Haidar Abdel Shafi, a former negotiator who led the Palestinian delegation to the historic Madrid peace conference in 1991, died Tuesday at the age of 88.
Abdel Shafi died at his home in Gaza City of stomach cancer, said his son Khaled. The lanky, charismatic Abdel Shafi was widely respected by the Palestinian public, and was one of the few figures to bridge the differences among rival political movements. After the Hamas won legislative elections in early 2006, then-Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's first official visit was to see Abdel Shafi.
Hundreds of mourners attended his funeral Tuesday, and Hamas, which now rules Gaza and bitterly opposes peace efforts with Israel, held a moment of silence for Abdel Shafi at a Cabinet meeting. The Hamas authority called Abdel Shafi "one of the most important symbols of the Palestinian people."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I wuzza hoping it was Saeb *spit* Erekat.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2007 7:54 Comments ||
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#2
I hope this terrorist facilitator's death was very slow and very painful.
Spain remains committed to its U.N.-mandated role in Afghanistan and its troops will remain to help pacify and rebuild the country, Defence Minister José Antonio Alonso told parliament on Monday, a day after two Spanish soldiers were killed in an attack. Alonso reaffirmed Spanish participation in the United Nations mission in an appearance to seek parliamentary approval to send an additional 52 Spanish military personnel to train the Afghan Army.
Darfur rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim said on Tuesday he would carry on fighting during upcoming peace talks until a final settlement is reached to end the conflict in western Sudan. Ibrahim, head of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), also said he was dismissing his deputy, Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, accusing him of secret meetings with the government to undermine the movement.
We will not cease fire before we reach a political settlement, Ibrahim told Reuters from Darfur. Ceasing fire is a termination of the resistance and revolution, he added. Meanwhile, a report said Egypt would send more than 2,100 personnel to join a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Egyptian soldiers would be part of a 26,000-strong joint UN and African Union force due to be deployed in Darfur to end more than four and a half years of conflict there. Sudan says the joint force should be mostly African and has turned down infantry from Thailand and Uruguay, UN officials say. But Khartoum has promised to allow non-African units for specialised tasks. Egypt has contributed to a smaller African Union force that has been in Darfur for years but has failed to quell the violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sees Libya's top diplomat here this week as preparations continue on her plans for a historic visit to Libya this year, a senior US official said Tuesday. Rice is to meet Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly session on Wednesday afternoon amid a sea change in US relations with the North African nation that was once considered a pariah, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not yet been announced.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Parts of British history need to be rewritten to emphasise the roles played by other races and religions like Muslims, ... who else?
... a prominent race relations campaigner has said. Trevor Philips, the village idiot chairman of the new Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, said the history of Britain did not properly reflect the contribution of other cultures.
Yet another PC/pomo 'human rights' commission that managed to focus on one thing and one thing only.
Rewriting the countrys history would demonstrate to Britons in the 21st century how other groups apart from Anglo Saxons shaped the nation.
The Roman, Celts, Normans, Vikings, ... oh, not them.
He told a fringe meeting at the Labour conference: "We may need to revisit our national story we want to rewrite that story to tell the whole story."
I'll bet it was a 'fringe' meeting.
The rewriting should start with the story of how the English fleet led by Sir Francis Drake fought off the Spanish Armada in 1588, he said. The important role played by the Muslim Turks, who delayed the sailing of the Spanish fleet so that the English ships were better prepared, had been airbrushed out of the story however.
Pro'ly because it was less important than Sir Francis Drake putting steel into English spines when it was needed.
Mr Phillips said: "When we talk about the Armada, it was the Turks who saved us because they held up the Armada after a request from Elizabeth I.
"Lets rewrite that, so we have an ideal that brings us together so that it can bind us together in stormy times ahead in the next century."
Mr Phillips, the former chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, declined to offer any other examples of parts of British history that should be rewritten.
So as not to make himself a bigger fool in public.
He also said that he supported a campaign by the musician Billy Bragg for a new written constitution to define what it means to be British in the 21st century.
Who needs a parliament anyways?
"We have to have an expression that is native and right for us," he said. "We have to have a more explicit set of understandings under which we can all live together."
Mr Phillips, who was educated at Queens College Boys School in Guyana, also suggested that there should be a set celebration for when people were given British nationality. Nationality lessons were necessary because people were moving around the country more than ever before, providing less opportunities to integrate. Last year 6.5 million people moved house, he said.
And some of them never seem to integrate even when they stay in one place.
Earlier this week Mr Phillips said that economic migrants could be forced to make a bigger contribution to the cost of public services. Mr Phillips said that some migrants who stay in the UK only for a short time should pay more for the use of schools and hospitals.
Posted by: anonymous5089 ||
09/26/2007 14:34 ||
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#1
I thought at the time of the Armada the Turkish fleet was still recovering from the damage done to it at Lepanto.
"Well my boy, England broke away from the shackles of Romanism and the Pope, and formed the Anglican Church of Islam, which through the blessings of Mohammed, peace and honor be on him, became the official Mosque of England."
#6
The Battle of Lepanto (1571) took place a couple of years (seventeen by my count) before the English/Spanish confrontation and, if I remember correctly, the last Spanish/Turkish confrontation took place about 1580-81 off Morocco.
That was some 'delay'. Must have been pretty special (or ethereal) too as I don't believe a Turkish Sultan (who fancied themselves as the Caliph) would be even interested in taking requests from an infidel (of whatever stripe), much less a woman.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/26/2007 16:29 Comments ||
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#10
This is the kind of perverse rewriting of history that the Marxist historians have achieved in India.
Great care is taken to portray Muslim rule as a time of enlightenment. These deliberate lies are peddled by "emminent" historians like Romila Thapar who view history through the Marxist lens. Ironically that gets them invited by the Library of Congress to work on projects in the US.
The Nobel Laureate VS Naipaul says that at least Pakistani textbooks are honest with regard to this. They actually quote the original accounts where Islamic invaders boasted of how many temples, libraries and cities they razed to the ground, of how many hundred thousand people they put to death and enslaved.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/26/2007 18:12 Comments ||
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#11
Mention the turks helping a bit in 1588 as long as you make it clear what happened during the Sepoy mutiny, or the Mad Mahdi events, and Muslim slave traders up through the modern era. Make it clear that the Turks fought for the other side in WW1, and simply display crime and economic statistics for the UK from the end of WW2 onward when the immigration floodgates were opened. Don't cherry-pick your history, show it all.
I think the muslims will be crying to censor history soon enough.
Schiphol and Rotterdam Airport are going to provide a hundred disadvantaged Moroccan youth with training to become airport workers. The young people will start a five-week accelerated training programme in November.
Working with customers, platform activities and job application skills will all be covered during the course. A spokesperson for Schiphol confirmed on Tuesday a report on this in the Telegraaf. Upon completion of the training course, youth will be given a certificate allowing them to proceed to a trainee job or more extensive training. If they want to apply for a job immediately at that point they will be given assistance from the airports.
The police will select the candidates for the programme. In connection with the strict security requirements at the airport they must not have been in trouble with the law for any serious crimes. The project has been named after Princess Maxima. Rotterdam Airport has successfully organised such programmes in the past, once for Antilleans and once for Moroccans. This is the first time that Schiphol is participating as well.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
While they're at it, why not put 'em through flight school too?
Posted by: Strother Martin ||
09/26/2007 14:36 Comments ||
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#8
In 2005-2006, there was much controversy about the islamist infiltration of the parisian airports, I'm not sure the dutch are on the right track (note that this may pose problems in a strict security, not terror, level, as baggage handlers and other workers have been massively rectruited from the 'hoods, sometimes with co-optation from the same neighbourhood, and this has lead to things like organized theft rings, or vandalism of parcels or luggages from "sensitive" countries).
Spanish judicial authorities have finally scheduled trials of Algerian detainees in the Spanish prisons who are facing terrorism allegations. The first trial session is scheduled on October 14. A diplomatic source in Spain told El Khabar that the Algerian detainees have given up the hunger strike they started a few days earlier, following the Spanish judicial authorities decision to schedule their trials.
The same source added that the Algerian Ambassador to Madrid Mr. Ahmed Hennache has talked with the Spanish authorities about the detainees issue and some related files. However, the first trial session is take place on October 14. Noteworthy, the majority of detainees were arrested between 1992 and 2005.They have neither been heard by court nor been charged, while Madrid is still investigating to collect evidences to bring charges against them.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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A disbarred lawyer convicted of helping her client communicate with terrorists was scheduled to teach at a Long Island, N.Y., law school ethics conference, FederalReview.com reported.
Lynne Stewart, who was convicted in 2005 of providing material support to terrorists and received a 28-month sentence, was to speak at Hofstra Law Schools legal ethics conference, set for Oct. 14 to Oct. 16.
Click here for the full story at FederalReview.com.
Her former client, sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, was sentenced to life in prison for plotting to blow up five New York landmarks and assassinate Egypt's president.
According to Hofstras Web site, conference speakers were expected to discuss "prosecutorial abuse, the challenges of representing prisoners at Guantanamo and attacks on lawyers who represent unpopular clients and causes."
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
09/26/2007 18:00 ||
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#1
Might I suggest the following additions to the curriculum:
Intro. to Academic Integrity: Ward Churchill
Ethics of Political Fund-raising: Norman Hsu
Posted by: Titus Hayes ||
09/26/2007 19:07 Comments ||
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#4
Hofstra goes into CYA mode...
Ms. Stewart is not being invited to teach trial advocacy or legal ethics. Implicit in lawyering at the edge is the risk of going over the edge, both ethically and legally. Like every speaker at our highly successful conferences, Stewart will speak for twenty minutes and then be subjected to sharp questioning for an equal twenty minutes. Students are more likely, therefore, to come away viewing her not as a role model, but as a cautionary lesson. Thats effective education in lawyers ethics, which is too often considered a dry, uninteresting, and unimportant subject.
#5
Too bad. They just missed getting Ahmadinejad to lecture on the Holocaust. Like tu3031 noted, Stewart shouldn't even be allowed to set foot out of prison. Evidently, this rutbag has been granted a stay due to her breast cancer. If she's well enough to lecture, she's well enough to serve time. America takes yet another step through the looking glass.
#9
Nobody forget that Stewart's client, Omar "the blind sheik" Abdel-Rahman, was the architect of the first World Trade Center attack. That scumsucking terrorist maggot drew Osama's roadmap for the 9-11 atrocity. Lynne Stewart's consorting with this waste of skin meant collaborating with America's absolute worst enemies. She should have been executed for treason.
#11
In the US News & World College Rankings Hofstra falls neatly into the abyss of the fourth tier -- if anyone ever wondered why, this article is as the lawyers say, "asked and answered."
