The UN chief appealed to the Sudanese government and other member states to step up efforts to facilitate the deployment of a planned peacekeeping force in Darfur, expressing concern at repeated delays. "I am concerned that the security incidents over the past month and the continuing delays in the deployment of UNAMID (African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur) could lead to a further deterioration in the situation on the ground," said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a report officially released Monday.
Ban said deteriorating security and increased violence on both sides in recent months, including an attack on an African peacekeeping base in late September that left 10 people dead, "suggests the need to deploy a robust and credible force to Darfur is urgent." He appealed to the Sudanese government to approve a list of potential troop-contributing countries to the 26,000-strong joint UN-AU force, which is meant to assume responsibility for Darfur on December 31.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Pristina, 13 Nov. (AKI) An illegal paramilitary organisation calling itself the Albanian National Army (ANA) is recruiting new volunteers as a decision on the future of Serbias breakaway Kosovo province draws closer, Pristina Albanian language media reported on Tuesday.
The daily Ekspres published a report from an induction ceremony in the Drenica hills in northern Kosovo on Sunday night where 20 new members joined the ANA. The newspaper said its reporters attended the ceremony and published pictures of armed masked men in uniforms. Kosovo - the gift that keeps on giving.
It claims the ANA membership is growing rapidly and numbers about 12,000 people. We are exceptionally unhappy with our political leaders, a local ANA commander named Preka, told Ekspres. And we know what Muslim militias do when they are exceptionally unhappy.
Kosovo, whose majority ethnic Albanians are demanding independence from Serbia, has been under United Nations control since 1999, when NATO bombing pushed Serbian forces out of the province amid reports of gross human rights violations and a mass exodus of ethnic Albanians.
Belgrade opposes Kosovo independence, which would give ethnic Albanians broad autonomy, and Serbias ally Russia has in the Security Council blocked a plan by the chief UN negotiator Martti Ahtisaari for internationally supervised independence.
A new negotiating troika has until 10 December to try to reach a negotiated settlement, but ethnic Albanian leaders have said they would declare independence unilaterally if no agreement was reached. A Garden of Eden for Greater Albania's host of crime syndicates.
The UN administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) in 2003 declared ANA a terrorist organization, but Preka said it was wrong. "The ANA is not a terrorist organisation, the ANA has its roots in the hearts of people, he explained. Translation: "We're going to Mao-Mao those Serb and anyone else who stands in our way b*stards. Because we have our claws in the hearts of our people."
There is a 16,000-strong international military presence in Kosovo and its commanders have acknowledged that armed bands have been spotted around the province.
Serbian leaders have said the appearance of paramilitary groups was to keep pressure on the international community to speed up Kosovo's independence. Kosovo politicians are involved in the campaign for Sunday's parliamentary and municipal elections and had no immediate comments on the reports. Yes, the same politicians who make Preka so peckish.
But a local Serb leader, Nebojsa Jovic, warned that the ANA might be preparing to storm predominantly Serb settlements in northern Kosovo, including its center Kosovska Mitrovica, when independence is proclaimed. After reading this piece, one would think that the Balkans are some kind of tinderbox, or something.
#2
Has anyone polled Congress, on support for the Bush' independence plan? Europeans don't need another Bosnia. Americans don't need a costly confrontation with Serbia/Russia.
The President should reverse the Clinton's Balkan fiasco, rather than compounding that lunacy. For those who don't know: Hillary participated in the Dayton Accord process.
Three former leaders of a defunct Boston-based Islamic charity are scheduled to go on trial today in federal court, accused of lying to the government to win tax-exempt status for the charity and then using the nonprofit to distribute publications promoting jihad and to support Muslim militants overseas.
In what is believed to be the first criminal trial in US District Court in Boston that will explore the role of US charities in financing terrorism, Emadeddin Muntasser, Muhamed Mubayyid, and Samir Al-Monla are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, tax violations, and making false statements.
To try to prevent prejudice against the men, US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV has barred prosecutors from referring to Osama bin Laden, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, or Al Qaeda.
He has not decided whether references to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing will be allowed.
But when jury selection begins this morning, potential jurors will be told the defendants are Muslims of Arab ancestry and will be asked if they harbor bias based on religion, ethnicity, or national origin that would prevent them from deciding the case fairly.
Potential jurors will be told that Muntasser, 42, of Braintree, was born in Libya; that Mubayyid, 42, of Shrewsbury, is a native of Lebanon; and that Monla, 50, of Boston, was born in Kuwait and is a US citizen.
Defense lawyers and the US attorney's office declined to talk about the case yesterday, because the trial had not begun.
Three years ago, Muntasser sued the government for failing to act on his application for US citizenship. The following year, he was indicted with Mubayyid. They were charged with conspiring to conceal information from the government to win tax-exempt status for their charity, Massachusetts Care International Inc. They also were charged with making false statements. Earlier this year, Monla was added to the indictment.
"This is a tax case, not a terrorism case," defense lawyers contended in a lengthy memorandum filed with the court last month, urging restrictions on what evidence prosecutors may present and on what the government's terrorism specialists can testify about when they take the stand during the trial. "There is no charge that Care International or any of the defendants provided material support to terrorism, or had any connection with Al Qaeda, bin Laden, terrorism, or any terrorist attack or plot," the lawyers wrote.
The government alleges that in the early 1990s, the three men were involved in operating the Boston branch of Al-Kifah Refugee Center - which supported Muslims engaged in violent, religiously based military conflict overseas - and published a pro-jihad newsletter called Al-Hussam, Arabic for The Sword.
After members of the New York office of Al-Kifah were linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York, the Boston branch of Al-Kifah was disbanded, and Muntasser founded its successor organization, Massachusetts Care International, the indictment alleges. The group is not affiliated with the global relief organization CARE International.
The indictment alleges that Muntasser and Monla, both former presidents of Massachusetts Care International, and Mubayyid, a former treasurer, won tax-exempt status for Care by hiding its true purpose from the government. The three men asserted that Care, which raised $1.7 million in tax-deductible donations between 1993 and 2003, provided aid to orphans and widows and distributed food. The government alleges that while Care probably provided some humanitarian aid to Muslims who were being persecuted, the three men failed to disclose to the government that it also supported fighters, or mujahideen, in Chechnya, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere. Care also used charitable donations to publish articles online about military operations of the Islamic fighters and an English translation of a pro-jihad book, "Join the Caravan," according to the indictment.
Muntasser, owner of the Logan Furniture Co., is also accused of making false statements to the FBI by denying that he had traveled to Afghanistan in the mid-1990s.
Going for 41 straight losses. You should get Harry and Nancy's faces photoshopped on that thing...
WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that Democrats won't approve more money for the Iraq war this year unless President Bush agrees to begin bringing troops home. By the end of the week, the House and Senate planned to vote on a $50 billion measure for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would require Bush to initiate troop withdrawals immediately with the goal of ending combat by December 2008. Sure it will. What else ya got? Need some funding for some LSD Museum in Haight Ashbury?
If Bush vetoes the bill, "then the president won't get his $50 billion," Reid, D-Nev., told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference. Sure he won't, Harry. Selling out American fighting men and women. Make sure you put that in your reelection brochure...
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., made a similar statement last week in a closed-door caucus meeting. I can't take these filthy hippies pissing on my lawn any more! I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!
The tough rhetoric does not necessarily foretell another veto showdown with Bush on the war. Similar legislation has routinely fallen short of the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate. It is possible the upcoming bill will sink, in which case Democrats would probably wait until next year to revisit the issue. Wait'll next year. Red Sox fans know what that means. Maybe in 86 years Harry and Nancy might actually pull it off too...
