WARSAW - Polish military judges decided Tuesday to extend the pre-trial detentions of seven soldiers charged in the murders civilians in Afghanistan during an incident in August. According to the judges ruling, the evidence gathered indicates that it is highly likely that the acts for which they have been charged took place.
Six soldiers, charged in November in connection with shootings in a village in the eastern part of the country, face up to life in prison if found guilty of the killings of six civilians, including women and children. A seventh soldier, charged with the lesser offence of opening fire on a civilian target, was also ordered held in custody faces up to five years in prison.
According to an initial Polish defence ministry statement, several Afghan civilians were killed in the village of Nangar Khel in eastern Wazi-Khwa region on August 16 when Polish troops returned fire after being ambushed. But the Polish military prosecutors office has said the shootings in fact took place several hours after the ambush.
The shootings in Wazi-Khwa region came two days after a Polish soldier had been killed by the Taleban in eastern Afghanistan, in what was the first fatality for Poland since it joined the NATO-led force in March 2002.
#1
This kind of crap perpetuates, and then we expect the NATO group, who don't want to be there anyway, to send more troops. Asinine. It's time to tell Karzai that we are going to extinguish his popualtion if necessary. We're not going to keep patting collaborators on the back and telling them we're going to be good friends. We need to tell these simple asses that we're there to waste them and if we see them fart sideways they're gone. They are ignorant bastards, but they'll catch on eventually. Why do we impose this shit on our soldiers? They are there to kill and not to be killed. Get this straight or get out.
El Khabar reports that al Qaeda in North Africa is planning to name a new leader in the Sahara desert. Yahia Abou Ammar was expected to replace Mokhtar Belmokhtar, known for his links to smugglers in desert areas bordering Mali and Niger. Newspaper commentators say that Belmokhtar, an Algerian veteran of the Afghan war against Soviet occupation, has been criticised by some colleagues for mounting what they see as an inadequate number of attacks on Algerian security forces. Some commentators have said Belmokhtar is in talks with the Algerian authorities who are seeking to persuade him to disarm in return for amnesty.
This article starring:
MOKHTAR BELMOKHTAR
al-Qaeda in North Africa
YAHIA ABU AMAR
al-Qaeda in North Africa
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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A senior government official in Kuwait hinted Tuesday that Gulf States are expecting and waiting for Israel to destroy Irans nuclear reactor before the security situation reaches critical mass.
We are too, actually.
Sami Alfaraj, advisor to the Kuwaiti government and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), said Kuwait and the other Gulf States might ask both the Jewish State and the United States to guarantee their security if Israel attacks Irans nuclear power station.
I believe in something on the same Iraqi model We are assuming in the Gulf that Israel will take it out, Alfaraj told the Reuters news agency.
Israel destroyed Iraqs Osirak nuclear facility in a daring raid June 7, 1981 that neutralized its ability to function before the reactor went hot thereby protecting the surrounding countries as well. Israeli intelligence had confirmed that the Iraqi government planned to produce nuclear weapons at the site.
Then, as now, Israeli officials were convinced that nuclear power in the hands of the enemy constituted an existential threat to Israel. In his briefing to IAF fighter pilots prior to the operation, then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Rafael Eitan said, The alternative is our destruction.
A report by the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency to be published by the end of next week indicates that questions remain about how the Islamic Republic plans to utilize the nuclear power it plans to produce.
Although Iranian scientists were able to explain the traces of bomb-grade uranium found during inspections of its nuclear research sites, they were unwilling to discuss the suspected links between the uranium enrichment already in process, high explosives tests and new missile design.
Western nations are concerned about boasts by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Islamic Republic has been testing advanced centrifuges that would enhance and streamline the nuclear power production process. According to the Associated Press, Iran is currently producing more than 300 tons of uranium hexafluoride gas, a key component used in the uranium enrichment process.
Iran has resisted all attempts by the international community, including increasingly severe sanctions imposed upon it by the UN Security Council, to cease its uranium enrichment program.
Former US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said during his speech at the 8th Herzilya Conference last month that an Israeli strike might be the last chance to stop Iran from completing a nuclear weapon. Former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, who also spoke at the conference, also hinted that the military option is growing more likely.