Posted by: regular joe ||
09/26/2007 21:31 Comments ||
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Long piece at WSJ about a key advisor to the Obama campaign who is also in the Navy Reserve. Just the first part here; hit the link for the rest. Didn't realize the Obama campaign had any reservists in key positions.
Mark Lippert helped Obama oppose the war; now he's being sent to Iraq
After a long day training to be deployed to Iraq, Navy reservist Mark Lippert unlaces his desert boots and pulls out a BlackBerry email device from his dusty backpack.
Checking his messages, he spots an email from the presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama: "I miss you, brother."
Mr. Lippert, a lieutenant junior grade sporting a buzz-cut and desert camouflage, is training here before being shipped out to Iraq, where he will serve as an intelligence officer for the Navy SEALs. In his civilian life, he is the chief foreign-policy adviser for Sen. Obama -- the Democrat whose most well-known foreign-policy stance is his opposition to the Iraq War Lt. Lippert is about to join.
Sen. Obama not only opposes the war, he has tried to distinguish himself in the Democratic field by stressing that he alone among the major candidates opposed it from the outset. And Lt. Lippert, 34 years old, has helped hone those views, particularly on a pullout of American troops, even as he prepared to go to war.
Since being called up for active duty and going on the Navy payroll, Lt. Lippert won't talk about his views on the war. "Now isn't the time for me to debate Iraq policy," Lt. Lippert says in an interview. "My job is to serve my country and to execute the decision of the commander-in-chief."
However, friends say that Lt. Lippert, from a family with a long military history, joined the Navy Reserve in 2005 even though he knew the deteriorating situation in Iraq meant the odds of fighting in the war were high. "Mark knew that he probably would be called to active duty," says his fiancée, Robyn Schmidek. "It's not the war he would have scripted, but he felt a higher calling to support the troops."
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2007 11:03 ||
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#1
I dunno...if I was one of the SEAL operators in the unit LTJG Lippert's going to, I'd be at least a little uncomfortable at the idea of someone who was advising a politician determined to undermine my mission. suddenly becoming my intel officer. LTJG Lippert might be a perfectly nice guy and a commendable naval officer, but isn't there a Seabee unit in Kuwait that needs a laundry officer or something?
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
09/26/2007 13:15 Comments ||
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#3
Disagree. I'm going to assume that Lt. Lippert is an honorable man who will do his job as directed, and do it well. That he believes the war is wrong means that he and I have a difference of opinion. But I trust him to do his job.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2007 14:59 Comments ||
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#4
He'd better, or the SEALS will probbably set him straight pretty damn quick...
#5
Never worked the ground side of a war (Air Force 20 years) how much does a LtJg do with respect to intell in SpecOps? Does he brief/debrief? Count coffee ups? Order dry erase markers? In the USAF the lions share of the true intel work is done by enlisted people not officers. Our officers were there to conduct dog/pony, take heat if things went wrong, and plan lunch breaks.
#6
I had a chance to spend a couple hours back in 2004 with an Army special forces O3 with a lot of things pinned to the chest of his Class As when he wore them (which was as seldom as he could manage).
From his description of the planning for an operation, if SEALs do things similarly this LtJG will have a direct role in mission planning and debriefs, at a minimum.
But I suspect others here at the Burg have more direct experience and expertise than that 2nd hand, other-service information.
#7
Junior naval line-officers tend to get responsibilities early. I suspect that if he's going to a SEAL unit, he's either going to be an intel detachment OIC (officer in charge) or the second-in-command.
I don't think he'll be a screw-up. Too much risk of damaging his c.v. when he gets RFAD.
Washington, D.C. (Map, News) - President Bush is quietly providing back-channel advice to Hillary Rodham Clinton, urging her to modulate her rhetoric so she can effectively prosecute the war in Iraq if elected president.
In an interview for the new book The Evangelical President, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten said Bush has been urging candidates: Dont get yourself too locked in where you stand right now. If you end up sitting where I sit, things could change dramatically.
Bolten said Bush wants enough continuity in his Iraq policy that even a Democratic president would be in a position to sustain a legitimate presence there.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: gorb ||
09/26/2007 06:01 ||
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#1
In other words, President Bush is more interested in winning the war on Islamofascism than he is in his party winning the next election.
Sad to say, not everyone thinks this way anymore.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/26/2007 8:00 Comments ||
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#2
at least one side is showing maturity and the desire for the good of the country....
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2007 8:15 Comments ||
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#3
Th edonks will never see this for what is, a geniune desire to do what's best for the country, because of their inability to see anything as more important than politics.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/26/2007 9:38 Comments ||
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#4
Isn't it the administration's job to keep members of Congress and its leadership, regardless of party, briefed?
Telling Democrats that no matter how much they THINK they want it, that they really DON'T want another Viet Nam, complete with "The Last Helicopter from The Green Zone" imagery, is good and fair advice.
Only Mrs. Clinton seems to have come close to taking it. The rest seem hell-bent on ensuring the Democratnik Party is the Weak-On-Defense Party for another generation or three.
#9
In other words, President Bush is more interested in winning the war on Islamofascism than he is in his party winning the next election.
at least one side is showing maturity and the desire for the good of the country....
While all this is true, it's also revealing. GW has an ongoing and chronic problem: naivete. His base assumption appears to be that the dems are just the opposition party, and that underneath it all, they want what's best for the country, although they go about it in a different way.
Based on the dems own words and actions, too numerous to be repeated here, I've concluded that nothing could be further from the truth. Their vision, realized, would be the END of America as we know it. A socialist, leftist, PC, progressive, secular collectivism is not America. They are the enemy.
Some call it bipartisanship. I call it fraternization with the enemy. To hell with the dems. Oppose them and their poison at every opportunity. Do it strongly and articulately. Alas, Mr. Bush just doesn't have it in him.
#11
EXAMINER/OTHER > claim Dubya is INSTITUTIONALIZING? his anti-Terror agendas for use by his successor after Jan 2009. IFF TRUE, GOES TO SHOW THAT THE USA IS INDEED WINNNING THE WOT AT PRESENT + ENTRENCHING, + that DUBYA IS CONFIDENT. On another point, iff a US-Iran conflict occurs soon = before Dubya leaves ofc in 2009, gien the on-going escalatory rhteric bwtn Dubya-Moud, Dubya as POTUS will want unity btwn the GOP + Dems, NOT divisive politix as usual or 2008 posturing. OTOH, Various Netters > claim that Dubya's advice-giving shows THE GOP-DEMS ARE NOW [roughly]ONE PARTY = ONE SOCIALIST GOVT-HAPPY PARTY ala COMMIE BLOC/USSR??? Is the USA now the world-conquering Commie USSA, OR the weak United SOcialist Republics of America [USR]ala OIL STORM??? Either way, Commie China stays Commie China, Commie Russia stays Fascist Russia and vice versa.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates is asking for nearly $190 billion from Congress to help fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an increase from the amount requested earlier this year.
The secretary is scheduled to testify on Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the "global war on terror" request for the 2008 fiscal year. CNN received his prepared statement.
The initial request, in February, was for $141.7 billion, but that "was an estimate based on a straight-line projection of ongoing war costs," and Congress was told it would probably need to be adjusted.
The request covers local force training, equipment repairs and force protection, including new technologies for protecting troops against roadside bombs.
In July, the Defense Department asked for $5.3 billion more to buy 1,520 "mine resistant ambush protected," vehicles, bringing the request to $147 billion.
The extra $42 billion would pay for training, base consolidation, and more vehicles designed to withstand bombings.
Gates will ask for $14 billion for force protection, including "$11 billion for 7,000 more MRAP vehicles on top of the 8,000 MRAPs already funded or requested."
He'll also request $9 billion to refurbish equipment, and $6 billion "for training and equipment that will accelerate the deployment readiness of Army units."
Gates, in his prepared testimony released to the media Wednesday morning, acknowledges that "Iraq and other difficult choices America faces in the war on terror will continue to be a source of friction within the Congress, between the Congress and the president, and in the wider public debate."
But, he said, all can agree on "the honor, courage, and great sense of duty we have witnessed in our troops since September 11th. Then give them what they need to fight this war.
"Under some of the most trying conditions, they have done far more than what was asked of them, and far more than what was expected. Like all of you, I am both humbled and inspired by my trips to Walter Reed and to the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, like all of you, I always keep our troops -- their safety and their mission -- foremost in my mind every day." Personally, I think our troops are the bad-a$$edest on the planet. I know we ask a lot from them, but I know they can do a lot. I have faith in them. Now if we could just get our government to keep in mind the fundamentals and return the favor.
Posted by: gorb ||
09/26/2007 15:53 ||
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#1
The best thing Congress can do is increase the size of the US military. We never should have cut back as deeply as we did, and our troops are paying for it now. We need another six to ten divisions of combat troops, in a mixture of active, reserve, and National Guard forces. This is the only thing that will shore up the troubled rotation schedule.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/26/2007 19:21 Comments ||
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#2
I agree, OP. As usual, form follows function. It seems to me that first we need to define the threats, then we determine how we counter those threats, then that will define the systems needed. From the systems needed comes manpower requirements.
So the DoD and the military have to agree to that. Then it goes to the Congress, who have various agendas, many of which are not based upon threats and needs.
And then you have the absolutely dismal record of the Administration communicating the situation and the threats that we face, which brings us up to date on the present goat roap. [sigh]
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/26/2007 20:04 Comments ||
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#3
Rope---PIMF [sigh]
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/26/2007 20:04 Comments ||
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#4
OP, the military needs to be increased in size, but the total force concept is just about dead. The Reserves were never intended to be called up at the current rate. Guys signed up with the thought that they would be called up in time of war. The concept of the perpetual war that is the Global War on Terrorism significantly changes the deal. A reservist can now count on being repeatedly called up for a year or two at a time for the duration of his enlistment. That basically shoots any civilian career in the neck. Further, reservists get NONE of the benefits of the active duty forces except for the periods they are active duty.
If we are going to restructure the force, than let's do away with the reserves and increase the active duty forces accordingly.
#2
U-2 / TR-1, same basic aircraft; the TR -1 designation was, I believe, coined when NASA wanted to buy some new build a/c for weather recon. the original U-2 designation was Lockheed and the CIA's attempt to disguise the aircraft's mission when buying / fabricating parts. a little disinformation to congress also at budget time.
#4
USN, Ret.- I *think* the CIA version was the A-12. What you said- to disguise its mission. There is an A-12 on the deck of the Intrepid, I think it holds the record for fastest flight from LA TO NYC (45 minutes.)
#5
Any reason an AI couldn't be put in existing U2 to replace the pilot?
They require a pretty high level of expertise from the pilots, 3dc. And they lack lot of the sensors (and perhaps the type of control systems) that an AI would use to good advantage.
Bottom line up front: this is an analog airframe, not a digital one.
