Read it; it's not as bad as you think.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, March 15, 2007 While on deployment, an education center presents many learning opportunities to soldiers. The services offered help servicemembers reach their goals of achieving degrees, it also assists them with their military mission. Paratroopers from the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, Task Force Fury, took a cultural awareness class while here in an effort to better understand the Afghan culture.
"That is the purpose of this program," said Suresh C. Bhatnagar, education service center officer, FOB Salerno. Bhatnagar organized the class of four local Afghans to speak to the soldiers about Afghan culture. "It is to enhance the awareness of Afghan culture, customs, traditions and religion so that when soldiers go to remote areas, or downtown, they are aware of the things they should not do or should do," he added.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Armando Alfaro, the top enlisted man in the 782nd, approached Bhatnagar and requested the class be administered to all the officers and noncommissioned officers in the battalion. "Many of our paratroopers will deal directly with the local populace, and it will be important for them to know what they can and cannot do," Alfaro explained. "It was a duty I felt was required and essential for all the leaders to understand."
The education center organized the Afghan presenters on the topics of culture, tribal divisions, Afghan history and religious beliefs and soldiers had the opportunity to eat a traditional Afghan lunch before the class. After lunch, the presenters took turns speaking and answering soldiers questions.
Bhatnagar stressed the importance of always dealing with the tribal leaders in towns and districts on all issues ranging from dealing with charitable donations to reparations for accidental damage done to private property by soldiers. "Everything is sorted out through the tribal leader," Bhatnagar explained.
He cautioned soldiers of small offenses, which included asking a man's wife her name without speaking to him or touching a Quran while conducting a search of a house.
To step foot inside a mosque as a non-Muslim is considered a violation of the sanctity of the house of worship. It is better to send a member of the Afghan National Army or Afghan National Police inside, he said.
"It is the little things such as these facts that are most important for soldiers to know about," Bhatnagar said. "We do not want soldiers to get in trouble unknowingly when they go into villages on their missions," he added.
While some of these social faux pas were already known to the soldiers, it was important to hear of some of the social courtesies. The information provided was well received by the crowd and led to further discussions among the presenters and the soldiers about the Afghan culture and customs.
"I think it was a good idea, so we could get the information and get it down to the troops," said Sgt. Patrick M. Fuller, operations noncommissioned officer, B Company "I mean, the last thing we want to do is go out and offend the Afghan citizens." Stay with me, here!
Combining the life experiences of four speakers with the message of cultural understanding made an excellent forum for learning, Alfaro agreed. Learning is good.
"In the end, the goal of the session was to improve the relationship between foreign troops and the Afghans," Bhatnagar said. "We do not want to lose a single life because soldiers erroneously, or ignorantly, made a mistake that caused resentment among the local people against us." I'll agree with that!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/16/2007 05:52 ||
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Army Command Sgt. Maj. Armando Alfaro, the top enlisted man in the 782nd, approached Bhatnagar and requested the class be administered to all the officers and noncommissioned officers in the battalion.
Not questioning the possible need for "awareness" of indigenous personnel, but what chafs my old arss is the highlighted portion. Over that past 20+ years, the Army officer corps has systematically abrigated its responsibilities, and now permits "Command" sergeant majors to orchestrate training for officers.
.....Beware of "infidel" paratroopers touching holy books! So much BULLSHIT! Reaching for my blood pressure meds. We're phueching DOOMED to AA and political correctness.
Beside, I do recall that it doesn't matter if you're enlisted or commissioned, the instructors at jump, ranger, and other schools are in charge in class.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
03/16/2007 13:01 Comments ||
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#7
Finally?
We lobbied for shock collars for 2nd Lt's. I guess this is a start.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/16/2007 13:35 Comments ||
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This is nothing new. I attended such classes in 1967, 1970, and 1971, in relation to my assignments to Panama, Vietnam, and Germany, respectively. They basically give you a rundown on local laws and customs, what to do in certain situations, and what the taboos are. I also learned what was suspect in the way of foods I might be offered, and how to behave when talking to locals. I also received training in Vietnam about what to do in the case of an attack on the base, or an attack on me personally when I was off the base. It's good PR, and it helps keep soldiers alive and well.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/16/2007 16:12 Comments ||
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#9
"... or touching a Quran while conducting a search of a house."
I predict an increase of pistols being hidden within hollowed out Quarans.
Libya is working to deport Palestinians to the Gaza Strip, via Egypt, to avoid their permanent settlement in Libya, a newspaper report said Tuesday. Sounds reasonable to me. Nobody needs that stuff, except maybe Hamas.
Libya's official al-Jamahiriya daily said Tripoli intended to expel the Palestinians on its territory to abort "the conspiracy of liquidating the Palestinian cause and giving up the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homes in return for Israel's acceptance of the Beirut initiative." Ummm... That makes sense. I guess. If you look at being deported to Gaza as the perhaps forcible excercise of your Right of Return™.
The initiative is a Saudi-proposed peace plan endorsed at the Arab summit in Beirut in 2002 calls for an Israeli withdrawal from the territories it captured in 1967 in return for full Arab peace and normalization with the Jewish state. Libya said it will boycott the Arab summit in Riyadh later this month amid unconfirmed reports the Arabs might amend the Arab initiative by removing an article that calls for the return of the Palestinian refugees to their original homes which they were forced to flee in 1948 when the state of Israel was created. The newspaper said such a deal was aimed at "settling every Palestinian in the diaspora in the countries where they reside." Hence Muammar dumps them, thereby not having to regard them as citizens.
