Here's a NY Times article (link requires registration) on a beauty contest they held in Lithuania's only women's prison. Not being Islamists, or even Muslims for the most part, the Lithuanians didn't riot, and no one was killed.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 02:34 pm ||
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I SAW that movie in college. Beauty contest. Women's prison. Guards named Rusty and Spike.
A top aide to Prime Minister Jean Chretien resigned Tuesday over the controversy caused by her private comment last week that U.S. President George W. Bush was a moron. Francoise Ducros, who initially offered to quit but was kept on by Chretien, is leaving the prime minister's office after all, said a statement issued by Chretien's chief of staff. She'll be pursuing a personally rewarding career in the food service industry in Yellow Knife...
In a letter of resignation to Chretien, Ducros wrote: ``It is very apparent to me that the controversy will make it impossible for me to do my job. I would therefore like to leave my position as director of communications immediately,'' the letter said. "I mean, no one can do an important job like I used to have until I screwed things up so badly with people calling her 'stupe,' 'beauzeau,' and 'shit for brains.' It's distracting..."
Chretien accepted the resignation this time, responding in a letter: ``In your almost four years as director of communications, you have served the government as a whole, and me personally, with extraordinary skill and dedication.'' "Please give my highest regards to the people who patronize the chicken joint you'll be working in."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 02:49 pm ||
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Every time I hear someone call the CinC a moron, I just smile....
Give me more morons just like this one in 2008.
Posted by: Mark ||
11/26/2002 17:54 Comments ||
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A moron, but an extremely successful moron. GW's giving the rest of us morons a bad name.
Posted by: john ||
11/26/2002 23:33 Comments ||
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We had one of those thar "directors of Communication" here in London who worked for the Minister of Transport who suggested that 9/11/01 was a good day to "bury some bad news" about the railway....It took darn near a year to get rid of her and when they did it turned into a brouhaha...that savaged at least 3 others in her wake...
Posted by: Jack ||
11/27/2002 4:51 Comments ||
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Saudi officials said the clerics have been warned not to use their posts to engage in politics. This includes railing against the United States or Riyad's Western allies. If they can't talk bad about us, it'll be a short sermon.
Those clerics who violate the ban could face dismissal, officials said. More than 50,000 clerics are responsible for mosques round the kingdom. Saudi Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al Sheik has relayed a message to clerics that also bans sermons by unauthorized people in mosques. Al Sheik said such speakers could exploit the opportunity to incitement Muslims.
"Mosques are meant only for prayers, guidance and other pious activities," the message to the clerics read. "They should not be misused as a political platform." I thought ranting against the U.S. was a pious activity?
Officials said the government has received reports of unauthorized Saudis giving sermons against the United States in several mosques in the kingdom. The reports included calls for the expulsion of U.S. military and other Western personnel from Saudi Arabia.
Al Sheik warned that he was prepared to replace what he termed unsuitable clerics from their posts. He said the role of the imam, or preacher, and the khatib, who provides the sermon, involve great responsibility. Do you suppose that the Saudis are getting nervous about something? Like the fact that we are now listening to what they have been saying and are beginning to realize that they might mean it?
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2002 01:52 pm ||
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Woo hoo! I hope that's true. Maybe they are finally more scared of us than their mullahs.
Posted by: Kathy K ||
11/26/2002 17:00 Comments ||
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The sad new life of a mufti: all revved up with anti-kafir hatred, and no place to go.
Kuwait is revising its mental health rules after reports that people plotting anti-Western attacks have been getting themselves certified as mentally unstable to avoid severe sentences, newspapers said on Tuesday. Kuwait's Arab Times newspaper said operatives in "sleeper terror cells" in the Gulf region obtained certificates saying they had psychological problems in a bid to mislead investigators and ensure lighter sentences if they were caught. These guys must have good lawyers on retainer.
The sources were quoted as saying this tactic had been used by those involved in last week's shooting of two U.S. soldiers in Kuwait and an attack last month that killed a U.S. Marine training on a Kuwaiti island. Interesting, very interesting.
Last Thursday, two U.S. soldiers were shot and seriously wounded by a policeman who then fled to Saudi Arabia.
Master Sergeant Larry Thomas and Sergeant Charles Ellis were traveling in civilian clothes and in a civilian vehicle when they were stopped for speeding and then shot.
