Saudi Arabia confirmed Wednesday that it was in talks with Russia over the possible purchase of Russian weapons for the first time and welcomed Moscow's offer to help it develop nuclear energy. "There are no obstacles to cooperation between the two countries in all fields pertaining to... armament and nuclear energy," Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Saudi Arabia.
Russia, Arms and Nuke energy in the same sentence bares watching
A SAUDI wing of al-Qaeda has called for attacks on US oil sources all over the world saying targets should not be limited to the Middle East. The threat appeared on the website of the al-Qaeda organisation in the Arabian Peninsula's e-magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Holy War), and listed Canada, Venezuela and Mexico as US oil suppliers.
"It is necessary to hit oil interests in all regions which serve the United States not just in the Middle East.
"The goal is to cut its supplies or reduce them through any means," it said.
Just kidding. Venezuela's been through enough with there own little tin-pot Marxist.
These sort of attacks would drive up prices at a time when both Venezuela and Iran are being hurt by Saudi Arabia opening up the oil floodgates. Coincidence?
#2
Problem is, most of the 'sources' are countries that need the money, so they have every incentive to be vigilant. An alQ hard boy getting caught trying to blow up a pipeline in Saoodi-controlled Arabia would certainly get a sword blade in the neck.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2007 18:38 Comments ||
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#3
Also on WORLDNEWS.com + REUTERS > CANADA, Land of No Guns + alleged Sleeper cells, given as example. *Yoohoo, CHAVEZ, also implies you as TARGET as well, espec once IRAN gets its ICBM's.
BRITAIN and SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH RUSSIA.
Britain's Serious Fraud Office said on Wednesday it had launched an investigation into alleged breaches of sanctions by British companies which were involved in the United Nations oil-for-food programme for Iraq. "(Some) 22 million pounds ($43 million) has been allocated for the investigation and if it goes to a prosecution we could be looking at three years or more," said a spokesman for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) who declined to name any company being examined.
The SFO has been doing preliminary work for the investigation since October 2005 when a U.N.-established independent inquiry reported on corruption in the Iraqi oil-for-food humanitarian programme that ran from 1996 to 2003. The U.N. investigation was led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker who found that more than half the companies doing business with Iraq wittingly or unwittingly fed Saddam Hussein's need for cash through straight bribes or surcharges on oil sales.
The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that drug companies AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline were among firms being investigated by the SFO.
"GSK denies any wrongdoing," it said in a statement, adding it had operated entirely within guidance from Britain's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). AstraZeneca said separately, "We deny any allegation of unethical behaviour on our part in our trading relationships with Iraq."
AstraZeneca also said a consignment of medicines requested by the Saddam government had been sent with all relevant United Nations permissions and DTI export licences in place. "Most of the consignment was delivered after the coalition forces of the United States and UK had taken control of the country," it said.
#1
Iraqi oil-for-food humanitarian programme that ran from 1996 to 2003
The UN food for peace workers were operating out of the old Canal Hotel in Baghdad prior to 1994. They were not chummy and rather secretive in their communications with the UNSCOM folks. We now know why.
#2
I want to rise an important, at least to me, point. If anybody here is going to post an article about a UN employee who's not a thief or a child molester, please post a warning with the title. There is a limit to the surprise I can take.
#3
It's awfully good of the Serious Fraud Office to finally take notice, after US prosecutors and a few special investigative journalists have been publically making the case for at least two years.
Ready, willing and able but in the dark. That describes the state of inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency as they scramble to find ways to enforce a deal committing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
The agreement reached Tuesday between the North and five negotiating partners reserves a key role for experts from the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear monitoring agency, who are also the world's eyes on Iran's atomic activities.
It commits North Korea to "invite back IAEA personnel to conduct all necessary monitoring and verification" involved in a commitment by Pyongyang to mothball and later dismantle its plutonium-producing nuclear facilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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You're wasting your time.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/14/2007 9:42 Comments ||
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#2
Go with a platoon of Marines, and you might get somewhere.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/14/2007 9:43 Comments ||
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Australia's opposition Labor leader Kevin Rudd, leading opinion polls ahead of an election this year, supports a staged withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq. Rudd said he would consult with U.S. leadership about the staged withdrawal of troops if he won power. Prime Minister John Howard has said Australian troops would stay in Iraq ``until the job is done''.
``A staged withdrawal is the way to incrementally apply pressure on the Iraqis to begin to fashion a political settlement,'' Rudd told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio today in Canberra. ``Howard's alternative strategy is business as usual: that's continuing four years of failure.''
Iraq has dominated Australian newspaper headlines after U.S. Senator Barack Obama criticized Howard for saying al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq were praying for the Illinois Democrat to triumph in next year's presidential election.
Rudd, 49, has challenged Howard, 67, to a national televised debate on Iraq and on Feb. 12 attempted and lost a vote of no confidence against the prime minister in parliament. ``Iraq is a rolled gold failure in which Howard has been the cheerleader in chief,'' Rudd said. ``A civil war in Iraq lies at the heart of this.''
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Meanwhile, an Aussie newspaper is reporting the announcement of a new U.S. base Down Under.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
02/14/2007 14:39 Comments ||
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European opposition to American efforts in Iraq is expressed in many little ways. For example, American transports flying badly wounded U.S. troops back to the United States, often ask European air controllers for a more direct flight path through European air space. This is in order to get the wounded soldier or marine to the American hospital more quickly. This is particularly useful when the aircraft have been turned into a flying ECU (Emergency Care Unit), and doctors are actually treating the seriously wounded in flight. The European air controllers rarely allow the direct flight. It would mean some more work for them, but saying "no" is another way to stick it to those bastards who removed Saddam Hussein from power, and continue to fight Iraqis who want to destroy democracy in Iraq. When the American medical flight reaches American air space, air controllers are quick to give the transports the shortest possible route to its destination. Some of these medical flights are non-stop from Iraq to Texas, where there are several major military hospitals. I assume this means the Casevac flights are flying through Turkey or Jordan/Israel, though the Mediterranean and Gibraltar then across the Atlantic vs. Turkey/Europe/Polar route.
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2007 13:38 ||
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This might sound naive, but why not have a couple of hospital ships parked in the gulf to take care of the troops and then they can be flown to the US when they are out of danger?
And what happened to the German airbase/hospital? If we aren't using that why do we have any assets in Europe still.
#2
Hospital ships would become choice targets of every jihadi with a death wish. Something about slaughtering the helpless gives allah a woodie. Wounded are stabilized in combat hospitals and flown out as soon as possible for further treatment. Less time in the air means fewer complications, pain and stress for the wounded.
During the Afghan campaign, media reports had casualties evacuated to Landstuhl Germany. That may still be the case with Landstuhl taking the Afghan (still a long flight) and European allied casualties with US hospitals taking Iraq casualties. Walter Reed most likely taking the majority. Those going to Texas are treated at Brooke Army Med Center, the premier burn center in the world.
