Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has donated $5 million collected for his election campaign to help Lebanese and Palestinians facing Israeli onslaughts. Saleh, who is virtually certain to win the Sept. 20 polls, has donated one billion Yemeni rials ($5.6 million) collected by Yemeni businessmen to fund his campaign, Yehya Mohammad Saleh, who heads two solidarity associations for the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples, told reporters.
The two associations have since Saturday been raising funds to help Lebanese and Palestinians reeling under Israeli offensives. Around half a million dollars were donated on Thursday by Yemeni businessmen.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais [aka "Pudge"], imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, yesterday described the current Israeli military campaign against Lebanon as Zionist terrorism and urged that the perpetrators behind the aggression must be tried for committing war crimes. Those who condemn violence and fight terrorism must see how the children and orphans in a refugee camp were obliterated and listen to the cries of widows and mourners there, the imam said, in reference to the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese village of Qana killing mostly women and children. We call from the platform of the Grand Mosque in Makkah to stop this war immediately, Sheikh Sudais said while delivering his Friday sermon.
The imam also spoke about the irony of calling the heinous Israeli aggression and massacres as legitimate acts of self-defense and condemning the resistance of the oppressed as acts of terrorism...
He said the current campaign of the Jewish state against Lebanon and Palestine had unmasked those who have been supporting the enemy and misleading the world opinion by raising the slogans of humaneness, peace and democracy. Sudais said the new world order failed to stop Israeli barbarism and despotism. We should know that these killings and aggression are directed against every Muslim, he said. The imam also spoke about the irony of calling the heinous Israeli aggression and massacres as legitimate acts of self-defense and condemning the resistance of the oppressed as acts of terrorism.
He said this policy of double standard would not help bring about peace and security in the Middle East and it would only trigger hatred and hostility among nations. He said the barbaric bombardments, killings and destruction in Lebanon would remain in peoples memory forever. In his speech, Sheikh Sudais called upon the whole world to stand up against the Israeli aggression and tyranny. He also commended Saudi Arabias firm stand in support of the Lebanese and Palestinian people reeling under the Israeli aggression.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Well if the destruction will remain in their minds forever, there's nothing in it for the Israelis to stop, right?
#3
Death and destruction is what you A-rabs can grasp. You only whine when it happens to you. If you are the ones doing the murdering, it's gun sex in the streets.
Saudi Arabia, the worlds biggest crude exporter, believes oil should not be used as a weapon because it is the economic lifeline of Arab states, its foreign minister said. Asked whether the oil weapon should be used if the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Prince Saud Al Faisal said: The two issues should not be mixed because oil is among the economic capabilities that countries... need to meet their obligations towards their citizens.
If we ignore this reality and start asking that the foundations of our life (be used) and enter into reckless adventures, the first to be hurt will be our citizens...
If we ignore this reality and start asking that the foundations of our life (be used) and enter into reckless adventures, the first to be hurt will be our citizens and no wise government can accept this, he told a news conference.
His comments were carried on the official Saudi Press Agency late on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia and other US-allied Gulf members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) have made clear in the past they do not intend to repeat the 1973 Arab oil embargo, sanctioned by Saudi Arabias then King Faisal to punish the West for backing Israel in the Arab-Israeli war.
Saudi Arabia, Opecs largest producer, has repeatedly vowed to remain a trustworthy supplier to world oil markets and pledged to maintain at least 1.5 million barrels a day (bpd) of spare production capacity. The kingdom, which holds the bulk of Opecs spare capacity, has accelerated oilfield expansion plans to hike its production capacity to 12.5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2009 from 11.3 million bpd to meet growing world demand.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Oh NoNoNo, you can't use Oil as a weapon, but we can.
(Note, they've noticed the lack of refineries)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/05/2006 1:26 Comments ||
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We may be chained to their oil, but apparently they are just as chained to our dollars.
#3
I don't think this is insignificant. Most likely it comes down to 'we are more worried about the Iranians and 'our' Shia than about the Israelis right now.'
And I suspect a good deal of high-level diplomatic discussion is behind the statement.
#5
"If we ignore this reality and start asking that the foundations of our life (be used) and enter into reckless adventures, the first to be hurt will be our citizens and no wise government can accept this,
him means...
Brothers the Americans we kill us and take our oil
British troops fighting Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan are on the "brink of exhaustion", The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. Commanders fear that the number of "high tempo" operations being launched against the Taliban is "unsustainable" unless the 3,600-strong task force is reinforced with an extra 1,000-strong infantry battle group. Since May, British troops in Helmand province have fought 25 major battles in which they killed an estimated 700 Taliban.
Commanders say the mission has so far been "fantastically successful", but they believe that the relentless number of back-to-back operations being fought in harsh terrain in temperatures of up to 50C is beginning to take its toll. "The men are knackered - they are on the brink of exhaustion," said one senior officer. "They are under considerable duress and have suffered great hardship." Commanders believe that if they slow the momentum of attacks, the Taliban will gain time to regroup and reorganise before winter.
The Sunday Telegraph has also learnt that an interim study of the mission, by Brigadier Mungo Melvin of the Directorate of Operational Capability, has found "shortcomings" in the assessment of the enemy threat. Patrick Mercer, the Conservative spokesman for homeland security, said the Government had a responsibility to reinforce the task force. He said: "Why the Prime Minister is not giving the commanders in Afghanistan the troops they require is completely incomprehensible."
#2
Har har har! British commanders, British humor. I feel soooo sorry for the Brits!
