Flanker long range fighter aircraft, represents the single greatest investment in modern fighter aircraft seen since the Soviet re-equipment with the Su-27 and MiG-29 during the 1980s.
With further growth in this fleet now inevitable, currently planned and deployed numbers are approaching 400 aircraft, making this fleet numerically competitive with the US Air Force fleet of 400 legacy F-15A-D fighters, and 200 F-15E strike fighters.
By any conventional metric, the Su-27 and Su-30 represent direct equivalents to the US F-15C and F-15E, and offer superior capabilities to the US fighters in several key areas. The latest variants include all of the avionic and systems refinements historically exclusive to US and EU combat aircraft... Considerably more, and pics, at link.
#2
Individual airframe statistics don't mean much in a missile world. The efficacy of a fighter force is in the electronics and the training of the crews that use them. Only self-defeating rules of engagement let aircraft get close enough for anything resembling a dogfight.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/09/2007 12:30 Comments ||
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Wonder how many F/A-18s it would take to wipe out that "big stick". One thing we're vastly superior in is ECM. I do believe the PLA has bought a "lead sled", as we used to call the old F-4. The F-4 - proof positive that with enough power, even a brick can fly.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/09/2007 13:36 Comments ||
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All the fancy avionics in the world cannot make up for Soviet-styled ground controlled air combat : the Syrians tried the same thing back in the 1980s when they had the "superior" MiGs against the Israelis, and look at the results of downed aircraft on the Syrian side. The problem for the Chinese is that they have those fighters, 300 of them, and about 3000 other older armed target drone class MiGs and the like. So, if the Chinese wish to threaten someone, they have to shift all 300 of the good aircraft over to the threatened side - leaving their other flanks exposed.
Also, that assumes that the USAF is the only force going after the PLAAF : if the stuff hits the fan bad enough for a shooting war between the PLAAF and the USAF, the US Navy and Marine Air Wings are involved as well. Plus then, one has to factor in the AEGIS class destroyers, against which the PLAAF has NO experience (not even against a somewhat modern SAM defense belt like in Iraq prior to 2003}.
One big problem for the PLAAF is that it has NO depth : there is no Nellis AFB equivalent in China. As the PLAAF loses aircraft, the losses have to be made up by new manufacture or transfer of less capable aircraft from existing wings. The USAF can have whole squadrons rebuilt from the Boneyard at Nellis in less time than it would take to build new aircraft. So in a shooting war that lasts over a few months, the PLAAF loses all of its new and advanced aircraft, with no hope of making up the losses in the short term - beyond what Chinese factories can turn out. Also remember the quality control issues that have dogged all Chinese licensed production of weapons since the 1930s - Chinese tanks and APCs have so many problems with welds and engines that most countries won't bother to rebuilt them when they get old, they simply give them away as military aid to even poorer countries or strip them and use them as targets on ranges.
#12
I still hope our skunkworks is producing an entirely new class of drone fighter aircraft as heavily armed for air-to-air combat as the A-10 is for CAS.
Imagine the high-pitched farting sounds in the cockpit of Chinese aircraft when an entire wing gets engaged by something traveling at Mach-7 and single handedly engaging a dozen enemy aircraft at a time.
#13
Would those in the Chinese cockpits have time to make noises of any pitch at a closing speed nearing Mach-8, Anonymoose? I know I could't see fast enough to figure out what was going on when Mr. Wife used to drive at 185 kmh on the autobahn.
Munich (dpa) - German prosecutors said Thursday they will make a new attempt to bring 13 CIA workers to justice for the abduction of a German-Lebanese citizen mistakenly suspected of terrorism. "We will submit an application for temporary custody in the United States," Chief Prosecutor August Stern said in Munich, two months after a court in the city issued arrest warrants for the 13.
Umm, no.
The suspects are believed to be the crew and passengers of an aircraft that flew Lebanese-born Khaled el-Masri from Macedonia to Afghanistan in 2003. Masri alleges he was secretly detained for five months in Kabul then dumped by his captors in Albania. His lawyers say he is an innocent victim of the CIA practice of the "extraordinary rendition" of terrorism suspects that has caused intense controversy in several European countries.
Munich prosecutors said the new application will be relayed to US authorities via the Justice Ministry in Berlin. Most of the suspects live in the US state of North Carolina, according to German reports. Following a request by the Munich court, Interpol issued warrants for 10 of the 13 agents, accusing them of abduction and causing serious bodily harm. German officials say they expect little help from the US and the 13 are unlikely to be detained unless they return to a European Union country.
Looks like you boys are staying home for a while.
Last month a US appeals court refused to allow Masri's lawsuit against former CIA director George Tenet to go to court. The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia upheld the decision of a lower court that said a trial could reveal state secrets and endanger national security. The suit charges Tenet knew Masri had been held even after the agency had realized his capture was a mistake.
Masri says his main goal is an apology from the US government. He is also seeking damages of at least 75,000 dollars.
#4
Even formerly staunch England has "gone all wobbly" as an ally, so aside from the fact that Euro-peons should never be trying our people we damn well better not trust any EU court unless the Euros regain their sanity. We have to strengthen our ties with Australia, Israel, India and Japan because they are the only allies we have left which are not significantly corrupted by hard Left internal movements.
#6
Perhaps you'd like that "NO" wrapped around a nice load of bricks, delivered by B-52? I'm sure they'll make quite an impression from 45,000 feet. We'll try to avoid the Munich Zoo and a few historical sites. Maybe you'd like them delivered to the 1972 Olympic site??? You're so proud of that, for some reason.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/09/2007 13:39 Comments ||
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#7
Time for a base-closing or three
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/09/2007 19:14 Comments ||
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#8
#7: "Time for a base-closing or threeall"
There - fixed that for ya', Frank.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/09/2007 21:14 Comments ||
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#9
I disagree about withdrawing our troops. They don't get around much. Let's send them on a tour of the country, starting with Berlin and the Reichstag (or whatever it's called now).
Are the persecutors responsible to the PM? Is the Interior ministry one of the posts that the SDP was given?
The armed Basque separatist group ETA on Sunday offered to make new commitments to the troubled peace process if the Spanish state stopped its "attacks" in the Basque region. An interview published in the Basque language newspaper Gara on a nationalist holiday in the northern region was the group's first statement since January, when it claimed responsibility for a car bomb that killed two people at Madrid's main airport.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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h/t to the corner. Time to crank up the email to your White House and congresscritters. We don't want or need these fifth column parasites. The Gaza paradise should be their dumping ground
The head of a U.N. agency charged with caring for Palestinian refugees said the United States has offered to receive 7,000 Palestinians who fled Iraq. WHAT??? Karen Koning AbuZayd, commissioner general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, said Thursday no specific country has offered to receive Palestinian refugees in Iraq, "but I know the United States confirmed it can take 7,000 of them." they meant "at guantanamo", I hope
She told United Press International in Damascus that while there were no plans to permanently settle Palestinian refugees, "some live in difficult conditions, especially those from Iraq and who are stranded on the Iraqi borders" with Syria and with Jordan. The UNRWA chief noted her agency and the U.N. high commissioner for refugees have requested third countries to grant refuge to Palestinians from Iraq.
