Former Canadian commander of NATO troops in southern Afghanistan says the mission is making headway, but insists Pakistan must help shut down the Taliban.
Brig Gen David Fraser discussed Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKays recent visit to the region during appearance on CTVs Canada AM on Wednesday. After trip to Afghanistan, where he met Afghan President Hamid Karzai, MacKay flew to Pakistan and met his Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Kasuri, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and President Pervez Musharraf.
Fraser said the Taliban would not be shut down until Pakistan steps up efforts. I think in fact problem that Afghanistan and Pakistan face is similar its the Taliban regime. Taliban are using both countries to operate and solution will be Pakistan and Afghanistan working to rid both their countries of this, what I would call a cancer. Progress is being made towards that goal.
When he first arrived in Afghanistan, there was no working relationship between NATO and Pakistan. By end of his tour, they were having regular discussions and Pakistan had stationed 80,000 troops along border to support Frasers operations, he said. They are working on the issue but theres more to be done. The solution is in Pakistan working against the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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Sudan's government and Darfur rebels have agreed to a 60-day cease-fire and a peace summit sponsored by the African Union and United Nations as steps toward stopping the violence in west Sudan, a visiting U.S. official said Wednesday. "President [Omar al-]Bashir agreed to the start of a peace process that includes a 60-day cessation of hostilities," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, while visiting Sudan.
Saying the temporary truce provides a "cooling-off period," Richardson told CNN that "I think it is a step in the right direction. ... I'm very excited about this breakthrough."
"What we were able to do is set up a political process that puts pressure on both sides to reach an agreement, not just on a cease-fire, but to have United Nations peacekeeping troops, to secure the borders, to stop some of the killing and the famine, " he said in the CNN interview.
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Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
No. Not 60 days. This will end permanently either with your compliance or your blood splattered over all of the walls in that building. Resistance is futile.
Gunmen armed with dynamite invaded an oil services base in Bayelsa state in Nigerias southern oil-producing Niger Delta on Wednesday and kidnapped nine South Korean workers and one Nigerian. The gunmen came in six boats to the riverside base in the outskirts of Bayelsa state capital Yenagoa. They blew up part of an office building and the ground was littered with pieces of zinc roofing, electrical fittings and air conditioning units. The militants entered the facility armed with guns and dynamite before dawn, said Han Sang-ho, a Daewoo employee at the site, speaking to South Korean TV network YTN.
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From Dhimmi Watch:
Moslems are an alien body in our midst. Every day in London - on the tube, in shops, in parks, whilst shopping, whilst going about the 101 tasks that make up an average life - this is borne in on me.
In London today moslems dress differently, are rude to locals, jump queues, shout at us, wave their fists at us, call us 'worthless infidel' in public and in loud voices. I have, just four days ago, been elbowed aside by a moslem couple, with sidekicks, whilst trying to top up my Oyster card at a tube station at the automatic machine. Apparently, I had taken longer than the ten seconds that they were prepared to wait and so three burly males forced me aside and, when I objected, pushed me to the floor and - quite literally - and took over the machine which I was attempting to use.
Not, in a crowded and impatient city like London that this was a surprise, but that in this instance that I was insulted by these people was a surprise. The eldest male in the group, dressed in the usual and ridiculous garb of mohammedans everywhere, looked directly at me amd said, in quite clear English, (and I quote verbatim) "Get out of our way infidel slave".
You may imagine how I felt at that moment. To be so insulted in my own capital city was stunning. It took all my self-control not to do something rash at that moment.
Knowing that CCTV cameras would have captured this incident I complained, some three hours later (after having completed my journey and return), to the British Transport Police on the Broadway. I need not have bothered. Not only would no-one there take my complaint of 'technical assault and insult' seriously but no-one to whom I spoke was even prepared to initiate any paperwork whatsoever nor were they remotely prepared to find and look at the video recordings. Indeed, one Officer even said to me that I 'should swallow my pride' and live with it because - and, once again, I quote verbatim 'you are just being racist and you have to remember that it's cultural with them'.
Obviously, at this point, I indicated that I felt that I had been physically assaulted and that I would really like to have my complaint investigated. Well, this is really where everything about that evening begins to stick in my craw. When I said that, the Officer of the BTP who was listening to me actually cautioned me and warned me that if I persisted with making a nuisance of myself I would be charged under the The Race Relations Act 1976 and the RRAA (Race Relations (Amendment) Act) 2000.
I gave up at this point. Cowardice is sometimes the better part of valour. But, damn it, they won, didn't they? I have been intimidated into a dhimmi position by them and the very powers which should have protected me in my own country.
#3
Get used to it fools. They are going to treat you like dogs in the gutter. As long as you don't resist, they get braver. I regret to think of your position in five years. But, you may inspire some here in the States who have their heads up their ass also. Good luck, you're gonna need it.
#5
A recent account from Theodore Dalrymple (photo) of a walk through the streets of London to visit a friend
I lost my way a couple of times on my way to see my friend. I asked directions from people in the street, and they visibly flinched, though neither my appearance nor my manner (to say nothing of my age) suggests aggression. They probably thought that, at best, I was a mental patient undergoing treatment in the community, as people call it today. Two fled, claiming ignorance of the road I needed to find, which, as it turned out, was only a few yards away.
I looked in the windows of a real-estate agent. A house in the area, by no means large, would cost about $1.1 million.
#8
CF, they are infection, a parasitic infection in fact. They feed on mental mush that is a result of another infection, MCPC (MultiCultiPC). They would not stand a chance in mentally sane society.
#9
I know a couple or three places out here in California (say Richmond, south of Market in San Francisco, and Compton in LA) where calling someone an "infidel slave" would result in all three individuals receiving a rather severe case of lead poisoning delivered at high velocity.
#10
Grow some, and fight back. Stop bitching and start fighting. I do it every damn morning at 6 a.m.. The streets belong to those with nerve and a I don't give a damn attitude about your attiude.
The admiral in charge of the U.S. Pacific Fleet pressed Chinese military leaders to explain why an armed submarine challenged a U.S. aircraft carrier in the western Pacific by sailing within five miles of the warship, U.S. defense officials said. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Gary Roughead raised the issue of the submarine encounter when he met during a six-day visit in November with Chinese military leaders.
The Chinese responded by claiming the Song-class submarine that surfaced near the USS Kitty Hawk on Oct. 27 was there by accident, and that it did not shadow the warship before making its presence known, the officials said.
Defense officials familiar with reports of closed-door military meetings in Beijing, Shanghai and Zhanjiang privately doubted the Chinese explanations and said it is more likely the Song-class diesel electric submarine was practicing anti-aircraft carrier operations.
The Chinese submarine was not detected by the Kitty Hawk, which was conducting routine exercises near Okinawa, or by accompanying warships. Navy officials called it an anti-submarine warfare lapse. Most ships have sonar that constantly scans waters around the ships for threatening vessels.
Adm. Michael Mullen, the chief of naval operations, said last month that U.S. anti-submarine defenses for the Pacific Fleet were reviewed to determine how the submarine was able to sneak up on the carrier.
The Chinese told Adm. Roughead that it was a "chance encounter" and that China's military had no intention of stalking the Kitty Hawk. They also said the submarine surfaced deliberately to demonstrate that it had no hostile intent, the officials said. "The Chinese also claimed they did not want the U.S. Navy to mistake the vessel for a submarine from Taiwan or Korea," one official said. China has a large fleet of submarines that seldom operates so far from China's coast, such as the deep-ocean encounter near Okinawa.
Another explanation from the Chinese military officials was that the submarine surfaced because officials were worried that being detected so close to the carrier would lead to a confrontation.
