RIYADH - An editor whose newspaper was in the forefront of a campaign against Muslim extremism was removed from his post Tuesday, managers at the paper said. No reason was given for the dismissal of Jamal Khashoggi, who joined the Al-Watan newspaper in March, one manager said on condition of anonymity. Staffers at the paper said Al-Watan's manager fired Khashoggi but that the decision came from the Information Ministry. Under Saudi press laws, the government approves the hiring and firing of newspaper editors. Newspapers are privately owned but government guided. Al-Watan has run a number of stories, editorials and cartoons critical of extremists and the way in which the country enforces its religious values. The newspaper published many critical articles in the wake of May 12 attacks in Riyadh that killed 34 people, suggesting that Muslim fanaticism, long tolerated in the country, led to terrorism. On Saturday, Khashoggi writing about fanaticism, said: "It's time we treated the affliction and held those who strayed accountable." Many fear the dismissal of Khashoggi, 45, will send a message to other newspapers that the government will no longer tolerate such criticism. A ministry official said only Minister of Information Fuad al-Farsi could comment on the dismissal but that he was not available.
Khashoggi's written a number of reasonable (to us, anyway) articles. He's also sometimes carried in the Beirut Daily Star. I'd take this as an indication the Soddies have decided they're not that serious about divorcing themselves from the jihadis. Guess the WOT's not gonna be over soon...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 11:21 pm ||
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Dr. Ayman Habid ⢠Okaz
Terrorism remains an American product. Were it not for the blood spilled as a direct result of terrorist acts committed by the United States all over the world, American blood as well as much innocent blood in many places would have been spared. In the flood of American accusations that do not spare countries, institutions or individuals, it is our right to ask about crimes committed by various American and Western bodies, including armed extremist organizations, that target Arabs and Muslims under various pretexts, one being upholding freedom. This has become part of the ceaseless war against those identified as Arab or Muslim. Jerry Falwell, as well as the organization he represents, is known for his anti-Arab and anti-Muslim diatribes and provocative actions. Falwell gave his blessing to the 1981 massacre committed by former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin when he murdered 200 Lebanese civilians, and thus made clear the terrorist nature of his organization.
Another anti-Arab and anti-Islamic terrorist, Pat Robertson, fully supports Israelâs occupation of Arab lands. Such terrorist tendencies are part of Western absolute and unreserved support for the Zionist entity and its crimes in the occupied Palestinian lands. Western religious establishments continue to support and bless Israelâs occupation of Jerusalem. Homegrown terrorism fluorishes in the United States where crime rates are the highest in the world.
Crime is common in American schools from elementary to university level. In one year American schools reported 1,200 assaults with deadly weapons, not to mention cases involving rape and sexual harassment. A country with 230 million weapons has become a vast prison with over two million people behind bars. The cowboy culture is dominant and every day 125 people â including 20 children â are killed. American youth have committed 2,428 terrorist operations involving gangs and militia members who are active all over the country. To this are added 40 terrorist and extremist organizations. Terrorism is terrorism, whether domestic or foreign, and terrorists are united by their animosity toward the other. The culture of violence is the result of policies of hegemony. This was evident from what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq.
So there you have it. Pat and Jerry — string 'em up. Damn us!
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 03:16 pm ||
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#1
so this ayman habid wants to give Robertson and Falwell credit for Afghanistan and Iraq???
Yet more partisan, Republican commentary. I, for one, am tired of it ;)
#4
i just do not see any republican commentary here -i do see anti-americanism in the commentary.
Posted by: Dan ||
05/27/2003 17:02 Comments ||
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Dan,
I think that was intended sarcasm on LH's part. The author is correct on one thing though. The deplorable number of incidents of crime in this country both in total and per capita. I don't understand the linkage between domestic crime and terrorism however.
#6
If Falwell and Robertson comments reveal the terrorist nature of their organizations what does this say for the vast majority of Muslim clerics who have spoken out in favor of suicide killers.Do their comments attest to the terrorist nature of the Islamic World. Do you really see sarcasm in this guy's comments? This is actually the way these Islamofascists think and argue. I see irrational anti-Americanism.
Saudi Arabia, rocked by suspected al Qaeda attacks this month, said Tuesday it hoped Iran would hand over any Saudi nationals if found among a group of alleged al Qaeda members arrested by Tehran this week. "We hope that if there are any Saudis there, they would cooperate and we have an agreement with Iran in this fashion," Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told a news conference in Riyadh. Iran said Monday it had arrested and would interrogate several suspected members of al Qaeda. That's funny, I thought that Iran had assured us that there wasn't any al Qaeda in Iran?
Prince Saud said his country was cooperating with U.S. officials in investigating the attack, adding Saudi officials had information that weapons were being smuggled into the kingdom from the Iraqi border. "We have information of smuggling from the Iraqi borders and we will get into touch with the occupying powers there to see what could be done," he said. Of course there was no such smuggling under Sammy's rule. It must be our fault that this is happening now.
Prince Saud hinted to reporters of a possible link between the triple suicide bomb attacks in the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, and bombings in Casablanca which came a few days later. "We don't think it's accidental that it happened so near to each other," Prince Saud said. Neither do I.
A Riyadh-based Western diplomat said Thursday that Saudi authorities had arrested four men on suspicion of belonging to al Qaeda. The "usual suspects" routine.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/27/2003 11:10 am ||
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#1
From: The occupying Powers (Iraq)
To: Saudi Arabia
Subject: Cross-border arms smugglers
Feel free to shoot any you catch.
-- Love - The US
#2
Perhaps since the golden bribe money was confiscated, the Iranians will have no use for these "usual suspects". And the Saudi's get their man. Don't do the crime if you can't pay the bribe.
A German court rejected Turkey's request on Tuesday to extradite an Islamic militant leader accused of plotting bomb attacks, saying he could face "political persecution" in Turkey. Turkish authorities allege Muhammed Metin Kaplan masterminded a failed plot in October 1998 to crash a plane laden with explosives into the mausoleum of the modern republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. On the same day, they say, he planned a violent occupation of Istanbul's Fatih mosque. Kaplan is the leader of a Cologne-based group called Caliphate State, which has been banned in Germany.
Kaplan's a hell of a name for a caliph, isn't it? Though I guess Cohen would be worse...
The Turkish militant had been serving a four-year prison sentence in Duesseldorf for incitement in the killing of a rival cleric in Berlin in 1997. His sentence ended in March, but he remained in custody pending an extradition ruling.
I guess I'd let him off easy for bumping off a mullah, too...
On Tuesday, the superior state court in Duesseldorf ruled against extradition and ordered Kaplan's immediate release. The court said there were "serious grounds" to believe that, if extradited, Kaplan would be prosecuted using testimony "extorted by police" and that the trial would "have the character of political persecution." Official documents from Turkey raised concern that Kaplan's followers were tortured by Turkish police during investigations in 1998, it said. The German government backed the extradition effort, which appeared to clear a major hurdle when Turkey abolished the death penalty last year. But Germany also sought Turkish assurances that Kaplan wouldn't be tortured on his return.
"Now, don't hurt 'im, okay?"
"We won't. We promise."
"Then why's that guy in the fez curling his moustachios and snickering?"
Kaplan's group calls for the overthrow of Turkey's secular government and its replacement with an Islamic state. Interior Minister Otto Schily has described the group as a "breeding ground" for terrorists, though he said it has no links to al-Qaida or other international terrorist groups.
It just funnels wannabe jihadis into them...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 11:32 pm ||
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BRUSSELS - Nizar Trabelsi recalled jotting down the chemical formula for a bomb in a soccer magazine that featured his past as a pro player. At that point, Trabelsi testified Tuesday, he had committed himself to becoming a "martyr" for Osama bin Laden. Trabelsi, 32, said the al-Qaida terrorist network sent him to Belgium to drive a bomb into the canteen of an air base where about 100 U.S. military personnel work. Instead, he was arrested two days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and investigators found the raw materials for a huge bomb. The former European pro soccer player is the lead defendant among 23 charged with links to al-Qaida in the first terror-related prosecution in Belgium since the terror attacks on the United States prompted a spate of arrests across Europe.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 11:23 pm ||
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...and speaking of Turkey. Murat, you still around?
Turkish men have a tendency to exaggerate the size of their sexual organs, according to a condom maker planning to set up shop in Turkey. Despite a national norm of 17 centimetres (6.8 inches) set up by the National Standards Institute, a questionnaire by the manufacturer Condomi revealed that most Turkish men asked believed their penis to be about 22 centimetres (8.8 inches) long, the newspaper Sabah reported. The National Standards Institute must be an interesting place to work.
Research was carried out among 400 interviewees in eight Turkish provinces. Sabah said most potential condom users felt they ought to buy the XXL size. The report said about only 20 percent of Turkish men would in fact qualify for such a size. Get out the tape measures."Next..."
But Turkish honour is preserved. Throughout Europe on average, scarcely 10 percent of men would qualify for the large size, the report said. ...and the French won't need them because they have no dicks.
EFL
The head of Turkey's armed forces warned the government yesterday that the possibility of military intervention still existed and that the government should be sensitive to the country's secularist constitution. Whoops. I guess someone pushed their luck too hard.
