Knock-kneed with fear, the young prisoner perched on the edge of his chair in the windowless Afghan intelligence office. Eyes bloodshot and hands trembling, he blurted out his story. Abdullah had reached the end of a pitifully short career as a Taliban fighter. He had been arrested hours earlier, just 10 days after signing up to the insurgency. But the 25-year-old with a soft face and a neat beard had something unusual that aroused the intelligence agents' curiosity. "I come from Iran," he said in a quavering voice, wringing his hands nervously. "They told me the Americans had invaded Afghanistan and I should go and fight jihad. But I was cheated. Now I am very sorry that I ever left."
As a hurricane of Taliban violence tears across Afghanistan - the latest suicide bombing killed 10 people in Kabul on Saturday - accusations of foreign support have centred on Pakistan, where fighters can shelter, organise and rearm. But recently Afghan and western officials have started to detect a second, albeit far smaller, stream of support from within Afghanistan's other powerful neighbour, Iran.
Military and diplomatic sources said they had received numerous reports of Iranians meeting tribal elders in Taliban-influenced areas, bringing offers of military or more often financial support for the fight against foreign forces. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the meetings took place in Helmand province, where more than 3,000 British troops are based, and neighbouring Nimroz, a lawless desert province bordering eastern Iran.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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"As a hurricane of Taliban violence tears across Afghanistan..."
Guardian Dark and Stormy Night purple prose. Look, NATO noobs, you're new to the fighting. Your MSM doesn't know shit. It's not new and it's not resurgent and it's not a hurricane, it's just a steady stream of suckers of varying quality and experience from all sorts of Islamic shitholes, like your knock-kneed Abdullah, being fed into the meat grinder that the US cranked alone for years before youse guys showed up. Fuck off, Guardian.
#2
Way too easy. So what if Iran's pumping cannon fodder into Afghanistan? This is no different from what they've been doing in Iraq. Same shit, different compass point.
As with any sewer plumbing problem, go back to the choke point and find the clean-out access above it. IRAN. Plain and simple, Iran. Kick some Tehran-based mullah ass for game over set and match point.
Taking Iran off line will reduce sand in the gears so much where smart Americans will party in the streets.
I promise to Rantburg that if America bombs Iran, I will perform a solid hour of live saxophone music on my front porch and serve some barbecued lamb on the side.
KABUL: A government-appointed commission found that 53 civilians were killed in a nearly two-week NATO-led operation in a Taliban stronghold last month, the head of the team said on Sunday. President Hamid Karzai appointed the commission to investigate civilian casualties in Operation Medusa in the southern province of Kandahar after its military phase wrapped up mid-September with commanders declaring success. Provincial authorities had previously said 13 civilians died. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said around 1,000 rebels were killed and others were forced to retreat. Our findings show that 53 people have been martyred, nine others have been wounded, eight mosques have been destroyed and a number of peoples houses and orchards have been destroyed, the head of the commission told AFP.
The information was gathered from victims, their relatives, villagers, provincial authorities and security forces, said Moyahedin Baloch, who is also a religious adviser to Karzai. The national broadcaster RTA reported that Baloch had told the president that most of the casualties occurred because the Taliban used civilian homes as cover, forcing troops to return fire into the houses. The president condemned the Talibans use of civilians as human shields, the television station said.
ISAF and Afghan authorities had warned residents to leave the area of operation Panjwayi, Pashmul and Zhari which are about 35 kilometres west of Kandahar city before the fighting began.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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I imagine that a significant percentage of the dead could be fairly described as "dual-use".
#3
Our findings show that 53 people have been martyred, nine others have been wounded, eight mosques have been destroyed and a number of peoples houses and orchards have been destroyed, the head of the commission told AFP.
Icing on the cake.
... most of the [civilian] casualties occurred because the Taliban used civilian homes as cover
CAIRO - The Arab League has proposed an international meeting with the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations to talk about peace in Somalia.
You got the EU, the UN, the African Union and the Arab League -- the best international losers all coming together to bring about peace. That's gonna be exciting.
A League official said Secretary-General Amr Moussa wanted the meeting to take place before the end of October to help bring peace to Somalia, where Islamist fighters in control of the capital threaten a transitional governments tenuous efforts to establish its authority over the country. We are proposing to hold a meeting that would be jointly prepared between the Arab League and the African Union, Moussa aide Hesham Youssef said.
The Islamists who control Mogadishu have expanded their influence in recent months, effectively flanking the Western-backed interim government, based in the provincial town of Baidoa, on three sides.
Youssef said attendees would consult on how to move forward in relation to the situation in Somalia. The United Nations, European Union and IGAD a peace mediation body made up of several east African nations would be invited to attend. It will not be focused on one particular aspect of the situation but the whole situation in general, Youssef said.
'cause the whole situation in general is eminently solvable.
Youssef said the Arab League meeting would likely be held in Cairo, which hosts the 22-member Arab League. Somalia is a member of the Arab League.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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"And we're not going to invite America! 'Cause they're icky! And they'd insist on actually doing something!!"
#2
The Arab League has proposed an international meeting with the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations to talk about peace in Somalia.
And forget about Darfur
#3
I didn't think they'd be holding it in Mogadishu. Lousy restaurants, emaciated skanky whores and, oh yeah, some Islamic Courts maniac might blow you away for not being Muslim enough. It's not like they'll accomplish anything so you might as well head on down to Cairo for topshelf booze and broads, where you stand a decent chance of not get blown up, and have a good time. Their version of the "junket".
CAIRO, Egypt Ramadan is a time of fasting and prayer, but it is also a time for overindulgence. Once the fast is broken each day, many sip tea and feast on syrupy sweets while lazing in front of the TV.
That is why the holiest month in the Muslim calendar is akin to the sweeps weeks in the United States and why satellite and local channels spend the year producing their most compelling TV serials to fiercely compete for what are essentially captive evening viewers.
And in these turbulent times, Ramadan television programming has found a mother lode of material in the biggest issue of day: Islamic militancy.
An example is "Tash Ma Tash," a wildly popular Saudi TV series that is deploying satire to poke fun at the fundamentalists.
Staff on the show have received death threats for what some consider brazen impertinence; meanwhile, senior sheikhs issued a religious edict which deemed it was sinful to watch "Tash MaTash" after an episode skewered religious judges for working only three hours a day. Another episode was heavily criticized by clerics and others when it ridiculed the practice of requiring women to be accompanied by a male relative or a husband when dining out.
#4
It all depends on what side they're cheering for.
They're laughing at inept terrorists. That's about like laughing at the Nazis on Hogan's Heroes: it doesn't make the world any safer from Nazis.
Yes and no. As Mel Brooks once said:
"I was never crazy about Hitler; If you stand on a soapbox and trade rhetoric with a dictator you never win. That's what they do so well: they seduce people. But if you ridicule them, bring them down with laughter, they can't win. You show how crazy they are."
Let's hope that's what the Saudis are doing. "Tash Ma Tash" is enraging the clerics and morals police, so they should be doing something right. Me? I think we really ought to stick with bullets and bombs for now. We can laugh and point all we want, but killing terrorists dead is the best policy.
Law enforcers killed 277 people across the country in last nine months of whom 224 met their end in 'crossfire', says a report of Odhikar, a rights organisation.
It keeps me busy
Among the victims, 139 were killed by Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), 120 by police, six by BDR, four by Detective Branch (DB) of police, four by coastguards, three jointly by coastguards and forest guards and one by forest guards. Besides, 48 people died in jail custody and 11 others in thana custody during the same period.
For political reasons, Odhikar in its report, based on stories published in 14 leading national dailies and their own investigation, said a total of 243 people were killed, 14400 injured, 3595 arrested and 45 abducted across the country.
In Chittagong Hill Tracts, 24 people were killed, 271 injured, 34 arrested, 21 abducted, three raped and three others went missing.
