From Geostrategy Direct, subscription. A lot has been covered on RB before, but a good summary here.
French Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy has been trying to contain an Arab uprising whose fighters have been trained in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq and possess everything from light weapons to anti-aircraft missiles. The French police are outgunned, and the govt has no leadership.
In a classified report, the French military has concluded that a network of 25,000 Muslim fighters are participating in the worst violence in France in more than 40 years. The report said the so-called mujahadeen, or holy warriors, have been trained in guerrilla warfare, light weapons and intelligence. Many of them are loyal to Al Qaida chief in Iraq, Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi and make a living from drugs, prostitution and loan-sharking. As long as it is being done to infidels, its OOOOH Kay with the Holy Warriorsâ¢.
Sarkozy was not taken by surprise by the Muslim riots, sparked by the electrocution of two young Muslims fleeing police and hiding in a power substation in Paris. The interior minister just didn't do anything about it.
Sarkozy acknowledged that prior to the outbreak of violence late last month, some Muslim neighborhoods in Paris were ablaze nearly every night. Sarkozy said rioters were torching up to 40 cars a night in Muslim neighborhoods in the French capital. In the space of a few months, the interior minister said, 9,000 police cars had been stoned in these neighborhoods.
The battle-hardened Muslim fighters dismiss French riot police, who have not been trained to combat Arab guerrilla warriors. The police are not equipped to deal with legions of Arab fighters who rush toward them with firebombs and light weapons. Neither is the French Government under Jacque and Dom.
At this point, French officials are close to throwing in the towel. Their main concern now is to stop Muslims from capturing the heart of Paris. Better call the Foreign Legion. You are running out of options. And Duece Four is not available.
Thousands of police patrolled the center of the city to prevent rioters from attacking the Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysees. Muslim insurgents had used Internet sites to urge attacks against French tourism and national monuments. Better have a few K near the Louvre, too.
"One can easily imagine the places where we must be very vigilant," French police chief Michel Gaudin said.
For Western diplomats and intelligence analysts, the question isn't why France is burning: It's why the Muslims haven't lit the match until now? For a decade, French authorities watched helplessly as pro-Al Qaida elements first took over Muslim neighborhoods and then cities such as Lille, Lyon, Marseille and Strasbourg. French police were ordered to stay out of Muslim neighborhoods that surround virtually every city. Authorities ceded control and chose to deal with Muslim-controlled municipal councils. The Appeasement Plan⢠seemed to have backfired. Maybe a Blue Ribbon Commission could get the govt back on track.
Intelligence sources said Al Zarqawi operatives decided to jump on the bandwagon after the second night of rioting in Muslim neighborhoods in Paris. On Oct. 30, they decided to flex their muscles and attacked police with pistols, assault rifles and firebombs.
"The outbreak was spontaneous," an intelligence source said. "After the second night, when it began to spread, the Al Zarqawi leadership decided to exploit this." Insert Master of the Obvious pic hire.
French police were largely helpless. Anti-riot squads had been trained to handle left-wing anti-war demonstrators or individual terrorists, not organized squadrons of Muslim fighters with light weapons. Intercepting communications meant nothing, as police officers could not understand Arabic, particularly the code used by the Islamic insurgents.
Over the past 20 years, France has allowed the establishment of a separate Muslim state. In the 1980s, the European Union and Arab League signed a series of accords guaranteeing that Muslim immigrants in Europe would not be compelled in any way to adapt "to the customs of the host countries." In 1983, the Euro-Arab Dialogue issued a recommendation that non-Muslim Europeans be made "more aware of the cultural background of migrants, by promoting cultural activities of the immigrant communities or 'supplying adequate information on the culture of the migrant communities in the school curricula.'"
That sealed any hope of Arab assimilation in France and other European Union countries. Many Arabs stopped learning French and took second and third wives, following Muslim customs and ignoring French law. Arab women were treated by their husbands and fathers with the same brutality they have known well in Algeria and Tunisia. French police refused to intervene.
At the same time, Arab children â virtually all of them Muslims â were taught to hate France, Christians, Jews and the West. They were taught that they would lead the Muslim crusade that would destroy Christian Europe once and for all.
"There are three forms of jihad: the military jihad, the economic jihad and the cultural jihad," said Geneva-based historian Bat Ye'or, author of "Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis."
"The EAD [Euro-Arab Dialogue] between the European Union and the Arab League has been a means of spreading the economic and cultural jihads from the Middle East to Europe," Ye'or said.
France was most enthusiastic in selling its future for Arab oil. In 1967, French President Charles De Gaulle announced that France would support the Arabs and boycott Israel. De Gaulle sold weapons to the worst of Arab depots, such as Libya's Moammar Khaddafy and Iraq's Ba'athist regime.
The Arab League didn't pull any punches in its dialogue with France and the EU. The Arabs demanded political concessions on a range of issues in exchange for oil. The EU, alarmed by the 1973 oil embargo, agreed and Arabs in Europe were given unofficial autonomy. Another stirling example of the success of the Appeasement Strategyâ¢.
"Eurabia's destiny was sealed when it decided, willingly, to become a covert partner with the Arab global jihad against America and Israel," Ye'or said.
Over the past decade, supporters of Al Qaida have gradually replaced Muslim leaders in France and other countries. These pro-Al Qaida activists were trained in Saudi Arabia and have been aligned with Muslim veterans of the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Unlike their parents, who saw France and Europe largely as economic havens, the new Muslim activists were jihad-oriented and envisioned a takeover of a barren Christian Europe. Part of the Turn Europe into an Ecomomic and Cultural Desert Programâ¢.
"We do not want to assimilate," said Brussels-based Arab European League founder Dyab Abu Jahjah. "Assimilation is cultural rape. It means renouncing your identity, becoming like the others." There you have the gist of it, in black and white.
Instead, the pro-Al Qaida Muslim activists in France adopted jihad. In the 1990s, hundreds of French Muslims flocked to Bosnia to participate in the civil war in Yugoslavia. They returned after several years as hardened fighters ready to lead the Muslim masses in jihad. With the help of the new Saudi-financed mosques, they began to indoctrinate and train Muslim teenagers in holy war and combat, guerrilla warfare and even bomb assembly. We in the US need to remember that 80% of mosques in the US are financed by the Saudis, and don't forget outreach stuff in US prisons.