The suspect, Khalid al-Shimmari, was captured in Saudi Arabia and extradited to Kuwait where he is being interrogated. Security sources say the policeman told them he was mentally unbalanced and is on file in Kuwait's Psychiatric Hospital. Now this begins to make sense.
Last month two Kuwaitis attacked U.S. Marines training on a Kuwaiti island, killing one and wounding another. Since then, there have been several reports of shots fired at U.S. soldiers training in the desert, although some Kuwaiti officials blame bird hunters. Elk season being over for the year.
A teenager was arrested last month with 10 Molotov cocktails near a complex housing expatriates, but officials said he was not a threat and was mentally unbalanced. Just thought he was a wantabe.
Last Monday, a Kuwaiti man in a civilian car sped through Kuwaiti and United Nations checkpoints in the tense border area and entered Iraq. Officials said the man was mentally ill and had been taking strong medication.
In an illustration of the extent to which Kuwait's mental health system may have been abused, the Al-Qabas newspaper said 15,000 of the country's 146,000 government employees claimed to be mentally unstable and had records at the country's Psychiatric Hospital. 15,000 unstable government employees? You'd think this was the European Union.
It quoted medical sources as saying the high number of people registered as mentally unstable was partly due to people falsely claiming psychological problems to obtain extended sick leave or early retirement. Oh, well,then they are just normal government employees.
U.N. weapons inspectors preparing for their first day of work in Iraq after a four-year break say they will "freeze" the buildings they enter to prevent any evidence being smuggled out. Inspectors are preparing to use state-of-the-art equipment when they begin their search for alleged weapons of mass destruction on Wednesday. Inspectors believe that in previous inspections Iraqi officials may have smuggled documents or evidence out as inspectors went in offices and factories and say they will now prevent anyone moving in or out of the buildings.
Demetrius Perricos, head of the atomic team, told reporters Tuesday that state-of-the art equipment was necessary "because the eyes can fool anybody... You can enter a room which is empty, but that room might have a history and only if you are taking samples or doing some measurements you can find out that the room is not as empty as you thought it was," he said. This will be interesting, if the inspectors really are taking their jobs seriously, and maybe even if they're not. Sammy has no doubt given the word for the hard boys to be circumspect, but the hard boys aren't upper crusters â they're not hired for their intelligence. The culture doesn't allow Sammy and his clique to be civil toward the inspectors. So on the one hand, the upper crust is officially watching their behavior, knowing that screwing things up could end up with them dangling from the ends of ropes. The hard boys are getting the unofficial face-making and fist-shaking from the propaganda machine â so how long until one of them whips out a rod when the inspectors are heading for the wrong place?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 01:15 pm ||
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They knew the job was dangerous when they took it, Fred.
That's why we should have a rapid-response force on alert, to go in and kick ass if needed to protect the inspectors.
The fact that such a rescue would be the trigger for full-scale invasion is simply an added benefit.
#2
Want to bet that the Special Ops guys (ours and the Brits, maybe the Aussies as well) already have an unofficial "rapid-response force" that's just itching to go? I'm comfortably certain that amongst the many contingency plans they've drawn up, pulling inspetors out of a hostile inspection site is one of them.
Mojo is right, the rescue would be a useful causus belli.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2002 14:50 Comments ||
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Student leaders in Tehran have been arrested following demonstrations against the death sentence for apostasy passed this month on a liberal university lecturer, Hashem Aghajari.
At least six student activists were detained by plainclothes police on the orders of a revolutionary court. Initially, it was unclear who had detained the student leaders, or why.
Eyewitnesses said one of them, Abdullah Mo'meni, was simply grabbed in the street and bundled into a civilian car by men in plain clothes who sprayed his companion in the face with teargas. Classic snatch job.
Later it was confirmed that the arrests had been carried out on the orders of a branch of the Revolutionary Court, and that they were in connection with the student protests over the Aghajari death sentence. The deputy Interior Minister, Ibrahimi Rezaibabadi, said that more arrests were expected, beyond the six already confirmed at that time.
