A Yemeni man went on a rampage in his village, killing five people by shooting and hurling grenades at worshippers leaving Friday prayers before committing suicide, Yemenâs official news agency Saba reported on Saturday. It said Abdullah Ahmad Zeyd Ghassan had left a note in which he said he wanted to "clean the village of corruption". A security official told the agency that initial reports from the village in central Yemen indicated that the man suffered from psychological problems.
"What kinda psychological problems?"
"He's a nut."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:12:21 AM ||
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Did he kill the visiting Saudi preacher? If so, he may deserve a medal.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 12:48 Comments ||
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You are an Old Patriot??? Wrong. You are an Old Bigot.
The recently established National Human Rights Association will soon start work to redress injustices against Saudi women, according to a female member of the 41-strong constituent body. Not that the NHRA will start âat the top of the ladder,â such as lobbying for granting women the right to drive, said Noura Al-Jomaih, a columnist who has lived in the West for 10 years.
No, I should think not...
At issue are much more basic âmoral and material rights, such as helping divorced women win custody of their children and alimony from their estranged husbandsâ in an environment where âmen are invariably the stronger party in any dispute,â said Jomaih, herself a divorcee. Even more basically, women, like other members of Saudi society, need to be âeducatedâ about their rights and the need to pursue them, the AFP news agency quoted Jomaih as saying.
I usually worry when self-appointed groups start "educating" people about their rights. I find the "educators" usually have ulterior motives. I'll hold hold off with my opinion in this case.
Saudi Arabia has also announced plans to set up a government rights body as part of steps toward reform it insists must be compatible with Islamic tenets and local traditions, not made to Western specifications.
"You have the right to have your limbs lopped off..."
The NHRA will operate without violating the tenets of Shariah, meaning it cannot legally dispute the right of a man to take up to four wives.
That's a comfort. I'd guess that also means they can't dispute his right to beat them, either. Or to divorce them via e-mail...
Jomaih hoped that educating society and raising awareness could help convince men to stick to one spouse, âexcept when there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, such as sickness or infertility.â
"... or a need for a bit of prestige."
Women and other related issues will be taken up by a family committee, one of four set up by the association, which has also created a âmonitoring and follow-upâ panel to identify injustices and try to remedy them. As things stand now, the association still has to be granted a government license to start functioning, but it has received âapproval in principleâ, and has already picked a nine-member executive committee, including three women, and referred its proposed statutes to the authorities. The association is headed by Abdullah ibn Saleh Al-Obeid, a member of the Shoura Council, but Obeid and his deputy, also a Shoura member, have joined the rights watchdog in their private capacity.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2004 00:21 ||
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"reform it insists must be compatible with Islamic tenets and local traditions"
"without violating the tenets of Shariah"
D.O.A. Pure window dressing for PR / Western public / gullible Press consumption. This will be black comedy at its finest.
The imam also blasted the newly established US-run Al-Hurra television channel for causing âintellectual chaos and confusionâ among Muslims.
"Oh, Mahmoud! I'm so confused!"
"Me, too, Ahmed! All my thoughts are... chaotic!"
Delivering his Friday sermon to hundreds of thousands of faithful who packed the large mosque complex, Sudais warned Iraqis their disunity and infighting would only serve their enemies. âThe ongoing bloodbath in Iraq must be condemned because it serves the enemy preying on the wealth of Iraq and its resources,â he said.
The enemy being... us? I haven't heard anybody else accused of preying on the country's wealth and resources. It's all about oil, y'know.
The Haram imam stressed the importance of correcting wrong religious notions in the light of Qurâan and Sunnah, citing ignorance, nepotism, partisanship, vested interests and love of publicity as the chief causes for the spread of wrong ideologies in Muslim countries. The imam decried the growing number of tragedies in the Islamic world, in an apparent reference to recent sectarian violence in Iraq and Pakistan, which claimed the lives of more than 200 Muslims.
Muslim bombs, killing scores of Muslims. Must be our fault...
Many Muslims mistook deviations and false concepts for the main teachings of the religion, he said. He emphasized the need to promote a correct understanding of Islam to strengthen Muslim unity. âThose who read the events of history will find that misconceptions have triggered crises and conflicts not only in Islamic countries but the whole world,â he said.
But Muslims seem to have a special knack for it...
Such misconceptions served to divide Muslims and helped their enemies dominate them, the imam said, citing the murder of Caliphs Uthman and Ali as well as famous Muslim leaders like Hussein, Ibn Zubair and Ibn Jubair. Sheikh Sudais denounced a âwar of ideasâ being waged by parts of the Western media with the aim of imposing particular cultural and intellectual patterns and dictating specific reforms in the name of globalization, openness and freedom.
Doesn't like the idea of competition, does he? Having to defend one's ideas can be so... tiring.
The US government-funded Al-Hurra Arabic channel was aimed at sowing doubt among Muslims, especially women, about Islamic teachings and discrediting Islamic principles. âIt spreads intellectual chaos and destroys the correct thinking of the Ummah and its cultural heritage,â he said. Sheikh Sudais also criticized liberals and secularists among Muslims, saying âthey follow the wrong way ... and call followers of the right path bad names like Wahhabis.â
Yeah. I'm surprised the word has more than four letters, myself.
Modern information technology must be harnessed to promote the right Islamic concepts, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2004 00:14 ||
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We certainly can't have openness and freedom that just would not be...er...ah...Islamic.
The day a Shia Arabian starts to piss on us about "stolen resources" I will think in the poor cavemen. For now what we have is a Wahabi cleric pontificating on stolen resources. In other words he is giving the moral high ground to Jihadis and indirectly helping in recruiting new ones. The theme of the "stolen oil" was also used by bin Laden before becoming protein paste. I really think we should not lose an occasion to remind the wahabis that they live on stolen money. And don't forget to mention the oil stolen to the kurds, to the Berbers, to the South Sudanese, to the Christian Nigerians...
#5
Oops! I see my post differently after a few hours sleep! First, I was making fun of the incredibly ostentatious titles and over-inflated egotism of the Islamic "clerics" - truly absurd, IMHO. Second, my reference to the Sand Men is my standing joke regards any and all M.E. land disputes -- everyone wants to pick where in time "ownership" should begin, conveniently forgetting anyone who was there before and, usually, from whom they stole it.
I got your point, JFM, and apologize if my 4:00 AM ranting missed the mark and gave offense -- none was intended!! I should've gone to bed, instead of posting! You are dead right about the historical timeline - the Wahhabi Sunnis forced the Shi'a off the land during al Saud's consolidation of the tribes under the House of Saud. Again, no offense was meant to you - I was just making fun of the whole arrogant hypocrisy of the Grand Doodah's pontifications! :-)
#6
I wasn't offended, but war on terror is largely an ideological war and we MUST win the ideological war otherwise as soon as US troops leave a couuntry to deal with another crisis that country will become again a hornet nest. We must remind the world again and again and again that the Islamic militants are not poor victims figting for justice but that they dream of being the worl's herrenvolsk preying on kaffirs and non wahabis. Just like they do whenever they have the upper hand.
We have to get people ask themselves "Why they hate us" and come the same answer than after Pearl Harbour: "Because they are a bunch of bastards"
#8
We have to get people ask themselves "Why they hate us" and come the same answer than after Pearl Harbour: "Because they are a bunch of bastards"
That's a good response in peacetime. I prefer:
"Why do they hate us?" BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING READY TO DESTROY THEM"
#10
I recommend the NEXT $87bn we spend on the Middle East be devoted to building a JDAM target base including every mosque in the world. I'm available to help...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 12:46 Comments ||
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Anyone get the latest copy of Koran XP? I just love the new features and how unproductive I've become.
OMG, 30 minutes later and I'm still chuckling over this one!
This is brilliant -- we just have to get our jihadi buddies introduced to the Blue Green Screen of Death!
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2004 14:05 Comments ||
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.. Green Screen of Death! simply put Gates in charge
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide did not flee Haiti because he lost his nerve. Neither did the United States blackmail him. No, the most satisfying explanation for the countryâs recent upheavals is that the spirits were offended and taking their revenge.
Jobou kicked him out?
Voodoo, an exotic synthesis of African, Caribbean and Roman Catholic beliefs, with freemasonry mixed in too, pervades every facet of life in Haiti, so its role in the downfall of Mr Aristide is, for most, beyond dispute. Just as its flags, murals, shrines, rum, rattles and images of madonnas and saints lurk, invisible from the outside, in slum temples, the religion underlies each momentous event in the nationâs history. The rise and fall of Mr Aristide, its first democratically elected leader and an ordained Catholic priest who adopted as his symbol the cockerel, a voodoo icon, illustrates this. Mr Aristide, whose library contained many books on the national religion, was guilty of the voodoo equivalent of hubris and then struck down by its version of nemesis, several voodo priests said this week. I wonder if it will work as well in France?
Comparing himself to the heroes who won Haitiâs slaves freedom from the French two centuries ago was a fatal mistake, they said, one that the heroes, by now spirits themselves, punished.
"Jean-Claude, he's getting pretty puffed up."
"Ain't he, though, Jean-Jacques!"
"Hand me that heavenly mallet, wouldja?"
He has yet to learn his lesson. Even from his African exile he was still quoting Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a giant of the struggle for liberty, complaining, that his enemies "had chopped down the tree of peace". Desperate to cling on to power, he also dabbled in what voodoo priests and priestesses called sorcery and the black arts, very different from the benign voodoo they claim to practise. The priests and priestesses were still reluctant to mention the president by name, but their disapproval shone through their careful choice of words. "There are some sacrifices that when you make them you pay for them very fast," said one of Haitiâs best known priestesses, Gladys Maitre. Ainât that the truth
Another, a designer of beautiful, sequined voodoo flags, suggested that the normal contract between man and spirits had, in Mr Aristideâs case, been broken. "Some of the spirits are like politicians," said Silva Joseph. The evil ones, no doubt.
"They want something from you but they donât ask for it. And they perform a service for you to keep you in their power." Got that in one
Perhaps it was finally over for Mr Aristide, not when the Americans persuaded him to step down and flee the country last weekend, but a few days earlier, when Sister Ann, his voodoo priestess, left.
That was what tipped me he was a goner...
Whatever the immediate cause of Mr Aristideâs departure, it provoked a hair-raising outburst of violence and bloodletting on the streets. Here too, voodoo was everywhere.
"Jean-Pierre! Bring up the zombies for the assault!"
"Will do, Jean-Jean!"
With the capital in the grip of armed gangs of looters, my guide through the mayhem, a former New York banker who is also a voodoo priest, wrapped a red scarf around our rear-view mirror. An evil spirit had crossed our path and we were at even more risk than the time when a thug had pointed a pump-action shotgun at the car, Jean-Daniel Lafontant told me later. Mercifully, the scarfâs magic seemed to work. "Donât go down there," a voodoo sister, whispered at us the next day as we debated whether to venture into one of the most dangerous slums. We took her advice. Canât be too careful
Posted by: tipper ||
03/06/2004 12:37:32 AM ||
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#1
Sounds good to me. Run it by the Congressional Black Caucus and let me know their take on it, okay?
#3
When you stomp on the religion of the common people the way Aristide did, you can expect trouble. Don't sell voodoo short. It's a prime example of the power of persuasion, especially among a group of willing believers. It can be the biggest crock of poppycock in the world, but if enough people believe it's real, it has power. The people of Haiti believe very strongly in voodoo. Manipulate it the right way, and you're a king. Screw up, and you're Aristidedead.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 12:59 Comments ||
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Voodoo is just a bunch of old beliefs, organized religion, superstition, and manipulation put in a blender and run on the "puree" setting for a few hundred years. Then the people drink it in deep draughts. And Voila! You have a totally fubar and disfunctional country.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/06/2004 13:54 Comments ||
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I believe... believe that this is a plot to create a stable environment where corporations can experiment with outsourcing using ZOMBIE LABOR! After all.. the dead require no wages, no food, make no complaints or strikes and that Voodoo Magic keeps them working. The ultimate outsourcing site. (even robots cost money and energy to run.)
BEIJING (AP) - China on Saturday unveiled an 11.6 percent increase in its military budget for 2004 even as it announced heavy new spending on its highest-priority domestic issue - improving life for millions in its vast, poor countryside.
Guns and butter!
The budget increase for the world's largest military came amid tensions with rival Taiwan and, despite official promises to focus on fighting rural poverty and improving public health, was even bigger than last year's. Overall, the government plans to increase spending by 7 percent over last year's levels, the finance minister. Amid mounting alarm over growing deficits and China's government debt, he said this year's budget shortfall would hold steady at the 2003 level. The figures came in a budget report prepared for delivery by Finance Minister Jin Renqing at the National People's Congress, the country's nominal legislature. He didn't give a total for military spending, but said outlays this year would increase by $2.6 billion. Last year's announced figure was $22.4 billion, though the actual figure is believed higher.
Shades of old Soviet Union budgeting.
The announcement puts China back into double-digit defense increases - a pattern it had adhered to for 13 straight years until last year's 9.6 percent increase.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2004 01:39 ||
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best start building a decent amphibious assault boat force or they are still gonna have to use a million odd fishing boats to get enough troops to Taiwan
#5
We are at an interesting juncture. Here we have the pacifistic internationalist Kerry running for CIC. I wonder how the electorate will vote considering at least 50% must be morons with the IQ of a toaster to even consider this guy. God Bless America and George Bush.
#6
Even if they funded spending at 25% a year, it would take the PLA a decade, minumum, to approach anything resembling institutional competency. The danger is the PRC leadership realizes that and is putting more effort into unconventional methods of warfare.
Tooker Gomberg -- an environmental activist, failed Toronto mayoral candidate and hardly noticable high-profile thorn in the side of Alberta Premier Ralph Klein -- was missing and presumed dead yesterday. Police said it appears Gomberg jumped off the middle of the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge just after midnight in the early hours of Thursday morning.
(cue DU conspiracy theories in: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, lift off)
Was Tooker's alias "Billy Joe McAllister"?
"All indications are he jumped off the bridge but weâve not found a body so we have to treat it as a missing person at this time."
"It's a very high bridge. He may still be falling."
She said Gomberg had moved to Halifax from the Toronto area in September when Bischoff was hired by a local group to improve the bicycle transportation system.
(Bicycles, why do they hate us?)
Gomberg volunteered at the Ecology Action Centre but became more and more despondent. "He said he lost his chutzpah," OâBrien said.
Happens to all of us, eventually. V1@gra woulda helped...
Gomberg, an avid cyclist, founded one of Canadaâs first curbside recycling programs in Montreal and headed Edmontonâs EcoCity Society. He was also elected to and served on Edmonton city council and cut a colourful
(Read: Media-whore)
figure as executive director of the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters.
"Who's the guy in the clown suit?"
"That's the executive director!"
Gomberg became famous for his loudmouthed vociferous and idiotic unconventional sense of political theatre. Last spring, he was arrested at a rally protesting the war in Iraq when he was anoying people with used a megaphone without a permit. In 2002, he was dragged out by police from Torontoâs tony Empire Club after shouting: No other politicall opinions then the ones that we hold are valid!!!! down Klein during the premierâs speech on why Alberta doesnât like the Kyoto accord. In that yearâs Ontario municipal election, he ran for mayor of Toronto -- and ended up as Mel Lastmanâs closest challenger,
(I googled this and the guy came to 9% of the votes, close challenger my as*)
although the incumbent won 80 per cent of the vote.
Anobody heard the splash yet?... Oh. It's a railroad bridge, is it?
Posted by: Evert Visser ||
03/06/2004 6:24:07 AM ||
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Why is everyone assumiing he committed suicide? He could have just... seen a bottle in the river and jumped in after it.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/06/2004 8:15 Comments ||
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Edmonton is seriously cold for at least 6 months of the year. Only a moron would advocate cycling in a place where it would gaurantee frostbite inside 6o seconds. Halifax is positively balmy by comparison.
#6
This is a most inappropriate time for a laugh at poor Mr. Gomberg's expense.So,here goes:"Spacemoose meets Tooker Gomberg".Read here (scroll down) for the explanation.
Posted by: El Id ||
03/06/2004 13:05 Comments ||
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I ride a recumbent, I don't ride it because I care about the planet (Gaia is a cool biatch, she can take a few punches)I ride it because I can go realy, realy fast without relying on anything else then my own physical strength.
#10
Why are republicans so eager to express their hatred of anyone different from them? If this article isn't evil, I don't know what is.
Ya know, that's the problem with the looney halfwits on the left. They think a bit of levity at the expense of a self-appointed moron is "evil". Those of us who have stared REAL evil in the face, whether we've been strong or shit or pants, know what we're talking about. The rest of you are buffoons clouding the environment with your ridiculous twiddle. The man proved by his life that he was a fool. There's a damned good chance he woke up, saw what kind of a fool he was, and couldn't face himself any more (or couldn't face the rest of the world, who KNEW he was a fool).
It might do you a bit of good to get out of your self-imposed exile and see a bit of the real world before declaring that one group "hates" because they don't genuflect to the god of Political Correctness and Leftwing Moonbatism. There's a broad, six-lane avenue between "hating" someone and having total disdain for his moonbat attitude and lifestyle, which is being lampooned here.
YOU are the one who hates, Anonymous. BTW, if I had your intellectual capacities, I'd hide my identity, too.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 18:17 Comments ||
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thanks for the courageous wisdom and critique "anonymous". Troll fever - catch it!
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2004 18:43 Comments ||
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I'd like you thank you, Old Patriot, for providing such a perfect example of the point made in item #8.
(Surely, you must be joking. Your comments sound like a maniac's.)
#14
Why are republicans so eager to express their hatred of anyone different from them? If this article isn't evil, I don't know what is.
Authoritarian Strawman, demonizing generalization and pretense of clairvoyance.
Since it's not likely that your education includes these terms, Anonymous, a strawman is a deliberate misrepresentation of another's viewpoint ("hatred of anyone different from them"). Have you established this as a fact? How? That's where authoritarianism comes in. You presume to tell others not only what they should think, but what they do think, in the form of a clairvoyant characterization of motive that you ludicrously generalize to a group of millions.
You compound this laughably arrogant pretense by claiming that another poster sounds like a maniac, as though this statement of self-serving demonization somehow constitutes a fact. This can only be based on the presumption that you are the sole arbiter and interpreter of how a statement sounds.
Yet you and your fellow LLL conformists deny that you are power-crazed authoritarians.
#16
Why are republicans so eager to express their hatred of anyone different from them? If this article isn't evil, I don't know what is.
I think you're confusing hatred with old-fashioned mockery. I don't think anybody here hates poor old Tooker. I certainly don't. Matter of fact, I could care less about old Tooker, except to have a laugh at the acne-scar impression his presence here in this vale of tears actually left.
Has he landed yet?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2004 23:20 Comments ||
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Our Assistant Editor David Freddoso went to Capitol Hill and interviewed Rep. Jim McDermott (D.-Wash.) about the Pledge of Allegiance case which the Supreme Court has agreed to hear and whether God is on our side in the War on Terror. Once again, Mr. McDermott revealed a lot about himself.
Congressman, this Pledge of Allegiance case is coming up. In your opinion, should the Supreme Court order the word "God" be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance?
MCDERMOTT: I personally donât think it adds anything to the Pledge of Allegiance, and I personally donât say, "under God."
You just sort of pause there and let other people say it.
MCDERMOTT: Yeah. I consider it an infringement I donât like. I donât like infringements of Church and State. And so I donât know that Iâm rigid, but I try to be consistent.
When other people say it, couldnât that be offensive to some people? Maybe personally you donât find it really offensive, but couldnât that be offensive to people? Shouldnât it be stopped from being said in public if thatâs the-
MCDERMOTT: I think if people want to say it, thatâs their belief. But unfortunately in many wars, people always say, "Godâs on our side."
Actually, I wanted to ask you specifically about that, because John Kerry was asked that, and he didnât quite want to say, "Godâs on our side." What do you think about that? Is God on our side in the war on terrorism?
MCDERMOTT: No, I donât think Godâs on anyoneâs side. These are human events. Heâs quite often appalled at what we call on Him to do. Heâs given us the rules about social justice and the way we should treat one another. And if weâre doing that, I guess Heâs on our side, but-
If weâre trying to stop people who want to, you know, blow us up, donât you think He might be on our side for that?
MCDERMOTT: Well, you can look at some things that people have done, whether to other Americans or to other people in the world, and in the name of Christ, which I think might be questionable. So I think itâs tough to decide when God is on our side.
Thank you Congressman, I appreciate your time.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/06/2004 10:40:57 PM ||
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Senator John Kerry, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate who is trading on his Vietnam war record to campaign against President George W Bush, tried to defer his military service for a year, according to a newly rediscovered article in a Harvard University newspaper. Ouch! Halliburton research interns dammit!
He wrote to his local recruitment board seeking permission to spend a further 12 months studying in Paris FRANCE???, after completing his degree course at Yale University in the mid-1960s. JâAccuse!
The revelation appears to undercut Sen Kerryâs carefully-cultivated image as a man who willingly served his country in a dangerous war - in supposed contrast to President Bush, who served in the Texas National Guard and thus avoided being sent to Vietnam.