China's military has rejected U.S. proposals to join in an agreement that would prevent such incidents at sea. A similar arrangement was used during the Cold War to avoid confrontations with Soviet naval vessels.
#6
There is always more to these stories than makes it thru the filter of media ignorance of matters military. I'd be willing to bet Kitty Hawk knew the sub was in the neighborhood. Whether they would admit is a another matter. Having your enemy think you are stupid is a great advantage.
Also wouldn't surprise me if the sub surfaced because someone dropped a hand grenade instead of dipping sonar. But that may be just wishful thinking.
#7
USA + China are not at war thus the sub can get as close to the carrier as its Cdr = Beijing dares to. No overt act(s) of hostility = USA can only lodge some form of internat acceptable diplomatic protest. USN should have easily detected [and warned?]the sub, so what is at issue for the USA here is why the sub did not surface = refuse to identify itself. Iff the USN wants to "play dumb", means Washington-MIC bigwigs want trade access/concessions to Chinese markets.
Manolo! Violin!
David Hicks's father says he is worried his son will commit suicide if he is not released from Guantanamo Bay soon. See ya next year, pops. I'll bet David will still be with us. And still on the verge of insanity, as usual...
Today marks the fifth anniversary of Mr Hicks's detention in the United States military camp on suspicion of being a terrorist. He still has not been charged. Maybe they'll give him a cake?
His father, Terry Hicks, says the confinement is taking its toll. He is afraid his son could die at Guantanamo."It's a problem that's always in the back of your mind," he said. "They've had suicides in the Guantanamo Bay. Not enough.
"Over the last 12 months his reactions as far as the mental side aren't very good, so we've just got to hope that he's strong enough." I thought this guy was borderline pineapple 3 years ago?
Terry Hicks says he hopes his son's case will help unseat the Liberal Party at the next federal election. I hope monkeys holding million dollar bills fly outta my ass...
However he says he does not believe an appeal to the Prime Minister today will do any good."I'm sick of making appeals to John Howard ... he doesn't do anything about it," he said. Jeez, I wonder why?
"All I can say at this point in time with John Howard is I think David's been there long enough for whatever reason. He's done his time." Jihad lasts forever. David knows the deal.
"I think it's time he came back here.If they want to put him through a court system so be it, but I think five years is long enough for anyone." Send him home to Pops in a bag.
#2
Today marks the fifth anniversary of Mr Hicks's detention in the United States military camp on suspicion of being a terrorist. He still has not been charged.
free room and board for five freakin years? We should be charging him something! Freeloading parasite!
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/11/2007 16:40 Comments ||
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#8
So is the Aussie Jihadi going for the sympathy vote? You have to give dad an "A" for effort, but the problem is that people give this guy not even the behind of Jack the Rat.
Crikey! I keep hearing crickets....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/11/2007 21:09 Comments ||
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#9
Kudos to all - laughing my butt off reading this latest report on poor daddy Hicks (and not knowing much about him, I do sympathize with his sitcheeation - having a jihadi son's gotta suck).
Sydney Muslim leader Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly has set off a new controversy, claiming Muslims have more right to be in Australia than the descendants of convicts.
He's really asking for it, isn't he.
On Arabic television, he said westerners were the world's biggest liars and accused the media of trying to bring him down.
The sheik was invited to appear on Egyptian television to explain his sermon comparing women who show some skin, to uncovered pieces of meat that invite predators. At the time, Sheikh al Hilaly claimed his comments were taken out of context, but on Today in Cairo he defended the remarks, blaming the media for the national outcry. "This is a calculated conspiracy aimed at terrorising our Islamic community, aimed at me first in order to bring the Islamic community to its knees," Sheik Hilaly said in Arabic.
"The infidels are picking on me!"
He went further, claiming Muslims had more right to be in Australia than the ancestors of convicts. "Westerners are the biggest liars, especially the English," the sheik said in translation. "The Anglo-Saxons came to Australia in shackles, while we paid for our own tickets."
That'll go over well in Australia.
He also claimed Australia's courts were racist for sentencing Bilal Skaf to 55 years' jail for gang rape.
Even the sheik's closest advisers fear a backlash over the latest remarks. They have apologised for the comments, saying the sheik's words will cause offense. "As a Muslim Australian, I can just apologise for the remarks," the sheik's spokesman Keysar Trad told 7News.
"You idiot! You're going to make them suspicious!"
#1
The Anglo-Saxons came to Australia in shackles, while we paid for our own tickets."
If anything like the UK that is the only thing muslims do pay for as once they arrive they claim every benefit going have multiple kids live of the state and then have the cheek to slag off the hand that feeds them.
#2
Sydney Muslim leader Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly has set off a new controversy, claiming Muslims have more right to be in Australia than the descendants of convicts.
It's about time the Australian government officially invited him back to Australia for a little homecoming ceremony.
Clueless POS. Perhaps one of his ancestors is a criminal. I suppose it means the meaning of his existance is diminished, too?
The higher up in the Islamic food chain they get, the more disconnected from reality their "logic" becomes. There is someting seriously wrong with this religion the higher you go. I wonder sometimes what would happen to a high-profile sane person if they accidentally made it into the upper echelons of the Islamic clergy. I don't wonder what would happen to somebody with a low profile . . . .
#3
Yeah, I'm sure the Muslims in Australia are all broken up over these comments. I'm sure they'll be staging protests any minute.
Protests against the "disrespect" and "Islamophobia" involved in sane people getting pissed at the endless crap from them and their leaders.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/11/2007 6:33 Comments ||
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#4
What a tedious little turd .. At least he's voicing Islams opinions loud and clear and the Aussies are hearing him loud and clear , thus alienating himself and his religion even more ..
Hurray for the man who digs a hole for himself and his ilk
#5
"This is a calculated conspiracy aimed at terrorising our Islamic community, aimed at me first in order to bring the Islamic community to its knees," Sheik Hilaly said in Arabic.
The Toady in Cairo (hmmm I'll leave that typo) footage was on Channel 10 late news a few minutes ago - imagine the seething and bloodshed if it was the Pope who was being taken "out of context". The only thing "aimed" at Hilali is his own footshots.
#6
The best response to this would be to create some paper charitable organization "Whose purpose is to help ex-Muslims integrate into Australian society", which tongue-in-cheek complains that they are swamped with new converts every time the Sheik speaks in public.
"For the Muslims out there who are deeply offended by the Sheik's comments, to the point of not just quitting Islam, but of formally converting to Christianity to be completely free of Islam and the Muslim community, please be patient. Our staff are working overtime to help as many of you as possible."
"But for the time being, please feel free to enter any Christian church and request conversion to Christianity. It is a private activity, so there is no need to notify anyone else, even your own family. But it will give you the peace of mind knowing that you are no longer a Muslim, like the thousands of other ex-Muslims who have not yet been able to leave their Muslim neighborhood."
#8
High time for him to be shackled and thrown in the bilge for eight months. I would delighted to give him some barren rock in Antarctica to work with; he can build his paradise there.
#9
E: High time for him to be shackled and thrown in the bilge for eight months.
Denaturalization would be better. It would demonstrate to Muslims that whatever they feel they *deserve*, what they actually get is quite another thing.
#16
Convicts had no choice but to be deported to Australia.
Muslims chose to move to Australia.
How does a person who had no choice have less of a right to be there than a person who chose? Once again, the ridiculous lack of logic from the Muslim world rears its ugly head.
#18
"The Anglo-Saxons came to Australia in shackles, while we paid for our own tickets."
Three comments. First weren't the bulk of convicts to Australia Irish and thus not Anglo-Saxons but Celts (bet that doesn't play well in Australia). Second, where does this logic leave the massive number of Greek-Australians? Third, if you bought your ticket to get there and then went on the Dole do you still have any moral high ground?
