Kuwait is facing its most crucial test since liberation from the Iraqi invasion in 1991. From militant attacks on U.S. military personnel during the build-up to the war on Iraq to the latest arrest of extremists in January, which revealed plans to target state security agency headquarters and oil facilities, the extremists appear to be executing an agenda of taking Kuwait down the road to instability.
It is not surprising that terrorism, which has plagued Saudi Arabia recently, has also reared its ugly head in Kuwait. In fact, Kuwait has inherent conditions that encourage terrorism - not just the presence of 30,000 U.S. troops on its soil or its geographic proximity to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, but also the influence of Islamists in Kuwaiti society and the Parliament.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 12:24:38 AM ||
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#1
Extremism in Kuwait is partly the governmentâs own making. In establishing radical religious movements to counter liberals demanding democracy, the government gave teeth to Islamists
ya think? The only thing surprising about that comment was that it made it into print.
#2
Whenever religious clerics get to amass military power, they will use it. The neat aspect of jihadism is that clerics get to employ this military power - in the form of terrorist attacks - without being held responsible, from a legal standpoint, for it. Their defense is that they are, after all, only engaging in political advocacy. That's the great part about being the "political wing" of jihadist movements - you can order assassinations and mass murder without being held accountable.
Securitymen have no need to use force to obtain answers from terrorists as this is a clear case where five securitymen have been killed and a large quantity of weapons seized, Al-Anba quoted Convenor of the National Assembly's Human Rights Affairs Committee MP Saleh Ashour as saying. Meanwhile, 32 MPs have rejected a demand for the formation of a special committee to investigate the reasons behind the death of terrorist Amer Khlaif Al-Enezi, who died in prison recently, saying "this will lead to conflicts in the country."
They don't give any more of a poop than we do...
Indicating the special committee can't discover any new things, they said "this will only give rise to sympathy for the terrorists." How can anybody answer for the blood shed by our securitymen who were killed by these terrorists? they asked.
The Kuwaitis are a sensible lot, especially for Arabs...
MP Bader Al-Farsi said "at this critical juncture all of us should think about the interests of Kuwait instead of worrying about our personal interests. Nobody, who cares for the interest of Kuwait, will agree to the formation of a special committee." MP Jamal Al-Omar said "it is strange some MPs are demanding the formation of a committee to investigate the reasons for the death of Al-Enezi forgetting the fact many of our securitymen sacrificed their lives to defend the security of Kuwait and its people." Accusing those, who call for a special committee, of "doubting the actions of securitymen," Al-Omar said we can't accept any such demand as the Interior Ministry is the biggest loser because of Al-Enezi's death. MP Ali Al-Hajeri said "people who want a special committee should find ways to support our securitymen in their fight against terrorists." MP Mohammad Al-Faji said "this issue has to be closed, especially as Al-Enezi's family has denounced his activities. There is no point in investigating Al-Enezi's death when the Interior Ministry says it was due to natural causes."
Sounds like the Islamists were pretty thoroughly slapped down. Probably this'll just be a temporary state, since it's so hard to argue with people who're so much holier than thou...
Meanwhile, State Security police Sunday arrested seven persons - whose identities have not been disclosed ... during a raid in Sulaibiya and Doha and seized from their homes video cassettes and religious books promoting extremist ideologies, reports Al-Anba daily quoting a reliable security source. The same source said the State Security personnel are analyzing the names of the suspects to establish a link between these men and terrorists who were recently involved in a shootout with security forces. If it is proven the men are involved in terrorist activities, they will be referred to the Public Prosecution. However, in a contradictory report, Al-Watan daily said the Jahra police have referred eight persons - four of them Kuwaitis, two Saudis and two bedouns - to the State Security police for interrogation for allegedly promulgating extremist ideology.
This article starring:
Ali Al-Hajeri
AMER KHLAIF AL ENEZI
Peninsula Lions
Bader Al-Farsi
Jamal Al-Omar
Mohammad Al-Faji
Saleh Ashour
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2005 12:05:32 AM ||
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Dozens of people opposed to the war in Iraq held a "die-in" outside the Houses of Parliament in London, demanding that British troops come home, while similar rallies took place across the country.
Was that two dozen or three?
The events, organized by the Stop The War Coalition and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), marked the second anniversary of a huge and even more stupid anti-war march which attracted more than one million foolish people to the British capital in an ultimately futile bid to stop the March 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
How's it feel to protest in favor of Saddam?
Brief scuffles broke out in the British capital between police and frauds demonstrators as officers attempted to move the loonies crowd, who were chanting slogans and holding banners, back on to the central area of Parliament Square.
I've often wondered if a "bury-in" would be the appropriate way to handle a "die-in." That would have to come after the "embalm-in," of course. Wouldn't want them to stink.
"Our die-in was held to symbolize the tens of thousands who have died in Iraq since the war began. We are also calling for the troops to be withdrawn," said Lindsey German, of the Stop The War Coalition.
"Not that we'd do anything, you know, important.
"We think it's significant that America and Britain don't count the number of Iraqi dead, but they do count the number of their troops who have died."
Sure honey, and why do you think that is?
Kate Hudson, chairwoman of the CND, said that the rally was to step up demands that the "occupation of Iraq should end. She warned, however, that the failure of the first anti-war protest in 2003 -- which she described as "one of the greatest outpourings of public feeling" -- was a bad omen for future possible strikes on countries such as Iran. Prime Minister "Tony Blair didn't listen then and we don't expect him to listen in the future with regard to withdrawing troops or an attack on Iran -- that's one of our greatest concerns," she said.
For once we're in agreement -- I don't expect Tony to listen to you either.
Other events were held in towns and cities nationwide, including a peace vigil in Canterbury, another "die-in" in Plymouth and leafleting outside an army recruitment office in Edinburgh. In addition, the organizers plan to hold another demonstration in London on March 19 -- two years after the war began -- to demand that British troops be brought home.
Which may attract, oh, FOUR dozen ninnies.
Whoopsie! Part of the rent-a-mob was pulling duty at the Michael Jackson trial. The economy's getting better; more folks have j-o-b-s now.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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I like the idea of a "die in." How many died? Can we do it every week? We need to have the police there to make sure they follow through, helping along any that back out.
#2
Apt that the sign in the front row reads "Peace in our time" - these anoraks stand for appeasement plain and simple. I'm sure they'd love to live within the target range of an Iranian nuke.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
02/16/2005 4:46 Comments ||
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#3
Dozens of people That says it all. The MSM is hyping what elsewhere would be mistaken for a bus queue.
#4
*Snicker* These are professional organizers yet their crowd can only draw what would amount to the staff at CND and Stop the War, their spouses and kids. There's lots of moonbats in this world. Apparently, even the moonbats aren't showing up anymore.
#8
I wonder if the sign holder realized that his slogan was the same as Nevil Chamberlain's in '36 after a deal was signed with Chancellor Hitler.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/16/2005 10:13 Comments ||
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#9
CND? Isn't that the group that was protesting Pershing missiles back in the 80's?
I guess the connection between Libya giving up their nuclear ambitions after the invasion of Iraq totally escapes them.
#12
Too bad a bulldozer didn't have to go through the street infront of Parliament. I hear they block out screams and prevent the driver from seeing what's in front of him in "certain" occasions.
Posted by: Charles ||
02/16/2005 13:26 Comments ||
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#13
Apt that the sign in the front row reads "Peace in our time"
Either they've forgotten the history of that phrase, the picture was Photoshopped, or the British contigent of Protest Warrior is on duty.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/16/2005 14:22 Comments ||
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#14
I think we've found the "volunteers" we need to clean up after IED explosions. Britain needs to re-instate press-ganging, just for that purpose, and use these types of rallies to "select" the "proper candidates". I'm sure such actions would improve both Britain and Iraq.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/16/2005 18:29 Comments ||
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#15
after IED explosions? Ima thinkr we give em forks and let em probe the roadsides of Free Iraq for buried treasure
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 19:11 Comments ||
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Even six months later, their traces remain in the thick snow: the tent strings laced to a tree, the makeshift tap made from a bottle, the rubbish heap. It was here, deep in the woods near the village of Psedakh in Ingushetia, that 32 gunmen gathered in August last year for up to seven days before they took 1,227 people hostage at Beslan's Middle School One.
Khamid Tsechoyev, head of the village, pointed at the ground. "There used to be teapots and coffee packets here - a toilet here." Raising his arm to the hills obscured by the forest he said: "Direct, it's 20km to Beslan."
Nearly six months after the massacre of 318 hostages, few of the mysteries surrounding the siege of Beslan have been unravelled. A five-month criminal investigation claims to have found some of the pieces of jigsaw, but by no means all. And for the people of Beslan there remains immense frustration that the picture is still unclear.
I was speechless when I read this. I hardly know where to start.
North Korea has declared that it has nuclear weapons, a capability that U.S. intelligence agencies had suspected for some time. President Bush is known to have a personal distaste for Kim Jong Il, North Korea's quirky ruler, and his abysmal human rights record. Although regime change in the north is not a publicly stated U.S. goal, the president's ever idealistic approach is to ratchet up the pain in an attempt to squeeze the life out of Kim's tyrannical regime. Although this approach may seem plausible, it's counterproductive.
Because the Bush administration has no leverage over North Korea and no effective military alternatives--North Korean nuclear facilities are hidden and deeply buried, and both Seoul and Japan are vulnerable to North Korean retaliatory strikes in the event of a U.S. attack--it is concentrating on tracking and freezing financial transactions related to North Korea's counterfeiting, drug running and covert weapons sales. Yet such sanctions have rarely been successful, as the ineffective financial war against Al Qaeda should indicate. Governments have never been effective in ending these rampant clandestine activities. In fact, the international economic isolation of North Korea drives its government to turn to such illicit ways of raising revenue.
#2
"Ivan Eland is senior fellow and director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at the Independent Institute in Oakland, Calif. He is the author of the book "The Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed.""
Posted by: Mark E. ||
02/16/2005 13:47 Comments ||
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#3
The economic isolation of the north and perpetual U.S. saber rattling make a paranoid North Korean regime even more likely to build up its nuclear stockpile. Instead of economic and military coercion, the United States should take the more positive approach of offering an end to economic sanctions and a non-aggression treaty in exchange for a verifiable elimination--not freeze--of the North Korean nuclear program.
Hey, Moron, sir, we tried that before. Kim lied, North Korean people died (from starvation). Go back and read the news stories of the past 6 years and come back with a new idea. NEXT!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/16/2005 13:48 Comments ||
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Maybe Fred will want to take a whack at Ivan, but I agree with Spot, this fellow is hopeless.
By the way, I think that if Ivan can be a "senior fellow" at some goof-brained institute in Oakland, no less, than we at Rantburg U. need to consider creating some fellowships. Dan will be our senior fellow in policy affairs, .com will be a senior fellow in imaging, ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2005 13:51 Comments ||
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#5
In that case, the United States may just have to accept that some unfriendly, autocratic minor powers may get nuclear weapons. It wonât be the end of the world.
It will be if they pop one in Oakland, Ivan baby...
#6
Even before getting to the comments, as I was reading that, I was thinking "Hey, didn't that redneck (TM - Charlie Rangel) try all of this once before through our fav-or-ite peanut farmer?" Man, let's just be nice and quit rattling sabers, and everything will be o.k., eh? Glad I don't live in Oakland (both philosophically and geographically) if they truly think that way in Pelosi-land.
Posted by: BA ||
02/16/2005 14:59 Comments ||
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#7
just because an idea makes it's way to print, doesn't mean that it isn't a brain-crushingly stupid one.
#8
we at Rantburg U. need to consider creating some fellowships. Dan will be our senior fellow in policy affairs, .com will be a senior fellow in imaging, ...
can I be in charge of HR/Foreign Relations?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 15:29 Comments ||
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#9
Whats that awful smell? Someone had a brainfart!
Didn't we try this back in 95. Madam Halfbright got the idea to trust the North Koreans (no, no need for verification...).
#11
Woo Doggies! I started reading this and had to check the link to see if it was ScrappleFace.
Still, the guy may have a point about not having exhausted all our 'carrot' options. For example, have we considered offering Kimmy the Sudentenland? There is still hope for Peace in Our Time!
#12
Thus the North Korean regime, despite its deplorable human rights record, does have legitimate security concerns.
When you ignore 50 years of history, it's damn easy to make comments like this. Until the last decade, North Korea was considered to have a robust striking force that would easily roll over the ROK Army and sprinkling of U.S. 8th Army troops north of Seoul.
The fact that North Korea has been reduced to offensive impotence (can you say T-55? Mig-19? I knew you could!) and has security concerns is testament to the wisdom of our isolation strategy.
The rest of the article is so riddled with factual errors and faults in critical reasoning that one could teach a course on how not to write an essay.
BTW I attended a conference a few weekends ago on the Navy's role in the Korean theatre and we had a very interesting talk by a former ambassador to ROK. His line of reasoning was just about as Chamberlainesque as this bozo. He seemed to think that if he could somehow talk to Kim for 2 hours, he'd come to his senses.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 16:12 Comments ||
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#15
You know, I was thinking maybe "Ivan Eland" was a joke, like "Ima Sudonim" or "Seymour Butts". (Kinda odd though. Why an eland? Why not a chicken? Better still, why not "Ivan Guttanaym"?)
But apparently he's real. There he is at the Cato Institute. The hell? Now, isolationism is a fine old libertarian tradition, but empathy? No. Advocate isolationism if you must, but no cuddling, dammit. Sheesh.
By the way, the Independent Institute, where Mr. Ungulate heads the Center on Peace and Fluffy Bunnies, has this list of associated authors, which includes such luminaries as Barbara Ehrenreich, Camille Paglia, and -- Eugene Volokh??? Must be an, ahem, interesting place.
#19
I don't need a fellowship, just a large sinking fund so I can properly host the weekly faculty tea -- you know how the faculty eat when it's free, and we shall want a proper set of china and so forth, all with the school crest on. And I shall need some of you to help me with the tastings, so that the little cakes and honkin' big steaks will please. (Yes of course we'll have beer and whiskey as well. Tea does not go with steak and potatoes. What kind of a faculty do you think we are!?!)
Come to think of it, better make it a very large sinking fund. And don't worry, I'll organize everything... you needn't bother yourself countersigning the checks.
North Korea marked the 63rd birthday of its "dear leader" Kim Jong Il on Wednesday with feasts of pheasant and venison for the capital's elite amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula after the communist state declared it had nuclear weapons and would boycott disarmament talks.
The rest of the peasants had an extra half-cup of grass soup for dinner.
Kim's birthday is a national holiday in the communist state, and festivities for residents of Pyongyang — the chosen elite allowed to live there only by being approved as loyal citizens to the regime — also were to include performances by circus and theater troupes, the North's state-run TV reported Tuesday evening, monitored by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
Troupes au vin?
North Korean officials heralded Kim's birthday with more defiant rhetoric at a meeting Tuesday of top communist party members and military officers. "If the U.S. recklessly opts for a war of aggression despite the repeated warning of the (North), our army and people will mobilize all potentials ... and deal merciless crushing blows at the aggressors and achieve a final victory in the confrontation with the U.S.," said Choe Thae Bok, a secretary of the Workers' Party Central Committee, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
Not bad, we got a reckless aggression, merciless mobilization, and crushing blows.
North Korean public transportation will operate late until 10 p.m., the North's TV said, to ensure birthday celebrations aren't cut short. Parks and other cultural facilities will be free of charge, and traditional food such as cold noodles and alcohol will also be served.
Alcohol is a traditional food?
In the run-up to Wednesday's celebration, there have also been festivals across the country of the Kimjongilia — a flower cultivated to blossom around Kim's birthday.
Tasty when quick-fried.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Alcohol is a traditional food?
Beer was invented in Egypt as a way to preserve surplus grain from spoilage. That drinking it leads to an altered mental state is a mere side effect of consuming the preserved grain (or benefit, depending on one's mental state). I imagine that, given recent diet of most North Koreans, quite a few of them be keenly aware of the effect of that first glass of preserved grain -- as there will be nothing in their stomachs to absorb the unaccustomed dose of alcohol.
#2
If you read contemporary accounts fron 17th and 18th century Britain, one thing that is striking is everyone drank beer all the time. Even poor people drank beer for breakfast everyday. I suspect becuase in the days before mains water, it was a way to get water free of harmful parasites and bacteria. The beer was relatively low alcohol content and referred to as 'small beer'. A term that is now used to refer to something of minor consequence.
#3
When we first moved to Germany in 1991, I stopped in a tea room with Trailing Daughter, then about 18 months old. I ordered tea for myself, and asked for tap water for TD, to make up a bottle. The dear little old ladies in the shop were appalled -- tap water is for cooking only, they explained in halting English. For drinking one must use bottled water, to be safe. This was in the spa town of Bad Soden above Frankfurt, where the healthy spring waters bubbled up in fountains spotted all around the village, and those taking the "cure" drank a cupful directly from each one every day.
