The group, believed to be an Al-Qaeda cell and who give themselves the operation name "Al-Tawhid", consists of eight members currently on trial before the Yemeni special court. The eight, who stood trial last March, were accused of preparing to launch attacks against the British Embassy, the Italian Embassy and the French Cultural Center in Sana'a. Last Monday, however, prosecutor Saeed Al-Aqil added further charges saying that documents recently found on a defendant's computer revealed the group had planned to assassinate senior members of the government as well as attack state buildings and World Bank offices in Sana'a. The prosecutor also exhibited documents allegedly printed from a computer belonging to Anwar Al-Jilani, an Iraqi national and the group leader, which disclosed plans to attack Yemeni institutions, including Political Security Organization headquarters, Parliament, radio and TV buildings and Yemenia Airways offices.
The terrorist group is made up of two Syrians, a Kuwaiti of Iraqi origin and five Yemenis. During the latest sessions the prosecutor accused the suspects planning to attack military bases in neighboring Saudi Arabia as well attacks in Bahrain, Kuwait, Europe and the United States. Yemen's ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Khaled Al-Akwaa', was quoted in the Saudi daily Okaz as saying: "The information provided by the Saudi kingdom spared Yemen attacks which terrorist cells related to Al-Qaeda planned to carry out in acts of sabotage against foreign interests and government installation." He said that Yemen and Saudi Arabia have been exchanging information through hot lines in an effort to combat terrorism and hunt down Al-Qaeda operatives.
This article starring:
ANWAR AL JILANI
Al-Tawhid
Chief of Political Security, Ghalib Al-Qamish
Minister of Defense, Ali Aliwah
Minister of the Interior, Rashad Al-Alimi
political advisor to the President, Abdul-Karim Al-Eryani
Prime Minister Abdul-Qader Bajammal
prosecutor Saeed Al-Aqil
Yemen's ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Khaled Al-Akwaa
Al-Tawhid
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/24/2005 08:46 ||
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The Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince Abdullah, yesterday reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's commitment to ensure adequate oil supplies and stabilize the world market as well as to increase production in accordance with supply and demand factors in the international market. The Cabinet made the pledge while discussing a report on the annual energy conference held in Washington last week. The Cabinet emphasized, however, that Riyadh's endeavors to meet world energy requirements and challenges must be supported by joint international efforts.
Addressing the conference, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said the Kingdom was ready to boost output to stabilize the market. "Saudi Arabia's reserves are plentiful and we stand ready to increase output as the market dictates," he was quoted as saying. "Saudi Arabia has already taken aggressive steps to ensure adequate supplies," he said, rejecting fears that "the black gold" will run out any time soon. Last week, Riyadh announced a series of projects worth tens of billions of dollars, including three massive refinery modernizations. Naimi said Saudi Arabia was prepared to boost production from some 9.5 million barrels per day to 11 million right away, "but there is no refining capacity (worldwide) to handle 11 million." He also called on consumers such as the United States to do more to bring down prices. The Cabinet meeting at Riyadh's Al-Yamamah Palace also endorsed the long-awaited smart ID card project, which is to become one of the cornerstones of the country's e-government system.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
also endorsed the long-awaited smart ID card project, which is to become one of the cornerstones of the countryâs e-government system
So does everyone get one of the kewl cards, or only male heads of households?
Separately, the oil announcement has the feel of a "Please don't hit me!" statement. With all the Western ex-pats who left after compounds and businesses were attacked, taking their expertise with them, can the announced projects be executed?
Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have made substantial changes in their school curriculums as part of an ongoing process of educational reform. "The move to redesign the curriculums is intended to meet the challenges of the new world order and is unrelated to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks," said Dr. Abdulilah Al-Mosarraf, director of planning and evaluation at the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS).
"Oh, yasss! We were gonna do it anyway!"
Dr. Al-Mosarraf said that almost all Gulf countries have made major changes in their school curriculums. Saudi Arabia, for example, has removed 31 controversial items from its curriculum. There are standing instructions from the Ministry of Education to withdraw controversial items and make use of the changes as and when available. Referring to the educational reforms carried out in Saudi Arabia, a senior officials said, "Riyadh has removed the offensive books and passages from the curriculum." The Ministry of Education is reviewing existing materials and developing new ones for use in Saudi schools. "In fact, as part of its plan to go ahead with the reform, some experts from the Kingdom and from other countries have been employed to develop the curriculum and to suggest changes," said a report released by the ministry. Asked about the need to change the curriculum or withdraw certain text books, both ABEGS and Saudi officials said, "There are many factors including rapid social development and the changing world order which necessitate the development of a new school curriculum."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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To become de facto rather than de jure. So how is your little scheme progressing, Atomic Conspiracy? EFL.
The supporters of a controversial boycott of two Israeli universities have accepted that the measure is likely to be overturned at a special meeting of Britain's biggest university lecturers' union later this week.
Sue Blackwell, an academic at the University of Birmingham who attracted worldwide condemnation for leading calls to cut academic links with the universities of Bar-Ilan and Haifa, said she expected the boycott to be rescinded on Thursday by the Association of University Teachers.
Members of the AUT voted at their annual conference in Eastbourne last month to boycott the two universities for their alleged complicity in human rights abuses.
Haifa has started defamation proceedings against the union over the allegations. !!! This should be amusing.
Anti-boycott activists hope they will overturn the original motion, which they say was not properly debated and did not represent the balance of views of the whole membership.
Even if the policy is overturned, supporters of the boycott say the campaign has encouraged more British academics to shun joint scientific projects in Israel than ever before.
"[Israel] is very strong in areas such as neuro-science, genetics and stem cell research so British scientists will lose out. But the people who will lose out most are the Israelis because they value links with Europe so highly," [said Steven Rose, professor of biology at the Open University.] Cutting off his nose to spite his face? How very Progressive of him.
Opponents said the boycott would have little effect on research, but was an unacceptable attack on academic freedom.
Dr Blackwell said she was offended by the suggestion that the boycott was in some way motivated by anti-Semitism, and said she had a track record of fighting all forms of racism. But then, the Jews are not a race as such, so antisemitism isn't really racism, at least when the light shines just right.
#15
Schools out, it's just barfing back up the crap it's been fed. Thinking for ones self is discouraged. All the while they are told how smart and clever they are, in reality being ignorant of the most simple use of logic or real intelect. Trained to be a drone in the leftist dominiated beehive, a tool of their masters, used then put aside.
"Obviously Karimov didn't hear us the first time..."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
I do a Google search, and find the usual suspects whinig about the treatment of "Independent Moslems". Islam Karimov is a thug, but he is with us on the WOT. Let's not do a "Jimmy Carter", or we will have another Iran in Cenral Asia...
Let us also not forget what "Independent Moslems" did to us on 9-11-01!
#2
I don't know for sure, but I doubt these are seriously muslim types. Karimov is disposable. We're already shifting our base and materiel to Afghanistan and have little need for real estate in Uzbekistan any more.
#3
Thibaud, I think you're wrong about Uzbekistan being disposable; we need to stage into Afghanistan from somewhere...
OTOH, I am starting to like Karimov less and less. I doubt we're getting anywhere letting people like him (or Mubarak) use the US the way they do.
The way he mismanages the country economically actually makes the threat of an extremist takeover there more likely, because they get to pretend they're reformers and victims.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
05/24/2005 22:01 Comments ||
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#4
Round 'em up and pack 'em off to camps
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/24/2005 22:04 Comments ||
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#5
not me
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/24/2005 22:05 Comments ||
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#6
That was the spammer, at 217.44.146.113.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 23:00 Comments ||
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Uzbek authorities arrested a prominent human rights activist who has strongly criticized the violence in the eastern city of Andijan, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov was detained Saturday on charges that haven't been announced, but Human Rights Watch said his arrest appeared to be linked to his remarks on the May 13 bloodshed when Uzbek forces opened fire on a demonstration after armed militants released jail inmates and seized government buildings.
