US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has sent an "unusually stern" letter to his German counterpart asking Berlin to send more troops to southern Afghanistan, a German newspaper reported Thursday.
According to Suddeutsche Zeitung[Bless you!], the undated letter was sent a week and half ago directly to Franz Josef Jung, demanding more combat troops, helicopters and parachutists.
Jung in turn wasted no time in responding with a similarly "direct and stern" letter, the paper said, without quoting the letters directly, ahead of full publication on Friday.
NATO troop deployments have become an increasingly sore point of contention between the two countries. Gates' letter demanded 3,200 German troops to replace US soldiers later this year, the paper said.
NATO defence ministers meet in Vilnius next week. There are currently 42,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, but the organisation wants a further 7,500 reinforcements to join combat missions in the south. Germany currently has 3,200 troops deployed in Afghanistan, around the capital Kabul and in the relatively calm north.
Just have the Germans match our guys in Kosovo so that we can move ours to Afghanistan.
#3
Germany and Germans are useless they never pull their weight, piss and moan about how wrong and imperfect the US and it's citizens are. I really think we need to realign with people who are less critical and pull their own weight.
the committment of our country to NATO is still somewhat influenced by what happened 70-something years ago. Not everyone wants to see German fighting troops, although I agree that it is time to move on. It isn't a question of pulling out weight, but bear in mind this would be the first fighting deployment of German troops after WWII... not an easy step. Bear with us.
Posted by: GerMan ;-) ||
02/01/2008 13:10 Comments ||
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#5
Isn't there still about 40,000 American troops in Germany (60,000 total in W. Europe) that could be used elsewhere? Bring them home now and put a 10% tariff (for starters) on German automobiles, just as they do for ours.
How long will the Political Class have the US playing Uncle Sucker?
Posted by: ed ||
02/01/2008 13:28 Comments ||
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#6
The only current purposes our forces in Germany serve is assisting in getting things to and from Afghanistan and Iraq. I think we should look for a cheaper and better place. Let Germany worry about the Bear on it's own.
#7
Sock Puppet of Doom, if you had any military knowledge you would know that the US benefits greatly from German involvement in their force's operations and development. We also share much of the same technologies - for example, the US Abrahams tank and German Leopards are using a lot of joined components manufactured by German engineers, but the list is endless. It goes bothways. Sounds to me that you just dont like the Germans too much... but thats fine. We can live with it ;-)
Posted by: GerMan ;-) ||
02/01/2008 14:22 Comments ||
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#8
Yes with a last name of Hess I don't like Germans too much, better think again.
I don't like people who will not step up to the task because it might put a small dent in their social welfare schemes or force them to tell the US hating German left to sit down and shut and let the adults deal with a serious problem.
#9
I like Americans -- but I don't like what you gotta say for yourself, bro! We are not stepping up to the task of fighting Bush's war, so what? Did we elect him, or did you?
Posted by: GerMan ;-) ||
02/01/2008 14:33 Comments ||
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#10
Now, now, folks. You really don't want Germans worrying about the Bear. Bad things tend to happen when they do.
As for Afghanistan, I'd be a little more enthusiastic if we had any serious enemies there but it seems they all fled to Pakistan.
#13
It is representative of most of Europe. After all, even Tony Blair had to throw in the towel because of the lack of public support for a war that wasn't his idea, but that of the Bush administration. We happen to have a different take on World events formed by 50 million plus casualties in WWII... to avoid war, at all cost. Not to go in at any given opportunity.
Posted by: GerMan ;-) ||
02/01/2008 16:07 Comments ||
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#14
I find Germans funny.
I'm not sure if they're just truly pacifistic now, or this war just isn't on a large enough scale for them.
#16
If the Taliban were to fly planes into buildings in Berlin then we'd be very upset, too... I understand where you're coming from! But it was in fact Saudi Arabians, which just hosted banquets for Bush 2 weeks ago...
Posted by: GerMan ;-) ||
02/01/2008 16:22 Comments ||
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#18
But it was in fact Saudi Arabians, which just hosted banquets for Bush 2 weeks ago...
A lot of the planning and some of the operations were carried out by Muslims who lived and studied in Germany.
The danger is a lot closer than you would appear to recognize. And of course, that deep unwillingness to recognize how much of the Islamist danger is both abetted and hosted in Europe is conveniently projected onto the Americans and especially George Bush.
#19
Let's call it a good 50 year run and go our separate ways.
Posted by: ed ||
02/01/2008 16:57 Comments ||
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#20
That is to say (since I clicked too soon) that the Europeans just don't want to have to recognize a current world situation that calls for tough tradeoffs and clear moral vision. If you can only persuade yourselves that it's all America's fault, maybe things will hold together long enough for you to have a few more years of luxury and then retire on social benefits.
It's a plan. Not a very good one, and one that is already failing. But a plan nonetheless.
HOWEVER, I do not want to hear a single lecture from Germans or other Europeans about America's failings or European 'soft power'. You screwed up badly in the Balkins a decade+ ago. You are demonstrating political and moral cowardice at home and in Afghanistan today.
#21
LOTP, come on... what's up with a moral compass pointing towards Dafur, Sudan, Zimbabwe, you name it, instead? It wasn't morals that drove you into Afghanistan or Iraq, but vengance. Islamic extremism has been around much longer than 9/11 -- we differ on strategies, not on the fact of its existence. Creating many 1000 Bin Ladens by waging unjust wars is a very short-sighted solution...
Posted by: GerMan ;-) ||
02/01/2008 17:12 Comments ||
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#22
Okay, GerMan. Let's hear your "strategies" for dealing with it?
What, you didn't think you were gonna get called on it?
#23
It won't matter in 15 years the tipping point will be reached and Europe will be run by islam. We don't need NATO it needs us. Screw the Germans and Germany.
#24
My strategy would be to improve the political targetting, and not to resort to political carpet bombing, alienating 1 billion followers of Islam...
Posted by: GerMan ;-) ||
02/01/2008 17:25 Comments ||
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#25
I take issue with your stupid (IMHO) "unjust war" characterization
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2008 18:05 Comments ||
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#26
or should war only be justifiable on land (you know the term), resources, or available slave labor? I would think that "rehabilitating" poorly run nations that faciltated attacks on us would rank high, but then, I have morals. Those morals acknowledge that when you attack a governement, innocents will be killed along with the bad majority.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2008 18:08 Comments ||
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#27
I'd like to see ALL of NATO pulling a greater portion of the weight, both in Europe and in the war against Islamist extremism. NATO Europe has a population approximately 95% of the US, and a military that couldn't whip Australia, if the two came to blows. Europe needs to expand their defense spending to equal the proposed US target of 4% of GDP, and use it to equip fighting units. Hell, you're going to need it for self-defense, if nothing else, against the Islamists among you that are NOT assimilating, and beginning to treat your local citizens worse than any of you would treat a dog.
BTW, I spent a total of 11 years in the Air Force IN EUROPE (26 total), and I've seen NATO forces first-hand. Some are first-rate. Some are more worthless than a half-trained boy scout troop. NATO is going to need all the combat experieced troops it can get, and very soon. Afghanistan and Iraq are two places to get that experience. You should be VOLUNTEERING half your army to join US, British, Canadian, Danish, and Australian troops in getting that experience NOW, before you have to learn it in your own back yard.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/01/2008 18:28 Comments ||
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#28
game. set. match.
anyone who thinks this is bush's war is a reactionary, as the invasion of iraq followed that order of events.