To be fair, while the tap water in that village was perfectly safe, I wouldn't drink tap water in Frankfurt proper, which I believe comes from either the Rhein or Main rivers; both carry the waste of all the communities and industries from Switzerland on down.
Australia's two most senior security chiefs have accused Mamdouh Habib of working as a mercenary in Pakistan before his capture by local authorities in October 2001, saying he was paid to train with the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba and offered his services to al-Qaeda.
For the first time in Parliament, the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, and ASIO's director-general, Dennis Richardson, yesterday spelt out in detail their case against Mr Habib, who was released last month from Guantanamo Bay without charge. Their testimony also revealed ASIO was searching for him in Pakistan before his capture - and before the attacks of September 11, 2001 - because of what it knew of his activities in Afghanistan.
The revelations came as the Government faced greater scrutiny over the Sydney man's allegations he was tortured while in Egypt and Guantanamo Bay.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
MAMDUH HABIB
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 12:11:40 AM ||
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Isn't it about time for ASIO to kick his door down and rearrange his furniture again?
by Robert L. Pollock, Wall Street Journal EFL. Why are relations with Turkey deteriorating? Here's why:
. . . On a brief visit to Ankara earlier this month with Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith, I found a poisonous atmosphere--one in which just about every politician and media outlet (secular and religious) preaches an extreme combination of America- and Jew-hatred that . . . voluntarily goes far further than anything found in most of the Arab world's state-controlled press. If I hesitate to call it Nazi-like, that's only because Goebbels would probably have rejected much of it as too crude. We're talking "Jihad Unspun" levels of crudeness here.
Consider the Islamist newspaper Yeni Safak, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's favorite. A Jan. 9 story claimed that U.S. forces were tossing so many Iraqi bodies into the Euphrates that mullahs there had issued a fatwa prohibiting residents from eating its fish. Yeni Safak has also repeatedly claimed that U.S. forces used chemical weapons in Fallujah. One of its columnists has alleged that U.S. soldiers raped women and children there and left their bodies in the streets to be eaten by dogs. Among the paper's "scoops" have been the 1,000 Israeli soldiers deployed alongside U.S. forces in Iraq, and that U.S. forces have been harvesting the innards of dead Iraqis for sale on the U.S. "organ market."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mike ||
02/16/2005 6:51:38 AM ||
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#1
And the Turks wonder why we are sympathetic to the Kurds.
It all sounds loony, I know. But such stories are told in all seriousness at the most powerful dinner tables in Ankara.
You'd hear similar, although less 'far out', conversations at dinner tables in London, too. Engaged in by people most commonly referred to as 'intellectuals' or 'elite'. Time to junk such terminology, IMO. Narrow-minded professional workaholics aren't an elite any more than fishermen or plumbers, and those who show a determination to not learn from real-world experiences cannot possibly be referred to as 'intellectual' without irony. Any suggestions?
#4
I've long been fond of the simple pseudo-intellectual, BD, coupled with a gentle smile. Alternately, the self-described elite. Unfortunately, while people like us understand immediately, the targets too often think it refers to someone else.
#5
Perhaps the most bizarre anti-American story au courant in the Turkish capital is the "eighth planet" theory, which holds not only that the U.S. knows of an impending asteroid strike, but that we know itâs going to hit North America. Hence our desire to colonize the Middle East.
They're not even aware there are nine -- maybe ten, depending how you count -- planets.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/16/2005 8:01 Comments ||
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#6
Bulldog:
You get conversations like that right here in Tucson. At the U of A, of course.
RC:
"They're not even aware there are nine -- maybe ten, depending how you count -- planets."
Well, of course not. The Koran says there are seven, so seven it is. And we didn't go to the moon, either, since Allan's reign will last until men walk on the moon.
#7
In addition to helping Turkey with all the things mentioned, we've hosted tens of thousands of govt personnel in the US to give training in data collection, statistics, etc. We've provided seismic engineering to their building designers. We've trained their EMT personnel in rescue techniques. We've also hosted many, many citizens in private US homes. Thousands of Turkish citizens are employed by the US military at air bases in Turkey.
#8
Jackal - " And we didn't go to the moon, either, since Allan's reign will last until men walk on the moon."
I hope you made that up! Otherwise I understand why they hate us. No paradise, no virgins, no nothing..
#10
We should move with all dispatch to get our people out of Turkey in general and Incirlik in particular so that we can feel free to flash fry the Turkish Army when it tries to invade northern Iraq (Kurdistan).
All 25 European Union countries would share the costs of a huge terrorist attack on a single member state under plans being drawn up in Brussels. The European Commission believes that such an act of "solidarity" would help Europe cope with the aftermath of a September 11-style atrocity. It plans to publish details of its scheme, which would involve the EU sharing multi-billion pound costs, later this year.
But the Home Office has already signalled its opposition to the proposal, with ministers condemning it as impractical. In a report published yesterday, the Commons European scrutiny committee claimed the commission's plan was "unrealistic". Graham Brady, the Tory Europe spokesman, urged the Government to come out firmly against the idea. "In the event of a major terrorist attack in Europe, all European countries, and others, would want to do everything possible to help," he said. "But there is no need for the creation of a new funding mechanism." But it's damned useful if it fits your agenda.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
02/16/2005 5:22:20 AM ||
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#1
"In the event of a major terrorist attack in Europe, all European countries, and others, would want to do everything possible to help," he said. "But there is no need for the creation of a new funding mechanism."
There is if you plan to offer terrorists money to not attack.
#2
Sounds reasonable until it hits you: some group wants to invent yet another pot of money - and "Don't you worry - we'll take really good care of it and we promise the overhead will not consume more than 50%... annually..."
#3
All 25 European Union countries would share the costs of a huge terrorist attack on a single member state under plans being drawn up in Brussels. The European Commission believes that such an act of "solidarity" would help Europe cope with the aftermath of a September 11-style atrocity.
It's fun playing with play money (America's) but if the EU ever has to foot such a bill themselves, it'll be strangely quiet and deserted on that side of the ocean. All talk, once again, is my take.
#6
The EU has been pushing its socialist redistribution of wealth agenda on a variety of fronts. A Utopian New Math apparently makes it all add up neatly. Compute the monies needed for just the three instances I list below (if you can-it's so astronomical, I can't.) These proposals seem to be high on the agenda of the guilt-ridden EU. Make it work in real money. Don't forget to factor in other rich nations, accounting for how their economies could emerge intact after this shakedown:
Reduce WORLD, that's WORLD poverty. How many poor people are there in the world. How much is it expected that their poverty will be reduced/what standard of living is the goal. How does that improved standard of living for poor nations affect the standard of living of people in richer countries. Would a dollar more per month be enough, and who would get it. Who would distribute it. Do the math, provide the hard numbers.
Fund Aids relief in Africa. Fund medical treatments for how many people at what price per person, how often.
Assent to Kyoto Protocol. How many industries will need how much money to replace/purchase equipment. How many individuals will need to upgrade their vehicles in the US and how much will that cost.
Those three examples should give STARK evidence of how the best intentions from the EU (and I am sure many of them are) are based on a complete lack of financial realism.
#7
Clearly Europe cannot trust any one country to handle this fund - perhaps the UN could do it for them. That way at least the money when the money is looted it will end up back in Europe (though Switzerland is not part of the EU).
ISN SECURITY WATCH (16/02/05) - The CIA is seeking to lessen its involvement with terror suspect detainees kept in secret prisons without with charges, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. The CIA had never intended to play a long-term role in the detention and interrogation of terror suspects, the daily said, citing intelligence sources. The CIA leadership is concerned that while its legal authority for interrogations and detentions is eroding, there is no clear plan for how the agency can extricate itself from what could be a lengthy task of holding and caring for a small population of aging terrorists whose intelligence value is steadily eroding and who are unlikely ever to be released or brought to trial.
The CIA took on the responsibility of detaining the leaders in the months after the 9/11 attacks. But the effort to indefinitely maintain what amounts to a secret prison system overseas is increasingly regarded within the agency as conflicting with its core mission of collecting and analyzing intelligence. At the same time, the repudiation by US President George Bush's administration of an August 2002 legal opinion regarding the use of torture, sought by the CIA to protect its employees from liability, is seen within the agency as undercutting its authority to use coercive methods in interrogations. There is concern that the CIA may be left to bear sole responsibility and the brunt of criticism for the use of violent or illegal techniques.
That concern was heightened when high-level administration officials seemed in public testimony to sidestep responsibility for shaping interrogation policies. The officials included Alberto Gonzales, the new attorney-general, and Michael Chertoff, the new homeland security secretary. Chertoff was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday.
The estimated three dozen people being held by the CIA include Abu Zubaydah, the personnel coordinator for al-Qaida, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the chief operational planner of the 9/11 plot. Under Bush administration directives, they are being detained indefinitely as "enemy combatants", without trial, and without access to lawyers or human rights groups. Porter Goss, the new CIA head, is scheduled to make his first public appearance in that role on Wednesday, in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Congressional officials have said the panel would conduct a review this year of the CIA's role in the detention and interrogation of the terrorist leaders, but the facts surrounding the detention camps remain among the government's most closely guarded secrets, and it is not clear whether senators will question Goss about the issue in a public forum. Among the options being discussed within the government is the possibility of enlisting another agency, most likely the FBI, to assume a role in their interrogation. Other possibilities include handing over some of the detainees to third countries. FBI sources told The New York Times that no such discussions were underway, and that the agency would not get involved.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/16/2005 3:01:37 PM ||
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#1
NYT and "Intelligence Sources". Never the two shall meet
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 16:50 Comments ||
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Islamism and leftism add up to anti-American madness in Turkey.
BY ROBERT L. POLLOCK EFL and madness is the right word! snip
On a brief visit to Ankara earlier this month with Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith, I found a poisonous atmosphere--one in which just about every politician and media outlet (secular and religious) preaches an extreme combination of America- and Jew-hatred that (like the Turkish artists) voluntarily goes far further than anything found in most of the Arab world's state-controlled press. If I hesitate to call it Nazi-like, that's only because Goebbels would probably have rejected much of it as too crude.
Consider the Islamist newspaper Yeni Safak, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's favorite. A Jan. 9 story claimed that U.S. forces were tossing so many Iraqi bodies into the Euphrates that mullahs there had issued a fatwa prohibiting residents from eating its fish. Yeni Safak has also repeatedly claimed that U.S. forces used chemical weapons in Fallujah. One of its columnists has alleged that U.S. soldiers raped women and children there and left their bodies in the streets to be eaten by dogs. Among the paper's "scoops" have been the 1,000 Israeli soldiers deployed alongside U.S. forces in Iraq, and that U.S. forces have been harvesting the innards of dead Iraqis for sale on the U.S. "organ market."
It's not much better in the secular press. The mainstream Hurriyet has accused Israeli hit squads of assassinating Turkish security personnel in Mosul, and the U.S. of starting an occupation of Indonesia under the guise of humanitarian assistance. At Sabah, a columnist last fall accused the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Eric Edelman, of letting his "ethnic origins"--guess what, he's Jewish--determine his behavior.
Mr. Edelman is indeed the all-too-rare foreign-service officer who takes seriously his obligation to defend America's image and interests abroad. The intellectual climate in which he's operating has gone so mad that he actually felt compelled to organize a conference call with scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey to explain that secret U.S. nuclear testing did not cause the recent tsunami.
Never in an ostensibly friendly country have I had the impression of embassy staff so besieged. Mr. Erdogan's office recently forbade Turkish officials from attending a reception at the ambassador's residence in honor of the "Ecumenical" Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, who resides in Istanbul. Why? Because "ecumenical" means universal, which somehow makes it all part of a plot to carve up Turkey.
Perhaps the most bizarre anti-American story au courant in the Turkish capital is the "eighth planet" theory, which holds not only that the U.S. knows of an impending asteroid strike, but that we know it's going to hit North America. Hence our desire to colonize the Middle East.
It all sounds loony, I know. But such stories are told in all seriousness at the most powerful dinner tables in Ankara. The common thread is that almost everything the U.S. is doing in the world--even tsunami relief--has malevolent motivations, usually with the implication that we're acting as muscle for the Jews. SNIP -- more at site
Hakeem Olajuwon said yesterday that contributions made by a mosque that he established and financed had been intended for charities performing humanitarian work. He said there had been no way to know, when the contributions were made, that the groups receiving them had links to terrorism.
Olajuwon was responding to a report last week by The Associated Press that said the Islamic Da'Wah Center of Houston had donated more than $80,000 to charities that the United States government later accused of being connected to Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Olajuwon, who retired in 2002 after 17 seasons with the Houston Rockets and one with the Toronto Raptors, is in Jordan studying Arabic. "It took my whole career to build my name and the causes that I choose to support," Olajuwon said yesterday from Amman, Jordan, during a 40-minute teleconference that he initiated. "It took my whole career, and it's difficult to accept when my name is coming linked into anything such as terrorism."
The mosque donated $61,250 in 2000 and $20,000 in 2002 to the Islamic African Relief Agency, in addition to $2,430 in 2000 to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, The A.P. reported on Feb. 9. The United States government shut the Islamic African Relief Agency in October, accusing it of having supplied money to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, the A.P. reported. The government shut down the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development in 2001, saying that it had raised money for Hamas, according to The A.P.
Olajuwon, who was born in Nigeria and converted to Islam, insisted that he had no knowledge of any connections the charities had to terrorism. Had he known, he said, he would not have allowed the mosque to make the donations. "At the time they were raising the money in 2000, we didn't even know anything about a terrorist," he said. Olajuwon said he had no reason to suspect that the charities had terrorist links, noting that the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development was an American-based nonprofit organization registered with the Internal Revenue Service. The mosque's donations were reported properly to the I.R.S., he said. "It was reported in our tax return," Olajuwon said.
"This wasn't something that was secretive," he added. "It was very open. That's what I'm referring to. This was clear. This was not something like, you know, like it was underground. It was clearly a fund-raising for the relief organization."
Olajuwon, 42, said the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development had approached the mosque seeking support for a program for orphans. "You see their work, you see their brochure, they've been doing it for years and they're approved by the government," Olajuwon said. "And it's not just us. And they go to different communities to raise funds, because they have this permit."
He added: "We don't want to give the money where most of the money is spent on the administration. We're going to make sure that this organization is actually spending the money," he said, on "what they're supposed to." He said such money should go for "medicine, schools, doing well in Africa in the villages."
Olajuwon said the mosque must do a better job researching charities before making donations. "But we were careful before," he said.
Olajuwon said he was surprised that the initial report became international news. Sounding deeply distressed, he said that an "article that linked me with a terrorist group" had been published in Nigeria. "This is where, you know, we have a responsibility as friends to report stories sincerely," he said. Olajuwon argued that The A.P.'s report was misleading and that it had taken facts out of context.
Olajuwon, who is an American citizen, said that he was worried about how people would view him when he returns to the United States in a few months. He called himself a public figure who tries to "help the community and give back."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 12:22:26 AM ||
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#1
The facts are the facts
Posted by: Live to Ride ||
02/16/2005 15:24 Comments ||
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#2
I'm sure Olajuwon truly was duped by these scumbags.
His generosity is legendary. When the Nigerian soccer team arrived in the US for the Women's World Cup, they had shabby uniforms and not enough decent boots.
Olajuwon reached into his own pocket and bought the entire team top of the line uniforms and shoes so that they wouldn't be embarrased.
That's hardly the gesture an Islamist would make...they don't even like men running around in shorts. That anti-woman prejudice is probably what caused them to have no gear in the first place.
#3
He could start by donating an equivalent amount to 9/11 victims. Then, he could convince us of his sincerity by becoming a voice for Islamic moderation, using his status as a sports star to loudly condemn violence. This would go a long way towards making me believe he was innocently duped, and might start a larger movement towards strong condemnation of Islamic fascists.
Al Qaeda remains determined to carry out its campaign of terror and is expected to further escalate its attacks, a U.N. team monitoring sanctions against the group said.
Terror attacks sponsored by al Qaeda and weapons of mass destruction are among the chief threats confronting the world, the team said in a report on Tuesday.
The Taliban, which sheltered al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan before being toppled by an American-led coalition, also continues to "threaten the stability and reconstruction of the country," the report said.
"The team sees no let-up in the determination of al Qaeda, the Taliban and their associates to continue their campaign of terror. It sees al Qaeda continuing to spread its message to all parts of the world, and a further escalation in terms of brutality of attacks," the report said.
"Whatever the situation in Iraq, al Qaeda's global terrorism will continue and will remain a challenge to all States," it added.
Despite steps taken by U.N. member states to impose military-style weapon embargoes, attacks with small arms and explosives have continued, the team said.