Zaynabitdinov has been prominently quoted by international media condemning the crackdown and has said the death toll in Andijan could be as many as 1,000 or more — far above government claims that 169 people died. Uzbek President Islam Karimov has rejected international calls for an independent investigation. "The Uzbek government should release (Zaynabitdinov) immediately pending an independent review of any charges against him," said Holly Cartner, a director for New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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China on Tuesday blamed Japanese comments about a war shrine for its decision to cut short a visit to Tokyo by one of Beijing's top officials, setting off a new round of sniping between the Asian powers as Japan demanded an apology for the apparent snub.
Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi abruptly canceled a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and left Tokyo on Monday in a move that appears to have shaken a tenuous truce between the two rivals, which are trying to dissipate ill will unleashed during anti-Japanese protests in China last month.
Kong Quan, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said Beijing was upset about remarks Japanese leaders made during Wu's eight-day trip concerning visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which critics say glorifies Tokyo's militaristic past. China's state-run Xinhua news agency denounced Koizumi for what it said was his remark that he did not see why he should stop visiting the memorial.
"China's government attaches great importance to its relations with Japan and has made unrelenting efforts in this regard," Kong said. "This visit by Vice Premier Wu Yi to Japan gives testimony to such efforts.
"What is very regrettable is that during Vice Premier Wu Yi's visit, the Japanese leaders made repeated remarks on the Yasukuni Shrine, which is not conducive to bilateral relations."
He added: "We are not happy with that."
But Japanese officials condemned the sudden departure as a breach of political etiquette.
"In terms of manners, it lacked common sense," said Internal Affairs Minister Taro Aso.
Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura complained to reporters that "there was no word of apology."
"There is supposed to be a word of apology, and without it a society cannot function," he said.
Last month, when tensions were at their highest, Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao met on the sidelines of a conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, to discuss their differences. Both agreed to work together to improve relations.
Beijing has long objected to Koizumi's annual visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's 2.5 million war dead _ including convicted war criminals who ordered Tokyo's brutal invasion of other Asian countries in the first half of the 20th century.
Many Chinese believe Japan has never truly shown remorse for offenses committed during its invasion of China, including germ warfare experiments and sex slavery of thousands of women, and Koizumi's visits further aggravate that resentment.
Koizumi said Tuesday he would make "an appropriate decision (about future visits) ... after examining the big picture."
The prime minister, who has visited the Tokyo shrine four times since 2001, refused last week to vow not to worship there again this year.
"I don't understand why Yasukuni visits are linked to militarism," Koizumi told a Parliament committee.
Wu was the first high-level Chinese official to visit Japan in more than a year. The trip was part of an agreement by both nations to try to repair relations, which plummeted to their lowest levels in decades in May after thousands of Chinese took to the streets over the approval of new Japanese textbooks that they claim whitewash Tokyo's World War II aggression, and Beijing's resistance to Tokyo's bid for a permanent U.N. Security Council seat.
Rioters damaged the Japanese Embassy in Beijing and the consulate in Shanghai as police stood by. They also smashed windows at restaurants serving Japanese food and overturned cars.
While the two powers have a long-standing rivalry for economic and political dominance in Asia, they also are linked by billions of dollars in trade and investment, and are key players in six-nation talks aiming to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program.
THE Pentagon today announced the possible sale of three Aegis naval weapons systems to Australia, saying it would increase the ability of the US and Australian navies to operate together. The Defence Security and Co-operation Agency (DSCA) estimated the value of the sale could be as high as $US350 million ($460 million). Aegis systems are centred on a sophisticated computerised command system that can cue air defence missiles to attack enemy missiles and aircraft detected by targeting radar. Using its AN/SPY-1 phased array radar, it can track over 100 targets simultaneously.
Noting Australia's strategic location, the DSCA said helping the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) modernise its fleet of surface warships was vital to US interests. "The procurement also aids in maintaining the US Navy (USN) production base and will improve interoperability between RAN and USN forces," it said. "This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives, and facilitates burden sharing with our allies." Lockheed-Martin Maritime System and Sensors, Raytheon, General Dynamics were the principal contractors, DSCA said.
#6
Orianna's not long for this earth - they just made her day - she'll chew them a new one. I have total respect for the Lady!
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/24/2005 20:27 Comments ||
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#7
Lol, must be a Gallowsboy sycophant... Impressed with his own effluent and untutored in the ways of anyone or anything beyond his tiny isle of misunderstanding. A fuckwit, in American engrish.
#8
The Force of Reason is said to have gone to print about 24 hours after the 11 March 2004 train bombings in Spain. In it, Ms Fallaci argues that Europe is turning into "an Islamic province, an Islamic colony" and that "to believe that a good Islam and a bad Islam exist goes against all reason".
How is this different than the arguments of Princeton prof. Bernard Lewis and historian Bat Yeor?
Ms Fallaci, who lives in New York, was a Resistance fighter in World War II and a former war correspondent. There won't even be crumbs left when she is done with them. But some people have to learn the hard way, and Islamists never seem to learn at all.
#24
Mark Twain's ears must be burning, wherever the soul he never believed he had might be. But then, he did write so many wonderfully quotable things. ;-)
A Saudi newspaper said Tuesday the United States is working on a plan to protect Europe from Islamization. The semi-official daily al-Watan quoted an unidentified Dutch political source as saying the initiative was drawn up by a team of 15 political experts, security, science and social advisers, and led by a former CIA official who headed the Middle East department for several years.
"semi-official", "unidentified source", "ex-CIA official", why it must be true!
The source told the pro-government paper the initiative would deal with the actual number of Muslims in Europe and the effect their population growth will have on European demographics. He said the project is the result of American fears of the effect of Muslims on the European political systems and governments, "especially with the trend of Europeans to choose leftist and socialist governments in the aftermath of growing violence and Islamic threats."
Not a unreasonable fear
The U.S. State Department declined comment.
Like I said before, the last to know.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/24/2005 16:24 ||
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#1
Too bad for the Europeans it isn't true.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/24/2005 16:39 Comments ||
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#2
If not true, it's certainly not too late to get working on such a study. For us, the influence of Euro msulims' rapidly-increasing % of EU electorates is the most important Euro-issue we face. Far more consequential than the EU constitution votes.
#3
especially with the trend of Europeans to choose leftist and socialist governments in the aftermath of growing violence and Islamic threats."
Now this is just silly. The ONLY example is Spain, and that not at all clear, as most Socialist voters were unhappy with Aznar before the Madrid attack.
#5
"especially with the trend of Europeans to choose leftist and socialist governments in the aftermath of growing violence and Islamic threats." That would be reference to Spain. We are still in the middle of act one and its far from clear where this will lead us. On a related note. The financial press is full of reports about Europe's 'baffling' economic weakness. Its not baffling at all, as low skill and low employment immigrants form an increasing proportion of your population, your overall economic performance will decline. The fog of PCism can only obscure this simple fact for so long.
A Moroccan man who remains at large was assigned by a top al-Qaida leader to travel to the United States to take part in the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings, but was unable to obtain a visa, according to a new intelligence report provided to a German court by the U.S. government. After he failed to enter the United States, Zakariya Essabar took on another key assignment, according to the report. In late August 2001, he traveled from Germany to Pakistan bearing a simple verbal message for the al-Qaida leadership: "eleven nine," an alternate rendering of the date the plotters had chosen for the attack.
Essabar was named as a fugitive by the German government shortly after Sept. 11, as investigators began to piece together the trail left by the Hamburg-based cell to which many of the hijackers allegedly belonged. While Essabar's role as a messenger and his efforts to get a visa have been reported before, the intelligence document describes his role in the plot as more important than previously disclosed, stating he had been specifically groomed by the top leadership of al-Qaida to become a hijacker.
The intelligence report is based on the interrogation of another central al-Qaida figure from Hamburg, Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni citizen who was captured in Pakistan in 2002 and is being held by U.S. authorities at a secret location. A copy of the report was obtained by The Washington Post.
Essabar was to locate an al-Qaida contact called Mukhtar in Pakistan, according to the report. After he had trouble finding Mukhtar, he "contacted Binalshibh at a call center in Germany" at a prearranged time and date. The report doesn't specify whether he eventually met with Mukhtar.