But their remarks reflect an emerging Democratic strategy on the war: Force congressional Republicans and Bush to accept a timetable for troop withdrawals, or turn Pentagon accounting processes into a bureaucratic nightmare. ...and that's worked really well for them. Really elevated those public opinion polls on Congress.
If Democrats refuse to send Bush the $50 billion, the military would have to drain its annual budget to keep the wars afloat. Last week, Congress approved a $471 billion budget for the military that pays mostly for non-war related projects, such as depot maintenance and weapons development.
The tactic stops short of blocking money outright from being used on the war, an approach that has divided Democrats and fueled Republican criticism that Democrats are eager to abandon the troops. But forcing the Pentagon into a painful budget dance to pay for the wars spares Democrats from having to write a blank check on the unpopular war. "We will and we must pay for whatever cost to protect the American people," said House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. "But tragically, unfortunately, incredibly, the war is not making us safer." beep..."But tragically, unfortunately, incredibly, the war is not making us safer."...beep..."But tragically, unfortunately...
In a recent letter to Congress, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England warned that the Army was on track to run out of money by February. England also said that without more money the military would eventually have to close facilities, layoff civilian workers and defer contracts. Oh,no...no more pork!
Also, the budget delay could disrupt training efforts of Iraqi security forces and efforts to protect troops against roadside bombs, he said. "The successes they (the troops ) have achieved in recent months will be short lived without appropriate resources to continue their good work," England wrote in a Nov. 8 letter. Isn't that the point of this exercise?
A White House spokesman said Bush would veto any legislation that sets a timetable for troop withdrawals. Despite the administration's opposition, the Democratic legislation is not a dramatic departure from Bush's current plans for Iraq. The Pentagon has already begun to reverse its buildup of 30,000 troops an act that would more than satisfy the bill's requirement that Bush withdraw an unspecified number of troops. But the administration says troop levels should be based on conditions on the ground and not predetermined by Congress.
The bill to be voted on this week is similar to one Bush rejected in May. Unable to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto, Democrats stripped the timetable from the $95 billion bill and approved the war money without restrictions. Coming up next: Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead...
#1
Reid - you already screwed up one project I was earning money on this year. Why don't you just go back to your gambling mob bosses in Nevada and leave running the nation to adults.
#3
I think I could find some money to pay for the war effort, at least for a week, by cashing the money originally obligated to the pork in John Murtha's district.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/13/2007 17:04 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said the only strategic miscalculation Democrats might have made was failing to grasp how much Republicans were willing to stick with the president.
No wonder Harry don't get it. Some people see it as more than a game about loyalty and power, Jimbo. Some folks see it as more improtat than being re-elected. Go talk to Joe Lieberman.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/13/2007 17:48 Comments ||
Top||
#5
IRAN > has reportedly given the UNO BLUEPRINTS ON HOW TO MAKE URANIUM WARHEADS/BOMBS. Got it TEN YEARS AGO while trying to procure nuctech on the black market. UNO . blueprints are no use or utility save for nuke weapons dev.
IOW, [URANIUM BOMB] NUKE KNOWLEDGE HAS TRANSFERRED - IRAN HAS KNOWN IT FOR TEN YEARS???
A former employee of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency has pleaded guilty to charges of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship and accessing a U.S. government computer system to unlawfully find information about her relatives and the Islamic organization Hizballah.
Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, originally from Lebanon, also pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. She was accused of using her fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship to gain employment with the FBI and CIA, and of using her position in the FBI to check on the information held on family members connected to Hizballah, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. government considers Hizballah a terrorist group.
Prouty faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a US$250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge; one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for the unauthorized computer access charge; and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the naturalization charge.
Prouty "engaged in a pattern of deceit to secure U.S. citizenship, to gain employment in the intelligence community, and to obtain and exploit her access to sensitive counterterrorism intelligence," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said in a statement.
Prouty first entered the U.S. from Lebanon in June 1989, on a one-year, non-immigrant student visa, according to court documents. After her visa expired, she remained in Taylor, Michigan, living with her sister. As a way to remain in the U.S., Prouty later offered money to an unemployed U.S. citizen to marry her, and on Aug. 9, 1990, she was married.
Prouty never lived with her fraudulent husband, but continued to live with her sister, the DOJ said.
Prouty later submitted a series of fraudulent documents to federal immigration officials to verify the validity of the fraudulent marriage in order to obtain U.S. citizenship, the DOJ said. She was granted citizenship in August 1994, and the following year, she filed for a divorce.
Between May 1992 and November 1994, Prouty was twice employed as a waitress and hostess at La Shish Inc., a chain of Middle Eastern restaurants in Detroit that was owned by Talal Khalil Chahine. During this time, Chahine wrote a letter for submission into Prouty's immigration file attesting to the validity of Prouty's false marriage.
Chahine is currently a fugitive believed to be in Lebanon, the DOJ said. He, along with Prouty's sister, Elfat El Aouar, and others were charged in 2006 in the Eastern District of Michigan with tax evasion in connection with a scheme to conceal more than $20 million received by La Shish restaurants and to route funds to Lebanon.
Last month, Chahine and others were also charged in the Eastern District of Michigan in a bribery and extortion conspiracy in which federal immigration benefits were allegedly awarded to illegal aliens in exchange for money.
In April 1999, Prouty was hired as a special agent of the FBI, and she was granted a security clearance and assigned to the FBI's Washington, D.C., field office to work on a squad investigating crimes against U.S. persons overseas. During her tenure with the FBI, Prouty was not assigned to work on investigations involving Hizballah.
In August 2000, Prouty's sister married Chahine, the owner of La Shish. A month later Prouty used the FBI's computerized Automated Case System without authorization to query her own name, her sister's name and that of her brother-in-law, the DOJ said. In June 2003, Prouty accessed the FBI system and obtained information from a national security investigation into Hizballah that was being conducted by the FBI's Detroit field office.
Prouty left the FBI and joined the CIA in June 2003. She resigned from the CIA earlier this month, and she has agreed to cooperate with the CIA on any matters the CIA says is necessary to protect U.S. national security, the DOJ said.
"This case highlights the importance of conducting stringent and thorough background investigations," said U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Murphy of the Eastern District of Michigan in a statement. "It's hard to imagine a greater threat than the situation where a foreign national uses fraud to attain citizenship and then, based on that fraud, insinuates herself into a sensitive position in the U.S. government."
The Department of Defense announced today its recruiting and retention statistics for the Active and Reserve components for the month of October.
Active duty recruiting. All Services met or exceeded recruiting goals for October. Table of actual vs. target at link
#2
DAILY TIMES [Pakistan] > Russ Armed Forces CoS criticizes = accuses US plans to base GMD-TMD in Czech + Poland as indic of US MEDDLING IN RUSSIA'S BACKYARD/AFFAIRS; + IRAN LOOKS TO RUSSIA, CHINA TO MODERNIZE ITS AIR FORCE. Iran will not confirm or deny, but outside sources indic IRAN DESIRES TO PURCHASE APPROXI 250 SU-30's + 40 J10's. Iran needs both air force/strike- and air-defense capabilities, espec from the looming threat of US attack = invasion, and it taint gonna get it from America, and likely also not from Euro either???