Although countries had put in place measures to stop terror groups from transferring money, "there are many unofficial ways available to circumvent these restrictions."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 12:04:07 AM ||
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#1
Here's a thought: We could all work harder to arrest, interdict and prevent them. What do you say, O Nations of the U.N.?
#2
What??, and forgo the catered conferences, the endless meetings about having a meeting before the last meeting to decide where the meeting will meet?
See, you foolish Americans are all such crass knuckle draggers - nuance takes time - and graft.
The ever-vigilant UN finds justification for another round of meetings in someplace pleasant.
A U.N. team investigating compliance with sanctions against al-Qaida and the Taliban predicted Tuesday that brutal attacks by Osama bin Laden's followers will escalate as they still have easy access to bombmaking materials and money. Terror attacks sponsored by al-Qaida and weapons of mass destruction are among the chief threats confronting the world, according to the team's report to a U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against al-Qaida and the Taliban. Al-Qaida remains capable of mounting "devastating attacks" and sanctions are only having a limited effect on the group, which is still keen to acquire chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, a U.N. report said. It is only "a matter of time" before a successful attack occurs, the report said.
And so forth and so on, and then the mandatory swipe at the US...
[A spokesman] also said the terror group was using the conflict in Iraq to boost its standing. "There is no doubt al-Qaida is using the situation in Iraq to promote themselves and recruit people," he said.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
"There is no doubt al-Qaida is using the situation in Iraq to promote themselves and recruit people..."
That's more-or-less true. Before that, they were using Afghanistan. Before that, US troops in Arabia. Before that...
Anything other than a worldwide caliphate is a reason to promote themselves and recruit people.
February 16, 2005: When your country is dependent on sea going commerce for food and raw materials, it is a good idea to be able to secure the routes used to deliver the raw materials and food. Without food, the population of Singapore starves. Without raw materials, the manufacturing stops. Singapore also is dependent on exporting high-tech items manufactured in this country. Most of these products, raw materials, and food travel by sea.
Ensuring the safety of these arrivals is the job of the Republic of Singapore Navy. This force is expanding its capabilities with numerous new vessels. In the last ten years, Singapore has built twelve 500-ton patrol boats to replace six older Vosper craft. The Fearless-class is a fast (65 kilometers per hour) boat equipped with a 76mm gun, Mistral surface-to-air missiles, and two triple 12.75-inch torpedo tubes. Six of these boats have been built, and can work with other assets to kill submarines near Singapore.
A second class of patrol boats, the Resilience-class, is based on the Fearless-class. This class is armed with six Israeli Gabriel anti-ship missiles. The Gabriel is a medium range (60 kilometers) anti-ship missile that has been proven in combat in the various Israeli-Arab wars. The Gabriel uses infra-red guidance, which is quite useful in the cluttered area of operations in the waters surrounding Singapore. The Resilience-class patrol craft also use a 76mm gun, Mistrals, and four 12.7mm machine guns. Singapore's six old Sea Wolf-class patrol boats remain in service, carrying Gabriel and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The six Victory-class corvettes (which carry Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Barak surface-to-air missiles, and two triple 12.75-inch torpedo tubes) are also still in service, but have had some problems.
In the last six years, three major ship classes have entered service with Singapore. In 1997, Sweden leased Singapore a Sjoormen-class diesel-electric submarine. After personnel were trained, three more subs of that class were purchased. These are small (1,400 tons) subs with a top speed of 37 kilometers per hour, and only capable of diving to 150 meters. They don't need to dive much deeper than that, since the waters are quite shallow. These vessels are equipped with four 21-inch torpedo tubes and two 15.75-inch torpedo tubes. A total of twelve weapons (eight 21-inch and four 15.75-inch) can be carried by these submarines.
Singapore's other new naval class of six patrol frigates based on the French LaFayette class. These stealthy frigates will be slightly smaller than the French vessels (3,000 tons compared to 3,700 tons; 360 feet long compared to the 407.5 feet), but will be faster (65 kilometers per hour compared to 46.3 for the French versions). This vessel is to carry a mix of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and either ASTER 15 or Barak point-defense surface-to-air missiles. It also has four 21-inch torpedo tubes. This is a heavier torpedo battery than most surface warships get (Russian designs use 21-inch tubes, most other navies use 12.75-inch tubes, but some use 15.75 or 16-inch tubes). This frigate also has a 57mm gun. It will be a large class of modern frigates, and will make Singapore's navy one of the most powerful around the Strait of Malacca. Singapore also has been building a class of four LSD type amphibious ships. These LSDs, the Endurance-class, are 8500 tons, have a speed of 27.78 kilometers per hour, and each can carry 18 tanks.
Singapore has also taken note of the effectiveness of mines. As a nation reliant on maritime trade (and with over 900 merchant ships flying its flag), Singapore has invested in a force of four modern mine-countermeasures vessels. These are the same as the Swedish Longsort-class minesweepers, and are 155.8 feet long, displace 600 tons, and equipped with modern sonars and ROVs for use against the most modern mines.
Singapore's navy is arguably the best Navy in Southeast Asia. Most of the major units have been commissioned after 1990, is designed to fight in the waters around the small country, and it trains hard. Anyone who tries to cut Singapore off will have a huge fight on their hands.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/16/2005 2:51:14 PM ||
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The United States is tracking possible links between the violence in the deep South of Thailand and the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, a US State Department official said.
Celina Realuyo, director of Counterterrorism Finance Programmes, said intelligence reports indicated there were links between the Indonesian group and insurgents in Thailand and Malaysia.
``We're now closely keeping an eye on the terrorists movement in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Thailand,'' she told a security seminar.
Washington's targets included some groups in Malaysia who had donated money to Islamic schools in Thailand.
Financial transactions and money laundering in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries were also being examined.
``We've found that some terrorist groups donated money in the guise of charity to Islamic communities and Islamic schools which are linked to the insurgents who have bombed the south of Thailand,'' Ms Realuyo said.
The United States was trying to check their bank accounts, telephone calls, text messages and charities, she said.
``It's not easy. It's hard to check because they all made donations in cash,'' Ms Realuyo admitted.
She said the United States was also keeping a lookout for international terrorists who may have seemed to donate money to tsunami-hit countries, but the money actually ended up supporting their membership.
The arrest of Hambali _ a key member of Jemaah Islamiyah and one of the most dangerous terrorists in Southeast Asia _ in Ayutthaya in August 2003 underscored the US concern about the group's connection with Thailand.
His apprehension led to the later arrest of some Muslims in southern Thailand suspected of being JI members, she said.
Ruhanas Harun, a lecturer in international and strategic studies at the University of Malaya, argued that there was no concrete evidence that Thailand and Malaysia were part of the terrorist network.
But authorities should monitor Thais and Malaysians whose families had connections with Indonesia, Ms Ruhanas said.
Marilyn Bruno, of the US Office of Terrorism Finance and Economic Sanctions Policy, said any person providing accommodation, vehicles, money or bank accounts directly or indirectly to terrorists would also be considered terrorists.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 12:41:42 AM ||
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Bushehr, Feb 16, IRNA -- Governor General of the southern province of Bushehr, Esmaeel Tabadar, here on Wednesday has denied any attack on Iran`s nuclear and oil facilities in the province. Tabadar told IRNA that foreign media had in a targeted move falsely mentioned the sound of a blast heard from a mountainous region 220 kilometers north of Bushehr nuclear power plant before noon Wednesday as an attack on the power plant.
He said that although the Wednesday pre-noon blast in the mountainous region east of Daylam port in northern Bushehr province was an insignificant issue, military experts immediately headed to the region aboard a helicopter to identify the cause of the incident. He added that the experts had strongly rejected any military invasion of the site.
The official reiterated that the site of the explosion had been a mountainous region in the north of Bushehr province, which is uninhabited. An informed source said the minor explosion might have have been set off in a mountainous region east of Daylam port 220 kilometers north of Bushehr before noon on Wednesday by Oil Ministry contractors,while attempting to clear the ground for implementing oil projects. He said the use of dynamite to clear the rough mountainous terrain for roads to implement oil projects is a usual procedure. This might explain the sound, but fails to address the eyewitness reports of a rocket being fired or a fuel tank falling from an aircraft.
#3
That's fine, whatever. To paraphrase JFK (the real one)our policy should be any nuclear attack on any American interest or ally anywhere in the world will be regarded as an attack by Iran and Syria on the US, and will prompt a disproportionate response.
#4
Does this mean that if we attack one, the other gets the whole "lake of fire" treatment?
Posted by: BA ||
02/16/2005 10:56 Comments ||
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#5
Seems to me that provoking Kurdish uprisings in both nations might be a nice response. I also wouldn't mind seeing us support the Arab Shia corner of Iran that borders Iraq (yeah this could cause problems with Saudi Arabia but that's a feature not a bug).
#6
Two can play at the destabalization game. It would be interesting to know whats going on behind the scenes here.
I don't know, maybe this is stupid, but I secretly suspect that the Turks are and have always been a part of this "common front". Erdogan is a treacherous little bastard. With the saber rattling that the Turks have been doing lately, I can't help but wonder what's going on behind the scenes.
#7
and speaking of this front, while I'm in the paranoid musing-mode...it bothers me that our good friend, Russia, is openly providing arms to Syria and helping Iran get nukes. It certainly makes you wonder why.
I don't remember what Pukin's relationship was to Erdogan and I don't remember how influential Russia was or was not in getting the Turks to stab us in the back at the start of the Iraqi war..... but given those facts as well as Turkey's current sabre rattling, you have to look at a map and wonder what on earth is going through Russia's head when they brazenly supplie arms to Syria and help Iran get nukes.
It just seems too wierd that Putin isn't more concerned with his own Islamist Problem, than he is in inflaming the region by providing arms to two contries on either side of Iraq. Especially since he'd have to be brain dead not to realize that eventually these same arms will eventually be turned on his own infidel country as the push for the caliphate moves forward.
#10
I should have used sarcasm notes ;-) I don't think Putin is our friend, but with talk of a "new front" by two countries, both receiving major arms assistance from Russia is causing me to wonder just how proactive of a enemy he really is and wonder about Turkey.
#11
Regards Putty, I can't recall a single instance of cooperation or collaboration since the Iraq buildup was completed and it was time to lead, follow, or get out of the way. He chose None of the Above. Someone (not our RB 'someone', heh) posted a short un-elaborated comment a few days ago that Putty wasn't running Russia -that he was a puppet. Of course, I found that interesting, but have seen nothing further to back it up or explain who is supposedly running Russia. Putty's the Idol, so I doubt the proposition without something substantive.
Regards Turkey, they have misstepped at every opportunity from the same timeframe forward. The last time we had cordial dealings with them, IMHO, was when (pre-Iraq War) they requested Patriot batteries within NATO, France vetoed the request, and we did it anyway via a different NATO committee that France does not sit on.
Both are, by their actions, adversaries. Neither has the means to do anything but wave their arms and hinder / veto diplomatic efforts.
#12
I was just googling around and found this, which deepens my suspicions that this "new front" which includes Syria and Iran could be connected by our good friends /sarcasm/ the Turks.
With Russia openly providing arms to Syria and nukes to Iran, we should at least be wondering what's going on in Turkey's mind.
The January 12 [2005] statement went on to say that Turkeyâs "economic ties with Russia are ripe for growth," adding that Ankara expected "an influx of Russian capital." Russian President Vladimir Putin reciprocated the enthusiasm expressed by Turkish leaders. Putin met with Erdogan at least four times during the three-day visit, including a private dinner at the presidential residence outside Moscow.
Only sketchy details have emerged on trade talks conducted during the visit. Turkish officials let it be known in advance that they would seek a discount on the price of Russian natural gas supplies. Russia currently provides about two-thirds of Turkeyâs natural gas needs.
snip..talk of mutually beneficial business deals re: electricity and gas.
In addition to energy, Turkish and Russian officials confirmed that talked about developing military-technological ties. They did not go into specifics, and no agreements were announced. link
#13
Lol, 2b! The first thing that came to mind is how Russia's out looking for investment capital, always desperate for hard currency - then screwing over those firms who play fair in the bidding process, of course - so why would Turkey think Russia had anything but scraps to invest in them?
Must be a matter of perspective. I've got a dime. Here's a nickel.
#16
It was lex who'd claimed that Putin was a puppet, I believe. On my part I don't find it particularly interesting whether Putin leads the FSB regime or is a puppet thereof, as long as we recognize the entirety of said regime to be as much of an enemy as the Soviet Union was, even if reduced in strength since those times.
2b, I think that linking Turkey to Syria and Iran via the Russian connection is a really weak proposition, since Russia has connections and influence throughout the world. Sure, the Russia-Turkey connection is worrisome, in the way that it's definitely worrisome when Schroeder or Karamanlis or whoever is seen licking Putin's fingers.
But that doesn't make Turkey a link in the Syria-Iran axis, any more than it would make Venezuela a link of that particular axis either, because Russia is cooperating with it as well.
#17
Do not trust the Russian Bear. What did Putin do after Beslan? Consolidate his grip on the Russian people? Yes. Revenge the deaths of innocent children? No. Post Beslan, did Putin cut arms deals with avowed enemies of the USA (Syria and Iran)? Yes. Has Russia assisted the USA in Iraq? No. Has Russia assisted the USA in the war against Islamofascism? Except for token logistical assistance in Afganistan(where they expected we'd get our ass kicked similar to theirs), no. Does Russia desire to see democracy spread in their sphere of influence (Ukraine)? No. Come on George, wake up.
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
02/16/2005 12:32 Comments ||
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#18
I think that linking Turkey to Syria and Iran via the Russian connection is a really weak proposition, since Russia has connections and influence throughout the world.
It depends on what Putin's primary goal is. If it is to frustrate the US or "counter its influence in the world", Turkey is a beaut of a candidate to head the list. Russia has been acting really squirrely since Beslan, lashing out at the US when what happened there should make Russia move closer to the US.
What are Russia's primary motives this time? Money always, but what else?
#19
Otari told reporters: "This meeting, which takes place at this sensitive time, is important, especially because Syria and Iran face several challenges and it is necessary to build a common front."
I agree it's highly speculative and possibly even paranoid, but then again...if you take literally what he is saying, they want a common front.
Russia is providing both Syria and Iran with arms and is talking to Turkey about developing military and technological ties as well as setting up undisclosed gas/oil deals that may (or may not) be indicative of back-room deals similar to deals that Russia made with Saddam.
I'm not saying that is what's happening, I'm just saying, that with Iran and Syria talking about a "common front" (even if metaphorically) it would be foolish to just look away and assume all is well here - given Russia's odd willingness to arm Syria; assist Iran's nuclear ambitions; work out major energy contracts while developing military-technological ties with Kurd/American-hating, saber-rattling Turkey.
You can't just look away from that and hope it's not true.
#20
George isn't asleep, there's only just so much you can take on, and I mean head on, at once. Russia has clarified its intentions since the day he lied to W's face. They will get lip service until a solution to Putty presents itself.
Just as with Germany, the real problem isn't with the Russian people - it's the "leadership", a term used loosely regards Shroeder, of course. ;-)
#21
I don't see the quid pro quo for Russia in the Turkey deal. They have to discount the price of their gas in return for what??? Arms sales??? Not likely. Turkey has a strong initiative to have local manufacturing/content on any major weapons deal. They want technology transfer so they can further build their domestic defense industry (which will then be used for export). Russia would be creating their own competition.
#22
Remoteman, I don't know. Maybe the Turks think they can get oil fields in Mosul and Kirkuk. It's all wild speculation.
But I think Jules makes a good point. Russia has been acting really squirrely since Beslan, lashing out at the US when what happened there should make Russia move closer to the US.
Maybe it's time should start to ask why Russia's acting so weird. .Com's right, it's not like GW isn't aware of the Russian threat, but it just seems to me like it is becoming MUCH more brazen in the last few weeks.
#25
Turkey (as well as the Ottoman Empire) has never been an ally of the West in MAJOR purpose and painful ACTION. (NATO was just a trade: shield them from the Communists, allow us to shield the Mediterranean.)
Russia lost its empire 15 years ago and it is NOT a Western country.
Both see themselves as threatened by the individualist, liberty-loving, prosperous West. Neither is friendly, let alone an ally. In the context of WW IV, we have to take their inimical behaviour extremely seriously.
#26
The folks in Central Asia are of Turkic decent. A closer Turkey/Russia alliance would be beneficial for both nations as Turkey may be able to counter the wahabbi influence there better than anyone else.
Iran and Syria are simply formalizing what's been going on between them for decades. Things have gotten closer since they've started interfering in Iraq without much of a response. I'm not sure Turkey has anything to do with any of that, although they could end the bullshit if they actually did get involved.
I think the folks in the region should claim Syria is the new Independent Kurdish state and arm the Kurds in Turkey/Iraq/Iran and point them towards Syria (provide air support if necessary). Might solve a lot of problems in one swoop.
