Australia is considering plans to double its troop deployment to Afghanistan to about 1,000 to head off an expected spring resurgence of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said on Thursday. But Nelson ruled out any plans to follow Britain's lead and reduce Australia's military commitments in Iraq, saying any phased withdrawal of soldiers helping provide security in Iraq's south would put the lives of those who remain in danger.
Australia has about 1,400 military personnel in and around Iraq, including about 500 soldiers providing security in the country's south, and about 500 in Afghanistan working with Dutch NATO forces in the Uruzgan province. "We are very concerned about the activities of al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan," Nelson told Australian television on Thursday. "What I have decided to do is to send a small scoping group over to Afghanistan to have a very close look at it."
Australia withdrew its special forces commandos from Afghanistan last September, but The Australian newspaper said Australia would send about 250 special forces troops back to Afghanistan, as well as extra helicopter support. Nelson said while Australia had not yet made a formal decision to deploy extra troops to Afghanistan, he had discussed the issue with the Netherlands, British and U.S. governments and Australians should not be surprised if extra troops were sent.
Federal Labor leader Kevin Rudd says the Opposition supports sending more Australian troops to Afghanistan
Labor opposes sending more troops to Iraq but Mr Rudd says the party believes Australia needs to be fighting in Afghanistan. "We've always taken a constructive, bipartisan approach to the war against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban and the drug trade in Afghanistan," he said. "We'll continue to adopt that positive, bipartisan approach."
Posted by: ed ||
02/22/2007 00:39 ||
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Somali insurgents on Wednesday warned against the impending deployment of African peacekeepers, as families began burying their dead after some of the heaviest violence to hit the capital city this year. Just hours after the UN Security Council voted unanimously to authorise an African Union (AU) force to help stabilise Somalia, one insurgent leader said they will fight any foreign troops who are sent into the country.
"The UN should keep its hand off our country because the Islamist forces are ready to fight any foreign troops whether they are blue helmet or black helmet."
"The UN should keep its hand off our country because the Islamist forces are ready to fight any foreign troops whether they are blue helmet or black helmet," said the insurgent leader, who bravely asked to be identified only as Osman and who claimed to be part of a newly formed extremist group called the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations.
The longer the group's title the more fearsome it is.
The UN hopes the 8,000-member AU force can stabilise the country following the ouster earlier this year of an Islamist movement that controlled much of southern Somalia since June. The deployment is also meant to prevent a vacuum of power and allow the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces that supported Somalia's weak transitional government in battles against the Islamist fighters. The peacekeepers will have to confront the growing violence that has plagued the capital, Mogadishu, since the battle with the Islamic Courts Union.
Fifteen people were killed and 45 wounded on Tuesday in deadly cross fire between Somali government forces and Ethiopian troops battling against radical elements of the ousted Islamist group. Hundreds of families have begun fleeing the capital and hospitals say they are struggling to cope with the daily influx of wounded. Meanwhile, the city's powerful warlords are said to be buying new weaponry. The UN resolution urges the 53 African nations to contribute troops to the 8,000-member force and urges other UN member states to provide financial support and any needed personnel, equipment and services.
This article starring:
Islamic Courts Union
Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Rooters) - An Egyptian blogger was convicted for insulting Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday and sentenced to four years in jail over his writings on the Internet.
Abdel Karim Suleiman, a former law student in his early 20s, was the first blogger to stand trial in Egypt for his Internet writings. He has been in custody since November over eight articles he wrote on his blog (www.rezgar.com/debat) since 2004.
Suleiman, a Muslim and a liberal, has not denied writing the articles but said they merely represented his own views.
Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that seven Saudi detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba have been released by US authorities. The Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency that the seven detainees arrived in Riyadh yesterday morning. The ministry gave the names of the released detainees as: Majed Al-Harbi, Rashed Al-Ghamdi, Faisal Al-Naser, Muhammad Al-Harbi, Naser Al-Subaei, Abdullah Al-Judi and Majed Al-Qurashi.
Interior Minister Prince Naif welcomed the release of the Saudi detainees. Following directives from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the Kingdom is pursuing its efforts to get all Saudis held in Guantanamo Bay released, he told SPA. According to the spokesman of the Interior Ministry Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, this is the seventh group of detainees to be freed. Al-Turki said that the ministry had arranged for detainees families to meet the freed prisoners in Riyadh. Asked about the fate of other detainees previously released from the prison, the spokesman said that they had been tried according to the laws of the Kingdom and released. All in the six previous groups have been tried and released from prison, he told Arab News. He said that the latest group had undergone medical tests upon their arrival and would be tried according to the Saudi laws. If their trials produce no evidence against them, they will be released, he said.
Arab News met some of the freed detainees family members yesterday. Abdullah Al-Subaei, the brother of Naser Al-Subaei, said he had learned about his brothers release from the Interior Ministry which phoned the family early yesterday morning.
We arrived from Jubail this morning to meet Naser in the afternoon, he said. Abdullah said that his mother had been hospitalized due to high blood pressure due to her constant worrying about her sons condition in prison. As soon as we told her the good news, she immediately asked us to take her with us to Riyadh. Her spirits are up and we are all excited, he went on. He said that it had been several years since he saw his brother and that the family understood that Naser had been captured by US authorities while doing charity work near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
There have been no letters for over a year. We have been very worried. But thank God, he is back home now, he said. Abdullah thanked Prince Muhammad ibn Naif, assistant interior minister for security affairs, for his support for the families of the Guantanamo Bay prisoners. The release of the seven Saudis yesterday from Guantanamo puts the remaining number of Saudis still there at 68, down from the original 130, according to attorney Kateb Al-Shammari who represents the families of some of the Saudi detainees.
This article starring:
ABDULLAH AL JUDI
al-Qaeda
Abdullah Al-Subaei
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah
FAISAL AL NASER
al-Qaeda
Kateb Al-Shammari
MAJED AL HARBI
al-Qaeda
MAJED AL QURASHI
al-Qaeda
Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki
MUHAMAD AL HARBI
al-Qaeda
NASER AL SUBAEI
al-Qaeda
Prince Muhammad ibn Naif
RASHED AL GHAMDI
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I hope every commander in Iraq gets a copy of these idiot's mug shots. If we catch one of them there, they get a bullet and a burial in an unmarked grave "somewhere in Iraq". Leave no records, just let them "disappear". Let mommie and daddie wonder forever where sunni-boy is, and whether he's living or dead.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/22/2007 4:11 Comments ||
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Seriously WTF?
Is the U.S. gov't even going to pretend that these guys aren't jihadis?
#4
Naser had been captured by US authorities while doing charity work near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Yeah, ummmmmmmmmm...charity work, fixing a car, checking out the school system, looking for a bride, religious training....THERE WAS A TERRIBLE STORM!!!
TEN people have been arrested in Sydney during violent clashes between police and protesters at a rally ahead of the arrival of US Vice-President Dick Cheney. The protest, organised by Stop the War Coalition at Town Hall, turned nasty when about 200 people attempted to break a line of police and march to the US Consulate in Martin Place. The officers, supported by a line of mounted police, held their positions as activists attempted to break through.
Ten people were arrested in the scuffle with police which calmed after officers negotiated with organisers to allow the group to march on the footpath during busy peak hour traffic.
Superintendent Ron Mason, from The Rocks Local Area Command, said police supported the right to demonstrate as long as there was no disruption to the community. He said an application from the demonstrators was received but it was unreasonable for demonstrators to block busy streets during peak hour. "Police have been negotiating for days with this group and they agreed to hold a static demonstration at Town Hall," Supt Mason said. "As you can see they rescinded that, a number of speakers got on the microphone to attempt to ensure the protesters broke the police line and to block the roadway.
Three Muslim men and one woman arrested in Bulgaria for promoting radical Islam and calling for a jihad via two websites will be released on bail today, prosecutor Chavdar Angelov announced on Thursday.