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2007 15:56 Comments ||
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#3
P.S. If this story is true, what an incredibly petty and shitty thing to do.
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2007 15:57 Comments ||
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#4
And another nail in the coffin of the Euroweinies. The US will not come help them out of their own shit a third time.
#6
On hospital ships: an evac to a hospital ship might take longer than an evac to Germany, given the logistics. The military has become very efficient at moving serious casualties to Balad. They then load up a C-17 or C-141 and off they go. For a hospital ship in the Gulf you'd need to use helicopters -- slow, less efficient, and you'd have to transit through either Basra or Kuwait City.
I also agree with CL: some salt required here.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2007 18:35 Comments ||
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#7
When the bottom falls out for the Euroweenies, and they call for help, our phone should be off the hook. And, if we do decide to help them, the price will be that they will become submit to our control of their countries and government.
The European parliament has approved a damning report that criticised member states for turning a "blind eye" to alleged secret CIA flights used to transport terror suspects.
In approving the report Wednesday, which implicates 13 current EU member states including Britain, Germany and Sweden, the parliament also called for yet another an "independent inquiry" to be considered.
And if that inquiry turns up nothing there will be a call for another, and then another ...
The eurodeputies regretted "that European countries have been relinquishing their control over their airspace and airports by turning a blind eye or admitting flights operated by the CIA."
The deputies also urged the EU 27 to "put pressure on all the governments concerned to tell us what we want to hear give full and true information to the Council (of member states) and the (European) Commission and where necessary to start more loud hearings and commission an independent investigation to tell us what we want to hear without delay".
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2007 08:32 ||
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#1
Consider this comment a damning report on EU member states turning a "blind eye" to the greatest threat to global civilization since the Mongols.
#3
The Europeans have been relinquishing control over their ground space for the past 25 years, so why are they all of a sudden oh-so-sensitive about their AIR space?
Dutch anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders was quoted on Tuesday as urging Muslims to dump half the holy Quran and saying he would chase the Prophet Mohammad (PTUI PBUH) out of the country if he was alive today. Islam is a violent religion. If (Prophet) Mohammad (PTUI PBUH) lived here today I could imagine chasing him out of the country tarred and feathered as an extremist, Wilders told De Pers daily in an interview.
Wilders, who is seen as an heir to murdered populist Pim Fortuyn and whose new party won nine of 150 seats in parliament in November elections, has warned of a tsunami of Islamisation in a country home to 1 million Muslims. I know that were not going to have a Muslim majority in the next couple of decades, but it is growing.
You no longer feel that youre living in your own country. There is a battle under way and we must defend ourselves. There will soon be more mosques than churches here.
Wilders, who has lived under heavy guard since 2004 when a Dutch-Moroccan killed filmmaker and Islam critic Theo van Gogh, has campaigned to ban the Muslim veil, wants to freeze immigration and ban new mosques and religious schools. If Muslims want to stay here they must tear out half of the (holy) Quran and throw it away. They shouldnt listen to the imam. Ive read the (holy) Quran ... and I know that there are enough awful things in it, he said.
Nasr Joemann, secretary for the Contact Organisation for Muslims and government, said he would raise the demonisation of Islam with the new Dutch cabinet.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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demonisation of Islam
No need to demonize Islam. It is doing a pretty good job on its own.
James "Yusuf" Yee is optimistic about the Muslim community's progress in America, despite what he calls the widespread erosion of civil liberties in the nation.
Yee spoke to an audience of about 250 Tuesday night at the University of Florida. He told the story of his service in the U.S. Army as a Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, his 76-day detainment and eventual honorable discharge from the service. "What happened to me was a gross miscarriage of justice," he said.
Yee, a third-generation Chinese American and graduate of West Point Military Academy, rejoined the Army in January 2001 as a Muslim chaplain. After the attacks of Sept. 11, he said, Army leaders asked him to field soldiers' questions about the little-understood religion of Islam. "I received an extraordinary amount of recognition," he said. "Perhaps it was this recognition that got me hand-picked, selected, to be the Muslim chaplain in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."
When he arrived in 2002, he said there were about 660 prisoners, all of whom were Muslims. He ministered not only to the detainees, but also to American Muslim servicemen, many of whom were translators. Because he had unlimited access to the prisoners, he said he learned the methods of interrogation used against them. "Gitmo's secret weapon was the use of religion against these prisoners," he said.
Prisoners reported that naked female interrogators would rub against them, a strong violation of their conservative view toward relations between the sexes. He discusses this "secret weapon" in detail in his book "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire." Yee said prisoners protested the mistreatment of their holy text, the Quran, by mass suicide attempts and hunger strikes.
"I will confirm that the Quran was being desecrated, disrespected and abused by American personnel in Guantanamo," he said. He said guards would often shake the book violently and pull back the bindings to see if anything dangerous fell out. "But nothing dangerous ever fell out of the Quran," he said.
With two months left in his yearlong tour of duty, Yee was given a two-week leave. When he arrived at the Naval Air Station at Jacksonville, he was searched by customs agents, who promptly detained him. He later learned the agents were under the direction of the FBI.
He said the agents had no probable cause and therefore violated his Fourth Amendment right to freedom from searches. "I was arrested in secret," he said.
His wife, 4-year-old daughter and parents had no idea what happened to him, he said, until they saw a news story on the case almost a week later. For 76 days, he was held in solitary confinement in a consolidated naval brig in Charleston, S.C. While being transported to the naval brig, Yee said, he was subjected to sensory deprivation methods and shackled in a "three-piece suit" of chains.
At his pretrial hearing, he learned the charges against him included spying, espionage and aiding terrorists. He also learned the government "had not begun its review of the case" and did not present any evidence to support the charges. The charges were then dropped in favor of a lesser charge of mishandling classified information. Still, no evidence was presented.
Finally, in January 2005, Yee was granted an honorable discharge after all charges had been dropped. He denies doing anything illegal. In an interview before the speech, he said, "What happened to me is certainly an indication that our civil liberties are being eroded in this dangerous post-9-11 era."
He said he learned from a New York Times article that his bank account had been investigated during the FBI's investigation of him. He also said the government's use of wiretapping and investigating credit records without warrants or notification are examples of this "dangerous" trend.
The speech was co-sponsored by Accent Speakers Bureau and Islam on Campus, who paid Yee $3,500, including hotel, travel and food. Yaser Ali, vice president of Islam on Campus, said for the estimated 500 Muslim students on campus, "it is definitely a challenge to practice your faith in this environment."
He said airport travel is especially challenging. "I know whenever I fly," he said, "when they look at my name, they check me twice."
Despite his ordeal, Yee said he believes some sacrifices are made to further cultural acceptance. "In being an eternal optimist," he said, "I do see the Muslim community advancing in this country."
