Afghanistan will prove a third Vietnam for the United States and Afghans will continue their jihad against the coalition forces, former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said in a four-page statement issued from an undisclosed location on Monday.
Hekmatyar said that he was happy at the deaths of US soldiers in Iraq, which he said showed that the US was being defeated there and in Afghanistan. He said that US President George Bush had compared Iraq with Vietnam and claimed that Afghanistan would become the third Vietnam for the US after Iraq. The former Afghan prime minister said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would break the US economic backbone and its fate would be similar to that of the Soviet Union. Hekmatyars statement on Monday is the second since he released a four-page statement on October 23 to greet Afghans on Eidul Fitr.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#3
Iff the MSM/Hollyweird is any example, five years [or less] running for a successful TV show = Seven years. By definition no less. KELLY'S HEROES
> ODDBALL > "Ya see what ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN has wrought on Media- and Intellectual credibility, Moriarity"!?
#5
Many consider ole Hek to be a toothless mutt kept around just to occasionally curl his lip and snarl at the poachers. However, one shouldnt forget; HV means your still worthy of some Hellfire down the jubbah.
#6
I do think we should make it a point to whack bad guys that stand up and say bad things to cheerlead the other bad guys.
Its a matter or principle. When the bad guys are plotting their bad things in a hole in the ground terrified to using modern technology for fear it will draw us onto them, well that's the place we should be aiming for.
We also need to announce the use of pigfat in simtex to really complicate the attempts to recruit suicide bombers.
#7
Whack Quetta and watch this mutt shut his yammering piehole. We need to destroy Pakiwackiland from Baluchistan to Sinda to the farthest northern corner. Destroy everything - truly make it a desert from border to border, sea to mountains. Peace will come to Afghanistan in a week or less.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/31/2006 16:36 Comments ||
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CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak denied Monday reports from his own government that about 5,000 Egyptian security police had been deployed along the Gaza Strip border. 'This is totally baseless, Mubarak told a group of Egyptian lawmakers of his ruling National Democratic Party.
Government officials and the state-run Middle East News Agency had reported Sunday that the police were dispatched to protect Egyptians living close to Gaza following newspaper reports that Israeli aircraft might bomb the border area in a bid to destroy tunnels used to smuggle weapons. Israeli officials downplayed the Egyptian reports, stressing that any Israeli military action along the border would be coordinated with Egypt.
"Pshaw! Nothing to it!" the Israeli official stated. Then he smiled.
Israels withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has been a political headache for Egypt. On the one hand, it fears that Islamic extremists in Gaza will cross the border, worsening the militant violence it has been combatting in the Sinai. On the other, the government fears a domestic backlash if it is seen to crack down hard on the Palestinians, who enjoy wide sympathy among Egyptians.
One failed state supporting another!
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/31/2006 00:00 ||
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Abu Hamza cited the terrorist attacks on New York and London as the reason why he should not be in prison, the High Court heard today. The radical Islamic cleric, jailed for seven years in February, claims the atrocities created a political climate in which it was impossible for him to receive a fair trial.
The hook-handed cleric has been widely condemned as a preacher of hate for condoning suicide bombers and claiming that many would be "jumping for joy" after the 9/11 attacks. But yesterday, he said the terror attacks were why he should be released. The radical Islamic cleric claims it was "unfair" to put him on trial for speeches he made at Finsbury Park mosque between 1997 and 2000.
Launching Hamza's appeal, Edward Fitzgerald QC said that "subsequent events" had brought a 'sea change' in the political climate and public opinion which meant no jury could look at the facts of his case without prejudice. Mr Fitzgerald argued that the police had examined copies of his speeches as long ago as 1999. Yet it was not until January this year that he faced trial. Mr Fitzgerald told the Appeal Court: "This meant that a unique series of events supervened which prejudiced his chances of a fair trial - events which included 9/11, the July 2005 bombings in London and the highly publicised decisions of the Home Secretary to strip him of his citizenship and of the United States authorities to seek his extradition. "It further meant that he was subjected to a relentless campaign of adverse media publicity condemning him as a preacher of hate and inciter of violence, and to public condemnation by political figures." He was also named as a key player in global terrorism by US president George Bush.
Continued on Page 49
A radical Islamic cleric should be freed because Victorian laws do not apply to foreigners killing foreigners, the Court of Appeal has heard. Abu Hamza al-Masri is challenging his convictions for soliciting to murder and race-hate crimes. He was jailed for seven years in February. His lawyers argued legislation used to convict him only applies to those who incite British citizens to kill.
#5
You're right USN, ret. Hogs will eat anything, even cowshit. So they might resist his rotted corpse for a while, but they'd probably move in and take care of him eventually.
London Underground is today accused of an appalling security blunder for allowing Abu Hamza's son to work on the network.
Mohammed Kamel Mostafa, 25, from Wembley - a convicted terrorist - was given a security pass and access to restricted areas.
He worked as a labourer at nights and weekends for a sub-contractor despite having spent three years in a Yemen jail for plotting to blow up British tourists. His father is serving seven years for inciting murder and racial hatred at London mosques.
Labour MP Andrew Dismore said today of Mostafa: "It beggars belief. It wasn't like he was nicked for shoplifting. It was terror offences in Yemen. You would think the Underground would be particularly sensitive to terrorism."
Brian Cooke, chairman of the passenger watchdog TravelWatch, said: "It is surprising that LU does not appear to have greater control over the reference checks of people employed by contractors." In a separate development, Hamza, 48, defied a Treasury order freezing his assets and transferred his £220,000 flat to his son.
Mostafa was only stopped from working on the Tube when colleagues recognised him and informed bosses who withdrew his pass.
LU chiefs tried to play down Mostafa's employment, saying he was allowed to work because "he has no criminal convictions in the UK".
But questions are being asked over the Tube's vetting process which was supposed to have been dramatically increased following the 7/7 atrocities.
LU pointed out that he was not Tube staff but was employed by a "minor" sub-contractor. An LU spokesman said it was up to the contractor - which he refused to name - and not LU to make criminal checks.
A spokesman said: "It seems this person was granted a permit because he has no criminal convictions in the UK and has a right to work in this country.
"The question of whether the checks were tight enough is a matter for the Government to address."
The spokesman added: "We don't do criminal checks on every single individual who comes on to London Underground." It was claimed that Mostafa had worked only for "a few weekends" on the network.
Asked if LU checked the contractors to ensure they were carrying out the specified vetting procedures, the spokesman added: "There is an assumption that criminal checks are made.î He said "spot checks" were made - but not as a regular and ongoing process.
The security blunder by the company was described as "appalling" by the father of one of the victims of the 7/7 bombings.
John Taylor, who lost his daughter Carrie, 24, in the attacks, said he was "shocked and stunned".
The security manager from Billericay said: "This man is a convicted terrorist and he has been allowed access to some of the most sensitive areas of the Tube." Mostafa had previously attempted to forge a career in rap, with lyrics describe waging holy war and carrying weapons.
He also sings of his "brothers" who vowed to die for Allah. Dubbed MC Hamza by associates, he launched Islamic group Lionz of Da Dezert last year and has played venues including Wembley Arena and Oxford university.
His father, who used to preach at the Finsbury Park mosque, was today continuing his appeal today against his conviction earlier this year.
Hamza, who has a hook for a hand after being injured in an explosion in which he also lost an eye, claims that he is the Victim(Tm) of a plot by the political establishment and police.
Errr... I should laugh at the Perfide Albion, but then again, private security and airport services are heavily manned by muslims in France, so... I wont.
{Red} Ken Livingstone {mayor of London} today defended the right of Abu Hamza's son to work for a Tube contractor - despite his conviction for terrorism in Yemen..."We are happy to have him working for us."
A SENIOR Russian parliamentarian has called for a gas alliance to unite former Soviet republics and Iran to help Russia stand up to the European Union's "cartel" of gas consumers, Russian media reported.
"It is necessary to form a gas alliance, which could be joined by Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus," the head of the Russian parliament's energy committee Valery Yazev said Monday, RIA-Novosti reported.
"Tomorrow, with the removal of the problem of Iran's nuclear program, I would also see Iran in this alliance," Mr Yazev said, speaking at a meeting of the Russian Gas Union industry group, which he also heads.
He said that the alliance would form a counterweight to the European Union, which he suggested is taking advantage of its position as a vital source of income for Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom.
"In the EU we have a very clearly formed cartel of customers of Russian gas, which is imposing on us the ratification of the Energy Charter, which does not meet Russian interests," he said.
The EU, which imports around a quarter of its natural gas from Russia, has been seeking to persuade Moscow to ratify an international energy charter that regulates transit and investment in the energy sector and would allow for market competition between foreign and independent companies.
Russia has declined to ratify the charter because the Kremlin wants to protect Gazprom's monopoly and has sought recently to exclude foreign investors from its strategic energy sector.
Gazprom, which is moving aggressively to gain greater access to Europe's downstream energy retail market, has complained of unfair treatment from wary European regulators.
Mr Yazev said the alliance would consist of nongovernmental organizations like his Russian Gas Union, which would coordinate export policies and act as a counterweight to the energy alliance being formed by France and Germany, the Kommersant business daily reported.
He said the original idea for the alliance came from Russian President Vladimir Putin, but was put on ice to avoid aggravating Western partners ahead of this year's G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Kommersant said.
An alliance of CIS gas producers and transit countries has been under discussion for several years, and this is not the first time that closer energy cooperation between Moscow and Tehran has been floated.
During a trip to Moscow in April, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mohammadi proposed the creation of a "Russia-Iran 'oil and gas arc' to unite the energies of our energy-rich countries," Itar-Tass reported.