The prosecutor said posting radical ideas on a website was a minor offence in Bulgaria and the four would be released. They can leave the country anytime they want. According to the Bulgarian punishment code the severest punishment in Bulgaria for promoting radical islam is a fine of 300 levs (150 euros). The four have no other previous offences, Mr Angelov told reporters.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Union of Bulgarian Muslims Sali Harshinki said they don't have anything to with the accused, and they couldn't afford to manage a website because of insufficient funding.
Mr Harshinki told reporters they are trying to attract more Muslims to their organization as members are obliged to pay a fee to the union. "In that way we would be able to develop our organization further and prepare various projects on promoting islam," Mr Harshinski added.
The French presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen provoked outrage among British veterans yesterday when he compared the September 11, 2001, attacks on America to RAF-led bombing raids during World War II.
The National Front leader and presidential candidate said both were "terrorist acts as they expressly targeted civilians to force military leaders to capitulate."
In hugely controversial comments, Mr. Le Pen, who is 79, also dismissed the atrocities in 2001 as a mere "incident."
British World War II veterans reacted with anger toward Mr. Le Pen's comments about the RAF.
Posted by: DanNY ||
02/22/2007 01:14 ||
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#1
Actually, Bomber Command targeted "built up areas" where the war industry was established. There was some quid pro quo responses to Nazi targeting of Coventry and other civilian areas. Mass murders committed by Germans were carried out by policing agencies as the Gestapo.
#2
I wonder if he's referring to attacks on German cities, like Dresden, or French cities against Nazi targets? The famous Norden bombsight "bomb in a pickle barrel from 20,000 feet" was rarely that accurate when dodging clouds, flack and fighters, and a lot of "collateral damage" was done all over Europe.
By the way, Mr. Le Pen - You're welcome.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/22/2007 5:50 Comments ||
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The residents of Oradour-sur-Glane could not be reached for comment.
#6
May I be the first to wish that you and the French were speaking German right now. Jeebus, the cog dis is astounding...is it in the wine over there?
Posted by: BA ||
02/22/2007 10:43 Comments ||
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May I be the first to wish that you and the French were speaking German right now
I suspect he would like it. Now if you really want to piss him wish that his grand children and all the French speak American. That is the way to cause him him a stroke.
#11
Right after 9/11 a ammonium nitrate plant blew up in Toulouse France.
At the center of the explosion were found bodyparts from a muslim who had been fired the day before.
This explosion's cause was reported as an industrial accident and not as a warning to France.
Nobody has ever reported why this fired employee was dead at the scene with a martyrs clothes on.
For some reason this didn't grab much French or world attention other then around Toulouse.
Michelle Malkin has plenty of detail on the attacker, and--you'll never believe this, I know!--he's an anti-Semite who can't compose a sentence without using the F-word, and he's been stalking College Republicans over the Internet.
Hit the link for all the details.
Posted by: Mike ||
02/22/2007 13:56 ||
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#1
Dude! I want to kick Andrew Stones ass right now!
#2
Just what I figured. Read DU and KoS and you'll know there's a lot of guys like this out there. They are getting more insane all the time. Wait until the 2008 election cycle shifts into high gear and I expect more and worse attacks. Lock and load.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/22/2007 16:12 Comments ||
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Sigh...it's sad that this type of cretin is growing up in America today and might one day be elected to government.
I just cannot understand why, if these types of people hate this country so much, why do they stay here? They're free to leave any time they want.
I'll help pay for their ticket anywhere in the world they want to go with the stipulation that they renounce their American citizenship and never, ever come back.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A U.S. congresswoman called on the Bush administration Wednesday to reconsider its ban on selling parts for U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to Venezuela, urging improved ties between the two nations.
Cynthia's no longer in Congress, so one guess who this is ...
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, told reporters that she was making the first U.S. congressional visit to Venezuela since President Hugo Chavez's December re-election with the message: "I want an immediate repairing of the relations between the United States and Venezuela."
Jackson Lee described Venezuela, as a friendly nation that the U.S. should cooperate with and said that the F-16 jets, which are built in Texas, was an issue of concern to her constituents in Houston. Just call it Pork Barrel Seditionist style.
Pledging to "personally go back and raise" the issue, she called for the U.S. Congress "to reconsider sanctions on the F-16s." She added, In light of what we know now, how can anybody disagree with Hugo? All he said was that Bush was the Devil incarnate and that the imperialistic US must be brought to its knees. And besides that, wasnt it just dreamy how he wasnt afraid to say that the 9/11 terrorist attack was self inflicted.
The U.S. State Department has banned arms sales to Venezuela, including parts necessary to maintain its fleet of F-16s, citing a lack of support by Chavez's government for counter terrorism efforts and its close relations with Iran and Cuba.
Venezuela has since begun receiving the first of 24 Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets as part of approximately $3 billion in military deals that Chavez has signed with Moscow. She said her fact-finding mission to Venezuela was part of an effort by a new Democrat-controlled Congress to show that "Venezuela has many friends in this new Congress."
"We're here to re-establish friendship," she said. Just like the Bashar Assad episode.
#1
Jeebus, I knew who it was before I even clicked the linky. I've gotta wonder if she polled her "constituents" who actually build those F-16s on whether or not they think we should sell to Hugo? I'ma bettin' that the large majority would be against it too.
Posted by: BA ||
02/22/2007 10:47 Comments ||
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#2
Sheila Jackson is an idiot. She is a rascist, and represents the worst of American politics. Ask her why she is banned from Flying Southwest Airlines.
#6
"Venezuela has many friends in this new Congress."
If true, may God help us all.
Sheila Jackson Lee is a publicity whore. Famous for never missing an event - funeral, barbeque, charity or somebody else's campaign speech - if it meant an opportunity to get her face in the paper or on tv.
CHICAGO (Rooters) - Two more U.S. citizens have been indicted in a connection with a suspected plot to carry out a holy war against American troops in Iraq. The indictments, announced by the U.S. attorney's office in Cleveland on Wednesday, are part of an investigation into a suspected conspiracy that began in November, 2004, in which three others were previously named, officials said. Zubair Ahmed, 27, and his cousin, Khaleel Ahmed, 26, both of Chicago, were named in the latest indictments and arrested on Wednesday. They were accused of plotting to "kill, kidnap or maim persons outside of the United States (including) U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq."
The initial indictment a year ago involving three other men said there was a conspiracy to "recruit others to train for violent jihad against the United States and its allies in Iraq, and elsewhere, and (locate) potential training sites for use in providing ongoing firearms, hand-to-hand combat, explosives and other paramilitary training to prospective recruits." Wednesday's indictment adding the two Chicago men said the three named earlier, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 27, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, 42, and Wassim Mazloum, 24, all residents of Ohio, conspired to provide material support to terrorists.
In addition Amawi was accused of making threats against President George W. Bush, and he and El-Hindi were accused of distributing information about explosives. The three pleaded not guilty and have been in jail the past year awaiting trial. The two Chicago men were in contact with the other three about training for violent acts, but no instruction actually took place, the indictment said.
All five were accused of violating a section of federal law prohibiting "conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons or damage persons in a foreign country." Two other related indictments were announced. One accused Bilal Mazloum, 22, a brother of Wassim Mazloum, of making a false statement to federal agents. The other accused Ed-Hindi and Ashraf Zaim, 39, of fraud and conspiracy, claiming they diverted for their personal use a $40,000 federal grant they received in 2002 to help low-income people prepare their taxes.
#1
D*mn it am5089, I'd just gotten used to putting the "Al-" in front of that 'esteemed' news organization's name and you do this to me. Darn near spilled the soda, but decided to compromise and hereinafter call them "Al-Rooters" (sounds like a guy I used to shoot snooker with in my college days).
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/22/2007 16:02 Comments ||
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Can't wait for their whiny bitch excuses why they're not guilty. Always a highlight in any Brave Jihadi Warrior trial...
Islamabad, 22 Feb. (AKI/DAWN) - A cleric in a northern Pakistani village has opposed a foreign-funded polio vaccination campaign of the Pakistan government, urging locals not to take any preventive measures against polio "as those killed during an outbreak are martyrs". "I must tell my brothers and sisters that finding a cure (vaccination) for an epidemic before its outbreak is not allowed in Sharia ," said Maulana Fazlullah during a Friday sermon in Mam Dherai village where he is building a madrassa with local funds.
