"Why Aren't We Fighting the Religious Scholars, Theoreticians, and Preachers of Terrorism like Criminals, Murderers, and Robbers?" Saudi columnist Muhammad bin 'Abd Al-Latif Aal Al-Sheikh published two articles in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, in which he attacked the ideology of the Al-Salafiyya Al-Jihadiyya movement. He said that the ideology of this movement was similar to, or even worse than, the Nazi ideology, and that it should be dealt accordingly.
After the ruin, destruction, and bloodshed that Nazism brought upon mankind, [and since] the number of its victims reached tens of millions, the world arose to fight against this murderous ideology, and all steps were taken â on the ideological, cultural, and political levels â to prevent this ideology from spreading anew. The question arises of why, in light of the similarity between these two ideologies, we haven't learned a lesson from this human experience, and why we are not fighting against the foundations of [Al-Salafiyya Al-Jihadiyya] â its religious scholars, its theoreticians, and its preachers â just as we deal with criminals, murderers, and robbers?
Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, for instance, claims in his well-known book Millat Ibrahim [The Religion of Abraham, i.e. Islam] â a book that is a kind of manifesto for Al-Salafiyya Al-Jihadiyya â that the concept of jihad in Islam should be directed against internal [enemies] before [it is directed] externally, 'since the danger from the immediate vicinity, from its influence, its corruption, and from the internal strife that it engenders, is greater and more severe than the danger of that which is distant and not imminent... Thus, internal jihad and jihad [against] Satan take priority over jihad against enemies in general. The Prophet Muhammad did not start off [by fighting] the Persians, Byzantines, and Jews while ignoring [the Arab infidels] in whose midst he lived, [but rather began with jihad against the Arab infidels].'
Thus, the concept of jihad has become a destructive terrorist concept⊠This idea is a formative and decisive idea in the platform of the modern Al-Salafiyya Al-Jihadiyya. In his call to murder â which they consider jihad â Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi is a criminal and a murderer. How can we find him innocent?..."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Interesting piece, but not what it seems on first glance. On the surface it appears he's condemning "extreme" Islam, which we would likely presume includes Wahhabism, a rather dangerous thing to do publicly in SaoodiLand. But that's not the case. Two points... First, the Saudis don't think of the Wahhabi flavor as extreme at all - it's "normal" to be a Wahhabi in WahhabiLand, lol. Second, his actual complaint and charge is against internal attacks, attacks against Arabs, Saudis, Wahhabists, who are, in his view, less "extreme" and, thus, infidels to the super-duper pious Al-Salafiyya Al-Jihadiyya. He's stating the standard House of Saud position. They are pious Wahhabis. They're just not pious enough for these "Islamonazis". So they're victims and these guys are "terrorists".
How cold is cold? If you can't tell the difference between -50° and -60° - does it matter? Not a helluvalot - both will kill you - you just freeze a little bit faster.
Wahhabists may not be as "extreme" as the Al-Salafiyya Al-Jihadiyya flavor, but both have, as far as we're concerned, the same end goal. From a Western POV, it's rather fascinating that they focus on their "less pious" co-religionists first - and it's definitely comical to hear the Wahhabis squeal about "extremists" and invoking the Nazis to paint themselves as innocents, victims.
Nazis? Both qualify, actually. I'd like to fry them both up.
How many times do they have to win before they retire the trophy?
Dhaka, 19 Oct. (AKI/DAWN) - Bangladesh has topped a list of countries where corruption is perceived to be most prevalent for the fifth consecutive year. Chad, a central African country, shares the title with Bangladesh on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2005 compiled yearly by the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI). Bangladesh and Chad both scored 1.7 on a scale of 10, while the least corrupt country, Iceland, scored 9.7. Bangladesh first topped the index in 2001, and has held on to the position ever since.
"We're number one, we're number one..."
"Bangladesh has consistently been a poor performer in the CPI, reflecting the perception that rampant corruption continues undermining sustainable development," said the TI report published in Dhaka, and simultaneously around the world.
Professor Muzaffer Ahmad, a trustee of the Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International, said the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, and the leader of the opposition in parliament, Sheikh Hasina, can set an example in reversing the perception of pervasive corruption by making public their asset and liability statements. "Neither Sheikh Hasina nor Khaleda Zia have made the asset and liability statements of the members of their government public," he said. "The bureaucracy and business people, along with corrupt political cliques, are responsible for corruption," Muzaffer said. "But the people of the country suffer the most because of it."
Posted by: Steve ||
10/19/2005 10:30 ||
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It's a trick. Chad payed off the TI not to be on the bottom.
#5
Having spent some time in Nigeria, I'm frightened to hear that there are countries with even more corruption. In Bangladesh is it so bad that you have to pay someone before they'll accept a bribe?
#6
So how do you count the UN? While it is not a soverign government, it is one recognized by such governments. Does it rate a special recognition by the board of governors for lifetime achievement? Heh.
Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Jacques Chirac of France were to meet in Paris Wednesday in a show of bonhomie that also underlined their shared reputation as sometime-thorns in the side of the United States.
It was the third time this year the leaders have seen each other. Chavez saw Chirac in March in Paris, and then again in August on the French island of Martinique, where the two paid their respects to 152 French passengers who died aboard a chartered plane that crashed in Venezuela.
"This third meeting of the year shows the close, human and personal relationship that unites the two leaders," the Venezuelan ambassador to Paris, Roy Chaderton Matos, told AFP.
The two have had significant run-ins with Washington.
Chirac's efforts to get Franco-US relations back into friendly territory after the divergences over the Iraq war have butted up against new transatlantic disputes, particularly ones to do with trade, as can be seen in World Trade Organisation negotiations currently underway.
France and the United States are also at loggerheads in the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation over a proposed convention on "protecting cultural diversity" that Washington believes will be used to justify barriers to Hollywood film exports.
Chavez, a firebrand politician fond of neo-Marxist rhetoric,
and repressive acts towards political opposition
has rankled Washington with his constant assertions that, since a failed 2002 coup against him he said was organised by the CIA, he is an assassination target for the United States.
The fact that his country is a major exporter of oil to the US, that he is building up his military forces and that he has developed close relations with Cuban leader Fidel Castro means Washington is wary of him, and his attempts to forge a Latin American grouping opposed to US "imperialism".
US officials are also worried that Chavez might be embarking on a nuclear programme, according to a report in Monday's Washington Times newspaper.
It quoted an unidentified official as saying the Venezuelan govenment had made overtures to Iran, which is moving ahead with its own nuclear programme that Washington fears will be used to build an arsenal.
Although there was no proof that Chavez wants to build nuclear weapons, the newspaper quoted the official as saying: "We are keeping an eye on Venezuela."
sure he wants to. just a question of whether he's able to pull it off with a little help from friends like France and Iran
"They are quite kissy-kissy with Iran," the paper quoted another unnamed official as saying. "There is a lot of back and forth. Iranians show up at Venezuelan things. They are both pariah states that hang out together."
France was evidently not treating Venezuela as a pariah, however.
Chavez held a working lunch with French prime minister Dominique de Villepin -- who speaks fluent Spanish and spent much of his youth growing up in Caracas -- before preparing for his meeting with Chirac late Wednesday.
The two countries' respective foreign ministers, Ali Rodriguez and Philippe Douste-Blazy, also held a meeting to discuss bilateral economic, political and cultural ties, and Chavez and a group of 40 Venezuelan business leaders were to gather with French corporate bosses on Thursday.
"There is a desire on both sides to deepen bilateral relations," a French foreign ministry spokesman said.
Chaderton said France was a "privileged partner".
"Our relationship with France goes beyond sentimentality and is based on political convergence, a similar vision of the world and significant trade."
Exchanges between the countries in the first half of this year stood at EUR 235 million with the balance tilted in favour of Venezuela, thanks to its exports of oil and derivative products to France.
The French oil group Total is involved in Venezuela through a consortium called Sincor, which includes the state-run Petroleos de Venezuela company and the Norwegian group Statoil.
Chaderton said Venezuela also "admired France's military infrastructure" but said he was not aware of any deal for Paris to sell Mirage fighter jets to Caracas, despite behind-the-scenes lobbying by French officials.
Chavez arrived in Paris from Italy, where he called Tuesday for a "strategic alliance" with prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in the oil sector.
"Venezuela wants to become the principal oil provider for Europe and Italy," he said.
#4
Yah know we look at Chiarc too closely and not whom he is fronting for. "Total" needs to be decapitated and spun into lots of little firms. It makes the old ITT look like saints.
#7
A very scary alliance is forming but they are showing their true colors. Chavez arrives in Paris after meeting with Berlusconi to deal with Chirac, De Villepin and Abbas, Hugo buys a Russian sub, Belgium, France, Germany play wargames, Mugabe hugs Chavez in Rome, and French harboring of Syrian bad guys, in addition to the Chinese and other ME ties. Something has them all uptight.
#3
The writer of this piece is an idiot. He can look at the rate of technology increase in today's overpopulated world, compare it with 1600 technology increase and say we are falling behind because our increase per person isn't as high.