During this period, one journalist was killed and 138 others injured, apart from 12 attacked, 35 assaulted, four arrested, 79 received death threats while cases were lodged against 95. Besides, a press club, two printing houses and two newspaper offices were attacked.
The report said 521 women were raped in last nine months across the country. Of them 104 were killed after rape and 12 committed suicide after being violated.
Besides, 122 people including 14 children and 78 women fell victims to acid violence while 275 people faced dowry-related violence and of them 205 were killed for dowry, 55 were tortured, five received acid burn injuries and seven committed suicide.
As many as 813 children also faced torture and 271 of them were killed, 180 raped, 113 injured, 72 kidnapped, 14 sustained acid burnt, seven arrested, 115 went missing and 41 took their lives.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/02/2006 09:14 ||
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Law enforcers killed 277 people across the country in last nine months of whom 224 met their end in 'crossfire'
Step up enforcement, men:
The report said 521 women were raped in last nine months across the country. Of them 104 were killed after rape and 12 committed suicide after being violated.
Besides, 122 people including 14 children and 78 women fell victims to acid violence while 275 people faced dowry-related violence and of them 205 were killed for dowry, 55 were tortured, five received acid burn injuries and seven committed suicide.
A 16-year-old Asian youth was stabbed in the arm as disturbances involving 200 people flared following attacks on cars parked at a mosque. Police said the attacks were racially motivated, and extra officers were patrolling the Avenham area of Preston. Bricks and concrete blocks were thrown at cars of people attending the mosque. Chief Supt Mike Barton said: "These problems are being caused by a small group of criminals in the area intent on intimidating the local community."
The stabbed youth was not seriously injured and there were no arrests, police said. The disturbance follows the death of an Asian student in July after a fight between up to 40 Asian and white youths nearby, which police described as a "suspected race attack".
About 100 officers were called to the Jamia Masjid mosque when disorder broke out on Sunday evening on Clarendon Street. Ch Supt Barton said there was a growing element of criminal, anti-social behaviour in the area and those responsible needed ridding from the community.
He said: "This incident of stone throwing is an example of that, and as you can expect, people are unhappy with being victimised. "[On Sunday] a number of cars were damaged outside the mosque and people who were worshipping inside came out to see what was going on. Not surprisingly, they have been very angry."
He said because of the large number of people on the streets, police decided to deploy more officers to offer reassurance and prevent disorder. Patrols are being boosted and police are using video cameras to gather evidence. They are warning that people who launch reprisals will be arrested.
In July Shezan Umarji, 20, was killed on the Callon Estate, one and a half miles away from Avenham.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
10/02/2006 14:30 ||
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sounds like somebody's had enough Islamic BS, huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/02/2006 15:36 Comments ||
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Some "youth" are fed up with islam and dealing with it as they can. Thats not racisim, racism is based on race, islam is a religion. One would not say attacks on NAZIs were racist, but that is what is done if the targets happens to be muslim. We have civilizations that can't coexist no matter how moderate their members comming into conflict. Expect this to increase.
#3
Smashing legally parked cars because their drivers are in a nearby mosque worshipping is just not acceptable behavior. Neither is stabbing some young person for being upset about it. The perps, presumably Anglo-Saxon youths, need to be prosecuted - for vandalism, assault, etc. (not 'hate crime'). To fail to do so is to forfeit the ethical 'high ground'.
That said, Muslims violating the laws must also be prosecuted. Inciting to riot, issuing of threats of bodily harm, etc. are usually crimes. They happen in the Muslim community every day but nobody says anything.
#4
That's just it, Glenmore. There ISN'T any type of response from the authorities against Muslim aggression. The police and the politicians in Britain are spreadeagled face down in front of these Muzzy murderers. There are still real Britons over there and I don't expect their patience will last forever, no matter how supine their Government may be. I think this incident is just the beginning of what will be a very strong backlash.
Posted by: mac ||
10/02/2006 21:13 Comments ||
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Not condoning what the teenagers did, but if the authorities will not protect you and muzzy get to do what they wish then you are going to get lynch mobs and it will get uglier.
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent, The Telegraph
A paratrooper wounded in Afghanistan was threatened by a Muslim visitor to the British hospital where he is recovering.
Seriously wounded soldiers have complained that they are worried about their safety after being left on wards that are open to the public at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham.
On one occasion a member of the Parachute Regiment, still dressed in his combat uniform after being evacuated from Afghanistan, was accosted by a Muslim over the British involvement in the country. "You have been killing my Muslim brothers in Afghanistan," the man said during a tirade.
Because the soldier was badly injured and could not defend himself, he was very worried for his safety, sources told The Daily Telegraph.
A relative of the Para said the man had twice walked on to the ward where two other soldiers and four civilians were being treated without once being challenged by staff.
"It's not the best way to treat our returning men," he said. "They are nervous that these guys might attack them and, despite being paratroopers, they cannot defend themselves because of their injuries."
Just what Code Pink and the rest of the moonbats would do to our guys if we let them.
Soldiers on operations say they would rather receive a more serious injury and go to the top American military hospital in Ramstein, Germany, than end up in a NHS hospital.
They now half jokingly refer to getting "a Boche rather than a Blighty" in reference to the wounds that would send them home. Ramstein has an outstanding unit for brain surgery, and neurological intensive care beds in Britain are in short supply. "The blokes see it that if you are unlucky you get wounded and go to the UK at the mercy of the NHS, but if you get a head wound you get sent to Ramstein in Germany where the US has an outstanding medical facility," said an officer serving in Afghanistan. . . .
In the past decade the seven military hospitals in Britain, Germany and Cyprus have been closed. The remaining military hospital at Haslar, Portsmouth, is expected to be sold to developers next year.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/02/2006 10:10 ||
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how about supplying big unfriendly security guards to beat the sh*t out of our muslim visitors, Code Pink, or any other unwelcome intruders
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/02/2006 10:25 Comments ||
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Very sad, and there should be an appropriate response; how about having a couple garrisoned paras watch the ward? Even armed only with sticks (weapons would be preferred, of course, not sure how PC-rotten official Britain would react to this), I'm sure they could put an end to this.
"You have been killing my Muslim brothers in Afghanistan,"
Shows well where his loyalty is, doesn't it? Especially since afghanistan is supposedly the good war.
#5
I'll come sit by his bed, with my trusty axehandle. Of course, that's going to mean extra work for the local hospital staff if I have to use it. Chances are that someone sitting there with what is obviously a weapon would send the muzzie sh$$ running for the john.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/02/2006 20:39 Comments ||
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North Korea proposed military talks with South Korea, a news report said Sunday. The North made the proposal to discuss military agreements already reached between the two sides, Yonhap news agency said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Yep, the Norks are definately losing.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/02/2006 19:12 Comments ||
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We need to talk about having talks about stuff we've agreed to talk about having already talked about.
Turkey's top general on Monday accused the Islamic-rooted ruling party of nurturing fundamentalism, in harsh comments that may indicate a renewed resolve by the military to force its way into the center of the country's political life.
Turkey's generals, who are empowered to defend the nation's secular traditions, have carried out three coups since 1971 and last pressured an Islamic government to quit less than a decade ago.
"Aren't there those who at every opportunity express the need to redefine secularism? Are they not in the most senior positions of the state?" Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said in a speech.
"If you cannot answer 'no' to these questions, then there is a threat of Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey, and every measure must be taken against this threat."
His comments appeared to be a direct response to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was quoted Monday as saying in the United States that Turkey faced "no threat of Islamic fundamentalism." Erdogan met Monday with President Bush in Washington for talks about Turkey's fight with autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels.
The military suspects the government is allowing a creeping Islamization in this predominantly Muslim country governed by strict secular laws that separate religion and state. It fears that if left unchecked, Islamic fundamentalism will lead to a theocracy like that in Iran under the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The government has appointed Islamic-minded officials to key civil posts, and governing party members have questioned the definition of secularism. Military leaders suspect the government is prioritizing an Islamic agenda over Turkey's bid for European Union membership.
