Yoo said the group was traveling on a chartered bus in southern Afghanistan when two local men got on board with the permission of the driver, who said they were not dangerous. Half an hour later, the men fired shots and stopped the bus, Yoo said. Driver subsequently vanishes into the vast mazes of Rawalpindi.
Posted by: ed ||
08/31/2007 08:21 ||
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wonder when they will take their next missionary mission too a country they know nothing about or is still atw ar. morons
Posted by: here now gone tomorrow ||
08/31/2007 12:34 Comments ||
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I was wondering if it was gonna turn out this way...
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's relief at the release of 19 countrymen held hostage by the Taliban gave way Friday to anger at the victims themselves, members of a Christian church who are being criticized for ignoring warnings against travel to Afghanistan. Critics said the group's actions forced their government into negotiations with the Islamic militants that damaged the nation's international reputation.
A day after the last hostages were let go, some of the church workers apologized for the trouble caused by their captivity, and a few collapsed when told the militants had slain two male colleagues. One said she secretly kept a diary on the lining of her pants.
With the crisis over, South Koreans turned their focus to what went wrong, who is to blame and what lessons can be drawn from the six-week ordeal. Public anger toward the hostages had been expressed in one form or another from the beginning, and it was rising on Friday. Scathing comments, written with the cloak of anonymity, flooded Internet message boards. Newspapers published critical editorials.
Most noticeable was the feeling the hostages themselves and the church that sent them to Afghanistan were to blame because they did not heed repeated government warnings to stay away from the volatile Central Asian country. One advisory cited an intelligence report that insurgents were targeting Koreans. "They were told not to go," said Kim Young-soo, 42, a travel agency employee in Seoul. "They shouldn't have gone there in the first place."
The apparent ignoring of the warning levied a high price on the government, critics argued, forcing it to deal directly with the Taliban in violation of the international principle of not negotiating with terrorists. Seoul is also alleged to have made a secret ransom payment to the insurgent group, although the government denied it.
The U.S., a South Korean ally, welcomed the hostages' release, but it also alluded to the talks with the Taliban. Asked Thursday if meeting with the militants set a dangerous precedent, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said: "I'd simply reiterate that the long-standing U.S. policy is ... not to make concessions to terrorists."
The hostage crisis has hurt the pride of many South Koreans, who have sought international recognition for their homeland's rise from the rubble of the 1950-53 Korean War to become one of the world's richest nations. "Of course, the country has a duty to protect its people, but I'm worried that the status of South Korea will slip a lot in the international community," said Kim Kwang-ho, 32, an employee at a consulting firm.
Local media also raised concerns about the ramifications of any ransom being paid. A senior Afghan official close to the negotiations alleged Friday the South Koreans had paid money to win their release. "Speculation has been rife over a ransom payment. And we are concerned that other kidnapping incidents targeting our nationals might occur," the newspaper Dong-a Ilbo said in an editorial.
Officials have hinted at the possibility of seeking compensation from the former hostages for expenses incurred by the government in winning their release at least airfare and medical fees an unprecedented move seen as reflecting public anger over the crisis.
Still, there were some calls for sympathy. "Two of them have already died in the crisis. They are also victims," said Kim Kwang-il, an activist with an anti-war group that has argued Seoul's dispatch of some 200 soldiers to Afghanistan caused the hostage crisis.
The Taliban freed the hostages after South Korea's government repeated a pledge to withdraw those troops before year's end.
The two male hostages were slain soon after the Taliban seized 23 South Koreans on July 19. The militants freed two female captives last week, and the remaining 19 hostages this week.
Yonhap news agency reported that some of the former captives fell to the ground in shock when they were told that the two members of their group had been slain. Television showed the former hostages tearfully reuniting and hugging at a hotel in the Afghan capital.
It was too early to tell if emerging accounts of the hostages' ordeal and profuse apologies could cause more widespread sympathy. "I can't sleep due to concerns that we caused so much trouble," Yoo Kyung-sik, 55, one of the hostages, said in an interview shown Friday evening on South Korean television. He said the captives had been separated into groups of three or four and were repeatedly moved, mostly by motorbike or on foot.
Suh Myung-hwa, another freed hostage, also apologized. "We caused so much anxiety to the people and our government was hit hard," the 29-year-old said in a televised interview. She showed reporters a pair of white pants on the inside of which she had written detailed records about when the kidnappers moved her, the times they had meals, the kinds of Korean food she longed to eat and other details. "All I could think about was staying alive," she said. "I didn't feel any pain under captivity, I guess because I was in a panic the whole time. But now that the tension is gone my body aches all over."
As another condition for winning the hostages' release, the government promised that it will stop Christian missionary activity in Afghanistan, and Korean media raised questions about what they called "rash" evangelical activity in a Muslim nation. The suburban Seoul church that sent the 23 volunteers to Afghanistan and the hostages' relatives have said the group was working on humanitarian projects and not evangelizing.
But their trip has been widely seen by their countrymen as being related to mission work in a country of which many South Koreans have an unclear understanding. "I really can't understand they tried to do missionary work on the streets of an Arab nation," Kim, the travel agency worker, said, confusing the ethnic makeup of Afghanistan, which is largely Pashtun, with that of many Middle Eastern countries.
Referring to the government's move to seek reimbursement for its expenses, the liberal newspaper Hankyoreh said, "The Protestant churches should thoroughly reflect (on their behavior) with regard to why such demands have been raised."
#3
In the early eighties, Hizbollah was able to seize hostages from non-governmental morons who insisted on staying in a hot area. My attitude then and now: other than use of normal diplomatic channels through lawful governments, they are on their own. Exactly how much useful work can be done by a Christian missionary in Islamofascist Afghanistan?
#4
I have profound respect for the Korean missionaries. Two of them died for their beliefs, they died for simply preaching to anyone willing to hear the Good News.
Islam is usually defined, correctly it seems to me, as "Submission". Fervent Muslims refer to themselves as "slaves for Allah". Faithful slaves , serving a long history of Islamic governments that employed slave armies (as a dodge against religious proscriptions forbidding Muslims to kill their co-religionists), it seems worthwhile to compare the violent reaction to Christian missionaries in most Muslim countries to the reception given to abolitionists in the pre-Civil War South (and in some parts of the North, too).
#5
They went to resupply and support an orphanage and school, if I recall correctly, not to proselytize. It's illegal in Muslim countries, and in India, for Christian missionaries to proselytize -- rather they show by their example of loving kindness what Christians are and do because of their beliefs. Conversions come from those that proactively seek answers to the questions the contrast raises... and it sounds like there is enough of that to make the Muslim religious leaders insecure.
But the minister that brought the group over had been warned, from what I've been able to gather, of the likelihood of exactly what happened, and he brought those women along anyway. Had he gone on his own as he'd done the previous two trips I would have sympathized. But because of him another died, nineteen women suffered, and his country's government was put in a very difficult position... and because of what many assume was their response, Koreans around the world will be put at risk.
#6
there is enough of that to make the Muslim religious leaders insecure.
I think we can safely say that even a single individual remotely considering the mere existence of an alternative to Islam is enough "to make the Muslim religious leaders insecure".
#7
But because of him another died, nineteen women suffered, and his country's government was put in a very difficult position... and because of what many assume was their response, Koreans around the world will be put at risk.
No, it wasn't because of him that he and his fellow missionary died. It wasn't because of him that nineteen others suffered. They were kidnapped by the Taliban. They went to Afghanistan knowing the consequences, and dis so in service to a higher cause. Tell me, do Korean Christians live and travel at greater risk of persecution than US agnostics/atheists? Was their mission less worthy than Daniel Pearl's?
I'm getting fed up with people saying we shouldn't do this, or say that, or go there because Others don't approve. The lists of things we can say, the things we can do, and the places we can go are getting shorter every day. Muslim intolerance is rewarded when governments curtail the freedoms of their own citizens. Heaven forbid that the SK reined in their Christian missionaries because of that country's near-total dependence on foreign oil supplies.
#8
There are places where those without training/experience simply shouldn't go, mrp. F'r instance, I don't wander around bad neighborhoods alone at night, where no doubt you'd be just fine. I'm apparently not aware of bad people... or even a drug deal that took place as I walked past with my brother many years ago (his youth was somewhat wilder than mine, it seems). Likewise, while the missionary and perhaps an aide or two would have likely been just fine travelling in Afghanistan as he'd done at least twice before, taking along a bunch of nice, middle class, middle aged ladies, who apparently had not been warned of the risks -- to a country where kidnapping foreigners has a long tradition and recent successes -- was simply not smart. Equally, when a neighbor of mine sold the family business to a Fortune 500 company, there were guards keeping watch over the house and his wife and child until the deal was consummated, because there really are people who'll kidnap a toddler for ransom, even in an outer suburb of a third tier city in the middle of America. (Some months later they moved to a big Victorian in a much more expensive neighborhood, but that's not germane to the issue.)