Decisions decisions. To sleep, or go out and find more bad guys to send off to Allan. Sounds like a winning position to me! Maybe if they'd spend less time burying the bodies they'd have more time to sleep. Just stack 'em up like chordwood and let the enemy waste their time and energy disposing of the husks of the shaheeds. Heck, maybe they'd even get a clue after a while and go back home to tell all their friends about it. Probably not though. They probably believe all that crap about how they will be martyrs and give all their family, friends, pets, etc. free passes into Disneyworld when they die, too. Then again, maybe it's better to keep 'em coming until all the extremist sheep impale themselves on the Brits' bayonettes. At the end of the day, what good is a shepherd without any sheep?
C'mon, Tony, give the troops a break. Every extremist dead is one less (or more if you count their screwed up kids) to fight in the future.
(KUNA) -- North Korea may have relocated a long-range Taepodong-2 missile from a launch site from which it test-fired missiles last month, Yonhap News Agency reported Friday, quoting a government official. The purported missile was one of two Taepodong-2 missiles assembled at the launch site in the eastern district of Musudan-ri, North Hamkyong Province, where the first missile was launched on July 5 along with six other short- and mid-range missiles from other launch sites. "The (second) Taepodong-2 seems to have disappeared from Musudan-ri in mid-July," said Yang Chang-seok, a spokesman for the Unification Ministry, according to Yonhap.
Yang and Defense Ministry officials said they were still "uncertain" whether the North has in fact removed the missile, but refused to elaborate where the uncertainties came from. The Taepodong-2 missile is believed to be capable of reaching as far as the US west coast at its full capacity. The removal, if true, is expected to help soothe the tension between the North and South Korea sparked by the North's missile launches, as the presence of the second missile at the launch site has been believed to be a sign of additional missile launches, said the report.
Such concerns for a second launch, at least in part, have led to an unusually strong reaction from the UN Security Council, which unanimously passed a resolution condemning the North's missile launches and prohibiting any missile-related dealings with the North, only 10 days after the communist state test-fired the seven missiles. The officials were quoted as saying that there are two possible reasons for the alleged removal, which include adjusting or improving the missile before an eventual launch. Another possible explanation, according to the officials, is that the North has temporarily, or permanently, relocated the missile due to damages from recent floods there.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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The removal, if true, is expected to help soothe the tension between the North and South Korea sparked by the North's missile launches
Don't worry, you'll see it again after they stiffen the thing up with couple more boxes of duct tape.
#3
The thing doesn't work. No sense firing it when it will break apart right after after launch.
NoKo is on the bottom of the steep rocket learning curve.
Posted by: john ||
08/05/2006 7:09 Comments ||
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THey sent it back to Estes for warranty work.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/05/2006 7:33 Comments ||
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Estes is probably better at manufacturing boosters that NoKo.
This is a country that required technology transfer of chinese bicycle technology to set up a bicycle factory last year.
Posted by: john ||
08/05/2006 7:55 Comments ||
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Kimmie has sent it away to the email experts that have the technology to enlarge his dong.
#8
Removed for upgrade to the Ducttapedong version, newer better, they say the sling made from the original duct tape process gives this weapon a huge increase in range over previous versions.
Days after calling Iran a "stabilizing" force in the Middle East, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy issued a statement harshly criticizing Iran's call on Thursday to destroy Israel. "I totally condemn these words," Douste-Blazy said on France-Inter radio, in response to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statement Thursday that the solution to the current Middle East crisis was to destroy Israel. The words are "absolutely unacceptable on anyone's part, especially from a head of state," Douste-Blazy said.
The words are "absolutely unacceptable on anyone's part, especially from a head of state...
Douste-Blazy said that the crisis had presented an opportunity for Iran to "show that it can play a positive and stabilizing role in the region," but added that Ahmadinejad's statement "confirmed that this is not the case."
Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented...
In a speech during an emergency meeting of Muslim leaders in Malaysia, Ahmadinejad also called for an immediate cease-fire to end the fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed group Hizbullah. "Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented," Ahmadinejad said, according to state-run television in a report posted on its Web site Thursday.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Douste-Blazy said that the crisis had presented an opportunity for Iran France to "show that it can play a positive and stabilizing role in the region,"
O.K. Everyone throw down your weapons and capitulate. It is nuanced.
#7
Notice he's objecting to the words, not the sentiment. This is along the lines of, "Shut up, you idiot! We don't want to reveal our real position just yet!"
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi told an Egyptian daily that the crisis in the Middle East cannot be resolved without direct talks with Iran, according to a transcript of the interview released by Prodi's office on Friday. "Without direct talks with Iran, it becomes very difficult to resolve these problems because Iran is undisputably important," Prodi said in an interview with the daily Akhbar El-yom on Aug. 3. He called Iran "a key country in Middle Eastern politics."
At least we know which side he's on. But we'd already guessed that.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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"because Iran is undoobatebly undisputably important,"
He is already in bed with Iran, so why can't he come with a solution. Maybe he means, "Final Solution."
The White House on Friday brushed aside Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's call for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Clinton, in an interview Thursday with the Associated Press, called for President Bush to accept Rumsfeld's resignation over what she called a "failed policy" in Iraq. "I just don't understand why we can't get new leadership that would give us a fighting chance to turn the situation around before it's too late," the New York Democrat told the AP, adding, "The secretary has lost credibility with the Congress and with the people."
White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday there is no change in the president's position that Rumsfeld is the best person to lead the Defense Department. Snow declined to discuss why he believes Clinton is calling for Rumsfeld's ouster now. "I'll let her explain why she made the call," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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This bitch closet Jew hater is always trying to skate uphill.
