Somali regional authorities on Wednesday despatched forces to attempt to rescue a Panama-flagged cargo freighter that was hijacked by pirates over the weekend, officials said.
The Dutch-owned MV Amiya Scan along with its nine-strong Russian and Filipino crew was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, the latest in a string of attacks off the coast of the lawless African nation. "They are holding the ship in the coastal area of Ras Binnah and (the) decision is to rescue it by force. Our forces are already on the way," said Bile Mohamed, an advisor to Puntland President Ade Musse.
Ras Binnah is a coastal area about 250 kilometres (155 miles) east of the Puntland port of Bosasso.
Another Puntland official confirmed the deployment, but urged the vessel's owners Dutch Reider Shipping not to yield to any ransom demands. "We ordered our forces to go to mission to rescue the ship by force. We have asked the ship's owner not to pay ransom," said Ahmed Said Ownur, fisheries and water resources minister for Puntland, a breakaway region in northeastern Somalia.
Musse blamed shipping companies' readiness to cough up for the piracy problem, saying their response has exacerbated a longstanding problem, officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
The Union of Islamic Courts has denied recent reports [by the UN] that insurgents, including Islamic courts fighters, bought the weapons they use from the Ethiopian government. The spokesman of the Islamic courts, Abdirahim Isse Adow, said the weapons they use are seized from Ethiopian forces and Somali government troops during times of battle. The spokesman also accused the international community and the UN for their role the importation of weapons into Somalia.
The accusations of the Union of Islamic Courts come at a time when a UN team monitoring the Somalia arms embargo issued a report confirming the illegal influx of weapons into Somalia. The Islamic courts say they want to promote Islamic law rather than clan allegiance, which has divided Somalis over the past 15 years. But Somalia is a strongly Islamic country and many people support the courts.
During the years of warfare and anarchy, many Somalis have increasingly turned to their faith for some sort of stability. One visible sign is that before the civil war began in the 1980s, very few women wore headscarves in Mogadishu. Now, almost every woman wears a headscarf and an increasing number are wearing veils covering their faces, with just narrow slits for the eyes.
Even those Mogadishu residents who are wary of Islamic extremism may welcome a single group being in control of the capital for the first time in 15 years, saying there will at least be some authority. And most will prefer Islamic preachers to the warlords who have repeatedly fought over and in many cases systematically looted the city since 1991.
This article starring:
Union of Islamic Courts
Abdirahim Isse Adow
Union of Islamic Courts
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
Austrians held hostage by an Al-Qaeda linked group spent their 100th day in captivity on Friday, as the Austrian government voiced confidence in their eventual release. "Our work is characterised by confidence," said Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, foreign ministry spokesman and spokesman for the crisis team handling the case. "Everyone working for their release believe that the two hostages are still alive," Launsky-Tieffenthal said.
Wolfgang Ebner, 51, and Andrea Kloiber, 44, were seized in Tunisia on February 22 by Al-Qaeda's north African offshoot but are now believed to be held in Mali.
Last week, the Austrian diplomat heading the team of negotiators, Anton Prohaska, said: "My feeling is that we are halfway across choppy waters in a boat which we mustn't rock too much or else it could go under. (But) we can see the other side, it's within our reach."
A Malian official within the negotiating team added: "Things are progressing, but slowly. Contact has been made on several occasions through intermediaries. What is important is that the hostages are alive, and that the kidnappers respect their commitment to keeping them alive."
On Friday, foreign ministry spokesman Launsy-Tieffenthal noted the long and arduous process of negotiation, since conflicts between different tribes in Mali and ambush attacks on supply transports by local gangs could indirectly affect the release efforts.
In addition, the hostage takers refused to communicate via mobile or satellite phones for fear of being located. "Messages are handed over personally. That takes time, sometimes up to 10 days," Launsky-Tieffenthal said.
A spokesman for the hostages' families, Michael Vogl, said Ebner's and Kloiber's relatives "hope that the kidnapping will soon be over. But it might take time. The kidnapping of Swiss and German tourists in the Sahara in 2003 lasted 177 days."
The crisis team was in almost daily contact with the families and had assured them that negotiations were going well, Vogl said. "For this reason, the families hope they will soon be reunited with their loved ones," Vogl said. "We know the negotiators are doing everything to bring about a positive solution. We have to be patient," he added.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb only acknowledged responsibility for the kidnapping on March 10. The kidnappers initially demanded the release of a number of Islamic extremists imprisoned in Algeria and Tunisia. Then they later asked for the withdrawal of Austrian troops from Afghanistan and the release of two Islamic militants jailed in Vienna, with unconfirmed press reports saying a five million euro (7.9 million dollars) ransom was also being sought.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
The foremost Nigerian rebel group has threatened to carry out a series of attacks on oil installations and military checkpoints. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said in a statement on Wednesday that it would carry out car bombings to mark the one-year anniversary since Umaru Yar'Adua was inaugurated as president. The group said it was issuing the statement so that civilians would stay clear of such sites in the oil-producing Niger Delta on Thursday. "To commemorate the one year of failure by the government of Umaru Yar'Adua, Mend will carry out a string of deadly attacks and car bombings," the group said.
The group's statement was emailed to the media. It said: "This forewarning is to ensure that civilians avoid milling around oil pipelines and installations or close to military checkpoints and vehicles to minimise civilian loss of life."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
North Korea fired three short-range missiles off its west coast on Friday, the South's Yonhap news agency cited government officials as saying, on a day Pyongyang's media also launched a tirade of abuse at President Lee Myung-bak.
"... it appears the firing of the missiles was part of a regular exercise to check the performance," Yonhap quoted an unnamed South Korean Defense Ministry as saying on Saturday.
A similar launch in March riled regional tensions and was seen by analysts as a display of anger at Washington and Lee's new conservative government in Seoul.