#7
I've watched a film of a C-130 launch from carrier, but an A-12 from an Essex! Now that would be a winner. Yeah I know, display. etc. still.... 30 kts, into a 30 kt wind with cats.....
#8
FR and tu: the A-12 was originally a mach 3 bomber, that evolved into the YF-12, an escort for the XB-70. both were sigle seaters; the SR-71 was the two seater. yes there was a 2 seat a-12/f-12 trainer.
back to the u2: there were even shipboard versions (4 i think) built for the cia; tailhooks and folding wings included. tests aboard the uss america proved the concept but it was unworkable in a real operational enviornment, owing mainly to the need to strike belowdeck ( nautical term to mean taks downstairs) to prevent observation by the bad guys. they were converted to landbased standards.
#10
The TR-1 is a great bird. We had a dozen of them at RAF Alconbury during the 80's. The photos are great, and the camera system can reach out a long way. It's still slow, takes forever to land (we had an inflight at Alconbury - pilot flamed out and couldn't restart. Took three hours to land), and is extremely vulnerable to anti-aircraft missiles and air-to-air attacks. Global Hawk can do most of the same mission with less possibility of hostile fire, and no risk of a live pilot.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/26/2007 19:26 Comments ||
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#11
I still got my coin from supporting the Dragon Lady.
#12
We were able to build the U-2 50 years ago and the SR-71 40 years ago.
We are retiring all of them.
We must be replacing their capability with something - something a generation or two more advanced. Think Boeing 707 vs Dreamliner. F-101 vs F-35. Nash Rambler vs. Honda Accord.
#13
Any reason an AI couldn't be put in existing U2 to replace the pilot?
According to legend, the U-2 has one of the narrowest flight envelopes of any aircraft. From what I can gather, original configurations had a 7 MPH window in the stall/buffet corner of the safe-flight envelope that was finally expanded to 23 MPH in later versions. U-2 pilots routinely operate in the coffin-corner of the craft's performance envelope.
Both the U-2 and SR-71 remain two of my most favorite "birds" aloft. Only the Convair B-58 Hustler can give them a run for the money. The Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, F-104 Starfighter and P-38 Lightning ("two airplanes and one pilot") trail behind them.
#14
The USDOD is moving towards UAVS and space planes wid telescopic/"transformation" capability - the CVN21 IMO will be the last dedic manned, fixed-wing aircraft, through-deck carrier class, to be replaced by MULTI-ASSET/ARMED [robo?]ARSENAL SHIPS + LOW-ORBIT BATTLE STATIONS. The Navy is already in debate about to begin perm basing of UAVS units aboard the NIMITZ-class instead of waiting for CVN21's. *GLOBAL PROMPT STRIKE > USA can attack anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes = half/quarter-hours or less, FROM CONUS PER SE. GLOBAL DEFENSE/PROTECT > SAFEGUARD=
SENTINEL > ditto but thru GMD.
Al-Qaida continues to recruit Europeans for explosives training in Pakistan because Europeans can more easily enter the United States without a visa, the top US intelligence officer said Tuesday. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said European al-Qaida recruits in the border region of Pakistan are being trained to use commercially available substances to make explosives, and they may be able to carry out an attack on US territory.
McConnell also said he worried that Osama bin Laden's recent video and audio releases may be a signal to terrorist cells to carry out operations, he told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "That's unusual. He had been absent from airwaves over the last year. Our concern is that's a signal," McConnell said. "It just causes us to be concerned and vigilant."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
IMO, AQ etal's recent combat losses as reported in Iraq and elsewhere is telling me that they need a break to rearm and build - the Israeli airstrike on Spet. 6th + Iran's continual refusal to stop nuclear enrichment gives credence.IMO RADICAL ISLAM WILL DESIRE TO WAGE A FINAL "DECISIVE BATTLE/CAMPAIGN" FOR IRAQ BEFORE SHIFTING TO DEFENSE OF IRAN - iff they don't know it already, the Spetzlamists must be aware of Dubya's promise to stop Radical Iran from acquiring nukes or dev the ability the make one before he leaves office in Jan 2009. IFF MOUD = IRAN CONTINUES ITS NUCPROGS BTWN NOW AND INTO 2008, IRAQ AS FOCII WILL BECOME SECONDARY TO DEFENDING IRAN FROM AMERICA.
#2
As a reminder, ISRAEL > believes IRAN will follow its history agz Israel and use TERROR PROXIES to retaliate, at a proper time date and place. DUBYA, excluding Jan 2009, still has 15 months to go to expand US entrenchment in the ME + WORLD, i.e. 15 MONTHS TO INTIMIDATE MOUD-IRAN/
RADICAL ISLAM TO DO SOMETHING AGZ AMERICA. AND AGAIN, WAFFLING, PC, + ELEX-CENTRIC DEMS > MOUD CAN NOT RELY ON THE US MSM AND ANTI-AMER/GOP AMER POLS INSIDE THE USG-NPE TO HELP WID IRAN'S = RADICAL ISLAMISM'S AGENDUMS, NOW OR AFTER 2009.
ISLAMABAD (Online) - Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Tanveer Hussain has demanded that govt before it announces the establishment of the Kashmir Liberation Army should ensure withdrawal of forces from South Waziristan including all tribal areas and should depute them on Kashmir border.
He expressed these views in a press conference on Tuesday. He told journalists that Kashmir border had become one of the important ceasefire line due to which deployment of the army was inevitable. He said that if army had engaged itself in administrative engagements then there was no doubt that a day would come when foreign powers will occupy the Muslim countries of the Middle East and consequently the next target would be Pakistan.
In response to a question, he said that trekking permission to the tourist on behalf of the Indian government was a matter of serious concern and the government should take serious notice of this act of the neighbouring country.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/26/2007 06:35 ||
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Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmed said on Tuesday that the reason the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) was supporting Justice (r) Wajiuddin as a presidential candidate was that he was the best candidate in exposing the ineligibility of General Musharraf. While Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Justice (r) Wajiuddin was not a consensus candidate. The MMA president and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly were talking to the media before the start of the MMA Supreme Council meeting at Al Markaz-e-Islam here.
This article starring:
MAULANA FAZLUR REHMAN
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl
QAZI HUSEIN AHMED
Jamaat-e-Islami
Wajiuddin
Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl
Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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About 500 Jamat-e-Islami (JI) workers and leaders have been arrested so far across Punjab in police raids, stated a press release issued by the Jamaat-e-Islami head office in Mansoora on Tuesday.
JI Punjab Naib Amir and MNA Mian Muhammad Aslam, JI Islamabad Amir Syed Muhammad Bilal, Shabab-e-Mili Punjab President Huma Ayub and Shabab-e-Mili Murree President Attaur Rehman Abassi and 40 party workers have been arrested, while 150 workers were arrested during a protest rally in NWFP, it said. According to the release, police arrested JI leader Dr Kamal, Dr Anwarul Haq, Major (r) Azam, Sufi Abdul Ghafoors son in his absence and 100 workers from Rawalpindi; JI leader Malik Abdur Raufs brother from Kahuta city; five JI workers from Attock; two workers from Bhakkar; JI District Amir Waris and party workers from Khushab; JI leader Amir Zubair Gondal from Bhalwal; Ahmad Yar Kalyar from Sahiwal; Umar Farooq from Kot Momin; three workers from Rahim Yar Khan; 10 workers from Layyah; 10 workers from Faisalabad; and dozens from Okara.
This article starring:
AHMED YAR KALYAR
Jamat-e-Islami
AMIR ZUBAIR GONDAL
Jamat-e-Islami
ANWARUL HAQ
Jamat-e-Islami
ATTAUR REHMAN ABASI
Jamat-e-Islami
DR KAMAL
Jamat-e-Islami
HUMA AIUB
Jamat-e-Islami
MALIK ABDUR RAUF
Jamat-e-Islami
MIAN MUHAMAD ASLAM
Jamat-e-Islami
OMAR FARUQ
Jamat-e-Islami
SUFI ABDUL GHAFUR
Jamat-e-Islami
SYED MUHAMAD BILAL
Jamat-e-Islami
Jamat-e-Islami
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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The NWFP government has called for the armys help to fight terrorism in Swat district, a private channel reported on Tuesday. According to Dawn News, the NWFP government has identified 12 sensitive areas in Swat district needing tight security to sustain law and order. NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani has written a letter to law enforcement agencies requesting the deployment of more troops in these areas, the channel reported. Contingents of the army might be deployed along with the police and FC there.
This article starring:
NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani
Swat district
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto said here on Tuesday that if she became prime minister, she would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to interview Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, a move that the Musharraf government has resisted all along.
She said after her address at the Middle East Institute here that it would need to be determined if Dr Khan was solely responsible for what he had confessed to, or if there were others involved, an allusion to the Pakistan Army.
She said Dr Khan had confessed that he had violated Pakistans commitment to the international community. He fell on his sword, she added. Her party, she promised, would hold a parliamentary hearing on the issue when in power.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Screw that. Let the US question him. Otherwise I'm sure al-Baradei himself will do the "questioning".
#3
Pakistan has won praise from the United States for its cooperation in shutting down Khan's network after it was exposed in 2004. But President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's refusal to let foreign experts speak directly to Khan has sustained suspicion of a cover-up.
Cover-up?! Noooo! Say it ain't so!
Musharraf pardoned Khan after he made a televised confession and claimed sole responsibility for the decades-long smuggling. The government insists neither it nor the Pakistani military was aware of his proliferation activities.
President George Bush announced what amounted to a U-turn in his administration's previous hostility towards the United Nations yesterday, using his speech to the General Assembly to pledge a new spirit of co-operation. The president, who once boasted that the US was strong enough to go it alone, said: "The US is committed to a strong and vibrant United Nations."
Yesterday Mr Bush was adamant that the US needed the UN, and that the UN could make a difference, highlighting the importance of its Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "The standards of this declaration must guide our work in this world," he announced to wide applause. "The best way to defeat extremists is to defeat their dark ideology with a more hopeful vision, a vision of liberty."
This will come as music to the ears of UN officials who had resigned themselves to being marginalised by US distrust of multilateralism as a way of solving the world's problems.
Mr Bush said that, while critical of the UN's Human Rights Council, which he accused of pandering to dictatorships, he would support an effort for reform to give it more power to check abuses. His speech came amid a dramatically different policy already evident regarding international justice. Although refusing to join the International Criminal Court, the US has dropped its threat of economic penalties against states joining the organisation, and has supported the court's indictments against Sudanese officials charged with genocide in Darfur.
"It's [the White House] taking a much more positive stance on justice," said Sara Darehshori of New York-based Human Rights Watch. "Definitely a softening of its attitude."
This new attitude also saw Mr Bush support the idea of enlarging the number of permanent members on the Security Council with the inclusion of Japan, saying it would then work more effectively. The pledge will be taken as encouragement by other members hoping to win permanent seats, notably Brazil, Germany and India.