Could be we're getting a lot more technological increases but have a lot more sluggards on the rolls weighting down the numbers. That's the way it looks to me.
The guy also doesn't seem to understand basic economics. Oil starts running out and all of a sudden you'll see serious interest and investment in that Hydrogen and other tech. Heck, high oil prices have already spurred interst in shale oil again.
Victory at Ground Zero
By Rocco DiPippo
FrontPageMagazine.com | October 17, 2005
On September 28, 2005, New York Governor George Pataki announced that he was removing the controversial proposed International Freedom Center (IFC) from the World Trade Center (WTC) Memorial. His announcement officially ended an important battle in America's 40-year-old culture war and signaled a stunning defeat for the far-Left.
The IFC's founders had touted their âFreedom Centerâ as a âworld-class place of education and engagement, helping people to understand, appreciate and advance freedom's narrative of hope.â As the gateway to the greater WTC Memorial it would seek to âeducate, inspire and engage people around the world to consider freedom's promise, to feel freedom's power and to act in freedom's service.â But as facts concerning its founders, its advisory board and its financial donors, including billionaire George Soros, emerged, the IFC looked more like a left-wing indoctrination center than a fitting addition to the WTC Memorial.
The battle cry against the IFC was first sounded by Debra Burlingame, a Westchester, N.Y. housewife, in an op-ed titled The Great Ground Zero Heist. Burlingame, whose brother, Charles âChicâ Burlingame, was murdered on 9/11, served on the board of directors of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, the parent organization of the IFC. The IFC was the brainchild of Tom Bernstein, the board president of the U.S.-bashing Human Rights First, and Peter Kunhardt, a leftist documentary filmmaker. I wanted to know what had initially caused Burlingame, a self-described âlife-long liberal Democrat,â to oppose the IFC so I contacted her and asked her directly.
Burlingame says that she initially became suspicious of the IFC's mission when she noticed that its founders seemed to avoid specifics when describing IFC programs and when discussing what content would fill its 300,000 square-foot interior. Her concerns became more serious when she discovered that IFC planning sessions made no mention of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Afghanistan, Islamists or Iraq â all topics directly related to the attack on the Twin Towers. While examining the IFC's development program she also discovered that the iconic photo of an Iraqi woman holding up ink-stained fingers â a pro-freedom statement related to 9/11 if there ever was one â had been removed from a list of possible IFC display items and had been replaced by a photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had little or no relevance to events surrounding September 11, 2001.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: The Happy Fliergerabwehrkannon ||
10/19/2005 13:14 ||
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At his current spend rate, Soros may be only a multi-millionaire soon. And who cares what a mere multi-millionaire thinks, anyway? They're practically a dime for a dozen. ;-)
Unfortunately, it's the 9th circus court.
A case brought by parents and children challenging a California school district for its practice of teaching 12-year-old students to "become Muslims" will be heard in U.S. appeals court today. As WND reported, the lawsuit was filed by the Thomas More Law Center against the Byron Union School District and various school officials to stop the "Islam simulation" materials and methods used in the Excelsior Elementary School in Byron, Calif. The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, widely considered the nation's most goofy liberal, will hear oral arguments in the case.
The Thomas More Law Center says that for three weeks, "impressionable 12-year-old students" were, among other things, placed into Islamic city groups; took Islamic names; wore identification tags that displayed their new Islamic name and the star and crescent moon; handed materials that instructed them to 'Remember Allah always so that you may prosper'; completed the Islamic Five Pillars of Faith, including fasting; and memorized and recited the 'Bismillah' or 'In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,' which students also wrote on banners hung on the classroom walls.
Students also played "jihad games" during the course, strapping on little bomb vests, which was part of the school's world history and geography program.
In December 2003, a federal district court judge in San Francisco determined the school district had not violated the constitution. In her 22-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton determined Excelsior was not indoctrinating students about Islam when it required them to adopt Muslim names and pray to Allah, but rather was just teaching them about the Muslim religion.
But Edward L. White III, trial counsel with the Law Center, insists the school did cross a constitutional line into indoctrination. "The public school placed students into the position of being trainees in Islam, which is impermissible in a public school," he said.
Thomas More's chief counsel, Richard Thompson, believes there's a double standard at work in this case. "If the students had done similar activities in a class on Christianity, a constitutional violation would surely have been found," he said. "If the public school's practice is upheld on appeal, all public schools should begin teaching classes on Christianity in the same manner as the Islam class was taught in this case."
At the end of the three-week course, Excelsior teacher Brooke Carlin presenting a final test requiring students to critique Muslim culture. That part could be fun...
The Islam simulations at Excelsior are outlined in the state-adopted textbook "Across the Centuries," published by Houghton Mifflin, which prompts students to imagine they are Islamic soldiers and Muslims on a Mecca pilgrimage.
The lawsuit also alleges students were encouraged to use such phrases in their speech as "Allah Akbar," which is Arabic for "God is great," and were required to fast during lunch period to simulate fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Nevertheless, Judge Hamilton ruled the program was devoid of "any devotional or religious intent" and was, therefore, educational, not religious in nature.
Posted by: Carl Perkins ||
10/19/2005 08:33 ||
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When one of my daughters was in Middle School, they used a program from the California curriculum that emphasized this hands-on type of learning. The teachers had discretion on what to use and did not teach Islam but the Holocaust. My daughter had a number "tattooed" on her arm. We had to sign permission for them to participate with the goal of understanding other cultures. They also studied China, the Middle Ages and their papal/feudalism class structure, and Native American culture with survivalist scenarios if forced to fend for themselves in the elements. They went camping and canoeing during an early snow storm. She is now in teacher's college to be a Middle School teacher. Did they teach Islam exclusively or did they include other religions?
#2
I might add that they came away with a great appreciation for the US and our liberties provided by the Constitution, including separation of church and state. The realistic Medieval banquet highlighted how most of the people were only fed if they were in good with the nobles. They also understood how cruel people with the power of life and death over you can be and the ugliness of bigotry because they were forced to put themselves in another's place.
When Porter J. Goss took over a failure-stained CIA last year, he promised to reshape the agency beginning with the area he knew best: its famed spy division.
Goss, himself a former covert operative who had chaired the House intelligence committee, focused on the officers in the field. He pledged status and resources for case officers, sending hundreds more to far-off assignments, undercover and on the front line of the battle against al Qaeda.
A year later, Goss is at loggerheads with the clandestine service he sought to embrace. At least a dozen senior officials -- several of whom were promoted under Goss -- have resigned, retired early or requested reassignment. The directorate's second-in-command walked out of Langley last month and then told senators in a closed-door hearing that he had lost confidence in Goss's leadership.
The turmoil has left some employees shaken and has prompted former colleagues in Congress to question how Goss intends to improve the agency's capabilities and restore morale. The White House is aware of the problems, administration officials said, and believes they are being handled by the director of national intelligence, who now oversees the agency.
But the Senate intelligence committee, which generally took testimony once a year from Goss's predecessors, has invited him for an unusual closed-door hearing today. Senators, according to their staff, intend to ask the former congressman from Florida to explain why the CIA is bleeding talent at a time of war, and to answer charges that the agency is adrift.
"Hundreds of years of leadership and experience has walked out the door in the last year," said Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), "and more senior people are making critical career decisions as we speak."
On a recent visit to a large CIA station in the Middle East, Harman, the ranking Democrat on the same House intelligence panel where Goss once presided, said she asked for a show of hands from those who understood where Goss was leading the agency. "The vast majority didn't know, and they are worried," Harman said in a telephone interview during her trip.
Some of the struggles that have dominated Goss's first year stem from a massive reorganization that stripped the CIA of its leadership role in the intelligence community and made it subservient to a new director of national intelligence. Congress ordered the shake-up after several public investigations blamed the CIA for failing to detect the 9/11 plot and erring in assessments of Iraq's weapons. The probes crippled morale inside the deeply secretive agency. Goss's staff says he is confident he can reshape the CIA and, despite persistent rumors, he has no intention of resigning. "Director Goss loves his job and is dedicated to the CIA team and his vision of modernizing and strengthening our numbers and capabilities across the board," his spokeswoman, Jennifer Millerwise Dyck, said. "He wants to see that through."
Several moves in recent weeks indicate Goss is trying to address the ill will, which has becoming increasingly public, between his office and career officials at the CIA.
He held an agency-wide meeting to discuss staff concerns last month and later announced that he would not seek to punish career analysts whose poor performances had been singled out in a classified and internal review of the agency's work leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Risk is a critical part of the intelligence business," Goss said in a public statement that championed the CIA's successes. "Singling out these individuals would send the wrong message to our junior officers about taking risks." The statement went a long way to quell some of the unhappiness, officials said in interviews.
Harman's Republican counterpart argues that Goss needs to make significant changes, including among personnel, if the agency is to rebuild. "It's going to be very hard to get the change you need if you keep all the same players," said Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the committee chairman. "Yes, the agency needs to have good morale, but they need to have the right people in the right jobs, and I think that is exactly where Porter is moving to."
Taking over the agency at a turbulent time in its history would not have been an easy task for anyone. It was particularly difficult for Goss, an eight-term congressman who was close to the White House and who became fiercely critical of the CIA.