While the document sheds some new light on how the plot developed, U.S. officials cautioned the German court that Binalshibh has given conflicting accounts about the involvement of Essabar and others in the conspiracy. According to the report, Binalshibh told his interrogators on two occasions that while Essabar was instructed by al-Qaida's military chief, Abu Hafs, one of several names used by Muhammad Atef, to acquire a U.S. visa, he did not know the purpose of the assignment. On another occasion, Binalshibh "claimed to know nothing" about Essabar at all, the report stated.
There were 19 hijackers aboard the four planes that plunged from the skies on Sept. 11. While U.S. investigators have long suspected there were plans for a 20th hijacker - with five people assigned to each plane - they have not answered the question of who that person was supposed to be.
Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen who took flying lessons in Minnesota before the attacks, has also been described as a likely candidate by U.S. officials. Moussaoui pleaded guilty last month in U.S. District Court to taking part in a broad al-Qaida conspiracy leading up to Sept. 11, but denied he was supposed to be one of the hijackers that day, saying instead that he was to fly a plane into the White House at a later date.
According to U.S. and German officials, Binalshibh tried early on to obtain a U.S. visa to participate in the attacks, but was rejected several times. The intelligence report about Essabar was delivered to German officials May 9 for use in the retrial of Mounir Motassadeq, a Moroccan, who is facing more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder, among other crimes, for his alleged role as a member of the Hamburg cell. The report is scheduled to be made public Tuesday in a Hamburg court. Motassadeq traveled with some of the hijackers to Afghanistan to receive military training at al-Qaida camps, and prosecutors say he later covered up for the hijackers' absence in Germany when they went to the United States. He was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but the decision was overturned on appeal.
The U.S. Justice Department provided a separate batch of intelligence reports last August based on interrogations of Binalshibh and the alleged central planner of the hijackings, Khalid Sheik Mohammed. Since then, German prosecutors and the judicial panel overseeing Motassadeq's retrial have pressed for more intelligence reports about the Hamburg cell and have complained about the U.S. government's refusal to allow al-Qaida operatives in its custody to appear at witnesses.
The report given to the Germans earlier this month also includes summaries of statements given to interrogators by another suspected al-Qaida leader, a Mauritanian businessman named Mohamedou Ould Slahi. According to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known as the Sept. 11 commission, Slahi played an important part in events leading up to the attacks by encouraging members of the Hamburg cell to abandon plans to fight in Chechnya and instead go to Afghanistan, where investigators say they met Osama bin Laden and were recruited to become hijackers. U.S. officials have not officially acknowledged Slahi was in their custody. His relatives said he was arrested in Mauritania on Sept. 27, 2001, and has not been seen since. His interrogation statements appear to be consistent with the Sept. 11 commission's description of his role.
This article starring:
ABU HAFS
al-Qaeda
KHALID SHEIK MOHAMED
al-Qaeda
MOHAMEDU ULD SLAHI
al-Qaeda
MUHAMAD ATEF
al-Qaeda
MUNIR MOTASADEQ
al-Qaeda
RAMZI BINALSHIBH
al-Qaeda
ZACARIAS MUSAUI
al-Qaeda
ZAKARIYA ESABAR
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/24/2005 09:04 ||
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#1
The ACLU will sue to force INS to give him a visa.
The WWII German Army used to take divisions immolated by fighting, take the most experienced troops and then combine them into ad hoc mobile combat groups called battle groups (kampfgruppen) . It was an operational expedient for an army at the time which did not expect the appearance of fresh divisions. On the eastern front the last new non SS unit went to the east in January of 1942.
So what does it all mean? The composition of the forces will likely be not mobile troops, but light rifles trundled about by helos? C130s? Two companies of guys/gals carrying rifles, the rest being carboard cutouts by the engineers?
#3
Rapid hardly describes the proposed battle groups. The EU hopes to get the decision process on committing the troops down to 5 days and plan on a further 10 days for the unit to get there!
The main purpose of the battle groups is to be able to deploy peacekeepers quickly(heh!). Most of the groups won't be ready until 2008 at earliest. There is also no higher command structure planned,which leaves plenty of room for politicking for the command slots when several groups get deployed together.(This may be reason the Germans are so enthusiastic about forming numerous combined nationality groups w/a German element. They may figure if most groups deployed have Germans in them they get to demand appropriate command slots.)
The units currently have a proposed stregnth of about 1500 men and eventually will be built around the EU FRES,the proposed EU version of the US FCS. Until then they will be alledgedly highly trained light infantry(not to cast doubt on the quality of the troops themselves,but who will pay for training ranges,training ammo and practice deployments?). Then there is the little matter of how the troops are going to get to where there are to be sent. The EU doesn't have any airlift or sealift capabilities,nor does it have any apparent plans to obtain any.
I can imagine the fun when the EU decides to send a couple of groups to a former French colony to restore order and demands Britain supply several C-130s to move the troops and their equipment,even tho Britain doesn't approve of the intervention.(I can't believe the EU will require unanimous consent to send its troops-otherwise they'd never be deployed outside Europe.)
Posted by: Stephen ||
05/24/2005 2:05 Comments ||
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#4
Hmm. I notice that the only EU country with a significant fighting force (the UK) isn't part of any battle group.
#5
Rapid reaction force means they will ride on bycicles instead of walking. The plan was to hire Lance Armstrong as an instructor but since they learned he was American, worse Texan they are looking for a replacement.
#6
Nah, "rapid reaction" means they'll be pumped up on espresso.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/24/2005 7:35 Comments ||
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#7
They've been talking this since the late 80's. There was a Franco-German Corps for a while, then Eurocorps (who knows what happened to that), now this. And they are supposed to start getting 180 Airbus military transports in 2010 (snicker).
#9
Spot---Rapid reaction by air. THAT's where the Airbus A380 comes in!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/24/2005 9:05 Comments ||
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#10
All trained to overrun Luxemburg in an hour. Anything outside of Europe will require sealift, airlift, logistical, and air and naval superiority support from the U.S. taxpayer.
#11
We should have a pool on where it will first be deployed, when the decision will be made and for the jackpot - how long it will take them to get there. If they are to be credible then it better be a "firehouse-fire" (like France under Islamic insurgency). If they have to respond outside of Europe - say Africa - as a multilateral force with logistics, C4 and all the support requirements they will end up being laughing stocks and make Rummy look like a cheshire cat!
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
05/24/2005 9:19 Comments ||
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#12
15 day deployment is NOT rapid reaction. You need to have a force that will be wheels up in 2 hours and anywhere in the world in 24 hours. The US has several rapid deployment battalions that have this capability (called DRF-1 for the alert code) and several more than can be loaded up and follow the RRF in 24 hours. I've seen US armored cavalry units go from being near off time to loaded and deploying in 48 hours, and the unit wasn't even expected to go. 15 days.... sheeesh. Europe, roll over and die now if this is the best you can do. The Islamists are coming for you ...
#13
I believe the Rapid Reaction means to immeaditely begin talks and discussions about how to diffuse the situation (the French will rapidly endorse surrender and appeasment)thereby allowing enough time for the US to step in. Then the discussion will turn to criticizing the US about their unilateral, cowboy antics.
#15
AP - I saw the item about the Airbus transports, and thought: if pigs had wings they could fly. The point is, they don't have them and probably never will. That's a lot of money and expertise the EUros don't have and don't really want to spend/develop.
The title of this piece should be: EU dreams of creating rapid reaction forces.
#16
mmuray, I don't think they have tested that 'rapid' portion of the RRF for quite some time. Still we can put boots on the ground a lot quicker that 10 days. I think after the Tsunami we had people there within 48 hours. This EU RRF is some pipe dream of the French that has little chance of success. I only wish they could field a force that would take some pressure of the U.S. military, but 15 days to get somewhere? Didn't germany defeat France in less that ten days? Saddam lasted less than seven and the Taliban about the same. So why don't the Euros do something useful if they are showing up AFTER the battle is over. Have an RRF hooker/hospital force to help after the battle. Bring in prostitutes for the able and medical staff for the injured. At least it be a useful force!
#17
Only one problem: Will there be an EU in 2007?
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/24/2005 11:08 Comments ||
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#18
Into what out-of-area regions will they intervene? Not anywhere near Russia. Kosovo's already been done. Not Iraq or Palestine or Lebanon or anywhere else in the middle east. Sudan? mm, don't think so (too many potential oil contracts at stake). Asia's too far away (I doubt more Tikhonovs will be forthcoming from Uzbekistan anytime soon).