I think Howard should quip that he understood one of the pillars of Islam to be a polite guest and such rudeness from a spokesman of Islam does not speak well for the religion or this mans flock who tolerate his rudeness and unislamic statements.
#19
On Arabic television, he said westerners were the world's biggest liars and accused the media of trying to bring him down.
Methinks you're doing a fine job of bringing yourself down, there, Sheik-y! Keep up the "hate speech" and we'll make sure the world sees you all for the hate-mongering, innocents-killing, blood-thirsty death cult that you are!
Posted by: BA ||
01/11/2007 18:00 Comments ||
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#20
Everybody here in Ozland are really peeved off
with this nuckle dragger and the whole free loading mooslim ways they lead..
The time will come...
Posted by: Andrzej ||
01/11/2007 18:19 Comments ||
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#21
If Australians don't like being insulted, raped and parasitized, then change the law and kick them out. Ineffective bitching and moaning only gives muslims a perverse sense of power.
Posted by: ed ||
01/11/2007 18:44 Comments ||
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#22
"He went further, claiming Muslims had more right to be in Australia than the ancestors of convicts....The Anglo-Saxons came to Australia in shackles, while we paid for our own tickets."
I'm sure that line of argument would go down well with Farrakhan and NOI.
#23
"As a Muslim Australian, I can just apologise for the remarks," the sheik's spokesman Keysar Trad told 7News.
Notice that the Muslim tag comes first. Australian is just a subscript.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/11/2007 21:14 Comments ||
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#24
And, that he can only apologize. Not take a cluebat down to the Sheik-y's moskkk and teach hime a lesson, AP.
Posted by: BA ||
01/11/2007 21:17 Comments ||
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#25
To be fair, Alaska Paul, Muslim modifies Australian when used in that order. But that he can do no more than apologize without any real action, as BA points out, is to me the crucial point.
To commemorate the Madrid Peace Conference and mark its 15th anniversary, a group of 100 officials and peace workers will today start a two-day meeting in Madrid to discuss a fresh perspective for peace between Arabs and Israel.
John Marks, President of Search for Common Ground, one of five international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which called for the conference, said the idea may appear strange but is meant to build up on the signals that are coming from both Israel and Syria.
He said the Madrid +15 Conference had nothing to do with celebrating an event that took place in the past, but was creating a tool to bring people who are currently at odds together to discuss peace.
He said influential figures in their individual capacities from Syria, the USA, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Russia and the GCC will gather to highlight that it is possible for all sides to meet and examine the issues soberly and constructively.
However, the largest delegation has come from Israel with 11 members, while Syria which has issued signals of willingness to discuss peace with Israel, has a low profile representation with two veteran diplomats in the Madrid +15 conference. When the Madrid Peace Conference was initiated in 1991 in the wake of the Kuwaiti liberation war, Egypt was the only Arab country that signed a Camp David peace agreement with the Jewish state.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
These buffoons pursue peace in with the same degree of sophistication and effectiveness that I pursue winning lottery tickets......or Cindy Crawford.
For the obtuse out there, I haven't a clue where Cindy lives and I don't play the lottery more than once a year.
#3
AlanC dear, the fact that you haven't donated new computer equipment and a shapely assistent for Fred's next Rantburg upgrade, nor announced -- triumphantly, yet humbly -- you upcoming nuptuals with the charming Miss Crawford indicate the effectiveness of your efforts to date. ;-)
State lawmakers want to know why National Guardsmen retreated from the border in the face of armed gunmen last week and also want to nail down what exactly the soldiers' role on the border should be...
"Why would this be allowed to happen?" Nichols, the [AZ state Homeland Security and Property Rights]committee's chairman, asked. "Why do we have National Guard running from illegals on the border? Are they (National Guardsmen) armed? Do they have bullets in their guns? We need some answers to some of these questions."...
Rep. Russell Pearce, the Legislature's strongest voice on border security, said two National Guardsmen who work on the border told him their weapons do not have bullets...
In a separate announcement Tuesday, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas called on the Legislature and Congress to investigate the National Guard incident on the border. "This incident should not just be brushed by and forgotten,"
#1
Its called PROTECTING AND PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY AND TERRITORY OF THEIR HOME STATES. Once upon a time in America, before the Clintons' "This is Amerika, NOT America", the Mighty USSA = Weak anti-Sovereign Global SSR/USR, it used to be called UPHOLDING THE LAWS OF THE US GOVT AND THE US OF A.
#2
Why did they run? Because if they had shot anyone -- or any of them had been shot -- there'd have been holy hell to pay thanks to the very same politicians striking poses now. Not to mention the press outrage, the inevitable condemnation from the UN, etc.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/11/2007 6:30 Comments ||
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#4
Same damn reason a lot of these brave kids over here don't want to get involved in a firefight. If they kill anyone, the lawyers are all over it second guessing RUF/ROE and they could end up in jail like SPC Lindy England and that bunch. No big mystery to me.
#5
I haven't heard an explaination yet about why they ran. I'm assuming they are embarassered to say, but there is no good reason that backup wasn't available somehow. I hope they fix whatever the problem is or someone is demoted.
#7
If they scratch the surface... grill the CO in charge of the group, they'll find Direct Orders not to shoot and to refrain from causing an "incident". Just another travesty from DC. There is no intent to protect our borders. The Arabic scumbags have noticed this long ago also. Who knows what they've drug in here. None of these soldiers, here or in the sandbox, is allowed to fight. When is the public going to get off the Gameboy and wake up ?
#8
Don't know SpecOp, but I'd imagine they'll wake up glowing. The "public" will probably "wake up" about 5 minutes after a nuke goes off in their City and FINALLY realize what the stakes are in the fight we're in!
Posted by: BA ||
01/11/2007 17:49 Comments ||
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The attempt of a peace group to highlight the plight of Guantanamo prisoners by protesting outside the notorious US detention facility has been ignored by the mainstream American press.
The 12-person delegation, organised by a group called Code Pink, includes US peace mom Cindy Sheehan whose son was killed in the war in Iraq, Adele Welty whose firefighter son was killed on 9/11, former diplomat Ann Wright who resigned over the invasion of Iraq, and Bill Goodman of the US Centre for Constitutional Rights who has taken the cases of Guantanamo detainees to the US Supreme Court. On Thursday, according to the online site Common Dreams, the group will walk to the gates of the Guantanamo prison from the Cuban side. A petition for access to the prison itself has been denied. Okay. Lemme get this straight: The story here is that there's no story? The press produces a report that the press isn't producing a report?
I think I'll go lie down. It's just too subtle for me.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
Well, sure, but it's a Paki story that there is no story in the US. That gives it more of a "Look at those worthless US press slime - they don't even care about the valiant protestors against the evil, illegal, Bushitler, Haliburton oiloiloil torture facility" flavor.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/11/2007 6:03 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some classified documents that were unlawfully removed from the National Archives three years ago may never have reached their intended destination - the Sept. 11 commission, a House Republican report concluded Tuesday. The report contradicted Justice Department conclusions that the commission received all the necessary documents. The records were reviewed at the archives by the Clinton administration's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, who pleaded guilty in April 2005 to unlawfully removing several documents.
Released by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., the report said Berger could have taken White House staff working papers that never were inventoried by the archives. In that case, nobody would know they were gone, the report said. The Justice Department on Tuesday repeated its original position that no documents were withheld. Spokesman Bryan Sierra said the department "has no evidence that Sandy Berger's actions deprived the 9/11 Commission of documents, and we stand by our investigation of this matter."