#27
I dont think of Putin as particularly our friend, but I do think hes a man of caution, and while he will fish in troubled waters, hes certainly not going to stake anything important on Syria and Iran.
Turkey, AFAICT, is really, seriously, worried about the Kurds. I may not like their position (and I dont) but its a tangible, negotiable one, and is really in a different class than Syria or Iran. In fact I think in recent years theyve felt more threatened by Iran than Iraq, and thats one reason they were not enthusiastic about Iraq. (yes, I know about the long term strat, but I think Turkey is more concerned with the short term)
#28
I don't see the quid pro quo for Russia in the Turkey deal.
Influence.
They see Turkey moving AWAY from the US, TOWARDS France, and so they jump in with a little sugar. If they timed it right, they can "divide" Turkey with France and neutralize it as a US base.
Sure, neither France, Russia, nor Turkey win, but the US "loses". All three see that as a net gain.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/16/2005 13:53 Comments ||
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#29
Sure, neither France, Russia, nor Turkey win, but the US "loses".
I dunno, but it seems to me that after the northern front affair, there isn't really all that much to lose. As of now, we could strike a deal with the Kurds, move everything out of the Incirlik facility into a new base in Kurdish territory, and....
The Bush administration recalled its ambassador to Syria on Tuesday to protest what it sees as Syria's link to the murder of the former prime minister of Lebanon, as violent anti-Syrian protests erupted in Beirut and several other Lebanese cities.
At the United Nations, the administration also demanded that Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon, and the Security Council called for an urgent investigation into the killing of the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, who died Monday with 13 others when a huge car bomb blew up his motorcade in downtown Beirut.
Investigators in Lebanon said they had come to no conclusion yet as to who carried out the attack. But Lebanese opposition leaders joined with the Bush administration in linking Syria to the bombing.
Mr. Hariri, a billionaire developer, was the central figure in the country's rebuilding after a devastating 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, and his death aroused fears that the country could descend again into unrest.
In Beirut, large crowds went to the site of the explosion, which investigators said appeared to be the work of a suicide attacker who managed to drive in between cars of Mr. Hariri's motorcade. Another theory was that the bomb had been placed in a sewer or under the pavement.
Though there were some in Lebanon who argued that the murder might have been engineered by Al Qaeda, presumably to punish Mr. Hariri for his ties to Saudi Arabia, demonstrators mobilized throughout the country to blame Syria. In Damascus, Syrian officials continued to vigorously deny involvement in the explosion.
In Sidon, Mr. Hariri's hometown, Syrian workers were attacked by dozens of protesters before the police intervened, and hundreds of Lebanese marched with black banners and pictures of the slain leader. A mob also attacked a Beirut office of Syria's ruling Baath Party.
Thousands of protesters also massed in the northern port city of Tripoli, according to Reuters. Many analysts in Lebanon said Syria had reason to punish Mr. Hariri because he had been the leader in trying to block a new term for President Ãmile Lahoud, a Maronite Christian who is an ally of Syria.
Failing that effort, which had the backing of the United States and France, Mr. Hariri supported a resolution at the United Nations Security Council last year also pushed by Washington and Paris demanding that Syria withdraw its 14,000 troops.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other American officials said the suspected Syrian complicity in the bombing was the latest in a series of hostile acts, including what they contend is Syria's support of the insurgency in Iraq and of groups carrying out violent attacks on civilians in Israel that are aimed at disrupting peace talks with the Palestinians.
The Syrian information minister called the bombing "an act of terrorism, a crime that seeks to destabilize Lebanon."
The minister, Mahdi Dakhl-Allah, also deplored the anti-Syrian violence and called on the Lebanese to "remain united and strong and continue to reject domestic strife and foreign intervention." Syria has played the dominant role in Lebanon's politics since it moved troops into the country in the 1970's.
At the United Nations, meanwhile, at the behest of the United States the Security Council deplored the bombing as a threat to Lebanon's democratic process. Without assigning blame, it called on Secretary General Kofi Annan to report back to Council members on what happened.
The killing of Mr. Hariri, a close ally of the United States and France, sent fears throughout the Middle East, where memories of Lebanon's civil war are fresh and concerns were sharpened that the delicate balance among Christians and Shiite and Sunni Muslims could come unhinged at a time when sectarian conflict is afflicting nearby Iraq.
In recent weeks, the United States has been increasing pressure on Syria, focusing on Syria's troop presence in Lebanon and its suspected support of the Iraq insurgency and of anti-Israel violence. Ms. Rice acknowledged that the recall of Ambassador Margaret Scobey was prompted by more than Mr. Hariri's death.
The removal of Ambassador Scobey, she said, "relates to, unfortunately, the fact that the relationship has been for some time not moving in a positive direction, but this event in Lebanon, of course, is the proximate cause of the withdrawal."
Appearing at a meeting with the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Ms. Rice also acknowledged, however, that the identities of those who carried out the bombing attack were unknown. "We're not laying blame," she asserted. "It needs to be investigated."
Since taking office last month, Ms. Rice has adopted a tough line against Syria, effectively signaling the end of what administration officials said had been a heated internal debate about whether its role in the Middle East was helpful or not to American interests.
For a time last year, some American officials had argued that cooperation of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, on some issues should be rewarded, citing Syria's limited help in shutting down Syrian bases used by insurgents fighting in Iraq, and curbing the flow of money across the border that is suspected of aiding the insurgents.
But in recent weeks, the United States changed its approach, in part influenced by mounting concerns in Israel over Syria's alleged help to Hezbollah and other militant organizations accused of supporting attacks on Israelis.
In going after Syria, the Bush administration also appeared to be sending a tough message to Syria's ally, Iran, which Washington says is supplying the financing for the attacks on Israelis.
Included in the reasons for withdrawing the American ambassador from Damascus, the State Department spokesman, Richard A. Boucher, said Tuesday, was "the continued presence and operational activities of international terrorist groups and the Iranian regime on and through Syrian territory."
The decision to withdraw Ambassador Scobey was acknowledged by American officials as a symbolic step tantamount to a downgrading of diplomatic relations, because no date was announced for her return.
Administration officials acknowledged that with relations at a low point for some time, few other sanctions were available. "In a way, we're almost sanctioned out on Syria," said one official. "There's not much left that we can do."
In Lebanon, meanwhile, the talk of Syria's involvement was strong.
"Lebanon is essential to Syria," said Adnan Arakchi, an associate of Mr. Hariri who serves in Parliament, explaining why he thought Syria sought to punish Mr. Hariri for trying to reduce its influence. "Giving Lebanon up is like putting a noose around its neck."
Since the 1970's, Syria has used its troop presence in Lebanon to dominate Lebanese politics, at the time with the blessing of American and Israeli leaders. Now, however, Syria's presence is widely regarded as a destructive factor in the region even as some concede that it has added a measure of stability.
Opponents of Mr. Lahoud and his Syrian backers were the quickest to blame Syria for Mr. Hariri's death.
In Washington, some consideration was being given to invoking the Patriot Act, signed after the Sept. 11 attacks, which might allow the United States to act against financial transactions between American and Syrian businesses or subsidiaries.
That step appeared to be held in reserve, for the time being, to give Syria more of a chance to cooperate with American demands. But some experts said an American-led confrontation with Syria, and by extension Iran, in the name of democracy and demanding removal of Syrian troops, could backfire.
"Syria is low-hanging fruit compared to Iran," said Martin Indyk, a former Middle East official in the Clinton administration and now director of the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution, meaning that Syria, a poor country, may be easier to pressure than oil-rich Iran.
Mr. Indyk explained that the danger of getting pulled into a war in Lebanon is that it would make more difficult the pursuit of American interests in more strategic parts of the Middle East, particularly Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
"The administration may find that what started out as a sideshow in Lebanon could become a main game," he added. "If Lebanon descends into hell, and it can, and Hezbollah starts firing into northern Israel, we may find ourselves preoccupied in a situation of questionable importance to the United States."
"This regime is backed by the Syrians," said Walid Jumblatt, a Druse leader in Lebanon. "This is the regime of terrorists and terrorism that was able yesterday to wipe out Rafik al-Hariri."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 12:20:29 AM ||
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#1
But in recent weeks, the United States changed its approach, in part influenced by mounting concerns in Israel over Syriaâs alleged help to Hezbollah and other militant organizations accused of supporting attacks on Israelis.
Which is why, IMHO, that Hariri was blown up at the very same time that Shalom was visiting Chirac "to discuss the issue of the inclusion of the Hizbullah on the EU list of proscribed terrorist organizations, ahead of the EU discussion on the matter on February 16. Foreign [Israeli] Minister Shalom will also raise the issue of the Iranian threat, and the interest in renewing and expanding ties with the countries of North Africa and the Gulf."
Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday warned Britain, France and Germany that they must make more economic and technological concessions to meet a deadline next month for agreement on Tehran's nuclear activities.
The three European Union powers are trying to persuade Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment program, which Washington fears could be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. Iran insisted again Tuesday that its nuclear activities are peaceful.
But the talks still need much progress to reach a fruitful conclusion, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamel Kharrazi said after discussions with the Luxembourg government, which holds the EU presidency.
"It needs more efforts, more seriousness, more confidence building to be evaluated as a fruitful and positive process," he added. "So we have to try harder and be more serious."
Kharrazi called for the 25-nation bloc to be more open on economic and political issues.
Iran suspended its uranium enrichment program last year under a deal struck with France, Britain and Germany and it plans to decide soon whether to continue the suspension, which is monitored by U.N. nuclear inspectors.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani said earlier this month that his nation would not be obliged to continue talks if no progress is made by March 20, which would mark the end of the Iranian calendar year.
In exchange for nuclear guarantees, the Europeans are offering Iran technological and financial support and talks on a trade deal.
"So both sides have been supposed to talk to each other to come up with the guarantee system. It is going on but still there is more room to be developed," Kharazzi said.
He added that the negotiations would sink to the level of "talk in generalities without any tangible movement" if no practical measures are taken to open up the markets and let European technology flow to Iran.
Luxembourg's deputy Foreign Minister Nicolas Schmit was hopeful about a positive outcome.
"I am quite optimistic we will be able to achieve an agreement," he said.
Kharrazi will be at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, for more talks on Wednesday.
Asked about North Korea's recent claim that it possessed nuclear weapons, Kharrazi said the Iranian situation was different because inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency were still being allowed to conduct inspections.
He said Iran was honoring the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the international agreement barring the spread of nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 12:53:42 AM ||
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#1
"I am quite optimistic we will be able to achieve an agreement,"
And the rest of us are optimistic the agreement will be broken before the ink is dry.
Ass.
The agreement can be broken before the words are spoken. They are progressive that way.
Very advanced.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
02/16/2005 9:40 Comments ||
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#3
Lol! It strikes me that the "process" we are reading about bears no resemblence to negotiation. That would not be the word to accurately describe this joke. If it weren't for the fact that we all know this is an irrelevant stalling game with no Iranian intent to make any new agreement or even abide by those they've already made, the whole E3 effort would be laughable.
But I'll pretend it's serious if you guys will. Heh.
#4
Yeah, .com. The MMs are playing brinksmanship lite. And what do the E3 want the US to bring to the EverSoSerious Negoitiating Table? A Fourth Fool? We have some serious choices, none very pleasant to make w/r/t the Iranians and their Nukes to Be. The capacity for self delusion in the face of a horrendous threat just boggles the mind.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/16/2005 10:36 Comments ||
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#5
Ah, but it IS negotiation. The EU is negotiating from a position of weakness, as they have nothing that they're willing to offer up in the way of consequences in the event Iran won't play ball.
#6
B-a-R - I think it's a tad closer to extortion, lol! Look at the article - nothing but demands, lol!
But that's all frippery - as it always has been.
Since they have no intention to complete this melodrama, much less abide by it, it just boggles why France and Germany don't bail as Tony did, take their bows for a fine performance in a stage(d) tragedy, and let the UNSC box get checked off. Everyone knows that's the next step, so call it a day on this one, already, lol!
AP - I'm not in worried mode any longer. The Inauguration speech told me what I wanted to know. They won't get their new toy. Period. Come what may, Persian people on-board or not, it can not be allowed to happen. Full stop. If not us, then Israel. Q.E.Fucking.D.
#7
Iranâs foreign minister on Tuesday warned Britain, France and Germany that they must make more economic and technological concessions to meet a deadline next month for agreement on Tehranâs nuclear activities.
Since when did Europe start allowing extortion? The mullahs shouldn't have a nuclear weapon. Period. No negotiations needed! Either they get rid of it, or we'll do it for them. What's to discuss?
Posted by: The Doctor ||
02/16/2005 11:24 Comments ||
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#8
Since when did Europe start allowing extortion? 1968 or thereabouts, when they caved to their own children and their children's explosive little friends.
#2
Right on jackal, although I think Syria will collapse acquiesce after the striking of the second leg of the 'Axis Of Evil' Iran! Syria will then 'understand' the extreme pressure Lybia came under to come clean! The US will be able to kill two birds with one stone, again with this one!
#6
Liberate Lebenon first.(1)It would be a litgitmate war of liberation(2)We would have direct access to the Becka Valley(3)Baby Ass backed further into a corner(4)Hizballah would get decimated(It would be good payback for our arines.
#7
Plus, Syria would be just plain easier than Iran. We have this big army to the east. There is a nice coastline on the Med where we could feint (or maybe execute) a Marine landing. The Syrian military is no big shakes and the terrain is pretty easy (except Lebanon itself). Syria is not exactly "small" (about the size of Missouri), but it's a lot smaller than Iran.
And while I'm sure the State Dept. will veto the idea, there is another army to the southwest that might be helpful.
#12
A straight-jacket, net, and CAPS-unlock team is standing by.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/16/2005 9:01 Comments ||
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#13
Great. A screaming antisemite.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/16/2005 9:06 Comments ||
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#14
Calm down, Jeff. You need to remember that armour plating is no subsitute for good quality tin foil. How are things at Muscatine Power and Water this morning? Is Gary still running tech support? Maybe he can help you with your CAPS problem.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/16/2005 9:10 Comments ||
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#15
...and the interpunction. Now where I saw it before?
#16
Oh jeeeez, Steve, Jeff's gonna pee in his pants right there at the water plant. You've basically nuked him with a cruise missile!
Posted by: Tom ||
02/16/2005 9:14 Comments ||
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#17
Bullseye, heh.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2005 9:32 Comments ||
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#18
TW - we are now in what is considered a "Central Position". That is, we can shift the bulk of our forces to crush one party or the other while holding the second front with minimal forces. Think Napoleon's first campaign in Northen Italy.
Why choose Syria? It appears the 'goods' on Syria are better for the formal "casus belli". Seems we turned up a lot of material at Fallujha that implicate the boys in Damascus. The geographical nature of Syria just in size makes it easier to finish faster. The Syrians, regardless, of our actions must keep forces committed to cover the Israelis even if the Israelis don't act. The opennes of the borders, while permitting the terrorist to come into Iraq, also have probably allowed Iraqi and Kurds to move the other direction to provide intel for us [think the French resisitance prior to D-Day].
I think the people at the top on our side are still hoping [no matter how unlikely] that the Iranian people will follow the model of the Romanians in cleaning the problem up themselves. By doing Syria first, they may be holding out that it will be the final straw to get them to act.
"Thirdly, the brilliant maneuvers of the Army and Marine forces in Fallujah produced strategic surprise. The terrorists expected an attack from the south, and when we suddenly smashed into the heart of the city from the north, they panicked and ran, leaving behind a treasure trove of information, subsequently augmented by newly cooperative would-be martyrs. Above all, the intelligence from Fallujah - and I have this from military people recently returned from the city - documented in enormous detail the massive involvement of the governments of Syria and Iran in the terror war in Iraq. And the high proportion of Saudi "recruits" among the jihadists leaves little doubt that the folks in Riyadh are, at a minimum, not doing much to stop the flow of fanatical Wahhabis from the south."
I'd speculate that casus belli might be in the bag for whomever we decide to face off against whenever we're in the mood...
#25
A pretty analysis UW, especially coupled with all the rest of this thread. (Except JEFF, poor darling. I think he's been hiding his meds under his tongue again. Either that, or he has nobody in Muscatine to talk to; his viewpoint isn't much appreciated in that part of the world, so I imagine he is a bit overexcited to discover people who actually know something about the new ideas he just discovered. You can tell by the spelling ("ARMOUR" -- like the hot dog company) that these are not terms that he is intimately familiar with, as the rest of his spelling is pretty good in an all-caps kind of way. One of BD's pseudo-intellectuals in the making, I think.) Thank you -- I feel smarter already.