The Harvard Crimson newspaper followed a youthful Mr Kerry in Boston as he campaigned for Congress for the first time in 1970. In the course of a lengthy article, "John Kerry: A Navy Dove Runs for Congress", published on February 18, the paper reported: "When he approached his draft board for permission to study for a year in Paris, the draft board refused and Kerry decided to enlist in the Navy." Samuel Goldhaber, the articleâs author who is now a cardiologist attached to the Harvard School of Medicine, spent 11 hours trailing Mr Kerry and still remembers that the subject of the Paris deferment came up during long conversations about Vietnam. "I stand by my story," he told The Telegraph. "It was a long time ago, and I was 19 at the time, so it is hard to remember every detail. But I do know this: at no point did Kerry contact either me or the Crimson to dispute anything I had written."
Sen Kerryâs campaign headquarters in Washington refused an opportunity to deny the report. Despite repeated telephone calls from The Telegraph, a spokesman refused to comment. Another Democrat official said merely: "In Vietnam, John Kerry proved his patriotism beyond question. Everyone knows that." A senior Republican strategist, who asked not to be named, said: "Iâve not heard this before. This undercuts Kerryâs complaints about Bush and it continues to pose questions as to his credibility among ordinary Vietnam veterans." He said it would fuel concerns over the way Sen Kerry made a name for himself by leading anti-war protests in Washington and Boston in the late 1960s and early 1970s after he had completed his service in the US Navy, even while his former comrades continued to fight and die.
A newly-published biography of Sen Kerry by Douglas Brinkley, A Tour of Duty, makes no mention of the requested deferment or planned year in Paris. At the time, it was still unclear just how long America would remain in Vietnam, and it might have seemed that a yearâs deferral of service could render enlistment unnecessary. According to the Democratic Partyâs version of Sen Kerryâs military history, he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Harvard through eagerness to do his duty, and sailed with the Navy for combat as soon as he graduated in 1966. Sen Kerry won a gallantry medal for his service as a gunboat captain on the Mekong Delta, and was honorably discharged with three "purple heart" medals after sustaining three wounds. He has consistently presented himself as a leader who argued against the war only after fulfilling his duty in the field. Supporters argue that his war record makes him a more trustworthy leader than President Bush, who served sporadically in the National Guard at home. "This means that Kerry didnât jump into all that heroic service until he was pushed, and it is a very nice piece of information," said Lucianne Goldberg, a prominent Republican campaigner. Republican strategists for President Bush were already investigating Sen Kerryâs record of three wounds sustained in Vietnam. "We find that he had only one day off sick - with three wounds? What exactly were these wounds?" she asked.
Mr Goldhaber recalled that, during a day spent with Sen Kerry and one assistant during his congressional campaign, he had described his involvement, service and decision to oppose the war in great detail. "I am not at all surprised that he wants to be president, because he exuded ambition from the word go," said Dr Goldhaber. "At the time, the idea that he tried to persuade the draft board to let him spend a year in Paris was just a detail." A spokesman for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign declined to comment. Classy
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2004 10:08:38 PM ||
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I shoulda credited drudge - my fault
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2004 22:27 Comments ||
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#2
People's perspective and memory change over time. A written interview from 1970 or his personal letters give a look into the character of the man as he was then, but I would love to have an interviewer ask the following question about Vietnam.
Senator, all of us are aware of the many statements you made in the early 70's about the Vietnam Was from the perspective of a young Navy O-3. Now that you are a much older Senator and candidate for the presidency has your perspective on the Vietnam War changed at all? If so, in what way have your views changed?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/06/2004 22:54 Comments ||
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Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/06/2004 22:57 Comments ||
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#4
Frank, good catch. Now let's see if any US sources pick it up.
SH: the crusher in that article seems to me to be the lack of constitutional authoirty for most fo the programs listed.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/06/2004 23:04 Comments ||
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#5
Sorry to burst your bubbles, but this means nothing. Even war supporters who are determined to go might want to defer for personal reasons. It does not always have to do with cowardice or objection.
#6
"In Vietnam, John Kerry proved his patriotism beyond question. Everyone knows that."
"It was after the war and in the Senate that Kerry proved what a worthless piece of crap he really is."
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/06/2004 23:09 Comments ||
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#7
If Drudge reported it. Hannity, Rush and Savage now have a topic for Monday's discussion... Bet it sticks better than anthing Kerry's thrown Bush's way recently!
Posted by: Jack Deth ||
03/07/2004 0:12 Comments ||
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#8
Kerry the war hero that threw someone elses medals in an act of bravado - but now they hang proudly on his wall. snicker...
Korora - you'd be right if Dem's hadn't been so critical of Bush's decision to join the National Guard to avoid duty.
EFL
Sen. John Kerry slammed President Bush on his treatment of the U.S. military in Iraq Saturday, citing an admission by a senior military official that U.S. troops went into the war unprepared. "If they did it MY way; we could have toppled Saddam in three years, not just three weeks."
Massachusetts Sen. Kerry, in the Democratsâ weekly radio address, referred to an admission this week by acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee that U.S. troops were not prepared when the president sent them in to topple Saddam Hussein. Each senior commander was polled by President Bush if they were ready and each said that they were. Is Brownlee saying his generals lied?
"Republican and Democratic leaders were right to join together to say to the Bush administration that this is just unacceptable," Kerry said. "If I am president, I will be prepared to use military force to protect our security, our people, and our vital interests. But I will never send our troops into harmâs way without enough firepower and support." âThatâs why I VOTED for sending in the troops, but VOTED against funding them. That makes sense to you doesnât it. Me either.â
Kerry said that U.S. helicopters in Iraq even now "are flying missions without the best available anti-missile systems" and that "un-armored Humvees are falling victim to roadside bombs and small-arms fire". "The Bush administration waited through month after month of ambushes and only acted to start manufacturing armored door kits three months ago," he said. More at Link
#1
I love it when an enemy is so stupid they set up an ambush for later on.
This is the foo' that voted against all manner of defense increases throughout his shameful career, in effect providing the basis for shortcomings in military equipment.
Does he really think he is gonna get some traction from this?
#3
So is Kerry saying that he's going to increase defense spending?
Posted by: Matt ||
03/06/2004 15:54 Comments ||
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#4
Ah oh..This means another Kerry Hearing. I wonder what crimes out troops will be indicted for now. I'm sure his highness John Fonda Kerry will no doubt bring in "unbiased" friends like the French, Koreans, and Iranians to complete his "commisssion". Along with his wifes friends A.N.S.W.E.R etc this should feed the liberal press for months maybe years to come.
#5
Amusingly, a lot of the troops ended up with BETTER than milspec, a trend inspired by SpecOps in Afghanistan I believe; look at the return of the 1911 pistol (as opposed to the weaker M9), goggle covers, and a variety of aftermarket gear ...
Posted by: Lu Baihu / Edward Yee ||
03/06/2004 16:10 Comments ||
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#6
This F***tard is dead meat in November.
The media is salivating at the possiblity an old time East coast Liberal could become president, that just ain't gonna happen. Outside of NY and CA and of course most of my state, Kerry is screwed.
I saw an ad some where that showed a couple of kids and the caption "Bush fights for you".
GW's got it wrong, he ought to be airing the ad that shows Kerry on his hands and knees before the security council that say "Kerry capitulates for you".
Just exactly how stupid does Kerry think we are I wonder?
#7
John bin Saddam joined with such notables as Teddy Kennedy, Robert C. Byrd and Tom Harkin in voting to DEFUND the Iraq war denying our men and women in uniform in a war zone AMMO, food, medical care, transportation and so on. It is John bin Saddam and his ilk who provided AID and COMFORT to the Saddamites giving them the will to continue their futile murderous terrorist ways. John bin Saddam gave hope to the enemy -- thereby getting US military personnel killed and wounded, AGAIN!!!
#8
Outside of NY and CA and of course most of my state, Kerry is screwed.
Don't forget Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.
I'm sure this will get me troll howls, but the truth is, this election will be close and will be decided in Pennsylvania and Missouri, barring unforseen events. If Gephardt is VP, it could be very tough.
Just exactly how stupid does Kerry think we are I wonder?
Stupid enough to have elected Clinton twice. But he's dumb enough not to realize Nader won't help him as much as Perot helped Clinton.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/06/2004 16:42 Comments ||
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#9
Mr. Davis, I don't think that's troll post by any means, but I do think it's premature. Kerry has a lot of momentum going as a result of winning the nomination, and Bush has been hurt by the Kay report and arguably by the marriage amendment brouha. Ten weeks ago (after "we got him") Bush was at 60% and Kerry was deader than Uday.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/06/2004 17:12 Comments ||
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#10
Does he really think he is gonna get some traction from this?
Which way do you think the press is going to vote? Do you think they're going to accurately and honestly cover Kerry's record? Do you think they'll accurately and honestly deal with accusations he makes? How do you think they'll handle Bush's statements?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/06/2004 17:20 Comments ||
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#11
If we capture Osama and the entire Al Q general staff, I doubt it would deliver one of the states listed to Bush; well, maybe Maine and Pennsylvania.
After visiting this neat site I think Illinois might be a battleground also.
And no doubt it is early; that is why I excepted unforseen events, of which there will be some. But the states are polarized. I do not see my own golden state moving out of the Kerry kolumn despite its despicable treatment of its legally elected, now former, governor.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/06/2004 17:23 Comments ||
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#12
I concur Mr. Davis - your comments, while valid, I believe are wrong. But that's what comments are for.
Kerry got thru the primary too easily. Most don't know Jack about him (nice snarky JFK hit...heh heh) except that he's been in Viet Nam and the Senate and married well (twice). Time for his picture to be completed by the W campaign, and about f'in time. The Dems have had a field day calling Bush everything but a Stalin. Hitler yes, but too friendly to the rich to be Stalin. I reject their hate speech and welcome a GOP campaign to expose Kerry's real votes, as well as bringing up the W response to 9/11 - if you could've known on 9/12/2001 that Afghanistan would have a constitution and no Taliban in charge, Iraq was liberated and Saddam in a cage, Libya giving up their WMD's voluntarily, Arafat isolated, and Soddy in retreat - all for a cost of less than a thousand precious US lives, would that be a good thing? You FRIGGIN bet!
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2004 17:48 Comments ||
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#13
Excellent Junkie site Mr. Davis, but Illinois in play? Unlikely.
#14
RC - no doubt the press is ideologically inclined to hammer Bush but (1) they've still got to sell newspapers, and at some point they'll start selling papers by smacking Kerry around ( look how quickly they turned on Dean) and (2) if I'm wrong about that, I wonder how much an incessant anti-Bush drumbeat is really going to affect swing voters. ("The New York Times endorsed Kerry over Bush? Ethel, hand me my pills.")
Mr. Davis, I agree there are large polarized segments of the populace, but if as much as 10% of the electorate has an open mind, then the issue is still very much in doubt.
Frank, I agree: Bush's handling of 9/11 has been an historic display of American competence. Speaking of being polarized, I just can't understand the thinking of folks who attack his WoT record.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/06/2004 18:14 Comments ||
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#15
I live in Illinois just outside Chicago, and unfortunately Illinois will NOT be a battleground state -- it will go Dem 58-42 in November. Why?
1) it's been trending democratic for the past several years right after the state republican party staged a giant, hugely publicized self-immolation
2) Bush won't be on the state ballot in November.
That's right, he won't be. See, state law requires each major party to submit their nominee for the ballot by the end of August. No problem, each party has their convention in the summer; the Dems in July and the Repubs in .... oh yeah, it ain't going to be til September this year. That's a problem.
So the Repubs in the state legislature put a bill in to amend the law. But the Dems control both the House and Senate, and they refused to consider it unless they could attach an amendment that would forgive a number of politicans for violating the state ethics law these past few years. Which politicans?
Guess.
The Repubs said no so the bill is dead now. They'll try again this spring but the Dems will play hardball, especially if Illinois begins to look competitive. Last I heard the Repub state chairman was promising "the mother of all write-in" compaigns. That won't win.
Sorry to say, but if this holds out Illinois will go Dem, and it'll probably guarantee the Dems the open Senate seat as well.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2004 19:41 Comments ||
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#16
Steve White (always have to specify which one),
Are you importing your Republicans from California or is it vice versa?
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/06/2004 19:50 Comments ||
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#17
Matt,
Dean was a democrat and, to the press, it is ok for them to bash Dean to get Kerry since both are dummycrats.
However with Bush, they will *never* cover any of Kerry's record. Example: How they scrutinized bush's military record but nary a word about Kerry's. Another example was the 100K+ strong Iraqi protest against terrorism and for the colilition(sp?) in December which was never covered or even mentioned by major media (but when a self-proclaimed Al-Q spokesman farts its front page news).
And yes, I have every farking right to question Kerry's military record. He only served in Vietnam 5 months and managed to get 3 purple hearts in that timeframe? And who were the witnesses to the valor he protrayed 'decoration' he is always talking about - his crewmates (who also receive bronze stars)?
And not to mention his after-vietnam activity. Did he lie to congress when he testified in 72? His testamony was based on the 'Winter Soldier' meeting - setup by his organization and later proved to have been a fraud (people 'quoted' had never been there or had never been to Vietnam ...).
Posted by: Matt ||
03/06/2004 20:17 Comments ||
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#19
Sen. John F. Kerry ( who is not anything like the real JFK ) says we will be better prepared for any future engagements of American forces if he is President. Where was he at for the past 19 years in the United States Senate. Raising taxes and cutting defense spending , now that is the type of politician we need for the 21st century.
Gee maybe he will want to return America to the good old days, the 1990's. What a platform ....
let's return to the past, everything was so much better!! Sept. 11, 2001 never happened in the old days. Don't forget the past we can learn from it.
#20
Hmmmm, I hear that an incensed relative of a wounded soldier has denounced Kerry for exploiting his family's tragedy for crude election propaganda.
Of course, the guy worked as a janitor at Halliburton for two weeks 25 years ago, so his opinions have no credibility.
/sarcasm
#2
Interesting - the results are exactly what you'd expect, in general terms that is, given the current political atmosphere: the results are polarized into an inverse Bell curve. What is actually surprising is that the number of 1 votes is more than double the number of 6 votes. Excellent! Obvious! Cool!
#4
Regards multiple votes: Never mind, folks. They're being a tad more devious / intelligent than that.
You'd have to use a tool capable of editing the contents of Index.dat to remove the cookie - do not attempt to do so manually. If you have Norton Internet Suite (I'm using v2003), you can do it via the Web Tools - Advanced Cleanup function. The cookie under spiegel.de is the the key - it must be deleted between votes.
Sorry. Nothing to see here. Move along. Move along. Heh.
#6
At 06.03.2004, 07:26 Euro time, the vote is 54.78% for "great job" out of 18,060 votes cast. About 22% (most of 'em French I guess) voted a '6', the worst.
Keep them votes coming!
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2004 1:27 Comments ||
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#7
IE users can delete the cookie (but all others get zapped, as well - such as your posting ID, stored in an RB cookie) by using Tools / Internet Options / center-section: Delete Cookies button.
Not that I'm advocating stuffing the ballot box...
#8
Thanks, folks. I routinely block cookies when visiting any site. Experimenting, I found out my vote(s) wasn't (weren't) being tabulated.
I have IE, so I got around that by going to TOOLS then INTERNET OPTIONS. When the folder came up I clicked on the PRIVACY tab. Then clicked on EDIT.
This bought up a window titled MANAGED WEB SITES:
Scrolled down 'til "spiegel.de" was found under DOMAIN. Highlighted it and clicked on REMOVE.
#9
The numbers are a bit skewed because Little Green Footballs linked to this poll and got a worldwide audience involved. I wonder how quickly the poll will disappear when Germany wakes up in the morning and sees the results.
#11
As a Louisiana citizen these tactics are abhorrent to me. Please don't use them on the Australian MSN poll at:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/vote/vote982.asp
(Per LGF)
Posted by: Matt ||
03/06/2004 11:52 Comments ||
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#12
Think someone at Spiegel will figure out that there is more interest in the US presidential campaign than the German one? At 6PM, Berlin time,March 6 there was a total of 20,111 votes regarding Bush and only 4,721 responses to the question "Who ought to be the next President of Germany".
#14
Sorry, Shipman, the choices were Koehler, Schwan, and Weiss nicht. I think "weiss nicht" translates to "none of the above." I like your idea of the write in tho, but that presents a tough choice between Rummy and TGA.
#15
Southside Alderman---LMAO! What a great handle! Rantburgers are incorrigible! Who can take a lefty hate-Bush site and turn it into a source of innocent merriment? The synergistic entropy increasers at Rantburg, of course. Ah, my beating widdow heat fills with pride....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/06/2004 13:42 Comments ||
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An interesting analogy by Steven den Beste
... Most bacterial diseases can be licked with a ten-day treatment with antibiotics (as was the case with my walking pneumonia last year). But it takes months of continuous treatment to be cured of tuberculosis. ... But the problem was that in too many cases, theyâd take the drugs until they started feeling better, and then theyâd stop, before theyâd actually been fully cured. A few weeks later, theyâd become sick again, and once more ask for help. ... Once the disease reestablished itself, it was descended from the bugs which survived the first partial treatment. And, of course, once the victim again became sick, he had a good chance of infecting others with his specific strain of the disease, which was preferentially selected to be drug resistant.
Disease treatment is not the only area where half-a-cure is worse than no cure at all. The stupidest thing any nation can do is to fight half a war, to wound an enemy but leave him standing. We made that mistake in Iraq in 1991, And thatâs the risk this nation faces now, against a far bigger and more serious threat.
30 months ago, our enemies launched a devastating attack against us. It was bold and creative and targeted a major security blind-spot, and the resulting damage made a major psychological impact on the people of this nation. In response we went to war. But the cultural disease which ultimately spawned that attack grew slowly, and the process of eliminating it will also be slow. And we are at risk of deciding that we feel better and ceasing to work on it before it has actually been eliminated. ....
If we stop too soon, leaving enemies wounded but still alive, they will learn from the experience. They will heal, grow, and some will come to oppose us once again â but next time theyâll be more difficult to fight, since theyâll have had plenty of time to analyze what we did and to figure out how to reduce their vulnerability to us....
... the apparent failure of al Qaeda to follow up the 9/11 attack against us in a substantive way has created a situation which is ripe for political rhetoric. ....
Given no further attacks within the US itself, and even a total absence of attacks against symbols of the US around the world or our citizens overseas (except in Iraq and other places where weâre actively prosecuting the war), some have argued that the Bush administration has exaggerated the threat, and argued that our invasion of Iraq was unneeded and uncalled for. They now argue that we should stand down and rely on less violent, less confrontational approaches: more carrot, less stick.
Supporters of the war, such as myself, believe that the invasion of Iraq was an essential part of the long term strategy we must follow in order to have a chance of winning this war. We caution that there may be further attacks against us even though we hope there wonât be, and we point to the lack of major attacks against us so far (except for that one) as evidence that things are going well. .....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 10:04:14 PM ||
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A Sunrise [Florida] computer programmer who was arrested nearly two years ago by federal terrorism task force agents was charged Thursday with trying to obstruct a federal investigation and hiding his role in recruiting fighters and raising money to support a global holy war. Adham Amin Hassoun, who knew several high-profile South Florida terrorism suspects and was known among the local Muslim community for his passionate defense of the Palestinian cause, is accused of lying to a judge and federal investigators about recruiting a "jihad fighter." He also is charged with concealing his role in an alleged assassination plot overseas and raising money for a holy war or "global jihad," according to a 14-page indictment filed in West Palm Beach federal court. ....
Hassoun was known to raise money for Muslim charities but has denied raising money to fund terrorism. He registered the Florida branch of the Muslim charity Benevolence International in 1993 before resigning from the group months later. The government froze the charityâs funds in 2001, connecting the funds with Osama bin Laden. Though Hassoun is not charged with terrorism, prosecutors say he lied about his relationship with Mohamed Youssef, an Egyptian man and associate of Jose Padilla. Padilla, a U.S. citizen who once lived in Broward County, is being held as an "enemy combatant." He is accused of participating in an al-Qaida plot to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States. ... Hassoun said he met both men at a mosque. Padilla stayed with Youssef after he left South Florida in 1998, according to Hassoun....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 5:49:04 AM ||
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#1
Damn what is it about Broward county? Can't vote, hide Saudi's, kill spring break, build the world's most bizzare highway system and still can't keep the Los Olas drawbridge working.
Asadullah strives to make his point, switching to English lest there be any mistaking him. "I am lucky I went there, and now I miss it. Cuba was great," said the 14-year-old, knotting his brow in the effort to make sure he is understood. Not that Asadullah saw much of the Caribbean island. During his 14-month stay, he went to the beach only a couple of times - a shame, as he loved to snorkel. And though he learned a few words of Spanish, Asadullah had zero contact with the locals. He spent a typical day watching movies, going to class and playing football. He was fascinated to learn about the solar system, and now enjoys reciting the names of the planets, starting with Earth. Less diverting were the twice-monthly interrogations about his knowledge of al-Qaida and the Taliban. But, as Asadullah's answer was always the same - "I don't know anything about these people" - these sessions were merely a bore: an inevitably tedious consequence, Asadullah suggests with a shrug, of being held captive in Guantanamo Bay.