Since Saddam Hussein's ouster in April 2003, thousands of Palestinian refugees have fled Iraq, and many of them remain stranded in makeshift camps on Iraq's borders with Syria and Jordan. These two states have not allowed entry to the majority of them on the grounds that increasing the Palestinian refugee population in their territories might facilitate their "permanent settlement," and thus lose their right to return to their original homes where Israel was established in 1948.
The number of Palestinians fleeing from Iraq surged in the past year to escape targeted killings and kidnappings by Shiite militiamen in what is believed to be acts of vengeance against a community that lived somewhat freely and comfortably under Saddam's regime.
AbuZayd said UNHCR was handling the issue of about 15,000 Palestinians still in Iraq and is the international organization authorized to negotiate with the Iraqi government regarding their conditions.
UNRWA has helped almost 4.4 million Palestinian refugees living in camps in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip their Islamic Brothers in Iraq, Jordan, Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Egypt, UAE, et al don't want them, why are we agreeing. F*&king State Dept
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/09/2007 19:54 ||
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#1
Oh great bring the splodeydopes here. How wonderful.
#2
That's not a bad idea - as long as they're put in the custody of Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, complete with pink underwear for them to wear in their refugee camps tents in the desert.
And he has written permission from the US gubmint (who will be paying for all this) to shoot to kill anyone who tries to escape.
Or we could just shoot them there and save the airfare.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/09/2007 21:21 Comments ||
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#3
or, as I emailed my Rep, Duncan Hunter, we could just acknowledge them as an infectious disease, and deny them entry
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/09/2007 21:27 Comments ||
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#4
If they have been providing service as interpreters I may make an exception and welcome them here.
Sort them by clan, then send them to the appropriate part of the Palestinian homeland, where they have the right of return. They'll be an asset to their people; after all, they were specially educated at Saddam Hussein's expense. I'm surprised Abbas didn't demand it -- since it was discovered their population count was off by a million or so, it's really thrown off their timing to push the Jews into the sea.
#8
Didn't Saddam import the Palestinians as a specifically unaligned group to perform violent missions against other Iraqi sects? Wouldn't these represent the absolute worst elements to resettle within the United States?
These two states have not allowed entry to the majority of them on the grounds that increasing the Palestinian refugee population in their territories might facilitate their "permanent settlement," and thus lose their right to return to their original homes where Israel was established in 1948.
The mental gymnastics that these shitheads employ to obtain whatever result or excuse that sereves their purpose of the moment are simply phenomenal. It strains credulity to imagine that they can even utter such total horseshit with a straight face.
#9
#8 Didn't Saddam import the Palestinians as a specifically unaligned group to perform violent missions against other Iraqi sects? Wouldn't these represent the absolute worst elements to resettle within the United States?
yep - that's why the Iraqis are kicking their asses.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/09/2007 22:38 Comments ||
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#10
On one hand, I don't want them over here. On the other hand---"are you f*cking crazy, Mr Bush?".
#11
I just wrote my congresscritter telling him in no uncertain terms that I don't want any more Johnnie and Janie Jihads coming into this country. EVER. I told him to tell the UN to send them where they belong--GAZA.
Posted by: Mac ||
04/09/2007 23:43 Comments ||
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This is gonna clause some problems!
The CIA and Pentagon would for the first time be required to assess the national security implications of climate change under proposed legislation intended to a national defense issue.
The bipartisan proposal, which its sponsors expect to pass the Congress with wide support, calls for the director of national intelligence to conduct the first-ever "national intelligence estimate" on global warming. The effort would include pinpointing the regions at highest risk of humanitarian suffering and assessing the likelihood of wars erupting over diminishing water and other resources.
Not a bad idea, along the same lines of our being prepared for an invasion by Canada. Some staff officer in training will get to write a NIE on global warming as an exercise.
The measure also would order the Pentagon to undertake a series of war games to determine how global climate change could affect US security, including "direct physical threats to the United States posed by extreme weather events such as hurricanes."
COL: "Okay, people, gather 'round the Big Board. We're going to game the 'global climate change' scenario today."
CAP #1: [ whispering to CAP #2 ] "Kee-rist, not this again."
COL: "Captain, you got something you want to share with us?"
CAP #1: "Umm, no sir, looking forward to the exercise, sir."
The growing attention to global warming as a national security issue could open new avenues of support for tougher efforts to limit greenhouse gases, according to specialists.
"If you get the intelligence community to apply some of its analytic capabilities to this issue, it could be compelling to whoever is sitting in the White House," said Anne Harrington , director of the committee on international security at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington. "If the White House does not absorb the independent scientific expertise, then maybe something from the intelligence community might have more weight."
The measure, sponsored by Senator Chuck Hagel , a Nebraska Republican, and Senator Richard J. Durbin , an Illinois Democrat, comes as other international bodies are taking steps to designate global warming as a high international priority for their budgets and staffing. The United Nations Security Council has put climate change on its agenda for the first time, warning that global warming could be a catalyst for new conflicts around the world. The council said it would hold a high-level meeting on the issue later this month.
"The traditional triggers of conflict which exist out there are likely to be exacerbated by the effect of climate change," said Emyr Jones Parry, Britain's UN ambassador.
The push in the United States to treat global warming as a national security threat follows the same path as previous efforts to treat the spread of AIDS as a security threat. The disease was long seen as exclusively a health issue until intelligence officials warned that it could ravage military forces across Africa and draw the United States into conflict.
Growing concerns about the implications of global warming have also led some Republicans and Democrats to give the issue far more prominence in policy circles. "For years, many of us have examined global warming as an environmental or economic issue," Durbin said in little-noticed remarks last month. "We also need to consider it as a security concern." That's are far as I could stand to read
#1
"The measure, sponsored by Senator Chuck Hagel,..."
I knew it. I just KNEW this idiot must be involved, before I even got to the end of the 2nd paragraph.
Where's that noose...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/09/2007 16:55 Comments ||
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#2
This is just Chapter 'Next,' The USN aalready has to run their ASW drill plans therough all sorts of contortions because there is a fear that the sonar interferes with whalesong.
Save a whale: harpoon a fat chick.
#4
If you mandate enough activity, then the actuality eventually becomes self perpetuating. Bureaucracy U's Empire-building 101.
Posted by: john ||
04/09/2007 18:20 Comments ||
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#5
Nebraska should be ashamed for sending this POS to the Senate. I voted against Boxer and Di-Fi, so I'm only ashamed of the idjits that voted them in
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/09/2007 18:25 Comments ||
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Dems polling must be just terrible for Carl to come out with this.
