The head of the Peruvian Institute of Nuclear Energy said Monday that two stolen nuclear measuring devices used by miners do not contain enough radioactive material to produce a "dirty bomb." Institute president Modesto Montoya told The Associated Press that the missing 44-pound industrial measurers each contain about 3.5 ounces of removable, encapsulated cesium 137. They were stolen on July 31, most likely for sale to a scrap collector, he said. Although the amount of cesium 137 would not be enough to make a radioactive bomb, it could cause serious burns if carried around in a pocket for several days, Montoya said. The radioactive material could also contaminate a scrap yard if accidentally melted down, he said after holding a news conference to warn Lima residents. Montoya said the measuring devices were stolen from a Lima warehouse. Shaped like two cylinders separated by a u-clamp, the 14 inch by 8 inch contraptions can be attached to tubes and small tanks. The devices are used to measure density flows of slurry being pumped from mines to determine how much of the liquefied ore is being processed and ensure pumps are not overloaded.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 19:37 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I heard about a similar incident from a friend. Some guy in Brazil found one of these capsules, used to X-ray pipe welds, and slipped it into his back pocket. When all the surgery was over, he lost an entire buttock and the family Jewels...
While on a tour of the museum at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland on Sunday, a group of around 50 Jewish university students from Israel, the U.S. and Poland were verbally attacked by a three-member gang of French male tourists. Mohammedans or the bastard descendants of SS deserters? I bet on the latter, Israel News probably wouldn't cover for moose-limbs.
Evidently incited by the presence of an Israeli flag wrapped around the shoulders of Tamar Schuri, an Israeli student from Ben Gurion University, the first assailant ran at the group while its members were being guided through a model gas chamber and crematoria and began swearing and hurling anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli insults. "He told us to go back to Israel and said that we were stupid and should be ashamed to walk around with an Israeli flag," testifies Maya Ober, a 21-year-old Polish student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan and member of the Polish Union of Jewish Students (PUSZ), which organized the 16-day summer learning program along with the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS).
After the initial altercation, a second assailant grabbed Ober by the arm. "One of the guys held me by the arm and wouldn't let go," says Ober, who lost several members of her family at Auschwitz. "I was afraid. I couldn't move and I didn't know what he was going to do. I was shocked. Although I have met anti-Semitism many times, I never expected to meet it at Auschwitz, where so many of my relatives were killed," she says she spoke to the assailants in French and that in addition to being "brutish and vulgar," their sentiments "made absolutely no sense." That narrows it quite a bit, NOT!
"Violence was narrowly averted," adds Laurence Weinbaum, Director of Research at the World Jewish Congress and resident scholar for the group, who says the Polish police were not notified of the incident because the assailants did not commit an actual crime. Desecrating a memorial, verbal assault and disturbing the peace are not illegal on Poland? I think otherwise.
"But, if the two sides hadn't been separated, it would have come to blows." I hereby invite these neo-Vichyites to try it here in Texas.
Weinbaum, who has been to Poland more than 30 times on educational tours, says he never before saw anything like what happened, happen. "It was simply shocking," he says. "In some way, I felt that these men were satisfied to visit Auschwitz. This was another reminder that in Western Europe there is sympathy for dead Jews; it's just the live ones that they cannot tolerate."
"This event shocked me," adds 24-year-old tour participant Yigael Ben-Natan from Zichron Yaacov, a recent graduate from the University of Haifa. "But, it bought into focus a small part of what it's like to be a Jew in the Diaspora today and a little bit about what it was like to be a Jew in the Diaspora during the Holocaust. "Auschwitz is a place where everyone who visits shows a certain degree of respect," he says. "These people's total disregard for the feelings of the people who come here, especially the Jews who come here to mourn, is horrible. But, I suppose some people don't come to mourn; some people come for completely different reason, which we cannot completely comprehend."
The students on the tour, which came as part of a year-long educational project funded by the Claims Conference for Lost Jewish Property and the JDC, gathered together in Poland to learn about the history of its Jewish community, to participate in the revival of the country's contemporary Jewish community by strengthening its ties to Israel and the American Diaspora and to work to restore the Jewish cemetery near Krakow, Czchow, which unlike the neighboring Christian cemetery, hasn't been properly maintained since the Holocaust. The crowd would have been justified in beating these punks to a bloody pulp, if not worse. If they had, however, Reuters, Al-Jazeerah and every other enemy propaganda outlet on the planet would have "Jewish mob lynches French tourists!" as their lead story, probably for weeks. They would go on to explain that the innocent Frenchmen were there to show solidarity with Holocaust victims but were instead set upon by Zionazi ingrates. The students did the right thing but, again, I want to see the frog-nazis try this in Texas.
Talks over compensation for victims of the 1986 bombing of a West Berlin nightclub blamed on Libya, restarted on Monday but lawyers declined to say if they would produce a result where five previous rounds had failed. A settlement would remove one of the remaining hurdles barring Tripoli from joining the European Union's trade and aid partnership with Mediterranean countries and be another step to ending the pariah status of the oil-rich North African nation. Stephan Maigne, a Berlin lawyer representing victims of the attack said there had been positive signs from Libya, which said at the end of July that a deal may be possible within days. German lawyers and members of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's charitable foundation have been negotiating a deal covering the over 160 non-American victims of the attack and the relatives of the Turkish woman killed but have disagreed over the level of the payouts. Payouts to US victims and their families are the subject of separate legal action in the United States.
Maigne said victims were looking for payments of 600,000 euros ($735,500) each for the most seriously injured and 400,000 euros for the others. Two US soldiers and a Turkish woman were killed and more than 200 other people were hurt in the explosion at "La Belle" disco in West Berlin that had been popular with US soldiers. A German court ruled in 2001 the Libyan secret service was behind the bombing and convicted four people, including a former Libyan diplomat. Libya has made big efforts to win over Western countries and emerge from three decades of international isolation. Gaddafi announced in December he was renouncing weapons of mass destruction, a promise which helped earn him a visit to Brussels for talks with EU officials. Libya has already agreed to pay $2.7 billion to families of victims of the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing, for which a Libyan secret agent was convicted. It has also pledged $170 million for the 1989 bombing of a French airliner over Niger.
A Moroccan man accused of helping to plot the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States goes on trial for the second time in Germany this week. But the retrial of Mounir el Motassadeq on conspiracy and terrorism charges, which starts on Tuesday, is already threatened by disagreements with the United States over evidence from a leading Al Qaeda figure currently in American custody. Motassadeq was the first person convicted in connection with the 2001 attacks and was sentenced to 15 years' jail in 2003. But he won an appeal in March this year and was freed the following month pending a new trial -- sparking anger in Washington, which called him "dangerous". Germany has been pressing the US to let judges question Ramzi bin al-Shaibah -- a leading Al Qaeda figure captured in Pakistan in 2002 who is thought to have masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks -- or to allow transcripts of his interrogation to be used at the retrial. Washington has so far resisted on security grounds. As well as evidence from bin al-Shaibah, Germany has asked for testimony, either directly or in writing, from another top Al Qaeda figure, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and suspected Sept. 11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, former CIA head George Tenet and FBI Special Agent Matthew Walsh, a court spokeswoman said. So far, however, the requests as well as a list of questions Germany would like put to bin al-Shaibah have gone unanswered. It is unclear whether a response will come before the end of the trial. "There has been no answer, we must wait and see what reaction comes from the United States," the spokeswoman said. Motassadeq's lawyer has said he would challenge any evidence from bin al-Shaibah on the grounds that it may have been gained through the use of torture.
Hamburg became one of the main focuses of investigations into the Sept. 11 hijack attacks after it emerged that several of the plotters had lived in the northern port city. But prosecutors have faced mounting criticism after their failure to secure a conviction against Motassadeq or fellow-Moroccan Abdelghani Mzoudi, who was acquitted of similar charges in February and now faces an appeal by prosecutors. The two were part of a circle of Arab students living in Hamburg which included three of the Sept. 11 hijackers and bin al-Shaibah, who has boasted of his role in masterminding the strike on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001. Federal Prosecutor Kay Nehm travelled to the US in April to request help from authorities there but has been heavily criticised for not pursuing the investigation against suspected Sept. 11 plotters vigorously enough. According to the influential news weekly Der Spiegel, the government has become increasingly concerned about the handling of the case and Interior Minister Otto Schily has pushed vigorously for tougher controls on militant suspects. Whatever the final result of both cases, the government considers both Motassadeq and Mzoudi pose a particular threat to Germany and has served deportation orders that would come into effect at the end of the criminal cases, subject to appeal.
The world community should pay attention to the destruction of unique shrines and cultural monuments in Kosovo, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexis II told Serbian journalists on Monday. "Unique churches of the 13th-14th centuries on the UNESCO list are being destroyed in Kosovo and Metohija and nobody tries to stop it," the Patriarch said. To restore the unique half-destroyed monuments we need their security guarantees," he stressed. "We have forwarded relevant addresses to the UN and often made statements to foreign media but the problem is slurred over. Society acts according to double standards here," Alexis II noted. He also confirmed the fact of the Catholic Church's indifference to this problem adding that this was sad. According to some data, Albanian terrorists destroyed over 100 Orthodox churches, cathedrals and monasteries, including those of the 14th-16th centuries, more than 10,000 icons and other church utensils.
Posted by: TS(vice girl) ||
08/09/2004 11:07:31 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Somebody should tell this guy that if it is being doen by Moooslims, it's OK. He should get in the line at the Wailing Wall.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
08/09/2004 11:23 Comments ||
Top||
2) Protects the pedophile priests that harm the most vulnerable of the flock.
3) Sit by with their thumbs up their arses while dozens of churches and Christians are killed every year.
4) Decry the Iraq war, but haven''t heard a peep out of them about Sudan.
5) Has an ego driven Pope that greedily clings to power in full knowledge that a younger, healthier replacement could do more good in the world than he can. (Hey Pope...you''re just as expendable as we are.)(Hell, it takes him 3 days just to sit down for crying out loud)
6) Scratch their heads in wonder, as to why no one goes to church anymore. It''s definately NOT lack of faith in God. It''s the lack of faith in them.
7) Seem complacent as the World and UN look the other way when we are violated, but when a Christian looks at a Mooslem, then all hell breaks loose. Us damn infidels.
Plan is to bring troops home
By John Kerry
I know what our troops go through when they carry an M-16 in a dangerous place and can't tell friend from foe.
Even harder to carry a video camera.
I know what they go through when they are out on patrol at night and don't know what's coming around the next bend.
I know what it is like to write letters home telling your family that everything's all right when you're not sure that's true.
As president, I will never send troops into battle without the right equipment or a plan to win the peace. I will bring back our nation's time-honored tradition: The United States never goes to war because we want to. We only go to war because we have to. Even if I voted for it
I will meet our sacred commitment to our brave troops in Iraq — to end their mission successfully and bring them home as soon as possible. At stake is whether Iraq will complete its march to democracy or degenerate into the next proving ground for terrorists. Quick hand me a white flag!
My plan is to:
⢠Lead NATO to make the security of Iraq one of its global missions and to deploy a significant portion of the force needed to secure and win the peace there. NATO participation will open the door to greater international involvement from non-NATO countries. we'll bribe em with ketchupâ¢
Internationalize the reconstruction efforts in Iraq to end the continuing perception of a U.S. occupation and help coordinate the rebuilding. Like Bush is trying to do.
⢠Launch a massive and accelerated training effort to build Iraqi security forces that can provide real security for the Iraqi people, including a major role for NATO. This is not a task for America alone; we must join as a partner with other nations. Like Bush is trying to do
⢠Plan for Iraq's future by working with our allies to forgive Iraq's multibillion-dollar debt and involve our allies in the development of a new Iraqi constitution and the political arrangements needed to protect minority rights. At the same time, we should convene a regional conference with Iraq's neighbors to secure a pledge of respect for Iraq's borders and non-interference in Iraq's national affairs.
This is not an instant solution. There isn't one. But it's a realistic plan to share the burden and secure the peace and bring our troops home. My secret plan is to surrender!
Posted by: JackassFestival ||
08/09/2004 8:40:38 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Why would allies of ours who haven't been helpful to date in the venture have input into the writing of the Iraqi constitution?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/09/2004 9:54 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Why would allies of ours who haven't been helpful to date in the venture have input into the writing of the Iraqi constitution?
Because France and Germany want a 'just pay the invoice from the oil-for-food program and ignore what actually happened' amendment to the Iraqi Constitution.
#3
Jesus... if we elect this guy as our president, we will deserve the utter contempt of the entire world for being a bunch of gullible simpletons who are easily distracted by bright, shiny objects.
I don't want a plan for "bringing the troops home", John Kerry: I WANT A PLAN FOR DEFEATING RADICAL ISLAM! Accomplish the latter, and the former takes care of itself.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/09/2004 10:22 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Amen, Dave D.!