There are more than 4.5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In 1995, Libya expelled thousands of Palestinians to protest the 1993 interim Palestinian-Israeli Oslo peace accords. So what's he got left? A couple dozen?
The newspaper said the Libyan authorities will facilitate the return of Palestinians to the Gaza Strip through Egypt to "protect their identity." The paper also urged Lebanon and Syria to allow more than 1.5 million Palestinian refugees they host to "return to Palestine and abort this conspiracy."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#4
The code word "protect your indetity" means: we will put every obstacle for those Pelastinins who keep some de decence are tired of living from international subsidies, want to work, rebuild trhier lives, have their children becalme suiicide bombers and to heel with Plaestuine will not be able to do it and will have to remain in refugee camps scratching their ballls and dreaming in genocide of israelis.
That is what means that deportation of Pelstinins atht you are applauding.
PS: Everyw/b> Arab country has done the same. Deny employment to Palestinins in order to keep them focused in Jihad.
#8
JFM, has it right I think. This isnt about Pals being naturally evil, and Muammar having the bright idea of expelling them. Theyve been made evil (oops I really sound like a liberal, dont I) by the arab states that have refused to integrate them, and kept them as refugees to use as a tool against Israel.
This action by Libya should be staunchly opposed.
Note, there was a not inconsiderable population of Jews in Libya before 1948, just about all of whom went to Israel, IIUC. What happened to their homes and businesses? Why doesnt Muammar settle his Pals there?
Severely EFL
Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean has been meeting with world leaders to repair "the extraordinary damage" that the Bush administration has done to America's image and to prepare the way for a new Democratic president.
"I am trying to build relationships with other governments in preparation for a Democratic takeover," Dean told me. "I want to make clear that there is an opposition in America and that we are ready to take power and that when we do, we are going to have much better relationships with them."
...Dean went on: "Now that we have a real problem with Iran, there's not much we can do about it because of the president's incredible foolishness in running our armed forces through the gauntlet in Iraq, which wasn't necessary."
He also said that having "the moral high ground" is part of defending the country. "A strong national defense depends on having well-trained troops and good weapons systems, but it also depends on having the moral high ground, and this president has given up the moral high ground around the world, and that's a disaster for the country's defense," Dean said. more delusion and perfidy at link...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Only Total/Full Commies, Stalinists, Govt-ists + Totalitarians can save the USSA = USA from arrogant mistake-prone warmongering Fascist Limited Commies, Limited Stalinists, semi-Govtists and mere lowly Authoritarians???
#4
Hey Dean, wanna trade this '73 Kerry Special Nova for your new Mercedes? It's got a brand new shiny paint job so that makes it much better than anything you got. I'm willing to make the sacrifice because I know you're a good guy.
Posted by: ed ||
03/16/2007 9:01 Comments ||
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In the Senate, after weeks of skirmishing, Republicans easily turned back Democratic legislation requiring a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days. The measure set no fixed deadline for completion of the redeployment, but set a goal of March 31, 2008. The vote was 50-48 against the measure, 12 short of the 60 needed for passage.
Senate Democrats promptly said they would try again to force a change in Bush's policy beginning next week when they begin work on legislation providing money for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It took weeks for the Senate to agree to hold a formal debate on Democratic calls for a change in war policy, and by the time it occurred, the result was utterly predictable. So much so that Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who is running for the White House in 2008, skipped the vote to campaign in Iowa.
Thanks for standing up for the troops, John.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky led the opposition to the measure. ``This is a dangerous piece of legislation. It is constitutionally dubious and it would authorize a scattered band of United States senators to tie the hand'' of the commander in chief, he said. McConnell said it would be ``absolutely fatal'' to the mission of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada disputed that. ``Five years of war, the president's current approach in Iraq is not working. The country is closer to chaos than stability. U.S. troops are policing a civil war, not hunting and killing the terrorists who attacked America on 9/11.''
Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon was the only Republican to support the measure. Democrats Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska opposed it, as did Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent Democrat.
For their part, Republicans sought to create a political dilemma for Democrats, countering with an alternative measure that said ``no funds should be cut off or reduced for American troops in the field'' that would undermine their safety. GOP leaders hoped the proposal, advanced by Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, would prove difficult for Democrats to oppose and complicate any future effort to reduce funds for the war. Gregg's amendment passed 82-16.
Democrats tried still another proposal, this one saying that Congress would provide ``necessary funds for training equipment and other support for troops in the field.'' It passed easily, 96-2.
So we're all for training and equipping them, and we (so far) won't tie Bush's hands. Whatever the House does is meaningless, but then we knew that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
NEWSMAX > Iran's FM Lanjani > IRAN WILL STRIKE BACK MILITARILY - any way, any body, any where, + of course everywhere, etc. - iff US attacks it to stop its uranium enrichment program. IOW, IRAN GETS ITS WAY OR ITS WAR.
#3
Example No. 1,231 of Idiotic Memes The Administration Hasn't Lifted a Pinky to Debunk: "policing a civil war". Any war, or tussle, or rumble, or rowdy frat party, that we deem in our interests to police, suppress, settle, squash, tilt, or otherwise resolve, WE SHOULD DO SO. Duh.