"I will confirm that the Quran was being desecrated, disrespected and abused by American personnel in Guantanamo," he said. He said guards would often shake the book violently and pull back the bindings to see if anything dangerous fell out. "But nothing dangerous ever fell out of the Quran," he said.
Except the words of the false prophet -- bees pee upon him.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/14/2007 9:51 Comments ||
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Wait, wait, wait.
The man was a soldier. He was an Army chaplain and a West Point grad. He did his job. He received an honorable discharge. There were allegations made against him, and as things turned out these really do seem to have been half-baked, schtoopid and ill-formed.
Now you can fairly go after him for his views, or the way he's parroting the NYT. But he was an honorable, US army soldier (unless and until someone proves differently), and I respect him for that, whatever his faith.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2007 10:36 Comments ||
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#4
LOL.
Prisoners reported that naked female interrogators would rub against them, a strong violation of their conservative view toward relations between the sexes. He discusses this "secret weapon" in detail in his book "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire." Yee said prisoners protested the mistreatment of their holy text, the Quran, by mass suicide attempts and hunger strikes.
Any mention of the attempts to kill or harm US soldiers guarding them?
#5
Since he has been discharged he has done more than parrot the NYTimes.
He has, I'm convinced, lied about the harshness of his own detainment, promolguted lies told by the detainees and failed to report misbehaviour of the detainees.
This makes me think that the charges against him, while not provable and probably exaggerated, had an element of truth.
#6
Steve White, what you say is true but for some reason I simply don't believe him.
I also think shaking the Koran and pulling the binding back to look for weapons are 'not abusive' and probably warranted.
I also think it's unlikely they'd get females to interogate naked. Would a woman volunteer? Would she be ordered to interogate naked? Even bringing in pros seems impossible in today's day and age.
Even if he's honorable I think he believes his fellow Muslims a little to quickly and is overly willing to take offense.
Headline doesn't match what Pace actually said, nor does the writer's attempted interpretation. Pace is trying to leave Iran's government an out.
A top U.S. general said Tuesday there was no evidence the Iranian government was supplying Iraqi insurgents with highly lethal roadside bombs, apparently contradicting claims by other U.S. military and administration officials.
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces hunting down militant networks that produced roadside bombs had arrested Iranians and that some of the material used in the devices were made in Iran. That does not translate that the Iranian government per se, for sure, is directly involved in doing this, Pace told reporters in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. What it does say is that things made in Iran are being used in Iraq to kill coalition soldiers.
His remarks might raise questions on the credibility of the claims of high-level Iranian involvement, especially following the faulty U.S. intelligence that was used to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Three senior military officials in Baghdad said Sunday that the highest levels of Iranian government were responsible for arming Shiite militants in Iraq with the bombs, blamed for the deaths of more than 170 U.S. troops. Asked Monday directly if the White House was confident that the weaponry is coming on the approval of the Iranian government, spokesman Tony Snow said, Yes.
Iran on Monday denied any involvement.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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That does not translate that the Iranian government per se, for sure, is directly involved in doing this, Pace told reporters in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. What it does say is that things made in Iran are being used in Iraq to kill coalition soldiers.
Wahahahaha... "per se, fir sure" "things made in Iran" ...could be angry Hoosiers from New Harmony, who knows? What a load of rubbish. He missed his true calling, should have been a lawyer.
#3
He is making a power play since he thinks the Democrats will win the white house, or he is incredibly fucking stupid.
It is called a shadow/unconventional war by Iran on us for a reason. Kinda like how Soviet and Chinese made material ended up in North Vietnam, but those governments were not really directly involved.
General, there are times you just need to stay away from the press and stop causing the enemy to think it is ok to keep killing our boys. Asshat.
#6
I understand General Pace's point, but he is showing a degree of nuance usually only found in junior senators from Massachusetts.
If we discovered Australian made equipment in the hands of the insurgents, none of us would think Howard's government was playing both sides of the fence. But for pete's sake, these are the Iranians we are talking about, the Terrorist's Home Depot.
Posted by: BA ||
02/14/2007 13:16 Comments ||
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#8
Ah! Didn't see the Steyr comment, but it proves the same thing. General Pace is being obtuse suggesting that point of orgin of Iranian equipment is not necessarily an indictment of the Iranian govt.
#9
Okay folks, it's time. Austria has forefeit it's right for self namen. I propose it be called Very Lower Bavaria . This name change will save 12 Millions of Euro Pounds and allow the AirShip Industry to Thrive. Thousands and thousands of jobs will be created in this manner using surplus stolen underwear.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Army and Marine Corps are letting in more recruits with criminal records, including some with felony convictions, reflecting the increased pressure of five years of war and its mounting casualties.
According to data compiled by the Defense Department, the number of Army and Marine recruits needing waivers for felonies and serious misdemeanors, including minor drug offenses, has grown since 2003. The Army granted more than double the number of waivers for felonies and misdemeanors in 2006 than it did in 2003. Some recruits may get more than one waiver.
The military routinely grants waivers to admit recruits who have criminal records, medical problems or low aptitude scores that would otherwise disqualify them from service. Overall the majority are moral waivers, which include some felonies, misdemeanors, and traffic and drug offenses.
The number of felony waivers granted by the Army grew from 411 in 2003 to 901 in 2006, according to the Pentagon, or about one in 10 of the moral waivers approved that year. Other misdemeanors, which could be petty theft, writing a bad check or some assaults, jumped from about 2,700 to more than 6,000 in 2006. The minor crimes represented more than three-quarters of the moral waivers granted by the Army in 2006, up from more than half in 2003.
The goal for Army recruiting is about 80,000 per year into active service and 25,000 into the Reserves.
Army and Defense Department officials defended the waiver program as a way to admit young people who may have made a mistake early in life but have overcome past behavior. And they said about two-thirds of the waivers granted by the Marines are for drug use, because they - unlike the other services - require a waiver if someone has been convicted once for marijuana use.
Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Tuesday he is concerned because the Pentagon data differs from Army numbers. But overall, he said, ``anything that is considered a risk or a serious infraction of the law is given the highest level of review.''
``Our goal is to make certain that we recruit quality young men and women who can keep America defended against its enemies,'' Boyce said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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If a nice young man made a mistake and is now a good guy, let him serve. If the young man is incorrigible, let him send an 8 x 10 glossy to Hillary's campaign and apply for a job.
#3
...The routine on this when I was recruiting was that if you had made a mistake and could show A Blameless Life(TM) afterwards and get statements to that fact from people of good character (almost without exception needed to be former military, men of the cloth, or politicians of whatever stripe)you were going to get in. We had one kid who had been tried - and acquitted - of murder two get in, and this was 15 years ago during the drawdown.