It's not about being told where you can't go, nor of the value of the endeavor, but exercising judgment about the risks involved. Daniel Pearl was tortured to death, after all. But he chose to take that risk alone, not bring along his wife.
Japan will conduct its first simulation test of advanced US-developed missile interceptors next month in Tokyo, news reports said Thursday. Japan deployed its first PAC-3 missiles just outside Tokyo this year as the nation tries to step up Defence against North Koreas nuclear and missile threats. The Defence Ministry plans to bring the PAC-3 missile, currently deployed at its Air Self-Defence Force base in Saitama, to Tokyo for the test aimed at collecting data necessary to counter a potential attack at the Ichigaya military headquarters and several other locations in the city, a major newspaper Yomiuri reported. A pair of PAC-3 launchers were installed in March at the Iruma base in Saitama prefecture (state), about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Tokyo. But the launchers, which have a range of 15-20 kilometers (9-12 miles), along with the operation unit, would have to be brought into Tokyo to defend the capital, the Yomiuri said. Defence officials also plan to use the study to determine possible PAC-3 deployment sites in central Tokyo that are free of tall buildings, according to the report. Defence officials said the report could not be immediately confirmed. Among the candidates is an open area facing the Imperial Palace and parks, the Kyodo News agency reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
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CHINA > ssys/claims it is no threat to Japan. ION, Japanese activists are upset over US dredging at Yokusuka Naval Base, seeing as a sign of imperialist US intentions to keep milfors in Japan.
Pakistan has added its voice to that of Iran in condemning the publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in newspaper Nerikes Allehanda. Sweden has told Pakistan it is sorry if the publication hurt Muslim feelings. The protest concerned a cartoon by artist Lars Vilks, which showed the head of Muhammad on the body of a dog. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad said Pakistan condemned the publication "in the strongest terms."
"Regrettably, the tendency among some Europeans to mix the freedom of expression with an outright and deliberate insult to 1.3 billion Muslims in the world is on the rise," the statement said. Interesting that a senior government official of a predominantly Islamic country takes it upon himself to speak on behalf of all Muslims world-wide. No separation of mosque and state in the Caliphate, kuffr.
The Swedish Chargé d'Affaires in Islamabad, Lennart Holst, was given a dressing down on Thursday by Miangul Akbar Zed, a middle-ranking official at the Pakistani Foreign Office. The official protest was relayed during the course of a planned meeting.
According to the Pakistani statement, Holst said the Swedish government "fully shared the views of the Muslim community" and called the publication on August 18th "unfortunate."
Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anna Björkander told The Local it had been a "misunderstanding" on the part of the Pakistanis to conclude that the government fully shared the views of the Muslim community. Björkander added, however: "The Chargé d'Affaires said he was sorry if the publication had hurt Muslim feelings."
She also said that Holst had told the Pakistani official that freedom of the press is strongly protected in the Swedish constitution. "Otherwise the Swedish government has no opinion on the matter," she said.
Nerikes Allehanda editor Ulf Johansson told The Local that it would be "strange" if the Swedish Chargé d'Affaires had apologized over the cartoon, and would contradict the Swedish government's previous line of not interfering with press freedom. "We have noted this and contacted the Swedish Foreign Ministry for an explanation," he said. Johansson said that he was not particularly concerned by Pakistan's intervention.
"The most important thing for me is our relations with the local community here. I am less interested in what foreign governments have to say." Bravo. And in today's Sweden, that's a courageous statement.
A demonstration was held outside Nerikes Allehanda's headquarters in Örebro on Friday, and another is planned tomorrow. Johansson said that Friday's demonstration was peaceful, with demonstrators shouting slogans and brandishing placards.
The complaint from Pakistan comes several days after a Swedish diplomat in Teheran was summoned by the government there to face a similar protest.
Pakistan says it plans to consult with the Organization of Islamic Conferences to determine its future course of action when cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad were published. Looney Tunes.
#2
If newspapers all over the world continue to publish cartoons that insult the so-called prophet (piss be upon him), will the muslims ever get tired of seething? Or will they eventually become desensitized? Maybe just a little bit of desensitization is exactly what they need as a first little baby step toward reaching some kind of tolerance and accommodation with the rest of the world. So maybe these little cartoons are actually doing them a favor. They should be grateful.
#4
"Regrettably, the tendency among some Europeans to mix the freedom of expression with an outright and deliberate insult to 1.3 billion Muslims in the world is on the rise," the statement said.
No "mix" about it. Free people have the absolute right to make "outright and deliberate" insults to Islam, Muslims, Mohammed and even their sacred Allah. In facteven as I type thisI am farting in Mecca's general direction.
Interesting that a senior government official of a predominantly Islamic country takes it upon himself to speak on behalf of all Muslims world-wide. No separation of mosque and state in the Caliphate, kuffr.
The sooner that we finally treat Islam as a monolithic religious body, the more coherent our dealings with it will become. Islam of nearly all stripes wants the West destroyed and we are doomed if we cannot deem that an underlying principal worthy of unilateral reprisal.
#5
Islam of nearly all stripes wants the West destroyed and we are doomed if we cannot deem that an underlying principal worthy of unilateral reprisal.
As in, "We don't need no steenking coalitions." Every single Western country should feel free to attack and dismantle any Islamic theocracy as it sees fit. Cooperation is encouraged to save time and effort, but there should be no need for concensus or outside approval in order to act against the threat of Islam.
#8
"Attack and dismantle" Islamic theocratic states? Sounds like something more than a "reprisal" to me. And once the theocratic governments are dismantled (assuming there's a Congress or Parliament willing to sign on for such a mission), who replaces the theocrats?
The Bush Doctrine already declares that the US holds the state sponsors of terrorism responsible for their actions. As Afghanistan and Iraq have profoundly demonstrated, that's a bloody tall order as is.
He has worked his Black magic on judges and juries for the likes of William Ken nedy Smith, Marv Albert and Rush Limbaugh, but Black is not sure whether any defense would work for bin Ladenother than insanity.
Osama bin Laden is like the Manchurian candidate or Jason Bourne. He is a product of CIA indoctrination. They used him during the Soviet invasion of Afghan istan. They trained him and turned him into a killer and incited the religious fervor in him to make him think that any power invading any land in the Middle East is invading the Muslims and has to be killed, says Black. What BS. The Arabs stayed in Peshawar and buggered little boys.
Black says he would play on this delusion to argue, under the MNaghten rule, that bin Laden is psychotic and not responsible for his actions.
Black would put the strategy before a jury because bin Laden wouldnt stand a chance in front of a federal judge. Any federal judge in the United States is going to find him guilty and sentence him to death, so you have to take your chances in front of a jury. Even in New York there will be some percentage of people who have never heard of him.
Even though Black would ask for a change of venue, hes not sure hed find a favorable forum anywhere. Instead hed focus on trying to obtain individual voir dire of every potential juror. Ive done it where you spend three to four hours per person and delve into their feelings. You want to ask people if they have any sympathy for the Muslim cause. You want to try to find people who are sympathetic to their jihad.
The governments evidence against bin Laden is another hurdle. Instead of trying to refute ita task that Black says is improbablehed use it to play into the defense strategy. Thats why I like the insanity defense because you can take everything the prosecution puts into evidence and add to itthat he perceives us as his mortal enemy, that he sees himself as a freedom fighter. It all fits into his delusion.
Black also thinks that bin Laden might help himself by taking the stand because his likely ranting and raving would serve as proof of a diseased mind.
Even if a jury convicted bin Ladensomething Black thinks likelyand went to death penalty sentencing, Black would continue to plead insanity in hopes of saving his life. Youd argue that since he is operating under a diseased mind that he shouldnt be executed.
Black says he would need a team of lawyers and investigators with significant resources to travel the world for bin Ladens defense. You have to hire someone who would go up into the mountains and find wit nesses because I would not be going.
...
#3
Mr. bin Laden isn't likely to accept the legitimacy of a kuffir court. He would most certainly refuse to plead insanity. And, as he prizes his reputation as a wise and educated man -- who has an expensive Western education as well as having studies the Islamic texts -- it isn't at all likely he'd rant or rave even the teensiest bit. Which U.S. Congresswoman was it that so praised Mr. bin Laden's charitable works? Poor Mr. Black is going to have to find another angle.
Saying the coming weeks will be "one of the last opportunities" to alter the course of the war, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he is now willing to compromise with Republicans to find ways to limit troop deployments in Iraq.
Reid acknowledged that his previous firm demand for a spring withdrawal deadline had become an obstacle for a small but growing number of Republicans who have said they want to end the war but have been unwilling to set a timeline.