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto on Monday ruled out any more power-sharing talks with President General Pervez Musharraf while vowing to press ahead with the Long March planned for Tuesday. We are saying no to any more talks, Bhutto told reporters here. We cannot work with anyone who has suspended the Constitution, imposed emergency rule, and oppressed the judiciary. Thats why we are holding the long march. According to AFP, Bhutto welcomed Musharrafs promise to hold elections before January 9 but said they could not be free and fair if held under emergency rule.
Boycott an option: Boycotting the election is an option with us, she said. The decision to impose an emergency and not to quit his military uniform has led to a breakdown of talks between us and the Musharraf regime, she added. She said the Long March was not a political rally, but a march by the people against the tyrants and nobody dares stop it.
We appeal to all people, including those from other parties and minorities, women and children, to take part in this long march, she said, reported Reuters.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Pakistans ambassador to the United States Mahmud Ali Durrani on Monday rejected negative projections about the country, underscoring the governments commitment to put Pakistan back on the democratic path and also quashing concerns about the safety of its strategic assets.
In an appearance on the public C-SPAN channel, the envoy was confident that the country would survive the current situation and successfully confront the challenges facing it.
The envoy said that the emergency had been imposed to stem further deterioration in law and order and avert a standoff between the judiciary and the executive and would likely be lifted before elections slated for the first week of January 2008.
Weapons safe: Pakistans nuclear weapons are as safe as any nuclear weapons in the world - in fact, they are safer than the American nuclear weapons - so I dont think there is a need to worry.
Because we will have elections, we will have democracy, we will live through this, he emphasised.
Durrani was asked to comment on views expressed by Democratic contender Senator Joseph Biden in an article in The Baltimore Sun newspaper in which the lawmaker acknowledged Pakistans democratic traditions and the existence of a large moderate majority but expressed concerns about the possibility of extremists gaining influence in future.
In response to another question, the envoy said President General Pervez Musharraf avoided the imposition of emergency rule but had to make the difficult decision to prevent law and order turmoil in the country. He reaffirmed President Musharrafs commitment to hold elections and relinquish the post of army chief before taking oath for his next term. I think the emergency rule will probably end before the election, he told the audience in the interactive programme.
No international interference: Asked to comment on an article regarding proliferation by nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, which was published in The Washington Post on Sunday, the ambassador said Pakistan took action against Dr AQ Khan and the country has cooperated with the international atomic energy agency and shared information. There is not an issue (any longer), not a problem, he said. At the same time, Durrani categorically reiterated that Pakistan would not hand over the scientist to any other country.
Pakistan, he said, remains strongly committed to fighting terrorism and reminded the audience about the South Asian allys critical efforts in the global anti-terror campaign.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai contradicted reports circulating on Monday that dangerous terrorists had been released to militants in exchange for over 200 soldiers who were taken hostage in South Waziristan nearly two months ago. There is no truth [to the reports] that [security] personnel were freed conditionally, he told reporters here at Governors House after administering an oath to justice (r) Ajmal Mian as caretaker provincial minister.
Asked to comment on media reports that the government had freed dangerous terrorists in return for the release of 213 soldiers from the custody of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, the governor said the whole matter was disposed of through a traditional tribal jirga. There is no truth to such reports, Orkazai reiterated.
"Nope. Nope. Never happened."
The governor said all options, including dialogue and action, were being considered to tackle militancy in Swat. He said work on all these options was underway, and added that he was sure that peace and tranquillity would be restored in the area very soon.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Pakistan can rid itself of dictatorship if all the political parties unite to boycott the general elections, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Chief Nawaz Sharif told Geo News on Monday.
That's surely one of the most stoopid statements I've ever heard in my life.
Makes Perv look good, doesn't he ...
He told the channel that elections would be meaningless if political activists and civil society representatives were behind bars.
They're also meaningless if only the dictator's supporters vote. Guess who's gonna win?
He said he would send recommendations to the All Parties Democratic Movement to boycott the elections.
If they have any sense, which it being Pakistain they prob'ly don't, they'll suggest Nawaz go have sex with himself.
Sharif said the elections could not be free without the restoration of the judiciary to its November 3 position. Benazir Bhutto has not yet replied to a letter I wrote to her on November 10, asking her to launch a joint struggle against Gen Musharraf, he added.
This article starring:
Nawaz Sharif
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Is Sharif a "good" guy? I thought that he was more to the Islamothug side than either Perv or Morticia.
Does anyone really think that any election would do anything other than change dictators with a little less violence?
#2
Sharif is corrupt, he stole millions, Bhutto is corrupt and she and her husband stole millions too but it's hard to tell when she is glorified by western press. The country is 50/50 in support of Musharaf or Bhutto. People like Musharaf were liked by many because he brought stability at a time of corruption and chaos, even if by coup de ta. It's backfired ever since he's been trying to help the US. In Pakistan history, it's always been the Army that saved Pakistan from it's corrupt leaders or external powers (USSR/India)
City Police late on Monday night have geared up a crackdown against PPP activists and workers and arrested more than 500 activists apparently to thwart the long march scheduled for today (Tuesday).
The Lahore police conducted raids at the houses of PPP workers and leaders by mounting ladders against the walls of their houses and sent them to different police stations in the provincial metropolis.
PPP Lahore President Aziz-ur-Rehman Chan said that during the ongoing detentions of party workers, no less than 328 party workers had been sent to different jails across the province. He added that more than 700 party activists were locked up in different police stations in the city. Awami National Party leader Ehsan Wyne, who was bailed earlier, have again been detained and reportedly sent to Mianwali Jail.
Meanwhile, the Home Department has given the police blank detention orders that can be filled out after any wanted person was arrested, sources told Daily Times.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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PESHAWAR: Washington has agreed to Islamabads request of not using the United States Agency for International Development logo or name in the USAID-funded projects in the Tribal Areas, official sources said on Monday. The USAID or UN name or logo will not be used in development projects in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), sources in the FATA Civil Secretariat told Daily Times on the condition of anonymity. Mentioning the names of UN or USAID would make tribal people believe that a project was taking place with the help of US money and it would derail the whole project, they said.
I've got a great idea! How about if we never, ever, under any circumstances give those ingrates any money at all, for anything? That way they'll never have to look at a U.S. symbol on something we buy them.
Strong anti-US feelings swept across seven tribal districts along the Afghanistan border since the US ousted the Taliban regime in Kabul weeks after terrorist attacked Washington and New York in September 2001.
No skin off my fore. They need the money, they don't like us.Maybe somebody they like will give them money.
The US will spent $300 million on various projects, including dams, roads, schools and hospitals, in seven tribal districts.
I have no idea why.
Pakistan and the US have agreed that 25 percent of the amount would be spent through local non-government organisations, and government departments would spend the rest of it, according to the sources.
Pakistan disagrees: Earlier, Pakistan disagreed with a US plan of winning the hearts and minds of tribal people like it has been doing in Afghanistan. We disagreed with the US, which wanted to repeat Afghanistans model in Pakistan, FATA Development Authority Chief Executive Saleem Mohmand told Daily Times. He said allowing the US to execute the hearts and minds strategy would have undermined Islamabads presence in the Tribal Areas. Pakistan is not Afghanistan where the state writ is only limited to key cities, he said.
"Pakistain is a distinct country, where the state writ is totally ineffective everywhere!"
Check and balance: Regarding USAID officials fears that 25 percent of the money might reach the hands of Al Qaeda or the Taliban if no proper check and balance system was enforced, Saleem said a strong accountability system would ensure that funds didnt land in the wrong hands.
"What kind of accountability system?"
"Oh, a strong one! Very strong!"
He said the people of Tribal Areas had changed their mindset and that they were no more allergic to the word development, which they had perceived as an attack on their autonomy and freedom three decades ago. Now they ask the government to develop their areas. This is a remarkable change, he said.