#1
Interesting..."W" lately has been tiptoeing through the Tulips with the UN, China, The hesitancy of the Norks, the olive branch gently waiving to the Iranians (almost no condemnation of the regime at the UN, A lukewarm response to 'NutJob's desire to lament 'Ground Zero' [coming from the man who stood atop the smoldering pile with that bullhorn??])! What's up??? Either the Bush administration has taken it's medicine and now appear ready to buy tickets on the Hillary Express or there's subterfuge going on in the dark halls of the Pentagon. Are we now witnessing the classic 'walk softly and carrying a big stick' maneuver? Why is "W" so worried about how firmly entrenched the Clinton camp is with their 1 year out pre-election rhetoric? Could it be he knows exactly 'when' the countdown to war will be and the Democrats will have to clean up the mess! Enquiring minds want to know.
#2
the US needed the UN, and that the UN could make a difference
This sucks. F*ck the UN and the horse they rode in on. Sounds like the bastards ground him down.
This will come as music to the ears money in the pockets of UN officials
No doubt they're licking their chops already. "The gravy train roars on!"
#9
Obviously the position of 'Official White House Kool Aid Taste Tester' is open; why else would GW be schmoozing with the wicked witch of the west and sucking up to the UN. Somebody has doctored his Ovaltine.
#10
My guess is Bush is hoping to get UN peacekeepers back into Iraq before his administration is over. By then the Iraqi's should mostly control their own country and the UN couldn't do to much damage.
An analysis by Nibras Kazimi, Visiting Scholar at the Hudson Institute
This is what The New York Times had to say about the stability of Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikis government today (Alissa J. Rubin, Maliki Gains Time, but Faces a Daunting Task, September 25, 2007):
Seventeen ministries now are without a minister and those ministers who are left are in many cases doing double duty, making it difficult to improve the performance of the agencies and allow them to deliver desperately needed services like electricity and water.
This may look like me splitting hairs, but I think its important to set the record straight: the NYT may have gotten the number 17 by adding up 6+6+5 (6 Sadrist ministers, 6 Consensus ministers, and 5 Allawi ministers), but the reality is that 11 ministries are now without a minister since 4 of Allawis ministers are still at their jobs ( the only one who seems to have followed Allawis orders is his relation, Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi over at Telecommunications, who keeps telling people in private that hell be back on the job soon), and another minister from the Consensus bloc, Ali Baban, whos in charge of the Ministry of Planning, has returned to his job and was consequently expelled by the Islamic Party for not toeing the party line. Ironically, the head of the Islamic Party, Tariq Hashemi, has not resigned from his post as Vice-President.
Whats also interesting is that all these parties - the Sadrists, Consensus and Allawi - have not pulled out any of their guys who serve as Deputy Ministers, let alone withdrawing their loyalists and appointees who occupy positions further down the bureaucratic chain.
The point of the NYT's News Analysis piece can be summed in these paragraphs:
Some are making lists of members of Parliament who would support a no-confidence motion to see if it is possible to obtain the 138 votes necessary to remove him. Under Iraqi law, the prime minister and his government can be removed by a vote of no confidence that is supported by a simple majority in the 275-member Parliament. ....
But if the NYT cant accurately report on whether 11 or 17 ministries are vacant, then they sure wont have the capacity to tally-up 138 no confidence votes; its interesting that the reporter didnt press Mr. Shahbandar on whether or not Allawi can deliver all 25 votes from his bloc alone towards the movement to yank out Maliki. At least four MPs on Allawis list have recently expressed their desire to secede from his bloc and form their own coalition with other dissident MPs (Safia al-Suheil, Mahdi al-Hafiz, Hachim al-Hassani and Wail Abdel-Latif).
The political situation in Baghdad is far more dynamic and fluid, and with many more moving parts, than the picture that is being relayed by this newspaper report: new alliances are being made, and new loyalties are being formed; someone in an established position of authority, such as Maliki, has plenty of space to maneuver and make promises here and here to win over the fence-sitters. It's coalition politics, and the operative word here is patronage.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
09/26/2007 08:37 ||
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#1
Speaking of math.
September 30th is mere days away. For those outside the US Federal government, that means the money flow stops with the end of the fiscal year.
How many of the Departments '08 appropriations have passed in Congress and landed on the President's desk for signature or veto?
#4
I am, as I sit here, helping to figue out how to spend the last few dribbles of appropriation money for a small agency.
Don't look like no problem from where I sit!
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/26/2007 13:14 Comments ||
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#5
Bobby, I sit in a DOD activity and it's a problem there. Tight belts and uncertain funding at a time when activities have been outsourced to contractors because green suits are needed elsewhere.
By sea and by land, one of the Armys war-battered Stryker vehicles known to its unit as the General Lee is coming home to Anniston Army Depot, Ala., where it was built, to be repaired and sent on to a unit in ready-to-fight condition. . . .
General Lee is known far and wide from writer Michael Yons dispatch titled Superman, which recounts some Army unit activities in Iraq that left soldiers virtually unscathed while riding in General Lee. . . .
ATGM-0086 was sent Jan. 19, 2005 to the 172nd Infantry Brigade, A company, 52nd Infantry based at Ft. Lewis, Wash.
The vehicle was reassigned Sept. 6, 2005, to the 3rd Brigade 2nd Infantry Division, C Company 52 infantry Iraq, where the platoon renamed their Stryker the General Lee.
After bringing its soldiers through several roadside bombs and local repairs, on April 15 General Lee was hit hard by such a bomb and technically determined a battle losslike totaling a caron April 16. . . .
Once unloaded in Charleston, General Lee will be taken on the long, about 600 mile journey to Anniston Army Depot for a more in-depth final technical assessment. Once that is done, reset work can begin. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
09/26/2007 08:33 ||
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#1
Maybe it'll turn out to be this generations Memphis Belle, any video?
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
09/26/2007 10:17 Comments ||
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#2
Only of its bottom as it jumps over Roscoe P. Coaltrain's police cruiser.
NEW YORK --Slain al-Qaida in Iraq chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a "diabolically brilliant" war tactician, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, likening the terror commander to Civil War generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.
Zarqawi's successors are less talented, and less able to manage what may be a shift in Iraq away from sympathy for foreign-born fighters, Rice said in an interview. Zarqawi was killed by U.S. forces more than a year ago. Since then, the al-Qaida in Iraq network he led has suffered setbacks but has proved a resilient threat.
"He was diabolically brilliant," Rice said of Zarqawi. "I think he was an outstanding organizer, I think he had a kind of strategic sense, and I don't think the follow-on leadership has been quite as good," Rice said in the interview with Fox news.
It is wrong to dismiss Zarqawi's killing as a temporary or insignificant victory in the long fight against terrorism, Rice continued.
"When you hear people say ... 'If you kill one of them, they'll just replace him with another leader,' remember that that's like saying, 'If you take out Robert E. Lee or Ulysses S. Grant, well, they'll just replace them with another leader.'" Rice said. "There are people who are better at this than others."
After the death of the Jordanian-born Zarqawi, "they started to make more mistakes."
Al-Qaida in Iraq is a homegrown Sunni extremist group, comprised mainly of Iraqis but in some cases led and financed by foreigners. The Bush administration says the shadowy group overreached in Anbar province, leading to a revolt by local sheiks.
Rice, who visited Anbar with President Bush this month, agreed with a questioner who asserted that "these foreign fighters have recognized that the game's changed and has turned against them."
"They're still hoping for parts of Iraq, which is why we've got to stay on the hunt. I mean, they moved from Anbar to Diyala," Rice said. "But your point is exactly right. They're going to want to go someplace else because I think it's not going to be long before they're not welcome anywhere in Iraq."
U.S. commanders in Iraq told The Associated Press in July that al-Qaida has been run out of some parts of the country yet still has the will, financing and fighters for significant attacks.
"They're in disarray, but they're always trying to make a comeback," Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, the commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, said in an interview. His area includes Diyala province, where al-Qaida in Iraq had a firm grip until recent heavy U.S.-led fighting.
Posted by: gorb ||
09/26/2007 06:10 ||
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#1
Sorry, Mrs Rice but AFAIK your qualifications on military matters are Zero, Zilch, nada. You are not even on the same level as your average wargamer or person whose hobby is military history or tactics.
She is quite versed in cold war military issues and was very respected in that arena.
In this case, which was not her research area (but then, not many studied Islamicist insurgent terror back in the day) she is no doubt using language provided by people in the counterinsurgent arena. I've heard US O3-O6s (captains through full colonels) say the same thing.
What she refrained from saying is that Zarqawi's success rested in part on a gleeful willingness to slaughter civilians.
#3
[he] was a "diabolically brilliant" war tactician, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said
Ms. Rice, the operative word here is "was." He's dead because someone was a little better at the game than him.
Ms. Rice you are giving Zark too much credit. He was basically a muzzie gangsta thug. He was cruel, vicious, knew no rules, a murderer, torturer, etc. Basically a scum-swizzling $hit-head who is no more. You are mistaken to give him one ounce of respect. He was not like Generals Lee or Grant. These men were well-trained U.S. Military Academy generals who had morals and ethics. Think more of Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer.
But commanders I've talked with who served there in 2004-2005 considered him very very effective at what he did.
Rice is trying to counter the drip...drip...drip of defeatism in the press. I'm sure that Grant, in particular, wouldn't mind. Gen. Lee was a gentleman and would be quite dismayed by the crass bloodthirstiness of most of the parties in Iraq, I suspect.
She might have compared Zarqawi to Gen. Sherman, but that would give the press too many opportunities to compare the surge to the march to Atlanta.
#5
Thanks lotp. Good background. I had been feeling uneasy about her giving any positive appraisal of Zark, but this puts it in a different light.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
09/26/2007 9:13 Comments ||
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#6
My, my, my. According to the comments no one has ever heard of PsyOps. Pretty snarky of Dr. Rice to dis the current leadership of AQ by lowering the bar so low. As far as Grant goes, Lincoln had to go through about a dozen or so generals until he finally found one who could pursue the end game correctly. More like what Bush has had to go through to get Petraeus.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/26/2007 9:20 Comments ||
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#7
Zark was cunning and he put the fear of death into those around him and into the territories that AQ controlled. His followers lack this attribute. I think it is a good idea to point this out publicly that the current batch of AQ in Iraq are sad and pathetic.
#11
From the Jacobine link, I had to stop reading at this point.
A few of us, including me, pointed out that it wasn't going to work that way, but we were drowned out because Jacobinism is the national sentiment, taught in every US college and high school. In every human heart beats the desire for freedom. Democracy is the only legitimate form of government (counting noses and weighing the vote of the village idiot the same as that of the professor is the only legitimate form of government) (being governed by the first 500 names in the Boston telephone directory rather than Harvard University faculty is the only legitimate form of government)...