Berger pleaded guilty to removing documents on two occasions in 2003. A report by the archives inspector general last month said that Berger acknowledged hiding some of them at a construction site near the archives building in Washington.
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#2
Let me tell you about the very rich powerful. They are different from you and me.
Posted by: F. Scott Fitzgerald ||
01/11/2007 6:37 Comments ||
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#3
Wen Ho Lee* couldn't be reached for comment.
Mr. Lee got to enjoy 278 days of pre-trial solitary confinement during the Clinton-Berger Chinese witch hunt at Los Alamos for mishandling classified documents. N.B. Presidential aspirant Bill Richardson was Energy Secretary under whom Los Alamos was operated and went quietly along for what U.S. Judge James A. Parker offered an apology to Lee for what he called "abuse of power" by the federal government in its prosecution of its case.
Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Shahabuddin Khan has won the by-election at NA-44 in Bajaur Agency on Wednesday, according to unofficial results. Khan got 19,000 votes in 59 of 61 polling stations, well ahead of his closest rival, Syed Badshah of the Pakistan Muslim League, who got 4,700 votes. Voter turnout was around 26 percent, with no women voting.
The PPP and Jamaat-e-Islami boycotted the poll, the latter organising protests in Bajaur and countrywide against the poll. Haroon Rashid of the JI vacated the seat in protest at the bombing of a local madrassa in which 80 people were killed. That was fairly brilliant of them, wasn't it?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday stressed that Pakistan must unite and address the challenge of sectarianism, not just for the countrys security, but for the entire Muslim world. If we do not get our act together, there could be a sectarian catastrophe in the Muslim world we would not only damage ourselves internally but the Islamic world as well which looks towards Pakistan to play a leading role in the current turmoil and sectarian strife, the president said while addressing the 24th Convocation of the Army Medical College (AMC).
Gen Musharraf emphasised that Pakistan could only contribute to the Umma and the global community if we achieve internal strength. Those trying to divide society on sectarian lines must be rejected, for society could implode if we do not rectify the situation now, he said. He said Pakistan must rise to the challenge and resolve the turmoil in the world as it also affects Pakistan and Muslim states.
He said religion was being made an issue in Pakistan, with some claiming that Islam was in danger in the country. He rejected the notion, saying Pakistan was safe as an Islamic republic. He urged people to vote against extremists in the next general elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
On the other hand, sectarian strife in Muzziland is a very good thing for the rest of the World.
The European Union must fill the leadership void on human rights left by the United States, which forfeited the role with its harsh treatment of terror suspects, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
The leading rights group released its 556-page World Report 2007 on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. first sending detainees to its controversial detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"Since the U.S. can't provide credible leadership on human rights, European countries must pick up the slack," the group's executive director, Kenneth Roth, said. "Instead, the European Union is punching well below its weight."LOLOL!
The voice of the U.S. "now rings hollow an enormous loss for the human rights cause," Roth said in an essay at the start of the report.Mr. Roth should be arrested for the abuse of juvenile metaphors.
He cited a speech last September by U.S. President George W. Bush, in which he spoke of an "alternative set of (interrogation) procedures."
"The last year dispelled any doubt that the Bush administration's use of torture and other mistreatment was a matter of policy dictated at the top rather than the aberrant misconduct of a few low-level interrogators," he wrote.
The New York-based group also said rights conditions in China "deteriorated significantly" in 2006 as authorities confronted rising social unrest with "stricter controls of the press, internet, academics and lawyers."
The report also found a "further deterioration" in rights protection in Russia, symbolized by the murder last fall of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Egypt, meanwhile, displayed a "heavy hand" against political dissent in 2006 by renewing emergency rule for an additional two years, which provided a continued basis for arbitrary detention and trials before military and state security courts, the report said.
The report also alleged the Israeli Defence Forces violated the laws of war "by failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians" during the summer conflict with Hezbollah guerillas in southern Lebanon.
In a separate essay, Peggy Hicks of Human Rights Watch challenged new UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of South Korea to speak out forcefully in defence of human rights.
"As South Korea's foreign minister, he was willing to subordinate human rights concerns to other objectives in his country's dialogue with North Korea," Hicks said. "In his new position, he will need to take on those who want to overlook human rights for the sake of political expediency and confront those responsible for human rights abuses."
The report also cited deteriorating situations in other countries:
* Iraq: The human rights situation worsened significantly in 2006. The continuing armed conflict became increasingly sectarian in nature, with many commentators declaring the onset of a civil war.
* Afghanistan: By late 2006, Afghanistan was on the precipice of again becoming a haven for human rights abusers, criminals and extremists, many of whom in the past have severely abused Afghans, particularly women and girls.
* China: By pouring aid and investment into countries guilty of widespread rights abuses, China put its own economic and political interests above the rights of mistreated citizens. Among such countries were Sudan, Zimbabwe and Myanmar. China failed to use its influence to promote better human rights in these countries.
* Sudan: Dissent over a May 2006 peace accord for Darfur generated further conflict and serious abuses of civilians, including forced displacement, rape, killings, and increasing attacks on humanitarian aid workers. Overall, Sudan's human rights record remained abysmal in 2006.
* Iran: Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortured and mistreated detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement.
* North Korea: The authorities allowed neither the freedom of information, association, movement, and religion, nor organized political opposition, labour activism, or independent civil society. Arbitrary arrests, torture, lack of due process and fair trials, and executions remain of grave concern.
Surprise, surprise, surprise.
UNITED NATIONS: On the fifth anniversary of the opening of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, the new U.N. secretary-general called on the United States on Thursday to close the facility for terror suspects. Okay. Does that mean it's okay to shoot them?
Ban Ki-moon was echoing an appeal by his predecessor, Kofi Annan, who urged President George W. Bush's administration in February 2006 to shut down Guantanamo as soon as possible. ...same as the old boss.
"I understand that today is the fifth anniversary of Guantanamo's prison," Ban told his first news conference since taking the reins of the U.N. on Jan 1. "Like my predecessor, I believe that prison at Guantanamo should be closed. I also remember that president Bush himself has said he would like to close it," the new secretary-general said.
Ban was asked whether he would raise the issue of closing Guantanamo during a meeting with Bush at the White House next week. I don't know. My handlers haven't told me yet.
"I'm going to visit Washington, D.C., in my capacity as the new secretary-general at the invitation of president Bush who is the leader of the host government," he said.
He then stated his belief that Guantanamo should be closed, without elaborating.
#3
Hey, Ban Man. FOAD, punk. No one cares what you think. If you had two neurons to rub together and even knew how to spell the word courage, they couldn't shut you up about the living hell that exists two hours north of your hometown but no, that might cause real trouble. You're just another cowardly son of a South Korean whore!
Posted by: mac ||
01/11/2007 16:57 Comments ||
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#6
He's Asian, read between the lines. He said he believed it should be closed, so did Bush. He did nothing in writting, on the floor of the UN and he never demanded Bush to close it or demand a timeline for closure. In otherwords he he politely agreed with Bush and the press reads it as a demand, shame on the press for not understanding and missreading his culture.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/11/2007 18:21 Comments ||
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#7
I agree it should be closed.
Shoot all the non-uniformed combatants there who were captured on the battlefield AS PERMITTED BY THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS, as should have been done from the get-go, and don't ship in any more.
We capture a non-uniformed combatant, give him (or her) a short trial and then shoot him. Rinse; repeat.
Problem solved.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/11/2007 19:21 Comments ||
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#8
Signs I'd Like to See:
United Nations HeadquartersComing soon - a new Trump Development
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's government welcomed President Bush's new strategy and promised it was committed to making sure it succeeds. Well, with that out of the way, we can get to the real story. But ordinary Iraqis gave it mixed reviews, with many expressing skepticism that an increase in U.S. troops would quell the violence ransacking ransacking? violence ransacks? their country.