Shortly before he was nominated for the job, Goss co-authored a scathing indictment of the agency and its popular director, George Tenet. In a letter to the agency in May 2004, Goss and several congressional colleagues focused particular wrath on the clandestine service and human intelligence.
"After years of trying to convince, suggest, urge, entice, cajole, and pressure CIA to make wide-reaching changes to the way it conducts its HUMINT mission," the CIA "continues down a road leading over a proverbial cliff. The damage to the HUMINT mission through its misallocation and redirection of resources, poor prioritization of objectives, micromanagement of field operations, and a continued political aversion to operational risk is, in the Committee's judgment, significant and could likely be long-lasting."
Goss declined to be interviewed. But some of his close allies say the letter, which they believe he regrets in tone, if not substance, has haunted his first year and accounts for much of the strain between Goss and the clandestine service. "The letter is a pretty clear indication that he didn't expect to get the job," one official said.
Goss, who turns 67 in November, had been preparing to retire from public service and spend more time on a family farm in Virginia when he was asked by Vice President Cheney to stay on as House intelligence chairman after the 2001 attacks. When Tenet resigned in the summer of 2004, Goss was nominated to succeed the longest-serving director in CIA history.
At the time, Congress was working through details of a dramatic refashioning of the bureaucratic landscape, in which a new intelligence czar would oversee not just the CIA but also all intelligence offices in the U.S. government. Goss did not know whether he would eventually become the new director of national intelligence or end up focusing solely on the CIA.
"Porter took over the agency at an extremely difficult time, when his job was going to change fundamentally and the agency's role in the community was going to change," said Mark Lowenthal, a senior manager hired by Tenet. He left the CIA six months into Goss's term; the two have remained friends. "It was a hard time to become director," he said.
Goss divided his attention between the CIA and the rest of the intelligence community. In March, President Bush chose as DNI John D. Negroponte, a career foreign service officer and ambassador in Iraq. Negroponte's office is still taking shape, and it is unclear how much control he will exert over the CIA.
But the days of an all-powerful CIA director who reports exclusively to the president are over. Goss no longer has daily access to the Oval Office -- Negroponte is now responsible for briefing the president -- and Goss must coordinate all decisions with Negroponte's office.
Through memos and the recent staff meeting, Goss has tried to assure employees that he has made the transition from critic to champion and that the CIA will remain the country's preeminent intelligence-gathering agency. "CIA is the gold standard when it comes to human intelligence collection," he told the staff in a recent agency-wide meeting.
Among his top priorities is getting spies in the field to work more independently and to rely less on complicated relationships with foreign intelligence services. Some veterans have interpreted that push as either a disinterest in working with others or a rejection of a collection method that is highly valued inside the clandestine service. But Goss believes the agency has leaned too heavily, sometimes to its detriment, on faulty information gleaned from others.
Goss, who served as a CIA operative in Latin America in the 1960s, is also eager to reopen stations there so the agency is prepared when conflicts arise in otherwise quiet areas. That desire has been welcomed even by his critics, but some argue it is still too early in the struggle with al Qaeda to begin moving resources elsewhere.
"The CIA is like a lot of other bureaucracies," said former Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), a friend of Goss. "They don't like change and are somewhere between resistant and noncooperative."
In one of his first moves, Goss eliminated a daily 5 p.m. meeting on terrorism, attended by dozens of specialist inside the agency to better coordinate information on al Qaeda. Instead, he asked to be briefed on the subject three times a week in a more intimate setting.
For Goss, the new format worked better, but the abrupt change stirred dissent and suspicion in the agency.
A work trip to picturesque Slovenia had similar consequences. The trip raised eyebrows, from the spy division to the legal department, officials said, because Goss, an avid organic farmer, arranged for one meeting to take place at a local organic farm.
There is also a perception among some at the agency that Goss and his staff are not as engaged as Tenet, a gregarious New Yorker who roamed the halls, chatting up analysts and putting in 16-hour days at headquarters.
Goss's style is more reserved, and his aides said his days are just as long. But not all his work is conducted from behind his desk. "He begins every day with an intelligence update briefing prior to his arrival at the agency," his spokeswoman said. "He has meetings throughout the day; some are at Langley, some are downtown. Some days he stays very late, but every day is different."
In March, Goss complained during a speech that his job was overwhelming and that he was surprised by the number of hours it demanded. "The White House wasn't amused by that," one intelligence community official said. Then in June, Goss told Time magazine that he had "an excellent idea" where Osama bin Laden was but that the United States could not get him because of diplomatic sensitivities. This time, the White House and the State Department publicly disputed the remarks.
In a now-infamous e-mail to overseas station chiefs, Goss said appointments with visiting intelligence chiefs should be arranged for Tuesdays or Thursdays. The memo was apparently meant to assure station chiefs that he was setting aside extra time for important visits, but it bewildered officers in the field.
He eventually corrected the memo but has developed a reputation inside the agency, and out, for being unavailable.
When Goss arrived at the CIA in September 2004 with four GOP aides from Capitol Hill in tow, he was accused of bringing a Republican agenda to an agency that has long sought to distance itself from partisan politics. Personality clashes erupted between his staff and career officials, leading to two high-profile resignations in the clandestine service within six weeks.
Hoping to quell fears that the posts would be filled with political allies, Goss quickly promoted from within. But he has had difficulty retaining senior leaders. Most of those departing are doing so on their own initiative, not Goss's.
In the clandestine service alone, known as the "Directorate of Operations," Goss has lost one director, two deputy directors, and at least a dozen department heads, station chiefs and division directors -- many with the key language skills and experience he has said the agency needs.
"He obviously has a problem with the D.O.," said one ally in the intelligence community who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Some officials resigned in frustration with Goss or his staff; others took early retirement or arranged transfers out of the CIA. Robert Richer, the No. 2 official in the D.O., announced his resignation last month, then shared his concerns about Goss with the Senate intelligence panel.
Shortly afterward, the head of the European division, whose key and undercover role includes overseeing the hunt for al Qaeda on the continent, surprised his staff by announcing his own departure. Equally surprising to some was his destination: the Energy Department's office of intelligence, a small and specialized analytic shop concentrating on nuclear technology. For an operator of his seniority, the career choice was seen as highly unusual.
Goss tried to calm the waters with a town-hall-style meeting on Sept. 23 in the agency's white-domed auditorium, known as "the bubble." He focused again on the need for better and more independent spy work. But the message, one year after he was sworn in, fell short of at least some expectations.
"With all due respect," one junior officer told Goss during the question-and-answer session that followed, "it was a vanilla speech." Another officer asked about Richer's departure and sought assurances that others would stay. "Goss responded fully and made clear the future of the directorate is bright," his spokeswoman said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/19/2005 13:18 ||
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#1
If you were a foreign national, would you trust putting your life & familie's life into the hands of an American intel officer?
because alot depends on the agent, or his cut out, we need the best people.
The puzzle factory.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
10/19/2005 14:20 Comments ||
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#2
"Hundreds of years of leadership and experience has walked out the door in the last year." GOOD RIDDENCE! Hopefully a lot more of the Liberal vanguard will get a clue and leave.
#5
I agree. If they are still squealing more heads need to roll. FYI most of those that have quit are not agents; they are middle and upper management. That is where they cause the most trouble. They guide policy and the direction that we target our intelligence assets. They also hold the all-important purse strings of operations. If only 100 of the management has quit Goss need to get cracking.
#6
"RUMINT" has it that under Bush I and accelerated the trend under Clinton, DO became a warehouse for Ivy League liberals and thier cronies and the bootlickers their sort attracts. Its all CYA for that bunch, depending on national technical means instead of hard fieldcraft, management instead of risk, paperwork and budget instead of inventiveness and daring.
You stick your head up, it gets hammered down by the "old boys" club.
Goss is going to be a long time fighting this one. I've said as much, many times.
#2
Great post. Nice to hear the public getting mad. Wonder what the story would in Hillary country--NYC: "who knows I don't give a damn, next stops Afghanistan." -- Comrade Joe and the Fish.
Edited for brevity.
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - The 101st Airborne Division on Thursday reactivated a historic unit whose actions during World War II were the subject of the book "Band of Brothers." The 506th Regimental Combat Team - also known as the "Currahees," a Cherokee Indian word meaning "stands alone" - returned to the division just as its soldiers were completing final preparations to return to Iraq. The reactivation is part of the 101st Airborne Division's recent expansion from three to four brigade combat teams under a Pentagon plan to reorganize the Army into smaller, easily deployable units.
The unit - then called the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment - was among the first to land in Normandy during World War II. The Army deactivated and reactivated the unit several times, sending its soldiers to Korea and Vietnam, where the unit was critical to winning the battles on Hamburger Hill.
Posted by: Dar ||
10/19/2005 12:08 ||
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Sweet! I was in the 502nd, and we had a bunch of 506 stuff when the regiment was deactivated. Good to see the 506th back on the rolls.