WASHINGTON - The Senate will not stop paying for the Iraq war nor relent from insisting that President Bush keep pressing the Baghdad government for a negotiated end to the violence, a Democratic leader said Sunday.
Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, the Senate Armed Service Committee chairman, took issue with an effort by Majority Leader Harry Reid to cut off money for the war next year as a way to end U.S. involvement. "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."
"We're going to fund the troops. We always have," Levin said. He added, "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."
No one has a problem getting Iraqi leaders to keep their commitments, as long as we understand that with Mookie and the Iranians and the Syrians and Zawahiri, et al, in play that we're going to have some slack in any timetable. But that's not what the Dhimmicrats were going for in the first place, and we all know it.
Reid, D-Nev., said last week that if Bush rejects the Democrats' legislation, he would join with Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., one of the party's most liberal members who has long called to end the war by denying funding for it. Reid's latest proposal would give the president one year to get troops out, ending funding for combat operations after March 31, 2008.
You go, Harry, it's the best way I know to swing the country against you.
"We can keep the benchmarks part of the bill without saying that the troops must begin to come back within four months," Levin said. "If that doesn't work and the president vetoes because of that, and he will, then that part of it is removed, because we're going to fund the troops.
The voice of political reality here. Carl can count to 51%.
"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.
Bush might well veto the bill if it requires him to 'certify' anything, because it's a weasel provision that lets the Dhimmicrats continue to blame Bush instead of stepping up and taking responsibility. They're in the majority now, it's time for them to act like adults.
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said it is unacceptable to set a goal and timetable for withdrawing the troops. He said lawmakers who support that 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.
Along with the change in the ROE.
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.
Seems rather obvious to us, but the HuffPo set couldn't care less about the Iraqis.
Levin and Kyl were interviewed on "This Week" on ABC.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
DRUDGE > GUARDIAN.UK > REVOLUTIONS, FLASHMOBS, AND MICROCHIPS... - Earth's Gloomy Future in next 30 yarns [Year 2036?]. Don't forget universal extinctions, Apophis, PLanet X + plus Year 2012, etal. FOX > JUAN WILLIAMS [paraphrased] > "We = USA? must continue to TRY TO AVOID WAR AND TALK TO SYRIA, IRAN, + TERRORIST ENEMIES DESPITE
SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH THEIR SUPPORT FOR ATTACKS ON 9-11"; versus KRISTOL > Nancy Perlosi's "Road/Path of Peace goes through Damascus" comment > IS "NONSENSICAL" [Kristol] BECUZ OF SYRIA'S TACIT SUPPORT FOR THE COVERT TRANSFER OF ARMS TO IRAQ WHERE SAID ARMS WILL BE USED AGZ AMER-ALLIED TROOPS + IGA, + DITTO BY SYRIA THRU LEBANON FOR USE AGZ ISRAEL AND MODERATE, PRO-DEMOCRACY + SOVEREIGNTY LEBANESE MUSLIMS.
#2
WORLDNEWS > KEN WELCH.com > NUCLEAR ARMAGEDDON: THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS + INTERFAX.RU > Russian Geeenral Ivashov > America continues its plans to attack Iran. USA may use two waves of Tomohawk TLCM's + Airpower. US use of tactical nuclear warheads during attacks cannot be discounted + iff Iran attacks Israel wid missles Israel may respond wid nuclear weapons. REGION + WORLD AT RISK - read, USA TO BLAME FOR REGIONAL-GLOBAL ARMAGEDDON FOR NOT IGNORING 9-11 + NOT TOLERATING NUCLEAR IRAN. WORLDNEWS > ARAB NEWS > IRAN'S NEW GROUND ZERO. Bandar Abbas. IRGC Cdr-Officio says POST-US ATTACK IRAN = IRGC WILLING TO SPREAD CONFLCIT + STRIKE AT ANY US-ALLIED TARGETS NEAR SEA OF OMAN AND INDIAN OCEAN, i.e. Airfields + Carrier BG's/USMC EG's, etc. IRGC attacks agz ISRAEL = US MUSLIM ALLIES goes wid out saying.
See also WORLDNEWS > SEATTLE POST > IRAN-UK SAILOR INCIDENT EXACTLY LIKE GIRL-BOY FIGHT; + IRAN WILL NOT STOP ENRICHMENT OR ACCEPT UN SANCTIONS. IOW, IRAN > "Na Na Na, We're gonna get our nukes, we're gonna get our nukes; and we still get to shoot and kill you, we're still gonna shoot and kill you."
#3
Harry Reid just got pwned by his own side. Levin can read polls and knows where the American people will vote if the Donks cut off the funds.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/09/2007 6:52 Comments ||
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#4
Just??
Obama already said it and Harry's meeting w/the vets over vacation didn't go so well, neither did a freshman dem visiting some vet constituents over spring break. They yelled at him for almost an hour, I'm sure he prefers Nancita cracking the whip.....
#5
A recent (late March, I think) poll revealed that 71% of Americans do not want a funding cut-off. I posted it on Senator Reid's site when Bobby posted the link some days ago.
In the first ever high-level contact between the government and administration of Lal Masjid, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain called on Lal Masjid Imam Maulana Abdul Aziz and his brother Ghazi Abdur Rashid late on Saturday night to talk out the row with the mosque over the enforcement of Sharia.
Shujaat visited Lal Masjid accompanied by a delegation and stayed there until Sunday morning.
Sources privy to the meeting told Daily Times that the announcement of the Lal Masjid administration that it would enforce Sharia and set up a Qazi court was the focus of the discussion.
Shujaat told the two brothers that the government wanted to solve the crisis through peaceful means and it had no intention of using force in this regard. Another round of talks between the two sides is likely to take place during the current week.
Talking to Daily Times, Ghazi Abdur Rashid said that the meeting could not be termed formal talks. It was just an informal gesture by the PML leader to discuss ways and means to solve the crisis. We told Chaudhry Shujaat that we would not bow to the governments pressure on enforcement of Sharia and implementation of Islam in all sections of society, Rashid said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Quaid Altaf Hussain has termed the action of the representatives and students of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa un-Islamic and a conspiracy against the President Musharraf and the Pakistani nation.
He was speaking over the phone to general workers of the MQM Punjab chapter at MQM Punjab House on Sunday. At present the country is facing the worst situation of its history as some miscreants want to create instability, he said.