China, the United States and North Korea agreed in talks Tuesday to resume the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs "at a convenient time in the near future" after a break of almost a year, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said. Christopher Hill, U.S. head delegate to the six-party talks, told reporters after meeting with his Chinese and North Korean counterparts that while the precise date needs to be agreed by all six parties, he believes it will be "in November, or possibly in December."
Hill said North Korea did not attach any conditions for returning to the talks, but added the United States agreed to set up a mechanism for addressing Pyongyang's main complaint -- financial sanctions imposed on entities suspected of laundering money and counterfeiting for North Korea.
The announcement was made after a series of meetings in the Chinese capital among Hill, who is U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan on the same day. Hill said North Korea did not attach any conditions for returning to the talks, but added the United States agreed to set up a mechanism for addressing Pyongyang's main complaint -- financial sanctions imposed on entities suspected of laundering money and counterfeiting for North Korea. "We agreed we will find a mechanism within the six-party process to address these financial measures, that there would probably be some kind of a working group to deal with this," he said. North Korea had refused to return to the talks, saying it will not do so unless the United States lifted the sanctions, especially those imposed on a Macao-based bank since September 2005.
Hill also said North Korea reaffirmed its commitment to a joint statement issued in September 2005 by six nations, in which it had said it would abandon its nuclear programs in exchange for diplomatic and economic benefits. "We all reaffirmed, including the DPRK delegation, our commitment to the September statement and to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2006 10:48 ||
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#1
Now we find out that China cut oil exports to Nkors in September to zero. Brought Kimmie right around. Of course, incessant talking to this dimwit is totally worthless.
#4
Far be it from me, a Lowly Lurker, to cast dispersions on The Lord of the 'Burg, His Fredness, but someone will no doubt observe this article was posted about four articles earlier.
Please, Sir, have one of your able assistants remove my earlier post and do not punish me too harshly for my indiscretion.
{Sorry, Fred, yours has a better picture, anyway!)
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/31/2006 18:16 Comments ||
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#5
Bobby, dear, you graduated from lurker ages ago, and you've posted some very interesting articles since then.
#8
IIRC Bobby had some links to San Diego, my hometown, that puts him back in the "suspect" range :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/31/2006 20:26 Comments ||
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#9
I think somebody needs to watch the movie "Porkchop Hill" a few dozen times and pay attention to the negotiations scenes and what's being said by the actors there.
It paints a real clear picture of what these talks are all about from the NorKie perspective IMO.
spoiler alert
spoiler alert
spoiler alert
(For those who haven't seen the movie - or can't or won't for some reason, while Gregory Peck and the boys of Love Company are duking it out toe-to-toe with the Norkies and Chinese on some stupid nameless ridge, negotiations are going on at Panmunjom (sorry about the spelling) - in one scene the US negotiator gets exasperated at the commie negotiators and has to take a break before he kills somebody (the communists negotiator is smoking a cigarette and staring up at the ceiling - clearly not listening to a word the US negotiator is saying) - there's a great scene where an American general explains to him exactly what the commies are trying to do - stall for time in order to gain a victory and an upper hand in the negotiations).
BEIJING - North Korea agreed Tuesday to rejoin six-nation nuclear disarmament talks in a surprise diplomatic breakthrough three weeks after the communist regime conducted its first known atomic test. A U.S. envoy said the talks could resume as early as November.
Chinese, U.S. and North Korean envoys to the negotiations held a day of unpublicized talks in Beijing during which North Korea agreed to return to the larger six-nation talks on its nuclear programs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
"The three parties agreed to resume the six-party talks at the earliest convenient time," the Chinese statement said.
More at link. Taqqia works in Asia, too. Can we send Jimmuh?
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/31/2006 08:31 ||
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#1
No one gives a damn anymore. Just die off real soon.
Posted by: ed ||
10/31/2006 10:24 Comments ||
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#2
Nobody cares, eat bark and die NOrky halflings.
#3
I could care less about the regime leaders, but I do feel extremely sorry for the populace. There just is little we can do for/about them without dealing with the regime and its sponsors / abetters first.
MEMBERS of Sydney's Islamic community sent thousands of text messages urging a non-violent rally yesterday as former prime minister Malcolm Fraser accused the Government of using Muslims as an election issue.
The text messages called for a show of support this Saturday for embattled cleric Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly. One described the planned rally as "a critical day to show our solidarity and to silence the hypocrites!"
The barrage of text and email messages came as the sheik's family confirmed he would not be stepping down as Mufti of Australia despite the outrage caused by his remarks about the victims of rape.
Sheik Hilaly's daughter Asma Hilaly said her father had simply taken temporary sick leave from his duties at Lakemba mosque after collapsing on Monday.
"He will not step down. He's always been strong. Strong, tall and defiant and none of this will shake him and bring him down," the 25-year-old said outside Canterbury Hospital.
She said her father who is expected to remain in hospital for at least another two days still planned to travel to Mecca in the next few weeks.
Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser accused the Howard Government of fuelling an "increase in fear and concern over the followers of Islam", The Age newspaper reported.
"There are already suggestions that this next election will be a 'Muslim election', as a while ago it was the Tampa election," he said.
"It would create a terrible and unnecessary divide between Islam and the rest of the community."
Many Muslims, wary of public perception, said they wanted to ensure any rally in support of Sheik Hilaly was peaceful and did not turn into a "flag burning" by an angry mob.
One message sender feared a repeat of the scenes at the Lakemba mosque on the night of the Cronulla riots, when fights broke out during a rally.
"Last thing we need is another display like what was seen outside Lakemba mosque on the night of the riots," the message implored.
Lebanese Muslim Association president Tom Zreika said last night the rally had not been officially organised by the association and "mixed messages" were being sent about what day the protest would take place.
"We will get some protesters on Friday coming up to Lakemba mosque and chanting for him (Sheik Hilaly) to come back," Mr Zreika said.
"Friday is our Sabbath so it's more likely to be then."
Other messages called on Muslims to support their besieged cleric at a protest at Parry Park near Lakemba Mosque on Saturday at 1pm.
Mr Zreika is urging that any show of support for Shiek Hilaly be in a peaceful manner.
Messages
Emails and text messages, referred to in a Muslim Village Australia website forum, calling on Muslims to support besieged Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly at Saturday's protest:
"THIS SMS has been spreading everywhere: Get Prepared! Peaceful protest in support of Mufti Al-Hilaly at Parry Park this Saturday at 1pm. This is a critical day to show our solidarity and to silence the hypocrites!"
"I WOULD like it to be an organised rally not just a gathering of angry, hot-headed Muslims shouting slogans, burning flags or other symbols etc"
"DEFINITELY keep it organised. Last thing we need is another display like what was seen outside Lakemba mosque on the night of the riots. A lot of the troublemakers weren't even Muslim, and were there just for the fights and trouble and then it becomes all about 'look at the trouble the Muslims are causing' instead of 'Muslims speak out in support of Shk Taj'"
"(THE rally must be) a message of unwavering support to our Shaykh and a show of strength that our community will not be forced to please the wishes of our fascist government."
Another member of the forum asked:
"IS this being organised by someone? Or is this (SMS) just being circulated by individuals? I think it would be much better if any rally is done professionally and in an organised manner."
The same forum member said it was important volunteer stewards were at the rally to:
"ENSURE no one steps out of line (no flag-burning etc)... The event itself will send a message that the Muslim community is strong, organised and united and will not be intimidated by the media or the politicians."
#1
It would be nice if members in the community who are not Muslims show up on the same day, at the same place, at the same time, to show our opposition towards this demented Muslim Mufti and his blind flock of sheep.
#2
The fact that so many are rallying to defend the indefensible says much. Oztralian....are you in the vicinity? I do hope there is some counter-push on these idiots.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
10/31/2006 17:08 Comments ||
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#3
Unfortunately, no, i am not close to the location where this is all suppose to be happening. Actually, i'm in another state. But i will do my best to rally people for the cause.
#5
A counter rally of non-Muslim women would be great, but I wouldn't want it done for fear of violence against the women. Better that the loonies have their rally unchallenged so that non-Muslim Australia can see what it's up against.
"She said her father... still planned to travel to Mecca in the next few weeks."
Ideal time to revoke his permanent residency.
#7
Good luck, Oz. From what I've observed, doint nothing is the wrong approach - that's what a good dhimmi is supposed to do. At some point we need to see the conflict from their perspective if we're going to defeat them effectively.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
10/31/2006 17:26 Comments ||
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#8
Aussies should hold a clothing optional protest right next to the muslims.
#10
It would be nice if members in the community who are not Muslims show up on the same day, at the same place, at the same time, to show our opposition towards this demented Muslim Mufti and his blind flock of sheep.
I'm sure you're aware that during last year's post-Cronulla rampage, "worshippers" left the Lakemba mosque armed. If you're going to counter-protest, be aware people could end up dead.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
10/31/2006 18:03 Comments ||
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#11
Hang down your head, Hilaly. Hang down your head and cry.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
10/31/2006 18:41 Comments ||
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#12
I just LOVE the Kingston Trio, it really gets the sows in the mood.
#16
Well, there you have it. This complete and total asshole sees no reason why he should abandon his post and a large number of the local community support his continued role as leader of all New Zealand and Australian Muslims.
What more clear message does Australia need with regarding just how "moderate" their Muslims really are? These are people who want Australia's Iraqi soldiers dead and Australian women raped. Time to begin mass deportations of any Muslims that so much as sneeze sideways.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
10/31/2006 21:14 Comments ||
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#19
You just love mass deportation, don't you?
No, I do not. I would prefer a peaceful world where travel and migration were not the critical issues that they currently are. So long as there exists a bunch of violent psychos that revel in killing unbelievers and systematically abusing women, slingshotting them back to ther respective Islamic hell holes will have to remain an option.