#2
"I just don't understand why we can't get new leadership that would give us a fighting chance to turn the situation around before it's too late," the New York Democrat told the AP, adding, "The secretary has lost credibility with the Congress and with the people."
Hillary, I don't know what it is with moonbats, but they just don't seem to be able to understand plain English when spoken by a guy like Rumsfeld or read between the lines. Lord help us if we get somebody in that position who thinks so much they get paralyzed. Yeah, he's made his mistakes, but he understands them and he carries on in a fairly straightforward or at least understandable manner. Unlike some who think it's more important to posture politically and run interference than to try to be part of the process of coming to solutions. Instead they just sideline themselves by complaining or spewing conspiracy theories all the time hoping one of them sticks and parts the Red Sea so their clueless a$$ can ascend to power in a golden chariot to the sound of trumpeting. Why clueless? Because too much time worrying about appearances and not enough time with your sleeves rolled up. How much time did you waste with this venture? Kicking Rumsfeld out is a hopeless proposition. Now you look vindictive. You'd accomplish the same by beating yourself with a club. People are dying while you contemplate your next move while getting a manicure. Less show, more go. Just like Rumsfeld.
I'm sure we'll see a complete turnaround in this behavior in the near future. :-)
#3
Hildabeast is a political whore brilliant strategist who understands is dedicated to communism the nuances of politics and is running as fast as she can to become President.
The condensed version: You go to press with the version you want to sign your name to.
The Sept. 11 commission was so frustrated with repeated misstatements by the Pentagon and FAA about their response to the 2001 terror attacks that it considered an investigation into possible deception, the panel's chairmen say in a new book. Republican Thomas Kean and Democrat Lee Hamilton also say in "Without Precedent" that their panel was too soft in questioning former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani - and that the 20-month investigation may have suffered for it. The book, a behind-the-scenes look at the investigation, recounts obstacles the authors say were thrown up by the Bush administration, internal disputes over President Bush's use of the attacks as a reason for invading Iraq, and the way the final report avoided questioning whether U.S. policy in the Middle East may have contributed to the attacks. In their book, which goes on sale Aug. 15, Kean and Hamilton recap obstacles they say the panel faced in putting out a credible report in a presidential election year, including fights for access to government documents and an effort to reach unanimity. Nice little poison pen to stick into the Administration's back in an off-year election cycle, guys. Also a nice chunk of red meat to toss to the conspiracy loons while our enemies continue to plot against us. We all knew early on that this Commission was a side show designed to appease the rubes, and that no real Truth would be revealed, since the only Truth is that the Allenists have grown in strength and power, desire only the deaths of us all, and used our own foolishnesses against us.
#1
Capt Ed has a post about the DOD Inspector general refuting any perjury accusations from these hacks
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/05/2006 12:15 Comments ||
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Form the same commission which protected the author of the directive which shut off intel sharing between government agencies and which buried the disclosure of the Able Danger project which ID some of the highjacker before 9/11.
Basic Facts.
1-During the Clinton Administration the downsizing of the military resulted in the basic elimination of much of the interceptor force covering America. Another Peace Dividend.
2-NORADs detection system was aimed at external threats entering American airspace.
3-Vectoring information was dependent upon relay by person to person from the FAA to the military.
4-Fighters were scrambled and put into the air, some unarmed because the threat profile established in fact #1.
5-As a consequence, everything had to improvised as they went.
Any surprise there would be confusion?
Posted by: Chinese Whuger3858 ||
08/05/2006 12:34 Comments ||
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Fact is there is gonna be a certain amount of cover-your-ass in this sort of investigation. Fools and idiots take this to mean conspiracies but what do you expect of fools and idiots, that is their nature.
#4
Saw a poll the other day that said about 1/3 of Americans polled thought there was a 911 conspiracy. Can there be that many moonbats running around? Scary thought since many of them vote, drive, etc.
(KUNA) -- Dawood Ibrahim, who allegedly masterminded the 1993 serial blasts in Western Indian city of Mumbai and whose custody has been sought by Indian authorities, should be brought to justice, visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher said Friday. "He is in our list. He is one whom we would like to bring into justice," Boucher told reporters in Eastern Indian city of Kolkata Friday, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported. "I think he is responsible for some of the previous blasts," he said.
India has claimed that Dawood, is now living in Pakistan though Islamabad has denied the charge. "Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has recognised the necessity to fight terrorism. We will continue to work with Pakistan as we do with other countries as well," Boucher said. "Musharraf has made it clear that he does not want terrorist camps in Pakistan," Boucher said. "We can beat terrorism by working together," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Musharraf has made it clear that he does not want terrorist camps in Pakistan
Then he should close them down.
Problem is Perv wants an insurance policy. He wants the ability to turn the jihad tap on or off depending on how many concessions he gets from India or the USA.
The problem with keeping jihadis like attack dogs is that tend to perform jihad when you least want them to...
They are essentially feral and cannot be domesticated...
Posted by: john ||
08/05/2006 13:04 Comments ||
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An inquiry set up by the Indian government on Thursday found former foreign minister Natwar Singh and his son guilty of misconduct over the UN oil-for-food scheme in Iraq, reports said. The inquiry, headed by retired Supreme Court judge R S Pathak, decided that both Natwar Singh and his son Jagat Singh were guilty of wrongdoing, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. But no money from the sale of the Iraqi oil has been traced to either of them even though two of Jagat Singh's friends were found to have made money from the deal, another report said.