And that is all you really need to know about Sharia
According to Sharia, one should avoid going to the areas where an epidemic has broken out, but those who do go to such areas and get killed during an outbreak are martyrs, he said. The provincial government has launched an anti-polio campaign to run between February 20 and 22 in selected parts of the province, but there have been reports of people refusing to get their children vaccinated.
Sermons like this are influencing people into refusing polio vaccination in many parts of the NWFP. Like Nigeria, Pakistan is another country where clergy is blocking efforts aimed at eliminating fatal diseases like polio. Cases of people misbehaving with polio vaccination staff have been reported from several areas. Recently, a surgeon, Dr Ghani Khan, was killed in a bomb blast in remote Bajaur Agency, causing postponement of the anti-polio campaign, official sources said. Swat is one area where polio staff is facing resistance, said an official, adding that deeply religious people often resisted things involving foreigners.
Maulana Fazlullah suspects the intentions of foreign agencies involved in funding drives against fatal diseases: I dont understand why foreigners would think of our well-being when we see that they are killing Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq. He cited the example of a companion of the Prophet who, he said, was martyred during an epidemic.
Maulana Fazlullah - who is the son-in-law of Maulana Sufi Mohammad, leader of the defunct Tehreek-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi which sought to have Sharia law replace civilian law -- has gained popularity in the villages and hamlets of the Swat province due to his religious teachings transmitted through an illegal FM radio station. His Friday open air sermons attracted large crowds.
The health department also holds clergy responsible for the refusal of the people to get their children immunised against polio in some districts of the NWFP. Last year, 15 polio cases were reported in the NWFP -- seven belonging to the tribal agencies and eight to the settled areas, officials said, adding that in 2007, a 10-month-old was detected with the polio virus in Nowshera. The propaganda of the clergy is causing more and more people in Swat, Bajaur, Lakki Marwat and Momand agency to refuse polio drops for their children, said an official of the Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI) run by the NWFP Health Department.
In the wake of the killing of surgeon Ghani Khan in Bajaur, the polio staff, mostly comprising locals, had refused to go ahead with the anti-polio campaign in the agency, sources said. Confirming the postponement of the anti-polio drive, an official said the government was faced with multiple obstacles like staff security, inaccessible areas and presence of large number of Afghan refugees. Most of the eight people, detected with the polio virus in the settled areas, were of Afghan origin, official said.
This article starring:
Dr Ghani Khan
MAULANA FAZLULLAH
Learned Elders of Islam
MAULANA SUFI MOHAMAD
Tehreek-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi
Tehreek-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi
Posted by: Steve ||
02/22/2007 10:21 ||
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...*sound of head slamming against desk*
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/22/2007 10:51 Comments ||
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There are quite a few sects/cults in the US that ban vaccinations, or even transfusions. Faith heals everything, if you're faithful enough (but nobody is).
A 7th Century ideology that wants to take us all back to a time before this dreaded disease (and many others) were practically wiped out.
Polio, smallpox, bubonic plague, cholera, influenza, and many more diseases would become endemic under Islam. Disease would kill more people around the globe than war and poverty would. The world would end in disease in misery.
Srinagar, Feb 19: Notwithstanding threat by a militant group, Sony Entertainment Television is going ahead with an audition for boys and girls here on Wednesday to enable them to compete in the forthcoming third edition of 'Indian Idol', a singing competition of the channel.
Encouraged by the success of local boy Qazi Taqeer in the talent hunt show of 'Fame Gurukul', the television channel is organizing an audition for interested boys and girls of Kashmir, a spokesman of the channel told reporters here today. He said that in the earlier two editions of Indian Idol, audition was restricted to six cities of the country but to attract more aspirants the audition is being held at 12 cities this time.
Meanwhnile, Al-Midana militant outfit has asked the locals not to participate in the show and threatened to kill those who will participate in the show. "We appeal to boys and girls of Kashmir not to participate in the talent hunt of the Sony television", a spokesman of the outfit Abu Sadiq told news organisations here. He said no lenency would be shown against those who defy the ban on the show imposed by the outfit.
Literally a bunch of kill-joys, aren't they?
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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ISLAMABAD The government has announced that two Afghan refugee camps the Katchagari camp in NWFP and the Jungle Pir Alizai camp in Balochistan will be closed by June 15 in accordance with plans to shut them down. Pakistan has of late been describing Afghan refugee camps as breeding grounds for suicide terrorists and militancy.
According to a Press release by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) here, Afghan refugees will begin vacating the camps on April 15. It said the refugees could choose to repatriate to Afghanistan with the UNHCR's help, and Afghans without proof of registration cards must get these cards between March 1 and April 15 to avail the UNHCR assistance.
Good idea. Shut them down, it removes the excuse that the Taliban are just disgruntled Afghans instead of what they really are, paid employees of the ISI.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Pakistan has of late been describing Afghan refugee camps as breeding grounds for suicide terrorists and militancy.
Figured that out watching the UN Refugee Camps in the West Bank and Gaza? At least the Paks are going to pull the plug. Where's the whining and seething from the UN High Commissioner on Refugees?
WASHINGTON - Five years after Pakistan was revived as a key US ally after the Sept. 11 attacks, the new Democratic-led Congress is pressuring Islamabad and the Bush administration to do more to combat militant groups and stabilize the South Asian country.
The US House of Representatives recently adopted a bill requiring President George W. Bush to certify Pakistan is making all possible efforts to prevent the Taleban from operating in areas under its sovereign control as a condition of continued US military aid.
That's going to be a hard one for George to sign with a straight face.
The US Senate is now mulling its response and may take a different approach, perhaps by increasing aid and urging that Pakistan move away from military rule, as well as crack down on Al Qaeda along the Afghan-Pakistan border, Senate aides said. The two chambers versions would have to be reconciled before becoming law.
The House vote was definitely a shot across the bow both for the (President Pervez) Musharraf government and the Bush administration to get serious about preventing Pakistan from being a safe haven for terrorists, said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA South Asia analyst now with the Brookings Institution.
It's a useful shot, but the House shouldn't be conducting foreign policy. It's not time to squeeze Perv like a grape. Someday, but not today.
Experts say the Taleban has a virtual mini-state in northern Pakistan, using a recent peace deal with Islamabad to expand suicide bomber training and fortifying its alliance with Al Qaeda. Its clearly unacceptable the amount of difficulty being created for our troops and for NATO in Afghanistan by the lack of Pakistani resolve with the Taleban, Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana told a Senate hearing.
Lawmakers and their aides are now concerned that US policy toward Pakistan is not working but many also doubt the House bill, which seeks forced compliance with US goals, would achieve better results.
Pakistan receives about $850 million annually in US economic, military and counternarcotics aid and about $350 million of that could be affected by the House bill, congressional experts say. But Alan Kronstadt, South Asia expert with the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service, said Pakistan receives far more assistance -- $4.75 billion in 2001-2006 -- from the Pentagon as reimbursement for supporting US-led counterterrorism operations. These funds may not be affected by the House legislation, experts said.
At some point that money has to be put on the table, and Perv has to understand that it's not a free ride.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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About time some more pressure was put on Perv.He is turning a blind eye to Quetta,Waristan and Al Qaeda/Taliban camps!!!
Muhammad Sarwar, the killer of Punjab minister Zil-e-Huma, believes that women cannot rule over men and he shot the young woman minister due to her increasing popularity among the people, sources in the Punjab Police told Daily Times on Wednesday.
The sources said that Sarwar belonged to the Ahle Hadith sect and had his own interpretation of Islam.
Sarwar told interrogators he was fired by a passion to purge society of women who defy Islamic customs, police sources told AFP. I have no regrets. I killed her out of the conviction that she was leading an un-Islamic life and spreading an evil influence on other women, Sarwar told interrogators in custody, according to a police source.
The sources said that Sarwar owned a hardware shop in Gujranwala and has nine children four sons and five daughters. They said that Sarwar had ordered his wife and daughters to stay at home and veil their faces. They added that Sarwar was previously arrested in 2002 for murdering four prostitutes, but had been acquitted due to lack of evidence. Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja has directed the prosecution secretary and the prosecutor general to assign a special prosecutor with the police team investigating Humas muder for technical assistance.