The arrests have caused anger and dismay in student and reformist circles, raising fears of further unrest just as things were apparently starting to quieten down. The student movement had already been severely weakened by the arrest and jailing of some of its key leaders, but was showing signs of being stirred into action by the Aghajari case. This place is a powder keg. It needs the right spark to set it off, and the government is just dumb enough to provide one.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2002 02:24 pm ||
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Iran's chief prosecutor warned Tuesday that a history professor's death sentence for questioning hard-line rule will be final if he continues to refuse to appeal. Hashem Aghajari, a professor at Tarbiat-e-Modarres, or Teachers Training university in Tehran, has refused to contest the court's decision, challenging the hard-line judiciary to carry out the sentence. The case has provoked the largest student protests in three years. On Tuesday, four organizers of the demonstrations were arrested, including two who were beaten up before being hauled away, a fellow student said. He'll probably be dead when it's all over, but Aghajari could very well be the spark that sets fire to the revolution. If it's not him, it'll be the guy after him, or the one after that one...
``Aghajari is obliged to appeal,'' Iran's official news agency quoted hard-line cleric Abdol-Nabi Namazi as saying. ``If he does not appeal within the 20-day period, the verdict will be final,'' Namazi said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. No, he's not obliged to appeal. Either an appeal is voluntary, or judicial procedure calls for an automatic review. He's not obliged to do something that's voluntary, regardless of what some cleric says. Sometimes it sucks, being a holy man, doesn't it?
Aghajari's lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, told The Associated Press that the chief prosecutor's comments ``contradict the law.'' They don't make any sense, either...
``The fuehrer supreme leader, judiciary chief, chief prosecutor, head of supreme court and the judge investigating the case have the legal right to reconsider the verdict if they consider the sentence is wrong,'' Nikbakht said. "So they can go ahead and do their jobs, or they can go ahead and hang my client and in six months or a year someone else will be dancing on their graves..."
Iran's fuehrer supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, has ordered a review of the case. The judiciary did not immediately overturn the case. Rather, judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi said the court would ``follow normal legal procedures to reconsider the verdict.'' "Nope. Nope. Ain't nobody gonna rush me..."
The verdict and death sentence prompted denunciations from parliament and the public with university students calling the decisions ``medieval'' and ``disgusting.'' And in Iran this is unusual because...?
I wish we had professors with Aghajari's guts in this country...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 03:05 pm ||
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Turkmen police have arrested 16 people suspected of taking part in an assassination attempt on President Saparmurat Niyazov on Monday. President Niyazov, who has ruled the energy-rich country with an autocratic grip, has accused exiled political opponents of plotting to kill him in the attack.
Boris Shikhmuradov, a former foreign minister, told the Gundogar web site that any number of people could have wanted the president killed. "Niyazov deserves as many deadly gunshots as lives and destinies he has ruined," he said. Line forms on the right.
Three vehicles tried to block off President Niyazov's motorcade as he travelled to the presidential palace in the centre of Ashgabat. Shots were fired, though the president was not hurt.
A presidential spokesman said four of the detained suspects were being treated as mercenaries, and the incident itself considered an act of international terrorism. Sounds like they tried to kill him on the cheap and it failed. The guys they picked up will implicate anybody to keep their skins whole.
President Niyazov went on TV to implicate four former officials in the attack, including Mr Shikhmuradov, his former right-hand man. Old rule, when you try to kill the king, make sure you succeed.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2002 02:14 pm ||
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Gives Niyazov carte blanche to arrest and beat the bejesus out of anyone he likes as well...except he did that before this anyway...oh well
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2002 15:02 Comments ||
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Russian politicians were behind Monday's apparent assassination attempt against Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, a top Turkmen official said Tuesday. "I cannot say that this (was organized) in Russia, but I can officially say that in Russia there are political figures patronizing the organizers of the (assassination) attempt," Serdar Durdyev, the head of the Department for International Information at the Turkmen president's office, said. What the hell did he just say?
On Monday, attackers opened fire at Niyazov's motorcade as it traveled to the presidential palace in Ashgabat. The president, who later said he had not realized he was being fired upon, was unharmed. No one was hurt. Can't have been a Russian hit if no one was hurt.
Relations between the two nations have been strained over Moscow's perception that Niyazov is blocking the division of the Caspian Sea's vast mineral wealth. Earlier this year, there were rumors Russia was supporting a coup against Niyazov.