One interesting thing I notice in the story is that it mentions 'felonies' - strictly by the book, you can ASK for a felony waiver. As a matter of routine though, a felony conviction disqualifies you from almost every job in the military and definitely keeps you out of anything even remotely resembling a combat job. My guess is those 901 felony waivers were for people who had been charged with a felony (just having been charged requires a waiver even if charges were lowered, dropped, or dismissed) or been acquitted of one - again, even though you were found not guilty, it still needs a waiver.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/14/2007 6:34 Comments ||
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#4
It also obscures what a felony is these days. We've hiked up penalties in certain offenses like DWI with the second being a felony rather than misdemeanor judgment. So, should a second DWI keep you out of the military [which by the way is no slouch when dealing with alcohol these days - iirc both Iraq and Afghanistan are 'dry' tours]?
Your MSM - fast and loose with the facts. We don't need no stinking facts. It's the greater picture that is important.
#5
Procopius-
I had forgotten about the change in DWI laws over the last decade and a half. That right there could probably account for most, if not all of the jump.
And you're right; the MSM definitely didn't let the facts get in the way of the story.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/14/2007 9:55 Comments ||
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#6
..And forgot one other thing - remember what I said about any felony conviction being enough to keep you out of a combat job or anything that requires a secret clearance or higher. That definitely hasn't changed, but keep in mind that the military has had no problems at all filling combat slots. Where they have problems are the support jobs (admin, cook, services), and that's where these people would be going.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/14/2007 9:58 Comments ||
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#7
Did anyone read Col. Hackworth's book ?
He was a felon and falsified documents, but he had a splendid military career, and was decorated for various actions above the call.
I've read all of Col. Hackworth's books, and had the opportunity to correspond with him on several occasions - his problem was that he had an ego the size of Mount Rushmore, and when he decided to break with the US Army on Vietnam, he did have those falsifications waiting to pound on him.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/14/2007 10:23 Comments ||
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#9
(raising hand) I had to get a waiver to join in 1980 BFD. There are MANY ways to have a brush with the law that don't make you a bad person overall. Actually from my experience I can honestly say that there are very few saints in the military but there are a lot of good people serving. A matter of fact one of my Operations Officer once told me how his first job was as a parking valet for a mob hangout in Chicago. I doubt that was on his Air Force Academy application but it makes for a good story over beers.
#10
The Army and Marine Corps are letting in more recruits with criminal records, including some with felony convictions, reflecting the increased pressure of five years of war and its mounting casualties.
Only the Guardian (well, o.k., maybe NYT too) could report that as "news" above. "Mounting Casualties"? Jeebus, man, we've lost in 5+ years the amount we lost in HOURS on 1 day in September. And, then, you hype the RATE doubling, but the total #s (400+ to 900+) are miniscule compared to the #s in and out of the military even on a quarterly basis. I'm really coming to the conclusion that the MSM is gonna have to be "dealt with" before we can really win this war.
Posted by: BA ||
02/14/2007 13:14 Comments ||
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The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) on Tuesday withdrew its decision to resign from the National Assembly, and unanimously elected Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rehman president and secretary general of the six-party religious alliance for another two years.
The party also decided to end its boycott of the National Assembly. After a lengthy debate on the issue, the MMA central council decided to withdraw its decision of parliamentary resignations, MMA Deputy Secretary General Liaquat Baloch told a press conference at Qazi Hussain Ahmeds residence. The Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan wanted to go ahead with parliamentary resignations in protest at the Womens Protection Act, but the other parties Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Senior and Pakistan Islami Tehrik opposed this decision, said Baloch.
However, he said that the option of parliamentary resignations would remain open, and the MMA would quit if all other opposition parties went for en-bloc resignations from the NA in the future. He said that the council was of the view that the current situation at the national and international levels was dangerous, therefore the MMA should not resign. Baloch said a meeting of the MMA parliamentary party would be held at Parliament House today. He said that the elections for the MMAs central offices had also been completed, and Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rehman had been unanimously elected president and secretary general of the alliance.
This article starring:
LIAQUAT BALOCH
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
MAULANA FAZLUR REHMAN
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
QAZI HUSEIN AHMED
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Two U.S. legislators asked Cyprus on Tuesday to extradite Benon Sevan, a former U.N. official charged with accepting a bribe in connection with the oil-for-food program for Iraq. Sevan, 69, the former head of the now-defunct $64 billion program is the only U.N. official charged by U.S. federal prosecutors for wrongdoing in the oil-for-food plan. He is accused of receiving some $160,000 through an intermediary. But as recently as last week, a Cypriot government official said in Nicosia said there had been no request for Sevan's extradition and that the island had laws prohibiting extradition of its nationals to third countries.
The two lawmakers were Rep. Tom Lantos, a California Democratic who chairs the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and the committee's ranking Republican, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. In a letter to Andreas Kakouri, the Cypriot ambassador in the United States, e-mailed to reporters, the members of Congress said Cyprus' membership in the European Union was seen as "heralding a new era of international cooperation by your country."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Some numbers
But there's some odd aspects to the movement of these refugees. Since they're mostly Sunni, it's reasonable that none are going to Iran, and equally reasonable that lots are going to Jordan. But some two-thirds of the 1.7 million Sunni Arabs who have fled the country have ended up in Syria. While Syria is largely Sunni Arab, the country is run by the Shia Alawites, who are close allies with Iran. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, which may be covertly backing some of the Sunni militias in Iraq, hasn't admitted any, at least officially. About half the 3.4 million Iraqi Sunni Arab refugees have fled to other parts of Iraq, and many are expected to eventually flee the country.
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2007 13:34 ||
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Title should be: StrategyPage Iraq: The Chickens Come Home to Roost
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2007 13:45 Comments ||
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A Shiite militant group has issued a video of an Iraqi-American soldier who was kidnapped nearly four months ago while visiting his wife in downtown Baghdad, an American television network reported Wednesday.
...
The video was broadcast by CNN and it was unclear when it was made. Al-Taayie's uncle identified him from the video, the network said. The video did not immediately turn up in an Associated Press search of militant Web sites.
...
Al-Taayie's uncle, Entifadh Qanbar, said at the time that he believed his nephew's abductors belong to a "well organized" rogue cell from the Shiite Mahdi Army militia of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. He said he had received through an intermediary a demand of $250,000 from the kidnappers. He had in turn demanded proof that his nephew was alive and well before entering negotiations.
The U.S. military said at the time that there was "an ongoing dialogue" to win al-Taayie's release but didn't say with whom or at what level.
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2007 08:27 ||
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...If we were smart, the ongoing dialogue would consist of, "Come back now and we send you home, no questions asked."
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/14/2007 9:16 Comments ||
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No wonder Maliki stopped American troops blockading and searching in the area immediately following the kidnapping. He was protecting his own.
Dems Promise to Continue to War against the War
WASHINGTON - House Republicans are pulling out all the stops to win over GOP colleagues who may be wavering on whether to publicly rebuke President Bush's decision to send more troops into Iraq. In daylong debate Tuesday, Republicans used emotional pleas from former prisoners of war, political talking points on religious extremism and even Arab ambassadors to rail against a Democratic attempt to put Congress on record against the troop buildup.