On January 29, Asadullah and two other juvenile prisoners were returned home to Afghanistan. The three boys are not sure of their ages. But, according to the estimate of the Red Cross, Asadullah is the youngest, aged 12 at the time of his arrest. The second youngest, Naqibullah, was arrested with him, aged perhaps 13, while the third boy, Mohammed Ismail, was a child at the time of his separate arrest, but probably isn't now. Tracked down to his remote village in south-eastern Afghanistan, Naqibullah has memories of Guantanamo that are almost identical to Asadullah's. Prison life was good, he said shyly, nervous to be receiving a foreigner to his family's mud-fortress home. The food in the camp was delicious, the teaching was excellent, and his warders were kind. "Americans are good people, they were always friendly, I don't have anything against them," he said. "If my father didn't need me, I would want to live in America."
And all along I thought it was a concentration camp!
Asadullah is even more sure of this. "Americans are great people, better than anyone else," he said, when found at his elder brother's tiny fruit and nut shop in a muddy backstreet of Kabul. "Americans are polite and friendly when you speak to them. They are not rude like Afghans. If I could be anywhere, I would be in America. I would like to be a doctor, an engineer — or an American soldier."
Heck yes. Bring him back, get him to a good high school in the South, let him join up. Wonder if .com would consider being a foster dad?
This might seem to jar with the prevailing opinion of Guantanamo among human rights groups. An American jail on foreign soil, Guantanamo was designed, according to Amnesty International, to deny prisoners "many of their most basic rights", which in America would include special provision for the "speedy trial" of juveniles. But, seized in the remotest wilds of violent Afghanistan, the boys knew practically nothing of their rights, and expected less.
Much more on the contrast on life in his village in eastern Afghanistan versus Gitmo at the link. Gitmo is way better.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2004 02:03 ||
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#3
...We just recently picked up some new South Carolinians - about fifty Bantu tribesmen who have been run out of their homes due to the unending wars there. Literally no one else would take them, although lots of the Usual Suspects mouthed the Usual Platitudes. A group of folks in Columbia decided that enough was enough - bring 'em here. The community has supported this to the point where the daily paper here has been printing helpful Bantu words and phrases so people can help them out.
If this lad is what he claims to be, bring him AND his father here, and we'll treat him just as well. After six months here, he'll be as much an American as if he'd been born here.
Mike
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/06/2004 6:09 Comments ||
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#4
Snorkling? SNORKLING?! I'v never been snorkling and these kids get a free lesson?! If feel so depressed...
Posted by: Charles ||
03/06/2004 8:21 Comments ||
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#5
Mike K you are of course a typical representative of the racist blah! blah! very right wing conspiracy, and these bantu are in fact jooos in disguise.
BTW bantu is a generic term for a black resident of central and southern Africa. Its equivalent is calling a european a caucasian.
#6
Charles--Remember the time we met Osama at that barbecue in 2000? HINT: Work with me here, and soon we'll both be snorkelling in warm, Cuban waters!
Posted by: Dar ||
03/06/2004 9:29 Comments ||
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Bantus is a linguistic and ethnic group not a generic term. As an example Tutsis are of the Nilotic group and have thin lips and noses, very different from the Bantus who have thick lips and noses. Rwandese Tutsis (And Hutus who are Bantu) speak KynyaRwanda who is of the Bantu group. Zulu language is from the Bantu group despite being spoken in South Africa.
#12
So.. let me get this stright. AI is bitching because prisioners in Guamto get free snokeling lessons, very good food, education, exercise, etc....
but is mum about the forced abortions, torture, starvation, and beatings in North Korea....
Does anyone else see a problem here? Helllooo?
BTW: This is how we will win the war on terror - by being plain good decent people - even to our enemies (and carrying a lot of very powerful weapondry...).
*****
Amnesty International's long-standing concerns about human rights violations in North Korea include the use of torture and the death penalty, arbitrary detention and imprisonment, inhumane prison conditions and the near-total suppression of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and movement.
While these concerns are long-standing, in recent years many human rights abuses in North Korea have been linked directly or indirectly to the famine and acute food shortages which have affected the country since the mid-1990s. These have led to widespread malnutrition among the population and to the movement of hundreds of thousands of people in search of food - some across the border with China - many of whom have become the victims of human rights violations as a result of their search for food and survival.
***
#15
Aris, AI's a whore. The little attention they pay to real problems -- like North Korea -- is to provide themselves a figleaf for when they rake in their big dough by slamming the US. I'm a little surprised you fell for their BS.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/06/2004 17:27 Comments ||
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#16
Aris
One thing is putting it on the website hiddeen under 20 layers of links and another one is amking fuss on it, campaigning, airing it on radio and the press.
#18
The problem is far from AI. All this information is out in the open now. So, when was the last time you saw Walter Duranty Dan Rather talk about this for more than 30 seconds? Or that White House mouthpiece, the New York Times for more than one day? That woman who wanted to play in the U. S. Open got more page 1 column inches than Kimmy's Kindergartens.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/06/2004 20:00 Comments ||
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Sen. Joseph Biden told Libyan parliamentarians during a visit to the North African nation that the Arab world should reject authoritarian rule and instead adopt democracy. He called on Arab countries to take on the "incredibly difficult challenge" of "empowering women, spreading knowledge and expanding freedom."
"Mahmoud, what'd he say?"
"Dunno, Abdul, he's speaking in tongues."
"What langauge is that?"
"Common sense. No one I know here speaks that!"
Biden, a Delaware Democrat who is the ranking minority member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the speech Wednesday to the Libyan National Congress. A transcript of the speech was made available Friday by his Washington office. He spoke to the Congress about what he saw as the need to prevent "the concentration of power into the hands of the few ... or the one."
Thank you, Spock.
"Nothing about democracy is incompatible with Islam," Biden said, noting that decisions based on community discussions was a Muslim concept centuries ago. "Please do not kill me misunderstand me. I mean no disrespect. But the nations of the Arab world could be doing so much more to harness the enormous potential of their people," he said. Arab countries should consider the example Spain, Biden said, pointing out that the country was part of a great Arab empire a thousand years ago. "Why did you thrive then?" he asked. "It was not your armies alone. It was your ideas, your civilization, your culture, your openness. Why has this one small territory - then called Al Andalus, now called Spain - outpaced the rest of the Arab world combined today?"
Because sensible people are in charge?
"Don't take the answer from me," Biden said, citing a United Nations report on Arab human development, which recommended the granting of women's rights and an expansion of knowledge sharing and freedom as keys to a more prosperous future. "By accepting responsibility for the past ... agreeing to abandon its weapons of mass destruction program ... and joining the war on terrorism ... your government is beginning to end Libya's political and economic isolation," he said.
Biden can be a real jerk sometimes but this was pretty good.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2004 01:45 ||
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#1
Wonder if Joe polled his audience to learn how many claimed to be Arab? Berber? Other?
#3
"Nothing about democracy is incompatible with Islam..."
"a great Arab empire a thousand years ago. 'Why did you thrive then?' he asked.
"Don't take the answer from me..."
LOL! Oh Joe, what you know, mon? I bee teenkin not too much. Doz werdz - hey, dey be like sweet to da bone, bro. Next teeng ya know you be wantin a date!
Dr Steve, did he have a Hall Pass? I agree he's semi-innocuous, but he's not my first choice to visit Libya now that the travel ban has been lifted, heh. Needs a serious dose of deprogramming regards Arab history and Islamic reality before shedding his swaddling clothes and venturing out of Donk Nursery environs, IMHO! I give him an honorary f**kin DUH! Funny read! Thx! ;-)
#5
"Nothing about democracy is incompatible with Islam, I remember when I was first elected MP for Barnswaggle Riding East, I received the majority of the wog vote because I was for increasing funding for the local councils. YAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH
Posted by: Lurks Often ||
03/06/2004 20:13 Comments ||
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#7
"...Why has this one small territory - then called Al Andalus, now called Spain - outpaced the rest of the Arab world combined today?"
Umm, because the Arabs were kicked out by Ferdinand?
But wouldn't it be ironic if Ferdinand knew that, from the land that was discovered by the Expedition financed by his Wife, Isabella, there'd rise a nation that would kick arab butt as well as he did? That spain was one of the two nations who stood by that nation when all others forsook it?
EFL and Fair Use This time Harris has an interesting âployâ (trivial reality-shows) to make a couple of heavyweight points... Long, deep, and thorough, as his readers have come to expect.
I have often wished that some Hollywood mogul would put me in charge of the philosophical genre known as reality TV -- not that I mean to imply any criticism of their current level of excellence, at least not after the profound Hegelian meditations known as The Simple Life. But still I have a program or two up my sleeve, guaranteed not only to draw curious viewers week after week, but also to pique the interest of the political philosopher in all of us.
Hereâs my first suggestion. The setting is the typical topical island so beloved of the survivor genre -- long white beaches and swaying palm trees, playful primates swinging from frond to frond, a coconut under each arm. And into this halcyon paradise we transport twenty absolutely normal American men, all young and hearty, and of fairly equal physical strength and stamina. Ten we provide with guns and with as much ammunition as they could possibly need, and ten we do not provide with guns. Now the challenge we present our ten men without guns is simple: Figure out some way to get the ten men with the guns to follow your orders, and to follow them not just occasionally, but always and in every case. [der mega schnippen-schnappen]
Which leads to my second idea for a Reality TV show -- a kind of American Idol competition in which various historical nation states vie with each other for the title of "The Worldâs Safest and Most Reliable Source of Military Might." [der mini schnippen-schnappen] Good read for those willing to invest the time.
Posted by: .com ||
03/06/2004 12:42:36 AM ||
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#1
I didn't know you spoke German.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/06/2004 13:23 Comments ||
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#2
Matt you don't know katzenjapper kommer? Er spoken dem gut chermen.
#3
It is unfortunate that in his discussion of Washington, Mr. Harris left out this episode. Nothing more clearly demonstrates his greatness and how much we owe him as his handling of this rebellion. As George III recognized, "he will be the greatest man in the world."
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/06/2004 20:27 Comments ||
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Repeating past errors might be sugar for those who erred. It is acid to those who allow it to be elevated to the level of statecraft.
....
Supposedly, politics make for strange bedfellows. America is becoming a show-tent where bedfellows are making strange politics. The âissue,â more properly the accusation around which the scenario unfolds, involves âVietnam.â Like âFascism,â the term has become a basket suited to carry and conceal nearly anything its weavers want to store in it.
The popularity of these two phrases led to their misuse and corruption into a devalued curse. Anybody can be called a fascist. Most notably the term is used not to pillory real Fascists but to defame nearly anything to the right of Joe Stalin, but especially Conservatives and Libertarians. About these is to be known that not being authoritarian collectivist radicals, in the real world they certainly do not fit the label. Amusingly enough the National Socialists are also referred to as Fascists âwhich in a way upgrades them. This, courtesy of the âLeft du jour,â is due to the âSocialistâ in the name and the practice of Nazism. Sometimes birds of the same feathers prefer not to stick together.
âVietnamâ has also become a bendable idiom with the benefit of accepted universal misapplication. This is bad for reality and the accurate use of our terms, but on account of Pavlovian salivation, effective in politics. One should amend: âfor leftist politics.â Interestingly enough, the âRightâ refrains from using Nam as a base-ball bat. This is odd, because there is no logical reason to surrender the term to the Left. As ammunition in the âbattle of the camps,â Nam has armor piercing potential if fired skillfully from Right to Left. In fact, if you think it through, you might conclude that Namâs greatest value for the Left is not the damage caused to the Right. If the Left fumbles this rusting cannon ball, the Right might take possession and run it into the end zone.
Why should the Left, in practical terms the official and especially the unofficial Kerry campaign, avoid Viet Nam like snow-men steer clear of hell? Risking the vigorous disapproval of some readers and also aware of the fact that short presentations inevitably leave some gaps uncovered, here are a few samples. Those inclined to consider the thesis with sympathy will undoubtedly be able to add their own points.
âNamâ does not necessarily prove that US armed opposition to Communist or other ideological domination is a mistake. The defeat in the rice paddies -- often predicted unwisely before the fact in the Gulf War and in the military phase of the war against Hussein -- was not inevitable. That war was lost in âWashington,â not on the scene. Interventions since then, Grenada, Panama, Kosovo, Afghanistan, two campaigns in Iraq, and Somalia in the negative, bear a message. Contrary to the Vietniksâ implication, militarily âeven Americaâ can win. If the right strategy in the field and the correct and principled political leadership from the âcenterâ are paired and then resolutely applied, it is hard to escape success. If, on this level this is so, then Nam has, indeed, a paramount âlesson.â This deduction, however, might not be to the liking of those who ritually invoke the litany of the conjured âlessons of Viet Nam.â There is a right way and a wrong way. The lesson of Nam is that the US has the choice of the right way and it only need to stick to it.
There is something else to rub the nose into of those who got in the 60s âfondadâ into the movement, hidden behind beards and under VC flags. Regardless of their political success in sabotaging the USA, they were wrong on every count. For this, the case of one of their major achievements, the âBoat People,â serve as decisive proof. As the pre- and post-history of WW2 shows, peace can be bloodier than war. The post-conflict treatment of the allegedly âliberated,â the fate of peoples thrown as spoils to devouring Pol Pot types, do not cast an advantageous light on the foreign policy competence or the honesty of the once-retired-now-reactivated peaceniks. These might claim now that they were young and innocent at the time. Meanwhile, however, they have become strikingly un-young. Has more wisdom come with every new wrinkle? (The analogy limps. So please forget botox.) Hardly! Have you ever heard a word of regret or a hint of self criticism from the aroused âhumanistsâ of yesteryear? In fact, they not only demonstrate retroactively (forgivable) immaturity in their âtwens, they are still proud of what they have done and therefore demonstrate that they did not mature in three decades. (The only concession they are willing to make on account of their fallibility is some effort invested to hide or distort their past.) So, they were not only wrong then. They are wrong now: they are likely to remain wrong in the future. Resolution is a trait of leadership. The dogged denial of facts is not. Repeating past errors might be sugar for those who erred. It is acid to those who allow it to be elevated to the level of statecraft. For outside observers the attitude they kerry on is filed under the term: incorrigible.
Now, consider this: what if the President would have handled foreign policy after 9/11 according to the Leftâs âlessons of Viet Nam,â that is, had he followed the Fonda-Moore-Streisand troikaâs line? Rest assured that things would not be worse. They would be much worse.
And now, let us tackle some aspects of the coming electionâs Viet Nam related aspects. A leading Demo candidate is, as the writer can tell from abroad, accusing Bush of ârepeating the errors of Viet Namâ in Iraq. Given American involuntary reflexes (that Pavlov, again), the volley fired as an accusation strikes the target destructively. At least at first sight is seems to be so. If, however, the âerror of VNâ was the lack of resolution in the area of implementation, then Bush is not repeating any of the past errors of Johnson. (Oh, was he not a Democrat?) Lo and behold -- and hold on firmly to the chair on which you are sitting: George Bushâs supposed sin is that he is too resolute and rather unwilling to capitulate under pressure. (That would put him in the Churchill class -- a conjecture that might be too non-PC to mention.) Whatever was done at the time and whatever is being done today might be more connected by the cleavage between the VN-Iraq policies than by their similarities. This in itself would invalidate for those with an IQ much above 80 the foundations of the charge.
Decades of well observed âhistoryâ reveal to this writer: a mistaken step that makes one land in the middle of a cow-drop placed by the ruse of another, is to be blamed on the perpetrator. If you land in the middle of the same cow-pancake again, it is your mistake. Where the dropping is and what it is, we can now know. Whether America will again soil its hind legs by repeating old mistakes is up to her electorate. Whatever his shortcoming might be, Dubya is not going to be the president of the country if and when it repeats the (Democratic and Republican) errors of Vietnam.
George Handlery is a recently retired historian. He has lived and taught in Europe since 1976.
Posted by: tipper ||
03/06/2004 12:22:27 AM ||
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#1
This is so much cow-pie that I cannot let it pass.
First and foremost...Viet Nam was lost by an unimaginative, unresponsive Military...it was lost in the Pentagon, not in "Washington."
The correct military war model should have been the successful British experience in the Malaysian Emergency...to wit, low intensity, long term counter-insurgency warfare. President Kennedy may have been able to think his way to this conclusion, President Johnson could not. Instead the South Vietnamese Army was forced into an American Mold, large units, heavy with equipment, even heavy with personal equipment. As were the American troops, eventually.
Not to toot my own horn, but I considered and wrote for the Stars and Strips in late 1967, (though the S&S never published this), âThe war is lost when one of the finest Units in the United States Military, the fabled 101st Airborne, is satisfied to be flown out from a fixed base, engage the enemy from morning till noon then expect to have beer and pizza helicoptered in for lunch, then fly back to base at nightfall. This is shameful to our proud heritage demonstrated in the actions taken by the !01st in 1966, ect, ect.â (BTW, the 101st was my Unit, 2/502 Strike Force and later LRRP, which is maybe why the war looks so different to me and why I am still so furious over the way it was fought).
And what is this crap about not worrying about possible Chinese intervention from this so call Historian (?). Is this guy crazy or what? Even I as a grunt on the ground in 1966 was terrified of hundred of thousands of Chinese conscripts entering the war from China, turning Viet Nam into a new Korean War.
Recently released secret cables between Mao and Uncle Ho clearly state that were the US to invade the North, (as was absolutely necessary), China would enter the war with both feet and support the North with its million man army. I still do not know if Washington was aware of these mutual promises between Mao and Ho from 1965 onward, but China was the major constraint in how the Viet Nam war was fought.
Viet Nam was a necessary & vital war in the overall Cold War, but it was peripheral, and it was only lost when it no longer mattered.
Nuf' said. I really want to write and post something on Stratedy in the Afghan War tonight. Oh well, the Nam gets me blood boilin'....lol
#2
Traveller: The correct military war model should have been the successful British experience in the Malaysian Emergency...to wit, low intensity, long term counter-insurgency warfare.
This is so much cow-pie I had to repost some comments I had posted earlier on some other website, pricking the impression of some kind of British military omnipotence. (If the British military were so brilliant, why did Dunkirk have to occur?):
The British haven't had any real experience with seriously-financed and -supplied guerrilla wars. Whether in Ireland or Malaya, the British experience has always been with lightly-armed guerrillas perennially strapped for recruits and equipment. (Just read any account of the kind of equipment and funding the oppo fielded, and compare that to what the US faced in Vietnam and now Iraq). The British like to brag about their past experiences, but these experiences are completely irrelevant to the US experience in Iraq. Note that the US taught them a few lessons by taking Baghdad while the Brits were pussyfooting around in Basra. Only after Baghdad was secured did the Brits get off their rear ends and finish the job - and it still took them several days to deliver the coup de grace.
I don't have any problem with anglophilia, but 20th century military operations are one area in which the Brits do not have anything to brag about compared to the US. The guerrilla wars in which they've been successful have always been far less strategically and tactically complicated than what US forces have encountered.
The IRA was well funded (mainly by Boston / NY Americans) given the size of the territory in question.
One of the things that you need to understand is that support from Irish Americans for the IRA gets attenuated within a generation. At most, a few tens of thousands contribute sporadically at Irish pubs to the IRA.
North Vietnam was supported by the industrial bases of the Soviet Union and China with billions of dollars of weapons and supplies. Vietnam was repaying the debts from its weapons procurement binge well into the 1990's. Take it from me - the Migs, tanks and howitzers North Vietnam used to conquer the South do not grow in rice paddies, and don't come cheap.
Compared to Vietnam, Northern Ireland is a completely different animal. To my knowledge, Ireland is not actively sending Irish troops into Northern Ireland to fight the British army. The entire Irish government budget isn't devoted to expelling British troops from Northern Irish soil. The Irish government is not smuggling anti-aircraft missiles, mortars, howitzers and light tanks into Northern Ireland. The Irish government is not recruiting Catholics in Northern Ireland to fight the British. And the Irish government isn't sending its agents into Northern Ireland to assassinate a dozen British civil service officials and Loyalist collaborators on a daily basis. But the equivalent of all of these things happened in Vietnam.
Saddam's men have the looted resources of an entire nation in their grasp. The dollar amounts are in the billions - perhaps tens of billions. They have the remnants of an overlapping and redundant (because of Saddam's fear of collusion against him) security apparatus whose sole purpose was to keep Saddam in power - an apparatus that killed 300,000 Iraqis. They have hidden weapons and ammunition caches in place that are the result of tens of billions of dollars in weapons purchases spent over decades.
Significant chunks of the 15% of the population that was Sunni did not have to work for a living - Saddam paid them off with no-show jobs to keep everyone else down. Under American occupation, they now have to. And there's no way around it - if the US starts paying them off too, everyone else will want to get on the dole. That's no way to run a country, especially when they'll have to start governing themselves in six months. But it also means that Saddam's henchmen can recruit from a pool of 3 million Sunnis recently taken off the dole.