A Sunni lawmaker also rejected Bush's plan to send more troops, calling instead for a timetable for them to withdraw and for direct negotiations with insurgents. "Bush's plan could be the last attempt to fix the chaos created after the invasion of Iraq. Yet, sending more troops will not end the problem, on the contrary, there will be more bloodshed," said Sunni lawmaker Hussein al-Falluji.
"The failure in Iraq will not only affect this country only but the rest of the region and the world, including the United States," said Sadiq al-Rikabi, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. "The current situation is not acceptable not only for the American people but also for the Iraqis and their government. As Iraqis and as an elected government we welcome the American commitment for success," he added. "The Iraqi government also is committed to succeed."
He also stressed the importance of the Iraqis taking the lead in military operations. "The American plan cannot succeed without us because we work in the same field in order to defeat violence and terrorism and boost the democratic system," he said.
Baghdad residents from both sects, however, said they were not optimistic that Bush's new strategy would end the Sunni-Shiite attacks that have spiraled in the capital and elsewhere since a Feb. 22 bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra. Others offered a weary acceptance of any effort to curb the violence after several failed past attempts.
Osama Ahmed, a 50-year-old Sunni who works in the Ministry of Higher Education, said he got up early to watch the speech, which aired at 5 a.m. Thursday in Iraq. "More U.S. troops will mean more wasted blood and more people killed," Ahmed said. "The violence will surge unless U.S. administration decides to curb militiamen who are part of the Iraqi government." He accused the Shiite-dominated government of backing the militias in attacking Sunnis, saying "there is no point of giving more security responsibilities to the Iraqi government because it is a sectarian government and it is responsible for the violence hitting the country."
Abdel-Karim Jassim, a 44-year-old Shiite trader, said he had hoped Bush would come up with something other than the troops increase. "Sending more troops will not solve the problem," he said, although he acknowledged that "Iraqis cannot handle security issue on their own because of the sectarian divisions and the strong militias and insurgents."
Rahim al-Waeli, a Shiite, said the Iraqi security forces need to be freed from the influence of political parties. But the 40-year-old Shiite employee in the Health Ministry was hopeful this plan would succeed where others had failed because it included efforts to boost economic aid and job creation. "I am relatively optimistic because this time the plan is not only about using force, it has some economical and service aspects," he said.
Shiite politician and former member of parliament Mariam al-Rayes also welcomed the new effort but noted Democratic opposition in the United States to the increase in troops. "Some consider president Bush an adventurer," she told the state-run Iraqiya station. "But he has found that his role now is to support this government especially after the government asked for more support and authorities."
Senior officials in al-Sadr's group said they will not comment on the speech until their political council meets later Thursday to discuss Bush's statements.
University professor Hafidh Issam, 49, said the United States had made many mistakes in Iraq and accused it of contributing to the chaos to serve its own interests in the Middle East. "They built a constant base in Iraq that would be able to threaten the neighboring countries, especially Iran and the Gulf countries," Issam said. A university professor, leftist, and Shi'ite, no doubt.
Awad Mukhtar, a 35-year-old technician, said Bush's new proposals could be Iraq's "last chance" for peace. "The security situation in Iraq is very bad, we are facing death at any moment daily," Mukhtar said. "I see the new Bush strategy as the last chance for Iraqis to save their lives ... we have no other choice, only to wait and see the results."
Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report in Baghdad.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/11/2007 06:23 ||
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#1
"Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra"
All righty, then... what's his form, and his track-record? Any perceptible slant to his stories? This is a local AP stringer in the Middle East, remember.
#2
Senior officials in al-Sadr's group said they will not comment on the speech until their political council meets later Thursday to discuss Bush's statements.
Call me a claervoyant >> jumps to thursdays meeting as a fly on the wall
council member 1 ' hey we just about to get shat on , what shall we do abu ?'
council member 2 ' well for starters lets all start seething and frothing at the mouth , wave our guns around singing alan snack-bar , and go and beat up some woman for not wearing a mask , maybe we could blow some shit up n all '
boss man mukky tata ' wait brothers , i need clarification from my bosses to the east of here , yes i just got word , all of us must shot ourselves in the foot , remain demented , be wrong as always and please carry on seething , it does wonders for our reputation'
#3
Just did a Google search. The first item there was a FindArticle listing that shows Qassim Abdul-Zahra as the author of 56 articles dating back over a couple of years. All the articles show the typical AP bias, but they cover pretty much well-verified stories.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/11/2007 12:16 Comments ||
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#4
Anyone else struck by the contrast between "Iraqi Government Welcomes Bush Plan" and "Congress Lines Up Against Bush Plan"? Apparently the country we invaded is more in favor of victory than our own Congress.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/11/2007 13:53 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON - (AP)Edited for opposing views President Bush's troop-boosting plan for Iraq was headed straight into a political gale in Congress, with Democrats, some Republicans and an increasingly organized anti-war movement arrayed against the buildup.
Lawmakers were ready to pounce on the plan Thursday during a day of congressional hearings featuring top Bush administration officials such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Congress also were considering options for a nonbinding resolution, in the manner of the United Nations to be introduced next week, denouncing the troop increase.
Also Thursday, a coalition of labor, anti-war groups and liberal organizations planned to announce a multimillion-dollar advertising and grass-roots campaign against the commitment of extra troops.
Congressional Democrats and a handful of Republicans promptly criticized the plan as an ill-advised escalation that would further mire the United States in Iraq. Several noted that the president's strategy contradicted the advice of some of his generals. Not to mention Ted Kennedy.
Gates will face a skeptical audience, particularly from new House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo. In a statement late Wednesday, Skelton dismissed Bush's plan as "three and a half years late and several hundred thousand troops short."
Looking to display party unity, House and Senate Democratic leaders issued a joint statement following the speech, asserting that Bush's plan places an increased burden on a stretched military and "endangers our national security."
In an effort to isolate Bush and his war plan, Democrats planned to seek bipartisan leftist Democrats and leftist RINO's support for a resolution that would place Congress on record opposing the troop increase. That effort, though, also underscored Democratic divisions on whether to undo Bush's plan with tougher legislative measures.
House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, chided Democrats for offering no alternative to Bush's plan. "If Democrat leaders don't support the president's plan," he said, "it's their responsibility to put forward a plan of their own for achieving victory." Why would they do that now? They won the election without it.
While Republican House and Senate leaders stood with Bush on Wednesday, other Republican lawmakers bluntly rejected the president's strategy. Among those voicing opposition to the troop buildup were Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.
"This is a dangerously wrong-headed strategy that will drive America deeper into an unwinnable swamp at a great cost," said Hagel, a Vietnam War veteran and potential GOP presidential candidate. Nothing is unwinnable, Chuck. Our enemies understand that.
Hagel is among the senators Rice will face when she testifies Thursday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The committee is also a perch for a handful of potential Democratic presidential candidates, including Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and committee chairman Joseph Biden of Delaware.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, a longtime opponent of the war, said he feared Bush was setting the stage for a wider regional war. "Isn't one war enough for this president?" he said.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/11/2007 06:08 ||
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#1
Question for Rantburgers: how many of the 435 Reps and 100 Sens seriously deserve incarceration for the duration for having provided material aid and assistance to the enemy? My guesstimate is at least 250 Reps and 35 Sens.
Posted by: mac ||
01/11/2007 9:00 Comments ||
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Posted by: Bobby ||
01/11/2007 10:23 Comments ||
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#5
"Among those [Republican] voicing opposition to the troop buildup were Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska."