News channel NDTV said the investigative commission found the father and son guilty of misusing their positions in the Congress party to secure the oil contracts. But it said the probe exonerated Congress-also named in a UN report as a non-contractual beneficiary in the scam-of any wrongdoing. The reports followed Pathak handing over his 110-page report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Everybody else in it for the money but, I think this guy is in it for the food.
#2
He is the fall guy for the Congress party.
As one of Sonia Gandhi's inner circle, it is important that no money be traced to him and thus to her family. Hence the inquiry whitewashed their involvement.
Posted by: john ||
08/05/2006 7:12 Comments ||
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Hizb'allah losing the war for key hearts and minds?
Hizbullah must immediately stop firing rockets into civilian areas in Israel, Human Rights Watch said Saturday. "Lobbing rockets blindly into civilian areas is without doubt a war crime," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "Nothing can justify this assault on the most fundamental standards for sparing civilians the hazards of war."
"Most of the attacks appear to have been directed at civilian areas and have hit pedestrians, hospitals, schools, homes and businesses," the humanitarian organization's website stated.
Since July 12, when Hizbullah captured two IDF soldiers and killed eight, Human Rights Watch researchers have been documenting the war's impact on civilians in Israel and Lebanon, interviewing the witnesses and survivors of attacks, as well as doctors, emergency workers, police, military and government officials.
"Hizbullah must stop using the excuse of Israeli misconduct to justify its own," said Roth.
The organization's Web site recognized that northern Israel had come to a virtual standstill because of Hizbullah's rockets, which were "exacting an enormous human and economic toll."
"Under international humanitarian law - also known as the laws of war - parties to an armed conflict must not make the civilian population the object of attack, or fire indiscriminately into civilian areas. Nor can they launch attacks that they know will cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects that exceeds the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated. Such attacks constitute war crimes," the site explained.
"Several medical and educational institutes have sustained damage from Katyusha attacks." Human Rights Watch researchers visited hospitals in Nahariya and Safed after they were hit. At Nahariya Hospital, rockets had been landing near the hospital since July 12, a hospital spokesperson said. "There are no military bases around here; nothing military at all," he said. "I believe they know perfectly well they are firing at a hospital."
"In the absence of troops or military assets inside, hospitals must never be attacked," Human Rights Watch said. "Deliberately attacking them is a war crime."
Arab foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday in Beirut to support Lebanon, Arab League number two Ahmed Ben Helli said yesterday. "The meeting of Arab foreign ministers will take place on Monday in Beirut. It will be a follow-up of the session which took place in Cairo on July 15," the deputy secretary general of the pan-Arab body said. "We are holding this meeting in Beirut to express solidarity with Lebanon," the official added.
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08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Talk about a target-rich environment!
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/05/2006 10:29 Comments ||
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Are GPS coords known ? Get a load of 2000 pounders over to IAF pront.
#1
Almost anyone with 2 brain cells saw this (and more in the future, worse stuff) coming. I say, what you can do today, don't postpone till tomorrow--it is impretive to correct the mistake and ice the miscreant.
Oh, yea, his cousin too... why not go for a twofer...
#2
Friggin' pinheads. And the new government is right in the middle of it trying to fan the flames. It's my opinion that they try to nurture this hate to use as a rallying cry. Somebody needs to have a little talking to. And if that doesn't work, they ought to become the victim of an insurgent bomb. I'm sure it can be arranged. In fact, who knows, perhaps they are trying to get in good with the insurgency.
Jerusalem police on Friday fired stun grenades to disperse scores of Arab youths who turned violent after being barred access to the Temple Mount for Friday prayers, police said. There were no injuries reported in the noontime clash near the Damascus Gate.
Citing intelligence alerts over potential attacks, police prevented all Arab men under 40 from entering the Temple Mount due to the security situation in the country. Police sporadically close off the bitterly contested Jerusalem holy site to younger male Arabs on Fridays during times of high tension following multiple alerts over possible violence at the ancient compound.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Shoot them down in the streets. Use live ammunition and try for head shots. Kill as many as possible and then, after identifying the corpses, bulldoze their family homes and evict the surviving relatives, with no more than the shirts on their backs, into Gaza. That would teach these bastards a lesson they won't soon forget.
At the end of the day, action like what I've suggested is what it is going to take to cow them because brutality and force are the only things they understand. Anything else is considered a display of irresolution and weakness and leads to more of the unwanted behavior.
Posted by: mac ||
08/05/2006 1:21 Comments ||
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"Shoot them down in the streets. Use live ammunition and try for head shots."
That is what it is going to take. I'd suggest 7.62mm miniguns myself, and set the barrel height about four feet off the ground. Oh, and use steel jacketed rounds for the best effect.
Tolerance of bad behavior only brings more bad behavior! Arabs in general and Muslims in particular are the perpetual adolescents of the human race. Must be all those centuries of inbreeding, Islamic indoctrination and tribalism.
Over 150 left-wing activists and Palestinians were protesting the construction of the security fence in Bil'in on Friday afternoon. Some protestors were throwing rocks at security forces. A simultaneous demonstration was being held in the Hebron area, attended by 50 Palestinians and left-wing activists.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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What the heck is a "left-wing activist" in the region? Is this your basic Paleo fellow-traveler or in other words the enemy?
The ceasefire committees of the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have ordered a probe on the alleged takeover by the MILF of the base camp and minesite of a chromite mining firm in Banay-banay, Davao Oriental on July 21. Peace Process Undersecretary Ramon Santos,
Just what every nation needs: an Undersecretary for Peace Processors
chair of the governments Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and Von Al Haq, chair of the MILFs CCCH,
With a grand name like Von al Haq and a grand title like CCCH Chairman for MILF, this gentleman likely doesn't sleep in too many fleabag hotels...
told MindaNews by telephone shortly before their departure for Kuala Lumpur Monday that they would have the matter investigated.