In France, the Muslims grew rapidly, constituting more than 10 percent of the country's population. More telling, however, is government statistics that show that Muslims make up more than 30 percent of French youngsters, including in the universities. As Muslims see it, they are the future of France. They probably are, with a 30% constituancy, and a lot more of a tighter group than French youths.
The pro-Al Qaida factions began to organize neighborhoods into popular committees similar to those in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the late 1980s. Youngsters were trained to spot non-Muslims, particularly police, and drive them out of the neighborhood. Muslims who showed a pro-French bent or opposed Al Qaida philosophy were beaten, expelled and even killed.
Muslim leaders formed links with their counterparts throughout Europe. In conferences over the past few years, French Muslims led the call for a jihad in Europe. Authorities ignored them.
In 2003, a new process began in France's Muslim neighborhoods. Recruitment began for Muslims to fight the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. This wasn't a war against Serbian weekend warriors; it was a chance to fight the Satan himself.
As a result, young French Muslims flocked to mosques to find out how to join the war in Iraq. Thousands either joined the Muslim war in Iraq, helped finance the Al Qaida insurgency, or established cells loyal to Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi, the Palestinian head of Al Qaida in Iraq.
The Al Zarqawi operatives were ready for battle both in France as well as in Iraq. They collected weapons, learned how to make bombs and smuggled missiles into Europe.
Western intelligence sources said Al Zarqawi operatives in France have acquired the SA-18 anti-aircraft missile from the former Soviet Union. The sources said the missiles were smuggled into Turkey and acquired by Al Qaida-aligned cells in the Middle East.
In 2004, intelligence sources said, France foiled a plot to destroy passenger jets with the SA-18 Igla missile. An Al Qaida-aligned cell composed of Algerian and French nationals planned to shoot the missiles from near Strasbourg. Remind me not to book a flight to Strasbourg.
"This new generation of jihadists presents a major challenge for international intelligence services and law enforcement authorities since many are very young and virtually unknown, highly clandestine, evasive, many with no past criminal history or record, and fully committed to its cause," said Marco Vicenzino, executive director of the Washington-based Global Strategy Project. This is not a law enforcement issue, Marco. This is an assault on the very fabric of a nation, like it's war, man.
What makes the situation even worse is that France has become essentially leaderless. President Jacques Chirac is ill and not fully functioning. Those seeking to succeed him in 2007 elections include Sarkozy and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. Who is rumored to be a man, but is still uninformed speculation to date.
The central government has pledged housing, education and employment in an effort to stop the Muslim violence. De Villepin also announced plans to deploy an additional 1,500 police officers to impose order.
But the Al Qaida network in France has no plans to fold up. Instead, emissaries from the network, many of them French converts from Christianity, have been moving to other EU states, including Britain, to plan similar campaigns. The War for the soul of Europe has begun. This is no joke.
"Americans must discuss the tragic development of Eurabia, and its profound implications for the United States," Ye'or said.
"Americans should know that this self-destructive calamity did not just happen, rather it was the result of deliberate policies, executed and monitored by ostensibly responsible people. Finally, Americans should understand that Eurabia's contemporary anti-Zionism and anti-Americanism are the spiritual heirs of 1930s Nazism and anti-Semitism, triumphally resurgent," she said. We can make our snarky comments about France and the fix they are in, but this whole chain of events in Frankistan is frightening. Right, Congresswoman Pelosi? Are YOU watching and listening? We could be dealing with these type of events in the US, too, if we keep going off the LLL deep end.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/19/2005 12:22 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I don't really know why people are talking as though we are in some sort of initial stages. It's finished, guys. Learn to like California wine.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
11/19/2005 13:25 Comments ||
Top||
#2
It isn't finished. It's barely just begun. At some point in the 30's people in Europe and America must have realized the inevitable outcome of events meant an all out war. We're on that horizon right now. I'd like to think we could still crush AQ enough to move back from the brink, but I'm afraid it may be too late for that now. Don't laugh. If Europe grew a spine, it could be reversed. I just don't expect them to. We are just in the opening battles of this war.
The left wants to talk of diplomacy and thinks they can cut deals like they did with the communists and socialists. Not with the Arabs. They believe God will make them win and they aren't going to get themselves dirty making deals with gutless losers like Chirac or Villipin. They see them as weak, wounded and easy prey. There will be no compromises with the weak infidels. They will just pick them off first.
#3
The central government has pledged housing, education and employment in an effort to stop the Muslim violence.
Seems to me that pledges of armed response, mass deportations and criminal executions might be a wee bit more effective "to stop the Muslim violence". Rewarding this sort of treachery is just that, rewarding it. I don't suppose any of this makes sense to appeasers, though.
#4
I don't think we can write off Europe now any more than we could in 1940. Possessing a nuclear strike force, a France controlled by the Caliphate would be even more of a deadly threat than a Hitler-controlled Europe was. Maybe somebody should dig out those old D-Day plans from the archives.
Posted by: jolly roger ||
11/19/2005 14:08 Comments ||
Top||
#7
We can effectively deal with this in North America. We just need to be honest and admit it will be brutal. We need to keep bitch slaping the left until they wake up. If they will not wake up we will have to get brutal with them too.
I have little hope for Europe. The sickness has progressed too far.
#8
So, at what point do we intervene? We lost the stone Buddhas in Afghanistan forever. Shall we dally about and have the Mona Lisa slashed for showing an unvieled woman?
What sort of cultural devastation must we endure for people to finally wake up and comprehend what Islamism holds in store for the western world? Just the thought that the Louvre might one day be torched for its blasphemous works of art is enough to make me advocate military intervention should Muslims take control of France.
Global Cultural Genocideâ¢, it's what Islamism is all about.
STOCKHOLM - Sweden is investigating an Iraqi man for crimes committed before US-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein, a state prosecutor said on Friday. The prosecutor declined to give any details about the man under investigation, but a regional newspaper quoted his lawyer as saying he was a former soldier who denied any crime.