Not only does sKerry's appeasement plan make me ill with dread, but I'd like to hear President Bush talk up VICTORY a lot more, even if complete and total victory may not be attainable for years.
(Trivial aside: I bought the new DVD release of Walt Disney's wartime cartoons--excellent, BTW--and the Victory theme was omnipresent in every one!)
Posted by: AF Lady ||
08/09/2004 12:53 Comments ||
Top||
#7
My take: Kerry is going to get France on board by pressuring the Iraqi government to restore the Saddam-era oil concessions that had been given to TotalFinElf. He will threaten to pull out all troops and leave Iraq in chaos if they don't comply. No doubt similar schemes could be worked-out to bring others on board. If I were Iraqi, I would be in complete fear of a Kerry election.
I hope that someone has the foresight to ask him, during the debates, if he would ever, under any circumstances, restore the French oil concessions in order to get their cooperation.
Posted by: I See Village People ||
08/09/2004 15:35 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Prediction
On january 21st, 2005 newly installed President John F. Kerry asks the French and Germans for troops to help stabilize the situation in Irag. They tell him to go piss up a rope. Finally the light bulb goes on (but I doubt it)
#9
#7-Your scenario makes a lot of sense; still it is only one possible scenario among many that he would use to "rebuild our alliances". Another scenario might include a shift in Israeli/Palestinian policy (opposing Israel more publicly and frequently) to help "allied" friends restore the illusion of their impartiality.
Bottom line? He'll do ANYTHING THEY ASK if we can just be their friend again. I won't watch for the sky to fall if he wins, but I will watch with sadness as the America we know and love fades into a much less admirable America.
Mike Scheuer, the veteran CIA Osama bin Laden hunter whose anonymously-published, best-selling critique of the war on terror attacked the invasion of Iraq, has been gagged from speaking out against President George W. Bush's proposals for the reform of U.S. intelligence.
It is inappropriate for CIA personnel to comment on current events unless specifically sanctioned to do so," a CIA official, who spoke on condition they not be named, told United Press International. The official said that since Wednesday, Scheuer -- whose best-selling "Imperial Hubris: Why The West Is Losing The War On Terror" was published last month -- had been required to give five business days notice to the public affairs office of the CIA of any interviews he intended to conduct, and submit "a detailed outline of what he plans to say for approval."
Posted by: GK ||
08/09/2004 12:39:28 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Pre-publication clearance is standard in the intelligence community.
#2
Cut off emigration from the Philippines. The place is filled with Jihadi terrorists you know. Pull out US military trainers and cut off military aid. If the Filipinos want weapons, let them pay full price.
If they do not have the will and power to hold onto the southern Islands, then let a Muslim state declare independence. If one day the southern islands are used to launch an attack on Americans, then let us invade and annex them.
Posted by: ed ||
08/09/2004 22:57 Comments ||
Top||
"We have prepared what we call 'Brown Books' that contain damaging military records, personal credit histories, medical histories, psychiatric histories, divorce records, you name it," our source told us. "We've got the goods on the Veterans who oppose Kerry."
I see the slime machine is oiled up and ready to go...
The "Brown Books" are so called because of their distinctive plain brown covers, which contain no words. Some books have already been delivered to Kerry-friendly reporters. Others are on their way, our source told us. When asked if we could have a copy, our source declined, saying there is a limited number of "Brown Books" and they have been carefully inventoried to control in whose hands the books ended up. Ultimately the "Brown Books" will end up in the hands of pro-Kerry news agencies and reporters. According to our source, who demanded to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, The New York Times is already on the hook to run a negative series on the Vets, as is the Boston Globe, which is owned by the Times. (Editor's Note: The Globe has already been caught attempting to attack the veracity of George Elliott, Kerry's commanding officer in Vietnam.)
In addition, the DNC has deployed a six member team from their press shop whose sole responsibility will be to spin and counter-spin stories about the members of Vietnam Veterans for Truth with pro-Kerry media entities, like the Times. When asked if this was just another example of John Kerry slandering Vietnam Vets — like he did in 1971 as a member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War — our source snapped, "No! This is warfare. The only way we're going to get out of this is to force everyone to question their motives and credibility." Warfare. What an interesting word. As I wrote earlier, the fact that the Democrats are much more interested in making war on their political opponents than on Al Qaeda is very revealing, and worrying.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/09/2004 12:25:45 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
If I see any Chicago Tribune reporter or columnist pile on, I will write letters demanding to know if said reporter/columnist has a "brown book" in his/her possession. The paper has an ombudsman and I'll write that person as well.
If Kerry has a reasonable response, provide it, just as GWB had to provide on his service in the Guard. I thought the smear of GWB was slimy, and if people are smearing Kerry's service it's equally slimy.
And -- here's the point -- smearing ANY vet on their service, including the Swift Boat Vets, is equally reprehensible. They saw what they saw. Refute it, corroborate it, agree or disagree, but don't smear them.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2004 0:40 Comments ||
Top||
#2
You know, I would love to see this happen to reporters. Have them followed by PI's, get film evidence of all the bad things they do and make them public. Maybe I'll suggest it to the NRA-ILA. After all, they are now a media outlet, and investigating reporters is "the most dangerous game" in the media world.
#3
Typical for these f**king dick lefties to trash veterans ONCE AGAIN.
Kerry and his followers show their true stripes. ANTI-Veteran. Instead of dealing with the FACTS in the message that these veterans bring up, they try to trash the messenger.
Despicable.
Guarantee you one thing - this is going straight to my VFW and Legion buddies - and we will put it across the country in a damn hurry to our fellow vets of all stripes. This kind of crap will NOT be tolerated.
Kerry, you just hit the big dogs with a stick - you better run for the porch like the punk bitch you are.
Posted by: ed ||
08/09/2004 3:19 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Yes, it's warfare-- what Goebbels called "Total War." And we, not al Qaeda or Islamic totalitarianism, are the enemy.
What started me on the road from lifelong Democrat to new Republican was watching Al Gore's speeches during the 2000 campaign. "We will FIGHT for you!!!!" he said, over and over. And in saying that, he made it clear who he was going to fight against: not George Bush, not the Republican Party, but against half of America.
Many lefties would claim that "Bush hatred" is no worse than the "Clinton hatred" in the 1990's; but to me there's a huge difference.
Hatred of Clinton was focused on Clinton, mainly for his utterly shameless, arrogant, finger-wagging dishonesty. I voted for him enthusiastically in 1992, and by 1998 I was ready to see him dragged out of the White House in chains.
But hatred of Bush is focused on... nothing much at all. No particular reason for it, just that he's a Republican, and a conservative, and that makes him evil. Ask a Bush-hating liberal what Bush has actually DONE to deserve hatred, and you'll get either a blank, uncomprehending stare or a torrent of nonsensical, incoherent bullshit.
The Bush hatred is focused on Bush, but any other Republican would do just as well. They hate all of us, and deep down inside they want us all dead.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/09/2004 6:30 Comments ||
Top||
#6
"medical histories, psychiatric histories,"
Medical records are protected under Federal privacy laws,and these members of Kerry's campaign staff are know confessed criminals.
#7
Somehow I wound up on an anti-Swift Boat vets spam list (I think leftists perhaps mined the swift boat vets website for emails or maybe broke into their mail server. I am registered with the site but I have mever posted; lack of time.) . I tried to read some of them, but you know how it is when a crazy person tries to sound rational: They just sound ever more insane.
Anyways, the porn spam I get in addition to this leftist stuff I delete along with the rest of the garbage.
Has anyone gotten a handle on a name of a person or an organization who is conducting this jihad, to call it what it is? I'd sure like to know.
#8
Just in case anyone round these parts thought that the Dhimmicrats had reached bottom, well, it appears that they've been digging. If it's legit, then let the sexual epithets fly - a more deserving bunch of craven and twisted fuckwits will never be found than the ABB crowd.
#9
#5. "They hate all of us, and deep down inside they want us all dead."
Well...that's exactly how I feel about the Liberal Left.
I've recently had to end a few friendships with people that have slipped way to the left in the last few years. The transformation was amazing, these were by all accounts intelligent people.
But sanity seemed to just evaporate. Facts, logic & reason had no effect, beliefs and feelings ruled.
Spit! Good riddance. There is a terrible mind sickness infecting this country, and it is being spread in the schools. If the conservative right doesn't do a major slap down on the left (soon) it may be too late.
Someone here commented about a possible Civil War happening between the Left and the Right, I think it is inevitable. The leftists are not Americans, nor do they embrace American values. They intend to destroy this country and they hide behind false and dishonest constructs like political correctness and such.
#10
CiT: I don't think ANYONE is going to win the next American civil war. There are people on both the right and left who think they can, but as I've gotten older they've started to disturb me more and more.
It's not a question of who wins the battles, it's how many weeks in basic services start going away for most of the population.
Do you or any loved ones need medication to regulate blood pressure? Diabetes? Heart problems? Epilepsy? Migraines?
Arthritis?
How many months' stockpile of the medicine they need do they have on hand?
This is why the "warfare" word has been disturbing me lately.
I've been meaning to turn this into a 'blog post of its own... I probably will tonight. Thanks for giving me a lead-in here, though.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/09/2004 10:02 Comments ||
Top||
#11
I still have 300 lbs. of fishhooks leftover from the 2000 crisis.... tho I've made a dent in the emergency rum supply. I'm ready.
#12
The Dims have learned their lessons well from Billary:
"Attack the messenger."
What kills me is that Skeery has clearly been planning his campaign for over 30 years (He told guys in Vietnam he was going to run for President and then took those movies), so he had to have known this was coming from his fellow Swifties.
And so revealing that he hasn't released his military records or his medical records, either--remember he's had prostate cancer, too.
But the Dims have had Bush produced his NG records out the wazoo--we even know how many cavities he had in the Guard, for Gawd's sake!
And no word on what Edwards was doing when the Vietnam War was on...
Plus they suck for denigrating President Bush's National Guard service.
Don't know about a civil war, but the Left had better SHUT UP after this election!
I've listened to their crap and LIES for almost 4 years and I've had a belly full.
When Bush wins a second term, they'd better be quiet and try and blend in quietly with the rest of us who've helped take care of business!
#13
Many lefties would claim that "Bush hatred" is no worse than the "Clinton hatred" in the 1990's; but to me there's a huge difference. Hatred of Clinton was focused on Clinton, mainly for his utterly shameless, arrogant, finger-wagging dishonesty.
I disagree. People hated Clinton (or KKKlinton, as I often saw it spelled) long before he started wagging his finger. I saw my first "Impeach Clinton" bumper sticker in late '92, before he was first inaugurated. Clinton hatred was every bit as irrational as Bush hatred.
On the other hand, I do agree that I never got the idea that Clinton haters actually hated the people who had voted for him. He was "Slick Willy", who had conned everyone, rather than the puppet of the Neocon Christian Snake-handling Cult which (the Bush haters think) has somehow taken over the country.
The main difference, though, is that the media believed that Clinton was hated mainly by lone wacko gun-fondlers in remote fly-over country, whereas Bush is hated by conscientious right-thinking journalists and Hollywood types.
#14
Come on, who did not expect this? This is a classic out of the liberal play book: âAttack the messenger, not the message.â I heard a lady on Medvid last week claiming that MoveOn was getting ready to launch a ânewâ attack on the Presidentâs National Guard service. I canât imagine what angle that hasnât been examined with respect to the Presidents HONORABLE service in the Guard. Unless they are going to float the âhe was gay and the kicked him outâ angle. But wouldnât hat give him more votes than take away? BRING IT ON!
#16
Come on, who did not expect this? This is a classic out of the liberal play book: âAttack the messenger, not the message.â
This is more like attacking the message as well as the messenger. And we should call this action by the left for what it is. A smear campaign.
Chances are very, very, very good the left was ready for the swift boat vets. Lawyers just don't work that quickly unless they are prepared. You can't gather that much information without being prepared. This little theory of mine is probably as sinister a concept as an applying commander in chief attempting the wreck the private reputations of war veterans.
#17
I was feeling optimistic that Bush would win this election, but once again I'm not so sure.
The Dems have discovered the sad fact that Jerry Springer is one of the most popular shows on television. So, as a tactic, they have set about to become the party of Jerry Springer in order to win the "popular vote".
To prove my point, they put Michael Moore in the presidental box with Jimmy Carter. Need I say more?
I know many intelligent Democrats, but for some strange reason, they are willing to restrain reason and join the self-destructive riot against the civilized society in which they live. Maybe it's a last gasp effort to cling to the belief that if one lets go of the packaged rage that defined their youth, then they must, in fact, be old and no longer youthful and cool.