North Korea has more than 1,000 missiles, at least 800 of them ballistic, that can hit all of South Korea and most parts of Japan, experts have said. Its launches often coincide with periods of political tension.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/31/2008 05:30 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
The annulment of a young Muslim couples marriage because the bride was not a virgin has caused anger in France, prompting President Sarkozys party to call for a change in the law.
The decision by a court in Lille was condemned by the Government, media, feminists and civil rights organisations after it was reported in a legal journal on Thursday. Patrick Devedjian, leader of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement, said it was unacceptable that the law could be used for religious reasons to repudiate a bride. It must be modified to put an end to this extremely disturbing situation, he said.
The case, which had previously gone unreported, involved an engineer in his 30s, named as Mr X, who married Ms Y, a student nurse in her 20s, in 2006. The wedding night party was still under way at the familys home in Roubaix when the groom came down from the bedroom complaining that his bride was not a virgin. He could not display the blood-stained sheet that is traditionally exhibited as proof of the brides purity.
Mr X went to court the following morning and was granted a annulment on the grounds that his bride had deceived him on one of the essential elements of the marriage. In disgrace with both families, she acknowledged that she had led her groom to believe that she was a virgin when she had already had sexual intercourse. She did not oppose the annulment.
Critics ran out of superlatives to condemn what they depicted as a dangerous aberration. Valérie Létard, Minister for Womens Rights, said that she was shocked to see that today in France the civil law can be used to diminish the status of women.
Elisabeth Badinter, a philosopher and pioneer of womens legal rights, said that she felt shame for the French justice system. The sexuality of women in France is a private and free matter, she said. The annulment will just serve to send young Muslim girls running to hospitals to have their hymens restored.
Although officially discouraged, the 30-minute operation is in increasing demand from Muslim women who fear the consequences of being unable to prove their virginity on their wedding night. Numerous agencies offer services for surgery trips to north African nations. One is offering a hymenoplasty trip to Tunis for 1,250 (£980). Internet sites and blogs are full of would-be brides in fear of the test of the blood-soaked sheet.
While ministers fulminated against the Lille decision, a different stand was taken by Rachida Dati, the Justice Minister, who has Moroccan and Tunisian parents. The law had, she said, protected the bride. Annulling a marriage is a way of protecting the person who perhaps wants to undo a marriage. I think this young girl wanted . . . to separate quite quickly. The law is there to protect vulnerable people, Ms Dati said.
The annulment was defended by Xavier Labbée, the lawyer who acted for Ms Y. The decision was justified by the brides deception, not her sexual history, he argued. Quite simply it is about a lie, he said. Religion did not motivate the decision . . . but it is true that religious convictions played a role.
Requests for annulments have risen sharply to nearly 2,000 a year in France, but experts could recall no case involving non-virginity.
#2
Actually, IIUC, the judgement is quite sound, legally... except that if a traditionalist Catholic couple had made the same request, the judges would have laughed in their faces, so it's a real double-standards case, for you guessed which reason... Btw, roubaix is certainly one of th emost heavily islamized cities in the already heavily islamized north of France, possibly the only (or at least, first) french city with only a marginal leftover ethnic french population, so no surprize here.
#5
The irony is that this idiocy has no basis in fact.
About one out of four women will show no external blood after losing their virginity, and many lose their hymen almost spontaneously. Others need for their hymen to be surgically punctured, as either a male couldn't do it, or she has a medical condition.
#6
oh, I don't know. From a contractual point of view, if he specified virginity as a requirement and she did deceive him on that regard (with all due consideration to the point raised by 5089), then there is good legal precedent for ruling a breech of contract. If the complaint is strictly on religious reasons then tough...
This computer generated image released by the SITE Intelligence Group on May 28, 2008, shows Washington, DC, in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. A video entitled, Nuclear Jihad: the Ultimate Terror released on May 25 has inspired jihadists on al-Ekhlaas and al-Hesbah, two password-protected al-Qaeda-affiliated forums, to discuss the possibility, permissibility, and risks for a nuclear strike in the United States or Great Britain, according to a SITE statement. SITE has translated several chatter sessions taking place on al-Ekhlaas and al-Hesbah sites discussing the topic of a nuclear bomb in the US and the west. One of the sessions posted the computer-generated picture depicting what would be the aftermath of the destruction of the capital building located in Washington, DC. Does anyone still support nation-building in Muslim tyrannies? Last week, there was a report that Afghan universites are thoroughly polluted with Taliban supporters, given cause to think of what that holds for the next generations in that filthy little country. Unknown to probably 99% of Americans is the fact that the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that MUST be signed by the end of July, faces absolute Iraqi preconditions favoring total removal of all US forces, forthwith. Al-Sistani's side is backing same, with threat of general jihad. The fatwahs are already inked; and have been leaked, strategically. All but the brain-dead would have to project the inevitable empowerment of the same Islamofascist animals who conducted 9-11. I hate Muslims; why is that sentiment not widely shared in the West?
You may hate Muslims but I don't. I hate people, Muslim or Christian, Arab or Esquimaux, who wave guns and claim a right to kill me and mine because we don't believe the proper way.
And yes, I support nation-building in Muslim tyrannies. We've done two so far; while final results aren't back and won't be for twenty years, both Afghanistan and Iraq are on their way to being much better countries than they were before we started. We'll work out the SOFA with the Iraqis. If not, we'll leave, and they know it.
I don't see the 'inevitable empowerment' of Islamofascist terrorists. I see them on the run, I see them as failures, and I see most of them lying in graves in the not-so-distant future. Guess that makes me brain dead.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
05/31/2008 12:36 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I hate Muslims; why is that sentiment not widely shared in the West?
Insufficient data. That is why we are in Iraq. If the experiment fails, there will be looser ROE next time. I'm not sure they or we really understand what it's all about over there. But we're going to give it the good college try.
#3
Last week, there was a report that Afghan universites are thoroughly polluted with Taliban supporters, given cause to think of what that holds for the next generations in that filthy little country.
Kind of like the America-hating looney liberal left in American universities except without the guns.
