An Afghan Christian facing possible execution for converting from Islam was likely to be released from jail "soon," a senior government official said Friday following huge Western pressure over the case. "He is likely to be released soon," the official said, adding there would be a top-level meeting on the matter Saturday. Abdul Rahman was arrested two weeks ago under Islamic Sharia law and faced a possible death sentence in a case that has attracted widespread condemnation, especially from the United States. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday to step up pressure to free 41-year-old Rahman, who converted in Germany 16 years ago and was turned in by his parents on his return to Afghanistan.
Rice said she phoned Karzai to hammer home "in the strongest possible terms" Washington's concern over the proceedings against Rahman. "There is no more fundamental issue for the United States than freedom of religion and religious conscience," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Still need to apply some more disinfectant, some Sharia-B-Gone.
Posted by: Captain America ||
03/25/2006 0:42 Comments ||
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#2
Well, the guy's going to be torn to pieces lynched as soon as he gets out, so I'm not sure this really accomplished anything. Best to put this guy on the next plane out, maybe with a green card here. I don't think we need to worry about fake conversions, since Afghan-style summary justice will be a big deterrent.
No new facts here, but this is the story as reported by Kuwaiti state news in English.
Pressure is mounting on Afghan government in face of the trial of a convert as majority of ulema (religious scholars) seek death sentence for him while the international community, including the United States is pressing hard for his release. Abdul Rahman, an Afghan who returned from Germany, is likely to be awarded death sentence by the court for his conversion to Christianity. Abdul Rahman was arrested by Afghan police after his family members reported he had been converted to Christianity.
Majority of ulema say he must be awarded death sentence. However, the government is dilly-dallying to get more time to allay the international pressure mostly from Afghanistan's allies and supporters, including Germany and the United States. Ansarullah Maulvizada, judge of the court where Abdul Rahman case is being heard, said the accused had confessed the crime before the court during his initial trial; however, his lawyer said his client was mentally upset. In a chat with KUNA, the judge said Abdul Rahman's confession would prove the case against him and he can face death penalty because conversion is neither allowed in Islam nor under Afghanistan's laws.
The sharia (Islamic law) states that Muslim who converts to other religion should be subjected to death sentence. The case, the first of its type in the history of Afghanistan, had placed the Afghan government between a rock and a hard place. Being a tribal society and religious minded people, majority of Afghans are angry at the conversion of Abdul Rahman and they want him to be given the extreme punishment to avoid repetition such incidents in future. However, on the other hand, Afghanistan's most reliable allies, including President George Bush had recently voiced concern over the 'persecution' of the man and asked for his release.
Both internal and external pressure exerting on the government from opposite directions is proving a test for the Afghan government. Analysts believe, if the matter was raised in the parliament, where majority of the MPs are religious-minded people, would create more problems for the government because the parliamentarians too, would recommend the same treatment to him as being demanded by the people of this Central Asian country.
Posted by: Captain America ||
03/25/2006 0:46 Comments ||
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#2
I read the tone of the article as the Kuwaitis agreeing with the Afghans, but recognize the need to appease the powerful kufr... for so long as their attention is turned in that direction. Not good.
#3
Overwhelming agreement that Islam demands the death of any muslim who attempts to refuse to submit. That islam is the religion of extreme intolerance -to leave the cult is to die.
Rahman will be killed. They have to. Otherwise he becomes proof that escape is possible. That choice is possible and that refusing to submit does not lead to death. Rahman cannot be allowed to leave either - this is also escape. It's escaping to freedom, which terrifies the MM. Death for not submitting to their demands is their ace card. Even the most moderate muslim believes that to abandon islam is to die - only those who jump the hurdle and realize it doesn't can separate their religion from an embraced freedom of rights and secular law.
The MM in Afghanistan (and other muslim countries watching this carefully) fear that if Rahman lives or escapes, a mass exodus from islam will follow. Their power of death disappears.
I love the quotes around "persecution". Nice touch - even more fully revealing about the ugly intolerance of islam. And so proudly and publicly stated.
#8
Perhaps so. We may yet find ourselves pushed into acts of great violence - acts which carry moral taint (like the firebombing of Dresden) but which we find to be the lesser of two evils.
#9
It takes a hell of a lot of hard lessons for Americans, and others of western culture, to realize what we're dealing with. A lost cause. We did all the wrong things in Afganistan. This was a perfect place to apply a lasting lesson for the ummah. Would have saved taxpayers billions, and thousands od American casualties..both dead and wounded. We should have affirmed Bin Laden's presence. We did. Then several consecutive hydrogen bombs on top of his location until the top of the mountain was gone and everything within hundreds of square miles well irradiated so that nothing would survive there for many decades.
#10
I hear you and I understand your position. But for my own part, I think that the use of strategic nukes at that point would have been so disproportionate to the 9/11 attack that most Americans would recoil from any use of military or political influence for decades to come.
I think we're stuck with a long slog against Islamacists. It's deeply unsatisfying and it is not without dangers, as we see in Iraq -- we could fail. But until we are hit with 10 or 100 times the casualties we took on 9/11, or until we stop an attack that would create such casualties, I just don't see the support for that degree of response.
#11
This Abdul Rahman affair is another data point-- along with the Danish Cartoon flap-- that strongly suggests our "Islamic Democracy Initiative" is not likely to make much of a dent in Islam's violent tendencies.
I still support what we're doing in Iraq and Afghanistan; to me there's a significant moral difference between saying "It'll never work" and saying "It doesn't work; we know, because we tried it."
But I'm losing hope, and at this point I really doubt we're going to reap the kind of benefits Bush & Co. hoped for when we began this enterprise.
I think we're going to have to go medieval on 'em.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/25/2006 11:46 Comments ||
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#12
Could be. But don't forget Condi Rice's assessment: this is a generational struggle. I'd hate to see the typical American impatience cause us to give up prematurely -- if only because of the effects on American politics and opinion afterwards.
#13
Assume for the sake of discussion Rahman doesn't get out alive. Assume he is murdered by the Afghani gov't or, if released, is murdered by a muslim on the street before Rahman can get to safety (which is saying he was murdered by the gov't).
What would be (or what should) be the response of the Coalition? What are your thoughts and comments?
Posted by: Mark Z ||
03/25/2006 12:58 Comments ||
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#14
Mark, In response to your hypothetical, I think the response of the Coalition should be to continue the current policy. We've had lots of nasty allies before and will again. Would we be better off leaving Afghanistan to the Imams, Persians and Pakis?
There will be an election in a relatively few months. If we are to change our policy because of the death of this one man, let's do so after an exhaustive public debate and decision.
I expect the next turn in the road to be pretty awful. The death of one Afghani who converted from Islam to Christianity may be an important marker on the road, but not enough to justify a u-turn.
#16
Per your scenario, Mark Z, it would be symbolic dynamite. It will be used and abused by almost everyone.
The easiest prediction is media screeching that Afghanistan is a disaster, Bush policy is a disaster, that it proves Bush is incompetent, lol, per the current Democrat meme masturbator incubator. I hear quagmire memery. It will certainly put the State Dept Multiculturalists on the defensive, where they belong, but for craven political reasons. Circus Maximus.
In short, I think it would be a disaster for many interest groups, some deserving, and knock the US out of the nation-building business... something I feel is always a losing proposition where Islam is a component, anyway. But at a tragic price. I'd much rather fight that battle on other grounds.
Of course, it will be nothing compared to Rahman's loss.
#17
I think people have unrealistic expectations about what we can accomplish in Afghanistan, without putting large chunks - if not the majority - of the population to the sword. We're not there to give the tiny fraction of Afghan converts religious freedom. We're there to fight terrorists. We did not give the Soviets a hard time about their gulags while we were fighting WWII. And as long as al Qaeda and the Taliban remain a threat in Afghanistan, I'm not going to worry too much about an Afghan Christian getting executed.
Is this hypocrisy? No more hypocritical than a liberal who believes in charity, but doesn't hand over his entire paycheck to the United Way. Our foreign policy has to balance competing demands - on the one hand, we don't want to alienate the vast majority of Afghan Muslims (probably 99%) who believe that it is a sin not to execute apostates, and risk a revival of the Taliban, and on the other, we'd like to save one man from what we feel to be a grotesque fate. What will benefit Americans more? Probably acquiescing to the second. This, too, is a matter of principle - the principle that our foreign policy personnel need to take into account more often - that American lives should take precedence over the lives of foreigners, just as liberals put their children into the best schools they can afford instead using those funds to set up scholarships for poor inner-city students.
#18
"Assume for the sake of discussion Rahman doesn't get out alive. [...] What would be (or what should) be the response of the Coalition?"
I think the most appropriate response is simply to make it clear to the Afghanis (indeed, to all Muslims), in the starkest possible terms and at as many levels of contact as are available, that the American people find this kind of religious intolerance profoundly repugnant; that shariah or no shariah, we believe killing people simply because of their religious beliefs is just plain wrong; and when we see the new democratic government of Afghanistan acquiescing to this sort of barbarity it makes us wonder whether our nation-building efforts have been for nought.
I don't know that there's anything more we can do beyond that, other than taking a cold, hard look at whether this "Islamic Democracy" experiment is worth continuing anywhere else.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/25/2006 14:36 Comments ||
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#19
This is a mere sideshow in the unholy circus that is Islam. How many Christians and Jews will Islam kill once the Iranian ulema have a nuke and 50,000 centrifuges spinning away, making more enriched uranium daily? How many Christians and Jews will die if there are simultaneous nuclear attacks on major western port cities?
#20
OK, ZF, we're in Afghanistan to fight terrorists. We should keep doing that.
But everything else comes to the minimum. Every penny of reconstruction money better be accounted for; anyone pulling any shit with our soldiers, dies; we make it clear that we're perfectly willing to leave and just bomb the shit out of the place if they cause us any problems.
It would cost them, what, to leave Abdul Rahman alone? Absolutely nothing -- not in cash, not in pride, not in their religious faith. They could just shrug and say, "Well, he chose otherwise. We disagree, but we're all free men." Instead, they want to kill him.
So let's say they kill him, and we just ignore it. What's that say about US dedication to freedom? What does that say to people all over the damned world about the depth of our belief in what we claim to live for and by?