US President George W. Bush on Monday called on âall responsible Islamic leadersâ to denounce terrorism as he hosted diplomats from nations with large Muslim populations as well as US Muslim leaders. âI believe the time has come for all responsible Islamic leaders to denounce an ideology that exploits Islam for political ends and defiles your noble faith,â he said as he held a Muslim meal and prayer at the White House.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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October 17 2005 at 0330 LT in position 06:02.87S - 106:53.57E, Jakarta anchorage, Indonesia. Robbers armed with long knives boarded a bulk carrier from an unlit boat. They threatened crew with knives and stole a life raft. They were in the process of stealing shipâs stores but alert crew thwarted the attempt. Robbers escaped in their boat. Master called port authorities on vhf radio but received no response.
October 13 2005 at 1230 LT at Jakarta anchorage, Indonesia. Six robbers boarded a bulk carrier at stern. Deck Officer raised alarm, crew mustered and robbers fled. Master contacted a customs patrol boat near by and the boat chased robbers for [a] few minutes and gave up the chase. Jakarta port informed.
October 13 2005 at 0500 LT, Sunda straits, Indonesia. An unlit boat chased a bulk carrier underway. Alert crew raised alarm, directed search lights and activated fire hoses. Boat aborted the chase.
October 12 2005 at 1830 UTC in position 05:01N - 111:27E, South China Sea. Three speedboats doing over 23 kts approached a bulk carrier underway. Ship took preventive measures and boats moved away.
October 12 2005 at 1600 LT, Marka anchorage, 50 nm south of Mogadishu, Somalia. Six pirates armed with guns hijacked a general cargo ship loaded with U.N food aid cargo. Pirates sailed the ship to Barawa. Unconfirmed reports say that after negotiations ship was released on October 14 2005.
October 12 2005 at 0240 LT at Dar es Salaam anchorage, Tanzania. Three robbers armed with long knives boarded a tanker via hawse pipe. They threatened duty A/B and stole ship's stores. Port control informed and a patrol boat arrived for investigation.
October 11 2005 at 0300 LT at Kandla anchorage, India. Seven robbers boarded a general cargo ship and broke into store room. Alert crew raised alarm and robbers escaped empty handed.
Posted by: Howard Dean ||
10/19/2005 00:02 ||
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THE US and Britain have lost confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and are hoping that December's elections will bring a new and more efficient government.
According to US and British officials, even members of the Iraqi cabinet are dismissive of Dr Jaafari, a former doctor who lived in exile in Britain and Iran, and do not expect him to survive in the job.
"I wish January were here now. This Prime Minister is not a natural strong leader," one US official said recently. A British source concurred: "The transitional Government is ineffective."
Dr Jaafari, the leader of the Dawa Party, a Shiite religious faction that was long repressed by Saddam Hussein, had been seen as one of the most promising political figures in Iraq and was a popular vice-president in the interim government. But his tenure for the past six months as the first elected prime minister of the post-Saddam era has proven to be a disappointment.
Coalition officials complain that Dr Jaafari, 58, has been an ineffective administrator and indecisive politician.
The most intense speculation over the succession is focused on the Vice-President, Adel Abdel-Mahdi, a former Maoist turned Shiite Islamist.
Given the likelihood that the next prime minister will again be drawn from the majority Shiite population, other possibilities include the return of Iyad Allawi, the former interim prime minister, and the accession of Ahmad Chalabi, the former darling of the Pentagon who bitterly fell out with the US but has remained a force in Shiite politics.
Dr Abdel-Mahdi, a 62-year-old economist who spent part of his exile in France, served as finance minister in Mr Allawi's interim government and narrowly lost to Dr Jaafari in the horse-trading to become prime minister earlier this year.
Some experts are increasingly asking whether the coalition faces "strategic failure" in Iraq after more than two years of ever-worsening insurgency and failure to deliver basic services.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to face tough questions by senators last night over Washington's policy in Iraq.
Dr Rice will testify on US-Iraq policy at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the same day that former president Saddam Hussein was to go on trial in Baghdad for "crimes against humanity".
Despite violence that shows no sign of abating, State Department officials said Dr Rice was expected to stress the Bush Administration's view that progress is being made, citing last weekend's relatively peaceful referendum as an example.
Iraqis last weekend voted in a referendum for a new constitution and while final results have not been announced, the charter was expected to have been passed.
Elections are scheduled for mid-December.
The Bush Administration has come under strong criticism from Democrats in particular for not doing enough to stabilise Iraq and of botching rebuilding programs aimed at winning over angry Iraqis.
US and British officials hope that, if the constitution is approved, the next round of elections for a four-year government in a permanent system will prove to be the turning point.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/19/2005 13:34 ||
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So we continue to see articles that quote anonymous sources, in this case THE US and Britain (whole countries? why was I not asked?), US and British officials, one US official, Coalition officials, Some experts, State Department officials, US and British officials
This article is pure gossip.
Posted by: john ||
10/19/2005 20:04 Comments ||
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Excellent slam dunk, john, lol. I will confess I never had any confidence in Jaafari, ever. I thought he was a pale wannabee compared to Allawi, a man who took on Saddam's assassins armed with axes.
Coming from Rooters and The Age, no doubt this article has editorial axes to grind, political long knives, and cares not a whit for a successful Iraq - the opposite is far more likely, to serve its agenda. I find it sad that the few people who control the agendas of the various "news" outlets will never have to face the people they've striven so hard to keep imprisoned by corrupt thugs, just to score a few points in their derangement games. I still favor hunter / killer teams, of course, to rectify such oversights.
I hope Iraqis can, someday, step outside their indoctrination, shrug off the clan, tribe, flavor of Islam, et al and begin to see the bigger picture. Perhaps a successful Kurdistan is the model they need. Those are shoes the average Arab Iraqis can imagine themselves wearing. Should that happen, then indeed, they could serve as examples to all of the other Arabs in bondage to monarchs, thugs, and mullahs - who will be able to imagine themselves in Iraqi shoes...
But I doubt they will have the century or two it would take them to "get it" - they've allowed the worst among them to rise to the top, intimidate them, co-opt them, and make them their resource pool. Indistinguishable, they are, now, when the killing breaks out. Many branches of the tree have died off or been pruned by reality. More will follow.
Al Qaeda in Iraq yesterday accused Arab League chief Amr Moussa of seeking to visit the troubled country in an attempt to end the âjihad,â or holy war, being waged by Sunni Muslim insurgents.
âThe new plot to save the American master has started ... under the banner of ânational reconciliation,ââ said a statement by Al Qaeda Organisation in the Land of Two Rivers posted on an Islamist website.
Moussa is expected this week to make his first visit to Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted the regime of Saddam Hussain.
âThe secretary general of this League has been asked to head to Iraq, and his objective is to convince the Sunnis to enter the political âgameâ with the (Shias), in return for (political) positions for many who pretend to be Sunnis,â said the statement.
This is meant to âhalt the march of the jihad in the Sunni regions,â said the statement, which could not be verified.
âLet all these people know that our combat in the Land of the Two Rivers (Iraq) will not only be meant to expel the occupier from Iraq,â it said.
âWe are fighting for (religious) legitimacy ... and for the establishment of an (Islamic) caliphate.â
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/19/2005 13:14 ||
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WASHINGTON - Secret US documents declassified on Tuesday on the eve of Saddam Husseinâs trial in Baghdad paint him as a cunning survivor who depended on guile and brutality to overcome constant challenges. But the documents, which cover 1975-2003, when Saddam held the power in Iraq, also reveal that US intelligence had little idea of how to influence or depose him and mostly hoped that he would be brought down by an internal coup.
Which GWB was smart enough to realize would never happen.
The documents were released by the independent Washington-based National Security Archive on Tuesday, the day before Saddam was to go on trial for the 1982 massacre of 143 Shiites in the town of Dujail north of Baghdad following an attempt to assassinate him there.
The declassified papers for the most part present detailed assessments of Iraqâs political, military and economic strengths and weaknesses over nearly three decades. They also show that US intelligence had an early understanding that overthrowing the Iraqi dictator would lead to instability that could pull the country apart. Saddamâs removal âcould usher in an extended period of instability in Baghdad. His successors probably could not maintain Saddamâs system of tight control and any post-Saddam regime is almost certain to fall into factional fighting,â said a 1985 CIA report on Iraq.
The report said that such infighting raised the chances of an Iran-backed fundamentalist Islamic regime coming to power â a widely anticipated possibility since the US invasion which toppled Saddam in April 2003. And a December 1993 analysis of Husseinâs survivability, while giving him an even chance of being overthrown within three years, also foresaw that if Saddam fell, âthe Kurds, for example, might be tempted to declare independence, while the Shias in the south would likely escalate their rebellion.â
Similarly, the recent political infighting over the new Iraq constitution has focused in a large part on Kurdish and southern Shia pressures for a large amount of political and economic autonomy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2005 00:39 ||
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Drat, Steve. Now I've got Gloria Gaynor stuck in my head...
The result of the constitutional referendum is not yet in but former prime minister Iyad Allawi is already rounding up allies to fight the next bout in Iraq's reshaped politics â a parliamentary election in December. Politicians and analysts say Allawi, a secular former exile who worked with British and US intelligence to unseat Saddam Hussein, is trying to stitch together a broad alliance in a bid to oust the interim government led by Islamist fellow-Shiites.