I would rather be governed by the first 500 names in the Boston phone book than Harvard faculty anyday. Under any situation.
Sounds to me like yet another elitist snob insulting the Average Joe.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/26/2007 10:16 Comments ||
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#12
So isn't it past time to promote an American Hulagu?
Posted by: ed ||
09/26/2007 10:24 Comments ||
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#13
I'm no expert in these matters but the impression I got was Zarqie was too charismatic, too flashy and too daring. He had a number of narrow escapes before our people finally lowered the boom on him. The current AQI leadership may not be quite as brilliant but, to their credit, we still don't know who they are or where they are. Most importantly, they are still alive. If they are tenacious and able to learn as they go they could be even more dangerous. It would be a really great victory if our people could kill or capture whoever this person (or persons) is. That would send an undeniable message that no matter who they put up there he will get whacked.
#14
The current AQI leadership may not be quite as brilliant but, to their credit, we still don't know who they are or where they are. Most importantly, they are still alive
The current generation of them, you mean?
We may or may not know who they are. If not, there are Iraqis who do. Odds are that at some point we will receive the necessary and timely tips to take care of them.
#15
Since at least 2004 there's been a near constant rotation through the Number 3 spots on the organization chart, and the Number 2's, and even the Number 1 spot.... not to mention the poor cannon fodder. Granted, some of that has been the result of catch-and-release, but even so.
"He was diabolically brilliant," Rice said of Zarqawi. "I think he was an outstanding organizer, I think he had a kind of strategic sense, and I don't think the follow-on leadership has been quite as good," Rice said
It would serve our nation's interests far better to replace this sort of glowing assessment with searing descriptions of Zarqawi's propensity for mass murder, slaughtering Iraqi Muslims like sheep and his role as Islamic jihad's point man.
Pretty snarky of Dr. Rice to dis the current leadership of AQ by lowering the bar so low.
There are many other ways to expose the inadequacies of current al Qaeda leadership without wasting network airtime lacquering up this psychotic thug to a high gloss. Better to have used such a golden opportunity by vividly describing how we spattered Iraq's countryside with gobbets of his smouldering flesh and pointedly noting that we will do the same to every successor in turn. It makes ZERO sense to tutor our enemies regarding their current lack of administrative or tactical skills.
#22
RICE: likening the terror commander Slain al-Qaida in Iraq chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to Civil War generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.
Shes an Idiot about the Civil War, period!
Shes totally ignorant about General Lee who was 10 times the General than that of General Grant.
Zaquari might be compared to a raider of some sort during the Civil War, but he couldn't hold the socks of General Grant.
Related sort of..
I watched Alan Greenspan over the weekend on C-Span and the longer he talked i realized that we Citizens are in DEEP SHIT.
Alan Greenspan is an Idiot Savant, he may have a good math background but his only answer for bailing out the US economy was unlimited immigration from Mexico.
Schockingly Alan Greenspan and his fellow elites don't have a clue about OUR SACRED SOIL. Its called America Alan. And my families BLOOD has been split for it and over it.
America is a Real Place not some Global bank book or a Global state of mind.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/26/2007 18:17 Comments ||
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#23
About a week or so before we got Zarkawi, a cell in Canada was discovered and dismantled by the Canadian government. I've always suspected (probably wrongly) that the intelligence gathered from the Canadians is how we got the until-then elusive Mr. Zarkawi.
#24
Could be. Or, if they were related, it could go the other way, i.e. info found in Iraq might have uncovered the Canadian cell.
Some really incredible work was done in-theater to slowly discern the social networks among and around the jihadis and use them to zero in on the leaders. Emails with 'nyms cross catalogued. Figuring out who was a 3rd cousin of whom. Bit by bit information was assembled, a huge jigsaw puzzle where you didn't know the final picture and only got the pieces a few at a time.
Dingy Hairy Ried and Dennis Kotexinich Estimate an average of 18,000 civilian deaths per month since 2003 invasion. (1 million civilian deaths) You can hear Bob Ucher saying "Juuust a little outside!"
Iraq data are inherently messy and all empirical claims need to be treated with caution. But two broad points seem clear nonetheless. First, sectarian cleansing is an important factor in Iraq s violence, but it is hard to know how important it has been relative to the surge in reducing civilian casualties. No claim for the relative importance of the surge and cleansing for Iraqi civilian casualties can be sustained from available data. Second, MNF-I is not alone in finding a reduction in civilian deaths since 2006. Multiple, independent sources find similar trends, and there is very little evidence to suggest any upward trend in violence in 2007. Given this, the Petraeus testimony is not inaccurate or uncorroborated in the way many have claimed. But neither is it complete: while the testimony does not explicitly attribute the casualty reduction to the surge as opposed to sectarian cleansing or other causes, its weight of emphasis implies a primary role for the surge. A more complete assessment would have addressed potential alternative causes explicitly, and would have clarified the limitations on what can be known about the surges effects.
#1
I've always gotten a chuckle when the MSM blindly mimics stats that include the actual trigger pulling terrorists in the 'civilian' count. I just hope someone with all that dead subprime paper can give these igits a call to unload their holdings. You got to know, that even with random phones, they're going to get some of these Swiftian Yahoos.
#2
I don't think either Reid or Kucinich are smart enough to pour piss out of their boots with the directions stamped on the heel. I don't expect them to be able to do math.
#3
The interesting thing about the graphs is that the all track the same since April '07. That means no matter how you slice it, civilian deaths are running 1,500 a month (or less than 10% of Harry Reid's figures).
For perspective, that's a lower rate than NYC had when David Dinkins was mayor, or LA had when they made "Menace II Society".
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
09/26/2007 12:24 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON Rep. John Kline, returning from his fifth trip to Iraq, said Tuesday he saw "amazing" progress in the security situation there, and a sense of normalcy returning among Iraqi people. Kline, R-Minn., traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan over the weekend as part of a bipartisan House Armed Services Committee trip led by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii.
Rep. Kline is retired Marine Colonel Kline, an accomplished helicopter pilot with service in Vietnam and Somalia.
Kline, who has been a supporter of President Bush's Iraq policy, said he was particularly impressed with the improved security in the Anbar province capital of Ramadi. "The security situation there is just truly amazing. Just amazing," he said in a telephone interview. Kline said the Marine battalion commander there told the lawmakers that violence is way down. "One of the great advantages of going is you can look and get a sense of what the atmosphere is," Kline said. "People are going about their business, the shops are open, they're walking around the street."
Kline said the lawmakers were greeted by children who laughed, teased and asked for money. Adults smiled and gave the thumbs up. "Just a sense of normalcy people getting on with their lives," he said.
The take by Kline, a conservative Republican, was similar to one by the state's liberal Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, who visited Ramadi in July. In that trip, Ellison noted that people were walking the streets of the city, going to the market, and he had commented on the "general level of respect and calm that I thought was good." But these two lawmakers have opposite approaches in mind for Iraq, with Ellison calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, and Kline supporting the Bush administration's policy.
Kline, a retired Marine, said he thought the surge of U.S. troops helped, but wasn't the deciding factor. "I don't think it would be fair to say that the surge is responsible for what happened in Ramadi," he said. "It just sort of reinforced it. It showed the sheiks and the Iraqis there that the Americans were committed. It helped tip it in our direction."
Kline said the surge was more than adding 30,000 troops. "What we've done is change how we're working there," he said. "Now they're interwoven with, sharing the same building with the Iraqi security forces. And I think that has really made the difference."
Kline said he wasn't able to get out and talk to children in Baghdad, but that the situation there was much improved from his previous visit, in June of last year. "It's much more like it was the first time I went, in October 2003," he said.
In Baghdad, the group got a briefing from Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, a senior U.S. commander. According to Kline, Fil told the lawmakers that while security has improved with Iraqis turning away from al-Qaida, there are still neighborhoods where fighting remains intense. "It's still very dangerous and al-Qaida has sort of dug in in some of the neighborhoods," Kline said, "and the Iraqi Army and Iraqi police and U.S. and coalition forces are still engaged in some very heavy, tough fighting."
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
LALALALALALALALA, we are not listening to yooooooou...
Iraq's Interior Minister Jawad Bolani arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to discuss with Turkish officials the details of a bilateral anti-terrorism agreement. On arrival in Ankara, Bolani stressed his government's desire to enhance cooperation with Turkey saying they were ready to address all relevant files. Bolani noted that the Iraqis would not accept any party using Iraqi land to attack Turkey.
During the two-day official visit, previously slated for August 23, the Iraqi Minister and the officials in the Turkish Interior Ministry, the Intelligence and military commanders would address the latest security developments on the Iraqi-Turkish borders.
Last month, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki visited Ankara where he signed a bilateral cooperation memorandum for combating terrorism. Turkey is seeking to add a new item to the agreement allowing its forces to chase elements of the Kurdistan Labor Party (PKK) across the Iraqi borders. By the same token, Ankara demands the Iraqi central government to hand over 150 PKK rebels, a list of which was already submitted to Baghdad. The final agreement is expected to be signed within two weeks in case both parties agreed upon all items.
Apparently from a press conference after meeting Egyptian officials. Not addressed: Iraq's separability from Persian world.
As an inseparable part from the Arab world, it is hoped that Iraq would regain its powerful unity to play its suitable role in Arab and Islamic arenas, said Iraqi Vice-President Adel Abdulmahdi on Tuesday. During a press conference with Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif, Abdulmahdi said he agreed with Egypt's stance that Iraq must maintain its Arab identity, sovereignty and independence. He said it was only a matter of time before Iraq reassumed its active and efficient role within the Arab family.
Iraq is about to settle all arising problems and no one can claim that Iraqis would hesitate when it comes to achieving sovereignty, said Abdulmahdi, expressing believe that Iraq has come a long way in this regard and that results would appear as time went on. Despite having some ministerial predicaments and mistakes at times, Iraq seeks to settle all arising problems and overcome all obstacles, he said.
As for reopening the Egyptian Embassy in Baghdad, he hoped the entire Egyptian diplomatic staff would return to Iraq, adding that the death of Egyptian Ambassador in Baghdad Ihab Al-Sherif was a loss for both nations. Abdulmahdi lauded Egypt's role in supporting Iraq in various sectors, noting that both nations shared mutual views on regional issues. He expected boosting overall Iraqi-Egyptian exchange in economic, commercial, and investment issues, as well as diplomatic affairs, especially after settling his nation's situation.
On his part, Nazif said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry was studying means of securing the presence of an ambassador in Iraq, adding that his nation fully supported Iraq's political process to ensure its security, stability and reconstruction efforts. He expressed Egypt's absolute readiness to help, support and assist Iraq in all sectors, noting that certain matters of cooperation in economic and social affairs were dsicussed during visits to Cairo by Iraqi officials. He lauded overall historical Egyptian-Iraqi ties, hoping to boost economic and commercial exchange to reach their previous levels.
