He heard the military helicopters coming, Dr Ali al-Wadiee told Seattle Times in al-Ruzamat, a small village amid the volcanic mountains of Yemen's remote north, near the border with Saudi Arabia. "There were several loud explosions," he said, but the doctor didn't know how many helicopters dropped their payloads in al-Naqa'ah on the Yemeni side of the border.
In Saada province, 240 kilometers north of the capital Sana'a, nearly 700 people have been killed as fighting reignited in late January between the Yemeni army and a Zaidi Shi'ite insurgent group called Al Shabab Al Moumin (the Youthful Believers) - formed by now-deceased tribal chief Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi - after the rebels threatened to kill members of a small Jewish community in Saada if they did not leave the country within 10 days.
Wadiee was present in a small government medical center with four health workers when more than 100 dead were received in a period of three days. "About 90 of the dead were in the Yemeni army, and the others were in the Shi'ite insurgents," he said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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..On the one hand I call BS, especially the one hundred dead, 90 of whom were Army. On the other hand, if they're killing each other, they aren't trying to sink our destroyers.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/23/2007 8:50 Comments ||
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#2
The natural state of Arabs --- and the one wherein they constitute the minimal threat to the rest of the world --- is tribalism.
#4
Sell them a live Nuke with an internal GPS sensor, set to explode if moved over 100 yards in any direction, including straight up.
Arm on delivery.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/23/2007 16:27 Comments ||
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#5
"They refused all offers by the government to disarm and form a political party to live in peace," said Abdullah al-Faqih, a professor at Sana'a University. "I think the rebels have this time lost all grounds for negotiations with the government."
A two-bit professor in a third world backwater is able to recognize this simple fact, yet the most sophisticated leaders of the civilized world's greatest nations cannot bring themselves to arrive at the same conclusion. Go figure.
Intelligence agencies may investigate alleged links between arrested Senior Joint Secretary General of BNP Tarique Rahman and Dubai-based Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
Communications Adviser MA Matin made this comment to reporters yesterday when he was asked about a Kolkata-based newspaper report that quoted Indian intelligence agency officials as saying Tarique had close links with Ibrahim as well as the al-Qaeda. "I saw this in newspapers but this is just a bit of information. Now it is the duty of the intelligence agencies to investigate the matter and find out the evidence," he said. The government will have to check the veracity of the report's claims, he added. "Tarique will be charged and legal action will be taken against him if the allegation is proved true," said Matin, also chairman of the National Coordination Committee to prevent grievous crimes.
A report titled "Khaleda's son contacted Dawood to buy arms" was published by the daily Anandabazar Patrika citing an intelligence report of the Indian external affairs ministry. Tarique also established contacts with the al-Qaeda through his involvement in the international money laundering, the report claimed. The newspaper said Tarique and the then National Security Intelligence director general Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury travelled to Dubai in March 2006 to secure a series of deals at a Dubai hotel to buy arms and ammunition in the lead up to the cancelled January 22 parliamentary elections. The report said Tarique also purchased a palatial mansion worth $60 million in Dubai. The two also came to an understanding that Tarique would buy large swaths of land which would be locally managed by Ibrahim, the report claimed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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British police began questioning three men suspected in plotting three suicide bombings in July 2005 which killed 52 people and wounded over 700 in London subway and a bus. Two of the suspects, aged 23 and 30, were arrested shortly yesterday at Manchester airport. The third, aged 26, was arrested in Beeston, a suburb of Leeds, same afternoon. Beeston, a working-class area of Leeds, was home to three of the 2005 bombers.
One of the three arrested, Mohammed Shakil, 30, is a taxi driver and father of three from Beeston. He quit his job saying that he was going to Pakistan for some time to deal with family problems. He was arrested at Manchester Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Pakistan, London's Metropolitan Police said.
Police sources indicated that the three men arrested were not "bomb makers", although they were suspected of providing financial support and accommodation to the bombers, and of having knowledge of the attacks on three London tube trains and a bus. "We are not talking about a fifth, sixth or seventh bomber," a security source said. Three men were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/23/2007 12:49 ||
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"...We're talking about accessories before and after the fact, co-conspirators and just plain bad hats."
The latest round of talks on North Koreas nuclear weapons programme broke down on Thursday without Pyongyangs representative attending a single meeting, saying negotiations could not continue until the US had met the initial requirements of last months denuclearisation deal.
But Kim Kye-gwans insistence on receiving the $25m in North Korean-related money frozen at Macaos Banco Delta Asia is likely to prove a hiccup rather than a major setback, analysts say. The US Treasury on Monday said it had authorised the return of all the $25m (18.7m, £12.7m) initially said to have been earned through counterfeiting and money-laundering to North Korea but transferring the money is turning out to be a complicated process. The major issue was that [North Korea] did not want to engage in substantive follow-up until the finalisation of the BDA issue had been achieved, Christopher Hill, the USs chief negotiator in the talks, said yesterday. Its turned out that some of those details were complex.
Under the agreement forged in Beijing last month, the US had to resolve the BDA issue within 30 days and then North Korea would shut down its main Yongbyon nuclear reactor and provide a full list of all its nuclear weapons programmes in the following 30 days. Were still on schedule to meet the 60-day requirements, Mr Hill said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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"Transferring the money is turning out to be a complicated process" > IOW, USA is working to release the $$$ from Banco Delta Asia, JUST NOT TO NORTH KOREA YET UNTIL NK SHOWS SOME
"VERIFIABLE" LOVE IN SHUTTING DOWN ITS NUCPROGS???
Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, orchestrated a significant shift in US policy towards North Korea by persuading the US Treasury to agree to Pyongyangs demands to release $25m frozen in a Macao bank since 2005.
Current and former officials say Christopher Hill, the chief US negotiator on North Korea, convinced Ms Rice that the US should sacrifice the issue of the frozen funds to push forward the broader goal of implementing last months six-party accord on denuclearising the Korean peninsula. Several people familiar with the debate said Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, agreed to overrule officials responsible for terrorism financing, who objected to the move, after Beijing warned that a failure to return the North Korean funds would hurt the Sino-US strategic economic dialogue.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, orchestrated a significant shift in US policy towards North Korea by persuading the US Treasury to agree to Pyongyangs demands to release $25m frozen in a Macao bank since 2005.
#2
Why are we trying to be so accommodating here? Norks live up to their agreements or the deal is off. The $25 million must be part of Kimmie's personal account. Screw them. Let their Chicom dog handlers deal with their vicious little yapper.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Hooper Bay, AK ||
03/23/2007 11:56 Comments ||
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The European Union should move towards forming a common army, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a newspaper interview published on Friday. Asked how she saw the EU developing in the next 50 years, Merkel told daily newspaper Bild: "In the EU itself we must come closer to a common European army."
"Ein Europa, eine Armee!"
Germany holds the EU's rotating presidency for the first half of this year.
Last year, Polish President Lech Kaczynski said his country wanted a new 100,000-strong European Union army created to work with NATO in trouble spots in the world or to defend Europe.