But his most incendiary remarks were on the question of a repeat of the kind of military intervention which saw an openly Islamist government eased out of power with the military's help in 1997. "That was cause and effect" he said, "and if the cause is still there then the effect will be there also." Asked if the military would intervene again, he refused to answer. My God, cause and effect! Will miracles never cease?
Posted by: Brian ||
05/27/2003 03:56 pm ||
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#1
Don't be surprised if the Military does step in and stop these yahoo's if they go too far. They have done it in the past.
#2
Interesting comment from the General. As a result of the parliamentry shenanagins prior to the Iraq war have embarrassed the military and promoted the cause of the Kurds. Do we think the Turkish Army is happy with Mosul and Kirkuk? They might have had some influence in Iraq until the government stopped the 4ID. Now they are stuck sucking up to Chirac.
Posted by: john ||
05/27/2003 20:02 Comments ||
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Turkey needs to place a short leash on those generals. The government did nothing to even approach the need for such remarks -- which were basically the threat of a coup.
And the "parliamentary shenanigans" were just democracy in action. It's the government+parliament that sets policy in a democracy, *not* the army.
#4
Unfortunately Aris - you fail to notice that Islamic democracies DON'T EXIST!. Why? Because just like their intolerant and weak-minded religion, they must outlaw all opposition or other religions - once they manage to get elected the democracy stops
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/27/2003 21:45 Comments ||
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Today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an article about Arsalan Iftikhar, a young American Muslim who just graduated from Washington University's law school. Iftikhar headed up the St. Louis branch of CAIR and is now going to work for them in Washington. The article mentions that Mr. Iftikhar has spoken to churches, synagogues and anywhere else he could to explain to Americans what Islam was really all about.
The most interesting thing to me is the picture that illustrates this article which shows Mr. Iftikhar moving out of his dorm room. Note the flag on the wall.
Posted by: Christopher Johnson ||
05/27/2003 08:09 pm ||
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#1
Nice to know who sponsored his law school tuition and expenses. Hope they keep a tail on him and his phones.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/27/2003 20:36 Comments ||
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CAIR? The MSA? A Saudi flag? Looks like a moderate to me...(winky-winky). Are you considered an Islamic moderate if you haven't blown up an Israeli bus in about six weeks?
#3
Iftikhar's activism started early. As a high school student, he attended human rights rallies and sit-ins over places like Rwanda, Bosnia and the Palestinian territories.
"Wherever I thought there was unnecessary human suffering and we weren't paying attention to it," he recalled.
What about Iraq? Surely all of Saddam's victims didn't deserve to be maimed or killed, no?
What about Afghanistan under the Taliban? Or what that necessary suffering??
ESPN reports that the French don't seem to have much of a sense of humor:
And after she won the NASDAQ-100 Open in April, Serena Williams—the reigning French Open champion—smiled mischievously, mustered a cartoonish French accent and said, "We want to make clothes. We don't want the war." The backlash in France was immediate. A number of Paris boutiques removed clothing endorsed by Williams and a French firm canceled plans to design blouses with her.
Now, if the French don't want to do business with Serena, that's their business. But where are all the folks who were wetting their beds a few weeks ago over an "assault on democracy" because some people were boycotting the Dixie Chicks for being anti-American?
#1
Hey its the French, you have to expect this , but you have to love Serena Williams, this lady is going to win again, in France and stick it right up their collective ass.
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Tuesday acquitted Dr Ahmed Javed Khwaja and his brother Ahmad Nadeem Khawaja of charges of firing on police, possessing illegal weapons and illicit passports.
"Nope. Nope. Didn't do it. Nope. Them bullet holes was there when we got here."
However, the two Khwajas were not released immediately as the federal government has also detained them under the Security of Pakistan Act, 1953 and the Federal Review Board has extended their detention till May 31. The extension in their detention has already been challenged before the Supreme Court. While acquitting the two Khwajas, ATC Judge Mehmood Maqbool Bajwa observed that the prosecution had failed to prove its allegations against the accused.
"Can you prove those bullet holes were put in your car by the defendants?"
The court held that the counsel for the accused had successfully exposed contradictions and fabrications in the prosecutionâs version.
"Lies! All lies! Lies upon lies!"
The judge said after examining the evidence brought before him by the prosecution and defence, he had come to the conclusion that no case was made out against the accused.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 11:01 pm ||
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The pro-Taliban government of this ultraconservative border province presented a package of Islamic laws Tuesday that it said will make the region the first in Pakistan to be run upon the teachings of the Quran. The package presented to the provincial assembly included few specifics, but it came with promises by Islamic hard-liners to ban obscenity and vulgarity, and bring the North West Frontier Province's education and financial systems in line with Shariah, or Islamic law. "Back to the Dark Ages!"
"In the whole of the North West Frontier Province, Shariah will be the supreme law in provincial matters, and all courts in the province will be bound to interpret and explain provincial law according to Sharia," said the document, called the Shariah Implementation Act of 2003. The bill must be debated and approved by the provincial parliament and signed by Gov. Sayed Iftikhar Hussain Shah before it can become law. But the Islamic coalition - called the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, or United Action Forum - dominates the legislature, and passage of the bill is considered a formality. "This is an historic day, not only for this province but for the whole country because we are setting an example," said Maulana Abdul Jalil Jan, provincial information secretary for Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam, the leading party in the six-party Islamic coalition that swept to power in the province in October elections. An example of what happens to people when you wind your turbans too tight
Since gaining power in the province last year, the hard-line government has begun cracking down what it considers un-Islamic activities. Several movie houses have been shut down and the remainder have been forced to paint over posters of women in Western clothes. Earlier this month, authorities banned male coaches from training female athletes in the province and barred men from watching women's sports events. In addition, they have called for compulsory reading of the Quran, Islam's holy book, in schools, and passed a resolution that only women doctors should carry out medical tests on female patients. Human rights officials expressed concern Tuesday over the actions. "Everybody, whether he is a Muslim or non-Muslim, should have the right to freely follow his religion," said Kamla Hayyat of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. "But the way Islamic parties have started imposing certain laws ... will deprive many people of their basic rights." Islamic parties are against all that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness stuff.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/27/2003 07:54 am ||
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#1
Anytime Sharia law is instituted, muslims look foolish to the entire world. How ridiculous the Taliban looked, beating women for showing a glimpse of ankle on the street. How pathetic the Saudi religious police looked, forcing young girls to burn to death because they were not dressed to come outside on the street.
Every time the fanatics gain control of the political side, they go too far--and all of the islamic world can see the fanaticism and backwardness of sharia.
No gov't has had the guts to call a spade a spade. No "peace protesters" or "human rights activists" will take to the streets in the world's biggest cities decrying "no blood for Shariah!" Let's see if the media makes a sustained, intense worldwide campaign against the extremist Muslims.
It's going to take a nuke or a bio-terror incident involving the deaths of tens of thousands before we take a stand against the fanatics.
Posted by: eric ||
05/27/2003 11:43 Comments ||
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"It's going to take a nuke or a bio-terror incident involving the deaths of tens of thousands before we take a stand against the fanatics."
I have no confidence even that will move the "why do they hate us" crowd.
An older article about an Indian mafia boss who has loaned out hitmen to the ISI for deniable assassinations. He also is a major player in the Dubai underworld, which has much overlap with the financing of terrorists.
...Growing Hindu-Muslim tension, fuelled by other underworld dons, which climaxed after the Babri mosque demolition, changed everything. The ensuing blasts in Mumbai, and the communal riots triggered by the underworld itself, caused the Dawood Ibrahim gang to splinter. One of his top lieutenants, Chota Rajan, often described by Ibrahim as one of his 'nine jewels' defected and formed his own group consisting mainly of Hindu boys. Thereafter, Ibrahim was accused of masterminding the blasts, even though he was out of town at the time.
Thus Dawood fled to Pakistan, managing also to subsequently smuggle his family out of Mumbai. Today they are all Pakistani passport holders. Not only have the Pakistani authorities turned a blind eye to the gangâs activities within Pakistan, but many in the corridors of power have partaken of Dawoodâs hospitality. Dawood often throws lavish mujras for Pakistani politicians and bureaucrats. A recent guest was a former caretaker Prime Minister.
These are not the only members of the establishment who have close ties with Dawood. He is said to have the protection of assorted intelligence agencies. In fact, Dawood and his men move around the city guarded by heavy escorts of armed men in civvies believed to be personnel of a top Pakistani security agency.
A number of government undercover agents, who came into contact with Dawood because of their official duties, are now, in fact, working for him. âA major serves him a glass of water. Nearly all the men who surround him for security reasons are either retired or serving officers,âclaims an MQM activist. âAnd he keeps them happy â buying them expensive apartments and showering them with favours. So they are more loyal to Dawood than the government of Pakistan.â
According to informed sources, Dawood is Pakistanâs number one espionage operative. His men in Mumbai help him get whatever information he needs for Pakistan. Rumour has it that sometimes his men in Karachi accompany Pakistani intelligence agents to the airports to scan arriving passengers and identify RAW agents. Both Dawood and his lieutenant Chota Shakeel, who have international satellite telephones and mobile roaming facilities, are in constant touch with their people in India and are allegedly able to garner valuable information for local agencies.