It says it's shit. It says we'll roll over for the ummah, that we're dhimmi, and that nobody can count on us anywhere, anyplace, for any reason.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/25/2006 17:15 Comments ||
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#21
RC: So let's say they kill him, and we just ignore it. What's that say about US dedication to freedom? What does that say to people all over the damned world about the depth of our belief in what we claim to live for and by? It says it's shit. It says we'll roll over for the ummah, that we're dhimmi, and that nobody can count on us anywhere, anyplace, for any reason.
You're right - by your logic, we should have stopped Lend Lease aid to the Soviets to protest their continuing use of gulags and mass executions of regime opponents during WWII, instead of waiting until after the war. During the Cold War, we should have stopped aid to South Korea right after the Korean War because the Koreans were assassinating suspected communists and suppressing the domestic opposition. In 1965, we should have stopped aid to Indonesia for conducting a genocidal campaign, led by Muslim activists, against a large-scale Communist insurrection that led to hundreds of thousands of dead.
This is nuts. We need to fight one battle at a time. We finished fighting the Nazis before taking on the Soviets. We finished facing off with the Soviets before pushing our Cold War allies towards democracy.
As far as I'm concerned, the fates of Abdul Rahman, and every other apostate in Afghanistan put together, are not worth the bones of a single American soldier. We're not there to make Afghanistan safe for apostates - we're there to fight terrorists. We're 4-1/2 years into the Terror War, and still waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Cold War lasted 40+ years. I don't think we need to be alienating the population of a key ally in the War on Terror. The Soviets riled the Afghans up by trying to impose their values on them, and got themselves a decade-long guerrilla war. We don't need to get Afghans worked up again by trying to impose *our* values on them. Remember - the reason our losses were so light was because we did not have to fight the entire Afghan nation.
An army in occupation needs to be respectful of native customs - especially one where the main force is a skeleton force strung out all over the country and depends on aerial resupply. Sir Napier's proscription of suttee (widow-burning) is commonly referred to as an example of what an occupying power can accomplish in civilizing the natives. The counter-example is the Sepoy Mutiny, where thousands of British troops were killed after a revolt touched off by the mere *rumor* that the rifle cartridges used by native troops contained lard or tallow, which offended both Muslims and Hindus alike. And then, of course, there is the Soviet experience in Afghanistan.
#22
We should make a trade for Rhaman, in return Afghanistan can have three CPT activists and future considerations.
Posted by: john ||
03/25/2006 19:30 Comments ||
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#23
One battle at a time? Sharia in Afghanistan is different from teh Sharia fight in Iraq and Iran and....jeebus ZF! It's a world-wide clash of ideals and civilizations. Your focus on China is welcome (although I don't always buy it), but this is THE GAME we've been forced to play. One fight at a time sounds like a DNC talking point, after they cut the military in the post-cold war. We have larger attention spans, more we could be doing, and I trust Rumsfeld and W to do all things at once with priorities and committments as needed
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2006 19:34 Comments ||
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#24
The apostate issue is very dangerous to Islam.
As noted elsewhere, if this apostate doesn't die, it may result in lots of other apostates.
However, the death to apostate rule is the basis of the takfiri doctrine that allows a muslim to who has declared another muslim as an infidel or heretic or apostate or polytheist to kill that second muslim without trial, witnesses or warning.
#25
RC: One fight at a time sounds like a DNC talking point, after they cut the military in the post-cold war. We have larger attention spans, more we could be doing, and I trust Rumsfeld and W to do all things at once with priorities and committments as needed
One battle at a time isn't a DNC talking point - it's exactly what WWII strategists did - they did not set out to fight the Axis Powers and the Soviets simultaneously. The initial hope was to get them to fight each other. That failed initially, but they ended up fighting each other anyway. The object of the Afghan occupation should be to balance Pashtun against Tajik and Hazara against Pashtun in order to prevent them from uniting against Uncle Sam. If all of them unite against Uncle Sam, we are going to need more than one division to pacify Afghanistan - the Soviets had 90,000 men in-country, never held more than a few cities and fought for 10 years before throwing in the towel.
Note that Afghanistan is surrounded by Muslim countries that are now friendly or neutral. If they become hostile due to our insistence on cramming apostasy down Muslim throats, we are going to need a draft to keep them all down. Except Afghanistan alone is several times the size of Vietnam. Vietnam is what we encountered when the neighboring states were hostile. If China and Russia decide to start supplying a hostile Afghanistan via these suddenly hostile neighboring Muslim states the way they supplied the Vietnamese Communists via South Vietnam's neighbors, we are going to see a couple of dozen dead GI's every day.
I guess this isn't a problem if you envision a WWII type mobilization, when 10% of the population (29m males) are drafted and 50% of annual GDP is devoted to defense expenditures. But are you really thrilled at the prospect of personally having to risk your life fighting strangers in distant lands? Note that if we do this, our economy is going to be trashed when it's all over - the exact opposite of what happened in WWII. The Europeans and the Japanese will be sitting pretty, while we'll be facing the usual postwar recession - for the simple reason that their infrastructure will be intact, whereas ours will be geared towards war production and conquering vast tracts of the Middle East. We will have lost years of production while their industries purred along.
Fighting on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border has sparked a new influx of refugees and threatens aid to thousands who had fled violence in Sudan's western Darfur region, the UN food aid agency warned yesterday. Most of the people affected by recent clashes between government troops and rebels only have enough food to last them a month or two, the World Food Program said, appealing for urgent financial support to stem an even bigger humanitarian crisis.
The warning came days after Chadian troops launched a major offensive against rebels who had set up bases along the unstable frontier. The operation came on top of raids into eastern Chad by armed groups involved in a civil war that has devastated Darfur. "We are at an extremely delicate stage in Chad right on the edge," Stefano Porretti, WFP's Country Director, said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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The UN Security Council has called for faster preparations for the African Union to hand over its peacekeeping mission in Sudan's western Darfur region to the United Nations. The 15-member body unanimously adopted a resolution on Friday that also decided to extend for at least six months the mandate of the UN mission in south Sudan (UNMIS). The text directed Kofi Annan, the UN chief, working with the AU and in consultations with the council "to expedite the necessary preparatory planning for transition" from the AU force known as AMIS to a UN operation. This would include options for how UNMIS can provide transitional assistance - such as in logistics, mobility and communications.
Adam Ereli, US State Department deputy spokesman, said in Washington: "The unacceptable violence in western Darfur and on the Chad border has influenced the discussions in New York about the renewal of the UNMIS mandate in a way that we are looking to help facilitate the transition to a rehatted UN force by putting in language and procedures to strengthen that now and not have to wait for six months."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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NEW YORK: Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, in a rare moment of self-criticism, lashed out at what he described as backward societies in the Middle East, arguing that government heavy-handedness in dealing with political opposition stemmed from the violent nature of that dissent. You ask us, Why do you oppress opposition in the Middle East? Gaddafi told attendees at a Columbia University panel discussion on democracy Thursday, speaking in Arabic during a live video appearance. Opposition in the Middle East is quite different from opposition in advanced countries. In our countries, the opposition takes the form of explosions, assassinations, killing. Because opposition in our country is different from opposition in your country. Our opposition resorts to bombs, assassinations, explosions, subversive acts, trains in military camps - in some cases before the Sept. 11th events, said Gaddafi, whose country for years was accused of being a state sponsor of terrorism. Gaddafis comments came in response to several questions by the Columbia panel asking him to comment on shortcomings in Libyan society. Gaddafi said he was proud of what he considered a complex society and what he says is the worlds only true participatory democracy.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Everytime I see a photo of that crackpot, he appears increasingly feminine. I expect to see him in a burka some day soon.
#3
Nah, he's just criticizing the rest of the Arab countries -- his country is run perfectly. And no doubt all the savants at Columbia nodded their heads wisely in response to his words.
Gaddafis comments came in response to several questions by the Columbia panel asking him to comment on shortcomings in Libyan society. Gaddafi said he was proud of what he considered a complex society and what he says is the worlds only true participatory democracy.
#4
His son's charity was responsible for contacting the Red Cross and getting Mercer and Curry rescued in Afghanistan. I think he's distancing himself from radical Islam, as intrinsically opposed to Gaddafi's preferences, but needs to keep his head and prevent a radical coup. Let him play games, but he could be a necessary ally as the African continent heats up. Maybe the US should barter for some transgender services, as we have excellent physicians.
About 100 new Saudi Arabian students are enrolling this summer at the University of Arizona. The added enrollment could signal the reverse of a post-September 11th trend of declining international students in the United States.
The students are part of a new large-scale scholarship program by the Saudi government.
It'll send about 6,000 students to American universities this year after just 1,442 Saudi students had visas to study in the US in 2004.
About 80 of the students are already at the U of A.
They're enrolled in English-immersion classes before they start their academic programs in the fall.
After 9-11, new federal procedures and delays in obtaining US visas caused a decline in foreign students in the United States.
#2
Nope, this is good. It means that, for better or worse, they've figured out their future lies with us. Their first team comes here to learn about the future, their second team goes to Madrassas to learn the past.
#4
There are a few in that number who are actually bright and have potential, but that's merely rare serendipity. The vast majority are the offspring of the Royals and their favored clans on the Saudi equivalent of a world tour.
If you ask yourself who would be allowed this privilege, and nobody leaves without running the gauntlet, the answer is easy: the privileged. There is no serious consideration of merit in Saudi society.
A little "seasoning" before they join the ranks of the Saudi elite. They haven't figured out anything at all.
#7
Headlines in todays "Arizona Daily Star" tout high increased enrollment of Saudi for the University of Arizona. As Lenin wisely noted, the capitalists will sell the rope to hang themselves with...
#9
I hope Homeland Security has them bugged and trailed every which way. Some will learn, some will turn, and some will lead directly to people and activities they thought could be hidden until they went boom. And, the university gets lots of money, and the local students are exposed to the rare pleasure of dealing with young Saudi asses. ;-)
Ideological extremism exists in Saudi Arabia and should be treated, according to Sheikh Saleh Al-Sadlan, professor of law at Riyadhs Imam Mohammad ibn Saud University and famous mufti. He was commenting on the events at last months Book Fair in the Saudi capital where several individuals belonging to the Islamist camp attacked a number of lecturers and speakers because they considered them secular.