Other then Olympia Snowe, a RINO who no doubt won reelection in part by her sniping at the Iraq war, what do the others in this group have in common?
Susan Collins:Up for Re-election: 2008
Norm Coleman:Up for Re-election: 2008
Sam Brownback: Announced Presidential bid, Election: 2008
Chuck Hagel: Soon to announce presidential bid, Election: 2008
#7
..One thing that has struck me as downright funny (if it wasn't so potentially dangerous) is how the MSM and its political allies presented the ISG report (before its release)as simply the rubber stamp on a retreat that would 'have' to happen, mainly because they said
it would 'have' to happen. It's interesting indeed how after it became clear that the President would NOT meekly follow the ISG's reccomendations, the report has pretty much dropped from the front pages.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/11/2007 11:40 Comments ||
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#9
Several noted that the president's strategy contradicted the advice of some of his generals.
Someone might what to clue in the 'Congress' that Bush is the Commander in Chief of the military. He is not beholden to follow the advice of his generals or every tin-plated 'expert' the media can come up with.
House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, chided Democrats for offering no alternative to Bush's plan. "If Democrat leaders don't support the president's plan," he said, "it's their responsibility to put forward a plan of their own for achieving victory."
Oh they have a plan - SURRENDER - but they know that their plan is unacceptable unless they cause more and more americans to be killed (by cutting funding..).
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, a longtime opponent of the war, said he feared Bush was setting the stage for a wider regional war.
No - its already a regional war - Iran has been at war with us since 76.
If I was George Bush, which I'm not, but if I was, I would be getting pretty tired of the political mudslinging and general mental derrangement on the part of Democritics and the Loony Tunes Left mediasphere in the middle of a war. No matter what I do, it is wrong, stupid, and criminal. Not because it is wrong, stupid, and criminal, but because I'm George Bush.
So if James Carter Baker and Lee Harvey Hamilton and the rest of the Incredibly Senile Geezers™ got together, they could produce a report that would precis everything wrong, stupid, and criminal that I had undertaken in Iraq, with a solution to fix everything wrong, stupid, and criminal. This Illustrated Stupid George™ would contain every criticism made of me, all in one place, to which all the Illuminati Smarter Globalites™ could wave in their International Sercle Gerk.
But the more they wave it around, the more it starts to look like Inedible Smelly Garbage.
Could I, George Bush, be smart enough to create Indefensible Stinking Guidelines™ that actually make my original Invade Saddam Game appear less wrong, less stupid, and less criminal?
Which is why nobody talks about it.
Posted by: john ||
01/11/2007 13:30 Comments ||
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#11
You know I was a skeptic at first but lets just go ahead and embrace this Democrat theory and support it everywhere. If fewer troops will make Iraq safer, wont fewer police make L.A., Oakland, Detroit, New Orleans, and DC safer? I would also like to point out an obvious fact that since the invasion of Iraq the LLL and the MSM have be decrying the lack of troops as a reason for lack of progress. I pray to God that some of the adults step in and stop this childish behavior.
#15
Where the f is John Kerry in all of this. I haven't heard a peep about this from him. Methinks its because he's waiting to see which way the polls tell him to go.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/11/2007 17:08 Comments ||
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#16
EU6305 - You're right!
[hangs head in shame]
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/11/2007 17:44 Comments ||
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#17
CyberSarge,
That theory has already been tried. When the Rodney King riots started in LA the Police pulled out of the riot areas.
We all remember how wonderfully that turned out.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
01/11/2007 17:45 Comments ||
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#18
I'm not surprised at the list of RINOs, with the exception of Sen. Brownback. WTF is up with him? I almost wonder if he's against the President's plan because it "doesn't go far enough"(tm).
OT here: Is there a general website which lists all the keystrokes needed for the differing codes (like the tm sign)? I remember someone posting how to do the superscript "tm", but I misplaced where I wrote it down.
Posted by: BA ||
01/11/2007 18:08 Comments ||
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#19
BA, someone posted this here some time ago. I've kept it, even though I'm going to have to progress a great deal in my computer abilities before I'm ready to make use of it. Have fun!
Common computer characters
1) Num Lock ON
2) hold down Alt key and, on the number pad, type 0163:
£
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/11/2007 20:23 Comments ||
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#23
Where the f is John Kerry in all of this. I haven't heard a peep about this from him. Methinks its because he's waiting to see which way the polls tell him to go.
Well, he was on FoxNews this morning, but as soon as I saw his face I turned the TV off. So, I can't relate what he said, but I'm sure it was a steaming pile of bovine excrement deeply considered and weighty and soberly reflective.
#24
OT here: Is there a general website which lists all the keystrokes needed for the differing codes (like the tm sign)?
There are plenty. This one HERE will get you started. There are also these things called search engines.
I've only heard of them in passing, but I'm told that one can use them to find information on all manner of wonders.
Posted by: Chuck Darwin ||
01/11/2007 20:38 Comments ||
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#25
I use the Index dot HTML site. For a direct link to its HTML entities pages, you can use this.
Remember, some of the more outré characters may not appear in the font a reader is using. Using Unicode escapes is a bit potluck. The hexadecimal escape ℞ is supposed to be the prescription symbol ℞. Most fonts don't include all of Unicode, though. If you don't see it, sorry.
General rule: Use Windows Character Map or the Mac Character Palette to find the symbol you want to type in a Unicode font. Don't choose Zapf Dingbats—choose a Unicode font that includes the dingbat block. Don't make any Rob Reiner jokes either. Get the decimal or hexadecimal value for it. If you have the decimal value, type &# followed by the value followed by a semicolon. Don't type any spaces. If you have the hexadecimal value, type &#x followed by the value followed by a semicolon.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
01/11/2007 23:35 Comments ||
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SULEIMANIYAH, Iraq Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Wednesday said delay the execution of two of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants.
This is not the time to lose your nerve.
Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, were sentenced to death after being found guilty along with Saddam of involvement in killing 148 Shiite Muslims after a 1982 assassination attempt on the former leader in the northern town of Dujail.
Their executions were postponed, however, until after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which ended a week ago. Iraqi officials have said the two men were expected to be hanged in the coming days, but no date has been released.
"In my opinion we should wait on the executions," Talabani said Wednesday at a news conference with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad. "We should examine the situation," he said without elaborating.
Sounds like the tranzis got to him.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that Khalilzad asked him to delay Saddam's execution for 10 days to two weeks, but added that Iraqi officials rejected the demand.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
Talabani long ago joined an int. lawyers' group opposed to capital punishment. He's worked out an arrangement where the other members of the presidency council sign off on executions - his position doesn't impede the process.
Iraq's prime minister has told Shiite militiamen to surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, senior Iraqi officials said Wednesday, as American and Iraqi troops prepared major military operations aimed at ending sectarian warfare in Baghdad.
The move came as President Bush said he will send an additional of 21,500 American combat troops to Iraq, according to excerpts of a speech the president was set to deliver later Wednesday. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, head of Iraq's Shiite-led government, previously had blocked several U.S. attempts to crack down on fighters controlled by his most powerful political ally, Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric. ``Prime Minister al-Maliki has told everyone that there will be no escape from attack,'' a senior Shiite legislator and close al-Maliki adviser said. ``The government has told the Sadrists: 'If we want to build a state we have no other choice but to attack armed groups.'''
Al-Maliki on Saturday announced that his government would implement a new security plan for Baghdad, which consists of neighborhood-by-neighborhood sweeps by Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops. In the past, the Iraqi government has tried to prevent American military operations against the Mahdi Army, while giving U.S. forces a free hand against Sunni militants. The Bush administration has pushed al-Maliki, who took office in May, to curb his militia allies or allow U.S. troops to do the job.