Turkmen officials called the incident "an act of international terrorism." Critics said, however, Niyazov staged the attack. Now that I think about it, it does sound staged. The average hired gun would have at least hit one innocent bystander. A word to the wise, Mr. President. Don't poke the bear, you won't like it when he gets mad. I'm sure Vlad has the phone numbers of a few reliable shooters left over from his KGB days.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2002 03:05 pm ||
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A north Nigerian state has issued an Islamic fatwa calling for the death of a journalist who wrote an article on the Miss World pageant that sparked riots. The religious decree was issued against Isiome Daniel on Tuesday. Mamoudu Shinkarfi, the deputy governor of Zamfara state, said on national television: "Any true Muslim would make sure that this woman's blood is spilled wherever she is."
Daniel, who has resigned from ThisDay, left the country and went to the United States, according to the newspaper's publisher. There was no immediate response from the Nigerian federal government to the issuing of the fatwa. Might we suggest a little national indignation, starting with the firing and jailing of the deputy governor of Zamfara state, followed by sending in the local national guard to clean out the leaders of insurrection? A few public hangings, preferably by their own turbans, would seem to be in order, too...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 01:23 pm ||
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The Nigerian government has now officialy disavowed any such "fatwa", saying that no such punishment will be allowed.
Six people have been arrested by French police in connection with the "shoe bomber" Richard Reid. French police made the arrests early on Tuesday in a northern suburb in Paris as part of their investigation into Reid's attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic fight with explosives in his shoes last year. A spokesman said "some" of those arrested are Pakistani and Algerian and one is an imam at a mosque. No! Never! Really? Who'dathunkit?
"This is not the first operation on Richard Reid's investigation. We are verifying if they are linked with him, if they had contacts with him, if they've not trained in camps," said the police spokesman. He would not say if more arrests were expected. Under French anti-terrorism laws, they can be held for up to four days before being placed under investigation, formally charged or released. Reid pleaded guilty in October to all eight counts against him -- including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted homicide, and placing an explosive device on an aircraft. Presumably part of the deal involved chatting about his friends and acquaintances. Somebody'll issue a fatwa eventually and some guy with a turban will ice him. The Federal Bureau of Ineptitude may or may not conduct the killing with terror networks.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 01:28 pm ||
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U.S. and British investigators say there is a "credible possibility" that Ukraine sent sophisticated radar systems to Iraq through an intermediary. The team of 13 U.S. and British experts spent a week in Ukraine in October investigating whether the country sent any Kolchuga radar systems to Baghdad in violation of U.N. sanctions. The experts' findings, compiled in a 16-page report, were released by the U.S. Embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, on Monday. The investigation came after the U.S. State Department said it had verified the authenticity of a July 2000 recording in which President Leonid Kuchma is allegedly heard approving the sale of a system to Iraq. Kuchma has strongly denied the allegations. Ukranian officials deny the conversation ever took place. Somehow, even though the conversation never took place, they got it on tape... Yes, Lenny. That's you, standing in front of your peers without your pants. No, this is not a bad dream...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 01:33 pm ||
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Source: InstaPundit
Frank Schaeffer, a novelist from "the Volvo-driving, higher education-worshiping North Shore of Boston," has a moving essay in today's Washington Post on his son's decision to join the Marine Corps.
My son has connected me to my country in a way that I was too selfish and insular to experience before. I feel closer to the waitress at our local diner than to some of my oldest friends. She has two sons in the Corps. They are facing the same dangers as my boy. When the guy who fixes my car asks me how John is doing, I know he means it. His younger brother is in the Navy.
Schaeffer also paints a scathing portrait of his elitist neighbors' reactions:
"But aren't the Marines terribly Southern?" asked one perplexed mother while standing next to me at the brunch following graduation. "What a waste, he was such a good student," said another parent. One parent (a professor at a nearby and rather famous university) spoke up at a school meeting and suggested that the school should "carefully evaluate what went wrong."
Read the whole thing.
When I read that part of the essay, I could just imagine how Rudyard Kipling might have reacted:
We are patricians of Boston, intellectuals proud and strong;
We send our kids to private school to avoid the unwashed throng.
When we were young we dodged the draft and got in Johnson's face
For we think our home and country is all the world's disgrace.
For it's Chomsky this, The Nation that, and "George Bush is a clown!"