Merkel is hosting a summit this weekend in Berlin where the bloc will celebrate its 50th anniversary and unveil a declaration setting out its values and achievements. Merkel hopes the so-called "Berlin Declaration" will be a springboard for her revival of the European constitution, rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. Merkel told Bild the EU's 27 member states often spent too long grappling with issues under the bloc's existing structure. "To change that, we need the EU constitution, which suits the decision mechanism of the larger EU," she said.
"Under the new EU, there will be no more "issues"!"
Germany has vowed to present a "road map" for relaunching the constitution at a June EU summit in Brussels, with a view to getting a new document ratified by mid-2009.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/23/2007 09:51 ||
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#1
They will need an army to keep the peasants from revolting.
#2
Sleep, baby, sleep, in peace may you slumber,
No danger lurks, your sleep to encumber.
We've got the missiles, peace to determine,
And one of the fingers on the button will be German.
#3
Nah, they just recognize that the Americans are not likely to be willing to bury any more of their youth and blood over Euros and that when they're gone, they're not coming back. That, and it's a German thing in which you need someone in a real spiffy uniform for the surrender ceremony.
#4
This is an idea that has been around for at least 20 years. One of the problems with that common army is that the military doctrines (and equipment) for these countries is completely different. French doctrine is almost completely the opposite of British doctrine, etc.
This is something the politicians want and the militaries can't stand. The politicians pursue it because they think they won't have to deal with the consequences.
The EUrocrats better hope that they never have to face an enemy stronger than the Taliban, or their "Joint Task Forces" will fall apart on the battlefield.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/23/2007 10:56 Comments ||
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#5
I am glad to see that they are putting together an army to defend their union. They deserve our encouragement for that. I have bigger doubts about whether they any longer have the will to use force when necessary or the honesty/courage to recognize an enemy that threatens their very existence.
#7
There is almso tyhe little problem of language barreer. One of the reasons of the less than stellar erforamnce of iùmperial Austrian army in 18th and 19th century was that competenet officers weren't assigned go where they would do most good but where they could communicate with the peole they commanded.
#9
The equipment issue is being solved by orders from Brussels on purchasing. Read EU Referendum for the complete run down on the mess that is the UK armed forces procurment.
#10
If this army is anything like the European Union's bureaucracy it'll make UNFIL look like a mean, lean fighting machine. How many four star catered luncheons years will it take for them to reach agreement upon a proper salute? Then there's the uniform design. Here's a sneak preview.
#11
[Does obeisance to the ghost of Cyril Ritchard]
I'm one of the Whitehall warriors!
I look so immensely picturesque
Behind an expensive walnut desk
I'm one of the Whitehall warriors!
I'm fighting the Hun
Without any gun;
This boy's allergic to noise.
I'm one of the Whitehall warriors!
I'm one of the Red Tape Brigade.
At a stroke of the pen
I set thousands of men
Making bicycle clips for the troops.
I supply every button
And shoulder of mutton
And sample the various soups.
I'm one of the Whitehall warriors!
I've answered the call, Whitehall!
I start at ten and leave off again
For me lunch at twenty-five to one;
I'm back at three, at four cup of tea.
And five the busy day is done.
I stroll around St. James Park
Two dry martinis at the Berkeley,
Then back to the club
For some excellent grub.
Isn't war an awful lot of fun?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 11:57 Comments ||
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#13
An2-I understand what you're saying, but try to find a single American political leader willing to proceed from that.
Europe will have to decide for itself what represents a bigger threat: American world leadership or Islamic overthrow. If they choose neither and pick option 3 (work for their own rise to superpowerdom by playing both sides and dragging this all out), demographics will decide it for them.
#14
The US has four services plus the Coast Guard. It's not hard to imagine the Europeans coming up with something similar.
English NAVY
German ARMY
French MARINES
English AIRFORCE
Spanish/Italian COASTGUARD
Swedish PEACECORPS
Build the base around that. Each service has it's own special forces and like the US each service would want to have enough air and logistics to cover themselves.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/23/2007 14:41 Comments ||
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#20
Swiss COAST GUARD
Hey! Ship, you must have stolen that outta my latest book: "Great Swiss Naval Battles". It's selling almost as well as my other title: "Stage Lighting Effects for Radio Broadcasting".
#22
Dammit! Kobe the Rat is about to top 50 points again. Double team that conceited creep.
On topic, an EU army would have to have a fixed quota of Muslims. And Euros are required to believe that Islam is a religion of peace. Do you people know that Dutch soldiers can wear their hair down their waste, if they want. Taliban might think they are fighting a hair band.
Romano Prodi, Italian prime minister, came under attack again on Wednesday over his government's stance on the Afghan conflict, four weeks after his centre-left coalition nearly collapsed when it lost a parliamentary vote on foreign policy. Opposition deputies criticised the government for arranging with the Afghan government to free five Taliban prisoners in exchange for an Italian journalist who was kidnapped in southern Afghanistan on March 5.
Mr Prodi faces a difficult vote in the Senate, parliaments upper house, next Tuesday when he will try to win approval to renew funding for military operations in Afghanistan. Italy has 1,900 soldiers in Afghanistan, part of a 31,000-strong Nato-led force. But communists and pacifists in Mr Prodis coalition want to withdraw the Italian contingent, and a few may vote against the government next week. When two dissident leftists refused to back the government in a Senate vote on Afghanistan and other foreign policy issues on February 21, Mr Prodi submitted his resignation. He later won a do-or-die confidence vote and stayed in office.
His governments dilemma was highlighted on Tuesday when Massimo DAlema, foreign minister, said Taliban insurgents were moving closer to the western Afghan city of Herat, where 750 Italian soldiers are based. Unfortunately, the guerrillas are arriving even at Herat, and I dont think the Italian troops are in a good situation. We are going to be facing some difficult moments, Mr DAlema said in New York.
Mr DAlema is trying to remove the poison of the Afghan conflict from centre-left politics by emphasising his governments efforts to convene a peace conference that would include Afghanistans neighbours. The idea has won some support from Italys Nato allies but radical leftist politicians have disrupted the ministers diplomacy by demanding that the Taliban also attend any conference on Afghanistan. Mr Prodi hopes to win the Senate vote without relying on opposition support, as otherwise his government would be exposed as lacking a majority of its own on a vital foreign policy issue.
Except for the populist Northern League party, the opposition supports involvement in Afghanistan. But some centre-right politicians are unhappy about the governments dealings with the Taliban to free the kidnapped reporter. Our vote [to renew funding] cannot be taken for granted, Altero Matteoli, a leader of the rightwing National Alliance party, said yesterday. The release of five terrorists is the worrying aspect of this affair.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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T....radical leftist politicians have disrupted the ministers diplomacy by demanding that the Taliban also attend any conference on Afghanistan
(AKI) - Several Turkish newspapers on Thursday claimed that a British man described by Turkish visa authorities as a United Nations officer secretely travelled to Turkey to meet a convicted Al-Qaeda terrorist serving a life imprisonment in connection with a series of deadly bomb blasts in 2003 against two synagogues, the British embassy and the HSBC bank. The mission is part of a probe by into possible links between the prisoner, Louai Sakka, a Syrian who was allegedly al-Qaeda's point-man in Turkey, and the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, the reports claimed.