#26
WHAT DID THE BOMBING HAVE TO DO WITH THE U.S. AND WHY WOULD WE HAVE TO GO IN AND DO SOMETHING.WHATS WRONG WITH MINDING OUR OWN BUSINESS.I MYSELF THINK IT WAS A JEWISH ATTACK.AS LONG AS WE ARE JUST GUESSING.THEY'RE A DIRTY BUNCH TO,EASILY WITHIN THE REALMS OF THIER THINKING SO JUST IN CASE WE OUGHT TO GO IN THERE AND BLOW THEM AWAY TO.HELL,HIT IRAN AND ALL THOSE OTHER PLACES JUST IN CASE.WE'RE BAD.WE'LL DECIDE YOUR INVOLVMENT AND DO WHAT WE WANT.WE BAD.THE ARROGANCE TO STOP,OUR BELIEF THAT WE HAVE TO POLICE EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD IS A BELIEF THAT IS INSTILLED IN YOU CLAIMING TO BE FOR YOUR'S AND COUNTRYS PROTECTION,HUMAN RIGHTS,AND FOREIGN SUFFERING.IF YOU PEOPLE ARN'T SMART ENOUGH BY NOW TO KNOW IT'S ALL A DISGUISE TO MAKE FAT GUYS FATTER AND POWERFUL GUYS MORE POWERFUL AND THAT MAKES HARDER FOR GUYS LIKE YOU AND ME TO LIVE ANYWAY BUT THIER WAY.AND IN THAT CASE THEY MAY LIKE TO LIVE IN DANGER.WHILE THEY ARE PROTECTED BY ARMOR PLATING. THE BEST THING OUT OF THE WHOLE BOMBING INCIDENT IS TO KNOW THAT ARMOUR PLATING IS NOT ENOUGH TO PROTECT YOU.LEADERS SHOULD FEEL THE DANGERS WHEN MAKING DECISIONS.NOT NOBLY THE DANGER FOR OTHERS AND HUMAN KIND BUT FOR THEMSELVES ALSO.IT PROVIDES A MORE BALANCED AND FAIR RESULT,NOT SOLEY MADE OVER MONETARY DILLUSIONS WHICH WILL MAKE PEOPLE CLAW AND GOUGE AS YOU WELL KNOW.YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR NUKE'M ATTITUDE BEFORE IT'S TO LATE.
#27
HEY GUYS WE JUST BOMBED IRANS NUCLEAR FACILITY.ITS GONNA GET JUICY NOW ISN'T IT.LETS ALL GET SOME SOME POPCORN AND FIGURE OUT WHO WE CAN GO AFTER NEXT.I'LL BET YOU DONT EVEN FEEL THE DANGERS AHEAD DO YOU.LETS BUILD A SILENT ARMY OVER HERE AND HERE AND FUND THIS OPPOSITION AND THIS ANTIFADDA AND SLING A FEW BOMBS OVER HERE AND THERE AND SHIT MIGHT AS WELL SLING ONE THERE WHILE WERE AT IT.DO YOU FEEL THE POWER?YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR ARMOUR PLATING
#28
SEE GUYS IT'S ONE WAY "ATTACK" DO YOU EVER LISTEN TO THE OTHERSIDE.TURN OFF MY CAPS.THAT IS ALL YOU GOT?ANTISEMITE THATS A PRETTY STANDARD ONE ALMOST AUTOMATIC TO THROW THAT OUT THERE.ARE YOU JEWISH?I'LL BET YOU ARE.DO YOU FORGET HOW OUR ARMY HAS ACTED OVER IN IRAQ.DID YOU THINK THOSE EMBARRASING INCIDENTS WERE COOL?I'LL BET YOU DID.HEY BUDDY DO YOU THINK YOU CAN PUT THAT STRAITJACKET ON ME YOURSELF OR ARE YOU GONNA HAVE A BUNCH A GUYS DO IT FOR YOU.GETTER DONE BIG BOY.
DAMASCUS - Syria's state security court jailed 15 Syrian Kurds for up to three years on Tuesday on charges of seeking a breakaway state, lawyers said.
They don't want to breakaway, they want to join something.
Four were sentenced to three years in jail for "seeking to instigate civil war" in addition to charges of belonging to separatist factions, attempting to split territory off from Syria, and fomenting ethnic strife, lawyer Faisal Bader said. The rest were jailed for two years.
The 15 were initially sentenced to five years in prison but the court reduced the punishment, lawyers said. "This ruling is illegal because it's issued by an unconstitutional court ... I demand the release of the defendants," Bader said. He charged that the trial was based on statements obtained through torture.
The state security court was created under a four-decade-old emergency law that activists say should be ended. They want the court to be abolished and its rulings overturned.
The 15 were arrested last March during a riot in Damascus when Syrian Kurds clashed with police. The riot was triggered by a soccer match brawl in the town of Kameshli. Most of the hundreds of Kurds detained across the country after riots in which about 30 people were killed, were later freed.
In August the state security court sentenced two Kurdish activists to three years in jail on charges of belonging to a separatist group. Several banned Kurdish political groupings in Syria, whose Kurdish community is estimated at more than enough for a separate country about 2 million people, demand the right to teach their language. They also demand citizenship which is required for state education and employment for about 200,000 Kurds classified as stateless based on a 1962 survey.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Saudi Arabia, with close ties to assassinated former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, took issue Tuesday with French calls for an international probe into his death, saying Tehran'sDamascus' Beirut's own judiciary is capable of doing the job.
"And for the love of Allan, keep the Americans far far away."
"The Lebanese people will be the one to protect the integrity of the investigation in this crime," said Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal after a meeting with his visiting French counterpart, Michel Barnier. Billionaire Hariri made his fortune in the construction business in Saudi Arabia, where he maintained close ties with the royal family, and he held dual Lebanese-Saudi citizenship. The circumstances of his murder in an apparent suicide car bombing Monday are still unclear, but a shadowy group claimed it had killed Hariri because he was a Saudi "agent." Referring to that, Prince Saud said: "This is silly, as the operation is a crime against the Lebanese people and against Lebanon before anyone else. Hariri's assassination targets Lebanon and the Lebanese people before anything else. Lebanon is an independent state with an independent judiciary," he told reporters after meeting with Barnier. "Let us wait for what the Lebanese judiciary has to say over this crime."
And then perhaps wait some more...
The prince added that Hariri "was a personal friend of mine before being an official, and I do not think that Lebanon could compensate" for his loss. "The (Saudi) kingdom will not give up on its commitment toward Lebanon and its assistance to it," he said.
"Just as long as it remembers who's in charge."
Saudi Arabia has been a main donor for Lebanon's reconstruction since the 1975-1990 civil war ended. French President Jacques Chirac's office has called for an international inquiry into the blast in downtown Beirut that claimed the life of Hariri and 14 others.
But I thought France had that special understanding with the Arabs...
Barnier echoed that, insisting on "an international inquiry which will ... be based on justice and the means of the Lebanese justice because we want to know the truth. Everyone has the right to know the truth on this attempt, firstly the Lebanese people and then the entire international community," said Barnier. He said "we are expecting this inquiry to be promptly carried out in order to establish the responsibilities," he said. He added that the "international inquiry ... is the subject of discussions that we are now holding with" UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Barnier, who later left Saudi Arabia, also said France was "actively working ... for the rapid adoption of a UN Security Council presidential declaration recalling the international community's attachment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Lebanon."
#2
Let's face it. Both of the main sponsors of the this war (Iran and SA) want to keep the situation in Israel and environs at a high boil. It't the flourish of the magician's right hand while the left hand palms the card. The war against the Little Satan is a smokescreen to hide strategic manuevering against the Great Satan.
#4
I don't know, maybe I'm just super cynical or skeptical or whatever, but I can't be the only one to question Harari's status as some kind of a Saint.
Let's step back and take a good look at this guy's credentials. He's a billionaire, which generally requires being shrewd, ambitious, and ruthless.
He's "best friends" with Chirac, and "best friends" of the Saudi Royal Family
Oh...and he's beloved for his caring "charity" type work that he's done to improve things in Lebanon.
Now maybe he is a nice guy, but those are all things that would make me question this guy, rather than trust him.
#6
.com: I'm starting to see it like WWII. The US and USSR teamed up just long enough to take out the Nazis. Likewise with the Magic Kingdom and Iran. I also like Paul Moloney's model from his comment the other day: a bunch of mafia families working together sometimes, sometimes bumping each other off as they vie for the jewelled turban.
2b: I agree. Hariri is probably as dirty as the rest of them. It looks like he made a choice. Alliance with the Druse and Maronites (probably with EU backing) against the Shiites (Hezbollah), Pals and Syrians. His biggest mistake was probably to depend on the EU for anything. Soft power doesn't work too well against 600 lbs bombs. Somewhere in the mix, he pissed off the Saudis too, maybe because they see more value in maintaining the status quo -- an unstable Lebanon helps keep Israel tied down on another front -- than in the alternative that Harari and Jumblatt were proposing.
#7
11A5S - Alliances of convenience, simply following national interests at that moment - sounds like a fit, heh. The Mafia Model, lol - what a picture... and speaking of pix, well...
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday he has been informed by President Vladimir Putin that Russia will go ahead with the sale of anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, despite Israel's misgivings. Sharon said he is unhappy about Russia's decision. Israel fears the missiles will be supplied to Islamic militant groups in Lebanon. "We are not pleased with the sales of weapons to Syria," Sharon told a news conference.
Sharon said he had been promised by Putin in a meeting more than two years ago the missiles would not be sold to Syria. Sharon said he has not yet read Putin's letter, received Tuesday, but he understood "they (the Russians) are going to sell that kind of weapon to the Syrians."
"We, of course, worry about that, and don't think that that should have happened. We are in constant contact with the Russians in order to settle this issue and ensure that these weapons don't reach terror organizations located in Lebanon."
Syrian President Bashar Assad said after a visit to Moscow last month the missiles would not pose a threat to Israel.
Read a certain way, that's a true statement.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
That's cool. We can sell more HARMs to Israel (or use up the USAF inventory). More sales for Raytheon, more profit-sharing for Me.
#2
What goes around...comes around! Let's see if Sharon or the US has the "balls" to tell Putin that weapons could be negotiated and or sold to the Chechens! Tit for Tat as plain as day, in my book!
#3
The Chechens are vicious animals, unfortunately, who export terror to the entire region, much to the detriment of those of their people who would much prefer to tend their vegetable gardens in peace. There would be absolutely no gain whatsoever in the short, medium or long term for the U.S. or the War on Terror from supporting such people, regardless of whether or not Putin benefits from our restraint in this matter.
More to the point, I think, is that the Iraqis have not forgotten who supported their freedom, and who worked to oppose it.
#4
The Russians better ask the Syrians to pay COD because... if they plan to pay "on-time" the Syrians might not be around to make good on their debts.
#6
Leigh, perhaps Russia is using this sale as a cheap missile disposal method. After all, they had a similar contract to supply weaponry to Saddam, again not COD, and will never, ever get paid.
#7
Strategypage offered this summation on February 6, 2005 By selling to Syria, even via the use of an enormous discount, Russia gets a foreign customer for their new anti-aircraft systems. This makes it easier to sell these systems to other foreign customers.
#8
All these weapons sales to people with no internal moral control on stopping their use-apparently, the prevailing 21st century business strategy.
Sigh. Writing on the wall for our generation. The world is full of Fausts. It isn't blood for oil-it's greatly increased dangers to everyone in the world in exchange for money.
#9
The only way Putin could make up for this is if he discloses to the U.S. exactly how many missles are to be sold, where they're going EXACTLY, who he's selling them to, addresses, phone numbers, serial numbers of each missle, make and model, and if he promises to sell only the ones that don't work so good.
Trying to work up some political mileage already, is he?
Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani condemned the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, calling it "an attack against all Sunnis in Lebanon." Speaking during an urgent meeting late Monday night in the Sunni religious headquarters Dar al-Fatwa, that was also attended by Prime Minister Omar Karami, Qabbani said: "This meeting for the Sunnis of Lebanon is urgently needed to discuss the dangerous situation resulting from the horrible crime that has killed the former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri." A statement issued by the meeting said: "The assassination of Rafik Hariri is an attack on the Sunnis' presence in the country; it is, as well, an attack on their role and their dignity."
This article starring:
Dar al-Fatwa
MOHAMED RASHID QABANI
Learend Elders of Islam
Omar Karami
Rafik Hariri
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Lebanese opposition leader Walid Jumblatt and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir stood together to receive condolences alongside the sons of assassinated former Premier Rafik Hariri at his Qoreitem residence in Beirut on Tuesday. The unprecedented show of solidarity from the two most prominent opposition leaders came as the former premier's family told the Lebanese government to stay away from the funeral, and that relatives would not allow the event to be turned into a state occasion. "The family does not wish the government to attend the funeral," one family member told The Daily Star.
Golly. I wonder who they blame for his death?
Underlining this breach with the government, which opposition politicians have alleged was behind the murder, Hariri's family refused to answer telephone calls from Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh, a Hariri security source told The Daily Star. Fouad Siniora, a former finance minister and close Hariri colleague, said the family has "categorically and definitively refused" that Wednesday morning's funeral be organized by the state. He nonetheless said he expected "a massive public turnout" and demanded that authorities ensure people's security and safety.
I suspect that's going to be the case.
In the midst of grief mixed with emotional protests and political exploits, opposition leaders reiterated their claims that Syria was behind the murder - escalating an already tense standoff with both Damascus and the pro-Syrian Lebanese government. After a meeting at Hariri's family home, the anti-Syrian opposition hardened its stance and called for the government to resign and for Syrian troops to quit Lebanon before the May parliamentary elections. In a statement issued at Qoreitem, Jumblatt, the leader of the Democratic Gathering, said: "The present government had declared that Hariri, (myself) and the rest of the opposition leaders were traitors and Israeli collaborators. By this logic, murdering us one by one became permissible."
Calling the assassination "a crime against humanity," Jumblatt called for an "international force" to protect and safeguard the Lebanese people, who "do not feel safe in a Syrian or Lebanese police state."
Sorry, Wally. Been there, done that. If we come back, we'll be there for a thorough housecleaning. Maybe the Frenchies would like to throw in a few of their marines?
Defense Minister Abdel-Rahim Mrad hit back at Jumblatt, saying: "The Lebanese people did not permit Jumblatt to speak on their behalf. We stick with the [1989] Taif Accord, which regulates Lebanon's relations with foreign countries."
Pretty impolitic for a politician, though that's pretty much the usual level of discourse in Lebanon...
Beirut MP Mohammed Qabbani, a member of Hariri's parliamentary bloc, was more conciliatory, saying: "Under this roof, conflicting points of view were freely exchanged. We heard statements from Hizbullah's deputy secretary general, Naim Qassem, a statement of U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman and from Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam." Feltman again called for an international investigation into Hariri's death to "find the guilty and punish them." Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah appeared to favor such a move. During his Ashoura speech he said: "We don't object to getting foreign help with the investigation, but it should remain under the control of the Lebanese government."
"That's so it can be... ummm... controlled."
This article starring:
Abdel-Halim Khaddam
Abdel-Rahim Mrad
Fouad Siniora
HASAN NASRALLAH
Hizbullah
Jeffrey Feltman
Mohammed Qabbani
NAIM QASEM
Hizbullah
Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir
Rafik Hariri
Suleiman Franjieh
Walid Jumblatt
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The Lebanese government said initial investigations indicate former Premier Rafik Hariri was killed by a suicide bomber. The government also firmly ruled out calls for an international probe into Hariri's assassination in which 13 other people were killed and more than 130 wounded according to official estimates.
"Nope. Nope. Can't do it."
Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh said: "The security services are almost sure that it was a suicide car bomb. It is not a final conclusion, but it is almost sure." Commenting on a French proposal to allow outside investigators to examine the evidence surrounding Hariri's murder, Franjieh added: "An international inquiry is unacceptable. Investigators will, if necessary, call upon experts from neutral countries."
If they actually want to solve it, they might consider calling on investigators selected for their competence, rather than recruiting some Uruguayans or Fiji Islanders...
Franjieh said investigations had shown that the explosion, which ripped through Hariri's motorcade, killing the former premier along with 13 other people, occurred in the middle of the street, ruling out earlier speculation that the blast was caused by a booby-trapped car parked on the roadside. But since Hariri's convoy was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment capable of jamming or disabling remote-control detonators, speculation has arisen that the explosion may have resulted from a bomb placed in a manhole under the street and detonated manually as his car passed over it. A previously unheard of group calling itself Victory and Jihad in Greater Syria claimed responsibility for the murder, but military experts told The Daily Star that the attack was more likely to be the work of a technically sophisticated group with access to hi-tech explosives. The primary suspect, Lebanese based Palestinian refugee Ahmed Tayseer Abu al-Ads, who security officials say appeared in a videotape claiming responsibility, remains at large despite police attempts to find him.
... though they're still picking through the rubble.
But a statement attributed to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda denied that Hariri was killed by Islamists and blamed either the Israeli Mossad or the Lebanese or Syrian regimes for the attack.
I can't really think of any reason for the Mossad to bump him off. The Syrians are a different story, which is why our ambassador's pulled up stakes...