Our enemies now wear western civilian clothes and go to strip clubs and take flying lessons and are polite to airline ground staff - they don't wear uniforms and attack us in armored vehicles or fly flags over fixed defensive positions. So our actions and interventions won't look like WWII, either.
WTF was Kosovo? Civil war. Bosnia? What did the idiot Dems say - back when such incredibly stupid things still took one's breath away - just after months of the most preposterous hand-wringing and alarmism about how we dare not take on Saddam in Kuwait, as our offensive operations had just ground to a halt? OH! Rush in, save the Shi'a and Kurds, STOP THE CIVIL WAR!
Admit I don't have the stomach to peruse the Record, but is there a single senator with the brains and presence of mind to jump on this "civil war" nonsense (not that there are elements of such in Iraq, but that it's in any way pertinent) and talk sense?
#4
There's also LUCIANNE > NYT article > NEW FACE OF JIHAD > fatah AL-Islam vows attacks on USA. Group claims Amers won't leave unless know lives + Amer economy is directly threatened.
#5
As an Oregonian who actualy voted for Smith I can only hang my head in shame, what a complete jackass, to put it mildly. I would vote for the local dog catcher to replace him if possible!
#7
Senate Democrats promptly said they would try again to force a change in Bush's policy beginning next week when they begin work on legislation providing money for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The usual suspects? Or new traitors?
#8
The interesting thing to me is that this is intentional ankle biting. NPR reported several days ago that the House Democrats knew this bill wouldn't get through, but they put it to a vote anyway "to send a message." The message I'm getting is that they can't pass the legislation they really, really want... but possibly I'm not reading deeply enough.
#9
Why should McCain show up for a symbolic measure, with no legal meaning?
Besides hes pals with Lieberman, he probably knew how the vote was going to go.
I mean cmon, at the firefighters union meeting the other day, McCain walked in and talked about the war, why we had to win, etc, etc, despite his audience silence. I dont think any other candidate, Dem OR Repub, was as forthright.
McCain has gambled his future on the war, in a way no one else, not Romney or Giuliani or Gingrich, let alone Hilary, has. To knock him for being soft cause he didnt show up for this vote, is well ......
#11
McCain wants to run as a republican, but be elected by democrats.
PoliSci 101.
Posted by: ed ||
03/16/2007 9:55 Comments ||
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I'm with Liberalhawk on this one. I'm not a huge fan of McCain, but nobody in the Senate has been better about what's at stake in this war (except, perhaps, Lieberman).
Posted by: Tibor ||
03/16/2007 10:23 Comments ||
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Why should McCain show up for a symbolic measure, with no legal meaning?
Perhaps to show he has convictions or principles that he is willing to stand behind.
#14
I must respectfully disagree with LH: yes, it was a symbolic measure.
That's exactly why you show up. The other side is trying to send a message, so you send one in return.
Yes, the Senator has stood for the war and does stand for the troops. But he has to do that in the big ways, on the Senate floor, as well as at the firefighters union hall. This was a vote for 'all hands'. The Senator needed to be there. That's my opinion, anyways.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2007 11:28 Comments ||
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#15
There is something wrong with that man's wiring.
#17
"The vote was 50-48 against the measure, 12 short of the 60 needed for passage."
Gosh, golly gee Harry not even a majority. But I did find your A vote for the Gregg Amendment is vote not change conditions at Walter Reed statement humorous. (The same way Im always ammused when little kids eat worms)
How about this, Iran Doesn't get it's way, and there's still war, short, nasty and final, after it's over if Iran Dares to even Squeak, there's another short, nasty war, repeat until Iran Doesn't dare squeak, or preferably is unable to Squeak,
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/16/2007 16:20 Comments ||
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hes allegedlly flipped on abortion, fundies, etc. I dont think theres any question of his flipping on the war.
Your point is unclear. Is he a defender of the war or a slimey flip-flopper.
While we expect politicians to be slimey, McCain was previously a POW who understands the meaning of support the troops. If he can't find his convictions on this issue, then he is no different than Hillary; The only thing important to either of them is their own personal ambition. Everything and anything else can be damned. A see a jock pilot out of control.
Democrats aggressively challenged President Bush's Iraq policy at both ends of the Capitol on Thursday, gaining House committee approval for a troop withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008, but suffering defeat in the Senate on a less sweeping plan to end U.S. participation in the war. But they lost. Does that mean the Publicans were more aggressive than the Sinners?
Anti-war Democrats prevailed on a near-party line vote of 36-28 in the House Appropriations Committee, brushing aside a week-old veto threat from the administration and overcoming unyielding opposition from Republicans. "I want this war to end. I don't want to go to any more funerals," said New York Rep. Rep. Jose Serrano, one of several liberal Democrats who have pledged their support for the legislation despite preferring a faster end to the war. "I am just so sensitive!"
"Nobody wants our troops out of Iraq more than I do," countered Rep. C.W. Bill Young of Florida, who sought unsuccessfully to scuttle the timeline for a troop withdrawal. "But we can't afford to turn over Iraq to al-Qaida." "Buck up, man! Stop sniveling!"
In the Senate, after weeks of skirmishing, Republicans easily turned back Democratic legislation requiring a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days. The measure set no fixed deadline for completion of the redeployment, but set a goal of March 31, 2008. The vote was 50-48 against the measure, 12 short of the 60 needed for passage. Senate Democrats promptly said they would try again to force a change in Bush's policy beginning next week when they begin work on legislation providing money for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We're so sensitive!"