The Briton identified in the reports as Alistair MacLeod also allegedly took a DNA sample from Sakka who is being held at Istanbul's Kandira prison. A Turkish man identified as Ahmet Kaya, and also described as a UN officer, allegedly accompanied Macleod during the mission, the newspapers claimed. Sakka was arrested in August 2005 when he was allegedly planning an attack on Israeli cruise ships visiting Turkish seaside resorts. Hariri was killed together with 22 other people in a 14 February 2005 bomb blast in Beirut. A UN investigative panel has implicated Lebanese and Syrian security officials in the attack.
This article starring:
Alistair MacLeod
LUAI SAKKA
al-Qaeda
Rafik Hariri
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - Italy's social solidarity minister Paolo Ferrero has slammed planned British government guidelines for schools that would allow head teachers to ban the face-veil or niqab and prevent pupils covering their faces on "safety, security and teaching" grounds. "This seems very stupid," said Ferrero. "Without being in favour of the full veil, bans only create barriers rather than aiding dialogue. Cultural change needs to occur gradually," he said, quoted by Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Thursday.
The new uniform policy, being put out to consultation among headteachers and parents and unveiled on Tuesday by Britain's education minister Alan Johnson, does not appear to stop girls wearing a headscarf.
But not all politicians and religious leaders in Italy agree with Johnson's argument that safety, security and effective teaching must take priority over tolerance of children's religious and cultural beliefs and that it is for teachers to judge whether it is necessary to see a pupil's face to teach them effectively and safely.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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social solidarity minister
Another way in which the US lags behind their betters EU counterparts.
#3
With covered faces in school you can be out jihading while someone else sits in the classroom and takes your tests. A perfect alibi!
Posted by: Jim ||
03/23/2007 8:11 Comments ||
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#4
I think Italy needs a 7/7.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
03/23/2007 8:38 Comments ||
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#5
Seems Quebec reversed the OK to wear nijab ruling when voting because he got threats, needed bodyguards and calls to his office indicating others will come w/their faces covered on voting day.
Italy's efforts to mend relations with the US were under strain yesterday after Washington criticised the government in Rome for securing the release of five Taliban prisoners in exchange for an Italian journalist kidnapped in Afghanistan. A senior US administration official said on Tuesday the deal had taken the US by surprise and would increase the risks facing US and other western troops in Afghanistan. "Given the increased threat created for all of us who have people on the ground in places like Afghanistan, we expect that concessions will not be made in the future," the US State Department said. The UK Foreign Office made similar criticisms of Italy.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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Given the increased threat created for all of us who have people on the ground in places like Afghanistan, we expect that concessions will not be made in the future."
In other words: One way or another we convinced them not to do it again. And we believe they won't. Now let's wait and see what happens next time and hope they don't "forget".
Louis Farrakhan: "I believe that my teacher, Elijah Muhammad, came as a warning to America, on account of the evils that it committed for 400 years, against millions of black slaves. He came as a warning to America that its policies around the world will bring upon it the fate of ancient Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah, ancient Babylon, and ancient Rome - that this was coming to America. I am an extension of Elijah Muhammad.
"When I said my time is up, I meant that warnings can't go on forever. I have warned President Bush, I have warned his government, I have warned his people, and I have warned my own people. The time for warnings is up, and the time for the chastisement of Allah is here."
[...]
Interviewer: "Mr. Farrakhan, are you still being accused of being antisemitic, and if that's so, by whom and why?"
Farrakhan: "Are you a Semite?"
Interviewer: "Yes, I'm Arab."
Farrakhan: "Am I against you? Am I against Muslims? No. Are the Jews that came out of Europe Semitic? Who are the Sephardic Jews? Are they Semitic? Am I against them? Who has segregated them and the Ethiopian Jews? Is it not the Europeans? The real antisemites are those who came out of Europe and settled in Palestine, and now they call themselves the true Jews, when in fact, they converted to Judaism."
[...]
Saddam Was No Threat to His Neighbors
Farrakhan: "Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. He was no threat to his neighbors. If he were a lion, he had no teeth. His paws had no claws. He never shot down one American or British plane, which flew all over Iraq for twelve years. Iraq had lost its power to protect its own sovereign airspace. So when America went to war with Iraq, and called it 'Shock and Awe,' and used all these weapons against Iraq, it was committing murder, in order to get the oil of Iraq, to establish a democracy - that's lying and murder."
[...]
No Muslim Who Studies the Koran Would Bomb a Mosque - Where is the Hand of the Mossad and CIA?
Farrakhan: "It is anti-Islamic to bomb a mosque, so what Muslim who studies the Koran would bomb a mosque, whether he is Shi'ite, or Sunni, or Sufi, or Hanafi, or Hanbali? No Muslim would destroy even a synagogue, a monastery, or a church, much less bomb another mosque. Where is the hand of the Mossad in all of this? Where is the hand of the CIA in all of this? I didnt mis-describe the administration of the United States. They are liars, and they are murderers, and they are guilty of heinous crimes, and they should be removed, for they have violated the constitution of the United States of America, and have violated the peoples of the world."
[...]
"Iran Should Not Be Denied Human Right" to "Atomic Knowledge"; If It "Believes in the Power of Allah, It Can't be Frightened by America"
Farrakhan: "Iran should not be denied the human right to knowledge. Atomic knowledge should be in the arsenal of knowledge of every nation, and if Iran wants to use atomic knowledge for peaceful purposes, she's in accord with international law. But the fear of America is Iran's attitude to Israel, and the cornerstone of America's foreign policy is the protection of Israel. So they don't want Iran to have atomic knowledge. But Iran is saying: 'I'm going to get that knowledge. I'm going to use that knowledge, so that we will no longer be dependent on oil.' Now, America, of course, is a powerful bully. I heard Vice-President Cheney say that all options are on the table. They're not frightening Iran. If Iran believes in Allah, and if Iran believes in the power of Allah, Iran can't be frightened by America. You can't frighten a true Muslim."
#9
In my mind, he's dead and ignored a very long time ago, about the time when he went to Africa and they wouldn't speak to him because "He wasn't Black" that did it for me.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/23/2007 16:22 Comments ||
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#10
I noticed this prick on the cover of "Jet" or "Ebony" magazines when I was in line at a grocery store checkout--I couldn't believe that any publication thought him to be a good cover subject.
President Bush, pledging to veto the bill that the House approved today attaching a deadline for troop withdrawals from Iraq to war-spending, accused the Democrats of jeopardizing American troops in the field in an attempt to score political points against the administration.
Today, a narrow majority in the House of Representatives abdicated its resposbility by passing a war spending bill that has no chance of becoming law and brings us no closer to bringing our troops the resources necessary to do their job, the president said at the White House. Instead, Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater, voted to substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq.
The House was sharply divided: 218-212, with the vote split mainly along party lines, on a $124-billion war-spending bill padded with domestic spending as well. It requires combat operations in Iraq to cease before September 2008, or earlier if the Iraqi government does not meet certain requirements.