The statement, posted on the Internet in the name of the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Levant, said the previous statement was mere fabrication, adding: "The priorities of the Jihad groups in the Levant are to support our brethren in Iraq and Palestine, not blow up cars."
"We blow up cars in others places, not here. It just wouldn't be right..."
Security sources told The Daily Star that the suicide attack theory was extremely probable. The sources said two of Hariri's cars lost their tracking devices after the blast, while the third became stuck, jamming mobile communications in Beirut for over two hours. They said that the remains of an unknown car were also found at the scene. According to the source, a computer was seized by the Interior Security Forces from Ads' home for investigation. Meanwhile, more than 24 hours after the assasination, the Civil Defense forces were still looking for body parts possibly trapped under the rubble. The entire bomb site remained cordoned off throughout the day, as construction workers cleared debris from surrounding hotels and high rise buildings.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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International tension escalated Tuesday following Rafik Hariri's assassination as the UN Security Council called for an urgent report from the secretary general on the former Lebanese premier's death. The move came at the same time as the United States abruptly recalled its ambassador to Damascus in a sign that Washington's patience with Syria is running out. The UN statement, approved by all 15 council members, called on the Lebanese government "to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of this heinous terrorist act." The council expressed grave concern at the murder's possible impact on Lebanon's efforts to solidify democracy and stressed that the "terrorist act" must not jeopardize upcoming parliamentary elections.
The text was originally drafted by France, which reacted strongly to the murder of Rafik Hariri, a close friend of French President Jacques Chirac. Paris has repeatedly called for an international investigation to be launched - a call rebuffed by both the Lebanese authorities and Saudi Arabia Tuesday. Britain's ambassador to Lebanon, James Watts, downplayed the role of Paris and Washington in drawing up the declaration, insisting it was "consensus driven," involving all security council members. "Some countries obviously presented more ideas than others, but overall, this was a process in which consensus prevailed," said Watts.
Although not specifically referring to Resolution 1559, which demands complete Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, the UN declaration issued Tuesday contained clear references to it. "The Security Council reaffirms its previous calls upon all parties concerned to cooperate fully and urgently with the Security Council for the full implementation of all relevant resolutions concerning the restoration of the territorial integrity, full sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon," the presidential statement said. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Anne Patterson urged Syria to pull out its troops from Lebanon and said the U.S. would be following up with Secretary General Kofi Annan immediately to see how the statement is going to be implemented.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
....and said the U.S. would be following up with Secretary General Kofi Annan immediately to see how the statement is going to be implemented.
OOOOOOOO!OOOOOOOOO!!OOOOOOOO!!! Me! Me! Call on me! I know! I know!
They've got this thing for hereditary politix, don't they?
One day after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Sunnis called for his son, Bahaaeddine, to replace him in May's parliamentary elections. Crowds of Hariri's Sunni supporters gathered at the site of the assassination in front of the St George Hotel in downtown Beirut shouting for Bahaa to fill the political vacuum left by his father's murder. One of the crowd said: "We want Sheikh Bahaa to run for elections and continue the path of his father. We want Syria to withdraw before the parliamentary elections and the government, the Cabinet and especially President Lahoud to resign." Commenting on the possibility of Bahaa heading up a list in this year's elections, Beirut MP Nabil de Freij, a member of Hariri's parliamentary bloc said: "Hariri's family will have to decide on such an issue, which won't happen before the body's cold obituary ends."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
He'd be nuts to consider it! The Syrian sponsored machine has shown twice now, that they are smart enough to pursuade the future by manipulating the present! If I were Bahaa, I'd go into a self imposed exile or vacation from Lebanon, until after the scum is swept out of power!
US intelligence agencies had failed to provide any reliable estimates of the size of Iraq's insurgency, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.
During a hearing of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, he declined to publicly answer politicians who asked him the numerical strength of the insurgency fighting the roughly 150,000 US troops deployed in Iraq.
"The intelligence community looks at that. The CIA does, DIA (Defence Intelligence Agency) does, others do. And they have differing assessments," Mr Rumsfeld said.
"My job in the Government is not to be the principle intelligence officer and try to rationalise differences between Iraqis, the CIA and the DIA. I see these reports. Frankly, I don't have a lot of confidence in any of them, on that number."
The Pentagon has struggled to come to grips with the size, composition and organisation of the insurgents who have waged a bloody guerrilla war in Iraq since an American-led invasion toppled President Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Mr Rumsfeld told the hearing: "I am not going to give you a number for it, because it's not my business (to do intelligence work)."
He added that he could not reveal CIA and Defence Intelligence Agency estimates because they were classified.
Mr Rumsfeld did not explain his lack of confidence in the various estimates.
But he has been outspoken about the need for more and better human intelligence to be gathered by the US intelligence community.
Also at the hearing, General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, disputed an estimate on the size of the insurgency offered recently by General Mohammed Abdullah Shahwani, director of the Iraqi intelligence service.
Gen Shahwani had said there were 200,000 insurgents, including at least 40,000 hard-core fighters, with the remainder being part-time fighters and supporters who provided money, intelligence, food and shelter.
Gen Myers said US intelligence estimates were "considerably lower", and Mr Rumsfeld called Gen Shahwani's numbers "totally inconsistent" with US estimates.
Gen Myers said getting an accurate count of insurgents was difficult.
"I'd say the insurgents' future is absolutely bleak. So precise numbers in an insurgency where people, some people, come and go is always going to be hard to estimate. And that's what we're trying to say," he said.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Mr Rumsfeld said: "It's not clear to me that the number is the overriding, important thing.
"The size of the problem is one thing. The lethality of it is quite a different thing, the nature of it and the quality of it."
Some critics have accused Mr Rumsfeld of trying to encroach on the CIA by expanding Pentagon intelligence gathering and analysis.
Mr Rumsfeld also testified that the Pentagon's schedule called for 200,000 Iraqi security personnel to be trained and equipped by September or October in time for elections on a new Iraqi constitution, up from the current 136,000.
He said the plan was for 230,000 Iraqi security forces to be in place by December or January for the next round of elections, and the ultimate goal was for 270,000 to be fielded by June 2006.
#1
Lol! It's a mood thingy... Rummy's right - there's no reason to have confidence in the numbers. One day Yagoub jihadi feels like making an IED - prolly cuz a real jihadi is looking over his shoulder and threatening his family. The next day he's in line to apply for a job as a cop. Makes ya feel all warm and runny inside, don't it?
#4
Yup - the real jihadi in my prev post is the merc. All those untapped Muzzies, the Mythical Moderate Muslimsâ¢, are just waiting for one of these guys to draft them - for money, a place to lay up, to store materiel, or to become part of the action, whatever - or else.
#5
I don't see what the big deal is about having a number. Just kill 'em as they're found, and sooner or later there won't be any more of 'em to count.
Top Shiite politicians failed to reach a consensus Wednesday on their nominee for prime minister, shifting the two-man race to a secret ballot and exposing divisions in the winning alliance.
After hours of closed-door meetings, members of the United Iraqi Alliance agreed to hold a secret ballot to choose between Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Ahmad Chalabi, most likely on Friday, said Ali Hashim al-Youshaa, one of the alliance's leaders.
The contrast between the two candidates is stark and reveals a division within the clergy-endorsed alliance, made up of 10 major political parties and various allied smaller groups.
Al-Jaafari, 58, is the leader of the religious Dawa Party, one of Iraq (news - web sites)'s oldest parties, known for its popularity and close ties to Iran. Although al-Jaafari is a moderate, his party's platform is conservative.
Chalabi, 58, who left Iraq as a teen, leads the Iraqi National Congress and had close ties to the Pentagon (news - web sites) before falling out of favor last year after claims he passed intelligence information to Iran.
A secular Shiite, Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress is an umbrella for groups that included Iraqi exiles, Kurds and Shiites. Much of the intelligence his group supplied on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction programs failed to pan out.
Al-Jaafari was considered the leading contender Wednesday, though Chalabi's aides said their man had enough votes to win.
Both candidates were expected to present their political agendas to alliance members before the secret vote, al-Youshaa said. The 140 lawmakers who will represent the alliance in the National Assembly, plus eight allied lawmakers, will decide who will be prime minister, al-Youshaa said.
A close aide to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiite Muslims, said the alliance's leaders will visit the grand ayatollah's office in Najaf to get his blessing for their choice for prime minister. In the event they can't agree, al-Sistani will make the final decision, said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Representatives of the foreign press asked Prime Minister Ariel Sharon eight questions at his annual press conference with them in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Not one of them had to do with the "wall," the settlements, the release of Palestinians with "blood on their hands" or Palestinians killed by the IDF.
Instead, the representative from the BBC, not exactly a news organization that has coddled Sharon in years past (remember its Panorama show on whether he should be indicted for war crimes over Sabra and Shatilla), asked a question that hinted at genuine concern for the once-vilified prime minister's safety.
And The New York Times, a paper not known for offering soft-ball questions to Israeli politicians, was granted the penultimate question and asked whether he planned on firing Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who supports the referendum that Sharon opposes.
The deferential — if not downright coddling and concerned manner in which members of the Foreign Press Association treated Sharon — is as good an indication as any of the man's astounding transformation.
The foreign press was not facing the "hawkish" or "hard-line" or "right-wing" Sharon they have critically referred to in the past, but rather a man carrying out a policy that pleases them.
Many of them, or their colleagues, had over the past few years written about whether Sharon would rise to the occasion and turn out to be Israel's Charles de Gaulle. Judging by the manner in which Sharon was received, many believe the transformation is complete. snip
A top officer in Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army rebel group surrendered on Wednesday, boosting hopes that other senior commanders could soon abandon their 18-year insurgency, a mediator and army intelligence chief said. Brigadier Sam Kolo, the head LRA negotiator at the first face-to-face peace talks with the government in a decade in December, was the most senior of a series of rebels to respond to a government amnesty offer in recent weeks.
"Kolo came out today. We went on a mission to meet him and we have been successful," Betty Bigombe, the chief mediator at peace talks held in the past few weeks, told Reuters by telephone from the northern town of Gulu. Colonel Charles Otema-Awany, head of military intelligence in northern Uganda, confirmed that Kolo had given himself up and said he was expected to arrive at the army's 4th Division headquarters in Gulu later on Wednesday. "It is true. Kolo surrendered today and we are very happy," he told Reuters. The rebels, who operate in small groups roaming the forest and bush of the north, were not available for comment.
The government is using a combination of military pressure and talks to convince the LRA to give up its rebellion, hoping to end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than a million to flee their homes.
The government is likely to point to Kolo's surrender as a major blow against the LRA, representing the defection of one of LRA leader Joseph Kony's closest allies and a man who served as the group's top spokesman. Other rebels who have surrendered have appeared on radio programs to encourage their former comrades to follow their example, saying they have been treated well by the army.
Observers say that the conflict, which has blighted development in much of northern Uganda but had relatively scant impact in the more prosperous south, is unlikely to end until LRA leader Joseph Kony -- a self-styled mystic -- surrenders.
It won't be over till they mount his head on a stake and burn the body.
Abducted children who have escaped from Kony's ranks say he blends traditional Christian and Muslim rites with a belief in spirits -- known locally as jok -- to instill obedience in his followers and fear in opponents. Kony has in the past claimed to be fighting to liberate his northern Acholi people from government oppression, but has since turned on the tribe, apparently seeking vengeance against communities who have not rallied to his cause.
It was not immediately clear where Kolo was picked up by members of the team of peace negotiators acting on behalf of the government, although Kolo had been present at peace talks held about 31 miles northeast of Gulu town in recent weeks. The area, near Uganda's border with Sudan, is covered by a temporary government ceasefire aimed at creating a safe environment for more talks to end the war, during which the LRA has abducted thousands of children for use as fighters.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/16/2005 2:22:51 PM ||
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UN inspectors in Iraq spent their working hours drinking vodka while ignoring a shadowy nocturnal fleet believed to be smuggling goods for Saddam Hussein, a former senior inspector told the US Senate yesterday. In a move that provoked fury from officials of the Swiss firm Cotecna, an Australian former inspector detailed a picture of incompetence, indifference and drunkeness among the men acting as the frontline for UN sanctions.
And this is news?
Arthur Ventham, a former Australian army officer and customs officer, joined the operation in 2002 and worked at various sites in Iraq and neighbouring states. He said that at Iskendurun in eastern Turkey, some officials had refused to work. When he asked one of his bosses why, he was told: "They were friends or relatives of potential clients, and are only in the mission so the company could secure future contracts in Nigeria, Comoros and another African country. "When I said that this was unfair on everyone else, I was told that it was general practice in Cotecna." Other inspectors had spent most of the day in hotel rooms while others drank beer and talked to the local people. Inspectors were supposed to check lorries to make sure the UN sanctions regime was being enforced.
At another monitoring site where the UN was supposed to check humanitarian aid supplies, Mr Ventham noticed "the team leader and his fellow countrymen [the nationality is unstated] spending the majority of their time in each other's rooms drinking vodka as opposed to managing and leading the team". There he noticed small vessels and barges moving to a small island each night.
"I mentioned this to a number of other inspectors saying there was plenty of scope for smuggling and what were the UN doing about it. "I was extremely surprised by the response that it was common knowledge smuggling was going on at Um Qasir [and that] the oil was being sold on the black market to augment the regime."
Cotecna officials said the unheralded release of Mr Ventham's allegations was unfair and that they would respond in detail at a later date. They said Mr Ventham had been dismissed and was a disgruntled former employee.
I can see why
Posted by: Steve ||
02/16/2005 1:54:53 PM ||
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#1
They said Mr Ventham had been dismissed and was a disgruntled former employee.
#7
UN inspectors in Iraq spent their working hours drinking vodka while ignoring a shadowy nocturnal fleet believed to be smuggling goods for Saddam Hussein, a former senior inspector told the US Senate yesterday.
Hell, if I was working for some outfit like the UN that I knew wasn't going to do diddly squat about any violations I discovered or reported, I'd be drankin' too! ;)
WSJ online subscription required to read the full article.
In the battle against insurgents here, two kinds of Iraqi military forces are emerging: the planned units and the pop-ups. The planned units of the Iraq Army, about 57,000 soldiers strong, are the result of careful preparation this summer between the U.S. and Iraqi commanders. The pop-ups started to emerge last fall out of nowhere, catching the American military by surprise. These dozen disconnected units totaling as many as 15,000 soldiers are fast becoming one of the most significant developments in the new Iraq security situation.
The unplanned units -- commanded by friends and relatives of cabinet officers and tribal sheiks -- go by names like the Defenders of Baghdad, the Special Police Commandos, the Defenders of Khadamiya and the Amarah Brigade. The new units generally have the backing of the Iraqi government and receive government funding.
As these irregular units proliferate, U.S. officials face a thorny dilemma: whether to encourage these forces, whose training and experience varies wildly, or to try to rein them in. "There is a tension between on the one hand encouraging and fostering initiative and on the other executing the plan for the Iraqi Security Forces that everyone agreed on," says Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who is overseeing the massive U.S. effort to help train and equip Iraqi military units. "To be candid, I would err on the side of fostering initiative. I want to get the hell out of here."
Some U.S. military officials, however, worry that the Commandos' allegiance is as much to their leader as it is to the Iraqi government. "If you tried to replace Gen. [Thavit, Commander of the Special Police Commandos] he'd take his...brigades with him. He is a very powerful figure. You wouldn't get that from other units," says Col. Dean Franklin, a senior officer in Gen. Petraeus's command. "Pound for pound, though, they are the toughest force we've got."
Gen. Thavit says that his only goal is to defend the democratically elected Iraqi government against insurgents and criminals. "I could see that the police were not able to withstand the terrorists. As a professional soldier I believed it was my duty to help build a force that could work against the terrorists," he says. "I am an old man right now. I should be retired."
Some senior officers in Gen. Petraeus's command have suggested the Americans ask the Iraqis to consolidate all the new units in Baghdad under a single division headquarters, putting them more firmly under the control of the central government and making it easier for U.S. forces to coordinate with them. But there are limits to U.S. influence. "There is no way we can stop the Iraqis from doing something they want to do. This is their country and their army now," says Lt. Col. James Bullion who works for Gen. Petraeus. "We can't put that genie back in the bottle."
#2
It's just like the tribal generals in Afghanistan. The government appeases them so that they will not attack the government. But then you cannot go into those places without permission of the local general.
#3
Start paying and equipping them from the military budget, and offer training with the regular army. Try to slowly move them under the command of the local or national government rather than the individuals.
Fer crissake, don't just try to ban them -- they'll just go underground and be a bigger headache. Co-opt them and turn them into something like a national guard or militia.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/16/2005 13:46 Comments ||
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#4
15,000 is perhaps 10% of the force the Kurdish Pesh Merga could field. Otherwise its not stated but the implication is that many and perhaps most of these groups are Sunni Arab. So perhaps the headline should be Sunnis work to Defeat Terrorists, but then thats not on the MSM agenda.