"I don't think we have to think that our way is the only way," Reid said of specific dates during an interview in his office here. "I'm not saying, 'Republicans, do what we want to do.' Just give me something that you think you would like to do, that accomplishes some or all of what I want to do." Gee, whotta concept! I leaned that in Mock Legislature in 1982!
Having had his ears boxed, he's now willing to reach out. Now he's going to learn the concept of the 'stiffarm' ...
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/31/2007 06:44 ||
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And front page in the WaPo, like yesterday's antiwar front page.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/31/2007 6:55 Comments ||
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#2
The muslims might have other opinions.
Posted by: ed ||
08/31/2007 7:06 Comments ||
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#3
Reid also recalled his first visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The war's been going on for years, but the Senator from Nevada only got around last year to visit the troops. Could'd have been because he smelled 'political' blood? So, how were the photo ops? Of course, you've been back weekly since, right Senator?
#7
the arrogant little corrupt POS got his ass handed to him legislatively and politically. Only Nancy looks more incompetent, and that's because of the bug-eyed blinking. Now....he says he'll compromise a bit if teh Reps stand up against Bush. That's a false compromise. Keep grilling Harry, he's almost done. When the Nutroots rise up and split the Donk party, things will improve for America
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/31/2007 11:15 Comments ||
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#8
I have a compromise for Harry: resign. Resign now and the VRWC will not taunt you after your gone as long as you stay in or around Searchlight NV.
#9
Just give me something that you think you would like to do, that accomplishes some or all of what I want to do." He's not "reaching out" at all. He wants what he wants and to hell with everybody else. His idea of reaching out is "Give me what I want".
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/31/2007 20:32 Comments ||
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Our South Carolina friends... WASHINGTON - Two Egyptian students at the University of South Florida were indicted Friday for carrying explosive materials across states lines and one of them was charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons. Yeah, just fireworks... Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based university, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives.
Just a couple of innocent youts ...
He and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, an engineering student, were stopped for speeding in Goose Creek, S.C., on Aug. 4, where they have been held on state charges. The two men were stopped with pipe bombs in their car near a Navy base in South Carolina where enemy combatants have been held. They were held on state charges while the FBI continued to investigate whether there was a terrorism link.
Mohamed was charged with distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction, which is a terrorism statute, a Justice Department official said. The crime faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Hmmmmm...wonder what was on that laptop?
He and Megahed both face with charges of transporting explosives in interstate commerce without permits, which carries a 10-year prison penalty. Their defense attorney, Andy Savage, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The indictment was handed up in Tampa, Fla.
In South Carolina, where Mohamed and Megahed have been held in the Berkeley County jail, U.S. Attorney Reginald I. Lloyd praised state and federal authorities for cooperating in the four-week investigation that initially did not look like a terrorism case. "The arresting deputy's vigilance and the immediate response of our local investigators and prosecutors are highly commendable," Lloyd said in a statement. Let the seething commence...
Anti-terrorist Court (ATC) Judge Habeeb-ur-Rehman on Thursday granted interim bail to Humaira Rashid, wife of late Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who is accused of murdering a ranger. The court also granted bail to Tayyaba Dua, daughter of Maulana Abdual Aziz, against Rs 100,000 surety bonds. Advocate Shaukat Siddique pleaded the case of the late Maulanas wife. The court has granted bail till September 3 and has ordered the Aabpara police to present complete records of the case at the next hearing.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
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President General Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday that only Pakistani forces would conduct operations against suspected militant hideouts in Pakistan. Talking to a delegation led by Commander of Special Operations Command Admiral Eric T Olson, and US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, President Musharraf expressed concern at statements in the US media that conveyed an impression that NATO forces had the permission to operate inside Pakistani territory. The president re-emphasised that all operations that are required to be undertaken in Pakistani territory will be executed by the Pakistani forces, said a statement issued at the end of the meeting.
Admiral Olson, who had seen exercises by Pakistani Special Services Group commandos, told President Musharraf that he was impressed by their professional abilities. He also assured the president of intelligence and operational coordination between the Pakistan Army and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Oh goody, a Paki 'Catch and Release' program; without the 'Catch' part. And a bit light on the subsequent 'Release' also.
methinks that Perv ought to re think that a bit before more good guys make a mistake and cross the border 'by accident.'
...the United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace at the European Parliament premises in Brussels.
Title pretty much sez it all.
The opening session will be held on Thursday, 30 August, at 10:00 a.m. in Conference Room PHS 03C050. Statements are expected to be made by Angela Kane, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations; Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European Parliament; Paul Badji, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; Leila Shahid, General Delegate of Palestine to Belgium and the European Union and Representative of Palestine;
I did not know, but ought to have guessed, that "Palestine" has a representative at the European Parliament. I bet Ms. Shahid (of COURSE her name is Shahid) has more voting rights in Europe than my 'shadow representative' (for the District of Columbia) does in the US Congress
and Pierre Galand, Chairman of the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP) and Representative of the International Coordinating Network for Palestine (ICNP). The opening session will be followed by a plenary session during which experts will make presentations followed by a discussion period. In two rounds of workshops, non-governmental organization representatives will discuss civil society actions, plans and concerns. The proceedings and conclusions of the workshops will be summarized in the second plenary session. The official languages of the Conference will be English and French. Documentation will be available, to the extent possible, in these languages.
The rest of the Agenda is at the link, every bit as tedious and demoralizing as you can imagine.
#2
Looks like we found a place to store that phosgene until the hazmat guys come by to pick it up.
Maybe, if we're lucky, one of them will think it's Cristal...
#3
So, Phakestan, a state which does not exist for a people who do not exist and who are not - even in fantasyland - geographically, culturally or politically part of Europe have a representative at the European parliament but Israel does not?
A day after he cried "Hudna" said he was taking his Mahdi Army out of action for up to six months to overhaul it, anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to rescind the order unless the government stops winning detaining his followers within the next 48 hours, Karbala Deputy Gov. Jawad al-Hasnawi said Thursday. Hokay, so he's threatening the Iraq government and its people with violence unless they stop cracking down on his criminal activities. Isn't this what we call "blackmail" or "extortion"? Shouldn't Iraq hunt down this scumbag and make an example out of him? Or does he serve the ends of too many of the wannabe warlords and gangsters currently posing as Iraq's government?
Al-Hasnawi said the warning was a response to U.S.-Iraqi raids in the Karbala area on al-Sadr offices, in which six people were killed and 30 detained. In other words, this ceasefire hudna isn't getting any respect because our military knows damn well what this maggot is up to and now he's all pissy about they way we're rolling up his thugs. Haven't the Iraqis had enough of the Iranian-led pan-shiite movement and its constant violence? Or will, as usual, sectarian allegiance trump nationalism and engender the usual endless bloodbath?
This is why I advocate abolishing the current Iraqi constitution and ordering their government to create a document that has ZERO basis in shari'a law. Until this de-emphasis on theocratic governance happens, far too much official sponsorship of sectarian interests will continue and Iraq will remain mired in its own petty Islamic tyranny and terrorism. We need to learn our lesson from Afghanistan and install goverments that forbid Islam's stranglehold on the political process. Otherwise, we are merely creating yet another terrorist assembly line.
#1
This is why I advocate abolishing the current Iraqi constitution and ordering their government to create a document that has ZERO basis in shari'a law. Until this de-emphasis on theocratic governance happens, far too much official sponsorship of sectarian interests will continue and Iraq will remain mired in its own petty Islamic tyranny and terrorism.
It would be nice to see that filth out of the constitution, bot I think we have to be honest. It doesn't matter what the constitution says, they're gonna fund this crap anyway.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
08/31/2007 16:09 Comments ||
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#2
We need to learn our lesson
More importantly, the Iraqis need to learn the lesson. after all, they are the ones mostly being kidnapped and blown up and harassed by criminal gangs posing as religious/ethnic/tribal/community saviours. We managed to make the Germans (partially) and the Japanese learn how to rule themselves; if we remove this elected government before the Iraqis themselves understand the price they paid for choosing group solidarity over individual competence and character, it will take that much longer before we can declare this experiment finished, for better or worse.
#3
Having shari'a filth expunged from Iraq's (and Afghanistan's) constitution would make it a lot easier to declare them "failed states" once they tried to enable the human rights abuses intrinsic to such totalitarian garbage. This would serve as a lever against such Islamic predations and justify immediate military intervention should they be audacious enough to try.
#4
if we remove this elected government before the Iraqis themselves understand the price they paid for choosing group solidarity over individual competence and character, it will take that much longer before we can declare this experiment finished, for better or worse.
Damn good point, tw. However, this current batch of gangsters is causing the death of American troops and that is simply unacceptable. At the very least, some of them should be executed by us for complicity with the terrorists.