But Dawood has not severed all ties with India â or even with Hindu nationalists. Dawood and his men might claim to be the champions of the Indian Muslims, but he continues to have close business ties with the Hindu mafia. One of his close associates claims that Dawood even has joint business interests with the son of the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena leader, Bal Thackeray, public pronouncements of fierce enmity between the two notwithstanding.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/27/2003 01:57 am ||
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#1
No sharia here. Just good'ole fashioned thugery. Makes my heart sing. It's business.
Coalition forces captured two more wanted Iraqis over the weekend, bringing to 27 the number of the top 55 former members of Saddam Hussein's regime in custody, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday. The men captured Saturday were low on the list but their arrests mean nearly half of the top suspects are being held and interrogated by American forces. The latest captured include Sayf al-Din al-Mashadani, No. 46 on the list. He was the regional leader of Saddam's Baath Party in the Muthanna region of southwestern Iraq. Also captured was No. 55, Sad Abd al-Majid al-Faysal. He was the Baath Party regional chairman for the area around Tikrit, Saddam's hometown and power base.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 11:34 pm ||
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AMMAN â Representatives of Iraqâs Muslim and Christian communities opened talks here yesterday to discuss how they can contribute to a new leadership in their country. The two-day meeting in the Jordanian capital is organized by the New York-based World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) and chaired by Prince Hassan bin Talal, uncle of Jordanâs King Abdallah and a former crown prince. WCRP Secretary-General William Vendley said the meeting âmarked the first time all of Iraqâs religious communities have met since Saddam Hussein took powerâ more than two decades ago. âReligion can be an asset in Iraqâs reconstruction,â he said.
A representative of the Sunni community, Ahmad Ubeid Al-Kubeisi, put much of the onus for an Iraqi recovery on the United States as the occupying power. âIraq has entered a dark tunnel and we donât see the end ... but we hope that America, and there are many good people in America, will return to the right track that benefits a great power,â he told reporters. Kubeisi said there were âsignals of religious unityâ in postwar Iraq and said the meeting should help consolidate these ties and contribute to the political and economic reconstruction of the war-battered country.
For Archbishop Emanuel Delli, the meeting was a chance to close ranks between the Christian and Muslim communities in Iraq to build a strong platform âto help rebuild the country after this destructive warâ. âIraq needs peace and needs that everyone strives to protect its rights,â the Christian cleric said.
Sheikh Jalal Al-Husni Al-Sagheer of the majority Shiite community in Iraq hoped that the meeting will act as a âlever to influence politicians and decision-makers in one way or anotherâ to resolve the problems facing Iraq. Prince Hassan opened the meeting by stressing the international communityâs âmoral obligationâ toward Iraq which he said âpresents unique challenges and opportunitiesâ on the political, social, economic and strategic levels. âThe best way to prevent conflict in Iraq ... is to create a space for Iraqâs religious communities to contribute to the countryâs reconstruction,â he said. More than 20 representatives of Iraqâs religious communities are attending the meeting alongside 40 international representatives of the worldâs major faiths, organizers said.
I think Iraq will be better off in the long run if we concentrate on finding people with hard skills â engineering, chemistry, accounting, that sort of thing â rather than pulpits. I shudder to think what the U.S. would be like if we had bishops or preachers in charge. Lawyers are bad enough...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 03:25 pm ||
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Uday's bodyguards picked up the signal and walked through the darkened room, flicking cigarette lighters as they approached the girl's table. Uday, then 33, flipped on his too, confirming they had identified the right one. When the girl left the table for the powder room, Uday's bodyguards approached her with a choice, says Shabaan, who was Uday's business manager. She could ascend the platform now and congratulate Uday on his recovery, or she could call him on his private phone that night. Flustered, she apologized and said her parents would allow neither. One of the guards replied, "This is the chance of your life" and promised she would receive diamonds and a car. "All you have to do is go up there for 10 minutes," he urged. When she demurred again, the bodyguards pursued Uday's backup plan. They maneuvered the girl in the direction of the parking lot, picked her up and carried her to the backseat of Uday's car, covering her mouth to muffle her screams.
After three days the girl was returned to her home, with a new dress, a new watch and a large sum of cash. Her parents had her tested for rape; the result was positive. According to Shabaan's account, Uday heard she had been tested and sent aides to the clinic, where they warned doctors not to report a rape. Furious, the father demanded to see Saddam himself. Rebuffed, he kept complaining publicly about what Uday had done. After three months, the President's son had had enough. He sent two guards to the man to insist that he drop the matter. Uday had another demand: that the ex-governor bring his daughter and her 12-year-old sister to his next party. "Your daughters will be my girlfriends, or I'll wipe you off the face of the earth." The man complied, surrendering both girls.
...
..
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Posted by: rg117 ||
05/27/2003 11:03 am ||
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#1
If these two bastards are still alive, I hope they put up a fight when we come for them. Daddy, too.
#2
I read this last week when it came out. They're scum, and I hope Uday is in lots of pain from his past injuries. Then I hope both of them are in more pain when we find them.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/27/2003 14:09 Comments ||
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I think the fair and honest thing to do would be to hang the Hussein family from a crane and let the people of Iraq deal with them. Though they need to kept some distance from the crowd, after all you don't want them dying too soon. Thirty years of rape and torture takes time to avenge.
On a slightly different issue, I can't imagine what the guy (in the article) must have gone through but I would imagine that a Father that was given a choice between his own death and his daughters being turned into sex slaves, most would choose death. He sacrificed his daughters to save himself.
#4
I dunno, rg, 'wipe you off the face of the earth' probably wasn't just a 'his own death' threat to the father. It probably meant him and his entire family, including the two girls, other kids, wife, parents on both sides, siblings...
The Hussein family was efficient that way.
Posted by: Kathy K ||
05/27/2003 16:10 Comments ||
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U.S. soldiers seized $80 million to $100 million worth of crudely made, non-minted gold bars Sunday and detained three Iraqis heading east, possibly for the Iranian border, officials said Monday. Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, manning a routine checkpoint set up on the outskirts of Kirkuk, impounded the truck Sunday and detained the three occupants because the driverâs paperwork and identification did not match the vehicle registration, according to Maj. Kevin Petit, executive officer of the brigade based in Vicenza, Italy.âThat was the probable cause,â Petit said. "Probable cause? I got your probable cause right here, pal!"
Inside the bed of the turquoise Mercedes dump truck were 999 bars of gold, each weighing about 22 pounds, said Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a spokeswoman for the Armyâs 4th Infantry Division, which oversees military operations in northern Iraq. The military based its estimate of value on the weight of the gold.
The three occupants, two Kurds and one Turkmen, told the arresting soldiers and later intelligence officers they had been paid $300 cash to transport what they thought was melted down copper, Petit said. They still were in U.S. custody Monday afternoon for interrogations, he added. Three more "innocent" truckdrivers.
The truck left Baghdad on Saturday and was on its way to As Sulaymaniya, near the border with Iran, he said. The soldiers stopped it Sunday about 10 a.m. at a checkpoint in the south side of town, which has been the site of previous checkpoints, he said. For now, military leaders are leaning toward believing the three menâs story because no weapons were found in the truck, the trio did not put up any resistance when the dump truck was stopped or impounded, and the gold bars were not concealed in any way, Petit said. Either they are really dumb, or too clever for their own good
The gold will be analyzed to determine its purity and exact value, and then sent to the Central Iraqi Treasury, Aberle said. A reservist assigned to the 173rd who works in a gold and jewelry shop in the civilian world told military officials that the find likely was 21-carat gold, Petit said. God bless those reservists. You can find an expert in any field if you need one.
The 173rd soldiers who stopped and seized the booty were on patrol Monday afternoon when officials briefed reporters and were unavailable for interviews. Two days earlier, soldiers stopped another Mercedes dump truck on its way toward the Syrian border hauling a load of 2,000 gold bars that look very similar to the ones seized Monday, he said. Note that this is a second gold shipment, not the same one reported last week.
Officials canât say yet whether the two incidents are linked. âBut they do look similar,â Petit said. Yah think?
None of the drivers had proper documentation and gold is not a natural resource in Iraq, making the transport of so many bars highly suspicious, Aberle said. A master of the understatement, our Josslyn. Clearly a DINFOS trained killer.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/27/2003 10:02 am ||
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The rats are restless. The gold was on its way to Iran. Must be a bummer to loose your bribe money as well as your nest egg. What's the penalty in sharia for 'Unable to pay bribe'? No tea.
#3
Just curious where the Iraqi National Gold Reserve is? Every country has one. If it's missing, how come none of the Central Bank officials are screaming about it? Perhaps it's not missing to them, just to us?
#4
... they had been paid $300 cash to transport what they thought was melted down copper ...
And of course in that part of the world, no one can tell the difference between a bar of copper and a bar of gold.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/27/2003 14:15 Comments ||
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What's interesting about this is that one load went toward Syria - snagged. One load went toward Iran - also snagged. How many loads went toward Jordan, Soddy Arabia, and Turkey, and haven't been snagged? Who owns all that "copper"?
Posted by: Fred ||
05/27/2003 15:07 Comments ||
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#6
Fred---Who owns the "copper" is who holds the "copper."
For the Post-war criminal element it is Shock and Aurusâ¢!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/27/2003 15:30 Comments ||
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#7
and about those reservists...
"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT YOU CAN!"
ThankYou.
-DeviantSaint
The horns hold up the halo.