#1
According to Sally Neighbour's book In the Shadow of Swords, Ms Hutchison grew up in Mudgee and married in Bali and had a child, but the relationship broke down and she became a strict Muslim, fond of wearing the burqa.
She gravitated toward Jemaah Islamiah's founder, Abdullah Sungkar, and it was at one of his religious classes that she met Abdul Rahim Ayub, the man who later came to Australia to head "mantiqi 4", the arm of Jemaah Islamiah that had Australia as its area of operations
"will you be my Daddy?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/31/2006 19:36 Comments ||
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The director-general of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) says he cannot comment on whether sleep-deprivation is used as a means for intelligence gathering.
Paul O'Sullivan has been questioned at a Senate estimates committee by the Greens Senator Kerry Nettle. She has raised comments previously made by the Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, who said that sleep deprivation is not considered as torture in some counter-terrorism operations.
Mr O'Sullivan told the committee that he will not comment on ASIO's operational matters, but he says there are very strict guidelines on interviewing conditions. "We have spelt out in the Attorney-General's guidelines strict limits on the period of questioning," he said. "There's an instruction that there has to be rest periods after four hours, there have to be provisions for sleep periods and there has to be humane treatment."
The Lebanese Muslim Association has urged the media and politicians to stop interfering in the debate surrounding the future of senior Muslim cleric Sheikh Taj el-Din Al Hilaly and leave it to the Islamic community to resolve.
Association president Tom Zreika says the sheikh has been granted indefinite leave from his duties at the Lakemba mosque, in the wake of the furore over his comments about women. But he says rumours that Sheikh Al Hilaly has resigned are absurd, and no new appointment will be made until he either voluntarily steps down, or the community and the association's board decides to take action.
"I reiterate that we will under no circumstance be rushed or pressured into making a decision," Mr Zreika said. "This concerted effort to remove him without a fair hearing will not be tolerated by me or my organisation.
"He will in due course be heard by his peers and the community according to the principles of natural justice."
#3
"He will in due course be heard by his peers and the community according to the principles of natural justice."
What, like this?
http://www.cornellsun.com/node/19339
"...dozens of politicians and journalists with fatwas on their heads are hiring armed bodyguards for fear of becoming the next Theo Van Gogh "
#5
Translation: They don't mean to do squat about him. Just like the imam in Cleveland, famous for attending "interfaith" events, who was found to be a jihad-promoter and to have lied on his visa application. Seems he had actually been a member of a terrorist group.
What did the Muslims do? Nothing.
It took INS acting on the lies on his visa application to remove him from the mosque. They did it by kicking him out of the country.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
10/31/2006 7:25 Comments ||
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#6
Further Translation:
We will attempt to deflect interest from this until the media furor dies down and that way we never have to condemn his statements that inspire the rubes to rape the infidels.
#7
Damn. When I first glanced at the headline I thought it read:
Muslim group calls for 'natural justice' for Hillary
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/31/2006 9:53 Comments ||
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#8
--#5, AFAIK, the "imam in Cleveland" has not been kicked out of the country. He is still here. The USA can't find any other country willing to accept him as a deportee. Correct me if I'm wrong. I wish it were otherwise.
#9
#8, I don't doubt you're correct. Which begs the issue, why do we give a shit where he goes? No one would want this piece of scum. Send him back where he came from, by default. Any issues he has there are not our problems. Our problems are the trouble he's causing here. I'm sick of ACLU squealing on behalf of these lowlifes. Let them take the trip with him and defend him wherever he originated.
MELBOURNE'S Sheik Mohammed Omran, who has caused fresh controversy with comments that Muslim rapists are more harshly treated than non-Muslims, has said he can say what he likes because he is an Australian.
In a sermon last Friday, the sheik questioned the consistency of sentences handed down to Muslim rapists compared with other sex offenders, such as "bikies" and "football stars", saying Muslims received harsher penalties. The sermon has drawn him into a controversy surrounding Sydney's Sheik Taj al-Din Al-Hilaly.
"What I said in the sermon, I say it here and I'll say it wherever I am," Sheik Omran said on ABC radio today. "We are part of the Australian society and, as an Australian, forget what I am, a cleric or not a cleric, I am an Australian, I have a view and I am free to tell the people about my view.
"Even if you don't agree with it, we agree (that) everyone (can) say what he wants to say even if (others) disagree with it."
Sheik Omran's said in his sermon, later published on his website and reported by The Australian newspaper: "I feel there is no justice here. Not 60 years and someone else three years and they did the same crime. Why?"
"They make a big fuss about these kids because one of them, his name is Mohamed. Even if you kill someone you don't go for 60 years," he said, referring to the sentences, later cut on appeal, originally handed out to gang rapists who were active in Sydney in 2000. "We don't support criminals or crimes, but at same time we want justice for everyone."
This means you're not in favor of Sharia, right?
Omran
Sheik Omran said he should be free to express his view, that the Muslim youths involved had first received excessive jail terms of up to "60 years" compared to less than 10-year terms for other sex crimes. "In that case, in particular, I couldn't see that (consistency), otherwise, I should see the one who rape his own daughter, or the priest who rape a child under his care, or the teacher who have a sexual relation(ship) with his student, they are equally dealt with.
"And the journalists, and the radios and the stations and the Prime Minister are angry with them at the same level, but I don't see that, and that's what upset me."
Sheik Omran also said he would confidently re-state his views. "I put it myself on my website, so I am not hiding my thoughts and I am not waiting for someone to spy on me," he said.
Asked whether he felt Muslim leaders were being targeted by the Government and the media, he replied: "absolutely yes". The sheik said he understood why increased government scrutiny was needed in the wake of the September 11 attacks but but many Muslim leaders felt they were being muzzled. "Some issues we accept and some issues we don't accept," Sheik Omran said.
Sheik Omran, one of the country's most outspoken and controversial fundamentalist clerics, said on Friday that attacks on Sheik Hilaly were attacks on Islam. "His name is a mufti and we should respect that name - we should respect the turban on his head," Sheik Omran said in the sermon, an audio copy of which was posted on his Ahlus Sunnah Wal-Jamaah Association website yesterday. "This is the sign of a scholar - you are not attacking Sheik Taj here, you are attacking the scholars, you are attacking Islam."
#1
"attacks on Sheik Hilaly were attacks on Islam"? Awfully close to blasphemy there, old chap. Is every two-bit bookworm with a Madrassa diploma (certifying that he's memorized two or three old books) now identical with your entire religion?
#3
he can say what he likes because he is an Australian
Must be nice. Mind if I go over to Saudi Arabia and say what I want to say?
What bugs me is that he hides behind freedom of expression, but if he has decided that someone has insulted Islam he would much sooner have them stoned to death than let them talk. You know darn well that if he were king tomorrow he'd revoke that freedom of expression before he got out of bed! "But it's again Islam!"
Yes, Omran, but you are defending crimes against humanity.
#5
So it seems the women are meat who invite invite rape comments have vanished into the ether? We'll concentrate on that old standard "Muslim's are victims, dammit!" instead?
Thanks. Just wanted to know the gameplan.
#8
This ass trips himself up the minute he opens his trap. "I'm an Australian citizen." An outright lie. He's a citizen of Muzzie ummah, first, last, and always. He's nothing but a Muzzie invader residing in Australia. He has no interest in Australian society other than ending it. He's a traitor to Australia and must be dealt with as such.
#9
Howard needs to re-arm the Australian public, and let THEM deal with scumbags like this. I'm sure armed lifeguards on the beach will put an end to the Lebanese badboys making foolish comments, as well. Everyone needs to stand up to the islamonazis and put them on the defensive. They're certainly OFFENSIVE enough...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/31/2006 18:25 Comments ||
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#10
DepotGuy - good catch :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/31/2006 19:48 Comments ||
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#11
While Islam as a whole may not be monolithic, the Australian Muslims sure appear to be. Those who defend al-Hilali are Australia's enemies.
"This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. Im sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did."
I agree - he's the gift that keeps on giving! (But I still hate him...)
#4
Ah, yes - Jawn sKerry. Never missing a chance to shut up Projecting again.
Guess what, idiot. Just because you're a lazy, ignorant jerk doesn't mean the rest of us are.
And I don't care if you managed to buy yourself a college degree - you're still ignorant.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/31/2006 13:26 Comments ||
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#5
Two years ago, nearly 50 million Americans voted for this despicable asshole. Bogglesome. Simply bogglesome...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/31/2006 13:28 Comments ||
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#6
Won't make the evening news.
Posted by: ed ||
10/31/2006 13:33 Comments ||
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#7
Dear Kerry-fuck-face (aka Lurch),
On behalf of the veterans here at the Rant, we appreciate you sending more of us to the polls to vote Republican so more of your sorry ilk don't get into Washington and you guys loose the election.
Oh, and P.S.
Don't come near a veteran's gathering.
#9
It was on CNN, I saw it at lunch. Of course, I couldn't hear what they were saying, or how they attempted to spin it. They did also refer to Kerry's attempt to spin it...
#10
This is HUGE! Drudge, Powerline, da Cap'n, Michelle Malkin, Riehl, Hugh Hewitt, etc.
I read somewhere that every R candidate should immediately call on his opponent to repudiate this disgusting smear and make it THE issue of the 1006 election.
"I stand head-and-shoulders with our fighting men and women, serving our country, and I repudiate this lie about our servicemembers. The fact of the matter is that our servicemembers are the best of us, not the worst. I believe every servicemember serving their country is among the best of Americans and worthy of our paise, love and support.
Does my opponent stand with the fine men and women of our Armed Forces or does he support this smear of American servicemembers? The people of this state/district need to know where each prospective Senator/Representative stand on this issue."