#6
excellent point, Kalle! Headache or no, they will no doubt be effective in curbing the foreign insurgents. Maybe later they can "promote" them with nice titles and pay raises into the regular army.
The Presbyterian Church USA hosted a three-day meeting to justify to denomination leaders its decision to divest from Israel, presenting what one church elder described as a panel of "full-time, paid, anti-Israel propagandists."
The event, which occurred Feb. 10-12 at the denomination's headquarters in Louisville, Ky., was entitled "Steps Toward Peace in Israel and Palestine."
As WorldNetDaily reported, the conference was held to explain why action was taken to divest church funds from companies doing business with Israel.
In July, the denomination's General Assembly voted 431-62 to divest from the Jewish state. The PCUSA is believed to be the largest organization or institution to join the divestment campaign against the Jewish state. It was the first Christian denomination to do so.
As evidenced by the need to hold the conference, which drew 200 participants, not all Presbyterians are happy with the divestment action. Larry Rued is an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Bradenton, Fla.
Speaking of last weekend's conference, Rued told WND: "The assembled leaders were presented with a panel of full-time, paid, anti-Israel propagandists assembled by PCUSA missionary-in-residence Marthame Sanders. Sanders recently told reporters that in the matter of Presbyterian policy towards the Middle East, 'balanced is absolutely not the right approach.'"
Rued noted that the discussion on Feb. 10 was moderated by former General Assembly leader Fahed Abu-Akel, who in October 2003 arranged for the appearance of an anti-Semitic speaker, Samir Makhlouf, at a Presbyterian-sponsored event at Wooster College in Ohio.
"The panel featured four Palestinian Christians," Rued said. "None spoke of the actions of the Palestinian Authority, which, in areas under its control, has confiscated Christian property, failed to prosecute the murderers of Palestinian Muslims who convert to Christianity, and witnessed the rise of radical Islamism that has encouraged violent attacks on Palestinian Christians, including full-scale riots that have caused a rapid increase in emigration."
Continued Rued: "According to the four Palestinians who spoke this weekend in Louisville, the only villain in the Middle East is Israel."
Rued said three of the four Palestinians — Sawsan Bitar, Nuha Khoury and Alex Awad — work for organizations that do not acknowledge Israel's right to exist.
"Alex Awad is a prominent anti-Israel activist and author," said Rued. "He is employed as a Methodist missionary, but his mission is not to preach the Gospel of Jesus to non-Christians. Awad devotes his time to 'taking ⊠tour group(s) through a Palestinian refugee camp' and writing anti-Israel books and articles."
Leslie Scanlon, a reporter for the Presbyterian Outlook, described the meeting this way:
"In one of the first day's sessions, four Palestinian Christians came to tell their stories — their words making international politics seem real and personal as they spoke of the impact of the Israeli occupation on their jobs, their children, their homes and their sense of self worth."
Two online petitions have been created to collect signatures of those who want the denomination to reverse its course on divestment.
One is for members of the Presbyterian Church USA and is targeted to the members of the General Assembly, and the other is addressed to the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church USA. "We're not anti-Semitic. We just hate Joos."
#1
Man, I was raised Presbyterian. Left years ago for other (most local) reasons, but I'm glad I got it out of the way early now. Sad how a great institution can fall.
#2
they dont keep up with the news much, do they? Feh, i have alot more respect for somebody like Abbas, in the middle of a real political struggle, trying to find a practical course of action, than for poseurs like these.
#3
hey! somebody's gotta make us Catholics look good
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 16:43 Comments ||
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#4
I left the Episcopal church cause they just too interested in social rather than spiritual issues. Then I stopped attending Presbyterian Church just because of this. Both churches have declining memberships. Looks like they are committed to dying on the vine.
#5
This is why I formed my own. I will soon be in NORK and display to them my Holy Juche Septometre.
Posted by: an El Ron Ron an El Ron Ron ||
02/16/2005 17:57 Comments ||
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#6
Fun Fact: The Cahtolic Church has had good growth all over the planet, except in one place: Europe. In Africa and the 3rd world it is picking up du to missionaries and charity efforts. In the US, its picking up a LOT of protestants leaving the Episcopal and Presbyterians - the more "liberal" the denomination (and the less it is a God and Word centered church), the larger the number of Catholic converts coming from there. The Baptists and independent Christian churches seem to be doing well too, picking up from the dying "mainstream" protestant churches that have lost their way. The parish I am in has an average of 40 converts every year, a little less than half of them Episcopal or Presbyterian or Methodist, a little less than a third are unbaptized non-Christian (an usually formerly non-religious, sometimes an odd Unitarian in there who has seen the light, or even a Jew converting), and the other 15% or so are Baptists, with the last 10% being Jehova Witness or Mormons or similar.
Its usually a pretty eclectic group - and the real fun is to watch them learn and see how much they thought they knew of the Catholic Church was just garbage from pop culture, movies and KKK-type Catholic haters.
#7
good to hear OS - your thoughts on the shortage of priests in the US? - our seminaries have become too gay-oriented - I think they should allow married priests - in spite of the paplical prohibitions, IMHO it would revitalize the church. Oh, and take any pedophile priest and defrock and turn em in to the authorities. No "rehab" in another unsuspecting community
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 19:36 Comments ||
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#8
Married priests - that will probably happen in our lifetime. Its already accepted in the Eastern Rite. Basically it goes like this:
The rules say a Catholic must be chaste wihin their station in life, and that once Priests are bonded to God by the Sacrement of Ordination (Holy Orders it is sometimes called), they cannot enter into the Sacrament of Marriage.
So that leaves priests neccesarily celebate, right?
Well there is a loophole.
First off, in the Roman Catholic Church, the existence of the Permanent Diaconate allows the Ordination of married men to become Deacons. They wear the collar and perform weddings, funerals, baptisms, and have designated parts of the mass. Priests go thru this stage as well, on their way to full Preisthood.
Due to this, some protestant preachers that have converted from certain Christian denominations have been allowed to become Catholic Priests and maintain thier marriage. There are a few married Roman Catholic priests already due to this doctrine.
But - the example best comes from the Easter Rite: The Eastern Rite allow a married man to enter the FULL priesthood by way of the Diaconate. In other words, the Eastern Church allows married men to go the full distance instead of stopping and being Permanent Deacons.
They differentiate between the married clergy and the celibate clergy - there are rules about remarriage, and about who can take senior positions in the Church (Cardinal Bishop, etc).
Married Clergy in the East, like the Permanent Deacons in the Roman Church, cannot remarry (remember: cannot ENTER into matrimony once ordained, but can be married before ordained). And married clergy are restricted to pastoral duties in the parish: that is, the Eastern Clergy who are married become and stay parish priests - they never become Bishops or Cardinals. Those higher offices are reserved to men that have, in essence, "Married the Church".
That is where I see the Roman Catholic Church going as a way of getting better parish priests who put their flock first because they live liek them and with them -- and this will result in more parish priests -- and this also works to help the celebate clergy to continue to put the Church first in their lives without getting caught up in lifestyle issues unless they desire it.
Think of it this way: A married parish priest would be a man with the full theological, psychological and managerial training of a currently celibate priest, and can combine that with his own family life experience. He would be very effective at seeing and helping others see and overcome their problems in marraige and relationship, with some insight as to sex, child rearing, managing a household, and sustaining a lifelong loving relationship with his spouse. And he will be living in the community, like one of the community instead of set apart. In that respect he will help his parish at a "grass roots" level far better than most unmarried and celebate priests can do - experience is a great teacher.
This is not to say there are not advantages to the celibate clergy: having the married clergy as a contrast enhances the magnitude and depth of the sacrifce and committment of the celibate preisthood - and allows them to concentrate deeply on whats best for the Church and so on.
Its a solution that needs to be looked at hard by the Roman Catholic Church. And I suspect it will slowly grind through the Church and will find its way into the accepted practices.
After all, its not Dogma related to the unchangeable truths, its Doctrine - and Doctrine is changeable because it is related to temporal things.
#9
Side effect of married clergy: the paedophiels will nto be able to "get away with it" given that married clergy will NOT sit by - having kids of thier own will make them much more "hard core" on this subject. And married men are a bit less likely to be predatory paedophiles as well.
#11
I totally agree - who, as a married person can take family-life recommendations from a single priest? Talk about taking a giant step toward bringing the church closer to home! I hope it happens in my life (45 now) but the church grinds forward slowly....
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 20:51 Comments ||
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#12
I think a lot of this depends on who is chosen as the next Pope. If he's a hardliner (think Ratzinger....shudder...), it won't happen any time soon. But it's definitely an option that they will have to look at. I know several guys who ruled out being priests because they wanted the option of someday being married, and I don't think they were the only ones.
#14
Fun Fact: The Cahtolic Church has had good growth all over the planet, except in one place: Europe. In Africa and the 3rd world it is picking up du to missionaries and charity efforts. In the US, its picking up a LOT of protestants leaving the Episcopal and Presbyterians - the more "liberal" the denomination (and the less it is a God and Word centered church), the larger the number of Catholic converts coming from there. The Baptists and independent Christian churches seem to be doing well too, picking up from the dying "mainstream" protestant churches that have lost their way. The parish I am in has an average of 40 converts every year, a little less than half of them Episcopal or Presbyterian or Methodist, a little less than a third are unbaptized non-Christian (an usually formerly non-religious, sometimes an odd Unitarian in there who has seen the light, or even a Jew converting), and the other 15% or so are Baptists, with the last 10% being Jehova Witness or Mormons or similar.
Its usually a pretty eclectic group - and the real fun is to watch them learn and see how much they thought they knew of the Catholic Church was just garbage from pop culture, movies and KKK-type Catholic haters.
#15
Married priests - that will probably happen in our lifetime. Its already accepted in the Eastern Rite. Basically it goes like this:
The rules say a Catholic must be chaste wihin their station in life, and that once Priests are bonded to God by the Sacrement of Ordination (Holy Orders it is sometimes called), they cannot enter into the Sacrament of Marriage.
So that leaves priests neccesarily celebate, right?
Well there is a loophole.
First off, in the Roman Catholic Church, the existence of the Permanent Diaconate allows the Ordination of married men to become Deacons. They wear the collar and perform weddings, funerals, baptisms, and have designated parts of the mass. Priests go thru this stage as well, on their way to full Preisthood.
Due to this, some protestant preachers that have converted from certain Christian denominations have been allowed to become Catholic Priests and maintain thier marriage. There are a few married Roman Catholic priests already due to this doctrine.
But - the example best comes from the Easter Rite: The Eastern Rite allow a married man to enter the FULL priesthood by way of the Diaconate. In other words, the Eastern Church allows married men to go the full distance instead of stopping and being Permanent Deacons.
They differentiate between the married clergy and the celibate clergy - there are rules about remarriage, and about who can take senior positions in the Church (Cardinal Bishop, etc).
Married Clergy in the East, like the Permanent Deacons in the Roman Church, cannot remarry (remember: cannot ENTER into matrimony once ordained, but can be married before ordained). And married clergy are restricted to pastoral duties in the parish: that is, the Eastern Clergy who are married become and stay parish priests - they never become Bishops or Cardinals. Those higher offices are reserved to men that have, in essence, "Married the Church".
That is where I see the Roman Catholic Church going as a way of getting better parish priests who put their flock first because they live liek them and with them -- and this will result in more parish priests -- and this also works to help the celebate clergy to continue to put the Church first in their lives without getting caught up in lifestyle issues unless they desire it.
Think of it this way: A married parish priest would be a man with the full theological, psychological and managerial training of a currently celibate priest, and can combine that with his own family life experience. He would be very effective at seeing and helping others see and overcome their problems in marraige and relationship, with some insight as to sex, child rearing, managing a household, and sustaining a lifelong loving relationship with his spouse. And he will be living in the community, like one of the community instead of set apart. In that respect he will help his parish at a "grass roots" level far better than most unmarried and celebate priests can do - experience is a great teacher.
This is not to say there are not advantages to the celibate clergy: having the married clergy as a contrast enhances the magnitude and depth of the sacrifce and committment of the celibate preisthood - and allows them to concentrate deeply on whats best for the Church and so on.
Its a solution that needs to be looked at hard by the Roman Catholic Church. And I suspect it will slowly grind through the Church and will find its way into the accepted practices.
After all, its not Dogma related to the unchangeable truths, its Doctrine - and Doctrine is changeable because it is related to temporal things.
#16
Side effect of married clergy: the paedophiels will nto be able to "get away with it" given that married clergy will NOT sit by - having kids of thier own will make them much more "hard core" on this subject. And married men are a bit less likely to be predatory paedophiles as well.
#17
Fun Fact: The Cahtolic Church has had good growth all over the planet, except in one place: Europe. In Africa and the 3rd world it is picking up du to missionaries and charity efforts. In the US, its picking up a LOT of protestants leaving the Episcopal and Presbyterians - the more "liberal" the denomination (and the less it is a God and Word centered church), the larger the number of Catholic converts coming from there. The Baptists and independent Christian churches seem to be doing well too, picking up from the dying "mainstream" protestant churches that have lost their way. The parish I am in has an average of 40 converts every year, a little less than half of them Episcopal or Presbyterian or Methodist, a little less than a third are unbaptized non-Christian (an usually formerly non-religious, sometimes an odd Unitarian in there who has seen the light, or even a Jew converting), and the other 15% or so are Baptists, with the last 10% being Jehova Witness or Mormons or similar.
Its usually a pretty eclectic group - and the real fun is to watch them learn and see how much they thought they knew of the Catholic Church was just garbage from pop culture, movies and KKK-type Catholic haters.
#18
Married priests - that will probably happen in our lifetime. Its already accepted in the Eastern Rite. Basically it goes like this:
The rules say a Catholic must be chaste wihin their station in life, and that once Priests are bonded to God by the Sacrement of Ordination (Holy Orders it is sometimes called), they cannot enter into the Sacrament of Marriage.
So that leaves priests neccesarily celebate, right?
Well there is a loophole.
First off, in the Roman Catholic Church, the existence of the Permanent Diaconate allows the Ordination of married men to become Deacons. They wear the collar and perform weddings, funerals, baptisms, and have designated parts of the mass. Priests go thru this stage as well, on their way to full Preisthood.
Due to this, some protestant preachers that have converted from certain Christian denominations have been allowed to become Catholic Priests and maintain thier marriage. There are a few married Roman Catholic priests already due to this doctrine.
But - the example best comes from the Easter Rite: The Eastern Rite allow a married man to enter the FULL priesthood by way of the Diaconate. In other words, the Eastern Church allows married men to go the full distance instead of stopping and being Permanent Deacons.
They differentiate between the married clergy and the celibate clergy - there are rules about remarriage, and about who can take senior positions in the Church (Cardinal Bishop, etc).
Married Clergy in the East, like the Permanent Deacons in the Roman Church, cannot remarry (remember: cannot ENTER into matrimony once ordained, but can be married before ordained). And married clergy are restricted to pastoral duties in the parish: that is, the Eastern Clergy who are married become and stay parish priests - they never become Bishops or Cardinals. Those higher offices are reserved to men that have, in essence, "Married the Church".
That is where I see the Roman Catholic Church going as a way of getting better parish priests who put their flock first because they live liek them and with them -- and this will result in more parish priests -- and this also works to help the celebate clergy to continue to put the Church first in their lives without getting caught up in lifestyle issues unless they desire it.
Think of it this way: A married parish priest would be a man with the full theological, psychological and managerial training of a currently celibate priest, and can combine that with his own family life experience. He would be very effective at seeing and helping others see and overcome their problems in marraige and relationship, with some insight as to sex, child rearing, managing a household, and sustaining a lifelong loving relationship with his spouse. And he will be living in the community, like one of the community instead of set apart. In that respect he will help his parish at a "grass roots" level far better than most unmarried and celebate priests can do - experience is a great teacher.
This is not to say there are not advantages to the celibate clergy: having the married clergy as a contrast enhances the magnitude and depth of the sacrifce and committment of the celibate preisthood - and allows them to concentrate deeply on whats best for the Church and so on.
Its a solution that needs to be looked at hard by the Roman Catholic Church. And I suspect it will slowly grind through the Church and will find its way into the accepted practices.
After all, its not Dogma related to the unchangeable truths, its Doctrine - and Doctrine is changeable because it is related to temporal things.
#19
Side effect of married clergy: the paedophiels will nto be able to "get away with it" given that married clergy will NOT sit by - having kids of thier own will make them much more "hard core" on this subject. And married men are a bit less likely to be predatory paedophiles as well.
The race for the top job in Iraq's new government narrowed Tuesday to two leaders in the Shiite alliance, with Ibrahim Jafari of the Dawa Party squaring off against Ahmad Chalabi, who was mounting a last-minute stand against his rival.