In an interview with Asharq al Awsat on Wednesday, Sheikh al Sadlan indicated that the current religious discourse included several negative points and was in need of re-examination and modification. He said that khateebs, who lead prayers in mosques, committed a number of errors in directing people and that, despite the presence of authorities specializing in training Friday khateebs, systematic follow up was lacking. But he indicated that the Ministry of Islamic Affairs is responsible for monitoring the content of Friday prayers and following up on the khateebs. To this effect, a special committee had been established called the committee to monitor mosques.
The Sheikh admitted that duplicity of religious discourse that is being practiced by various Islamic preachers is a reality. He stated that there is one lenient view expressed through the media and an extremist outlook that is published on internet websites and at gatherings. Sheikh Al-Sadlan agreed with Saudi preacher Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manee, a prominent member of the Saudi Council of Senior Ulamaa (scholars) in the call for religious dialogue that incorporates all Saudi Islamic sects to be held under the supervision of Saudi leadership. However, Al-Sadlan adds that this endeavor should be carried out by a specialized authority that is concerned with this issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
As for America on 9-11, which must either accept Socialism and anti-sovereign OWG, or be destroyed, its SURRENDER/CONCEDE/SUBMIT, OR DIE!
STALEMATE = ARMISTICE = STATUS QUO, etc. ONLY MEANS WE DIE LATER ON, NOT SOON OR TODAY. America's enemies post 9-11 want POWER AND CONTROL, THE PERM DEFEAT AND DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA, NOT AND NO LONGER JUST OUR WEALTH AND RESOURCES. American-specific Holocaust is good for everyone and the Earth and Sun, including America's 100Milyuhn or less survivors - we Amer's are supposed to be happy we were chosen for universal extermination without our knowledge or consent.
We should be doing that. Muslim Students Association Khutbah is as extreme as anything out of the Saud terrorist entity. As for need for the status quo ante, Salafists as Osama bin Laden are authentic to original Islam, and assume majority support in Sunni majority entities. The pedophile "prophet," Mohammad, participated in 59 known military operations (most being plunder raids against innocent traders), and collected 8 booty wives in addition to 5 chosen women, including one 6 year old girl. One informal post 9-11 poll of Saudis, found 95 percent support for bin Laden. The Taleban, Salafist experiment - with its brutality, economic stagnation and terrorist orientation - remains popular among most Muslims. Our Muslims condemn both terror and counter-terror. That approach promotes terror. http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20020311&s=hiro
MSA sponsored USC speech by Taliban emissary, on March 10, 2001. Wild applause greeted his every word. The MSA still peddles audiotapes of the jihad event. http://www.beautifulislam.com/taliban/afghani_embassador_usc.htm
The following are excerpts from an interview by Osama bin Laden's former mufti Saudi cleric Musa Al-Qarni. The interview aired on Dubai TV, on March 18, 2006. It is followed by other appearances by Musa Al-Qarni on Iqra TV.
Musa Al-Qarni: "The concept of jihad is a matter of faith and Islamic religious law, which lives in the mind of every Muslim on the face of this earth. The religious education we receive through our schools, through our religious jurisprudence, our thinking, and our tradition - jihad is part of this." Throwing acid in little girls' faces, strapping bombs on the backs of children, using women and children as human shields....that's jihad.
[...]
"When we used to read the books about the laws of jihad, the laws about raids, and the laws about prisoners - at a time when the nation was not in a state of jihad, but in a state of feebleness, apathy, and subordination - we used to think that reading the books on jihad was a kind of entertainment, and that jihad was a thing of the past. We used to study the laws of jihad as if it were an issue of history, not of reality." if jihad is so important...then lead from the front, chief!
[...]
"Nobody even imagined that there could ever be jihad. Then the Islamic jihad in Afghanistan began. It began with the Russian attack on Afghanistan, the deportation of its people, the killing of its woman and children, the changing of its regime, the implementation of Communist ideology in it, the eradication of all the Islamic characteristics, even though, as everybody knows, Afghanistan is considered a very conservative country." That's because you don't even know your own religious history. Jihad is invoked at least once every 100 years...and it leads to bloodshed and destruction until everyone that gives a flying flip is dead. Unfortunately that also always includes 1000s of innocents.
"This rise of Communism... In addition, the Arabian Peninsula - Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries, etc. - was suffering, even before the jihad in Afghanistan, from the rise of Nasserism, which was supported by Russia. Everyone knows about the conflict in Yemen and elsewhere. People were completely driven to fight the Communist ideology. Again...you do not even know your own history. Is it because you too are unable to read like the one-eyed mullah?
"Here in Saudi Arabia, we were fighting a cultural war against the heretic Communist ideology in our universities, our schools, and so on. When the jihad in Afghanistan began, the social and ideological background was ripe for the Saudi youth to go [to Afghanistan]..." Dude...you must be on crack.
Interviewer: "There was incitement from the pulpits and in the universities in Saudi Arabia." finish the thought..."to overthrow the royal kingdom so that the Wahabiests could control the flow of oil...turn the Magic Kingdom into their own fiefdom...and you clerics could hoard the oil billions for yourselves. It's all about the Benjamens."
Musa Al-Qarni: "Of course. At that time..."
Interviewer: "You reached Afghanistan during that period. The young men you met back then - how old were the people who went to join the Afghan mujahideen?" HEY, I was just too old to put on a bomb belt...You know I had kids in the university...bills to pay...wives to keep happy. But the young ones...
Musa Al-Qarni: "Most of them were between 15 and 25 years old." and I am not a child molester in spite of the pictures and evidence to the contrary.
[...]
"At no point in his life was Osama an ordinary man. That is something we must acknowledge." Yes...your ordinary, spoiled rotten billionaire's son.
[...]
"He came from one of the richest families throughout the Gulf countries, a family known for its ties with the political regime here in Saudi Arabia, because of its construction projects and so on. In addition, he took with him [to Afghanistan] financial support. He brought his own money and the money of his family, and he also used his social influence here, as a preacher for jihad for the sake of Allah, to collect contributions. In addition, he had exceptional ties with the decision-makers, and with society as a whole here." for the sake of alllan...he led 100s, no 1000s of muslims to their deaths.
Interviewer: "I am asking about Afghanistan."
Musa Al-Qarni: "He was prominent there."
[...]
"Here in Saudi Arabia, the young men who were about to go to Afghanistan, would undergo mental and psychological preparation. They would be included in a group of people who would go together. and say, "I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die."
"Let me give you an example. Now that jihad has become a 'crime,' some people may be surprised by what I am about to say: At the Jedda airport there was a group of mujahideen whose job was to welcome those who arrived on their way to Pakistan. There were also offices in Jedda that would buy discount tickets for the people going to Afghanistan." note the keywords, "that would buy discount tickets for the people going to Afghanistan." That was not an inclusive buy. Funny how those that are so eager to push jihad are so anxious to provide a vehicle for those that actually do it.
[...]
"His ambition to wage jihad preceded the war in Afghanistan. I have mentioned this in the past. Even as a young man Osama bin Laden had the ambition to wage jihad. I have mentioned in several interviews, and it is a well known fact that when there were problems in Syria between the Syrian regime and the Muslim Brotherhood - and this was known throughout the world - Osama thought of going to Syria to join the jihad of the Muslims there. The spirit of jihad was deep in the soul of Osama bin Laden." and note that OBL somehow missed the dirtnap in Syria. I guess his jihadi heart somehow protected him.
[...]
Interviewer: "You used to be his mufti, his advisor on Islamic law?"
Musa Al-Qarni: "Perhaps he considered me something of the sort, but I..." Actually, I was his gay lover.
Interviewer: "Did the others also view you this way?" No we were very discrete. We would take long rides out on the range with our horses and herd the sheep. It was the basis of the movie, "Brokeback Sand Dune."
skip a lot of dialogue to the end.
Interviewer: "Allah help us." allan can't help you now. He skipped town and is at the Bellagio in Vegas to catch the Final Four on the Widescreens.
Musa bin Muhammad al-Qarni: "These are facts. Besides, there is a reality and we must be realistic. The infidels have invaded our countries. These occupying armies of the US and other countries have invaded the Land of the Islamic caliphate in Iraq. What did the Muslims do? Did they rush to the defense? The Prophet has noted that one of the seven major sins is fleeing on the day of invasion. That explains why the majority of muslims are killed by other muslims.
"Today, invasion has reached Muslim countries everywhere. Palestine is lost.Uh, Palestine never was a country there bud. Before that, Andalusia was lost, and today Iraq is being lost, and maybe other countries will follow. Do we have the abilities to halt this invasion? Or are we those who flee on the day of invasion? We pray for Allah to protect us from this. Amazingly, if you would at least join the 20th century, cease flying airplanes into skyscrapers, quit sending suicide bombers into crowded trains, buses, schools, and hotels..you'd be surprised how the infidels would treat you.
"Furthermore, look at how the media relate to those youth who felt a responsibility to Allah and rushed to Iraq to wage jihad there for the sake of Allah. What is our position toward them? What is the position of the media, the educators, the religious clerics, Muftis, the government officials, the politicians? What is their position toward these youth? Is it a position of help, support, aid, and reinforcement, or is it perhaps a position of abandonment, accusation of crime, and frustration?" Like I said...allan fooled you. There are 1000s of Saudi young men who are rotting in the desert, whose mother's will never know how or where they died. And, you are still eating 3 squares, living the good life with your wives and kids, talking on TV about waging Jihad. You are pussy.
Mar 24: Bagmara thana police have been insisting the victims of the militant kingpin Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai to file cases, but are silent about nabbing his accomplices. Sources concerned said that a sub-inspector of Bagmara police station has been specially assigned to convince the victims of Bangla Bhai to file cases against the militant leader who had established a reign of terror in some areas.
The victims have so far filed three cases with Bagmara thana against Bangla Bhai and his associates. But plaintiffs of the cases alleged that the police arrested only one person, out of 39 mentioned as accused in the cases.
Following persuasion by police, Abdus Salam of Bhaktapara village, who was tortured by Bangla Bhai men, filed a case. "The accused are roaming around, but police don't arrest them," he alleged.
He said that police went to his home several times after the arrest of Bangla Bhai and insisted that he filed a case. "But now police are doing nothing against Bangla Bhai's accomplices," he alleged.