But many Western observers including EU officials weighing Turkey's candidacy see the military as just as much a threat to democracy as Islamists. The generals are accused of promoting a dangerous breed of nationalism, advocating strict controls on civil liberties, and cracking down on Kurds.
Despite outside criticism, the military enjoys widespread veneration in Turkey a factor that complicates Erdogan's efforts to rein it in.
There was wide public support for the last military coup in 1980, which ended street fighting between leftist and right-wing militants. The military staged two other coups, in 1960 and 1971, and in 1997 pressured an Islamic government out of power.
In Ankara on Monday, few critics of the military could be found.
"The military is fulfilling its duty, they're not interfering with democracy at all," said Kenan Sayilgan, 34. "I expect them to make their voice heard more in the near future. They are just responding to the actions of the government."
Seeing EU membership as the final project in Turkey's modernization, the military grudgingly accepted reforms recommended by the 25-nation bloc that reduced its hold over the National Security Council, a forum of military and political leaders often used by generals to impose their will on the government.
However, the military has chafed at EU demands that it withdraw 40,000 troops from EU-member Cyprus and extend minority rights to Kurds.
Since taking office in 2002, Erdogan has spoken out against restrictions on wearing Islamic-style headscarfs in government offices and schools and bolstered religious schools. He tried to criminalize adultery before being forced to back down under intense EU pressure. Some party-run municipalities have taken steps to ban alcohol consumption.
The government has even inserted religious references in school text books such as claims that washing before Islamic prayers would increase the number of red blood cells.
"This example shows that it is worthwhile to be cautious against fundamentalism in this country," Sedat Ergin, editor-in-chief of daily Milliyet, told CNN-Turk television on Monday.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a staunch secularist, said Sunday that the government's actions were "rolling back" the gains of the secular republic.
Erdogan's party swept elections in 2002 and is still the leading contender next year, but he may find himself preoccupied with trying to contain the military's anger. He urged the military not to overstep legal boundaries set by the constitution, according to comments published Monday by the state-owned Anatolia news agency.
"The Turkish armed forces must act according to this definition. It cannot step outside of that," Erdogan said Sunday in a speech at Georgetown University.
Buyukanit dismissed criticism that he was threatening democracy.
"Which action of the military is undemocratic?" Buyukanit asked. "I am a soldier, and I am carrying out the duties given to me by laws. As soldiers, we have nothing to do with politics. However, if there are those who are disturbed by our assessments on security and the regime, it is up to them." If the Turkish military does take over the country again, we can but hope that *this* time, they *really* purge their Islamists.
Just when you thought the Y'urp-peon military couldn't become weaker and more irrelevant ...
LONDON - European nations have been urged to cut the size of their armed forces to take account of competition for young recruits from the private sector in a report that is expected to be endorsed by EU defence ministers on Tuesday, a newspaper said.
You'd think that on a continent with a core unemployment rate of 10 to 12 percent that 'competition' for young workers wouldn't be that strong.
Mondays edition of the Financial Times said the European Defence Agency document warned that the cost of personnel is expected to rise sharply in the next 20 years when the average European will be aged 45 and employers from the private sector will compete with the military to attract young recruits.
The downward spiral all comes together -- weak economies, below-replacement birthrates, bounding immigration, turning away from faith and hope, living for the moment -- Europe now simply won't, and can't, defend itself. One stiff breeze and it falls over.
It suggested greater outsourcing by the military to the private sector and the elimination of excess capacity. Do Europeans between them really need nearly 10,000 main battle tanks and nearly 3,000 combat aircraft, the paper, seen by the FT, said. It was compiled to examine the defence challenges in two decades time.
That's not the question: it's not how many battle tanks or aircraft. It is, simply, what's the challenge to Europe? What must Europe do to defend itself and have the leadership role in the world that its leaders say they want to have? A Union that won't and can't defend itself will become irrelevant.
The report will be looked at by defence ministers at an informal meeting in Finland starting Monday, the newspaper said. It urges joint European operations in future to be expeditionary, multinational and multi-instrumental directed at achieving security and stability more than victory.
There's a telling statement: 'victory' is too much a, well, American idea. Security and stability matter more if all you're doing is living for the moment.
The European Defence Agency was established under a Joint Action of the Council of Ministers on 12 July, 2004, to support the Member States and the Council in their effort to improve European defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the European Security and Defence Policy...
The Euros already have a 'multinational' military. It's called, NATO. It certainly isn't expeditionary given the unwillingness of the Euros to go to places like Afghanistan and Lebanon. I have no idea what 'multi-instrumental' means and I bet the writer didn't know either, but it's a soothing buzzword for the defense ministers. They'll talk about an expeditionary force which will amount to whatever a few A400s can carry. They'll talk about being 'multi-instrumental' so that the rubes in the press corps will have something to write about. Then they'll spend on the money on their black holes of pension funds and national health insurance, and hope that the Fighting 514th Belgian Heavy Barbershoppers can save them.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;,,,
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
#3
Demographically, keeping their military the same size would involve depending more an more on their Asian minorities to fill out the enlisted ranks. I don't know that an Asian military trained in Europe would be a good idea.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
10/02/2006 0:37 Comments ||
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#4
yrup
Posted by: Captain America ||
10/02/2006 0:41 Comments ||
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Dr. Steve---Comments right on the mark. Europe needs to define the threats and needs w/r/t defense, then the military types, size, and all elso derives from the threats and needs. The rest of what they are doing now is just a bureaucrat's mad hatter's tea party.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/02/2006 2:28 Comments ||
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#6
But tea parties are so much more fun than actually thinking and planning and stuff, Alaska Paul.
/No, of course I don't mean that. If I did, I wouldn't hang out at Rantburg. Fine. Let them fall to the barbarians then. We'll just have to recolonize the emptied Europe later, with the refugees that flee to our shores.
#7
Demographically they could increase the size of the military and decrease unemployment and even decrease their Muslim immigrant worker rate if they actually made the unemployed and underemployed work for their supper. Plus, how much vacation do they get? I would like that kind of labor deal too, but it needs to be recognized that it comes with strings attached.
#8
That core (corps?) of unemployed wouldn't join the military because they're on the dole - why take a job (and a tough one at that) when you can freeload?
US out of EUrope - now!
#9
..So let me get this straight - having to compete with a smaller pool of applicants, instead of increasing pay and benefits they cut back on the number of people they need.
Brilliant.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/02/2006 9:00 Comments ||
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#10
Those 10,000 tanks will come in handy during the final surrender and conversion to Islam. Nice gift to present their new masters.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
10/02/2006 9:09 Comments ||
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#12
After Europe's next fall, the most likely scenario is another American bailout. Having saved Europe's ass repeatedly in the past, I'm afraid we're destined to do it again.
Oh, and we'll get about as much gratitude for it as we now enjoy.
#13
Spot, life in European militaries ain't that hard. German 19-year-olds have to do 12-18 months of compulsory military service (or they can opt for civil service in a hospital or something). My German ex-boyfriend and his younger brother went the military route, and spent that time drinking beer, watching porn, and generally goofing off. Had a blast. Biggest issue was the color coding on the epaulettes and berets -- these days, German tank crews wear pink. Kinda says it all.
As for Europe's future -- "one stiff breeze and it falls over" -- I couldn't agree more. In fact, I wonder why a couple hundred armed jihadis don't just storm the EU "cockpit" in Brussels, and demand the keys to the kingdom. Maybe coordinate it with a few train bombings to show they really mean business. By the time the EUnuchs figured out what to do, it would be over, and Europe would belong to the Dar al-Islam. I can only guess that internal bickering is the only reason they don't go for it.
#15
In fact, I wonder why a couple hundred armed jihadis don't just storm the EU "cockpit" in Brussels, and demand the keys to the kingdom. Maybe coordinate it with a few train bombings to show they really mean business. By the time the EUnuchs figured out what to do, it would be over, and Europe would belong to the Dar al-Islam. I can only guess that internal bickering is the only reason they don't go for it.