Prosecutor Magnus Elving, based in the southeastern town of Linkoping, said he was investigating the Iraqi on suspicion of being an accessory to murder and serious assault. âHe lived in Iraq before the change of regime,â Elving told Reuters. He declined to say where the alleged crimes were committed or give any details on the manâs identity.
He said a conviction for such crimes could lead to a sentence of between one year and life in prison, depending on the seriousness of the offence.
Someone convicted in Sweden of a jail term can stay in Sweden or ask to be sent to another country, he added. Non-Swedes can also in theory be deported, he said.
In theory.
Regional newspaper Smalandsposten said on its Web site that the man, living in the south-central town of Vaxjo, was seeking asylum and had been in the Iraqi military under Saddam. The newspaper quoted the manâs lawyer as saying his client denied the charges. âHe followed orders. He is very afraid of being forced to go back to Iraq as his life is at risk,â the report quoted lawyer Lars Almstrom as saying.
"Lies! All lies! Please don't let them kill me for what I did!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
So it's al goood to enforce islamic law, but when it comes to paying under islam, Run to Sweeden and get a western punishment. Deport him back to his own laws.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
11/19/2005 8:46 Comments ||
Top||
Anti-war House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is blasting last night's 403 to 3 House vote in support of U.S. troops and their mission in Iraq, calling it "a disgrace."
Complaining that House Republicans had engaged in a "deception" by calling for a last minute vote on the Iraq war, the San Francisco Democrat said the pro-troop resolution was "a disservice to our country." The San Francisco Democrat said that the "Republican majority has stooped to a new low" by forcing Democrats to go on the record against an immediate pullout.
Her California colleague, House Armed Services Committee chairman, Rep. Duncan Hunter, wrote the resolution, which proposed "that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately."
Posted by: Captain America ||
11/19/2005 10:56 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Actually, this site seems a little more user-friendly than the Town Hall site I have (previously) posted here.
That's in case you care to write Ms. Pelosi. You can also go to the above website and read some messages sent by other folks, and YOU can elect to have YOUR message considered for POSTING!
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/19/2005 11:11 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I would like to take a moment to personally thank Representative J.D. Hayworth(R) of Arizona, who I believe was the one who thought up the idea.
#5
Listened to the whole debate.
Nancy was totally diss'ed before she even got up to speak. One congressman accused her of representing a district so out of touch with the UNION that it refuses entry to Military Recruiters. A sedation. A district so out of touch that the Military Should NOT bother to defend it.
#7
I would like to see a follow up resolution stating simple that "the US congress will exept nothing short of victory in this WOT and will not consider surrender or defeat to the terrorist"
The Repubs have the votes if they stick together to pass this and the Dems would be forced to somehow expain they will either accept less than victory or some type of surrender. Leave Iraq out becuase it is nothing more than one phase and battle field in many of this WOT. This simple statement (meaninless in action but a simple moral statement of will to the ME and our troops) should be easy to agree to if the Dems really just disagree with the way to win, however for the LLL radicals like Pelosi and ilk they wont be able to swallow this idea becuase all thier redoric aside they really dont want us to fight or win instead just follow the France model and slowly give away thier own homefront as their population shrinks and a hostile invading Muslim pop grows but they hold the high moral ground right...??
#8
Again, Duncan Hunter - my congressman. I'm so proud! Heh heh. Nanvy and her anti-US winning minions would do any thing they could to do the same except they can't f*&king win a majority, can they? Can you imagine the nation's agenda if that bug-eyed incompetent became the speaker?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/19/2005 11:39 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Rep. Pelosi is going to need a whole lot more BoTox after this weekend ...
#11
I am disturbed! When I try to use the congressional wb site to send a short message to Queen Nancy, I get an automatic reply:
Thank you for contacting my office.
Congressional courtesy prevents me from replying to emails if I cannot determine that you are a constituent of mine.
The messge had an out-of-constituency address, just like the dozens of other e-mails I have sent. You know where I'm from!
If you are a resident of the 8th District of California, please resend your original message and include your full name, address, and zip
code. Otherside, you couldn't care less what I think.
If you are not a resident of Califoria's 8th Congressional District and are contacting me in regard to my role as Democratic Leader, please
visit
http://www.housedemocrats.gov.
But a visit there is worth a few laughs!
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/19/2005 12:09 Comments ||
Top||
#12
And did the queen vote? or did she just mark "present?"
#13
Anti-war House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is blasting last night's 403 to 3 House vote in support of U.S. troops and their mission in Iraq, calling it "a disgrace."
Disgraceful is being unwilling to back up your talk by voting with the opposition.
Pelosi slammed Hunter's proposal as "a political stunt and should it be rejected by this House" - minutes before she voted with the Republican majority.
#14
You fucked up Ms. Minority Leader. You fucked up big. Walked your membership right down the trail and into an ambush. Oh, it won't cost you your looney tunes district, but I'll bet your membership is having some deep thoughts on your leadership.
#18
I thought this was Scrapple Face! I can't believe it is real!! Are we sure this isn't some kind of joke?? Look - I know Pelosi is a joke - but this seems like... Scrapple Face.
Republicans had engaged in a "deception" by calling for a last minute vote on the Iraq war, the San Francisco Democrat said the pro-troop resolution was "a disservice to our country."
And this is a clever bit of spin: Her California colleague, House Armed Services Committee chairman, Rep. Duncan Hunter, wrote the resolution, which proposed "that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately."
Gotta give them credit for this one, heh, heh. They'll use it and it will backfire on them like everything else they do.
If this is real... which, sadly, it probably is.. these people are just plain stupid. Even with complete and total control of the MSM - they are going to be easy pickings in the next election.
#21
I've been reading Powerline and other blogs and I don't agree that this is anything other than a crushing defeat for the Dems.
It's true that Democrats have come out of this far better than they deserve and it's true that the GOP made an error by not using Murtha' exact words. And I wish the GOP could have mustered a bit more backbone and have made this a resolution to "stay the course".