"We'll get right on it...right after lunch!"
Alexander Benedicto, chair of the Heritage Resources and Development Corporation (HRDC), the firm operating the chromite mines, told MindaNews he has also reported the matter to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, head of the Regional Peace and Order Council, and that Duterte has vowed to look into the situation.
He'll get right on it as well...right after he makes sure his bodyguards are personally loyal to him and gets the brake lines in his car inspected.
The HRDC also asked Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes to intervene and to order all agencies to investigate the alleged takeover.
She'll need to get in touch with the enviro ofice in Brussels, and c'est la vie, it's Aout, everyone's on holiday.
Benedicto told MindaNews the MILF members were reportedly hired by a councilor and construction firm owner from Pangasinan.
Continued on Page 49
Slight trimming
The U.S. and France agreed Saturday on a draft Security Council resolution that seeks an immediate halt to fighting in Lebanon, breaking a three-week impasse caused partly by Washington's refusal to press Israel to end its offensive against Hezbollah. The resolution would chart a path toward a temporary hudna while Hez'Beelzebub rearmslasting peace with a cease-fire monitored by international troops like the ones currently aiding the terrorists. If passed, it would be the most significant international response to the crisis and raise hopes of ending combat that has killed at least 600 and left Lebanon in tatters.
The resolution must now go before the full 15-nation Security Council and gain Israeli and Lebanese acceptance - and initial comments indicated that would not be easy. Hezbollah warned it won't abide by the resolution unless Israel withdraws from Lebanon entirely, while one Israeli official called the draft an "important development" but vowed to press on with the offensive for now. The text also ignored three Lebanese demands: setting a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from the south, lifting Israel's full blockade of Lebanon and putting the disputed Chebaa Farms area under U.N. control.
President Bush is "happy with the progress being made" at the United Nations, but knows cementing a cease-fire will not be easy, White House press secretary Tony Snow said. "I don't think he has any delusions about what lies ahead," said Snow, who was with the president on his vacation at his private ranch in Crawford, Texas.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair praised the resolution as "an important first step in bringing this tragic crisis to an end." "The priority now is to get the resolution adopted as soon as possible, and then to work for a permanent cease-fire and achieve the conditions in Lebanon and Israel which will prevent a recurrence," Blair said.
The Security Council convened later Saturday to discuss the draft. Diplomats said the document was likely to be adopted early next week at a meeting attended by the foreign ministers of the 15 council members.
The resolution's central demand was for "a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations." The document then charted a detailed path for the two sides to follow to achieve a lasting peace. It envisioned a second resolution in a week or two that would authorize an international military force for the Israel-Lebanon frontier. Among those steps would be the creation of a large buffer zone in southern Lebanon free of both Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants, monitored by the Lebanese army and international peacekeepers. Of course, Hezbeelzebub will not be required ot keep any of the conditions, while Israel will be pressured to keep them all and go beyond.
The draft also called for Hezbollah to be disarmed and for Lebanon's borders to be solidified, especially in the disputed Chebaa Farms area, occupied by Israel since 1967.
Another element was an arms embargo that would block any entity in Lebanon except the national government from obtaining weapons from abroad. That was aimed at blocking the sale or supply of arms to Hezbollah from Iran and Syria, which are believed to be the militia's main backers.
The resolution would put significant pressure on Lebanon's government, which ceded control of the south to Hezbollah. "This is not a resolution that provides the comprehensive solution," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said. "I'm sure there are aspects of it that are displeasing to almost everyone but the point is this is a way to get started and that's what we hope to do." You have a lot fans here, Mr. Ambassador. Please don't go wobbly on us.
The draft's chief goal is to ensure that southern Lebanon does not slip back into the same state it was in before Israel's offensive, which began after Hezbollah guerrillas raided northern Israel on July 12 in fighting that left eight soldiers dead and two captured. "Who could imagine that such a drama could happen again?" French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said. "It would be irresponsible." But this is the UN and you are France. "Irresponsible" is SOP.
The U.S. and France had to compromise to get the draft adopted. Washington backed off its demand for a package of immediate steps, including the deployment of the international force in conjunction with a cease-fire. France gave up its desire for a blanket halt to violence, agreeing for the resolution to give Israel the right to conduct defensive operations - a term that the Israeli military could interpret broadly in response to any Hezbollah attack.
The draft made no direct demand for the release of the two captured Israeli soldiers. It only emphasized the need to address the causes "that have given rise to the current crisis," including freeing the abductees. The Security Council has made the same demands previously - most recently with resolution 1559 in September 2004 - but Hezbollah has refused to obey. "What we're trying to do is lay in the foundation so that you can finally enact the provisions of U.N. Security Council resolution 1559," Snow told reporters in Texas.
It asked U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to play a key role in setting up catering arrangements securing Israeli and Lebanese agreement to the principles for peace, giving him one month to work with the parties to come up with new proposals to implement the demands spelled out in resolution 1559 and elsewhere.
Hezbollah has said it would refuse to abide by any cease-fire until Israel withdraws from Lebanon, and Israel says it won't pull its troops out of the south until a significant international military force deploys in the region. "We will abide by it on condition that no Israeli soldier remains inside Lebanese land. If they stay, we will not abide by it," said Mohammed Fneish, one of two Hezbollah Cabinet ministers in the Lebanese government.