Since the henchmen have apparently paid their insurance.
UP member of Goalkanda union Abed Ali, Rafiqul Islam of Kalupara village and Mahabubur Rahman of Bhabaniganj village said police have been insisting them to file cases against Bangla Bhai and his cadres. But, they said that they were frustrated with the progress of the three cases filed so far and hesitating to file any new case.
Some victims alleged that police adopted a new business by insisting them to file cases and make money by not arresting the accused.
[thump]"So Mahmoud, I think you should buy a pencil from me. I got pencils for 100, 500 and 10,000 Lakh. I think you need a 10,000 Lakh pencil. Wotcha think?"
[groan] "I'd like a handful of the really nice 10,000 Lakh pencils."
[thump] "Say please, Mahmoud."
[groan] "p-p-p-please."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2006 01:13 ||
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#1
On this blog or another, a poster wrote that he had a friend/assoc/acquaintance in Germany and the German told him that the church in the neighborhood was growing and vibrant. The church always had something going and they were getting a lot of young families. The ami asked if the pastor had ever been to America and the pastor had. The German didn't see the connection.
My parents go to Calvary Church -- a big church --in Naperville, IL (they performed a live -- with animals -- Nativity during Christmas a couple of years ago. Calvary has an ambitious program, to open 5 new churches in the next 10 years, IIRC, in Europe. They're starting in Scotland.
They had an American preacher go to Scotland and preach, very few in the beginning, but by the end, the pews were filled and they were filled w/young people.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- With Japan seeking to shed a half-century of pacifism and reassert itself in world affairs, and China acquiring vastly larger economic and military might, relations between the two are as tense as they have been at any time since World War II. Nowhere is their contest more visible than here in Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province that must be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. In recent months, Japan has made a series of unprecedented overtures toward Taiwan, which was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945. In Tokyo, leading politicians are increasingly adopting the view that Japan must come to the island's aid in the event of Chinese aggression.
Many analysts say they believe Japan's evolving interest in Taiwan could tilt the regional balance of power. The United States, which has diplomatic relations with mainland China, is nonetheless sworn by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 to defend the island territory if it is attacked. "The peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait and security of the Asian Pacific region are the common concerns for not only Taiwan, but also Japan and the United States," Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian said during an interview last week. Therefore, he said, "Japan has a requirement and an obligation to come to the defense of Taiwan."
Like many countries, Japan severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in the 1970s in deference to Beijing's "one-China" policy. But lately, Japan has been less particular about its rule of maintaining a careful distance. Twice in the past two months, Japan's foreign minister, Taro Aso, has angered China by publicly referring to Taiwan as "a country." Last year, the Tokyo government dropped visa requirements for visitors from Taiwan. And Japanese and U.S. leaders have for the first time jointly declared protection of the Taiwan Strait a "common strategic objective."
In a less public gesture, Yoichi Nagano, formerly a general in the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, the army, is serving as the first military attaché at Tokyo's de facto embassy in Taipei, the Interchange Association. In an interview, Nagano said he conducts meetings with Taiwanese government and military figures and sends regular dispatches to Tokyo.
In 2004, a group of Japanese legislators formed a committee on Taiwanese security. This May, Tokyo is set to allow former president Lee Teng-hui, the Japanese-educated champion of Taiwanese democracy, to visit Japan for the second time in 18 months. So-called Track 2 meetings between Japanese and Taiwanese politicians, academics and retired military officials have intensified, according to officials in Taiwan and Japan.
These moves coincide with the rise to power in Japan of a new crop of hawks in the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. During his five years in office, Koizumi has pushed aside rivals in the LDP who had long stressed the importance of maintaining a respectful distance from Taiwan.
The shift also comes as China's military buildup is causing growing concern in Japan. The Beijing government boosted military spending by 15 percent this year. Tensions were particularly heightened after riots broke out across China last year against Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council and the publication in Japan of textbooks allegedly whitewashing the country's militarist past.
The Japanese view a potential Chinese takeover of Taiwan gravely. Such a move would give Beijing a perch for its missiles a mere 66 miles from Japanese territory while helping China to control the shipping lanes that carry the bulk of Middle East oil coming to Japan.
Japan has countered with uncharacteristic assertiveness. In November 2004, Japanese warships chased a Chinese submarine that had entered Japanese waters near Taiwan in what was widely seen as a test of Japan's resolve in defending the strategically sensitive zone.
Koizumi's government is also investing millions of dollars in a joint missile defense system with the United States. Some analysts say Taiwan could eventually become part of the system, turning it into a three-way defense against Chinese missiles.
Japan's pacifist constitution limits the country's ability to deploy its military abroad. But political leaders in both Japan and Taiwan are embracing a broad interpretation of a 1999 law allowing Japan to respond to threats in nearby waters. This, they say, could provide a legal basis for Japan to join the United States in responding to Chinese aggression. Most of these leaders agree that Japan would be able to contribute rear-guard refueling, transportation and medical services and perhaps conduct search-and-rescue missions inside Taiwan. If Japanese ships or personnel providing such assistance were attacked, "it would mean war," said Tokuichiro Tamazawa, a leading LDP lawmaker long involved in the Taiwan issue.
Tadashi Ikeda, chief representative of the Interchange Association, Japan's unofficial embassy in Taipei, said Tokyo remained strongly in favor of a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue. But, he added, "there has always been a question of what Japan would do" in the event of Chinese aggression. "Now the Taiwanese can say that both the U.S. and Japan are on their side."
U.S. officials have cautiously welcomed the more assertive Japanese stance. But they have also expressed concern that too sudden a shift could embolden Chen, Taiwan's president, to take steps toward formal independence that could ignite a cross-strait conflict.
China's relations with Japan have nose-dived since Koizumi took office and promptly began paying annual visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's 2.5 million military dead, including World War II criminals. Japan and China have also become embroiled in disputes over territorial claims and oil and gas drilling rights in the East China Sea.
Chen said in the interview last week that relations between Japan and Taiwan were at their closest since the two countries' 1972 diplomatic break. Chen said he hoped it would lead to a three-way "quasi-military alliance" among the United States, Japan and Taiwan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
A blogger on CHINESE MILITARY FORUM had an interesting post - he basically argued that since Japan had surrendered Taiwan/Formosa to the USA only as a consequence of WW2, the USA was now the "conquereror" and de facto new home nation for Taiwan, and that since he believed the USA had never formally relinquished its newfound ownership to anyone, Taiwan is technically American territory up to present.
#2
Article: In a less public gesture, Yoichi Nagano, formerly a general in the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, the army, is serving as the first military attaché at Tokyo's de facto embassy in Taipei, the Interchange Association.
This is significant - since the US recognized China in 1979, I don't think any American flag officers (generals or admirals) have been assigned to Taiwan as military attaches. In fact, I don't think any American flag officers have even *visited* Taiwan since that time.
#3
Article: Tadashi Ikeda, chief representative of the Interchange Association, Japan's unofficial embassy in Taipei, said Tokyo remained strongly in favor of a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue. But, he added, "there has always been a question of what Japan would do" in the event of Chinese aggression. "Now the Taiwanese can say that both the U.S. and Japan are on their side."
Shares of Check Point Software (CHKP:Nasdaq) fell Friday after the Israeli security software firm called off its bid to acquire Sourcefire.
Check Point stock dropped $1.02, or 4.85%, to $20 in recent trading.
The companies announced they would pursue business partnerships instead. The planned $225 million deal had been under investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., the same Treasury-supervised panel that approved the contentious Dubai ports deal.
"We've decided to pursue alternative ways for Check Point and Sourcefire to partner in order to bring to market the most comprehensive security solutions," Check Point CEO Gil Shwed said in a statement.
Check Point is best known for its firewall technology, while Sourcefire's expertise is in analyzing very high-speed network traffic, intrusion detection and identifying the types of systems using a network.
One industry analyst says the deal's collapse could be blamed on politics. If the CFIUS had approved a deal with the Israeli company after the uproar over the Dubai ports deal, it would have looked like the U.S. was only opposed to Arab-run security businesses, says John Pescatore, an analyst with Gartner. Pescatore, who has no position in the stock, had previously estimated there was an 80% chance the deal would be approved.
"If there had been no Dubai flap, I bet this one would have gotten approved," he says.
"The security issues make no sense," says Pescatore, who noted that Sourcefire's Snort technology for intrusion detection and prevention is open source. If enhancements had been made to the technology for the U.S. intelligence community -- beyond the standard open-source version -- it could have been kept separate or sold off to a defense contractor.
Several analysts said the canceled acquisition was bad news for Check Point, and downgraded the stock.
"We believe the company had made a major internal strategic bet with Sourcefire, including planning on putting Sourcefire people in key management roles," wrote Cowen & Co. analyst Walter Pritchard, who lowered his rating to neutral from outperform. "We believe it will take the company a couple of quarters to regroup following this event and as a result, the stock is cheap," with an enterprise value that is less than 10 times 2006 free cash flow, "but without a catalyst."
Pritchard wrote that "protectionist politics" sunk the deal. Cowen & Co. makes a market in Check Point securities.
Another analyst noted that the aborted deal could have implications for the company in the long run.
#1
"The security issues make no sense," says Pescatore, who noted that Sourcefire's Snort technology for intrusion detection and prevention is open source. If enhancements had been made to the technology for the U.S. intelligence community -- beyond the standard open-source version -- it could have been kept separate or sold off to a defense contractor.
It makes perfect sense if one remembers that Muzzies/Euros are not the only ones psychotically paranoid where Israel is concerned.
And it looks as if the courageous Andrew Whitehead of Anti-CAIR has not had to back down one inch. His site says: "The policies and procedures of Anti-CAIR (ACAIR) have not changed in any way as a result of the CAIR lawsuit settlement."
From the New York Sun, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
An Islamic group has settled a $1.35 million libel suit against one of its critics, who operates a Web site charging that the organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has links to terrorism.
The terms of the settlement between the Muslim group and Andrew Whitehead of Virginia Beach, Va., are confidential, but the Web site, www.anti-cair-net.org, still includes the statements Cair contended were libelous.
"Nothing has changed in that regard. It's as if this lawsuit had never existed," said Mr. Whitehead, 48, a former Navy sailor.