And "the USA deserved it!" when they knocked the Towers down;
They knocked the Towers down, my boys, they knocked the Towers down,
Yes, the USA deserved it when they knocked the Towers down.
Yes, making mock of uniforms that guard us while we sleep
Lets us feel ourselves superior, and do it on the cheap;
And talking of root causes when we appear on NPR
Is five times more "intellectual" than fighting a just war.
For it's Chomsky this, The Nation that, and "George Bush is a brute!"
And burn the flag in protest when the guns begin to shoot;
The guns begin to shoot, my boys, the guns begin to shoot,
Yes, burn the flag in protest when the guns begin to shoot.
We have no use for heroes, heroism's not our scene,
We cannot understand why John joined up with the Marines;
They're yahoos from the red states; they lack advanced degrees;
They don't even have Volvos! They ride in green Humvees.
Yes it's Chomsky this, The Nation that; but we know we'd lack the soul
To stand up for our neighbors when Todd Beamer called, "Let's roll!"
We're snobbish and self-centered, it's beneath our pride to serve;
But we'll exercise our freedoms, tho' we know they're undeserved!
Posted by: Mike M. ||
11/26/2002 01:38 pm ||
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Around the net, the screed of a college kid named Joe Zarro has gotten some attention.
Some thoughts about my dad and the screed in the Daily Aztec by Joe Zarro.
The preceding post really has me pissed. This college boy is messing with my family.
Dad quit school in the eigth grade when his father died, and went to work to help support his eight brothers and sisters. Scrambling for money on the mean streets of Jersey City during the Great Depression. People starved, you know. You could then, without really trying. Now, you have to go out of your way to starve in the United States, but not then.
At 17, he joined the United States Army and did a tour with the Coast Artillery in Panama, as a radioman. About 1933 ish.
It made him a man, disciplined, thoughtful, willing to learn. When he got out he found a good job, and worked in a wallpaper factory until the Japanese attacked us. He enlisted, and proceeded to visit sunny North Africa, sunny Sicily, rainy England, and generally cold France and Germany. He rose rapidly to the rank of master sargeant, top kick for his unit, and the go to guy for the officers. Non coms run the Army.
He was shot at, and did some shooting. He never talked much about that, only a few stories that ended with everyone alive and that were funny. He was one of a generation who knew war and kept its terrible secrets.
The moron who wrote the editorial that I commented on is fortunate. Dad, a meek and mild sort, would have kicked his butt. No shouting, just a good old fashioned butt kicking. Dad and his fellow servicemen and women fought to give this boy the right to say what he did. They didn't fight to make him right, just to make him free.
I truly don't think that this boy realizes what he has. Dad saw the camps, and he saw the refugees throwing themselves in front of trains to keep from being sent East, to the Russians. He was dirt poor, living above a stable at one point in his youth, and died a success. His children, grown, educated, good jobs, loving wife that he had provided for. And every moment he was in the Army, he knew why.
This child's every breath is due to my dad, and all the others. His freedom, his ability to attend college, even to wear the stupid hat he has on in his photo, all due to Dad.
So, in the spirit of the Blogosphere, Joe Zarro, KISS MY ASS, YOU FUCKWAD!
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
11/26/2002 15:11 Comments ||
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I live in San Diego, and got a BSCE from San Diego State, and can tell you that slug Zarro is an exception, not a rule. He is apparently auditioning for a job in the major media on graduation. You would be hard pressed to find a more patriotic town, home of Marines and Navy fleet. As an SDSU Aztec alum I am ashamed of his screed....
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2002 15:28 Comments ||
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Both the Kiplingesque piece and Mr. Schaeffer's article are interesting and well presented, and they raise a point about Mr. Zarro's work. It's a rehash, but the thing that it has most in common with most of the articles it's parrotting is the bad writing. I'm not talking about the ideas. I'm referring to grammar, usage and organization. I really expect more from an English major. Regards-RR Ryan
Posted by: RR Ryan ||
11/26/2002 16:40 Comments ||
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Chuck,
That is a fine piece of writing.
I'm an Englishman.
I recently attended the rememberence day ceremony (11th Nov - the first world war is potent here, a huge number of men died) memorial in my town.
I cried. I thought about all those blokes, *stupidly huge, enormously huge* numbers of blokes who died in that war. I clenched my fists and thought of them - tried to think of them, wanted to, wanted to think that if I thought of them hard enough they'd get some glimmer of life again. stupid me.