Democrats, calling it time to heed the mandate of the electoral mandate that handed them control of Congress in November, have handed the president the sharpest rebuke to date for his Iraq war policy. The American people have lost faith in the presidents conduct of this war, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ``The American people see the reality of the war. The president does not.
Bush sees it another way:
They set an arbitrary date for withdrawal without regard for conditions on the ground, Bush said, criticizing Congress also for adding pork-barrel spending for domestic concerns such as peanut farming. This bill has too much pork, too many conditions, and an artificial timetable for withdrawal as I have made clear for weeks, I will veto it if it comes to my desk, Bush said. And judging by the vote cast today, he said, the House would not be able to override his veto.
A narrow majority has decided to take this course, he complained, just as Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, is executing a new strategy aimed at securing Baghdad and western Iraq with nearly 30,000 additional U.S. troops. The move, he complained, was made to score political points, without regard for the needs of troops in Iraq.
Our men and women in uniform need these emergency war funds, said Bush, who has sought about $100 billion to get the Defense Department through September in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is seeking another $145 billion for the next budget year, starting in October. The Democrats have sent their message, Bush said. Now its time to send their money.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/23/2007 14:42 ||
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#1
Good to hear that if it does escape the Senate it'll be dead.
I wish he would have singled out some of the pork providers, but you can't have anything.
#5
One of our local Congressmen, Charlie Melancon, surprised me by supporting this. He is being strongly considered as the Democrat candidate for Governor, if Breaux can't run because of residency rules, now that Blanco has withdrawn. If he is correct in thinking the state of Louisiana is behind him, then this country is in trouble.
#8
Bush better find, produce, create, hire a ballsack to take these LLL's head on with. Play time is over, nice time is played out, turn the other cheak is no longer a option, Soldiers lives, our nations reputation, and our futures generation is on the line here. The LLL's are determined to comit Sedition it is our Leadership's duty and mission to counter such with all nessecary action. ALL whatever it takes. If we gotta pull old Lincoln and Wilson's goast out so be it.
WASHINGTON House Democrats called for a new direction in Iraq on Friday, passing a measure that would order President Bush to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by September 2008.
Democrats picked up enough votes to win passage by 218-212 on the $124 billion war spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush promises to veto the measure.
Today, this Congress faces a historic vote. A vote to truly change the direction of the Iraqi conflict, said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., just before the vote on the House floor.
Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, also called the vote "historic," urging collegues to vote against the measure.
"Our troops are on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, doing their duty to protect freedom and to end tyranny," House Minority Leader Boehner said. "They're there watching this debate we're having in the House today and wondering, 'Will Congress do its duty? Will Congress stand up and support he mission that I'm in?'
The vote puts Congress closer to a showdown with the White House over Bush's Iraq policy.
Bush will veto the bill, White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters at Friday's briefing.
"Look, the president's going to veto this bill, and he's going to veto it because even though it provides some funding, it also puts handcuffs on generals, colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, corporals, privates, and everybody else," Snow said.
Most Republicans opposed the Democrats' plan, which also included budget requests not related to war spending.
"What we got instead was a poorly assembled wish list of non-emergency spending requests, wrapped in a date-certain declaration of defeat a confirmation to our enemies that, if they hang on just a bit longer, we'll be out of their way soon," said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., told fellow lawmakers a vote against the bill would be a vote against funding for the troops, health care and military families.
Youre voting against supporting the troops if youre voting against the money that goes to the troops, Murtha said.
Bush urged Congress to approve the bill without a timeline during a meeting Thursday with his Iraqi civilian reconstruction team.
"The Congress owes you the money you need to do the job, without any strings attached," he said. "Congress needs to get their business done quickly, get the monies we've requested funded and let our folks on the ground do the job."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that if Congress fails to pass a measure funding the war efforts by April 15, it will slow down training of troops scheduled for future deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates says it would also delay repair of equipment.
Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a $121 billion version of Bush's emergency war spending request, but bucked the White House by putting in language that sets a date-specific timeframe for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
The Senate bill sets a March 31, 2008, goal for withdrawing all combat troops out of Iraq. The legislation, which also gobs on billions in special projects at home, now heads to the Senate floor for a vote by the full chamber.
"I think the only way we can succeed in Iraq is by fundamentally changing the dynamic," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who chairs the subcommittee that oversees military funding.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's measure to set a timeline for the withdrawal of troops failed last week by a 50-48 vote.
The House measure is unlikely to get through the Senate unchanged, where many Democrats oppose a timetable on the war.
#10
What has happened is the Democrats have manouvered themselves into a position similar to what they did to the President's Father. He veotes the bill and they can then point and say, "See, he's denying our Troops in Harm's Way the money they need. He claims to be behind the Troops but he vetoed the funding for their effort". That's basically what happened with GeorgeI when he vetoed a bill that was supposed to be an increase in Veteran's benefits but the Democrats attached a tax increase to it. He would not deny the Veterans the increase s, in effect, he reniged on his promis, "Read my lips. No new taxes". There has got to be some way to reveal the truth about this. You won't see the MSM expose the Democrats' perfidy, though. Assholes all.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/23/2007 17:32 Comments ||
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#11
"House Votes to Withdraw U.S. Troops From Iraq by Fall 2008"
Boy, will THAT ever teach bin Laden not to mess with us!!!!
Screw this crap. Round these idiots up and herd them into camps so we can fight the damn war without their interference.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/23/2007 17:55 Comments ||
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#12
"Round these idiots up and herd them into camps campuses so we can fight the damn war without their interference."
#1
The "The Intelligence Daily: The truth at your fingertips", huh?
Here's our author...
Robert Bruce "Bob" Avakian (Born Washington, D.C., March 7, 1943) is best known as the Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, the largest Maoist group in the United States.
Bob attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he became involved in radical politics. He participated in the Free Speech Movement at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley that was led by Mario Savio. His political activities continued and he became spokesman for the Peace and Freedom Party, and an active supporter of the Black Panthers.
Bob Avakian was active in Students for a Democratic Society and was a leading figure in the Revolutionary Youth Movement II. In the Bay Area he worked to form the Bay Area Revolutionary Union. BARU expanded nationally by absorbing other Marxist-Leninist collectives coming out of the SDS. It became the Revolutionary Union.
Bob Avakian and the Revolutionary Union, along with others such as C. Clark Kissinger and Carl Dix, led the formation of the Revolutionary Communist Party in 1975. When Deng Xiaoping went to the United States to visit Jimmy Carter, the RCP led protests at sites throughout Washington, D.C.. Avakian and others participants in the march became engaged in a conflict with the police. Avakian and others arrested for the incident were charged with several counts of assault on a police officer. After a court granted Avakian and the other arrestees' request to be charged and tried together, their punishment exposure (the most severe possible sentence) was over 241 years. As a result, Avakian went to France in 1981.
Bob Avakian's current whereabouts are kept secret.
I think I'd be more worried abou "Bob" then Bush...
#3
Thank you tu3031 for providing some background on Bob Avakian. I was not familiar with him, but I found his writing ringing some red flags. I found the article originally on digg.com and felt it was worth posting to Rantburg. I was interested in hearing other peoples opinions. Mr. Avakian painted a very dark picture of the current administration and for the rest of the Americans.