Unknown to probably 99% of Americans is the fact that the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that MUST be signed by the end of July, faces absolute Iraqi preconditions favoring total removal of all US forces, forthwith. Al-Sistani's side is backing same, with threat of general jihad.
All I can say is INGRATES. We have spilled blood for your freedom. Under Saddam, you Shites didn't fare too well.
#6
I hate Muslims; why is that sentiment not widely shared in the West?
Probably because, for me in my line of work, hatred is a luxury I and my troops can't afford. Like shooting a koran or handing out 'bible coins', it jeopardizes the mission, it makes the job harder, and it gets the wrong people killed.
I guess it's the difference between the sheepdog in the field and the pomeranian in the ranchhouse window.
(It's still better than the cat who either doesn't care what happens as long as it gets fed, or thinks that it can make a deal with the wolf because they're both 'predators'...)
#7
Maybe hatred of the entire religion is just McZoid's interpretation of the feelings he gets by not seeing huge rallies of moderate muslims on the street demanding the terrorists give up their evil ways. Or maybe that they are too peaceful to snuff out the radicals themselves so they can go back to the peaceful ways the Holy Crayon intended to establish in the first place.
But more seriously, would Christians or Jews take to the streets in hordes to tamp down a radical 5% or whatever that carried guns and were willing to shoot people at random?
#8
Personally, I believe in nation building in former Muslim tyrannies. I also believe in converting current Muslim tyrannies into former ones as soon as may be accomplished given limits on men and material. Finally, I believe very strongly, like Pollyanna that, despite everything, the world is a good place. After all, she maintained this despite falling off the roof and breaking her neck part-way through the book. One can't see it in the photo, but she's sitting in a wheelchair.
I don't have the energy to spare for hatred. If all those Muslims who need to commit jihad against non-believers were to nurse that hatred but do nothing about it, I'd be content to leave them in peace. As for those who act on that hatred, I'm quite agreeable to help in whatever way I can to head them toward the afterlife quickly, but coldly and without malice. Hatred leads to dangerous miscalculations.
#9
I dunno any more, every time I see someone whip out their organ and start hosing down attempts at nation building with the yellow stuff, I start to feel like I'm at Democrapic Underground instead of a nominally conservative site.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
05/31/2008 17:36 Comments ||
Top||
#11
But more seriously, would Christians or Jews take to the streets in hordes to tamp down a radical 5% or whatever that carried guns and were willing to shoot people at random?
Depends, gorb.
Depends on whether the Christians or Jews are the dirt-poor populace in countries where the leadership/elite control the wealth and power, and blame the U.S./West/previous colonizer for all the troubles the populace is having.
Depends on whether you think the US or Western civilization in general is getting its side of the message across as an alternative.
Or, if you want a more 'domestic' concept, substitute 'black' for 'muslim'. Does that change anything?
#12
Do you hate the system that produced 10 - at least - centuries of murderous Pyramid building in Egypt? What exactly is the difference between that ideology that enslaved people to serve as means to religious ends, and the Muslim' jihadi factory? Reminder: we banned Nazism and Baathism as outlaw ideologies; we refuse to ban Islamofascism. Pollyanna would understand; I don't.
#13
McZ - I think you'd find the pyramids would either: a) predate Islam/Mo, or
b) were unaffected by Islam - not a current religion.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2008 19:05 Comments ||
Top||
#14
What exactly is the difference between that ideology that enslaved people to serve as means to religious ends, and the Muslim' jihadi factory?
It's the difference between apples and oranges.
Reminder: we banned Nazism and Baathism as outlaw ideologies; we refuse to ban Islamofascism.
Germany banned Nazism; we discredited it. Doesn't mean the nazis or their descendants have gone away. But discrediting them means they're not in power.
As for Baathism - it's banned in Iraq. It's still the ruling party in Syria.
#15
I seem to recall that the Muslims at one point tried to destroy the pyramids, failed abysmally, and proceeded to ignore them completely until they were revealed to be an ideal method for separating Western tourists from their money.
Yes, jihadism and dhimmitude are very bad for both perpetrators and victim. But I believe one way or another we will cause both the practices and the practicers to end. I know a number of people who've managed to reconcile their belief in Islam with their desire to be civilized members of Western civilization. It remains to be seen whether the ummah can make the change, or whether we'll end up taking severe measures. But the experiment must be given a fair chance to succeed, and to do so we must not openly hate those we hope will learn. Coldly, clearly and calmly will enable us to judge progress, or lack thereof. Judaism and Christianity have evolved beyond "eye for an eye" and stoning adulteresses, so in theory Islam can as well.
#16
I don't know if it's true or not, but there are those out there that can point out evidence that suggest that the pyramids were a project more love-driven than slave driven. At least at first! Perhaps the workers worked for money or food and this gave them an opportunity to stay alive, I don't know. It's my understanding that there isn't evidence of fences or anything like that, but rather communities built up around the pyramid projects, much like forestry, oil, gold, etc. communities of more modern times.
The American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan has said Islamic insurgents would pose a challenge to the country for years if safe havens continued to exist in Pakistan. If there are going to be sanctuaries where these terrorists, these extremists, these insurgents can train, can recruit, can regenerate, theres still going to be a challenge there, said General Dan McNeill, when asked if he agreed with Senator John McCains forecast that the Taliban threat in Afghanistan would be greatly reduced by 2013. However, he said efforts to strengthen the Afghan army and police had put them on course to reduce the size of the coalition force in 2011. McNeill, who leaves his post next week, also said peace deals on the other side of the border (Pakistan) were behind a recent spike in violence in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
The Kashmir jihad has been sustained for 20 years from the safe havens in Pakistan so Gen. McNeill is spot on.
However, unlike India, the US does have the means to compel Pakistan to change its ways, or even end Pakistan itself as a nation-state.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/31/2008 9:08 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Or just ignore it and do as it pleases.
I think the Paks do not have any good choices in the US election and may pine for the good old days of George and Perv before this is over.