I find the mob mentality to be shocking, especially given the kinds of people who are willing to suddenly start throwing beer bottles and suspend decency all in their quest to riot against Bush. It's really sad to see intelligent people quoting from F9-11 and embracing such Jerry Springer tactics of democracy.
Someday they will look back and be embarrassed by their actions, but tonight they just want to bring down the house....damn the consequences. If the Dems can keep the riot going until November, the intelligent Dem's are going to wake up to find Kerry, who is against EVERYTHING they once claimed to stand for, sleeping in their bed.
Vote Jerry Springer Kerry
Posted by: B ||
08/09/2004 12:46 Comments ||
Top||
#19
Badanov, these guys have been a counter-Kerry since at least 1974. The author of the book debated Kerry about alleged abuses in Vietnam that year. They have had lots of time to gather âdirtâ on the Swiftees, but it doesnât matter. The more they try to stifle the story the longer legs it will get. Gut feeling is that there is something to this story.
#20
Have you read the excerpts from the book? It's very damning.
My older sister used to mock my mother for supporting Nixon, despite my mother's knowing all of the negative aspects of his personality and deeds.
My mother used to say that he was better than the alternative, for which my sister would scoff at her.
Now my sister is all over the anybody but Bush mantra. Despite knowing that Kerry is a very disturbing person who stands for nothing except his own ambition, she's willing to votte for him because, "he's better than the alternative".
My prediction? Her children will, in the future, mock her in the same way she mocked my mother.
Posted by: B ||
08/09/2004 13:06 Comments ||
Top||
#21
CS Gut feeling is that there is something to this story.
Thats obviously the case. If it werent then Kerry would just release his records and be done with it. Evidently Kerry has some skeletons in his military closet and he thought that the sheep American people would be dumb enough to swallow his war hero story without thinking.(A typical elitist belief)
#22
I'm a little confused. Smear campaigns against the Bushman are bad (agreed). Personal sarcastic attacks on anything Democratic is good. (???) Help me out here. Discussions of issues are good, but are a lot better if accompanied by endless ad hominen attacks. Defined as: half the country is anti-American. If you send out vitriol, why are you surprised to get it back? If half the country is anti-American, then why isn't the other half right-wing nut cases. Something better than: "I'm right and you're wrong," please
#23
we can't help you anonymous. You could try taking a class in logic...but I wouldn't take it for credit, if I were you.
Posted by: B ||
08/09/2004 13:35 Comments ||
Top||
#24
Anon6018, the most fundamental difference between the two--and I can't put it any more clearly than this--is that the Dimocrat stuff is based on lies and the GOP stuff is based on Truth.
It's just that black and white.
The Left lies a lot and backs a program that is at best Socialist and that advocates the appropriation of private rights and property for the "good of all." (basically a knock-off of Marx and Lenin).
Propaganda based on lies is an integral part of that.
The Right backs traditional (Conservative? Yes) American values of truth, justice and the American Way of individualism, capitalism, rule of law, private property and equal rights.
#25
heh, heh...maybe we should be calling them the Dino-crats.
Posted by: B ||
08/09/2004 13:49 Comments ||
Top||
#26
Anonymous6018, Let me try and help you understand:
-The press gave President Bushâs military service an anal exam and the fifth degree
-THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG
-Bush released ALL his military records
-THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG
-Kerry is accused of manipulating an awards and decorations board on four occasions
-KERRY REFUSES TO RELEASE HIS MILITARY RECORDS
-Something aint right here
Doesnât that make you question what might be in said military records? As a Veteran I find it HIGHLY suspicious.
#27
Had the logic course. Aced it. Four credit hours. Philosphy minor. Yep, one of those. But a chemistry major. And MD. Greatest generation: interesting response. A basic statement of the difference between the two parties. However, makes the assumption that only one half of the country lies.I have read that non-defense spending under Bush has increased faster than under any other recent administration. ?? Truth, Justice and the American Way is sound advice for anyone. Was Superman a Republican? So why did Barry Goldwater blast the present administration shortly before he died? Saw the interview on TV. He was as direct as I remember him being forty years ago. He seemed most distressed by the influence of fundamentalist churches, similar to the complaints being made about Kerry and the catholic church. Marxism was a dead issue from the day it was born. People are essentially looking out for themselves first, and any philosophy that thinks differently winds up on the ashcan of history. However, it has also been said that a society may be judged by how it deals with it's least fortunate menbers. Total lack of respect for those individuals leads to some unfortunate results.
Just for the record, you post like a ranting lunatic. You should have taken an english class so that, if you actually had a point, it would be comprehensible.
Posted by: B ||
08/09/2004 14:05 Comments ||
Top||
#29
Put down the bong, Anon6018.
It's very simple: Kerry has something in his military records he wants to hide. Until he releases those records, I'll assume it's what the SBVT says.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/09/2004 14:07 Comments ||
Top||
#31
Its the responsibility of every American citizen to push past party politics and come to their own conclusion as to what he/she thinks is best for his/her country. To just take whatever is dished out to you as absolute truth, be it from either party, is irresponsible.
Of course both parties have flaws. So what? Everyone has flaws. But that doesn't mean that Ted Bundy doesn't have more serious flaws than Jimmy Carter.
Likewise, your comment number 31 is also true - but meaningless.
Take a stand, wimp.
Posted by: B ||
08/09/2004 14:24 Comments ||
Top||
#33
oops..nor does my double negative negate my point.
Posted by: B ||
08/09/2004 14:26 Comments ||
Top||
#34
Just for the record, you post like a ranting lunatic
This was what I disagreed with. And as far as my stand on this issue read post #21.
#35
This is hearsay from a radio interview but is it close to what happened?
Swiftboats were patroling when the 3 boat hit a mine. Kerry gunned his boat to get out of, what appeared to be, a kill zone. That dash to get away caused a crew member(?) to fall off the boat.
The other boats stayed and rescued the guys from the boat that hit the mine. They were not under fire and were able to do the rescue. Kerry said he was under fire while ripping down the river, for hundreds of yards(1000s of yards). Kerry did return and pick up his lost crewman after he was sure, or told that, no enemy fire was at hand.
For this he got one of his medals!? Ima think the other guys on the other boats didn't know he had been put up for a medal for his bravery about this.
A6018, About the article, the guys who didn't speed away are now being muckracked by Kerry's thugs. What say you about that.
Sorry for the hearsay, Anybody have a clearer report about that action? I did hear about how one of the Anti-Kerry swiftboat guys debated the Kerry rescued guy. And had him speechless regarding what actually happened.
Kerry is a fake, Bush doesn't fake his military record. If you flipped pancacks, don't be ashamed and don't fake it. I remember, while I fought the cold war, playing chess with a military guy from Iran. It was a close game, I think I could have won it, but after 6...0-0, I knew it was going to be a blood bath. The horror!
#36
I'm not arguing with your point. I'm simply stating the fact that you post like a lunatic and thus failed to make a point that was comprehensible to anyone but yourself.
That's your problem, not mine.
Posted by: B ||
08/09/2004 14:29 Comments ||
Top||
#37
To B: I've checked my posts. If there is a ranting lunatic in the group it sure isn't me. OBTW, you just proved my point. You don't have anything even vaguely worth saying, so let loose the personal attack dogs. I'll pass.
Robert Crawford: Agreed, if Kerry has something in his military recorde that he has lied about, every effort should be made to find out what it is. He's made it key part of his campaign, so it's totally legit to try and prove him wrong. Go to it. Just what I've been saying. Attacks based on facts are acceptable. Personal attacks from either side, like good ol' "B's", simply show the pathetic nature of the person spewing them out. I enjoy the site, even if I don't agree with all of it, but the name calling doesn't reflect any better here than coming from M Moore.
#42
"He seemed most distressed by the influence of fundamentalist churches." Yup better fear those people who attend church. Never know what those Babtists, Catholics, etc. are doing. Anon6018 plz go back to MoveOn and DU and report that you "Slayed those evil Neo-Cons at Rantburg." You've unmasked yourself and now everybody knows what you are and are not. Kerry is hiding something, don't get off topic by bringing up Goldwater. That is classical liberal gamesmenship: Distort the argument!
#43
Yup, 2%, "B" just called us the same person. He seems to have a couple problems with basic reality check, so I suggested he check in for his meds. Probably needs an increase.
CS: bringing up Barry Goldwater is not off-topic. I admired the man profoundly. He had a brilliant mind and a ready tongue to speak the truth. Unfortunately, the only similar person in the Republican party now that reminds me of him is McCain. Since when are 500 billiion dollar deficits and 500 billion trade deficits Republican ideas? Reminds me of Roosevelt. Going off target is classic liberalism? What about your good friend "B"? Talk about off topic. As far as I can see, he/she doesn't even have enough upstairs to understand what a topic is.
The Swift Boats Vets site e-mail server has been hacked. A number of registerees,including myself, have received unsolicited emails trying to smear with Swift Boat vets.
Let me tell you all they are hot about this and I don't blame them. It's a shame I deleted all the emails I received.
Apparently they are bringing law enforcement into this.
It seems to me that a lot of the guys didn't know that Kerry had been decorated for such mundane events.
It's one thing to hear that Kerry received three Purple Hearts, A Bronze Star and a Silver Star, but not know why. Now many of the men have found out that they were there for the events and don't think Kerry's actions warranted such high decorations.
Thurlow's account seems very credible. When Rassman and Thurlow debated head to head on CNN, Thurlow was confident and persuasive, while Rassman was Clintonian -- he attacked the timing of the ad and deployed the McCain quote for cover.
Thurlow contends that Rassman (who was in Kerry's boat) was only in the water because Kerry fled the scene after another boat hit a mine. Kerry's move caused Rassman to fall off the boat. Thurlow says that Rassman was one of several guys who were it the water that day, and that there was no hostile fire. Rassman didn't dispute the fact that others were also in the water, but he did hold fast to the claim that they were under heavy enemy fire during the rescue.
Thurlow pressed him: "If we were under fire, why weren't there any bullet holes in any of the boats, and why weren't any of us hit?"
Rassman had no good answer to those questions.
Rassman put Kerry up for a Silver Star for the incident, but it was downgraded to a Bronze Star. Kerry also said he got a shrapnel wound to his ass from the mine that the other Swift Boat hit. Adm. Hoffman, a guy who seems like he would know, contends that underwater mines don't contain shrapnel.
Apparently, Kerry put in for his third purple heart for a bruise on his arm and a minor butt wound that he sustained in a non-combat injury when he blew up a rice cache with Rassman, not during the hyped rescue incident. The docs even found rice grains in Kerry's ass.
There are two other SBVFTs who come down on the Thurlow side.
Kerry's Cambodia lie and his fudging to get Purple Hearts bolster the Swifties claims. Moomaw's post is interesting but not particularly strong. Why weren't any of them shot? If Kerry has lied about other aspects of his service, isn't it likely that he embellished the Rassman rescue?
Doesn't the fact that Rassman was only in the water because of a jerky move by Kerry matter? If there was a handful of men in the water along with Rassman, does kerry pulling Rassman out of the water seem so huge?
Fellows like Thurlow didn't flee the scene after Swift Boat 3 hit the mine, they stayed on the scene, rescued the wounded (Rassman wasn't wounded, he fell in because of Kerry, not the mine explosion) and shot at the banks to suppress any fire. Once Thurlow and the other Swifties determined that there were no enemy troops in the vicinity, Kerry returned to the scene and picked up Rassman. Clearly, Rassman and Kerry have grossly inflated Kerry's role on that day.
#47
The âBrown Booksâ are so called because of their distinctive plain brown covers, they match the shirts worn by those who prepared them and by the reporters who reference them.
#48
The Swift Boats vets do not maintain a mailing list. Suddenly about the time of the Swift Boat vets commercial, I get this email from them with the subject matter "Swift Boat Vets are liars" something like that sent from a yahoo address. So did a number of other registerees.
Now, there aren't but two ways I could have appeared on that list
1) They mined the site for emails from posts made on their forums. Not from any postings made on the site since I have never posted on the site...
or
2) They hacked their email server. The swift boat vets use an email registration system.
How could these other folks have gained my email? I post here, but I have yet to hear from anyone in this venue who have also received this spam. My email is also on my wargame club site (the old one) and very rarly at LGF, rightwingnews and right-thinking.
That is it. Haven't heard from ANYONE who has gotten this spam but the Swift Boat vets as well as I.
Now they haven't announced this, and they may well not since they have no proof of whom, but I am convinced their e-mail server has been hacked.
#49
Interesting. I wouldn't be surprised at anything the DU-types would try. My email addy has been posted around enough that I get all sorts of spam. You mentioning the title of this one as "Swift Boat Vets are liars" tickles my memory some, like I've seen that before (recently).