Al Qaeda fanatics in Iraq have a potential resource and recruitment base numbering 1 billion people. The ideological underpinnings of jihad are reinforced in Saudi-funded institutes throughout the world, providing both fresh recruits and (probably more importantly) fanatically-committed fund raisers for the cause of jihad. Tithing at Muslim mosques accounts for some portion of al Qaeda funding. (And 10% does seem to be the number for Muslim tithing - what they call the zakat). And what is the important aspect of this tithing? It's that this is almost akin to governmental funding - every Friday, the payments come in, like clockwork, meaning that the cause of jihad is never short of cash. A little better than collecting a few dollars here and there in Irish pubs, eh?
As for pussyfooting around, yeah, we know on this side of the pond that the Yanks don't do that. Which is why every time we take your side in a war our guys get killed by your pilots.
Friendly fire occurs in every war. Speed and decisiveness in war is necessary because it gives your opponent less time to regroup and reorganize his forces, which improves his ability to inflict casualties on you*. The side effect is friendly casualties, which have to weighed against a slower prosecution of the offensive, which gives the enemy a better shot at friendly forces and an opportunity to inflict more casualties than would be lost through friendly fire.
But the larger truth is that US forces inflicted casualties on British troops because most of combat forces in-theater were American. Note that despite the snail's pace of the British advance, the British also suffered intramural casualties, when one Challenger tank fired on another. This was despite the fact that visual identification should have been possible - unlike American warplanes, the tanks weren't going at hundreds of miles an hour several miles up in the sky.
* who are then in a position to inflict even more casualties on your side
#3
I don't have any problem with anglophilia, but 20th century military operations are one area in which the Brits do not have anything to brag about compared to the US.
Here's an example of the kind of support the Vietnamese received, from Chinese sources:
Between 1956 and 1963, China provided the DRV
with 270,000 guns, over 10,000 pieces of artillery, nearly 200 million bullets, 2.02 million artillery shells, 15,000 wire transmitters, 5,000 radio transmitters, over 1,000 trucks, 15 aircraft, 28 war ships, and 1.18 million sets of uniforms. The total value of Chinaâs assistance to Hanoi during this period amounted to 320 million yuan.
Note that this was during the period that the French were fighting the Viet Minh. After Dien Bien Phu, the French withdrew from the North, where the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (i.e. Communist North Vietnam) was established.
This is from Chinese sources. Reading between the lines, did Chinese aid continue right after the establishment of the DRV? The Chinese deny it, saying that this occurred only after the American insertion of large numbers of troops into Vietnam. But the fact is that China sponsored Communist terrorists in Southeast Asia right through the late 1970's, where at best a few hundred foreign advisers were present.* The Chinese contention that US intervention was a provocation that triggered Chinese aid to the North Vietnamese is clearly a lie - China's intent, as communicated through its actions, was that it was set on fomenting communist revolution throughout Southeast Asia, with significant Chinese resources devoted to that end. Let's take a look at Chinese resources were directed at fighting off American intervention in South Vietnam:
Beginning in June 1965, China sent ground-to-air missile, anti-aircraft artillery, railroad, engineering, mine-sweeping, and logistical units into North Vietnam to help Hanoi. The total number of Chinese troops in North Vietnam between June 1965 and March 1973 amounted to over 320,000.42 To facilitate supplies into South Vietnam, China created a secret coastal transportation line to ship goods to several islands off Central Vietnam for transit to the South. A secret harbor on Chinaâs Hainan Island was constructed to serve this transportation route. Beijing also operated a costly transportation line through Cambodia to send weapons, munitions, food, and medical supplies into South Vietnam.43 When the last Chinese troops withdrew from Vietnam in August 1973, 1,100 soldiers had lost their lives and 4,200 had been wounded.44
The new materials from China indicate that Beijing provided extensive support (short of volunteer pilots) for Hanoi during the Vietnam War and risked war with the United States in helping the Vietnamese. As Allen S. Whiting has perceptively observed, the deployment of Chinese troops in Vietnam was not carried out under maximum security against detection by Washington. The Chinese troops wore regular uniforms and did not disguise themselves as civilians. The Chinese presence was intentionally communicated to U.S. intelligence through aerial photography and electronic intercepts. This evidence, along with the large base complex that China built at Yen Bai in northwest Vietnam, provided credible and successful deterrence against an American invasion of North Vietnam.45
The fact is that comparing Vietnam with Malaya is like comparing WWII with Spanish American Wars. Vietnam involved a guerrilla army in the millions that was supplied by billions of dollars of Chinese and Soviet aid via South Vietnam's porous border with Cambodia, and used tanks, mortars and artillery pieces. Malaya involved a guerrilla force that numbered in the hundreds, that had real difficulty getting the Chinese aid that was being smuggled to them. Malayan guerrillas were a minority group (ethnic Chinese), whereas Vietcong and NVA irregulars were all Vietnamese. The bottom line is that comparing Malaya to Vietnam is like comparing a platoon-sized engagement to a battle involving entire field armies.
* In his memoirs, Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, recalls bringing up this topic with China's Deng Xiaoping, during a discussion about establishing a common front over the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. Deng, who seemed to have viewed the sponsorship of Communist guerrillas as a Chinese prerogative, initially rebuffed Lee's overture, but in the end stopped the aid. This aid, which was dwarfed by Chinese aid to Vietnam, amounted to tens of billions of dollars over decades, according to a Chinese official who was imprisoned (for 10 years) last year for publishing this information. (He may have thought that it occurred far enough in the past for it to be safe to publish. He was wrong - the Chinese brook no disclosure of any information that reflects badly on them - which raises the question of whether this sanitizing has occurred through China's history. You can bet on it.)
#5
Zhang Fei, while I largely agree with your two posts. I would dispute one thing. The communists in peninsula malaya were never a real threat as you correctly state, but the Indonesian (Javanese) incursions into Sarawak and Sabah were the real threat and they were effectively defeated by a combination of covert forces and hearts and minds.
Unfortunately the people were then sold out and handed over to the malays.
#6
"If the British military were so brilliant, why did Dunkirk have to occur?"
OK, ZF. You nearly convinced me. You almost had me thinking that a creditable military isn't allowed any retreats, setbacks, mistakes or defeats. The I remebered the early American disappointments in WW1, Pearl Harbour, Bastogne, Vietnam and Somalia. And realised that naming one disappointing result in history doesn't mean you can dismiss the team's entire performance...
"The British haven't had any real experience with seriously-financed and -supplied guerrilla wars."
And the planet you've been living on is... Ever boned up on the American War of Independence? Boer War? Afghan War? Countless colonial uprisings? And if you don't think the IRA were "seriously-financed and -supplied" for a guerilla organisation, I think your definition of guerilla needs redressing. The Zulus didn't have RPGs, admittedly, but then we didn't have Challenger 2 back then, either!
"...the Brits were pussyfooting around in Basra."
Maybe you should have made it clearer the war was in fact a race. That Basra was an imminent objective that needed subduing with extreme prejudice. British armour didn't race in to Basra at the first opportunity because it wasn't necessary. As things turned out the city fell relatively peacefully, without major battles in urban areas and without needless civilian deaths. American strategy in Baghdad was different, but so what? The nature of the objective was different, too. Basra was potentially friendly, and where there was little to be gained with a display of immediate, overwhelming force.
"...20th century military operations are one area in which the Brits do not have anything to brag about compared to the US."
Who's bragging? Sounds like you're trying to. Brits have nothing to brag about?! Compared to the US? It's that simple for you - all or nothing? In a hundred years the Brits could teach the Yanks nothing in the way of warfare? I'm not even going to bother beginning to argue with such a preposterous assertion.
"Compared to Vietnam, Northern Ireland is a completely different animal."
True, so why labour the point?
"...the Irish government isn't sending its agents into Northern Ireland to assassinate a dozen British civil service officials and Loyalist collaborators on a daily basis."
No, but with or without "government support", the IRA waged a low-intensity campaign for decades against not only the Protestant majority of Northern Ireland, but on the British mainland, and elsewhere, too. The North Vietnamese never tried to assassinate POTUS, to my knowledge, whereas the IRA tried to annihilate the British government. Does that make them worse? Another pointless comparison of apples and oranges.
I agree that the hoo-ha regarding blue-on-blues has been overhyped (and the much greater numbers of US elements in the combat area is reflected in the ratio of British casulaties caused by US and British units), but this is another ridiculous set of arguments:
"Note that despite the snail's pace of the British advance, the British also suffered intramural casualties, when one Challenger tank fired on another. This was despite the fact that visual identification should have been possible - unlike American warplanes, the tanks weren't going at hundreds of miles an hour several miles up in the sky."
Ever been in a tank battle? The don't often happen at "snail's pace". The vehicles happened to be approaching each other, and there were enemy units known to be in the area. It happened in a few, confused seconds. The "American warplanes" involved in blue-on-blues affecting British armoured vehicles are typically A-10s. Not "several miles up". In the incident that took place near Basra last year, a soldier died when the A-10 took its second attack pass on a group of British AFVs.
I don't have a problem with acknowledging the present peerlessness of the American military, and you won't find me "bragging" about British military prowess, historical or current, but your determination to slate the British military whilst ignoring any of its achievements suggests to me that you do indeed have a problem with "anglophilia".
#9
Awful lot of cowpie being distributed in this thread. Let me add my $.02 worth to the battle.
First, the biggest problem with the Vietnam War is that it was fought from the top down, with the leadership (President, SecDef, senior military commanders) putting political restraints on military operations. It was these political decisions that cost us victory in Vietnam, not the on-site military commanders and men that fought. The pattern was established under Johnson/MacNamara, and continued, more or less, under Nixon.
Second, as the old saying goes, "Generals always fight the last war over - at least at first". With Vietnam, it continued far longer than it should, and never really ended completely. Unfortunately, it was the EUROPEAN portion of World War II that provided the basis for military operations in Vietnam, right up until the United States pulled out. If we'd fought more the kind of war fought in the Pacific, I think we'd have had a much greater success.
Third, we never really got the Vietnamese involved in their own war. That, in the end, is what caused the fall of the Saigon government. The average Vietnamese never had a real stake in the war. They were either pawns for our government, or for theirs. We built their army, taught it how to fight a mainland European war, and wondered why it never seemed to be able to accomplish anything. The few attemps to win "hearts and minds" were undermined by both the US and Vietnamese governments, guaranteeing failure.
Finally, we lost in Vietnam because the American people were never convinced we could win. That's because no one ever declared "We will continue this until the North surrenders and the war ends". It was designed as a stalemate ("containment"), with no end in sight. That vision proved far too costly, in terms of both human life and financial commitment. In the end, the American electorate quit supporting it, and the elected officials were afraid to stand up and say "we have a treaty commitment, and we'll see it through". The Congress tucked its legs between its legs, we had a truly unelected president with little popular support, and the entire house of cards collapsed.
The Left thinks it won a 'victory', and hopes to gain greater control of our political process by using the same tactics WRT Iraq. Unfortunately, they are the ones this time "fighting the last war". The situation - militarily, politically, economically - is vastly different. Even the very basis for fighting the two wars is different. Vietnam was fought to contain Communism. While we lost the battle, we won the war. Iraq is about fighting terrorism, and preventing people whose ideas are even more fundamentally different from ours than the communists were from destroying our civilization. If the Left cannot understand that (and they seem to have some real difficulties), they will never be able to understand the realities of foreign policy in the 21st century. The American people are having less of a problem. This means serious trouble for the Left, and the politics they support.
All the rest of the above discussion is chaff.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 14:33 Comments ||
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#10
After my little rant I thought that I maybe should have amended it to point out the reality that we all see only through our own eyes, and largely through our own experience, (for me, small unit, long range sniping, night ambushes, and almost Pheonix Program like activity...it is what I know).
Bulldog obiviously knows something about tanks, about which I would be clueless...even as to their value in combat. I just don't know. His insight on the Blue on Blue incident involving the Challanger Tanks is compelling...My view is that Blue on Blue, especially considering the speed of modern warfare is just inevitable.
A counter view would be that it is not the speed of current warfare, but rather that Blue on Blue has always been with us...see the devestation of British troops trying to follow a walking barrage in WWI to hopefully open up the trenches in front, but in reality hitting our own troops as often as the Boche. (There's a word you don't see ofter...lol). Blue on Blue should be always be attempted to be minimized, but also...just get over it...Blue on Blue will aways be with us.
Mr. Zang Fei makes many good points regarding China...but this just reinforces my point that Viet Nam was only a Proxy war, first between the USSR and the US, but also increasing between the US and China.
How often did everyone wish that we just couldn't go up to Hanoi and just kill Giap and Ho? We didn't have to take the city, just decapitate the leadership...but with China in the wings, it was simply not possible. Hence, at some level the war was lost when it began.
Lastly, it should most especially be noted that China was just Freeking Nuts (!) during most of this period, caught in the throws of their Cultural Revolution. Mao's behavior on anything could not be safely predicted...and we, (by this I mean the suffering troops also), damn sure didn't want China to intervene.
It was nasty for everybody...and I suppose, in the end, just a damned shame, though I still firmly believe that Viet Nam bought the United States and the West sufficent time to eventually win the real war, The Cold War.
Malaysian terrorist suspects Dr. Azahari and Noordin Moh. Top have no more high explosives in their possession, a high-ranking police officer said on Friday. National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Erwin Mappaseng, however, warned against complacency, saying the two could easily obtain low explosives. "We seized their last high-explosive materials when we attempted to arrest them in Bandung last year, although they escaped," said Mappaseng, adding that this assessment was based on the questioning of Hotel Marriott bombing suspect Amran bin Mansur, alias Andy Saputra. Amran, along with his alleged partner Jafar, is the latest suspect in a series of bombings to be arrested over the last several weeks in Central Java.
Amran also told police investigators that Riduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali, believed to be the top man in Southeast Asiaâs Jamaah Islamiyah terror network, was the coordinator of a string of bomb attacks across the nation. "Based on information from Amran, Hambali was the coordinator of terrorist attacks here, assisted by accomplices such as Imam Samudra and Idris," Mappaseng said.
According to Erwin, high explosives used in terrorist attacks here were illegally brought into the country before 2000 from the Philippines, where Amran studied bomb-making. "Amran and Jafar divided the materials into four packages, one of which was used for the bombings in Pekanbaru and Batam on Christmas Eve in 2000. So far, Amranâs direct involvement has been determined to have been in the attack in Pekanbaru on Dec. 24, 2000, as the supplier. Pretty much the same with Amrozi in the Bali bombings," said Mappaseng. He added that leftover explosives from these attacks were used in the Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta on Aug. 5 last year. "But Amran said he was not in Jakarta when that attack happened," said Mappaseng.
He also said that Amran provided six guns, which were obtained in Malaysia, to Imam Samudra in Batam and Pekanbaru in 2000, before he and Jafar went into hiding. Imam Samudra, alias Abdul Aziz, was convinced in the Bali bombings last year and sentenced to death. He is appealing the verdict to the Supreme Court. While in hiding, according to Mappaseng, Jafar worked as a blacksmith and exported his products to Johor, Malaysia, with the money being used to help finance their terrorist operations.
Mappaseng warned that Dr. Azahariâs alleged network was always planning new attacks. "However, we do not know their exact plans such as dates or and places, but we are working on it. There are lists of possible targets that we seized from Jafar, but we are suspicious of the lists. We think they were meant to throw us off the track of the real potential targets," he said. National Police chief Gen. Daâi Bachtiar said the arrests of Amran and Jafar should limit the movement of Dr. Azahari and Noordin. "We are still focusing on them because we do not want them to use the (upcoming election) campaign period to attack crowds of party supporters," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:45:17 AM ||
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#1
This is another glaring example of 3rd werld jihadi incompetence.
JIT - c'mon gents, say it: Just In Time. It's the latest thing. Get some.
If I was a donor, I'd be pissed. I'll bet these clowns don't even have a decent ERP system. I mean, really, even JD Edwards (a piece of 1970's shit concealed in a spiffy web wrapper) would be better than nothing. It'd flash and beep and everything when inventory fell below the ReOrder Point established for various explosive components. It it was configured right, it could've automated the re-order process and even selected the proper carrier, minimizing those pesky shipping costs. Sheesh. Wotta buncha maroons.
Now PeopleSoft, whoa, that would be some stylin, bro.
A suspected bomber, allegedly a big-time gunrunner with links to operators in Mindanao and Quiapo, Manila, was arrested in Talavera town on Friday, immediately sparking fears in the camp of opposition presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson that the suspect may be linked with an earlier assassination plot against him. Confiscated from Mario Barrientos, who dealt in explosives and had âclientsâ in Quiapo, were seven Claymore mines, a C-4 detonator, a baby Armalite and two Beretta pistols. He was arrested in barangay Pula in Talavera, one of the towns Lacson visited while he was campaigning in Nueva Ecija. Police could not establish yet if Barrientos has networks with terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf. The ABS-CBN early evening newscast described Barrientos as a Muslim convert.
Bingo.
Even Lacsonâs supporters were alarmed over the incident, saying they do not discount the possibility that the target of the suspected bomber could be the former chief of the National Police (PNP). According to Lacson, he was worried with the bomb threat not because of fears for his personal safety but for his supporters who join his campaign sorties.
Now, me, when bombs are involved, I worry about my personal safety. I could never work up the urge to become flying meat.
Malacañang, however, assured the public that all security measures are in place to avert any possible terrorist attack following the arrest of Barrientos. President Arroyo, in her speech at the Villamor Air Base, where the No. 10 most wanted kidnapper was presented to her, congratulated authorities for the capture of the suspected terrorist. She said the capture âprevented an attack,â which, she said, could have been undertaken with âexplosives.â No doubt to "kill people ..."
Lacson hailed the police for the immediate arrest of the bomber, thus preventing a potential chaos. âIf he went scot-free, innocent people could have been hurt. The police should be commended for this,â Lacson noted. Last month Lacsonâs security aide, Chief Supt. Francisco Zubia, said he and his men had to strengthen security following reports of an assassination plot on Lacson which they had been receiving since February. âWe cannot speculate now, but we cannot discount the possibility either. Weâll see how police investigators handle this,â Zubia said. Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a news briefing that authorities are probing the links of the suspected terrorist. âWe will know who is connected to the arrested man. We know that the authorities, the Armed Forces and the police are always on alert, and they have not lowered their guard and they will continue to monitor groups that can foment chaos in the country,â he said. He declined to comment on whether the suspected terrorist is a member of the Abu Sayyaf Group, which, he said, remained a âspent forceâ because of the arrest of its leaders and its reported dwindling funds.
Picked up Khadaffy yet?... Didn't think so.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:39:55 AM ||
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Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra plans to remove the army commander in charge of the Muslim-dominated south for failing to end weeks of violence that have left up to 50 people dead, a report said on Saturday. The Bangkok Post quoted security sources as saying the Fourth Army commander Lieutenant-General Pongsak Ekbannasingh, who has administered martial law in the three worst-hit provinces, would be reassigned.
"We have an opening for him in Fairbanks."
"Hey! That's not even in the country!"
âThe prime minister is unhappy seeing him unable to deal with daily killings there,â the source told the English-language daily. âHe is likely to be shifted elsewhere in the mid-year reshuffle.â
"We're gonna put him in charge of taking care of Thailand's moose problem."
The violence broke out on January 4 with a deadly and well-coordinated raid on an army weapons depot, and continued with almost daily attacks on security forces, government officials and Buddhist monks who have been brutally slashed. But former fourth Army commander Senator Harn Leenanond told the Post that it would be âa mistakeâ to remove Pongsak who is a native of the south and has served in the region for three decades. âChaos in the southernmost region partly resulted from security mismanagement and the premier could not deny his responsibility,â he said.
I'd say he's responsible for appointing a competent commander in the area, wouldn't you?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2004 01:15 ||
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#1
It is my opinion, and I'm sure others know much more, that Thailand has a core competence problem. Their military has been, as far as I can tell, mainly ceremonial - much like the Saudis. They seemed to spend their time running around making sure the Thai Royals were attended to. I think the regular city cops are only slightly more competent - they managed road intersections for Royal personages in transit.
Their Immigration & Customs people are, probably, far more professional - tough, intelligent, and canny - because they have had to be.
Toxin, er, 'scuse me, Thaksin might want to start a massive reorg / training of his military & police - and fill in with the tough mofo's from Immigration & Customs! They know how to kick ass!
#2
The Thai jungle troops I saw working in Vietnam had no competency problem. The only group more feared were the Koreans. Unfortunately, most of them are tied down up in the northern half of the country, trying to keep the Burmese narko trafficers within limits. Maybe a new brigade or two would be a good thing... Take awhile to recruit, train and equip, but worth it in the long run.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 15:06 Comments ||
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Substitute leader of Friday Prayers of Tehran Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani here Friday called on all Iraqi people to further endeavor to keep their unity. He was addressing a large congregation at the site of the Friday Prayers in Tehran University where the Ayatollah expressed his condolences over martyrdom of tens of Muslims in Ashura explosions in Karbala and Kazemein in Iraq, and also Quetta in Pakistan. He referred to the statement issued by Ayatollah Sistani in which he urged Iraqi nation to keep their unity and also the remarks of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who stressed unity among Iraqi people under the leadership of religious Ulema, and said the explosions were perpetrated by those who tried to sow discord and division among Muslims.