All of which leaves subsaharan Africa as the only out-of-area region where this force will ever be applied. This is nothing more than a neo-colonial Rapid Reactionary Force marching under a pseudo-humanitarian banner. Call it the New Afrika Korps.
#20
Right-o, spot. If you want to get into the rapid reaction game, you have to develop it into your military infrastructure for years. It takes decades of commitment to make any military system happen. The Euros have been talking about it for decades. It is a good start. **snicker**
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/24/2005 12:04 Comments ||
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#21
They'll try to stall any potential enemy by using the "sharp rebuke/stern reprimand/summit conference/here take lots of our money" defense. That should give the EU rapid reaction boys a year, year and a half, to get into position for the deadly strike...
#22
CyberSarge - They tested it all the time when I was in. We would get the call (why was it always 1.5 hours after you collapsed in a druken stupor?) and load up, fly and train at another base for two weeks or so. The US military has it down to a science. The EU, well .... I like the After Action Hooker idea.
#23
Here's a news report from 2000 in which the EU dudes pledge to have a rapid reaction force operational in 2003. "Rapid" does not mean what they think it means.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/24/2005 12:47 Comments ||
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#24
#17 Cap'n A
Sure, there'll be an EU in 2007. The European Ummah.
Posted by: ST ||
05/24/2005 13:53 Comments ||
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#25
Re #23, LOL, way to go. Matt! Looks like they're in a close race with fusion, cold fusion, and John Kerry's Navy records.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/24/2005 15:04 Comments ||
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#26
badanov - the kampfgruppe was *not* supposed to be a replacement for properly organized units, but rather was the preferred Staff method of organizing tactical forces from existing resources. The kampfgruppen were ad hoc or hasty tactical commands designed to provide combined arms articulation in the field. The division commander's chief of staff, or his operations guy, or his brigade commander, would be told off to operate separately from the main force on his own axis of operations, along with a couple platoons of tanks, a company or two of armored infantry if the division was so blessed, a couple sections of anti-tank guns, maybe a battery of self-propelled artillery, etc. A single division might be entirely broken up into multiple kampfgruppen, all of them on their own operational lines.
After a good many engagements, the division might be so reduced as to only be able to field a single kampfgruppe, or the shattered remnants of multiple divisions or entire army corps consolidated into composite kampfgruppen. But the overarcing concept here was that these were ad hoc staff-organized agglomerations of fractions of existing units.
These European "rapid reaction forces" would have to be existing formations in order to get them off the ground with any celerity. Kampfgruppen are assembled from forces already in theatre - these would be pre-packaged elements organized so as to rapidly insert them *into* the theatre.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/24/2005 15:11 Comments ||
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#27
Rapid Reaction.
No more 48 hour surrender conferences. By 2007, they will be able to surrender is 36 hours, tops.
Students from area universities, colleges and high schools rallied Monday outside a military recruiting station downtown, pounding on windows and demanding an end to U.S. operations in Iraq.
Protests also were staged outside recruiting stations north of Seattle and in the University District next to the University of Washington. Students called for an end to military recruitment in schools and said money spent on the war should be used to better fund all levels of public education.
The demonstrations downtown and in the University District each attracted three or four dozen protesters. There were no arrests.
"The youth of this city and the youth of this country are standing up against this war," Federico Martinez, 23, a student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, said after the protests. "We want education to be the funding priority of the United States government, not the occupation of a sovereign nation."
The demonstrations follow the Army's one-day suspension last Friday of national recruiting efforts after reports of improprieties by recruiters trying to make up for waning recruitment numbers. Army officials said one incident involved a recruiter in Houston who allegedly threatened to have a would-be recruit arrested if he backed out.
The Army's chief of recruiting, Maj. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, said the reprieve was to allow commanders to emphasize ethical conduct.
But one day isn't enough, said Ramy Khalil, a member of Youth Against War and Racism, a fledgling national group with two chapters in Seattle. The group did not organize Monday's protests.
"The military is trying to give the impression that they're resolving the situation," Khalil said. "We think the only real solution is to end the war and bring the troops home."
Several dozen protesters circled outside Army and Marine recruiting stations in downtown Seattle. Students carried signs that read, "Money for tuition not ammunition," and "I want to learn to read not to kill."
The Marine recruiting office appeared to be closed for the lunch hour. But when the small crowd approached the Army station recruiters inside locked the doors and refused to let the students in.
Work continued as usual inside while the crowd "kinda pounded on some of the windows and doors," said Sgt. Melisa Porter, 23, of Concord, Calif.
"Everybody's entitled to their own freedom of speech," said Porter, a recruiter for only five months. "I definitely stand up for what I believe in."
Groups also staged similar demonstrations at recruiting offices in the city's Northgate and University neighborhoods.
The door at a Marine recruiting office just blocks from the University of Washington was locked when Justin Henderson of Seattle arrived. He said he had heard about the protests and came down to talk to recruiters and show his support for U.S. troops.
"A couple of my buddies are in Iraq and I thought this is something I could do to show my support," he said.
Organizers said students who protested came from the UW, Seattle Central Community College, The Evergreen State College and Western Washington University, as well as Garfield, Franklin, West Seattle, Nova, and Chief Sealth high schools.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/24/2005 11:05 Comments ||
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DB: See comment #2. They want to learn to read (although, they should've learned that well before college)...how can you be against that (/sarcasm off/)???
"The youth of this city and the youth of this country are standing up against this war," Federico Martinez, 23, a student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, said after the protests.
Man, oh man! You call 3-4 dozen punk kids the "youth of this city and the youth of this country"? Exactly how many students are there at Evergreen State College? This is just like Al Sharpy and Je$$e claiming they speak for the black community.
Posted by: BA ||
05/24/2005 13:40 Comments ||
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#8
tu3031, this guy wasn't speaking metaphorically. Evergreen State College is what's quaintly called an "experimental" school.
#9
"Evergreen State College" is one of many playgrounds for the lefty math-is-hard crowd. While China and India produce over a million engineering grads each year, we pay for these 23 year-old semiliterate, total innumerates to pursue "learning community programs". Acc to the school's former provost:
North Seattle College's "The Shaping of Cultures, Myths, and Identities" combined perspectives from history, communication, literature, and women's studies. It encouraged students to examine their own experiences while looking at broader issues about our origins, values, and identities (especially focused on gender, race, and class) and ways that such issues have been shaped by history and myths....
Another benefit of learning communities is that they provide a comprehensive framework for change that gets beyond the piecemeal nature of most reform efforts. Learning communities foster implementation of inquiry-based approaches to learning (such as service learning, multicultural education, and collaborative writing and research projects) that are not easily accommodated in fifty-minute classes. Most learning communities also rely on experiential learning and forms of reflective practice, something they could not easily do with a conventional course structure.
So nice to see American higher education doing its part to help the US maintain its intellectual and technological dominance in the 21st c...
#10
Three or four dozen college student protestors. Must be a slow day at the Associated Press. Next we'll be seeing frat parties as the lead stories in the New York Times.
"The youth of this city and the youth of this country are standing up against this war... We want education to be the funding priority of the United States government, not the occupation of a sovereign nation."
Ummmm, the war was two years ago... and the sovereign nation hasn't asked us to leave... and at 23 your education is no longer a funding priority. Get a job, slacker.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/24/2005 15:26 Comments ||
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#11
Sucessful recruiting should attract energetic thoughtful and intelligent with the strongest of convictions. Obviously this recruiting station is located way to close to college campi and is attracting derelict slackers unsuitable for the protecting freedom. The station should be moved at earliest convenience and recommendations ought to be made to BRAC concerning the viability of having military installations in Washington state at all
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/24/2005 21:12 Comments ||
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Here's a link to Rep. Conyer's (Dhimmi-Michigan) own blog and the text of his resolution putting Islam on a higher plane than any other religion in the U.S.
#9
Conyers sucks big ca-ca. He's one of the senators from my home state. I'm not sure how the guy gets elected, most Detroiters don't like politicos sucking up to the muslims in the city.