Much like a 14 year old wanting to explore the world, Germany wanted a sports car, got it (via US) and will give anyone a ride anywhere so long as they don't trash the thing.
Been to Germany, love it. The real dissertation of terror versus expression is: expression does not kill people (until it reaches rhetoric and inspires). I know there is a fabulous rail system in Germany which is under constant threat by a$h*les but that is what I call BULLSHIT! All civic endevors are under threat by a few jackasses. That, My friends, is my point.
A co-pilot at the controls of a passenger jet bound for Heathrow was forcibly removed from the cockpit and bound hand and foot after he began asking for God 30,000 feet over the Atlantic.
Passengers aboard Air Canadas Flight AC848 from Toronto to London on Monday said the flight officer started shouting and crying at the controls when they were less than an hour from Heathrow.
His colleagues, helped by an off-duty member of the Canadian Armed Forces, took the man out of the cockpit, apparently in the middle of a mental breakdown, tied his wrists and ankles in front of astonished passengers. He was then handcuffed to a seat while the flight diverted to Shannon airport, in the West of Ireland.
After the jet landed at Shannon with only the captain at the controls, the co-pilot was taken off the plane and put in a waiting ambulance, which took him to an acute psychiatric unit.
The 149 passengers were taken to hotels while the airline arranged for a replacement crew to take the aircraft on to Heathrow, where it landed at 4.15pm on Monday, eight hours behind schedule.
Sean Finucane, a passenger, told the Canadian broadcaster CBC that the co-pilot was swearing and asking for God. He specifically said he wants to talk to God. He was yelling loudly but didnt sound intoxicated When they tried to put his shoes on later, he swore and threatened people. He was very, very distressed.
Another passenger, writing on the website flyertalk.com, said that the co-pilot was pinned down in seat 12A, a window seat in the first row of the economy class section. It was quite an experience, the passenger wrote. The entire mini-cabin could hear the whole thing. Not for delicate ears. The soldier and the doctors [who were passengers] were great.
The writer said that the flight crew were calm and professional throughout. Strict regulations meant that the captain, who had to fly the aircraft solo, had to wear an oxygen mask for the remainder of the flight.
The hospital where the co-pilot was being treated refused to comment yesterday, but it is understood that he was still in its psychiatric unit and that his wife was travelling to Ireland to be with him. A representative of the Canadian Pilots Association has also been sent to help.
The Boeing 767-333 series jet landed safely. Shannon air traffic controllers were notified by the captain that his colleague was unwell and he required permission to divert the flight to seek medical attention.
Officials from the Health Service Executive said that the co-pilot was assessed at the scene and taken to the acute psychiatric unit at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis, Co Clare, for further assessment.
An airport spokesman confirmed that the medical diversion took place but there was no official emergency declared by the pilot. The plane diverted to Shannon after a cockpit crew member became unwell. The first officer was taken to hospital and the passengers were taken to local hotels, he said.
Air Canada said in a statement: The captain and crew of AC848 followed standard operating procedures in light of the co-pilot falling ill. The captain elected to divert to Shannon and landed without incident. At no time was safety compromised.
The airline refused to comment on the nature of his illness except to say: The flight was met by medical personnel and the individual is now in hospital care. We do not provide additional details of a personal nature.
The Air Canada Pilots Association commended the crew for its effective handling of the incident. Its president, Captain Andy Wilson, said: Although the illness of flight crew is rare, pilots are fully trained for such an event.
The incident will be investigated by Air Canada and the Transportation Safety Board in Canada, which is responsible for investigating aviation accidents in that country.
In 1999 a suicidal co-pilot was blamed for the crash of an EgyptAir flight from New York that came down in the Atlantic with the loss of 217 lives after he was heard on the cockpit voice recorder saying: I put my faith in God.
#2
As the image yesterday, "Roger over Over, what's your vector Victor?"(Peter Graves) What, huh, who? (Kareem Abdul-Jabar)
Jesus was not the co-pilot?
As a volunteer firefighter who has had 'a busy week' there is no such thing as off-duty, and I give thanks many times over to the soldiers. Somebody buy this soldier a shot of Crown for me.
In 1999 a suicidal co-pilot was blamed for the crash of an EgyptAir flight from New York that came down in the Atlantic with the loss of 217 lives after he was heard on the cockpit voice recorder saying: allahuh akbar I put my faith in God.
Mentioned again, trying to tell us something?..
There was a mention over the last week about a coordinated attack against eunichrope. Untasteful I know but Europe, as I know it, is great. Be great again please. To the US, this is a warning - the jihahas are pushing a wedge; no doubt their timing works on an election schedule.
#6
Actually no, they don't screen them. In Australia airline pilots go to the aviation medical examiner of their choice, not the company guy. I know some quite strange airline pilots.
Posted by: Aussie Mike ||
02/01/2008 17:25 Comments ||
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#7
The EgyptAir pilot was a jihadi. It sounds like this pilot just had a psychotic break, which wouldn't show up in a physical exam. But it is comforting that this was handled by a pack, not a herd.
A man who tried to travel to Afghanistan to fight against British troops could have his jail term increased after the Attorney-General lodged an appeal against his undluly lenient sentence today.
Baroness Scotland of Asthal, QC, decided to refer the 4-and-a-half-year sentence passed on Sohail Qureshi this month to the Appeal Court. Qureshi, 30, a dentist, who speaks five languages, admitted a range of terrorism offences after a rare legal procedure that led to his being told in advance what the maximum sentence would be if he pleaded guilty and avoided a full trial. He was the first person to be convicted for the offence of preparing to commit terrorist acts, under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
Prosecution lawyers and the police were furious that an Old Bailey judge had imposed what they felt to be a light sentence. It was believed that had Qureshi been convicted after a trial he would have been jailed for between 10 and 15 years. Counter-terrorism officials were particularly concerned that the sentence had sent out a signal that the offence of preparing for terrorism was a minor one. The maximum term in the legislation is life imprisonment.
Qureshi, from Forest Gate, East London, was stopped at Heathrow in October 2006 as he tried to board a flight to Pakistan with £9,000 cash and military equipment in his luggage and combat manuals on a computer hard drive. Searches at his home recovered pictures of Qureshi, who was born in Pakistan, carrying an array of assault rifles on previous visits to the region.In an e-mail to a friend that was retrieved from his computer he said: Make dua [pray] that I will kill many. He said he was going to take part in an operation.
Qureshi had also been in e-mail contact with Samina Malik, a shop assistant at a Heathrow airside branch of WH Smith, to ask about security arrangements. Malik, who called herself the Lyrical Terrorist on websites, was tried separately from Qureshi and given a nine-month suspended sentence for possessing items useful to terrorists. Her link to Qureshi was not disclosed to the jury in her trial.
A spokesman for the Attorney-General said: After careful review the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland has decided to refer the sentence given to Sohail Qureshi to the Court of Appeal as she considers the sentence to be unduly lenient. It will now be for the Court of Appeal to decide at a future hearing whether or not to increase the sentence.
Poland's foreign minister said Friday his country has reached an agreement in principle with the United States on plans to install a U.S. missile defense system in Polish territory. Radek Sikorski said that after his meetings with officials here, he is satisfied that, as part of the eventual deal, the United States will deal with security problems that Poland has raised. IOW: It wasn't so bad after all, was it, big man?
Sikorski did not outline the terms of the deal, but in a joint appearance with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after a working lunch, the two officials suggested that the U.S. would help with Polish air defenses, as Poland had sought. How 'bout the US keeps your air force by making sure it has a country left to defend? And other countries left to come to your aid should it be necessary?