He further stressed that the world hegemony, the Zionist Israel and the US were now oppressing the human community and described the Islamic Revolution in Iran as a government and a revolution which is religious and democratic. The prayers leader said that there are now people in a certain place in the world, namely Iran, who talk only according to principles of Islam and this makes the world hegemony to take every measure to prevent its repetition in any other place on the globe. Condemning explosions in the three Muslim cities, he said while the US is claiming to be fighting Al Qaeda, the truth is that the US itself has developed, nurtured and cultivated this terrorist organization and now that the remains of the former Iraqi regime are joining it, the occupiers are just standing by watching their crimes. Believing that fear of Islam is the motivation behind all these crimes, Ayatollah Emami Kashani said the occupiers claim to be safeguarding security in Iraq whereas they fail to do so and even support those who create insecurity.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:06:19 AM ||
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#1
Fuck this noise. All this sectarian and regional diplo-crap and sensitivity and tip-toing around just emboldens the asshats of every stripe. Total mistake and waste of time. Gloves off - everywhere.
Sorry, State Dept, et al: They will get it when you shove it down their throats.
#2
kinda reminds me of our left complaining about using 911 footage in Bush's ads. If this is what they are reduced to arguing - they are in deep kimshee.
#5
The point is that Bush's plan to kill all the terrorists is irrational (reckless). The more Bush kills the more evidence he provides that the US is dangerous to the world. Bush is taking us down a road that leads to our ruin. Ask George Tenet: we are less secure now than we were a year ago. (Why do you think that Greenspan made his announcement about Social Security at this time? He wants to make it clear to us--Bush is a walking disaster for the US.
#6
Is that why Greenspan made his announcement about Soc Sec at this time? You have any proof for that assertion?
I wonder if the fact that both political sides have admitted that SocSec is a ticking time bomb for the last 20 years has anything to do with it?
Posted by: Les Nessman ||
03/06/2004 19:58 Comments ||
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Right so not killing terrorists and letting them grow in numbers and spread is any better? Give it up, if its between me and the other guy dying (the terrorists in this case) it'll always BE the other guy dying.
From Jihad Unspun
Some of these âintellectualâ migrant-coolies have extended their services by proclaiming themselves as âexpertsâ in Islam, merely because of Muslim ancestry. When it comes to Islamic experts, the Western mass media is full of them, you have Jewish âexpertsâ, atheist âexpertsâ, Christian âexpertsâ, and even the professed anti-Islamic âexpertsâ, but nowhere can one see the experts who actually profess to adhere to the message of Islam.
We hear from the Wahhabi "experts" periodically...
One should note that all these so called âexpertsâ amongst the migrant coolies usually have three things in common: they have received no formal education in Islam, no attempt has been made to engage with genuine Islamic scholars and they never provide an alternative. .... They mock religion in general but yet assume to uphold and use religious criteriaâs, whilst not realising it, as one would expect from âintellectualâ coolies. As for example, they oppose incestuous marriages, but if the ration is the sole criteria, what is the rational reason for not marrying ones mother or sister? Many of them have wives, so why resort to the religious institution of marriage instead of cohabiting? ....
Poor example. We've actually touched quite a few times on the Arabs' and other Muslims' penchant for marrying close relatives. Genetically, the relationship between first cousins doesn't really differ from that between brother and sister. Two brothers have the same random sample of genetic material inherited from Grampaw and, if they also have the same mother, Grandmaw. The rational reason for not marrying one's sister is the peril of in-breeding: buck teeth, hemophilia, increased chance of retardation and/or deformity, all the nasty things that can pop up when recessive genes are allowed to come together and play.
Issues of ethics and morality are not simply a matter of mechanical computation of the mind but emanates from a certain belief about life itself. When a thief steals there are no independent magic formula to derive the just retribution but it simply comes down to ones belief. If there is a magic formula, then can these coolies explain why serial killers in US are executed but they are kept alive in warm cells in Europe?
Post WWII cultural differences account for that. Neither the U.S. nor Europe amputates limbs or lops people's heads off, though the Frenchies used to.
Can they also explain their constant rants about the âimmoralâ nature of polygamy but yet they sanction homosexuality and other forms of perversions?
Because in the West the relationship between God and man is relegated to the personal level, not a matter of diktat from on high. The availability and use of birth control changes sexual relations from being a matter of procreation that's also pleasurable to being a matter of recreation that can also â but only if desired â result in procreation. Because we don't have an all-powerful fatwah machine looking into bedrooms, we're free to argue over what behavior is acceptable outside the bedroom in light of the news rules that came into effect with the introduction of reliable birth control. While I, personally, have nothing against polygamy â I think every man occasionally has fantasies about having his own harem, chock full of nekkid and willing babes â I also view the argument on its pros and cons in the same light I view the spat over whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry. Westerners take their multiple wives serially, rather than all at the same time, and that muliplicity has a bad enough effect on society. But taken as a societal argument, rather than a requirement by fatwah, most of us are willing to listen to reason. But you need more reason to back it up than just "God sez so."
NB: The reason for their lack of substation is that, they have little to offer other than being critical of Islam, a true characteristic of intellectual bankruptcy.
I'm getting low on brain cells, maybe, but I haven't declared intellectual bankruptcy yet.
Some of these migrant-coolies do not bother to hide their vile polemic under the guise of âlegitimate researchâ. Recently, in a well-known website, a author has engaged in using abusive and foul language in maligning the Prophet of Islam as a âterroristâ without defining what constitutes âterrorismâ. Nor does he attempt to elaborate on the various criterions that he uses to malign the Prophet of Islam. Not surprisingly, he also does not provide any alternative. Anyone can engage in endless diatribe but genuine scholarly criticism is usually accompanied with an alternative.
The Prophet lived about 1400 years ago. The "terrorist" designation doesn't apply, whether his actions then would fit the definition of terrorism today or not. Hyperbole on a few websites can be put down to free speech. Bumping off unarmed women and children and old people â civilians of any type, with the occasional but not universal exception of political leadership â qualifies as terrorism. The Prophet's sexual antics, on the other hand, were out of the ordinary even for 622 A.D.
Such âintellectualâ migrant-coolies are without honour, who have nothing to protect, as they are empty of any genuine solutions other then their constant rant and foul mouthing against Islam. So, they go about like the Mongol hordes attempting to commit only destruction not to rebuild anything.
This isn't quite as destructive as armies of turbans swarming all over the world blowing things up and killing innocents in the name of their religion, however. It doesn't cause nearly as many corpses. In the West, firearms and explosives aren't considered a normal part of rational intellectual discourse. Ask Salman Rushdie.
Scholars of Islam in the past have had genuine debates with the scholars of Europe and other civilisations. The likes of Imam Ghazali, Bayhaqi and others are still admired by the West for their scholarly engagement. Most of which these âintellectualâ migrant-coolies are dwarfs compared to the scholars of the West. They will have to do far more to pose a challenge to Islam. Abstaining from using foul language would be a first step in their education.
No one was using that sort of language â at least no one anyone took seriously â prior to the 9-11 attacks and the "war between civilizations." On the other hand, prior to the 9-11 attacks, Soddy and Pak schoolbooks were pushing the concept of Islamic super-doopermen and the inferiority of infidels. Some of us even link the two facts (the schoolbooks and the attacks, not the schoolbooks and the lack of animosity in the West) together in a chain called Cause and Effect, a phenomenon that the Islamic world, especially the part that writes in Jihad Unspun, has demonstrated difficulty understanding.
The old principle of âjudging the tree by its fruitsâ needs to apply here. Outbursts against Islam as being inherently evil has to be explained by these coolies as to why so many free citizens of West and around the globe are still embracing it considering the adverse publicity that Islam receives from the sophisticated and vicious mass media of the West. Islam is said to be fastest growing religion, hence it must have some level of inherent momentum and dynamics.
Actually, evangelical Christianity is the fastest-growing religion, and they don't even kill people who change their minds. You might also want to look at the growth of agnosticism, which isn't a religion but rather a lack thereof. I don't know if atheism is growing or not, though if it is, I suspect it's not growing quite as fast as either agnosticism.
In contrast, how many followers have these coolies produced in their attempt to be saviour to mankind from Islam by their constant waffle? Most certainly scribbling on the Internet and in their virtual world will not generate that sort of following. ....
We're not proselytizing. We're sharing facts and exchanging opinions related to them.
Amongst the migrant-coolies posing as Islamic âexpertsâ you have the more ambitious characters portraying themselves as reformers. There is a so-called aspiring âMuslimâ reformer who professes to be a Lesbian. Is that not like a thief or an adulteress preaching about the virtues of honesty or chastity?
Nope. It's more like a Protestant trying to keep her sex life separate from her life in church.
If anything, it is her lifestyle that is in need of reformation, rather than Islam. Here an analogy can be made, if an individual through cursory self-study, claims to have studied medicine, then proceeds to ârefuteâ and âdebateâ well established professors of medicine, that individual would laughed at. What if that individual then proceeded to practise his/her âfindingâs â that, obviously would not be a laughing matter; but a criminal act!
There again is the equation of disobeying the fatwahs to criminal acts, that need to be physically punished. If I was a Catholic, and I disobeyed all the laws of the Catholic church, cursed, committed adultery, violated all the commandments, the Pope wouldn't send a goon squad to bump me off. The Pope would ignore me. Maybe, if I was a sufficiently important public figure, they'd do the thing with the bell, book, and candle, and I'd be formally no longer a Catholic. 600 years ago, of course, when the Christian and Muslim religions were still competetive, I'd have been bumped off. One religion matured, the other didn't. Catholicism matured because of competition from Protestantism. If I was a Methodist and violated all the commandments, the followers of John Wesley wouldn't have me killed; they simply wouldn't invite me to dinner.
Similarly, another prominent self-proclaimed reformer, a devout Islam hater and a professed feminist by the name of Taslima Nasreen. Like the previous case she also has no formal education in Islam. It is interesting that she has called for reformation rather then being frank and state what she really means, abandoning Islam altogether. Naturally, as one would expect she has been awarded fellowship at Harvard, audiences with heads of states, for her services in maligning Islam, using rehashed arguments borrowed from the Orientalists and Western feminists.
I'm not a mechanic. If I was driving my car down interstate 95 and suddenly it began belching smoke and hideous noises came from under the hood, I'd still be able to tell there was something seriously wrong with it.
Let alone provide any alternatives, these irrational rationalist fail to see their inherent contradictions within their own actions and statements. As an example she opposes polygamy but yet she confessed in her latest book to prostituting herself as a mistress to married men, thereby making many monogamous men polygamous!
We regard those relationships as being between her and the men, rather than a matter for the state (or a caliph) to be interested in. We can argue about whether it's in good taste for her to brag about it, though. If she hadn't said anything, I'd never have known, would I? Nor would you.
Another example is her constant bragging about the equality of the sexes as if they are identical in every aspect. Perhaps she can set an example by getting rid of the segregated male and female toilets and changing rooms at Harvard as a first step. Such types of segregation is practiced and indoctrinated to the school children even in the gender-obsessed Western world acknowledging the inherent differences in male and female.
The writer has his cultural and religious viewpoints so inextricably entangled he'll never get them unraveled, even if he tries. He's obviously never been to Japan.
Note again, she offers plenty of criticism but very little in the way of alternative. Bereft of any intellectual originality and having failed to generate any kind of following, she has resorted to writing pornographic type of materials exposing her sexual âadventuresâ in her old age. She states that she is not ashamed of what she has done; naturally, shame can be only felt by those who have honour and self-dignity. Just like wild beasts fornicating openly feels no shame, and human beings imitating the animals by disclosing personal information equally feels no shame. ....
I prefer to keep it behind closed doors, too, but what she does is none of my business, nor yours, unless it involves me or mine.
The Western media, its intellectuals and governments have given such rabble-rousers an inordinate amount of publicity and support by honouring them with various accolades. This demonstrates how much they hate Islam whilst preaching that it is the Islamic world that is full of hate. Even if the Islamic world does express hate, is it abnormal to express such emotions, under occupation and aggression? It is clear to see that an honest insight into Islam is not the objective of the âopen minded, liberal, enlightened, Western academicsâ. If this was their goal, why than have obscure, non-entities like the coolies in question, become reference points rather than orthodox Islamic scholars? Even their own academic institutions are providing âargumentsâ and challenges that are far more scholarly and worthy of a response. Which also indicates how desperate the political leadership in the West has become in their quest to manufacture a modern day Islamic Martin Luther, thus they are ready to adopt any old coolie.
That's because you're belching smoke and the knocking from your engine is deafening.
Thus in summary, attempting to silence criticism(s), attacking Islam, promoting obscure individuals on the basis reformation are all aimed at undermining Islam. This shows that the West is still medieval when it comes to dealing with Islam. Intellectually inept to cope with arguments hence they are increasingly resorting to the fascists tactics of their forefathers by incarceration, slandering though its powerful mass media whilst denying Islam/Muslims a voice, of course the coolies are ever present offering their âservicesâ.
That's a pretty piss-poor pitiful rant, if I may be allowed to be redundant in my description. I'd give it no more than a 4.3. If this is a "Moslem scholar," then their educational system really does need revampting.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 8:09:37 PM ||
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#1
It's past time to get medieval on their Islamic asses. Get out the blow torch.
Posted by: ed ||
03/06/2004 20:26 Comments ||
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Where the hell are all the "migrant coolies" this guy keeps yammering about? I've got yard work to be done.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/06/2004 21:05 Comments ||
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#3
We've already suggested an alternative, you moron: The complete and utter eradication of Islam, whether by education or gunpowder. Anything less is just a bandaid on a sucking chest wound.
#4
At one time thae Arab world was a cultural center for the sciences, art and literature. At one time. All life forms in nature must evolve or be replaced by a more succesful species. Viewing the current state of affairs in some of the Muslim world (I will exclude some countries that are more progressive and are dealing with the world in a peaceful manner , Jordan and Turkey come to mind), Islam in its intractable intolerant form can't survive. Continue practicing your barbarity on the rest of the world and your own people. Your kind is doomed. Oh ya one more thing dickhead....We haven't forgotten 9/11....Pray to your Allah and by the way there ain't no 72 virgins waiting for you pervert.
#6
He's just helping to convince this morally bankrupt individual that the whole issue won't end until a very large asteroid happens to decide to mate with its little cousin in Mecca at the height of Hajii leaving them nothing to pray toward. Until such a moment of enlighenment we will have to listen to such facist and racist drivel.
BTW... for his pleasure my college had uni-sex bathrooms. (Got to love it)
US and Afghan troops killed nine suspected Islamic militants during a gunbattle in the eastern province of Paktika, the US military said yesterday. Well done! Captured?
In separate operations, 14 suspected rebels were detained in a US air assault in the east and two senior Taliban commanders were captured by Afghan forces after an attack on a post near the Pakistan border killed seven government soldiers. Busy day in eastern Afghanistan.
The clash involving US forces began when they opened fire on a group of 30 to 40 armed men trying to move to the side of their sniper position east of Orgun-E, 170km south of Kabul, in order to launch an attack. Excellent choice for sniper position.
"They were armed, they were acting in a hostile manner, so we fired on them and then we pursued them with the Afghan National Army," said US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Bryan Hilferty in Kabul. "We believe they will no longer act in a hostile manner," said Hilferty.
At least 10 US snipers from a special operations task force in Afghanistan were involved in the battle, supported by a nearby battalion of Afghan troops. The rest of the group of suspected guerillas fled. None captured? Say it ainât so! Didnât think so.
The clash was one of the largest reported in recent months between 13,000 US-led troops in Afghanistan and their local allies and Islamic militants from groups including the ousted Taliban militia and Al Qaeda
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/06/2004 8:57:40 PM ||
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Jordan is embarking on a radical reform process aimed at modernising the countryâs political system. One of the key reforms is getting Jordanian women more involved in public affairs. The countryâs monarch, King Abdullah, is behind the moves giving women a bigger and more active role in the political process. Late last year, he dissolved the upper house of parliament and appointed seven women - the highest number ever - to a new 55-member body. He also created a special quota system to ensure women would be elected to the lower chamber where they now number six out of 110 members. The king also appointed a female minister, Asma Khader, to serve as the governmentâs spokesperson. Ms Khader is a prominent lawyer and champion of human rights, particularly womenâs rights.
Jordanâs Prime Minister, Faisal Fayex, for his part, has also urged womenâs organisations to spur political development in the country. .... Former minister of information, Leila Sharaf, said she did not initially support the idea of a special quota for women. "I was against it at first," she explained, "because I thought that a quota may bring women who are not experienced in public life, women who are too conservative to push for womenâs rights or that it may slacken the womenâs movement." But Ms Sharaf argues that the countryâs current election law of one person, one vote will not break the stigma against voting for women. The quota system may need to be used again for the next parliamentary election, she said, until Jordanians become more accustomed to seeing women in public office.
Amman-based analyst Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group research institute agrees. "This is a conservative, traditional society. Women can run for election but the chances of their winning are not great," he said. "In a free and fair election where you are elected as a Jordanian citizen, it is very tough for women to be elected. That is the reality.We are talking about exceptions, not about the rule." He said this reason makes the kingâs personal intervention to introduce change plausible. "Appointing women to public office may be a good way to set a model. Here, women are taking positions of authority, they can do it and there is nothing wrong with it." .....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 8:38:18 PM ||
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Jordanâs Queen Rania has launched a media campaign to change stereotypes affecting Arab women and to boost their role in society. She challenged Middle East broadcasters to help change common misconceptions in their programmes and advertisements. Arab women must also be more vocal on issues affecting them such as domestic violence, illiteracy and political involvement, she said. She said these issues must be discussed openly among Arab people themselves. At a press conference in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Queen Rania told Arab broadcasters they had a duty to help change attitudes. "This is your campaign," she said, "your responsibility to see that women are supported in helping to shape the future of the Arab world."
She showed a public information film aimed at encouraging women to play an integral role in developing the Middle East. She said men and women share the same future and so they should work together to create their vision for the Arab world. .... The challenges women face in the Arab world are great. More than 60% are illiterate, domestic violence is widespread and not all Arab women yet have the right to vote, let alone stand for election. But Queen Rania said these issues must be discussed openly and tackled by Arabs themselves.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 8:32:27 PM ||
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Taking stern notice of the attacks on Army Colony and para-military forces check-posts at Wana, the political authorities of South Waziristan Agency have fined the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe Rs 5.4 million for its failure to fulfil territorial responsibilities under the Frontier Crimes Regulations. The administration announced the fine against the Ahmadzai Wazir tribesmen in a jirga between the elders and political Agent Mohammad Azam Khan on Sunday. The two sides also discussed in depth the recent attacks on armed forces and official installations. The Ahmadzai Wazir tribe was fined Rs four million and its sub-clans Ashrafkhel and Malikkhel Rs 1.2 million and Rs 0.2 million respectively. The Sholam check-post is situated in the territory dominated by tribesmen from Ashrafkhel and Malikkhel.
The traditional tribal jirga will give its reply to the administration by Wednesday. It may be mentioned here that situation in the area dominated by Ahmadzai Wazir tribesmen in Wana, South Waziristan Agency, is deteriorating day by day. The mysterious mortar and rocket attacks on the check-posts and other government installations have increased while common tribesmen are unhappy over the frequent operations in the area in the name of war on terror.
Authorities renewed their warning to tribesmen to expel terrorists and hand over suspects, or face search operations by military forces that often end with tribal homes being demolished in punishment for harbouring militants. Harbourers also face the prospect of seven years jail and a fine of 1.5 million rupees. Ultra-conservative Pashtun tribes living in the border belt, sympathetic to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fugitives, are believed to have provided them shelter since US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to topple the Taliban regime.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 8:23:02 PM ||
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From Jihad Unspun Saddamâs crimes against his own people, war against Iran and the invasion of Kuwait were all orchestrated by the U.S. Administration. In each case, the U.S. objective was the same to provide cover to change the map of the Middle East. From the point view of the U.S. neoconservative surveyors, their war against the Middle East will only end when all objectives are fulfilled to the full satisfaction of the apartheid state, Israel.
This conspiracy has spanned for nearly twenty years and was crystal clear to a lot of Arab and Muslim thinkers and ordinary citizens. The sad fact here is that this conspiracy was never taken seriously by Arab leaders. U.S. officials and emissaries sent to the Region have proven sophistication in conniving; they promised friendship and delivered atomic weapons to Israel. They illuminated pure lies and converted them into believable tales. Arab leaders believed the illuminated lies and decided to allow time to prove otherwise.