Altaf was addressing 28 districts across the country at a time from London. He told them that the nation should help the government in eliminating such elements, which were using Islam for their own interest. He added that in the past Pakistan had been in the clutches of feudal system, depriving 98 percent of the people of their rights. The MQM has initiated its programme to make efforts for the rights of 98 percent people of this country and people of Punjab should join it to get their rights at their doorstep, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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The self-appointed Lal Masjid Qazi court on Sunday decreed that Federal Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar had committed an un-Islamic act by hugging her French male coach for which she must be removed from the federal cabinet. The decree was issued at the request of a resident of Islamabad, who sought the Islamic courts views on the issue. Most Pakistani newspapers published pictures of the minister hugging her French coach after participating in a paragliding show in Paris. The Qazi court quoted various verses from the Quran and Hadiths of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) about the role of Muslim women in society and the importance of wearing the veil. The decree said that a Muslim woman should not indulge in objectionable activities. Islam enjoins Muslim women to avoid leaving their homes unnecessarily, the decree said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Missing social activist Masood Ahmed Janjuas father Colonel Raja Ali Muhammad has said that his son had never admitted to having any links with jihadi outfits. In a statement on Sunday, Muhammad said that he had met with President General Pervez Musharraf to explain his sons innocence. He said he and the president both belonged to Special Services Group of the army and he was very grateful for the presidents promised help.
The president specially mentioned me at the Seerat Conference. On May 31, President General Pervez Musharrafs military secretary told me that the government had sent Masoods picture to various parts of the country. He said that a person had seen Masood with a group of people. The secretary would not tell me where Masood had been spotted. Muhammad said that he knew the government had the power to recover a person if he is abducted by an organisation or is imprisoned anywhere.
It is the governments responsibility to recover any such person, he added. My daughter-in-law and I will continue searching for my son. We expect that the government will help us to the fullest in this search. He said that Amna, Masood Janjuas wife, was continuing her search with such courage that many other families of missing persons had joined her. He praised the media for giving complete coverage of this issue of fundamental human rights. He said it was fortunate the chief justice took notice of Masoods mysterious disappearance on December 5, 2005.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said he will not act as mediator to resolve the row between the government and Jamia Hafsa. Government policies are promoting extremism in the country, Fazl said in an interview with a private TV channel on Sunday. He also alleged that the government was trying to create differences among ulema. Bomb blasts in Hangu, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan were a conspiracy to topple the NWFP government, he said.
Fazl was confident that no opposition party would join hands with the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) discussed the dysfunctional government, growing anarchy, rising religious militancy, the disappearances of citizens and the current judicial crisis in its annual general meeting on Sunday. The commission then issued the following statement:
This annual general meeting (AGM) of the HRCP has found that the firsthand reports of the situation in the various parts of the country point to: A strong link between state agents and militant groups that are operating in the country with impunity; and that resolving such deep-seated rot in the system of governance is not possible unless unrepresentative organs of the state the military, the mullah and the all-consuming intelligence agencies are brought under control and prevented from undermining both the state and the societies."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqis danced and waved the country's pre-1991 flag in central Baghdad's Firdos Square after a U.S. Marine armored recovery vehicle helped topple the square's huge statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. . . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
04/09/2007 09:35 ||
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DAMASCUS - Onetime Iraqi information minister Saad Kassem Hammudi, one of the leading Shias in Saddam Husseins Sunni Arab-dominated regime, has died in exile in Damascus, official media said on Sunday. He died of a heart attack on Saturday and was buried on Sunday in the Najha cemetery south of the Syrian capital, the official SANA news agency said.
Exile in Damascus, eh. Just another reason why we should clean out the Assad regime.
Scion of a family of Shia clerics, Hammudi was a founding member of Saddams now disbanded Baath party, joining it before the growing domination of Sunnis loyal to the now executed strongman overshadowed the partys secular, non-sectarian ideology.
Hammmudi edited the state daily Al Jumhuriya before being appointed disinformation minister in 1977. On the eve of the US-led invasion of 2003, he served as chairman of the foreign and Arab affairs committee of the Iraqi parliament. At a conference in Damascus the previous December to show solidarity with Saddams regime in the face of US war preparations, Hammudi warned: If the United States invades Iraq, we will fight back in a way that will win admiration.
That worked well, didn't it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
They have admiration of lots of moonbats and lunatic followers of the moon demon.
LONDON - Ship boarding operations in the northern Gulf are vital for Iraqi security and will continue, despite Irans seizure of 15 British mariners, the government here said Sunday. The Royal Navy suspended boarding operations in the area following the groups detention after a routine search of a merchant vessel on March 23, and is undertaking a comprehensive review of its procedures in the area.
Like how to make sure its people don't get pinched by the Iranians. Hint: shoot at the Iranians.
Speaking to BBC radio, Foreign Office minister Lord David Triesman said the suspension was only temporary, adding: I think those waters have got to be kept secure. I dont take it that boarding operations will have to cease in the middle or long term at all.
The oil platforms have got to be secured, we have got to make sure that dangerous material is not smuggled into southern Iraq. I dont think the Iranians should be under any doubt that we could not allow that to happen. Triesman gave no indication of when such operations would resume.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
ION, XINHUA NEWS AGENCY claims the USA may strike Iran in LATE APRIL, while REGNUM.RU > Armenian Pert says LATE MAY. * RIAN > Iran has precipitated a USA = US-led strike and continues to prep as iff said US strike will occur. OTOH, SPACEWAR > RUSSIA demands it + USA share/jointly construct any Euro [Global?] Missle Defense Shield, + WILL EXPAND ITS PACIFIC FLEET DUE TO INCREASED ASIA RISKS. WAFF.com > CHINA may use PLAN + littoral units to deny international access to East China Sea routes.
#2
I think those waters have got to be kept secure.
No, ya think? Give this guy a raise. Wait - he's a "lord" - hold the raise. Give him another title or something.
A "comprehensive review" sounds nice, but Steve nailed it. Uh, this isn't exactly like trying to figure out why the Challenger blew up, mates. Kinda obvious.
Howz about, say, the hour after the provocation took place, the Brits announced that "the vital mission to protect Iraqi sovereignty and security from external interference in the waters of the Gulf will continue, and any outside elements attempting to interfere with this operation or Iraqi or Coalition forces will be dealt with decisively using deadly force."
Don't give me any b.s. about long views and subtle games and blah blah blah - that's just chin music from pointyheads who don't understand the mission or the enemy. The performance of everyone from 10 Downing on down to the 15 themselves has been appalling to an incredible degree. Blair's government should go, there should be bloodletting in the senior levels of the navy and marines. I know, the next govt. will likely be even worse than Blair's, but the clock's running down on Tony anyway, and maybe some flying fur over this fiasco will get the notice of future ministers and officers.
Save the indignant defenses of Blair - I appreciate his leadership and guts in the past, but he presides over an irresolute country and has earned an early departure.
#5
DATELINE, London: "Ship boarding operations in the northern Gulf are vital for Iraqi security and will continue..." but by somebody else, cuz we are all chickenshit eunchs.
Fixed it.
#6
Maybe we should dock the Iwo Jima just off the coast, move a squadron of Apache attack helicopters aboard, and let the Marines take care of such searches from now on. Oh, and put a squadron of F/A-18s at Basra, just for good measure. I'm sure the Iranians would have a great time trying to attack a MARINE vessel with air cover.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/09/2007 15:23 Comments ||
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So does this make him a martyr? I'm sure there'll be a gunbattle over that...especially if there's money involved.