(US Army Reservist & Geo-political Analyst)
#8
Should have commented on this before: if I were asked to drive a dump truck full of "copper" from Iraq to Iran, I'd damn sure want more than $300 for the job.
And if I could tell the difference between copper and gold, then ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/27/2003 18:49 Comments ||
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#9
>>Inside the bed of the turquoise Mercedes dump truck were 999 bars of gold
Hmmm... Who's holding the one bar needed for an even 1,000 ?? ;)
The UN's most senior humanitarian official in Iraq warned yesterday that US attempts to rebuild the country were overly dominated by "ideology" and risked triggering a violent backlash. Ramiro Lopes da Silva said the sudden decision last week to demobilise 400,000 Iraqi soldiers without any re-employment programme could generate a "low-intensity conflict" in the countryside. Leaving 400,000 guys with rifles around could cause a high-intensity conflict.
"The reconstruction of minds is as important. We cannot force through an ideological process too much," said Mr Lopes da Silva, 54, a Portuguese UN official who served in Angola and Afghanistan before becoming the humanitarian coordinator in Iraq last year. Um, Ramiro, having lots of defeated soldiers with guns is bad. It's sorta how things work — the victors disarm the losers.
In unusually idiotic frank comments, he said the first three weeks after the collapse of the Iraqi regime were characterised by "talk about security, humanitarian aid and finishing off the bad guys grandiose plans and a lot of promises but there were no decisions". Since Jay Garner, the retired general appointed to lead postwar Iraq, was replaced this month by Paul Bremer, a former ambassador, decisions have begun to be made. But Mr Lopes da Silva echoed the silliness concerns of international aid agencies and a few disgrunted Baathists the Iraqi people when he said poor security remained the overwhelming problem holding back the restoration of power, water and health services as well as the political process. "The situation is improving but law and order is still the key," he said. So it's okay with you if we shoot looters, run the Baathists out and demobilize the army, right? Thank you Mr. Obvious.
If you don't have any suggestions, shut your fudge up and stay out of the way...
It is clear many UN officials are frustrated to have been excluded from the running of postwar Iraq and losing their cut in the Oil-for-Palaces program. Most of the decisions taken at the US authority's headquarters in Saddam Hussein's Republican Palace in Baghdad are made by Pentagon appointees who report to Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary. da Silva is one of these disappointed mopes.
Arab specialists from the state department have been largely excluded and while British diplomats have had some influence on decision-making, the UN has hardly been consulted. So State is on the sidelines, the Brits have influence and the UN is not in the building? Good.
Mr Lopes da Silva said the UN "whined" "disagreed" with some of the decisions made by the US-led authority in Baghdad. He was surprised the decision to disband the Iraqi military had not been accompanied by an attempt to reintegrate soldiers into society. So it would be better to leave them armed and dangerous?
"The way the decision was taken leaves them demobilized and ready to re-build their country in a vacuum," he said. "Our concern is that if there is nothing for them out there soon this will be a potential source of additional destabilisation." "And we're very angry at the UN that the US hasn't completely fixed the problems of Iraq in a month!"
Even US generals admitted at the time they feared the decision could worsen the lawlessness and looting. Mr Lopes da Silva said the demobilisation, along with tightened security in the capital, could force looters into the less well-guarded countryside. "What you are potentially going to create is more banditry and a low-intensity conflict in the rural areas," he said. "These edicts are seen very much just as ideological statements." No, it's part of security. We're not going to leave an Iraqi army around to cause trouble.
Mr Lopes da Silva also questioned the authority's de-Ba'athification programme, under which up to 30,000 Ba'ath party officials are automatically excluded from office. "Many bureaucrats who have important experience that would help the new government were only Baath party members on paper," he said. "They were only following orders!"
On Sunday, the UN started its own re-employment programme which it hopes will provide 250,000 jobs in the next six months. Officials will now see if it can be expanded to include some Iraqi soldiers. The UN ??? is going to employ a quarter-million people? Sounds like an enormous Palestinian refugee camp in the making.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/27/2003 01:29 am ||
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One of the neat things that I've found is that Central Command issues daily press releases. Of course, we never see them in the media, but they are on the Net.
I've been putting them up on my blog because I don't think they're getting seen enough. I got a kick out of the raid on the "chop shop" on today's blotter.
#2
The UN's most senior humanitarian official in Iraq warned yesterday that US attempts to rebuild the country were overly dominated by "ideology" and risked triggering a violent backlash.
Is there any particular reason why yet another UN official should be listened to??
CAMP DOHA, Kuwait -- An updated report confirmed that another soldier was killed and two more injured following the attack on a U.S. Army unit in Al Fallujah early this morning.
An initial report indicated only one soldier was killed and seven others wounded. This brings the total to two soldiers killed and nine wounded.
The attack began when a hostile force of unknown size attacked a U.S. Army unit in Al Fallujah earlier this morning with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.
U.S. Army soldiers responded decisively with concentrated fire from Bradley Fighting Vehicles, crew-served weapons and small arms. They killed two attackers and captured six others.
Initial reports indicate the attackers fired from a mosque in the city.
The wounded soldiers were evacuated by both ground and air to military aid stations in the area.
#6
Miffed that their gold booty was confiscated before its arrival at the 'Iranian Bribe Office' militant religious members, using a sharia eddict, triggered a violent backlash. Firing from a mosque known as a pious place of whoreship
#7
Sad to say, but we didn't kill enough bad people in the war. Iraq doesn't realize it has been defeated.
Too many thugs are still running around there spreading rhetorical poison; soon maybe real poison.
Posted by: eric ||
05/27/2003 11:52 Comments ||
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MANILA - Muslim rebels on Wednesday declared a cease-fire in the southern Philippines and gave the government 10 days to meet their demands or face renewed fighting.
Things're going pretty bad, huh?
The southern military chief, Maj. Gen. Roy Kyamko, rejected the truce as "a tactical move," and said only the surrender of guerrillas responsible for recent attacks would stop military operations. Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said the rebels will cease attacks on the main southern island of Mindanao as of June 2 for 10 days, in response to calls from the country's Roman Catholic bishops and other groups.
Bishops keep doing that these days. They don't believe that some people need killing...
"They are demanding a declaration of a cease-fire so we responded to these groups' appeal," Kabalu told The Associated Press.
"I mean, it ain't for us. Think of The Children™... I mean bishops..."
He demanded the government implement agreements reached during past negotiations, brokered by neighboring Malaysia, or else the rebels will resume fighting. He demanded that the government withdraw its forces from former guerrilla camps, and lift murder charges against MILF leaders accused in bombing attacks.
"Let me killers go!"
Government officials did not comment immediately.
But they did roll their eyes...
But Kyamko, the southern military leader, said: "The only concession for them is to surrender."
Nope. Things aren't going well for MILF.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 11:11 pm ||
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One of the Philippines' most-wanted Muslim guerrillas, allegedly trained by Al Qaeda and linked to numerous Southeast Asian terrorist plots, was in police custody Monday.
Hurrah! Where's my AK? Want some candy, little kid?
Saifulla Yunos, [aka Muklis Yunos and probably several dozen others] the suspected leader of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front's special operations group, was arrested Sunday with an Egyptian man at southern Cagayan de Oro airport as they tried to catch a flight to Manila. Authorities became suspicious when an ambulance pulled over and delivered Yunos, whose leg was in a cast as part of a disguise and who was traveling under an assumed name. Guess it wasn't much of a disguise, although the cast was a nice touch. Must of been the blond wig that gave him away.
The Manila Times story from Saturday said that his face was bandaged up, which's close to being in the category of the blond wig...
The Egyptian, Algabre Mahmud, apparently is on an international terrorist watch list, police intelligence director Chief Supt. Jesus Verzosa said, without elaborating. The Egyptian Embassy could not be reached for comment Monday.
Manila Times said he was a preacher. I'll take their word for that...
Officials said Yunos could be a crucial link between the MILF and foreign Muslim extremists. MILF guerrillas claim they are legitimate revolutionaries fighting for an independent Islamic homeland in the southern Philippines and have no ties with foreign terrorist groups. "Yar, we be revolutionaries!"
Police intelligence officials, however, say Yunos is among supporters and trainers of such groups as Jemaah Islamiyah. Yunos allegedly worked as a bombing and urban warfare instructor for the MILF and foreign terrorists, who approached him for logistical needs including bombs, police say. A police intelligence file describes him as "a fanatic of the extreme Islamic fundamentalist movement" who received training in an Al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, including lessons on using anthrax as a biological weapon. A big fish, bet he's already meeting with the giggle juice distributor from D.C.
A fellow trainee, Indonesian Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, would later emerge as a key Jemaah Islamiyah operative in Southeast Asia, according to the report. Al-Ghozi was arrested in Manila in January 2002, pleaded guilty to explosives possession charges and was sentenced to 10-12 years in prison. When Jemaah Islamiyah, led by al Ghozi, planned to bomb the Israeli and U.S. embassies and other Western targets in Singapore in 2001, they turned to Yunos to produce five to seven tons of explosives, another police intelligence report said. In exchange for Yunos' help, al Ghozi gave him about 155 pounds of explosives later used in five almost-simultaneous bombings that killed 22 people in Manila on Dec. 30, 2000, police officials say. If Yunos got them seven tons of explosives, why would he have to get 155 lbs from them?