It would be quite grand to have the collective nose of Iraq's people rubbed in the folly of their religious sectarianism and its deadly harvest. Sadly, I am beginning to doubt whether:
A.) They care.
B.) They honestly prefer peace over jihad.
C.) They can let go of their Shiite identity in favor of patriotism.
D.) They are even worth it.
E.) They deserve anything more than a brutal military dictatorship that prevents them from facilitating international terrorism, which is one of the only long term interests we actually have in the Middle East.
I have essentially lost all hope that democracy can be made to survivemuch less flourishin Muslim majority countries. The Koran's insistence upon theocratic governance under shari'a law represents a stanglehold upon all other political processes. This simply prohibits any prospect of modernization and moderation.
Far better that we begin crushing all forms of Islamic theocracy in the process of dismantling Islam. Once that has been accomplished, then we can come back and begin to sow the seeds of democracy. Islam is so poisonous to all political reform that it is a hopeless task to try and seed each small plot as we go. The toxic runoff from other surrounding Islamic nations will stunt and kill each local planting that we perform. It will probably require that we first destroy the poisoned tree of Islam and thereby prevent its toxin-laden fruit from continuing to murder all progress.
#5
Oh, I've no problem going after Mr. al Sadr to the knife hilt, Zenster. I just don't see that his continued existence demands the removal of the government, even if Maliki is kinda sorta trying to not really not protect him.
#7
It's the first time Muslims have been conquered by overwhelming force, with glass melters available in reserve. If they can't learn under those conditions, it can't be done. And then we will know what we must do.
SYDNEY, Australia: America's troop surge in Iraq has sharply reduced sectarian killings and roadside bombings and lowered al-Qaida's influence, the top U.S. general in the country said in an interview published Friday.
"We say we have achieved progress, and we are obviously going to do everything we can to build on that progress and we believe al-Qaida is off balance at the very least," The Australian newspaper quoted Gen. David Petraeus as saying.
Petraeus said there had been a 75 percent drop in ethnic and religious killings since last year, a doubling in the number of seizures of insurgent weapons caches between January and August, a drop in the number of coalition deaths from roadside bombs, and an increase in the killing and capture of al-Qaida fighters, the newspaper said.
The rise in al-Qaida "kills and captures" had caused the group to lose influence with Sunni Muslims, it quoted the general as saying.
Petraeus said the surge, in which an additional 20,000 troops were deployed in Iraq, would continue for several more months and the troop level would then be phased down, the newspaper said. He said the U.S.-led coalition would attempt to hold onto all the gains that had been made.
Petraeus is to testify on the troop surge to the U.S. Congress during the week of Sept. 10, and U.S. President George W. Bush is to deliver his own progress report by Sept. 15. The reports are seen as key elements in the debate in Washington over how the war should be fought and whether U.S. troops should be brought home.
A draft report by the independent Government Accountability Office, circulated this past week, concluded that Iraq has made little political progress in recent months despite the influx of U.S. troops.
A separate independent commission established by Congress to study Iraq's security forces is expected to recommend scrapping the 25,000-member national police force and starting over because it is so corrupt and influenced by sectarianism.
The Australian said it interviewed Petraeus at his headquarters in Baghdad after he briefed visiting Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson on the situation in Iraq. Australia participated in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and still has about 1,600 troops in and around the country, 550 of them in combat roles.
Petraeus said the surge strategy had turned U.S. forces into pursuers instead of defenders, "and that is a much better place to be."
He said religious and ethnic killings, or "ethno-sectarian deaths," were the most important measure of progress and that the number of people killed on religious and ethnic grounds in the capital was going down.
"If you look at Baghdad, which is hugely important because it is the center of everything in Iraq, you can see the density plot on ethno-sectarian deaths," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
"It's a bit macabre but some areas were literally on fire with hundreds of bodies every week and a total of 2,100 in the month of December '06, Iraq-wide. It is still much too high but we think in August in Baghdad it will be as little as one quarter of what it was," it quoted Petraeus as saying.
The police station in Tameen, a district of Ramadi, occupies a wreck of a building its roof shattered by shells, its windows blown out, its walls pockmarked by shrapnel. That is not unusual in Iraq. What makes this station extraordinary is that a city in the heart of the infamous Sunni Triangle, a city that once led the antiAmerican insurgency, has named it after a US soldier Captain Travis Patriquin.
The honour is well-deserved. Captain Patriquin played a little-known but crucial role in one of the few American success stories of the Iraq war.
He helped to convert Ramadi from one of Iraqs deadliest cities into arguably the safest outside the semi-autonomous Kurdish north. This graveyard for hundreds of American soldiers, which a Marine Corps intelligence report wrote off as a lost cause just a year ago, is where the US military now takes visiting senators, and journalists such as myself, to show the progress it is making. Ramadi will be Exhibit A when General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, appears before Congress in two weeks time to argue that the country as a whole should not be written off.
In Ramadi last weekend I did things unthinkable almost anywhere else in this violent country. I walked through the main souk without body armour, talking to ordinary Iraqis. Late one evening I strolled into the brightly lit Jamiah district of the city with Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Turner, the tobacco-chewing US marine in charge of central Ramadi, to buy kebabs from an outdoor restaurant Its safer than London or New York, Colonel Turner assured me.
I listened incredulously as Latif Obaid Ayadah, Ramadis Mayor, told me of his desire to build an airport and tourist resort in Ramadi and talked only half in jest of twinning his city with Belfast and Oklahoma City. I want it to be a small slice of heaven, he declared.
I had met Captain Patriquin while embedded with US troops in Ramadi last November. He was a big man, moustachioed, ex-Special Forces, fluent in Arabic and engaged in what was then a revolutionary experiment for a US military renowned for busting doors down. He and a small group from the First Brigade Combat Team, part of the 1st Armoured Division, were assiduously courting the local sheikhs tribal leaders over endless cups of tea and cigarettes.
They were encouraging them to rise up against the hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters Saudi, Jordanian, Syrian, Sudanese, Yemeni who had arrived in Ramadi two years earlier, promising to lead the battle against the infidel Americans. What al-Qaeda actually did was recruit local thugs, seize control of the city, and impose a Taleban-style rule of terror. Mayor Latif said that they regularly beheaded collaborators in public and left the heads beside the corpses. Mischievous children would then put cigarettes in the mouths of the disembodied heads.
Captain Patriquin may have offered more than mere words. His main interlocutor, Sheikh Abdul Sittar Bezea al-Rishawi, told The Times that he gave them guns and ammunition too. The sheikhs did rise up. They formed a movement called the Anbar Awakening, led by Sheikh Sittar. They persuaded thousands of their tribesmen to join the Iraqi police, which was practically defunct thanks to al-Qaeda death threats, and to work with the reviled US troops. The US military built a string of combat outposts (COPs) throughout a city that had previously been a no-go area, and through a combination of Iraqi local knowledge and American firepower they gradually regained control of Ramadi, district by district, until the last al-Qaeda fighters were expelled in three pitched battles in March. What happened in Ramadi was later replicated throughout much of Anbar province.
#1
I had met Captain Patriquin while embedded with US troops in Ramadi last November. He was a big man, moustachioed, ex-Special Forces, fluent in Arabic and engaged in what was then a revolutionary experiment for a US military renowned for busting doors down. He and a small group from the First Brigade Combat Team, part of the 1st Armoured Division, were assiduously courting the local sheikhs tribal leaders over endless cups of tea and cigarettes.
Think Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles, John Wayne, in She Wore A Yellow Ribbon. For over a hundred years our military dealt with tribes, insurgents, and nation building. The names and technology may change, but the process hasn't. Unfortunately, there's been a great reluctance in the institution to hold desperately on the ways of WWII and Gulf I.
#2
Maliki became PM precisely because he was a uniter of Shiites. However, the situation has changed to *some* degree, in that a new division among Shiites is evolving. On one side are the secular, nationalist Shiites; and on the other, are the religious, pan-Shiites, who are closely aligned with the Iranian Shiites.
This is why Maliki now appears to be weak, and has been largely abandoned by most everyone, because the momentum now is on Shiite division, not unity. The non-Shiites are wisely abandoning him to protect themselves.
But here is where things get interesting. Now that re-alignment is happening, we must discover where power is shifting to. In this, the real players are hoping that if there is a full split among Shiites, that a new political coalition can emerge, with a more balanced government.
The natural inclination is that this should point to new elections. But ironically, in this case, new elections should not be used to create a new majority, but should only come about once a new majority has come into being.
It seems like a cart-before-the-horse scenario, but in this case, it is easier to form a coalition before an election than after the people have spoken. That is, there will be greater stability in the long run if a coalition is formed, and guarantees made, before the election.