The United States and Israel in particular are convinced that Iran is intent upon producing a nuclear weapon of mass destruction, to be aimed at the Jewish State. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly vowed to wipe Israel off the map.
#1
And after Israel does so, the Gulf States (and everybody else) will scream bloody murder because Joooos are not permitted to chastise the Master Religion.
Islamist extremists have infiltrated Government and key public utilities to pass sensitive information to terrorists, the security services have warned.
Counter-terrorism officials say "insiders" or their associates are almost certainly working "undetected" in sensitive posts and are actively supporting the activities of extremists.
Mustapha Boutarfa was involved in the Paris Metro bomb attack, but was then allowed to work as a traffic warden in the UK
In some cases, lifelong relationships between friends or relatives are being exploited to obtain crucial information from those in sensitive posts.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Enjoy your multiculti playland, europe. Yesterday you sucked up to "the other." Tomorrow will just suck...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/13/2008 15:28 Comments ||
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#2
Don't be so cocky it's just Old Europe. BTW, someone tell Asst. Sec. Defense England about this article. Or the head of the FBI's intercept transation unit. Or Hillary Clinton's personal secretary. Or the R&D units of any defense contractor. Or ...
Posted by: ed ||
02/13/2008 16:31 Comments ||
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#3
As a lontime Anglophile, it grieves me to say the headline is wrong. Britain no longer has a heart....
The European Commission will propose tomorrow that all foreign travelers entering and leaving Europe, including U.S. citizens, should be fingerprinted. If approved by the European Parliament, the measure would mean that precisely identifying information on tens of millions of citizens will be added in coming years to databases that could be shared by friendly governments around the world.
The United States already requires that foreigners be fingerprinted and photographed before they enter the country. So does Japan. Now top European security officials want to follow suit, with travelers being fingerprinted and some also having their facial images stored in a Europe-wide database, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by The Washington Post. Now we know why there hasn't been all that much squealing about this kind of thing from Europe lately. Maybe it makes sense after all! Seconds on the crow, anyone?
The plan is part of a vast and growing trend on both sides of the Atlantic to collect and share data electronically to identify and track people in the name of national security and immigration control. U.S. government computers now have access to data on financial transactions; air travel details such as name, itinerary and credit card numbers; and the names of those sending and receiving express-mail packages -- even a description of the contents.
Continued on Page 49
#1
While I think fingerprinting is overall a really good idea, unles there's some kind of instant computer cross-checking it's going to be a total waste of time, and nothing else.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/13/2008 16:49 Comments ||
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#2
Depends, I think, on what you're trying to achieve. May not stop an explosion on board. Might provide really valuable input for data mining to identify networks, couriers etc. tho.
A regional Austrian parliament gave its go-ahead on Tuesday to a change in the law that would ban building mosques and possibly other non-Christian establishments in the region.
While no mention was actually made of mosques or minarets in the bill approved by lawmakers in Carinthia province, the change to the so-called law on the upkeep of towns appearances meant that special dispensations would now be required for the construction of buildings of unusual dimensions. Carinthias governor, far-rightist Joerg Haider, said it was high time to send a signal, accusing the centre-left Social Democrats of not doing anything to stop the advance of Islam.
The changes were condemned by the opposition Green and Social Democrat parties, as well as the Austrian Muslim community that said the changes constituted an infringement of religious freedom.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Haider is a borderline semi-nazi, but he's right in that regard.
What infringement of religious freedom? Nobody says they can't pray. Once there is a cathedral built in KSA, they can have a mosque in Carinthia.
It really chops my hide that in Yurop, almost the only resistance to encroachement of Islam is put up by people of Haider type. With exeptions few and far in between (like Wilders).
#2
Exactly. People are turning to neo-Nazis because they have nowhere else to turn. What European and other leftist opinion completely fails to appreciate about George Bush is that he and men like him are democracies only defense not only against the islamists but against a resurgent Nazism. Once again spineless "peace" activists guarantee the coming war will be far bigger than it needs to be.
#3
This is what's called progress. Ban these f**king mosks. Ban Islamos. They either drop Muzz cult or they leave. That's progres. Not kissing ass and baying to the moon like the fool Arch Bishop in England.
Oh, wow! I'm in Cairo!! Thanks, Casey!!!