All that said, and all of the press lies and omissions - this is still a crushing defeat for the democrats. And they know it.
They are getting stranger and more out of touch by the moment. I predict that many of them just lost their jobs in their next election. The American people may not pay much attention - but they aren't as stupid as the Democratic Party believes them to be.
President Bush on Saturday swatted down calls in Congress for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, saying that American military leaders believe that retreat now would be "a recipe for disaster."
"So we will fight the terrorists in Iraq and we will stay in the fight until we have achieved the victory our brave troops have fought and bled for," said Bush, facing mounting criticism from home about his war policy. Bush defended his Iraq strategy in remarks prepared for a speech at Osan Air Base, headquarters for the 7th Air Force, the primary U.S. Air Force unit in Korea. He was to stop there on his way to China. "In Washington there are some who say that the sacrifice is too great, and they urged us to set a date for withdrawal before we have completed our mission," the president said. "Those who are in the fight know better."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed on Friday growing calls for the United States to start withdrawing forces from Iraq, saying Iraq was several years behind Afghanistan as a secure country.
Now, just take a deep breath and think back. Who would have expected a statement like that in November, 2001?
Rumsfeld said as Iraqi forces took more control of their own security, it would enable US forces to be diverted to other assignments within Iraq. âWhat youâll see over the period ahead is that the Iraqi security forces will be handed over responsibility for pieces of real estate, for certain types of missions and assignments,â Rumsfeld told reporters after talks with Australian ministers. âAs that happens, the people who were engaged in those activities, they will in many cases assume other assignments and responsibilities, in many cases assisting help to train some additional Irai security forces,â said Rumsfeld.
The US Senate on Tuesday resolved that Iraqis should start to take the lead in their own security from next year, to allow a phased withdrawal of US troops. But the Senate rejected a Democrats demand for Republican President George W. Bush to submit a time-table for the troop withdrawal.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Basically, in his best case scenario we're going to be focusing on Al Queda in Anbar province while the Iraqis handle the rest of the country.
#2
I agree with JAB, but I didn't know Anbar was in Syria.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
11/19/2005 7:35 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Take the longer view. Iraq is a done deal. However, its strategic location is such that its security is in jeopardy from Iran.
This is important. More and more I'm reading this same double-entendre from the administration and the military leaders in Iraq. They very carefully phrase what they say so that if you don't pay attention, it sounds like they are talking about the insurgency; when in fact, they are placing Iraq in a higher, regional context.
They aren't preparing Iraq for an ineffectual insurgency, they are preparing it to defend itself against Iran--and possibly win.
#5
I read over at Samizdata that after the elections, Sistani's fatwahing for US to leave.
They're not going to do it violently, they're going to peacefully protest.
---(Under the Tet Offensive post--
Already aides of Sistani have said "after Dec elections, fatwah will be issued ordering occupation out, and it will be backed by non-violent action." In other words, just as soon as the Shi'a have decided that they don't need to use us anymore to die and pay for their war with the Sunnis, 15 million Shi'a will go sit on every road into Iraq, letting us travel in only one direction--out. ....
#6
let a few Sunnis and their car bombs respond and they'll look like Dems defending Murtha
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/19/2005 21:18 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I agree with anonymous2u. I do believe that when the Shiite use for the "Crusaders" end, they will demand we leave and we won't be able to resist cause we are fighting a Social Sevices campaign, not a war of conquest and conversion, which is what Islam is fighting. Civil war will erupt and the Sunnis will be conquered or driven out. The Kurds may get a relatively peaceful partition, depending on how well armed they are. I don't know which. The Shiite part, at least, will end up an Iran Lite.
Posted by: ed ||
11/19/2005 21:49 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Hmmm...I don't see Iraq becoming friends with Iran. I just don't see it. If they become "friends" initally, it will be like goodwill shared between Hitler and Stalin.
Somalia - NE and Eastern Coast Thirty two incidents have been reported since March 15 2005. Heavily armed pirates are now attacking ships further away from the coast. Ships not making scheduled calls at Somali ports are advised to keep at least 200 nm from the Somali coast.
Recently reported incidents
November 07 2005 at 0600 UTC in position 04:28N - 048:01E, east coast of Somalia. Pirates hijacked a general cargo ship underway. They have demanded ransom for the release of the vessel. This is the fourth incident off Somalia since November 05 2004 in this area. Ships are again advised to keep at least 200 nm off the Somali coast.
Shiite and Kurdish delegates stormed out of an Iraqi reconciliation conference Saturday, halting the effort to patch over ethnic and religious fault lines threatening to drag the country into a full civil war.
"They are insulting the Iraqi people and they are insulting the constitution on which several million Iraqis have voted," the senior Iraqi Shiite legislator, Jawad al-Maliki, told reporters, referring to other conference delegates.
It was not clear who al-Maliki was referring to, but there is long-standing tension between the groups represented at the conference that began in Cairo on Saturday. Leaders of
Iraq's Shiite and Sunni communities declined to attend. "They want the situation in Iraq to go back to the way it used to be so that the mass graves can return," al-Maliki said.
Sunni leaders were expected to press ahead with demands that the Shiite-dominated government agree to a timetable for the withdrawal of the foreign troops and drastic amendments to the constitution ratified Oct. 15. They also want to "recognize" the resistance and "rebuild" Saddam Hussein's army in order to bring back his former officers.
Shiites and Kurds instead insist that Sunni leaders denounce violence and distance themselves from the insurgency.
Posted by: ed ||
11/19/2005 11:06 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I wonder if this is more of a message than we can see? The Sunni will not give up on the belief that only they should rule Iraq. That is a dead end but they keep pusing it. The Kurds could also be letting the Shites know that they want no part of an Iraq dominated by Iranian puppets as well. Is this second message also possible?
#2
"They also want to "recognize" the resistance"
Ohh the "resistance"... the one that killed FIFTY NON-MILITARY CIVILIANS IN IRAQ TODAY????????? The terrorists will burn in hell.