For example, even though Sunnis to a great extent boycotted the last election, they still got significant representation in parliament. But since then, so many have fled the country that after a new election, they could even lose seats. And while this might be technically fair, it would also be very destabilizing. Unless they had power guarantees from the new coalition before the election.
This might even make it possible for some Sunnis to return from adjacent countries, where they now live as refugees.
It has been noted that the secular, nationalists of all groups are gaining in strength in Iraq, at the expense of the religious parties and the pro-Iranians. So even though the easy solution might be for early elections, it might be better in the long run to wait and see who will dominate in the future.
Iraq on Thursday strongly criticized Iranian artillery barrages against Kurdish guerrilla positions in border areas, warning that if such shelling continue it will negatively effect relations between the two neighboring countries.
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari made his comments amid reports from northern Iraq that villagers in border areas in the provinces of Sulaimaniyah and Irbil have been fleeing their homes as a result of Iranian shelling.
Iranian shelling "has been ongoing and unfortunately has become a daily or a routine practice. Recently, we summoned the Iranian ambassador and handed him a note of protest," Zebari said in English. He added that the Iraqi government "demanded an immediate cessation of these attacks on innocent people because it has led to extensive damage to the property, to the environment of the area and it also has led many people to leave their homes because of the continuation of the shelling."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
How about sending a few shells back to the point of origin?
The Palestinian Authority's decision to close down dozens of Islamic charities is aimed at preventing Hamas from exploiting these institutions for money-laundering, PA Information Minister Riad al-Malki said Thursday. PA security officials, meanwhile, expressed concern that the decision would prompt many of the affected charities to go underground or to move their activities to mosques. "Hamas will not give up so easily," one official told The Jerusalem Post. "Most of the charities in question served as private banks for Hamas."
Malki claimed that the move was not directed solely against Hamas, pointing out that some of the charities were affiliated with Fatah or run by Christian groups. "These institutions are being targeted because they have violated the law," he said. "Some of them were used [by Hamas] for money-laundering, while others had suffered from mismanagement and financial corruption. If Hamas is so concerned about these charities, why didn't it prevent the corruption and money-laundering?"
Asked about the timing of the decision to close down some 103 charities, the PA minister said: "Our government did not exist 10 years ago. We have been in office for only two months and because we have promised reforms, transparency and an end to financial corruption, we have decided to open all civilian files."
In response to Hamas allegations that the closure would affect tens of thousands of needy families, al-Malki said his government would be responsible for the welfare of the beneficiaries. "The Ministry of Social Welfare will look after all the families," he said. "There won't be one person left without aid."
The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) expressed "deep concern" over the closure of the charities. It said the move would "further restrict the role of Palestinian civil society organizations." PCHR noted that the decision was illegal because it violated the 2000 Charitable Societies' Law which stipulates that any organization that is to be closed should be sent a written warrant beforehand.
PCHR called for maintaining the status of civil society organizations as a vital element in helping alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians and called on the government of Salaam Fayad to cancel the decision.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
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Former Labor chairman Amir Peretz admitted that taking the Defense portfolio was a mistake in an interview with Yediot Aharonot published Thursday. Peretz said he should have fought more for the Finance portfolio. Describing the "disrespectful" way his successor as Labor leader, Ehud Barak, ousted him from the Defense Ministry, Peretz said, "I don't know what causes Barak to humiliate people that way." Peretz also accused Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog and Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon of scheming behind his back and said he regretted not doing enough to keep President Shimon Peres in the Labor Party.
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#1
Did Ehud say that you are incompetent? It was not meant as a humiliating smear, it's a truthful assessment.
The chairman of Egypt's Actors' Union said Thursday that the group planned to investigate one of the country's brightest young movie stars for appearing in an upcoming miniseries with an Israeli actor. "We found out Amr Waked was participating in a movie with an Israeli artist and so when he returns from abroad he will be investigated," union chairman Ashraf Zaki told the Associated Press. Egypt is of course one of the most staunch of America's ME allies in WOT and a recipient of annual US aid + a special, 15 billion, weapons package.
#1
So he'll do what Omar Sharif did when they came down on him about working with Streisand...move here and get rich.
Screw you, Egyptian Actors Union.
WASHINGTON - Israeli officials warned the George W Bush administration that an invasion of Iraq would be destabilizing to the region and urged the United States instead to target Iran as the primary enemy, according to former Bush administration official Lawrence Wilkerson.
Don't know how you could 'target' Iran in 2002 while leaving Saddam sitting next door. That would be an open invitation to Sammy.
Wilkerson, then a member of the US State Department's policy planning staff and later chief of staff for secretary of state Colin Powell, recalled in an interview that the Israelis reacted immediately to indications that the Bush administration was thinking of war against Iraq. After the Israeli government picked up the first signs of that intention, said Wilkerson, "The Israelis were telling us Iraq is not the enemy - Iran is the enemy."
Iran is certainly their enemy, and in 2002 they clearly saw that Iran was more of a threat to them than a defanged Saddam.
Wilkerson describes the Israeli message to the Bush administration in early 2002 as being, "If you are going to destabilize the balance of power, do it against the main enemy."
The warning against an invasion of Iraq was "pervasive" in Israeli communications with the US administration, Wilkerson recalled. It was conveyed to the administration by a wide range of Israeli sources, including political figures, intelligence, and private citizens. Wilkerson noted that the main point of their communications was not that the US should immediately attack Iran, but that "it should not be distracted by Iraq and Saddam Hussein" from a focus on the threat from Iran.
Continued on Page 49
#3
Iran would have been a better choice than this welfare war in either Iraq or Afghanistan. Even better would have have to destroy and annex the locus of Sunni terrorist ideology and financing. Did I mention the 12M barrels/day of sweet, sweet oil thrown in for free?
Posted by: ed ||
08/31/2007 6:55 Comments ||
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#4
There was decent public support, both inside the US and worldwide, for the action in Afghanistan following 9-11. There was reasonable legal justification and significant public support for the action to remove Hussein and WMD from Iraq.
There was not, and indeed still is not, legal rationale for acting against the MM, even though Israel was correct in calling them the bigger enemy. You go to war against the enemy you can, not the one you wish you could.
#5
Mebbe Israel should go to war with Iran instead of oh, say, Hezbullah.
Not that Israel didn't have an extremely valid point, but I bet they know first hand that going to war with Iran is easier said than done.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
08/31/2007 8:35 Comments ||
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#6
In a way it's a good sign---the opponents of war with Iran taking out their haviest artillery ("it's all a Jewish conspiracy" is one of the most influential arguments there are---there's nothing that you cannot make most Gentiles do if you convince them the opposite is a Jewish conspiracy [I wonder how the global wormers missed that?]).
#7
Iran would have been a better choice than this welfare war in either Iraq or Afghanistan. Even better would have have to destroy and annex the locus of Sunni terrorist ideology and financing. Did I mention the 12M barrels/day of sweet, sweet oil thrown in for free?
And I'd like a Bentley, Angie Harmon, and to win the Masters tournament. But I have a grasp on reality too.
#9
Ed, we'll make your our first ambassador to the Republic of Eastern Arabia, a 50 km-wide strip of sand ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/31/2007 11:40 Comments ||
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#10
If there was any justice in the world, Saudi Arabia would have been first pick for a housecleaning. Iran would make a fine second choice. In the meantime, there were a half dozen reasons to whack Saddam.
Anyone who has ever played chess or go realises you need to make some preliminary moves to get where you want to finally end up. The entire Middle East needs to be picked up and shaken like a carpet. Iraq was merely the easist corner to grab onto.
Democratic gathering leader MP Walid Jumblatt warned that in the event Parliament doors remained shut, the majority has the right to meet "anywhere" to elect a new President for Lebanon. "The constitution does not require an (electoral) session to be held in parliament," Jumblatt told Al Jazeera news network. "There are precedents in this regard where Presidents Bashir Gemayel, Elias Sarkis and Rene Mouawad were elected at different venues. Yes. It is our constitutional right to meet as parliamentary majority to elect a new president anywhere we please if the doors of parliament were shut on us, as they were closed two months ago."
Wally continues his campaign to receive the next Syrian car boom. I used to think he was kind of a weathervane, but he turns out to be a funny looking guy with guts. Goes to show what I know.
He described the concern over electing a head of state with a two-thirds simple majority vote as a "constitutional innovation," reiterating his rejection to constitutional amendments that would serve the interest of individuals. Jumblatt also brought to mind comments made by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Tuesday in which he warned that boycotting presidential elections would be unfair and ruinous to Lebanon
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08/31/2007 00:00 ||
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"Death to Siniora" was often shouted by pro-Syrian opposition protesters. One troubled supporter took the idea to an unthinkable extreme. Your mission in "The battle of the Sarai" is to assassinate every minister in the government, including Fouad Siniora, the Prime Minister of Lebanon.