"Allawi is trying to put everybody together to face the government," said political analyst Wamidh Nadhmi. "People are already annoyed with the government because of its sectarian structure and because it failed to provide electricity, water and unemployment. Its problems are many." In the strongest indication yet that Allawi will run in December elections, he hosted a gathering on Monday of 850 politicians from across Iraq's sectarian, ethnic and political divides for what he called a "reconciliation conference."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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In the uncertain weeks following September 11, an internal power struggle was underway deep inside the Bush administration. Waged between partisans at the highest levels of the government, that battleâcaptured in a series of blunt memosâexemplifies the struggle to create a legal framework to give the president authority to aggressively interrogate enemy fighters in the war on terror.
On Oct. 18, Frontline goes behind closed doors to investigate the struggle over how and when to use what was called "coercive interrogation." The film begins with a policy born out of fear and anger and tracks how increasingly tough measures were taken to gather information about Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and finally the rising insurgency in Iraq. In an examination that begins at the White House and ends in the public debate about alleged abuses at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Ghraib, policy makers, government interrogators, and their subjects talk to Frontline about their experiences as part of this internal battle.
Of course, they bring out the usual suspects for interviews, Brig Gen Karpinski (since booted from service) and Fishback (who only "heard" about xxx, etc.) PBS Program Site
Posted by: Captain America ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
From TFWS: "I know, with no doubt, that these soldiers didn't wake up that morning and say: 'Hey, let's go screw with some prisoners tonight,'" she tells FRONTLINE. "⦠Lynndie England surely did not show up in Iraq with a dog collar and a dog leash."
Maybe so, Colonel Kapinski, but then they didn't have the leadership, oversight and discipline that would keep them from doing anything stupid. Leadership in that prison was abdictated by you and your staff.
Nice try, Colonel. No sale. Next.
Just another tear-jerk fest from the media. They are so sad of the lack of dead Americans and the overabundance of dead terrorists. Must suck to be so wrong for so long, that you can't tell the difference between Americans and their killers.
#2
Spot-on, bad. This was the most successful meme of the Moonbat / LLL Kool Aid Krowd, mainly because it was hammered as no other, and this is yet another attempt to give it new legs.
PBS is another stage for stooges. Putting Karpinski in the mix proves they have no standards, especially if that would eliminate the people they need to create the pretense that this isn't purely agenda-driven politics posing as journalism.
#5
Lynndie England surely did not show up in Iraq with a dog collar and a dog leash.
Probably true, but there is a chance that somewhere in all of Iraq there was a dog collar and dog leash and they found their way to Lynndie England. Probably one from that prison since I think Saddam's folks used dogs to intimidate.
There is also the chance that her unit, or nearby unit, had a mascot.
There is also the off chance she ordered it by mail.
But IT'S FOR THE KIDS!!! Sesame Street to teach them to read and write. And everything else to turn them into good productive little socialist tools. Remember, it takes a village.
An internet statement released in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq has denounced Arab League plans to stage a reconciliation conference between all Iraq's factions, accusing the pan-Arab body of serving US interests. The statement, which was posted on Tuesday on a web site known as a clearing house for extremist material, said the "Arab League initiative is a new conspiracy to save their American master under the pretext of national reconciliation, maintaining Iraq's unity and protecting the Sunnis against falling under Iranian influence".
The Arab League plans to hold a reconciliation conference at its Cairo headquarters but a date has not been set. League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is expected to travel to Iraq on Thursday, his first visit since Saddam Hussein's ouster, to try to organise it. The al-Qaida in Iraq statement, which could not be immediately authenticated, said Moussa was going to Iraq to "convince the Sunnis to enter the political 'game' with the Shia ... in exchange for stopping the tide of jihad in the Sunni areas".
"The Crusaders have found themselves drowned in a bottomless swamp (and) ... they have found no better allies than the old Arab agents and their League," it added. The United States has welcomed the Arab League reconciliation initiative and urged Iraq's neighbours to lend diplomatic support to Iraq's people and its government.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Heh, ol' Zarqi's kinda like the legendary TV kid Mikey...
"Hey, let's ask Mikey. He hates everything!"
Ain't nobody pure enough for Zarqi. I hope the offs the lot of 'em.
Amnesty International said it has sent three delegates to Baghdad to ensure that the trial of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is fair. The London-based human rights organisation said the delegates had arrived in Baghdad before Saddam and seven associates go on trial Wednesday on charges over the 1982 killing of 143 people from the Shia village of Dujail, allegedly as revenge for an attempt on his life. "The organisation is concerned that Saddam Hussein and his co-accused should receive a fair trial, one that satisfies elite European international fair trial standards," Amnesty said in a statement on Tuesday.
At least we know which side they're on...
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Amnesty which started out as the defender of individuals persecuted by the state, has now come full circle and is now the defender of the worst state persecuter of individuals in modern times.
#4
Wanted: Ex-US Military. Forming hunter / killer teams, now. If you love freedom, hate assholes, "ists", and realize we are at war with an international cabal bent on destroying America, the home of Freedom, by any and all means - Inquire Within. Irregular hours. Must have valid passport, 2 copies Honorable DD-214, hardcore esprit de corps. Everything else is negotiable except this: squeamish hand-wringing ankle-biting personal-agenda gutless cheesedicks need not apply. Such offal and poseurs may be duped into offered short-term employment as OpFor in live-fire training exercises.
#7
Headline hounds looking for PR around a mass murderer on trial. Wonderful. Wonder if AI has anything more pressing involving thousands of average folks to attend to at this time? The expressed priorities speak volumes about AI and what it is and what it is not.
#8
Watching the trial today convinced me- he's going to get a fair trial, the breathtaking scope of his crimes will be made clear, and with any luck he'll be hung live on Iraqi TV
#10
Thought I heard that they were looking for shooters, not hangmen.
Shootings better..."Damn, that shot was about 3' low, better raise the sights a couple of inches....Damn THAT shot was about 2'9" low (rinse and repeat as necessary)"
"In the matter of Treason the pig would appear
To have aided, but scarcely abetted:
While the charge of Insolvency fails, it is clear,
If you grant the plea `never indebted.'
"The fact of Desertion I will not dispute;
But its guilt, as I trust, is removed
(So far as related to the costs of this suit)
By the Alibi which has been proved.
-- The Hunting of the Snark, Fit 6
Wasn't that Sadaam's motto? I for one look forward to the trial. I am just on absolute pins and needles to find out if he is guilty of mass torture, rape, genocide [whatever that means].
Coincidentally, My juror summons for tomorrow was postponed. The lawyer for Saddam Hussein said Tuesday he will ask a tribunal for a three-month adjournment of the former Iraqi dictator's trial for a 1982 massacre. Saddam and seven senior members of his 23-year regime go on trial Wednesday to face charges they ordered the killings of nearly 150 people from the mainly Shiite town of Dujail following a failed attempt on Saddam's life.
Khalil al-Duleimi told The Associated Press he would ask during Wednesday's opening session for more time to prepare Saddam's defense and arrange for Arab and Western lawyers to join him in the defense team. Al-Duleimi met with Saddam for 90 minutes Tuesday at a location other than the usual place of detention for the ousted Iraqi leader. Al-Duleimi would not elaborate. "I can say no more."
Saddam's location has been kept secret since his capture by American troops in December 2003, but it is believed that he has been held at a U.S. facility at Baghdad International Airport.
Posted by: Carl Perkins ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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The longer you keep him alive, the more the bill will be [padded]. No problem understanding the concept.
Over 240 members of the main Palestinian political faction, Fatah, resigned in the Gaza Strip yesterday in a sign of internal division ahead of a vote to choose parliamentary election candidates. The 244 mainly young members from the southern town of Rafah, signed a mass letter of resignation saying that they were quitting in protest at âthe lack of accountability and democratization within Fatahâ. They also demanded jobs.
Fatah, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is due to pick candidates next month for January parliamentary elections in which it will be challenged for the first time by Islamist group Hamas. Fatah is divided between members demanding reforms and an old guard from the days of late leader Yasser Arafat that is widely seen as being tainted by corruption and incompetence. The members who resigned said they feared the primary elections would not be fair as the old guard has more influence. âThe resignation is addressed to Fatahâs leadership ... so that all members of Fatah will be assured of their rights... Also to guarantee that Fatah members will be given jobs,â said Abdel-Raouf Barbakh, one of the signatories.
The Fatah primary election is due to be its first. Previously, candidates were appointed by the leadership. The only previous parliamentary election was in 1996. Various armed Fatah factions in Gaza are also at the heart of lawlessness in the territory, which has intensified following Israelâs withdrawal last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Abbas is tainted, too, and meeting with De Villepin to address their strategy. Democracy threatens to cut the purse strings.
At the request of the United States Army, STARA Technologies will demonstrate its patented miniature guided parachute technology at the Precision Airdrop Technology Conference and Demonstration at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona.