An attorney for Mr. Whitehead, Reed Rubenstein, described the outcome as a victory for his client. "This is the first time somebody has stood up and stopped these folks," the lawyer said.
A spokesman for Cair, Ibrahim Hooper, confirmed that the libel case was dismissed earlier this month on the request of both parties. "It was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount," he said.
Asked if he was suggesting that Mr. Whitehead paid the organization to drop the case, Mr. Hooper said, "We filed the suit." Asked again, the spokesman simply repeated the statement.
An attorney for Cair, Jeremiah Denton III, declined to comment.
The group's lawsuit, filed in a Virginia state court in March 2004, accused Mr. Whitehead of libeling Cair by calling it "a terrorist supporting front organization that is partially funded by terrorists." The suit also charged that Mr. Whitehead falsely claimed Cair was founded by supporters of a Palestinian Arab terrorist group, Hamas, and that the organization favored the "overthrow of the United States Constitution" and the imposition of Islamic law, known as Shariah.
In June, Cair amended its suit against Mr. Whitehead, dropping its challenge to several of the statements, including the claim that the group was started by Hamas members and has received funds from terrorists.
Mr. Hooper said that despite the withdrawal of the suit, his organization, which describes itself as "a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group," still contends that Mr. Whitehead's assertions are false. "We've always denied them. We continue to deny them," the spokesman said.
Mr. Rubenstein said Cair's interest in settling the suit intensified late last year just as a judge was considering whether the group should be forced to disclose additional details about its inner workings, including its financing and its alleged ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups.
"It would have opened up Cair's finances and their relationships and their principles, their ideological motivations in a way they did not want to be made public," said Mr. Rubenstein, who represented Mr. Whitehead without charge.
#1
An attorney for Cair, Jeremiah Denton III, declined to comment.
Now I've seen everything. The son of a Vietnam POW Medal of Honor winner representing these shit-stains. I hope someone has CAIR under the world's largest magnifying glass - and eventually gets the goods on them.
#2
LR, That was my reaction when I read this elsewhere. JDII must be spinning.
For those of you too young to remember, this from his biography:
Denton's name first came to the attention of the American public in 1966, during a television interview arranged by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi. Prior to the interview, torture and threats of more torture were applied to intimidate him to "respond properly and politely. " His captors thought he was softened up sufficiently to give the North Vietnamese their propaganda line at the interview. During the interview, after the journalist's recitation of alleged U.S. "war atrocities," Denton was asked about his support of U.S. policy concerning the war. He replied: "I don't know what is happening now in Vietnam, because the only news sources I have are North Vietnamese, but whatever the position of my government is, I believe in it, I support it, and I will support it as long as I live."
Throughout the interview, while responding to questions and feigning sensitivity to harsh lighting, Denton blinked his eyes in Morse Code, repeatedly spelling out a covert message: "T-O-R-T-U-R-E". The interview, which was broadcast on American television on May 17, 1966, was the first confirmation that American POWs in Vietnam were being tortured. Denton was released on February 12, 1973, when he again received international attention as the spokesman for the first group of POWs returning from Hanoi to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Denton was advised that as the senior POW onboard, he might be expected to say something on behalf of the group upon arrival. As he stepped from the plane, Denton turned to the microphones and said: "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America."
The family of a Green Beret who was one of the nation's first casualties in the war on terror in Afghanistan is outraged that vandals have defaced a sign honoring the soldier's memory with anti-war graffiti.
"I felt like I was going to vomit," said Michael Petithory, the brother of Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory.
"It was just pure rage," he told the North Adams Transcript.
Daniel Petithory was killed Dec. 5, 2001, along with two other soldiers when a U.S. bomb landed about 100 yards from their position north of Kandahar.
Michael Petithory discovered the vandalism on Thursday as he biked along the Ashuwillticook Trail.
The words "oil," "Bush" and "Christian Crusade" as well as other phrases were written in black marker on the brown metal sign.
Family and friends cleaned the sign, which is one of three along a stretch of the trail that honors the Cheshire native. The paved path is used by area residents for walking, biking and in-line skating. The other two signs were not vandalized.
"I was enraged," said Petithory's father, Lou.
"He had been in the military for 14 years, so he was one of the older guys on his team," Lou Petithory told the Boston Herald. "They made military history. They were 200 Green Berets inserted into Afghanistan, and within two weeks the Taliban was gone.
"I'm so proud of my son for being part of that," he said.
Daniel Petithory was a recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart. He joined the Army shortly after graduating from Hoosac Valley High School in 1987. He is buried near family members in Cheshire Cemetery.
Police in Cheshire and Lanesborough are investigating, but there had been no arrests as of Friday evening.
Cheshire police Sgt. Alison Warner said the department plans to increase bicycle patrols along the trail and make extra checks at night.
Cheshire, a town of approximately 3,500 residents, is about 140 miles west of Boston.
#1
The Anti-war crowd are a bunch of pussies anyway. Most of the "professional" protesters ironically are on the governemtn dole (e.g., food stamps, unemployment pay, etc.).
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2006 12:36 Comments ||
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#3
Don't be messing with Green Berets. Hopefully there will be a follow up story of "Hippy bastard with cans of spray paint found severely beaten with nunchuku near memorial sign, attributes attack to 'ninjas'".
Shut the F*cking Borders
ht: Barenucklepolitics.com/
KFOX first reported on Wednesday night that Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West said his deputies caught a Mexican customs officer driving around one of the county roads at 9 p.m. last Sunday night. His official documentation saying that he is an officer. We called his comandante in Juarez that night, and the comandante verified that he was actually a Mexico customs officer. He didnt know why he was on the American side obviously, but he did verify, West said.
West said he has pictures that show the mans uniform and the SUV he was driving, without any license plates. The officer allegedly told deputies that he was driving to work, which is at the Mexican port of entry across from Fort Hancock. But, West said he researched the mans U.S. border crossing card and it showed he crossed two days earlier. It only takes forty-five minutes to an hour, thats all that it should have taken for him. It doesnt take two days from the free bridge in El Paso, Texas, to Esperanza overpass. You could walk it in less than a day, West said.
But, what disturbed West the most, is that he said officials found a Global Positioning System inside the officers car. I believe that he was verifying the modes of travel for narcotics to be coming in the United States. He was approximately 12 to 15 miles from the road going into the border to get to the crossing, West said.
West said his pictures are proof that Mexican officials are crossing over the border without any official business to be here. Here is a prime example of a Mexican official coming over here and doing things like facilitating illegal activities without any recourse or any kind of action taken against him, West said. whats it going to take folks..a nuke?
A diplomatic incident would be nice. Declare him PNG and make a big show of handing him over at the bridge.
#8
Interesting point. This indicates that they are recruiting mules who do not know the terrain, and since they probably can't read maps, are reliant on GPS navigation.
#9
When the goddamn Mexican military and the Customs office openly violate our border, I believe it's a bit much. Obviously, this administration condones this, or it wouldn't be happening. What we need is a forced admission by Bush that he has no desire to control our borders. Then, we can turn it back to Texans. It will happen within one day. Case closed. Border sealed. No more entry, because Mexicans know it would be strictly a one way trip.
#12
I'm a right wing republican, and I have my doubts about Bush on this border thingy. Soft on Fox, and all too friendly. What has it gotten us ? Erratic drivers and cheap lawn care ? At what cost ? Run away Social Security and healthcare, and the chronically unemployed remaining so.
Bad business this. I like the Mexys, they work hard, but they can come in the front door, damnit.
The next pres runs and wins on the WOT and closed borders. It might help to mention ISLAM with a scowl too. It might also help to question if the constitution should be amended to define a religion as supporting a good moral life not decapitation, etc. We need to identify the real enemy and stop the pussy footing.
Vote for me....I'll kick some ass.
Saddam Hussein planned to use "camels of mass destruction" as weapons to defend Iraq, loading them with bombs and directing them towards invading forces.
The animals were part of a plan to arm and equip foreign insurgents drawn up by the dictator shortly before the American-led invasion three years ago, reveals a 37-page report, captured after the fall of Baghdad and just released by the Pentagon. It is part of a cache of thousands of documents that the United States Department of Defence says it does not have the resources to translate.
British soldier in Iraq
Earlier this month, the Pentagon released copies in the original Arabic onto the internet in the hope that others would interpret them into English.
Handwritten on official paper, one of the reports appears to be a road map for the insurgency, with detailed instructions for training what it calls suicide bombers.
In the memo, they are described as "estishehadeyeen", Arabic for suicide martyrs, and would almost certainly have been foreign volunteers.
The memo details a training commission to be headed by senior officers, including a colonel from the "Directory of Political Orientation". Their job, says the report, was to "prepare a very intensive training course", "to raise the physical fitness and train in the use of Kalashnikovs and hand grenades".
It continues: "The largest section of the course will be specialised to focus on using the explosive material in the body, in motorcycle, in cars, and in camels". Camels will be "provided by the Directory of General Military Intelligence".
Posted by: Captain America ||
03/25/2006 20:49 ||
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Russian diplomats passed detailed but sometimes inaccurate information about American troop movements to senior Iraqi officials even as U.S. troops closed in on Baghdad during the 2003 invasion, according to a Pentagon study released Friday.
The revelations, based on captured Iraqi intelligence documents, could jeopardize U.S.-Russian relations more than any single event since the end of the Cold War, analysts said. Although they cautioned that Moscow might have an explanation, the analysts said some of the details were so sensitive that they would be difficult for the government of President Vladimir V. Putin to justify.
One of the documents, which purports to be a summary of a letter sent to Saddam Hussein's office by a Russian official, claimed that Moscow had "sources inside the American Central Command in Doha," the U.S. military's headquarters in Qatar during the war.
Russia had well-known and extensive diplomatic and economic ties to Baghdad before the U.S.-led invasion and occasionally clashed with the Bush administration during the international debate over how to deal with Hussein's regime.
But the documents, made public in a study of the Iraqi military's decision-making, are the first to assert that Russia actively passed sensitive military intelligence to Baghdad during the war.
"This is one step short of firing upon us themselves with Russian equipment," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst with the Brookings Institution. "It's actively aiding and abetting the enemy tactically. It's hard to get more unfriendly than that."
Press officials at the Russian Embassy did not return calls seeking comment. An official who answered the phone in the military attache's office at the embassy said he was unfamiliar with the report.