Wonder if the Pak Supercops will be able to come up with enough evidence for a conviction...
This article starring:
Ahle Hadith
Muhammad Sarwar
Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja
Zil-e-Huma
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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With nine children to care for and no husband, Mrs. Sarwar is going to have to unveil her face and leave the house to run the shop, or all Mr. Sarwar's children will have to choose between starving and being sold into slavery.
#2
You're assuming he'll be convicted TW. And even if convicted, why to assume that the same (kind of) people (term used for purposes of reference) who take care of the families of Paleo self boomers won't take care of his family?
#3
He'll be convicted.
The victim was a "neta" - a politician, which in Pak means a member of one of the powerful feudal families that control the economy and the army.
Killing a "neta" or a powerful "babu" (a civil servant) is one sure way of going to the gallows.
Posted by: John Frum ||
02/22/2007 13:59 Comments ||
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Yes, IIUC, his previous get-out-of-jail cards were because he killed and mutilated prostitutes.
Mahmud Ali Durrani, the Pakistani ambassador to the US, confirmed on Wednesday what has long been believed: Pakistan took out two terrorist hideouts and training camps inside its tribal territories with the help of intelligence provided by the US.
In an interview on C-Span, a public service TV channel, the Pakistani envoy said the US possessed the capability to provide such intelligence because of its satellites and other facilities. He stressed that the two countries were working closely in the war against terrorism, and said Pakistan was in this war for its own sake. For us, it is a life and death question involving the very future of our country, he added. He rejected criticism that Pakistan was not doing enough, as has often been alleged in the Western media and even by some Bush administration officials.
Durrani said Pakistan wanted to become the kind of country that its founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah wanted it to be: an open, liberal Islamic state with equal rights for all its citizens, at peace with itself and at peace with the world.
The Pakistani ambassador declared that there were no training camps run by Al Qaeda in Pakistan, and whenever the presence of any such facility came to the attention of the government, we take it out. Replying to a question, he said that Osama Bin Laden was not in Pakistan.
If I knew where he was I would go collect the award myself, he added light-heartedly. He urged that the blame game being played be discontinued, and said that it was most unfair to accuse Pakistan of not doing enough or not pulling its weight.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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If they really wanted to take out terrorist camps, they could ask their own intelligence, but that would mean changing sides.
Intelligence agencies report that Taliban commanders plan to carry out 12 suicide attacks in various parts of Pakistan, which has already been rocked by a series of suicide bombings this year. According to intelligence reports submitted to the Interior Ministry, the attacks have been planned by Taliban commanders such as Baitullah Mahsud, Abdullah Mahsud, Sheikh Khalid Mahmood and Nazir Wazir.
The reports also name five of the 12 expected suicide bombers and their targets. They say that Nurani, a resident of Ghazni district in Afghanistan, has been given the task to carry out a suicide attack in Islamabad or Sargodha. Gul Jan, who belongs to the Mahsud tribe in South Waziristan, has reportedly been tasked with an attack in Lahore. Miatol, who belongs to a Punjabi tribe, is stated to be planning an attack in Dera Ismail Khan. Ziaul Haq, a resident of Shand Estate, is reported to be preparing a suicide blast in the Bahawalpur region. Mohammad Zaman, a resident of Waziristan, is said to be planning attacks in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
Taliban-linked militants based in the Waziristan tribal region, including Baitullah, have been blamed for several suicide attacks in Pakistan. Baitullah vowed revenge attacks after the Pakistan Army struck a suspected Al Qaeda hideout in South Waziristan on January 16, killing some 80 alleged militants. Four soldiers were killed in a suicide attack on a military convoy seven days later. Since then there have been suicide attacks in Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar and DI Khan.
Another report, submitted to the Interior Ministry, says that the current wave of suicide attacks in Pakistan indicates that terrorists are targeting senior security officials and politicians who support President Gen Pervez Musharrafs policy of enlightened moderation. Last Tuesday, a man assassinated Punjab Social Welfare Minister Zil-e-Huma in public in Gujranwala, allegedly because of her strong support for the enlightened moderation policy. In lights of the reports, the Interior Ministry has directed the provincial and district authorities concerned to tighten security.
This article starring:
ABDULLAH MAHSUD
Wazir Taliban
BAITULLAH MAHSUD
Wazir Taliban
Dera Ismail Khan
GUL JAN
Wazir Taliban
MIATOL
Wazir Taliban
MOHAMAD ZAMAN
Wazir Taliban
NAZIR WAZIR
Wazir Taliban
NURANI
Wazir Taliban
Punjab Social Welfare Minister Zil-e-Huma
SHEIKH KHALID MAHMUD
Wazir Taliban
ZIAUL HAQ
Wazir Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
What are Pakistan doing about it????
They created the monster!Its now come back to bite them!!!!
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 23 security detainees from Feb. 11 - 17, for various crimes including possession of illegal weapons, possessing fake identification, passport violations and illegal border crossing.
The trial court found a Moroccan man guilty of Article 24 of the Iraqi Penal Code for illegal boarder crossing. On Dec. 29, 2004, The defendant crossed the border into Iraq and was apprehended by Iraqi Boarder Patrol (IBP). After being questioned by IBP, the defendant was further questioned upon suspicion of being a suicide bomber affiliated with Al Qaeda, these suspicions were validated. The defendant was then transferred to MNF custody. On Feb. 11 the trial panel found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The trial court found two Iraqi men guilty of illegal possession of special category weapons in violation of Order 3/2003 Section 6, Paragraph 2B. On Dec. 10, 2006, MNF detained the defendants during a security patrol near Haditha after spotting suspicious antennas on the roof of the defendants' house. Inside the house MNF found ID making material, a timer, a circuit tester and an HK magazine. MNF then searched two sheds within the compound and found numerous rifles, handguns, explosives, hand grenades, ammunition and military radios. On Feb. 13 the trial panel found the defendants guilty and sentenced them each to 30 years imprisonment.
The trial court found four Iraqi men guilty of illegal possession of special category weapons in violation of Order 3/2003 Section 6, Paragraph 2B. On Nov. 15, 2006, MNF were conducting a targeted sweep near Turki Village. MNF saw one defendant carrying a pistol. MNF then chased after him when he ran away. MNF soon came under attack from a shed and one American soldier was killed. MNF defended themselves and killed one of the insurgents and captured three others. The original defendant who had the pistol was apprehended by another team of soldiers nearby. Inside the shed and on its roof were a total of four AK-47s, six hand grenades, one PKC heavy machine gun, dozens of Republican Guard uniforms and 16 AK-47 magazines loaded with armor piercing rounds along with other weapons. All the defendants tested positive for explosives residue. On Feb. 14 the trial panel found all the defendants guilty and sentenced them each to 30 years imprisonment.
Those convicted of passport violations, possessing and using false ID's, illegal boarder crossing and illegal possession of special category weapons were, sentenced from between two years to life imprisonment. Those convicted totaled 19 Iraqis and one each from Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Yemen.
Since its reorganization, under an amendment to CPA order 13, in April 2004, the Central Criminal Court has held 1,888 trials for Coalition-apprehended insurgents. The proceedings have resulted in the conviction of 1,630 individuals with sentences ranging up to death.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/22/2007 11:41 ||
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi government on Thursday welcomed the British decision to withdraw troops from Iraq, saying it is in line with plans for Iraqi forces to assume security for the country. Britain announced Wednesday that it will withdraw around 1,600 troops from Iraq over the coming months and aims to further cut its 7,100-strong contingent by late summer if local forces can secure the southern part of the country.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said it was "a decision in harmony with the government's intention to assume security responsibilities in the province," referring to Basra, a predominantly Shiite area 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.
President Jalal Talabani also applauded the decision, with his spokesman saying it would act as a "catalyst for Iraqi forces to assume security responsibilities." "His excellency considers it as a positive step and thanks British forces for their role in liberating Iraq from dictatorship and maintaining stability in Iraq," Talabani's spokesman Hiwa Othman said.