"Stop sniveling!"
The developments coincided with the traditional St. Patrick's Day luncheon in the Capitol, an annual social event hosted by the speaker of the House and attended by the president. "FREE BEER!"
For an hour or so, while lawmakers were debating the war, Bush and the leader of the political opposition, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were seated near one another in an ornate hall not far from the Capitol Rotunda. Who the hell writes this crap?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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I guess it's asking way too much for a war supporter to say something responsible and serious, instead of "me too"-ing on the bizarre and pathetic hysteria for withdrawal. Cong. Young, how about "we're in Iraq for several very good reasons, reasons that are important enough to risk the lives of our troops, who are trained to defend us and our national interests, and if my colleague can't take the heartache and pressure of being a leader in time of war, perhaps he should consider another line of work - but he should be ashamed of himself to even consider turning his back on our bravest who have already made the ultimate sacrifice, on our warriors still in the field, and on our Iraqi and other allies."
#2
Good words, Verlaine, but much too long for a sound bite! In fact, he might've said just what you did, finished off with, "But we can't afford to turn over Iraq to al-Qaida." But that'd be the only thing cited in the MSM.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/16/2007 5:43 Comments ||
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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's capture four years ago didn't shut down al-Qaida or bring the Americans to Osama bin Laden. But if his mega-confession is to be believed, his arrest was a crushing blow to bin Laden's plans for even more deadly attacks in the wake of 9/11. His expertise was never replaced and his absence has contributed to the group's transition from a fear-inspiring attack force to a hate-filled voice on the Internet, urging others to wage terror against the West.
"In terms of competence for managing, planning and executing terrorist attacks, KSM was the best in al-Qaida," said Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert and author of a book on al-Qaida. "That's why Osama bin Laden and other important al-Qaida leaders entrusted him with so many operations."
In his testimony to a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, released in redacted form by the Pentagon on Wednesday, Mohammed claimed involvement in 31 attacks and plots. Some are almost surely true. Wow. There's a positive statement. Some are almost surely true. Meaning, I guess, that most are probably false?
He was the mastermind of the 9/11 jetliner attacks and, in their wake, certified his bloodthirst by personally beheading Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl bragging about it on the Internet then and in the testimony transcript of last Saturday. "I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan," he said. "For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the Internet holding his head."
His operations ranged from his admitted involvement in the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, as well as a failed scheme known as Bojinka to bring down 12 Western airliners in Asia claims that are well documented.
He "sang" to interrogators almost from the start, after his March 2003 arrest at a house outside the Pakistani capital. Much of the information in the 26 pages of released testimony has been long known.
But even if his self-proclaimed status is somewhat exaggerated, he "gave the Americans lots of information about what kind of ideas al-Qaida had, and how they put their plots together," said Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism expert at the Swedish National Defense College. "Mohammed's information gives us a glimpse into the group's imagination. On an operational level, I don't think they have ever been able to replace his experience," he said.
Experts agree the arrest was a major setback for bin Laden's terror network, and one from which the group has never quite recovered. Which experts? Un-named sources-type experts? The author? The editor?
'Experts', man, 'experts'.
"The role of al-Qaida has changed a lot," said Talat Masood, a former Pakistani general and security analyst. "It has become devolved and amorphous. It's a more ideological and inspirational force and does not have a centralized command anymore." Gunaratna said the loss of Mohammed, a naturalized Pakistani born in Kuwait, as its top operational commander, combined with increased counterterrorism cooperation worldwide, has left al-Qaida unable to mount attacks on the scale of the 9/11 strikes on America. I chose to not edit the most gratuitous slam:
One thing his arrest didn't accomplish was the arrest of bin Laden or his top deputy, al-Zawahri. No, and it didn't help with the death of Zarko-boy, either.
Pakistani intelligence agents say Mohammed was carrying a letter from bin Laden at the time of his arrest, but there is no evidence he knew bin Laden's exact whereabouts.
Mohammed's knowledge now is dated. And clouding the picture further is the view, widely held especially in the Islamic world, that his confessions are not entirely credible either coerced by American captors or exaggerated by Mohammed himself, in the hope of carving out a place in the pantheon of terror.
Oh. Well. Golly. Guess we just have to release him, don't we?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/16/2007 06:01 ||
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Mohammed's knowledge now is dated. And clouding the picture further is the view, widely held especially in the Islamic world, that his confessions are not entirely credible either coerced by American captors or exaggerated by Mohammed himself, in the hope of carving out a place in the pantheon of terror.
#2
Rosie O'Donnell on The View said," He must have been held in some secret CIA prison at Guantonamo Bay and tortured until he "confessed" to everything".
God what an utterly ignorant douchebag.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/16/2007 7:36 Comments ||
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He must have been held in some secret CIA prison.....and tortured until he "confessed".
I certainly hope so
Posted by: Steve ||
03/16/2007 7:47 Comments ||
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so what if he was held in a secret prison and was tortured like the post above i hope he was and is still being tortured.Who gives a fuck what rosie thinks anyway?
ISLAMABAD - The United States aims to give Pakistan $750 million over the next five years for the development of areas on the border with Afghanistan, a senior US official said on Thursday.
Develop the areas? I'd prefer we bomb them for the next five years and see if there's anything left to develop. With the right incentive plan to the USAF, the answer to that will be 'no'.