Ill-deeds, the U.S. administration delivered to the Region stand naked under the sun, right in the heart of Iraq, in Afghanistan and in occupied Palestine. George W. Bush, Toni Blair and Ariel Sharon lecture on peace and terrorism. In the meantime, they kill women and children, destroy culture and history. Just look at the devastation of Iraq, Afghanistan and the deplorable plight of Palestine and Palestinians.
Justice is crucified. Morality is dead. Decency is paraded under banners of drugs, filthy sex and theft. Court houses, judges and attorney generals do not consult law books for just verdicts. They take direct orders from U.S. neo-gangsters and killers. A hope for a world order is the simplest farce that does not deserve a laugh.
The entire world population needs to rise against U.S. sick mind and ambition before we all become a total reject. Remember, the earth is a genuine mother, physically and spiritually attached to every decent human. At any one point in the human history when filth prevailed, the earth and its Creator rocked the universe and destroyed all destructive means and weapons, including killers and murderers.
U.S. and U.K. leaders and their generals must be brought to justice and tried for thefts, crimes against humanity and be isolated from the world community all together. The question is! Is there a leader in the world today willing to initiate such a legal action? Brave men died before the birth of Zionism. I am not aware of a motherâs womb that is capable of conceiving, carrying and delivering the next baby who can save the world from total destruction. We know for certain, evil mothers are continuously conceiving and delivering the likes of George W. Bush, Toni Blair and Ariel Sharon.
Today the world community must share considerable part of the blame for the destitute of the Iraqi people, the destruction of their country and the mass murder of many Iraqis. Complicity to crimes committed by the U.S. and U.K. troops is a crime by itself enforced by Regional countries that provided military and other logistic assistance.
The international community, namely China, Germany, Russia and France stood by and did nothing to prevent this historic crime against humanity. They did, however, voice strong disagreement to the war against Iraq; this was not enough to stop blood flow on Iraqiâs streets, in homes, hospitals, schools, daycare centers and other public places.
Occupiers speak of mass graves, suicide bombing, and foreign terrorist cells being built rapidly. They fail to recognize U.S. and U. K. bombs dropped on Iraqi civilians and military personnel. They fail to recognize the one million Iraqi children who died from starvation and depleted uranium. Now you tell me who are bigger terrorists and murders?
Forced entry into Iraq is considered by George W. Bush and Toni Blair an act to free the Iraqis from a brutal regime. Both leaders underestimate the damage they have caused to the integrity and honor of their people who continue to demonstrate and object in the strongest methods available to them against this illegal war. Visible powers such as China, Russia, Germany and France cannot continue to hide behind the shadow of the U.S. monster and do nothing. They consider themselves developed, advanced and civilized nations. They need to validate these statuses and prove to the rest of the world that the human family is still alive and well.
One small handful of Right-wing Evangelical Christians and Zionist junta cannot be allowed to decide the future of human existence regardless of the size of air power, weapons of mass destruction and the mega bombs under their disposal. This is not to suggest these countries declare war against United States and Britain. Simple isolation will provide sufficient reasons for U.S. and U.K. citizens to de-seat their leaders and elect new ones.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 7:50:44 PM ||
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#1
So, what else did the overseas branch of the Kerry campaign have to say today?
From Jihad Unspun
It would be no surprise at all if the U.S. through her agent Iran (or even independently) pushed some of the many conflicting parties in Iraq who have an interest in inciting trouble from amongst the Sheeâah groups. It is known that there is a bitter struggle going on within the Sheeâah community between the secularists and religious wings about the extent to which the constitution in Iraq should be Islamic, and between various religious groupings themselves who have historic differences.
A clear example of the division and hatred amongst the Sheeâah themselves was the cold-blooded fact that these attacks on the Sheeâah were most likely carried out by the Sheeâah groups themselves, with the implicit support of the U.S. The fact that U.S. forces were "standing down" throughout the festival, as has been reported, whilst Sheeâah leaders had asked repeatedly for increased security may be a further indication of U.S. covert complicity. At the same time, we saw over a quarter of a million Iranian Sheeâah enter Iraq for the festival, further evidence if needed to suggest an Iranian-Sheeâah link.
Besides this, we see the subtle U.S. attempts to set its sights on a ânewâ public enemy No 1, (as a substitute) for Mullah Omar and Usama ibn Laden who have so far alluded their capture to that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. They have increased the reward for his capture from $5 million to $10 million â they assert that he is an associate of Usama bin Laden whom they claim is trying to provoke a civil war in Iraq. This allegation is based on a copy of a letter said by Iraq. Contrary to the spin set out by the New York Times (a consistent mouthpiece of the U.S. regime), the letter did not talk about creating a sectarian war in Iraq as was claimed. It talked about fighting the Kuffar occupiers and their allies from amongst the Sheeâah and the Sunni.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 7:37:16 PM ||
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#1
the New York Times (a consistent mouthpiece of the U.S. regime)
This will come as good news to Karl Rove and speaks well to the credibility of the source./sarcasm>
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/06/2004 19:46 Comments ||
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Hmmm - should Egypt be in No. Africa or Middle East?
Egyptian authorities deployed some 1,000 police around a southern town on Saturday to forestall any Muslim-Christian clashes after two Christian men were killed in a street brawl, security sources said. The Christians were axed to death after a donkey being ridden by a Muslim man slipped on the wet roadway outside their house in the town of Salamoun, about 350 km (220 miles) south of Cairo, they said. sounds like they had it cominâ? Prolly laughed at the ass
The donkey rider was later arrested and questioned. Witnesses in the town said there had been no further violence but the situation was tense. Salamoun, a Nile valley town of about 40,000 people, is close to 40 percent Coptic Christian but was also a stronghold of militant Islamists who fought the government in the 1990s. Tensions between the Muslim and Christian communities are a sporadic problem in southern Egypt. The last major outbreak of violence was in 1999, when 20 Christians were killed and 33 people wounded in the southern village of Kosheh.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2004 11:56:55 AM ||
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Egypt Deploys 1,000 Police After Christians Killed
To do what - help kill more of them?
Welcome to the Middle Ages - again.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/06/2004 12:30 Comments ||
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a donkey being ridden by a Muslim man slipped on the wet roadway outside [the Christiansâ] house
//sarcasm on// These wretched infidels who plot to harm the great faith of Allah by creating slippery when wet conditions outside their houses to harm the innocent baby ducks and donkeys, and unsuspecting faithful. Jihad against them! These infidels dare to blaspheme by making the faithful fall, and bring dishonor and sacrilege upon the holy baby ducks and donkeys, and attempt to destroy the faith of all Muslim children in the sanctity of their eldersâ ability to ride donkeys and baby ducks. Jihad against them! EnshaâAllah! //sarcasm off//
#4
how the fuck do they end up hacking people up because a poor defensles fuckin dinkey lost its footing and slipped! I feel so sorry for that poor creature having a Islamozealot for its keeper. As Allen is my witness :)
#6
Yeah, Jon, sure. Everybody knows a dinkey is the owner...the OTHER ass.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 14:55 Comments ||
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#7
Barbara
This is just Sharia at work. In Sharia a Christian who strikes (not kill, merely strikes) a Muslim even if the Muslim was trying to steal from him/kill him/rape his daughter is to be put to death.
It was not unusual in the so-called golden age of medieval, tolerant Islam to have an entire Christian or Jewish community to be wiped out/decimated after the accidental death of a Muslim.
As an aside note in Sharia if a Muslim murders a Christian he cannot be put to death and the jail/fine penalties are halved.
I hope you will find this "ammo" useful when fighting leftists.
#8
"I hope you will find this "ammo" useful when fighting leftists."
I prefer a verbal bitch slap and if that doesn't work I get physical ;-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2004 17:54 Comments ||
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Frank,
I prefer to tell the LLL that I'm a disgruntled Creek Vietnam Veteran with PTSD, delusions of returning to the Creek Massacres of the 1800's, and a HUGE knife. Of course, I have very few friends, but I can live with that...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 18:05 Comments ||
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Just a guess on my part, but I figure that one, perhaps both of the deceased probably laughed their (ahem) heads off after the donkey dumping. Muslims don't have a sense of humor - ax anyone.
Using three jeeps disguised to look like IDF vehicles and rigged with explosives, Palestinians launched an attack on Israeli positions around the Erez Crossing at Gaza on Saturday. No Israelis were injured, but four Palestinians were killed and at least 15 wounded. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and FatahâsAl-Aqsa Martyrsâ Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a joint "self-sacrifice operation" in a message posted on the Hamas Web site.
(Self sacrifice and others)
A convoy of three
(Boom,Boom and Boom, Cool!)
vehicles, including two jeeps and a taxi, blew up on the Palestinian side of the Erez Crossing close to a Palestinian police position.
(Looks like the mossad provided the C4)
Shortly after, another jeep containing two Palestinians approached an IDF post located on the Israeli side where workers cross into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Soldiers who spotted the jeep opened fire, killing one dumbass occupant as he stepped out of the vehicle to shoot at the soldiers and the other Palestinian who remained inside the jeep. A taxi driver at the scene said the blast was huge. Pieces of burned flesh were stuck to his taxi.
(Considering that this is a palestinian we are talking about here, heâll probably regard it as tastfull decoration )
"The sound of the explosion was huge and powerful, followed by intense machine gun fire from the Israeli army outpost," Ali al-Basyouni said. At least one other witness also heard intense gunfire following the explosion.
(IE one survived but not for very long)
Various earlier reports erroneously stated that the attack was on an Israeli tank and that a Kassam rocket had been fired. In a telephone interview, Islamic Jihad spokesman Nafez Azzam said, "It is clear that the ongoing Israeli attacks against the Palestinian thugs with machineguns people motivate the Palestinian resistance to respond to such attacks - and thus resisting the occupation becomes a necessity, for it is considered self-defense by confronting the continued Israeli aggressions." Erez Crossing, which is closed under the general closure over the Purim holiday, has become the focal point for Palestinian attacks emanating from Gaza, an army source said. In the most recent attack, on Feb. 26, two Palestinian gunmen used tunnels and killed a soldier before being shot dead. The next day bulldozers leveled 120 Palestinian-owned shops built above of the underground passage. Also Saturday, IDF forces hunting fugitives in and around Tulkarm shot and killed an armed Palestinian, identified as Taher Abu Sariyeh, 19. Shots were fired at the troops, the army said. And in Deir Amar, west of Ramallah, IDF forces arrested two Tanzim fugitives.
Posted by: Evert Visser ||
03/06/2004 9:53:41 AM ||
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Time to send pizzas to the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and AAMB. With plenty of bacon.
#2
all those jeeps blowing up must have looked like the start of an episode of the A-Team, this time theres no Colonel Decker though and people get killed :)
#4
if the bomb went off premiturly on the Palo side of the checkpoint then isn't this suspicious, theres been loads of booms going off too early lately, normally a hundred yards or so from the Israeli check points. I'm still wondering about microwave systems or even snipers with suicide belt viewing optics like maybe infared or something destroying them
#6
" Can I push the button? "
" No. "
" Can I push the button? "
" NO. "
" Can I push the button? "
" Don't push the button until I say 'Push the button'! "
" Yeah! Martyr time! "
" No Mahmoud, don't! "
*Boom*
Posted by: Charles ||
03/06/2004 14:38 Comments ||
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It just doesn't get any better than this. Not only 4 dead jihadis: that is that much fewer jihadis the IDF will have to kill later on, that much fewer innocent lives taken, and the best part: they aren't at home trying to make new jihadis.
#8
"A taxi driver at the scene said the blast was huge. Pieces of burned flesh were stuck to his taxi."(Considering that this is a palestinian we are talking about here, heâll probably regard it as tastfull decoration )
There are times comments are made here that are absolutely so to the point that they deserve to be included in a TOP 10. This one is going in there.
#9
Rooters is reporting 6 dead including 4 terrorists. Also interesting is that a lot of planning went into this and the plan went totally to ratshit. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people.
While this isnât a WoT site or story, my minds eye sees a devestated and abandoned US town. This is the personal site of some one who rides her Kawi 1100 through the dead zone of Chernobyl and has taken page after page of pictures. Her Dad is a scientist and she shows maps of the area, along with radiation levels as well. It was disturbing to see homes left just the way people left them when they suddenly abandoned them 18 years ago. I found this compeling and somehow appropriate for our times. I donât think the Islamists have anywhere near the capacity to create a dirty bomb that could create this sort of disaster, but its not hard to imagine after seeing these pictures and knowing they are about nothing more than western civilizations death.
Posted by: JerseyMike ||
03/06/2004 7:59:52 AM ||
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Eerie... It's like the beginning of that movie "28 Days Later", only worse because it's real. Good site and great pix--I just hope that luscious brunette didn't stay there too long!
Posted by: Dar ||
03/06/2004 10:08 Comments ||
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Regarding the brunette: I found this story on Slashdot and followed a copious discussion where I didn't see any one of the geeks taking much note of her. Personally, I'm intrigued by a good looking gal that likes to ride a high spec motorbike at speed through a nuclear wasteland. Good wry sense of humor, too.
#3
I was kinda freaked by the shot of the abandoned helicopers Hips (?). I'll bet those were the ones that were used to drop the graphite and cement. That's guts.
#5
The helicopters are mostly MI-10's, NATO codename "HOOK". Each of them can carry up to 70 troops - they're huge. There is one HIP - on the far right. You can see how much smaller it is. The HIP is comparable to our Blackhawk in size (slightly smaller).
A suitcase full of anthrax could have the same effect.
The anthrax would have the same effect short-term, but in two years the threat would be totally gone. The radiation from Chernobyl will make Pripyat virtually uninhabitable for 5000 years.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 13:39 Comments ||
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Actually Chernobyl radiation is more akin to very dirty bombs or dud nukes. If you look at the Pak Indian tit for tat tests a few years back you see that claimed yields were much larger for both than the actual very small yields. In addition the Indian H-bomb looked like a fizzled dud. So, at least the Indian bombs would likly leave deadlands like you see around Chernobyl.
#7
wasn't thier 100 or more tons of this radioactive shit that went boom, not sure maybe it was 16 tons but either way thats gonna cause alot of shitty smoke and dust thats not good to be settling on or in you, i can see the chinese having a chernobyl type adventure soon - isn't that big dam they built also cracking up? As Allen is my witness
#8
wasn't thier 100 or more tons of this radioactive shit that went boom
Actually, I think the major problem was caused by using graphite in the reactor core as a containment. The graphite caught fire and burned for days. Needless to say, it was also highly radioactive at the same time, creating not only a toxic cloud of smoke and dust, but a radioactive one as well.
I was in England at the time (RAF Alconbury), and then moved on to central Europe. At both places I worked with units that tried to track the smoke cloud (at one point it stretched from Chernobyl to the North Sea)and radioactive particulates that filtered out of it. Let's just say this is probably the largest manmade disaster of all times, and we won't have the final results for a thousand years or more...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 14:41 Comments ||
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Jersey - I'd say this is exactly what the WoT is about. Good post.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/06/2004 16:05 Comments ||
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Saw a safty film on Chernobyl while taking Hazmat training.2 things stuck with me the most:
1)While interviewing one of the Russian scientist's who had just finished an inspection of the sarcaphageous this Nuke scientist took off his paperdust ask off and shook the dust out.
There wer 3000 voulinter military whose job it was to pick-up 2 graphite blocks(about 30lbs each)and throw them in the hole in the roof of the containment building.10 years later 2000 soldiers were dead from various radiation releated illness.
#11
This is a prime example of Soviet Brute Force science/economics. They needed electricity and weren't too concerned about safety (gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet).
The RBMK is one of the world's worst designs. Not only is it bad engineering, it uses the Soviet equivalent of a Sear's Garden Shed for its containment building.
When the accident happened, the Sovs were running a test to determine if they could use the coasting down turbine (following the tripped reactor) to supply power for a few more seconds. The shift guys got overconfident and violated a huge amount of procedures. The resulting steam explosion blew the reactor apart and the graphite (what were they thinking - it's cheap!) caught fire.
The initial response was by the local firefighters some of who sensibly refused to go into the high rad area. Rumor has it these guys were shot to encourage the others. Then the army arrived and sacrificed their soldiers in two minute suicide runs to toss pieces of graphite back into the smoldering crater of the reactor building.
Actually though, things have been improving. The radiation levels have dropped and a lot of the residual stuff is slowly being washed down the Pripyat to the sea. I imagine a lot of people will die from a variety of cancers but this is Russia and a lot of them are going to croak from Vodka/Cigarettes and just plain bad living. It will be difficult determining what event is to blame but I'm sure Chernobyl will be the one most trumpeted.
Armed horsemen and the Sudanese army killed at least 67 people, abducted 16 schoolgirls and raped others in front of their families during an attack in Northern Darfur, according to the UN. Residents of the town of Tawilah described a well-organised attack by "horsemen and military" on 27 February, the latest report of the UN Darfur Task Force issued on Thursday said. The government of Sudan has said 67 were killed, while locals describe seeing up to 80 bodies as they fled from the scene.
By the time UN officials arrived in Tawilah on 3 March, only about 100 people had remained there, the report said. Others are believed to be hiding in a local riverbed and surrounding areas. Around 5,500 who fled to Al-Fashir, the capital of Northern Darfur State, are now registered and encamped close to the airport. Humanitarian workers were told that a number of children had died from dehydration on the way from Tawilah to Al-Fashir, the report added. On 2 March, 15 people were reportedly killed and 30 injured in an area about 15 km from Nyala, the capital of Southern Darfur State. An inter-agency assessment team was told that between 2,000 and 3,000 Janjawid were camped outside the town of Dulayj, where people from 55 surrounding villages had gathered after 30 nearby villages were attacked and burned to the ground. "IDPs in some areas continue to assert that they are not prepared to receive UN humanitarian assistance due to fear of subsequent looting by militia," the UN report said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:51:56 AM ||
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Sudanese rebels killed 86 members of Ugandaâs Lordâs Resistance Army (LRA) in fighting that broke out after the guerrilla group committed its worst massacre in years, a Sudanese rebel spokesperson said on Friday. The Sudanese rebels said they had fought more than a week of skirmishes with the LRA in southern Sudan, where the Ugandan movement has long maintained rear bases used to attack villagers in their home country. Sudanese rebels, who have often clashed with the LRA over control of parts of southern Sudan, said the latest fighting had been triggered by LRA attacks on their positions south of Juba, the main town in south Sudan. "The fighting is still going on," said George Riek Machar, spokesperson for the Sudan Peopleâs Liberation Army. "We have been fighting for the last eight days south of Juba against a force commanded by LRA second-in-command Vincent Otti," he said. Machar said the LRA were being resupplied from Torit, a southern Sudanese town controlled by Sudanese government forces, but stopped short of accusing Khartoum of supporting the rebels.
Separately, a smaller Sudanese rebel group said they had launched an offensive to crush the LRA, saying the group would prevent peace taking hold in southern Sudan despite progress at talks between the Khartoum government and southern rebels. Theophilous Ochang Lotti, the chairman of the Equatorial Defence Force, also said his group had merged with the larger SPLA, saying progress at the peace talks had narrowed differences between the former rebel rivals. "We have launched operations to crush the LRA in southern Sudan," Lotti told a news conference in Nairobi, capital of neighbouring Kenya, which is hosting the peace talks. "So long as the LRA occupy southern Sudan, there will be no peace in Sudan even if we sign a peace agreement," Lotti said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:49:28 AM ||
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Rebels in Sudanâs western Darfur region said they killed around 410 government soldiers and militiamen in two battles on Friday as the Sudanese military tried to open routes between the main cities in the area. The rebels said they killed about 130 troops and militiamen in one battle in Northern Darfur state and about 280 in the second clash, in Southern Darfur state. Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of one of the two main Darfur rebel groups, said the two groups undertook joint operations to engage two troop formations which had assembled to break a rebel blockade of the areaâs towns. âWe knew they were there and that they were going to try and break the blockade so we fought them and defeated them,â said the Justice and Equality Movementâs (JEM) Ibrahim, speaking to Reuters by telephone from France.
Salah Idriss, a spokesman for the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), the second rebel group in Darfur, gave Reuters details of the two battles by satellite telephone shortly after the fighting had ended. âThree thousand Janjaweed and government soldiers attacked us in an area about 25 kilometres west of al-Fashir in Northern Darfur State... We killed about 130 of them and lost 10 of our own men,â Idriss said. âThere are about 25 of their dead lying on the ground near us now... Some are in military uniforms,â he said, adding that the rebels also had about 3,000 men in the battle. Idriss said Janjaweed fighters withdrawing from the battle raided and burnt villages as they fled and killed 20 civilians.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:47:24 AM ||
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Praise to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, who became benefactor to us in a Holy War on His righteous path. Peace and mercy of Almighty God to Godâs Messenger, his family, his disciples and all who followed them along the righteous path till the Day of Judgment, and then:
By the mercy of the Almighty Allah, the glorious son of the Chechen nation, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who devoted his whole life to the cause of the liberation of the Chechen people from the Russian empire, has become a martyr, Insha Allah! (God Willing!) He died from an evil and insidious blow in the back.