British troops will remain in Iraq until at least 2008 and work to secure the Iran-Iraq border and maintain supply routes to U.S. and coalition troops in central Iraq, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons.
If Iraqi forces are judged ready to assume more responsibility for security in the area, Britain could further reduce its force level to below 5,000 once a base at Basra Palace is transferred to Iraqi control in late summer, Blair said. Just in case you thought this was a "good news" report, here is the "balance":
The announcement, made on the same day Denmark said it would withdraw its 460 troops, comes as the U.S. is implementing an increase of 21,000 more troops for Iraq putting Washington on an opposite track as its main coalition allies. How incredibly simple-minded.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/22/2007 06:08 ||
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#1
It sounds like a deal was struck that got both Tater and his Tots out in exchange for the British leaving.
A second US soldier's plea of guilty to the gang rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her and her family has been accepted by a judge. Sgt Paul Cortez admitted four murders, rape and conspiracy to rape. His plea means he will avoid the death penalty. Personal opinion is that as long as the United States retain the death penalty, there'd be no better time or place to use it than when soldiers conspire to rape and multiple-murder innocents. Aren't soldiers supposed to be held to a higher standard of behaviour?
The case is one of several in which US troops are accused of killing Iraqis.
According to the plea agreement, Cortez admitted conspiring with three other soldiers, Private First Class Jesse Spielman, Specialist Barker and Steven Green, a now discharged soldier, to rape Abeer Qassim al-Janabi. He said: "During the time me and Barker were raping Abeer, I heard five or six gunshots that came from the bedroom.
"After Barker was done, Green came out of the bedroom and said that he had killed them all, that all of them were dead." Cortez added: "Green then placed himself between Abeer's legs to rape her. When Green was finished, he stood up and shot Abeer in the head two or three times."
The entire crime took about five minutes and the girl knew her parents and sister had been shot while she was being raped, the hearing heard. I note that the article doesn't mention the religions of the perpetrators, however "Paul" is a typical Judeo-Christian name.
#2
Yes, there still is a death penalty, but the senior judges have all but removed it from practice, just like in the civilian world [without the consent of the governed].
#4
First off I would be strongly be in favor of placing a bullet in the skull of all involved, failing that I would allow the transfer of all to the Iraqi civil courts. The latter would quell most of the anti-U.S. feelings because you cant argue with justice. Also I would have a press release about every other day explaining that four individuals out of 150,000 does not constitute a trend. This will do much to damage relations with the small-minded and short-sighted.
I agree with you wholeheartedly about turning them over to the Iraqi courts, but to do that would be a de facto death penalty - no matter what prison sentence they got, they wouldn't survive it, and that would just give the moonbats one more thing to moan about.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/22/2007 10:55 Comments ||
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As to the US soldiers - what's wrong with the firing squad? If their plea was to avoid the death sentence, then life at the maximum security/minimum fun facility at ...Florence, (?)Colorado... The "Supermax" that is driving some prisoners crazy....
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/22/2007 11:11 Comments ||
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#7
So what did Aris expect?
Let me know when Al-Queda or the Mahdi Army starts doing courtmartials.
The reason that they won't be sentenced to death, Aris, is because they pled guilty. Or, rather, they pled guilty to avoid the death penalty. You can't accept a man's plea and then sentence him to death anyway; that sort of removes the incentive.
I agree that in this instance, it's a pity. The prosecutor doesn't have to take the plea; he could go to trial. Wonder why he didn't.
#10
Courts-martial just don't involve death penalty practice much anymore -- I bet most prosecutors wouldn't even be entirely sure how to go about it (different rules, etc.). There are exactly six men on "military" death row. IMHO, it's mainly because the military tends to eliminate these sorts earlier, either at the recruitment point, through separations, or conviction of lesser crimes, before soldiers go and do something like this.
But, people slip through the cracks. I had one case where everyone dropped the ball. The recruiter, the command, the host nation authorities who wouldn't allow us to grab him for desertion. While we were bickering with the local police, the scumbag murdered an old man with a golf club. At that point, of course, the host nation got interested, and it turned out the guy was a major head case, who never should have gotten past the recruiter.
Point is, going for the death penalty is not at all a simple matter, and is rarely done.
This is in the Guardian. I know, floored me too. They noticed!
A US patrol in Baquba faced with human shields. The dilemma: to shoot or not
At first they are ghost figures in the weapons' system monitor, glowing with body warmth and two-dimensional. From inside the American Bradley fighting vehicle approaching Burhiz, an insurgent neighbourhood of Baquba, you quickly acclimatise to the reality of this representation of human life.
Boys on bikes cycle backwards and forwards on a footbridge over a small canal lined with houses and groves of date palms. Women in headscarves look anxiously in groups from windows. Men walk with shopping bags. A gunman, clutching an AK-47, bobs his head around the corner of an alleyway close to a school. Once. Twice. On the third occasion a child, a boy seven or eight years old, is thrust out in front of him. The gunman holds him firmly by the arm and steps out for instant into full view of the Bradley's gunner to get a proper look, then yanks the boy back and disappears.
"That is really dirty," says Specialist Chris Jankow, in the back of the Bradley, with a mixture of contempt, anger and frustration. "They know exactly what our rules of engagement are. They know we can't fire back."
#4
Glenmore, I don't know where you're getting that from. It reads to me like the bad guys are forcing people into this.
Posted by: Mike ||
02/22/2007 8:11 Comments ||
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#5
This is the reason the Geneva Convention defines illegal combatants and why they should be executed in the field.
But, as I've been saying before get some VIDEO of them doing this and splash it across the screens of every television. Do that and I think the sympathy for the 'freedom fighters' (and their allies in the MSM) would evaporate overnight.
Which is exactly why the MSM would never show it. Too graphic they would protest.
#6
Bobby, I ask why you are questioning my patriotism. I'm gonna tell Dubya on you, now!
Posted by: San Fran Nan Pelosi ||
02/22/2007 10:41 Comments ||
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#7
From yesterday RB post Seven Terrs Killed, 13 Detained In VBIED, Foreign Fighter Raids I had noticed this bit:
Ground forces detained seven suspected terrorists at the site and destroyed the weapons and grenades, preventing further use by terrorists. Also on the scene were 13 women and 26 children. None of them were harmed during the raid.
God Bless Dick Cheney! Pelosi called Bush to "tell" on Cheney, but W "wasn't available". No apologies are forthcoming. This post needs a baby photo for sure.
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday harshly criticized Democrats' attempts to thwart President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, saying their approach would "validate the al-Qaida strategy." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) fired back that Cheney was questioning critics' patriotism.
"I hope the president will repudiate and distance himself from the vice president's remarks," Pelosi said. She said she tried to complain about Cheney to President Bush but could not reach him.
The quarrel began in Tokyo, where Cheney used an interview to criticize Pelosi and Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., over their plan to place restrictions on Bush's request for an additional $93 billion for the Iraq war to make it difficult or impossible to send 21,500 extra troops to Iraq.
"I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we will do is validate the al-Qaida strategy," the vice president told ABC News. "The al-Qaida strategy is to break the will of the American people ... try to persuade us to throw in the towel and come home, and then they win because we quit." bingo
Pelosi, at a news conference in San Francisco, said Cheney's criticism of Democrats was "beneath the dignity of the debate we're engaged in and a disservice to our men and women in uniform, whom we all support." who's we, bitch?
"And you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to call the president and tell him I disapprove of what the vice president said," Pelosi said. "It has no place in our debate." Bush had previously urged her to call him when a member of his administration stepped over the line by questioning Democrats' patriotism, she said. Is she like 7 years old?
Later, Pelosi said she had tried to reach the president but was only able to get through to White House chief of staff Josh Bolten. Bolten said he was certain no one was questioning her patriotism or commitment to national security, she told reporters. just your sanity, courage, intelligence...
"I said to him perhaps when he saw what the vice president said he might have another comment," Pelosi said. NOPE
White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said Cheney "was not questioning anyone's patriotism." But she said Bush and Cheney believe that Pelosi and Murtha's "position to immediately pull out our troops would be harmful to our national security and that it is the wrong strategy to pursue."