HT to The Sandmonkey
US human rights and anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, dubbed "the Mother of Peace", , will take part in a vigil staged by relatives of the Muslim Brotherhood leaders referred to the Military Tribunal. We prefer "The Peace Whore Skating on Her Dead Son's Corpse", but, then again, we know her...
Sheehan, in Cairo nowadays to declare her solidarity with the Muslim Brotherhood leaders referred to the Military Tribunal, will take part in the vigil which will be held On Wdnesday afternoon, 12.00 CMT, Feb, 13th, in front of the National Council for Women. Hope she had her "I Heart Terrorists" t-shirt...
Sheehan, well-know for her opposition to the US president George Bush and his administration especially after her son Casey, was killed in Iraqi in 2004. She is expected to run for the Congress elections and to challenge the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She will send a message to the Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak asking her to immediately intervene to bring to an end the suffering of dozens of families and relatives of the MB detainees. Hosni? Who is this woman and why is she bothering me?
Oh, she's that ditch witch, George was telling me about. I can't have her killed unfortunately, so don't even ask...
Tiffany Burns, Sheehan"s campaign manager, will also take part in the vigil to declare her rejection to referring civilians to the military justice. ...or any justice. They're, like, freedom fighters. Man.
It is worth mentioning that the human rights delegation that has arrived in Cairo, including ex-congressman Walter A Fauntry, human rights activist Mahdi Bray, the chairman of the Mass Freedom foundation, Cindy Sheehan and Tiffany Burns will hold a press conference in the Egyptian Bar association on Thursday at noon, Feb, 14th, to issue their remarks over these trials. Wonder who's bankrolling their little Egyptian vacation?
Through my work on this issue I have become an advocate for human rights violations all over the world.
Well, no wonder she doesn't wanna talk to you, you friggin moron! You're an "advocate for human rights violations all over the world"!
What a fuckin idiot!
#4
Sheehan, well-know for her opposition to the US president George Bush and his administration especially after her son Casey, was killed in Iraqi in 2004 by the very same type of people she is supporting now.
BERKELEY, Calif. City councilmembers who were criticized for telling Marine recruiters they don't belong in Berkeley are moderating their position. They now say they oppose the war in Iraq but support the troops.
"Oh, yasss! We're having it both ways! It's like a weekend in a San Francisco Motel 6!"
Berkeley's City Council voted two weeks ago to send a letter to a downtown recruiting station advising the Marines they were not welcome. In a session that stretched into early Wednesday, the council said they recognize recruiters' right to be in Berkeley. The council reiterated its opposition to the war but said, "We deeply respect and support the men and women in our armed forces."
"No matter how many babies they kill!"
The meeting drew hundreds of people on both sides of the issue who rallied all day and into the night outside City Hall. Photos at link, no more text.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/13/2008 06:14 ||
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#1
boycott Berkeley and cut off their funds. Let em support themselves by eating code pink
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2008 7:12 Comments ||
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#7
Sounds to me like not much has changed at all...
The Berkeley City Council attempted to make nice with U.S. Marines recruiters Wednesday morning by taking back a letter it planned to send calling the Corps 'uninvited and unwelcome intruders' in the city.
But a motion to formally apologize failed.
Instead the City Council with a 7-2 vote at 1 a.m. sought to clarify one of its Jan. 29 Marines motions with new language that recognizes "the recruiters' right to locate in our city and the right of others to protest or support their presence."
The new statement also said the council opposes "the recruitment of our young people into this war."
The council heard testimony from about 100 people who came from as far away as Colorado to weigh in on the issue.
At the same time, the council let stand four other items it passed at its previous meeting, including one encouraging "all people to avoid cooperation with the Marine Corps recruiting station," another asking the city attorney to investigate whether the recruiting station is breaking the city's law against discrimination based on sexual orientation and two items giving the peace group Code Pink a free weekly parking space and sound permit to protest at the Shattuck Avenue recruiting station once a week.
#8
Not good enough. Citizens - and especially their elected representatives - attempting to impede the lawful operation of the military in time of war should be tried for sedition.
#9
They now say they oppose the war in Iraq but support the troops.
Bullshit.