The Kremlin regime has once again shown its true face. When, after the explosion on the Moscow metro, Putin stated hysterically that «Russia doesnât talk to terrorists, it annihilates them», I knew that he would inflict his evil strike somewhere, but I did not think that he would dare to do so on the territory of another state. Putin and his clique have demonstrated that they are an integral part and the brood of the well-known terrorist organizations: the Cheka (Soviet secret police), the NKVD, KGB, FSK and the FSB. Putin is now trying to portray himself to the Russian riffraff as some kind of a âtough guyâ, adopting a more familiar manner, showing his terrorist ways and imperialist ambitions.
Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was accused of all deadly sins and of being involved in the events in Dagestan in 1999 and the events at Nord Ost (hostage-taking in Moscow theater), but I can state with absolute certainty that he had nothing to do, directly or indirectly, with the events in Dagestan, and especially with what happened at the Nord-Ost (in Moscow theater). He did not even know about these events. Movsar Barayev contacted them only because he could not get in touch with me. In search for how to get in touch with me, Barayev and his companions also called many others whose numbers they knew. The thing is that through Barayevâs deputy Abubakar I received three phone numbers supposedly belonging to the three groups in Moscow, whom I had to be calling. They were given to me by Aslanbek Khaskhanov [charged with the Nord Ost hostage-taking], who is now in the hands of the secret services; he was the liaison. But I was unable to reach them at these numbers during all of those three days, so they kept calling all their friends trying to contact me. Thisd is exactly why they called Mr. Yandarbiyev. So, neither Yandarbiyev, nor anyone else, had anything to do with these events.
Moreover, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev had not taken part in any combat operations since the beginning of the new invasion by Russian troops, and never dealt with the financial issues. But his truthful word struck the enemy harder than a bullet, which made the infidels afraid of him, and at the first opportunity they struck him an evil blow in the back. I am glad that Zelimkhan died while on active service, worthily carrying out his lifeâs work.
I'm glad he died, too.
The mercy of Almighty Allah is great, and, Insha Allah (God Willing), the Most High will give us new Zelimkhans to take his place and the Holy War will go on. Allah has given and Allah has taken away, everything happens by the will of Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:35:58 AM ||
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Praise to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, who became benefactor to us in a Holy War on His righteous path. Peace and mercy of Almighty God to Godâs Messenger, his family, his disciples and all who followed them along the righteous path till the Day of Judgment
Now I remember why commune gives me headaches.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/06/2004 8:33 Comments ||
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Praise to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, who became benefactor to us in a Holy War on His righteous path. Peace and mercy of Almighty God to Godâs Messenger, his family, his disciples and all who followed them along the righteous path till the Day of Judgment
Gebus, I'll bet this guy don't get many calls to do Thanksgiving Dinner.
Finnish forensic experts will travel to Iraq on Wednesday to examine mass graves for evidence to be used in a war crimes trial against Saddam Hussein, the team's leader said Friday. The government-sponsored group will spend six weeks digging trenches, measuring the depth and size of the graves, and assessing the amount and condition of the bodies. Most of the mass graves are from the post Gulf War period, but there also are older ones. "The graves are in the hundreds, and the victims number hundreds of thousands, but under 500,000," Helena Ranta, the group leader, told The Associated Press. Ranta said her estimates were based on information from Iraq's U.S.-appointed Coalition Provisional Authority, which requested a team from Finland, a neutral country that opposed the war.
Good to see them help.
The five-member team will report its findings to coalition officials. Ranta, a forensic dentist from the University of Helsinki, has led similar expeditions in the Balkans providing information about mass graves in the case against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. She said her mission was the "first step" in a possible case against Saddam. "No request has yet come for the exhumation of bodies, but I would not be surprised if we were asked to help with that too," Ranta said.
Just don't let Carla del Ponte get involved.
"The idea is to get maximum information with minimum disturbance," Ranta said. "We want to try and keep them, as much as possible, in the same condition they are in until the exhumations begin." A request from U.S. officials to provide forensic teams was turned down by several countries, including Sweden and the Netherlands. Finland agreed, because it was viewed as a humanitarian mission, the government said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2004 01:34 ||
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"We want to try and keep them, as much as possible, in the same condition they are in until the exhumations begin."
There's no hurry, these poor suckers aren't going anywhere...
Gunmen in the southern Russian republic of Daghestan, which borders Chechnya, today shot and killed a local district chief, Magomedrasul Alkhlaev. Daghestan Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Musaev said the unidentified attackers shot Alkhlaev as he was travelling in his car in Buinaksk district.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:33:50 AM ||
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Russian federal troops killed Akhmed Basnukayev, a notorious Chechen rebel leader, in the southern republic of Ingushetia, the Interfax news agency reportedThursday. A patrol of the Russian Federal Security Service stopped Basnukayevâs car for inspection on Wednesday. When Basnukayev tried to put up armed resistance, the soldiers shot him dead. None of servicemen was hurt in the operation, Col. Ilya Shabalkin, an official in charge of Russiaâs anti-terrorist campaign in the North Caucasus region was quoted as saying. Eight kilograms of handmade explosives packed in black plastic bags were found in the car.
Basnukayev, 41, commander of the rebel group Urus-Martan Front in Ingushetia, which borders the Chechen Republic, was also a member of the so-called Majlis ul-Shura Mujaheddin rebel organization led by Arab mercenary Abu Al-Walid. He had close ties with other Chechen rebel leaders Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev. Basnukayev was on the federal wanted list for his suspected role in killing 30 people and organizing many terrorist attacks that claimed more than 200 lives in Moscow, Ingushetia, Chechnya and Dagestan. His followers, suspected of killing Chechen people who cooperate with the federal authorities in the war-torn republic, mainly operated in the Urus-Martan and Achkhoi-Martan districts of Chechnya and made sporadic incursions into Ingushetia.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:30:53 AM ||
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The Federal Security Service has averted an attempt by illegal armed groups operating in Chechnya to undermine the situation in Russia ahead of the presidential elections, a spokesman for the headquarters of the federal forces in the North Caucasus said on Friday. "Security officers learned that the group of [field commander Shamil] Basayev is planning acts of terrorism using vehicles in Chechnya and other parts of the southern federal district," Colonel Ilya Shabalkin told Interfax on Friday. "The Federal Security Service divisions for Chechnya and the Stavropol territory established the location of Lada and Volga cars prepared for terrorist attacks and hidden by the rebels in Alkhan-Yurt, Chechnya," he said. The vehicles were located on Thursday and a robot was used to neutralize them, he said. Each car was carrying three 50-kilo sacks of a mixture of brownish-gray and silvery granules in its trunk. A total of 300 kilos of explosives were found.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:28:52 AM ||
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As a result of a special operation in the village of Psedakh, Ingushetia, carried out on Thursday, officers of the Russian Federal Security Service, the Interior Ministry and the Chechen presidentâs security service destroyed four bandits from the armed gang of Muslim Dzheniev and its chieftain as well as an underground workshop, producing explosive devices. Explosive devices were made to commit terror acts in regions, forming the Southern Federal District, Tass learnt on Friday from spokesman of the regional headquarters on the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus Ilya Shabalkin.
Ilya's been busy lately, hasn't he?
According to the spokesman, the underground workshop was fitted out at a tenanted house in Psedakh. It had manufactured explosive devices which terrorists had used in terror acts in various regions of Russia in the recent past. The gang ringleader was subordinated directly to Arab mercenary Abu al-Walid who is the real warlord of all armed gangs in Chechnya. He had appointed Dzheniev the so-called emir of the Dzhamaat of the Nadterechny district of Chechnya. According to the spokesman, the gang, while operating in the Nadterechny district, made regular sallies into neighbouring Ingushetia. Gunmen committed terror acts and kidnapped people for ransom. The gang chieftain directly participated in the assassination of head of Nadterechny district Akhmed Zavgayev, getting one million U.S. dollars from Basayev for this terror act as remuneration.
That's pretty good money, even for a button man...
Dzheniev is a mastermind of murders of Ingushetia policemen in the village of Voznesenskoye and attacks on military convoys. All the gang members underwent training in saboteur acts at camps of armed gangs under the guidance of Arab hirelings. According to Shabalkin, while inspecting the underground workshop, officers found a lot of components for assembly of homemade explosive devices and spares to repair firearms and for manufacture of elements for noiseless firing.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:26:25 AM ||
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Squeezed out of sanctuaries elsewhere in the world, al Qaeda may be considering new havens in Africa where they can exploit weak governments and take advantage of lawless deserts or jungles to train, recruit and plan future operations, the deputy head of U.S. forces in Europe said Friday. Key among U.S. military proposals to fight back is the temporary deployment of company-sized American units to train armies throughout the continent, patrol alongside them, or carry out U.S. missions to hunt terrorists on short notice if necessary. "Some people compare it to draining a swamp," Air Force Gen. Charles Wald told The Associated Press, eyeing a map of Africa in his office in Stuttgart. "We need to drain the swamp."
Wald said al Qaeda was "being squeezed significantly by the international community" out of previous strongholds in places like Afghanistan. And as that happens, "theyâre going to have to go some place else, somewhere they can operate ⊠and one of them obviously could be Africa." Africa, with its remote, unpoliced deserts and jungles and centuries-old Arab-African Saharan trade route, is one ideal location. Authorities, often poorly paid, are easily bribed. Communications are slow and in some places nonexistent. African armies, relatively small and poorly equipped, have difficulty monitoring the vast territories theyâre supposed to control, Wald said. "Itâs an area we think is becoming appealing potentially for terrorist organizations or individuals to operate with semi-impunity," Wald said. "It has a lot of expanses of open area that are conducive to terrorist operations or sanctuary."
Wald said some terrorists had been sent to Iraq from North Africa and there were indications that al Qaeda has established a presence and attempted to recruit in North Africa over the past two years. Mauritania and Nigeria are among West African nations alleged by some Western think-tanks to have al Qaeda cells. Top figures from Osama bin Ladenâs al Qaeda circle came from Mauritania, although the government publicly cracked down hard on alleged Muslim extremism, and on alleged recruiting of fighters for Saddam Husseinâs cause in Iraq. "Theyâre there for a purpose, whether itâs looking for real-estate, or recruiting or looking for arms, whatever it is, we know thereâs a presence," Wald said. "It may be small but itâs a bad indicator."
The chief homegrown concern, however, is the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Call and Combat, which was blamed for kidnapping 32 European tourists in the Sahara last year. Wald said the group had issued a manifesto claiming allegiance to al Qaeda. He and others have blamed the group for kidnappings and robberies in Niger and Mali, although some dismiss the culprits as simple bandits. Last month, CIA director George Tenet told Congress that small, independent groups like the Salafists are emerging as a potent threat, even as the larger and higher-profile al Qaeda loses leaders to arrest and assassination. "The areas (in Africa) are large, you have to be able to respond fast as intelligence becomes actionable," Wald said. "You have to be fast and get ahead of it, and that forces us to think of more mobile, smaller, lighter, nimble forces."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:20:43 AM ||
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#1
Maybe it's a good thing we're not fighting malaria as we should.
Plus, they could get polio. Got to think of the bright side.
Last year around this time they claimed to control all of it. What happened?
The Talibanâs intimidation tactics are simple. A convoy of about 20 Honda motorcycles surrounds a house, looking for people who support America or President Hamid Karzai. If they find one, they kill him. If not, the householders are beaten to serve as a warning to others.
How is it that in a land where everyone has a rifle, these jokers can just drive up to a house and club people? Didn't anyone over there ever see Fort Apache? Stay inside the mud walls and start shooting!
People in the village of Shah Joy, 180 miles south-west of Kabul, are torn between supporting a moderate government struggling to reconstruct the country and supporting the Taliban simply to survive. It is a common dilemma in about a third of Afghanistanâs southern regions, where the Taliban are regrouping and waiting for the spring to launch attacks against the central government and its American allies. They are concentrating in the province of Zabul, where the coalition never managed to root out the extremist movement. About 70 per cent of Zabul is now either controlled by supporters of the Taliban or completely lawless. "They come day and night. They are lying near the mountains and sometimes even in the mosques," said Haji Mohammad, 28, a soldier whose two brothers were severely beaten because he works for the local government. "They were beaten in the mosque in open daylight. Their hands and feet were tied and the men wanted to take them away. But with the help of the village elders they were released. Since one year I cannot go home. They would not let me live."
On the main road linking the province to Kabul, the Taliban set up roadblocks in broad daylight and scrutinise vehicles for potential targets to kill or kidnap. Four engineers working on the main road have been kidnapped and 15 Afghans working for the central government have been killed in the last three months. No foreigners venture to the province. Aid workers fled long ago. It is estimated that about 700 armed Afghan Taliban who are ethnic Pathans have crossed the border from the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Quetta where they are trained and funded. The commanders are offering a motorcycle, an AK47 and a satellite telephone to anyone willing to rob or bomb a government target. A successful hit is worth £110. Killing an enemy has an added incentive of a £495 bonus. The strategy appears to be to make Zabul too difficult to work in, angering the local population and turning support away from central government to the Taliban. "They are taking advantage of our poverty," said Gen Ayoub Khan, the security commander for Zabul. "The administration is weak and incapable of controlling an area, therefore the local people are not relying on them. In the Dai Chopan district there are reports of Punjabi commanders. We arrested two Talibs a month ago and they told us that Pakistani colonels told them to destabilise Afghanistan."
Just another Pak proxy war. Maybe that's why they're cooling down Kashmir...
Mohammad Azghar, a former Taliban member now a soldier working for the local government, said in villages where there are virtually no jobs, and the grape and almond farms have been turned to dust by a seven-year drought, the money is tempting. "I killed two Taliban commanders and they had 200,000 Afghanis [£2,500] in their pockets and a pistol," he said. "A soldier here does not make that much money. The commanders distribute the money to fighters and say, âGo burn a school, we will give you money. Go rob a house, we will give you moneyâ."
The Americans are trying to win the hearts of the Afghans with the promise of reconstruction. Next month, the military will form in Qalat, the capital, a provincial reconstruction team, quasi-military units of up to 100 people who provide security and help to rebuild roads, schools and clinics. It is hoped their presence will also establish a secure environment, especially in remote villages, for other charities to return. But the deputy governor, Malawi Mohammed Omar, said the Americans had a difficult task because they were not talking to village elders willing to co-operate and identify the enemy. "The US would not recognise Mullah Omar if he stood in front of them," said Mr Omar. "Until the Americans are on the ground and negotiating with the local community leaders and disarming them they will not win."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:15:00 AM ||
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Bad news.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
03/06/2004 1:32 Comments ||
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Actually, Dan, I wanted to post this, but you beat me to it.
Still, the thought struck me...how to appropriately respond in a Military sense to such attacks? It would seem that over-land, even in quick all terrain vehicles would be far too slow.
And then the image from of Buch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid leaped out at me...just like the train full of horses...bingo!
Could a Chanook carry a squad of Special Forces on slightly amorized Dirt Bikes, ferry them into such an area, deploy them and off to the races they go?
Could the response time be quick enought? It is my nature to think in terms of small unit tatics and what would be effective...in killing the people that need to be killed. Just an idea from your thinking liberal here at Rantburg (smile)
#3
This is the same Telegraph that put up an erroneous report of a botched SF raid, and numerous other factual errors in articles they have compiled. The one thing about British papers is that on accuracy, they tend to lead with their chins. On the military, they're about as accurate as everyone else, which is to say not very accurate.
Afghans have hidden agendas for everything they say. From what I've read, everyone has his hand out. Afghans say the Taliban are well-funded, because they know American forces have wads of cash with which to counteroffer the Taliban. Afghan forces say they are killing Taliban in order to provide a semblance of effectuality so that US troops can justify continuing to pay them. But raising these issues would, of course, either be too un-PC or (more likely) involve too much thinking on the part of the journalists, whose alcohol-deprived brain cells cannot function for lack of lubrication in Afghanistan.
#4
They are lying near the mountains and sometimes even in the mosques, .... They were beaten in the mosque in open daylight.
The mosques are the terror epicenters.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 5:12 Comments ||
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Firstly: i think we are hearing the uncritically accepted musings of Omar Quadratullah Jamar respun by the western media (as with most of the news coming out of Afghanistan)
Secondly: if this is true a stryker-brigade with experience in Iraq and helicopter backup ( and offcourse investment in intelligence) should be able to get on top of this situation pretty quickly.
#6
Very simple. Equip every villager with a small transponder with an on/off switch. Teach them to turn it "on" when there are bad guys in the area, and turn it off when they leave. Have a Spectre standing by overhead. It gets a signal, the night-scope comes out, and ZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!!!!! - 5000 rounds of 7.62 does a number on the bad guys. Get a few false reports, and you take away the guy's toy. Add a couple of Apaches on stand-by at a local garrison, and you've got a headhunter team that will start doing some good.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/06/2004 12:35 Comments ||
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Add a couple of Apaches on stand-by at a local garrison, ...
Apaches -- the helicopter or the Indians? Oh heck, either would instill blood-curdling fear into the heart of a Taliban.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2004 14:01 Comments ||
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... Apaches -- the helicopter or the Indians?
Too bad that the gentlemen from the White Mountains are such homebodies. They'd make the Gourkas look like Swedes.
A local official in eastern Afghanistan says he has received credible reports that Osama bin Laden escaped the recent Pakistani operation to catch him. Speaking to the BBC, a district governor said he passed the details to Afghan intelligence staff. Haji Abdullah, the governor of Pachir-Agam district in Nangarhar province, said he heard the report about al-Qaedaâs leader three days ago. He said he had met a former member of the Taliban who had received a fax referring to "the Sheikh", the term often used for Osama Bin Laden by his supporters. The fax reportedly said the Sheikh was alive and well and that he had escaped a recent attempt by Pakistani forces to catch him on their side of the border. However, the governor rejected recent reports that American forces are focusing on the Tora Bora hills, which overlook his compound, in their search for Osama. There is no sign of any US activity in these rugged hills and peaks. But local residents and officials in the nearby district of Chaprihar said there had been a build-up of American forces in the area earlier this week and that some had stayed for several days.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:10:10 AM ||
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The BBC -- the brit al-jazeera -- is so pro-Usama I suspect its minions would not hesitate to pump out propaganda hoping to take the heat off their b'woy. In other words, Usama has run out of places to hide, he knows running is futile, and he has no desire to die sweaty and out of breath. Usama is in a hole awaiting his doom.
#3
His battered corpse is decomposing in some hole and slipping the dragnet one molecule at a time.
Posted by: Dar ||
03/06/2004 9:37 Comments ||
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Looks like Bush is going to have to actually try to create jobs, after all. (So hard on Bush--having to act like a Christian. Much easier for him to point fingers at those who fall below his "Christian" barometer.)
#6
Anonymous - It's probably not as easy as it is for you to point fingers at those Christians who fall below your I'm-so-tolerant barometer?
Posted by: B ||
03/06/2004 18:27 Comments ||
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Actually, if you read the comment carefully. You will see that it was not about Christians, but about someone who masquerades as a Christian, Bush.
(Did I say I was tolerant? Lord knows, I've tried, but after the Iraq War debacle, I can only pray that God will intervene and take this man from office come November.)
Posted by: Les Nessman ||
03/06/2004 19:41 Comments ||
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And I believe, Anonymous, that he's a sincere Christian, and I'll pray that God will ensure that he stays in the White House come February.
Care to compare track records when it comes to prayer? I have a college and grad school education obtained debt free, a six figure inheritance obtained from a law suit everyone was betting I'd lose, and the healing a man of tintinitus. Can you meet and raise?
The suspected Al Qaeda operative thought to be responsible for a wave of deadly attacks in Iraq is the target of an intense manhunt there, the commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan said yesterday. General John Abizaid said the coordinated bomb attacks that killed at least 181 people at Shiâite Muslim shrines this week bore the hallmark of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian accused of links to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. "Heâs somewhere in Iraq," Abizaid, head of US Central Command, said in an interview on the public-television program "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer."
"And one thing he isn't is dead. Yet."
"Weâre looking for him hard, and weâve found quite a few of his operatives, and weâve taken out a couple of his senior operatives, and weâve uncovered an awful lot of the work that heâs doing," Abizaid said. "I believe the threat that he presents to peace and stability in Iraq is one that should worry both the Iraqi authorities and American authorities." The president of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council yesterday suggested that the bombings in Iraq were occurring because US forces have not maintained security. Abizaid said that before the latest blasts, US authorities had indications that an attack would occur and numerous precautions were taken. But he suggested it was impossible to completely secure Iraqis against such attacks. "In a city of 1 million people like Karbala, or 5 million like Baghdad, you canât be in all places at all times," Abizaid said. "Itâs also natural in that part of the world to blame what people view as the most important authority in the region, and that currently is the United States of America."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/06/2004 1:07:43 AM ||
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"Infidel Occupiers -- Stay away from our Holy Places. See that rock? Yep. The 137,461st most Holy Rock in Islam. And YOU almost stepped on it. Now shooo! Stay away, we are planning on marching around in circles and there is much to be done that is Holy. If we're in the right mood, we'll hit ourselves in the head with swords and stuff. Very Holy. Not for infidel eyes. So go. Take your filthy ignorant infidel army away from here."