On October 17th through the 21st STARA Technologies will present the capabilities of its miniature Mosquito guided parachute systems to several hundred U.S. Military personnel. The Mosquito is the only system in the world light enough and small enough to be used with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
The Mosquito enhances the capabilities of the US Military by providing the ability to use UAVs to drop Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS), communications relays, and medical resupply bundles with an accuracy of 100 feet.
The Mosquito can be launched from 35,000 feet from a UAV wing mount or an external flare/chaff dispenser. The Mosquito is 20x smaller than other systems on the market and will be the only miniature delivery system presented at PATCAD.
In the next six months the Mosquito will be dropped from 6 different UAV platforms including the Predator A and B series.
Additionally, STARA will be jointly presenting the capabilities of a new innovative composite parachute material called Cuben Fiber. Cuben Fiber is 350% stronger, 700% less stretchable and 75% lighter than conventional parachute material.
The inventor of the material and original designer of the composite parafoil, R.J. Downs will be a guest of STARA's and will be presenting his fabric to hundreds of military personnel.
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Yes but Islam has already developed the Koran...
The Army recently began using an unmanned aerial vehicle that is small enough to carry in a backpack for surveillance and intelligence gathering in Iraq. The 21-inch long Tactical Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has a wingspan of 21 inches. It uses flexible wings made of nylon which can be folded around its carbon fiber body, allowing the entire UAV to be stored in a 22 inch-long, five-inch diameter tube that can be carried on a soldier's backpack.
The TACMAV has two internal color cameras; one facing forward and the other facing to the side. The cameras can take video or snap shots of anything of interest and feed it to the operatorâs computer. Also, the TACMAV is powered by rechargeable lithium polymer batteries with a life span of 25 minutes. The TACMAV is propeller-driven, powered by an electric motor and is hand-launched, like a paper airplane, said Army Staff Sgt. Mark Yunker, TACMAV project trainer, Fort Belvoir, Va.
The cruising speed of the TACMAV is 30 knots, with a minimum speed of 15 knots and a maximum speed 40 knots. The technology is to be used by squad- or platoon-level units on foot patrols.
The TACMAV will give soldiers the upper hand so they can go into situations knowing whatâs in front of them, said Maj. Felix Rivera, TACMAV project team leader, Rapid Equipping Force, Fort Belvoir, Va. "There are a couple of different ways to control the plane," Yunker said. "You can use a joystick to control it yourself, or you can plot points on the computer and it will fly by itself."
The REF Technology Quick Reaction Force has begun training and equipping soldiers with this equipment so they can start using it as soon as possible, Rivera said. "This technology is great," he added. "It works very well and, if used correctly, will help save a lot of lives."
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Speeding up the execution of three Indonesian militants on death row for the 2002 Bali blasts could provoke a backlash and trigger more attacks, the police officer who probed the bombings said. Bali police chief Made Mangku Pastika said protesters should think twice about the possible consequences of putting Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Ali Gufron, alias Mukhlas, in front of the firing squad too soon. "I understand the demands of the Balinese to have a speedy execution of Amrozi and his friends. But have they thought about the repercussions?" Mr Pastika, himself a Balinese, told reporters in the island's capital Denpasar. "Terrorism could increase. This is what we need to consider and are we ready to face it?" said Mr Pastika, who led the 2002 bombing probe and was later installed as Bali's top policeman.
You should be. It's your job to not only face it, but to root it out.
The three have been on death row for around two years after courts convicted them of playing leading roles in the nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, most of them tourists.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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All muslims are better than any hindu or bhuddist is the message. These guys will never go to the wall.
#2
"Not executing them fast enough could also lead to attacks. So could letting them live. So could making funny faces,farting or breathing. Oh, and holding your breath could also lead to attacks. Please don't make my job so hard."
#4
Speedy Bali executions 'could lead to more attacks'
Whereas protracted incarceration will only incite their terrorist brethern to take hostages in an attempt to secure their release.
Kill them now, it eliminates a host of downstream problems that definitely will not occur if they are dead. Anyone who is not willing to take this chance is merely demonstrating that they are already coerced by the terrorists and therefore neutered.
That Bashir has remained alive so he can spew to further millions of Muslims about using nuclear terrorism should be proof enough of how dangerous it is to recoil from abrupt and final measures against terrorists.
Meanwhile the dirty Indos are making incursions into East Timor again. Such bad neighbours.
When they're not trespassing in Australian waters illegally fishing, or East Timor setting fire to buildings and terrorising Oecussi they are shooting Chinese fishing boats out of their waters.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday refused to rule out U.S. troops still serving in Iraq in 10 years or the possibility that the United States could use military force against neighboring Syria and Iran.
Rice deferred to the decisions of President Bush and military commanders as Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee pressed her for more specifics on the U.S. strategy in Iraq.
Asked specifically whether the United States would have troops in Iraq in five or 10 years, Rice said: "I think that even to try and speculate on how many years from now there will be a certain number of American forces is not appropriate."
At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan also would not rule out the possibility of a U.S. troop presence that far in the future.
"In terms of decisions about troop levels, we've always said that we will look to our commanders on the ground and they will be the ones who will make decisions based on circumstances on the ground," McClellan said.
Lawmakers also pressed Rice on strategy for dealing with Iran and Syria. U.S. officials have accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to flow across its borders into Iraq and Iran of supporting the insurgency.
Rice said the United States was using diplomatic means to urge a change in the behavior of both countries â but she stopped short of ruling out military force. "I'm not going to get into what the president's options might be," Rice said. "I don't think the president ever takes any of his options off the table concerning anything to do with military force."
Testifying before the committee for the first time since February, Rice sought to reassure jittery lawmakers â who are hearing from their war-weary constituents â that the Bush administration had a plan for success: helping Iraqis clear out insurgents and build durable, national institutions.
She said the United States will follow a model that was successful in Afghanistan. Starting next month, she said, joint diplomatic-military groups â Provincial Reconstruction Teams â will work alongside Iraqis as they train police, set up courts, and help local governments establish essential services.
But even as Rice tried to crystalize the plan, Republicans and Democrats asked her pointed questions they say Americans need to know.
"I'm not looking for a date to get out of Iraq," Sen. Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record) of Delaware, the top Democrat on the panel, said. "But at what point, assuming the strategy works, do you think we'll be able to see some sign of bringing some American forces home?"
Rice declined to answer directly, choosing to leave an estimate to military commanders. "I don't want to hazard what I think would be a guess, even if it were an assessment, of when that might be possible," Rice said.
Later, Sen. Paul Sarbanes (news, bio, voting record), D-Md., told Rice that her response to questions about U.S. troop withdrawal "leads me to draw the conclusion that you're leaving open the possibility that 10 years from now we will still have military forces in Iraq."
"Senator, I don't know how to speculate about what will happen 10 years from now, but I do believe that we are moving on a course on which Iraqi security forces are rather rapidly able to take care of their own security concerns," Rice responded.
Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island were among several lawmakers who asked Rice whether the Bush administration was considering military action against Iran and Syria, and asked whether the president would circumvent congressional authorization if the White House chose that option.
"I will not say anything that constrains his authority as commander in chief," Rice said.
The lawmakers' queries followed Rice's earlier remark that: "Syria and, indeed, Iran must decide whether they wish to side with the cause of war or with the cause of peace."
As Rice spoke, a woman in the second row of spectators shouted "Stop the killing in Iraq." A police officer motioned her out of the room.
By State Department design, Rice testified before the committee just days after Iraq apparently approved its first constitution since a U.S.-led coalition ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. Her appearance also coincided with the start of Saddam's trial in Baghdad for a massacre of 150 of his fellow Iraqis.
McClellan praised Saddam's trial as "a symbol that the rule of law is returning to Iraq."
Rice heralded the referendum on the charter as "a landmark" and said the US. strategy was moving from a stage of transition to a stage of preparing a permanent Iraqi government.
She described the administration's plan as "clear areas from insurgent control, to hold them securely, and to build durable, national Iraqi institutions."
"Our strategy is to clear, hold, and build," she said. "The enemy's strategy is to infect, terrorize, and pull down."
Alongside Iraqi allies, she said, the United States is working to dismantle the insurgent network and disrupt foreign support for them, maintain security in areas insurgents no longer hold, and build national institutions to "sustain security forces, bring rule of law, visibly deliver essential services, and offer the Iraqi people hope for a better economic future."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/19/2005 13:38 ||
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The more I hear from Biden, the more I realize why he's plagiarized so much - it's the only time he sounds remotely intelligent.
#5
Let's see how many barking moonbats were quoted in a single MSM article:
1. Biden .......... check.
2. Sarbanes.......check.
3. Chaffee.........check.
4. Hagel............check.
KEHL AM RHEIN, Germany, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Detlev Mehlis, the German investigator leading the U.N. inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, is convinced the bombing was plotted by a group of high-ranking Lebanese and Syrian intelligence personnel; his report, which he will hand over to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Friday, is set to reopen old wounds in Syria-Lebanon relations.
According to an article by the German newsmagazine Stern, which will hit the newsstands Thursday, Mehlis, 56, has launched investigations against key figures of the intelligence circles in Beirut and Damascus. United Press International has received the full text of the article ahead of publishing.