Anytime anyone a author uses the word Bourgeois makes me question the author. The would have been the same if Proletariat was used. I automatically associate these words with writings espousing the positive benefits of a Socialist or Communist society, rather than the Representive Republic in place today. Neither of the former, I would like to see come to pass in the U.S., although at times, I see the U.S. sliding in that direction.
I think that if there was a Bio, Chem or Nuclear attack, it would be a no-brainer for who ever is in the Oval Office to restore security, regardless of their party affiliation. I only hope that what what ever administration is in place, handles security and aid; if God forbid, better than the fiasco after the Katrina flood.
What are the odds he is a Democrat and probably will vote for Hillary, if she gets the Democratic nomination?
"The Bush Regime's preparations for martial law are part of an extreme agenda. This is a regime that is setting out to create a world empire that is unchallenged and unchallengeable and has embarked on an endless war to bring this about. Along with this, they aim to restructure social relations in the U.S., doing away with many of the social and economic institutions that have characterized U.S. society since World War 2."
that's a tip-off that the author is a roaring moonbat.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/23/2007 13:44 Comments ||
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#5
I was surprised not to see the words U.S. Hegemony.
The Libs tend to like this word when describing the U.S. international policy.
#8
I rather suspect this has more to do with preventing a reoccurrence of Katrina's Governor Blanco vs The Feds than an attempt by the US Government to establish imperial hegemony over the United States.
#11
Apparantly the Bush regime is fairly lax in their schedules because they've been preparing for Marshall law and shutting down elections since 2002 and have yet to institute their policies.
Certainly we'll see some tanks in the streets by the election of 2008. I'm certain the democratic hopefuls know they are wasting their time and will certainly be the first dropped into Guantanimo. I'm not sure why they don't all just flee to Europe (Canada would of course be conquered on day two).
#12
Actually, Going all the way back through the 20th Century, US Presidents have always been aware that there might be a need for them to go "Lincoln" and take what amounts to unconstitutional authority.
Years after the fact, it usually results in some conspiracy theory buff pointing out both that it was done, and more importantly, how it was never repealed.
Off the top of my head is Operation Northwoods; then, the JFK executive orders authorizing federal control over all just about all business and communications; Richard Nixon combined all of JFK's orders into one.
They even got hypothetical. During the Ford Administration, the NASA Administrator was given absolute police authority over anyone who had met, been in contact with, or had anything to do with space aliens. It is still on the books, too.
Liberal opposition to a $124 billion war spending bill broke last night, when leaders of the antiwar Out of Iraq Caucus pledged to Democratic leaders that they will not block the measure, which sets timelines for bringing U.S. troops home. The acquiescence of the liberals probably means that the House will pass a binding measure today that, for the first time, would establish tough readiness standards for the deployment of combat forces and an Aug. 31, 2008, deadline for their removal from Iraq.
A Senate committee also passed a spending bill yesterday setting a goal of bringing troops home within a year. The developments mark congressional Democrats' first real progress in putting legislative pressure on President Bush to withdraw U.S. forces.
Even more than the conservative Democrats leery of appearing to micromanage the war, House liberals have been the main obstacle to leadership efforts to put a timeline on the withdrawal of U.S. forces. They have complained that the proposal would not bring troops home fast enough. Their opposition has riven the antiwar movement, split the Democratic base and been the main stumbling block to the legislation, which had originally been scheduled for a vote yesterday.
As debate began on the bill yesterday, members of the antiwar caucus and party leaders held a backroom meeting in which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made a final plea to the group, asking it to deliver at least four votes when the roll is called. The members promised 10.
"I find myself in the excruciating position of being asked to choose between voting for funding for the war or establishing timelines to end it," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). "I have struggled with this decision, but I finally decided that, while I cannot betray my conscience, I cannot stand in the way of passing a measure that puts a concrete end date on this unnecessary war."
That was the message of Democratic leaders: This is the best deal they could make, and it is better than no deal at all.
To many in the movement against the Iraq war, the liberal opposition to the bill was as maddening as it was mystifying.
"You really have two options here: One is that you can vote for a change of course here and say we're going to find a way out of Iraq, or, two, you can vote against it and hand George Bush a victory," said Jon Soltz, a veteran of the Iraq war and co-founder of VoteVets.org, a group that opposes the war. "It doesn't make sense to me. George Bush got us into the war. They have challenged him on everything. Why would they give him this victory now?" he asked, referring to the liberals.
When Democratic leaders first spoke of attaching strings to Bush's $100 billion war request, their biggest fear was that they would lose their conservatives. Since then, the bill has actually grown more assertive in its efforts to bring the troops home. Initial efforts to tie the deployment of combat forces to tough standards for resting, equipping and training the troops have been bolstered by binding benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet. If the Iraqis fall short, troop withdrawals could begin as early as July 1. In any case, the withdrawals would have to begin in March 2008, with most combat forces out by Aug. 31, 2008.
Even the more cautious Senate Democrats have moved toward setting a troop-withdrawal date. The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday approved a $122 billion version of a spending bill that would require troops to begin leaving Iraq within four months of passage and would set a nonbinding goal of March 31, 2008, for the removal of combat troops.
To the surprise of many antiwar activists, House Democratic leaders have been able to keep their conservative Blue Dog members largely onboard as they ratcheted up the bill's language. But with Republicans virtually united in opposition, Democrats can afford only 15 defections. Bush and his evil cronies congressional Republicans have done their best to exploit the divisions, repeatedly mentioning that the Democrats are not united.
"Congress needs to get their business done quickly, get the moneys we've requested funded and let our folks on the ground do the job," the president said yesterday in demanding the funds with no strings attached.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned yesterday that if Congress does not pass the supplemental war funding bill by April 15, the Army may have to slow the training of units slated to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan, or halt the repair of equipment. If the funding is delayed until May, he said, the tours of Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan might have to be extended "because other units are not ready to take their place."
The administration's stand has only increased the anguish in the antiwar movement. The liberal activists of MoveOn.org opted this week to back the funding bill, but the decision split the group's members and prompted accusations that the MoveOn leadership had stacked the endorsement vote. Win Without War, an umbrella group against the Iraq war, met Tuesday to decide whether to endorse the bill, but the divisions were too deep to bridge.
David Sirota, a former House Appropriations Committee aide who is now an uncompromising blogger, dashed off a memo to progressive lawmakers Wednesday night, imploring them to "accept the congressional world as it is right now," not to insist on the world as they wish it to be, and vote for the bill.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/23/2007 05:56 ||
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#1
Damn 'TurnCoats', I'm beginning to think even Hillary won't bring the troops home in early 2009 now. Bush got his way"...homeward bound and smooth sailing, and steady as she goes" says Texas "W".
#2
"accept the congressional world as it is right now," not to insist on the world as they wish it to be, and vote for the bill.
And nearly the entire pathetic lot of these handwringers swallowed that crap just like their anti-war constituents believed if they voted for these loons they would have a spine. The useful fools once again wake up with the sore rectum and pocketful of bottle tops syndrome
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate committee approved a $122 billion measure Thursday financing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but also calling on President Bush to pull combat troops out of Iraq by next spring.