Sikorski said that negotiators would continue to work on the details of an agreement that would allow the U.S. to install 10 interceptors as part of a long-range European missile defense system. He sought to address likely Russian concern about the U.S. air defense aid.
"The reinforced Polish air defenses are not directed against anybody," Sikorski said. "They are to enable Poland to be a stronger NATO ally with the United States, to enable Poland to take part in operations, in out-of-area operations, in joint operations." Doesn't matter what you say. Pootie will use it to build nationalism and his power base.
#1
Gorb,
With respect, I think you may be a little hard on the Poles here. They still sit far closer to the Soviets Russians than we do, and he's got an anti-American consituency just like everybody else does. He's taking a genuine risk - given the way the USSR seems to be coming back, do you think it's out of the question that 'patriotic Poles' (supported by Russian money) could start raising hell? I don't think there was ever any real question that the Poles were going to say yes, if only to poke it to Pootie. Sikorski just made sure that it was going to be worth their while.
Mike Kozlowski
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/01/2008 16:15 Comments ||
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#2
A few Patriot batteries is nothing. I would rather have seen an offer to move US forces from German training areas to the huge abandoned Soviet bases.
Posted by: ed ||
02/01/2008 16:28 Comments ||
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#3
Just feedin' it back, Mike. Their words weren't so nice when they grabbed the reigns, then they do this about-face thing while trying not to make it look like an about face. I'm tired of the US taking these kinds of hits for political purposes. I wish they'd just pick the right side and stop hedging their bets. That kind of politics starts world wars.
This seems like a no-brainer to me. Does Poland really worry about Russia? Even if Poland rejected the missile shield Pootie would find another excuse to build military power. And if some kind of war starts, Poland will have to pick sides then. And it doesn't make sense to side with Russia, or smooth the path for them to go to war in the first place. They'll either fight for Russia and get the $hit kicked out of them and lose, or side for the US and maybe get the $hit kicked out of them from the other side, but eventually come out on the winning side.
You can tell I don't have much respect for politics based in fear. I know there are times it is necessary, but this just doesn't seem necessary in this situation by any means. It seems more corrupt.
#4
I wish they'd just pick the right side and stop hedging their bets.
I think that's what just happened. Besides, since Poland gave us Thaddeus Koziusco, Lech Walesa, the Warsaw Uprising, and the guys that first broke the Enigma code, I figure we owe them some slack at least.
Posted by: Mike ||
02/01/2008 16:56 Comments ||
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#5
Pfff. They picked the "right" side to ally with in WWII, and what did it get them? France and England declared war on Germany, then sat and did nothing behind the Maginot line while Germany ravaged Poland with help from Russia. They got royally screwed, and it's a big leap of faith to ally with an even more distant partner.
They all do, gorb. There's an awful lot of history there, much of it under dung-caked Russian boots, and Vladimir Putin doesn't sound terribly different than the Tsars did in their many imperial moments. Look at the games Russia has been playing recently in their near-abroad, even as far as Latvia.
#9
Who are we defending with this deployment of resources? If it isn't the US, the Aussies or GB (and GB better be paying) then who? Europe? Screw em. Everyone else? Screw em too. The US takes WAAAAY too much responsibility in defending these ingrates. How about Europe defends itself or actually support the US in the middle east?
#10
It does rather make Iran's future toys useless, jds. Which means we don't have to listen to Europe going on when Iran tries to threaten them, and takes away an excuse for the EU to betray Israel. Besides, the Eastern European countries really have been standing up with us on Iraq, defying their putative EU masters.
#11
I really couldn't blame Poland for not jumping on the option. If the dhimocrats took power and scrapped the program, where would they be? Between a angry Russia and a anti-american western Europe. Not a great choice.
As much as I love the US, I'll be the first one to admit it makes a shitty ally as the political nature and will changes every 4-8 years.
#12
I'm with Mike, too. I hope you didn't get the idea that I was against Poland. I'm against the appearances of distrust/agression that were being made against the US. I don't like waffling when waffling won't buy you anything. It's amateurish. The choice the governnent has is terrible on one side and uncertain on the other. I'd go for the uncertain without beating up on it like they were.
And yes, I hope the agreement does both sides good. Sadly, Poland has no options but to be the middle of the fray and everyone knows it. Including Pootie.
A Moroccan-born Quebec resident is being described as a new breed of Internet jihadist, helping wage an online propaganda campaign for an organization Canadian security officials liken to "Al Qaeda's spokesman."
From his basement flat in Trois-Rivières, about 150 kilometres east of Montreal, Saïd Namouh allegedly edited videos promoting holy war, chatted with other members of the group identified as the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF), and fantasized about martyrdom.
"The GIMF is a propaganda and recruitment organization ... they are, in a way, Al Qaeda's spokesman," RCMP Cpl. Michael Hanigan, of the force's integrated national security investigations unit, said in court yesterday.
Namouh, who has been in custody since his arrest last September, was in court yesterday seeking bail.
Though Namouh, 34, is charged with plotting a terrorist attack against an unspecified foreign country, police confirm he never had any intention of carrying out any attacks in Canada though in one online transmission he is alleged to have said, "it would be easy to stage a project here."
Defence lawyer René Duval insisted the evidence is largely circumstantial and based almost entirely on documents gathered by a foreign intelligence agency.
"This evidence doesn't demonstrate anything, it only suggests a certain number of things," he said outside court.
The bulk of the evidence in the case was gathered by Austrian intelligence operatives, and includes extensive transcripts of more than 350 online chat sessions and phone conversations conducted over the Internet in 2007.
The conversations, where Namouh is alleged to have used the Internet pseudonym "Ashraf," involve technical discussions of how to create propaganda, and cryptic allusions to "Sheikh Osama."
In another conversation with someone known as GA, Ashraf says "I'm looking for another job that has the whiff of terrorism."
The answer: "Be patient, and soon I will give you a job that you will find satisfying."
Another passage translated by Austria's intelligence service refers to steps Ashraf apparently took to cover his traces, boasting "they don't have anything on me, even if someone told them I was a terrorist I've destroyed everything I have at home."
And in August of last year, a correspondent identified as MH told Ashraf, "I have a special surprise for you."
His reply: "My greatest dream is to be a martyr at your side."
The exchange is followed by a reference to flying to Egypt to acquire weapons and a second reference to wanting "a full car," which Hanigan alleged is shorthand for an explosive-laden vehicle.
Although there are no specifics about an eventual attack, Ashraf also suggests he would like to target Jews.
Duval attacked allegations that Namouh was Ashraf police say they compared an $800 cash payment and appointments referred to in the conversations and matched them with Namouh and the direct evidence linking his client with the foreign plot.
According to police, Namouh had also sought an extension to his Moroccan passport and was gathering funds to rendezvous with Austrian-based GIMF colleagues in Cairo.
Namouh's specific involvement in the GIMF is alleged to have been editing videos and sound tracks and posting them to jihadi websites.
Police in Canada also conducted extensive surveillance of Namouh after receiving a request from Austrian authorities to trace an email address. They also seized a computer, several hard drives and DVDs.
The computer contained hundreds of images and videos of suicide attacks, bombings aimed at U.S. troops in Iraq, and several beheadings of Westerners. Investigators say it also contained detailed how-to videos on building explosive belts and roadside bombs.