According to the piece, written by a journalist close to Mehlis and the investigation, the German and his U.N.-mandated, 100-strong staff heard from more than 400 witnesses about the Feb. 14 assassination of Hariri, the popular former Lebanese politician, who was killed along with 20 of his followers when a bomb exploded under his convoy in downtown Beirut.
In an interview with CNN, Assad denied any involvement in the killing and vowed to punish any Syrian proved to be involved in the affair.
The Syrian government has borne the brunt of Lebanese and international outrage at the killing, due to its extensive military and intelligence influence in Lebanon, as well as the public rift between Hariri and Damascus just before the prime minister's resignation. Mehlis' mission coincided with growing U.S. pressure on Damascus to control its 310-mile border with Iraq, stop supporting radical Palestinian groups, and end its interference in Lebanon where some say Syrian intelligence is still operating despite the withdrawal of all troops earlier this year.
The report will be made public just days after the death of Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kenaan rattled Damascus. Kenaan, 63, was reported to have committed suicide in his office earlier this month. He served between 1982 and 2001 as the head of Syria's military intelligence service in Lebanon where Damascus maintained several thousand troops and an important contingent of intelligence personnel from 1975 until last April 26, when under international pressure Syria was forced to withdraw. Mehlis questioned Kenaan, but not as a suspect, Stern reported.
He did, however, grill Ghazale for five hours, after which the Syrian reportedly acted rather self-assured: "I love all Lebanese, and Hariri I have loved especially dearly," he said according to Stern.
In Lebanon, Mehlis' investigation has led to deep insecurities. The government has beefed up security ahead of the report's publication to ease fears Beirut would slide into chaos. It had initially proclaimed the killing was done by an individual suicide bomber, but Mehlis and his team quickly found otherwise: At least eight people have been directly linked to the assassination, Mehlis found, with a total of 20 people overall involved in the case. Hariri's followers opt that the men responsible are tried before an international tribunal.
Four high-ranking members of the Lebanese intelligence have been arrested. In June, Mehlis' team had searched office and private apartment of Mustafa Hamdan, the pro-Syrian head of the presidential guard. Hamdan is accused of messing with evidence at the scene of the crime, as he ordered to fill up the crater left by the bomb, Stern said. Prosecutors arrested three more Lebanese officials, including Jamil Sayyed, the country's former security chief. Sayyed has sworn innocence, and said to prove so he would "go to the end of the world."
Syria is under great international pressure from the United States and France over the killing. Washington is expected to increase pressure on the Assad regime if the assassination proves to lead to Damascus. Observers say Syrian involvement in the killing would be near political suicide: It would likely destroy Syria's international reputation and hand its opponents a reason to deliver the blow that could finally destabilize the Damascus regime, and even possibly bring it down. Washington considers Syria a state sponsor of terrorism, though it maintains diplomatic relations with it.
None of the big political killings in Lebanon were solved in recent years -- but Mehlis has a reputation of getting to the truth. The 56-year-old German from Berlin has solved the "La Belle" case, the terrorist bombing of the Berlin discotheque in 1986, which killed two U.S. soldiers and a Turkish woman. Mehlis accused Libya of direct involvement in the bombing.
The importance of his new report and his own role might be compared to that of Hans Blix, the U.N. investigator who was deployed to Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction, which he did not.
The U.S. magazine Newsweek earlier this month reported that the U.S. government had discussed a possible military intervention in Syria. According to the article, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice convinced her colleagues to await Mehlis' report for a decision. The goal seems to be to "get [the regime] by the throat, and then really squeeze," Joshua Landis, a Fulbright scholar in Damascus who runs an influential blog called Syriacomment.com, told Newsweek.
So does Mehlis' report decide over war and peace? Or does it simply result in sanctions that might bring about the end of the Assad regime?
"I never wanted to be compared with Hans Blix," Mehlis told Stern. "But now I know how he must have felt."
Posted by: Steve ||
10/19/2005 13:26 ||
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In a sign of government displeasure, Syria's state media ignored Tuesday the Lebanese prime minister's call for diplomatic relations and border demarcation. In a first for Lebanon, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has called for an exchange of ambassadors with neighbouring Syria and the joint delineation of their common border. His remarks were widely reported in Lebanese newspapers and pan-Arab television on Monday, but not a word has appeared in Syria's tightly controlled media.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Now there's a hat to make Qazi or Fazl jealous!
Palestinian and Lebanese leaders on Tuesday used a first formal summit to condemn the smuggling of arms to Palestinian fighters in Lebanon â part of a recent round of diplomacy in Paris that has pinpointed Syria as a continued impediment to Lebanese security. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora denounced the flow of illegal weapons into Palestinian refugee camps â with the Lebanese premier saying that Abbas criticised "infiltration" of weapons through Syria.
In a joint statement issued after their 45-minute talks, Abbas and Siniora said movements of weapons and fighters in and out of refugee camps "negatively influence the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon." Siniora told reporters the presence of armed men outside the camps was "not necessary and not helpful," and that his government was seeking ways to regulate weapons within the camps. "I think we are on the right track," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora held talks at a U.N.-sponsored meeting Tuesday. The two leaders did not comment to reporters as they went into talks at a Paris hotel. But a Lebanese diplomat said they were expected to discuss possibilities for disarming Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, as well as regulating weapons within refugee camps. They also were expected to talk about the possibility of the Palestinians opening an embassy in Lebanon for the first time, and general economic and social relations, the Lebanese official was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. After the talks, Abbas was to leave for Madrid, Spain, then head to Washington. Saniora, in town for a two-day visit, was also meeting Tuesday with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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With a few days remaining until UN investigator Detlev Mehlis submits his report into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Lebanon was anxiously awaiting its conclusions and readying itself for its repercussions, locally and regionally. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said earlier Monday he would wait until the German jurist hand over his report before considering an official Lebanese request issued last Thursday to extend the probe for a further two months. âI have spoken to Mehlis but I will wait for his full report to be able to make a judgment whether to extend the mandate or not,â Annan said. âAnd if we do extend the mandate, what specifically will it entail and what will they need to doâ, remains to be seen.
Annan is expected to obtain a copy of the report on Friday along with Security Council members. Commenting on the likelihood of politicizing the report, as rumored in political and media circles, Annan told Asharq al Awsat, âI hope the report will not be politicalâ and described it as technical. âI know there has been a lot of political commentary and lots of discussions about it but from where I sit, I am determined to make it as technical as possible and not allow a politicization of the process,â Annan said.
It is expected the Security Council will meet Mehlis behind closed doors, with the United Kingdomâs envoy, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, indicating the Council would study the report before agreeing on the necessary steps to take. âThe next step would be to respond to the report but, until now, no one has a clear indication of what it will contain,â he said.
Despite the secrecy surrounding the report, senior Lebanese sources revealed that Mehlis, âhas uncovered the truth and will name things as they are. He will present the facts backed by evidence from gathered from testimonies, events in the run- up to the murder and afterwards, and expert analysis of the scene of the crime and the area surrounding including the bottom of the sea. All this has reinforced the investigation and given it a chance to succeed.â
âThe truth, known to the UN investigator only, has yet to be fully shared with Lebanese jurists. Mehlis told public prosecutor Judge Said Mirza and magistrate Judge Elias Eidof the headlines of the investigation but kept to himself the details and facts which will feature in the report presented to the Security Council on Friday,â the sources said. According to the sources, Mehlis will discuss possible Syrian involvement in the assassination and will indicate that Damascus did not cooperate fully with the investigation as the regime subjected his team to constant supervision which hampered their work and the testimonies they obtained.
The UN investigator was expected to request the Security Council issue a resolution obliging Damascus to question Syrian officials outside Syria to try and match their testimonies with information in his possession. Mehlis, the sources revealed, had given political and judicial figures in Lebanon a list of twenty suspects, including security officials, former politicians, and civilians, including Syrian officers. He recommended the men be arrested given their role in planning the murder and proposing Hariri be killed after attempts to isolate him politically, through elections, and judicially, by targeting those close to him, failed.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Well, let's see ... two high-ranking Syrian officials have committed "suicide." Does this mean the other eighteen will a) fall from tall buildings, b) drown in their pools, c) get plowed by an-out-of-control truck, d) ...????
The top coordinator of U.S. counter-terrorism efforts warned Tuesday of more attacks despite progress in the war on terrorism and said he was concerned that terrorists were trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
"The threat is real," said Henry Crumpton, the U.S. State Department's counterterrorism coordinator. He was visiting Indonesia, nearly three weeks after suicide bombers killed 20 people and wounded more than 100 on the resort island of Bali.
Crumpton said progress has been made in the global war on terror, with several high profile arrests made and potential strikes thwarted. But, he said, "realistically, there will be more attacks."
"But what really concerns me is weapons of mass destruction," Crumpton said, pointing to alleged statements made by Osama bin Laden's terror network about its interest in biological and chemical warfare.