Although al-Maliki withdrew political protection from the Mahdi Army, there was no guarantee the Shiite fighters would be easily routed from the large and growing area of Baghdad under their control. The militia has more fighters, weapons and sophistication today than it did in 2004, when it battled U.S. forces to a standstill in two strongholds, the Shiite holy city of Najaf and Sadr City, Baghdad's sprawling Shiite slum. That's what's known as "Pay me now, pay me later."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Cause the Great Satan is beginning to caught on?
#2
How I hate the Guardian , good news , badly reported , and distorted , with extra dribble on top for icing ..
Does this mean we have a free policy to reign in Sadrs militia in Ansar , Basra , and central Baghdad ? Disarming doesnt cut it for me ,seeing as they are been supplied with weapons at a faster rate than we take them off ..
A statement along the lines of all non-iraqi civs to leave the country ASAP , would be a good start , quickly followed by outlawing any militia , with a shoot on site policy for any non servicemen armed with anything heavier than a 9mm pistol . We could all have a laugh aswell if a guns-for-cash hand-in policy was activated .
Secondly we need to approach Iran with a no holds barred action approach . I for one like the signs that we are gearing up to a pre-emp on Iran .. a non -invasion , but strikes to totally wipe out their pathetic religio-state infrastructure .. put them back in the stone age where islam lives . Bad infrastructure will put back their nuke program substantially , and will inevitably lead to decay of their investments in the pursuit of nucleur tec , which in turn will lead to civil unrest from the non extremists /political groups , see how Iran's nutjob leaders likes other people stoking the fires of hate in their country
2007 is going to be a very rough but rewarding year I feel .
#3
There have been many MSM articles about what Maliki said, none of them with direct quotes. At the moment I don't believe any of these recent articles. Maliki is likely to repeat his past performance and get in the way of effective US actions against Shiite militias.
MacNails nailed it.
#4
I'm guessing Maliki will not be able to save Tater this time. Too much politcal pressure. Anyone want fresh baked Tater-Tots with their popcorn? Get 'em while they're still warm!
#5
We fought to a standstill because we were soooo worried about civilian casualties and bad PR from imbedded reporters. I don't think it will play out like that this time. Probably more like Falluja.
#7
The militia has more fighters, weapons and sophistication today than it did in 2004, when it battled U.S. forces to a standstill in two strongholds, the Shiite holy city of Najaf and Sadr City, Baghdad's sprawling Shiite slum.
Huh, what!?
How come I never heard anything about this? The Sadrites battled the US Army and Marines to a standstill? Did anybody tell them?
It was my understanding that the planned assaults in these areas were called off at the request of Maliki.
Let's use those Lancers we have in theater to do what they were designed to - level Najaf and Sadr City, rubble the level, then make the rubble bounce a few times. Then salt the earth, look around, and say "Who wants to f&^k with us next?"
#11
Yes. Iraq is supposedly a sovereign nation again and we are supposedly there with their consent. Without it, the political pressure in this country to get out will be too great. Consent will be given as long as we go after Sunnis. Go after Shiites who do run the government and they will demand we leave immediately.
Posted by: ed ||
01/11/2007 20:02 Comments ||
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Unswayed by anti-war passions, President Bush to say Wednesday he will send 21,500 additional U.S. forces to Iraq to break the cycle of violence and ``hasten the day our troops begin coming home.'' He acknowledged making mistakes in earlier security efforts in Baghdad. The troop buildup will push the American presence in Iraq toward its highest level and put Bush on a collision course with the new Democratic Congress. It also runs counter to advice from some generals.
Bush was to announce the buildup in a prime-time speech to the nation. Excerpts of his remarks were released in advance by the White House. The president was to say Iraq must meet its responsibilities, too - but he put no deadlines on Baghdad to do so. ``America's commitment is not open-ended,'' he planned to say. ``If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people.''
Bush readily acknowledged making mistakes in previous efforts to quell the near-anarchy in Baghdad. ``There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents,'' the president said. ``And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have.''
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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Because that's all the Paleos are lacking, yup, just a little unity.
CAIRO - Egypt and Jordan are trying to convince the Palestinian factions to form a national unity government, the Egyptian foreign minister told a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Wednesday. The two countries are pushing the Palestinian factions towards an internal accord for the formation of a government of technocrats or a government of national unity, Ahmed Abul Gheit said.
The conference came during a visit by Jordans King Abdullah II to Cairo to discuss regional developments with Egyptian President for Life Hosni Mubarak, especially the growing conflict between Palestinian factions.
There is a Palestinian government that should be respected and that must be respected, said Abul Gheit, while stating that the authority of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas should be respected as well.
On Monday, Mubarak called on the Palestinians to unify their ranks to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state and relaunch the peace process.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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Palestinian Prime Minister Esmail Haniya of Hamas yesterday called on the Palestinians to work to prevent internal violence from exploding into an all-out civil war. "We stress the necessity of sparing the Palestinian people any internal confrontations and to avoid using weapons as a medium for dialogue and to focus on dialogue only to solve our differences," he said before a Cabinet meeting. "The differences exist, they are there, but this does not mean that they should be solved by gun fire."
Haniya's Islamic Hamas group, which controls the Cabinet and parliament, and the more moderate Fatah, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, have been engaged in bloody street battles that have killed 35 Palestinians over the past month.
Haniya said the fighting "will please enemies of the Palestinians, who want to see civil war." Haniya spoke a day after Hamas-linked militants gave their first word on the condition of an Israeli soldier they captured more than six months ago.
"Gilad Shalit is in good health and is being treated according to Islamic standards of dealing with prisoners of war," said Abu Mujahid of the Palestinian Resistance Committees, a militant group linked to Hamas. "We are ready to keep him for years, as long as our demands are not met."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
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And yes Mr Haniya , it pleases me to see that you are more interested at the moment in killing your brothers than indiscriminatly attacking Israeli civs.
Of course we are happy you ingrates couldnt run a bath let alone a country , you just keep on proving us right .. thanks for the clarification , nutwad
#5
Just as a counterbalance, you understand, I'm urging paleonutballs to go to full-out, balls-to-the-wall civil war. Slaughter as many of the internal enemy as you can. Men, women, children--it doesn't matter. Allan knows his own and he will sort them out.
Don't leave one person alive who has the slightest deviation from the most rigid standard of orthodoxy. I promise to award a prize (guaranteed halal) to the last Paleo standing and burial with all deserved military honors for all those who fell in the fighting. Honest!
Posted by: mac ||
01/11/2007 7:03 Comments ||
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#6
Don't listen to him. Go for an all-out civil war. My stockholders would thank you.
Calling the Wednesday evening bombings in General Santos, Kidapawan and Cotabato cities satanic and demonic, the ceasefire committees of both government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) vowed in a joint statement that they will not allow the incidents to disrupt or derail the ongoing peace process.
"No, no, certainly not. The Peace Process (TM) and its free shrimp cocktails and friendly masseuses must continue at all costs. Too bad about all those dead civilians. So very sad, really. Would you be so kind and pass that platter of reduction of whirled peas down this way. Thanks ever so."
The joint statement, signed by Army Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea for the Philippine government and Von Al Haq for the MILF, condemned to the highest degree the January 10 bombings in the cities of General Santos, Kidapawan and Cotabato that left six people dead and 30 others wounded.