The game was released in December 2006, however it did not catch the media's attention until Lebanese newspaper as-Safir carried a report on the game Wednesday, noting that it was designed in France by a Lebanese citizen who was identified by the code name of "Ziad al-Hajj".
Congratulations - you liquidated the PM and his ministers
In order to win in "The battle of the Serai", players must complete three chapters in the game - first kill the "militias", the term used by Hajj to describe Lebanon's national security forces, guarding the government building.
Once inside the Grand Serail, players discover underground tunnels that lead to the U.S. Embassy in Awkar, 17 kilometers north of Beirut.
Once inside the Grand Serail, players discover underground tunnels that lead to the U.S. Embassy in Awkar, 17 kilometers north of Beirut. Having underground tunnels leading from the Lebanese government building to the U.S. Embassy echoes the accusations of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who as repeatedly called the Siniora government "the Feltman Cabinet," in reference to the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman, whom he accuses of controlling the March 14 Majority that backs the government.
According to Hajj's blog, the second chapter of the game involves gunning down "the gang of 14, after they escape from the Sarai using the secret tunnels." Attackers also fight a battle with what Hajj terms "militiamen" in the lobby, in reference to the fighters belonging to Walid Jumblat, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Future Movement leader Saad Hariri, as well as Siniora himself.
The third and final chapter of the game involves storming the main hall, where Siniora is presiding over a meeting of his cabinet. The player is then required to murder what Hajj refers to as "all the traitors and thieves," in reference to the premiere and his ministers.
The third and final chapter of the game involves storming the main hall, where Siniora is presiding over a meeting of his cabinet. The player is then required to murder what Hajj refers to as "all the traitors and thieves," in reference to the premiere and his ministers. The game ends with the phrase: "Game over, congratulations" when the player succeeds in "liquidating" all those in the government compound.
"I gave them what they want"
Hajj was quoted as saying he designed the game to "express the wishes of many Lebanese" in storming the government compound. "I gave them what they want."
The big question is, who made the opposition supporters want to murder and kill fellow Lebanese? The brainwashing of Hajj and other misguided people, to want to storm the government building and murder the politicians he is at odds with did not require much imagination on his part. What started with Death to Israel" and Death to America, turned into Death to Siniora. While the heads of the pro-Syrian opposition, Nasrallah, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and "presidency at any cost" Michel Aoun, have not once attempted to preach to their followers otherwise.
The Hizbullah-led opposition have been practically occupying downtown Beirut since December 1, 2006 - with the declared objective of toppling the Lebanese government. Immediately after the start of the sit in, Hezbollah supporters threatened to storm the government compound, fenced in barbed wire and protected by tanks and three army and police battalions, and remove Siniora by force.
The Hizbullah-led opposition have been practically occupying downtown Beirut since December 1, 2006 - with the declared objective of toppling the Lebanese government. Immediately after the start of the sit in, Hezbollah supporters threatened to storm the government compound, fenced in barbed wire and protected by tanks and three army and police battalions, and remove Siniora by force.
During the live coverage of Walid Eido's assassination, Nabih Berri's news channel anchor Sawsan Darwish accidentally slipped on the air, and proceeded to laugh at the murder of Eido just minutes after the horrendous event, and even implied there was more coming. "Why were they late in killing him?," referring to Eido. She then said "they're driving us crazy," apparently referring to other anti-Syrian politicians. "Ahmed Fatfat is left. I'm counting them," she added. Berri responded with silence and acceptance of Darwish's criminal hate speech, refusing to discipline or fire the delusional news anchor.
Hunting down Hajj
Hajj's blog site where he proudly announced the final release of his video game on December 15, 2006, lists his email address as anti14march@yahoo.fr. The blog site has now been shut down, the video game itself has been removed from all the sites it was available for download, the screen shots have been deleted, and the YouTube video demonstrating the game, was "removed by the user".
More than 9 months after the game was released, Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza on Thursday ordered police to launch an investigation. The state-run National News Agency, which distributed the terse report, did not disclose further details.
"The Battle of the Sarai" is another chapter of a Lebanese choosing to invest in hatred and death, instead of a peaceful future.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe they can come up with a game where you can keep feeding Naz until he explodes...
Lebanon's pro-Syrian president said on Thursday he would appoint an interim government headed by the army chief if rival Lebanese leaders cannot agree on a new head of state before his term expires in November.
Have they appointed Marshal Petain as army chief?
President Emile Lahoud's remark raised the stakes in a deep political conflict which pits the anti-Syrian Beirut government, backed by the United States, against an opposition coalition including factions owned by allied to Damascus and Tehran. Such a step by Lahoud would result in two governments, assuming army commander Michel Suleiman were to accept the job, analysts said. There was no immediate word from Suleiman.
Even Emile couldn't name Nasrallah as president outright.
The constitution says parliament should meet on September 25 to elect a replacement for Lahoud, whose term expires at midnight on November 23. But as yet there is no sign of a settlement to the political conflict that would let the vote to go ahead.
Nor will there be, since the puppets set it up that way.
"The government which is still standing and which is unconstitutional ... cannot assume power if the election of a president of the republic is not possible," said Lahoud, in reference to the cabinet of Prime Minister Fouad Sinora.
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Ein El-Hilweh Refugee Camp, Lebanon - For three months, Abeer Qandaqli and her sister-in-law, Farida al-Shaabi, moved from house to house amid the rubble of a besieged Palestinian refugee camp, surviving on canned food, as their husbands - both Islamic militants - waged a battle against the Lebanese army.
To what end, other than the detriment of their families and to prove their own mortality?
The two women, both in their late 20s, were among 25 wives of Fatah Islam fighters evacuated with their 38 children from the besieged Nahr el-Bared camp a week ago. Now, the two women are living in this southern Lebanese Palestinian refugee camp,
... no haven of normality itself...
where their stories, recounted by their families, shed a bit of light on the confusion surrounding the militant group since the siege began. The two women did not talk to reporters themselves.
Too Islamic for that.
One of the women, Al-Shaabi, is the Palestinian wife of Shehab al-Qaddour, better known as Fatah Islam's deputy leader Abu Hureira, who was nailed killed earlier this month. It's not clear if Mohammed al-Shaabi, Qandaqli's husband and Farida al-Shaabi's brother, is still alive.
I, personally, hope neither is dead, but both have been hideously disfigured, crippled to the point where they can't change their own colostomy bags.
Qandaqli's mother, Amal Sweidi, said her daughter left her home at Ein el-Hilweh camp for the bright lights of Nahr el-Bared two months before the fighting erupted there on May 20. She had no idea her husband was a fighter with the al-Qaida-inspired Fatah al-Islam, but she would have gone even if she had known, Sweidi said. "Wouldn't you follow your husband wherever he goes?" asked Sweidi, 51.
Now that you bring it up, if my wife bought a boom belt, I'd settle for a new shirt and a bus ticket.
During a brief truce three days after the war began, designed to allow civilians flee, Qandaqli sent her two sons, ages 8 and 10, out of the camp. Farida al-Shaabi also sent four of her children out, but kept her 10-month-old son with her, said her sister, Fadia al-Shaabi, speaking at her home here. Two weeks after the fighting started, the two women were separated from their husbands and have not seen them since, their families said.
"I'm so distraught! Who will massage my darling's stumps?"
The fighting between Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese army at Nahr el-Bared has killed about 148 soldiers and an unknown number of militants, who have vowed to fight until their deaths.
Sounds good. They should stick to that objective.
About a dozen of the other Fatah al-Islam wives who were evacuated last week, and have other various Arab nationalities, are staying at a mosque in Sidon, near Ein el-Hilweh, guarded by Lebanese security dressed in civilian clothes.
Describing them as "in mufti" sounds kinda redundant, since the broads are holed up in a mosque.
The rest of the evacuated women and children are in Beddawi, another northern Palestinian refugee camp near Nahr el-Bared. All have been interrogated by Lebanese security, but security officials said the women have refused to talk.
"I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece, coppers! Nuttin'!"
"They're not saying a word, except that they were in one bomb shelter and their husbands in others," said one official. "They will probably stay in Lebanon until the military operation is over, or until we can deport them to their respective countries."
I'd just go ahead and deport them. They'll just marry other religious nitwitz.
Some in Palestinian camps are unhappy with the presence of the newly evacuated Fatah al-Islam wives. "We prefer they stay away from our camp," said Raed Shbaitah, a senior official of the mainstream Palestinian Fatah movement in the Ein el-Hilweh camp, referring to the families. "We have enough problems of our own."
Raed sounds like he's got a head on his shoulders. Of course, if the Islamists were to take over he probably wouldn't.