Iraqi Kurds will have no choice but to proclaim independence in the event of civil war in Iraq, Massud Barzani, president of northern Iraqâs semi-autonomous Kurdish zone, said Friday.
I think I discussed this yesterday. Apparently the Kurds can interpret our pols' remarks just as well as we can.
In an interview with Turkish television station NTV on a day of fresh bombings of Shiite mosques in Iraq, Barzani said an outbreak of civil war would force Iraqi Kurds to exercise the ârightâ to independence. âMay God save us from civil war, but if others start fighting among themselves and there is an outbreak, we will have no other alternative,â he said.
"We don't have time for that juvenile crap."
He said that while independence was a ânatural and legitimate rightâ for Iraqi Kurds, they would âat this stageâ implement the countryâs new constitution in support of a âdemocratic federal and pluralistâ Iraq. Turkey fears a declaration of independence by Iraqâs Kurds would inflame a rebellion by separatists within its own large Kurdish minority. Barzani downplayed the presence of anti-Turkey Kurdish rebels in his territory of northern Iraq, saying there was no military solution to the unrest in Turkey.
Call this a shot across the bow, both to Congress and to the Iraqi gummint. And I'm all for it.
We'll just have to make sure we keep the Turks off their backs.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Like the ones they used to do when Sammy was in power?
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The UN is all over torture by US and her alllies but when terrorist kill 80civilians in a freekin Mosque the sound of silence. Were is the condemnation of Terrorism as a way of war. Were is the those who kill Iraqi civilians are not "insurgents" but just terrorist and not due the laws of war. Were is the outrage that would be heard if say we bombed a mosque with 80 civilians in it.
#2
Well, I believe the pattern is becoming pretty clear: the "investigators" must be treated with "respect" - all civil and nice like they're somebody important", the "investigators" must have nice hotels with room service and banquet facilities so they can honor each other for their "good deeds", and protection - lotsa protection - they learned that one the hard way. So they will "investigate" from afar, "investigate" only Western powers, preferably America, and "investigate" only those who won't, y'know, wanna hurt 'em n' stuff.
Two rival clans and Palestinian police exchanged fire in a dispute over land in the area of a former Israeli settlement in Gaza, killing a 17-year-old civilian and wounding five people, Palestinian officials said Saturday.
The firefight Friday evening was the first violent clash over former settlement-area land since Israel left the Gaza Strip in September. After the fatal shooting, dozens of people, including gunmen, vandalized a police station in the nearby town of Khan Younis and set two police cruisers on fire, said the governor of the area, Hosni Zourab.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said the former settlement land would be used for the public good, including housing projects, universities and nature reserves. Private land claims will be examined, but plots expropriated by Israel for the settlements will not automatically be returned to their owners, officials have said.
Palestinian security sources said Saturday that the half-acre plot of land was in the public domain and located in the area of the dismantled settlement of Neve Dekalim. But without clear-cut maps of the area, it was not immediately clear whether the land formerly was part of Neve Dekalim, or nearby, they said.
Before Israel's pullout from Gaza, settlers and the Israeli military controlled about one-fifth of the crowded coastal strip. The clash over land underscored Abbas' difficulties in imposing order in chaotic Gaza.
Two clans staked competing claims to the land at issue in Friday's dispute, Palestinian officials said. One of the clans, the Astals, had fenced off the area.
When police came to tear down the fence, a firefight erupted. Seventeen-year-old Naef Astal was killed and five people were wounded, including two policemen. Police arrested three people and took them to a lockup in Khan Younis. Later Friday, dozens of people broke into the police station, demanding the release of the detainees, then vandalized the building, police said.
Posted by: ed ||
11/19/2005 11:11 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
These oppressed people, not murderous Thugistenians, were not properly pointed at Israel.
#2
It's about time for Abbas to understand that either the gun barrels had better be pointed at disruptive elements within Palestinian society or else those very same muzzles will soon be pointed at him.
#5
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said the former settlement land would be used for the public good, including housing projects, universities and nature reserves. Private land claims will be examined, but plots expropriated by Israel for the settlements will not automatically be returned to their owners, officials have said.
Bwahahahaha ....a Paleo nature reserve must be a shooting range, with civilian shields?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/19/2005 20:10 Comments ||
Top||
The Mideast's most beloved feared terrorist sought Friday to justify a triple suicide bombing on Amman hotels that killed 59 civilians, insisting he did not deliberately target a wedding party and appealing to Muslims to believe that he was not attacking them. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, took an unusually defensive tone in an audiotape posted on the Internet, seeking to shore up support after widespread anger over the civilian deaths, even among sympathizers.
Still, the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi made clear he was not about to stop the bloodshed, warning he will attack more tourist sites in Jordan and threatening to behead King Abdullah II. He said he was targeting Jordan because it is serving as a "protector" for Israel, helps the U.S. military in Iraq and has become a "swamp of obscenity," with alcohol and prostitution in its tourist sites. "Your star is fading. You will not escape your fate, you descendant of traitors. We will be able to reach your head and chop it off," al-Zarqawi said, referring to the king.
Al-Zarqawi, who has a $25 million bounty on his head from the U.S., told Jordanians to stay away from bases used by U.S. forces, hotels and tourist sites in Amman, the Dead Sea and the southern resort of Aqaba and embassies of governments participating in the war in Iraq, saying they would be targeted. "People of Islam in Jordan, we want to assure you that we are extremely careful over your lives ... you are more beloved to us than ourselves," he said.
The authenticity of the audiotape, posted on an Islamic terrorist militant Web forum, could not be confirmed independently, but the voice resembled that of al-Zarqawi on previous tapes. The tape was posted following widespread outrage over the Nov. 9 bombings against three Amman hotels that killed 59 people, 30 of them in a Jordanian-Palestinian wedding party held in a ballroom. Jordan has seen a series of large demonstrations denouncing the attack, including one on Friday. Thousands marched through downtown Amman, chanting "Al-Zarqawi, you coward," and carrying banners that read "Al-Zarqawi, you are the enemy of God." Contributors to militant Web forums â who generally lionize al-Zarqawi and praise his attacks â criticized the bombings. In the militant leader's hometown of Zarqa, east of Amman, many residents denounced him, saying he has lost any sympathy he had there.