I tried to think of what they might say to someone like Zarro.
If he'd been there I think I'd of killed him.
Tried to. I think the old soldiers might have stopped me.
They didn't see their mates die in the tens of thousands to allow someone like me to kill someone just because I disagreed with him.
I guess that's the point.
My thanks to your Dad.
Posted by: Tony ||
11/26/2002 20:08 Comments ||
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I understand that since they have taken it off the air MTV's "Jackass" title and name is available. Perhaps we should reconstitute that program (aim it for the young audience) and feature the views of Zero and his ilk counterpoised with Schaeffer and Fred's view. The object of the show will be to have instant voting by the TV audience and whichever side wins gets to throw the other side off a burning sofa riding on the back of a pickup truck.
Posted by: Jack ||
11/27/2002 5:14 Comments ||
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Joe Zarro, boy wonder! That was really great work! How do those completely without a clue get in the position of "Opinion Editor: Joe Zarro", opinioneditor@thedailyaztec.com - oops, there a went giving you all his e-mail address! Please feel free to write Joe and tell him how cute that little hat looks on his head! Just like a REAL reporter! So important and with such BIG THOUGHTS ...
Unfortunately this is all too common on college campuses today. They all think that Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore are the oracles of truth fighting the oppression of the capitalist, U.S. war machine. If you like Joe Zero you'll love Daniel Moore Penn State crusader at this address - http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2002/10/10-23-02tdc/10-23-02dops-column-01.asp
Jeez, we have to get control over our universities.
Posted by: Rick Stinson ||
11/27/2002 11:44 Comments ||
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U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says Pakistan has assured him it has not helped North Korea develop its nuclear weapons program in exchange for missile technology. "No, no! Certainly not! Us? Pshaw! Never!"
Powell said he has warned Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that such contact between Islamabad and Pyongyang would be "improper, inappropriate and would have consequences." Okay, you've been warned now...
Pakistan has strongly denied a recent report in the New York Times that North Korea supplied Islamabad with missile parts to allow Musharraf to build a nuclear missile arsenal capable of reaching "every strategic site in India." In exchange, Pakistan provided North Korea with many of the designs for gas centrifuges as well as much of the machinery needed to make highly enriched uranium, the Times reported. This would be used for the "country's latest nuclear weapons project, one intended to put at risk South Korea, Japan and 100,000 American troops in Northeast Asia," the article said. Bad boy, Perv...
The Times said the two nations developed a "murky" quid-pro-quo relationship that continued even as the United States courted Pakistan in its anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan. That's the killer right there. Prior to 9-11 — hand slap and a rolling of the eyes. After 9-11, they go on the poop list...
"He [Musharraf] has assured me on more than one occasion that there are no further contacts," Powell told reporters at the start of a two-day visit to Mexico City. He also assured Powell that infiltration into Kashmir has stopped, too...
Powell's comment suggests there were contacts between North Korea and Pakistan in the past, though the secretary of state did not mention specific topics. He also dismissed claims the allegations of arms accord breaches could force sanctions against Pakistan from U.S. Congress. "Right now I have nothing presently that has been reported to me that I need to be looking at," Powell said. "That doesn't say that there's no information that I don't want to see — yet."
"And with respect to the past, I don't know of anything that might be going on at the department that is relevant to any sanctions discussion with Congress," he said. "President Musharraf understands the seriousness of this issue," Powell added, stressing that conversations took place face-to-face as well as over the telephone. So Perv knows that his poop's in the street, and only the fact that we have more important fish to fry at the moment is keeping us from going after his little beturbanned head. If he's really, really smart, he's going to start rounding up jihadis again and do another house-cleaning at ISI — they never seem to get all the loose cannons at a single go, do they?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 02:21 pm ||
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Maybe this is what Powell doesn't want to see:
"According to the New York Times, US intelligence agencies have tracked a Pakistani cargo aircraft that landed at a North Korean airfield and was loaded with ballistic missile parts. American spy satellites recorded images of the American-built C-130 aircraft making the sortie in July, it said. American intelligence agencies watched silently as Pakistan's air fleet later made several sorties to North Korea, it added." Bet those photos made Perv's day.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2002 14:41 Comments ||
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I don't think they ("they" referring to both the Paks and the NKors) realize just how good our intel collection can be when we have a specific target to watch.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2002 14:51 Comments ||
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Yup, the KH-11 was supposed to be able to read the headline of a newspaper if the lighting was right. Bet they got the tailnumber of the Pak 130.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2002 15:24 Comments ||
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Unfortunately, when you get in bed with the Pakkies to fight the war on terrorism you get more than a good nights sleep (paraphasing the Gipper).