In Israel, Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog told Israel TV's Channel One that the agreement was an "important development," but said Israel would not halt its assault on Hezbollah for the time being. Still, he appeared to acknowledge the draft meant Israel's offensive would have to wind down soon. "We still have the coming days for many military missions, but we have to know that the timetable is becoming increasingly shorter," he said.
The United States and France agreed Saturday on a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for a halt to the fighting between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, but would allow Israel to defend itself if attacked. The draft, sent to the entire Security Council for consideration, "calls for a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations."
Israel, backed by the U.S., has insisted it must have the right to respond if Hezbollah launches missiles against it. France and many other nations had demanded an immediate halt to the fighting without conditions as a way to push the region back toward stability. The agreement broke weeks of deadlock as the U.N. Security Council had failed to take any significant action to stop the violence, primarily because of opposition from the United States, Israel's closest ally.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said the agreement will aid the peace process. "What we're trying to do is lay in the foundation so that you can finally enact the provisions of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559," said Snow, speaking from Crawford, Texas, where President Bush was vacationing on his ranch. Resolution 1559, passed in September 2004, called for the disarming of Hezbollah and the extension of Lebanese government authority throughout southern Lebanon.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 16:25 ||
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#1
If it doesn't call for the release of two kidnapped Israeli soldiers, it's a non-starter. Actually it should require the release of Shalit by Hamas, too.
#2
It's a nonstarter. Hezb will not refrain from shooting at the hated Jooooos. Israel's granted the right of self defense. Also, Shebaa Farms should never got to Lebanon in any agreement - that was already "settled" by UN fiat before
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/05/2006 18:57 Comments ||
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#3
giving Kofi Annan one month to work with the parties to come up with new proposals to implement the demands spelled out in resolution 1559 and elsewhere.
So that gives Israel at least another month to bounce an increasing swath of Hizb'allah rubble, after the resolution is passed. I don't think the bad guys are winning anything significant here.
The narrative here is of how the combination of Hezb'Allah's media management and modern photo-journalism has turned the recording of a tragic event into theatre, in the best tradition of Michael Moore.
As best we can, we have pieced together the jumble of evidence which surrounded the production of the iconic photographs which were published around the world, and put them in perspective. Many of the photographs have been used before, some are new to this site and others are video "grabs". But it is not the pictures, per se, that tell the story, so much as their ordering and analysis.
[Read the whole thing. Convincing evidence that Western "news" agencies are collaborating with Hizb'Allah.]
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) ||
08/05/2006 14:13 ||
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Investigative analysis.
Seeking facts and telling a true story, in its essentials.
Distinguishing between observed facts, claims, opinion, and propaganda.
Connecting the dots.
Doing it all in the open, and letting readers comment.
Surely this will be taken up in the MSM, on TV, and rewarded with journalism prizes!
The following is from LeMonde after running it through babblefish. (a translator program)
France and the United States managed an agreement on the draft Resolution which calls at the end of the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. The Elysium and the American ambassador with UNO, John Bolton, made the advertisement of it in parallel, Saturday August 5, without providing details on the text to the press.
"an agreement was found between French and Americans on the draft Resolution on the Middle East prepared by France to require a complete stop of the hostilities and to work with one cease to it permanent fire and with a long-term solution", the presidency of the French Republic announced.
The text must be presented Saturday at the Council by the representative of France "with the concern of reaching the broadest agreement", according to the French presidency. Taking into account the mechanisms of operation of the Council, the possible adoption of this text can hardly intervene before Sunday as soon as possible.
According to diplomats' in New York who took note of the draft Resolution, the text would call with a "complete suspension of the hostilities" between Israel and Hezbollah, but not at a "immediate end of violences", and would make it possible at the Hebrew State to be defended if it were attacked. According to John Bolton, this first resolution would be followed one second, centered on the question of the deployment of a force of international interposition.
The concluding of an agreement on Lebanon with UNO is "a first vital step to put an end to this tragic crisis", estimated Saturday British the Prime Minister Tony Blair. "the priority is now to adopt as quickly as possible this resolution then to work with a permanent cease-fire and to reach the conditions in Lebanon and in Israel" which will avoid new hostilities.
#1
Don't forget to put in a provision for international troops being required to immediately help defend Israel in a meaningful, big way in the event of a Hezb'Allah attack. That ought to make them stop and think about the reality of it all.
#2
Yah. I call that the "belling the cat" clause. Right now the Israelis are willing to try to bell the cat. Is anyone else?
Posted by: Phil ||
08/05/2006 13:54 Comments ||
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#3
Agreements with the islamos crazies tend to be viewed by them as a me to reload. Their objective is as always--get rid of the Jews and fellow travelers and live in a Muslim-dominated world. That is what they say. What part of what they say does the Western world not get?
Israel was waging a "war of starvation" on Lebanese civilians in an effort to force the Lebanese government to agree to Israel's demands, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said in a statement issued Friday.
It is an aggression that has exceeded Israel's declared objectives. Israel has now decided to destroy Lebanon...
His comments came after Israeli warplanes bombed bridges and roads in Christian neighborhoods north of Beirut, killing 5 civilians and making travel between suburbs increasingly difficult. Missiles struck the country's main north-south highway - its primary artery to the outside world, through Syria in the north. "The Israeli enemy's bombing of bridges and roads is aimed at tightening the blockade on the Lebanese, cutting communications between them and starving them," Lahoud said.
Maybe you should have laid in as many groceries as you did rockets?