#3
It would be NICE if we secured our Southern border, too, WE2907. I know a lot of Canadians, and 99% of them are great people. Their POLITICIANS are just like ours, though - far more interested in lining their pockets than doing what's needed for their nation.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/01/2008 19:21 Comments ||
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The Oakland International Airport did not break any laws or regulations when it denied 200 Marines and soldiers access to the passenger terminal during a layover last year from Iraq to the troops' home base in Hawaii, the Transportation Department says. Isn't that always the case with these pricks?
Calvin L. Scovell III, the department's inspector general, blamed the mix-up on security concerns and a communication failure between the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department. Of course. Not the pinheads who made the decision to treat them like criminals.
The contract to allow military layovers at the California airport "did not require that military personnel have access to the airport terminal; it only required that military personnel be allowed to deplane and stretch their legs on stops lasting over one hour," said a report released yesterday to House lawmakers who requested an investigation into the matter. Uh oh! Better include something about breathing Oakland air and going to the bathroom for the next version of the contract!
The Sept. 27 layover was the last stop for fuel and food, but the troops, who were returning from a tour in Iraq, were denied access to food and bathroom facilities. Yeesh, I thought I was kidding in my last comment!
A Marine reported the incident to Rep. John L. Mica, Florida Republican and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and said it "felt like being spit on." It was.
Airport officials were concerned that the flight's ground staff could not provide "an adequate level of escort and control of such a large group of military personnel in or around the terminal area," the inspector's report said. Sounds like a child's excuse to me. But then again, this is Oakland.
The report also said the Homeland Security and Defense departments have no coordinated policy to conduct security screenings or a communications process to allow the Marines and soldiers in passenger terminals. Good enough to protect the country the airport is in, but not good enough to trust with the airport's security, eh? Who you gonna call if you want folks to carry guns around the airport in the next terrorist attack?
The review also found "miscommunication about the proper storage and safeguarding of weapons carried on board aircraft during the layover" and that the airport "could not confirm that weapons [on the plane] would be secured and safeguarded in accordance with Department of Defense regulations and that the Marines and soldiers would leave their weapons on board." The guns were only an excuse they are grasping at. If it were not for the guns, they would have come up with some other excuse.
An airport spokeswoman and a Defense Department spokesman said they received the report but were not prepared to comment until their excuses were proven to be watertight respective officials had a chance to review the findings.
Calls for comment to the Transportation Security Administration were not returned. They've learned not to answer the phone unless it's someone they know from Berserkley calling.
The inspector general recommended the establishment of a task force with representatives from the Homeland, Defense and Transportation departments, along with representatives from the airlines and airports, to develop a uniform process for handling service members on all military chartered flights at U.S. commercial-service airports. As if it's that tough to figure out. The establishment of this committee must justify why management there couldn't figure out the right answer in time to make these soldiers lives a little nicer.
The lack of protocol for treating military personnel during transport is "no excuse for the poor treatment these brave men and women received in exchange for defending our freedoms," Mr. Mica said. So who's going to get smacked?
Mr. Mica said he and Rep. Tom Petri, Wisconsin Republican and ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on aviation, will follow up on the inspector general's report. Be very careful how you write this. The recipients are the decietful ingrates.
"The shocking thing is that there is no protocol for handling our returning troops, and at Oakland they got a very rude welcome," Mr. Mica said. "We just need to get some regular order of the process so we don't have a recurrence of what we saw happen here." Only Oakland couldn't figure it out? Hmm. Suspicious, don't you agree? Well, I'm sure the soldiers will feel better when they receive their individual signed apologies from TSA and Oakland Airport "officials".
#1
Airport officials were concerned that the flight's ground staff could not provide "an adequate level of escort and control of such a large group of military personnel in or around the terminal area," the inspector's report said.
It's very rare that I think the TSA is concerned about flyers, I think what happened is they weren't concerned.
#4
Probably much better of a reception than they would have gotten in S.F. airport. I have no doubt that they wouldn't have even let them off the plane onto their precious piece of shit liberal tarmac. My father lives right outside Oakland and he didn't hear a word about this until I told him. They burried it in the Bay Area.
#5
I think the US needs to USE the established facilities we have for handling passengers - I.E., McChord, Travis, and all the other Military Airlift Command facilities that are specifically designed to handle large numbers of transits. Cut the civilians out completely (and also cut out paying them for servicing these aircraft). Watch who squeals THEN! Hell, every military airfield in the United States has, at a minimum, a Base Operations building, and most have a small passenger terminal with at least vending machines. They're also secure, so we won't have to worry about the "weapons" on board. Let the "civilians" eat dirt.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/01/2008 19:28 Comments ||
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#6
IIUC, here in San Diego, they use Miramar MCAS for security and ease, isn't there something similar in the bay area, or the AF base near SAC? Bypass the shoe-checking assholes and lessen the $ paid to the regions that are treasonous. Let Congress punish them financially
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2008 19:41 Comments ||
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More and more, top government diplomats are straying from official Bush foreign policy as the administration wanes, leaving Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice struggling to keep them in check. Twice just this week, Rice and her aides had to rebuke, disavow or otherwise try to explain away public words or actions by three top officials on delicate affairs ranging from North Korea and Iran to the violence in Kenya.
The trouble began on Jan. 17, when Jay Lefkowitz, the special U.S. envoy for human rights in North Korea, delivered a speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think-tank in which he trashed the six-nation talks aimed at persuading the North Koreans to give up their nuclear weapons program.
Then the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, violated Washington's long-standing policy on contact with officials from the Islamic government of Iran by showing up on a stage in Switzerland with the Iranian foreign minister. And the top U.S. envoy for Africa used the emotionally and politically charged phrase "ethnic cleansing" to describe the postelection violence in Kenya.
Whether or not any of those incidents will have lasting implications, the gaffes and lapses on sensitive diplomatic matters have been embarrassing for an administration that attaches great importance to being "on message."
First, Lefkowitz said he believed North Korea would still have nuclear weapons when President Bush leaves office. "After four years of six-party talks," he declared, "it makes sense to review the assumptions upon which previous policy was built and make sure they are still valid today."
The administration has attached great importance to the process he was questioning. Lefkowitz, a New York lawyer with close White House ties, earned an unusually sharp slapdown from Rice for his speech, which many suspect was a calculated attempt by hawks to derail what they see as appeasing North Korea. "Jay Lefkowitz has nothing to do with the six-party talks," Rice told reporters. "He's the human rights envoy. That's what he knows. That's what he does. He doesn't work on the six-party talks. He doesn't know what's going on in the six-party talks and he certainly has no say in what American policy will be in the six-party talks."
Rice added that she did not think Lefkowitz's remarks would complicate U.S. efforts with its negotiating partners China, Japan, Russia and South Korea or with North Korea, saying: "I would doubt very seriously that they would recognize (his) name."
Yet, even with the transcript of Lefkowitz's address removed from the State Department's official Web site, the North Koreans did notice. On Monday, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency, which once described the hawkish former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, as "the scum of the earth," said, "Lefkowitz was impudent enough to poke his nose into the nuclear issue, only to bring shame to himself."
Carelessness or lack of discipline were the main factors in the two latest diplomatic blunders.
Unbeknownst to higher-ups in Washington, Khalilzad accepted a last-minute invitation on Jan. 26 to participate in a discussion on "Understanding Iran's Foreign Policy" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. And he sat next to Manouchehr Mottaki, foreign minister of the nation that the administration has accused of trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of an atomic energy program. While Khalilzad said nothing that differed from the administration's hard line on Iran, his mere presence on stage with the Iranian was enough to cause palpitations in Washington. Officials claimed they learned of his participation only after video of the event was posted on YouTube.