Tulkarem - Ma'an - Samih Mahmoud Raja, 17, died on Sunday when he was climbing an electricity pole, in an attempt to fix a Hamas flag, in Deir al-Ghusun, a village north of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. Hey, Samih? That flag look crooked to you?
Our Tulkarem correspondent reported, quoting security sources, that the young man, who is a Hamas activist, died instantly when he was struck by a high voltage electricity current. Not very "active" now I'll bet...
Raja was already dead upon arrival at hospital. Hey, look. He's still twitching...
#6
Garsh, let's all hope for the usual Muslim response to yoots needlessly electrocuting themselves. French-style carbeques, mass riots, multiple arsons ... it would all fit in so nicely with their ordinary behavior.
Bishara will resign following "very serious" allegations; however, a gag order prevents releasing any further details.
Bishara is the chairman of Balad and one of the more outspoken Arab MKs in the Knesset.
According to sources, Bishara left the country immediately following the allegations. The MK, who is currently staying in a Jordan hotel, has been overseas for nearly a week and a half. His family joined him in Jordan on Sunday. That's the part I like best. Hope his constituents will be joining him---soon.
By Tim Butcher in Ramallah
For many Palestinians Marwan Barghouti is a living saint, the only politician capable of leading his people out of decades of Israeli occupation and fratricidal bloodletting to nationhood.
It's like the dude is frickin' *Moses*, man, can you dig it? Maybe even more Moses than Moses.
To many Israelis he is a ruthless terrorist who is rightly languishing in jail for his role in the murder of five people during the second intifada. But this seemingly intractable contradiction must somehow be resolved after his name headed the list of hundreds of prisoners the Palestinian authorities want released in exchange for Cpl Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured last year. Mr Barghouti has been incommunicado since he was jailed in 2002. But with growing pressure on Israel to negotiate a deal before the June anniversary of Cpl Shalit's capture, Palestinian hopes are high that the man many call the "Palestinian Nelson Mandela" could soon be released.
"Many" call him a Mandela. Although the only person he quotes by name is the son:
His 21-year-old son, Qassam, was unexpectedly released two weeks ago, fuelling hopes that Israel may be preparing the way for the release of his 47-year-old father. In a brief interview with The Daily Telegraph, Qassam, who shared a cell with his father, gave a rare insight into the thinking of the man many Palestinians pin their hopes on. "The key thing to remember about my father is that he is a listener and a pragmatist," said Qassam, at his Ramallah home between celebrations to mark his release. The law student was picked up in February 2003 as he returned from university in Cairo, and held without charge under Israel's administrative detention procedures. "When I saw him in jail, I noticed that he did not just listen to his people from his own movement, Fatah. He listened to everyone and was respectful of their views even if they differed from his." On the key question of recognising Israel, Qassam said, his father had made up his mind. "He believes that what happened in 1948 is a part of history and we, as Palestinians, must now accept that there will always be an Israel," said the young man who has the same pudgy, whiskered face as his father.
Awwww... precocious li'l tyke, ain't he?
"The only solution for this conflict must be two states side by side, an Israeli state and a Palestinian state. You must remember that he has supported this pragmatic view for many years but the Israelis simply don't want to listen. They go on and on about Hamas but when you have a leader like my father who wants to talk about peace the Israelis are not interested. They are just not honest about peace: time after time they show they are not interested in ending this conflict."
A criminal court sentenced Barghouti to five life sentences in 2002 for involvement in the murder of four Israelis and a Greek monk.
And what's *that* go do with anything? It's not like he outed Valerie Plame or fired a few prosecutors...
For many Israelis, the idea of letting the elder Barghouti go free is anathema. Uri Ariel, an MP from the right wing National Union-National Religious Party, said: "If it's true that Barghouti will be released as part of the Shalit deal - and I hope it's not - and if anyone plans to release a murderer who received five life sentences in jail, this will be the government's final failure, and it should quit before going bankrupt."
Nice work, going to the right wing National Union-National Religious Party for a reaction quote. Very subtle, innit?
But only if he is released can Barghouti show if he truly is the West Bank Mandela.
Nice little editorial there in the last sentence. Hey Tim, how's your buddy Alan Johnston doing?
#1
I've never been able to reconcile Israel's understandable and generally consistent realism in dealing with the sea of idiotic hostility that surrounds them with these prisoner exchanges.
Nice mark-up, Sea. Me wonders how widespread the opposition to such an insane move is. The words by the right-wing MK weren't particularly incendiary, considering that the subject is release of a convicted murderer and enemy of the state.
#2
I think it's worth a gamble. There seems to be no one competent in all of Palestine. Let him give it a shot. He can't add to the level of violence. Most likely he'll get killed. If not, well he'll be in Gaza which is roomier than an Israeli jail, it just doesn't have the amenities.
#5
Barghouti shouldn't be rotting in an Israeli jail; he should be rotting in an unmarked grave. He's a murdering bastard like most of the rest of the Paleos held in Israeli jails. The sooner Israel initiates the death penalty for these scumbags, the better. You did in Eichmann; these guys would do worse if they ever got the chance and have done as badly as they could manage. They deserve to die; it might teach the others a lesson and certainly couldn't make them hate you any worse.
Posted by: Mac ||
04/09/2007 6:04 Comments ||
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#6
What, this guy found his humanity all of a sudden? Let him go and see how long it is before he loses it again.
#7
If you kill scum like this, there won't be any reason for the Paleos to kidnap Israelis in hope of a prisoner exchange. You also reduce your overhead and make room for more pieces of feces to occupy those cells - for a short time. It also sends a clear message that all life is sacred - except for those that wantonly take life. That's a lesson the US hasn't quite gotten yet.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/09/2007 16:37 Comments ||
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#8
Phil,
Let's remember one thing. South African apartheid was immoral. The Israeli occupation and later separation from the Gaza and the West Bank are justified and morally right.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
04/09/2007 22:14 Comments ||
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Nine soldiers and one civilian were killed after an unidentified gunman went on a rampage inside a patrol base in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said on Sunday. Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said the army was investigating whether the civilian was behind the attack at around 2:30 a.m. (1830 GMT) on Saturday inside the camp, in Parang town on the island of Jolo. A soldier and the wife of one of the victims were also wounded in the shoot-out. "The slain unidentified civilian might have an involvement. As of the moment, we are investigating it. We are looking into possibilities. Why was there an unidentified civilian in the camp?" said Torres. "There was a firefight, an exchange of gunfire. When the battalion commander reinforced the area after it was reported to him, they were also fired upon," Torres said, adding that the camp was without electricity during the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
the camp was without electricity during the attack.
OK, Why.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/09/2007 20:07 Comments ||
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Over half of Europeans would support a preemptive military strike to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, a poll released last week by a London think-tank reports.