This article starring:
Saleem Mohmand
Posted by: john frum ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#3
Regarding USAID officials fears that 25 percent of the money might reach the hands of Al Qaeda or the Taliban if no proper check and balance system was enforced, Saleem said a strong accountability system would ensure that funds didnt land in the wrong hands.
And if you can't trust a Federally Administered Tribal Areas Pakistani bureaucrat, who can you trust...
I still favor my aid plan, which will be delivered in 500 lb. laser guided increments.
#5
How about if we never, ever, under any circumstances give those ingrates any money at all, for anything?
The hatred engendered by US charity is second only to the hatred engendered by the lack of US charity.
I knew some people like that. They had a rich relative. If he sent an expensive Christmas present, they were indignant that he was showing off, rubbing their noses in their poverty. If he sent them something simple, they fumed that a rich man ought be more generous.
#6
The Pak tribal provinces are probably the most foriegn regions on earth. By foriegn I mean alien to modern civilization. There is no way these people, as backward as they are and as subsumed by islam as they are, will be able integrate with modern society. It is far more likely that they will be a constant irritant and source of conflict for the modern world.
This means we have to deal with them with overwhelming force and not try to use a hearts and minds strategy. This is an area where saturation bombing needs to be implemented. They need to understand that the west will not accept their violent backwardness and that if they continue on the current path that they will be exterminated.
#7
I can see why they don't want the UN and USAID logos used: you have the classis bad cop / bad cop routine going on and will be unable to differentiate between the two. ( sarc intended)
but if we can't ID as a US project, then let them eat poppy seeds.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/13/2007 17:48 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Thanks John. More evidence that Perv is doing absolutely nothing about the animals in the tribal regions and just beating up / detaining / killing the moderates. Where do we go from here? Up doesn't look likely.
#10
WAFF.com > US HAS CONTINGENCY PLANS TO SAFEGUARD PAKISTAN'S NUCLEAR ARSENAL. Problem for US - Pakis nukes are widely dispersed around the country + heavily protected/overwatched by [highly politicized/partisan] army units = "You've got the $$$ we've got the Bomb(s), Security" local Warlords. *And then there's GEOPOLITICS - read, RUSSIA-CHINA not wanting strong US presence in CENASIA from any reason.
"Congress should support our troops in Iraq, not undermine their heroic achievements by imposing a formula for failure."
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT) issued the following statement today in response to the latest congressional effort to legislate a U.S. retreat from Iraq:
"Over the past nine months, American forces have begun to achieve the kind of progress in Iraq that, until recently, few in Washington would have dared to imagine might be possible.
"Working together with our increasingly capable Iraqi allies, U.S. troops under the command of General David Petraeus have routed al Qaeda in Iraq from its safe havens in Anbar province and Baghdad -- delivering what could well prove to be the most significant defeat for Osama bin Laden's terrorist network since it was driven from Afghanistan in late 2001.
"As al Qaeda has been beaten into retreat in Iraq, security conditions across the country have begun to improve. Iraqi civilian casualties are dramatically down. IED attacks have plummeted, while mortar and rocket attacks are at an unprecedented twenty-one month low. The number of U.S. soldiers killed in action has fallen for five straight months and is now at the lowest level in nearly two years. And as a result, U.S. commanders on the ground have begun a drawdown in the number of U.S. forces in Iraq.
"According to the BBC just this weekend: 'All across Baghdad... streets are springing back to life. Shops and restaurants which closed down are back in business. People walk in crowded streets in the evening, when just a few months ago they would have been huddled behind locked doors in their homes. Everybody agrees that things are much better.'
"Unfortunately, congressional opponents of the war have responded to the growing evidence of progress in Iraq not with gratitude or relief, but with unrelenting opposition to a policy that is now clearly working.
"Even as evidence has mounted that General Petraeus' new counterinsurgency strategy is succeeding, anti-war advocates in Congress have remained emotionally invested in a narrative of retreat and defeat in Iraq -- reluctant to acknowledge the reality of progress there.
"Rather than supporting General Petraeus and our troops in the field, anti-war advocates in Congress are instead struggling to deny or disparage their achievements -- and are now acting, once again, to hold hostage the funding our troops desperately need and to order a retreat by a date certain and regardless of what is happening on the ground.
"It bears emphasizing that none of the progress we see today in Iraq would have happened, had these same anti-war activists prevailed in their earlier attempts this year to derail General Petraeus' strategy.
"In fact, throughout the past nine months, anti-war advocates in Congress have confidently and repeatedly predicted that General Petraeus' strategy would fail, and that the war in Iraq was 'lost.'
"It is now clear they were wrong.
"Rather than another ill-advised, misguided attempt to cut off the funding for our troops in the field, it is time for anti-war forces to admit that the surge is working and stop their futile legislative harassments.
"It is deeply irresponsible for anti-war forces in Congress to hold hostage the funds that our men and women in uniform need to continue their successful efforts. Congress should support our troops in Iraq, not undermine their heroic achievements by imposing a formula for failure."
#2
"Even as evidence has mounted that General Petraeus' new counterinsurgency strategy is succeeding, anti-war advocates in Congress have remained emotionally invested in a narrative of retreat and defeat in Iraq -- reluctant to acknowledge the reality of progress there."
Sorry, Joe, but they're not "emotionally invested," they're politically invested. They know darned well what they're doing: stabbing our troops in the back to score cheap political points with the loathesome cretins who constitute the Democratic Party's current political "base."
And they're traitors, each and every last one of them.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/13/2007 18:34 Comments ||
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#3
Îow that there is irrefutable evidence that victory is in our grasp, the dimmocrats must accelerate the surrender process in order to achieve power prior to that occurring.
It wasn't so long ago that U.S. commanders considered Moqtada al-Sadr to be the greatest threat to stability in Iraq. Now the Shiite firebrand's stock among the Americans may be rising. Since declaring a ceasefire for his Mahdi Army militia last August, Sadr has effectively disappeared from public life, designating five trusted aides to speak on his behalf. NEWSWEEK has learned that some of those deputies have been secretly meeting with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, to discuss cooperation on improving security, according to two sources who declined to be identified because of the subject's sensitivity. The general's spokesman, Col. Steven Boylan, qualified that assertion, explaining that while Petraeus has not met with Sadr, "the command has indeed had direct engagements with some of his people within the [Sadr] organization to assist with reconciliation efforts." Boylan also says the military "applauded" Sadr's ceasefire.
U.S. commanders say that the Mahdi Army's quiescence is a significant factor behind the recent drop in attacks in Baghdadby a third compared with six months ago, according to one estimate. And they say they now share a common enemy: rogue Mahdi Army units, known as "special groups" and allegedly funded by Iran, who have declared they will not obey the ceasefire. Sadr loyalists have formed an elite unit called the "golden battalion" to go after these rebels; the Americans are hoping to encourage the more moderate leaders to distance the Mahdi Army even further from its "irreconcilable" wing. "Those elements, such as the special-group, extremist elements, have in fact dishonored Sadr's pledge of honor," says Boylan.