#2
The Mideast's most feared terrorist sought Friday to justify a triple suicide bombing on Amman hotels that killed 59 civilians, insisting he did not deliberately target a wedding party and appealing to Muslims to believe that he was not attacking them.
Sure enough, @sshole. Now sell that to the Iraqis.
Still, the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi made clear he was not about to stop the bloodshed
That's more like it.
MEMO TO ISLAM: Sort of ironic isn't it that more Muslims have died at the hands of other Muslims than have ever perished at the hands of any crusaders? Keep on killing each other in droves and save us the trouble, emkay? You violent b@stards deserve each other, in spades.
#3
The Mideast's most feared terrorist sought Friday to justify a triple suicide bombing on Amman hotels that killed 59 civilians, insisting he did not deliberately target a wedding party and appealing to Muslims to believe that he was not attacking them.
Sure enough, @sshole. Now sell that to the Iraqis.
Still, the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi made clear he was not about to stop the bloodshed
That's more like it.
MEMO TO ISLAM: Sort of ironic isn't it that more Muslims have died at the hands of other Muslims than have ever perished at the hands of any crusaders? Keep on killing each other in droves and save us the trouble, emkay? You violent b@stards deserve each other, in spades.
#4
You have to double click on the image title. If you're using IE it'll insert the image where your cursor is in the text box. Otherwise, it'll ignore you.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 12:40 Comments ||
Top||
GAZA CITY - Thousands of Palestinians rallied in the centre of Gaza City on Friday to voice solidarity with Syriaâs beleaguered government, in a demonstration organised by the radical Islamic Jihad movement. The protestors packed into the streets around the Gaza City seat of the Palestinian parliament following the main weekly Muslim prayers, chanting slogans urging the regime in Damascus to âresist American pressureâ.
âThese protestors have came to show their support for our brothers in Syria and their indignation at the arrogant American policy of blackmail,â Nafez Azzam, one of the main leaders of Jihad, told the crowd. He urged all Arabs and Muslims to âface up to the American offensive against our region as the fall of Damascus will herald the fall of Beirut, Cairo and Riyadh.â
Riyadh too? Oh, I am so-o-o there.
Amid cries of âDeath to America and âDeath to Israelâ, the protestors burned the two countriesâ flags.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Always count on the Paleos to do stupid things, regardless of what the consequences might turn out to be.
#2
thank God for those SUPERGENES Bomb-a-rama, they're expressing extinction as fast as they can.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
11/19/2005 3:09 Comments ||
Top||
#3
LOL. Indeed, the Paleos are the barbaric trainwreck at the intersection of RFSP Blvd, Cognitive Dissonance Way, Hate Machine⢠Pkwy, Bombs 'R Us Drive, IslamoNutz Causeway, and the KleptoKillers Turnpike.
#5
I thought rats were supposed to *flee* a sinking ship. Not surprising, of course. The Palestinians have become the Wile E. Coyote of nationalist movements. Death to America! Death to Israel! Beep Beep.
The ruling Palestinian party, Fatah, failed to hold scheduled primaries Friday, blaming infighting and extortion attempts by militants. While the delay was not expected to affect the timing of parliamentary elections Jan. 25, it could further alienate a young guard hoping to bring new blood into the party. Fatah was trying to unite to face the strong challenge of the Islamic Hamas group at the polls.
Ahmed Diek, coordinator of the Fatah elections committee, said the 11 voting districts in the West Bank and five in the Gaza Strip still have until Nov. 25 to hold primaries. Party bosses will appoint candidates for districts that do not hold primaries by then, he said. Fatah legislator Qadoura Fares, a member of the young guard, said he fears Fatah leaders, representing the older generation, might try to keep out newcomers and thus force them to run as independents.
The primaries were postponed in part because armed Fatah groups were threatening to disrupt the polls unless they were paid off with plum civil service jobs, Diek said. "Some of them are trying to blackmail the Fatah leadership, demanding Palestinian Authority jobs in return for allowing elections to be held," he said. "Others have reservations about the way Fatah is organizing elections."
Diek said 465 candidates had registered in the West Bank, to run for the territory's 80 parliamentary seats. Registration continued in Gaza. The town of Jericho will hold its primaries Monday, he said, while other West Bank districts are expected to vote on Nov. 25, Diek said. He said political problems and lawlessness were expected to prevent the West Bank towns of Qalqiliya and Tulkarem and the Gaza districts from meeting the deadline.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Love the train graphic Fred, but I would have gone for the the surprise meter....
#6
trouble with the Diebold machines? Oh....I see, armed factions keeping groups away. "That doesn't measure up the Republican efforts in _______ state"
Ready for Kos kid fill in
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/19/2005 22:31 Comments ||
Top||
The US State Department has warned Americans that Indonesia is unsafe for them and other Westerners in the aftermath of an Indonesian police raid in which one of the most-wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia died. "The US Embassy reminds Americans in Indonesia of the continued serious security threat to Americans and other Westerners in Indonesia," the statement said. It said the State Department "continues to warn US citizens to defer nonessential travel to Indonesia". The warning said examples of the heightened threat included discovery in last week's raid of 35 bombs, prepared and ready to use.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Via JihadWatch
Iran on Friday took the highly unusual Unusual in that the NYT usually prints enemy propaganda for free, but times are tough at the NYT. step of running a costly full-page ad in the New York Times defending its nuclear activities and accusing the United States and European allies of creating an "unnecessary crisis."
As U.S. and other key officials met in London to discuss efforts to force Tehran to abandon what they believe is a weapons-related program, Iran in its advertisement issued a detailed rebuttal of all charges and said it resumed uranium conversion this week because Britain, France and Germany, under U.S. pressure, violated a 2004 agreement.
But Iran also held out the possibility of resolving the dispute, saying "a diplomatic and negotiated framework is the desired approach for a successful outcome and Iran is ready to consider all constructive and effective proposals."