Different flavors. One was strawberry, the other orange. Or maybe it was ammonium nitrate/diesel and C4. I forget which...
The bombings in Manila were allegedly staged in retaliation for a military offensive that led to the capture of 46 MILF camps earlier that year. The planned Singapore bombings fell through when several plotters were arrested. In recent months, police have linked Yunos to a series of deadly bombings in the southern Philippines. Police officials began getting leads on his whereabouts about two to three months ago. Nice catch.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/27/2003 08:16 am ||
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Perhaps making his way to Cuba and free health care. And great education. Hey 'AKA Yunos' We got a Cuban vacation for ya. Grab your crate and have a seat. You'll have to miss your stop over in Iran though, and some of the gold you hoped to access has been waylaid, "Curtesy of the red, white and blue".
A long look at everything that has happened in the War on Terrorism since it has begun, a good summary and an interesting read
With all the headlines about the latest attacks and warnings, however, it is easy to miss the amount of damage America's terrorist hunters have inflicted on bin Laden's ragtag army. U.S. News has retraced the war on terror, starting in the very first weeks after 9/11, to examine in detail how Washington and its allies launched an unprecedented drive, led by the Central Intelligence Agency, to disrupt and destroy bin Laden's operation. Interviews were conducted with over three dozen past and current counterterrorism officials in a half-dozen countries; the magazine also reviewed thousands of pages of court records and analytical reports. More at link
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/27/2003 03:11 am ||
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I'll remember this the next time one of the Dimbo presidential candidates tells us how we're losing the war on terror. Good read and, if it's all true, we are hurting them.
CAIRO: Jailed leaders of an Egyptian extremist group urged Muslim youth not to participate in al-Qaeda terror attacks, saying such acts were religious mistakes, a pan-Arab paper reported Monday. Al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya's leaders, serving life sentences for their role in Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's 1981 assassination, said in a statement that terror attacks like those in Saudi Arabia and Morocco "put the whole (Islamic) community in a state of enmity with the rest of the world." Al-Gamaa was once Egypt's largest Islamic militant group and tried to overthrow the country's government during the 1990s in bloody campaign that killed more than 1,000 people. The group renounced violence in 1997.
Al-Gamaa presents a little lesson on how to control terror organizations. The Egyptians bumped off a lot of cannon fodder, but they also grabbed the head cheeses and put them in jug. Under the usual conditions in the Arab world, the next step would be for their supporters to kidnap somebody and demand an exchange. I believe the deal in this case is that when that happens, Grandmaw, Uncle Abdul, and little Mahmoud get it. For all its faults, Egypt learned the lesson that to defeat terrorism you've got to be more vicious than the bastards you're fighting.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 10:45 pm ||
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ALGIERS: Suspected Islamic rebels killed 14 members of two families in western Algeria, including two children whose throats they slit. The families were killed when their homes were attacked Monday night in Tadjna in the western province of Chlef, 125 miles west of the capital Algiers. Seven people were killed in the same area a day earlier. Hospital sources said earlier that the 14 victims belonged to a single family. State radio said government troops were searching the Mediterranean region for the killers. The hardline Armed Islamic Group is known to operate in the Chlef region and has in the past staged attacks there. "They (rebels) slit the throats of the youngest members of the two families — a 2-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy," said an official from the civil protection authority. "We intervened at 3:05 am to evacuate the victims," the official said. A 17-year-old girl was wounded when she fled the attack.
We haven't heard from GAI for awhile. I guess they've got a new bloodthirsty bastard in charge. Rachid Abou Tourab was greased last July. Guess the power struggle's over.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 07:44 pm ||
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From Drudge so the link will move after a while, and he can't stand Hillary anyway so the truth in this is a little iffy. But it's funny.
In her new book, LIVING HISTORY, Hillary Rodham Clinton acknowledges -- in opening pages -- three women for their assistance and contribution to the project, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. As Drudge says, "it takes a village".
Clinton, who is scheduled to receive an $8 million advance for the book, thanks author Maryanne Vollers, former Clinton speechwriter Lissa Muscatine and writer Ruby Shamir, sources reveal. I rather wonder whether these three cloistered themselves in a room and told Hillary, "shuddup and wait for us to finish!"
Clinton raised eyebrows in 1996 when she failed to acknowledge a single person in her bestseller, IT TAKES A VILLAGE. Not even ghostwriter Barbara Feinman [ who was paid $120,000] was mentioned. Clinton claimed she wrote the book entirely on her own. The omission created bad publicity, and according to press reports, it also prompted Feinman to strike back by telling Bob Woodward about Clinton's "seances" with Eleanor Roosevelt. Couldn't have happened to a nicer lady.
Reminds me of the Charles Barkley autobiography. Some people got angry at the things Charles said about them. His response? "I was mis-quoted."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/27/2003 06:53 pm ||
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I wonder what the late Eleanor Roosevelt had to say about Hillary, waking her up from her big sleep and all. I'm sure Hillary's latest book required 3 people to crank it out to not have breach of contract by missing the drop dead date. It will be interesting to see what happens in book sales for this Opus Magnum.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/27/2003 19:32 Comments ||
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#2
She has the credentials to write for the NYT.
Posted by: john ||
05/27/2003 19:53 Comments ||
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#3
Here's a Hillary story I had never heard:
"In New Zealand, Mrs. Clinton revealed, concerning the distinctive spelling of her first name, that she had been named after Sir Edmund Hillary, conqueror of Everest. The locals lapped it up, at least until the great man pointed out that he hadn't conquered Everest until 1953: Hillary Rodham was born in 1947, when Sir Edmund was an obscure New Zealand beekeeper and an unlikely inspiration for young parents in a Chicago suburb."
- Mark Steyn in National Review, June 28th 1999
Posted by: Tibor ||
05/27/2003 22:25 Comments ||
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#4
It'll be tough to figure out when she's lying in this thing since we won't actually be able to see her mouth moving.
Who knows how reliable this is, but the Iranians have always shown themselves to be more pragmatic than the Arabs
Al-Qaeda's third-ranked leader and alleged mastermind of the Riyadh bombings has been seized in Iran, intelligence sources say. The United States has identified Saif al-Adel as the most senior al-Qaeda member linked to the attacks that killed 34 people, including one Australian, earlier this month. Iran is thought to want to handover al-Adel to Washington, in return for senior leaders in the anti-Iranian terrorist group, the Khalq (MEK). He would probably be deported to Egypt initially.
Washington has demanded that Iran should act against al-Qaeda leaders in the country and has conveyed a message via the United Nations of its "deep, deep concern that individuals associated with al-Qaeda have planned and directed the attack in Saudi Arabia from inside Iran". Al-Adel's presence in Iran was of particular concern, the US said. If al-Adel is transferred into US hands it will be a serious blow to al-Qaeda and a significant move by Iran in the war on terrorism. It effectively removes what is thought to be one of the few remaining havens for the terrorist group. It is understood that in talks with the Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, this week, Iran proposed a deal to take significant action on al-Qaeda if the US cracked down on the militant MEK. Formerly funded by Saddam Hussein, the MEK is based in northern Iraq but did not come under heavy attack during the US-led invasion. Iran wants the MEK leadership deported to Tehran for trial over numerous assassinations and bombings. The US is understood to be prepared to remove the leaders from the region, but is reluctant to hand them over to the Iranians.
Most of us here will shed no tears if the trade's made. Saif in our custody would be cause for ululation, and the MKO leadership is just another flavor of Armed Struggleâ¢. We've had enough of that by now that we're gagging on it.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/27/2003 06:41 pm ||
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Is it really a good thing for the US to capture Iran's enemies on its behalf?
I'd definitely rather such a trade not be made. Once you decide that a government can't offer fair trials, you don't hand over *anyone* over to it. Especially not ones politically opposed to the regime.
#2
The Iranians are smarter than the Arabs. They have something to strive for: nukes soon. The Mullaz are throwing us bones here and there until the first test detonation. The stakes are higher than they look here as some have pointed out. The scary part is that most Persians, including those who hate the theocracy, believe their nation to be worthy of nuke status. We're basically a race to get a rational government in Iran before it nukes up. Events like this buy bits of time for the wackos now in power.
The scam itself is very clever, but I thought the destinations of the overseas calls were relevant to Rantburg readers.
When Susan Steel called her phone line a few months ago, she heard something strange. Instead of her usual voice-mail greeting, a man with an accent answered: "Investment office, please hold." Then after a burst of elevator music, the voice returned to say "Yes . . . yes . . . yes." Steel kept saying "hello," but the man ignored her, then hung up. It wasn't until the next day that Steel, a self-employed employee recruiter in San Francisco, learned what had happened: She was the victim of the "yes scam." Someone had hijacked her voice-mail box to make thousands of dollars in long-distance phone calls to Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. You can read the link to find out how the scam works, but I am more concerned that this could be a nearly untraceable way for terror cells to communicate with their overseas handlers. If I was a victim of this scam, I would demand the records of where the calls originated and take the info straight to the FBI.
Hezbollah secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called Sunday on the resistance, the army and national forces to arm themselves in the face of a possible attack by the Jewish state.
"It's comin' any minute now, I tell yez! Jews! Millions of 'em!"