While U.S. forces have brokered local agreements between Sunni sheiks and Mahdi Army commanders in Baghdad, Sadr himself is staying above the fray. (A Sadr deputy, Sheik Salah al-Ubaidy, denies that any Sadrist officials have met with the Americans.) U.S. commanders think the 36-year-old cleric has temporarily relocated to Iran. But a source in the Shiite holy city of Najaf who also asked to remain anonymous says Sadr's gone underground there. He claims that Sadr is cracking the boobs books, hoping to elevate himself to the level of hojat ol Islamone step below ayatollah. Some in the Shiite howza, the clerical elite that surrounds Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, scoff at the attempt. "His mentality does not allow him to reach qualification for a CDL higher levels of study," says one high-ranking howza scholar. But Sadr's instructors are thought to be Ivy Leaguers followers of his assassinated father, Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, and they might be inclined toward grade inflation. In any event, U.S. commanders are just glad most of Sadr's gunmen are laying as low as Sadr is.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble ||
11/13/2007 11:01 ||
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#1
i think someone tipped sadr off that he was 1 either gonna have too brush his teeth 2 he was about too get a JDAM up his ass
Our troops will begin to come home: with honor, and slowly, and as the situation warrants. This upsets the Left: they want our troops home but they want them home with their tails 'tween their legs.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The first big test of security gains linked to the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq is at hand. The military has started to reverse the 30,000-strong troop increase and commanders are hoping the drop in insurgent and sectarian violence in recent months - achieved at the cost of hundreds of lives - won't prove fleeting.
The current total of 20 combat brigades is shrinking to 19 as the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, operating in volatile Diyala province, leaves. The U.S. command in Baghdad announced on Saturday that the brigade had begun heading home to Fort Hood, Texas, and that its battle space will be taken by another brigade already operating in Iraq.
Between January and July - on a schedule not yet made public - the force is to shrink further to 15 brigades. The total number of U.S. troops will likely go from 167,000 now to 140,000-145,000 by July, six months before President Bush leaves office and a new commander in chief enters the White House.
A key question is whether security will slip once U.S. lines thin and whether Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq and orchestrator of the counterinsurgency strategy, has made enough inroads against insurgents - and instilled enough hope in ordinary Iraqis - to make the gains stick.
U.S. commanders assert that it is not just the larger number of U.S. troops that has made a difference but also the way those troops operate - closer to the Iraqi population now rather than from big, isolated U.S. bases. Living among the Iraqis, they say, allows for a building of greater trust. That trust, in turn, prompted more local Iraqis - mostly Sunni Arabs but also Shiites - to join U.S. forces in anti-insurgent alliances, the commanders say. It also has meant more Iraqi help in finding insurgents' arms caches, reducing mortar attacks and in uncovering roadside bombs before they detonate.
Stephen Biddle of the Council on Foreign Relations, who just spent 10 days in Iraq assessing the situation for Petraeus, said a key reason for recent security gains is the emergence of the local anti-insurgent alliances - not just in Anbar province where they began early this year but also now in and around Baghdad. A key to sustaining those security gains will be the U.S. military's ability to police those alliances, he said. ``It's happening on a large scale basis throughout much of the country,'' Biddle said in an interview Friday. ``The problem is how do you keep them from either turning sides again or from going to war against each other.''
Also important is whether the Iraqi security forces - Iraqi army and police - are ready to take over from U.S. troops. If they are not, Petraeus' strategy could fail and the whole U.S. enterprise in Iraq could unravel. The issue is not whether the Iraqi army and police have adequate training; it's whether they are willing to use their training to enforce order without perpetuating the sectarian divides.
Brig. Gen. Stephen Gledhill, the second-in-command for training Iraqi forces, says he is confident that conditions have improved to the point where the Iraqis are capable of filling any U.S. gaps. ``Our answer is that they not only will be able to - they already are, and will continue to do so as they gain experience, capabilities and capacity, and not only here in Baghdad but all around the country,'' Gledhill said in an e-mail.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Everything I've read says that the Iraqi Police are worthless and are only waiting for the US troops to leave before they start up with their old sectarian ways again. The Iraqi Army has no government to swear allegiance to.
The surge was to provide security so that a political solution can be found. But if the politicians prefer their bickering (as seems the case) then it was all for naught.
#2
It hinges on the inclusion of the Sahwah, or Sunni "Awakening" fighters, being included in the ranks of the Iraqi Police. If they are allowed to merge, they may balance each other out and their sectarian issues may force both sides to be on good behavior for fear of being thrown out. I might be a bit idealistic, but sometimes having clashing identities can make both try to proove each other wrong by actually doing their job well. Or maybe they're just sick of being killed and will straighten up and act right to avoid attending more funerals....
Posted by: NOLA ||
11/13/2007 3:47 Comments ||
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#3
What NOLA said. :-) Plus, the troops need a break before the next push, wherever that might be. Welcome home, ladies and gentlemen, with our thanks!
#4
Our local newspaper has a large article on today's front page about the return of a military police batallion coming home after spending 15 months in Iraq. I hope the men and women who have been there, worked hard, and are now able to come home enjoy time with their families before having to "take the next step", as TW so aptly stated.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/13/2007 12:58 Comments ||
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#5
ION, NOSI.org > ARMED FORCES JOURNAL [Nov 2007] -DANGEROUS WATERS:IGNORING OPERATIONAL ART AT SEA MAY DOOM US MARITIME STRATEGY. Can USN-proclaimed GLOBAL SEA CONTROL [DOMINANCE]espec agz MAJOR/GREAT POWERS, be effectively maintained, vv various, simul "short of war", not- worse-than-high intensity conventional/
unconventional? war or afloat opers in and around international LITTORALS + CONTINENTAL PERIPHERIES??? ALso from AFJ > HAMAS HAVEN. Israel's on-going "HAMAS vs. FATAH" prob + Lebanese Terror orgs in indic of the spread of Radical or Islamist Extremism across world regions, with so-called "moderate", pro-democratic, or pro-US-Western Muslim nations-Govts becoming more hard-pressed to drop democratic or libertarain reforms in efforts to preclude the rise of said Extremism. IOW, AMER'S PRO-DEMOCRATIC MUSLIM ALLIES MUST [ironically]DROP DEMOCRACY IN ORDER TO SAVE THEMSELVES FROM RADIC ISLAMIST ANTI-DEMOCRACY.
Iraq is actively seeking cooperation with Turkey to fight terrorism and will not allow any more Kurdish separatist military activity from its soil, the Iraqi president told the Arab League on Monday. "Iraq is against all violent operations against Turkey," Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told reporters at the League's headquarters in Cairo. "We are exerting all our efforts to stop the terrorism threat, which imperils both Turkey and Iraq," he said.
The Iraqi leader's statement came as Turkish troops are poised for a possible cross-border offensive against militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, hiding out in northern Iraq. A series of hit-and-run attacks in Turkey by PKK rebels has left nearly 50 dead, primarily soldiers, since late September. The PKK is listed as terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
But yesterday we learned the PKK moved to Iran to avoid a Turkish invasion... so will Turkey have to invade Iran?
AMMAN - Around 500,000 Iraqis now live in neighbouring Jordan after fleeing the violence at home, according to the results of a survey released on Tuesday by Norways independent Fafo research foundation. While figures as high as one million, or about 16 percent of the total population, have been aired, this study concludes that there are between 450,000-500,000 Iraqis in Jordan as of May 2007, said Fafo deputy managing director Jon Pedersen.
The figure in the survey commissioned by Jordan is based on immigration statistics, the number of phone subscribers as well as a household survey of Iraqis and non-Iraqis, Pedersen told a news conference. According to the UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), 4.2 million Iraqis have fled their country since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The UNHCR, which called this the biggest wave of displacement in the Middle East since 1948, estimates that some 1.4 million Iraqis have found refuge in Syria and 750,000 in Jordan.