Problem is that it's the sort of thing I would have reflexively deleted, along with the twenty other moonbat spam mails I get everyday.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/09/2004 16:03 Comments ||
Top||
#50
Well I'm on a porn spam list, a cialis list, a cheap ( read: pirated )software list, a Nigerian money scam list, amoungst others. I average about 20 spam emails a day myself.
Anyways, one of the folks on that list were upset enough about it to go to a congress(X)man to which an aid replied the emails had been forwarded to, I assume, the FBI. I gotta believe they wouldn't do that if they didnt come to the same conclusion.
#52
I don't think ANYONE is going to win the next American civil war.
I can say only one thing: If we're not willing to fight for what we believe in, we will be enslaved by those who are willing to fight for what THEY believe in. "Sitting it out" is not a choice. Our government is being destroyed, bit by bit, before our very eyes. It's been going on at least since 1912, and it's time to put an end to it. If you're not willing to defend freedom, you're not going to HAVE freedom. Unfortunately, it's reached the point where the only choice left is to shoot the bastards, starting from the top down. If you don't believe me, just wait and see what happens if sKerry is elected president. The Bill of Rights will disappear faster than a snowcone in July.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2004 17:16 Comments ||
Top||
#53
So why did Barry Goldwater blast the present administration shortly before he died? Saw the interview on TV...
And he blasted the current Bush administration? Hmmm. Seeing dead guys comment on current events...you might want to check your ranting lunatic scorecard. It might be you after all.
#54
"Marxism was a dead issue from the day it was born."
Since it managed to take 30+ million people with it, 20 million under Uncle Joe alone, that strikes me as glibly glossing over those pesky minor details - and I see no point in the post, either. Slumming showed up about a year ago in RB - same tone, style, meandering read-my-mind bloviation, same everything.
#55
Marxism was a dead issue from the day it was born.
Anon6018, you fool... It wasn't Marxism that was dead from the day it was born, it was the 100,000,000+ murdered and starved victims of Marxism! It took force and the willingness to die that defeated Soviet Marxism. It will take the same to defeat Islamoism or better said, the love of Allah.
#56
"If you don't believe me, just wait and see what happens if sKerry is elected president. The Bill of Rights will disappear faster than a snowcone in July."
I suspect there is much, MUCH more danger of that from the Clinton/DLC crowd than there is from the Kerry and the Loony Left/Deaniac bunch. Not that the latter wouldn't like tear up the Bill of Rights, nor that they won't try if given half a chance; I just don't think they can pull it off.
There are two kinds of Democrats: Clumsy Commies, and Clever Commies.
Moveon.org, the Deaniacs, and Kerry are Clumsy Commies. They are impetuous, impulsive, angry, fervid and determined to win no matter the cost-- to them, to their party, or to the nation. They would be perfectly happy to fill mass graves with Republicans.
But they will lose, because their message is hateful, repulsive and alarming to most of the American people in ways the Clumsies just cannot understand.
The Clever Commies are no less leftist totalitarians than the Clumsies, but they have more common sense-- and a LOT more patience. They know that to succeed, the grim face of their coercive socialism, with "equality" and "fairness" arbitrarily decreed by government and enforced at gunpoint, must be masked with a smiley face-- however crudely drawn-- and their message sugar-coated with smarmy appeals to "do it for the children." They've learned not to call themselves Communists; they call themselves "Progressives" now-- it sounds less threatening.
Billary and the DLC are Clever Commies. They are in the mold of Antonio Gramsci: you win not by armed revolt, but by slowly and thoroughly undermining a society by methodically permeating its key institutions-- education, the church, the press and the government bureaucracy. Eventually a tipping point is reached, and their war is won without having to fight any battles. They don't want to put Republicans in mass graves, just send them to re-education camps.
Frankly, of the two groups I consider the Clintonistas to be the MUCH greater danger, because they're the ones who are patient enough to avoid provoking a backlash.
If I were a betting man, I'd put BIG money down on Hillary wanting very, very much for Kerry to lose this election; there is absolutely no benefit to her from him winning it. I wonder if she and Bill and Terry McAuliffe will do something to ensure Kerry loses...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/09/2004 18:23 Comments ||
Top||
#57
BTW: nice shot, Angie!
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/09/2004 18:25 Comments ||
Top||
#58
Goldwater blasted the "current" adminstration just before he died because it was the CLINTON Administraion.
You guys on the left are not very tgood at keeping your lies straight.
Take this from a real devout Catholic (and not a Catholic of Convenience like Kerry):
Tell the truth and you dont have to keep your story straight.
Democrats lost sight of that under the Clintons.
Which is also when they kicked a large part of us Catholics out of the party for our insistence that Abortion is evil and demanding that something be done about that evil - pretty much antithetical to the Democrat Orthodoxy.
#59
It will be interesting to see what comes out about John O'Neill. I watched their press conference on CSPAN - I think it was the first one during the primaries. O'Neill was a bit flustered as I think he said that he just came from his wife's sick bed. I thought he said that he had donated a kidney to his wife but I may have been mistaken.
Anyway, I think it's significant that these guys have held their tongue for years and let Kerry rise in power unchecked. Had he gotten walloped in the primaries, I think they would have left things alone. O'Neill is an Edwards supporter but his admiration for Edwards didn't change on Kerry when Edwards was added to the ticket.
It appears to me that they just really don't want Kerry to be Commander in Chief. I agree with them. As for Clinton hatred, I don't think that disgust is equivalent to hatred. I was strongly against Clinton prior to his election because I thought that it was possible for him to do horrible damage to the country from the position of Commander in Chief. I based this on the fact that his crowd was very anti-military. I think my concern bore out in what he did to the country with respect to national defense to a certain extent. He did do wonders for national defense but really the presidentâs job is not to improve the national defense of the PRC, he is supposed to protect and improve our own defense.
With respect to Kerry, his war protest record is not even my biggest concern. I am most concerned that he continued to act as a friend to communist regimes in Vietnam, Nicaragua and Cuba after becoming a Senator.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/09/2004 22:50 Comments ||
Top||
In one of the longest appearances before tribunals evaluating some 585 terror suspects, a prisoner admitted Monday that he was a Taliban bodyguard but said he did it only to feed his family. Gesticulating with his shackled right hand to stress points, the 37-year-old Afghan pleaded for about an hour before the members of his tribunal closed the session to review classified material. The review tribunals are meant to decide whether detainees should be released or remain in custody as "enemy combatants," which gives them fewer legal protections. All the detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo are accused of links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime or the al-Qaida terror network. "I joined the Taliban to make a living for my family," the slight, bearded man said in a prepared statement read by his Pashto interpreter. "I wasn't a big leader in the Taliban."
"I was just a thug..."
The U.S. military says the man —held at Guantanamo Bay for more than 2 1/2 years — not only fought for the Taliban on the front lines, but also served in 2000 as an acting Taliban governor in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. The man testified he mediated community disputes for about eight months when the governor was away, but was not acting governor.
He acted as governor, but wasn't the acting governor?
He said he served as a bodyguard for two Taliban governors in Kabul beginning in the 1990s. "The only thing I did is serve with the Taliban ... that was my only mistake," the prisoner said. "I'm really a poor person. I don't have a lot of resources. I did this to survive."
Hand me a tissue, please...
The U.S. military alleges the man fought on the front lines in Mazar-e-Sharif and later moved to the city of Kunduz, where he was captured with one Taliban leader and five fighters who agreed to surrender to the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance. "I assure you under oath I never thought about fighting against the United States or its allies. I'm not even thinking in the future to fight against them," the man said.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 19:39 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Behind the scenes of the first major terror trial after Sept. 11, frontline prosecutors complained bitterly they had not received needed help from the Justice Department and were prevented from introducing some of their most dramatic evidence in the courtroom, internal memos show. As a result, jurors in the trial of four men accused of operating a terror cell in Detroit never heard testimony from an Osama bin Laden lieutenant or saw video footage of European operatives casing U.S. landmarks. Prosecutors believed both would have connected the defendants to al-Qaida.
Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
08/09/2004 5:22:13 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan angrily accused its close ally the United States of endangering the life of one its top envoys in a reported sting operation, describing it as bizarre, dangerous and regrettable. Whereas Pakistan's breeding of the Taleban and countless other terrorists poses not one whit of peril to the outside world.
It was responding to claims that a US secret agent posed as a terrorist seeking to buy missiles to kill Munir Akram, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations, in a bid to catch potential money launderers. "At one level this is a bizarre story; at another quite dangerous," government spokesman Masood Khan told a weekly press briefing about the New York Times report. The projection of a fictitious threat to a senior envoy from a close ally of the US was "regrettable," Khan said. "It is mind-boggling why they could not use the name of an American functionary," he said. Sorry guys, all of ours have been taken for some time now. We needed fresh bait subjects for this operation.
Khan added: "This has increased our ambassador's and our mission's vulnerability. This technique and methodology is tantamount to autosuggestion and could have endangered the life of our ambassador." Whereas the recent attempts on your prime minister and high ranking military officers are merely anomalous abberations that signify nothing as concerns persistent and deeply entrenched terrorist activity within your own borders. Note to Pakistan: You have placed your own nation and all others in danger by proliferating nuclear technology. Any questions?
The Pakistani government, one of Washington's most pivotal partners in the war on terrorism, has lodged a complaint with the US embassy in Islamabad. "We hope that the US will realise its mistake and give instructions for rectifying this faulty methodology," Khan said. Two men were captured in the operation and are being held by US authorities. Pakistan's outburst came in the midst of a high-profile crackdown on suspected top Al-Qaeda operatives hiding out in the world's second most populous Muslim nation. The July arrests of Tanzanian terror suspect in the 1998 east Africa US embassy bombings Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani and Pakistani computer whizz Naeem Noork Khan have led to the uncovering of a worldwide Al-Qaeda wing which was plotting fresh terror attacks in Britain and the US.
#1
in the words of Sgt Hulka: "Lighten up, Francis"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2004 15:57 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Wonderful, they're running a Walmart for illicit nuclear technology, virtually created the Taliban, and are constantly flirting with the world's first nuclear war with their reckless brinksmanship over Kashmir. File this one under "C" for Chutzpah.
David E. Sanger/NYT KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine American intelligence officials and outside nuclear experts have concluded that the Bush administration's diplomatic efforts with European and Asian allies have barely slowed the nuclear weapons programs in Iran and North Korea over the past year, and that both have made significant progress. In a tacit acknowledgment that the diplomatic initiatives with European and Asian allies have failed to slow the programs, senior administration and intelligence officials say they are seeking ways to step up unspecified covert actions intended, in the words of one official, "to disrupt or delay as long as we can" Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. But other experts, including former Clinton administration officials, caution that while covert efforts have been tried in the past, both the Iranian and North Korean programs are increasingly self-sufficient, largely thanks to the aid they received from the network built by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the former leader of the Pakistani bomb program. And how is Pakistan's heinous nuclear proliferation a "U.S. failing?"
"It's a much harder thing to accomplish today," said one senior American intelligence official, "than it would have been in the '90s." Khan's efforts have also worked against the Bush administration in North Korea. A new assessment of North Korea has come in one of three classified reports commissioned by the Bush administration earlier this year from the American intelligence community. Circulated last month, the report concluded that nearly 20 months of toughened sanctions, including ending a major energy program, and several rounds of negotiations involving four of North Korea's neighbors had not slowed the North's efforts to develop plutonium weapons, and that a separate, parallel program to make weapons from highly enriched uranium was also moving forward, though more slowly. It's hard to get much work done on an empty stomach.
The desire to pursue a broader strategy against Iran's nuclear ambitions is driven in part, officials say, by increasingly strong private statements by Israeli officials that they will not tolerate the development of an Iranian nuclear weapon and may be forced to consider military action similar to the attack against a nuclear reactor in Iraq two decades ago if Tehran is judged to be on the verge of making a weapon. And for that, Israel deserves a prize. Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Zenster ||
08/09/2004 2:00:02 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Sanger of the NYT is just a couple of years behind Rantburg in the concern of nuclear proliferation in the AoE. In the Anchorage Daily News, sunday edition, they talked about the same thing as if it was new news. Since I did my homework on Rantburg years ago, I went fishing today and caught silver salmon. The MSM is like sending a radio signal to distant galaxies. They are just getting the signal now.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/09/2004 2:25 Comments ||
Top||
#2
If Condi wants to do something about it, she better get started. With the price of oil where it is, she may be spending February on a well earned but extended vacation.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
08/09/2004 9:01 Comments ||
Top||
#3
U.S. failing to slow nuclear programs
There's a surefire way to slow them down. The question is, would Sanger and the NYT go along?
#6
Collin Powell will be earning his pay if he can get the Euros to put the bong down and stop trading with Iran.
Like in Iraq, had the Euros stood up to saddam his toppling could have been somewhat bloodless.