The government has decided to document all agreements with Baitullah Mehsud in order to further political reconciliation with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Dawn News reported on Friday. Sources said the government reportedly wants Mehsud to disassociate himself from the splinter groups of some banned militant organisations. Security agencies are also said to have shared some details with Mehsud regarding the activities of these outfits. The sources also alluded to an agreement between the government and Mehsuds representatives for compensation resulting from damages during the military operation in the Tribal Areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
A United States backed paramilitary force in Pakistans lawless border area may be aiding Taliban fighters, according to American officials who say the support may cause Congress to freeze some security funds for Islamabad. If thats our intelligence assessment, then theres a real question as to whether or not we should be putting money into strengthening the Frontier Corps on the Pakistan side because if anything theres some evidence that the Pakistan army is providing support to the Taliban, Levin told reporters after visiting Afghanistan and Pakistan this week.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
They are always getting outbreaks of "CRIMEAN-CONGO HEMORRHAGIC FEVER" in Pakistan....
just saying... like it is naturally occurring in NWFP and other border areas...
A Pakistani nuclear scientist who admitted selling atomic secrets to North Korea, Libya and Iran has said that he made his confession under duress. Abdul Qadeer Khan said that his televised admission in 2004 was forced upon him by the government of Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president.
"Yeah. Dey made me do it!"
"It was not of my own free will. It was handed into my hand," the 72-year-old, under house arrest in Islamabad ,told the UK's Guardian newspaper. In addition, he said that he never swore to co-operate with investigators from the UN's nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "Why should I talk to them?" he said "I am under no obligation. We are not a signatory to the NPT [nuclear non-proliferation treaty]. I have not violated international laws."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
I think he's lying but I blame Musharaaf for the weak crackdown on him. He's been sipping tea and eating kabobs in house-arrest. Big whoop for someone who gave away nuclear secrets.
The only way to rid the Baloch of the injustices being perpetrated against them by the military is by joining the armed struggle against the government, guerrilla commander Nawabzada Brahamdag Bugti said on Friday.
In his first telephonic press conference since August 26, 2006, he extended 100 percent support to all the militant groups operating in Balochistan, saying the only way forward for the Baloch was to stop begging for provincial autonomy and jobs from the central government. The Baloch issue has moved past constitutional compensation. We refuse to be a part of any reconciliatory efforts in the province. Why does the government talk of reconciliation when it is still engaged in a full-fledged operation against the Baloch people, he said.
We are in a constant state of war. Troops recently burnt some people in the Sangsila area. We are fighting a sacred war for the attainment of just rights for the Baloch. We dislike begging for favours, as we are the masters of our land and resources. Why should we beg them (Islamabad) for granting us autonomy or ownership of our resources, as this implies that the people at the Centre, and not the Baloch, are the masters of the resources, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Foster woulda wanted it that way"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2008 6:18 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Bugti Tribal dough going long on gas.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
05/31/2008 8:23 Comments ||
Top||
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf dismissed mounting speculation he is preparing to resign while political opponents and media on Friday clamored for his departure after eight years in power. A late-night meeting this week between Musharraf and his successor as army chief fueled rumors that the longtime U.S. ally in its war on terror would resign. The new civilian government wants to strip the president of key powers, and some in the coalition are seeking his impeachment.
Speaking at a dinner with top government officials late Thursday, Musharraf denied there were differences between him and army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and rejected a report in The News daily that he had made up his mind to call it a day."
It was a routine meeting and we discussed issues. We have the best of associations. There is no problem whatsoever," Musharraf said in footage broadcast by state-run Pakistan Television. Kayani and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani were also present at the dinner.
PTV quoted Musharraf as saying the prime minister has my full cooperation" in working for development of the country.
U.S. President George W. Bush gave his backing to the embattled former army strongman in a telephone call on Friday. Bush reiterated the United States' strong support for Pakistan and he indicated he looks forward to President Musharraf's continuing role in further strengthening U.S.-Pakistani relations," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.
The pro-government party of former premier Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted in Musharraf's coup, has demanded the president's impeachment. The main ruling party of Asif Ali Zardari is less intent on that course but wants to strip Musharraf of powers to dissolve parliament.
Several major newspapers on Friday urged the president to resign.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
With the Army backing Perv, he's not going anywhere any time soon.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/31/2008 13:11 Comments ||
Top||
#2
he indicated he looks forward to President Musharraf's continuing role in further strengthening U.S.-Pakistani relations
I think that means he is explaining the facts of life to the newbies before they do something stoopid.
Nuclear bomb blueprints and manuals on how to manufacture weapons-grade uranium for warheads are feared to be circulating on the international black market, according to investigators tracking the world's most infamous nuclear smuggling racket.
Alarm about the sale of nuclear know-how follows the disclosure that the Swiss government, allegedly acting under US pressure, secretly destroyed tens of thousands of documents from a massive nuclear smuggling investigation.
The information was seized from the home and computers of Urs Tinner, a 43-year-old Swiss engineer who has been in custody for almost four years as a key suspect in the nuclear smuggling ring run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani metallurgist who in 2004 admitted leaking nuclear secrets and is under house arrest in Islamabad.
The Khan network trafficked nuclear materials, equipment and knowhow to at least three countries: Iran, Libya, and North Korea.
President Pascal Couchepin stunned his Swiss compatriots last week by announcing that the Tinner files, believed to number around 30,000 documents, had been shredded. The extraordinary move, prompting demands for a parliamentary inquiry, was warranted to prevent the documents "getting into the hands of a terrorist organisation or an unauthorised state", according to Couchepin.
However, there are widespread fears this has already happened or still could. "We know that copies were made," said Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on the illicit networks at the British-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). "Both US intelligence and the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog] had been pursuing this with great urgency and diligence. But what happened to the other copies that [Tinner] made? It is worrisome that there are other plans floating around somewhere out there."
Here's your "but" sandwich of the day, courtesy of the AP!
U.S. military deaths plunged in May to the lowest monthly level in more than four years and civilian casualties were down sharply, too, as Iraqi forces assumed the lead in offensives in three cities and a truce with Shiite extremists took hold.