Im not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Foxs Parkinsons disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have
Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because theyre afraid to debate real men
#13
Skerry is a peace-love-&-happiness PUKE that still believes its 1960 and we send our drop outs and 1st time offenders into the military.
NewsFlash: Kerry its 2006 NOT 1966 and guess what the military since the 80's have had high criminal, education, standards that I would be willing to bet that if you took a swath of test scores from the military and a swath of test scores from X race/city/group in the US the Mill would beat em hands down.
I am still trying to figure out at what point do we get to question his "patriotism"?
#15
Diane Irey, the anti-Murtha, did exactly what I said:
"Will Jack Murtha stand with the men and women of the American military and TODAY demand an apology on their behalf from his good friend Senator John Kerry? Or will Jack Murtha continue his cut-and-run campaign and refuse to take a stand on this matter of honor and respect?......."
#16
McCain on sKerry:
"Senator Kerry owes an apology to the many thousands of Americans serving in Iraq, who answered their country's call because they are patriots and not because of any deficiencies in their education. Americans from all backgrounds, well off and less fortunate, with high school diplomas and graduate degrees, take seriously their duty to our country, and risk their lives today to defend the rest of us in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. They all deserve our respect and deepest gratitude for their service. The suggestion that only the least educated Americans would agree to serve in the military and fight in Iraq, is an insult to every soldier serving in combat, and should deeply offend any American with an ounce of appreciation for what they suffer and risk so that the rest of us can sleep more comfortably at night. Without them, we wouldn't live in a country where people securely possess all their God-given rights, including the right to express insensitive, ill-considered and uninformed remarks."
I am NOT a McCainiac, but this guarantees coverage by the LLL MSM. Good!
#17
Yes thats right everyone in the military was a failure everywhere else. Just shows you what he and his kind think about the military. I would add that if (on his best day) John F. Kerry tried to make todays military a career he would be a complete failure. On the flip side I suspect that most of the people in the military could function very effectively as a Senator.
#20
Fox is waiting to broadcast a press conference by Kerry! Of course, what Kerry will say is that is the smear campaign of the Republican at it's worst.
Karl Rove gets smarter everyday. He has now employed a new, technology trick. A way to control Kerry's words and what he says.
#21
Cyber Sarge: While I agree on your opinion that
"...most of the people in the military could function very effectively as a Senator," the question needs to be asked: How many would want to, given the slime pit that DC has devolved into? Most of us, I suspect have some measure of self respect still intact that would be under constant attack by the carreer ankle biters that inhabit Foggy Bottom.
#23
LiveBlog sKerry comments:
Boy, he looks sad.
"I apologize to no one for criticism of the President...and Pubs....rubberstamp. My statement was a joke about the Pres and his people. WH distorting my statement. WH fault. WH=politics. WH exploit the truth. Troops deserve a winning strategy. Mentions deaths this month for a failed policy. Vietnam reference. sKerry won't STAND for the lies! Blames GOP campaign tactic. despicable Pubs. Pubs wont take responsibility. Tired of Pub attacks. WH didn't do homework and WH knows that was what he meant. Mentioned Rush again. Pub Hacks. It's over. Katrina foreign policy, armor, troops, coalition, more terrorists, ess safe. Pubs are afraid of him. Pubs afraid to debate real men. Demos won't be bullied. Stand still; cut and run Pubs. Troops deserve better. Period.
#24
Now he is attacking McCain, saying McCain shoulda stopped Bush.
sKerry fought for vets. Said it 100,000 times. Pubs have bankrupt policy. Period.
Clearly a remark focused at the WH. McCain should ask for WH apology. WH making troops the target. Touts his record. WH owes sKerry an apology. SHAME on them!
#25
The Air Force did a survey when I was still on active duty (1987-89 time frame), and one of the questions was "what is your current education level?" Another question was, "what was your education level when you entered the Air Force?" The percentage of non-high-school graduates was something in the .001 range. The number of people with at least an associate's degree was 35% or more.
Most people don't understand that there's no room in today's mechanized military for really STUPID people. It takes intelligence, education and training to be ANYTHING in the military, even the "infantry". Most members would rate "highly-skilled technician" if not "professional" when compared against others in ANY field.
John sKerry needs to do more than just apologize. It's time for this idiot to disappear into the woodwork. Massachusetts should be ashamed to be represented by this idiot, and his 'fellow traveller' Ted Kennedy. MA voters need to grow up enough to send these two packing - for good.
Kerry better not come anywhere near where I can get a shot at him. He's a traitor as well as a scumbag, and I WILL NEVER FORGIVE HIS TREACHERY.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/31/2006 14:46 Comments ||
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#26
Rove made me do it.
I respect you, all of you. Just like I respected the rapist who cut off telephone wires and wrapped the genitals men of the US Navy whom I served with in Cambodiia Viet Nam.
#32
Let's see. My son is a Marine Officer and an honor grad from Stanford. I guess a 1580 on the SAT, and a 3.8 at Stanford means "uneducated" to John Kerry.
#34
I wonder what Kerry and Madame Binh (VC negotiator) really said to each other back in '72.
Binh: Why did you shoot our boy in the back, you evil imperialist mercenary? sKerry: Because he was a f***ing terrorist, you commie twit! Binh: Not good enough, running dog of the Nixon hegemony. sKerry: Hey, the kid was just a peasant! Binh: Ah, I see now. Welcome comrade, we will work well together.
#36
"Oh please, please, please let Kerry be the Dem's 2008 candidate!"
Nah. They wouldn't be THAT stupid.
They wouldn't, would they?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/31/2006 16:04 Comments ||
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#37
OP, Kerry is a putz and his deflecting the insult to Bush doesn't help. He said what he said because he believes it and because he is a elitists scum.
#41
It would have been a lot better for him if he had just apologized, admitted he goofed, and made little of it. He's John Kerry though. Too arrogant to apologize for anything.
#43
LOL!!!! I knew I was just lazy and uneducated, after all. I mean, how much intelligence does it take to "stand in the door"? Ha!
I have zero interservice rivaly, though; my best friend retired last year from the Navy JAG, and we are planning a trip to Army-Navy; 2 sets of seats-Army first half, Navy second half. Can't wait!
Go Army, Beat Navy!!!
Posted by: Mark E. ||
10/31/2006 16:54 Comments ||
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#44
Damn, folks. What else would you expect from this useless bag of shit?
And..good luck, Phil Angelides. Looks like you're gonna need lots and lots and lots of it...
#46
I just waded in the fever swamp and they are all supportive of what Kerry said and want him to attack more. I doubt they understand how WRONG his statement was and how many Veterans HATE J.F. Kerry. But then they live in their own world.
#48
Since my home state of Louisiana tends to get a fair amount of snark, here is a letter from Senator Vitter to John Fn Kerry (EFL):
"Dear John:
I was dismayed to hear your recent comments about our military men and women in Iraq, suggesting that they are stuck there because they're uneducated, perhaps because they didn't work hard at their studies. I write to demand an immediate apology from you in light of those comments.
Your comments suggest that either you don't interact with today's military in any significant way or, even more troubling; you have a basic and deep-seated contempt for them."
My senator can beat up your senator.
Posted by: Matt ||
10/31/2006 18:18 Comments ||
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#50
Karl Rove gets smarter everyday. He has now employed a new, technology trick. A way to control Kerry's words and what he says.
Actually, Karl hasn't had to do anything for a couple years now. Bush just invites him over so they can watch replays the Democrits' self-immolating antics in slow-motion on Tivo and laugh about it together. The problem now is it's happening so often they don't have time to watch all of it! :-)
#53
OK - I did you all a favor and wandered over to the DU cesspool - they're scared shitless and striking out at everything EXCEPT Kerry. I showered afterwards, k?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/31/2006 19:27 Comments ||
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#54
Frank, there's an ionic disinfection chamber over by the side door ... might want to take a trip through it just in case. What with the colds and other viruses going around and immunity maybe being a little lower than usual, and all.
Indeed it is, SU6434. And Kerry just reminded a lot of people why they do not trust the Democrats of today with the security of this country.
Kerry's contempt for our troops is palpable. It's also deeply out of touch with the realities of our professional, all-volunteer force.
Hillary Clinton is a much better politician, but her disdain for the military is equally palpable when she's around military in uniform. The tight disapproving mouth gets even tighter, the breathing has that little extra sniff of disapproval.
I voted primarily Dem for 3 decades, although increasingly reluctantly through the 90s. Not today.
#61
CS - didn't see your foray into enemy territory :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/31/2006 20:30 Comments ||
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#62
Well, I must confess, I wasn't "watching" CBS, I had left the TV playing without any audio while I was surfing the net. Kerry's image came up, then large headline sized type summarizing what he said, then images of McCain & W, so I got the gist of the event, just paying part attention. When I got to Rantburg I realized this was a hotter issue than I thought it would be.
#65
Well if the education John F. Kerry got made him so smart to say such a thing.... What a moron. How stupid can you be to say such a thing this late in the election cycle? What a moron's moron.
While we are happy to see the results of the new Halliburton Mind Control Ray in full force, needless to say that certain of our "money-men" (ie G. Soros, T. Heinz, et al, for those of you with a less than triple digit IQ) will be less than happy to see the results.
Please desist or at least let our folks tell their folks to put their tinfoil hats back on when ever you guys turn the machine on next time.
Thanks. Have a nice day. Oh, and Karl sends his love.
Posted by: Halliburton Mind Control Division ||
10/31/2006 20:50 Comments ||
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#68
Old Patriot: Massachusetts should be ashamed to be represented by this idiot, and his 'fellow traveller' Ted Kennedy. MA voters need to grow up enough to send these two packing - for good.