Abu Hureira, the deputy militant leader, who is Lebanese, was on the run from Lebanese law when he fled to Ein el-Hilweh more than 10 years ago and later married al-Shaabi. The camp, the largest of the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, has become a haven for extremists and criminals because of its lawlessness. Under a 1969 Arab League agreement, the camps are off-limits to Lebanese security.
And the Paleostinians certainly aren't big on concepts like "law" and "order." They're Zionist plots.
Abu Hureira started out roaming the camp's streets selling Arabic coffee or bread on a mobile cart. In 2000, he joined Usbat al-Ansar, an extremist Palestinian group based at Ein el-Hilweh and believed to have strong links with Fatah al-Islam. He left for Nahr el-Bared with his brother-in-law and their families a few months before the fighting started there.
"We're goin' to Nahr al-Bared, there to make our fortunes!"
"G'bye! Don't come back!"
Mohammed al-Shaabi had worked in a co-op, distributing food, shampoo and detergent to Ein el-Hilweh's grocery stores when he met his wife, Qandaqli. About three years ago, he also joined Asbat al-Ansar.
Maybe it was her perfume? After only three months he really shoulda been interested in other things.
Many of the Fatah Islam guerrillas fighting in Nahr el-Bared had previously been with Usbat al-Ansar - an indication the two may be basically the same, merely operating under different names, or share similar ideologies and goals.
Whoa! Picked right up on that, didn't you? When I was a child we got tired of eating hot dogs, so Mom decided to feed us tube steaks. When we got tired that, we got franks. And when that wore off, we got wieners.
Al-Shaabi's mother-in-law, Sweidi, insisted he was not affiliated with Fatah al-Islam when he first left Ein el-Hilweh. "Nobody had heard of Fatah al-Islam," she said. And Sweidi said she and her daughter were not happy when her son-in-law joined Usbat al-Ansar. She called her son-in-law a "good man" but blamed Fatah Islam for her daughter's suffering. Both Qandaqli and Farida al-Shaabi lost so much weight while stuck in Nahr el-Bared that they need medical treatment, she said. "May God's curse fall on those who caused all the suffering," said Sweidi, referring to Fatah al-Islam.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Not welcome in Ein El-Hellhole.
I believe you've hit bottom, ladies.
The UN nuclear agency on Thursday called Iran's cooperation with its investigation of past suspicious atomic activities "a significant step forward," in a report expected to hamper US-led efforts for new sanctions on Teheran. At the same time, the report confirmed that Iran continued to expand its uranium enrichment program, reflecting the Islamic republic's defiance of the UN Security Council. Still, UN officials said, both enrichment and the building of a plutonium-producing reactor was continuing more slowly than expected.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
ION, NEWSMAX > CHARLES SMITH > China is missing 17 pounds of WEAPONS GRADE URANIUM. Missing PLUTONIUM also probable. China is presently unable to secure nuke materials-techs effectively from black marketeers hence is the best market for Terror to procure said nuke materials-techs. IOW< RUSSIA MAY IDEO SUPPOR ANTI-US RADICALISTS + TERRORISTS, BUT THE LATTER'S WMDS [iff any] WILL LIKELY COME FROM CHINA.
#2
ION, NEWSMAX > CHARLES SMITH > China is missing 17 pounds of WEAPONS GRADE URANIUM. Missing PLUTONIUM also probable. China is presently unable to secure nuke materials-techs effectively from black marketeers hence is the best market for Terror to procure said nuke materials-techs. IOW< RUSSIA MAY IDEO SUPPOR ANTI-US RADICALISTS + TERRORISTS, BUT THE LATTER'S WMDS [iff any] WILL LIKELY COME FROM CHINA.
Hezbollah is organizing lawsuits against Israel seeking reparations for damage caused during the summer 2006 Lebanon conflict. Hezbollah legal affairs director Ibrahim Awada told Syrian media last week that Hezbollah will pay legal fees to facilitate lawsuits filed by Lebanese citizens with multiple-citizenships in third-party states. Hezbollah says the move was necessary because Lebanese officials were reluctant to pursue claims against Israel .
In July, Amnesty International condemned both Israel and Hezbollah for failing to investigate alleged war crimes that occurred during the conflict. AI also criticized the UN Security Council for its inaction and faulted the UN Human Rights Council for conducting a one-sided inquiry focusing only on alleged violations by Israel. In November, the UN rights body characterized the Israeli use of force in Lebanon as "excessive, indiscriminate, and disproportionate" and in "flagrant violation" of international law.
The Lebanese government began mulling lawsuits against Israel immediately after the war ended last summer, but was stymied by the fact that United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war, blamed Hezbollah, rather than Israel, for its outbreak. The government therefore set up a legal committee to explore more limited options, such as suits specifically over Israel's use of cluster bombs and destruction of infrastructure.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
File lawsuits while stocking guns. Brave lions indeed?
#2
..lawsuits filed by Lebanese citizens with multiple-citizenships in third-party states... This looks like a sterling opportunity for Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe,with mouthpiece Ramsey Clarke, to step up to the bar and file the big bucks lawsuit in Lichtenstein!
The Lebanese army took delivery on Wednesday of 130 Humvee armored vehicles as part of increased US military aid to the country. The vehicles were delivered to the army chief, General Michel Sleiman, at a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Elias Murr, US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman and the visiting head of US Central Command, Admiral William Fallon.
"Tanks for the memories, infidels! See you on the flip side!"
Feltman said US aid in 2007 would exceed 270 million dollars, or five times more than that of last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Keep 'em comin' -- so far, these guys are doing great. Surely, there are some "special" folks needed to teach these Lebs how to "drive" these things in combat?
#2
So a squad of Lebanese infantry in a truck rolls into the middle of a firefight.They jump out of the truck and eliminate the threat.The Lebanese General in amazement praises the squad on their training and bravery. The squad leader replies "Training hell, We need to fix the brakes on that truck!"
#7
So does an SUV covered in steel-plate, or a jeep made to look like an IDF, BP, or UN unit.
The Israelis have a a lot more to worry about what Hesb'allah has in the way of armament and what the Iranians are giving them, than them getting a Humvee.
August 2007: In the weeks preceding the 2001 attacks on America, there were very significant financial warning signs that something big and bad could be about to happen. Huge surges in purchases of put options on stocks of United Airlines and American Airlines, the two airlines used in the attacks, and put options on Merrill Lynch & Co., and Morgan Stanley, stocks of two financial services companies hurt by the attack were noted. Put options are essentially bets that a stock or stock index will drop on or before a certain date; the larger the drop, the bigger the gain for the purchaser of the option.
Fast forward to the present day, and we have the same type of trading that took place in the days that preceded the 9/11 attacks but on a larger scale. Nearly $1 billion of put options have been purchased, basically betting that Standard and Poor's 500 index will fall significantly by the third Friday in September. A large number of these options have also been purchased calling for 50% decline by September 21, 2007. For example, a 5% drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average would be the current equivalent of about 670 points. A decline of 11% would equal about 1,470 points in todays market. Obviously, larger drops, such as a 50% decline, would cause an unprecedented market collapse. Money would be made for the purchaser(s) of the put options but the same purchaser(s) stand to lose over $1 BILLION in the investment if the market remains relatively static through September 21, 2007.
The questions are: who can stand to lose $1 BILLION, who will gain in the wake of such a devastating collapse, who are the investors, and what do they know that we dont?
#4
If you are interested, you should track the Standard & Poors Deposit Receipts Trust (symbol: SPY)
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=spy
Important note: If you check this link, also see the headline beneath the chart called "Dispelling the 'Bin Laden' Options Trades", which tries to explain this apparently abnormally large PUT option trades.
#6
This is interesting, but clearly not enough information provided here to get excited about.
Nearly $1 billion of put options have been purchased, basically betting that Standard and Poor's 500 index will fall significantly by the third Friday in September.
How many people have bought them? One? Two? Twenty Thousand? Because that certainly makes a difference as far as terrorism would be concerned.
Jeesh, even I expect the S&P to take a tumble. I'm not an investor, but the S&P has continued to climb since early last year - DESPITE the subprime crunch. People have been predicting a major correction all year long. And though there was one early in the year, it has gone way up since that time, so if it fell 5% it might still be higher than it was at the end of last year. Like I say, I haven't really been following the numbers.
If the billions dumped in by the Fed was not enough - or if it was just sucked into the pockets of saavy investors rather than actually doing anthing long-term to clean up the subprime mess, the I suspect many investors may be betting on a fall.
#7
Dan Perper, a Partner at Peak 6, one of the largest option market makers and proprietary trading firms, told me this morning that his firm was the counterparty to a good portion of the volume and position in question. "This was done as a package in which the box spread was used [as a] means of alternative financing at more attractive interest rates" explained Perper.
Simply put, two parties agree to trade the box at a price that essentially splits the difference between current rates.