"If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose," Reps. Peter Hoekstra R-Mich., and John Shadegg, R-Ariz., said in a letter to their GOP colleagues. "Rather, the debate must be about the global threat of the radical Islamist movement," they wrote.
The long-awaited floor debate on Iraq is the first since Democrats took control of Congress in the November midterm elections. It also comes as the war approaches the four-year mark with more than 3,100 U.S. troops dead. Democrats made clear the nonbinding resolution was the beginning of a longer campaign to bring the Iraq war to an end. "A vote of disapproval will set the stage for additional Iraq legislation, which will be coming to the House floor," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Several Republicans concerned or opposed to the troop buildup, including Reps. Walter Jones of North Carolina and Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland, were expected to speak on the issue during continuing floor debate Wednesday. Jones is the lone Republican co-sponsoring the Democratic resolution, which expresses support for U.S. troops in Iraq and opposition to sending in another 20,000-plus. Several Republicans were expected to jump ship and support the resolution, and Republican leaders acknowledged they were likely to lose the vote, which is expected Friday.
Minority Leader John Boehner said Republicans were determined not to lose the broader debate on the war. "Because they cannot defeat Americans on the battlefield, al-Qaida and terrorist sympathizers around the world are trying to divide us here at home," said Boehner, R-Ohio. "Over the next few days, we have an opportunity to show our enemies that we will not take the bait."
At a news conference, Boehner began tearing up as he listened to Rep. Sam Johnson (news, bio, voting record) describe his experience as a prisoner of war for seven years in Vietnam. "Words can't fully describe the unspeakable damage of the anti-American efforts against the war back home to the guys on the ground" in Vietnam, said Johnson, R-Texas, who was released 34 years ago on Tuesday.
Democrats had their own heavyweights when playing the military card, including Rep. Joe Sestak, a retired three-star Navy admiral. Sestak, who won his seat in November by campaigning against the war, said it would be unpatriotic to remain silent on the issue. "If my 31 years in the military taught me anything, it was that we serve in this all-volunteer military to defend Americans' freedom to think as they please and to say what they think, even if they disagree with their leaders," Sestak said.
Republicans also offered members a chance to hear from the ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar. Nearly three dozen GOP members attended a Jan. 30 off-the-record briefing, hosted by Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., with the ambassadors. On Tuesday, an estimated 50 Republicans attended another briefing, hosted by Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J. According to lawmakers and aides, the ambassadors told members a precipitous U.S. withdrawal would be disastrous.
The effort came as several GOP members strayed from the party line. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., who previously has supported Bush on the war, said he is concerned the president's plan won't work. But, he added, he is also concerned the resolution will be interpreted as a statement that Iraq is a lost cause. "This vote may be very much like asking a husband when he stopped beating his wife," he said. The issue of the war is "really much more complex."
Across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would attempt to pass an identical measure later this month. Republicans blocked debate on a different proposal critical of the troop increase earlier this winter, after Democrats refused to give equal treatment to a GOP-backed alternative.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/14/2007 06:37 ||
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At this point the damage(encouraging enemies, etc.) has already been done, so the more time they spend debating it, the less time they will have available to come up with new ways to damage America.
So much damage has been done already by the Democrats and their cronies in the media that I don't think even a miracle could repair it, and it's already reached the level where it will inevitably prove fatal to the Administration's "Arab/Islamic Democracy" enterprise. The Bush Doctrine is finished, and it only awaits his departure on January 20, 2009 to breathe its last gasp. No future American President-- not in our lifetimes, anyway, and perhaps not even in our children's-- is going to risk the political Hell that Bush has been put through by repeating his efforts anywhere else. No more Middle East democracy. No more pre-emptive wars. None.
At this point I doubt anyone-- allies and enemies alike-- has much respect for America's resolve; not even in the face of the unprecedented attacks on 9/11. Our allies have got to be having grave doubts about our steadfastness, and our enemies are certainly convinced of our wobbliness.
And at this point, I don't think there's a damn thing GWB can do about it.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/14/2007 8:00 Comments ||
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As little resolve as much (most?) of America has, our allies (France, Germany, Italy etc.) have far less.
#6
DEBKA > DUBYA > IFF WE FAIL IN IRAQ, THE ENEMY WILL FOLLOW US HERE [to America = CONUS = NORAM = BACKYARD + APPLE PIE + PET DOGGY].
Also, DEFENCENEWS > Panel warns of Pacific Threat, i.e. USA-Allies becomes so focused on ME they fergit about Asia-Pacific. E.g. WORLDNEWS/
OTHER > PHILIPPINES > Islamist rebels in South mostly defeated or contained, COMMIE REBELS in North still potent. ME-/GULFNEWS > Sunni Arab nations in south don't like Israel, but also don't like = trust Iran having nukes. IRAN TRUSTED LESS THAN ISRAEL. Sunni Arab Gubmints want Nuke missles/nuc weapons andor local BMD. systems.
#7
Lest our Pols fergit, Russia-China are becoming more closely integrated, both politically and economically. Some pro-Russia andor Pro-Chicom Netters depict ps'ed MAPS WHICH SHOW ALL OF WESTERN-CENTRAL EUROPE [includ INDIA] AS PART OF RUSSIA-CHINA DOMINATED, PAN-COMMIE SOCIALIST EURASIA. WOT > may be currently fought in Iraq-ME, BUT IS VERY MUCH WAR FOR THE WORLD, NOT MERELY ONE NATION OR TWO, NOT ONLY ONE REGION OR TWO. The Failed-Angry Left long ago decided they'll risk destroying the entire world in order to voluntarily = forcibly induce America under anti-US OWG and anti-US SWO/CWO/LWO, by any means necessary.
#8
IFF WE FAIL IN IRAQ, THE ENEMY WILL FOLLOW US HERE
You have it pegged Joe. And I think that is exactly what the marxist left and their MSM allies want - a real crisis here right here at home in the 'heartland' that they can A) blame on the conservatives (i.e. Bush and Co. "why didn't they stop it in Iraq when they had the chance?") and B) use to implement their socialist agenda.
Saddam Hussein's deputy, who faces death by hanging for his role in the killing of Shi'ite Muslims, urged young members of the insurgency in Iraq to continue their fight against the country's occupiers, his lawyer said Tuesday. An Iraqi court on Monday raised the sentence against Taha Yassin Ramadan to death by hanging after he was convicted in the killings of Shi'ites in the Iraqi town of Dujail. The decision had been expected after an appeals court ruled that Ramadan's previous sentence of life in prison was too lenient.