Posted by: Jack ||
11/27/2002 5:16 Comments ||
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Israeli troops have demolished the house of Muhammad Abu Huli, a suspected Hamas activist who Israel accuses of killing a soldier and attacking a Jewish settlement. The military said Abu Huli was responsible for sending a Palestinian attacker who killed an Israeli soldier Friday. The IDF said he also was responsible for firing mortars and anti-tank missiles at the Kfar Darom settlement. The forces found parts of mortar bombs in his house, they said. Abu Huli is still at large. But his house isn't...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 01:15 pm ||
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Germany will provide Israel with Patriot anti-missile systems, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was quoted Tuesday as saying, indicating that Germany wants to help Israel defend against any Iraqi attack if war erupts in the Middle East. "If Israel needs an increase in security, we will help - and on time," Schroeder was quoted as saying by the weekly Die Zeit. Germany had "a historic and moral duty," he added. You could say that.
In Jerusalem, the Israeli Defense Ministry said it asked Germany for Patriot missiles more than a year ago and was waiting for an answer. Israeli officials raised the request again during talks at the German Defense Ministry last week, the Israeli statement said. The German air force has 30 Patriot missile systems in service, and the daily Die Welt said Israel wants them to strengthen its defense against Iraqi missiles.
Germany is among some 50 countries discreetly contacted by US President George W. Bush to ask what they might contribute to military action against Iraq. Officials have given few details, and government spokesman Hans-Hermann Langguth said Monday the request was "unspecific." The Defense Ministry spokesman said Israel's request was separate from the US move. Sure it was, Hans. Nothing to do with it at all.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2002 02:44 pm ||
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#1
This is precious. Despite their proclaimed reluctance to lift a finger, the Krauts will do more than 90% of our "allies" if they send this equipment to Israel to be used against Iraq.
And there is zero way they could turn down a request to provide defensive weapons to Jewish people.
Though I am sure the Patriots will be useful, this request was surely made in part because of how it embarrasses the Germans.
Posted by: John B. ||
11/26/2002 15:19 Comments ||
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#2
John B.,
The request is being made now because Israel asked for these over a year ago, and after receiving no response, are now asking yet again.
Germans never pass up an opportunity to screw over Israel and the Jewish people. Just look at their voting record in the UN.
Or if you've got a long memory, you may recall Germany's deft handling of a certain incident at the Munich Olympics in '72".
#4
I seem to recall that the Patriot is an American product and that the usual boilerplate agreement to licence the production of or procurement of requires the other country to request a mother-may-I from the American government. Not that the Americans would withold such a request in this instance, it is a technology transfer that is not an all German act. The Germans have looked at the Patriot as an anti-theater ballistic missile system since the mid-80s. How much they may or may not have adjusted the system's limitations for the threat profile will be interesting to see.
Posted by: Don ||
11/27/2002 9:18 Comments ||
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#5
"The Reuters news agency reported that the German military has said it has six Patriot systems which it no longer needs." Threat level has gone down and these are excess to their current requirements. Most likely they are sitting in a warehouse somewhere, just have to drive them on a plane (C-5) or put them on a ship and they can be in theater soon. Gets them off the German military's property books and gives them good PR when they really need it.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/27/2002 9:39 Comments ||
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Top planners of the Bali bombings remain at large despite Indonesian police claims that the mastermind behind the October 12 blasts was arrested last week. That's because there are masterminds behind masterminds...
Information from regional investigators and intelligence documents obtained by CNN have revealed the possible involvement of a group formed by al Qaeda, called the Rabitatul Mujahideen, in the Bali attacks. "Rabitatul Mujahideen has been created at the request of al Qaeda for the purpose of facilitating interaction between Southeast Asian Mujahideen groups with South Asian and Middle Eastern Mujahideen organizations," says Rohan Gunaratna, an al Qaeda expert.