I certainly am. I've been doing all I can up here in MA, but it's like pissing spitting into the wind. I don't know how much longer I can put up with it. This place is a national disgrace.
#71
yeah, I remember sh_tbags officers like Kerry back in the 'Nam in 68-69. Arrogant, full of themselves, lecturing you all the time. After hours and lights out, a t-n-t pineapple under their bunk.
#72
"Well if the education John F. Kerry got made him so smart to say such a thing...."
It's a completely authentic remark that perfectly reflects Kerry's world view. All that happened is the mask slipped (again) revealing the effete snob underneath.
The age of US dominance in the Middle East has ended and a new era in the modern history of the region has begun, one in which Washington will have to rely more on diplomacy than military might to influence events, according to Richard N Haas, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. Writing in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, he argues, Visions of a new, Europe-like region - peaceful, prosperous, democratic - will not be realised. Much more likely is the emergence of a new Middle East that will cause great harm to itself, the United States, and the world.
Shaping the new Middle East from the outside will be exceedingly difficult, but that, along with managing a dynamic Asia, will be the primary challenge of US foreign policy for decades to come. Haas believes that the Bush administrations decision to attack Iraq in 2003 and its conduct of the operation and resulting occupation was one of the factors that ushered in a new era in the region. One casualty of the war has been a Sunni-dominated Iraq, which was strong enough and motivated enough to balance Shiite Iran. Sunni-Shiite tensions, dormant for a while, have come to the surface in Iraq and throughout the region. Terrorists have gained a base in Iraq and developed there a new set of techniques to export. Throughout much of the region, democracy has become associated with the loss of public order and the end of Sunni primacy. Anti-American sentiment has been reinforced. And by tying down a huge portion of the US military, the war has reduced US leverage worldwide.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
CFR types tend to enjoy Saudi money and hang out in Davos and their journal sucks so the hell with them.
The balmy sunny weather patterns for mainland USA are a thing of the past; dark stormy, moist, and misty patterns will replace them for the foreseeable future.
Funny how there think-tanking bigwigs go tangentially and they won't recognize reality if it was bitting them into their aass. I guess they operated within their superficial constructs for so long that they developed a form of autism--recognizing only patterns that fit their artifice.
#5
Once again, my old friend Osama's several attempts to UNILATERALLY attack America during the Dems sacred anti-Repub Repub years of Darth Stainious/Saint Bill has nothing to do wid anything, exclusive of Osama also liking Whitney Huston. FOREIGN AFFAIRS > IOW, as wid failed and failing SECULAR SOCIALISM, the burden is ultimately on the USA-West-Capitalism to SAVE AND "JUSTIFY" RADICAL ISLAM AFORE THE FORMER EITHER SURRENDERS TO THE LATTER SAME, ANDOR IS DESTROYED BY THE LATTER SAME.
#12
This is absurd. We have projected power in the region. I agree that the situation in Iraq has caused a perception problem, but we have the ability to prevent anybody from driving or flying in that part of the world should we need to take the gloves off.
If you don't agree, try this thought experiment: Iran sends its ground forces to attack us in Iraq and its Navy into the Arabian Sea to attack our carrier battle groups. What chain of events can happen in response that do not end with "the US wins?"
Posted by Major John at http://miserabledonuts.blogspot.com/
Sunday, October 29, 2006. Springfield, IL. In the Auditorium of the University of Illinois - Springfield. About 11:30AM. COL Lawson plays a twelve minute film clip for the several hundred soldiers of the Illinois Army National Guard gathered there.
When the clips ends, it was stone silent for several seconds. Watch the clip and see why. (I'd put it up on YouTube, but it is 2 minutes too long). [NOTE: It is a Quicktime movie - also, you may have to refresh the page when you get there, if you don't see the movie]. For mods, I attemped to make pic smaller, but my html skills didn't work!
#1
I downloaded the 27 megabyte Windows Media File from the source website, and uploaded it to a blip.tv account. It is a beta site, similar to YouTube, but without the 10-min limit. They do ask that total uploads be <= 100 megabytes. It seems to work OK. See it here.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday the increase of violence in Iraq is linked with efforts to influence the outcome of midterm elections in which Republicans are struggling to keep control of Congress. "It's my belief that they're very sensitive of the fact that we've got an election scheduled and they can get on the Web sites like anybody else," Cheney said. He said al-Qaida and other elements were trying to "break the will of the American people" because "they think we don't have the stomach for the fight long-term."
Asked if the attacks were timed to influence the U.S. elections, Cheney said, "That's my belief."
Not hard to see unless you're a Dhimmicrat.
Eight days before the elections, Cheney sat down for interviews for Fox News Channel's 'Your World with Neil Cavuto' and CNBC's "Kudlow & Company."
Now in its fourth year, the Iraq war is a political liability for Bush and Republican allies. The U.S. death toll for October alone exceeds 100 - the fourth deadliest month for U.S. troops since the war began in March 2003. Over the course of the war, more than 2,800 Americans have died.
Cheney said that "there's going to be probably a continued level of violence for some considerable period of time in Iraq." He said that unlike other wars, it was unlikely there would be some dramatic turning point that signals progress. "There is progress," Cheney said. "It's just - you're not going to see the kind of thing ... a victory like Midway in World War II where we sank all the enemy carriers, or a surrender ceremony at the end of the war. It's the kind of thing where you have to keep grinding it out day after day after day. It's tough."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and diligence > like victory, its not and never cheap/easy. Jesus Christ transcended two processes which were in mortal view non/un-transcendable, survived what what was not survivable, i.e. the 100% death Roman crucifixion process, and mortal death [crucifixion wounds notwithstanding].
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Another Marine charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man has agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges, his attorney said Monday. Thomas Watt, attorney for Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson, declined to discuss details of the agreement but confirmed that a deal has been reached and that his client is due in court next week to plead guilty to some charges.
Jackson, 23, of Tracy, is charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, housebreaking and larceny. He is the third service member to have made a plea deal in the case, in which seven Camp Pendleton-based Marines and a Navy corpsman were charged with murdering 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad.
Last week, another Marine who faced charges similar to Jackson's, Pfc. John Jodka III, pleaded guilty to assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The first to make a deal was Petty Officer 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos, the Navy corpsman on patrol with the Marines. He pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy. A Marine Corps spokeswoman, Capt. Amy Malugani, declined to comment on Jackson's case.
At their courts-martial, Jodka and Bacos testified about the death. In return, prosecutors dropped murder and other charges against them. Bacos was sentenced to one year in prison; Jodka's sentencing is set for Nov. 15.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/31/2006 00:00 ||
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NWFP Senior Minister Sirajul Haq announced on Monday that he was resigning from the three ministerial positions he held to protest against the attack on a madrassa in Bajaur. Addressing reporters, Haq claimed that US forces had carried out the attack, but even if the Pakistan Army had attacked the madrassa, the government is answerable to its citizens for aggression against innocent people. Besides being a senior minister, Haq also held the portfolios of finance and planning and development in the NWFP government. Haq also announced a province-wide protest on Tuesday (today) to protest against the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2006 00:00 ||
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WaPo, Page 1
BAGHDAD -- The signs of the militias are everywhere at the Sholeh police station.
Posters celebrating Moqtada al-Sadr, head of the Mahdi Army militia, dot the building's walls. The police chief sometimes remarks that Shiite militias should wipe out all Sunnis. Visitors to this violent neighborhood in the Iraqi capital whisper that nearly all the police officers have split loyalties.
And then one rainy night this month, the Sholeh police set up an ambush and killed Army Cpl. Kenny F. Stanton Jr., a 20-year-old budding journalist, his unit said. At the time, Stanton and other members of the unit had been trailing a group of Sholeh police escorting known Mahdi Army members.
"How can we expect ordinary Iraqis to trust the police when we don't even trust them not to kill our own men?" asked Capt. Alexander Shaw, head of the police transition team of the 372nd Military Police Battalion, a Washington-based unit charged with overseeing training of all Iraqi police in western Baghdad. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure we're ever going to have police here that are free of the militia influence." Yeah, like Chicago or Lost Angles...
#2
Verlaine should take this - and write us a book, lol. Yeah, I'm pretty free with his time, lol - apologies, bro. But he has insights into how this evolved that we have seen only at second or third hand and only as presented by the MSM. I will kick off the festivities - and hope that he sees this story and decides to jump in.
[my take]
I would like to point out that this is not the usual WaPo hit piece, full of unnamed sources and innuendo...
It is chock-a-block full of direct quotes from US soldiers on the ground, directly involved, whose asses are on the line - just ask Cpl Stanton's unit and his family.
Certainly, WaPo is well-known for cherry-picking, factual omissions, and dizzy lies - it has few rivals in that particular "journalistic art", but one would have to have one's head all the way up one's ass to dismiss the reality these people are drawing for us, people who actually know what the fuck they're talking about, completely out of hand.
There are many villains who deserve "credit" for the situation, primarily the DAWA / SCIRI Shia block (Jaafari, Jabr, Malickme, Sadr, Chalabi - the whole stable of MM tools) --- but these Us troops are not among them. They are carrying the water - and being targeted and killed for their selfless efforts.
To make sense of this situation, you have to turn back the clock to the pivotal moments since March, 2003... My list, below, is just off the top of my head. I'm sure it could be seriously improved upon if one took the time to examine the timeline and the circumstances prevailing at each point. Please, feel free to add / delete / correct, lol, as if you wouldn't, anyway...
1) The abandonment of the hammer & anvil invasion strategy because of Turkey's Muzzy perfidy. Result: Sunni / Ba'athist / AlQ stronghold in the Sunni triangle, complete with huge piles of ca$h, weapons caches, and a wide-open border with Syria for the ancient ratlines to exploit. The "insurgency" begins - with the coalition troops as the primary target.