One of the most sensitive revelations, which came in a captured letter detailing Russian intelligence on American troop movements, accurately informed Baghdad that U.S. forces were massing south of a narrow passage near the southern city of Karbala.
The April 2, 2003, letter, which was reportedly passed through Moscow's ambassador to Baghdad, informed Iraqi leaders that "the heaviest concentration of troops (12,000 troops plus 1,000 vehicles) was in the vicinity of Karbala."
The Army's 3rd Infantry Division eventually captured western Baghdad after pushing through the Karbala gap just days later. Marines moved into Baghdad from the east.
Other information provided by the Russians, however, was wildly inaccurate. In a document on March 24 and again in the April 2 letter, the Iraqis were told to expect the main U.S. offensive from the western desert, including a major attack from Jordanian soil.
Kevin Wood, a retired Army officer who served as the senior researcher and chief author of the study, said he was surprised when he learned of the Russian actions. Although there was little corroboration of the contacts beyond the documents themselves, his team had no reason to doubt their authenticity, Wood said.
But Frederick Kagan, a Russia and defense expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said the actions would not be out of keeping with other efforts by Moscow to advance Iraq's cause internationally.
"We knew the Russians were opposed to the sanctions; we knew they opposed the war," Kagan said. "I'm not terribly surprised."
Analysts also said it would be important to learn whether upper levels of the Russian government were involved, adding that the signals were more likely to have come from diplomatic and intelligence agents in the region rather than from Moscow.
It also was unclear how much of the information was genuine intelligence and how much was educated guesswork.
Regardless, the revelations could undermine efforts to forge a united front against Iran's nuclear program.
"I think we have to assume that we can't trust the Russians to be impartial or even honest with us," Kagan said. "The Russians have ties with the Iranians that are also very worrying."
The 210-page report, compiled by staff at the Pentagon's Joint Forces Command after interviewing more than 100 former Iraqi officials and sifting through half a million documents, contains the most detailed accounts to date of Hussein's thinking as U.S. and coalition troops massed on his border and eventually pushed into Iraq.
It is unclear whether the Iraqi leader, who was not interviewed for the report, acted on any of the Russian information.
The authors depict Hussein as more worried about an internal coup or a repeat of the 1991 Shiite uprising in the south than he was about the coalition forces, even when they were on the outskirts of Baghdad. He continued to make tactical military decisions based on that fear until the last days of his regime.
Senior military commanders were ordered not to blow up bridges connecting Baghdad to southern Iraq so that Hussein could send loyal troops to quell any domestic opposition, even though the bridges made it easier for the Americans to advance.
The report also said Hussein frequently pointed to the failed American operation in Somalia and Washington's reluctance to introduce ground forces in the Balkans as proof the U.S. would not long tolerate bloody ground warfare.
And although Hussein had established loyal paramilitaries to suppress any uprisings and scattered them throughout Iraq, the report casts doubt on the idea that his regime made preparations to launch an insurgency if the Iraqi army met with defeat.
"There were no national plans to transition to a guerrilla war in the event of a military defeat," the report found. "Nor, as their world crumbled around them, did the regime appear to cobble together such plans."
The report's authors found Hussein and his top commanders to be badly out of touch with reality, both before and during the war. Hussein and his inner circle were fed a steady diet of lies, mainly overly optimistic assessments about Iraq's military capabilities, from subordinates who feared they would pay with their lives for speaking the truth.
Misinformation also flowed down through the ranks. The report cited an April 6 memo from the Defense Ministry telling subordinate units that "we are doing great" and reminding officers to "avoid exaggerating the enemy's abilities."
But as the scope of the defeat dawned on him, Hussein's tone was that of a man "who had lost his will to resist," and "knew the regime was coming to an end," said Tarik Aziz, the former deputy prime minister who was one of 23 senior officials interviewed by U.S. military researchers.
Hussein was moving from one safe house to another every three to six hours. During a late-night meeting with his sons and members of his inner circle April 6, Hussein issued orders to defend Baghdad to the death and prepare for urban warfare.
By then, however, "an American armored brigade already held Baghdad's airport," the report said, and American armor "was busily chewing up the manicured lawn in front of his palace in the center of the city."
The United States also made miscalculations, including devoting significant resources to preventing the destruction of Iraqi oil fields.
The report indicates that regional Iraqi commanders had made plans to destroy the northern and southern oil fields, and there are accounts that demolition charges and other equipment were moved into place.
The report quoted a senior Republican Guard officer as saying Hussein blocked those plans because he believed that destroying the oil fields would damage the morale of soldiers and the Iraqi people.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/25/2006 02:33 ||
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#1
fuck the russians when ppl gonna figure out they are not our allies now just like the cold war?
#2
The report also said Hussein frequently pointed to the failed American operation in Somalia and Washington's reluctance to introduce ground forces in the Balkans as proof the U.S. would not long tolerate bloody ground warfare.
Keep that in mind when Maddsy Albright lectures the Bush administration on how to manage conflict.
#3
The United States also made miscalculations, including devoting significant resources to preventing the destruction of Iraqi oil fields.
Well, they weren't destroyed now, were they? God damn fuckin' Monday morning quarterbacks, like I was expecting more from the LA Times (NYT, West Coast version). I want to bitchslap some of these pricks...
#4
Somalia and the oil fields are two reasons why the Democrats never should run wars. Protect what little infrastructure remains and get ready for a long slog. I know that, most Americans know that. Geez... This is great a psyop intel goldmine on how to confuse the hell out of our enemies. Both foreign and domestic.
Surely its only us, the USA who should be allowed to support Saddam? I'm proud as an American than Donald Rumsfeld met him only a short time after we found out he'd been gassing his own people to sell him guns and buy his oil.
Saddam was our man. We backed him and armed him. How dare those pinko Ruskies get involved!!!
#13
I take it I should stay quiet today. lotp is in a bad mood.
Posted by: Rafael ||
03/25/2006 14:32 Comments ||
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#14
lotp thinks that we are facing the most serious global crisis since the early 1940s. Reasonable, sober and thoughtful people might disagree on how to deal with it. But I take exception to idiots who cannot see past their partisan or other shallowness and who delight in disrupting those who have to deal with it.
#15
Next stop, Iran. One would hope better safeguards will be in place.
Posted by: Captain America ||
03/25/2006 14:52 Comments ||
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#16
lotp, have you read Generations? It will make you feel more confident about the challenge we face. While there is risk, I have absolute confidence we will overcome it.
#18
Hi gang, I heard on the radio today that Senator John McCain thanked the MSM for the great job they are doing reporting from Iraq.
Don't bother running for pres Johnboy, can you spell loser ?
Iran is backing the Iraqs militias and insurgent groups behind the scenes while signalling its support for the countrys budding democracy, US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told The Washington Post. Our judgment is that training and supplying, direct or indirect, takes place, and that there is also provision of financial resources to people, to militias, and that there is presence of people associated with Irans Revolutionary Guard and with MOIS, Khalilzad said, referring to Irans Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
The Afghan-born ambassador, in an interview published on Friday, said he was especially concerned over Irans links to the Mehdi Army, an armed group loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr whom he blamed for the latest spike in sectarian killings in Iraq.
Khalilzad repeated accusations made recently by top US officials about Irans covert involvement in Iraqs insurgency at a time when it has offered to meet with the United States to discuss stabilising its troubled neighbour. Iran has denied Iraqi Sunni charges that it supports Shia militias, who are blamed for much of the sectarian fighting and who Khalilzad said represent the biggest challenge to the yet-to-be-formed Iraqi government. The militias havent been focused on decisively yet. That will be tough, he said. More Iraqis in Baghdad are dying - if you look at the recent period of two, three weeks - from militia attacks than from the terrorist car bombings.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
That picture, all you need is a few Canary feathers stuck to his lips.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/25/2006 7:57 Comments ||
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Ambassador in Iraq openly accuses Iran of hostile acts against Iraq.
Reminds me of the rampup in pressure on Syria. Unfortunately, the Iraqis haven't consolidated their government yet. The next step would be for them to make these statements -- and demand that it stop. Not too likely in the near future, though.
#3
Article: The militias havent been focused on decisively yet. That will be tough, he said. More Iraqis in Baghdad are dying - if you look at the recent period of two, three weeks - from militia attacks than from the terrorist car bombings.
Sounds like the Sunni guerrillas are just about done. US casualties are starting to downtick big time. We have two enemies in Iraq - two opponents that prevent the establishment of a friendly government on a long term basis - the Sunni terrorists and the Shiite militias. The principle of defeating one's enemies in detail - i.e. one at a time, has prevented our guys from going after the Shiite militias, in favor of attacking the Sunni guerrillas first. It may be time to tackle the Shiite militias. That may mean that casualties will uptick again.
#4
the American-trained Iraqi Army will soon be the second best trained and equiped army in the Middle East. Despite Iran's best efforts to support the local militias, it is only a matter of time before the Army clears out the problem.
Posted by: john ||
03/25/2006 19:59 Comments ||
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The Russian ambassador in Baghdad provided Saddam Hussein with intelligence on U.S. military movements in the first days of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, including a piece of intelligence that contributed to a key U.S. military deception effort, according to an unclassified Pentagon report released on Friday. The document, entitled "A Joint Center for Operational Analysis of a Historical Report on the Iraqi View of Coalition Military Operations Conducted in Iraq," cites an Iraqi document as the basis for the information about the Russian role in providing data to Saddam.
The Russian ambassador told Saddam that the main attack on Baghdad would not begin until the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division arrived around April 15, the report said. This information bolstered an impression that U.S. commanders were attempting to create to catch Iraqi forces by surprise. In fact, the attack on Baghdad was under way well before the 4th Infantry arrived.
The Pentagon report said the Russians told the Iraqis that U.S. forces planned to focus on bombing in and around Baghdad, cutting the road to Syria and Jordan, and sowing confusion to force residents of Baghdad to flee.