*boom* *Boom* *BOOM* *Ka-fucking-BOOOOOM*
"The president of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council yesterday suggested that the bombings in Iraq were occurring because US forces have not maintained security."
Most of the GC and Shi'a Mullahs should have their whereabouts and planned movements advertised in all of the Baghdad news outlets. Zarqawi could then actually provide the CA a service, for a change, by booming the right Iraqis.
#2
I've just finished reading "An Army at Dawn" (very good) and I learned that the 4th most Holy spot in Islam is some joint in Tunisia. My question: Is there a list? Top 10? Top 25? Do they change? Are computer rankings inputed?
Arsonists with apparent ties to mainstream opposition parties torched at least four buses, including a state-owned double-decker, amid cracker blasts that rang out in much of the city in the final hours to today's countrywide hartal [strike]. Abdul Mannan, a railway staff, was badly injured in an arson attack on a BRTC double-decker near Mahanagar Natya Mancha in Gulistan, which left several other passengers with burns yesterday. The main opposition Awami League (AL) and six left-leaning political parties united in the hartal call to protest the stabbing of writer Humayun Azad, now being treated for head and jaw wounds he suffered in a machete attack on February 27. Police barred AL leaders and workers from bringing out processions from their Bangabandhu Avenue headquarters, now ringed with barbed-wire fences on all sides in pre-hartal police action. Some activists of the main opposition party sneaked out and assembled in front of the nearby office of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu), one of the three parties that joined the AL in the hartal call, and took out a procession. Police allowed leaders and workers of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Workers Party and JSD to bring out processions. Gonotantri Party, Samyabadi Dal and Gono Azadi League, constituents of the 11-party left alliance, expressed solidarity with the 6:00am to 6:00pm general strike, the first opposition unity since October 2001 against the government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and the fifth shutdown across the country since February 12.
And a wonderful time was had by all...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2004 01:06 ||
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"We're numbah one! We're numbah one!"
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) yesterday tagged Bangladesh as the most violent country for newspersons in Asia in an investigation that also expressed deep concern at repression on them here. After a weeklong fact-finding visit to Bangladesh, a four-member delegation of the New York-based media watchdog asked the government from a press conference at the bar at the Hotel Sonargaon to open investigations into threats to journalists and prosecute the killers. "In Bangladesh journalists are working increasingly under threat," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper from the US, who led the team of Abi Wright from the US, Iqbal Athas from Sri Lanka and Andreas Harsono from Indonesia. Listing savage attacks on journalists -- from Tipu Sultan to Manik Saha, she said: "I can't imagine to take risk to continue my profession here as journalist. It takes real courage to be a journalist in Bangladesh." Cooper said physical assaults and intimidation were almost commonplace, especially in rural areas where journalists are threatened, beaten severely, or murdered just for reporting. She also expressed concern at the stabbing of eminent writer Humayun Azad in what she said was a clear attack on freedom of writing and expression. Wright took a swipe at the state-controlled BSS news agency for mass termination of journalists on political grounds. "Those who try to silence journalists must be held accountable," the CPJ emphasised in a statement. "Without justice ⊠the cycle of violence will continue, and so will Bangladesh's reputation as the most violent country in Asia for journalists," the organisation said.
Tipoo Sultan's been dead for 200 years. Have assaults on journalists been going on for that long? Or is there somebody running around thumping newsies who's also using Tipoo's name?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2004 01:02 ||
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An anti-terrorism court on Thursday gave five years imprisonment to three activists of a jihadi organisation for collecting donations for jihad. An Al-Bader leader requesting anonymity told Daily Times that Syed Khalid Raza, Abdus Salam and Shakirullah were arrested on Nov 22 last year in front of Masjid-i-Quba in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Block-7 where they were collecting donations. He said that Khalid Raza was the nazim of the Al-Bader Sindh chapter and was also the editor of the organisationâs monthly magazine Al-Bader. âOnce Mr Raza was an active worker of the Islami Jamiat Tulaba and Jamaat-e-Islami but when Al-Bader parted ways with the Jamaat-e-Islami he remained active on the Pasban platform,â he said. The source said that Mr Shakirullah was also associated with the monthly Al-Bader and was arrested near the organisationâs office. He said that Mr Shakirullah regularly prayed in Masjid-e-Quba and also delivered jihadi sermons
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
03/06/2004 12:52:14 AM ||
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Senator Lt General (r) Javed Ashraf Qazi said on Friday that banned outfit Jaish e-Muhammad was involved in the attempts on General Pervez Musharrafâs life.
So when's he going to wipe them out?
âWe must not be afraid of admitting that Jaish was involved in the deaths of thousands of innocent Kashmiris, bombing the Indian Parliament, Daniel Pearlâs murder and attempts on President Musharrafâs life,â said Senator Qazi, who is also former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general. Participating in the debate on President Musharrafâs address to the joint sitting of parliament, he said that the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi too was a product of hatred. âThey are producing zombies to kill their Muslim brothers,â he added.
I'd call 'em eye-rolling blood-thirsty nutbags, myself. But I guess I won't quibble...
He said the Kashmir freedom struggle was not the ISIâs handiwork. But Jaish and the Lashkar-e-Taiba had harmed the Kashmir struggle the most.
Nope. ISI couldn't have been involved. That's because... ummm... uhhh...
He said the intelligence agencies knew about 10,000 religious institutions which were inciting Shias and Sunnis against each other.
Posted by: Paul Moloney & Fred ||
03/06/2004 00:51 ||
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Apologies for the length
According to Indian intelligence assessments, Pakistanâs Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is actively trying to realize its plan for a sovereign Islamic state in Indiaâs northeast, with full support from fundamentalist elements within Bangladesh government, army, bureaucracy and intelligence. With the ceasefire on the Kashmir border, militant outfits are increasingly using Bangladesh as a training ground rather then Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to the sources. There are also reports that Pakistan nationals owing allegiance to different terrorist outfits have been using Dhaka as a transit point for entering India and Nepal, as well as an escape route. Delhi has on several occasions raised the issue with Bangladeshi authorities. But Dhaka has repeatedly denied all similar reports and statements made by Indian government officials.
Though ruling Indian politicians will not make an issue out of the alleged ISI activity for the next couple of months until general elections are over - the achievement of peace on the borders is a major poll plank for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - Asia Times Online has learnt that central as well as state intelligence officials are deeply concerned at the growing influence of the ISI at various levels in Bangladesh, and of the activities of a variety of secessionist militants and Islamic fundamentalists, many of whom have found refuge in Bangladesh. This has been particularly the case since the Bangladesh visit of Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf in July 2002, when additional ISI personnel were posted at the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka. The situation became even more favorable for the ISI after the assumption of power in October 2001 by the present four-party coalition led by Prime Minister Khaleda Ziaâs Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), with the help of pro-Pakistan fundamentalist elements.
Indiaâs seven northeast states are home to more than 200 different ethnic groups that include Christians, Hindus, animists, Muslims and even a tribe believed to be Jewish. More than 7,400 civilians, 2,100 security personnel and 4,500 alleged militants have died in a dozen ethnic and religious conflicts throughout the northeast since 1992. Asia Times Online has acquired a document prepared by a central security agency for top officials in the government. It makes the following points, inter alia:
The ISI has been instrumental, either directly or through the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka, to develop a nexus between Indian insurgent groups (IIGs), Islamic fundamentalists and criminal elements in Bangladesh. Besides assisting terrorists in the procurement of arms, ammunition and explosives, the ISI has been arranging meetings of terrorists of different hues to coordinate their activities. The ISI has also been helping IIGs in obtaining weapons and explosives from different places, including Thailand. The ISI has also been using the local media to generate anti-India sentiments. The editors of two newspapers, Prathan Alo and Itafaq, are said to be close to the ISI. The ISI has had a lucrative relationship with Dawood Ibrahim, so using other gangsters would be productive. The Indians have also made use of Bangladeshi gangsters in the past to assasinate various terrorist leaders.
The ISI has plans to appoint Pakistan nationals, trained as maulvis in madrassas and mosques in Bangladesh, particularly the ones that are situated on the India-Bangladesh border. They will also be used for a variety of anti-India activities. Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh, a constituent of the present government, reportedly issued in January 2002 instructions to its districts amirs to provided help and shelter to ISI operatives. Its plans include setting up jihadi training camps in Moulvi Bazar and Chittagong with an ISI controller in Coxâs Bazar. Much like the Saudis, the Pakistanis tend to train Deobandi Mullahs, even though most Pakistanis follow the moderate Brehvli sect. The Bangladesh branch of the JeI is totally subservient to the Pakistani branch, and always has been.
Top IIG leaders staying in Bangladesh, like Paresh Barua and Ranjan Daimary, have close links with the ISI. Others like Sashadhar Choudhary, ULFA, Julius Dorphang and Bobby Marwein (both HNLC), Dilash Marak and Jerome C Momin (both ANVC), Bishwamohan Debbarma (NLFT - National Liberation Front of Tripura ) and Ranjit Debbarma (ATTF - All Tripura Tiger Force ) are also known to have contact with the ISI through Bangladeshi security agencies. All of these men are Christians or Hindus BTW.
The interrogation of Asghar Ali (resident of Nalgonda, Andhra Pradesh), the person believed responsible for the killing of Haren Pandya, former Gujarat home minister, revealed that Indian Muslim youths were sent in December 2002 through Bangladesh to Pakistan for training. Qari Salim, an ISI operative and a Hizbul Mujahideen cadre who was arrested in Guwahati in 1999, had revealed that he had come via Bangladesh and was tasked to carry out sabotage on the Leh-Manali Highway. The persons involved in conspiracy of the hijacking of [flight] IC-814 from Kathmandu in December 1999 had used Bangladesh for their movement to India from Pakistan. Most of the training of Indian Muslims has been conducted by the Lashkar-e-Taiba, since the Wahabis have made inroads amongst some Indian Muslims after the massacres in Gujarat a couple years ago.
Another report submitted to top officials by Indian central and state intelligence agencies said earlier that Bangladeshâs soil was being used by at least 80 militant training camps run by "rabidly anti-Indian Islamic militant organizations". The report says that these training camps were set up by secessionist militant organizations like ULFA, NDFB and the NLFP and the Chakma National Liberation Front (CNLF), with the active support and patronage of the Bangladesh government. It is hardly any secret that the ISI has close links with Bangladeshâs Directorate General of Forcesâ Intelligence (DGFI) and operates openly and freely in that country. It not only helps coordinate the activities of al-Qaeda and fundamental Islamic militant groups like the HUJI, but actively assists, through organizations like the latter as well as the DGFI, secessionist outfits operating in northeast India. According to an intelligence report, HUJI, which is often called the Bangladeshi Taliban, and which has close links with al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, runs six training camps for ULFA terrorists in the Chittagong Hill Tracts across the border from Tripura in India. The DGFI is just like the ISI, an organisation riddled with extremists who are bitterly opposed to the liberals in Bangladesh, and have a symbiotic relationship with the Jihadis.
All this is believed to be part of the ISI pursuing the objective of creating a separate Islamic country. This has been known since at least August 8, 1999 when Assam police achieved a major breakthrough, busting an ISI network in the state, nabbing 31 people, including two ISI officers and 27 militants belonging to different Islamic militant outfits. The arrest led to the unearthing of an ISI design to convert Assam and some parts of its neighboring states, including Tripura, into a separate Islamic country. During interrogation, confessions were made that they had been sent by the ISI to carry out specific operations in the northeast. They also unveiled the plan of the ISI in the northeastern region, mainly in Assam. Its objectives were:
To raise a large group of Muslim youth fighters from Assam and launch a holy war to liberate Assam; establish an Islamic country comprising Assam and some parts of other northeastern states, including Tripura. To use ULFA and other militant groups to create large-scale disturbances in the entire region. To launch a two-pronged economic warfare by carting away money collected by the underground elements to Pakistan and by inundating the area with fake and counterfeit currency notes.To foment communal trouble in Assam by inciting innocent and law-abiding Muslim citizens. To introduce the business of narcotics and link it with terrorism as a source of self-financing for large-scale militant activities. (A narco-terrorist module captured from one ISI man arrested from Jalandhar in September 1999 also confirmed this report). Indian intelligence agencies believe that the northeast has become the new and safe destination, mainly due to a virtually open Bangladesh-Assam and Bangladesh-Tripura border and a favorable demographic pattern along the border villages. The present lull in militant activities on the Jammu and Kashmir border as also the need of the ruling politicians to keep quiet has come in handy for the ISI to intensify its activities in Bangladesh and on the Bangladesh-India border. The favorable demographic pattern refers to the millions of Bangladeshi migrants who have crossed the border with India, and who now make up a majority or a plurlity of the border districts. As a result, many small Jihadi groups have sprung up, although they have had little impact so far. Probably because most Bangladeshis are just looking for a better life rather than a war.
Anticipating allegations of harboring militants by New Delhi during the recent South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Islamabad, Dhaka cracked down on militants. Indian intelligence officials, who monitor Bangladesh, had told the Hindustan Times that they had credible information that the Bangladesh Rifles had seized a huge quantity of arms and ammunition - including anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, grenades and rocket-launchers - from two different places in the past 48 hours. The arms and ammunition belonged to the ULFA, the intelligence officials said. But it now seems that following the SAARC summit, Dhaka has resumed its quiet cooperation with the ISI and militant Islamic fundamentalists who are bent upon destabilizing the region, something that has the potential of emerging as a bigger headache for India than even Pakistan.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
03/06/2004 12:47:31 AM ||
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All of these men are Christians or Hindus BTW.
My guess is that the following are the B>Christians:
Sashadhar Choudhary,
Dilash Marak,
Bishwamohan Debbarma,and
Ranjit Debbarma,
... and the following are the Hindus:
Julius Dorphang,
Bobby Marwein, and
Jerome C Momin.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 19:19 Comments ||
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British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw toured an Islamic religious school in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, in an unusual trip to review government reforms at institutions long seen as breeding grounds for terrorists. Dozens of police lined the streets and sharpshooters prowled rooftops during Strawâs morning visit to Peshawar, 290 km from the capital, Islamabad. The city is the capital of a province run by a coalition of radical Islamic parties, and the tour is meant to foster better ties between the West and Islamic groups.
"Better" being a relative term...
Eighty students in white caps and turbans stood in two rows to formally receive Britainâs top diplomat, who is making his first trip to Pakistan in 15 months â a period during which Pakistan has stepped up efforts to hunt down Al-Qaeda and Taleban fugitives in its tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. Straw praised Pakistan for its efforts, describing terrorism as a scourge that hurts everyone regardless of where they live. âIn the fight against terrorism, we are all on the front lines,â he said in a speech at a local university.
Unfortunately, there are two sides to a line...
Pakistanâs army has deployed tens of thousands of troops and stepped up security in the regions near the Afghan border in an unprecedented drive to prevent terrorists from finding a safe haven on Pakistani soil. The operations are resented by some among the primitive fiercely independent tribal population â particularly after Pakistani forces opened fire on civilians traveling in a minibus that failed to stop at a checkpoint last weekend, killing 13 people. Straw backed Pakistanâs military operations in the volatile tribal regions â which are also a suspected hiding place for Osama Bin Laden. He declined to comment on the hunt for Bin Laden.
"Unlike some people, we try not to brag before we've accomplished something. Sometimes we don't brag afterward, too."
Many of Pakistanâs religious schools, known as madrassas, are considered key training grounds for militants, and some â particularly those around Peshawar â produced scholars who later became central figures in the Taliban movement. Straw tried yesterday to focus on promoting religious harmony. He noted that Muslims were predominantly the victims of suicide attacks earlier this week in Pakistan and Iraq. âThere could be no clearer proof that this terrorism has nothing to do with alleged division between Islam and the West,â he said. âTerrorists attack defenseless victims regardless of faith or nation.â
Except that the victims were Shiites. Qazi, Fazl, and Sami would be happy to see them declared non-Muslims, and hence fair game, like the Qadianis.
The students, for their part, seemed eager to show Straw their school and their educational system â particularly given the fact that foreign observers come rarely. âThere is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about Islam and the madrassas in the world and particularly in the West,â said one graduate student, Nawaz Ali. âItâs an opportunity for us that such a prominent Western personality is visiting us.â
"We should kill him!"
Under pressure to combat terrorism, Pakistan has strengthened its control of the countryâs 8,000 Islamic schools, requiring them to register before receiving public funds. If they fail to register, the schools could risk being shut down and fined.
But it's not much of a risk.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2004 00:44 ||
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He cannot even tell the difference between a chapter 6 and chapter 7 Security Council resolution.
So what is he going to understand about those reforms?
A disgraced al-Qaâeda insider has revealed that the worldâs most wanted man struggled to retain authority in his own home. Osama bin Ladenâs children mocked their despotic and obsessive father, secretly drinking Coca Cola and requiring bribes to memorise the Koran.
"Nope. I won't do it!"
"I'll give you a buck!"
"Two bucks!"
"Y'little brat! I oughta..."
This unprecedented picture of bin Laden as a frustrated family tyrant comes from a self-described al-Qaâeda "black sheep", Abdurahman Khadr. Abdurahman, 20, the son of a leading Canadian-Egyptian militant, was raised in al-Qaâedaâs inner circle. But he fell into disgrace for drinking, smoking and smuggling banned American films into the bin Laden family compound in Jalalabad, where his family lived for several years.
"Lookee here, Abdurahman, the infidels are gonna... [sniff!] Have you been drinking gin again?"
From his new home in Toronto, Abdurahman is now telling all about life with the worldâs most wanted man. He was released from the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay late last year. His 17-year-old brother Omar remains at Guantanamo, accused of involvement in the death of a US soldier in Afghanistan. Other members of the Khadr family live in Pakistan, where they remain loyal supporters of bin Laden. Abdurahman told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that bin Laden had "issues with his wife, and he has issues with his kids. You know, the kids arenât listening, the kids arenât doing this and that."
"He says to overthrow Soddy Arabia and they run off and attack Kyrgyzstan, that sort of thing. You know, the usual stuff kids do..."
The revelations would be a source of shame for the head of any traditional Arab family. They are an astonishing humiliation for a man supposed to be the "sheikh" and inspiration of a new world order, based on strict Islamic law. Bin Laden imposed endless restrictions on his family, especially his three wives and their daughters, trying to keep them from growing spoilt in case they needed to flee for a mountain hideout at short notice. Abdurahmanâs sister Zaynab, 23, interviewed by CBC in Pakistan, recalled: "He didnât allow them to drink cold water because he wanted them to be prepared [if] one day thereâs no cold water."
"... but he did let them bathe in it, alternate Saturdays."
She added: "He did not like to buy the American soft drinks, Coke and Pepsi and all that, but his kids sometimes would buy them." Bin Laden also banned ice. "People smuggled it in, but he forbad it," Abdurahman recalled. He quotes bin Laden ranting against electricity - "even later, when he knew they needed it".
"Bah! Back in my day, we didn't have electricity! We used to rub two camels together to get warm!"
Yet what his children wanted, they often got. "Their father promised them he would get them a horse if they memorised the Koran. So they were anxious to finish memorising it, which shows they were normal children." Bin Laden liked to play volleyball with his children, and take them shooting. "If he missed his [shot], theyâd laugh at him," said Zaynab. Behind such homely, almost comic details, horrors lurked. Abdurahmanâs father, killed in a shoot-out with Pakistani police last year, tried to persuade his son to be a suicide bomber on three separate occasions.
"Awww, c'mon, son! Just try the belt on for size! See if it's comfortable!"
The young man described celebrations at an al-Qaâeda guest house in Afghanistan when news broke of huge bomb blasts at the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998. "The leader of the guest house went outside and bought juice for everybody, jugs and jugs of juice. People were making jokes that we should do this more often."
That was just before Bill's missiles landed.
Abdurahman told CBC that he worked for the CIA while in Guantanamo and afterwards in Bosnia, where American agents wanted him to infiltrate jihadi recruitment efforts. But he took fright when the agency asked him to go into Iraq with al-Qaâeda volunteers. His admissions are an acute embarrassment for Canadian liberals, who adopted the Khadr family as a cause celebre when they were accused of terrorist links in the 1990s.
Cheeze. You'd think nobody ever lied to them before. But don't worry. The next bunch won't be lying through their teeth, we're sure.
In 1996, the then prime minister, Jean Chretien, intervened with Pakistani authorities to secure the release of Abdurahmanâs father, Ahmed Said Khadr. Mr Khadr strongly denied being a terrorist, saying he was a charity worker. "We are an al-Qaâeda family," Abdurahman told CBC this week. "My family in Pakistan will never admit this."
Posted by: tipper ||
03/06/2004 12:08:16 AM ||
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Mr Khadr strongly denied being a terrorist, saying he was a charity worker.
As Allan is my witness.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/06/2004 0:59 Comments ||
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Guantanamo....CIA recruitment. Makes perfect sense.
Posted by: john ||
03/06/2004 7:28 Comments ||
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He quotes bin Laden ranting against electricity - "even later, when he knew they needed it".
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