This article starring:
TAHA YASIN RAMADAN
Iraqi Insurgency
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Since his lawyer is willing to aid and abet the terrorists by encouraging the fight, maybe the Iraqis ought to hang him, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/14/2007 0:13 Comments ||
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RIYADH - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari reopened his countrys embassy in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after 17 years and said the two countries needed to improve joint efforts to fight Islamist militants. This will be an important step in improving relations between the two countries, Zebari told a gathering of Saudi officials and foreign diplomats at the reopening of the embassy closed in 1990 after Saddam Husseins Iraq invaded Kuwait.
Saudi Arabia has stood by the Iraqi people and the national reconciliation to create safety and security.
I think 'stood by' means something different than he thinks it means.
Iraq has had a charge daffaires in Riyadh since November 2005 after the US-led war to topple Saddam in 2003, but a new ambassador has yet to be named. Saudi Arabia has no embassy in Baghdad, where the deteriorating security has limited the Arab diplomatic presence.
Zebari told reporters he had talks earlier with Saudi officials that touched on Saudi militants who have gone to Iraq to join the insurgents fighting the Iraqi government. There are citizens from the kingdom who take part in activities and acts, there are detainees. There is a need for more exchange of security information on these groups, he said. We have people on the kingdoms wanted lists (of militant suspects), but because of the lack of channels of communication its been difficult to deal with this and help each other.
"If you guys don't know who they are and where they came from, perhaps you won't mind if we just kill them."
Estimates of the number of Saudis who have gone to Iraq to fight with Islamist insurgents under the banner of al Qaeda range from several hundred to several thousand.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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A Bush administration request for $86 million in U.S. funds to help train and equip Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces is being blocked by a U.S. lawmaker who has concerns about how the money might be used. "Early last week, I placed a hold on the $86 million," Rep. Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat, told Reuters on Tuesday. "It is imperative that we have a fuller understanding of exactly what the funding is for and what the situation is on the ground," said Lowey, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, which controls U.S. funding for domestic and foreign projects.
While Lowey said she had acted to hold up the money before last week's deal between Abbas and Hamas leaders to form a unity government, that agreement "raised additional questions." Lowey said she has asked the State Department to provide more information on how the $86 million would be used.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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What in blazes is this country coming to? Who in their right mind would give these people ANY $$?
Posted by: Dave S ||
02/14/2007 1:25 Comments ||
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I'd be willing to shovel barrows of money into the HamFat conflict, but that is only because I take a perverse delight in that sort of red-on-red squabbling. I know it's wrong - no man is an island, every man's death diminishes me - aw, who am I kidding. Hey, let's you and him fight!
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/14/2007 6:21 Comments ||
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Geez Louise. These dunderheads don't understand anything.
Dear Ms Lowey, if we give them $86M to tend their duckies and chickies THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO SPEND ANYWAY then they can spend their own $86M for nefarious purposes...it's called fungibility.
GAZA - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his Hamas-led terrorist cabinet will resign in the next two days to make way for a unity government with the rival Fatah faction, a government official said on Tuesday. The prime minister will submit his cabinets resignation within two days so that he can begin constitutional measures to form the unity government, the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
Haniyeh is expected to lead the new government, according to the terms of a deal agreed between Hamas and Fatah in Saudi Arabia last week which aimed to end factional warfare in Gaza and ease an economic embargo on the Palestinian Authority. Haniyeh earlier said it was too soon to say when he will resign, and officials said he and ineffectual President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah still had to finalise issues from the Saudi-brokered deal including naming an interior minister and deputy prime minister.
Haniyeh met leaders of 13 Palestinian factions on Tuesday, seeking to win support for the power-sharing deal with Abbas. Constitutional measures will begin to implement the agreement on the ground, said Palestinian cabinet spokesman Ghazi Hamad after the meeting. There are consultations between President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. We are working speedily and we do not want to waste any time, he said, adding the two men could meet in the next two days.
Anyone think the Trucefire is going to last that long?
Abbas and Hamas have also still to settle their blood feud differences over the fate of Hamass 5,600-member executive gunnies police force. Fatah is pushing for the hard boyz force to be killed broken up, whereas Hamas wants to wipe out Fatah keep the force together.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Yes I think Trucefire will last at least 2 more days. It might end Friday at mid afternoon prayers if some Hamas Imans feel inclined to call for an anti Fatah desecularization action or it will last until some big money that was supposed to be distributed to PA chiefs doesn't come in.
AMMAN - Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the last leg of a Middle East tour of three US allies, will meet Jordans King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday in a clear show of Russias regional ambitions.
Earlier, in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Putin suggested Russian foreign policy offered an alternative to US unilateralism in the search for a solution to the Middle East problems. He also called for cooperation among the worlds key energy exporters.
Sorta like the way the Russians 'cooperated' with Belarus, Ukraine and Georgia.
We are striving to create a fairer world order based on principles of equality, Putin told a business forum in Riyadh.
With the Russians as the first amongst equals, of course, just like it was back in the days of the Comintern ...
This is a course Russia conducts everywhere including the spacious Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf, he added. Time has shown our views find support in Arab and other Muslim states.
Just as it was back in the days when the Soviets were exporting MiG-17s and T-55s to all the best Arab states.
Russia, a member of the Middle East Quartet also including the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, will renew efforts to call a broad regional conference, Putin said in Qatar. He appeared to be referring to Moscows plan to engage Syria and Iran so far rejected by the Western partners.
RIA news agency quoted Putins top foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko as saying a three-way meeting between Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice due on Feb. 18 would be discussed when Putin met Abbas.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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PRAVDA > Putin is FDR, Russia is = America of 1920's and 1930's, Putin = FDR deserving of a THIRD AND FOURTH TERM. *No references to MUNICH, PARTITION OF POLAND, NON-AGGRESSION PACT, FALL OF FRANCE + "SITZKRIEG", the "Blitz", and espec PEARL HARBOR or WORD WAR during FDR's last two terms.
LUCIANNE > Russia, China + India meet to discuss "fairer world order" vv USA.
This was dated from Monday, but I went to archives and didn't see it from Monday or yesterday, mods.
SAN DIEGO - Dozens of dolphins and sea lions trained to detect and apprehend waterborne attackers could be sent to patrol a military base in Washington state, the Navy said Monday. In a notice published in this week's Federal Register, the Navy said it needs to bolster security at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, on the Puget Sound close to Seattle. Listen, I'm all for gov't accountability and all, but this has to be posted in the FR? Is that not some sort of OpSec issue?
The base is home to submarines, ships and laboratories and is potentially vulnerable to attack by terrorist swimmers and scuba divers, the notice states. Nah, swimming is forbidden by Allan. Unless, of course you intend to take over a public pool and refuse mens and infidels from swimming there.
Several options are under consideration, but the preferred plan would be to send as many as 30 California sea lions and Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins from the Navy's Marine Mammal Program, based in San Diego. PETA protest in 3, 2, 1...
"These animals have the capabilities for what needs to be done for this particular mission," said Tom LaPuzza, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Program.