#17
It is interesting that, during the Cold War, lots of "sophisticated" experts claimed stability was the key. Then this crazy cowboy named Ronald Reagan decided to go for victory. 10 years later the Soviet Bloc had disappeared.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
10/02/2006 14:24 Comments ||
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#18
German tank crews have always worn pink piping. Black uniforms with pink piping.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
10/02/2006 15:19 Comments ||
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#19
Really, DB? I didn't know that. Pink berets too? I mean, we're talkin cotton candy pink.
In today's Sinktrap, Custer provides us a valuable illustration of the importance of the autonomic nervous system: without it, some people would be too fucking stupid to breathe...
#23
Actually, custer, I believe you missed the whole point. It's not about bringing some Europeans "home". It's about the forces at "home" and the future Muzzie battles at "home" in Europe. And it pains me to think that once again Americans are going to be called to rescue the innocents of Europe from another massive European mess. Have time for a carbeque before heading up to Little Bighorn, custer?
#24
I know, why don't ranburgers make up the numbers and bring some europeans home.
Right wing Neo-cons and Muzzies fighting - hopefully you will take each other out.
Oh I forgot you need to be here writing pointless drivel. If you are that worried get yourself over to muzzieland and take some out, or do you think they will take you out...
BRUSSELS - The European Union hopes to reach an agreement with the United States on a new pact on sharing of airline passenger data next Friday, the European Commission said on Sunday.
US and European negotiators failed on Saturday to reach a deal to share air passenger data before an existing pact expired, but both sides said they would try to reach an agreement quickly.
A Commission statement said a draft agreement sent to the European side by US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Saturday may be discussed by EU justice and home affairs ministers in Luxembourg next Friday, in the hope of having an agreement the same day.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Book now for the QE2! or to change flights in Canada.
And when it comes to bias, they're the experts.
It was the best birthday present Fox News could have asked for: a juicy on-air punch-up with Bill Clinton. The former president agreed to appear on America's brashest 24-hour news channel a few days ago. Within minutes, the interview had become a slanging match, with Clinton telling interviewer Chris Wallace: "You did Fox's bidding on this show. You did your nice little conservative hit job on me." Clearly agitated, Clinton added: "You've got that little smirk on your face and you think you're so clever."
Result! More controversy for the channel; another liberal seemingly Seemingly? floundering after a pounding from one of Rupert Murdoch's anchors.
Fox News Channel is 10 years old this week and, though ratings are not as high as they were, there is little doubt that the channel - hated by the Democrats, demonised by leftwing bloggers and worshipped by the right - is a success story. With its in-your-face attitude, melodramatic "breaking news" whooshes and sexy urgency, Fox is America's number one cable news channel, a title it claimed from CNN four years ago. As a result, it is highly profitable: according to the most recent accounts of parent company News Corporation, its operating income is up 25% on last year. Unlike a certain New York newspaper we could mention.
What infuriates Fox's critics is the fact that the network - run by Roger Ailes, a one-time strategist to Presidents Nixon, Reagan and the elder George Bush - continually repeats its slogan "fair and balanced" while broadcasting output its critics claim is blatantly pro-Republican.
Such critics do appear to have ammunition. For example, what fair-and-balanced on-screen caption did Fox News use a few years back to describe the fact that more than a million people had taken to the streets of London to protest against the Iraq war? "March Madness." I don't get it. What's snarky about that?
Meanwhile, the network's Washington bureau is so closely aligned with the Bush administration that, according to someone ... the dreaded unanmed source
... who has worked there, it is known as "White House West".
So is the station as biased as its critics claim? MediaGuardian set out to conduct a "fair and balanced" investigation. Which is about like Comrade Stalin conducting a fair and balanced investigation of capitalism.
Alas, we were not helped by the fact that one side of the argument - Fox itself - refused to take part in the debate once it was explained that we would also be seeking opinions from outside the organisation.
The case for the defence thus falls to radio presenter Nick Ferrari, a Brit who ran a local Fox-affiliate station in New York in the early 90s and now is a presenter on LBC 97.3 in London. "Do they show bias? Yes of course they do - and it's fantastic," says Ferrari. "They show bias in a patriotic way to counter a never-ending sea of dissent, lies and anti-government crap that swims around much of liberal America." Patriotism!! ohmigod!!
Britain should follow America's example and allow TV, like newspapers, to deliver the news with a point of view. "What's the danger?" he asks. "Are you saying that people are so damn thick that they watch Fox News and they are automatically going to be brainwashed?" I'd say Mr. Ferrari acquitted himself well.
Posted by: Matt ||
10/02/2006 13:06 ||
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#3
Nope, nope, nope....There's regular people, then there's them conservatives. The press, as we all know, is one of the regular folks - jes' folks - so anyone who disagrees must be wonna dem right-wing rascals.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/02/2006 14:13 Comments ||
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#4
%80 of the political donations from Murdoc and FoxNews & its employees go to the Democratic Party!
#10
3dc - But since 95-100% of similar contributions from the other MSM outlets go to the Democrats Fox is biased Republican at only 80% Democrat. The 'norm' is 95-100%, so by definition anything less is biased. (BTW, I read that article too somewhere, but couldn't find it again to comment here - where was it?)
#11
The folks I see on Fox have a pretty varied outlook. Anyone who thinks that Shephard Smith is a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy has a truly twisted outlook. What I do see on the Fox segments that I routinely watch is a lack of anti-Bush vitriol. Maybe that makes Chris Wallace a Neo-Con to a reader of the Daily Kos, but I bet if you asked him you would find that Chris probably thinks that government ought to solve peoples' problems. He is certainly not a conservative, but because he acts and asks rationally, he gets a conservative tag from folks that think Chris Matthews is a centrist.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
10/02/2006 23:11 Comments ||
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#1
American Hiroshima(s)/New 9-11's > only
"sufficient" enuff to induce = force America into geopol retreat + isolationism. America = Amerika will not be destroyed - you know, why the ME = WORLD vv Radical Islam, and why the Commies/
Chicoms wanna politely but necessarily liquidate 200Milyuhn or more Amerikans + take over 1/2 or more of CONUS. BEAVER AND MARYANNE, ITS [SUPPOSED TO BE] JUST A LIMITED ATTACK AGAINST OUR OWN COUNTRY.
The daughter of disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist AQ Khan has criticised claims made by President Pervez Musharraf in his autobiography.
Daddy's little girl speaks..
In her first statement since her father's arrest in 2004, Dina Khan said she wanted to set the record straight. She said suggestions that her father asked her to go public on Pakistan's nuclear secrets were "ludicrous".
"He told me to threaten Pervez with their release. It's called "extortion". Get your facts straight."
Dr Khan was put under house arrest after admitting passing nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya. His arrest followed a tense period in which US pressure on Pakistan to act against Dr Khan was building.
But moving against Dr Khan was tricky, not least because he remained intensely popular in parts of Pakistan thanks to his role in building Pakistan's own nuclear bomb. He also knew a lot of secrets about the country, including who at the top might have known about his illicit activities passing on technology. It has long been assumed that one of the reasons he has never been put on trial - or interrogated by the CIA - was because of who he might be able to implicate.
Yup, that's what we think.
In his book, President Musharraf said that Dr Khan sent a letter to his daughter, Dina, asking her to "go public on Pakistan's nuclear secrets" through British journalists. Now, Dina Khan has hit back. In a statement provided to the BBC, she says that Gen Musharraf's claims are "ludicrous".
Instead, she claims that the letter was for her mother, Dr Khan's wife, and gave details of what had really happened. These details were intended to be released in the event of something happening to Dr Khan. "The letter gave his version of what actually transpired and requested my mother release those details in the event of my father being killed or made to disappear." She says the letter mentioned "people and places" but contained no nuclear blueprints or information.