A survey commissioned by the pro-business think tank, Open Europe, found that a majority of those surveyed in 18 EU member states including France and Britain, backed military action as an option in dealing with the threat of Iranian nuclear proliferation, while majorities in 9 nations including Germany and Spain were opposed.
However, the April 4 survey of more than 17,000 Europeans in March conducted by the French polling firm TNS-Sofres found little support for increasing military expenditures to counter or contain the threat.
So they're willing to strike Iran but don't want to pay for it. How typically Y'urp-peon.
In response to the statement, "We must stop countries like Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, even if that means taking military action", 52 percent of Europeans agreed, 40 percent disagreed and 8 percent stated they were undecided.
Support for the military option varied widely, with Danes giving the greatest support at 68 percent and Slovaks the least at 37 percent. Support for military action amongst the great powers was closely divided; France 53 percent, Britain 51 percent, Italy 49 percent, and Germany 45 percent.
Questioned as to the threat their countries faced from "Islamic fundamentalism", European opinion was more diverse. While 58 percent over all agreed militant Islam was a serious threat, the national responses ranged from 71 percent in Britain, 66 percent in Germany, 64 percent in France, to 24 percent in Latvia.
Since the Lats are far away at the present time from the problem.
However, few voters in the EU would be prepared to see cuts in domestic spending to finance higher defense outlays to counter the threat. Only 37 percent of British voters and 23 percent of all EU voters agreed with the statement that, "Our country should spend more on defense and less on other things."
EU government budgets reflect the public antipathy towards military spending. In reports released on Jan. 24 by the European Defence Agency (EDA), the EU spent 193 billion (US$255 billion) on defense in 2005, about 1.8 percent of total GDP and less than four percent of all government expenditures by EU member-states---a rate roughly one half of total US defense spending.
Between 2000 and 2006 real military expenditures grew by more than 40 percent in the US, not including supplemental appropriations for the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to NATO figures, during the same period defense spending declined in Germany and Italy, and grew by only five percent in France and six percent in Britain.
#2
Well, as long as they are for it, we'll do the mission, heh. If they were agin' it......well, I don't know...............
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/09/2007 15:15 Comments ||
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#3
Please note how any desires of the great unwashed are ignored by those eliteists in Brussels who know better than to sever economic ties with Iran. Europeans had damn well better take heed of how their EU bureaucrats are steering them towards one disaster after another.
#4
Please note that both on the strike on Iran and, my memory doesn't fail me, on Saddam's execution the French have been more "pro-western" than the fish and chips eating surrendering monkeys British.
#7
We must stop countries like Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, even if that means someone else taking military action (But we reserve the right to whine about it afterwards).
Iran on Monday announced that it has begun enriching uranium with 3,000 centrifuges, dramatically expanding a program that the United Nations has demanded it halt.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at a ceremony at the enrichment facility at Natanz that Iran was now capable of enriching nuclear fuel "on an industrial scale."
Asked if Iran has begun injecting uranium gas into 3,000 centrifuges for enrichment, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani replied, "Yes." He did not elaborate, but it was the first confirmation that Iran had installed the larger set of centrifuges after months of saying it intends to do so. Until now, Iran was only known to have 328 centrifuges operating.
Uranium enrichment can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or the material for a nuclear warhead. The United States and its allies accuse Iran of intending to produce weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, had no immediate comment on Monday's announcement.
In his speech, Ahmadinejad said the door to negotiations with the West remains open. "Iran welcomes any suggestion and dialogue to resolve the issues," he said.
He insisted Iran has been cooperative with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, allowing it inspections of its facilities, but he warned, "Don't do something that will make this great nation reconsider its policies" in a reference to the threat of increased U.N. sanctions.
"With great honor, I declare that as of today our dear country has joined the nuclear club of nations and can produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale," Ahmadinejad said.
#3
Right on Doc. None of this has anything to do with bringing power stations on-line. Not a mention of the delay in their vaunted "electrcity project" but much celebration over refining. Good for bombs. Israel may feel compelled to strike Natanz.
With Tehran continuing to move ahead with its nuclear plans, rumors persist the White House is planning a military strike on Iran in April. "Preparations to strike Iran's strategic facilities continue," Col. Gen. Leonid Ivashov, president of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems, a Russian think tank, told Moscow-based news service Interfax. "Three major groups of U.S. forces are still in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Altogether, they have up to 450 cruise missiles on alert."
"Military operations against Tehran will begin with the launch of at least two unexpected strikes using Tomahawk cruise missiles and air power in order to disable Iran's air-defense capabilities."
"According to our data, up to 150 aircraft are to be involved in each strike on Iran. Land-based air-defense systems will be disabled in the first place, then mobile short-range systems, which Tehran has (including some 30 new systems)," he said.
Ivashov also did not rule out the possibility of nuclear weapons being used against Iran. "Combat nuclear weapons may be used for bombing. This will result in radioactive contamination of the Iranian territory, which could possibly spread to neighboring countries," he said.
A press conference Ivashov held in Moscow March 30 led to speculation the U.S. would strike Iran on April 4 in a military attack code-named "Operation Bite."
In his most recent warning, Ivashov stressed the release of the 15 British sailors and marines captured by Iran robbed the U.S. of the pretext planned for a military strike last week. Still, Ivashov warned the U.S. had not given up plans to launch a missile and air strike on Iran before the end of April.
Ivashov gained international notice at the Axis for Peace conference in 2005 for his claim that "international terrorism does not exist and that the 9-11 attack was a set-up orchestrated by the U.S. government.
Russia's RIA Novosti news agency continues to support the charges Ivashov continues to make. On Friday, RIA Novosti quoted an unnamed Russian security source as saying, "Russian intelligence has information that the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in the Persian Gulf have nearly completed preparations for a missile strike against Iranian territory."
The U.S. Navy has announced the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left San Diego April 2 and is headed to the Persian Gulf. The Nimitz is expected to relieve the USS Eisenhower currently on station in the Gulf. The Nimitz will join the USS Stennis in a continued two-carrier battle group presence in the Gulf.
The White House continues to deny categorically there are any imminent plans to launch a military attack on Iran.
#3
If this "axis of peace" is the one I'm thinking about, then it's a creation (at least partly) of thierry meyssan, the professional subversive frenchie who wrote the "no plane crash on the Pentagon" book which was one of the very first to jump in the 9/11 truther bandwagon (in fact, it may have been one initiator of that). And this "axis" is in turn one front for the MM, meyssan having been very big in the gulf through the zayed think tank, and now being quite close to iran.
#5
Russia thinks the islamists can do what they couldn't. Money is on the mad mullahs. Russia thinks they can take out the mad mullahs once they paralyse the western world. Russia is in this for the big bucks.