LaPuzza said that because of their astonishing sonar abilities, dolphins are excellent at patrolling for swimmers and divers. When a Navy dolphin detects a person in the water, it drops a beacon. This tells a human interception team where to find the suspicious swimmer.
Dolphins also are trained to detect underwater mines; they were sent to do this in the Iraqi harbor of Umm Qasr in 2003. The last time the animals were used operationally in San Diego was in 1996, when they patrolled the bay during the Republican National Convention. Not only infidel dolphins, but Republicans to boot? Is there no stopping the evil Bushitler and his Halliburton buddies?
Sea lions can carry in their mouths special cuffs attached to long ropes. If the animal finds a rogue swimmer, it can clamp the cuff around the person's leg. The individual can then be reeled in for questioning. What is exactly is the catch limit on jihadis in Washington State? And, is "fishing" season open year round?
The Navy is seeking public comment for an environmental impact statement on the proposal. More about the EIS at linky, along with some lovely quotes from the PETA director. The mind boggles that we have to get "public input" on something like this.
Posted by: BA ||
02/14/2007 08:40 ||
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Screw the dolphins and sea lions. I want sharks with laser beams!
Posted by: Steve ||
02/14/2007 11:21 Comments ||
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In light of the highly successful operation on the New Orleans levies they are clearly ready for action. Operation Flipper Engage!
#3
Perhaps the cuffs could be fitted with grenades?
Please...
Posted by: DanNY ||
02/14/2007 12:31 Comments ||
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#4
Time for David Brin to write a prequel to his Uplift books.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
02/14/2007 13:50 Comments ||
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#5
Sea lions can carry in their mouths special cuffs attached to long ropes. If the animal finds a rogue swimmer, it can clamp the cuff around the person's leg.
I'm impressed.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
02/14/2007 14:05 Comments ||
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And only 4 times out of 10, the sea lion rips the limb off and eats it. The Navy considered more training but finally said, "Aw screw it, we save on fish."
Lebanon's majority leaders told a sea of supporters marking the second anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination in Beirut that agreeing on the international tribunal to try his murderers is the only gateway to dialogue and unity. Hundreds of thousands of March 14 supporters streamed from north, east, central and south Lebanon to Martyrs' Square in cars, busses, and boats raising Lebanese flags and chanting slogans against Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The March 14 majority coalition accuses the Assad regime of masterminding the Hariri assassination on Feb. 14 2005 and the serial assassinations, the latest of which killed three civilians and wounded 23 in a twin bombing that targeted commuting buses northeast of Beirut on Tuesday.
Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea said the international tribunal, which Syria reportedly rejects, "will certainly be created." He stressed that "whoever fights against what is right will be knocked out The international tribunal will certainly be created."
Geagea escalated the confrontation with Hizbullah pledging that "henceforth, we will not accept any weapons outside the Lebanese army's frame of control...The Lebanese army is the resistance, the Lebanese government is the resistance, the Lebanese people is the resistance." Geagea's words drew thundering chants of support that echoed across the whole of Beirut and reached the ears of protestors taking part in a Hizbullah-led sit in at the nearby Riad Solh Square since Dec. 1 with the declared objective of toppling Premier Fouad Saniora's majority government.
Addressing President Emile Lahoud, whose term in office was extended for three years under Syrian pressure in 2004, Geagea said: "History has settled its account with any tyrant at the end (of your term) you will go away to history's garbage dump."
At 12:55 p.m., the exact time of the one-ton explosion that killed Hariri two years ago, an angry crowd fell silent as church bells tolled and mosque minarets blared Allah Akbar chants.
Progressive Socialist Party Leader Walid Jumblat stressed in his address that the year 2007 will see the creation of the international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri murder and related crimes. "We will not surrender to terrorism and to authoritarian parties, be they Syrian or otherwise," Jumblat said as the crowd applauded and shouted slogans attacking Assad, his regime and his Lebanese allies in the Hizbullah-led opposition.
Addressing Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah without mentioning him by name, Jumblat said: "Give the weapons to the Lebanese army and the hay to your allies." He was referring to Hizbullah weapons confiscated last week concealed in a truck loaded with hay.
The government delivered the weapons to the Lebanese army in south Lebanon, ignoring calls by Hizbullah which claims the weapons are needed by its resistance arm. Jumblat stressed that "from now on there will be no weapons except what is controlled by the Lebanese army." He was obviously escalating calls to disarm Hizbullah.
Jumblat also stressed that "we adhere to international (U.N. Security Council) resolutions. All international resolutions," in reference to resolution 1559 which was adopted in the year 2004 and called for disbanding and disarming all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, a reference to Hizbullah and pro-Syrian Palestinian factions operating in Lebanon. Jumblat launched a vehement attack on Assad terming him "a snake .. a beast .. an Israeli product .. a liar .. a criminal."
"This year will witness the creation of the international tribunal, justice will be served and the punishment will be a death sentence," Jumblat pledged.
Our intelligence sources reveal that Monday, Feb. 12, the six-point proposal secret Swiss emissaries delivered to the Iranian government ten days ago was accepted.
Its six points are revealed here for the first time:
1. Iran will be allowed to produce a predetermined quota of enriched uranium against its pledge not to exceed this limit or produce it up to weapons grade.
2. International nuclear IAEA inspections will be expanded to encompass nuclear weaponization activity.
3. In return for Tehrans acceptance of 1.and 2., the IAEA will supply Iran with advanced nuclear technology and Russia will release nuclear fuel rods to power its Bushehr atomic reactor.
4. UN Security Council sanctions against Iran will not be stiffened.
5. The US and Europe will promise to desist from any military attack on Iran.
6. America and Europe will close down their clandestine support programs for Irans disaffected minorities, such as the Arabs of Khuzistan and the Kurds.
DEBKAfiles sources report that the Swiss go-betweens were received by aides of former president Hashem Rafsanjani, whose word as one of supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei s closest advisers counts for much in the Iranian capital. Those aides, according to Swiss sources, were more than interested in the proposal and intimated that if Washington could be won over negotiations could go forward to solve the controversy over Irans nuclear program.
They also disclose that the Swiss diplomats who brought the proposal to Tehran had also involved themselves in mediation efforts in the past two years to persuade Syrian president Bashar Assad and Hamas leaders in Damascus to agree to talks with Israel. Israel rejected both initiatives.
Bush administration officials suspect that the outgoing French president Jacques Chirac is quietly sponsoring the Bern governments initiative.
Our Iranian sources disclose Tehran attaches high hopes to the Swiss plan. The two sides are working on a non-paper which European Unions foreign policy executive Javier Solana will be asked to present in Washington. Chirac would do anything, ANYTHING, to tear the US down in the world.