Central to Tehran's argument is the assertion that it is pursuing only peaceful nuclear energy -- not nuclear weapons -- despite concealing its activities for nearly two decades.
"In fact, the predominant view among Iranian decision-makers is that development, acquisition or possession of nuclear weapons would only undermine Iranian security," read the ad, headlined "An Unnecessary Crisis" and issued in the name of Iran's U.N. mission.
Tehran suspended nuclear activities at its facility at Isfahan under a November 2004 deal with Britain, France and Germany -- the EU3 -- but resumed work at the plant in August, prompting the trio to suspend negotiations.
Iranian officials confirmed on Friday that it had resumed uranium conversion at the plant this week.
While not illegal, the new activity signals Iranian defiance before next Thursday's meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors, which could send Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.
A new IAEA report on Friday disclosed that Iran had turned over a document containing partial instructions for making the core of a nuclear weapon. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
11/19/2005 10:57 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Obviously the Moolahs know our weakest link.
Posted by: Captain America ||
11/19/2005 11:11 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Central to Tehran's argument is the assertion that it is pursuing only peaceful nuclear energy -- not nuclear weapons -- despite concealing its activities for nearly two decades.
"We hid it, 'cause we knew you'd get angry if you found out."
Iran has turned over to UN inspectors instructions for assembling a key part of an atomic weapon, a diplomat familiar with a confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency says. The diplomat on Friday described it to Reuters as a "cookbook" for making the enriched uranium metal core of an atomic weapon. "Also among the documents was one ... on the casting and machining of enriched, natural and depleted uranium into hemispherical forms," the report by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to the IAEA board of governors, seen by Reuters, said. The Iranians told the IAEA they had received the document from individuals linked to the nuclear black market set up by Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.
Iran stated that the document had been provided on the initiative of nuclear black marketeers, not at its own request, the report said. Although this document shows how to make a vital part of an atomic weapon, there are many other parts it would need in order to produce an entire weapon, the diplomat added. The report said Iran should provide information and documentation on obtaining dual-use equipment and allow visits to various sites, including a site called Lavisan that the US says was used for sensitive nuclear work but which was bulldozed before IAEA inspectors could visit it.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Iran stated that the document had been provided on the initiative of nuclear black marketeers, not at its own request, the report said.
Which is of course why they kept it rather than running it through the shredder ....
Posted by: john ||
11/19/2005 9:36 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I'm surprised just how little press this revelation is getting. Here is Iran caught redhanded with the blueprints for an atomic bomb and the press are as quiet as church mice. What will it take: Saudi Arabia buying a full page ad in the New York Times to get the media class's typing fingers a'wiggling? It seems those who would be most affected can't be bothered to care.
Posted by: ed ||
11/19/2005 12:02 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Isn't the time long overdue for Iran to have a little "work accident"?
Looks like the IAF have gotten an F-16 aggressor squadron to tarin against
Kalaikunda, November 17
Singapore is hiring the facilities of the vast Air Force station here to train its air force. This is for the first that a foreign country would be utilising Indian facilities to conduct their own training programmes and also pay for the same.
âSingapore is sending eight F-16 aircraft in January for carrying out their training here,â Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, Air Marshal F.M. Major told The Tribune here today. âThey will stay here for about two weeks and carry out training exercises,â he added.
This would be the second time in three months that Kalaikunda, which was built during the World War II, would be hosting F-16s on its tarmac. This month, US Air Force F-16s are operating from this base during Cope India 05, a joint Indo-US air exercise.
Besides the Singapore Air Force following its own independent training agenda, joint exercises with the IAF are also scheduled. Singapore is a small country and hence has severe restrictions to carry out aerial maneuvers and firing air to air and air to ground weapons. It is in this context that it has approached the Indian Government.
The IAF air to ground range at Dega near Kalaikunda as well as the air to air range at Chandipur-on-Sea would be utilised for training purposes.
Singapore would pay the Indian Government for the use of airspace as well as facilities at the air base, including landing and parking charges. Besides rent for other infrastructural facilities, the country will also pay for fuel, lubricants and food etc.
Officers said the activities of the Singapore Air Force was not likely to affect the IAF own training schedule here.
Posted by: john ||
11/19/2005 17:27 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
Political life in Egypt will be âvery gloomyâ after the Muslim Brotherhood achieved major gains in the parliamentary elections the leftist Tagammu (Grouping) Party leader said on Wednesday. Dr. Rifat Said was commenting on his partyâs poor showing in the elections exclusively to Asharq al Awsat.
Only two candidates from the Tagammu Party won in the first round vote in Greater Cairo out of a total of 18 while the Brotherhood obtained 34. Al Said blamed the widespread use of illicit campaign money and the lack of punishment for bribery for his groupâs lack of success. He denounced the ruling National Democratic Party for not applying a ceiling on its campaign spending which, in turn, prompted independent and Muslim Brotherhood candidates to spend even more. He also held the Higher Electoral Committee and the security services responsible for this poor showing. The Committee failed to intervene to halt the overspending while the police stood idle as bribery was taking place out in the open, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse is to be sworn in as president after a close-fought election campaign in which he pledged to take a tough line against Tamil Tiger rebels. Rajapakse, a socialist who celebrated his 60th birthday on Friday, received 4.88 million votes, beating market-friendly Ranil Wickremesinghe who polled 4.69 million votes. "The prime minister, under the election act... is duly elected as president of Sri Lanka," said elections commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake.
With Rajapakse securing 50.3% of the vote, analaysts say the results dimmed hopes for peace process ending Sri Lanka's bloody civil war. He is due to be sworn in at a ceremony on Saturday, taking over from incumbent President Chandrika Kumaratunga, after which he is expected to name a prime minister and a new cabinet. News that the left-leaning Rajapakse had narrowly won saw the benchmark All Share Price index plunge 176 points, or 7% - the worst opening fall in two years. It lost another three points during the day's trading to close at 2325.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
A US state department official has approached a former Pakistani parliamentarian, known for his contacts with Islamic militants, to ask him to serve as a bridge between Washington, the Taliban and their Arab comrades, a source close to the former member of Pakistan's National Assembly Javed Ibrahim Paracha said. The Americans however have denied that any meeting took place between the visiting US official and Paracha.