Dina Khan also says she was questioned by the British security service MI5 about the document but they were satisfied she had not committed any crimes and was not in possession of any important information. "The mistake my father made was in being far too vocal in his opinion about those in power, and as a result he is now paying the price," she writes. She says that her sister was forbidden from seeing her parents for a period of months, and that she was not allowed to travel to Pakistan for a year. "Our mail is opened, our mobiles are tapped and the house is bugged."
When he was placed under house arrest, pressure had been building on Dr Khan for a number of months. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors who visited the Iranian enrichment plant of Natanz in February 2003 had realised that the machines used by Iran were of the same design that Dr Khan had worked on when he was a young scientist in Europe and which he had used to build Pakistan's own programme. At the same time, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya had opened up a secret channel with MI6 to give up his nuclear programme which had been almost entirely provided by Dr Khan and his network.
The US tried to put pressure on President Musharraf to put Dr Khan out of business in September 2003, when CIA director George Tenet confronted him in a New York hotel room with evidence of Dr Khan's activities, but Gen Musharraf still did not act and frustrations grew in Washington. In the end it took a phone call from then US Secretary of State Colin Powell in late January to seal Dr Khan's fate. Mr Powell warned Gen Musharraf that President Bush was about to give a speech and publicly name and shame Dr Khan. As a result, the scientist was brought before President Musharraf and forced to publicly confess.
The CIA have never been allowed to interrogate Dr Khan directly, something they would very much like to do since it is still unclear how much nuclear technology he actually passed on to Iran. In the case of Libya, Dr Khan provided an actual nuclear weapons design. Some in Washington believe similar information may have been provided to Iran, proving Iran was after the bomb and not just peaceful nuclear power as Tehran claims, but they have never been able to prove it. However, all questions for Dr Khan have to be filtered through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, and no-one is sure they are getting the real truth.
Allowing the US access to Dr Khan would be very sensitive within Pakistan, where he still has many supporters, as well as potentially embarrassing for Gen Musharraf, who simply wants to move on from the issue. US officials say, though, that one of the reasons Pakistan will not be offered a civilian nuclear co-operation deal of the type negotiated with India is precisely because of Dr Khan. The scientist remains under house arrest in Islamabad. He was recently allowed out briefly for surgery for prostate cancer.
Dina Khan ends her statement with a warning. "The investigation into the nuclear scandal was officially closed months ago, yet my father's situation remains unchanged. Perhaps the hope is to have him rot quietly at home, forgotten by all. "That will never happen. The truth will come out eventually, it always does."
Posted by: Steve ||
10/02/2006 08:56 ||
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From: Halliburton, Director of Special Projects
To: Halliburton, Wetworks Division
Heart attacks are so passe'. They lost popularity about the same time as that Brit who was stabbed with the ricin-tipped umbrella (natural causes) or the guy who was found hanging from some bridge in London (suicide). Couldn't you guys work up something a little more original? You know, like a nice mid-air explosion onboard a C-130 transport or something like that?
QUETTA: A jirga of Baloch tribal chiefs the second in two weeks — will be held in Quetta today (Monday). Khan of Kalat Mir Suleman Dawood has called the jirga, which will be attended by tribal chiefs from Balochistan, Sindh and the Punjab. The jirga will be held at the Awan-e-Kalat on Sariab Road at 4pm. The jirga will discuss the decisions made in a jirga held on September 21 in Kalat and other issues faced by the Baloch in the aftermath of Nawab Akbar Bugti's killing.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Mental image #1: Pipelines and power pylons tremble in fear of the outcome.
Mental image #2: Eric Idle (in Python drag and falsetto) - "Did you tell them they could sleep over? Well did you? I'm not cooking for all those nasty old men."
Pakistan's intelligence service has played no role in propping up the renegade Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, President General Pervez Musharraf told US television Sunday, although he is investigating possible support to the rebels from retired Pakistani intelligence officials. Asked whether Islamabad's Inter-Services Intelligence has been helping the ousted Taliban, Musharraf, speaking on NBC television's "Meet the Press" programme, answered with an emphatic "no". "Nobody in the ISI has," the president said.
However he added, "I have some reports that some dissidents, some people, retired people who were in the forefront in ISI during the period of '1979 to '1989, may be assisting with their links somewhere here and there," he said. "We are keeping a very tight watch, and we'll get a hold of them if at all that happens."
He also expressed concern that support for the Taliban may be more widespread than many observers are aware. "They don't know the realities on (the) ground. They're not conscious of the reality I'm seeing the extreme danger of this becoming a people's movement," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#5
sure, just the EX-ISI's.... not the uh, like, current ISI staff or nothing. Nosirree
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/02/2006 10:40 Comments ||
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#6
Its getting so we need a 2nd 'Master of the Obvious' graphic - kind of like a a second shift. This one is getting used a lot lately -- needs some time off.
Gentlemen, hear if you please
the song of famous La Palisse,
You may indeed enjoy it
as long as you find it fun.
La Palisse didn't have the means
to pay for his own birth,
But he did not lack anything
once his riches were plenty.
He was quite fond of travel,
going all over the kingdom,
When he was in Poitiers
You would not find him in Vendôme!
He enjoyed a boat ride
and, whether in peace or in war,
He would always go by water
when he didn't go by land.
He drank every morning
some wine from a barrel,
For eating at his neighbors
he would always go in person.
He preferred at good meals
his dishes to be tasty and tender
And always celebrated Shrove Tuesday
on the eve of Ash Wednesday.
He shone like a sun,
his hair was blonde,
He would have had no equals
had he been the only one.
He had diverse talents,
some even claimed this:
Whenever he wrote in verse,
he did not write in prose.
He was, to tell the truth
a rather mediocre dancer,
But he would not have sung so badly
if he had chosen to shut up.
They tell that he would never
have taken the decision
of loading his two pistols
when he had no ammunition.
Monsieur d'la Palisse is dead,
he died before Pavia,
A quarter hour before his death,
he was still quite alive.
He was by sorry fate
wounded by a cruel hand
Since he died of it, we fear
that the wound was a mortal one.
Lamented by his soldiers,
his death is to be envied,
And the day of his passing away
was the last day of his life.
He died on a Friday,
the last day of his age,
Had he died on the Saturday,
he would have lived longer.
NEW DELHI - India sought to put on a brave face on Sunday over an unexpected delay in the approval of a landmark nuclear deal with the United States amid nervousness in New Delhi that the controversial pact could slip away. The deal, which aims to give India access to US civilian nuclear technology for the first time in three decades, had been expected to be approved by the US Senate last week before it adjourned for elections in November.
However, the chamber could not take up the bill due to differences between Republicans and Democrats despite both sides expressing strong support for the deal and pointing fingers at the other for the delay.
The bill actually enjoys bipartisan support and it is our hope that this will find its way through US domestic legal procedures as soon as possible, said Indias new foreign secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon. I think our interest in the agreement, in it passing through Congress and our interest in the terms staying as they are, is quite clear, Menon told reporters after taking office.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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India will give Islamabad evidence that Pakistan's spy agency planned the Mumbai train bombings in July which killed more than 200 people, India's foreign secretary said Sunday. Indian police alleged a day earlier that Pakistan's Directorate of Inter Services Intelligence, or ISI, was behind the bombings, India's economic and entertainment center. Pakistan immediately denied the claims and demanded evidence.
"This (evidence) is something that we will certainly take up with the government of Pakistan," said India's new foreign secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon. "We will judge them (Pakistan) not by their verbal actions, but what they actually do," said Menon, whose previously served as India's ambassador to Pakistan.
India's main Hindu nationalist opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party, called on the government to sever ties with Islamabad. Pakistan's ambassador to India "should be immediately summoned and categorically told that India will reconsider continuation of diplomatic relations with Pakistan," BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
To what end?
It's wasted -- unless they're just checking off the boxes...