Addressing thousands at Ras al-Ain in Baalbek on the third anniversary of Israelâs withdrawal from South Lebanon, he said, âwhen the country faces aggression, we must be fully ready to resist. The one who has no weapons must obtain some, and he who does not have the will (to resist) must find it.â
"Getcher self a shootin' arn! Wolf! Wolf!"
Nasrallah, who spoke from behind a bulletproof pane, rejected recent US pressures on Syria and Lebanon to disarm his movement and relocate it from areas near the Israeli border, where it has held positions since the Israeli pullout in 2000. âWe do not need to revise (our position) on the resistance. On the contrary, I invite all national parties ⊠to reactivate their resistance structures, because we must be ready to face all challenges.â By taking what he described as a ârealist view,â Nasrallah said neither his movement nor the Lebanese Army could alone confront Israel.
This would seem to indicate that the Syria-Iran-Lebanon triangle's decided they're going to try to face us down...
Nasrallah said people should hold on to the right to use force, because âif we are weak, nobody will recognize our right in the Shebaa Farms, the Golan Heights, Jerusalem or the Al-Aqsa Mosque.â
"We gotta kill all them Jews!"
He said the weapon of the resistance was not sectarian nor political, but a weapon for the whole nation designed to fight Israel. He also urged Lebanonâs political leaders to put aside their differences and work for national unity, saying the US sought Arab dissension.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 03:46 pm ||
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Iran yesterday blasted the roadmap as an unworkable ânew hardshipâ for Arabs and Palestinians. âThe road map is a new hardship for Arab countries and Palestinians, and, considering the Zionist regimeâs policies, the execution of this plan is not possible,â Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi said.
"Bring us a plan!" they kept whining. "We want our own state!" Now they've got a plan, that'll lead to their own misbegotten state, and they don't like it.
A hard-line Iranian paper also labeled the plan a âroadmap to nowhereâ, and called on Palestinians to reject the internationally-sponsored peace plan and continue armed resistance. Kayhan newspaper said the hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharonâs acceptance of the plan was a âtactical moveâ to buy time for a state it said was âan illegal entity that ought not to exist on the map of the Middle Eastâ.
Kind of hard to roadmap your way around that attitude, isn't it?
âThe roadmap has nothing to offer and leads nowhere. All it seeks is to legitimize the occupation of Palestine by the Zionist migrants from Europe,â the paper said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 03:37 pm ||
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Who the hell asked the Iranian Mullahs for their opinion? Siddown and shaddap.
#2
The only boundries that the Paleos will accept stretch from Gaza to Galilee, The Jordan/Dead Sea Rift Valley to the Med.
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
05/27/2003 16:10 Comments ||
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#3
just curious... Let's say for a moment that Heaven forbid, the arabs were to get their way and suddenly all of "palestine" were theirs... Would they continue to call it Palestine, or acknowledge that even that name that they are so fond of shouting from the minaret-tops is a Roman appelation, placed on the region as a kind of parting shot to the conquered Israelites. Surely, some of these nudniks must have invented discovered the ancient Islamic name for the region, that they are so eager to restore to it's "rightful owners"? Or maybe "Canaanite liberation orginization" just doesn't have as nice a ring to it....
NABLUS â Around 5,000 Palestinian students demonstrated in the West Bank town of Nablus yesterday, vowing to keep Jews out of Jerusalemâs Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is the third holiest site in Islam. At the demonstration, which was organized at Nablusâ Al-Najar University by the Hamas resistance movement, students warned the Israeli government not to allow Jews to enter the mosque compound.
"'Cuz they're ucky, and we don't want God to get grossed out..."
The rally comes 10 days after an Israeli minister promised Jews would soon be allowed to pray at Jerusalemâs mosque compound even without the agreement of its Muslim guardians. âWe are ready to prevent the Jews from entering Al-Aqsa. We are all ready to be martyrs in order to defend it,â the students shouted.
"It's ours, and you can't have it! We don't have to share!"
At the demonstration, they blew up a four-meter long wooden replica of a bus, and a model of a Land Rover.
Since that's all they know how to do...
Speaking to the crowds, Ahmed Haj Ali, one of the local political leaders of Hamas, slammed the Mideast road map for peace which was grudgingly approved by Israel on Sunday. âThe road map is a trick. The only map that will lead us to victory is jihad,â he said, using the Arabic term for holy war.
"So get out there and explode!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/27/2003 03:32 pm ||
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So who rates these "holy" sites of Islam, the Triple-A? And what are their criteria for holy, most holy, mega-holy, and Glorious Big Time Trumps Everything Holy? Man, I'm confused. And what about the holy city of Qom?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/27/2003 17:04 Comments ||
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So, someone explain to me why it was okey dokey for these guys to hole up in the Church of the Nativity? Islam - the religion of peace.
#3
We must be thinking up middle eastern Zen Koans, eh, CC?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/27/2003 19:37 Comments ||
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If it was the 387th holiest place in Islam, they wouldn't want the Jews there. It's not that they don't want them near "the holy places", they just don't want them on the planet.
Israel Defense Forces troops arrested Hamas activist Nidal Farhan, who was planning to carry out a suicide attack inside Israel, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday morning. In the afternoon, in Abu Dis, security forces apprehended another wanted Hamas activist.
Palestinians fired two Qassam rockets at the western Negev city of Sderot Tuesday, but did not cause any damage or injuries. Two women were treated for shock. One of the rockets fell in an open market in the town, and the second landed in a field outside the town, which is close to Israel's border with the northern Gaza Strip and has been an almost daily target of Qassam attacks, most of them launched by Hamas gunners.
IDF soldiers shot dead a Palestinian teenager during clashes in Tulkarm, hospital officials. Three other
teens were also injured, two of them seriously. The youths were reportedly throwing rocks at the soldiers, who responded by firing live ammunition. The army said it was checking the report.
Five Palestinians children were wounded in an explosion in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, residents said. None of the injuries was described as life threatening. They had found an explosive device in their back yard and were playing with it, when it blew up, they said. It was unclear what sort of device was discovered.
In the northern Gaza Strip, a bomb was detonated under an IDF armored vehicle. There were no injuries in the incident, although the vehicle sustained damage.
In Jenin, IDF forces imposed a curfew on residents, during the course of a pre-dawn operation. One soldier was lighlty wounded in the back during an exchange of fire.
IDF forces Tuesday demolished the house of a Fatah militant killed last month while being pursued by IDF troops, south of the West Bank city of Hebron early Tuesday. The house in Dahariya village south of the West Bank city of Hebron belonged to Shadi Battat, killed when IDF tyroops sought to arrest him for involvement in a Hebron bombing, and for a shooting incident in which four Israeli motorists were wounded.
An 11-year-old Palestinian boy, Samr Arar, was killed by IDF gunfire in the West Bank village of Krawat Ani Zeid, east of Qalqilyah, on Monday evening. Palestinian sources said that Arar was killed in an exchange of fire in the village between IDF troops and Palestinians. Arar was hit in the head when soldiers fired live rounds to try to disperse a crowd of stone throwers in a village near the West Bank city of Ramallah, witnesses said. Palestinian hospital officials said he died of his wounds. The IDF was checking the report. Yep, he's still dead
Five unarmed civilians have been killed in Krawat Ani Zeid over the course of the past month. Civilians huh? stone and molotov throwers aren't civilians
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/27/2003 02:15 pm ||
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I checked the original source of this post, and yep, it came from Ha'aretz. What tipped me off that it came from "L.A. times" of Israel?
1: describing Farhan as an "activist". A more appropriate moniker would be "failed, brutal murderer wannabe...."
2: stressing the point first that the IDF soldiers " shot dead a Palestinian teenager ..." then later stating that these were rock throwing teen agers. Calling fist or larger size stones thrown with full strength "rock throwing" kind of understates the fact , yeah?
a question that needs some answering : can we talk a little bit more about those children who found an explosive device in their backyard? It's not your ordinary discovery...
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/27/2003 16:06 Comments ||
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Excuse me. But if a rocket landed in an 'open-air market' like in Baghdad, why isn't the UN, EU, Amnasty on the scene? Why hasn't Hamas been brought up on charges in the Hague? I am confused?
#4
Israel Defense Forces troops arrested Hamas activist Nidal Farhan, who was planning to carry out a suicide attack inside Israel, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday morning.
I say take this Farhan guy out to the desert someplace, tie him to a stake, strap the belt pack to him, and detonate it from a distance.
Rumsfeld giving some of the good old plaintalk to the mullahs
The United States will not allow Iraq's neighbors to create an Iran-style Islamic republic there after the toppling of Saddam Hussein by U.S. forces, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in comments published on Tuesday. Rumsfeld's comments in an article for the Wall Street Journal Europe were published ahead of a meeting of senior U.S. officials to discuss Iran, branded by Washington as part of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and North Korea. "Assistance from Iraq's neighbors will be welcomed. Conversely, interference in Iraq by its neighbors or their proxies — including those whose objective is to remake Iraq in Iran's image — will not be accepted or permitted," he said. And I have just the stick to deal with that right handy
One of the political forces competing for influence in postwar Iraq is the Iranian-backed Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), whose leader recently returned to Iraq after years of exile in Tehran. U.S. policymakers were due to gather at the White House later on Tuesday to discuss Iran, with the Pentagon reportedly pushing for a tougher stance including actions that could lead to toppling Iran's clerical leadership through popular uprisings. Washington, which broke diplomatic ties with Tehran shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, has grown steadily more critical of Iran since the end of the Iraq war last month. U.S. officials have accused Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program, meddling in postwar Iraq and harboring members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Rumsfeld also said the United States would continue to play a role in assisting Iraq financially but should not be considered the "funder of first and last resort." He said the American people had already made a significant investment to liberate Iraq and were still ready to contribute to rebuilding efforts. "But when funds are needed, before turning to the U.S. taxpayers, the coalition will turn first to Iraqi regime assets in the U.S. and other countries and international donors from across the globe."