But many Iraqis as well as U.S. officials and private security analysts are uncertain whether the current lull signals a long-term trend or is simply a breathing spell like so many others before. U.S. commanders also warn the relative peace is fragile because no lasting political agreements have been reached among the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities.
Talks on returning Sunnis to the government broke down this week, and tensions among rival Shiite parties remain high despite a May 11 truce that ended weeks of bloody fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City district.
Iraqis have experienced lulls in the past notably after the January 2005 elections only to see violence flare again. "The security situation is much better than in the past three or four months, and I am making more money now," said Falih Radhi, who runs a food store in eastern Baghdad. "Despite this, I have a feeling that this positive situation won't last long and that violence may come back again."
Wonder how long the AP stringer had to search to find someone with an opinion like Falih's ...
Nevertheless, the figures for May are encouraging, especially coming as the United States continues withdrawing the nearly 30,000 reinforcements that President Bush sent to Iraq early last year to curb the wave of Shiite-Sunni slaughter. All five of the "surge brigades" rushed to Iraq last year will be gone by July, lowering the troop strength to about 140,000, U.S. officials say. There are currently about 155,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
At least 21 American troopers were killed in May four in non-hostile incidents. That's one more than the lowest monthly figure of the war set in February 2004.
Meanwhile, Iraqi deaths were down, too. At least 522 Iraqi civilians and security troopers were killed during the month, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press from Iraqi police and military reports. That's down sharply from April's figure of 1,080 and the lowest monthly total this year, according to the AP count.
Last Sunday, military spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll said the number of attacks in the previous week fell to a level "not seen since March 2004," although he did not give specific figures.
At the same time, Iraqi forces have taken the lead in offensives against the Sunni extremist al-Qaida in Iraq in the northern city of Mosul and against Shiite militiamen in Baghdad and Basra in the south. U.S. and coalition forces assumed a support role in the three offensives, enabling them to avoid higher casualties which would have been expected had they been doing all the fighting.
With the trends looking positive, the top American commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, said in Washington last week that he is likely to recommend further troop cuts in Iraq but won't promise more details until fall as the U.S. presidential election campaign is approaching its climax.
But U.S. officials and private security analysts warn against rapid withdrawals and optimistic forecasts. Former Pentagon analyst Anthony Cordesman wrote this week that despite some improvements among Iraqi forces, both Iraqi and U.S. officials continue "to sharply exaggerate the real-world readiness" of the country's army and police.
Petraeus himself said it's unlikely that Iraqi security forces can take the lead in all 18 provinces this year, as was recently predicted by the Pentagon.
"The overall trend in Iraq is positive, but we should be skeptical about overly optimistic assessments that we've 'turned the corner' in Iraq," said Eric Rosenbach of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and a former staffer of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. "It's more appropriate to say that we have a long road ahead of us rather than we've turned the corner."
The reason for such caution is that many of the issues that contributed to the Iraq conflict remain unresolved notably how the various ethnic and religious groups will share power. Last August, the largest Sunni Arab political bloc pulled out of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Cabinet, complaining it wasn't getting enough say in decision-making. Talks on a Sunni return broke down this week.
In the north, tensions between Arabs and Kurds are smoldering, especially in key cities such as Kirkuk and Mosul. Mohanad Hazim, a schoolteacher in Mosul, warned that the presence of Kurdish soldiers in his city "is a matter of great worry and concern" among his fellow Arabs.
Moreover, armed groups including al-Qaida have been bloodied but not crushed.
About half the U.S. deaths in May occurred in Sunni areas, showing that Sunni insurgents remain active, even though thousands of Sunnis have agreed to work with the Shiite-dominated government. Top leaders of Shiite militant groups that fought the Americans and Iraqis for weeks in Sadr City have escaped, the U.S. military says, presumably to regroup and fight again.
"If you look at it in terms of a video recorder, a lot of the groups have pushed pause, but that's not to say they can't push play again," said Nathan Freier, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
That possibility is greatest within the major Shiite community, where anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is competing for power against parties that have worked with the United States while maintaining ties to Iran.
Al-Sadr declared a cease-fire last August which largely held until late March, when two rival Shiite parties encouraged the government to move against Shiite militias in Basra. That triggered an uprising that spread across the Shiite south to Baghdad, where militiamen rocketed the U.S.-protected Green Zone daily. Fighting ended after Shiite mediation, some facilitated by Iran. The deals enabled Iraqi security forces to extend control in former militia strongholds of both Baghdad and Basra.
But the March fighting broke out because al-Sadr believed his Shiite rivals were trying to weaken his movement before provincial elections this fall. Those elections are now expected to slip one month to November, and already many Sadrists are complaining that their rivals are again using the truce to arrest and intimidate their followers.
"If some of these constituencies don't get what they want at a rate they find acceptable, they will increase resistance," Freier said. "This is a window of opportunity that will be squandered or capitalized on. And it's in the hands of the Iraqis to capitalize on it."
AP - Loyalists of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on the Iraqi government Saturday to hold a public referendum on a long-term security deal with the United States. Widespread opposition to the deal has raised doubts that negotiators can meet a July target to finalize a pact to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after the current U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year. Widespread? A few chicken$hit Sadrists? Am I wrong to think this way?
The U.S. military, meanwhile, said an American Marine died Friday in a non-combat related incident in Iraq, pushing the number of Americans killed this month to 21 as May draws to a close. While the number is not final, it would be the lowest monthly death toll since February 2004, when 20 troops died, according to an Associated Press tally based on military figures.
The Iraqi monthly toll also was down, with 516 violent deaths reported to the AP by police and other officials, the lowest since 375 were killed in December 2005.