This commitment to the development of Pakistan, this commitment to the long-term relationship, is another example of the very broad and deep relations that we have, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher told a news conference in Islamabad.
The impoverished, semi-autonomous and idiotic tribal areas on Pakistans border with Afghanistan are filled with fools a hotbed of al Qaeda and Taleban support, from where terrorists militants have been launching attacks into Afghanistan.
The US administration will seek the approval of the US Congress for the extra aid, Boucher said.
Um, 'no'.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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Actually, this makes some sense. Back when the Russians invaded Afghanistan, we created a Jihadi "industry" in that region. We sent money and arms and encouraged the madrassas to turn out fighters. We created an industry of holy warrior factories. We used the idea of islamic fighters to oppose the Russians. Then at some point it got out of control. The Russians were gone but we couldn't find the "off" switch.
Jihad is a big business in that region and the simple fact is that we created it. The first time I ever heard the word "mujahideen" was from the lips of Ronald Reagan describing Afghan "freedom fighters".
In the process we created a lot of powerful people and there is a lot of money flying around in that region. We need to provide some other lucrative occupation if we want to get rid of the jihadi economy there. Pumping in a billion dollars for "development" is a way to keep the tribal leaders rich while doing something else. It allows them to move into a different line of business without losing their power and wealth. It is probably the only way to stop the jihadi economy.
#2
I'd like to see them pony up some prizes first, I think it should be conditional. Like "cut the shit, gives us our targets and maybe before you die we will give you toilets"
#3
There was no "off switch" because Pakistan wanted to use the "jihad factories" against India.
Note that the Kashmir jihad began a few months after the Soviets left Afghanistan.
Posted by: John Frum ||
03/16/2007 6:19 Comments ||
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#4
So we bought it?
Sounds good.
Let's blow it all up.
#5
The most modern mosque/ammo dump/Falafel House will be constructed with the $750M, minus the usual Paki commission. Truly a sight to shock and awe the natives.
Posted by: ed ||
03/16/2007 8:43 Comments ||
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#6
first of all what is there too develop in these remote ass regions? 2nd , and someone said it before how bout they givce something more for our money here.
#8
No mention of oversite for this money. I wonder who gets to travel to Pakistan in order to make sure that the money gets spent in the manner that justifies the use.
After reading the post at the bottom of Rantburg about the couple getting taxed for using grease to run their vehicle, send a couple of Illinois IRS agents to keep a eye on the Paki's. They'll keep them in line.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said the manhandling of suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry by security personnel and police was an unfortunate incident. The president said this at a meeting on Wednesday night at which all aspects of the judicial crisis following the chief justices suspension were reviewed, a federal minister told Online on condition of anonymity on Thursday.
The president expressed disappointment at the manhandling of the chief justice while he was being taken to the Supreme Court building on Tuesday, the sources said. He said the incident had bought shame to Pakistan and that Justice Chaudhry must be treated with respect and honour, as he is still chief justice of Pakistan. He added that he had not issued any directives to withdraw the chief justices privileges. He said there was no ban on meeting the chief justice, but no one would be allowed to gain political mileage from the.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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"Sorry about that, yer Honor, the boys got a little carried away. Never happen again, I swear."
Khan Younis- Palestinian security services and civil defense forces found on Thursday the body of Muhammad Sa'id Qishtah, aged 30, in the rubble of a tunnel which collapsed at midday in the Salam neighborhood of Rafah. This tunnel was located west of the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border. Midday. Probably closed the breakdown lane for maintenance.
Two more Gazan citizens were injured when the tunnel collapsed, one of whom was described as being moderately injured. They were taken to Ash-Shafi' hospital in Gaza City for treatment.
The border area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt contains a network of tunnels which Palestinian fighters use as well as smugglers of all kinds of goods. Many Palestinians have been injured as the result of the collapse of these tunnels. Keep up the good work, boys...
#4
"The border area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt contains a network of tunnels which Palestinian fighters use as well as smugglers of all kinds of goodsguns and explosives to use to kill more Jooooos."
There - fixed.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/16/2007 11:25 Comments ||
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Unfortunately, Sharon left the scene before ordering the canal to the sea right over the tunnels.
European Union officials said Thursday it was still too early to decide whether to resume direct aid to the Palestinian Authority government. The rival Hamas and Fatah movements completed the formation of a unity government on Thursday, and the legislature is scheduled to vote on the coalition Saturday.
EU spokeswoman Emma Udwin told reporters the European Commission had not yet assessed the program of the new PA unity government. "We need to study the program and the actions of the new government very carefully and of course ... to consult with our partners as well in order to take a decision on how and indeed whether it is possible to gradually re-engage," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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The rival Hamas and Fatah movements completed the formation of a unity government on Thursday, and the legislature is scheduled to vote on the coalition Saturday.
So long as their bright and shiny new unity government still has "Kill all the Jews" emblazoned across it, not a stinking red cent.
Police arrested Thursday evening four people suspected of spraying insecticide on guests at a wedding in the Beduin village of Rahat. The motive for the attack was unknown. Some 50 people at the event were affected, nearly half of whom had to be evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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A Kadima source said Thursday that in the event that the Winograd Committee singles Olmert out for criticism over the Lebanon war's failures but doesn't explicitly call on him to resign, 15 Kadima ministers would leave the faction, if the prime minister doesn't stand down, Channel 10 reported. "I can easily get 15 Kadima faction to abandon him," the source was quoted as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to serve the full four years of his term, even as he told party members Thursday night in Petah Tikva: "I'm not a popular prime minister."