And if they don't stand united regarding Iran's nuclear potential, a doomsday clock will strike midnight. Bummer.
Our MSM needs to take a look at this and understand whats at stake. They need to take a look a jihad/islam and think whats at stake. They need to lead the sheep.
But I think they'll still quack like a duck.
When they get their bomb it's a bad hair day girls.
#7
Jen, the administration in power is blamed for rising energy prices, regardless of complicity. Given the Kerry-loving lean of the press, you can be sure Bush et al are going to be blamed. This is an issue that is affecting the near-term performance of the economy. I thought that the Saudi's and the Bush's were such great pals. Do you think Moore was wrong on this one too???
Posted by: remote man ||
08/09/2004 12:47 Comments ||
Top||
#8
It's OUR FUCKING FAULT ? I thought the IAEA was taking care of Iran. And Russia says, NKor should have the right to nukes.
#9
Summarizing the article: "Using the sort of diplomatic approach favored by the UN, the Euros, the NYT, and candidate Kerry, the US has failed to slow..."
#10
I am a minority of one. I think our efforts have been successful. Here is why:
NK
1. NK can no longer ship weapons by sea, due to the new agreements on interdiction.
2. China has Kim on a leash to the extent that he cannot test his weapons.
3. Kim must now ship his drugs overland through China and pay a toll, which hurts his profits.
4. The US has demonstrated patience and a willingness to budge at the negotiating table without caving in.
Iran
1. The US has positioned itself to strike should the EU and UN fail to bring Iran in line.
2. The US has established a relationship with the new Iraqi leadership that respects their sovereignty and doesn't push them into the arms of Syria or Iran. More than likely, Iraq will end up being the negotiator with Iran. The US will stand in the background and loosen up taking swings with a Louisville Slugger during the negotiations.
3. The US has stood fast and not hurriedly tried to established relations an engage with Iran. Any such effort would be a demonstration of weakness. We don't need to commence bilateral negotiations with an outlaw regime just because it is arming itself. We should stand ready to disarm Iran should the "engagers" come up empty.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/09/2004 23:18 Comments ||
Top||
The Philippines on Monday offered to help the United States rebuild Iraq "within its capability" as it sought to patch up bilateral ties damaged by Manila's abrupt military withdrawal from the war-torn country.
Yeah. That'll work.
Filipino Foreign Secretary Delia Albert held hour-long talks with US ambassador Francis Ricciardone, who had flown home for consultations with his superiors after Washington accused Manila of caving in to terrorists. President Gloria Arroyo, citing national interest, recalled the 51-member military and police contingent in Iraq on July 19 to save the life of kidnapped truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, who was threatened with beheading by militants opposed to the US-led foreign military presence. Albert said he and Ricciardone "discussed the state of relations between our two countries and reiterated our common determination to strengthen these relations."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 20:15 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#3
Show us what you mean through deed and we will reconsider, after a long period of meditation on our part. All kidding aside, President Arroyo will need to learn the lesson that when you shaft your friends, they cease being your friends. The trust is gone. And THAT is a serious loss. Meditate on that, Gloria.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/09/2004 21:54 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Although it was before my time I understand the girls of Olangopo had a preference for ping-pong balls?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2004 22:11 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Fuhhhhh Q, backstabbing bastards. How much blood will be shed as a result of your payoff to the moonbats?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2004 22:18 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Frank G - the NFL is on already?
Oy vey!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/09/2004 22:20 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Cool. Are preemptive Ululululus in order?
Posted by: ed ||
08/09/2004 22:21 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Hall Of Fame kickoff - Broncos and Redskins - 3rd Qtr ABC
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2004 22:24 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Show us what you mean through deed and we will reconsider, after a long period of meditation on our part. All kidding aside, President Arroyo will need to learn the lesson that when you shaft your friends, they cease being your friends. The trust is gone. And THAT is a serious loss. Meditate on that, Gloria.
Well said, AP. Tibor, your own suggestion has much merit, but Philippine idiocy sovereignty laws will most likely cripple such a great idea.
#11
Cut off emigration from the Philippines. The place is filled with Jihadi terrorists you know. Pull out US military trainers and cut off military aid. If the Filipinos want weapons, let them pay full price.
If they do not have the will and power to hold onto the southern Islands, then let a Muslim state declare independence. If one day the southern islands are used to launch an attack on Americans, then let us invade and annex them.
Posted by: ed ||
08/09/2004 22:57 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Taken away from Spain after the S/A war - saved 'em once. The Spanish were draining the place as per usual.
Kicked out the Japanese - saved 'em twice.
Put up with "anti-communist" Marcos' shit for too damn long because "he was our bastard", then dumped his thieving ass at the first opportunity. Waited too long, withou a doubt.
For thanks, we got some of our primary strategic military bases in the far east closed. Then they abandon post over a single truck driver. And now they want to be buddies again. China and Vietnam scarin' ya, guys? They should, they'd scare anybody sane.
Hope it all works out. Write when you find work...
Particles of enriched uranium detected in Iran came from equipment provided by the nuclear smuggling network headed by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, according to the tentative findings of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The interim findings were revealed to the London-based Jane's Defense Weekly by sources close to the agency, and have been seen by The Jerusalem Post. The findings, which will be published by the authoritative journal on Wednesday, appear to remove suspicions that Iran may already have manufactured its own enriched uranium.
Iranian officials had argued that the particles were merely residual contamination from imported equipment, but they have been unable to prove this claim. The finding could put the Vienna-based IAEA on a collision course with the United States, which wants the matter to be referred to the UN Security Council. Sources have told Jane's that IAEA inspectors believe they can now confirm that a sample of uranium enriched to 54 percent, which was found at one Iranian site, has come from Pakistani equipment. The confirmation was possible only after Islamabad gave the IAEA data to verify the uranium source and the US provided a simulation of the Pakistani nuclear program that matched the account. A separate sample of 36 percent enriched uranium contamination derived from Russian equipment that Moscow had supplied to China. Beijing then passed it on to Pakistan as part of previous nuclear assistance, and Khan later sold it to Iran. Tensions over the Iranian program have heightened in recent weeks as Teheran prepared to start production of uranium hexafluoride gas — a key centrifuge feed material — as well as the assembly of the centrifuges themselves.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 20:28 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And how, exactly, are we to have the least confidence that Pakistan or North Korea haven't just gone ahead and given Iran a heaping helping of weapon-grade fissile material?
Iran really, really needs to be bombed now. If anything, send them a message by crippling the Kharg Island terminal. That would put a kink in their hose.
#2
Just hold on a few more months regarding the Iranian threat. It will be resolved with dividends!
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
08/09/2004 22:36 Comments ||
Top||
#3
WQhat the fuck is going on in Washington. Are we in a state of denial. These assholes mean to get the bomb and the means to deliver it. Whether or not they mean to use it or not remains to be seen. But I fear we are headed for a new cold war that will see a more unstable world than the cold war that proceded it. Especially if SKerry get's in office. And I say that as a mostly lifelong dem
#4
Cut off emigration from the Philippines. The place is filled with Jihadi terrorists you know. Pull out US military trainers and cut off military aid. If the Filipinos want weapons, let them pay full price.
If they do not have the will and power to hold onto the southern Islands, then let a Muslim state declare independence. If one day the southern islands are used to launch an attack on Americans, then let us invade and annex them.
Posted by: ed ||
08/09/2004 22:57 Comments ||
Top||
#5
I fear we are headed for a new cold war ....
A new war yes, but there will be nothing "cold" about this one.
#6
Pres. Bush isn't known for ignoring the obvious. That said, this is still a very tight presidential race, and until the vote is taken Bush won't do anything to jeopardize things. As Mark said, just wait until the first Wednesday in November!
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Saturday evening that global arrogant powers are exerting every effort to prevent Iran from acquiring technology to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Good for us global arrogant powers...
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony for an education center in southern Lebanon, he stressed that global arrogance is using the nuclear issue to make countries toe its line and force them to capitulate. War mongering is a strategy used by big powers to exert pressure on smaller countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran so that these cannot obtain access to nuclear technology. On the other hand, they turn a blind eye to the Zionist regime which is unrestrictedly building its weapons of mass destruction, he said, expressing his regret that even the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammad Elbaradei, during a visit last month to the occupied Palestinian territories, pledged to help the Israeli regime complete its nuclear program.
Don't they get tired of trotting out the Zionists every 20 minutes?
Washington is exerting the same pressure on Syria, he said, while it continues to justify its failed policies in Iraq and blames anti-coalition forces for the bloodshed and massacre of civilians in that war-devastated country. Condemning the renewed desecration of Muslim holy sites in the Iraqi city of Najaf, Berri urged the Islamic and Arab states to stand up against the dictatorial policies of the oppressors.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 20:24 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
When arrogance is defined by being able to continue breathing I'd have to say I'm all in favor of it
Expressing regret over the resurgence of deadly clashes in the holy city of Najaf and other Iraqi cities in recent days, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday that the United States may be behind these clashes as Iraq prepares to regain sovereignty.
"Yeah. The Merkins are prob'ly doin' it themselves..."
Concern over the rapid transfer of power to the Iraqi people may have motivated the U.S. to create tension in order to justify its continued military presence in Iraq, Hamid-Reza Asefi told reporters at his weekly press briefing. Asefi also said that the U.S. brutality against the Iraqi people is both unacceptable and unjustified.
"Help! Help! They're being oppressed!"
The desecration of holy sites is unacceptable to Muslims and non-Muslims, and resorting to force and terror will only exacerbate the situation, he added.
We're not the ones storing weaponry in the holy sites...
Meanwhile, a UN spokesman said Secretary General Kofi Annan is wringing his hands "extremely concerned" about fighting in Iraq over the past several days, particularly in the holy city of Najaf, where more than 300 have been reported killed, many of them civilians, AFP reported. "He is particularly troubled by the high toll of dead and wounded, including civilian casualties."
That's the difference between Kofi and me: I'm delighted with the high death toll.
The Iraqi Health Ministry said on Sunday that at least 43 people had been killed in fighting between U.S. forces and Shia militiamen in Baghdad and the holy city of Najaf over the previous 24 hours. Mahdi Army militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have been battling U.S. forces since Thursday. Residents said the flashpoints in Baghdad and the holy city were relatively calm on Sunday morning.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 20:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
This is what is known as 'projection.'
Posted by: Scott R ||
08/09/2004 20:25 Comments ||
Top||
#2
be a damn shame if there was a small sparking of the armory located in their friggin 5,432nd holiest site, huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2004 21:20 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Asefi also said that the U.S. brutality against the Iraqi people is both unacceptable and unjustified.
Humiliation, dammit! He forgot the humiliationâ¢. Because of the omission, we will disregard what he said. He does not even get a score. Most of the Islamic rants do not get scored anymore because they are so worn and threadbare.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/09/2004 21:51 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Kofi is just upset because you can't have a decent Quagmire if we are bagging the bad guy at a ratio of 100:1
Iran said yesterday that Washington had no grounds to send its nuclear case to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.
"Nope. Nope. Can't do it..."
US officials have expressed growing concern about Tehran's nuclear program in recent weeks, making it clear Washington wants Iran's case sent to the Security Council to prevent it from developing nuclear arms. Iran denies any intention of building atomic weapons. It says its nuclear program is needed to generate electricity to meeting rising demand. "Only the Americans say Iran's case will be referred to the United Nations Security Council. But to send Iran's case to the Security Council they need reasons and we have to have committed violations," Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told reporters. "Iran has not committed any violations, and whatever Iran has done is in accordance with its international obligations," he added. Tehran last month said it had resumed making parts for uranium enrichment centrifuges, which can be used to make bomb material. But Iran said it is entitled to carry out such activities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and says it will not give up its right to pursue enrichment technology to produce fuel for nuclear power reactors.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 20:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria - Iran has told Europe's leading powers that it wants them to back its right to nuclear technology that can be used to make weapons as they took another pull on the crack pipe. Diplomats said Monday the move has dismayed the Europeans and strengthens Washington's push for U.N. sanctions against Tehran. France, Germany and Britain have not formally responded to the demands Iran presented to them in a document during a meeting last week in Paris. Contents of the document were obtained by The Associated Press. A striking lack of massive cash bribes stunned European pols into shocked silence on the matter.
Diplomats said Iran's conditions effectively stall the European attempt to convince Tehran to give up the technology that would allow them to make nuclear arms and pushes Europe closer to the U.S. view that Iran should be hauled before the U.N. Security Council for violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Let's have a Big F&%king D'uh!