Dr. Jafari, a physician who spent more than 20 years in exile and is now a deputy president in the interim government, improved his chances on Tuesday when he persuaded another rival, Adil Abdul Mahdi, to withdraw from the race.
Dr. Jafari's party, Dawa, and Mr. Mahdi's, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known as Sciri, are the two largest groups in the Shiite alliance, which captured a slim majority of the votes in the election on Jan. 30.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 12:57:12 AM ||
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#1
If Chalabi, former CIA favortie, becomes Prime Minister, will that prove that he's an American Puppet, who was "expelled" by the Americans in fake condemnation, in order to prepare his way to take over the "Islamic Shiite" Alliance and make it a tool of American and the Jews?
#2
More at the NY Sun. Chalabi claims to have the backing of 73 out of the 140 alliance assemblymen. Furthermore,
Written off last spring by the White House, Mr. Chalabi in recent weeks has met with senior officials from the American embassy in Baghdad. A source close to the White House told the Sun yesterday the president in the last week "issued a clear directive that we are not to interfere with the Iraqis as they make their own decisions in forming the government." A senior administration official confirmed this account to the Sun. "This process is driven by Iraqis and dictated by Iraqis, the resulting outcome will be an Iraqi outcome," the official said. "If Chalabi gets it, Chalabi it will be."
Translation: no State/CIA interference. Btw, Jabba, Allawi was the CIA's guy, Pachachi State's. Chalabi is, of course, the puppet of either Iran or the great neocon conspiracy, depending on whom you ask.
#4
LH -you would think so, but Chalabi has more lives than a hindi cat
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 9:59 Comments ||
Top||
#5
In an interesting aside, on Fox a heard a scrap of information that there was a person wearing what appeared to be a bomb vest discovered near the Parliament or some similar Govt location in Baghdad. A crowd of Iraqis beat him to death. I haven't heard any followup and don't see any web story on it, yet.
#10
"What are you screaming for? You came here to die, didn't you? Look at it this way: at least you're not going to die a murderer. Your mother would appreciate that..."
The American military is working on a new generation of soldiers, far different from the army it has. "They don't get hungry," said Gordon Johnson of the Joint Forces Command at the Pentagon. "They're not afraid. They don't forget their orders. They don't care if the guy next to them has just been shot. Will they do a better job than humans? Yes."
The robot soldier is coming. The Pentagon predicts that robots will be a major fighting force in the American military in less than a decade, hunting and killing enemies in combat. Robots are a crucial part of the Army's effort to rebuild itself as a 21st-century fighting force, and a $127 billion project called Future Combat Systems is the biggest military contract in American history.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 1:05:28 AM ||
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#1
"Deux ex Machina". This all makes sense when you substitute the concept of magic for technology. "But what if the Pentagon discovers the secret incantation that awakens Cthulu and he comes forth to destroy us all?"
#2
Recommend looking at http://www.army.mil/fcs/ for some visualizations. The Army will be UA/UE by 2007. Much of the "future tech" will be add ons to the process tranformation we're undergoing.
I wonder, do you get 72 virgins being killed by a robot vice an infantryman?
Interesting times.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/16/2005 10:20 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Jame Retief: the very concept of pink robotic piggies is so horrifying that only an alien invader would ever think of such a think. "Oooo! Pigeeeeeeeeeees!"
#12
All kidding aside, the writer DOES make some good points, esp. those about there being a lower threshold for initiating combat operations. I program computers, and know how finite and error-prone programmers, programs, and computers are.
The biggest comfort I have re our armed forces is that they are REAL Americans: in a recent informal poll, a Marine officer discovered that his entire unit would refuse to obey a direct order to disarm the American populace, regarding it a violation of the Second Amendment. Will that sort of reticence be programmed into robot warriors? I favor the Revised Superman Krypton model, where heavily armed robotic suits are worn and directed by individuals. Any AI would be strictly in advisory mode, a-la Cortana of Halo fame. They should not be heavily modified in an organic sense, though, like Master Chief or Robocop are/were. Another acceptable possiblity makes every solider an officer of a mini-platoon of robots, and for which he must take total and complete credit and responsibility.
I am very reluctant to take humanity out of the loop. Dire shit always seems to come down when we separate power from consequences, responsiblity, or accountability: those things separate dictatorships from representative democracies and republics.
As for the "mechanical" aspects of robotics/AI, such as >>low level reasoning<<, path finding, sensory input, discrimination, mechanical platforms, and such: It's just a matter of time, and I am much more optimistic about the answer to "can we?" than the author. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that typical Yankee ingenuity will eventually make this stuff work, and work spectacularly. So much so, that NOW is definitely the time to start thinking about the "should we?" and "how should we?" questions.
#13
Ptah: robotics works both ways. You mentioned a robotic exoskeleton, but equally, a soldier that loses and arm or a leg might be given one that is better than the original. If you think about it, putting a weapon in place of an arm is a waste of its potential. There are devices, however, that would prove to be of great usefulness, such as a sensor array and a powerful computer hooked into his units' Wizard network. Sensors could also give him, through viewing glasses and earphones, heightened information about the battle area in front of him--equal to seeing through walls and having 3D imagery. A leg-back-arm prosthesis could be used to give him a powerful lift capability--very useful in a battle situation. There are any number of other adaptations that would serve a dual use of keeping soldiers in combat, and making them an asset to their unit.
#14
Man, there's just so much that could be done with this. How about one that buzzes and hisses "ERROR! ERROR! Must STER-I-LIZE!" while making chop-chop motions with a built in pair of tin snips...
#16
The Pentagon's point is not to have a better soldier per se, it is to get rid of him. Anything that keeps the human (and his pay, retirement, benefits) such as the exoskeleton idea runs counter to that goal.
#17
I agree, Anonymoose, that exoskeletal prosthetics to replace missing limbs would not only be useful, but almost a moral obligation. I was referring to deliberate replacement and augmentation of perfectly good limbs/body parts with artificial ones: I worry about the distance that that would put between such cyborgs (even those who volunteer) and the rest of the citizenry. There is, IMHO, no issue when it comes to medically necessary replacements (with enhancements): Those who have suffered such accidents in the line of duty in protecting the country have more than proven their love of their fellow citizens
(By the way, your example was not exactly a counter-example to mine, since my objection was to full robotic autonomy. Your examples kept people in the loop, which is what I'd prefer happen.)
#18
I am very reluctant to take humanity out of the loop. Dire shit always seems to come down when we separate power from consequences, responsiblity, or accountability: those things separate dictatorships from representative democracies and republics.
Look at the gap of Power VS Consequences when you have a very very rich President who has never had to deal with Consequences but has always had alot of Power.
After more than a year of battling Al Qaeda guerrillas and their tribal supporters along the Afghan border, Pakistan is trying a new tactic: buying loyalty. The government has paid more than $800,000 total to four tribal commanders as part of a November peace deal, a senior army official revealed last week. The four men led a bloody fight against Pakistani forces hunting foreign Al Qaeda fighters in South Waziristan, a mountainous tribal region believed to be a possible hideout for Osama bin Laden.
The sizable sums were given so that tribesmen could pay back loans from Al Qaeda. Hundreds of foreign fighters have been relying on local militants for shelter, supplies, and protection - and have paid them handsomely for it. During negotiations with the government, the commanders explained they needed help repaying financial debts to the terror group. In Pashtun culture, failure to repay loans represents a dangerous loss of face within the tribe.
The deal's success so far suggests that the loyalty to Al Qaeda among Pashtun tribesmen is based as much on rupees as on radicalism. If so, efforts at bringing development to tribal areas as well as crackdowns on the sources of Al Qaeda's funding could prove to be two potent weapons in the war on terror, analysts say. "The battle was tagged by mullahs and militants as a jihad to gain [local] support and sympathies, but actually it revolved around economics and financial gains from foreign terrorists," says Asmatullah Gandapur, a top official in South Waziristan.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/16/2005 12:06:13 AM ||
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The test of whether these latest peace deals stick, analysts say, will come next month when the snow starts to melt, allowing for cross-border attacks to resume against US-led forces.
Israel intends to build a new settlement in the West Bank that could take in settlers uprooted from Gaza, officials said on Tuesday, drawing swift protest from Palestinians who fear losing land for a state they seek. Gvaot, planned as an extension to the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, appeared to fall within the cracks of a US-led "roadkill map" peace plan whose final vision is hotly disputed as Israel and the Palestinians try to stabilise a tentative ceasefire. The roadkill map requires a halt to settlement-building on land Israel captured in 1967 and where Palestinians want statehood. But President George W. Bush said in 2004 that Israel could expect to keep some of the West Bank land under an accord.
It's a lousy idea. Even if they end up keeping the land after an eventual settlement, they should wait until then to bring in settlers.
Disclosing the Gvaot project, Housing Minister Isaac Herzog said Jewish settlers slated for evacuation from Gaza this year would be encouraged to relocate to sparsely populated areas of Israel, but could also go to the West Bank if they chose. "I cannot prevent an individual who wants to use his compensation to buy a house in Gush Etzion from doing so," he told Reuters. "This would be totally within his rights." Gush Etzion, about 20 km (12 miles) south of Jerusalem, has about 15,000 settlers alone and is among several sprawling enclaves Sharon regards as strategic assets not to be ceded. Palestinian officials, engaged in security coordination talks with Israel since President Mahmoud Abbas and Sharon declared a ceasefire at a summit in Egypt last week, cried foul over the new settlement plan. "Israel is throwing sand in our eyes by continuing with the settlement process (in the West Bank)," Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei told Reuters before a cabinet meeting.
Sounds like you'd better hurry up and settle then.
Palestinians fear West Bank settlement expansion could dash their hope for a viable state envisioned by the roadkill map. A US official suggested the plan would not be helpful for fresh efforts to revive the road map stimulated by Abbas's Jan. 9 election to succeed Yasser Arafat on a platform of ending four years of bloodshed to negotiate for statehood on occupied land. "We are concerned about any building of new or additional settlements in the West Bank, basically because the roadkill map calls for a cessation of settlement activity, and we will be looking into this," he told Reuters. "To extent that the barrier is built inside the West Bank itself, it is a problem."
Sharon has faced strong opposition from right-wing Israelis to abandoning territory they regard as a biblical birthright -- including within his government -- although polls show most of the Jewish state's citizens favour a pullout from tiny Gaza. Senior political sources said that Sharon hoped to win a key cabinet vote on the Gaza plan this Sunday by tabling another resolution on extending Israel's controversial West Bank barrier to encompass Gush Etzion. "The prime minister long put off discussing this (Gush Etzion) section of the fence, concerned it would draw international censure," an Israeli political source said. "Now he hopes to mollify the cabinet rebels, by letting them vote for the fence section with the knowledge that he expects them also to approve the Gaza plan."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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as info - gush etzion was settled by Jews in the 1930s, along with east jerusalem the only such area to end up under Jordanian rule after 1948, Unlike in East Jerusalem, the Jews of Gush Etzion were massacred. When Israel took over the West Bank in 1967, this area was quickly
(re)settled with the approval of the Labor govt. I doubt very much whether any Israeli govt, even one that withdraws from 90% or more of the West Bank, will withdraw from Gush Etzion.
Egypt is offering 750 border guards to keep smuggled weapons out of Gaza and is urging Syria to restrain Hamas and other militant groups from attacking Israel, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Tuesday. "We will do whatever is needed on our part," Gheit said before discussing with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice his government's offer to help in Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
But who are they guarding, and who are they guarding from?
That's easy, Steve. The arms smuggling will go much more smoothly with Egyptians at both ends of the tunnels...
"We have a lot ahead of us," Rice said at a joint news conference after they met at the State Department. She emphasized that the Palestinians and Israel had the primary responsibility — the Palestinians to fight terror and Israel to help improve living conditions on the West Bank and in Gaza. Rice also renewed her demand that the two sides implement a roadkill map for peacemaking.
On a discordant note, Rice said she had raised with the foreign minister "our very strong concerns" about the arrest of the head of Egypt's opposition party on forgery charges. Rice said the detention of Ayman Nour, leader of the al-Ghad, or Tomorrow Party, was important to the administration, Congress and the American people, and said she had taken it up with Gheit "at some length."
Heh, she noticed and brought it up. Good.
Egypt will not send its own forces into the territory Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon intends to begin turning over to the Palestinians later this year because there would be a risk of Egyptian casualties, Gheit said. But beside deploying border guards, the foreign minister said Egypt would send a few security officials to Gaza to assess the needs of Palestinian security forces, bring senior Palestinians to Egypt for training and ask Israel to approve stationing two Egyptian battalions along its border to guard against two-way smuggling.
How about an engineering company to specialize in collapsing tunnels?
"We have to keep pushing for implementing the Israeli pullout" from Gaza and northern parts of the West Bank, Gheit said.
Egypt, which helped Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas reach a truce Feb. 8, is interceding with Syria to stop Hamas and other militant groups from attacking Israel, he said. Without providing any specifics, Gheit said Egypt was making headway with Syria on restraining militants and there would be further full-contact talks with Damascus.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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KATHMANDU Nepal's King Gyanendra has turned back the clock nearly half a century by picking two staunch royalists who served his father as his top aides in running the Himalayan kingdom, analysts said. Analysts say the appointments of the two members of the "old royal guard" may signal that Gyanendra wants to institute the same panchyat or partyless system of rule which his late father, King Mahendra, implemented in 1960. "The country seems to be reverting to the old partyless regime," said political scientist Devendra Parajuli who teaches at Lalitpur Campus college on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Two weeks ago Gyanendra dismissed the government and made himself chairman of a 10-man council of ministers packed with royalists.
This article starring:
King Gyanendra
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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The Sudanese government has agreed to negotiate with the opposition Bija Congress as the legitimate representative of the people of eastern Sudan. The Suna news agency reported the announcement was made by Red Sea State Governor Hatim al-Wasila al-Sammani on Tuesday after he briefed President Umar al-Bashir on the situation following riots last month, in which police killed at least 14 civilian demonstrators. Major General Sammani said the meeting centred on overcoming the crisis "through political action by negotiating with the Bija Congress in addition to enhancing development operations in the fields of food security and alleviating poverty". He said a committee set up to investigate the incidents began by questioning him and would carry on with its mission for "pinpointing and punishing everyone who proved to have acted beyond his powers or failed to meet his responsibilities."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2005 12:01:39 AM ||
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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.
Dozens of people opposed to the war in Iraq held a "die-in" outside the Houses of Parliament in London, demanding that British troops come home, while similar rallies took place across the country.
North Korea marked the 63rd birthday of its "dear leader" Kim Jong Il on Wednesday with feasts of pheasant and venison for the capital's elite amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula after the communist state declared it had nuclear weapons and would boycott disarmament talks.
Australia's two most senior security chiefs have accused 
A U.N. team investigating compliance with sanctions against al-Qaida and the Taliban predicted Tuesday that brutal attacks by Osama bin Laden's followers will escalate as they still have easy access to bombmaking materials and money. Terror attacks sponsored by al-Qaida and weapons of mass destruction are among the chief threats confronting the world, according to the team's report to a U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against al-Qaida and the Taliban. Al-Qaida remains capable of mounting "devastating attacks" and sanctions are only having a limited effect on the group, which is still keen to acquire chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, a U.N. report said. It is only "a matter of time" before a successful attack occurs, the report said. 
DAMASCUS - Syria's state security court jailed 15 Syrian Kurds for up to three years on Tuesday on charges of seeking a breakaway state, lawyers said.
Saudi Arabia, with close ties to assassinated former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, took issue Tuesday with French calls for an international probe into his death, saying 
Lebanese opposition leader 
The American military is working on a new generation of soldiers, far different from the army it has. "They don't get hungry," said Gordon Johnson of the Joint Forces Command at the Pentagon. "They're not afraid. They don't forget their orders. They don't care if the guy next to them has just been shot. Will they do a better job than humans? Yes."
After more than a year of battling Al Qaeda guerrillas and their tribal supporters along the Afghan border, Pakistan is trying a new tactic: buying loyalty. The government has paid more than $800,000 total to four tribal commanders as part of a November peace deal, a senior army official revealed last week. The four men led a bloody fight against Pakistani forces hunting foreign Al Qaeda fighters in South Waziristan, a mountainous tribal region believed to be a possible hideout for Osama bin Laden.
Israel intends to build a new settlement in the West Bank that could take in settlers uprooted from Gaza, officials said on Tuesday, drawing swift protest from Palestinians who fear losing land for a state they seek. Gvaot, planned as an extension to the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, appeared to fall within the cracks of a US-led "road
Egypt is offering 750 border guards to keep smuggled weapons out of Gaza and is urging Syria to restrain Hamas and other militant groups from attacking Israel, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Tuesday. "We will do whatever is needed on our part," Gheit said before discussing with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice his government's offer to help in Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
KATHMANDU Nepal's 
The Sudanese government has agreed to negotiate with the opposition 