2) The political (State Dept-style) stupidity which prevented a belated crushing of the Sunni Triangle after the fall of Baghdad. An example: the failure to allow Fallujah I to proceed.
3) The intervention of Sistani to save Tater in Najaf and, by doing so, save the militias all over the south and in Sadr City. After all, they were political allies of the Shia block - which would clearly take power in the coming elections. These militias grew and evolved. An element which exacerbated the situation over time - the following begins here but continues through to present day - was the BS soft-power approach of the UK - and I blame the MoD and their FO for helping to make a bad situation into a catastrophic fucking failure in the south. The UK troops could, and did, kick ass when the situation was manageable and their leadership had the stones. But that was long ago - now they are irrelevant redoubts in a sea of Shia / Qom bullshit.
4) The day the provisional government of Allawi, back when the coalition was in nominal control of security, handed off to the first elected Shia-controlled government and these rat-bastards were given direct control (especially veto power) over security and coalition operations. The magic word, "sovereignty", was proclaimed which put the brakes on doing anything substantive independently thereafter - i.e. if any Shia were in the killzone - and it has been one helluva quick downhill ride since that moment. Somewhere around this time, election time, the Sunnis shifted to killing civilians, for the most part, because it hurt to get hit back and now the Shia were the actual center of power.
5) The total subversion of the police - under the Shia IM - and the rise of the Death Squads. Now we have a bona-fide two-sided war - with the coalition in the middle. That's pretty fucking sucky. Double the fun with us having our hands tied due to the Shia "government".
This is where we are, now, and these good people, brave people, are telling us what they face.
You'll find a few linky-links in this comment which support the comments from our troops...
I waaaay sorry if this doesn't make some happy or they feel I'm being unfair, but the facts describe reality - and reality just is. Accept it or live in fantasy.
#3
The direct quotes from named US sources on the ground nails down the gist of this article. Not to mention the hundreds of other articles found since 2003 which support the thesis that much of Iraq's domestic law enforcers are working for the other side, and that the US knows it.
The Iraqi judicial system is also in on the mayhem. Remember Michael Yon's story about the man who shot down LTC Kurilla? That terrorist had previously been captured by US forces, only to be released by the new Iraqi government, set free to strike again. After gunning down Kurilla, he was captured (again). Not a word can I find in the MSM/internet about what happened to him. He was almost certainly released (again).
#4
Not to disagree, .com, but for all I know, the WaPo found every single disgruntled guy in Iraq. If they cherry-pick when you don't like their persepective, what makes you think they didn't cherry-pick this stuff?
I guess I'm still optimistic, and hopeful.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/31/2006 12:31 Comments ||
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#5
Actually, the biggest reason I'm optimistic is that I do not want the MSM to 'win' by having the rest of us 'lose'.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/31/2006 12:38 Comments ||
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#6
No matter what the Iraqi politicians said the US should have killed Sadr and as many milita members as possible during the first uprising.
It took the Romans three tries until they finally put Carthage down. Hopefully we can do better for the Iraqis or we'll end up with the same result more or less.
#1
"...Tyler offers a devastating critique of how the Bush Administration has engaged in an unprecedented politicization of the CIA. In corrupting the intelligence community the Bush Administration has put the nation at greater risk and hobbled an important government resource."
I think it's high time we start charging these blabbermouths with treason and lining them up against a wall.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/31/2006 9:57 Comments ||
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#2
Apparently there were *no* politix being played at the George Bush Center for Intelligence until W took office.
#6
Bush should have sacked Tennet after 9/11 on general principals. The replacement should have been told to clean freaking house and they should have dumped half the CIA. The Patriot Act should have been written to make it possible to remove entrenched idiots in government.
State should have been gutted as well. Anyone associated with the Visa Express program should have been tarred and feathered and threatened with being put on trial for gross neglegence leading to a threat to the nation.
Bush's main problem is he's reluctant to fire people. He trusts too much. He trusted Arafat and Putin, need I say more.
#7
The CIA was highly political when I was in DC in 1980. That's one reason I keep denying a friend of mine's request that I come work for him. Even the military portion of DIA was somewhat politicized, but not as badly. Yes, it's time to do some serious house-cleaning, but the CIA is only the tip of the iceberg. The entire Washington bureaucracy needs to be purged. Our government would run a lot smoother, and at half the cost, if there was a thorough house-cleaning. DC stands for "Deep Cleaning" required.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/31/2006 15:19 Comments ||
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#8
OP I was at NSA in the 1980s and they were VERY political (against Reagan). If CIA was half as bad then a house cleaning is LONG overdue. I am still waiting for someone to point to the greatest intelligence success in the late 20th century. Its almost like they were not even trying to protect the U.S.
#9
CyberSarge - I worked at the Navy Yard in an AF billet. Met with the CIA folks daily. Most there (NPIC/NISC/???) were less political, but the beasts out at Langley were too much to deal with. I would rather remain here in Co Springs than go to DC for any kind of job, period. That includes anything but Head Mercenary in the housecleaning.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/31/2006 18:57 Comments ||
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Saddam Husseins chief lawyer walked out of court on Monday after presenting demands to end a boycott of the toppled Iraqi presidents genocide trial. Khalil al-Dulaimi, who has since September been boycotting Saddams genocide trial against the Kurds after the government sacked the previous judge, made a brief appearance in a Baghdad courtroom to present a list of 12 demands.
They included an investigation into allegations that one of Saddams co-defendants was beaten up by his prison guards last month and that the court allow defence counsel to have Arab and foreign lawyers in court. He also demanded a probe into documents he said went missing in the lawyers Green Zone office.
Chief judge Mohammed al-Ureybi, who took over the case in September, said Arab and foreign lawyers could only attend as advisors. Dulaimi then walked out of courtroom and the proceedings continued with a court-appointed lawyer. Before Dulaimi made his demands, Ureybi interrupted him for addressing Saddam as my president. There is no president in this court except for the president of this court, the judge said.
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AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - A delegation of Iraq lawmakers met with a newly formed group of Iraqi political activists in the Jordanian capital on Monday and agreed to hold a national reconciliation conference next month, a leader of the advocacy group said. The conference will take place on Nov. 15 in Baghdad under the auspices of the Iraqi prime minister, said Hassan al-Bazzaz, the secretary general of the Patriotic and National Forces Movement opposition group.
The movement was formed by both Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and includes Iraqi politicians, former military officers, former leaders of Saddam's Baath party, intellectuals and tribal chiefs representing most of Iraq's ethnic and religious factions. Created in Amman in August, it is headed by prominent tribal leader Hamid al-Gaoud of Anbar province - where many insurgents are based - and aims at helping maintain Iraq's unity and ending the bloodshed.
Its leader has denounced the U.S.-led occupation and called for the "liberation of Iraq." However, al-Gaoud also said in August the movement was willing to establish ties with the United States, Britain, Europe and Arab countries based on "mutual understanding and peaceful means."
"We like their money."
The group held two-day talks that ended Monday at Iraq's embassy in Jordan with a government delegation, which was headed by lawmaker Saleh al-Fayadh, said al-Bazzaz, a professor of political sciences at Baghdad's university.
The reconciliation conference was initiated by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss a 24-point plan to heal the nation's severe political wounds.
Al-Bazzaz said his group, called Heqooq _or "rights"- in Arabic, supported the prime minister's initiative and sensed that the Iraqi government had "true intentions of reconciliation."
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Experts! That's what we need! Why didn't we think of it sooner!
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - A wealthy Palestinian businessman speaking in the name of the local private sector has called for an interim government of experts, pending no agreement on a national unity cabinet. Hello? 1-800-EXPERTS? Send over all ya got...
"We propose that a government of experts be put in place to be made up of seven to 10 people," Munib al-Masri, founder of the Palestinian Development and Investment Company (Padico), told a news conference in Ramallah. The Palestinian Development and Investment Company? I'll bet his business is off the charts. I was gonna say "booming", but...you know...
He said such a government could remain in place "for one year" in order to give Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party and the ruling Islamist movement Hamas time to agree on an as yet elusive unity cabinet. Or wipe each other out. Both probably have lots of "experts" in that department.
"A government of experts would not be a substitute for a national unity cabinet when this is ready," he said.
The businessman said a technocratic cabinet should focus on securing services, putting an end to an international boycott levelled against the Hamas-led government for the last seven months, and reviving the economy. "We want a government able to satisfy the international community and to persuade it" to review its policy, he added. Sure. Good luck with that...
Masri said political affairs, particularly the question of talks with Israel would be the domain of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority presidency, both headed by Abbas.
The elderly businessman, who is frequently cited as a possible candidate to head an interim professional government, said, however, that he would prefer to see such a cabinet made up of younger people.
In the absence of an agreement with Hamas, Abbas has said he would be willing to appoint a government of independent technocrats.
"A deal to secure the release of Gilad Shalit is almost closed," said Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh at Monday's PA cabinet meeting. Cairo Radio reported that a Hamas delegation from Syria was due to arrive in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials about a possible prisoner swap in exchange for the release of Shalit.
Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan said that Israel had not yet agreed to the kidnappers' demands but that there were "positive signs."
Former PA security commander Jibril Rajoub, who serves as an adviser to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was also due in Cairo for meetings with the Hamas delegation on solving the crisis in the Palestinian territories. Meanwhile, Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan said that Israel had not yet agreed to the kidnappers' demands but that there were "positive signs."
"If Egyptian mediation fails Hamas will still try to solve the issue but wont change its demands," Hamdan told BBC Arabic. He said that the delegation in Cairo will try to "clarify the Israeli stance on the issue."