The Iraqi police force is composed mostly of Shiites and operates under the Shia-controlled Ministry of the Interior. In many Sunni areas police officers could be murdered just for showing up.
Police are often the targets of kidnapping and beheading, and police checkpoints are repeatedly bombed.
TACOMA - Fort Lewis soldiers in Baghdad are frustrated with some Iraqi police they say are either unmotivated or are helping the people trying to keep the country divided.
Stryker soldiers in the Baghdad neighborhoods of Ghazaliyah and Shula say Iraqi police have been infiltrated by Shiite militia death squads. Soldiers say some police in Shula will flash their car lights to warn the enemy when troops enter the area, although police contend it's to avoid being fired upon.
"The police are bad. They don't have the trust of the people," Capt. Matt Pike of Lacey told The News Tribune of Tacoma, which has a reporter embedded with the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. "We have to get to the point where the average citizen in Ghazaliyah is willing to stop a police patrol and say, 'Hey, check this out.'"
In Ghazaliyah on Saturday, Maj. Gen. J.D. Thurman, commander of coalition forces in Baghdad, said he'd heard of police letting militia members through checkpoints. "We have got to stop the violence," Thurman told police. "I keep seeing all these dead bodies, and I'm tired of it."
#1
Pretty much need to have Sunni police Sunni and Shia police Shia. It'll be easier when the country divides and the Sunni move on to eating sand for sustainance.
Edited to stick to the goddamned headline. (AP) - Shiite politicians demanded changes in the Iraqi government Sunday, accusing a Sunni Arab party in the coalition of ties to terrorism after a bodyguard of its leader was arrested on suspicion of planning bomb attacks.
The dispute threatened a sectarian crisis within the national unity government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which is struggling to contain spiraling Shiite-Sunni killings that the U.S. ambassador said have surpassed Sunni insurgent attacks in deadliness.
After the bodyguard's arrest, an unprecedented surprise curfew was imposed on Baghdad on Saturday, preventing pedestrians as well as vehicle traffic. The curfew was lifted early Sunday.
At least 23 people were killed in violence Sunday, and 21 bodies were found in Baghdad or to the south, many of them bound and tortured. In the evening, gunmen burst into a frozen food factory in Baghdad, kidnapping 24 workers and wounding two others - similar to past attacks in which militants have picked out members of the opposing sect from among the captives and killed them.
Iraqi troops backed by American military advisers arrested a suspected Shiite militiaman believed to have carried out kidnappings and killings. A gunbattle broke out at the suspect's house in Baghdad's Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, leaving a woman and a young girl dead, Iraqi police said.
Afterward, angry men at the scene held up a color photo of a smiling, winking Jesus giving a "thumbs up" sign that they said was left by troops at the raided house - an allegation denied by U.S. and Iraqi officials.
The photo, known as the "Buddy Christ," is from the movie "Dogma," a 1999 religious satire in which "Buddy Christ" is part of a church campaign to improve Jesus' image.
U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said the photo was a "rather ridiculous attempt" to discredit the raid. It was unclear how it ended up at the site.
The potential government crisis erupted after U.S. troops on Friday arrested a bodyguard of Sunni politician Adnan al-Dulaimi, saying the man was suspected of leading an al-Qaida-linked cell that was "in the final stages" of carrying out a string of bombings in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, the center of government and home to the U.S. and British embassies.
Al-Dulaimi heads the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni Arab party with 44 seats in the 275-member parliament and positions in al-Maliki's government, including a supporter in the Defense Minister post.
The government also includes Shiite parties linked to militias accused of killing Sunnis - and the arrest threatened to wreck al-Maliki's attempts to forge a reconciliation between the sects that could rein in the militias as well as Sunni insurgent violence.
"We are faced with two choices, either militias or the nation. We will not allow the dignity of the nation to be violated," the Shiite prime minister said Sunday in an interview with Al-Hurra TV, which is funded and overseen by the State Department.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, sought to contain the political fallout, underlining in a joint statement that "the arrested individual had no ties to al-Dulaimi's family, nor is al-Dulaimi connected in any way to the suspect activities of the individual."
But Baha el-Deen al-Araji, a lawmaker from the party of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, accused Sunni politicians of having "direct and indirect links to Saddamists, Takfiris (Sunni radicals) and terrorists."
He demanded a "significant cabinet reshuffle" to change "ministries of security and public services dossiers."
"All our Sunni brothers have terrorist groups. This is destructive to the reconciliation process," another Sadrist lawmaker, Nasser al-Saadi, told The Associated Press. "We must stand up to them."
He said that if al-Dulaimi is shown to have links to al-Qaida "he should be treated as a terrorist." The lawmakers said parliament would discuss the arrest in a session on Monday.
Al-Dulaimi denied any connection to militants and said those trying to "defame" the Accordance Front should "be silent because any factor that leads to blow up this case would affect the entire national unity process."
Thousands of people have died in recent months in Shiite-Sunni killings, even as violence by Sunni insurgents continued. The top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, said Wednesday that over the preceding week suicide attacks were at their highest level ever.
Khalilzad said al-Qaida-linked militants had been weakened in recent months and that "a main part of the violence now is sectarian violence ... between death squads associated with militias."
Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition," he said al-Maliki's government "in the course of the next two months, has to make progress in terms of containing sectarian violence."
But he expressed optimism that with the prime minister's reconciliation plan and U.S.-Iraqi security efforts "next year the level of violence will be lower than this year."
(Xinhua) -- The Palestinian government led by Islamic Hamas movement has expressed on Sunday regret for the riots which erupted earlier in the Gaza Strip leaving eight killed and 70 others wounded. Government spokesman Ghazi Hamad affirmed in a statement sent to reporters that the government's decision to deploy the auxiliary force of the interior ministry "was an attempt to restore law and order intact to avoid the ongoing state of chaos."
Hamad also stated that minister of interior Said Siam gave orders to his forces to avoid violence against either citizens or the security service members. "The participation of security service members in riots is a violation of the law which threatens national security in the Palestinian community," said Hamad.
The protests surpassed the legal standard and developed into riots and mutiny when they used force and broke into Palestinian institutions, he added. Riots in Gaza erupted on Sunday after Hamas deployed interior ministry forces in the Gaza Strip to prevent other security and police members from demonstration against the Hamas-led government. Security and police members demonstrated in Gaza over the past three days, calling on both the government and the presidency to pay them salaries.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Kill, and be killed
Posted by: Captain America ||
10/02/2006 0:44 Comments ||
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#3
The majority elected Hamas into power. Since then, the free flow of cash has disappeared. Now, the foolish starving paleos are rioting against Hamas.
This is a classic case of an uninformed population expecting to make intelligent choices, but making a mess of their own existence due to lack of facts and learned conclusions. Hamas did not misrepresent themselves, the paleos are stupid.
Do they riot against their stupidity ? No, they riot against Hamas. How much of this will it take before the paleos fix their broken education and information systems ?
Never ! This is Islam. This is what the world faces under Islam. That's all their is; the destructon of western culture, and then..........
Nothing. Sheeple. Life in the gutter.
America will have to learn to live with a nuclear Iran, top US intelligence analysts have concluded at a secret meeting.
Senior operatives and analysts from the intelligence community were almost unanimous in their view that little could be done to stop Iran acquiring the components for a nuclear bomb.
Bombing Iran's nuclear facilities was rejected on the grounds that the intelligence needed for successful air strikes was lacking.
"We only have an imperfect understanding of the extent and location of the Iranian program," said one source with knowledge of last week's meeting near Washington. "Even if we got the order to blow it up, we wouldn't know how to."
The White House's earlier enthusiasm for military strikes if all else failed has cooled after warnings from the Pentagon and intelligence analysts that the risk-to-reward ratio of taking action is too high. At best, 80 per cent of the targets are mapped out and then only sketchily.
The "collateral damage" to civilians could be considerable, sources say.
"Unless you can be 100 per cent effective and set the program back by two decades, you'll just get a short-term delay in the program and you may not produce a result that is better than the current one," an intelligence analyst said.