Paracha confirmed his meeting with Karen Hughes, US under-secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs at the state department, and US military officials at Islamabadâs Serena Hotel last Friday but declined to give details. He said he would reveal details of what had transpired at the meeting in a couple of days. Following his meeting with US officials, he had put in a request to see Pakistan army Corps Commander Peshawar, Lieutenant-General Muhammad Hamid Khan, to discuss the US proposition, he said. The meeting took place on Thursday. He said that he shared with Hamid details of his meeting with the US officials and was now awaiting for a response from the federal government.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Army in Peshawar confirmed Parachaâs meeting with the corps commander but sought to play down its importance, saying the former parliamentarian was among several visitors to the Corps Headquarters. "It was a general call-on day and he was one of the many who had requested and had a meeting with the corps commander," the spokesman said. He did not volunteer anything more about the subject matter of the meeting.
The Americans, however, denied Hughesâ meeting with the former parliamentarian from Kohat. "No meeting with local politicians from that region took place at all. There was nothing in the schedule that would suggest such a meeting. I cannot confirm this," Peter Kovach, spokesman at the US embassy in Islamabad told the Pakistani daily Dawn. An angry Paracha, confronted with the US denial, shot back and said he would name the other US officials present at the meeting and reveal details of the talks in a couple of days. The former parliamentarian, however, said that the visiting Americans also had a separate meeting with the former director-general of Pakistan's intelliegence agency, ISI, General Hamid Gul.
The source close to Paracha said the US team had asked him to serve as a bridge between them, the Taliban and other Arab militants fighting an insurgency against the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. "The Americans wanted Mr Paracha to talk to the Taliban and possibly the Arabs in Afghanistan to stop suicide bombings," the source said. He said the Americans told the ex-parliamentarian that they had tried asking former Taliban foreign minister Wakeel Ahmad Mutawakil and the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, to talk to their former colleagues. But the Taliban spurned the US overture due to their lack of trust in their former colleagues, the source said. "The Americans said they then forwarded Mr Parachaâs name as a contact person and the Taliban agreed," the source claimed. The Paracha's claim could not be independently verified.
The former member of the National Assembly, who is a lawyer by profession, shot to prominence when he filed a writ petition in the Peshawar High Court to challenge the extradition of over 100 al-Qaeda militants caught inside Pakistan while fleeing Tora Bora in Afghanistan, soon after the ousting of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Sounds like a bit of self-agrandizing by a big frog in a small pond. I'd guess he offered his services to the assistant deputy under-attache and was listened to politely.
Followup: (Boy, can I call 'em!)
I met US businessmen, not Hughes: Paracha Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Javed Ibrahim Paracha has said he met American businessmen and not US government officials on November 14 in Islamabad. Talking to Daily Times on Friday, Paracha said, âI met US businessmen who were visiting Pakistan in connection to the October 8 earthquake. There was no US government official at the meeting. I was told was that US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes was also staying at the same hotel. I did not meet her, but saw her from close.â
"Really! I could almost have touched the hem of her dress!"
He, however, gave no reason for changing the statement he made to Daily Times on Thursday. The âturnaroundâ comes on the heels of a telephone call to him from âAmerican officials in Islamabadâ on Friday. The US government has denied any official encounter with Paracha. âI met several American businessmen who did ask me to help the US âreconcileâ with Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in Afghanistan,â Paracha said, claiming, âThe businessmen sought my help against anti-American feelings and for a safe exit of US troops from Afghanistan under an agreement.â
Posted by: john ||
11/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
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.
STOCKHOLM - Sweden is investigating an Iraqi man for crimes committed before US-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein, a state prosecutor said on Friday. The prosecutor declined to give any details about the man under investigation, but a regional newspaper quoted his lawyer as saying he was a former soldier who denied any crime.
Anti-war House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is blasting last night's 403 to 3 House vote in support of U.S. troops and their mission in Iraq, calling it "a disgrace."
President Bush on Saturday swatted down calls in Congress for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, saying that American military leaders believe that retreat now would be "a recipe for disaster."
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed on Friday growing calls for the United States to start withdrawing forces from Iraq, saying Iraq was several years behind Afghanistan as a secure country. 
Somalia - NE and Eastern Coast Thirty two incidents have been reported since March 15 2005. Heavily armed pirates are now attacking ships further away from the coast. Ships not making scheduled calls at Somali ports are advised to keep at least 200 nm from the Somali coast.
Iraqi Kurds will have no choice but to proclaim independence in the event of civil war in Iraq, 
GAZA CITY - Thousands of Palestinians rallied in the centre of Gaza City on Friday to voice solidarity with Syriaâs beleaguered government, in a demonstration organised by the radical Islamic Jihad movement. The protestors packed into the streets around the Gaza City seat of the Palestinian parliament following the main weekly Muslim prayers, chanting slogans urging the regime in Damascus to âresist American pressureâ.
The ruling Palestinian party, Fatah, failed to hold scheduled primaries Friday, blaming infighting and extortion attempts by militants. While the delay was not expected to affect the timing of parliamentary elections Jan. 25, it could further alienate a young guard hoping to bring new blood into the party. Fatah was trying to unite to face the strong challenge of the Islamic 
Iran has turned over to UN inspectors instructions for assembling a key part of an atomic weapon, a diplomat familiar with a confidential report by the 
Political life in Egypt will be âvery gloomyâ after the 
Sri Lankan Prime Minister 
A US state department official has approached a former Pakistani parliamentarian, known for his contacts with Islamic militants, to ask him to serve as a bridge between Washington, the Taliban and their Arab comrades, a source close to the former member of Pakistan's National Assembly 
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Javed Ibrahim Paracha has said he met American businessmen and not US government officials on November 14 in Islamabad. Talking to Daily Times on Friday, Paracha said, âI met US businessmen who were visiting Pakistan in connection to the October 8 earthquake. There was no US government official at the meeting. I was told was that US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes was also staying at the same hotel. I did not meet her, but saw her from close.â