For example, the rough numbers would be that given the September 700/1700 box must settle at a value of 1,000 -- it is currently trading around 997 -- that translates into a 5% interest rate.
For the seller it is a way to borrow money at a slight discount to the prevailing rate, and for the buyer, it is a way to lend money at a low rate of return, but it's better than nothing at a time when others are scared and have painted themselves into a box (ha ha) because they have run out available funds.
#8
in jail at least, for those knowledgable of the attacks a very high rooftop skdiving adventure - sans parachute - would be more appropriate, just like the poor people who had the choice of jumping or burning to death on 9/11
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/31/2007 10:42 Comments ||
Top||
#9
How often have positions like this been taken since 9/11?
#10
That's a triple witching Friday, too -- the last trading hour on the third Friday of March, June, September and December when options and futures on stock indices expire concurrently -- and the markets tend to go a bit crazy then, from what I understand. Hedging would be wise, for the bigger players.
#11
There is no way that a billion dollars worth of options could be purchased because they cannot be covered. These kinds of numbers are tossed around all the time by people who don't understand options pricing. I suggest to you that the figure was arrived at by multiplying the current value of the S&P 500 by the number of puts purchased. This is a total bullshit story.
Posted by: Howard Veit ||
08/31/2007 12:36 Comments ||
Top||
#12
wxjames- these puts were never claimed.
makes you wonder.
If truenot only does that make them all the more suspiciousit beggars the question of whether the SEC ever traced exactly who in hell placed them. If they can be tracked back to a single individual or organization whose interests are inimical to America's then Frank's Skyscraper Swan-dive plan starts to sound like a really good idea.
#14
I wouldn't bet on this story being totally bullshit. Gen. Petreus will report to congress on Sept 11. The donkeys will do everything they can to stop the current war in Iraq. If they manage to get troops pulled from Iraq before we've got the place secure, we'll see an expotential shift in oil prices upward. I think someone (Soros? Lewis?) is betting heavily that the donks will succeed. All it does for me is make me angry that people play these kinds of stupid games, and that hundreds or thousands of small-income investors get burned in the process. George Soros should be hung from the Washington Monument by an elastic rope.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/31/2007 15:40 Comments ||
Top||
#15
I could live with Mr. Soros throwing away another chunk of money. Even Senator Reid is starting to back away from his "Pull out now!!!" position, so I don't see his coterie fighting hard to make themselves known as hopeless on foreign affairs after all the good news already flowing out even before General Patraeus reports.
#18
Al-Qaeda terror upended election results in Spain. Market analysts have likely been advising clients of a possible similar move. Some highly specialized market report agencies - especially those related to the petroleum industry - charge thousands of dollars for single report dossiers. Of course, these are not available to the general public. That is not to say that current market anomolies are based purely on speculation. But that could be the case, thus I am holding onto my stocks.
I have heard bits and pieces of short-sell activity connected to 9-11. The public should have received full accounting for same. I know of a cruise line that was hammered with short-selling after 9-11. Without naming names, that was NOT an anomoly; persons connected to a certain tiny, Mid East government were in a position to know of the impending terror, and they were never called to account for the tens of millions in profits that they earned.
#19
persons connected to a certain tiny, Mid East government were in a position to know of the impending terror, and they were never called to account for the tens of millions in profits that they earned.
Yet another of the manifold benefits resulting from our politicians being bought and sold by Middle East petro-dollars.
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.
Japan will conduct its first simulation test of advanced US-developed missile interceptors next month in Tokyo, news reports said Thursday. Japan deployed its first PAC-3 missiles just outside Tokyo this year as the nation tries to step up Defence against North Koreas nuclear and missile threats. The Defence Ministry plans to bring the PAC-3 missile, currently deployed at its Air Self-Defence Force base in Saitama, to Tokyo for the test aimed at collecting data necessary to counter a potential attack at the Ichigaya military headquarters and several other locations in the city, a major newspaper Yomiuri reported. A pair of PAC-3 launchers were installed in March at the Iruma base in Saitama prefecture (state), about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Tokyo. But the launchers, which have a range of 15-20 kilometers (9-12 miles), along with the operation unit, would have to be brought into Tokyo to defend the capital, the Yomiuri said. Defence officials also plan to use the study to determine possible PAC-3 deployment sites in central Tokyo that are free of tall buildings, according to the report. Defence officials said the report could not be immediately confirmed. Among the candidates is an open area facing the Imperial Palace and parks, the Kyodo News agency reported.
Pakistan has added its voice to that of Iran in condemning the publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in newspaper Nerikes Allehanda. Sweden has told Pakistan it is sorry if the publication hurt Muslim feelings. The protest concerned a cartoon by artist Lars Vilks, which showed the head of Muhammad on the body of a dog. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad said Pakistan condemned the publication "in the strongest terms."
Saying the coming weeks will be "one of the last opportunities" to alter the course of the war, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he is now willing to compromise with Republicans to find ways to limit troop deployments in Iraq.
WASHINGTON - Two Egyptian students at the University of South Florida were indicted Friday for carrying explosive materials across states lines and one of them was charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons.
Anti-terrorist Court (ATC) Judge Habeeb-ur-Rehman on Thursday granted interim bail to Humaira Rashid, wife of late Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who is accused of murdering a ranger. The court also granted bail to Tayyaba Dua, daughter of Maulana Abdual Aziz, against Rs 100,000 surety bonds. Advocate Shaukat Siddique pleaded the case of the late Maulanas wife. The court has granted bail till September 3 and has ordered the Aabpara police to present complete records of the case at the next hearing.
Al-Sadr's threat
SYDNEY, Australia: America's troop surge in Iraq has sharply reduced sectarian killings and roadside bombings and lowered al-Qaida's influence, the top U.S. general in the country said in an interview published Friday.
Iraq on Thursday strongly criticized Iranian artillery barrages against Kurdish guerrilla positions in border areas, warning that if such shelling continue it will negatively effect relations between the two neighboring countries. 
The Palestinian Authority's decision to close down dozens of Islamic charities is aimed at preventing Hamas from exploiting these institutions for money-laundering, PA Information Minister Riad al-Malki said Thursday. PA security officials, meanwhile, expressed concern that the decision would prompt many of the affected charities to go underground or to move their activities to mosques. "Hamas will not give up so easily," one official told The Jerusalem Post. "Most of the charities in question served as private banks for Hamas." 
Former Labor chairman Amir Peretz admitted that taking the Defense portfolio was a mistake in an interview with Yediot Aharonot published Thursday. Peretz said he should have fought more for the Finance portfolio. Describing the "disrespectful" way his successor as Labor leader, Ehud Barak, ousted him from the Defense Ministry, Peretz said, "I don't know what causes Barak to humiliate people that way." Peretz also accused Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog and Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon of scheming behind his back and said he regretted not doing enough to keep President Shimon Peres in the Labor Party.
Democratic gathering leader MP Walid Jumblatt warned that in the event Parliament doors remained shut, the majority has the right to meet "anywhere" to elect a new President for Lebanon. "The constitution does not require an (electoral) session to be held in parliament," Jumblatt told Al Jazeera news network. "There are precedents in this regard where Presidents Bashir Gemayel, Elias Sarkis and Rene Mouawad were elected at different venues. Yes. It is our constitutional right to meet as parliamentary majority to elect a new president anywhere we please if the doors of parliament were shut on us, as they were closed two months ago." 
Lebanon's pro-Syrian president said on Thursday he would appoint an interim government headed by the army chief if rival Lebanese leaders cannot agree on a new head of state before his term expires in November.
Ein El-Hilweh Refugee Camp, Lebanon - For three months, Abeer Qandaqli and her sister-in-law, Farida al-Shaabi, moved from house to house amid the rubble of a besieged Palestinian refugee camp, surviving on canned food, as their husbands - both Islamic militants - waged a battle against the Lebanese army.
Hezbollah is organizing lawsuits against Israel seeking reparations for damage caused during the summer 2006 Lebanon conflict. Hezbollah legal affairs director Ibrahim Awada told Syrian media last week that Hezbollah will pay legal fees to facilitate lawsuits filed by Lebanese citizens with multiple-citizenships in third-party states. Hezbollah says the move was necessary because Lebanese officials were reluctant to pursue claims against Israel .
August 2007: In the weeks preceding the 2001 attacks on America, there were very significant financial warning signs that something big and bad could be about to happen. Huge surges in purchases of put options on stocks of United Airlines and American Airlines, the two airlines used in the attacks, and put options on Merrill Lynch & Co., and Morgan Stanley, stocks of two financial services companies hurt by the attack were noted. Put options are essentially bets that a stock or stock index will drop on or before a certain date; the larger the drop, the bigger the gain for the purchaser of the option. 