But last week, a top Iraqi military officer said around 46,000 Iraqis who had fled abroad to escape the violence returned in October on the back of improving security in the war-ravaged country.
Pedersen said the survey, carried out in cooperation with Jordans department of statistics, showed that the highest volume of movement of the Iraqi population took place in 2004 and 2005. According to the survey, the majority of the Iraqi community in Jordan resides in Amman and had originally come from Baghdad. One in every five Iraqis have concrete plans to emigrate to a third country.
Jordan has said the refugee influx is costing it around one billion dollars each year.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/13/2007 22:09 ||
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Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Monday rejected Israel's demand that the Palestinians acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state. "There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined," Erekat told Radio Palestine.
Additionally, Erekat said, when agreements are signed, the Palestinians would demand that Israel make a commitment in writing to releasing all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office said in response that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insists that the Palestinians recognize Israel's Jewish identity, as a condition for Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state.
#2
" There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined."
This gets my vote in the "Taquiya of the year" category. What does " Islamic Republic" mean, anyway?
#4
There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined," Erekat told Radio Palestine
Saudi Iran and Pakistan come to mind!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
11/13/2007 13:46 Comments ||
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#5
England used to be a country where religious and national identities were entwined. It should be again. It will be if I have anything to do with it.
#6
He doesn't recognize Isreal as a State, but demands that Isreal release prisoners from jail, which is part of the State he refuses to recognize.
So technically since Isreal doesn't exist, neither do the jails OR the prisoners held within those jails. At least, that's what Isreal would say in a perfect world...
Posted by: Charles ||
11/13/2007 14:31 Comments ||
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#7
Hmm... this is the great 'moderate' Saeb Erakat ?
Posted by: john frum ||
11/13/2007 15:37 Comments ||
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#8
"There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined,"
#9
I dont think we need Erekat to sign a statement "Israel is a Jewish State". If they (effectively) give up on the right of return, and accept that its up to the electorate of Israel to determine the nature of the Israeli state, that is probably close enough. Then its up to Israel, through cultural, immigration, and demographic policies, to preserve its identity. Should the govt and people of Israel fail to do that, they can hardly turn to the Pals and expect them to help with it.
#10
and of course Israel is much more like the case of Pakistan, than that of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a fundamentalist state, with religion pervading national life. Israel and Pakistan were both founded to provide a safe homeland to a people, one that happened to be defined and identified by religion, but with the goal of creating secular states, in the visions of Ben Gurion and Jinnah. Why Ben Gurions vision worked out better than Jinnahs, is a different question.
But to recap the usual factors held responsible for the founding of Pakistan, Islam was not in danger in pre-1947 India. Indeed, considering the sectarian violence and religious bigotry we face today, it was in better health then. Nor was democracy the issue because even if partition had not happened, India was getting democracy once the British left. The Indian Independence Act promised that.
So what was the compelling reason for the Muslims to insist on a separate homeland especially when there was no going around the uncomfortable fact that, no matter how generously the frontiers of the new state were drawn, an uncomfortably large number of Muslims would remain in India?
The purpose of Pakistan, transcending anything to do with safeguarding Islam or promoting democracy, was to create conditions for the Muslims of India, or those who found themselves in the new state, to recreate the days of their lost glory.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/13/2007 16:29 Comments ||
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#12
What he meant is he won't accept an Israel with Jews in it.
#13
"There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined"
I suppose the Vatican doesn't count?
Seriously though, how does he say that with a straight face? Saudi Arabia won't allow churches or the practice of Christianity (and of course Judaism there would cause mass riots -- but what doesn't, these days?).
Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Kuwait -- these are just a few countries that have components of sharia law codified into their national law.
The thing is, Erekat says this, and lemmings simply nod their heads
#14
DAILY TIMES [Pakistan]/WORLDNEWS > ISRAEL - Isrl. reportedly is willing to return GOLAN HEIGHTS to Syria [parts also claimed by Lebanon]iff Damascus will formally sever ties wid TEHRAN/IRAN + GIVE UP ANY AND ALL SUPPOR-AID, DIRECT = INDIRECT, TO TERROR GROUPS.
At least seven people were killed in the most violent attack since Hamas seized control of Gaza in June. The Gaza borders are sealed. Roads are closed. And yet, supplies are getting through, via secret tunnels along the border with Egypt. Few Western reporters have been inside them, but CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer went deep into no-mans land near the Rafah crossing to get this exclusive report.
At first glance - Gaza's southern border is a wasteland, battle-scarred, patrolled by Hamas and separated from Egypt by a wall. But a set of derelict buildings shown on CBS News video hide a secret that CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer found her way into. Its a subterranean maze that makes a mockery of Israel's efforts to seal Gaza.
Veteran smugglers took CBS News down for an exclusive look.
One tunnel goes straight under the desert about 40 yards and comes up again in Egypt. Its part of a whole labyrinth of tunnels here and its the mainline smuggling route for everything from explosives and people to cigarettes. One Palmer saw was only about two feet in diameter, but it's a lifeline for the million and a half residents of Gaza, who struggle to get basic supplies now that Israel has closed the roads.
How long did it take to make the tunnel? From here down and all the way out, a smuggler said. Three months.
Who paid the smugglers to do it? Somebody paid us to dig it, he said. Then once it started working, we got a cut of the profit from all the goods we brought it.
United Nations staff estimate that 10 percent of goods coming into Gaza are smuggled through the tunnels, including life-saving medicine at least - explains one pharmacist - for those who can afford contraband prices.
Palmer asked one resident: So now that the borders are closed, how do you get the drugs you need?
Through the tunnels, the resident said. People can get what they need, but its very expensive.
But it's not drugs - or cigarettes - that Israel's worried about, it's the security risk. Last year, Hamas tunneled into Israel and kidnapped a soldier - Gilad Shalit - who, eighteen months later, is still a hostage. In that time, the Israelis have blown up over 30 tunnels, but - says Israeli intelligence - there are plenty more. Funneling the weapons, explosives and Iranian cash that Hamas needs to crush all opposition in Gaza.
#2
HAARETZ > IN GAZA, WANTED MILITANTS ARE MADE TO FEEL UNWANTED. Militants finidng it harder and harder to mix in and disguise amongst the masses as local Paleos fear being killed by the IDF alongst wid the militants.
#3
it's a lifeline for the million and a half residents of Gaza, who struggle to get basic supplies now that Israel has closed the roads.
So C-4 and rifle ammunition are "basic supplies"? Because I cannot see Israel cutting off food and medicine without it being the prime story in every press outlet in the world for weeks on end.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/13/2007 7:27 Comments ||
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#4
Veteran smugglers took CBS News down for an exclusive look.
The should've saved themselves some money and just ran Katie's colonoscopy footage.
Who woulda knew?
Hamas' violent dispersal of a mass Fatah rally in Gaza on Monday was a "heinous crime," Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's office said. "This heinous crime is decisive evidence that the coup leadership of Hamas is out of step with the national values and customs and is using blind force and the most bloody and brutal techniques against our people in Gaza," said a statement by Abbas' office. Abbas is currently in Egypt.
The incident was a sign of Hamas's growing difficulties, former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan of Fatah said Monday. "The shooting and killing, these sad and shameful scenes carried out by the Hamas gangs against innocent people and civilians today, are a sign of the failure and breakdown of Hamas' path," Dahlan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
JERUSALEM NEWSWIRE > HAMAS WILL NOT ALLOW FATAH TO "SERVE" ISRAEL. ION, PALS, etal. > "ISRAEL" WILL BE ACCEPTABLE, BUT NOT "JEWISH ISRAEL". One man, one vote democracy to blur = destroy the Jewish identity???