Senior Sadrists, including lawmakers Falah Hassan Shanshal and Maha Adel al-Douri, met in the cleric's Sadr City office in Baghdad and issued a statement calling on the Iraqi government to stop negotiations with the U.S. and to hold a public referendum on the issue. Al-Sadr, the hardline Shiite cleric and militia leader whose Mahdi Army battled American troops in Baghdad's Sadr City district until a truce this month, also has called for a referendum along with weekly protests against the deal. And, opposition has been growing among other groups.
U.S. and Iraqi officials began negotiations in March on a blueprint for the long-term security agreement and a second deal, to establish the legal basis for U.S. troops to remain in the country after a U.N. mandate runs out. Few details have been released about the talks.
Although U.S. officials insist they are not seeking permanent bases, suspicion runs deep among many Iraqis that the Americans want to keep at least some troops in the country for many years.
Well yes, we'd like to, since the long-term goal is that Iraq starts to look a lot like South Korea, Japan and Germany -- democratic, strong, contributing to the world, and each with its own unique culture. The American presence in each one helped make that happen, and I suspect an American presence would do the same in Iraq.
The U.S. military has continued to target what it calls Iranian-backed Shiite militia factions, warning key leaders have fled to other areas as American and Iraqi forces closed in on them in Sadr City. American troops acting on tips in eastern Baghdad on Saturday captured a suspect believed to be a key assistant to one of the fugitive militia leaders, according to a military statement. The man captured was accused of kidnapping and managing funds for the so-called special groups.
Tensions also rose when Nassar al-Rubaie, the leader of the Sadrist bloc in parliament, was stopped at a police checkpoint outside Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad. The six-car convoy, en route from Basra to the holy city of Najaf, was held up for nearly two hours without explanation, al-Rubaie told AP in a telephone interview. He called for the government to stop harassing Sadrists and put those responsible on trial.
"Don't you know who I am?!?!"
Police Col. Asaad Ali, the director of the Diwaniyah operations center, said police stopped the convoy because gunmen are not allowed in the city and al-Rubaie was protected by armed guards. He said a patrol was sent to safely escort the convoy on its way out of the province.
Separately, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner expressed renewed commitment to helping the Iraqis rebuild as he made his second visit to the wartorn country in less than a year. Considered canceling their debt? But who knows. It might be better to make them work for it.
#1
Chickenshit can be spread very thin. It's being done here in America by the (gag) press...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/31/2008 17:29 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I don't remember enshrining the Nazi or Bushido codes into the constitution of postwar Germany or Japan. Guess our grandfathers weren't as sophisticated as us.
Posted by: ed ||
05/31/2008 17:35 Comments ||
Top||
(VOI)- Iraq wants its refugees to return home and those who do can expect "privileges", Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said during a visit to Sweden on Friday. "We hope that our children, especially the experts, who are obliged to emigrate, would return," he told reporters at a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. He called on the Swedish companies to come and invest in Iraq, considering Iraq as an open area for the Swedish investments, according to a statement released by al-Malikis office and received by Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The two officials discussed issues of common interest, including the Iraqi refugees issue in Sweden and means to bolster bilateral ties, the statement added. In our constitution, there is no majorities and minorities and Iraqi Christians are part of this country and we are interested in the return of all refugees, including Christians after the security improvement, the statement quoted al-Maliki as saying. "We have statistics that say that tens of thousands of refugees wish to return. We welcome them, we will give them privileges," added Maliki the day after he co-hosted a large international conference on Iraq in Stockholm.
The Iraqi government has "a clear strategy" and has earmarked funds "so as to take the necessary preparations for a voluntary return" of refugees, he said. In 2007, 18,559 Iraqis requested asylum in the Scandinavian country. In total some 100,000 Iraqis currently live in Sweden, making up the second-biggest foreign community behind Finns.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
(AKI) A representative of Iraqi Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has attacked a long-term Iraq-U.S. agreement, claiming it would "needlessly add further burdens on the Iraq people", according to the news agency Voices of Iraq.
"We don't want Iraq to be further burdened by problems and obligations that could impinge on the nation's sovereignty as well as the coming generations," Sayyid Ahmed al-Safi said during Friday prayers' in the holy Shia city of Karbala. "We're, however learning that there are political minds that put the nation's interests into consideration, and that the religious leaders are totally aware of what is planned," Safi said.
A declaration of principles was signed between US President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December 2007. The declaration is to be ratified on 31 July and will become effective from 1 January 2009. The agreement governs the presence of US forces in Iraq after the year 2008. This presence currently relies on a mandate by the United Nations, renewed annually upon the request of the Iraqi government. The agreement will be effective after the endorsement of the 275-member Iraqi parliament, which comprises five political blocs, the Fadhila (Virtue) Party and the Sadrist Bloc, or Iraqis loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Sistani is a wuss. The wuss would not show his face let alone criticize al-Sadr. Now that Coalition and the IAF kicked the ever-lovin' crap out of the Sadrites and their b*tt brothers from iran, he crawls out of his hole. What a wuss.
#2
at Sistani's age, long-term agreements are 2 year contracts
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2008 6:20 Comments ||
Top||
#3
We should sell a pitch to Iraq that its military is an incredibly valuable asset, and that Iraq can now engage in productive force projection, boosting everybody's egos.
They can be effective peacekeepers, especially in Muslim lands, disaster relief, commit to UN missions, and generally boost the prestige of Iraq around the world.
(VOI)- Sadrists staged a demonstration in front of al-Sadrs office in Missan province, protesting the long-term U.S.-Iraqi agreement, a source from the Sadrist bloc said on Friday. Sadrists in Missan went to the streets and condemned the scheduled long-term deal between Iraq and the United States which aims at boosting U.S. occupation in Iraq, a media source in al-Sadrs office told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). The angry men called on the national fronts and noblemen to discard this agreement which aims at blackmailing Iraq and its economic resources and impose the U.S. authority on the Iraqi people, he added.
A media source from al-Sadrs office had said earlier thousands of Sadrists staged a demonstration after the Friday prayer in Sadr City, protesting the long-term Iraqi-U.S. deal.