PA spokesman Ghazi Hamed said that Israel was being "stubborn" but that the general framework of a prisoner swap deal had been agreed upon.
PA spokesman Ghazi Hamed said that Israel was being "stubborn" but that the general framework of a prisoner swap deal had been agreed upon "Israel has agreed in principle to a prisoner exchange but we need more time to discuss the names of the Palestinians that would be freed," said Hamed.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy leader of Hamas' political bureau in Syria, said the delegation will be headed by Imad al-Alami, Hamas' representative in Syria, who will meet with Egypt's chief of intelligence, Omar Suleiman, to talk about the soldier and the formation of a Palestinian national unity government. Abu Marzouk said Hamas' political leader, Khaled Mashaal, who lives in exile in Syria, would not be attending the talks.
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#1
A deal to secure the release of Gilad Shalit is almost closed.
This incredible sale is only good till the end of the month hurry before time runs out! That folks is what Salesmen and Politicians refer to as an immediacy close. I know its a stereotypical suggestion but traditionally Jews are quite adept at negotiating retail transactions. That might clarify Hameds Israel was being stubborn" comment.
Im not sayin Im just sayin.
"We were mediocre," Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Staff Dan Halutz told a popular television interviewer on Channel 2 Monday night, referring to the IDF's performance during the war in Lebanon this past summer.
Yeah, but only because you decided to be.
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Halutz, just look at the face of truth for once, you sucked big time!
The US standing in the Middle East is at an all-time low and can be helped only by pressing Israel to relinquish all occupied Arab land and Jerusalem to the Palestinians, says Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.
"We want you to remain friends with Israel. But that friendship should be used to push Israel" to relinquish the land the Arabs lost in the 1967 Six-Day War and provide the Palestinians with a state they have been denied for more than a half-century.
"We want you to remain friends with Israel," Saudi Ambassador Turki al-Faisal said during a question and answer session. "But that friendship should be used to push Israel" to relinquish the land the Arabs lost in the 1967 Six-Day War and provide the Palestinians with a state they have been denied for more than a half-century, the prince said. "The United States is the only one that can deliver," the ambassador said. "The basic interest of the United States is for peace to reign in our part of the world."
In remarks he prepared for delivery to the National Council on US-Arab Relations, a private group that presents the Arab view on issues, Prince Turki said, "It is no secret that US standing in the Middle East is at an all-time low."
In the prepared text of his speech, distributed to reporters at the luncheon, he said, "It is not a matter of military strength or a shift in rhetoric, but rather a matter of basic understanding of the needs of the people who are affected by US political decisions." He added, "If the US is going to help itself, its policy needs to change in the Middle East."
President George W. Bush has supported establishment of a Palestinian state on land now held by Israel. He has not attempted to define the future of Jerusalem, or say how much occupied land should be surrendered. Prince Turki said any of several peace plans - including one by the Arab kingdom and another by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - is preferable to inaction. In previous plans, the Jerusalem question has been put off to be among the last contentious items decided. "No one has put his foot forward," the ambassador said in rejecting "excuses that won't do" such as waiting for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to assert full control of the Palestinian people before launching negotiations.
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#1
Turkey meat, face up to the truth: "Paleos are Darwin Award Grand Prize Winners". They are over!
#8
For the umpteenth time, I'm going to post some background on this Saudi slimebag. He is one of America's worst enemies, bar none.
But Turki is not what he seems. Behind him lies a murky tale of espionage, terrorism and torture. For, while Turki has many powerful friends among Britain's elite, he is no ordinary diplomat. Turki has now been served with legal papers by lawyers acting for relatives of the victims of 11 September.
They accuse him of funding and supporting Osama bin Laden. The Observer can also reveal that Turki has now admitted for the first time that Saudi interrogators have tortured six British citizens arrested in Saudi Arabia and accused of carrying out a bombing campaign.
The revelations throw a stark light on Turki's appointment late last year as Saudi Arabia's new ambassador to Britain. They also cast doubt on the suitability of Charles's relationship with senior Saudis. A year ago Charles had dinner with bin Laden's brother, Bakr bin Laden, and regularly hosted meetings for Turki's predecessor, Dr Ghazi Algosaibi, who was recalled after writing poems praising suicide bombers.
The US lawsuit is seeking more than $1 trillion in com pensation from a list of individuals and companies alleged to have supported al- Qaeda. The claimants' head lawyer, Ron Motley, a veteran of successful anti-tobacco suits, has already called it 'the trial of the century'.
Now, after papers were served on Turki several weeks ago, the Saudi ambassador will be at the heart of it. Legal papers in the case obtained by The Observer make it clear that the allegations are serious and lengthy. Many centre around Turki's role as head of the Saudi intelligence agency. He held the post for 25 years before being replaced in 2001 just before the attacks on New York.
Turki admits to meeting bin Laden four or five times in the 1980s, when the Saudi-born terrorist was being supported by the West in Afghanistan. Turki also admits meeting Taliban leader Mullah Omar in 1998. He says he was seeking to extradite bin Laden at the request of the United States.
However, the legal papers tell a different story. Based on sworn testimony from a Taliban intelligence chief called Mullah Kakshar, they allege that Turki had two meetings in 1998 with al-Qaeda. They say that Turki helped seal a deal whereby al-Qaeda would not attack Saudi targets. In return, Saudi Arabia would make no demands for extradition or the closure of bin Laden's network of training camps. Turki also promised financial assistance to Mullah Omar. A few weeks after the meetings, 400 new pick-up vehicles arrived in Kandahar, the papers say.
Kakshar's statement also says that Turki arranged for donations to be made directly to al-Qaeda and bin Laden by a group of wealthy Saudi businessmen. 'Mullah Kakshar's sworn statement implicates Prince Turki as the facilitator of these money transfers in support of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and international terrorism,' the papers said.
Turki's link to one of al-Qaeda's top money- launderers, Mohammed Zouaydi, who lived in Saudi Arabia from 1996 to 2001, is also exposed. Zouaydi acted as the accountant for the Faisal branch of the Saudi royal family that includes Turki. Zouaydi, who is now in jail in Spain, is also accused of being al-Qaeda's top European financier. He distributed more than $1 million to al- Qaeda units, including the Hamburg cell of Mohammed Atta which plotted the World Trade Centre attack.
Finally the lawsuit alleges that Turki was 'instrumental' in setting up a meeting between bin Laden and senior Iraqi intelligence agent Faruq al-Hijazi in December 1998. At that meeting it is alleged that bin Laden agreed to avenge recent American bombings of Iraqi targets and in return Iraq offered him a safe haven and gave him blank Yemeni passports.
#10
One has to include among the maggots those in the administration that have not seen fit to reduce Saudi Arabia (and Pakistan) and an irradiated ash heap. Here we are five years plus after 9-11 and it has been so clear ever since that the Magic Kingdom is an enemy yet we continue with business as usual.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops exchanged artillery fire in Sri Lankas ethnic Tamil heartland on Monday, the military said, a day after talks to salvage a cease-fire and halt more than two decades of conflict ended without a breakthrough.
The peace talks in Geneva failed Sunday after the government rejected a Tiger demand to reopen a key highway that connects the Tamil-dominated northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country.
The rebels opened fire late Sunday, wounding five soldiers, then the artillery fire began, focused on an entry point to the blocked highway, a military spokesman said. They fired at our positions and we fired back, said Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe.
Rebel spokesman Daya Master accused the military of starting the exchange, but had no comment on Mondays skirmishes.
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BEIRUT: Hizbullah will seek the formation of a new government through all democratic means, including the resignation of its two ministers and street protests, the group's senior MP said on Monday. Hizbullah and its allies have been demanding a new "national unity" government since the month-long war with Israel ended on August 14.
The group has been a fierce critic of Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, whom it sees, along with the parliamentary majority, as keen to disarm its military wing.
"We are careful to practice all democratic and legitimate means to express our stand and our rejection of the continuation of this situation and to work toward forming a government of national unity," said Mohammad Raad, the head of Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc.
"We will take all available democratic steps to achieve this goal, including resigning from the government," he added.
Raad was speaking after holding separate talks with key opposition figures, former Prime Minister Omar Karami and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.
Speaker Nabih Berri on Sunday delayed talks with Leb-anon's political elite aimed at defusing tensions after several anti-Syrian leaders said they could not attend because they would be out of the country this week.
In his attempts to reduce tensions, Berri is expected to meet later this week with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, who said in his Sunday sermon that "certain parties" are trying to return the country to the age of Syrian tutelage.
Sfeir is also scheduled to meet Aoun this week in their first meeting since relations between the two leaders deteriorated a few months ago over their stance regarding calls for a national unity government.
Berri told As-Safir newspaper on Monday that all leaders confirmed they will attend the talks next Monday, except for Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who the speaker said "is a target for the Americans and the Israelis, and even if he decides to attend I will forbid him for his own safety and for that of Lebanon."
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt is in Washington for meetings with US officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Jumblatt said in a statement in the PSP weekly magazine to be published today that discussing a national unity government is only possible after electing a new president.
"Political logic requires first solving the presidency issue ... afterwards we can discuss forming a national unity government ... then a new electoral law," the Druze leader said.
Former President and Phalanges Party leader Amin Gemayel is in Kurdistan, while Hariri is in Saudi Arabia.
Gemayel said Monday from Kurdistan that the current conflict in Lebanon is between "a party working for Lebanon ... and another one which insists on linking [Lebanon] to regional strategic interests that are closer to adventures, taking place on its land and destroying its infrastructure and killing and displacing its people."
Hmmm... What's Gemayel doing in Kurdistan?