The report, which was designed to help U.S. officials better understand how Saddam and his military commanders prepared for and fought the war, portrays the Saddam regime as being blind to the U.S. invasion threat due to inept military leadership by Saddam as well being deceived by its own propaganda. The report concluded that the largest contributing factor to the complete defeat of the Iraqi military forces "was the continued interference by Saddam." The report also revealed that while captured Iraqi documents indicated plans were made by Iraqis at the regional or local level to destroy the northern and southern oil wells in Iraq, as was done by retreating Iraqi forces in Kuwait in 1991, Saddam had expressly forbidden such a scorched-earth policy. (end) rm.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Iran is racing ahead with it's date with Armageddon preparations to enrich uranium as the big powers struggle to decide on their next moves aimed at resolving the nuclear crisis surrounding the country. Las Vegas bookies are openning a betting line on if sane, middle of the roaders will take contol from the mad mullahs before the MOABs hit. Right now there set at 4 to 1 against.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, charged with investigating Iran's nuclear programme, say that the Iranians are assembling and making operational dozens of centrifuge machines for enriching uranium at their vast complex in Natanz south of Tehran. Surprise meter reading zero.
According to diplomats, the Iranians are in the process of achieving a "technological leap" by making operational a cascade of 164 centrifuges to enrich uranium for power plants or warheads. A fortnight ago they were known to have assembled only 34 centrifuges. They are believed to be rushing to assemble dozens more at a time when western negotiations with Tehran have collapsed and big power attempts to develop a coherent policy are deadlocked. They can make a technological leap...but can they leap a mushroom cloud?
"The Iranians are pushing ahead, marking out their intentions clearly," said a European diplomat. Another added: "It will be almost impossible to get them to give up, to come back down to zero." I'd say that's not entirely accurate. Once Israel decides to kick the living s**t of Iran...the only black hats that will be left will be charred.
For the first time in almost three years of dispute, the Iranian issue was passed from the IAEA in Vienna to the UN security council in New York this month. But talks this week among the permanent five security council members are deadlocked, with the Russians balking at what they see as US and European attempts to start a process that will lead to sanctions and possibly military action against Iran. Blah, blah, blah. BORE-ING.
The five powers - the US, Russia, China, France and Britain - are trying to agree a security council statement ordering Iran to restore a freeze on its uranium enrichment activities within a fortnight. The draft also terms Iran's nuclear programmes "a threat to international peace and security" - language that could later be used to trigger economic sanctions and even military intervention. Yup. That'll scare 'em into submission.
"The deadlines outlined in the proposed draft are quite categorical and provide a foundation for sanctions against Iran. We consider it all premature," said the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, yesterday. Premature? Ya think the Ruskies are scared that the West will take complete control of the Middle Eastern battlespace?
The Russians and the Chinese want the dispute handled by the IAEA, but the Americans are determined to keep it with the security council, and want the IAEA chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, to report directly to the council as soon as possible. I hear a vested interest.
The operation of 164 centrifuges would leave Iran able to process only minute volumes of uranium. But experts and diplomats say the real value lies in the know-how acquired in running highly delicate machinery. The Iranians appear determined to configure six rigs of 164 centrifuges at Natanz for what they call a "pilot enrichment plant". They have also told UN inspectors they intend to assemble 3,000 centrifuges by the end of the year. This is not going to go on forever...and 1000's of innocent folks are going to die because of it. Send your thanks ahead of time to the mad mullahs.
#1
WINDS OF CHANGE and other blogs have info both that Iran already has nukes, or is highly likely that it does but wants to keep things hush-hush.
Will say again the Mullahs want not only nukes but world-verified, world-protected Iran-centric Empire, Regional + Global - we either give them what they want, or its death to everyone and terra firma, by any means necessary.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose peacemaking policies were rejected by Hamas Islamists after they won elections, said he believed a peace deal with Israel could still be achieved in less than a year.
In an interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper published on Friday, Abbas said he had proposed secret talks with the United States and former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, who has spearheaded peace efforts in the past. "I am convinced that within less than a year, we will be able to sign an agreement," said Abbas.
But Abbas' ability to negotiate a peace deal is in doubt, both because of Hamas' election victory and Israel's reluctance to deal with the Palestinian president. "I can promise that you have a partner for this peace. On the day after the elections you will find us ready to sit in negotiations with no prior conditions," Abbas said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Gotta hold out just a little bit longer, just a few more paychecks, then he can buy that Winnebago he's had his eye on and tour the Rockies.
Posted by: Jans Snomble4884 ||
03/25/2006 1:20 Comments ||
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#2
Do we have a Laugh Meter graphic for articles like this?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/25/2006 6:38 Comments ||
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London, Mar. 24 The international human rights group Amnesty International expressed concern over the possible arrest of two young Arab boys and three Arab women one of whom is pregnant in the south-western volatile city of Ahwaz, fearing that they may face torture and ill-treatment.
So Amnesty and HRW both get something right on the same day. Zounds.
Masoumeh Kabi, aged 28, the wife of prominent political activist Habib Nabgan, was arrested along with the couples four-year-old son Imad at their home in the early hours of February 27, Amnesty said in a statement issued on Thursday. Their four other children, aged between six and 13, and Habib Nabgans mother, were also arrested but were released the following day. Masoumeh Kabi and Imad have reportedly been held at the Sepidar detention centre in Ahwaz since March 8. Habib Nabgan, who has fled the country, has received threats that his family will be tortured or killed if he does not return to Iran, the group said.
Soghra Khudayrawi and her four-year-old son Zeidan were reportedly arrested in Ahwaz on March 7. Her husband, Khalaf Derhab Khudayrawi, is said to be wanted by the authorities in connection with his political activities, Amnesty said.
Sakina Naisi, a mother of five, was reportedly arrested in Ahwaz on February 27 along with her 19-year-old son Nahez and taken to the Sepidar detention centre. Nahez was reportedly released after about 10 days in detention. Sakina Naisi is three months pregnant and reportedly suffers from asthma, the statement added. Her husband, Ahmad Naisi, a prominent political activist, is said to be wanted by the authorities. Following Sakina Naisis arrest, the Iranian authorities reportedly destroyed her husbands family home in the Shoaybiyeh district of Ahwaz with bulldozers.
Amnesty International believes all five are very likely to be prisoners of conscience held solely in order to force their husbands and fathers to give themselves up to the Iranian authorities. As such they should be released immediately and unconditionally, the statement said.
Ahwaz, the capital of the Arab-dominated province of Khuzestan, has been the scene of unremitting anti-government protests since the start of 2005. Iran has pointed the finger at Britain as the primary instigator of anti-government violence in Khuzestan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#4
They're all families of political activists, no doubt connected in some way to AI. If it was the family of Habib Nasi, a pistachio grower, you wouldn't hear a peep.
Tehran, Iran, Mar. 24 Islamist hardboyz militiamen affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have launched military exercises near the Iraqi border to deal with possible unrest, Irans official news agency IRNA reported.
Members of the paramilitary Bassij force staged military exercises in the western town of Dehloran. The paramilitary forces attacked dummy enemy sites during the operation. The objective of the military exercises here is to raise the level of readiness of the Bassij forces, said Alireza Bazdar, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Dehloran. Our forces were able to capture the positions taken by the enemy and destroy the enemy forces.
This will help us prepare ourselves to deal with possible outbreaks of unrest with force and determination, Bazdar said.
The Revolutionary Guards and the Bassij have been staging a series of military and security exercises in Tehran and its suburbs since February so as to keep all the locals properly cowed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Add some realism. Strafe them with Warthogs.
Posted by: Jans Snomble4884 ||
03/25/2006 0:19 Comments ||
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#2
"The paramilitary forces attacked dummy enemy sites" ....inflatable dolls.
Posted by: Captain America ||
03/25/2006 1:13 Comments ||
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#3
"...were able to capture the positions taken by the enemy and destroy the enemy forces.
They pulled the plugs, and all the air fizzled out!
#5
I just love it when countries like this give us a preview of their intended tactics. Assuming they are stupid enough a) to do so and b) to think it matters.
#6
Reminds me of a Warner Bros cartoon where the protagonist (can't remember who it was) taunts a dog as he walks behind the apparent safety of a fence, only to find out that the fence ends.
WASHINGTON - Human Rights Watch called Friday on Syrian President Bashar Al Assad to halt blatant intimidation of human rights workers after Damascus authorities arrested four activists in the past week. The New York-based group said that, in an escalating crackdown, Syrian security forces arrested human rights activist Ali Al Abdullah and one of his sons Thursday, after arresting another of his sons the week earlier.
On Wednesday, Muhammad Najati Tayyara, the former vice president of the Human Rights Association in Syria, was detained and held 14 hours before being released. President Bashar Al Assad should immediately free Ali Al Abdullah and his sons and order his security forces to halt this blatant intimidation of human rights activists, Joe Stork, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
HRW said the most recent arrests were part of a pattern of increased harassment of human rights activists in Syria.
So occasionally HRW is useful.
Earlier State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that The United States is concerned by the Syrian governments increased repression of democracy and human rights activists.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Syrian Vice President Farouk Shara arrived here yesterday on the second leg of his trip to the region. He visited Egypt on Thursday. Shara delivered a letter from President Bashar Assad to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. He also met with Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.
According to a Syrian source, Shara held talks with the Saudi leadership on several issues, mainly the developments in the region including the situation in Iraq and Palestine and on preparations for the upcoming Arab summit in Khartoum. Shara also discussed with the Saudi leadership ways to develop bilateral relations in all aspects. "The vice president confirmed Syria's commitment to developing Arab cooperation in all fields," said Syrian Ambassador to the Kingdom Ahmed Nithamuldeen.
He said the vice president briefed the Saudi leadership on recent events in Syrian-Lebanese relations and said Shara's visit to the Kingdom was part of the vice president's agenda to hold talks with Arab leaders on general developments in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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The top U.N. lawyer virtually ruled out on Thursday the idea that a special court to try suspects in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri could be located inside Lebanon. "There is a broad perception that for the tribunal to effectively perform what is expected, it is extremely difficult that it would be located on the territory of Lebanon," said U.N. Legal Counsel Nicolas Michel. A number of factors would be taken into account in deciding the court's location, he said, including "security of the judges, of the witnesses, of the accused and the perceived impartiality of the tribunal."
Yeah, we'd probably lose count of the number of exploding cars within a week...
Michel spoke to reporters after briefing the Security Council on the state of planning for the new tribunal. The 15-nation council may vote next Wednesday on a resolution authorizing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to begin formal negotiations with Beirut on establishment of the court, Argentine Ambassador Cesar Mayoral, the council president for March, told Reuters.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I hear Carla del Ponte's available.