A declaration of principles was signed between U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December 2007. The declaration was planned to be ratified on July 31, 2008 to be effective as of January 1, 2009. The agreement governs the U.S. forces' presence in Iraq after the year 2008. This presence currently relies on a mandate by the UN, renewed annually upon the request of the Iraqi government. The agreement should not be effective except after endorsement by the 275-member Iraqi parliament, which comprises five political blocs, the Fadhila (Virtue) Party and the Sadrist Bloc, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr.
Police arrest 15 wanted men in Missan
(VOI)- Policemen on Friday arrested 15 wanted men in the southern Iraqi province of Missan, said a police source. Ali al-Gharbi police forces detained 11 wanted men, while Huttein police forces managed to arrest four wanted men, the source told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The source did not specify the regions, where the wanted men were arrested. The operation came within a new security plan of the Missan police to arrest the wanted men in the province, mainly those who have been accused of different crimes, including killing, kidnapping and looting, he explained.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
Hamas would not be surprised to see Israel exploiting its domestic political crisis in order to evade Egyptian mediation efforts on a Gaza Strip truce, a senior Hamas figure told Ynet Friday. The group is still waiting for Egypt's response regarding clarifications it asked for, the source said. "It's clear to us that Israel is not really interested in a lull, but rather, only wants to buy time," the source said. "Israel will attempt to divert attention away from the embarrassing affairs involving its leaders through escalation in the Gaza Strip. We are preparing for all scenarios, yet at this time we can say that the chances of lull efforts succeeding are slim because of Israel's evasive games."
The senior Hamas figure added that the movement does not show much interest in the political crisis in Israel, even though it affects ceasefire efforts. Meanwhile, Hamas continues to call on its supporters to protest near Gaza border crossings. Earlier Friday, thousands of Hamas supporters took part in a demonstration near the Sufa Crossing.
Crucial cabinet meeting
On Sunday, the prime minister will convene the political-security cabinet and top defense officials in order to discuss Israel's response to Egypt and Hamas regarding the possible ceasefire deal. Senior defense official Amos Gilad's trip to Cairo has been postponed for the time being, but both the Prime Minister's Office and the Defense Minister's Office rejected claims that the delay was a result of political tensions between Olmert and Barak.
For the time being, Israel insists on including the question of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in any lull agreement, although top officials do not reject the possibility of slight flexibility on the matter ahead of the cabinet discussion. In any case, Israel seeks to advance Shalit's release and officials have emphasized that the Jewish State reserves the right to resort to military moves in order to put an end to rocket attacks and Hamas' military buildup in the Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
Iran's foreign minister said Friday that the United States should conduct a "serious review" of its foreign policy after the presidential election a signal that Iran is leaving open the possibility of improved relations with Washington. A serious review that will take several months. Followed by Iran playing footsie with it for another year. And who cares after that. Looks like they are planning on Barack winning, and it looks like they are planning on playing him for a chump. I wonder why.
The comments by Manouchehr Mottaki in an interview with The Associated Press extended no clear offer for greater dialogue and included numerous jabs about the U.S. role in the Middle East and its global standing.
But the undertones of statements are often just as relevant in the nearly three-decade diplomatic freeze between the two nations. Mottaki's suggestion that the November election could signal a new course for U.S. views on the Middle East could also hint that Tehran may be ready to soften its stance.
"We don't want to make a problem for the American presidential candidates, but this election is among a limited number of American presidential elections where foreign policy plays a key role," Mottaki said a day after a U.N. conference on Iraqi reconstruction held outside Stockholm.
"The American people need change," he added.
Mottaki did not go deeper into Iran's impressions of the remaining candidates seeking the White House. But Barack Obama has expressed a willingness to open new channels with Iran a position that has drawn fire from Republican John McCain and Obama's Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Speaking through an interpreter at the Iranian Embassy in Stockholm, Mottaki said Iran was less concerned with "parties and people" than the course of U.S. policies after the election.
"The United States of America needs a serious review of its foreign policy toward the Middle East," he said. "These policies in ... Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and generally speaking the Middle East are mistaken policies."
The estrangement between Washington and Tehran stretch back to the seizure of the U.S. Embassy shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A slight thaw began following the 1997 election of reformist President Mohammad Khatami, who opened the door to greater cultural exchanges and other contacts.
But opportunities for greater breakthroughs were dashed after President Bush in 2002 included Iran as an "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea. The 2005 election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad further widened the gulf with his biting rhetoric that included vows to wipe out Israel.
Recently, however, chances for new outreach appear to be gaining ground in Iran which holds presidential elections next year.
On Wednesday, Iran's parliament selected conservative Ali Larijani as speaker, boosting one of Ahmadinejad's likely challengers. Larijani, the nation's former top nuclear negotiator, is perceived as a more moderate leader who could seek less confrontation with the West.
But few expect any rapid steps to smooth relations between Washington and Tehran whose interests and ambitions collide on many levels.
Washington has led the pressure on Iran over its nuclear program which the West and others worry could be used to make atomic weapons. Iran says it only seeks power-generating reactors.
The United States' closest Sunni Arab allies, including Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, also worry about the expanding influence of Shiite Iran in neighboring Iraq. Washington, meanwhile, accuses Iran of backing Shiite militias in Iraq.
But Iraq also has opened some room for contact. U.S. and Iranian envoys have held three rounds of talks since last year on efforts to stabilize the country.
Mottaki said the next resident of the White House must break with "the mistaken and failed policies" of the Bush administration or risk a further decline of the United States' standing in the Middle East.
American politicians, he said, are spending taxpayer money to "buy the hatred of other people in other parts of the world."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey was dismissive after a reporter described Mottaki's comments.
"Gee, an Iranian foreign minister criticizing U.S. policy. There's a real man bites dog story for you, huh?" he said.
Casey added that the "Iranian government is pursuing policies that are inimical to the interests of the Iranian people" and isolating the country from the international community by the standoff over its nuclear program.
"I would also hope that those in the Iranian government who might wish to have a more responsible leadership might also turn that mirror back up to him to take a very hard look at the unproductive, unhelpful and destabilizing policies that Iran is pursuing," he said.