The bill, approved by a voice vote, is similar to one the House began debating Thursday. The White House has threatened to veto the House measure and issued a veto threat against an earlier, similar version of the Senate withdrawal language. Why do they do this kind of $hit? It's a waste of my tax dollar to waste time debating things that won't make it any further than a snowball in hades.
Congress has moved a step closer to placing a one-year moratorium on Pentagon competitions to outsource military hospital work to private companies. The provision was included in a bill approved 59-0 late Tuesday by the House Armed Services Committee and expected to be considered by the full House later this week. The moratorium was added to the legislation in the wake of outrage over an Associated Press report that a three-year delay in awarding an Army contract at Walter Reed Army Medical Center contributed to substandard conditions and inadequate non-medical staffing there.
The provision, introduced by Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, would prevent the Defense Department from starting any contract bidding that would let private companies and existing government managers compete for non-medical work at veterans' treatment centers.
Members of Congress have asked the Pentagon for a comprehensive list of all public-private competitions at treatment centers following criticism of the drawn-out process that led to IAP Worldwide Services Inc. getting the Walter Reed contract in 2006. IAP is led by former executives of Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, the Texas-based oil services firm once run by Vice President Dick Cheney. It is owned by Cerberus, a New York hedge fund whose board is chaired by former Treasury Secretary John Snow.
IAP Chairman David L. Myers on Wednesday sent a three-page letter to lawmakers detailing its role at the Walter Reed facility and the government competition to outsource non-medical federal jobs. Neither the Pentagon nor the Army directly addressed the legislation. Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia Smith pointed to plans to close Walter Reed by 2011 and move patients to another military hospital in Bethesda, Md.
Constitutional experts, politicians and a minority leaders on Thursday blasted the claims of some clerics that a non-Muslim cannot hold the office of chief justice in Pakistan, saying that the Constitution does not restrict any such appointment. Qari Hanif Jalandhry, central leader of Ittehad Tanzimat-e-Madrassa-e-Dinya (ITMD), has said that Pakistan is an Islamic country hence a non-Muslim cannot hold the office of chief justice. There is no such example in Muslim history or in any Muslim country, he said.
Jalandhry said this was the first time in the history of the country that such an issue had risen. Asked to comment on Article 180(b) of the Constitution, which says that the president shall appoint the most senior of the other judges of the Supreme Court to act as chief justice of Pakistan, Jalandhry said parliament should amend the Constitution.
Senior constitutional expert Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan rejected Jalandhrys view and said there was no constitutional provision barring a non-Muslim from becoming the chief justice of the country. The Supreme Court is not the Federal Shariat Court, though there is a Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Muslim judges, he said. However, he said it was not mandatory for a non-Muslim chief justice or a judge to be part of the Shariat Appellate Bench. A non-Muslim cannot be declared ineligible to become chief justice on the basis of religion, Aitzaz said. Justice Bhagwandas cannot become a member of the Shariat Appellate Bench even if he becomes chief justice.
Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, deputy parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), said that according to the Constitution, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was still chief justice of Pakistan. By raising this issue of whether or not a non-Muslim can become the chief justice of the country, the government is confusing the nation, he said, but added that a non-Muslim can become the chief justice of the country. Raja Zafarul Haq, chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said there was no constitutional bar on a non-Muslim becoming the chief justice. According to my opinion, there is nothing wrong if a non-Muslim becomes the chief justice of Pakistan, he said, adding however, that this was not the right time to discuss such issues.
Commenting on the statements of Maulana Samiul Haq and religious organisations that a non-Muslim cannot become chief justice in an Islamic country like Pakistan, All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) Chairman Shahbaz Bhatti said that there was no constitutional bar on a non-Muslim to become chief justice of Pakistan. He said one of the most outstanding and dynamic judges in the history of Pakistan was Justice AR Cornelius, a Christian, who headed the apex court from 1960 to 1968. Bhatti referred to Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnahs address to the first Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, in which he had clearly said that Pakistan would not be a theocratic state and religion had nothing to do with the business of the state.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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What had increasingly become a media campaign against Pakistans inadequate cooperation in dealing with the resurgent Taliban has now turned into a broadside against President Pervez Musharrafs rule, triggered by his removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. In the last two weeks, the Pakistani leader, who was generally well regarded by the US media, has been portrayed as another old style power hungry Third World military ruler who is determined to stay in office regardless of what he has to do to ensure that, including summarily dismissing the holder of the highest judicial office in the land. Gen Musharraf, who always conveyed the impression of being a strong and resolute leader who called the shots and took all decisions that matter, suddenly looks vulnerable. With protests continuing in the streets and spreading well beyond the legal community, Gen Musharraf is no longer being seen by the American media as a leader whose writ runs any more effectively in the cities and towns of Pakistan than it does in Waziristan.
Some idea of what has been appearing in the American press since the judicial crisis erupted on March 9, can be had from what follows. Ahmed Rashid, author of the much-read book on the Taliban, wrote in the Washington Post on Thursday that Musharraf was now a lame duck, unable to rein in Talibanisation in Pakistan or guide the country towards a more democratic future. The presidents desire to replace Justice Chaudhry with a more pliable judge has badly backfired.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
another old style power hungry Third World military ruler who is determined to stay in office regardless of what he has to do to ensure that
Mushy's 'Nixon Moment'?
But why would anyone care what the US Press thinks?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/23/2007 6:49 Comments ||
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#4
I strongly disagree. We (Jimmy Carter) abandoned the Shah, and we got the Mullahocracy. We (Jimmy Carter) abandoned Somoza, and we got the Sandinistas.
Perv has never had what either of those two had: complete control over his own country. Instead he has had to deal with enclaves and a government of radicals, along with having an unreliable military and secret police.
He is just the strongest minority leader of a bunch of thugs, each of whom would slit his throat if they thought they could get his job.
So he did a very smart thing. Bush made him a deal, that over years we would help him become stronger at the expense of his enemies, in exchange he would give us quid pro quo in stomping the Islamists.
Gradualism all around.
Even right now, with all the wailing and gnashing of teeth about the treaty he made with South Wazoo, what is *actually* happening?
Uzbeks and Chechens are getting slaughtered. The tough, trained foreign mercenaries supporting al-Qaeda's and the Taliban's attacks against NATO in Afghanistan.
And who is doing this? Supposedly the renegade tribesmen of South Wazoo. The ones that were said to be the real threat, are instead taking out the baddest of the bad.
Sounds like an *outstanding* quid pro quo there.
And in the final analysis, Perv got it by giving South Wazoo what it already had, that is, de facto autonomy. So it didn't cost him a dime, and got the S Wazoos working for him.
The government is considering launching an offensive to flush out foreign militants in the Waziristan tribal region, particularly in Wana, Interior Ministry sources said on Thursday. "Dat's right, youse guys! We're fixin' to get ready to discuss holdin' talks on that very subject any time now!"
A senior ministry official said the government had prepared a plan in consultation with the army. The ministry has discussed the Mountain Thrust plan with officials of law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, the official said, adding that the plan might take up to three weeks to implement. "But when we do, boy, are they in trouble!"
Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said there was no such plan under consideration and the local administration was doing its job firmly. Right. Never mind then.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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Over Christmas break, Christopher Hitchens took his son to northern Iraq, which the U.S. had made a no-fly zone in 1991, ending Saddam's chemical genocide. Now reborn, Iraqi Kurdistan is a heartrending glimpse of what might have been.
The US is scrambling to head off a "disastrous" Turkish military intervention in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq that threatens to derail the Baghdad security surge and open up a third front in the battle to save Iraq from disintegration.
It would certainly be a disaster for the Turks: the peshmerga backed by US air power would stop the Turks, and that wouldn't help their self-image at all.
Senior Bush administration officials have assured Turkey in recent days that US forces will increase efforts to root out Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) guerrillas enjoying safe haven in the Qandil mountains, on the Iraq-Iran-Turkey border.
But Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, MPs, military chiefs and diplomats say up to 3,800 PKK fighters are preparing for attacks in south-east Turkey and Turkey is ready to hit back if the Americans fail to act. "We will do what we have to do, we will do what is necessary. Nothing is ruled out," Mr Gul said. "I have said to the Americans many times: suppose there is a terrorist organisation in Mexico attacking America. What would you do?... We are hopeful. We have high expectations. But we cannot just wait forever."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I have no sympathy for the Turks. Their record of Kurdish suppresion is abysmal, like sending people to jail for years for speaking Kurdish or singing songs in Kurdish.
#3
I dunno, I don't see how the Turks can just sit around and let the PKK use Iraq as a safe haven to launch attacks into their territory. I mean, it's not like they're Americans who let the Taliban rest and rearm in Pakistan.
#4
The problem here is the Turks think Kurds are stupid peasants, who would be living in mud huts if it weren't for the Turks bringing them civilization.
So a vibrant succesful Kurdistan is an affront to their perception of both the Kurds and themselves.
More dangerously, it may lead them into an ill-advised military adventure resulting in them getting their butts kicked. Iraqi Kurdistan aint exactly tank country, which would set off a conflagration in Turkish Kurdistan.
There is a lot still to be written in the story of Kurdish self-determination.
#5
Abdullah Gul: "We will do what we have to do, we will do what is necessary. Nothing is ruled out," Mr Gul said. "I have said to the Americans many times: suppose there is a terrorist organisation in Mexico attacking America. What would you do?... We are hopeful. We have high expectations. But we cannot just wait forever."
welcome to the club Abdullah Gul, we already have terrorist Narco Trafficers on both sides of the borderws killing more Americans than PKK are killing Turks.
#9
It uis a win-win for teh Isdalmist governement: if they succed in Kurdistan they will get prestige, if their military is crushed by the US it will no longer be in position to counter the islamization and arabization the government is trying to force on Turkey.
#10
I firmly believe that the Turks could not launch a major invasion into kurdistan without being smashed. Incursions by special forces are another story but that's a slap and not necessarily a war.
#11
"We will do what we have to do, we will do what is necessary. Nothing is ruled out," Mr Gul said. "I have said to the Americans many times: suppose there is a terrorist organisation in Mexico attacking America. What would you do?... We are hopeful. We have high expectations. But we cannot just wait forever."
You'll wait or we'll nuke your stinkin asses off the face of the earth. Is that clear, Gulbert ?
(AKI) - A new organisation whose role is to facilitate dialogue with radical Islamist groups and Communist leaning groups, is reported to be preparing to start work in Indonesia in April. The National Islamic Front (FNI) will operate in some of the cities where radical Islamists and Communist sympathisers are considered particularly active. Accoording to the political and economic monthly, The Van Zorge Report, the chosen centres include Solo, Yogyakarta, and Bandung, all on the island of Java.
In Yogyakarta and Bandung groups of students have recently raised the issue of the Communist Party which was banned in Indonesia following an attempted coup in 1965. The town of Solo is the seat of the Majelis Mujahaddin Indonesia (MMI) an umbrella organisation of various radical groups who are seeking to turn Indonesia into an Islamic state. The MMI is led by Abu Bakar Bashir, indicated by experts as the ideological leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, the most perilous of the terrorist groups active in South East Asia. According to indiscretions the FNI will comprise mainly academics who have studied at the Sunni university of al-Azhar in Cairo and will be open to non Muslims as well.
This article starring:
ABU BAKAR BASHIR
Majelis Mujahaddin Indonesia
National Islamic Front
Jemaah Islamiyah
Majelis Mujahaddin Indonesia
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is set to conduct its own investigation on the alleged involvement of some of its leaders in the latest strafing incident that killed three in Carmen town in North Cotabato. MILF spokesman "Lipless Eddie" Eid Kabalu said the central leadership has already tasked the 101st Brigade of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) assigned in Carmen to lead the probe.
Reports from the Carmen police said that the strafing incident last Friday that killed couple Emmanuel and Marina Osorio and son Raymund was orchestrated by a certain Commander Tungal Kadil alias Tungal Abdul, believed to be a top official of the MILF operating in Barangay Liliongan, one of the identified rebel territories in Carmen. Insp. Reynante Cabico, Carmen police chief, said Tungal led a group of 20 MILF rebels in strafing the Osorio family. But the MILF, according to Kabalu, has yet to find out if Commander Tungal belongs to its armed forces. Sanctions would be imposed against Tungal if indeed he orchestrated such violent attack, he explained.
"We're checking and cross-checking the list now. After the cross-check, we will perform a counter cross-check against our JI, Abu Sayyaf, and Al-Qaeda in the Land of the Ten Thousand Pairs of Shoes databases. These checks all take a lot of time and several state dinners, and it's not at all certain that this Tungal fella was even in country at the time. He has a real passion for cricket, y'know, or so we're told."
"Tungal? Tungal? Never hoid of 'im! Nobody around here by that name! Wot the hell kind of a name is 'Tungal', anyway? He Jewish or somethin'?"
The Osorios were killed March 16 when while they were preparing for dinner inside their house. The couple sustained gunshot wounds in different parts of their bodies. Their son, who was hit in the chest, was able to run and hide in a grassy lot. He died later at a hospital in Carmen due to severe loss of blood. Police recovered from the crime scene empty cartridges of 7.62 mm and 5.56 mm rifles, and a Garand rifle.
This article starring:
COMANDER TUNGAL KADIL
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
EID KABALU
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Emmanuel and Marina Osorio
Reynante Cabico, Carmen police chief
TUNGAL ABDUL
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
101st Brigade of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces
Al-Qaeda in the Land of the Ten Thousand Pairs of Shoes
TEHERAN - Iran, embroiled in a nuclear row with Washington, is asking more clients to pay for oil in currencies other than the dollar and 60 percent or more of its crude income is in other units, an official said on Thursday. Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, international affairs director of state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told Reuters almost all of Irans European clients and some of its Asian customers had accepted making payments in non-dollar currencies.
He said Iran, which has pushed for payment in euros and other currencies since September when Washington slapped sanctions on a big Iranian bank, was concerned about the weak state of the greenback and not being prompted by politics. To the best of my knowledge, what we are doing at NIOC is purely something based on commercial reasons, he said. Part (of this) has to do with the strength of the dollar.