#4
We don't have a 'baby photo' in the Rantburg photo stock files, but the 'bitch slap' did seem appropriate to me ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2007 0:55 Comments ||
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#5
D ***ng it, Cheney, this is Amerika, NOT America; the mighty USSA empre = weak antisovereign Global SSR/USR - don't ya know, we cannot question the patriotism of those whom universally and forever cannot confirm or deny that they are a Patriot = Traitor. WE WANT TO MAKE IT ABSOLUTELY UNDENIABLY UNCONDITIONALLY UNEQUIVOCALLY CLEAR TO THE AMER PEOPLE, ..... AND DON'T YOUSE FERGIT IT.
#6
Nancy was voted the Number one reason why men in San Francisco are homosexuals.
Posted by: Aiman joe ||
02/22/2007 2:05 Comments ||
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#7
Aiman Joe: I thought she would be voted the #1 reason for heart-attacks in San Fran. Looking at her smile and coming towards me I know that on impulse I would shout a warning then leap behind the nearest solid object.
Posted by: Charles ||
02/22/2007 2:24 Comments ||
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#8
They should've been calling them out the whole way since at least 2004. This isn't much of a call out since it's true. The hadji's want a replay of Mogadishu withdrawal. To add you have Murtha and Pelosi facilitating the enemies objective.
Go Cheney but little too late, the Dems have already repeated their mantra enough
#11
Georgie, Dickie's not plain' nice. He said things that hurt me!
Oh, too bad, Miss Nancy. Were the things he said true?
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/22/2007 5:54 Comments ||
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#12
"I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we will do is validate the al-Qaida strategy"... "The al-Qaida strategy is to break the will of the American people... try to persuade us to throw in the towel and come home, and then they win because we quit."
Seems pretty damn straightforward to me: if we do X, the result will be Y. Simple, logical statement of action and consequence.
Do the Democrats actually believe al-Qaida's strategy isn't to wear down the will of the American people? Do they believe al-Qaida doesn't want us to leave Iraq like we did Vietnam, Beirut and Mogadishu? Do they believe al-Qaida won't figure they've won if we quit? If they believe any of these things, they're either too crazy or too stupid to govern responsibly.
Pelosi, at a news conference in San Francisco, said Cheney's criticism of Democrats was "beneath the dignity of the debate we're engaged in and a disservice to our men and women in uniform, whom we all support."
I often wonder what Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy would think of the childish bullshit that emanates 24/7/365 from the mouths of today's Democrats.
"Is she like 7 years old?"
Yes.
I've struggled a long time to understand why Leftists are the way they are, and the explanation that makes the most sense to me is that they're mentally stuck in early childhood: whiney, petulant, undisciplined and self-centered.
I seriously doubt America could survive another bout of having these idiots getting control of all three branches of government at the same time. God help us if they do.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/22/2007 7:11 Comments ||
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#13
Hey Nancy!
I for one don't question your patriotism.
I think your UNpatriotism is beyond reproach. The same goes for Murtha. Your not partiotic - you work for the other side.
#14
beneath the dignity of the debate stepped over the line by questioning Democrats' patriotism, she said.
Good one Nancy! When in doubt, dont debate the merit of the statement question the motivation of the speaker. Im willing to wager that Democrat caucus meetings closely resemble High School cheerleaders squabbling over the theme for the upcoming Prom.
#18
The Democrats have a long history of being spectacularly wrong in predicting the second-order consequences of any policies they make and put into play. Vice President Cheney merely brought this record to the fore with his comment. Like cajunbelle, and others, have said: this was a questioning of their intelligence and foresight, not their patriotism. Forging outrage at IMPLIED insults to avoid addressing the MANIFEST substance of the VP's observation is "beneath the dignity of the debate."
I must somewhat disagree with cajunbelle's statement that no apology will be forthcoming: you simply can't tell whether Bush will stand tall on principle or fold on appearance when the stakes are merely the vice president's words.
#19
I wish there would be a much larger united front which calls out the Dems. It seems like Cheney is the only one speaking out and everyone else is not heard.
#26
It's becoming hard to take anything V.P.Dick "Chickenhawk" Cheney says seriously
anymore. rhetoric like his is exactly why
republicans dont control Congress anymore.
He has become a national joke, but I urge him
to keep up the good work and dems will control
congress and the whitehouse in 2008.
Iraqi politicians representing various groups have conflicting views on the way that the security plan announced by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, called the "Law Enforcement Plan" is currently being implemented.
According to independent Kurdish politician Mahmud Uthman, the "crisis is more political than military or security" and pointed out that "there are disagreements between the Iraqi politicians and religious leaders. The solution lies in a national dialogue that brings together all the Iraqi political and religious blocs."
He told "Asharq al-Awsat" yesterday, "The security plan is not important anymore since the majority of those accused or wanted because of the security problems left Iraq or withdrew temporarily from the street so as to resume their activities when the stringent security measures being implemented now, and which might achieve limited success, are eased. Things might return to more than they were before the security plan's implementation."
The member from the Kurdish bloc in the Iraqi Houses of Representatives (parliament) added: "Iraq needs real national reconciliation instead of military plans and disagreements between the political and religious blocs must be ended." He noted that "some politicians who are in the government praise Muqtada al-Sadr while Tariq al-Hashimi, who is a vice president, wants Al-Mahdi Army to be categorized a terrorist organization that should be pursued. This is what is happening inside the government so imagine how things are happening outside it."
Uthman went on to say: "Just imagine. Details of implementing the security plan were not discussed, either in the House of Representatives or the cabinet, except for some broad outlines and in general terms because the government knew that the problems and disagreements would emerge once the implementation started. Not a single person discussed the means of implementation." The Kurdish politician talked about "breaches in the implementation of the security plan, human rights violations, and measures to remove weapons from the Arab Sunnis", adding that "there are even disagreements between the American and Iraqi armies. The American forces arrest citizens for reasons that differ from the ones used by the Iraqi forces for arresting citizens."
Adnan al-Dulaymi, leader of the Iraqi Al-Tawafuq Front, accused those implementing the plan of sectarianism and said: "We backed this plan but did not discuss it in detail in the hope that it would achieve stability and security for the Iraqis. But mistakes and breaches appeared from the start of its implementation. These include random night raids and removing from houses licensed light weapons that are for the purpose of self-defense. All these practices are applied in the areas where the Sunnis live and therefore the plan lacks fairness in implementation." He noted that "the plan prohibits the arrest of persons without an official warrant and in the presence of witnesses from the area but, unfortunately, this did not happen."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Why? What's in it for us? The chance to flush lots of money down a toilet?
CAIRO (AFP) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called on the United States Thursday to change its position towards the Palestinians and recognise the "new realities" after Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a unity government. I liked the old realities better, when you were blowing each other away in the street...which may still happen soon enough.
"I think America has no alternative but to accommodate itself to the new Palestinian and Arab facts," he told reporters in Cairo after talks with Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa. I think someone should get off the hallucinogens...
"There is a change in the European position," he said. Good. Go fleece them.
"There is a policy of waiting and seeing and we encourage the Quartet and even the American administration to change its position and realise that there is a new reality after the Mecca agreement." We're still "waiting and seeing". And we got plenty of popcorn...
Meshaal called the February 9 unity deal between Fatah and Hamas a "message of peace to the region" and said Palestinian factions as well as Arab countries were now presenting a united front. Yeah, Hamas is big on those "messages of peace" thingies. Is Israel included in that?
It "gave us the environment in which the Palestinian forces could work together," he added. "It is an important step, after which there must be many more steps to realise the Palestinian national project." Which is, what? World's largest International Welfare State?
Meshaal and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas are visiting countries to drum up support for the accord and attempt to lift the aid blockade in place since Hamas came to power a year ago. Don't forget your tin cups...
The Quartet of key diplomatic players -- the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia -- has adopted a "wait and see" attitude towards the upcoming national unity government. While Russia has urged more backing for the Palestinians, Washington has reiterated its insistence on Hamas' recognition of Israel's right to exist. An embargo imposed on the Palestinian Authority after Hamas won parliamentary elections in January 2006 has exacerbated widespread economic hardship for the Palestinians and there is growing unease in Europe over the measures. Boo-hoo. Where's my violin...