#2
Hell, if Abbas regards shooting a few fellow Arabs at a violent demonstration as a "heinous crime" I wonder how he would describe blowing up innocent women and chidren at an Israeli restaurant. Oh, hang on....
#4
I didnt even realize Dahlan was still around, Id have thought hed run off someplace safe and retired from politics.
Also surprising that Fatah could pull off something this big. Evidently Hamas really feels threatened - theyve also been under pressure from local clans and from the IJ. And now theyve been put in the position of shooting on stone throwers - I find that sweet, myself.
I think one of Hamas's problems is that, at the time of their military victory over Fatah, they were not seriously prepared for governance. A second problem is that, even if they were prepared, Gaza is a terrible place to govern. A third is that, although people said they hated the Fatah corruption, what they meant was that they hated the corruption of everybody except their little clique.
Dozens of Fatah members have been removed from Israel's "wanted" list under the auspices of an agreement reached in July between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) officials confirmed late Monday.
Three months ago Israel and the PA struck a deal stipulating that if the fugitives handed in their weapons and abjured terror, they would be taken off Israel's list of wanted terrorists.
The list included 170 members of Fatah and Fatah-affiliated groups, some as well-known as Zakariya Zubeidi, head of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin.
Army Radio quoted sources in Israel's security establishment as saying that while the Palestinian Authority's law enforcement ability was extremely limited, and PA security had had to force the fugitives to surrender their weapons, it appeared that the "spirit of the deal" had taken effect. Some of the formerly wanted individuals had shown self-restraint, they said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Israels field commander during last years Lebanon war lashed out at the handling of the conflict in comments published on Monday, complaining of a dangerous politicisation among top brass. During and after the second Lebanon war, the senior political echelon hid behind those fighting in the field and deserted them, said Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, who was northern divisional commander during the 34-day war. Deplorable political norms have penetrated parts of an IDF (Israel Defence Force) afflicted by dangerous politicisation likely to undermine the armys very foundations, he added, according to Israels Ynet News. Hirsch blamed senior commanders, who did not trust existing plans and, when the situation became too complex, forgot all the core values of camaraderie and mutual support upon which the IDF has depended since its founding. Hirsch resigned from the military last year after an in-house probe, subsequently criticised by a public commission of inquiry, faulted his leadership during the war.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
And Hirsch is a guy who'd know about political generals.
Arab foreign ministers will meet in the last 10 days of November to hammer out a common Arab stance for the Mideast peace conference the US is arranging to take place in Annapolis, announced Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa on Monday.
Moussa, following his meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas today, said the latter informed him of details of his extensive contacts prior to the peace conference, a statement by the League attributed to Moussa said.
"We are still working to see that the conference in Annapolis gets underway, " said Moussa adding that " the Arab people want for this conference to occur and to have positive results and to set a time frame for these results to be translated to facts on the ground." The Arab foreign ministers meeting will address these ideas and come up with a common understanding of them prior to Annapolis, he said.
Moussa complained that the worsening human situation in the Palestinian territories belied Israel's bad intentions and lack of seriousness vis-a-vis the peace process. Israel, in a display of bad faith, has not as of yet taken any concrete steps toward the implementation of the first stage of the Roadmap for Peace, although it promulgated its acceptance to do so, he said. He noted that Arab negotiators in Annapolis would not discount any reasonable ideas for a permanent peace between Arabs and Israelis, if they were not too far from the spirit of the Arab Peace Initiative.
Police have arrested a man suspected of involvement in the killing of two marines taken hostage in a Narathiwat village in September 2005.
Combined police and marine forces nabbed Madao Kade, a suspect of killing two marines taken hostage in Tanyong Limo village in Rangae district two years ago. Mr. Madao and his family moved to hiding, police said, in a rented house in the provincial seat. In making the arrest, police seized a firearm originating at a military camp, as well as other items including cell phones, camouflage uniforms, a chain saw, and explosive devices.
According to the preliminary investigation, the suspect was allegedly implicated in the hostage incident by outraged villagers, who believed they were involved in shooting villagers. The two Marine hostages were stabbed to death by a group of suspected insurgents during the detention.
A reformed Indonesian Islamic militant sentenced to life for the 2002 Bali bombings has said he passed up numerous chances to escape because he was committed to helping police, a leading news magazine said. Ali Imron, who was charged with coordinating the bombing operation and helping make the bombs used in the nightclub attacks that killed more than 200 people, escaped the death sentence because he was remorseful. As a repentant militant, he has been given lenient treatment by police for helping them provide information on fugitives linked to a series of bomb attacks that have rocked the country in recent years.
Tempo news weekly magazine said Imron had an expensive mobile phone and his cell block was equipped with a treadmill and a ping pong table so that he and fellow inmates can exercise. If I wanted to, I had 1,001 chances (to escape). But for what? Im sticking to the commitment I have made with the police, Imron told Tempo in an interview. Three people, including Imrons two brothers, were sentenced to death for the Bali bombings and are expected to face a firing squad after their final appeals were rejected two months ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Besides, the prison digs are better then sleeping in the ditches and stealing mangoes in the morning. That gets old real fast.
That's what my father-in-law (rest his soul) discovered when he hired private detectives to see why Indonesians worked less when he paid more money. It seems that the workers would just sleep along the road and steal the food they needed from trees... Even with his wages they couldn't afford movies or pinball or recreation in the Rich/Poor society of Indonesia.... so he cut their wages to 1/10th of what they were and built a huge rec and movie center were every thing required a company token. You got so many tokens every hour worked. His workers quickly went from 2 days work a week to 60 hour weeks...)
#2
The other great thing about Indonesian workers is that it is easy to get rid of garbage, junk, salvage, etc. What you do is put it all outside at night and put a small snow-fence around it. Next day it is gone. If you didn't enclose it - it would still be there the next day.
Posted by: Jack is Back!` ||
11/13/2007 12:34 Comments ||
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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday called critics of his country's disputed nuclear program "traitors" and vowed to expose their collaboration with Iran's enemies, state media reported. "They are traitors," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying of his critics. "Based on the pledge (I) made with the people, we won't retreat and won't standby. ... We are not revealing them because of some sensitivities, but upon closure of the nuclear issue, we will reveal all these issues," IRNA quoted him as telling a group of students.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
DEBKA > Bush planning to go PUBLIC on SECRET IRAN NUKE WEAPONS DEV, to harbor suppor from UNO for harder sanctions.
#2
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday called critics of his country's disputed nuclear program "traitors"
There you have it. My way or the highway. Smart guy, but as he has consistently demonstrated on many occasions he doesn't see any point of view but his own and seems to honestly think he is right. He may well have Asperger's Syndrome or something like it. If this is true, you would have to find an argument that would change his convictions, but given that he is a religious nutcase, it's going to be tough finding an authority the West can get along with that Nutjob respects. And Nutjob can find plenty who believe his point of view even if that were the case.
#3
DIGG > US INTELLIGENCE: IRAN POSSESSES MILYUUHNS OF DANGEROUS ATOMS, for an as yet undetermined purpose/agenda.
Also in DIGG > NYT: THREE 9-11 HIJACKERS have the same names as three alumni of US military training schools. LIST INCLUDES PENN STATE PERFESSER/STUDENT ATTA [my "neighbor"]. Sigh - you work, you slave, and turns out only the Commies/PACT, NOT YOUR D ***NGED OWN ARMY-GOVT, that sends beauteous near-naked bikini babes to try and get the secrets of your laser weapons, advanced projects, etal. HOW CAN OSAMA WIN THE WAR!?