"Reporters have reminded the public that I am unpopular," he said. "Our friends in the opposition led by [Likud chairman Binyamin] Netanyahu do not miss an opportunity to point out that I am unpopular. Even within my own party there are those who deal with the question of my unpopularity. I think they are right. I am, indeed, an unpopular prime minister." While his speech was interrupted by applause and chants of "Ehud, king of Israel," Olmert acknowledged the undercurrent of uncertainty that had gripped his party in the past few days.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Hey, maybe he's not so popular, but he more than makes up for it with his spineless behavior! Has anyone figured out why Sharon kept him around anyway? Life insurance policy maybe?
MANILA Philippine police arrested a leftwing lawmaker on the steps of the Supreme Court on Friday for mass murder dating back to the 1980s. Satur Ocampo, a two-term member of the lower house of Congress, went to the Supreme Court to seek a restraining order against the arrest warrant, issued last week for the murder of 69 communist rebels suspected of betraying the Maoist New People's Army (NPA) in the 1980s.
Ocampo, who was taken to a local police station, told Reuters the charges were an attempt by the government to exclude leftwing groups from mainstream politics and prevent them from seeking re-election in congressional elections on May 14. 'These charges of murder are political harassment and repression and are an attempt to prohibit me from campaigning,' said the former journalist, who has said he was in prison when the NPA started killing suspected government spies.
Ocampo was forced to go underground with the communist rebels when late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972. Captured in 1976, he was tried in a military court and detained until 1985 when he escaped and rejoined the guerrillas. Re-arrested two years later, Ocampo was freed in 1992 when the government opened peace talks with the communists. He won a seat in Congress in 2001 as a member of the Bayan Muna (Nation First) party-list group.
The government views Bayan Muna and other leftwing groups as NPA fronts and has accused Ocampo and other lawmakers of helping to fund one of the world's longest-running communist insurgencies, which has killed more than 40,000 people since 1969. Leftwing groups deny the allegations and accuse the military of killing hundreds of their members in extrajudicial executions. The armed forces blame the murders on internal purges in the communist movement.
Ineffectual President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sees the NPA as the Philippines' biggest security threat. Last year she declared all-out war on the rebels, who are largely based in rural areas and engage the police and military in deadly tit-for-tat battles.
All the while trying to hand part of her country over to the Moro Islamists. Go figure
Peace talks collapsed in 2004 when Washington and some European states put the NPA on terrorism blacklists. The group has more than 7,000 fighters and is active in 69 of 81 provinces.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/16/2007 13:07 ||
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Odds are GMA will eventually blame 'US pressure' for the arrest.
#1
I watched that on the IMAX last night. It was awesome!! I can't believe a movie like that could get made in this day and age. Live Free or Die! Better to die on your feet than live on your knees, etc.
A top Iranian nuclear official on Thursday produced a slew of figures to angrily deny Russian charges Tehran had not paid a cent towards the construction of its first nuclear power plant since January. "Yeah! The check's in the mail! Really!"
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#3
I don't think Iran quite understands there new place in Russia's eyes. Works like this Daddy Putin protects Iran from Bubba US as payment for this Iran is considered Daddy Russia's B*otch and so when Daddy says uhhh well you get the rest......
#4
Youse guys gotta realize bad stuff happens all da time. Fires, strikes, youze could get hit in da head with a cinder block, fall under a cement truck...
#5
Note to Putin: They ain't gonna pay. You look foolish for trusting them. You also look foolish to your critics and competitors. What are you gonna do about it?
Iran's UN Mission sent a letter to the Security Council president Thursday officially requesting permission for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak during its discussion on a resolution that would impose new sanctions on Teheran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, a council diplomat said.
Iranian state television quoted government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham on Sunday as saying Ahmadinejad wanted to take his case for pursuing nuclear power before the council as it considers the sanctions resolution. The letter informed South Africa's UN Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, the current council president, that Ahmadinejad would head the Iranian delegation, the council diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the letter has not yet been made public.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#3
According to Drudge.... He also wants visa's for 25 'security agents' and to leave a 'large group' on the plane at JFK who will not go through US customs.
What the hell does he need to leave a large group on the plane for?
#9
I was thinkin. If the US stopped giving visas to despots for their visits to the UN maybe the UN would leave on it's own? Nah. Makes too much sense.
#10
Sure, let him come here, but only for the Roach Motel treatment (i.e., no check-out). Ages ago, our government should have declared this maggot persona au gratin.
#11
If it were up to me, that plane would have to be searched before departing for New York. And I'd have to verify that he's still on the plane. I'd give it a fighter escort all the way to the gate too. The guy's too loony-tunes and martyr-happy to be trusted in our airspace. That "large group on the plane" may be a cover for something. Just sayin'.
#13
"... what cheese would be strong enough to stand up to a stinker like him?"
Well, tw, I was going to go Monty Python on you and retort, Venezuelan Beaver Cheese!, but there is a more appropriate and genuine cheese that could only befit a true maggot like Ahmadinejad.
DANGER! WARNING FOR THOSE WHO HAVE JUST EATEN! DANGER!