The administration has strict rules regarding contact with Iran that allow only a small number of very senior officials to meet with Iranian representatives and then only with permission from Washington. In social settings, U.S. diplomats are instructed to be polite but not to engage in any substantive discussions with Iranian officials.
"There wasn't any permission in advance," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday when asked about Khalilzad's appearance with Mottaki, which the spokesman insisted did not signal any shift in policy.
"We haven't done these sorts of things in the past and I don't expect we will (in the future), absent some agreement from the Iranians that they are going to suspend their nuclear enrichment and reprocessing related activities," McCormack said.
McCormack was also busy this week trying to tamp down possible repercussions from comments made Wednesday by the top U.S. envoy for Africa, Jendayi Frazer. She had spoken of "ethnic cleansing" in Kenyan violence. He took great pains to distance the administration from the term, refusing to repeat the words "ethnic cleansing," which many regard as a precursor to "genocide," in reference to the violence in Kenya that has claimed more than 800 lives and displaced tens of thousands in the past three weeks.
McCormack acknowledged that the situation in Kenya was of great concern and said some violent incidents and displacements appeared to be driven by ethnicity, but he also said it was too early to characterize the situation in such terms. He indicated that Frazer, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, had been speaking for herself.
"She made some comments based on her firsthand assessment from a trip several weeks ago," McCormack told reporters. Asked if the Bush administration shared Frazer's assessment, he replied: "She said what she said. I am going to stick to what I said."
#1
Twice just this week, Rice and her aides had to rebuke, disavow or otherwise try to explain away public words or actions by three top officials on delicate affairs
As opposed to disciplining, firing and charging with sedition. It is our weakness, not their strength, which is killing us.
#3
Someone needs to tack this century old Elbert Hubbard quote on loyalty to the State Department's front door: "If you work for a man, in heaven's name work for him. If he pays you wages which supply you bread and butter, work for him; speak well of him; stand by him, and stand by the institution he represents. If put to a pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If you must vilify, condemn, and
eternally disparage, resign your position, and when you are outside, damn to your heart's content, but as long as you are part of the institution do not condemn it. If you do that, you are loosening the tendrils that are holding
you to the institution, and at the first high wind that comes along, you will be uprooted and blown away, and will probably never know the reason why." Get in line or get out.
#4
They need to rmemind those people at State they are in the EXECUTIVE branch, and their job is to support the policies of the EXECUITVE> If they cannot do so, then they shoudl either leave, or be fired.
#7
Rice need to start firing, no mercy. I'm buring a kid that died form an IED from Iraq, and these a-holes cannot drop into line and support our president?
Once Im elected, I want to organize a summit in the Muslim world, with all the heads of state, to have an honest discussion about ways to bridge the gap that grows every day between Muslims and the West. Of course I am sure the big gaping hole in Manhatten and at the Pentagon caused by Islamists will not be discussed.
Per Orrin Judd: maybe the French will loan him Marshal Foch's railroad car.
#3
That any public figure - much less a candidate for president - can make such idiotic statements and survive is a bracing reminder of how utter has been the failure of the administration and intelligent outsiders to establish the parameters of a serious public discussion. It's mere academic comfort that 99% of anything the Messiah or the Glacier propose will be abandoned instantly or diluted beyond recognition if they actually get elected. The 1% they try, plus all the rhetoric on the other stuff, will be sufficient to add years, trillions of dollars, and thousands of deaths to the eventual triumph over islamofascism. Not to mention the complete betrayal of the sacrifice of so many already - that part is beyond nauseating to contemplate.
Does anyone else here fear that a Dem victory in November will be a spirit-killing body blow to military recruitment and retention?
#4
I find it difficult to believe he would have actually said such a thing. If he did, he's a phueching, naive lunatic who has little or no grasp of history or current events.
#7
Free Radical: Hitler required the 1940 surrender to be signed in Marshal Foch's railway car ie the same car where the 1918 German surrender had been signed.
Sooner or later a donk will be elected. And the more successful the half efforts of the trunks have been to stop the muzzies, the more likely it becomes because people no longer believe the threat exists.
Then, after the pansy donk holding out the hand of peace, holding hands, swaying, sings Kum-by-yah in Arabic with Muzzie leaders there will be an attack on us that eclipses even the WTC. Only a donk will be able to react with the level of utter self-rightousness to such a betrayal to permit the kind of war that will be necessary to eliminate this threat for a lifetime at a minimum, preferably centuries. Sort of a Nixon to China thing. Could McCain do it?
#12
Agree, lotp. That's a big risk. But if that happens, it is because of moral rot that has infested the hearts and minds of the entire elite. Not that we aren't pretty far down that road. However, my point is true that sooner or later we are going to elect one of these wackos. And perhaps the sooner the better. (Searching for silver linings.)
If the muzzies were smart they'd sit by and just water the rot occasionally. But they're not that smart. They've got too many fanatics who would rush things believing in their own divine invincibility and inevitability. We're fortunate in the choice of our enemies. But the result will be terrible to behold. And it will be due to the predominance of fantasists in our midst till reality arrives with a big boom. I guess I'm ready if that's what the majority of the people want.
#14
wow, that was really weak. Not worth getting worked up over. Try again
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2008 8:42 Comments ||
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#15
Better see a doctor, Justice, because your hardon has definitely lasted for more then four hours. Either that or go out to the goat pen and find a nice silky haired one...
#17
the one with close-set eyes and odd forehead...not enuf branches on the family tree
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2008 8:54 Comments ||
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#18
Is this an actual quote ? I believe he did actually utter something like this. Why is this not in headline news ? This bastard is a slick talker. He's very good at debate. He makes the weak minds swoon and howl. Did you see the crowd outside the Kodak Theater ? That's why, if one of the Dummos goes in, I want it to be Billary. She's got a temper and I believe she'd respond with vengeance if we are attacked again. And, this is what's required. Pure, complete destruction of a wide swath of the Umma. As far as destroying the spirit of volunteer Army. Fear not, there's always the draft and they'd use it. They are talking mandatory health insurance and mandatory military is no problem either. Capiche ?
#21
You might be optimistic re: the attack, NS. Collapsed dhimmitude of the Euro sort is equally likely, I fear.
I don't think so. Oh, the spineless idiots that call themselves our elites will fold in a heartbeat, and when that happens I think you will see real Americans come together and drag them out of their offices for some good old fashioned lynching.
I'd bet money there are enough people left in this country that would rise to the occasion. In fact, I bet the military would remove the civilian government temporarily and address the situation. They did take an oath to the Constitution and the Nation, that comes before any loyalty to a treasonous President and Congress.
We are going to sink to a very low point before things turn around, and when the turn around comes it will be in response to terrible misery, and there will be much American-on-American bloodshed, but it is desperately needed to purge this country of the weak sisters.
Posted by: Grease Dark Lord of the Algonquins9226 ||
02/01/2008 9:43 Comments ||
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#22
If I was elected president, I would bring the entire Islamic world together in a summit to hold talks.
Then pointedly inform them that any attack from any of their people would result in one of their cities getting glassed. One attack, one more city gone. We have more nukes than you have cities, asshats. The choice is yours.
#24
LOL! JUSTICE, is that parody? Pretty weakass stuff, bring your "A" game or don't play.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2008 10:35 Comments ||
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#25
Better hope not, Justice. Then who are all you inbred lameasses gonna have around to blame for all your problems? Oh, that's right. You'll just start killing each other...like now.