Ghanimifard had said in December that about 57 percent of Irans income from crude exports was in euros. "We have asked our clients that whenever they are ready to exchange the dollar into any other currency, including the euro, we would be welcoming that. In Europe, almost -- I can say -- all have accepted, in Asian markets some, he said.
Asked how much of Irans oil income was now being paid in currencies other than the dollar, he said: It would be something close to 60 to 60 something percent.
But he said payments were still based on dollar pricing. Pricing as you know is based on the quotations that we get from the international market and when the international market quotes anything for crude or for the products all of them are for the US dollar, Ghanimifard said.
Irans central bank told Reuters in February that Teheran had started pushing for a shift out of dollar oil payments after the United States imposed sanctions on Bank Saderat in September. Washington later imposed sanctions on a second bank. The central bank said the shift in payments had hastened the decline in the dollar portion of Irans foreign reserves, which account for less than 30 percent. Iran is expected to earn more than $50 billion from its energy exports in the Iranian year that ended on March 20.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Which may explain reports why Iran is allegedly now suffering from high rates of nationwide inflation.
#2
Russians, etc insist on payment in dollars. That is why they abandoned projects in the Ayatollah tyranny. Iran's mullahs are about ready for plucking.
#3
That's why we went to war with Japan. They were trying to set up a non US denominated oil bourse (memo to self, google conspiracy bourse black lace) and forced Roosenfiend to set up the attack on Pearl.
#4
Of oily bourse yea, but a better course would be to press Iran into an Oil Tontine with us, then before they wise up we disappear the key Iranian participants. sure not very nice but hey the A$$atollahs aren't either.
When events dictate the dollar will rise rapidly, all these "other currencies in hand will become near worthless and the buying power of the iranian state will have weakened even more than it is.
iran has a leadership crisis which wont be resolved because the two factions communists and mullah are independent control units with no ability to take input from anyone....hence failure is inevitable.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told French television that he was "not worried" by the prospect of US strikes against his country. That's what they said on Alderon, too...
"We are not worried for two reasons. First of all the circumstances are not favourable for an attack of that kind. And I know that there are some wise people in the US who wouldn't authorise that," Ahmadinejad told France 2 channel on Thursday.
"Kennedy, Kerry, Boxer, Biden and, of course Howard Dean. He told me so himself."
He also said he would present "new proposals" about Iran's nuclear programme and called US and British moves in the UN Security Council to impose tougher sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment "illegal".
"Of course we are going to make new proposals, good proposals. Our proposals are based on rights and laws and on the inalienable rights that all nations possess, not only what the US and Great Britain want," he said. "Uranium enrichment is legal. The American and British positions in the Security Council are illegal," he said.
The full 15-member Security Council was to meet behind closed doors at 5:00 pm (0230 IST) on Thursday to discuss changes to a sanctions package agreed by six major powers last week followed amendments submitted by non-permanent members South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar. The original draft, crafted by the Council's five veto-wielding permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany, broadens sanctions already adopted by the Council in December after Iran repeatedly refused to halt uranium enrichment.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Persuming that Moud's INTEL boyz have seen the various Net maps depicting US andor Allied flags all over the ME, then Moud must be aware that waiting for after 2008 US elex may no longer suffice. Add the reports from smaller Muslim nations that they may = will mil retaliate + dev their own nukes to offset any threat from Iran. Moud must be twiddling his fingers - SOMETHINGS GOTTA GIVE.
#3
Translation: We're legal and your position is illegal, but we'll put forth some more proposals, good proposals, which will drag out the process further.
And "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me!"
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/23/2007 6:07 Comments ||
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#4
They also know we'll 'nation build' if we do; that has to be comforting.
#6
The truth is actung; you said publicly you would obliterate Israel. Unlike others, we take you at your word and as a result your clock is ticking against the real possibility that you meant what you said; and you didnt apologise or take it back...........you are about to fail, because your persona/politics are pure middle ages......
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.
He heard the military helicopters coming, Dr Ali al-Wadiee told Seattle Times in al-Ruzamat, a small village amid the volcanic mountains of Yemen's remote north, near the border with Saudi Arabia. "There were several loud explosions," he said, but the doctor didn't know how many helicopters dropped their payloads in al-Naqa'ah on the Yemeni side of the border. 
Intelligence agencies may investigate alleged links between arrested Senior Joint Secretary General of BNP Tarique Rahman and Dubai-based Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
The latest round of talks on North Koreas nuclear weapons programme broke down on Thursday without Pyongyangs representative attending a single meeting, saying negotiations could not continue until the US had met the initial requirements of last months denuclearisation deal.
Romano Prodi, Italian prime minister, came under attack again on Wednesday over his government's stance on the Afghan conflict, four weeks after his centre-left coalition nearly collapsed when it lost a parliamentary vote on foreign policy. Opposition deputies criticised the government for arranging with the Afghan government to free five Taliban prisoners in exchange for an Italian journalist who was kidnapped in southern Afghanistan on March 5. 
Constitutional experts, politicians and a minority leaders on Thursday blasted the claims of some clerics that a non-Muslim cannot hold the office of chief justice in Pakistan, saying that the Constitution does not restrict any such appointment. Qari Hanif Jalandhry, central leader of Ittehad Tanzimat-e-Madrassa-e-Dinya (ITMD), has said that Pakistan is an Islamic country hence a non-Muslim cannot hold the office of chief justice. There is no such example in Muslim history or in any Muslim country, he said.
What had increasingly become a media campaign against Pakistans inadequate cooperation in dealing with the resurgent Taliban has now turned into a broadside against President Pervez Musharrafs rule, triggered by his removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. In the last two weeks, the Pakistani leader, who was generally well regarded by the US media, has been portrayed as another old style power hungry Third World military ruler who is determined to stay in office regardless of what he has to do to ensure that, including summarily dismissing the holder of the highest judicial office in the land. Gen Musharraf, who always conveyed the impression of being a strong and resolute leader who called the shots and took all decisions that matter, suddenly looks vulnerable. With protests continuing in the streets and spreading well beyond the legal community, Gen Musharraf is no longer being seen by the American media as a leader whose writ runs any more effectively in the cities and towns of Pakistan than it does in Waziristan. 
The government is considering launching an offensive to flush out foreign militants in the Waziristan tribal region, particularly in Wana, Interior Ministry sources said on Thursday. 
The US is scrambling to head off a "disastrous" Turkish military intervention in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq that threatens to derail the Baghdad security surge and open up a third front in the battle to save Iraq from disintegration. 
(AKI) - A new organisation whose role is to facilitate dialogue with radical Islamist groups and Communist leaning groups, is reported to be preparing to start work in Indonesia in April. The 
The 
TEHERAN - Iran, embroiled in a nuclear row with Washington, is asking more clients to pay for oil in currencies other than the dollar and 60 percent or more of its crude income is in other units, an official said on Thursday. Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, international affairs director of state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told Reuters almost all of Irans European clients and some of its Asian customers had accepted making payments in non-dollar currencies.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told French television that he was "not worried" by the prospect of US strikes against his country. 