I give you, Casu Marzu. Famed as both an aphrodisiac and source of intestinal parasites, this Sardinian variant of Pecorino cheese (Pecorino Sardo) is purposely infested with larvae of the Cheese Skipper, which are then allowed to breed within the curd. From the link:
At least the name of the food doesn't try and cover what it is - casu marzu translates to "rotten goo", which is an apt description. The brown mass, after the critters - the larvae of Piophila casei - have gone to work, results in a fermented cheese with decomposing fats. The taste is described alternately as vaguely rotten and pungent, or as delicate and piquant, depending on the person. The cheese burns the tongue and throat when eaten. It's claimed to have both aphrodisiac and psychotropic qualities - one person, after his first time eating it, claimed to have a strange crawling sensation on his skin for days.
Some experts declare the cheese to be ripe when the maggots can no longer survive in the partially digested mass, others demand that the larvae must still be living. I'll leave all decisions regarding this criteria to the reader.
The UN commission probing the assassination of Lebanons former prime minister Rafik Hariri requested Thursday that its mandate be extended beyond its June expiration. Time to dump the Belgian. See if they've got another German available.
The request was made in the panel's seventh report, which also said that the commission "has made progress in collecting new evidence and in expanding the forms of evidence collected." The UN panel, headed by Belgian judge Serge Brammertz, is investigating the death of Hariri and 22 others in a massive bomb blast in February 2005 in the Beirut. Its current mandate expires in June. The current year, by my watch, is 2007. That's two years since Hariri was killed. Maybe knock six months off before Mehlis get his authorization to start, though it wasn't that long.
"In light of the current and planned investigative activities, it is unlikely that the commission will complete its work before its current mandate expires in June 2007," the report said. It doesn't look like the commission's gonna complete its work before all the principles and witnesses have died of old age.
Technically, the *principles* were pepper sprayed and then bludgeoned to death by 4 p.m. on 2/14/05. The *principals* are still consuming oxygen and Mai Tais on the beach to the soothing sounds of steel drum bands.
"The commission therefore welcomes the request for an extension of its mandate beyond this date," it said. The Lebanese government had decided last month to ask the United Nations to extend the panel's mandate by a year.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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C'mon folks, it's only been two years. For the UN, that's breakneck speed...
The European Union supports Syria's goal of regaining the occupied Golan Heights from Israel, the EU foreign policy chief said after meeting President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday. At least they're consistent. They supported Syria's adventurism that lost them the Golan Heights.
"We would like to work as much as possible to see your country Syria recuperate the territory taken in 1967," Javier Solana told a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem. "But you don't have to make any concessions or modify your behavior in any way at all, so don't worry."
Syria has made it clear that its cooperation to help end violence in Iraq was tied to Western, especially U.S., backing for its peaceful campaign to regain the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied during the Middle East war four decades ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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...recuperate the territory taken in 1967
Uh, IIRC that would be the territory *lost* in 1967. Call me a traditionalist, but when you both start and lose a war, you don't get much say in the final terms.
No doubt, the EU also supports the Jews throwing themselves into the sea, but I just don't see it happening.
Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad says any sanctions against the country would result in the strengthening of the Iranian economy. Ahmadinejad, on a provincial trip to the central province of Yazd, told the crowd on Thursday that Iran will succeed in developing its civilian nuclear energy program independent from foreign help.
He emphasized that Iran would continue efforts to obtain the nuclear know-how, adding that no power could ever stop the Iranian nation from achieving their rights. "Using the nuclear fuel cycle is the right of all nations," he told the people in Ardekan in the Yazd province. "This technology is now available to our youths and nobody can stop the progress of our nation," he said outright.
Referring to threats made by arrogant powers against Iran's civilian nuclear program, Ahmadinejad denounced the powers for using the UN Security Council as a tool against the Islamic Republic. "The Security Council should release a report on its performance to show in which instances it has stood up for the rights of the nations," he said. The Iranian president added, "They threaten us with economic sanctions . You imposed sanctions against us for 27 years and we became a nuclear power." He said imposing economic sanctions would only help Iran to reach higher peaks.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president called on the Security Council to admit its mistake in dealing with Iran and take measures to prevent the harms resulting from the blunder.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2007 00:00 ||
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WAFF.com > FORWARD.com article >ex-IRGC member - Present IRGC more like Mafia than Guardians of the 1979 Iranian revolution. Claims IRGC involved in over 100 black/mafia-type activities.
#3
"Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad says any sanctions against the country would result in the strengthening of the Iranian economy."
He is either totally delusional or a laughably baldfaced liar. Either way, the above statement reinforces in my mind that there is no way in hell that this regime should be permitted a nuclear weapons development program.
#5
You all forget, what Nutjob is knowingly talking about are "sanctions" approved by unanimous consent from a committe of the EU, UN, China, Russia, and France. The thing that may hurt them the most would be to ban imports of walnuts or some such $hit.
#6
Ahmadinejad says any sanctions against the country would result in the strengthening of the Iranian economy
As a person with a pasion for the Persian people, I want to know what he hasn't imposed santions himself, to improve the Persian economy. Think any Persians will wonder the same?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/16/2007 6:28 Comments ||
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They threaten us with economic sanctions . You imposed sanctions against us for 27 years and we became a nuclear power." He said imposing economic sanctions would only help Iran to reach higher peaks.
Actually Pakistan gave it to then via Khan, I would keep on with the UN sactions and a whole lot more.