#2
No wonder Iran would support this. This isn't an agreement, its the west surrendering. Europe always manages to find a way to surrender.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
02/14/2007 1:09 Comments ||
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So we "promise" not to support anti-Iranian activities anymore. The government can't control the activities of all its' citizens. Especially the really crafty ones.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/14/2007 6:18 Comments ||
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Even if made, this agreement isn't worth the "non-paper" it's written on. The ragheads won't keep 1 & 2 so we won't keep 5 & 6, and the Rooskies will do anything for $. No doubt the EUroweenies will keep 4, though.
This has France written all over it.
#6
I'm sure the Swiss didn't need any prompting. Mama always said one can get anything in Switzerland, so long as one has the money. (She went to medical school in Geneva for her own amusement -- American med schools only let in those who promise to try to become doctors, you see.)
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, has flatly denied American charges that his country is supplying sophisticated weaponry to Shia militant groups, saying that Washington was blaming others in order to hide its own defeat in Iraq.
"The US administration and [President George] Bush are used to accusing others," Mr Ahmadinejad told ABC television's Good Morning America yesterday, less than 24 hours after US military officials in Baghdad showed reporters part of what they called "a growing body" of evidence that roadside bombs and other devices made in Iran had been used to kill 170 American and coalition soldiers.
The officials displayed fragments of some of the weapons involved, claiming that those at the "highest levels" of government in Tehran were involved in arming Iraqi militants. But the fact that US forces were "showing some pieces of papers" and calling them documents proved nothing, the Iranian President said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Its those roving gangs of Iranian forgers marking bomb parts with Iranian labels and serial numbers.
Premier Fouad Saniora said the bus blasts that killed three people and wounded 18 on Tuesday "wouldn't terrorize us" and the March 14 majority coalition blamed the crime on the Syrian regime, calling for sanctions on Damascus. Saniora, in an address to the Lebanese on the eve of the second anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination, said the bomb blasts in commuting buses northeast of Beirut were "criminal acts of violence."
"We will not be terrorized and we will not be scared off. We will chase the criminals," he pledged. Saniora said "we will not give up our commitment to serve justice" in the 2005 Hariri assassination and related crimes. Addressing families of the three people who were killed in the bus blasts in Ain Alaq earlier in the day, Saniora said: "Their rights will not be lost irrespective of the cost. We will not succumb we are not a sphere of influence for anyone The Lebanese will not compromise on their freedoms, security and safety and the nature of their regime."
In a related development, the majority March 14 coalition which backs the Saniora government said in a statement the bus blasts are "a new massacre targeting innocent civilians."
"We hold the Syrian regime fully responsible for this crime and we charge this regime of attempting to change Lebanon into another Iraq to destroy its security and stability in order to torpedo efforts aimed at setting up an international tribunal" that should try suspects in the Hariri assassination and related crimes.
The alliance, in a statement after an emergency meeting, urged the Arab League, the U.N. Security Council and the international community to "shoulder your responsibilities in lifting the Syrian regime's aggression off Lebanon."
The statement called for imposing sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and for dispatching U.N. peacekeepers to "control the Lebanese-Syrian borders that would halt the flow of weapons to tools of this (Syrian) regime." It also urged major factions in the opposition, in reference to Hizbullah and Amal, to "shoulder your responsibility in confronting efforts by the Syrian regime to change Lebanon into another Iraq by immediately approving the creation of the international tribunal and returning to the dialogue table."
The alliance also called on its supporters to take part in the popular ceremony scheduled for Wednesday to commemorate the second anniversary of the Hariri assassination in Beirut's Martyrs' Square.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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In a letter to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora French President Jacques Chirac Tuesday expressed his horror at a bombing that killed three people near Bikfaya in the Metn region of Mount Lebanon. "I am horrified and dismayed at the appalling attacks that took place this morning in Bikfaya. I condemn them in the clearest terms," Chirac wrote. "By striking on the eve of the commemoration of the attack that claimed the lives of Rafiq Hariri and his companions, these murderers are trying to plunge the whole of Lebanon back into violence." Jacques may be horrified, but he's not really going to do anything about it that doesn't require sending forth the striped pants brigade.
Bomb blasts tore through two buses in Lebanon on Tuesday, killing three people as the deeply divided nation prepared to commemorate Hariri's murder two years ago. The bombings in a mainly Christian area northeast of Beirut were the latest in a spate of attacks that have been blamed on Lebanon's former powerbroker Syria and came at a time of high political tensions in Lebanon.
According to the French presidency, Chirac also spoke with the head of Lebanon's influential Maronite council of bishops, Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, to express his condolences. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy warned that those responsible for the "hateful and cowardly attack", "and for those of the past two years, will be made to answer for their crimes."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Isn't Jack Shellac about to retire this Spring? Perhaps he should drink more wine; perhaps the problem is that they do not do enough drinking and are too sober to think clearly - by French standards.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A SAUDI wing of al-Qaeda has called for attacks on US oil sources all over the world saying targets should not be limited to the Middle East. The threat appeared on the website of the al-Qaeda organisation in the Arabian Peninsula's e-magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Holy War), and listed Canada, Venezuela and Mexico as US oil suppliers.
Britain's Serious Fraud Office said on Wednesday it had launched an investigation into alleged breaches of sanctions by British companies which were involved in the United Nations oil-for-food programme for Iraq. "(Some) 22 million pounds ($43 million) has been allocated for the investigation and if it goes to a prosecution we could be looking at three years or more," said a spokesman for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) who declined to name any company being examined.
Ready, willing and able but in the dark. That describes the state of inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency as they scramble to find ways to enforce a deal committing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Australia's opposition Labor leader Kevin Rudd, leading opinion polls ahead of an election this year, supports a staged withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq. Rudd said he would consult with U.S. leadership about the staged withdrawal of troops if he won power. Prime Minister John Howard has said Australian troops would stay in Iraq ``until the job is done''. 
Dutch anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders was quoted on Tuesday as urging Muslims to dump half the holy Quran and saying he would chase the Prophet Mohammad (
The 
RIYADH - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari reopened his countrys embassy in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after 17 years and said the two countries needed to improve joint efforts to fight Islamist militants. This will be an important step in improving relations between the two countries, Zebari told a gathering of Saudi officials and foreign diplomats at the reopening of the embassy closed in 1990 after Saddam Husseins Iraq invaded Kuwait.
GAZA - Palestinian Prime Minister 
AMMAN - Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the last leg of a Middle East tour of three US allies, will meet Jordans King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday in a clear show of Russias regional ambitions.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, has flatly denied American charges that his country is supplying sophisticated weaponry to Shia militant groups, saying that Washington was blaming others in order to hide its own defeat in Iraq. 
Premier Fouad Saniora said the bus blasts that killed three people and wounded 18 on Tuesday "wouldn't terrorize us" and the March 14 majority coalition blamed the crime on the Syrian regime, calling for sanctions on Damascus. Saniora, in an address to the Lebanese on the eve of the second anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination, said the bomb blasts in commuting buses northeast of Beirut were "criminal acts of violence."
In a letter to Lebanese Prime Minister 