He linked the new raids to Israel's failure to win quick victory in the south, where Israeli soldiers have been mired in ground battles with Hizbullah guerrillas for several days. "Today's air raids confirm that Israel is trying to compensate for the losses of its army in the south ... by cutting off the only coastal highway remaining to transport aid to displaced people and refugees and supply the country with oil products, foodstuffs and aid. It is a war of starvation launched by Israel against Lebanon. It is an aggression that has exceeded Israel's declared objectives. Israel has now decided to destroy Lebanon."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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"The Israeli enemy's bombing of bridges and roads is aimed at tightening the blockade on the Lebanese, cutting communications between them and starving them," Lahoud said.
Lahoud seems to have a skewed view of the situation.
"Today's air raids confirm that Israel is trying to compensate for the losses of its army in the south ... by cutting off the only coastal highway remaining to transport aid to displaced people and refugees and supply the country with oil products, foodstuffs and aid.
. . . and missiles . . .
"It is an aggression that has exceeded Israel's declared objectives.
That's because Lebanon seems to be siding with Hezb'Allah. You could always side with Israel.
Israel has now decided to destroy Lebanon."
Is that why all the FMs of the Arab nations are planning a summit in Beirut?
Yada yada yada to go with the natter natter natter.
#2
More BS. Food production facilities are not being targeted and, in any case, Beirut - outside of the Hizbollah districts - has been barely touched by the IAF. If there is any "starvation" in Lebanon it is caused by Hizbollah's use of forced human shields.
On another matter, Condi is floating US training of a professional army of Lebanon. That didn't work in the early eighties, and won't work today. The US should be treating Hizbollah like Nazis were treated in 1945.
#3
Doesn't look like Lahoud has ever missed a meal. Maybe a little starvation would be good for him. Of course, an Israeli bullet between his eyes would be great for Israel, and not too bad for Lebanon.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/05/2006 8:04 Comments ||
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#4
Even if they are, that's fine by Me. I no longer value moslem life. I'm not calling for genocide, nor is Israel even remotely doing such a thing, but I couldn't care less about "civilian" casualties incurred when killing of the terrorist bastards.
Too bad about the Christian and Jewish deaths, though.
About 100 demonstrators threw stones and firebombs at the British Embassy in Teheran on Friday, damaging the building but harming nobody as they accused Britain and the United States of being accomplices in Israel's fight against Hizbullah. Demonstrators also smashed some of the building's windows as they called for its closure and the expulsion of the British ambassador.
A British Foreign Office spokesman, on customary condition of anonymity, said nobody was harmed. "Protesters were throwing bricks and at least one petrol bomb but everyone's OK," he said. "There was just some damage to perimeter of the embassy."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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The Bush administration has imposed sanctions against seven foreign companies, including two from India and two from Russia, after accusing them of business dealings with Iran involving sensitive technology, the government said Friday.
Under the sanctions, the federal government is prohibited from dealing with any of the seven companies...
The action comes at a sensitive time for the Bush administration, which is trying to push through Congress its plan to sell civilian nuclear technology to India. In addition, the United States is trying to enlist Moscow's help to pressure Iran and North Korea to abandon their nuclear programs. Tensions between the United States and Iran are running high over Teheran's nuclear effort and its support for Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia at war with Israel in southern Lebanon. The seven businesses, which also included two from North Korea and one from Cuba, were found to be in violation of the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000. The law is aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction to Teheran.
Under the sanctions, the federal government is prohibited from dealing with any of the seven companies. The sanctions also suspend any current export licenses to the foreign entities for certain products considered sensitive under a 1979 law and prohibits issuance of new licenses.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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NEW DELHI: Balaji Amines, a chemical company blacklisted by the US for dealings with Iran, disputed American claims saying it had not supplied any product that could be used in the weapons of mass destruction.
"We have not supplied any products which fall under the Schedule I, II and II of Chemicals Weapons Convention Act to Iran. We have supplied only three products which are used in making life saving anti-biotics," Secunderabad-based Balaji Amines Director Commercial D Ram Reddy said.
Officials of the other company, Mumbai-based Prachi Poly Products which was also sanctioned by the US could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Balaji Amines had supplied three chemicals triethyleamide, diethylyamide and diethyleacetamide used in the manufacture of ampicillin, amoxyciline and cephalaxin to Iran's Zakaria Tabriz Pharmaceutical and Chemical Co and Antibiotic Sazi Iran.
"Even that supply also we have stopped since December 2005 after an intimation from the external affairs ministry," he added.
Asked if these products could be be used in any way for development of any weapons of mass destruction, Reddy replied in the negative.
"The only other usage is as a foundry chemical," he said, adding that many European companies still continue to supply the same chemicals to Iran.
Reddy said while the company was more concerned about the blame, it wanted New Delhi to support the domestic industry.
"More than our business we are more worried about the blame as we are a company which has consistently complied with all regulations," he added.
Posted by: john ||
08/05/2006 13:42 Comments ||
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Iran admitted for the first time on Friday that it did indeed supply long-range Zelzal-2 missiles to Hizbullah. Secretary-general of the "Intifada conference" Mohtashami Pur told an Iranian newspaper that Iran transferred the missiles so that they could be used to defend Lebanon, Channel 1 reported.
... without direct orders from the ayatollahs, Hizbullah is not allowed to use Iranian missiles...
The extent of Iran's intimate involvement in Hizbullah attacks is starting to emerge. According to the defense establishment, the reason Hizbullah has not fired long-range Iranian-made Fajr missiles at Israel is due to Teheran's opposition. Israel now understands that without direct orders from the ayatollahs, Hizbullah is not allowed to use Iranian missiles in attacks against Israel.