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/27/2003 02:02 pm ||
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The radical environmental group Earth Liberation Front is claiming responsibility for fires that destroyed two houses near Ann Arbor in March. The slogan ``ELF, no sprawl'' was spray painted on the garage door of a house next to one of those burned March 21 in the Mystic Forest subdivision. On its Web site, the group claims responsibility for the fires, which it says caused $400,000 in damage. The group also takes responsibility for burning luxury homes being built near Philadelphia late last year. A picture of a burning home is featured on the Web site, along with instructions on how to start fires. The group says no one has claimed responsibility for last summer's fires that destroyed two luxury homes under construction, but police said they suspect the ELF. The FBI has said it considers the Earth Liberation Front one of the nation's most prolific domestic terrorist organizations. ELF seems to be one of the best organized terror groups with excellent internal security. To my knowledge, no one has ever infiltrated them or even come close. I'll be willing to wager that their action group that does the dirty work is only a small handfull of people that have known each other for years.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/27/2003 09:01 am ||
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I think you're right. ELF and ALF are in the FBI's sights, and there's been little progress in shutting them down
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/27/2003 9:59 Comments ||
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#2
hey, I read that book "The Monkey wrench Gang". Should have been made into a movie.
#3
From what I've read,ELF has no 'organization',you simply adopt their agenda and logos for your own actions.Thus,one can be an ELF terrorist without even meeting another member.Their MO is similar to 'leaderless resistance' championed by the Aryan Nations and other "ultra-right" extremists.Great minds think alike etc.I wonder how long it'll take until some nut pulls a Tim McVeigh in their name...
Posted by: El Id ||
05/27/2003 13:19 Comments ||
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ELF use to, perhaps still does, have an unoffical spokesperson in Oregon that the FBI has raided several times. This guy claims no connection to ELF. Sort of like the fiction of Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein and the IRA.
ELF is the group that torched the Two Elks Lodge in Vail several years ago to "protect" the lynx.
I went to law school at the University of Colorado and know, firsthand, how rabid the hard-left enviros are. They revere Albee and his book "The Monkeywrench Gang".
#5
ALF is a serious threat to us in biomedical research; my university has multiple security measures just because of them. I'd be happy to let them stew in their own juices so long as they promised to not receive any personal medical care based on animal research. That would leave them aloe leaves and nothing more, I think.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/27/2003 14:06 Comments ||
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One motto of the hard-core greens is "back to the Pleistocene!" Too bad we don't have a time machine; it would be nice to give them exactly what they want.
#7
El id is right, this is not an "organization" so much as a loose network relying on personal knowledge for security. It is likely that fewer than 10 hard-core fanatics are committing most of the violence, with a much larger group of trusted fellow-travelers and collaborators who can be counted on for safe-houses, confidential information, and the like, with several layers of less committed associates outside that. It seems probable that the actual terrorists are financially independent, possibly trust fund types moving around under the cover of some kind of Jack Kerouac fantasy. Some of the supporters are probably fifth columnists with corporate or government jobs, with access to information that allows the torches themselves to stay one step ahead of the law.
#8
Closet Neo-Con, I've been saying that about the Islamo-Fasicts for years. If they want to live in the sixth century then we ought to be able to send them there.
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
05/27/2003 16:13 Comments ||
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#9
Had the same thing going on in Phoenix,Az.for awhile.
China has detained two ethnic-Chinese foreign nationals, an American and a New Zealander, for "violent terrorist activities", the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. The men were identified as New Zealander Sun Gang and U.S. citizen Benjamin Lan, known in Chinese as Lan Yupeng. "They received support from the heads of some hostile organisations and came to China to carry out violent terrorist activities," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said. She did not name the organisations or give details of the accusations against the two men. "Details? We don't need no stinking details!"
The New Zealand embassy confirmed that Sun had been detained, but declined to coment further. The U.S. embassy said embassy officials had visited Lan. Zhang said Beijing security forces caught the men with evidence that proved "they were engaging in, or plotting to engage in, violent terrorist activities". She did not say when they had been caught. "Because these two men are suspected of breaking relevant Chinese laws, they are already in detention under law and the case is being heard by relevant Chinese judicial departments," she said. "The verdict is already in, the trial will be scheduled as soon as we get a open date on the court calender."
A handful of Chinese nationals are among the several hundred prisoners taken from Afghanistan to the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. Asked how many Chinese were at Guantanamo Bay, Zhang told reporters to ask the U.S. military. Humm, interesting. Wonder where we picked them up.
She added: "If there are indeed Chinese citizens among the people tried or detained by them, we hope they will return them to China to be dealt with." A trade, perhaps? The U.S. and N. Zealand "terrorists" for the chinese gitmo detainees?
Posted by: Steve ||
05/27/2003 08:42 am ||
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Steve, in a news report last week, I seem to recall reading that a convoy of Chinese nationals crossed the border into Afghanistan before our entry into the country. Don't recall where I saw it.
China has a simmering Islamofascist problem in its north and west. As always with the Chinese empire, the border areas aren't really Chinese, nor under a lot of control by the central government.
#2
It's all coming to bite them in the ass. They have been providing Pakland with financial support and assistance in their proxy-proxy (double proxy because Pakland already runs a proxy war) war against India, they allowed Pakland and NKor to transfer Nuclear technology using their land routes and now its blowing up in their face.
The euro hit a record high against the dollar at $1.1899 on Tuesday, climbing above the previous record of $1.1886 set on one major trading system on the day of its launch in January 1999, Tokyo traders said. "The euro is keeping its bullish tone from yesterday, especially after the strong Ifo figures," said a dealer at a major Japanese bank. Back to where it was on day one.
"But London was on holiday when they were released so I think the market is still trying to catch up," he added. Data released on Monday showed the key German Ifo business climate index rose to 87.6 in May from April's 86.6, beating most analysts' forecasts. Many dealers believe it is only a matter of time before the euro hits the next target of $1.20 now that it has gone above the psychologically important launch-day high. There has been some confusion over the single currency's record with different data providers registering different all-time highs. Traders said electronic broker EBS had registered $1.1886 as the high whereas on Reuters data the peak is $1.1906.
Despite the possibility of a near-term pull-back, currency analysts at some major banks have revised up their forecasts for the euro in recent weeks. Some now argue that the attention attracted by the euro's recapture of its launch level and the push to record highs will reinforce its potential to climb. Global portfolio managers may make more allocation shifts into euros as a result of its recent gains, while long term investors including pension funds and insurers are likely to look more favorably on the single European currency, strategists say. In addition central banks — a centrifugal force in foreign exchange markets — may steadily increase euro weightings in foreign exchange reserves. Such shifts could push the euro into a sustained ascent for months, if not years to come, according to some analysts.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/27/2003 01:52 am ||
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We're driving down the dollar intentionally to increase exports -- at their expense.
#2
It may increase our exports, but it reduces Americans' standard of living. You don't get richer if it costs you more American computers to buy Italian wine.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
05/27/2003 8:40 Comments ||
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So, who's who cares about Italian wine ? California has some great vintages.
#4
Good grief, Curt! As always, to get rich you have to buy low and sell high! Get your wine from the U.S. and your other items from the U.S., Mexico, etc. Or you can buy Asian and raise living standards in Asia. But whatever you do, DON'T BUY FRENCH. We need to send them an enduring message.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/27/2003 9:33 Comments ||
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The massive trade deficit indicates we've been living beyond our means. A move downward in exchange rates is just our way of rebalancing the books before we run into a balance of payments crisis. In a world where catastrophic events can happen at any moment (and capital can flee with the press of a button), it seems unwise to rely on foreign investments to balance the books - maintaining an over-reliance on foreign capital could cause significant problems for our economy after moments like 9/11.
All the naysayers about this exchange rate move need to put things in context - the debut of the euro several years ago was at 1.18 dollars for each euro. The bottom for the euro was at about .80 dollars for each euro. In effect, the Europeans devalued their currency about 30% against the dollar, before the pendulum swung back the other way.
We have only now just reversed the euro's devaluation, and the Europeans are up in arms. I think they need to do the structural things necessary to get their economies in order before they give us a hard time about exchange rates.
I do pity the European investment funds that have put money here. On top of the massive losses they incurred by investing money at the top of the Nasdaq bubble, they are now losing big money (30+%) by just holding on to their American securities (both stocks and bonds). On the other hand, if they manage to hold on, I see an inevitable reversal in the exchange rate. However, given that fund performance is reported quarterly, the question is whether the existing portfolio managers will be around for the upturn - pink slips are the inevitable reward for poor short-term performance.
#7
TGA---Come up to Alaska and we will show you around.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/27/2003 13:44 Comments ||
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Interest rates in Europe are much higher than in the US. Hence the movement toward the Euro and its increase in value. But as the Euro continues to climb, the central bank in Europe will be forced to cut interest rates, and soon the US$ will again gain over the Euro.