General John Abizaid, commander of US forces in the Middle East, has warned that striking Iran could cripple oil supplies, unleash a "surrogate" terrorist army and lead to missile attacks on America's regional allies. Cite?
The army is particularly concerned about Iran's ability to destabilise an already chaotic Iraq. US director of national intelligence John Negroponte has told President George W. Bush that there is no rush to use force as Iran's nuclear program is beset with technical errors. Cite?
"He has been saying 'Slow down, it's not an immediate problem'," said Patrick Clawson, an Iran expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Talk about a mixed bag of people who couldn't agree on what day it is...
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has staked her reputation on achieving a negotiated settlement with the help of the "EU3" nations of Britain, France and Germany. Cite?
"President Bush is not going to take military action against the advice of the Secretary of State, US generals and the director of national intelligence," Mr Clawson said.
Despite reports that the Iranians were willing to suspend their program secretly, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has defiantly announced that Iran's "atomic work" would not stop for a single day.
Intelligence analysts concluded at last week's meeting that there were no negotiating carrots or sticks, such as sanctions, capable of persuading Iran to halt its pursuit of nuclear know-how - which it maintains is for peaceful energy purposes.
"The sobering view is that even if there is a deal, the Iranians would cheat," another source said. "The conclusion is that America is going to have to live with the bomb unless there's some miracle, such as a major accident, a major defector or an orange revolution," the source added, referring to the people's protests that brought reformers to power in Ukraine.
None of these scenarios is considered particularly likely. The nuclear program had broad popular support, the analysts agreed, and a military strike could bolster the clerical regime.
Even if Iran was attacked, one analyst said, they would start their efforts again with even greater secrecy.
In a sign that a military option remains theoretically on the table, a group of minesweepers that could be used to clear any potential Iranian oil blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have been given "prepare to deploy" orders, which could see them leaving port for the Persian Gulf as early as late yesterday. Huh? WTF? Cite?
The biggest deterrent might come from the Israelis, not the Americans. Israeli defence sources are increasingly convinced that it will fall to them to stop a nuclear Iran. In their view, Iran should not be allowed to get to the "point of no return" where it has the know-how to build a bomb.
"The Israelis are going to have to make a decision earlier than we do," Mr Clawson said. "That's a real problem for us." Gosh, the only named source who is directly quoted is Clawson. Otherwise, it's just fuckin' cotton candy.
#3
If the Israelis act against Iran, the blowback against the US, in Iraq and elsewhere, will be pretty much the same as if the US struck Iran on its own. If Israel strikes Iran, the US might as well also.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/02/2006 8:12 Comments ||
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#5
US must live with millions of dead Isreali's.
The army is particularly concerned about Iran's ability to destabilise an already chaotic Iraq.
You mean it isn't now?
"The conclusion is that America is going to have to live with the bomb unless there's some miracle, such as a major accident, a major defector or an orange revolution,"
Oh lets just hope that the robbers, murderers, and rapist who followed us home don't come to our house. No need to lock the doors or defend ouselves...
Seems to me we should then be expending all our efforts to make the 'miracle' happen.
Even if Iran was attacked, one analyst said, they would start their efforts again with even greater secrecy.
Not if they are too busy enjoying their 72 raisins...
#8
If we are to survive we will have to take them out. Plain and simple, this Iranian leader intends to use these weapons against us when he gets them done. He is not rational and they have only one concern, kill the infadels. Just living with it, means converting to Islam or dieing. We need to hammer the locations we know about and keep beating them until they are no longer a threat.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/02/2006 8:44 Comments ||
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#9
Is this another NIE assessment? Why is this published in Australia, instead of the New York Times?
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/02/2006 8:47 Comments ||
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#10
America will have to learn to live with Nazi Germany, top US intelligence analysts have concluded at a secret meeting.
Senior operatives and analysts from the intelligence community were almost unanimous in their view that little could be done to stop Nazi Germany from conquering Europe.
Bombing Nazi Germany's military was rejected on the grounds that the intelligence needed for successful air strikes was lacking.
"We only have an imperfect understanding of the extent and location of the German military," said one source with knowledge of last week's meeting near Washington. "Even if we got the order to blow it up, we wouldn't know how to."
The White House's earlier enthusiasm for military strikes if all else failed has cooled after warnings from the Pentagon and intelligence analysts that the risk-to-reward ratio of taking action is too high. At best, 80 per cent of the targets are mapped out and then only sketchily...
#11
America will have to learn to live with Imperial Japan, top US intelligence analysts have concluded at a secret meeting.
Senior operatives and analysts from the intelligence community were almost unanimous in their view that little could be done to stop Japan from dominating the Pacific and conquering China, Korea, French Indochina, New Zealand, and Australia.
Bombing Japan itself was rejected on the grounds that the intelligence needed for successful air strikes was lacking.
"We only have an imperfect understanding of the extent and location of the Japanese," said one source with knowledge of last week's meeting near Washington. "Even if we got the order to blow them up, we wouldn't know how to."
The White House's earlier enthusiasm for military strikes if all else failed has cooled after warnings from the Pentagon and intelligence analysts that the risk-to-reward ratio of taking action is too high. At best, 80 per cent of the targets are mapped out and then only sketchily.
And besides, the Japanese are just too darn inscrutable.
#13
OK, but there is such a thing as exporting. The prospect of Jihadis getting their hands on even a small nuclear device is to horrible to contemplate. Who needs 'fallout' if you can set of a nuke right here? A nuclear Iran is totally unacceptable. Instead of concluding we must learn to 'live' with it, these so-called analysts should be concentrating on how to stop it.
#14
Sounds to me like these "intelligence" sources and "Pentagon" sources are saying that they haven't been doing their jobs. Even if it is so, I fail to see how terminating the Iranian leadership and pulverizing all known nuclear and missile targets would not be to our advantage with respect to Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan. It will be interesting to see how things change in a month, after the elections. I welcome an unfettered George Bush.
#21
The big question is whether a Nuclear Iran will be willing to live with the US or whether Imanutjob will try to bring about the end of days.
This is not a viable option, frozen al. Iran's leadership is far too unstable to consider their having possession of nuclear weapons even for a single millisecond.
#22
Don't forget taking out their refinary and blocking refined imports. Oh and if you can take out their navy as well so they can't block the stright.
(AP) - Iran's hardline president on Sunday said his country was determined to expand its uranium enrichment program, announcing a plan to produce more nuclear fuel and calling allegations that Tehran was seeking nuclear weapons a "big lie."
Speaking to professors at Tehran University, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reinforced his rejection of demands by the U.S. and its allies to stop enrichment, saying his country was committed to generating nuclear fuel for electricity.
"Allegations or charges by the United States than Iran is seeking nuclear weapons is a big lie," Ahmadinejad said during his speech, which was broadcast on state-run television.
The process of uranium enrichment can be used to produce electricity or build nuclear weapons depending on the level of enrichment. The U.S. alleges Iran is seeking to build nuclear weapons, but Iran contends that its program is for peaceful purposes.
Ahmadinejad said in his speech that Iran will hopefully install up to 100,000 centrifuges, which spin uranium gas into enriched material in order to produce nuclear fuel. He did not provide any more details or set a timeline, but installing so many centrifuges could take several years.
In February, Iran announced for the first time that it produced a batch of low-enriched uranium, using 164 centrifuges.
It also has said it plans to intall 3,000 centrifuges by the end of the year at its uranium enrichment plant in the central Iranian town of Natanz. Large-scale production of enriched uranium in Natanz would require 54,000 centrifuges.
The speech Sunday was one of several lately in which Ahmadinejad has said Iran will not give up its right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium to produce nuclear fuel and won't consider suspending it, even for a day.
"Not a single person has a right to give up the rights of the Iranian nation," he said.
Iran has been locked in a battle with the United States and some of its allies over its nuclear program. Tehran defied a U.N. Security Council deadline calling on it to suspend enrichment by Aug. 31 or face possible international sanctions.