U.S. policy has helped improve Middle East security over the past year, but Iraq still drives recruits into the arms of al Qaeda, one of the world's top think tanks said on Tuesday in its annual survey of global security.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies, whose experts have sometimes been skeptical of U.S. policy under President Bush, gave credit to Washington for measures that appeared to bear fruit over the past year.
But it said that the security picture in Iraq, which improved markedly in the wake of January's election, has deteriorated again over the past two months.
"If May 2004 was marked by widespread despair over burgeoning insurgency in Iraq ... the watchword for May 2005 was guarded hope," it said in its 384-page Strategic Survey, which hailed the "healthy" turnout at the Iraqi election.
It also pointed to progress in the Arab-Israeli conflict, the promise of multi-party elections in Egypt and uprisings against Syria in Lebanon as examples of U.S. policy success.
"On balance, U.S. policy in 2004-2005 appeared fairly effective in emboldening regional actors in the Middle East and Gulf to rally against rogue states and implement gentle political reforms," the IISS said.
"But the inspirational effect of the Iraq intervention on transnational Islamist terrorism remained the proverbial elephant in the living room," it said.
"From al Qaeda's point of view, Bush's Iraq policies have arguably produced a confluence of propitious circumstances: a strategically bogged down America, hated by much of the Islamic world and regarded warily even by its allies."
IISS Director John Chipman, who presented the report, said Iraq still suffers from a security vacuum, with insurgent attacks worsening sharply over the past two months.
"The upsurge in violence in April and May indicates that neither the U.S. military nor the nascent Iraq security forces have managed to increase their capacity to control the country," he said.
The report said the reopening of dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis after the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat marked a "tipping point" in the peace process.
"Stark changes have been heralded not only by Arafat's death, but by (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon's conversion and Bush's commitment to use American influence to achieve a final status accord," it said. But success depended also on militant groups like Hamas that have rejected the peace process.
In an unusual chapter on international law and the "war on terrorism," the report described how courts over the past year had rolled back many new anti-terrorism powers claimed by governments, especially in the United States and Britain.
It said Washington and its allies had yet to resolve key legal issues, such as whether war could be justified against threats that were not imminent.
But it blamed the White House for the "shocking" abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody. An "amateurish official legal debate" in the Bush administration "incorrectly suggested that certain prisoners were 'not legally entitled' to humane treatment."
"Such illegal practices made the achievement of any broad international coalition in Iraq even more difficult than it already was, and strengthened the cause of the insurgents."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/24/2005 08:53 ||
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The Arabic London-based al-Quds al-Arabi daily Tuesday accused the United States of interfering in Iran's elections due next month. The independent Palestinian-owned paper said such U.S. intervention in the Iranian polls was a "dangerous precedent reflecting serious American intentions in interfering in the Iranian issue, not out of love for democracy and the Iranian people, but to pressure the regime to stop its nuclear programs." The paper insisted U.S. meddling became clear after Iranian reformers protested the disqualification of some of their candidates in the presidential race, set for June 17.
Curses! Foiled again!
The newspaper said it expects Washington to incite opposition to the elections through satellite channels financed by the U.S. administration. The paper argued Washington wants to "lead Iran on the path of Georgia and Ukraine," saying that was "why we should not be surprised with an eruption of student demonstrations across Iran to demand real democracy and free elections."
I'd be rather surprised if anything came of them.
The U.S. State Department declined comment.
They'd be the last to know if democracy broke out anywhere.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/24/2005 16:16 ||
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I certainly hope we're intefering.
Either we interfere now, and get the mullahs' panties in a wad, or we'll be forced to interfere later. And that will cause great harm to the Persian people. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/24/2005 16:45 Comments ||
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Syria has halted military and intelligence cooperation with the United States, its ambassador to Washington said in an interview, in a sign of growing strains between the two nations over the insurgency in Iraq.
The ambassador, Imad Moustapha, said in the interview on Friday at the Syrian Embassy here that his country had, in the last 10 days, "severed all links" with the United States military and Central Intelligence Agency because of what he called unjust American allegations. The Bush administration has complained bitterly that Syria is not doing enough to halt the flow of men and money to the insurgency in Iraq.
"We thought, why should we continue to cooperate?" he said.
Bush administration officials said Syria's stance has prompted intense debate at high levels in the administration about new steps that might be taken against the Syrian government. The officials said the options included possible military, diplomatic or economic action. But senior Pentagon and military officials cautioned Monday that if any military action was eventually ordered, it was likely to be limited to insurgent movements along the border.
"There's a lot of discussion about what to do about Syria and what a problem it is," said the administration official, who works for a government agency that has been involved in the debate.
Relations between Syria and the United States have been souring for months, and some Bush administration officials said Syria's level of cooperation had been dwindling even before the latest move.
The American officials declined to provide an on-the-record response to Mr. Moustapha's statements on halting intelligence cooperation, citing the delicacy of the issue.
American intelligence officials have said Syria has provided important assistance in the campaign against Al Qaeda since the Sept. 11 attacks. In recent months, senior Pentagon officials and military officers say, cooperation between the two nations has included low-level communications across the border between captains and field-grade officers of the American-led alliance and their Syrian counterparts.
One senior military officer said those communications had been helpful in mitigating a number of "cross-border firings" of artillery that have occurred between Syrian forces and the American-led military in Iraq. Any further scaling back of cooperation there or between Syria and the C.I.A. could have a tangible impact, officials said.
American military officers in Baghdad and intelligence analysts in Washington say militant cells inside Iraq draw on "unlimited money" from an underground financial network run by former Baath Party leaders and relatives of Mr. Hussein, many of whom they say found safe haven to live and operate in Syria.
Those officials say Damascus has done very little in its banking system to stop the financing, nor has it seized former Iraqi Baathists identified by the United States as organizing and financing the insurgency.
In presenting Syria's case, Mr. Moustapha said his government had done all it could to respond to American complaints, including taking steps to build barriers and add to border patrols.
He declined to comment on any role Syria might have played in the capture of Mr. Hussein's half-brother, Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti, No. 36 on the American list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. But the ambassador said Syria had jailed some 1,200 foreign fighters who sought to enter Iraq from Syria, and had returned scores of others to their home countries.
On the day of the interview with Mr. Moustapha, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Syria was "allowing its territory to be used to organize terrorist attacks against innocent Iraqis."
A senior American military officer acknowledged that "the Syrian government has in some cases been helpful" in building border berms and otherwise taking action against people involved in providing support to the insurgency. But the officer added: "Our sense is that they protest a bit too much and that they are capable of doing more. We expect them to do more."
The United States ambassador to Damascus, Margaret Scobey, has been in Washington for several months, having been recalled for consultations after the assassination in Lebanon on Feb. 14 of Rafik Hariri, a former prime minister.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/24/2005 08:54 ||
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I didn't know that we were cooperating with the Syranians. Sure had me fooled for a while.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/24/2005 9:09 Comments ||
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"Our sense is that they protest a bit too much and that they are capable of doing more. We expect them to do more."
#4
Didn't ya know? Syria is where we send all those Syrian-Canadians (or is it Canadian-Syrians?) to be tortured. It's been in all the Canuck papers.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/24/2005 9:36 Comments ||
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#5
The Bush administration has complained bitterly that Syria is not doing enough to halt the flow of men and money to the insurgency in Iraq.
"We thought, why should we continue to cooperate?" he said.
"You're not doing enough."
"Then I won't do ANYTHING!"
Two-year-old logic, or Arab diplomacy? Who can tell the difference?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/24/2005 9:41 Comments ||
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#6
AP - seriously, we have been sharing intell on AQ, and yes, we have renditioned some guys there.
Clearly, however, what we've gotten from them is less important than the problems we've had with them. And I think we can all agree that renditioning people to SYRIA was a stain on the WOT.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday ordered hard-liners to review their decision to block reformists from standing in next month's presidential polls, fearing the disqualifications could result in an election boycott. State radio said Khamenei told the Guardians Council, a political watchdog which vets candidacies, to reconsider the applications of Mostafa Moin and Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh.