The IDF also believes that it seriously damaged the long-range rocket array in the first night of air strikes almost three weeks ago and impaired Hizbullah's ability to fire the rockets. The longer-range Zelzal missiles, manufactured by Iran and capable of reaching Tel Aviv, have also not been fired at Israel, and the IDF believes this is because it destroyed almost two-thirds of these in the Hizbullah arsenal.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I guess they felt they either ran out of "plausible deniability" or that it would make for good press in the Muslim world. Or both.
#5
LEBANON-SYRIA now belong to IRAN - they just don't know it yet. One-Half plus of CONUS-NORAM belonged to China as soon as the ink touched the Chicom defense white paper, only we Americans = Amerikans. Demo America = Socialist Amerika, etal. don't know or realize it yet.
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.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has donated $5 million collected for his election campaign to help Lebanese and Palestinians facing Israeli onslaughts. Saleh, who is virtually certain to win the Sept. 20 polls, has donated one billion Yemeni rials ($5.6 million) collected by Yemeni businessmen to fund his campaign, Yehya Mohammad Saleh, who heads two solidarity associations for the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples, told reporters.
Saudi Arabia, the worlds biggest crude exporter, believes oil should not be used as a weapon because it is the economic lifeline of Arab states, its foreign minister said. Asked whether the oil weapon should be used if the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Prince Saud Al Faisal said: The two issues should not be mixed because oil is among the economic capabilities that countries... need to meet their obligations towards their citizens. 
British troops fighting Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan are on the "brink of exhaustion", The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. Commanders fear that the number of "high tempo" operations being launched against the Taliban is "unsustainable" unless the 3,600-strong task force is reinforced with an extra 1,000-strong infantry battle group. Since May, British troops in Helmand province have fought 25 major battles in which they killed an estimated 700 Taliban.
(KUNA) -- North Korea may have relocated a long-range Taepodong-2 missile from a launch site from which it test-fired missiles last month, Yonhap News Agency reported Friday, quoting a government official. The purported missile was one of two Taepodong-2 missiles assembled at the launch site in the eastern district of Musudan-ri, North Hamkyong Province, where the first missile was launched on July 5 along with six other short- and mid-range missiles from other launch sites. "The (second) Taepodong-2 seems to have disappeared from Musudan-ri in mid-July," said Yang Chang-seok, a spokesman for the Unification Ministry, according to Yonhap.
Days after calling Iran a "stabilizing" force in the Middle East, French Foreign Minister 
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi told an Egyptian daily that the crisis in the Middle East cannot be resolved without direct talks with Iran, according to a transcript of the interview released by Prodi's office on Friday. "Without direct talks with Iran, it becomes very difficult to resolve these problems because Iran is undisputably important," Prodi said in an interview with the daily Akhbar El-yom on Aug. 3. He called Iran "a key country in Middle Eastern politics."
The White House on Friday brushed aside Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's call for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Clinton, in an interview Thursday with the Associated Press, called for President Bush to accept Rumsfeld's resignation over what she called a "failed policy" in Iraq. "I just don't understand why we can't get new leadership that would give us a fighting chance to turn the situation around before it's too late," the New York Democrat told the AP, adding, "The secretary has lost credibility with the Congress and with the people." 
(KUNA) -- Dawood Ibrahim, who allegedly masterminded the 1993 serial blasts in Western Indian city of Mumbai and whose custody has been sought by Indian authorities, should be brought to justice, visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher said Friday. "He is in our list. He is one whom we would like to bring into justice," Boucher told reporters in Eastern Indian city of Kolkata Friday, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported. "I think he is responsible for some of the previous blasts," he said.
An inquiry set up by the Indian government on Thursday found former foreign minister Natwar Singh and his son guilty of misconduct over the UN oil-for-food scheme in Iraq, reports said. The inquiry, headed by retired Supreme Court judge R S Pathak, decided that both Natwar Singh and his son Jagat Singh were guilty of wrongdoing, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. But no money from the sale of the Iraqi oil has been traced to either of them even though two of Jagat Singh's friends were found to have made money from the deal, another report said. 
Arab foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday in Beirut to support Lebanon, Arab League number two Ahmed Ben Helli said yesterday. "The meeting of Arab foreign ministers will take place on Monday in Beirut. It will be a follow-up of the session which took place in Cairo on July 15," the deputy secretary general of the pan-Arab body said. "We are holding this meeting in Beirut to express solidarity with Lebanon," the official added.
Jerusalem police on Friday fired stun grenades to disperse scores of Arab youths who turned violent after being barred access to the Temple Mount for Friday prayers, police said. There were no injuries reported in the noontime clash near the Damascus Gate. 
The ceasefire committees of the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have ordered a probe on the alleged takeover by the MILF of the base camp and minesite of a chromite mining firm in Banay-banay, Davao Oriental on July 21. Peace Process Undersecretary Ramon Santos,
Israel was waging a "war of starvation" on Lebanese civilians in an effort to force the Lebanese government to agree to Israel's demands, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said in a statement issued Friday. 
About 100 demonstrators threw stones and firebombs at the British Embassy in Teheran on Friday, damaging the building but harming nobody as they accused Britain and the United States of being accomplices in Israel's fight against Hizbullah. Demonstrators also smashed some of the building's windows as they called for its closure and the expulsion of the British ambassador. 
Iran admitted for the first time on Friday that it did indeed supply long-range Zelzal-2 missiles to Hizbullah. Secretary-general of the "Intifada conference" 