#27
this is why I think Hilary, warts and all, has a better shot in the general than Obama. Hillary cant take issue with this pablum, without Obama going "Iraq vote! nyaah, nyaah, nyaah!" So she focused on domestic issues, experience, etc.
The Repubs in the general will have no such qualms, and Obamas poll numbers could go melting.
#28
...and 40,000 people died in Greensburg Kansas.
A suggestion by the honorable kennedy space center or by the lying conundrum **** of governors.
No seething just lice. Summits have been held in 'the mouslimb world' for ages. What is considerable is that a possible president elect thinks that his hype in american politics (piss be upon it) somehow translates to the big time; that is I pitched great in Babe Ruth leage, therefore I should be able to pitch for the Royals.
What, you gonna get the epyts and the gazoos to talk? Stupid.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/01/2008 16:29 Comments ||
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#30
The words of Thomas Jefferson, "A little rebellion now and then is a good thing", are beginning to sound more and more true. We really HAVE slid a long way in the last five decades, as far as the politicians are concerned. Where's a Teddy Roosevelt when you need him?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/01/2008 19:40 Comments ||
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#31
LOL, Steve , it was pretty apparent Justice's heart wasn't in it, with all the setbacks to Islam's "Crusade". Mom musta left the computer alone for a trip to the store
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2008 19:53 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON - An Afghan detainee accused of hurling a grenade at US soldiers in Afghanistan has been referred to a special military tribunal for trial on charges of attempted murder, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Charges against Mohammed Jawad, which also include intentionally causing serious bodily harm, were referred to a military commission, it said in a statement.
Jawad is only one of four detainees at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba who have been charged with war crimes under a US law that created military commissions to try detainees caught in the US war on terror as illegal enemy fighters.
Jawad, who was believed to be a minor at the time of his capture, is alleged to have hurled a grenade into a vehicle carrying two US soldiers and their interpreter near Kabul on December 17, 2002. He must be formally arraigned within 30 days, and a commission must be formed to try him within 120 days.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2008 00:09 ||
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#1
Does the US military still hang condemned prisoners, or does this guy get the gurney?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/01/2008 14:16 Comments ||
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#2
I personally would suggest a long drop - with a short rope.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/01/2008 19:41 Comments ||
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Pakistan on Friday successfully test-fired a medium-range, nuclear-capable ballistic missile, an event witnessed by the nation's new army chief, the military said.
The Strategic Missile Group launched the Shaheen-1 missile from an undisclosed location at the conclusion of the army's annual field training exercises, a statement said. The missile has a range of 420 miles.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan routinely tests the various missiles in its arsenal, designed to match that of neighboring archrival India.
Friday's launch was witnessed by army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, who congratulated the troops on achieving "high standards of training and excellent results" during the exercise, the statement said.
Kayani recently took over as army chief after President Pervez Musharraf gave up that role in the face of Western and domestic pressure.
The statement quoted Kayani as saying that Pakistan's armed forces were a "highly professional, motivated and well trained force" and were "capable of safeguarding and securing nuclear assets against all categories of threat."
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and they have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
However, relations between them have improved since 2004 when they started a peace process to resolve all disputes, including their competing claims to the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Pakistan became a declared nuclear power in 1998, when it conducted underground nuclear tests in response to those carried out by India. Pakistan also tested its first missile the same year.
#1
excellent for you, Pakland! How will you use it, when your primary problems are domestic, and reside among the tribals, bajaur, and major cities like Peshawar, where the price of an AK.....never mind (old RB reference)
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2008 19:19 Comments ||
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#2
With the civil war heating up in the Land of the Pure, I wonder if the price of AKs has gone up, or only local production...
I also wonder about the rust content of Pakistan's fabled nukes. Given the Koran-linked quality of the country's science education, I have to wonder about the impact of Persian rug hats and curly-toed slippers on the ability of the local technicians to actually use the correct end of a screwdriver.
NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani said on Thursday that the governance system in the Tribal Areas and the Frontier province was heading towards [a] state of collapse and its revival would be his greatest challenge. There are abnormal circumstances, unusual challenges an unconventional environment needs an unconventional approach, Owais told a group of journalists in his first interaction with media since he took over on January 7. It is difficult, complicated, [but] it is manageable. But the high level of despondency in the society and the administration is a matter of deep concern for me.
Demoralised: He said the administration was despondent, demoralised and weak. We need the nations backing to fight extremists, he said, and I need the administrations backing. It will be a great challenge for me. But he dispelled the impression that he supported military action as the only solution.
Administrative vacuum: He said commissioners and deputy commissioners coordinated between the tribal and settled areas before President Musharrafs devolution plan was implemented. The new plan, he said, had resulted in an administrative vacuum and the federal government was considering measures to reverse the situation. He referred to the federal governments recent approval of the regional coordination officer to coordinate between tribal and settled regions.
The office of the political agent in Tribal Areas and the district coordination officer in the NWFP would be strengthened, he said. Militancy, the governor said, was a multi-dimensional problem. It has external, political and socio-economic factors and we need a multi-dimensional approach. But no quick fixes.
He said the roots of militancy were in the 30 years of conflict in Afghanistan. Pakistan is not responsible for it. Did Pakistan invite the Russians, Osama and NATO? No! Pakistan is battling the fallout. The fight against militancy is the fight for Pakistan, he said.
The governor said he had told US and British envoys to stop poppy cultivation in Afghanistan or the country will be lost.
Four years I ago, I told US and British envoys in Pakistan the name global war on terror is misphrased. It should be war on global terror. He said there had to be a parallel political strategy in Afghanistan. The US has to come up with political strategy irrespective of the length of someones beards.
Ghani admitted to having contacts with the militants in North Waziristan. Peaceful means will be given full opportunity, he said. Contacts will never be broken.
Negotiations for a possible peace deal would be considered if initial discussions suggest a conducive environment, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf should be replaced immediately with a caretaker government ahead of February's elections, according to the country's retired military leaders. The Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society on Thursday called for the former general, Musharraf, to step down immediately saying he was causing serious damage to the country.
Wonder how long Ashfaq Kayani is going to stay bought loyal ...
The society demanded Musharraf hand over power to the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to ensure fair and free elections are conducted in the country on 18 February. The organisation includes retired generals, brigadiers, and colonels. Spokesman Air Marshal (R) Asghar Khan said that almost all the ex servicemen unanimously supported the views expressed by the society.
Many of the prominent participants have been the part of ruling military oligarchy, like retired lt. general Faiz Ali Chushti, who led the coup for late General Ziaul Haq, when he was the corps commander of Rawalpindi.
Sounds like the Iraq Study Group ...
Retired Lt. general Hamid Gul is credited with creating an Islamic Democratic Alliance in the late 1980s against former prime minister Benazir Bhuttos Pakistan Peoples Party. Two generals, retired Lt general Asad Durrani and retired Lt. General Talat Masood served as ambassadors in Musharrafs government, while retired Air Marshal Asghar Khans late son was a minister in Musharrafs cabinet.
Retired Air Marshal Khan said that the meeting was to discuss the society's campaign for the restoration of democracy and freedom of expression. "The society demands President Pervez Musharraf step down after handing rule over to deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry," he said. "Our organisation further suggests that the former chief justice appoint a new caretaker government and election commission to ensure free and fair elections."
He said that the society also proposed that former Justice Rana Bagwandaas become the new chief election commissioner because all political parties had confidence in his honesty.