A German naval squadron off the coast, French, Finnish, and other European forces in-country, and now Nasrallah is setting deadlines for a "unity" government?
#2
"Political logic requires first solving the presidency issue ... afterwards we can discuss forming a national unity government ... then a new electoral law, the Druze leader said."
Responding to questions regarding his US meetings, Jumblatt said today in not-so cryptic terms that Nasrallah's survival depends on a "National Consensus".
#1
Interesting choice of emblem for the Mahdi Scouts. The fleur-de-lis was adopted for the French national symbol by the nobility after the knights brought it back following the Crusades. It is also called the 'Jerusalem lily' and was thought to adorn the Temple, making this a real mockery of Judaism.
#2
Not sure, but I think it's because la fleur de lys is the international symbol of scoutism (and those are scouts, apocalypse cult's scouts, but scouts nonetheless...).
By the way, in heraldy, this is the traditional symbol of France, and so was systematically suppressed by the revolution and its heirs.
Iran's lunatic firebrand president warned on Monday that his country would make an "appropriate and firm response" to any U.N. sanction over its nuclear program. "Efforts by the big powers will only incite anger and hatred," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a large crowd on the outskirts of Tehran. "The Iranian nation will respond to restrictive activities with an appropriate and firm response," he said without elaborating. The hard-line Iranian president gave his speech as key United Nations Security Council members were deliberating a draft European resolution that would impose sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Time to test the waters and see just what he calls a "firm response". So far, all we've seen is a lot of big talk, and making some trouble for little Israel.
Now that we have several carrier groups in the gulf, it would seem as though its his move anyway.
#2
Do you think the Great Satan cares if its actions "incite anger and hatred" amongst the Lilliputians? Do you think it even notices your pathetic "appropriate and firm response"? Soon, little man, the Great Satan will introduce you to your Hidden Imam in the fiery depths of a well filled with the burning wreckage of your "civilization".
US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton said Monday that Hizbullah was continuing to acquire arms. According to Bolton, the UN had information that Hizbullah was still receiving weapons shipments from Syria, and that Lebanese officials were hesitant to confirm the report. Bolton also said that the Lebanese government was not providing the UN with information on the status of Hizbullah's arms stocks, Israel Radio reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
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I'm sure the ever allert Unifil troop delegation, led by the French legion, is keeping close watch, and will pounce momentarily on the Hezb's and force a complete disarming.Haaahaahaah.
Lebanon's pro-Syrian president objected on Monday to the draft document setting up an international court to try suspects in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, and declared no agreement can pass without his approval.
President Emile Lahoud, whose security chiefs are under arrest in connection with the 2005 assassination, said in a statement he had multiple objections to the draft.
Under the constitution, Lahoud said, the president in agreement with the prime minister must approve any deal before it goes to Cabinet for approval. "It ends there" if the president disapproves, he said.
Under the constitution, Lahoud said, the president in agreement with the prime minister must approve any deal before it goes to Cabinet for approval. "It ends there" if the president disapproves, he said.
A UN investigation into Hariri's killing has implicated top Syrian and Lebanese security officials, a charge Syria denies. The UN handed Lebanese authorities last month a draft document spelling out details of the structure and legal framework for the international tribunal. Lahoud has refused to step down before the end of his term in 2007, and his opponents lack the votes to oust him.
The issue of an international court comes amid heightened political tensions between pro- and anti-Syrian groups in Lebanon. The anti-Syrian camp says the mounting campaign against western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and recent threats of street protests are a way to undermine the planned international court. Pro-Syrian groups, led by the Hizbullah guerrilla, say they want a stronger role in running the country after the war with Israel in the summer.
"Since when does the suspect becomes a judge in choosing the court before which he will stand?"
Lahoud's opponents quickly accused the president on Monday of seeking to stall the formation of the court to escape prosecution. "Since when does the suspect becomes a judge in choosing the court before which he will stand?" asked Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh.
The minister accused Lahoud of involvement in Hariri's assassination and said in a statement that the president's objections were "political scandal and legal heresy." He claimed that it was an attempt by Syrian authorities, through Lahoud, to undermine or delay the formation of the court.
Picked right up on that, didn't he?
Four generals, top pro-Syrian security chiefs under Lahoud including his Presidential Guard commander, have been under arrest for 14 months, accused of involvement in Hariri's murder. The UN investigation has interviewed the Lebanese president and has implicated top Syrian officials. Among Lahoud's objections to the court, he listed the fact more foreign judges than Lebanese were to be appointed. Lahoud said such a court would be unprecedented. "We cannot make Lebanon at these difficult times in the region a field for testing and experimenting," he said.
A draft of the resolution creating the court has been circulated to the five permanent members of the Security Council. But a diplomat at the UN said council members disagree on how to name the judges. Russia, a close ally of Syria, wants the Security Council to pick the judges so that Moscow - a veto yielding council member - has more control, the diplomat said. Europeans and Americans want the UN Secretary-General to oversee the judges' nomination, said the UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations are private.
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WASHINGTON - The United States will lead international naval manoeuvres in the Gulf off Irans west coast beginning Monday aimed at fighting weapons proliferation, a US State Department official said. Australia, Bahrain, Britain, France, Italy and the United States will participate in the exercises that will simulate inspection of ships carrying illicit weapons-related materials, the official said. Another 19 countries in the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) will take a minor part in the exercise.
There have been 24 PSI exercises since US President George W. Bush launched the initiative in May 2003, but it will be the first time an exercise is conducted in the Gulf and the first time countries in the Middle East will participate.
How about that: a multilateral message.
In addition to Bahrains active role, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will send observers to the mission. This is an exercise that will test our capacity to intercept illicit traffic, said Robert Joseph, US under secretary of state for arms control and international security.
The exercise will practice interdicting a target vessel carrying materials useful to a nuclear weapon program, destined for a country of proliferation concern in the region, a State Department official explained.
"Mahmoud, what is this 'Team Red' the evil Americans keep referring to?"
Joseph said the US knows from Iranian news reports that the exercise got the attention of Iran. However, a US official insisted that the joint manoeuvres were planned months ago and not timed with the new pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.
"No, no, certainly not!"
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#1
When does the ship-to -shore bombardment begin?
#3
"However, a US official insisted that the joint maneuvers were planned months ago and not timed with the new pressure on Iran over its nuclear program."
Nice assortment of arab nazi salutes; text is in spanish, but is not really needed, and easy to understand anyway. For other interesting pics from the same Zionist(Tm) website, see here.
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.
Afghanistan will prove a third Vietnam for the United States and Afghans will continue their jihad against the coalition forces, former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said in a four-page statement issued from an undisclosed location on Monday.
CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak denied Monday reports from his own government that about 5,000 Egyptian security police had been deployed along the Gaza Strip border. 'This is totally baseless, Mubarak told a group of Egyptian lawmakers of his ruling National Democratic Party.
Abu Hamza cited the terrorist attacks on New York and London as the reason why he should not be in prison, the High Court heard today. The radical Islamic cleric, jailed for seven years in February, claims the atrocities created a political climate in which it was impossible for him to receive a fair trial. 
China, the United States and North Korea agreed in talks Tuesday to resume the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs "at a convenient time in the near future" after a break of almost a year, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said. Christopher Hill, U.S. head delegate to the six-party talks, told reporters after meeting with his Chinese and North Korean counterparts that while the precise date needs to be agreed by all six parties, he believes it will be "in November, or possibly in December." 
The director-general of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) says he cannot comment on whether sleep-deprivation is used as a means for intelligence gathering.
The Lebanese Muslim Association has urged the media and politicians to stop interfering in the debate surrounding the future of senior Muslim cleric Sheikh Taj el-Din Al Hilaly and leave it to the Islamic community to resolve.
MELBOURNE'S Sheik Mohammed Omran, who has caused fresh controversy with comments that Muslim rapists are more harshly treated than non-Muslims, has said he can say what he likes because he is an Australian.
Saddam Husseins chief lawyer walked out of court on Monday after presenting demands to end a boycott of the toppled Iraqi presidents genocide trial. Khalil al-Dulaimi, who has since September been boycotting Saddams genocide trial against the Kurds after the government sacked the previous judge, made a brief appearance in a Baghdad courtroom to present a list of 12 demands. 
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - A delegation of Iraq lawmakers met with a newly formed group of Iraqi political activists in the Jordanian capital on Monday and agreed to hold a national reconciliation conference next month, a leader of the advocacy group said. The conference will take place on Nov. 15 in Baghdad under the auspices of the Iraqi prime minister, said Hassan al-Bazzaz, the secretary general of the Patriotic and National Forces Movement opposition group.
"A deal to secure the release of Gilad Shalit is almost closed," said Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh at Monday's PA cabinet meeting. Cairo Radio reported that a Hamas delegation from Syria was due to arrive in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials about a possible prisoner swap in exchange for the release of Shalit. 
The US standing in the Middle East is at an all-time low and can be helped only by pressing Israel to relinquish all occupied Arab land and Jerusalem to the Palestinians, says Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States. 
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops exchanged artillery fire in Sri Lankas ethnic Tamil heartland on Monday, the military said, a day after talks to salvage a cease-fire and halt more than two decades of conflict ended without a breakthrough.
Iran's 
Lebanon's pro-Syrian president objected on Monday to the draft document setting up an international court to try suspects in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, and declared no agreement can pass without his approval. 
WASHINGTON - The United States will lead international naval manoeuvres in the Gulf off Irans west coast beginning Monday aimed at fighting weapons proliferation, a US State Department official said. Australia, Bahrain, Britain, France, Italy and the United States will participate in the exercises that will simulate inspection of ships carrying illicit weapons-related materials, the official said. Another 19 countries in the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) will take a minor part in the exercise.