#3
Our money should be donated in the form of MOAB carpet bombing of all Hamas/Hezzie and Fatah areas. Anyone wanting to complain can call Arafat via voodoo rituals or whatever.
Israel on Thursday decided to open a criminal investigation against popular Israeli-Arab Muslim leader Sheikh Raed Salah after he called on local Muslims to rebel against Israel and painted his Jewish countrymen as blood-thirsty killers.
Salah, who heads the northern branch of Israel's Islamic Movement, has been the most outspoken opponent of Israel's decision to conduct renovation work on a collapsed earthen ramp leading to one of the gates of Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Salah, and other regional Muslim leaders, insist Israel is really trying to undermine the foundations of the mosques that sit atop the Temple Mount.
Speaking to followers in Jerusalem last week, Salah declared that "it is now the duty of every Arab and Muslim to start an uprising to save Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque," according to a Ynet report on the State Prosecutor's order. Salah later preached that Israel's Jews "want to build their temple while our blood is on their clothes, on their doors, in their food and drinks."
Authorities are accusing Salah of incitement to violence, racism and sedition
The Quartet issued a statement following its talks in Berlin Wednesday night reiterating the need for the Palestinian Authority to accepts its three principles, but also adding that there was a discussion about "possible further steps by the international community in the context of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East."
In recent weeks there has been talk of the need for steps other than the road map to try and move the diplomatic process forward. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted in the Russian press as saying there was a need for Israeli and Palestinians to continue direct contacts that deal with a political horizon. The Quartet is made up of the US, EU, UN and Russia.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday pledged to continue holding talks with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, despite the inconclusive trilateral talks on Monday and the fact that the Mecca understandings between Fatah and Hamas did not accept the Quartet's benchmarks.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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The war on terrorism has radicalised Muslims around the world to unprecedented levels of anti-US feeling, according to the largest survey of Muslims ever to be conducted, The Times reported on Wednesday.
Is there anything that doesn't radicalize the Muslims?
According to the survey, seven percent believe that the events of 9/11 were completely justified. Gallups Centre for Muslim Studies in New York carried out surveys of 10,000 Muslims in ten predominantly Muslim countries. One finding was that the wealthier and better-educated the Muslim was, the more likely he was to be radicalised.
Is that a surprise? Binny, Zawahiri, et al., were all wealthy or middle class men in their countries. Most al-Q leaders were very well educated. They had the time to become radicalized rather than just try to scratch out a living.
The surveys were carried out in 2005 and 2006. Along with an earlier Gallup survey in nine other countries in 2001, they represent the views of a few of the more than 90 percent of the worlds Muslims. A further 1,500 Muslims in London, Paris and Berlin are involved in a separate poll to be published in April.
Golly gosh, can't wait to see how radicalized they are.
The findings come in a climate of growing mistrust between Islam and the West. Another recent survey in the US found that 39 per cent of Americans felt some prejudice towards Muslims.
Growing mistrust, as opposed to the mistrust between Muslims and the West in 800, 1098, 1453, 1921 or 1967?
The Gallup findings indicate that, in terms of spiritual values and the emphasis on the family and the future, Americans have more in common with Muslims than they do with their Western counterparts in Europe.
A large number of Muslims supported the Western ideal of democratic government. Fifty percent of radicals supported democracy, compared with 35 percent of moderates.
Democracy means something a little different to them ...
Religion was found to have little to do with radicalisation or antipathy towards Western culture. Muslims were condemnatory of promiscuity and a sense of moral decay. What they admired most was liberty, its democratic system, technology and freedom of speech. While there was widespread support for Sharia, only a minority wanted religious leaders to be making laws. Most women in the predominantly Muslim countries believed that Sharia should be the source of a nations laws, but they strongly believed in equal rights for women.
And since the two are completely incompatible, and the men favor mostly Sharia, guess which one wins.
This finding indicates the complexity of the struggle ahead for Western understanding. Few Western commentators can see how women could embrace the veil, Sharia and equal rights at the same time.
I confess they got me on that one ...
Researchers set out to examine the truth behind the stock response in the West to the question of when it will know it is winning the war on terror. Foreign policy experts tend to believe that victory will come when the Islamic world rejects radicalism. Every politician has a theory: radicals are religious fundamentalists; they are poor; they are full of hopeless-ness and hate. But those theories are wrong, the researchers reported.
That's right. The radicals are men with vision, a fair bit of intelligence, a lot of cunning, and the means to pursue their vision. Far from being filled with hopelessness, they're filled with hope that they can bring about a new caliphate. They hate infidels because Allan has told them to, because infidels are keeping them from what the Qur'an says is rightfully theirs, and because infidels are so damned successful -- and they, the true believers, are not. The hate isn't personal, it's strictly business.
Percentage with unfavourable view of US in 2005 (all increased since 9/11 except where indicated: Saudi Arabia 79 percent, Jordan 65 percent, Morocco 49 percent, Iran 52 percent (down from 63 percent in 2001), and Pakistan 65 percent (down from 69 percent in 2001).
And if they keep pissing us off, just watch our response and the subsequent poll values on how they hate us for it.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#7
Notice that Muslims have not blemaed wahabis and Al Quaeda for their crimesbe it against non-Muslims (9/11), agsinst Shia (massacress of Hazara by the Taliban, Irak bombings) or even against other Sunni (Darfur).
#11
Why are they so upset? If it wasn't for the, how else would they get into heaven with their attitude? Sheesh. Pick one side, because you can't have both!
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/22/2007 6:19 Comments ||
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#13
One finding was that the wealthier and better-educated the Muslim was, the more likely he was to be radicalised.
Of course. The wealthier and better educated the more likely a memeber of the Muslim ruling elite feels he is part of master race destined to rule the world.
It is not powerty wahat drives Muslmim anger, it is resentment for not being masters ayttended by dhimmis and slaves.
I wouldn't care what they thought so long as they fear us. Unfortunately (minus the WH) our elected leaders give them little reason to fear us anymore.
#16
Let me check.... nope. Nothin'. I don't care that they hate us.
Keep it down over there or we will glass the lot of you. You're keeping junior awake with your noise and making him cranky.
#18
GREAT fisking, Sea. Maybe material for snark o' the week! And, DanNY, I noticed the anti-American-ism has dropped in Iran too. Maybe, just maybe, Bush's speeches are gettin' to the people? If Iran could have a "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" moment, instead of us invading/bombing them back to the Paleo period, all the better. However, I still don't hold out much hope for that Persian Street™ uprising thingy.
Posted by: BA ||
02/22/2007 10:22 Comments ||
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#19
Antipathy towards Western culture VS. Americans felt some prejudice towards Muslims.
Yep Its a Daily Times article alright. Then again, you prolly would see the same style of comparison in the NYTimes.
#22
That's not pink; it's salmon. Which means it was Steve White. Pepto Bismol pink is Scooter McGruder, but he's been awfully busy with his own projects for a while, it seems.
FIREBRAND Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir today urged President Bambang Yudhoyono to implement Islamic sharia law to "save Indonesia from devastation". Along with a dozen of his followers, Bashir tried to enter the presidential palace to submit a letter urging Mr Yudhoyono to issue a presidential decree implementing sharia, but they were expelled by security guards.
"The president refused to receive us today. We are certainly disappointed," Bashir said. "We are here simply to advise the President that the country would be devastated if Islamic sharia law is not implemented," he said, without elaborating.
"I hope our President one day receives holy guidance to make him realise that Islamic law is an absolute obligation," he added.
Bashir, 68, was released from jail in June last year after serving nearly 26 months for his role in a "sinister conspiracy" that led to the Bali bombings which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, in October 2002. The Supreme Court in December overturned his conviction, to outrage from families of Australian victims of the bombings.
#1
Bashir tried to enter the presidential palace to submit a letter urging Mr Yudhoyono to issue a presidential decree implementing sharia, but they were expelled by security guards.
Looks like they missed another chance to waste this piece of shit.