But talks between Iranian and European officials have continued over a package of incentives that six countries - the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany - are offering Tehran in return for suspending its enrichment program and returning to full-scale negotiations.
Last week, envoys ended two days of talks in Berlin with no agreement on the enrichment issue but insisted they had "come to some positive conclusions" on ways to open broader discussions. Quick, somebody tell Gul. SSDD.
#1
Read on a mil blog that IRAN > having an immigration problem wid AZERI TURKS ala THE TURKIFICATION OF IRAN. Basically, article > up to 1/2 of ethnic profiles in Western + Central Iran is at LT risk of Turkification.
Iran will suspend nuclear activities when it is guaranteed delivery of a package of incentives offered by the West, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in an interview published Sunday.
Iran's leaders "appreciated" the incentives offered by western nations trying to woo Iran away from its nuclear program, Gul told Newsweek magazine here last week. "A good package has been given to Iran. During my visit to Iran in August, I met with all the leaders and they said they appreciated the package - I learned this from (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad. He said that this package is different from the previous ones," Gul said. "They said that when they are guaranteed delivery of all the things in the package, they will suspend. Both sides lack confidence," Gul said."With good intentions, I think there can be a solution," he added. Ahmadinejad on Saturday vowed that the Islamic republic would not halt enriching uranium even for a short period, rejected a key Western demand over its nuclear programme.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
From Gul? ROFL!
Bush rolls his eyes and Solana creams his jeans, er slacks, er man-dress.
#2
Please make sure to notice how Iran neglects any mention of just how long they will "Suspend N-Activities" for. A second, a millisecond, a microsecond, a nanosecond, a picosecond, a femto second? All of the above combined would exceed Iran's suspension by years at least.
Following the withdrawal of its remaining troops out of Lebanon on Sunday, Israel warned it would act decisively should Hezbollah try to rebuild its infrastructure destroyed during the 34-day war. "If Hezbollah approaches the frontier with arms and tries to reconstruct its infrastructure that we have destroyed, we will use all the means at our disposal to prevent this," chief of staff Dan Halutz told army radio.
Army radio said that Israel had beefed up its troops along the border with Lebanon. A spokesman for the foreign affairs ministry, Mark Regev, told AFP that "no-one should expect Israel to honour the agreement unilaterally if the other party to the agreement fails in their commitment".
"The pullout from Lebanon has been done in the framework of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701," Regev said. "Just as Israel has moved to fulfil its commitment, it is the obligation of the Lebanese government and the UN forces to fully implement their commitment."
"First and foremost we have to see the immediate release of the two Israeli servicemen being held hostage in Lebanon," Regev said, referring to two soldiers captured by Hezbollah in cross-border raids on July 12 that killed eight other troops and sparked the Jewish state's offensive. "We have to see the creation in south Lebanon of an area free of all armed Hezbollah personnel and we have to see the enforcement of the international arms embargo to prevent illicit arms transfers to Hezbollah," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Hate to break it to you, bub, but the Hezbos are already reconstructing, so....
Posted by: Captain America ||
10/02/2006 0:47 Comments ||
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(Xinhua) -- Iran on Sunday lashed out at a new U.S. bill of sanctions on entities or countries that provide goods or services for Iran's weapons programs, local Fars News Agency reported. Warning Washington against taking "any further steps on its present path," Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said that the U.S. sanctions bill indicated that Washington was still following the same approach towards Tehran and was not inclined towards revising its policies.
He made the remarks at an open session of the Iranian parliament on Sunday. The top lawmaker said that the measure proved that U.S. officials "had not yet taken a good lesson from the present conditions dominating the world."
"Such sanctions are more detrimental to the United States than Iran," said Adel, adding that his country was "well familiar with and used to experiencing sanctions."
U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday signed into law a new sanctions bill called Iran Freedom Support Act after the U.S. Senate passed it earlier Saturday. The Iran Freedom Support Act would sanction any entity that contributes to Iran's capability of acquiring chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. The legislation formalizes existing economic sanctions against Iran that have been in effect since 1979 and says that the United States shall not reach agreements with governments that are assisting Iran's nuclear program or transferring weapons or missiles to Iran.
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Whoa, we've been lashed. Purdy skeery. That the Senate actually did something is the only surprising thing in this article. Hope springs eternal.
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.
KABUL: A government-appointed commission found that 53 civilians were killed in a nearly two-week NATO-led operation in a Taliban stronghold last month, the head of the team said on Sunday. President Hamid Karzai appointed the commission to investigate civilian casualties in Operation Medusa in the southern province of Kandahar after its military phase wrapped up mid-September with commanders declaring success. Provincial authorities had previously said 13 civilians died. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said around 1,000 rebels were killed and others were forced to retreat. Our findings show that 53 people have been martyred, nine others have been wounded, eight mosques have been destroyed and a number of peoples houses and orchards have been destroyed, the head of the commission told AFP.
CAIRO - The Arab League has proposed an international meeting with the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations to talk about peace in Somalia.
Law enforcers killed 277 people across the country in last nine months of whom 224 met their end in 'crossfire', says a report of Odhikar, a rights organisation. 
BRUSSELS - The European Union hopes to reach an agreement with the United States on a new pact on sharing of airline passenger data next Friday, the European Commission said on Sunday.
QUETTA: A jirga of Baloch tribal chiefs the second in two weeks — will be held in Quetta today (Monday). Khan of Kalat Mir Suleman Dawood has called the jirga, which will be attended by tribal chiefs from Balochistan, Sindh and the Punjab. The jirga will be held at the Awan-e-Kalat on Sariab Road at 4pm. The jirga will discuss the decisions made in a jirga held on September 21 in Kalat and other issues faced by the Baloch in the aftermath of Nawab Akbar Bugti's killing.
Pakistan's intelligence service has played no role in propping up the renegade Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, President General Pervez Musharraf told US television Sunday, although he is investigating possible support to the rebels from retired Pakistani intelligence officials. Asked whether Islamabad's Inter-Services Intelligence has been helping the ousted Taliban, Musharraf, speaking on NBC television's "Meet the Press" programme, answered with an emphatic "no". "Nobody in the ISI has," the president said.
NEW DELHI - India sought to put on a brave face on Sunday over an unexpected delay in the approval of a landmark nuclear deal with the United States amid nervousness in New Delhi that the controversial pact could slip away. The deal, which aims to give India access to US civilian nuclear technology for the first time in three decades, had been expected to be approved by the US Senate last week before it adjourned for elections in November.
India will give Islamabad evidence that Pakistan's spy agency planned the Mumbai train bombings in July which killed more than 200 people, India's foreign secretary said Sunday. Indian police alleged a day earlier that Pakistan's Directorate of Inter Services Intelligence, or ISI, was behind the bombings, India's economic and entertainment center. Pakistan immediately denied the claims and demanded evidence. 
(AP) - Shiite politicians demanded changes in the Iraqi government Sunday, accusing a Sunni Arab party in the coalition of ties to terrorism after a bodyguard of its leader was arrested on suspicion of planning bomb attacks.
America will have to learn to live with a nuclear Iran, top US intelligence analysts have concluded at a secret meeting.
(AP) - Iran's hardline president on Sunday said his country was determined to expand its uranium enrichment program, announcing a plan to produce more nuclear fuel and calling allegations that Tehran was seeking nuclear weapons a "big lie."
Iran will suspend nuclear activities when it is guaranteed delivery of a package of incentives offered by the West, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in an interview published Sunday.
Following the withdrawal of its remaining troops out of Lebanon on Sunday, Israel warned it would act decisively should Hezbollah try to rebuild its infrastructure destroyed during the 34-day war. "If Hezbollah approaches the frontier with arms and tries to reconstruct its infrastructure that we have destroyed, we will use all the means at our disposal to prevent this," chief of staff Dan Halutz told army radio.