The demands, presented last week to the European powers during talks in Paris, stunned senior French, German and British negotiators, said an EU official familiar with the Paris meeting. Ignoring the list, the Europeans instead whined, begged and pleaded urged Tehran to act on their pledge to clear up nagging lies suspicions about their nuclear ambitions by Sept. 13, when the International Atomic Energy Agency meets to review Iran's nuclear dossier, said the official. The Paris talks ended "with the two sides talking past each other," said a diplomat familiar with the meeting, who — like the other diplomats and the EU official — demanded anonymity. Wow! "[T]he two sides talking past each other," who saw that one coming? Continued on Page 49
To coin a phrase, "What would we do without experts?"
The groups are small, little known and highly militant, with ideologies like al-Qaida's. They have struck around the world, carrying out suicide bombings in Morocco, kidnapping civilians in Iraq and attacking Western residential compounds in Saudi Arabia. The emergence of these groups is making the fight against terrorism more challenging. Instead of targeting one enemy — just al-Qaida — the West and its allies now face many "al-Qaidas," splinter groups that are mostly unrelated to each other but are bound by the same hatred of the West — especially the United States and its allies, including Israel. "It's like McDonald's giving out franchises," said Dia'a Rashwan, an Egyptian expert on militant groups. "All they have to do is follow the company's manual. They don't consult with headquarters every time they want to produce a meal." More AP analysis at the link...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 19:41 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I almost posted this one yesterday but the entire content of it was one Big F&%king D'uh. I'll cheerfully declare that Rantburg is well past needing AP's "exspurt" analysis.
Pretty remarkable in that its war, and its around the world... is it a World War?
Posted by: Oldspook ||
08/09/2004 12:12:48 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Yes, unbeknownst to most people (or at least they act like it), this is World War III. If the Islamists continue their pursuit of atomic weapons, it will probably become a nuclear war as well.
Savage's article was linked to in yesterday's Rantburg and I'll post the same chart here that I did then:
---------------------
6.3 million Muslims in the Balkans, mostly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania and Republic of Macedonia
62.4 million Muslims in Turkey
284.4 million Muslims in the Arab League including Iraq (with about 15 million Shia, 60% of the population)
254.0 Muslims in Sub-Saharan Africa
65.4 million Muslims (90% Shia) in Iran
48.5 million Muslims in Central Asia - in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan - formerly republics of the Soviet Union.
26.7 million Muslims in Russia
22.7 million Muslims in Afghanistan
230.0 million Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh
133.3 million Muslims in India - the world's largest minority population
133.1 million Muslims in China - a close second
196.3 million Muslims in Indonesia
30.0 million Muslims in the rest of South-East Asia, especially Malaysia
---------------------
Please note how those regions with the highest populations of Moslem people read like a laundry list of genocide, terrorism, torture, theocracy, border conflicts, women's and human rights abuses. Need I remind everyone that this is not a coincidence?
#6
In the language of Alexander Kojeve's theory of history, linked to yesterday (www.policyreview.org), many of the wars of the last half century were proxy wars between the "Slavic-Soviet Empire" and the "Anglo-American Empire". Applying this theory to the Muslim world, you could say that having perceived the failure of the nation-state idea within its area (the "failed state" phenomenon) the Muslim vanguard is attempting to establish a transnational consciousness as a first step towards an Empire of its own. Unfortunately this consciousness appears to be based on rape, pillage, plunder, and terrorism.
#8
I have just a little quibble. IMO, I don't think that the common factor is the number of Muslims alone, although that is surely the dominant factor. I think it also has to do with how seriously a given country takes Islam.
Malaysia and Indonesia were not troubled places until relatively recently. The same can still be said for India's large population of Muslims. In every case where Muslims do live or used to live peacefully with their neighbors of other faiths, the telling thing is that in all cases Islam was watered down to a great degree either by fusion with tribal religions as in Indonesia and Malaysia, or in India's case, by a far less literal interpretation combined with a desire to modernize in emulation of the English. (The English, by the way, controlled the educational system of India for many many years. This is not coincidence, I think)
But in all the places where Islam is both dominant and taken entirely seriously, these are the basket cases of the world. You simply can't take it seriously and must metaphorize it (water it down) until its basically a cultural or personal preference for there to be any hope of success and peace. This is because any one who wants to take it seriously must accept mohammed's (MHRIH)* murderous and treacherous behavior as the perfect model for all mankind. One must also find a place for the literal jihad described in many verses of the Koran that cannot be easily explained away.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
08/09/2004 22:59 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I knew it!
I was trying to explain to someone this weekend that gas was much more expensive (in terms of % of income) in the mid-late '70's than it is now. They didn't want to believe me, even though I lived through it and they didn't.
Also, notice there aren't any gas lines today? No alternate days of the week to be allowed to fill up?
You can have the "good old (Carter) days." Been there, hated that, burned that t-shirt.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/09/2004 23:37 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Barbara, you have it all wrong. Just look at how bad is was in Andrew Johnson's day. Even in its infancy teh GOP was in cahoots with big oil.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/10/2004 1:28 Comments ||
Top||
About 70 prominent Israeli and Palestinian politicians, currently out of power, are struggling to come up with a blueprint envisaging "comprehensive peace and partnership" between the two sides, according to former Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. "We are working on a new document that seeks to achieve comprehensive peace and partnership," Abed Rabbo said Sunday in remarks to reporters at the end of three days of deliberations at the Dead Sea resort. The new document will supersede the Geneva accord, which was signed in Geneva last December by the two sides.
And we've seen how well that worked...
The plan recommended solutions for core issues impeding a final settlement between the Palestinians and Israel, including Jerusalem, frontiers, settlements and refugees. Abed Rabbo, who led the Palestinian team to the new round of talks, indicated the discussions were dominated by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan to quit the Gaza strip and four settlements in northern West Bank before the end of 2005. "We have agreed to adopt the road map as a reference, to refrain from changing plans from time to time as Sharon wants and to stick to the concept of partnership among the Palestinian, Israelis, the Quartet and regional powers, because unilateral solutions will not work," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 20:20 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
India has urged Nepal to investigate possible links between a Nepali media group and New Delhi's most-wanted fugitive, who also appears on a US list of terrorists, and freeze the firm's assets under a UN mandate. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna referred reporters to a story in India's Hindustan Times daily on Monday which said the Indian embassy in Kathmandu had passed on credible information that crime boss Dawood Ibrahim had a stake in Nepal's Space Time Network. Information about links between Dawood Ibrahim and the Kathmandu-based media group were given by New Delhi as part of an "ongoing cooperation with Nepal on issues related to terrorism", Sarna said. India accuses Ibrahim of masterminding a wave of bombings in its financial hub, Bombay, in 1993 that killed 260 people and injured some 1,000. Washington has named Ibrahim, the son of an Indian police constable, on its global terrorist list, linking him to Al Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 20:11 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Hundreds of hand-picked men and women are being given crash courses in Urdu and Pushto by the defence department with the aim of letting them loose in Pakistan so that they can keep the country under close and continuing scrutiny.
Ummm... Yeah. That'd be a brilliant plan...
This ambitious operation is to be the responsibility of American intelligence and security agencies, since it is now agreed at all hands here that Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world, the breeding ground of Islamist terrorists, the preferred refuge of Al Qaeda and similarly "inspired" terrorists on the run and a nuclear power that could one day be taken over by the same elements against which the United States considers itself as being at war today.
That pretty well sums up Pakland, doesn't it?
The Washington Times, a newspaper known for top grade knowledge of the inside working and thinking of the American intelligence community, reports that the US, on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, is "augmenting counter-terror operations in Pakistan with scores of former special-operations warriors who work for the CIA and other agencies under contract." While Washington insists that there are no American troops fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda "inside" Pakistan, the reality is that there are "a load of contracts" with US agencies attracting veterans of Special Forces and other elite units to Pakistan, one source told The Washington Times.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 20:04 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Yawn, could this "open season" get any more open? Actually, yes.
The people of Pakistan want the Pakistan army to fight in Iraq against the US occupiers, Taimur Rahman, the Lahore President of the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party (CMKP) said on Monday.
Even though he's a commie, he's probably right...
The CMKP held a seminar at Nasir Bagh to introduce a "different view-point" on the issue of sending troops to Iraq. "The two limits of this debate have been prescribed before hand and they are: we should either send troops to Iraq to help the US occupation or stay neutral," said Mr Rahman. "The CMKP wants to follow a different lead and that is that troops should indeed be sent to Iraq, but they will go to fight against US occupation."
I'd actually prefer that. I'd hate to see the Paks break their record of never having won a war...
Mr Rahman said that keeping in mind the "neo-colonial history" of the army, the CMKP's demand would never be met. "However, CMKP believes that this demand conveys the true and popular will of the people of Pakistan and highlights the enormous gulf between the revolutionary anti-imperialist spirit of the people and the completely servile nature of the Pakistan establishment," said Mr Rahman.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 19:56 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 19:44 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Some rather indicative excerpts:
Walter would not say whether it was Nigerian security forces or ethnic militants that the townspeople feared. Both groups are known to go on killing rampages ...
Killing rampages typically make it difficult to conduct normal business.
The report's authors made other serious conclusions: that Shell "exacerbates conflict" in the way it gives cash and contracts to delta residents and offers "stay-at-home pay" to disgruntled youths ... "The demand for and payment of cash to community youths for access fees, standby labor and homage, amongst others has been blamed for some inter-community disputes and for distorting genuine community needs," Buerk said ...
Thugs and criminals rarely stay bribed, any multinational knows that.
In recent months, Shell has created a new community development strategy to "abolish corrosive practices that currently impede sustainable development in communities, chiefly the pressure for cash payments for non-legitimate reasons, such as payment for 'ghost labor,'" Buerk added ... Such "lack of transparency" encourages villagers to fight Shell - and each other - for a share of the oil money, the report's authors concluded. Shell's "social license to operate is fast-eroding," the report said ...
Shell's "social license to operate"? That one raises some red flags. Licenses are usually issued by the government.
Delta residents complain their elected leaders have failed to fight poverty in the region. The residents, most of whom earn less than $1 a day despite the region's petroleum wealth, accuse oil companies of colluding with Nigeria's government to foment divisions between rival community groups in a strategy to deprive them of oil earnings ...
Nigeria's oil production is supposedly able to generate millions of USDper day. If a small portion of that managed to trickle down to the population, a lot of these problems would likely go away. Shell et al seem to have taken it upon themselves to make all sorts of back-door deals with the locals, thus bringing a lot of this upon themselves.
Since Nigeria's capitol, Lagos, routinely shows up on lists as the world's most corrupt city, what's happening in the delta is probably just a reflection of urban politics. Too bad the multinationals were so eager to start slicing up the pie that they didn't make sure there was a stable and transparent government in place before the drilling started.
Many residents of the delta, increasingly awash with automatic weapons and rocket launchers, say they have given up hope of a peaceful resolution to the conflicts between armed gangs, soldiers and oil companies.
All those weapons had to come from somewhere. How many of them were bought with oil company bribery?
Here's a modest proposal. When these industrial giants go in and use graft or corruption to drive their expansion, make it illegal for them to write off any of their questionable dealings as a business expense or tax loss. These sort of asset drains should come straight out of the executive compensation and shareholders' pockets until they begin to vote in corporate oversight that doesn't mid-wife socio-economic disasters like this in the first place.
A militant group on Monday threatened to launch a campaign of attacks against ministers and government offices and warned Iraqi state employees to stay away from work. The group, calling itself the Divine Wrath Brigades, said its "military rebellion and the shelling" would start Tuesday against state buildings. "We warn all civilian government employees and others ... against going to the offices and institutions where they work because they could be subjected to shelling," the group said in a statement. It said humanitarian groups and Health Ministry employees working in hospitals would not be targeted.
Meanwhile, insurgents in southern Iraq attacked and set fire to an office of the political party of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. The attack Sunday night on the Iraqi National Accord party's office in Nasiriyah was claimed by a group calling itself the Islamic Jihad Organization. In a video obtained by Associated Press Television News, four masked gunmen were shown knocking on the doors of the office and forcing the workers out, before pouring what looked to be gasoline on the floors and setting the building on fire. One of the masked men in the video said Allawi was "subservient to the occupation," and warned his party members to get out of Nasiriyah, a city 190 miles south of Baghdad where Shiite militias — including that of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — have been active in the past. There were no injuries in the attack, said Capt. Haydar Abboud of the Nasiriyah police. Another of the party's offices in the town of al-Shatra, 30 miles north of Nasiriyah. was attacked Monday morning, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 19:38 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 19:34 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
It's interesting that Chalabi, who denied he had any connections to Iran a few months ago when his house was raided, was not arrested this time around because he happened to be in, wait for it... Iran.