He also cited evidence U.S. officials said they found in Afghanistan that al-Qaida was working on anthrax weapons.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/19/2005 13:25 ||
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He also cited evidence U.S. officials said they found in Afghanistan that al-Qaida was working on anthrax weapons.
Anyone else notice the press has forgotten the anthrax letters?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/19/2005 15:15 Comments ||
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The one's the FBI nailed on the Doc at Dietrick? Yeah, the G-men drained a lake and solved that one. What's happening to that blond babe in Aruba?
Morocco is breaking international laws in the way it is handling immigration problems, says the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The UNHCR says Morocco is not allowing them full access to camps where they believe asylum seekers are held. It says it is very disturbed by reports that Morocco's authorities are holding legitimate registered asylum seekers. Morocco has denied earlier claims it dumped more than 1,000 Africans in the desert without food or water.
The Moroccan government did allow the BBC into camps, 700km south of the capital, Rabat, claiming only illegal immigrants - and not asylum seekers - were being held there. But, under armed guard, Africans from war-torn countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo showed journalists their UNHCR registration papers and pleaded for help. "Look at the way they dump me here - suffering in the desert! Please I need help. I want you people to help me from this situation," said a woman.
Many said they were working legally in Casablanca and Rabat when they were rounded up by police, handcuffed and taken by bus to the desert where they were left without water. They begged the Moroccan government to search the desert for survivors. Morocco has firmly denied dumping Africans in the desert despite reports by international human rights organisations on the ground.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/19/2005 09:43 ||
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With all the shitty stuff that goes on in the world, nukes, WMD's, genocide, Zimbabwe, DR Congo, Chechnya, Sudan. The UN is worried about a problem that they don't even know exists in Morocco. What a bunch of tools.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Link's hosed with another script error at PakiWaki Daily Times. They seem to define SNAFU. Put in a good word for me, Fred, I'll write their scripts for, oh, say $150/hr. A killer deal - compared to being a dead in the water piece of shit website. :)
Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal president, said on Tuesday the people devastated by the October 8 earthquake did not need aid raised by music concerts because concerts were âimmoralâ. Qazi also criticised the government for accepting aid from Israel, saying this was an âinsultâ to the affected people.
I think the affected people are more concerned with groceries and burying their dead than with where the help is coming from. But I don't own a turban, so I could be wrong...
He said General Pervez Musharraf should quit as both army chief and president to allow the nation to unite to rebuild.
But he says that at least once a week, for whatever reason's handy...
âThe nation is facing a tragedy due to the earthquake. At this moment, President Musharraf should leave his offices to let the nation be united against the challenge. If President Musharraf stepped down today, we are ready to cooperate with the whole parliament including Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Shaukat Aziz,â Qazi told a news conference.
"... as long as we can be in charge, of course."
He accused President Musharraf of trying to divide people by summoning a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss relief efforts rather than the all parties conference the opposition had suggested.
Presumably the NSC is designed for just such occasions.
He said the NSC was a controversial body and it was unfair of the president to bring up every matter before the council when the opposition was against attending NSC meetings.
In other words, Perv shouldn't use the body because Qazi doesn't want him to.
Qazi opposed the establishment of âtent villagesâ in the quake-hit areas, saying that this would force the affected to migrate, which would dilute Kashmiri culture. He proposed the tents be set up in front of each victimâs house so that they did not have to leave their areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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[tent villages] would force the affected to migrate, which would dilute Kashmiri culture.
And... this is bad why? :P
See the move-outs and (however mild) disillusionment with the "idea" of New Orleans. Gawd, I never liked it and never forgave New Orleans for springing it up, and this isn't bashing the good people of New Orleans either.
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
10/19/2005 2:30 Comments ||
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Get a bigger flowerpot for your head, Qaz. That one's cutting off the blood flow. But it's not like you're not used to that. Hell, you probably like it.
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf yesterday said Pakistan would open its borders to Kashmiris from India to help their relatives in relief and reconstruction after a devastating earthquake struck the scenic region on Oct. 8.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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The Muslim Brotherhood did not strike a deal with the government to release one if its prominent leaders on Sunday, after five months detention without charges, a newly freed Essam al Erian indicated. In his first interview with Asharq al Awsat after leaving jail, al Erian said on Monday, âthis talk [of a deal] is laughable and untrueâ, stressing that Brotherhood members never negotiate with the authorities and do not fear incarceration.
Al Erian indicated his recent arrest was not the first and said, âWe have become accustomed to jail under the current political climate in Egypt, ongoing for fifty years. It is a standard punishment against Islamic or political activists.â Detention, he said, âis no longer extraordinary. This is not heroism but to get ourselves used to the tough conditions once inside.â
A medical doctor, al Erian was arrested with several other Brotherhood members in May 2005 during a street demonstration. Asked about the groupâs decision to halt public protests in the wake of his detention, he said, âThe Muslim Brotherhood will never give up demonstrating. It is important everyone realizes it is one of many tools but not everything of itself. Every action has its own special setting. We have a number of alternatives and protesting will remain an option if needed.â On his fear of being re-arrested, the Brotherhood figure said, âAs long as jails are used against politicians and opinion makers, no one is immune from being prosecuted.â He added, âWe will not give up calling for civil liberties, the respect of the constitution and an end to tyrannyâ. Referring to the recent flurry of political activity in Egypt in the last few months, the newly freed medical doctor said it had created a sense of optimism despite the continuing threat of detention and that winds of change needed time to make themselves felt.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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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.
After the ruin, destruction, and bloodshed that Nazism brought upon mankind, [and since] the number of its victims reached tens of millions, the world arose to fight against this murderous ideology, and all steps were taken â on the ideological, cultural, and political levels â to prevent this ideology from spreading anew. The question arises of why, in light of the similarity between these two ideologies, we haven't learned a lesson from this human experience, and why we are not fighting against the foundations of [Al-Salafiyya Al-Jihadiyya] â its religious scholars, its theoreticians, and its preachers â just as we deal with criminals, murderers, and robbers? 
Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Jacques Chirac of France were to meet in Paris Wednesday in a show of bonhomie that also underlined their shared reputation as sometime-thorns in the side of the United States.
October 17 2005 at 0330 LT in position 06:02.87S - 106:53.57E, Jakarta anchorage, Indonesia. Robbers armed with long knives boarded a bulk carrier from an unlit boat. They threatened crew with knives and stole a life raft. They were in the process of stealing shipâs stores but alert crew thwarted the attempt. Robbers escaped in their boat. Master called port authorities on vhf radio but received no response.
The result of the constitutional referendum is not yet in but former prime minister Iyad Allawi is already rounding up allies to fight the next bout in Iraq's reshaped politics â a parliamentary election in December. Politicians and analysts say Allawi, a secular former exile who worked with British and US intelligence to unseat Saddam Hussein, is trying to stitch together a broad alliance in a bid to oust the interim government led by Islamist fellow-Shiites. 
An internet statement released in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq has denounced Arab League plans to stage a reconciliation conference between all Iraq's factions, accusing the pan-Arab body of serving US interests. The statement, which was posted on Tuesday on a web site known as a clearing house for extremist material, said the "Arab League initiative is a new conspiracy to save their American master under the pretext of national reconciliation, maintaining Iraq's unity and protecting the Sunnis against falling under Iranian influence".
The lawyer for Saddam Hussein said Tuesday he will ask a tribunal for a three-month adjournment of the former Iraqi dictator's trial for a 1982 massacre. Saddam and seven senior members of his 23-year regime go on trial Wednesday to face charges they ordered the killings of nearly 150 people from the mainly Shiite town of Dujail following a failed attempt on Saddam's life.
Over 240 members of the main Palestinian political faction, Fatah, resigned in the Gaza Strip yesterday in a sign of internal division ahead of a vote to choose parliamentary election candidates. The 244 mainly young members from the southern town of Rafah, signed a mass letter of resignation saying that they were quitting in protest at âthe lack of accountability and democratization within Fatahâ. They also demanded jobs.
Speeding up the execution of three Indonesian militants on death row for the 2002 Bali blasts could provoke a backlash and trigger more attacks, the police officer who probed the bombings said. Bali police chief 
In a sign of government displeasure, Syria's state media ignored Tuesday the Lebanese prime minister's call for diplomatic relations and border demarcation. In a first for Lebanon, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has called for an exchange of ambassadors with neighbouring Syria and the joint delineation of their common border. His remarks were widely reported in Lebanese newspapers and pan-Arab television on Monday, but not a word has appeared in Syria's tightly controlled media.
Palestinian and Lebanese leaders on Tuesday used a first formal summit to condemn the smuggling of arms to Palestinian fighters in Lebanon â part of a recent round of diplomacy in Paris that has pinpointed Syria as a continued impediment to Lebanese security. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora denounced the flow of illegal weapons into Palestinian refugee camps â with the Lebanese premier saying that Abbas criticised "infiltration" of weapons through Syria. 
With a few days remaining until UN investigator 
Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal president, said on Tuesday the people devastated by the October 8 earthquake did not need aid raised by music concerts because concerts were âimmoralâ. Qazi also criticised the government for accepting aid from Israel, saying this was an âinsultâ to the affected people. 
The 