The Euro will continue to rise for a while, until the central bank in Europe acts. So if you have any Euros lying around, this is the time to buy US$.
BUENOS AIRES - To the cheers of thousands of screaming Argentines, Cuban leader Fidel Castro criticized U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Latin America in a speech Monday. He criticized the US? How unlikely!
Castro, who attended Sunday's inauguration of President Nestor Kirchner, was on his first trip to this economically troubled South American country since 1995. Dressed in a dark blue suit and tie, Castro drew shouts of ``Ole! Ole! Ole!'' and ``Fidel! Fidel!'' as he spoke for more than two and a half hours outdoors on a crisp winter night. Hey! A short speech for Fidel!
Castro began by paying homage to Argentina-born revolutionary Ernesto ``Che'' Guevara, who served as one of his top advisers during the 1959 revolution. ``He was a wonderful human being, extremely intelligent and cultured, and who had an enormous sense of solidarity,'' he said. "Which is why I sent him to Bolivia, to make sure he'd be killed and not be a threat to me!"
Castro then compared his country's achievements in health care and education to levels attained by the United States in the same field. "We're just as good as the evil US, as long as you don't count availability of drugs, technology, life-saving therapies, vaccines, medical education and results!"
But his criticism of the U.S-led war in Iraq drew the loudest applause. ``We send our spies and assasins doctors, not bombs, to the farthest corners of the world to help save lives, not kill them,'' he said to a roar of cheers. ``The people of Buenos Aires are sending a message to those in the world who want to ride roughshod over our cities and our countries in Latin America,'' he added in a thinly veiled reference to the United States. "And the message is, 'Please send money.' Oh, not that message."
The speech was organized by a student group and originally planned to be held in an auditorium at the University of Buenos Aires Law School, but was moved outdoors after thousands of fools, rubes and simple-minded rustics swarmed the building to hear Castro speak. Castro arrived in Buenos Aires on Saturday with more than a dozen Latin American leaders attending the inaugural ceremonies for Kirchner, a center-left former governor who took office as Argentina's sixth president in 18 months. Kirchner has promised a more protectionist stance to help lift the country out of five years of grinding recession. He also promised to finish his term, but I'm not taking bets.
Earlier Monday, the Cuban leader met with Kirchner for almost an hour. Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa later said Castro had asked the new president to strengthen the countries' ties by appointing a new ambassador to Cuba who could bring suitcases of dollars. Former President Fernando De la Rua withdrew the Argentine ambassador in Havana in 2001 after Castro harshly criticized his government's decision to condemn Cuba in an annual vote at the U.N. Human Rights Commission. This year, Argentina reversed its decision by choosing to abstain in the April vote. What did the Argies get for that, I wonder?
Solidarity? It's only $2 a pound this week...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/27/2003 01:42 am ||
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Center left? Man, the leftists are making a resurgance in Latin America. Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, etc. Of course the non-leftists had a brief moment in the early 90's but they really made a hash of things down there. I don't think Kirchner is as worrisome as Chavez though.
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
05/27/2003 2:50 Comments ||
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Ah the great trans-national sport of Latin America. Bashing the hated "Yankee" imperialists. If we were really imerialistic would we of stopped at the Rio Grande and the US Canadian borders. The masses in Argentina are still looking for Juan Peron to tell them that they are a great nation instead of a third world nation with faded glories. If they truely want to be a modern nation maybe they should learn to export something besides wheat and beef. The same major exports that they had 100 years ago. Kind of like sugar and Cuba
Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire ||
05/27/2003 5:21 Comments ||
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Chile is the only latin american nation on a sound financial footing. Most of the rest seem to be drifting leftward, with financial ruin looming inevitably for them.
Their foolishness will reap its own reward, but they will blame the US. A financially suicided latin america will be a fertile breeding ground for terrorists, financed by the drug trade.
#5
Did you know that in Cuba you get 'FREE' health care. Dr on every corner. "Aspirin, we got aspirin, Take two. And schooling, Si, take your chalk and board, grab a crate box and have a seat." Warm chicken broth tonight!
#6
Argentina is truly a pathetic nation. Do not even try and compare Argentines to Brazilians: different language, different people, different mind-set. The comment about the Argies main exposts being beef and grain, is spot on. Brazil, on the other hand, is the fourth largest manufacturer of airplains, and in August this year will have its third attempt at lifting a sattelite into orbit on a domesticly built booster (if successful, it will put this nation into a select group of countries with that capability). Yes, president Lula is a leftist, but he follows a long period of not very successfull center to center-right admin. This see-saw of politics is the natural order of a democracy, including the US. And in the 6 months Lula has been pres, the economy has done pretty good (not that I would credit him for it).
Argentina, on the other hand, is a basket case. For a people who consider themselves superior to other Latin Amerincans because they are more "European", they have shown themselves to be consistently failure-prone. I read last year (during the middle of the Argie financial crisis), that the Argie standard of living had dropped to the level of Jamaica's. Hard to think that at the turn of the century it was one of the richest nations on earth. What a come-down!
All this in not too surprising, however, when you consider the bull-headed assininity of the typical Argentine mentality. That thousands of them would show up to cheer with gusto a failed communist tyrant, is proof positive of this.
#7
When I visited Argentina, noticed that whenever I walked around downtown Buenos Aires, the streets were choked by thousands of expensively dressed and coiffed businessmen lazily strolling about. It didn't matter what time it was, the suits were promenading. Meanwhile, the slums on the city outskirts were seething. The criollo businessmen were getting paid well for doing nothing while the mestizo masses sat without any meaningful work. This dynamic has persisted for as long as Argentina has existed. Real good beef, though.
#8
Spot on, jlc. Argentina is a classic case of a nation in long-term decline. Few realize it now, but 100 years ago, many believed that Argentina was on the verge of great power status. It was easily the most advanced nation in Latin America, with by far the highest literacy rate, greatest degree of industrialization, and highest standard of living.
Argentine nationalists still dream of this, but decades of chaos and mismanagement have frozen the country in the early 20th century; a sometimes quaint, sometimes sad, throwback to the mindset and culture of a much earlier age.
Brazil, on the other hand, has progressed dramatically in the last half century. Argentines have difficulty accepting this, since, as JLC mentioned, they are far more "European" than the Brazilians. This kind of environment, an aggrieved sense of lost status and racial superiority, is an ideal breeding ground for fascism, something for which Argentina has been notorious for the past 70 years. The new alliance of extreme left and extreme right, always evident in Peronism, would be perfect for a resurgence of this.
BEIRUT â In Ein el-Hilweh, as in the other Palestinian camps in Lebanon, Fatah is in a weakened position against an ascendant Islamist coalition. This was evident in the assassination attempt against Abdullah Shreidi. Given the influence of each of the Palestinian forces on the Lebanese stage, the attempt was bound to provoke an explosion of violence which would undermine Fatah. The outcome was a show of Palestinian heavy arms and powerlessness on the part of the Lebanese army to restrain the fedayins. It offered the army another opportunity to underline the need for Hezbollah's armed presence in southern Lebanon. Interesting commentary, synopsis only posted to EFL.
Interesting, and in line with what we were talking about Saturday. On the other hand, I don't see Hezbollah storming into Ein el-Hellhole and establishing any kind of order. As far as I can see, they're just as scared of the nutjobs as the Lebanese army is. I think it has something to do with the proximity to Israel, by the way, since the Shreidi bunch is the remnants of the Dinnieh Takfir wal-Hijrah bunch that the Lebanese army broke up a couple years ago — but that was in northern Lebanon...
Posted by: Brian ||
05/27/2003 01:15 am ||
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Nothing happens in Lebanon without some sort of Syrian influence. Take out Assad and turn Israel loose on Lebanon and watch what happens.
#2
I am not sure taking out Assad is the answer and I know that 'turning Israel loose' is not. Assad is not like his father and may be a good avenue in which to 'clean out' the radical influence. All we need to do is tell Assad that it's either him or the terrorists. I like this answer because it's an Arab mess, let them clean it up.
#3
All indications are that Boy Assad isn't half the dictatorstrongman leader his Dad was and is actually controlled by the military hardliners and Baath leadership (rather than the other way around). It's questionable if he can stay alive or in power if he bucks these people. Don't count on much from him, except empty promises and status quo
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/27/2003 14:13 Comments ||
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All we need to do is tell Assad that it's either him or the terrorists. I like this answer because it's an Arab mess, let them clean it up.
Bashar's "actions" will be nothing more than window-dressing, much like the supposed closing of terrorist offices in Damascus. The offices are closed but the people that staffed them are probably still doing the same thing, but from home.
With regard to cleaning up their own mess, they can't/won't. The only way things are going to change is if the US military pays a visit to Damascus. The only nation that has the potential to straighten itself out is Iran, if only the administration would get on with the task of supporting and assisting the Iranian opposition.
#5
Bomb-a-rama, right you are. Iran is the only country in the region that has a good shot at rapid democratization, and it is the only one in which most people are well-disposed toward the U.S. Equally important, it is the key to both Iraq and Afghanistan. I am hoping for massive demonstrations in Iran in early July, to be backed up by US military intervention if necessary.
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.