Khan announced that the society of ex-servicemen wanted rule of law and freedom of expression in the country and that was why it had directed all members to participate in a protest organised by lawyers and journalists on 5 February. While he said the ex-servicemen had supported Musharraf's takeover from former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999, because he promised transparent accountability, he had never fulfilled his commitments. "We demand that violators of the constitution should be brought to the justice, but the decision should be carried by a political government" Asghar Khan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
These wouldn't happen to be disgrunted ex-service men who were retired for close links to taliban or ISS or purged for disobeying orders to get tough on militants?
#3
Nice to see their retired generals are as much of a pain in the ass as ours are...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/01/2008 14:18 Comments ||
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#4
This isn't exactly news. They've been working to remove Musharraf ever since he took power. These guys were pro-al Qaeda even during their days in active service.
(AKI/DAWN) - Pakistan's deposed chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, has written an open letter to world leaders, rejecting allegations levelled by President Pervez Musharraf during his recent European visit.
Ive no other purpose than to clear my name and to save the country (and perhaps others as well) from the calamity that stares us in the face," he said in the letter handed out to the media by advocate Athar Minallah at the Islamabad Bar Association on Wednesday. "We can still rescue (Pakistan) from all kinds of extremism: praetorian and dogmatic, the letter said.
According to the Pakistani daily, Dawn, copies of the letter were also sent to embassies and high commissions in Islamabad. Iftikar addressed the letter to the president of the European Parliament, the president of France, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 00:00 ||
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In a move with potentially devastating consequences for the effectiveness of U.N. counterterrorism measures, an Advocate General at the European Court of Justice, Miguel Poiares Maduro, recommended to the court last week that it annul EU financial sanctions against suspected al-Qaida financier, Yassin Abdullah Kadi (aka "Qadi"). The sanctions were originally applied by the EU in 2001 in conformity with U.N. Security Council Resolutions. Kadi's name was placed on the U.N.'s consolidated list of Qaida or Taliban affiliated persons and entities shortly after the 9/11 attacks. A series of U.N. Security Council Resolutions require U.N. member states to freeze the financial assets of such persons or entities.
In September 2005, the EU Court of First Instance rejected a complaint filed by Kadi that aimed to have the EU sanctions against him annulled. Kadi argued that the sanctions violated his "fundamental rights": including his right to property and to judicial review. The court ruled, however, that as members of the United Nations, EU states are obliged under the terms of the U.N. Charter to apply Security Council resolutions and hence that review of the "lawfulness" of Security Council decisions falls outside its purview.
In his advisory opinion, Poiares Maduro rejected the reasoning of the court in this connection and argued that for the purposes of EU Courts the "constitutional framework" of the European Union itself takes precedence over U.N. Security Council decisions. "...[A]lthough the Court takes great care to respect the obligations that are incumbent on the Community by virtue of international law," he writes.....
#4
The gentleman is only one of the lawyers of the court, and only capable of writing an argument, for which no doubt his bank account is suddenly much larger. Law professor Instapundit's articles probably have as much impact on our Supreme Court.
The United States, determined to prevent a resurgence of terror networks in Iraq, wants to preserve the right to hunt down top foreign fighters, as it negotiates a long-term security agreement with the Iraqis, according to a working draft described to The Associated Press.
And, while the agreement will not tie the US to specific troop levels, officials do not rule out including some broad goals for the US military presence there, reflecting the gradual transfer of security responsibilities to Iraqi forces.
The closely held draft document foresees a flexible agreement that would allow the US and Iraqi governments to adapt and shift responsibilities as conditions change - a goal seen as critical to both calming resistance from Iraqis who want their country free of US control and giving commanders the needed room to respond to changing violence levels.
In particular, it could adjust as attacks increase, decrease or shift to other areas, and as the provincial and national Iraqi government's progress and take on more security responsibilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Olmert needs to continue serving as prime minister, and the present government will stay in office until the next elections in 2009, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter said during an interview on Channel 2 on Thursday.
Dichter also tried to explain away the criticism that the government has not acted fast enough to implement the recommendations of the Winograd Committee. "Not all of the problems which were discussed in the report were fixed, and it's not reasonable that they would all be fixed after only a year and a half," Dichter said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Hamas is not opposed to joint Palestinian management of the Gaza crossings, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said Thursday. Zahar said that the group would not object to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Presidential Guard controlling the Rafah crossing on condition that Israel had no say over procedures there.
Zahar made the remarks to Al Jazeera after talks between Hamas leaders and Egyptian government officials in Cairo. He also said Hamas was prepared to consider the deployment of European monitors at the crossings if they are not subordinate to Israeli instructions.
The Cairo talks were aimed at ending the crisis which erupted last week when Hamas supporters blew up large parts of the security barrier separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, enabling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flock freely into Egyptian territory. The Hamas delegation to Cairo, which is headed by Khaled Mashaal and Zahar, met Thursday with Egyptian General Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to discuss ways of ending the crisis and reopening the Rafah border crossing.
Sources close to Hamas said the Islamist movement's leaders stressed during the talks that they were strongly opposed to the return of Palestinian Authority security forces to the border crossing under the terms of a 2005 US-brokered agreement. The Hamas leaders, the sources added, also made it clear that they would not accept the presence of international monitors at the border crossing. "Hamas wants a central role in running the Rafah border crossing," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. "Without Hamas, there will be no agreement on controlling the border."
The Egyptian authorities on Thursday stopped Palestinian vehicles from the Gaza Strip from crossing into Egypt as a first step toward resealing the border completely. The move came as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak declared that the Gaza Strip would never be part of Egypt. Mubarak was quoted by the Italian daily La Republica as saying that Israel's dream of "throwing the Strip" at the Egyptians was "only a dream." He said that Israel tried to "strangle" Gaza in an attempt to weaken Hamas, but achieved the opposite.
The Egyptians have also issued an ultimatum to all Palestinians who entered its territory over the past week to return to the Gaza Strip by early next week or face detention and deportation. Egyptian policemen have raided dozens of houses in Al-Arish and other towns in search of Palestinians who were planning to stay in Egypt. The Egyptians are reported to have deployed some 25,000 policemen and soldiers in Sinai as part of a massive crackdown aimed at forcing all the Palestinians who entered Egypt through the breached border to return to the Gaza Strip.
Hamas policemen deployed on the Palestinian side of the border also started preventing vehicles from crossing into Egypt. In one case, a Hamas policeman fired several shots into the air when a Palestinian driver ignored his orders to stop. Eyewitnesses said even donkey carts and motorcycles were barred from entering Egypt. However, pedestrians continued to pour across the border, although in smaller numbers than before.
Also Thursday, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's adviser announced that Hamas wanted Egypt to supply fuel and electricity to the Gaza Strip to end Gazans' economic dependence on Israel. In an interview with the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, Ahmad Youssef said that several Arab sources had expressed willingness to help fund the supply, if Egypt agrees to the arrangement. He said the issue would be discussed during a meeting of Hamas leaders in Egypt. Youssef also stressed that the move would be the basis for Hamas "cutting off" from Israel and for Gaza's independence.
Al Jazeera denied a Reuters report of an explosion heard from the Kerem Shalom Crossing area, on the Gaza-Egypt-Israel border. The station said the sound was a single bullet fired into the air by a Hamas police officer who was stopping a Palestinian trying to cross from Gaza into Egypt in his car.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
I understand that logic, MHW, but agreeing to partition would be a huge blow to his prestige on the West Bank, where most Pals arent ready to give up on Gaza. He'd be toast.
#4
I agree LH that Abbas would be unpopular (or maybe more unpopular) in the shortrun.
However, after the a succession of Gaza (which is a probable) and the subsequent slaughter/repression of remaining fatah activists, Abbas would look good.