Posted by: Scott R ||
08/09/2004 20:22 Comments ||
Top||
Mon 9 August, 2004 19:10
By Marcin Grajewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has said it has found no evidence of genocide in the Sudanese region of Darfur, although killing is widespread, with little evidence of government efforts to protect civilians. genociden : systematic killing of a racial or cultural group
Europe is rapidly losing the least whiff of credibility in their rush to kiss Islamist @ss. You almost have to think that their current mode of thinking would've labeled Auschwitz as a "Spa resort, complete with showers."
The conclusion of a fact-finding mission put the EU at odds with the U.S. Congress, which has levelled accusations of genocide at Sudan over a campaign of looting and burning by Arab militiamen against African village farmers. Sudan, which insists the Janjaweed militiamen are outlaws and denies rebel charges of arming them, said it expected to meet a U.N. deadline expiring in three weeks for it to improve security and human rights in Darfur or face sanctions. Pieter Feith, who visited Sudan on behalf of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, showed little optimism, even as he declined to endorse the assessment of the U.S. Congress. "Can't.Ever.Agree.With.America."
"We are not in the situation of genocide there...But it is clear there is widespread, silent and slow, killing going on, and village burning on a fairly large scale, but that has not the least semblance to genocide, no never!" he told reporters on Monday. "There are considerable doubts as to the willingness of Sudan's government to assume its duty to protect its civilian population against attacks," he said. "But that's not genocide either, nope, nope!"
The International Criminal court defines genocide as the "systematic and planned extermination of a national, racial, religious or ethnic group". The United Nations says more than a million people have been driven from their homes by the conflict and many are threatened by hunger and disease.
SANCTIONS THREAT
It has threatened to consider sanctions unless Sudan proves it is disarming Arab militias and protecting civilians. "We have a shortage of time but we think we can do it, anything to avoid those terrible sanctions like they had in Iraq" Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters in Cairo, contradicting First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, who said on Sunday that "logistical problems with killing all the infidels" made the deadline impractical. Sudan pledged in talks with the United Nations last week to set up safe areas called "graveyards" for uprooted villagers, to halt any work to disarm the Janjaweed and to stop offensive UN proclamations actions by its troops in civilian areas, all within years a month or less.
Chief U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in New York that Ismail and U.N. envoy Jan Pronk had signed letters to relay their agreement to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir -- but that the agreement had taken effect last week. Bashir told reporters his government was "fulfilling its role completely with regard to the slaughter protection of its civilians". Ismail rejected international estimates of the death toll resulting from the conflict, where two rebel groups took up arms against the government in early 2003.
He said government estimates did not exceed 5,000 dead, including 486 police, adding: "Those who say 30,000 and 50,000, we challenge them to bring their names, their families, their tribes, their graves." "Please be so kind as to produce written records for all of this while we finish mopping up."
Ismail said he was pleased that the Arab League and the African Union had both said KILL THE INFIDELS! there was no ethnic cleansing or genocide in Darfur. He said the government was providing most of the humanitarian aid in Darfur -- around 50 percent of its needs. All believers, please form a line to the right for bridge purchases and Florida real estate deals.
#1
I've acturally read "White Power" (Stormfront) articles declaring that existence of a swimming pool at Auschwitz is defacto denial of any killing operations.
___________________
Re: EU - "I see nothing! NOTHING!"
__________________________________Sgt. Schultz
#4
I wish President Bush would declare "shenanigans" on these gutless UN, EU and Arab League @ssholes. He should come out and say that, in the considered view of the Bush Administration and many in the US Congress, there is an ongoing genocide in the Sudan. He should also add that if the "international community" doesn't act, the US military will. Hell, I'd even let Charlie Rangel and the CBC join him in the Rose Garden for the press conference. He should then say that this lot -- the UN and the EU at least -- is who John Kerry wants to have a veto over the use of American power. Not only would it be the right thing to do, but it would expose Kerry as the @sshat that he is.
Posted by: Tibor ||
08/09/2004 17:23 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Hey guys, most of Europe missed it 60 years ago too.
#6
whitecollar redneck, according to this article, you may well be right.
31% of Austrians favorably reflect on Nazis
VIENNA - More than a third of Austrians believe that the Nazi era was in some ways positive, although pro-Nazi sentiment in Austria has dropped over the past two decades, according to a poll published Thursday.
I'll be posting this one when the guard changes tonight.
If dup please delete
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Sudanese government will take part in talks to end the violence in Sudan's Darfur region that are set to be held in Nigeria on Aug. 23, the Associated Press reported, citing Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the current chairman of the African Union, yesterday offered to host the talks between the Sudanese government and black African rebels, who say they have been discriminated against by Arabs in Darfur. As many as 100,000 people have died and another 1.2 million have been displaced in the past 18 months, AP said.
``We welcome and will participate in the talks that were announced,'' AP cited Ismail as telling reporters in Cairo. ``We open the door wide to reach an agreement on the agenda and issues. We don't have conditions and we won't accept prior conditions.''
Previous talks broke down on July 17 when rebels walked out. Last week, the United Nations called on Sudan to disarm the Arab Janjaweed militia, which is blamed for much of the violence, and give relief agencies unimpeded access to the region. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said last week Sudan must show progress within 30 days or face sanctions. Sudan denies backing the Arab militia.
MEMRI translation of Egyptian papers, edited for the industrial grade crack: Several articles and reports recently published in Egypt allege that the American intervention in Darfur is nothing but a plot to control the oil in Sudan and help President Bush in the upcoming elections. The following are excerpts from the articles:
"The fast locomotive of the Western intervention, led by the U.S., is about to pull into the Darfur station in Sudan ... where there is no separation between political and humanitarian issues. While the experts in Washington, London, and Khartoum are toying with the fate of more than a million Sudanese, displaced and scattered in the desert, the new amateur Sudanese politicians, the sons of Darfur, who visited the capitals of the world, have been intoxicated by the political and media glory and have lost their ability to present a coherent political agenda. The question is why did Colin Powell, the American Secretary of State, grab the ball from the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's court in this race to Darfur and [why he] mobilized behind him the European Union in an attempt to score the 'goal' of imposing international sanctions on Sudan? Why didn't Washington give the agreement that was signed last April between the government of Khartoum and the U.N. a chance [that may have saved] more than a million Sudanese from the threats of death, hunger, drowning in the vast desert [sands] of Darfur or dying in the refugee camps in Chad?
"The answers are not far from the American voting booths, and as usual they are not far from the oil barrel. Bush is awaiting his fate in November, and the U.S. is planning to make Darfur an easy path towards its major plan to transport the [Persian] Gulf oil and the African oil to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, so that Washington can meet its needs in the next decade...
#4
Yes, we want India to have cheap oil. We are wiling to spend our treasure and blood so that the price of unleaded in Calcutta remains reaonable. Blah..
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/09/2004 16:59 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Come to Iraq! You want sand? We've got a dozen different types ... Need to dry out after pub crawling around Europe, we're just the place to do it ... But it's a dry heat!
#3
Yeah, but if you want any heat at all you'd better get moving: my son emailed me the other day that it's starting to cool down, and the daytime temperatures lately are having trouble getting out of the 120's.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/09/2004 14:30 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Looking for the experience of a lifetime ending if you're an unarmed infidel away from Marines and other military personnel? Want that special memory that only being a hostage can provide? Care to defy the terrorists and make life harder for the Marines? Iraq is the place for you! We've got it all, from A to Z:
Ancient Ruins
Baghdad
Car Bombs
Doom and Gloom from the MSM
Eye-popping Islamic Rituals (Literally!)
Fortified Rebels
Grenades
Holy Cities
Iranian Infiltration
Jihad
Killings of Foreigners
Losers Fighting the United States
Marines Kicking Ass
No Saddam
Operations to Take Out Terrorists
Prostitutes in Burkas
Qur'an-Reading Bastards
RPGs for the Taking
Sistani
Tater
Unbelievable Progress Since Saddam's Overthrow
Veritable Danger-Zone for Civilians
Whiny Imams & Mullahs
X-"Militants" - a Rising Count!
Youngsters Growing Up With Hope
Zarqawi
Fun for the Whole Family! Make Your Reservations Today!
Posted by: The Doctor ||
08/09/2004 17:44 Comments ||
Top||
#11
They're simply going the wrong way about marketing it.
What they SHOULD do is create a theme park called "Jihad World" and advertise that those in the Middle East who want a holiday of "fighting the infidel" can find it there in Iraq.......oh, wait a minute, they've pretty much done that already!
Mauritania arrested several military officers Monday in an alleged assassination plot against the president, military officials said. Military members in the Arab-dominated desert nation were restricted to barracks nationwide, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Normal patrols stopped in the capital, Nouakchott. Dozens of soldiers with heavy weapons took up positions at the capital's electricity plant. There was no immediate confirmation or denial from the West African nation's government of the alleged plot against President Maaoya Sid Ahmed Ould Taya. The arrests allegedly occurred Monday morning. Those arrested included a lieutenant colonel, among other officers, the officials said, without specifying how many people were detained. "They were hoping to carry out their plan, but it was derailed at the last moment," said one official. State radio and TV continued broadcasts as normal, and no extra guards were seen at the media stations - generally the first targets in any takeover attempt.
That's on page 37 of "Coups For Dummies"
Taya has held power since December 1984.
That makes him a senior statesman
He withstood a June 2003 coup attempt that triggered days of fighting in the capital. Mauritania is overwhelmingly Islamic, and straddles Arab and African worlds on the edge of the Sahara.
Gee, sounds familar
The country has drawn increased interest internationally with oil exploration offshore.
Great, another Arab-African Islamic state with oil. Just what the world needs.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/09/2004 12:39:56 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
I thought his sudden need to see the doctor sounded funny.
As fierce fighting continued Saturday, August 7, for the third day running between US troops and fighters loyal to firebrand Shiite scholar Moqtada Al-Sadr, Iraq's highest-ranking Shiite scholar, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, headed to London for "heart treatment".
We commented on this last week.
Fairly effective way to avoid being taken hostage or "accidentally" bumped off. Or boomed by "persons unknown."
London-based daily Al-Hayat quoted Saturday an unnamed Iraqi official as implying that the US forces were seeking to eradicate Sadr forces in Najaf once and for all, in the absence of Sistani. "Sistani flew to London on a short notice as he wanted to be away from Najaf at this time that witnesses decisive fighting between the US troops and the Iraqi police on one hand, and the Shiite Muslim militiamen on the other hand. Sistani holds Sadr and his supporters accountable for the chaos plaguing Najaf and preferred to leave the city during this period."
"Plausible deniability" was mentioned
Either that, or "I can't bear to watch!" And probably a combination of both, along with a determination not to go the same way Ayatollah Khoei did...
#3
in the land of the public health service, there are still PRIVATE Physicians?
Ah, yes, one of the little secrets that never gets mentioned much. Britian has two health care sectors. There's the private one, world class medicine, available to everyone who can pay for it. Favored by the wealthy and dictators everywhere.
Then you have the public health service, take a number, wait in line, medicine for the unwashed masses. Providing you don't die waiting for treatment. This straight from friends of mine in England.
Of course, neither rich or poor in Britian seem to be able to find a dentist.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/09/2004 14:45 Comments ||
Top||
#4
That really doesn't seem fair Steve. Perhaps they can force these free Docs to contributue 40 hours a week to the common good. (Or Else)
Posted by: Any one of 4 million children needing orthodondure ||
08/09/2004 15:57 Comments ||
Top||
With fighting raging for a fifth day in Najaf, Iraq's interim defense minister on Monday accused neighboring Iran of sending weapons to Shiite insurgents here, calling Iran his nation's "first enemy." Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan made the comments during an interview broadcast on the Arab-language television network al-Arabiya. "There are Iranian-made weapons that have been found in the hands of criminals in Najaf who received these weapons from across the Iranian border," Shaalan said. "From far and near, the facts that we have say that what has happened to the Iraqi people is done by the one who is considered as the first enemy."
Since Thursday, U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces have battled fighters in Najaf supporting militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi militia. The U.S. military says hundreds of militants were killed in fierce battles Thursday and Friday; the militiamen have put the number far lower. The latest violence Monday killed three people, including two policemen, and injured 19 others, said Hussein Hadi of Najaf's al-Hakim hospital said. Najaf Gov. Adnan al-Zurufi said last week that 80 men who fought U.S. forces at a sprawling cemetery in Najaf were Iranian. "There is Iranian support to al-Sadr's group and this is no secret," he said on Friday.
We've known this for some time, nice to see others have noticed.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/09/2004 9:00:14 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Sudan on Sunday said that leaders of a rebel group in its western Darfur region were making regular visits to Israel and ties with the Jewish state had caused a split in rebel ranks. A rebel spokesman denied any link with Israel and said that the charge was an attempt to stir up Muslim public opinion. An Israeli government source told Reuters that the Sudanese statement was absurd. Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters in Cairo that some leaders of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had split from the group two days ago over ties between its leadership and Israel.