Egypt is encouraging the return of companies to Iraq to resume and pickup activities, said Nazif.
As for issuing visas for Iraqis to reunite with their relatives in Egypt, he said this was a legitimate request and this matter was discussed with Iraqi Vice-President Tareq Al-Hashemi. Nazif noted that there were a number of security measures that needed finalization before issuing the visas. He said his nation was working to ensure the wellbeing of Iraqi families in Egypt by admitting their children to schools so they would feel right at home.
Abdulmahdi arrived here earlier today discuss Iraq's political process with Egyptian officials.
Prior to the press conference, Abdulmahdi and Nazif held a session of talks regarding Iraq's security situation, as well as Egypt's efforts to maintain stability in Iraq and help in the reconstruction process.
#1
Exact. Wrong. Message. As with their adoption of shari'a law, this is yet one more strong indication that Iraqinstead of serving as a beacon of Middle East democracyhas no intention of being anything more than just another run-of-the-mill Islamic cesspit.
#2
Too correct Zenster - apparently it's going to be a long wait until someone with power mentions "cape to cairo" or "berlin to baghdad" in anything other than a nostalgic or historic sense.
"We will use all our diplomatic means to weaken the Hamas leadership and its effectiveness, but the truth must be told, we are nearing an extensive operation in Gaza," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told army radio Wednesday morning.
The minister explained there were many reasons why the operation was not carried out in the past few weeks, and added that an operation in Gaza "is not easy in terms of forces, the amount of time that the IDF would have to stay there, or in terms of the operational challenges the fighters will be met with.
"We know that in Sderot life is still far from normal like in central Israel. Very extensive intelligence and operational activity is taking place in Sedort and the Gaza vicinity. The Shin Bet and IDF fighters, along with the Israel Air Force, are trying to minimize as much as possible the Qassam attacks. Unfortunately, we are still unable to do that."
The minister praised IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi's activity, saying, "I think that what Ashkenazi has done in the IDF over the past six months is really divine work. They are going back to the basics: Training under live fire, long-term planning and back up. All the credit for this sense of security should go to Chief of Staff Ashkenazi, to the IDF commanders and the soldiers."
Barak said that while other countries had more reasons to feel safe than Israel, the state's sense of security is being restored, thanks to "an army that stands on its feet and gets the job done right, and is backed by reserves who can at any minute show up and give from themselves".
#3
The first part of the answer has to do with a large gate valve on the Israeli side of the border. Being a Pisces and all, I think about these things a lot.....just saying.....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/26/2007 16:52 Comments ||
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#4
anymouse, #1 Hmmm...a not-so subtle signal that the IDF is ready to flush the toilet.
anymouse,
Ima General Contractor, and any high-tech society, culture and economy can recycle effluent water many times for everything from crystal clear drinking water to agricultural and manufacturing purposes.
Yes it's true the paleos couldn't pump piss downhill but why waste a resource on the idiots.
I like al-Aska-Paul's idea, shut the fucking water OFF! And shut the electrical power, diesel, gasoline, natural gas, propane, food and even the happy faces off.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/26/2007 17:42 Comments ||
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#5
PIMF
culture and economy can recycle effluent water many times over to use again for everything from crystal clear drinking water to agricultural and/or manufacturing purposes.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/26/2007 17:46 Comments ||
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#6
even the happy faces off
You savage beast beyond the edge! You should be ashamed! Baaaaaaaaad Dawg!
National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer was not speaking on behalf of his political ally, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, when he called for the release of jailed Fatah Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, Barak's associates said Tuesday.
In return for the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, Ben-Eliezer said, Israel should "take a creative step" and offer to release Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences for murder during the intifada. Ben-Eliezer said he expected Barghouti to be the next Palestinian leader and said Israel could negotiate a peace deal with him.
National Union MK Effi Eitam accused Ben-Eliezer of floating a "trial balloon" on behalf of Barak. He said Ben-Eliezer was using the same strategy as Vice Premier Haim Ramon, who he said tested public opinion on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's behalf when he announced his support for dividing Jerusalem and giving up holy sites in the Old City. "Fuad [Ben-Eliezer] was not speaking for anyone and does not represent anyone," Ben-Eliezer's spokesman said. "Fuad has known Barghouti for many years, since he was the IDF's coordinator in the territories. He ordered Barghouti's arrest when he was defense minister. They have a history. It's not a trial balloon of Ehud Barak."
A source close to Ben-Eliezer and Barak said Ben-Eliezer had informed both Olmert and Barak of his support for releasing Barghouti before he started talking about it in the media. Asked for Barak's opinion on the issue, Barak's associates said they could not say.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Less than two months before the US-sponsored Middle East peace conference is expected to convene, most of the Arab countries have yet to confirm their participation.
As is frequently the case, the Arab world appears to be divided over the event. So far, it seems that besides the Palestinians, the Jordanians and the Egyptians are the only ones who have hinted that they may attend the parley, scheduled for mid-November.
Arab diplomats based in Cairo said in phone interviews with The Jerusalem Post Tuesday that the majority of the Arab leaders believe that the conference is just a "waste of time."
As one diplomat put it, "This conference is intended to make [US President George W.] Bush and [US Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice look good in the eyes of the Arabs and Muslims. The two are just trying to show some kind of an achievement before they leave office. Why should we, the Arabs, provide them with an excuse by going to such a conference?"
Another diplomat said his government was not keen on attending the conference "because Israel has nothing to offer."
He explained: "If anyone thinks that Israel is going to offer the Arabs something new, he is totally mistaken. [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert is facing many problems at home, and he's not in a position to make a serious offer."
According to the diplomats, the Arab leaders are afraid that failure to achieve tangible results at the conference would play into the hands of Arab extremists, who are opposed to any form of settlement with Israel. "Our governments want assurances that the conference will be successful," they said. "We want to go the conference knowing that we will return with something that will satisfy the masses. Otherwise, the Arab masses will chase us away with their shoes."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The Arab comments are instructive. A conference would be useful only if Israel had something "new" to offer them. The Arabs are basically intransigent, satisfied with the status quo, and waiting for Hamas and Hezbollah to destroy Israel.
#4
Well, now, things are looking up. Rantburgers and Arab leaders agree on some fundamental point, namely that the conference is a waste of time. Let us build on that common ground......give me a few days to get the details worked out and I will get back to you.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/26/2007 16:24 Comments ||
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Hamas on Tuesday called on Saudi Arabia and other nations not to attend the upcoming US-sponsored Mideast peace conference, the first time it has appealed directly to Arab states to stay away.
The group also warned Arab countries against offering concessions to Israel. Hamas has spoken out consistently against the conference, called by US President George W. Bush to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Hamas has said any decisions made there would not be binding.
Hamas overran Gaza in June. Moderate Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led government after the takeover, naming a new Cabinet that runs the West Bank.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#3
The intelligence that the West currently has on Iran's nuclear program is limited to the sites accessible to IAEA inspectors, and more than that they do not know
#8
Remember, LIBYA was contending wid NORTH KOREA for the most "TUNNELED" place in the world, espec for the covert dev of WMDS [read - Nukes]. SADDAM > buried what arms, materials, and other caches as he could under UNO ground and air inspections and sent the rest out of Iraq. The USDOD already knows SYRIA also has a histoire' of burying things, as do Terror groups in LEBANON. SO, ANTI-US EXTERNAL TRANSFERS ASIDE, WHAT MAKES IRAN ANY DIFFERENT LOCALLY, espec when one considers how long Syria has been acquiring and dev indigenous WMDS = covert devprogs!?
#10
FREEREPUBLIC/LUCIANNE > WEST'S KNOWLEDGE OF IRAN NUCLEAR PROG LIMITED ONLY TO [certain] SITES. CNN Pert Gardinier says Iran has two dozen nuclear-related sites which can be targeted by the US.
ISRAEL > JOHN BOLTON > Bolton claims his sources are telling him Israel did strike Syrian sites definitely linked to North Korea although sources did not tell him whether sites held nucmatss or missles.
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad wraps up his third visit to the United States Wednesday after using his platform at the United Nations to downplay Tehran's nuclear ambitions and attack Washington. The Iranian president's visit and notably his appearance at a top US university on Monday had sparked outrage among US politicians and the Jewish community over his outspoken comments on Israel and downplaying the Holocaust.
Despite being derided as a "petty and cruel dictator" while appearing at Columbia University, the Iranian leader used his visit to try to calm the international community over the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions. "We do not believe in nuclear weapons. Period. It goes against the whole grain of humanity," he said at Columbia on Monday, where a small group of demonstrators gathered to protest his appearance.
Ahmadinejad used his address to world leaders gathered for the UN General Assembly Tuesday to say Iran considered the controversy over its nuclear program closed and to launch a broad attack on arch foe the United States. In a wide-ranging speech, Ahmadinejad accused Washington of arrogance and human rights abuses, speaking at the same spot where US President George W. Bush had earlier spoken of the primacy of human rights and freedom. Not very guest-like, is he? That violates my cultural norms. I am deeply offended. As deeply offended as Iranians are for the US being a bad host.
In his 40-minute speech, the Iranian leader went on to accuse Washington of human rights abuses in its "war on terror," with allusions to CIA programs of rendition and detention in camps such as Guantanamo Bay. "Unfortunately human rights are being extensively violated by certain powers, especially by those who pretend to be their exclusive advocates," Ahmadinejad said, without mentioning the United States by name.
Iran has come under two waves of international sanctions for its nuclear program, which Ahmadinejad insists is only for energy production. He has repeatedly insisted the Islamic republic has no need of nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, the international community has taken scant consolation from his comments and is expected to push for a third round of UN sanctions.
Ahmadinejad used his speeches to the National Press Club in Washington and Columbia University on Monday to say Iran had no need for nuclear weapons and to downplay talk that Iran and the United States are on the path to war. "I think the politicians who are after atomic bombs or are testing them, making them, politically, they are backward, retarded," he added. "We think that talk of war is a propaganda tool. Why is there a need for a war?"
But he suffered the rare indignity of a public dressing down at the university. Booed and strongly challenged on his views on the Holocaust, Ahmadinejad seemed to take the criticisms in his stride but complained of "unfriendly treatment" at the hands of the New York university.
Before he even spoke, Ahmadinejad was forced to sit through 10 minutes of broadsides from university president Lee Bollinger, who had been heavily criticized by Jewish groups and US politicians for inviting the Iranian leader.
"Mr President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger told Ahmadinejad, accusing him of brutal crackdowns notably on the country's academics and homosexuals and for stifling dissent. "Why are you so afraid of Iranian citizens expressing their opinions for change?" he asked, challenging the leader of the Islamic republic to explain his comments downplaying the Holocaust.