Reformists have slammed the disqualifications as a "coup d'etat" by hard-liners eager to put an end to their movement. "It is desired that all people in the country from different political interests have the opportunity to take part in the big test of the elections," Khamenei was quoted as telling the head of the Guardians Council, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati. The council announced late Sunday that just six men out of a record 1,014 would-be candidates were fit to stand in the polls to succeed incumbent reformist President Mohammad Khatami. Moin was the candidate chosen by the main reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), and seen as the only credible pro-reform figure trying to stand.
In a statement, the IIPF said he had been barred for "defending equal rights for all Iranians, especially women, the young and ethnic minorities", "insisting on human rights" and seeking to "eliminate parallel bodies in the fields of intelligence, culture, foreign policy and the economy". Mehr-Alizadeh is currently a vice president in Khatami's Cabinet, and was running as an independent. With Moin and other reformists eliminated, the choice of candidates is currently limited to powerful former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani four veterans of the hard-line Revolutionary Guards close to Khamenei and a centrist cleric.
The reformist camp reacted angrily to the disqualifications, with some calls raised for an election boycott. The council's latest move to block political moderates has revived memories of tense February 2004 parliamentary elections, when almost all reformist candidates were disqualified. The assembly is now controlled by hard-liners. Khamenei also intervened during that crisis, but the Guardians Council largely maintained its blacklist. The supreme leader's concern over the turnout reflects the importance which the 26-year-old Islamic regime attaches to a voters' figure seen as a gauge of public support.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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Ali Khamenei: "I just shoved a giant suppository this far up my ass."
Posted by: Dr. Livingston ||
05/24/2005 0:58 Comments ||
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"and encountered my own brain stem"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/24/2005 10:14 Comments ||
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#3
Hey, Beavis...hehehehehehehehe...the old guy with the funny hat's giving the finger...hehehehehehehehehehehe..
May 24, 2005: Is stealth technology booby-trapped? Developing new technologies to defeat American stealth aircraft has become a major international business. Russian firms boat of having "counter-stealth" technology, as do a number of others in Europe and East Asia.
But recently there has been some discussion about how some American stealth technology is not all it appears to be. No one wants to provide too many details, since stealth secrets can be big money in the counter-stealth industry, but some researchers believe American stealth technology, especially some of the recent stuff, is designed deliberately to not be as stealthy as it could be. This was done so that potential enemies would spend time and energy trying to defeat stealth as it is. Apparently, once we learn that someone has developed a way to defeat stealth-as-it-is, relative minor adjustments can be made to make things stealthier again.
Or the real stealthy stuff is operating so far in the Black, they have to pump in light.
The source of some of this discussion may be coming from the many nations that will, for the first time, be able to buy an American stealth aircraft (the F-35). Then again, it may just be one of those intelligence deceptions meant to deceive and confuse potential enemies. If that's the case, it's working.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/24/2005 10:27 ||
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I don't think so. At least not to the point of deliberately picking a sub-optimal stealth level just to go to a higher one later.
First, Reduced Cross Section means just that: reduced. The idea is to reduce the distance at which it can be detected, not make it totally invisible. There is a radar return; it's just very, very weak. Obviously, more (or less, as it were) is better, but there are always trade-offs with speed, maneuverability, range, payload, and of course CO$T.
While the B-1 is by no means a "stealth" platform, it is vastly superior to the B-52 in RCS. If the radar stations are spaced far enough apart, a B-1 could sneak through a warning net that could detect a B-52. The F-117, B-2, F-22, and F-35 are just more of the same. They are able to penetrate existing nets. But, with more stations or higher power at each station, they could indeed be detected. So, if you want to defeat a B-2, just put your radar stations XXX feet apart and there you go. You'll need some generators for all the power and have half your population in the air defense, but it will work.
So, I suspect that if we did not reduce the RCS of the F-22 as much as possible, it's not because we are trying to trick other countries, but we viewed other parameters, such as supersonic cruise, a higher priority.
#2
So, I suspect that if we did not reduce the RCS of the F-22 as much as possible, it's not because we are trying to trick other countries, but we viewed other parameters, such as supersonic cruise, a higher priority.
Exactly. Sometimes 'good enough' is indeed good enough.
#3
It all comes down to one thing: the speed of innovation. Stealth is a fast cycle technology (less than 18 months sustainability per generation). The notion that there is something in the black box to pull out when needed is a misperception and a false contention.
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/24/2005 19:50 Comments ||
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I saw a Discovery Channel show theat demonstrated how the design for the Burke class destroyer shrunk its radar cross section so that it's blip look like a fishing boat. Pretty impressive. Recommendation: don't fish in the vicinity of a Burke class destroyer during a shooting war.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/24/2005 20:25 Comments ||
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Super Hose, how about if we all just get out of the water until the shooting war is over? ;-)
FORMER Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had accused the Israeli Government of barring him from entering Jerusalem and Jenin to hide atrocities against Palestinians, Malaysia's official Bernama news agency said today.
Mr Mahathir also said the Israelis, whom he described as "cruel" and "arrogant", lied about not having been warned in advance of his visit, Bernama said.
"Jenin is a place where the Israelis caused massive destruction and killed many Palestinians. That's why they prevented me from going there," he was quoted as saying.
Mr Mahathir, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause during his 22 years in power, was visiting the West Bank last week when he was prevented from entering Jerusalem and Jenin.
The Israeli authorities, who control the entrance into towns throughout most of the West Bank as well as the border into Jordan, said they had received no advance warning of Mr Mahathir's arrival.
Mr Mahathir said this was a lie as they were notified two weeks ahead of his visit.
"When I arrived there they took more than two hours, comparing my photographs and resorting to all sorts of delay tactics to prevent me from entering so that I will not be able to return from Jenin by 6pm when the border is closed," he said.
According to the former Malaysian prime minister, when he changed his plans and said he would go to Jerusalem instead, he received a call saying he could not proceed because of security concerns.
Mr Mahathir said the Israelis were cruel because they segregated Palestinian families by erecting a concrete security wall through their villages and seized their land, Bernama reported.
"They are an arrogant lot, they build a 30-feet (9.12m) wall not to separate Israel from Palestine... but Palestinian families, making them travel long distances through checkpoints when they wanted to meet relatives in the same village," he added.
Mr Mahathir, who retired in October 2003, said he visited the West Bank as a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The former prime minister caused uproar in Israel just before his retirement by saying that Jews ruled the world by proxy, getting others to fight and die for them.
Al-Azhar, Islam's highest Sunni authority, will launch a satellite TV channel to counter "anti-Islam onslaughts and highlight the true essence of Islam," once opposition over its funding has been resolved, officials at Al-Azhar said.
More "All Mullahs, All the Time"...
The project was recently approved by the Islamic Research Academy (IRA), the highest authority at Al-Azhar, at the request of academy committee member Abdel Rahman Al-Adawi. Adawi's plan, which was proposed almost one year ago, is to establish a satellite channel to promote and correct the image of Islam and to fight the radical Islamic thoughts often broadcast on Arabic satellite channels.
"We're gonna be much less extreme than they are!"
Adawi said it had become a religious duty to launch the channel in light of recent media attacks on Islam, the Qur'an, and Prophet Muhammad's sayings and Hadiths (teachings).
"Yeah! Lessee 'em flush a television down the toiders!"
"The academy's follow-up committee was alerted to this danger and realized that we should stop any attempt to demean the image of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)," Adawi told Arab News. "Part of our campaign is to counter a colonial war against Muslims and their faith." The scholar said the satellite channel would not attack other people or groups, nor attempt to cast doubt on other religions. "We will carry out what Islam preaches, which is to embrace other religions," Adawi said. Officials at the IRA said the project should have been approved a year ago, but financing was its major problem. The IRA's secretary-general, Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Fayoumi, told Arab News that Al-Azhar was still unable to fund this multimillion Egyptian pound project. "We asked the government and officials at the state-owned TV to help us, but they were not convinced of the seriousness and importance of the project," said Fayoumi. Indeed, early this year, the Information Ministry turned down a request by the religious committee of the radio and television union to set up a religious satellite channel or to allocate airtime on Egyptian satellite channels to defend Islam.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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My most recent theory is that leftist liberalism and Islam are as different as lung cancer is from bone cancer: Different locations, different manifestations, but the underlying causation mechanism is the same.
Thus, extrapolating from the Left, this'll go the way of Al-Jizz: They won't be able to help themselves or act rationally on their own without outside intervention than Howard Dean can.