#6
Like Gore...some people will do anything to appear relevant and stay in the news. We could not build enough TLAMs or CALCMs in a lifetime to take out the entire iranian nuclear industry. It would take extensive, precise intel...multiple dozens of bunker-busters...preceded by a hail of TLAMs and CALCMs + Tactical and strategic bombs to take out the anti-air threat. The US is not in any position to stage this, nor does it want to.
The 3 CSG's and ESG's that will be in the Gulf will be a "show of force"...but like we have said, NIMITZ is there to replace EISENHOWER.
h/t Lucianne
An Iranian Revolutionary Guard general who is banned from traveling abroad by the U.N. Security Council visited Russia without any difficulty, Iranian state television reported on its Web site Monday. Gen. Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, who is also deputy interior minister for security affairs, was one of 15 Iranians listed in U.N. Resolution 1747 that the Security Council approved unanimously in March to punish Iran for failing to stop enrichment of uranium a process that can produce the material for nuclear bombs. Reads like Zol's the ayatollahs' lord high executioner. Did he bring a list?
Zolqadr was quoted on the state TV Web site as saying that his six-day journey to Moscow, which ended Monday, showed "the ineffectiveness of the resolution."
The resolution calls on all governments to ban visits by the 15 individuals and says that should such visits occur presumably for exceptional circumstances the countries should notify a U.N. committee. "Despite resolution 1747 which imposed a travel ban on some members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, including me, I traveled to Russia and no restriction was applied," the Web site quoted Zolqadr as saying.
Officials at the Russian Foreign Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment. That's understandable. They were busy counting the cash.
Zolqadr pointed out that Russia had voted for the U.N. restrictions on Iran. Zolqadr said he was invited by Russia's Border Guard authorities and that he discussed cooperation on border control and relief for natural disasters such as earthquakes. Memorandums of understanding were signed on both issues, Zolqadr reported. Interesting. The MMs sent a high-ranking killer on a six-day Mission To Moscow, then publically embarrass the Russkies by describing in detail how the Kremlin flagrantly disregarded UN sanctions. It reads like Tehran didn't get what it asked for; Tehran isn't going to get much else from Russia; Tehran decided to get out of it what propaganda value it could.
#1
Good analysis, mrp. To quote Sir Gerald Templer, the Russkies "are so crooked that if they swallowed a nail, they'd s*it a corkscrew." They've got doubledealing down to a fine art. There may be no one on earth better at it than them.
Posted by: Mac ||
04/09/2007 9:26 Comments ||
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#2
It'd be too bad if he had an accident while visiting Moscow. Say a plane crash or a tea pot contaminated with pulonium.
Hardliners in the Iranian regime have warned that the seizure of British naval personnel demonstrates that they can make trouble for the West whenever they want to and do so with impunity. The bullish reaction from Teheran will reinforce the fears of western diplomats and military officials that more kidnap attempts may be planned. Amazing. Whoever could've predicted that?
The British handling of the crisis has been regarded with some concern in Washington, and a Pentagon defence official told The Sunday Telegraph: "The fear now is that this could be the first of many. If the Brits don't change their rules of engagement, the Iranians could take more hostages almost at will.
"Iran has come out of this looking reasonable. If I were the Iranians, I would keep playing the same game. They have very successfully muddied the waters and bought themselves some more time. And in parts of the Middle East they will be seen as the good guys. They could do it time and again if they wanted to." Americans also expressed dismay that the British had suspended boarding operations in the Gulf while its tactics are reassessed. "Iran has got what it wants. They have secured free passage for smuggling weapons into Iraq without a fight," one US defence department official said.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/09/2007 06:29 ||
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#1
I hate to say it, but I think it is time that the Britons packed up and left Iraq and Afghanistan, just as their publics desire. They seem to be more a part of the problem right now than the solution.
#2
We'll if those 15 sailors and sailorette are representative of their resolve and gumption, then Prefesser is correct. They looked like high school scouts found after being lost in the woods.
#4
This letter, Former (Marine)Hostage, Iran, 1979, is from a former hostage of Iran 1979-1981. First posted at IMAO by one of Frank's commenters, it is now making it's way around the web. A must read.
If you haven't yet read it, do so.
On the day of the takeover, the Marines were outnumbered at least 1000 to 1. We held the consulate and the communications vault for over 12 hours, helping to destroy equipment and classified material. We were under STRICT orders not to fire our weapons or pop gas grenades (too late for that last one..hee, hee, hee). We were eventually told that we were on or own and to make a break for it. The monkeys even put one of the diplomats in front of the comm vault peep eye with a pistol to their head and threatened to kill them unless the door was opened. It wasn't and they didn't. Once all the material was destroyed the doors were opened and they all got the crap beat out of them.
When we were first taken, the Iranians took us into a room individually and asked us to sign a statement denouncing the US policy in Iran, Israel, the Shah, etc. The Marines signed with names such as Michael Mouse, Chesty Puller, Dan Daly (google the last two...Marine Corps legends), Harry Butz, etc.
#5
Instead of a strike against iranian nuclear assets, I would suggest that we will step up provocation of iran in 2 ways: step up shipboarding in the Straits and surrounding waters, but with sufficient assets in the area, and ROE's to quickly eliminate any IRG threat; and, continued feinting and skirting iranian airspace with fighters, and monitoring with electric E-3's and 135's. We might even drill a SA-2/5/25 site with an AGM-88. Who knows?
#6
No, I suggest a sudden systemic problem be discovered in every single Iranian submarine, even those in port, which causes them to without warning, suddenly submerge. Whether or not their hatches are open.
#7
The iranian subs...even though they have 3 Kilo's...pose a minimal threat to the Navy in the Gulf waters. In any case iran could never deploy a Kilo that we wouldn't track like hawk.
#9
If the Iranians are unclear about where the political boundary is perhaps the US should take over some oil platforms that are near to the boundary.
realistically if there was any honor in the world the nations of the world would pull their embassy staff and shun Iran, cut them off totally for such blatant disrgard of the US embassy in 79.
#10
Crush the little ba$$$$$s the next time they pull one of these stunts. Hit them from every side, in a dozen different ways. Wipe Bandar Abbas off the map, bomb Bushehr into sand, destroy Qom, hit every dam, power plant, refinery, oil storage tank, airport runway, road intersection, mosque, etc., until there's nothing left to bomb. Then sit back and tell them they have two hours to announce their total surrender, before we get REALLY nasty. Pull any US, British, or other European personnel out of the rubble, shoot all the ayatollahs, mullahs, and assorted and sundry asshats, and walk out, telling the Iranians they're on their own for rebuilding. Shoot anyone that tries to argue, including said Brits, Phrench, Belgican, German, or any other foul-mouthed member of the Useless Ninnies that tries to interfere. "Lead, follow, or get the he$$ out of our way" should be our new motto, and screw anyone that doesn't like it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/09/2007 21:15 Comments ||
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#11
#9 rjschwarz: "there was any honor in the world"
Silly you.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/09/2007 21:23 Comments ||
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to unveil what he has described as "good news" on Iran's nuclear programme on Monday amid international calls for a suspension of uranium enrichment, AFP reported. April 9 is Iran's national nuclear technology day and marks the first anniversary of its enrichment of uranium to the level needed to produce fuel for civil reactors. Ahmadinejad will visit Iran's enrichment facility in the central city of Natanz to mark the anniversary.