"When you come to a place like this, this makes you quite simply ridiculous. You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated," he said.
Ahmadinejad accused Bollinger of a "wave of insults and allegations" while largely avoiding any direct answers to Bollinger's challenges.
After initially seeming a little flustered, Ahmadinejad grew more relaxed as he got into his stride to accuse the United States of trying to block Iran's legitimate desire to achieve scientific progress in its atomic program.
Smiling and occasionally laughing as he talked of Iran's culture and outlook on the world, Ahmadinejad drew the biggest jeers from students for stating that homosexuality did not exist in the Islamic republic. "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country," he said to a chorus of howls, laughter and boos. "In Iran we don't have this phenomenon, I don't know who told you this."
Ahmadinejad was due to fly to Bolivia on Wednesday and to later visit fellow firebrand and US pariah, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Posted by: gorb ||
09/26/2007 02:49 ||
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#1
Hmmm,
Maybe in Bolivia some Argentinian Special Forces could induce him to visit that country to answer the charges of terrorism leveled against Iran there.
Just sayin'
DanNY
Posted by: DanNY ||
09/26/2007 8:09 Comments ||
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TEHRAN, Iran - Iranians expressed dismay Tuesday at the tough reception given to their president in New York, saying his host was rude and only fueled the image of the United States as a bully.
The scenes at Monday's question-and-answer session at Columbia University and the outpouring of venom toward President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by protesters during his U.S. visit could bolster the hard-line leader at a time of high tensions with Washington.
Columbia President Lee Bollinger's statement including telling Ahmadinejad that he resembles a "petty and cruel dictator" offended Iranians on many levels, not least that of simple hospitality. In traditions of the region, a host should be polite to a guest, no matter what he thinks of him.
The chancellors of seven Iranian universities issued a letter to Bollinger saying his "insult, in a scholarly atmosphere, to the president of a country with ... a recorded history of 7,000 years of civilization and culture is deeply shameful."
They invited Bollinger to Iran, adding, "You can be assured that Iranians are very polite and hospitable toward their guests."
Ahmadinejad, at the United Nations in New York Tuesday to address the General Assembly, was asked about his reaction to the confrontation at Columbia.
"I think the meeting at the university was sufficiently loud enough to speak for itself. I'm an academic myself," he said in Farsi, which was translated by the U.N. "I think the authorities and officials of the university should practice a little more listening to other points of view and listen to things they don't like to hear."
Ahmadinejad's popularity at home has been suffering, with many Iranians blaming him for failing to fix the faltering economy and for heightening the confrontation with the West with his inflammatory rhetoric.
But in the eyes of many Iranian critics and supporters alike, Ahmadinejad looked like the victim. He complained about Bollinger's "insults" and "unfriendly treatment" but kept a measured tone throughout the discussion.
"Our president appeared as a gentleman. He remained polite against those who could not remain polite," said Ahmad Masoudi, a customer at a grocery store who had watched state TV's recorded version of the event, including Bollinger's remarks. Iranian Farsi channels did not air the event live.
Another customer in the store, Rasoul Qaresi, said Bollinger showed that even Americans "in a cultural position act like cowboys and nothing more."
Others thought Bollinger's words were unseemly for an academic setting. Tehran nurse Mahmoud Rouhi said the president was treated "like a suspect."
"I don't know why he stayed there and didn't leave," Rouhi said.
In their letter, the university chancellors asked Bollinger to provide responses to 10 questions ranging from: "Why did the U.S. support the bloodthirsty dictator Saddam Hussein" during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war, to "Why has the U.S. military failed to find al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, even with all its advanced equipment?"
Ahmadinejad, visiting New York to speak at the U.N. General Assembly, has been greeted by thousands of protesters, many of them from pro-Israeli groups angered by his previous comments calling for the end of Israel and casting doubt on the Holocaust.
At the Columbia speech, Ahmadinejad fell into the same sort of rhetoric, questioning the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks and defending the right to doubt the Holocaust.
Columbia University faced criticism for hosting Ahmadinejad, and Bollinger had sought to fend off calls for a cancellation of the event by promising to take a tough line with the Iranian president.
Iran's state-run radio said Bollinger's comments were "full of insult, which was mostly Zionists' propaganda against Iran."
Ahmadinejad's visit comes at a time of high tensions between Iran and the U.S. The Bush administration has painted Ahmadinejad as a top enemy of the United States, accusing Tehran of providing weapons that have killed U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran denies the accusations and has stepped up warnings in recent weeks that it would retaliate against Israel and U.S. bases in the region if it comes under attack.
Some critics of Ahmadinejad in Iran warn that U.S. demonizing of the Iranian president has only strengthened his hand and boosted his falling political fortunes.
They make the point that under Iran's complex governing system, the presidency has far less power than the post of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds final say in state decisions. Ahmadinejad, they say, keeps influence through his image as standing up to the world's superpower.
The harsh words at Columbia "worked in favor of Ahmadinejad, who in the eye of ordinary people was seen as wronged," said Ahmad Bakhshayesh, a professor of politics in Tehran's Allameh University.
"The protests by Israel supporters against Ahmadinejad outside the university also helped him to appear as a hero for people of the Middle East," he said.
Ahmadinejad's international allies have also taken his side. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is expecting a visit from Ahmadinejad this week, said he spoke by phone with the Iranian leader on Monday after what he called the "ambush" at Columbia.
"I congratulate him, in the name of the Venezuelan people, before a new aggression of the U.S. empire," Chavez said.
Posted by: gorb ||
09/26/2007 02:38 ||
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#1
"You can be assured that Iranians are very polite and hospitable toward their guests."
For any stay over 444 days. Up to that point anything goes.
#3
Where, oh where, is a modern-day Churchill with sufficient courage to describe these Islamic Nazis as the "thugs and guttersnipes" that they are? It's long past tea to begin demonizing Islam and its throngs of genocidal hoodlums.
#4
Where, oh where, is a modern-day Churchill with sufficient courage to describe these Islamic Nazis as the "thugs and guttersnipes" that they are? It's long past tea to begin demonizing Islam and its throngs of genocidal hoodlums.
Lebanon's art-deco parliament building in downtown Beirut has the look of an old-time movie palace, which seemed appropriate as a steady stream of armored black luxury cars disgorged the country's politicians, who walked through a gauntlet of journalists as if they were celebs at a high security red carpet ceremony.
As it happened, however, the show was a dud. Meeting for the first time in over nine months, Lebanon's parliament opened today for a special session to elect a president of the republic, and then almost immediately shut down without a vote. Lebanon's political crisis continues.
The hitch in parliament was that the Hizballah-led opposition - which controls over a third of the chamber's deputies - boycotted the proceedings, preventing the country's majority from having the two-thirds quorum necessary to move to a vote. But the larger problem is that the country's factions are locked in a struggle that has become part of the regional struggle for Middle East supremacy, with Syria and Iran on one side and America and France on the other.
Lebanon's American-supported ruling coalition - made up of Sunni Muslims and some Christians - wants the presidency for one of its own, in order to press forward with measures intended to stop what they see as examples of Syrian and Iranian interference: weapons smuggling and political assassinations. But Hizballah, which wants a candidate who won't interfere with the Shi'a Muslim militant group's attempt to rearm itself for the seemingly never-ending struggle with Israel, has found common cause with those Christians who have been suspicious of the Lebanese government's alliance with America. (Many Christians worry that the U.S. wants to permanently resettle Palestinian refugees - most of whom are Muslims - in Lebanon.)
Though they have fewer representatives in parliament, the opposition was able to delay the presidential vote because Lebanon's sectarian political system has a series of checks and balances that keeps governments weak and any one religious group from holding too much power. Thus, major official positions such as the president (who must be Christian), the prime minister (who must be Sunni Muslim) and the speaker of parliament (who must be Shi'a Muslim) are usually chosen by a process that includes both elections and negotiation. The idea is to have national consensus and avoid the kind of disputes that led to the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990.
But it remains to be seen when parliament meets again in October if consensus is possible. Most Lebanese have had enough of instability and war, and a large majority wants a consensus candidate to be chosen for president - perhaps the governor of the central bank, or the head of the army. But the horse-trading in parliament is being done by politicians who are to a certain extent immune from accountability: sectarian leaders practically guaranteed their position by a system in which voters keep voting along sectarian lines.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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The outgoing pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on Tuesday thanked Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian nation for their unwavering support for Lebanon during the 33-day war between Israel and hezbollah.
In a meeting with President Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the 62nd UN General Assembly session, Lahoud also thanked Iran for its postwar contribution to Lebanon's reconstruction. He also told Ahmadinejad that he wants to expand the relations with Iran President Ahmadinejad, hailed Lahoud's efforts to safeguard Lebanon's dignity and sovereignty.
In thanking Iran Lahoud will sure again please the Syrian regime and Hezbollah, its Lebanese ally, despite the fact that the majority of the Lebanese strongly feel that Lebanon was the biggest loser in the July 2006 war, since 1280 Lebanese were killed against 160 Israelis, over 1 million Lebanese were displaced and 110,000 homes were destroyed...add to this the devastation to the infrastructure and the Lebanese economy. The economy went from surplus to deficit as a result of the war.
The parliament majority in Lebanon accused Iran of having used Hezbollah last summer to fight its proxy war with Israel and the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Lebanese Forces leader Dr. Samir Geagea announced Monday that March 14 MPs will not elect a new president tomorrow to "Keep the door open for further dialogue." "Electing a new president doesn't necessarily mean achieving pre-election consensus on the head of state We will not practice our constitutional right tomorrow (Tuesday) to keep the door open for further dialogue," Geagea told a news conference at his residence in Merab, north of Beirut.
He accused the Hezbollah-led opposition of working for the election of a president "who remains at the service of Syrian (Intelligence) agencies. That is why they are trying to elect a president who would satisfy Syria. Either they achieve that or prevent presidential elections. This is the Opposition's plan which puts us between Syria's hammer and the March 8 hard place."
Geagea described the March 14 alliance of being "the actual opposition. When they assassinate parliamentary deputies one after the other any discussion of quorum becomes useless." He said Lebanese opposition factions are to blame for the serial killings targeting anti-Syrian Lebanese figures. "We do not blame the enemies of Lebanon, but we do blame internal factions who benefit from our (Shed) blood. We want a president who would continue the building of institutions to guarantee the Lebanese People's security and stability," Geagea added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday the international standoff over Iran's nuclear program will only be resolved with a combination of "firmness and dialogue," and that appeasement may only lead to "war."
Sarkozy, addressing the UN General Assembly for the first time since becoming president in May, said allowing Iran to arm itself with nuclear weapons would be an "unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world."