On Thursday, Mottaki was among delegates from more than 90 countries and organizations who gathered to review security and economic progress in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Mottaki ignored each other at the meeting.
Rice was seen on live television snickering as Mottaki told delegates that the "the occupiers of Iraq" the United States were pursuing "mistaken policies" that are responsible for violence there.
#1
Won't do them any good. The Thanksgiving Day nuke attack is already set. There won't be a Tehran to negotiate with. We're also tired of Iranian (and Saudi) money finding its way into US political parties' pockets. US foreign policy under President McCain will be that the US will be friendly to friendly regimes, and hostile toward hostile regimes, as it should be. There needs to be a LOT of job openings at State after the next election.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/31/2008 13:20 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I hate it when they slam us. It's worser than dissing (I think?)
Posted by: George Smiley ||
05/31/2008 17:40 Comments ||
Top||
Washington shall never abandon its 'chimera' of waging war against Iran but must beware of our crushing response, says Iran's president.
Addressing high-ranking Iranian military commanders on Friday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that like all other American presidents, George W. Bush will take his dreams of attacking Iran with him when he leaves office. "Whenever Bush entertains his chimerical thoughts, his military commanders paint him a lucid but terrifying picture of the consequences of striking Iran," added President Ahmadinejad.
He then claimed that the US has never emerged victorious from any war it has waged and warned the Bush administration not to forget that Iranian forces 'will not only respond to any attack, but will also cut the hands of aggressors'.
"Some countries have recently begun to acknowledge the Islamic Republic of Iran as a key regional power and say Iran's role must be considered in all equations, but the truth is that Iran has become an influential world power," President Ahmadinejad concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
See various artics on IRNA on ISLAMIST, MAOIST, and ETHNIC-MINORITY tensions, demonstrations and violence in NORTHERN INDIA.
METHINKS THOSE US HELOS REPOR FLYING INTO PAKI WERE FLYING OVER THE WRONG NATION???
Again, NO US-IRAN WAR > AFTER 2010-2012/13 = ISLAMIST IRAN, MILITANTS-TERRORISTS, + JIHAD WILL BE NUCLEAR, AMAP ASAP.
Ahmadinejad: Washington shall never abandon its 'chimera' of waging war against Iran but must beware of our crushing response, says Iran's president.
beware? Ha! BE Aware of THIS A$$hole ...
Massive Ordnance Penetrator
Somebodys gonna need a coroner. The coroners gonna need a spatula. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator weapon may enter service on the B-2 this year. (USAF)
#6
Long ago, we should have been broadcasting a "nuclear war" satellite channel to the ME. 24/7 of nuclear horror dramas, documentaries, and anything else we could add that would let them in on the secret.
We could have even produced original programming so gross that about anyone would throw up after watching it.
#9
He then claimed that the US has never emerged victorious from any war it has waged
Shows how much the whole "Viet Nam" war meme is widespread and potent; this construct pretty much defines the view non-US (and many US) people have of the US military, and military might, and just a cursory glance at my various french blogs daily read shows me that both the left and the right see today's US soldier as what is depicted in the Viet Nam movies. This was only compounded by GWI, the Olympic Hotel ambush in mogadiscio, and even the 1999 serbia bombing campaign; I've just reread a RETEX (an after-action review) from the french military mag "Objectif doctrine" about fallujah's "Phantom fury" operation, very fair and informative IMHO, and that perception colored the views of both the insurgents and outside observators, notably the russians, who expected the US army to fail miserably in urban CQB, just as the russian advisers & designers of bagdhad's defenses back in 2003 expected the USA to stall in urban combat and be forced to choose between levelling the city or going back.
Question is, who did built that perception, if not the whole US entertainement-information complex, piggybacking on their (perceived) "Great Victory" of having the USA leave Viet Nam?
#10
Question is, who did built that perception, if not the whole US entertainment-information complex, piggybacking on their (perceived) "Great Victory" of having the USA leave Viet Nam?
#9 comment is excellent anonymous5089; Lest anyone forget how powerful the media traitors still are!
I recognize how weary we all are, especially if you factor in the painfully sad *choices* lurking before us in this Presidential year.
The stakes are so high and the MSM Tidal Wave of Lies and Distortions to install Barrack Obama as President is plainly building.
But who knows what ELSE may be discovered about Obama and his entourage's past?
At a minimum We Citizens can overcome our petty differences in-order to unite...
At a minimum WE Citizens can be united voices for reason...
At a minimum We Citizens can be united voices warning Citizens about what's at stakes for the USA..
At a minimum We Citizens can be united voices warning how corrupt the 4th estate is [MSM]
#11
Question is, who did built that perception, if not the whole US entertainement-information complex, piggybacking on their (perceived) "Great Victory" of having the USA leave Viet Nam?
I call Phalse Phrog!
Only thing annoyers me worse than a sharp Pom is a savy frog.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
05/31/2008 17:43 Comments ||
Top||
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.
Somali regional authorities on Wednesday despatched forces to attempt to rescue a Panama-flagged cargo freighter that was hijacked by pirates over the weekend, officials said.
North Korea fired three short-range missiles off its west coast on Friday, the South's Yonhap news agency cited government officials as saying, on a day Pyongyang's media also launched a tirade of abuse at President Lee Myung-bak. 
US-AL-QAEDA-JIHAD-NUCLEAR
A Pakistani nuclear scientist who admitted selling atomic secrets to North Korea, Libya and Iran has said that he made his confession under duress. Abdul Qadeer Khan said that his televised admission in 2004 was forced upon him by the government of Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf dismissed mounting speculation he is preparing to resign while political opponents and media on Friday clamored for his departure after eight years in power. A late-night meeting this week between Musharraf and his successor as army chief fueled rumors that the longtime U.S. ally in its war on terror would resign. The new civilian government wants to strip the president of key powers, and some in the coalition are seeking his impeachment.