"Ceremonies marking the national day of nuclear technology will be organised in the presence of President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad in Natanz," said a statement from Iran's atomic energy organisation.
Ahmadinejad has repeatedly promised that he is preparing a major announcement on Iran's nuclear programme and his presence at the enrichment plant for the anniversary has fuelled speculation that it will be the venue. The semi-official Fars news agency speculated that the president would confirm the belated launch of a cascade of 3,000 centrifuges at the plant. "In February they were supposed to announce the installation and launch of 3,000 centrifuges, but it did not happen so it is expected that the good news involves the installation and launch of the centrifuges," the news agency said.
At low levels of 3.5% or so, uranium enrichment provides the fuel for nuclear reactors, but at highly extended levels of well over 90% it can also produce the fissile core of an atomic bomb, the source of Western concerns about Iran's intentions. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, there are at least 1,000 centrifuges in Natanz at different stages of installation. Only around a third of them have yet been fed with uranium hexafluoride gas feedstock. Iran has vowed to gave 3,000 centrifuges up and running at the facility by May 2007 despite repeated ultimatums from the UN Security Council to suspend its efforts to master the nuclear fuel cycle.
The Security Council has already imposed two packages of sanctions against Iran over its failure to heed the ultimatums. The second resolution tasked the European Union's top diplomat Javier Solana with holding talks with Iran about the possibility of renewed negotiations.
But Iran insists it will only enter talks without preconditions and not, as the Security Council demands, following a prior suspension of uranium enrichment. Chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani reiterated on Thursday that there could be no freeze on enrichment activities ahead of talks. Washington has repeatedly refused to rule out military action if diplomacy fails to secure a change of heart from Tehran. Iran has retaliated against the UN sanctions by kidnapping 15 UK sailors and marines withholding immediate notification of its plans to build or modify nuclear facilities, saying notice would come only six months before improved facilities are brought into service.
#1
DRUDGE/FOX NEWS > IRAN declares NATIONAL NUCLEAR DAY. Meanwhile, Moqtada AL-Sadr calls for Shia and Muslim armed militas to BEGIN SPECIFIC TARGETING AND ATTACKING AGZ US-ONLY MILFORS. Looks like the ISRAELIS [overtly/publicly] + the RUSSIANS [PC quietly] are correct in that IRAN WILL NOT GIVE ITS AMBITIONS NOR ITS NUCLEAR AGENDAS, AND WILL INSTEAD LIKELY CHOOSE TO ATTACK AND ESCALATE.
(KUNA) -- Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah lashed out Sunday at the parliamentary majority members and statute of a controversial international tribunal over assassination of ex-prime minister Rafik Hariri. Nasrallah, at a speech in Beirut's southern suburb, said the statute of the international tribunal, the major sticky point of difference between the opposition and the majority in the parliament, "is written on already published rulings." The majority, known as the March 14th group, is demanding the parliament to discuss the statute, which is rejected by the opposition. Seventy MP from the majority bloc sent a petition to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon last week asking him to adopt alternative measures to establish the tribunal, already approved by the UN Security Council (UNSC).
Nasrallah said the UNSC was not the authorized body to approve the tribunal. Hezbollah will not present its notes on the statute unless it is discussed "by a legitimate government meeting under chairmanship of President Emile Lahoud and approve it then send it to the parliament to ratify it," he added.
Nasrallah said the dialogue between the opposition and majority leader, MP Saad Hariri, reached a dead end. "The solution in Lebanon is through a public referendum or holding early parliamentary elections," he said. He said the opposition was still adopting peaceful and democratic measures to protest against the political situation, citing the open-ended sit-in that has been organized in downtown Beirut since December 1st.
Nasrallah criticized the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and said president Lahoud would stay until the last day of his tenure. The Hezbollah chief called for the release of four senior officers arrested on suspicion of their involvement in the assassination of Rafik Hariri, and referred to their arrest as "political apprehension." Supporters of the majority and opposition clashed last January killing and injuring scores of people from both sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
They are going to get away with murder...again.
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.
Palestinian security forces are investigating the possibility that missing BBC correspondent Alan Johnston staged his own kidnapping, an Arab newspaper reported Monday. 
Eritrea is fuelling the insurgency in Somalia in order to wage a proxy war against its arch-foe Ethiopia, according to the top US official for Africa. Jendayi Frazer, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said that Eritrea was the largest foreign backer of guerrillas who are fiercely resisting attempts by Ethiopia and the Somali government to pacify Mogadishu. 
The Roman Catholic bishop who oversees the [UK] armed forces has provoked fury by praising the Iranian leadership for its "forgiveness" and "act of mercy" in freeing the 15 British sailors and marines last week. The Bishop of the Forces, the Rt Rev Tom Burns, said that the religious beliefs of the Iranians had played a large part in their decision to release the hostages after holding them for more than two weeks.
Munich (dpa) - German prosecutors said Thursday they will make a new attempt to bring 13 CIA workers to justice for the abduction of a German-Lebanese citizen mistakenly suspected of terrorism. "We will submit an application for temporary custody in the United States," Chief Prosecutor August Stern said in Munich, two months after a court in the city issued arrest warrants for the 13. 
The armed Basque separatist group ETA on Sunday offered to make new commitments to the troubled peace process if the Spanish state stopped its "attacks" in the Basque region. An interview published in the Basque language newspaper Gara on a nationalist holiday in the northern region was the group's first statement since January, when it claimed responsibility for a car bomb that killed two people at Madrid's main airport.
The self-appointed Lal Masjid Qazi court on Sunday decreed that Federal Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar had committed an un-Islamic act by hugging her French male coach for which she must be removed from the federal cabinet. The decree was issued at the request of a resident of Islamabad, who sought the Islamic courts views on the issue. Most Pakistani newspapers published pictures of the minister hugging her French coach after participating in a paragliding show in Paris. The Qazi court quoted various verses from the Quran and Hadiths of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) about the role of Muslim women in society and the importance of wearing the veil. The decree said that a Muslim woman should not indulge in objectionable activities. Islam enjoins Muslim women to avoid leaving their homes unnecessarily, the decree said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to unveil what he has described as "good news" on Iran's nuclear programme on Monday amid international calls for a suspension of uranium enrichment, AFP reported. April 9 is Iran's national nuclear technology day and marks the first anniversary of its enrichment of uranium to the level needed to produce fuel for civil reactors. Ahmadinejad will visit Iran's enrichment facility in the central city of Natanz to mark the anniversary.