You spit on every soldier that served in Iraq and especially the ones that died there. You are all seditionists and traitors. Pull all funding from Berkeley, especially the DoD funding. Being broke and unemployed can really change an attitude.
#10
I don't agree at all what the city of Berkely did. However, I think this is one of those situations where they did that on purpose to get attention. You do realize that they want to see this big backlash against them. This is Berkeley's way of getting media attention on publicity. I thin the best thing to do is to not give them the benefit of being i the headlines and just simply ignore them! Who honestly cares what a bunch of dumb ass old hippies do in Berkley. They are babies who want attention and Im not going to give them any!
#12
Pay attention; they need to hear other voices! Form the January 30 edition of The 'Burg: Mayor and Council members email addresses. Be courteous, but be faithfull to our brave young marines.
They're headed in the right direction; they just got miles to go before they sleep.
I e-mailed the whole lot of them on the 31st, and I'm gonna do it again today.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/13/2008 11:59 Comments ||
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#13
From the link at an earlier post: But tonight, the city is likely to host the mother of all meetings in its recent history. Councilman Gordon Wozniak, who opposed the council's actions two weeks ago on the recruiting station, said he received 26,000 e-mails on the subject in the past 10 days (24,000 supporting the Marines, 2,000 against), and he is just one of nine council members.
"On a hot issue, we sometimes get a couple hundred e-mails," Wozniak said. "I've never seen anything like this. I'm getting one every five minutes. It's huge."
Here's hoping it continues to be huge.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/13/2008 12:19 Comments ||
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#15
There has been coverage of this on Blackfive. This whole incident becomes a battle for the fundamental principles of how we conduct business in our Republic. Here is what I commented there:
I went to UC Berkeley, 1966 through 1970, and obtained a BS in Civil Engineering. Despite riots, sit-ins, national guard, barb wire, tear gas, etc etc, I did get an excellent education. I was back in Berkeley 12 years ago, and I had enough. The actions of the city government in the case of the Marines recruiting office is your free introductory offer into what leftists and marxists have to offer.....more of the same, scaled up.
Regardless of one's political feelings about the Marines, they have the right to rent office space. People have a right to go there and conduct their business. It is against the law to chain an exit on a facility open to the public during business hours. The Fire Marshal has a legal right to have those perpetrators arrested for doing so.
I think that the Marines have a perfect legal right to get some bolt cutters and remove any chains or cables blocking the entrance to their business. Those doors and entrances are private property, belonging to the landlord.
As with the Haditha Marines case, this is a fundamental issue that the Bush Administration has absolutely failed to engage. When Rep. Jack Murtha shot off his mouth and smeared the Marines in public statements, the President and Sec. Def. Rumsfeld said NOTHING. They needed to say that the allegations of murder w/r/t Haditha are serious charges and will be handled through the established military justice system. They needed to say that Jack Murtha was out of line with statements made to the media, and he, as a United States Senator, should know better. His actions could seriously compromise justice. But nothing was said.
Similarly, the President or the Attorney General needs to say that a Federal recruiting office in Berkeley, California is being blocked by individuals, and the local police appear to not be enforcing local laws. Individuals seeking to do business with the Marine recruiters are not being allowed to exercise their civil rights, which are guaranteed by the US Constitution. In light of this situation, the President is directing that the Justice Department immediately investigate this situation to see if Federal Law is being violated, and if so, arrest those individuals committing those crimes.
Not doing so is giving into lawlessness, and in effect sanctioning the actions of Code Pink, the Berkeley City Council, and the Berkeley Police Department. If the government does not protect the people, then the people will protect themselves, and Americans are good at that when they are pi$$ed off enough. We do not want to go there. And the Code Pink folks do not want to go there, for sure.
This is another battlefield of an age-old war against tyranny and lawlessness. One cannot walk away from this one. It has to be engaged. The tactics are different than Guadalcanal, or other great battles, but the stakes are just as high.
Sorry for the long rant, but this whole thing brings back very bad memories of my Berkeley days.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/13/2008 13:24 Comments ||
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#16
Sorry, non-apology apologies are too complicated for us bestial kiddie-killers.
#18
And I utterly agree with you re: the administration's failure to deal with this firmly and with a clear statement of the constitutional issues at stake AP.
I haven't exactly heard McCain speaking up on this, either.