#8
And yet, behind the scenes, it is becoming clear that all is not well inside Iran, even in the middle of an oil price boom. At 3.9 million barrels a day, oil production remains stubbornly below its level at the time of the 1979 revolution.
A complete failure to invest in refining and the hostility to the use of Western technology has ensured that Iran imports much of its refined oil from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Rather bizarrely, petrol has recently been rationed in some instances and is subject to strict government control - a whopping 86 per cent price increase has been proposed. On current trends, Iran would cease to be a net oil exporter altogether in 2015.
This seems to be extraordinary economic mismanagement. Despite a 20 per cent increase in the national budget last year, Mr Ahmadinejad had to go back to Iran's parliament, the Majlis, six times to ask for more money. Government expenditure is extremely high and rising - a pledge to reduce budgetary dependence on oil supplements by 10 per cent each year has been thrown aside as the government has resorted to using the Oil Reserve Fund as its piggy bank. Commentators speculate that Iran has inadequate foreign currency reserves to negotiate the demands of the coming year.
In fact, the extent of government borrowing from Iranian banks is jeopardising the solidity of the Iranian banking system. The borrowing increased by nearly 50 per cent last year and this swollen government sector carries significant knock-on inflationary implications. The official target for inflation is 9.9 per cent but the current rate is thought to be at least 20 per cent, and rising. In certain foods it is closer to 40 per cent and some fresh vegetables are disappearing in Tehran.
#10
"Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad says any sanctions against the country would result in the strengthening of the Iranian economy"
Sure enough, Ahmadinejad, just like War is peace, Freedom is slavery and Ignorance is strength. Oops, I left out one particularly appropriate bit of totalitarian blather, Arbeit macht frei.
Late Olympia peace activist still inspiring to some ...naive idiot to others.
Cindy Corrie never imagined losing one of her children, nor did she believe she would survive such a loss. Then why'd they let her go to beautiful Gaza?
Then on March 16, 2003, the unthinkable happened. Her 23-year-old daughter, Rachel, was crushed beneath an Israeli bulldozer as she stood defending a Paleo weapons tunnel the home of two Palestinian families in Rafah, Gaza. Naive, stupid foreigner is no way to be in Gaza. Ask BBC guy.
Cindy, 59, and her husband, Craig, lost made up their minds then to keep their daughters words few as they were and message idiotic as it was alive, despite their loss. In fact, within the hour, we did start making decisions, Cindy Corrie said, and one was because Rachels words (in diaries and e-mails) had had such an impact on us, that those words needed to be available to people. She had worked on that. That was something she wanted to see happen.
Few things are sadder than parents trying to rationalize the senseless loss of a child.
Rachel Corries voice can still be heard four years after her death, when the controversial play My Name is Rachel Corrie opens Thursday in Seattle. Can we rename that "My Name was Rachel Corrie"?
#3
Paeace activits my a.. Remind her wearing a hijab, her face diformed by hate while burning an American flag. Question why she sided with those who would genocide the Isrealis if they could instead of with those who really suffer: the Sudanese Blacks at the hands of Arabs. What was she doing with those who are not raped, not starved not enslaved and have perpetrated the miost repugnant things while living from international charity?
#5
Finally revealed, the truth behind Saint Rachel's untimely demise:
Fast-food activist Rachel Corrie burns a rival company's menu during a pro-McDonald's demonstration just hours before her mysterious assassination in Gaza.
#12
Cindy Corrie never imagined losing one of her children, nor did she believe she would survive such a loss.
I suppose that a number of Isreli mothers who had their children murdered in cold blood by the teroosrsists Rachel Corrie was helping could say the same thing.
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.
Libya is working to deport Palestinians to the Gaza Strip, via Egypt, to avoid their permanent settlement in Libya, a newspaper report said Tuesday.
Democrats aggressively challenged President Bush's Iraq policy at both ends of the Capitol on Thursday, gaining House committee approval for a troop withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008, but suffering defeat in the Senate on a less sweeping plan to end U.S. participation in the war. 
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's capture four years ago didn't shut down al-Qaida or bring the Americans to Osama bin Laden. But if his mega-confession is to be believed, his arrest was a crushing blow to bin Laden's plans for even more deadly attacks in the wake of 9/11. His expertise was never replaced and his absence has contributed to the group's transition from a fear-inspiring attack force to a hate-filled voice on the Internet, urging others to wage terror against the West.
European Union officials said Thursday it was still too early to decide whether to resume direct aid to the Palestinian Authority government. The rival Hamas and Fatah movements completed the formation of a unity government on Thursday, and the legislature is scheduled to vote on the coalition Saturday. 
A Kadima source said Thursday that in the event that the Winograd Committee singles Olmert out for criticism over the Lebanon war's failures but doesn't explicitly call on him to resign, 15 Kadima ministers would leave the faction, if the prime minister doesn't stand down, Channel 10 reported. "I can easily get 15 Kadima faction to abandon him," the source was quoted as saying.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to serve the full four years of his term, even as he told party members Thursday night in Petah Tikva: "I'm not a popular prime minister." 
The UN commission probing the assassination of Lebanons former prime minister Rafik Hariri requested Thursday that its mandate be extended beyond its June expiration.
The European Union supports Syria's goal of regaining the occupied Golan Heights from Israel, the EU foreign policy chief said after meeting President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday.
Late Olympia peace activist still inspiring to some