That makes sense. Not a lot of sense, but sense... Of a sort...
The Islamic government in Khartoum has said that 210 JEM rebels surrendered their arms in the Chadian-Sudanese border town of Tine on Friday, a report JEM denied. Ismail said those who had broken away from the group, "confirmed the leadership of the movement make regular visits to Israel".
You knew they'd work a zionist plot in somehow.
The Rubes buy it every time, too...
JEM, one of two Darfur rebel groups, denied the accusation and said that none of its leaders had split from the group. Meanwhile, Sudan sought Arab help on Sunday to head off possible sanctions threatened by the United Nations if Khartoum fails to rein in marauding militiamen, accused of genocide and ethnic cleansing in western Darfur region. The Sudanese foreign minister said Khartoum was seeking political support from Arab ministers "which will lead to the halting of any attempts to target Sudan or issuing of sanctions against it".
Which is why the Israel story popped up now.
Right on schedule!
Jan Pronk, the UN secretary- general's special representative to Sudan, told reporters in Cairo that he hoped the Arab League meeting would provide political support for the plan's implementation. The African Union said on Sunday Khartoum and the two rebel groups, JEM and the Sudan Liberation Army, had agreed to peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria on Aug. 23. But the JEM Secretary-General told Reuters that neither the JEM nor the SLA had been told of the date and rebel leaders were due at a conference in Germany on August 23.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/09/2004 8:41:54 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Thank god! I was fearing that we had lost control of that part of the planet. How could we spread our evil plans and plots if we lost control of muslims murdering muslims?!
#6
At some point this sort of fingerpointing will reach its logical conclusion when Jews are blamed for all of those violent passages in the Koran. In-f&%king-credible.
The number of Israeli civilians killed in terror attacks in the last four years is nearly equal the number killed by terrorists in the preceding 53, Shin Bet head Avi Dichter told the cabinet Sunday. Dichter told the cabinet that from November 29, 1947, when the UN voted for partition and Jewish statehood, until the start of the current violence in September 2000, some 755 Israelis were killed in terror actions here or abroad. Some 674 Israeli civilians have been killed since September 2000. Dichter said that in 2004, 22 Israelis - or some 30 percent of the total casualties so far this year - have been killed in Hizbullah directed operations, carried out by the Tanzim-Fatah faction.
The increased involvement of Hizbullah was one of the trends Dichter pointed out during his briefing to the cabinet, a briefing that some ministers complained was long on statistics, but short on depth. Dichter replied that he is unable to delve more into detail because the information he tells the cabinet is leaked to the press. He said his cabinet briefings are not substantially different from the information he gives to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He said that the only governmental body that receives more detailed information is the Knesset's Foreign Affairs Defense subcommittee on the secret services.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon echoed Dichter's claim, bemoaning that sensitive information is leaked from cabinet meetings. In addition to the increase of Hizbullah involvement in Palestinian terror attacks, Dichter said that there has been a substantial increase in the Palestinian use of women and children under 18 to carry out attacks. If in 2001 women and children took part in some 3% of the attacks, in 2004 they account for some 8 percent of the attacks. Dichter said this statistic reflects both the difficulty the Palestinians are having in successfully carrying out attacks involving men, and that the Palestinians are increasingly turning to "weaker and more impressionable" parts of the population for recruits. He also said that 17% of all Israelis killed since the beginning of the violence were killed in attacks involving east Jerusalem Arabs.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Zenster ||
08/09/2004 2:54:45 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Contrary views are always welcome. Hate-filled rants that expose the substanseless bile of small minds serve no point, and contribute nothing to discourse.
#4
Hate-filled rants that expose the substanseless bile of small minds serve no point, and contribute nothing to discourse.
But it's all some people got!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/09/2004 8:19 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Anonymous6017:
Piss off. Go back to Democrappic Underground.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2004 9:17 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Well, Fred's comment makes it official enough for me: Congratulations Anon6017 - you earned it through your sheer stupidity, hatred, and wasted existence.
#8
If those of us that support the WoT and aren't veterans are "chickenhawks" in the left's vernacular, what does that make guys like Anon here?
Maybe for ignoring the obvious danger and refusing to do anything about it even if they did recognize it blame it all on the Jews anyway, call them head in the sand Nazi Ostrich Pussies?
#1
This probably isn't going to have much of an effect. The people that need convincing that what we've done so far is right aren't going to be, absent a computer file in Hussein's own personal computer stating in black and white that he personally paid for the operation. And even then, some people would still insist that we shouldn't go around attacking rogue regimes....
Fighting around the southern Iraq oil fields that U.S.-led forces had previously thought were secure has driven out civilian firefighters trying to put out the oil well blazes, the top firefighter said Monday. "It's not nearly as safe as they said it was," said Brian Krause, vice president and senior blowout specialist for Houston-based Boots and Coots. "We're kind of sitting ducks out there."
The Iraqi resistance in the oil fields challenges U.S. claims that southern Iraq is quickly falling under allied control. U.S. Marines declared the southern Rumailah oil fields in Iraq unsafe for journalists to visit Monday, forcing the cancellation of a trip under Marine escort intended to give the media a first-hand view of the blazing wells.
Krause said that he had been told that Iraqi fighters dressed as civilians had clashed with British forces near the oil fields Sunday night, killing two British troops and forcing the evacuation of his firefighting team. Lynn Wray, a spokeswoman for the British military, said that she could not confirm the fighting or location but said that two British soldiers were missing in southern Iraq. U.S. military officials said that armed Iraqis in civilian clothes, some of them possibly using women and children as screens, were operating in the southern Rumailah area.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2004 12:53:06 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Obvious that the security issues are linked to Iran, IMO. Prolly why tater has to be defeated soon and the Iranian border pushed. Or stay static and hope everything works out ok.
The Pakistani media has reported that Qari Saifullah Akhtar, the Amir of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), was picked up by the Dubai authorities on August 6, 2004, and handed over to the Pakistani authorities, who had him flown to Pakistan the next day. He is presently under interrogation by the Pakistani authorities. The HUJI and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) came into existence during the jihad in Afghanistan against the Soviet troops. The HUM became a founding-member of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front (IIF) for Jihad Against the Crusaders and the Jewish People in February, 1998. The HUJI joined it subsequently. The two are also members of the so-called 313 Brigade of the IIF, which has come into existence recently. The other members of the Brigade are the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET), the HUM (Al-Alami), the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JUM), the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ), the Jundullah (the Army of Allah), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and an unidentified group from the Xinjiang province of China.
The HUJI has an active branch in Bangladesh, which is identified by the US State Department as HUJI (B). Previously, jihadi recruits from South-East Asia used to go to Pakistan and Afghanistan for training in the training camps located there. Since last year, there have been reports that the HUJI (B) has been entrusted by the IIF with the responsibility for the training of the jihadi about 200 jihadis from S.E.Asia escape to Bangladesh by ship after the US started its military operations in Afghanistan in October, 2001. The HUJI had played an active role in the training of jihadi terrorist elements of the Caucasus region of Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in cladestine camps set up in their respective territory. Its volunteers have also gone to Iraq to participate in the jihad against the US troops there. Of all the jihadi terrorist organisations of Pakistan, the HUJI and the Hizbut Tehrir have considerable following in the lower and middle ranks of the Armed Forces. In 1995, Gen. Abdul Waheed Kakkar, the then Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), had discovered a plot hatched by a small group of Army officers led by Maj-Gen.Zaheer-ul-Islam Abbasi, to stage an uprising, have Gen. Abdul Waheed and Mrs.Benazir Bhutto, the then Prime Minister, assassinated, seize power and proclaim the formation of an Islamic Caliphate in Pakistan. The HUJI was also found to have been involved in the plot. The implicated officers were all members of the HUJI. The officers and Qari Saifullah Akhtar were arrested. Strangely, while the officers were court-martialled and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, the Qari was released from detention and not proceeded against. After seizing power on October 12,1999, Musharraf had Abbasi, a close friend of his, released. Since then, Abbasi had been quite active in various Islamist causes.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/09/2004 12:27:29 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Let's see, in one article there's: HUJI, HUM, IIF, LET, JUM, LEJ, IMU, HUJI(B), JUI, JEM, (and an unidentified group from the Xinjiang province of China). Whew!
The Sudanese government has devised a "plan of action" to allay world fears over the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation in the African nation's Darfur region.
A 'plan of action'! That's the spirit! Boy howdy these Sudanese really know what sells at the U.N.
The administration in Khartoum has now just three weeks to disarm militias responsible for a reign of terror over the past 18 months, or face unspecified United Nations sanctions. Under the "Plan of Action for Darfur", the government will approach "militias over whom it has influence and instruct them to cease their activities forthwith and lay down their weapons," according to a report by The Associated Press.
"Hey youze guyz! Putcher rods away, youze scaring people!"
"But boss, we thought ..."
"That's yer problem, youze thinking! Douse da heat!"
CNN Chief International Corresponslutdent Christiane Amanpour, reporting from Khartoum, said Sunday the government of Sudan was "reacting to the increasing calibrated international pressure against it, including pressure by the United States."
Follow-up on Frank G's post yesterday, dentally extracted from a Rooters article.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi judge has issued an arrest warrant against leading politician and former Pentagon darling Ahmad Chalabi and his nephew Salem Chalabi, the head of the tribunal trying Saddam Hussein. Zuhair al-Maliki, chief investigative judge of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq, said an arrest warrant had been issued against Ahmad Chalabi in connection with counterfeiting money and against his nephew on a murder charge.
Ahmad Chalabi, who helped lead the United States to war in Iraq, was once touted as a potential leader of the country after Saddam was ousted, but has since been spurned by Washington and many in Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's interim government.
Ahmad Chalabi, who fell out with Washington over accusations he provided false information on weapons of mass destruction, said he would come home to fight the charges brought by the U.S.-appointed judge which he said were politically motivated. "I do not know who is doing this and why. They are not patriots. I have done my duty and helped liberate Iraq," he told Reuters from Iran, where he was on holiday.
"I will return in a few days. I can easily prove that these charges are untrue and I intend to defend myself and clear my name."
Sounds like a Rantburg Futures to me.
Officials in Washington have said Chalabi is being investigated for leaking secrets to Iran. In 1992 he was convicted in absentia of bank fraud by a military court in Jordan. He says those charges too were politically motivated.
Salem Chalabi, a lawyer, is leading the work of the Iraqi Special Tribunal which will try Saddam, the deposed president captured last year by U.S. troops. He told CNN the charges appeared to be very strange. "The warrant for me has to do with the fact that apparently I threatened somebody, I have no recollection of ever meeting that person, but apparently I threatened somebody who subsequently was killed," he said, speaking from Britain.
That would be enough to empanel a grand jury here.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2004 12:12:25 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And there you have it: CHalabi was State Dept's guy, Bremer's guy.
Biggest mistake Bush made was in letting Bremer and State Dept take over the occupation from the military.
#2
Why can not we use puppets that are not corrupted or murderers?
Posted by: Paul ||
08/09/2004 1:15 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Thats just it - we didnt need a puppet - we just needed locals to carry out the orders of the Military Constabulary - just like Germany post-WW2. ANd the US Military was going to take those Iraqi "regular" divisions that "sat still" as border security, paying off the commanders as promised, keeping the wapons out of the city, and keeping Iranians ans Syrians out (and incidentally keeping 50K armed and trained men way out in the country).
Bremer screwed that up.
Someone needs to clean out the State Department with a flame thrower.
#4
The very first sentence claims he was the Pentagon's guy.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/09/2004 7:21 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Umm, OldSpook, State HATES Chalabi!
They always have...
Posted by: Ernest Brown ||
08/09/2004 9:49 Comments ||
Top||
#6
OldSpook, problem was the Gardner's plan wasn't working. The Iraqi army disintegrated, and the officer corp of said army was thoroughly corrupt -- selling off the men's food and stealing their pay. That army wasn't good for anything, let alone securing a border. Gardner wanted to set up a government quickly, but he found out that there wasn't anyone to set up a government around other than crooks and nutcases.
Bremer was dealt a bad hand -- Iraq was in far worse shape than we thought it would be (and that's a legitimate criticism of our government). Bremer did okay with what he had, and frankly I'm impressed that we have Allawi and a chance for an election soon.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2004 11:47 Comments ||
Top||
#7
"Officials in Washington have said Chalabi is being investigated for leaking secrets to Iran." "I have done my duty and helped liberate Iraq," he told Reuters from Iran, where he was on holiday."
snicker. What better way to disprove allegations about one's giving secrets to Iran than to take a "vacation" there. Ha, ha.
In a futures re: his return to Iraq, I'd say he will eventually...but not before visiting France and obtaining UN top-cover.
Posted by: B ||
08/09/2004 12:17 Comments ||
Top||
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.