The Palestinian Election Commission signaled yesterday that a parliamentary vote set for July 17 would have to be postponed because it needs more time to prepare. The election is a key element in democratic reforms pursued by President Mahmoud Abbas to help revive peace talks with Israel aimed at Palestinian statehood and any delay could raise uncertainty benefiting armed factions. The independent election commission said it needed at least two months from the time a new election law is ratified to lay the groundwork for voting. But Abbas, who has repeatedly vowed to hold the vote as scheduled, is locked in a dispute with lawmakers over electoral reforms that has left the new legislation in limbo.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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"Indigenous" Muslims are being harassed in the name of evicting suspected Bangladesh migrant workers from the state, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has said. The outlawed ULFA, fighting for an independent Assamese homeland in Assam, said there were attempts at creating communal clashes in the state while trying to hound suspected Bangladeshi nationals from the region. "There are reports of indigenous Muslims being harassed and troubled by some people in the pretext of driving out illegal infiltrators from the state," ULFA Chairperson Arabinda Rajkhowa said. "There is a serious attempt at creating a religious rift in the state to trigger communal clashes. We appeal to the people of Assam not to allow people with nefarious designs to foment trouble."
The ULFA also accused some political parties of trying to whip up emotions ahead of assembly elections in Assam scheduled early next year. "This is nothing but a pre-election exercise by people with vested interests," the ULFA leader said. Indian intelligence officials say several ULFA leaders operate out of Bangladesh. Dhaka denies the charges. Thousands of people thought to be Bengali-speaking migrant workers have left their workplaces from at least a dozen Assamese towns and cities after an unidentified group distributed leaflets asking them to leave or face action.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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Ironically the ULFA was originally formed because they wanted an independent Assam that would kick out all the Bangladeshis and other recent arrivals, but in the decades since, their leaders have taken up residence inside Bangladesh and now they talk about solidarity with the poor Muslims against the Indian state.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/24/2005 4:20 Comments ||
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#2
Great pic - it sums up my thoughts exactly.
Except the violin should be a lot smaller.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/24/2005 11:20 Comments ||
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#3
The Koran has a few notable omissions:
1. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."
2. "As you sow, so shall you reap."
3. Anything that has anything to do with cause and effect.
Over the years, >STRONG>hundreds of thousands of illegal Bangladeshi migrants have swamped the tea-growing and oil-rich state in search for work and food.
Over two years ago, the government estimated there could be up to 20 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India, and labelled some of them a security risk.
"Every day around 6,000 illegal infiltrators cross the border and enter the state," said an intelligence official in Guwahati, the state's main city.
Posted by: john ||
05/24/2005 16:32 Comments ||
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#8
The Bangladesh population is now smaller than expected, not due to birth control, but rather export to India
UN bares shuddering Bâdesh population fact
By a Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, May 18: At a time when the illegal immigration issue is shaking Assam, a startling revelation by a UN-sponsored survey speaks volume of the impact it would have on the demography of the State.
According to the Census of Bangladesh, there was an increase of 10.4 crore in its population during the period 1981-91. But if the earlier growth rate of the neighbouring nation is any indication, the increase should have been 11.8 crore, the UN survey said. This difference of more than 1 crore in the population has surprised many, including the United Nations. According to the survey, during the period from 1981 to 1991, there was an increase of 25.25 per cent in the population in Bangladesh. Of Bangladeshâs total population, 86.6 per cent is Muslims and 12.1 per cent is Hindus.
The rise in Assamâs population over the last 25 years has been alarming. During the period 1971-1991, there was a rise of 53 per cent. Of this, the rise of Hindu population was 41.89 whereas that of Muslim population was a whopping 77.42 per cent.
During the survey, the 64 districts of Bangladesh were divided into five zones. The study was conducted in 21 greater districts.
When looked into the statistics, the increase in population during the period 1981-91 in Dhaka was 31.37 lakhs (31.33 per cent). The increase was 6.58 lakhs (20.56 per cent) in Dinajpur district , 10.24 lakhs (14.10 per cent) in Sylhet, 6.64 lakhs (13.94 per cent) in Faridpur and 15.7 lakhs (27.24 per cent) in Chittagong Hills Tract. The rise in population in some of Assam districts during the same period was more alarming. In Dhubri it was 56.57 per cent, 54.12 per cent in Goalpara, 65.72 per cent in Kamrup, 51.26 per cent in Nagaon, 50.90 per cent in Morigaon, 38.76 per cent in Sivasagar and 33.10 per cent in Jorhat.
Posted by: john ||
05/24/2005 16:34 Comments ||
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Morocco's King Mohammed VI will not attend a North African summit to be held this week in the Libyan capital, the kingdom's Foreign Ministry has said. The ministry on Monday said the reason behind the monarch's decision was neighbouring Algeria's "surprising official positions" on Western Sahara that have hurt Moroccan interests. The king will instead be represented in Tripoli by Morocco's Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa, government officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.
Meanwhile, Aljazeera has learned that the meeting, originally scheduled for 25-26 May, has been put off to 26-27 May after the death of the elder brother of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The Moroccan Foreign Ministry confirmed reports that the king would not attend the first gathering since 1994 of heads of state of the five Maghreb nations. "Algeria has taken the responsibility of compromising an opportunity to relaunch ... (North African) construction," the ministry statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Western Sahara was in issue when I was in Morocco (briefly) in 1978. Some things never end!!
Morocco says the western Sahara was part of Morocco before the French came and gave it to Spain, making it Spanish Sahara. The Algerians support the Polisario, who want to make it a separate country - a Marxist outfit, IIRC. The only thing there is sand and phospate.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/24/2005 15:41 Comments ||
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Aljazeera has quoted the leader of the Polisario Front fighting for the independence of Moroccan-administered Western Sahara as threatening to resume armed action against the kingdom. Speaking at a ceremony on Saturday marking the 32nd anniversary of the creation of the Polisario Front, its leader Mohamed Abdelaziz said the people of Western Sahara were struggling by all legitimate means, including armed struggle, to gain their rights, Aljazeera reported. "The Sahrawi people cannot remain indefinitely with their arms folded," an Algerian Press Agency report quoted him as saying.
Morocco annexed Western Sahara after former colonial ruler Spain pulled out of the large, phosphate-rich desert territory in 1975. The Polisario Front took up arms for independence the following year. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, for his part, congratulated the Polisario on the anniversary and pledged Algiers' continued support for the movement. Bouteflika's statement of support came on the eve of the Arab Maghreb summit, due to be held in Libya, Aljazeera reported, adding that the organisation's functioning has been paralysed in recent years by the deadlock over the Western Sahara dispute.
Got the internal conflict wearing down, so maybe a little foreign adventurism will bring the old populace together. I suppose it'll burn off the cream of the domestic Commies, but I'd also guess it'll come back to bit them later...
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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I coulda read this article before I commented on the previous....
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/24/2005 15:43 Comments ||
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#2
EU Rabid Reaction Force, make yourselves useful.
This conflict fits the bill for EU RRF intervention: no signif airlift required; based in a onetime (future?) colony; of zero strategic relevance.
A Palestinian teachers union has called for the dismissal of Al-Quds University President Sari Nusseibah for "normalising ties with Israel" and "serving Israeli propaganda interests". A statement by the Palestinian Union of University Teachers and Employees (PUUTE), published on the front page of the Ram Allah-based daily Al-Ayyam, on Monday accused Nusseibah of "normalising relations with the Sharon government" despite the Israeli prime minister's policy of "bullying the Palestinians and stealing their land".
What? What? Why, he must be killed!