#5
But clearly President Abbas is not able to think strategically, and not able to act strategically even if he could, so the point is moot. Anyway, Hamas/Gaza have already seceded, however informally, so that's moot, too.
Labor chairman Ehud Barak must insist on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's departure following the publication of the Winograd Report on the Second Lebanon War, Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday at the party's Tel Aviv headquarters.
Netanyahu said the failures the committee noted in its report and the fact that most of the nation believes that Olmert must resign obligated him to do so. "Olmert refuses to take responsibility, to demonstrate personal honesty and leadership and to do what most of the public expect him to do," Netanyahu said. "The prime minister is emptying of content the concept of responsibility. The people of Israel know today that they are led by a prime minister who is not qualified or fit to lead them. Barak knows this and he knows that the public expects him to ensure that this failed leadership does not continue."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Captured IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit is alive and in good condition, Hamas's Syria-based leader Khaled Mashaal was quoted as saying Thursday.
In an interview set to be published Friday in the Italian weekly Panorama, Mashaal said that Schalit's captors were treating him "according to law."
The Hamas leader went on to say that he was "astonished" as to why Israel so worried about one soldier when in Israel, about 12,000 Palestinians are detained, including women and children.
On January 17, Mashaal said that IDF operations in Gaza had a negative impact on talks over the release of Schalit. He also said that in any case, Schalit wouldn't be released until Israel agreed to free all the prisoners Hamas was demanding in the context of a prisoner swap.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The Hamas leader went on to say that he was "astonished" as to why Israel so worried about one soldier when in Israel, about 12,000 Palestinians are detained, including women and children.
Why? Because the Red cross can visit the Israeli Jails, but YOU forbid the RC from visiting Schalit, you pompous, self-serving, islam-is-superior-so-muslims-don't-need-to-abide-by-any-rules SOB.
Oh, and if you don't want women and children in the Israeli Jails, don't use them for terrorist attacks.
Sri Lankas Tamil Tiger have asked the United Nations to recognise their right to sovereignty as a constructive approach to ending the two-decade long civil war, the rebel group said. There is only one path open to regain the rights of the Tamil people and that is for the international community to recognise the sovereignty of the Tamil nation, B Nadesan, head of the Tigers political wing, said in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The letter was released late Wednesday. While the UN has frequently discussed Sri Lankas civil war at the General Assembly and in the Security Council, Nadesans letter is believed to be the first formal request for recognition to the world body.
The request is unlikely to be given much official credence - particularly over Sri Lankan government objections and while the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remains banned by the United States, European Union and other nations. In his letter, sent a day after the LTTE blamed Sri Lankan troops for a claymore mine attack which killed 18 civilians, Nadesan also accused the government of deliberately targeting Tamil non-combatants. Since the present President of Sri Lanka took office in November 2005, 2,056 Tamil civilians including 132 Tamil children have been massacred by the Sri Lankan state forces, he wrote.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 08:35 ||
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Arab League chief Amr Moussa urged the election of the president and warned that should the Arab initiative fail to resolve the impasse in Lebanon, international powers could intervene.
Moussa, who was in Kuwait for a meeting with senior officials, told reporters that any further delay in electing a new president will harm the country's stability. "It is essential that a new president is elected as soon as possible. Any delay in electing a president is a blow to Lebanon's stability," Moussa said. "It is vital to rescue Lebanon from becoming a scene for regional conflicts," he added. "The [Arab League] initiative still has a good chance to succeed," Moussa said, "but the Arab and regional situation has to help us make more progress."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Reuters) - Abu Laith al-Libi, one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants who commanded militant forces in Afghanistan, has been killed, U.S. officials and an al Qaeda-linked Web site have said. The following is a list of major al Qaeda figures killed or captured since 2001: Drum roll, if you please. AFGHANISTAN:
* Mohammed Atef, one of the top leaders of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, was killed in a U.S. air strike in Afghanistan in November 2001.
ALGERIA:
* Hareg Zoheir, the deputy chief of al Qaeda's North Africa wing, was killed along with two other rebels in a gun battle with Algerian troops in October 2007.
IRAQ:
* Humadi al-Takhi, a district commander of al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed by Iraqi and U.S. forces in April 2006.
* Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, was killed in a U.S. air raid in June 2006.
* U.S. forces killed Muhammed Abdullah Abbas al-Issawi, described as a security emir for al Qaeda in Iraq in April 2007.
* The U.S. military killed Muharib Abdul Latif al-Jubouri, an al-Qaeda figure accused of involvement in the kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll, in May 2007.
PAKISTAN:
* Saudi-born Palestinian Abu Zubaydah was arrested after a shootout in the central Pakistani city of Faisalabad in March 2002. Zubaydah was operations director for al Qaeda and the first high-ranking member to be arrested.
* Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni national and one-time roommate of Mohammed Atta, suspected ringleader of the September 11 hijackers, was captured in Karachi in September 2002.
* Security forces arrested Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al Qaeda's number three and alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, in a raid in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, in March 2003.
* Musaad Aruchi, a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed with a $1 million bounty on his head, was arrested in Karachi in June 2004.
* Tanzanian Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was arrested in the city of Gujrat in July 2004.
* Pakistani intelligence agencies and security forces arrested Abu Faraj Farj al-Liby, mastermind of two failed attempts on President Pervez Musharraf's life, in May 2005.
* Abu Hamza Rabia, an al Qaeda commander ranked the third most senior leader in Osama bin Laden's network, was killed in a tribal region of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan in December 2005.
* Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah (also known as Abdul Rehman), an Egyptian al Qaeda member wanted for involvement in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Kenya, was killed by Pakistani forces close to the Afghan border in April 2006.
SAUDI ARABIA:
* Youssef al-Eiery, the leading al Qaeda militant in Saudi Arabia who was believed to be behind the May 2003 suicide bombings in Riyadh which killed at least 35 people, was shot dead by Saudi police shortly after the attacks.
Several of Eiery's successors, including Khaled Ali Haj, Abdulaziz al-Muqrin and Saleh al-Awfi were killed by Saudi security forces over the next two years
YEMEN:
* Yemeni security forces shot dead Yasser al-Homeiqani, an al Qaeda fugitive, in southern Yemen in January 2007. Of course, if US forces didn't hang a toe-tag on them personnaly, they have been known to rise from the dead.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/01/2008 13:09 ||
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#1
Memories,
Like the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we? could we?
Memories, may be beautiful and yet
Whats too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
So its the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember...
The way we were...
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.
Poland's foreign minister said Friday his country has reached an agreement in principle with the United States on plans to install a U.S. missile defense system in Polish territory. Radek Sikorski said that after his meetings with officials here, he is satisfied that, as part of the eventual deal, the United States will deal with security problems that Poland has raised. 
WASHINGTON - An Afghan detainee accused of hurling a grenade at US soldiers in Afghanistan has been referred to a special military tribunal for trial on charges of attempted murder, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Charges against 
(AKI/DAWN) - Pakistan's deposed chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, has written an open letter to world leaders, rejecting allegations levelled by President Pervez Musharraf during his recent European visit. 
The Israeli media is more interested in the snow than the Winograd report, MK Ahmad Tibi (UAL) said Thursday. 
Labor chairman Ehud Barak must insist on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's departure following the publication of the Winograd Report on the Second Lebanon War, Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday at the party's Tel Aviv headquarters. 
Captured IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit is alive and in good condition, Hamas's Syria-based leader Khaled Mashaal was quoted as saying Thursday. 