Posted by: Bill Ulaitle1083 ||
11/13/2007 4:40 Comments ||
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#4
Bill Ulaitle1083 *must* be JoeMendiola, Rantburg's own e.e.cummings.
An envoy sent by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Monday in Damascus with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem. The envoy told Moallem that the Palestinians supported Syria's refusal to participate in the Annapolis peace parley scheduled to take place at the end of November if the future of the Golan Heights is not placed on the agenda, Israel Radio reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Abbas: so Ehud, whats the future of the Golan?
Olmert: It will have farms. Orchards. Stuff like that.
Abbas: Jewish farms, arab farms, druze farms?
Olmert: Damned if I know
Abbas: Ok, lets check off that agenda item.
#2
Ah, Annapolis in January. Time for the first Frostbite regatta, bock beer down at Philips along with a few dozen spiced crabs. I can see the Arab league, Egyptians, Paleos, et. al. already with their bibs on, pounders in hand, picks at the ready. Its a wonder anything will get accomplished.
Posted by: Jack is Back!` ||
11/13/2007 12:39 Comments ||
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Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah's defiant speech has torpedoed the French initiative aimed at bringing Lebanon's feuding leaders to agree on the election of a new president and avoid a power vacuum that could plunge the country into further chaos. The daily An Nahar, which labeled Nasrallah's speech "stormy," said Monday that his remarks not only surprised the ruling March 14 team, but also many leaders within the opposition itself, on top of them Speaker Nabih Berri.
It said contacts and consultations held overnight among the various political parties covered the "focal point" in Nasrallah's speech regarding his appeal to President Emile Lahoud. Nasrallah on Sunday urged Lahoud to adopt a "national rescue initiative" to prevent a power vacuum in the event that a new head of state was not elected. An Nahar, citing opposition sources, said this proposal - which Nasrallah did not give details over its nature - had been coordinated among a number of opposition factions a long time ago.
The sources did not rule out the possibility that this "proposal" could be under "actual preparation" since several meetings had taken place between Lahoud and Hezbollah's Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc which likely had witnessed "coordination of roles in preparing for this crucial moment."
Prominent March 14 sources said Nasrallah's speech is a "declaration of war, instigates a coup and opens fire on everybody, including Speaker Berri."
An Nahar quoted the sources as saying that Nasrallah's speech was tantamount to the go-ahead order for implementing the Lahoud proposal. Prominent March 14 sources said Nasrallah's speech is a "declaration of war, instigates a coup and opens fire on everybody, including Speaker Berri." Prominent MP Musbah el Ahdab questioned whether Nasrallah has withdrawn his vote of confidence from Speaker Berri's negotiating authority on behalf of the Hezbollah-led opposition. Ahdab added "what a difference between Berri and Nasrallah . While Berri has a conciliatory attitude Nasrallah's attitude during his speech was arrogant, abrasive & offensive." An Nahar quoted one March 14 source as saying that "Iranian motives" were likely behind Nasrallah's speech, citing the French role that supported the United States in imposing new sanctions on Tehran.
This article starring:
Emile Lahoud
Hassan Nasrallah
Musbah el Ahdab
Nabih Berri
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
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#1
there's a puss that begs a BEATDOWN!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
11/13/2007 0:07 Comments ||
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#5
I thought Mitch Rapp already took care of this guy?
Posted by: Jack is Back!` ||
11/13/2007 12:44 Comments ||
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#6
It's times like this when I really wish we still had a half-dozen battleships in our fleet. Just park them off the southern Lebanese coast, and start tossing 16" and 8" shells into anywhere and everywhere we might even conceive Hezbollah might be. After a month or so, ease up and see what crawls out of the woodwork. If nothing else, Lebanon would have a nice plain south of Beirut that could be used to grow crops - once all the scrap metal and other "yucky" stuff is picked up.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/13/2007 13:34 Comments ||
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President George W. Bush on Monday urged Lebanon to hold its already-delayed presidential election in line with its constitution and without allowing Syrian interference.
Bush, in a call to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, reaffirmed support for his pro-Western government, the White House said after a parliamentary session to elect a new president was postponed for the third time. The session was rescheduled from Monday to November 21 to give rival leaders more time to break a deadlock over a consensus candidate and end a crisis threatening the country's stability. The term of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud expires on November 23.
This article starring:
Emile Lahoud
Fouad Siniora
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
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According to Al Hayat newspaper, Daniel BELMAR prosecutor general of Canada, will be appointed as successor to Serge Brammertz to head the International Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , his companions and other political assassinations during the past 2 years
BELMAR, an international expert in criminal cases will also be appointed as the prosecutor before the International Tribunal court which will prosecute the criminals associated with the Lebanon assassinations. This will be the first time that a commissioner assigned to investigate a criminal case will also be appointed as a prosecutor.
The United Nations is expected to announce the appointment of BELMAR in the next two days. This will allow him a period of 5 to 6 weeks to receive the investigation files from Brammertz, who will leave his post at the end of the year. Brammertz will be submitting his last report to the Security Council in December.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
This is a shocker. I've lived here for more than 60 years and this is the first time I've heard that we have a "prosecutor general". Wonder if we have a "defender general" too? I'd like to see the "prosecutor general" of Canada start to prosecute the members of the corrupt previous federal government.
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.
The UN chief appealed to the Sudanese government and other member states to step up efforts to facilitate the deployment of a planned peacekeeping force in Darfur, expressing concern at repeated delays. "I am concerned that the security incidents over the past month and the continuing delays in the deployment of UNAMID (African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur) could lead to a further deterioration in the situation on the ground," said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a report officially released Monday. 
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto on Monday ruled out any more power-sharing talks with President General Pervez Musharraf while vowing to press ahead with the Long March planned for Tuesday. We are saying no to any more talks, Bhutto told reporters here. We cannot work with anyone who has suspended the Constitution, imposed emergency rule, and oppressed the judiciary. Thats why we are holding the long march. According to AFP, Bhutto welcomed Musharrafs promise to hold elections before January 9 but said they could not be free and fair if held under emergency rule. 
Pakistan can rid itself of dictatorship if all the political parties unite to boycott the general elections, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Chief 
City Police late on Monday night have geared up a crackdown against PPP activists and workers and arrested more than 500 activists apparently to thwart the long march scheduled for today (Tuesday). 
PESHAWAR: Washington has agreed to Islamabads request of not using the United States Agency for International Development logo or name in the USAID-funded projects in the Tribal Areas, official sources said on Monday. The USAID or UN name or logo will not be used in development projects in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), sources in the FATA Civil Secretariat told Daily Times on the condition of anonymity. Mentioning the names of UN or USAID would make tribal people believe that a project was taking place with the help of US money and it would derail the whole project, they said.
AMMAN - Around 500,000 Iraqis now live in neighbouring Jordan after fleeing the violence at home, according to the results of a survey released on Tuesday by Norways independent Fafo research foundation. While figures as high as one million, or about 16 percent of the total population, have been aired, this study concludes that there are between 450,000-500,000 Iraqis in Jordan as of May 2007, said Fafo deputy managing director Jon Pedersen.
Dozens of Fatah members have been removed from Israel's "wanted" list under the auspices of an agreement reached in July between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) officials confirmed late Monday. 
Hezbollah Secretary General 
According to Al Hayat newspaper, Daniel BELMAR prosecutor general of Canada, will be appointed as successor to Serge Brammertz to head the International Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , his companions and other political assassinations during the past 2 years 