#2
FIREBRAND Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir today urged President Bambang Yudhoyono to implement Islamic sharia law to "save Indonesia from devastation".
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 21 A senior Iranian cleric has retained his post as head of a key constitutional supervisory body, amid speculation that he would forego the position to Irans former President Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Ayatollah Ali Meshkini took his seat as Chairman of the Assembly of Experts in the first round of the assemblys 4th session on Tuesday. Despite backroom chatter that Rafsanjani would contest for leadership of the assembly, Meshkini took control unchallenged. Rafsanjani along with another hard-line cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi were appointed as the constitutional bodys vice-chairmen.
Rafsanjani was elected Miss Congeniality.
The 86-member Assembly of Experts is an exclusively clerical body entrusted with the task of selecting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Thereby keeping the reins of power in the hands of the Mad Mullahs.
Assembly members are elected to eight-year terms. Polling for the 4th assembly was conducted in December. Following strict vetting of candidates by the Guardians Council, however, some districts were left with only one candidate. Far from being a popularity contest, analysts described the poll as a manifestation of factional feuding.
Factional feuds in a thuggish theocracy? Reeeeeaaallly?
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Despite a Security Council deadline, Iran called Wednesday for talks with the United States but did not budge on UN demands that it mothball its uranium enrichment program or face harsher sanctions. Amid Irans nuclear defiance, the UN nuclear watchdog finalized a report to be released Thursday that is expected to formally confirm the Islamic republics refusal to freeze enrichment a conclusion that could subject it to tougher UN sanctions.
Officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency said the report by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the Vienna-based UN agency, would say Iran has expanded enrichment efforts instead of freezing them. Once released, the report will be sent to the agencys 35-country board and to the Security Council, which set a deadline of Wednesday for a freeze and said Iranian defiance could lead to sanctions in addition to those imposed in December.
In remarks directed at Washington, the key backer of tougher UN action, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday the dispute has to be decided peacefully with the United States. But other top Iranian officials used harsher language and none showed signs of compromise on the main demand of the U.S. and other world powers a halt to enrichment and related activities.
The enemy is making a big mistake if it thinks it can thwart the will of the Iranian nation to achieve the peaceful use of nuclear technology, Iranian state TVs website quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying. On Tuesday, he said Iran was ready to halt its enrichment program, but only if western countries do the same.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Waste no more time talking with these deceitful fools.
Posted by: DanNY ||
02/22/2007 0:27 Comments ||
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#6
Just tell them our site surveys of target cities is over fifty years out of date and thank them for providing the opportunity to get more current data.
#8
The rumor today that affected Wall Street was based on the Iranian refusal to meet the nuclear reporting conditions established for them by the international community through the UN. The flagrant disregard was intended to send the "strong horse" message to the muslim world. The request to talk was then sent back to the West as an effort buy yet more time from the gullible idiots in the West who desperately don't want to face this menace. The clock ticks and the danger grows day by day. The WMD threashold crossed in Iraq that so many RBers have already commented about today is the clear signature of where this is going to end. The West is cowed, and the irnians have 30+ years of successes convincing them that the we will never react. Cowardice and sloth begets tragedy, a lesson we are doomed to learn again. I for one no longer feel confident we will emerge from this hole or even healthy.
Hizbullah's number two, Sheikh Naim Qassem, extended a conciliatory hand to the Future Movement Wednesday, saying the opposition merely wanted "real participation" in ruling the country. Qassem was speaking before hundreds of students and their families at the Lebanese University in a ceremony honoring 19 of its students who had fought and died in the summer 2006 war with Israel.
The families of the youths were presented with a "diploma of martyrdom."
The families of the youths were presented with a "diploma of martyrdom."
"We extend our hand to the Future Movement [and its leader, MP Saad Hariri] for real participation in governing our country," said Qassem, in the first overture by Hizbullah to a specific group in the March 14 Forces. "The international court [to try those accused of assassinating former Premier Rafik Hariri] will happen," he added, "when the national unity government is formed."
The international court remains one of the main obstacles in the political deadlock between the two camps. "Lebanon is in crisis due to internal and external factors," he said. "The external one is because of the US. The United States does not want stability in Lebanon because it will lose control over the country if it settles."
As for the internal factors, Qassem said there are "two figures" preventing the political deadlock from being resolved. "One leader is hiding behind bigger and stronger leaders, and the other desperately wants to become part of the ruling team," he added, indirectly referring to Hizbullah's strongest critics, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. But, he added, "let us return to discussion in order to reach a final solution as Lebanon has suffered enough."
Qassem paid tribute to the 19 "martyrs" from Hizbullah's "Operation True Promise" whose portraits lined the stage. "Because of these young men, Lebanon can hold its head high," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2007 00:00 ||
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A high school teacher allowed a group whose declared mission is to "raise an awareness of the danger of Islam" to distribute literature in his class, including a handout titled "Do Not Marry a Muslim Man," according to an advocacy group.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations says a representative from the Kamil International Ministries Organization, based in Raleigh, spoke to a ninth-grade world history class at Enloe High School and distributed the literature, which also discussed Jesus. The father of a Muslim student reported the incident, said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper. The council wrote to Wake County schools Superintendent Del Burns asking that the incident be investigated and that the teacher be disciplined.
Burns had not received the letter, but an investigation is under way and officials will take appropriate disciplinary action, district spokeswoman Kristin Flenniken said. The teacher has not been named. A call by The Associated Press to the high school's principal, Beth Cochran, was not immediately returned Wednesday.
On its website , Kamil describes itself as a Christian group "dedicated to teaching the truth about Islam" and says its mission "is to raise an awareness of the danger of Islam." A phone number for the organization could not be found. An e-mail to the group wasn't immediately returned Wednesday.
#3
From the headline, I thought they were talking about history books.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/22/2007 13:19 Comments ||
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#4
I thought they were talking about history books.
The front page of a daily newspaper would serve just as well. Is there anywhere on the planet where mass murder is being commited that muslims are not involved?
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.
Australia is considering plans to double its troop deployment to Afghanistan to about 1,000 to head off an expected spring resurgence of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said on Thursday. But Nelson ruled out any plans to follow Britain's lead and reduce Australia's military commitments in Iraq, saying any phased withdrawal of soldiers helping provide security in Iraq's south would put the lives of those who remain in danger.
as families began burying their dead after some of the heaviest violence to hit the capital city this year. Just hours after the UN Security Council voted unanimously to authorise an African Union (AU) force to help stabilise Somalia, one insurgent leader said they will fight any foreign troops who are sent into the country. 
TEN people have been arrested in Sydney during violent clashes between police and protesters at a rally ahead of the arrival of US Vice-President Dick Cheney. The protest, organised by Stop the War Coalition at Town Hall, turned nasty when about 200 people attempted to break a line of police and march to the US Consulate in Martin Place. The officers, supported by a line of mounted police, held their positions as activists attempted to break through. 
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A U.S. congresswoman called on the Bush administration Wednesday to reconsider its ban on selling parts for U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to Venezuela, urging improved ties between the two nations. 
ISLAMABAD The government has announced that two Afghan refugee camps the Katchagari camp in NWFP and the Jungle Pir Alizai camp in Balochistan will be closed by June 15 in accordance with plans to shut them down. Pakistan has of late been describing Afghan refugee camps as breeding grounds for suicide terrorists and militancy.
Intelligence agencies report that Taliban commanders plan to carry out 12 suicide attacks in various parts of Pakistan, which has already been rocked by a series of suicide bombings this year. According to intelligence reports submitted to the Interior Ministry, the attacks have been planned by Taliban commanders such as 
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 23 security detainees from Feb. 11 - 17, for various crimes including possession of illegal weapons, possessing fake identification, passport violations and illegal border crossing.
The Quartet issued a statement following its talks in Berlin Wednesday night reiterating the need for the Palestinian Authority to accepts its three principles, but also adding that there was a discussion about "possible further steps by the international community in the context of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East." 
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 21 A senior Iranian cleric has retained his post as head of a key constitutional supervisory body, amid speculation that he would forego the position to Irans former President Ayatollah 