The joint CCCH was in General Santos City for its monthly meeting at the East Asia Royale Hotel here on January 9 and the tripartite meeting with the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team on January 10. In a statement, the Joint Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities (Joint CCCH) of the government and the MILF said the dastardly and cowardly act is a handiwork of barbaric, uncivilized and totally misguided people whose intention is nothing but to inflict serious injuries, destroy lives of innocent people, and perpetrate instability as well as terrorism. This act is a crime committed against humanity and, therefore, deserves the indignation of the entire human race. The joint CCCH was in General Santos City for its monthly meeting at the East Asia Royale Hotel here on January 9 and the tripartite meeting with the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team on January 10.We are totally convinced as well that these bombings can never impose negative effects to the ongoing GRP-MILF peace process. This can never disrupt, neither derail, the smooth-sailing peace overtures being undertaken by the government and the MILF anchored on finding a just and enduring solution to the conflict in Mindanao, that is the good of all its people regardless of race or religion, it said, adding their assurances to the public that the resolve of the joint GRP-MILF CCCH to protect the interest of peace and goodwill and gains of the GRP-MILF peace process on the ground became even more unshakeable in the midst of these demonic bombing incidents.
US agents are poised to take covert action against the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The Central Intelligence Agency has been authorised to move against it as part of a secret plan by US President George W Bush to help the Lebanese Government halt the spread of Iranian influence. Senators and congressmen have been briefed on the classified "non-lethal presidential finding" that allows the CIA to provide financial and logistical support to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
The finding was signed by Bush before Christmas after discussions between his aides. Details of its existence, known only to a small circle of White House officials, intelligence officials and members of Congress, have been passed to The Daily Telegraph. It authorises the CIA and other agencies to fund anti-Hezbollah groups in Lebanon and pay for activists supporting the Siniora Government. The secrecy of the finding means that US involvement is officially deniable.
The Bush administration hopes that the Siniora Government, severely weakened after its war with Israel last year, will become a bulwark against the growing power of Shiites, championed by Iran and Syria. Bush has launched a fresh drive, supported by some regional governments as well as Israel, to stop Iranian hegemony in the Middle East emerging from the collapse of Iraq. He is increasingly alarmed at the threat from Iran, which has infiltrated the Iraqi government and is training Shiite insurgents and supplying them with roadside bombs.
A former US government official said: "Siniora is under siege and we are always looking for ways to help allies. Hezbollah is the A-team of terrorism and Iran and Syria have not let up in their support of the group."
The Israeli Government, which views Iran as its chief enemy, has been supportive. "There's a feeling in [Occupied] Jerusalem that the anti-Sunni tilt in the region has gone too far," said an intelligence source. "By removing Saddam, we've shifted things in favour of the Shiites and this is a counter-balancing exercise."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The mission is so secret that the President can deny it, but someone the telegraph got a hold of it. Salt to taste. Now, if we could just talk Israel into taking on hezbullah, we might be getting somewhere.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/11/2007 1:26 Comments ||
Top||
#2
D ***ng it, TOM BERENGER still hasn't returned my island wear shirt from SNIPER!
#7
"There's a feeling in [Occupied] Jerusalem that the anti-Sunni tilt in the region has gone too far," said an intelligence source. "By removing Saddam, we've shifted things in favour of the Shiites and this is a counter-balancing exercise."
"A feeling" ... for phuechs sake! This is meaningless US State Dept donk or Klingon doublespeak and jibberish. Just another way to blame the administration for streaching Saddam's neck. Next headline you read will be, "Hezbot's hold contractors/Klingon's with longish infidel hair for randsom or execution as spies. White House and State Department deny allegations."
#11
Can't take the bet Darth. The CIA has too many information men and information processes in Leb. which can't be risked, it would give away part of the priceless store-house of CIA inside info.
#12
They called in the CIA because the first string choice, BSA (Boy Scouts of America) troops 933, 487, 1118, and 4077, would have missed too many weekly meetings...
#13
After watching the imbecillic antics of the CIA over the last 20 years, I wouldn't trust them to shoot a rabid dog at their doorsteps. Special Forces, Delta Force, a few others I can't name - THEM I trust. The CIA could screw up a solid steel bowling ball (my friends at NIMA excluded).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/11/2007 14:16 Comments ||
Top||
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.
Former Canadian commander of NATO troops in southern Afghanistan says the mission is making headway, but insists Pakistan must help shut down the Taliban. 
Sudan's government and Darfur rebels have agreed to a 60-day cease-fire and a peace summit sponsored by the African Union and United Nations as steps toward stopping the violence in west Sudan, a visiting U.S. official said Wednesday. "President [Omar al-]Bashir agreed to the start of a peace process that includes a 60-day cessation of hostilities," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, while visiting Sudan. 
Sydney Muslim leader Sheik 
To commemorate the Madrid Peace Conference and mark its 15th anniversary, a group of 100 officials and peace workers will today start a two-day meeting in Madrid to discuss a fresh perspective for peace between Arabs and Israel.
The attempt of a peace group to highlight the plight of Guantanamo prisoners by protesting outside the notorious US detention facility has been ignored by the mainstream American press.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some classified documents that were unlawfully removed from the National Archives three years ago may never have reached their intended destination - the Sept. 11 commission, a House Republican report concluded Tuesday. The report contradicted Justice Department conclusions that the commission received all the necessary documents. The records were reviewed at the archives by the Clinton administration's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, who pleaded guilty in April 2005 to unlawfully removing several documents.
Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Shahabuddin Khan has won the by-election at NA-44 in Bajaur Agency on Wednesday, according to unofficial results. Khan got 19,000 votes in 59 of 61 polling stations, well ahead of his closest rival, Syed Badshah of the Pakistan Muslim League, who got 4,700 votes. Voter turnout was around 26 percent, with no women voting.
President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday stressed that Pakistan must unite and address the challenge of sectarianism, not just for the countrys security, but for the entire Muslim world. If we do not get our act together, there could be a sectarian catastrophe in the Muslim world
we would not only damage ourselves internally but the Islamic world as well which looks towards Pakistan to play a leading role in the current turmoil and sectarian strife, the president said while addressing the 24th Convocation of the Army Medical College (AMC). 
WASHINGTON - 
Looking to display party unity, House and Senate Democratic leaders issued a joint statement following the speech, asserting that Bush's plan places an increased burden on a stretched military and "endangers our national security."
SULEIMANIYAH, Iraq Iraqi President 
Iraq's prime minister has told Shiite militiamen to surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, senior Iraqi officials said Wednesday, as American and Iraqi troops prepared major military operations aimed at ending sectarian warfare in Baghdad. 
Unswayed by anti-war passions, President Bush to say Wednesday he will send 21,500 additional U.S. forces to Iraq to break the cycle of violence and ``hasten the day our troops begin coming home.'' He acknowledged making mistakes in earlier security efforts in Baghdad. The troop buildup will push the American presence in Iraq toward its highest level and put Bush on a collision course with the new Democratic Congress. It also runs counter to advice from some generals. 
Palestinian Prime Minister Esmail Haniya of Hamas yesterday called on the Palestinians to work to prevent internal violence from exploding into an all-out civil war. "We stress the necessity of sparing the Palestinian people any internal confrontations and to avoid using weapons as a medium for dialogue and to focus on dialogue only to solve our differences," he said before a Cabinet meeting. "The differences exist, they are there, but this does not mean that they should be solved by gun fire." 
Calling the Wednesday evening bombings in General Santos, Kidapawan and Cotabato cities satanic and demonic, the ceasefire committees of both government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) vowed in a joint statement that they will not allow the incidents to disrupt or derail the ongoing peace process.
US agents are poised to take covert action against the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The Central Intelligence Agency has been authorised to move against it as part of a secret plan by US President George W Bush to help the Lebanese Government halt the spread of Iranian influence. Senators and congressmen have been briefed on the classified "non-lethal presidential finding" that allows the CIA to provide financial and logistical support to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