"This constitutes a strong blow to the Palestinian national consensus against normalisation with Israel," said the statement. "We call on all concerned parties within the Palestinian Authority, including President Mahmoud Abbas and the Higher Education Council, to take the necessary measures to put an end to him this behaviour, which doesn't represent the position of the Palestinian university teachers and employees, and dismiss the president of the Al-Quds University." The statement also accused Nusseibah of acting against a recent decision by Britain's Association of University Teachers to boycott Israel's Haifa and Bar Ilan universities.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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Dr Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al Quds university in Jerusalem and Dr. Menachem Magidor, President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have signed a joint declaration against academic boycotts on the basis that 'co-operation based on mutual respect' is 'a far better means of achieving common goals in the Middle East'. This admirable joint effort in defence of academic freedom of speech, which is being threatened by the AUT's proposed boycott of selected Israeli universities, conceals the fact that Dr Nusseibeh -- who deserves credit for the moderate stance he has taken towards Israel -- nevertheless does not object to the boycott on the grounds that its premise is a disgusting and racist libel against Israel but merely that it is bad tactics, since he would wish to use his contacts with Israeli academics to encourage even more of them to undermine the Israel government's attempts to defend the Jewish state from the annihilation promised in the Palestine National Covenant and in demented anti-Jewish rants by PA-controlled preachers (see earlier post below). Whether the Hebrew University really regards this as 'achieving common goals in the Middle East' is open to question.
On BBC Radio Four's Today programme this morning (0749), there was a 'debate' on the AUT boycott between Dr Nusseibeh and Sue Blackwell, its originator. Here was actually the true example of 'achieving common goals in the Middle East'. Both of them agreed that the basic problem was the Israeli occupation, and that the Israeli government had to be prevented from oppressing the Palestinians. The only difference between them was over the tactics to be used. Blackwell wanted to punish Israeli academics to engineer a change in Israel's behaviour; Nusseibeh wanted to 'reward' them if they supported the Palestinian cause.
The Today presenter, Jim Naughtie, sat back during this love-in, attempting to intervene only when Blackwell started ranting about a 'racist' conference at Haifa university. There wasn't a peep of protest when Blackwell asserted that 'people have to make a stand against oppression which has gone on for centuries'. Excuse me? Israel was founded in 1948, yet Blackwell appears to think the Jews have been oppressing the Palestinians 'for centuries'. (So much for her claim that the boycott is to redress the wrongs of the 'occupation' which started, er, in 1967. Of course, there was indeed oppression in this land for centuries -- oppression of the Jews, who were ethnically cleansed from their own country and then persecuted and massacred in the region until they regained their homeland.)
Blackwell was not challenged on this preposterous assertion because the premise of the item was that Israel was the bad guy. This was a given for the two participants and their BBC hosts. The BBC shares the view common to the two 'debaters', that Israel is the problem and the only issue is over the tactics to deal with it.
That's why this line-up undoubtedly corresponded to the BBC's idea of balance -- two people on opposing sides of a question. The problem is the BBC asked the wrong question. Instead of debating the question 'Is the AUT boycott fair and just?' it debated instead the question 'Is the boycott the best way of hitting Israel?'
The United Nations says up to 40,000 children are leaving their homes in northern Uganda at night to avoid being abducted and forced into fighting. The UN says the number of so-called night commuters has increased by 10,000 in the past month after a surge in fighting in Northern Uganda. About 20,000 children have been abducted and forced to fight by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, so children leave their village homes and sleep in the streets in larger towns to avoid being kidnapped. A new UNICEF report says that worsening conditions stem from a stalemate in attempts to restart peace talks. Earlier this month, increased attacks prompted calls for UN Security Council intervention in an area which officials say is now home to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
#15
Hey...there's something to this. I find that if I drink 5 shots in rapid succession, twirl for 45 seconds and squint, it says "Paul is dead, I killed Paul"
#18
Hey, what about those pentacostal whackos that sat around in church basements listening to Black Sabbath and the Beatles backwards?
When I was in middle school, I would accompany my friend Patti to her Sunday Catholic mass and confirmation classes. The teacher spent *five weeks* outlining the Satanic symbols on Van Halen and Journey album covers...
News of my death is greatly exaggerated. Heh. Seafarious, I still have my clarinet, and play it from time to time. Some time I will play "Star of Edinborough" for ye.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/24/2005 11:55 Comments ||
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#22
The Moving Finger writes;
and, having writ, Moves on:
nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.
Three Pakistani prisoners who returned from Guantanamo Bay in September last year recently told a joint interrogation team (JIT) of several intelligence agencies that the Americans were curious about the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and wanted information on the agency's networks in Afghanistan and Iran. They also corroborated reports that US interrogators desecrated the Quran.
Proving that our intel guys aren't real stoopid and that the turbans like to sing in harmony...
According to documents obtained by Daily Times, Military Intelligence (MI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), ISI, Special Investigation Group (SIG) and Sindh Police personnel conducted the joint interrogation of Abid Raza, Mohammad Anwar and Mohammad Ilyas in Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas prisons from April 18 to May 10 this year. The three, along with a dozen others, had arrived from Guantanamo Bay in September last year. After detaining them at Adyala Jail in Rawalpindi for about eight months, the authorities took them to prisons in Sindh in early April. The three prisoners, who had been taken to the Guantanamo detention facility from Afghanistan in January 2002, said the Americans interrogated them about Al Qaeda, the Taliban and ISI.
Grouping the three together almost as thought they were one...
"But most of their questions were about the ISI. They wanted to know how many of those detained in Guantanamo had been associated with the ISI. They would to ask things like what were the networks of the ISI in Afghanistan and Iran, how the agency worked in those countries and who were working for the ISI in Afghanistan and Iran," the Guantanamo returnees told the JIT.
This article starring:
ABID RAZA
al-Qaeda
MOHAMAD ANWAR
al-Qaeda
MOHAMAD ILYAS
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2005 00:00 ||
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Yep, they used the Ronco Electric Koran Desecrator, only $19.95. But wait there's more ...
#2
About f*cking time! Has the Clue Bat⢠struck our intel folks? The ISI is the biggest pack of jihadi enablers since the House of Sod.
I used to be dumb enough to think they were a "stabilizing presence" in the region, lol. What a fool. The more I find out about Pakiwakiland, the more I find out what a cess pool of islamofascism, corruption, and just plain nut-bag-ery it is.
#3
Some days I get the feeling that my very existence "desecrates the Koran".
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/24/2005 8:58 Comments ||
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#4
If you really want to get a Paki worked up ask him if he thinks Pakistan will ever be able to beat India in cricket.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
05/24/2005 9:12 Comments ||
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I'm always amused when I see TV footage of the Pak army 'hunting' al-qaeda types.
The official motto of the Pak army is "Jihad and Piety in the name of Allah"
The ISI is just giving expression to that motto.
"Terror struck into the hearts of the enemies is not only a means, it is the end in itself. Once a condition of terror into the opponentâs heart is obtained, hardly anything is left to be achieved. It is the point where the means and the end meet and merge. Terror is not a means of imposing decision upon the enemy (sic); it is the decision we wish to impose upon him."
- Brig. S.K. Malik, The Quranic Concept of War, 1986, p. 59.
"I write these few lines to commend Brigadier Malik's book on 'The Koranic Concept of War' to both soldier and civilian alike. JEHAD FI-SABILILLAH is not the exclusive domain of the professional soldier, nor is it restricted to the application of military force alone."
GENERAL M. ZIA-UL-HAQ
Chief of the Army Staff
Posted by: john ||
05/24/2005 18:13 Comments ||
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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.
The Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown 
Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have made substantial changes in their school curriculums as part of an ongoing process of educational reform. "The move to redesign the curriculums is intended to meet the challenges of the new world order and is unrelated to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks," said Dr. 
Uzbek authorities arrested a prominent human rights activist who has strongly criticized the violence in the eastern city of 
THE Pentagon today announced the possible sale of three Aegis naval weapons systems to Australia, saying it would increase the ability of the US and Australian navies to operate together. The Defence Security and Co-operation Agency (DSCA) estimated the value of the sale could be as high as $US350 million ($460 million). Aegis systems are centred on a sophisticated computerised command system that can cue air defence missiles to attack enemy missiles and aircraft detected by targeting radar. Using its AN/SPY-1 phased array radar, it can track over 100 targets simultaneously.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah 
The Palestinian Election Commission signaled yesterday that a parliamentary vote set for July 17 would have to be postponed because it needs more time to prepare. The election is a key element in democratic reforms pursued by President 
"Indigenous" Muslims are being harassed in the name of evicting suspected Bangladesh migrant workers from the state, the 
Morocco's King 
Aljazeera has quoted the leader of the 
A Palestinian teachers union has called for the dismissal of 