Posted by: Jans Snomble4884 ||
03/25/2006 1:24 Comments ||
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#2
nope, she's still gathering mounds and mounds of papers for the 1000 year Black Robe Document Inquisition.
UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen met Lebanese officials on Friday and offered support to national talks aimed at forging a deal over Hizbollah guerrillas that the Security Council wants disarmed. "For the first time the Lebanese are sitting down together without international or third parties and discussing independently and domestically all the difficult issues facing Lebanon," Roed-Larsen said on arrival at Beirut airport late on Thursday. "Every single difficult issue is on the table."
The Norwegian diplomat is due to present a report next month on progress in the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559, which demands that foreign troops leave Lebanon and the militias in the country disarm.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2006 00:00 ||
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BBWWAAAAHAA! NRA members will voluntarily disarm before "The Party of God" does same...
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohammad ElBaradei will discuss Iran's nuclear program in Berlin on Monday, German deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg announced during a press briefing here Friday.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency will also meet with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Economic Minister Michael Glos and members of the foreign policy committee of the German parliament, Steg added. Merkel and ElBaradei have repeatedly called for a diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear dispute.
From our friends at MEMRI: please visit the link for the full interview on Dubai TV. Another frank Muslim speaks out. I've just included his final remarks. Worth the full read.
Like the Sumerians, Greeks, and Pharaohs; If the Arabs are So Inept They Cannot Be Democratic, External Intervention Will Not Make Them So
The poet Ali Ahmad Sa'id (b. 1930), known by his pseudonym "Adonis," a 2005 candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature, left his native Syria for Lebanon in the 1950s following six months' imprisonment for political activity. In 1973, he received his Ph.D. from St. JosephUniversity in Beirut; in 1985, he settled in Paris, where he now works as a writer and literary critic. Among other occupations, he has edited the modernist magazine Mawaqif (Viewpoints), and translated some of the great French poets into Arabic.
The following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian poet "Adonis," aired on Dubai TV on March 11, 2006.
"The Muslims today - forgive me for saying this - with their accepted interpretation [of the religious text], are the first to destroy Islam, whereas those who criticize the Muslims - the non-believers, the infidels, as they call them - are the ones who perceive in Islam the vitality that could adapt it to life. These infidels serve Islam better than the believers."
The scales are tipping . More cartoons, more condemned Christians, more ripping off the masks and revealing Islamism for what it is. Weve got to keep the foaming nuts rampaging in the streets, in full media view, awhile longer yet. Keep forcing them to face the mirror. More and more muslim intellectuals like Adonis will hopefully help poke them along to sanity.
#1
English speaking Indians don't claim an English identity. So why would Arabic speaking Assyrians claim Arab status? Or Berbers? Or Phonecians? Or Egyptians? Or Sudanese? The answer is that Arabs are a supremacist race. The fact that they are near the bottom of the human pool, doesn't deter their arrogance.
Objectivity dictates: those who identify themselves as Arabs contribute absolutely nothing to the philosophical-technological basis of global culture. The suicide-bomb belt is the only innovation, that an Arab has produced (even there, Sri Lankan Tamils claim first use).Every idea that an "Arab" claims as a heritage notion, is pilfered from the dynamic, non-plundering states. I would rather step in dog crap than visit any country run by the supremacist parasites who raise the "Arab" flag of shame. I would only enter one of those basket cases, as a harsh, kick-ass occupier with a hair triggered rifle and the will to use it pre-emptively.
I agree, they really are supremicist. Interesting that the lowest of society wind up adopting that position. For example, I find it hard to believe that some uneducated, unemployed skinhead is, by any reasonable measure of a civilized society, in any way superior to me. Yet he firmly believes he is.
Similarly, a society that has no significant cultural, medical or scientific accomplishments in the modern world, that does not question itself, that celebrates the death of others as some sort of victory (and even of other arabs) -- well, I find it hard to believe there is anything superior about that society. Yet they believe they are.
#3
In the past few days, I've noted the flight of conversion away from Islam to mostly Christianity. However, I suspect that the Arabic intelligensia are starting to seriously consider departing en masse.
All that is needed is a "safe country" in the region, where a community of ex-Moslem ex-pats can assemble and live in relative safety, away from the Moslem enforcers.
#4
All that is needed is a "safe country" in the region, where a community of ex-Moslem ex-pats can assemble and live in relative safety, away from the Moslem enforcers.
A secular country, in a centralized location, with a variety of ethnic groups, large enough to absorb an influx of high value immigrants, under the protection of an out of region superpower. That's a great strategery. Let me think...
#5
Anonymoose:
Do you work with anyone with "Arabic" or Iranian origins? Many celebrate their abandonment of Islam. World Net Daily once reported over 300,000 converts to Christianity among the Iranian-American community. I don't trust WND, but that statistic could be accurate.
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.
An Afghan Christian facing possible execution for converting from Islam was likely to be released from jail "soon," a senior government official said Friday following huge Western pressure over the case. "He is likely to be released soon," the official said, adding there would be a top-level meeting on the matter Saturday. Abdul Rahman was arrested two weeks ago under Islamic Sharia law and faced a possible death sentence in a case that has attracted widespread condemnation, especially from the United States. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday to step up pressure to free 41-year-old Rahman, who converted in Germany 16 years ago and was turned in by his parents on his return to Afghanistan.
Fighting on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border has sparked a new influx of refugees and threatens aid to thousands who had fled violence in Sudan's western Darfur region, the UN food aid agency warned yesterday. Most of the people affected by recent clashes between government troops and rebels only have enough food to last them a month or two, the World Food Program said, appealing for urgent financial support to stem an even bigger humanitarian crisis.
The UN Security Council has called for faster preparations for the African Union to hand over its peacekeeping mission in Sudan's western Darfur region to the United Nations. The 15-member body unanimously adopted a resolution on Friday that also decided to extend for at least six months the mandate of the UN mission in south Sudan (UNMIS). The text directed Kofi Annan, the UN chief, working with the AU and in consultations with the council "to expedite the necessary preparatory planning for transition" from the AU force known as AMIS to a UN operation. This would include options for how UNMIS can provide transitional assistance - such as in logistics, mobility and communications.
NEW YORK: Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, in a rare moment of self-criticism, lashed out at what he described as backward societies in the Middle East, arguing that government heavy-handedness in dealing with political opposition stemmed from the violent nature of that dissent. You ask us, Why do you oppress opposition in the Middle East? Gaddafi told attendees at a Columbia University panel discussion on democracy Thursday, speaking in Arabic during a live video appearance. Opposition in the Middle East is quite different from opposition in advanced countries. In our countries, the opposition takes the form of explosions, assassinations, killing. Because opposition in our country is different from opposition in your country. Our opposition resorts to bombs, assassinations, explosions, subversive acts, trains in military camps - in some cases before the Sept. 11th events, said Gaddafi, whose country for years was accused of being a state sponsor of terrorism. Gaddafis comments came in response to several questions by the Columbia panel asking him to comment on shortcomings in Libyan society. Gaddafi said he was proud of what he considered a complex society and what he says is the worlds only true participatory democracy.
Ideological extremism exists in Saudi Arabia and should be treated, according to Sheikh Saleh Al-Sadlan, professor of law at Riyadhs Imam Mohammad ibn Saud University and famous mufti. He was commenting on the events at last months Book Fair in the Saudi capital where several individuals belonging to the Islamist camp attacked a number of lecturers and speakers because they considered them secular. 
Mar 24: Bagmara thana police have been insisting the victims of the militant kingpin Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai to file cases, but are silent about nabbing his accomplices. Sources concerned said that a sub-inspector of Bagmara police station has been specially assigned to convince the victims of Bangla Bhai to file cases against the militant leader who had established a reign of terror in some areas.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- With Japan seeking to shed a half-century of pacifism and reassert itself in world affairs, and China acquiring vastly larger economic and military might, relations between the two are as tense as they have been at any time since World War II. Nowhere is their contest more visible than here in Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province that must be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. In recent months, Japan has made a series of unprecedented overtures toward Taiwan, which was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945. In Tokyo, leading politicians are increasingly adopting the view that Japan must come to the island's aid in the event of Chinese aggression.
Iran is backing the Iraqs militias and insurgent groups behind the scenes while signalling its support for the countrys budding democracy, US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told The Washington Post. Our judgment is that training and supplying, direct or indirect, takes place, and that there is also provision of financial resources to people, to militias, and that there is presence of people associated with Irans Revolutionary Guard and with MOIS, Khalilzad said, referring to Irans Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
Iran is racing ahead with 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose peacemaking policies were rejected by Hamas Islamists after they won elections, said he believed a peace deal with Israel could still be achieved in less than a year. 
WASHINGTON - Human Rights Watch called Friday on Syrian President Bashar Al Assad to halt blatant intimidation of human rights workers after Damascus authorities arrested four activists in the past week. The New York-based group said that, in an escalating crackdown, Syrian security forces arrested human rights activist Ali Al Abdullah and one of his sons Thursday, after arresting another of his sons the week earlier.
Syrian Vice President Farouk Shara arrived here yesterday on the second leg of his trip to the region. He visited Egypt on Thursday. Shara delivered a letter from President Bashar Assad to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. He also met with Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.
The top U.N. lawyer virtually ruled out on Thursday the idea that a special court to try suspects in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri could be located inside Lebanon. "There is a broad perception that for the tribunal to effectively perform what is expected, it is extremely difficult that it would be located on the territory of Lebanon," said U.N. Legal Counsel Nicolas Michel. A number of factors would be taken into account in deciding the court's location, he said, including "security of the judges, of the witnesses, of the accused and the perceived impartiality of the tribunal."
UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen met Lebanese officials on Friday and offered support to national talks aimed at forging a deal over Hizbollah guerrillas that the Security Council wants disarmed. "For the first time the Lebanese are sitting down together without international or third parties and discussing independently and domestically all the difficult issues facing Lebanon," Roed-Larsen said on arrival at Beirut airport late on Thursday. "Every single difficult issue is on the table." 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohammad ElBaradei will discuss Iran's nuclear program in Berlin on Monday, German deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg announced during a press briefing here Friday.