Iran was entitled to nuclear power for civilian purposes, he said, "but if we allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, we would incur an unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world. Weakness and renunciation do not lead to peace. They lead to war."
"There will not be peace in the world if the international community falters in the face of the proliferation of nuclear arms," Sarkozy said. The Iranian crisis "will only be resolved if firmness and dialogue go hand-in-hand."
In related news, the US Congress moved quickly to signal its disapproval of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling for tighter sanctions against his government and designation of his military as a terrorist group.
The swift rebuke was a rare display of bipartisan cooperation in a Congress bitterly divided on the Iraq war. It reflected lawmakers' long-held nervousness surrounding Tehran's aggression in the region, particularly toward Israel - a sentiment fueled by the pro-Israeli lobby in Congress whose influence reaches across party lines. "Iran faces a choice between a very big carrot and a very sharp stick," said Rep. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "It is my hope that they will take the carrot. But today, we are putting the stick in place."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Transcripts of Moud's speech at Columbia, etc. may lead one to believe that Islam, as an arm of world Montheism, is bent on achieving parity and respect from Christianity and Judaism - however, Moud's critical labeling of Israel as "brutal Zionists" in evil occupation of Muslim and Paleo lands etc. contradicts the former premise. Moud's premise of "parity" appears to extend only to Christianity, NOT Judaism, at least for now. *D *** NG IT, EVEN THE MUSLIM WORLD HAS PROBS WID PESKY LEFTY MATH. ISRAEL > Supreme Mullah KHAMEINI, Protector and Defender of the Islamic Revolution = Islamic Fundamentalism, is still the big yogurt = camel enchilada of power in Iran, NOT Moud.
#2
I'm starting to think we really need to retire this pic of Sarko looking like Mr. Bean (or that Spanish twit Zapatero) in favor of the one that shows him reclining in a white shirt & Ray Bans sipping a cup of joe and putting out a serious Michael Corelone vibe. Can't you just see him announcing "Today I settle all family business"?
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
09/26/2007 3:29 Comments ||
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#3
Its only the left and the dhimmicrats (one and the same) that are believing Ahmadinejad's BS. For some reason "appeasement and lose" are their mantras. To have peace, prepare for war.
#5
Sarkozyfor good or baddeserves high praise in how he is one of the only European leaders to inject this sort of direct language into the continental dailogue. Only Germany's Wolfgang Schäuble has been more frank in addressing Islam's threat.
Early in his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated and elaborated on the charges he had levelled at Columbia University on Monday against Israel - which he called "the illegal Zionist regime."
He told the assembled world leaders that the people of Palestine had been punished for 60 years for what had happened in Europe. They had been held "under occupation of the illegal Zionist regime," he said. "The Palestinian people have been displaced," he went on, "incarcerated under abhorrent conditions." They were being deprived of water and medicine "for the sin of asking for freedom."
Ahmadinejad accused Israel of terrorism and castigated "the brutal Zionists" for carrying out targeted assassinations. He also described immigration to Israel as the gathering "of Jews from around the world" with false promises, and their enforced settlement "in the occupied territories" where there were induced "to malevolence against the Palestinian people."
The Iranian leader also used the forum to announce that "the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed," and said that Iran will leave the monitoring of its nuclear program to the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and will "disregard unlawful and political impositions by the arrogant powers."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Mahmoud sounded so worried over the Palestinians, you would have thought he had become the President of Gaza! Steady as he goes though, 90% of the diatribe appeasing his beloved 12th Imam, ready to return...and 10% nipping at the neck of Israel, as his sole purpose on earth. Sounds to me like he knows he may not be at that UN podium next year!
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
09/26/2007 10:22 Comments ||
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#3
"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct 'Palestinian
people' to oppose Zionism.
"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa. While as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa,
Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."
-(PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein, in a 1977 interview with the Dutch newspaper Trouw.)
"How can people struggle for their nation, when most of them do not know the meaning of the word? The people are in great need of a "myth" of imagination. The myth of nationality would create "identity" and "self-respect."
-(from an article entitled, "The Lesson of Palestine," printed in the Middle East Journal, October 1949, by Arab activist, Musa Alami)
Why is it that on June 4th 1967 I was a Jordanian and overnight I became a Palestinian?
We did not particularly mind Jordanian rule. The teaching of the destruction of Israel was a definite part of the curriculum, but we considered ourselves Jordanian until the Jews returned to Jerusalem. Then all of the sudden we were Palestinians - they removed the star from the Jordanian flag and all at once we had a Palestinian flag. When I finally realized the lies and myths I was taught, it is my duty as a righteous person to speak out.
-(Walid Shoebat, a former PLO terrorist)
The Arabs know and Ahmadinejad also knows, that there is no such thing as a "Palestinian people", and there never has been.
Until we as a people understand that it's merely an Arab invention for the purpose of destroying the Jews, no intelligent or effective actions can be taken.
Our administration's and the rest of the world's constant reference to the "Palestinians" is proof of the tremendous victory of Arab propaganda.
US President George W. Bush blasted the UN Human Rights Council for singling out Israel while ignoring major human rights violators, in his speech at the opening of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Bush said that for the United States to be credible in standing up for human rights, "the UN must reform its own human rights council."
The UN was "silent on repression" in places like Caracas and Teheran while it focused its criticism "excessively on Israel," he said.
Bush also mentioned Israel in his reaffirmation of a two-state solution and call for the international community to help by backing Palestinian moderates. "The international community must support these leaders," he said.
"In Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Iran, brutal regimes deny their people the fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration," Bush said, but otherwise avoided focusing attention on Teheran in his speech.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, however, devoted more attention to the Iranian threat and warned against the Islamic Republic gaining nuclear weapons. "Weakness and renunciation do not lead to peace. They lead to war," Sarkozy declared. "There will not be peace in the world if the international community falters in the face of the proliferation of nuclear arms." The Iranian crisis "will only be resolved if firmness and dialogue go hand-in-hand."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni responded Tuesday night to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmdinejad's speech at the UN, saying, "We have reached a decision not to be an audience to [his] performances and his attempts to receive legitimacy for his twisted opinions." "He should not have been given a stage in the first place, no matter what trappings and backdrop he uses We know who this man is, the things he stands for and the actions he carries out, and he has no place in the community of nations."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2007 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Best part is how the mouthpiece bases his whole thing on the premise prison planet is a legitimate source (think Rense.com, but without the chupacabras, rods, aliens,... only paranoid conspiracies about bushitler).
Posted by: anonymous5089 ||
09/26/2007 15:11 ||
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#1
Geez. I guess Perky Katie didn't get the memo...
Speaking at the National Press Club Tuesday evening, CBS "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric pulled back the curtain on her personal views of both the war in Iraq and former Evening News anchor Dan Rather.
Everyone in this room would agree that people in this country were misled in terms of the rationale of this war, said Couric, adding that it is pretty much accepted that the war in Iraq was a mistake.
Ive never understood why [invading Iraq] was so high on the administrations agenda when terrorism was going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan and that [Iraq] had no true connection with al Qaeda.
Further, Couric said the Bush administration botched the war effort, calling it accepted truths that it erred bydisbanding the Iraq military, and leaving 100,000 Sunni men feeling marginalized and angry...[and] whether there were enough boots on the ground, the feeling that wed be welcomed as liberators and didnt need to focus as much on security. She added Id feel totally comfortable saying any of that at some point, if required, on television.
The former Today show anchor traced her discomfort with the administrations march to war back to the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The whole culture of wearing flags on our lapel and saying we when referring to the United States and, even the shock and awe of the initial stages, it was just too jubilant and just a little uncomfortable. And I remember feeling, when I was anchoring the Today show, this inevitable march towards war and kind of feeling like, Will anybody put the brakes on this? And is this really being properly challenged by the right people? And I think, at the time, anyone who questioned the administration was considered unpatriotic and it was a very difficult position to be in.
Couric referenced comments made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Mondays The Charlie Rose Show, and said she actually agreed with Ahmadinejad on one point. Oftentimes Westerners dont really understand fully the values of this particular culture, said Couric. And I think the jury is still out as to whether democracy can really thrive in Iraq.
Les Moonves says "thanks" for the ratings boost, Katie. Pretty soon the only advertisers you'll be able to get will be Bob fron Enzyte and Hot Chick Late Night Chat...
#2
It's long past tea for Western leaders to label Islam as the new Nazism and be done with this whole charade of it being a Religion of Peace [spit]. The absurdity of how Islam routinely depicts Jews and Americans as Nazis goes beyond offensive. It is a propaganda tool that needs toliterallyblow up in Islam's face.
#4
yes, BUT she does have (as well as the network)have the right to speak her (and it's) opinion. This is one of the fundamental differences between us and the islamos. If you still watch CBS for news and if you take Couric seriously, then you are doomed to be angry forever.
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.
Parts of British history need to be rewritten to emphasise the roles played by other races and religions like Muslims, ...
Schiphol and Rotterdam Airport are going to provide a hundred disadvantaged Moroccan youth with training to become airport workers. The young people will start a five-week accelerated training programme in November. 
About 500 
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto said here on Tuesday that if she became prime minister, she would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to interview Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, a move that the Musharraf government has resisted all along.
NEW YORK --Slain al-Qaida in Iraq chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a "diabolically brilliant" war tactician, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, likening the terror commander to Civil War generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.
National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer was not speaking on behalf of his political ally, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, when he called for the release of jailed Fatah Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, Barak's associates said Tuesday. 
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranians expressed dismay Tuesday at the tough reception given to their president in New York, saying his host was rude and only fueled the image of the United States as a bully. 
The outgoing pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on Tuesday thanked Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian nation for their unwavering support for Lebanon during the 33-day war between Israel and hezbollah.
Lebanese Forces leader Dr. Samir Geagea announced Monday that March 14 MPs will not elect a new president tomorrow to "Keep the door open for further dialogue." "Electing a new president doesn't necessarily mean achieving pre-election consensus on the head of state
We will not practice our constitutional right tomorrow (Tuesday) to keep the door open for further dialogue," Geagea told a news conference at his residence in Merab, north of Beirut.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday the international standoff over Iran's nuclear program will only be resolved with a combination of "firmness and dialogue," and that appeasement may only lead to "war." 
US President George W. Bush blasted the UN Human Rights Council for singling out Israel while ignoring major human rights violators, in his speech at the opening of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Bush said that for the United States to be credible in standing up for human rights, "the UN must reform its own human rights council." 
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni responded Tuesday night to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmdinejad's speech at the UN, saying, "We have reached a decision not to be an audience to [his] performances and his attempts to receive legitimacy for his twisted opinions." "He should not have been given a stage in the first place, no matter what trappings and backdrop he uses
We know who this man is, the things he stands for and the actions he carries out, and he has no place in the community of nations."