Investigations into the blasts that ripped through the popular nightclub district of Bali, killing at least 180 people, have thrown light on how the al Qaeda network works. Intelligence sources say the expertise for the Bali attacks came from a senior al Qaeda operative from Yemen named Syafullah. Syafullah has been involved in a string of attacks in Yemen and the Middle East, including the 1996 bombing of U.S. military barracks in Saudi Arabia. Two days before the Bali attacks, he traveled on a fake U.S. passport to the Indonesian town of Semarang for the final planning session, according to intelligence sources.
In Semarang, members of the Indonesian cell, including a man called Mukhlas and Bali 'mastermind' Imam Samudra, joined him. That structure, analysts say, points to the involvement of the umbrella organization of jihadist groups, the Rabitatul Mujahideen. A member of KMM, a Mujahideen group in Malaysia, also played a prominent role, investigators say. Much of the initial information on the bombings came from the arrest in Malaysia of a MILF member, the largest Muslim separatist group in the Philippines.
On November 5 police arrested Amrozi, a foot soldier, who admitted to having purchased the explosives used in the bombings. He was also the owner of the minivan that blew up outside the Sari Club. The man referred to as the 'ringleader' behind the attacks, Imam Samudra, coordinated the deadly chain of events. Samudra told police he used a suicide bomber â a first for Southeast Asia if proven to be true. Samudra reported to Mukhlas, the eldest brother of Amrozi. Earlier this year, Mukhlas replaced a man named Riduan Isamuddin, aka Hambali, as the operations chief for this cell. Hambali continues to head al Qaeda's network in the region and also sits on al Qaeda's leadership committee.
An FBI document obtained by CNN said as early as January this year Hambali planned to "conduct small bombings in bars, cafes or nightclubs frequented by westerners in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia." To carry out that task, Hambali asked for, and received help from, al Qaeda. So let's lay this line of control out, and assume it holds true for other operations as well: Amrozi and his disposable friends are all cannon fodder. Imam Samudra's the runner, coordinating operations for Mukhlas, who's the controller. But until not long ago, Hambali was the controller for the cell and now he's probably still only one level up. So figure Hambali controls a half dozen guys like Mukhlas and that gives us an idea of the size of al-Qaeda operations in Indonesia â a half dozen cells, with a half dozen guys in each, which is a total of 36+6+6 (cannon fodder+runners+controllers). There are probably under 60 real al-Qaeda Bad Guys in Indonesia, which is a good thing, since they have enough problem with their own home-grown nuts. Hambali deals with Syafullah, who probably took Omar Faruq's place when he met the guys with the moustachios and truncheons, and he probably reports to the shura, which last we heard was headed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, who reports directly to Binny. Abubakr Bashir is a part of the whole mess, but as a side-issue: he's the "spiritual head" of the Jemaah â the local Learned Elder of Islam. He's supposed to be more an analog of Qazi or Fazl than Mullah Omar. Unless he can slip the charges, they're going to have to find somebody else who's relatively clean to take his place.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/26/2002 01:18 pm ||
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#1
Al-Queda looks more and more like a classic pyramid scheme. [Say don't we have laws against that?]
Posted by: Jack ||
11/27/2002 5:27 Comments ||
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Malaysia's police chief has said for the first time that the country has detained Muslim militants who claim to have been members of a suicide bombing squad. Head of Malaysian police Norian Mai confirmed that Malaysia had arrested some people who claimed to be suicide bombers, as part of a wider sweep of Muslim militants which has seen more than 70 people arrested. He did not give details.
An unnamed Malaysian official told the Associated Press that three men who were detained in the southern state of Johor in November were involved in a plot - foiled in December 2001 - to blow up Western embassies in Singapore. He said the three claimed to have been a suicide bombing squad. That plot, which envisaged driving truck bombs at the buildings, has not been linked with suicide bombers before.
The official claimed the arrested men were under the direct control of Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali, who is believed to be a top leader of regional militant group Jemaah Islamiah, which some governments suspect of involvement in the Bali bombing. The number of suspected Muslim militants being held under Malaysia's tough internal security law now stands at 73. The cops seem to be doing their jobs, now lets see if they get prosecuted and jail time.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/26/2002 02:06 pm ||
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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.