Chancellor to legislators: UC Berkeley and city are separate entities
From Public Affairs | 12 February 2008
BERKELEY Chancellor Birgeneau has written to 52 elected officials in Washington, D.C., to clear up an incorrect notion that the UC Berkeley campus has any connection to actions taken by the Berkeley City Council.
The letter was in response to a measure introduced in Congress that mistakenly links the campus with the city council's actions against U.S. Marine recruiting in downtown Berkeley.
In his letter the chancellor makes the following points:
The campus is a completely separate entity from the city of Berkeley.
UC Berkeley has long-standing ROTC programs, dating back to 1870.
Military recruiters from all branches of the service are welcome on campus and frequently participate in career events at UC Berkeley.
The campus, and the UC system, make special efforts to assist active members of the military, their dependents, and veterans who attend the university, including granting financial aid and other preferences.
In conclusion, the chancellor states that he believes the initial action by the city council was "ill advised, intemperate, and hurtful, particularly to the young men and women and their families who are sacrificing so much for our country."
We think they're dirty friggin commie hippies too. So please keep us on that federal gravy train. thank you.
#20
heh...as you said, tu, they caved like the kitty cats that they are. They are the children who never matured past the stage of adolescence. Throw a tantrum until mommy threatens to cut off their allowance and then they act so sweet.
They will be sucking on the teat and making themselves feel tough by taunting safe "enemies" behind mommy's apron strings until the day they die.
#21
Now remind me again where the lefties would be if this was an abortion clinic and the protesters were radical right-to-lifers doing exactly the same thing? It's about POWER, not principle.
#22
I think Berserkeley should get a LOT of attention. The best attention we could give them would be a flight of four B-1s at 500 feet, flying at supersonic speed, with ALL the electronics running, including the jammers. I'm sure the entire city of Berkeley would know they'd been there, and probably remember it for decades.
In the immortal words of Mark Twain, there are many ways to skin a cat, and none of them are pleasant to the cat.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/13/2008 17:51 Comments ||
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#23
One day coming soon, we will all wake up or overhear a conversation that starts "Wow, did you hear about the quake in California?" And we will turn to the TV's and live through 4,5,6 days of coverage about how every east west highway into the East Bay is broken, the primary hospitals(Alta Bates?) are demolished and an outbreak of urban zombies has decended upon the city of Berkeley. At that time, as the wailing masses beg for protection and the "restoration of civil order", the people huddled in the streets waving "Uncle Sam Help save us" signs to the circling news helicopters, I will remember the circus of 2008.
#24
I used to get a nice bound newsletter from the University periodically as an alumunus. After affirmative action was struck down, the Chancellor wrote in the newsletter that some way must be found to accommodate gae, le$bian, and tran$jender individuals (in effect to get around the elimination of affirmative action). Now I don't care how you handle or put your tools, but what was this doing in the newsletter in the first place? And from the Chancellor? That is PC Dhimmi crap.
The City of Berkeley needs federal civil rights lawsuits from every one that tried to go to that recruiting station. The Governor of the State of Cal-ee-fohrn-ya needs to enforce the law. The City needs to be hammered with criminal and civil actions that will bring them down. If the citizens of the City of Berkeley don't like that, they better get off their Proletarian Posteriors and throw the City Council out.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/13/2008 20:05 Comments ||
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#25
frankly, I hope a stray molotov gets to those chaining themselves to the front door. I love free-range chicken
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2008 20:42 Comments ||
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Nice contrast between those who are sane and those who just think they're sane because they're living in the Berkeley Bubble.
Pretty much speaks for itself. Marine families there on a futile mission to knock some sense into a bunch of time-warped hippies and their offspring who probably suffered brain damage from too much second hand pot smoke. Heck, maybe it was first-hand.
"Umm, we're from Berkeley and we're here to support the troops. We want them home right away. Umm, and we're here to support the city counsel of Berkeley who've made a clear stand that Berkeley stands for peace."
How about you support our troops by getting behind their effort and not working to throw away their hard-earned gains against their will. What's it like to live in that bubble there, you clueless bi+ch?
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday that the opposition Liberals and the Conservatives now fundamentally agree that the 2,500 troops should stay until 2011, and both he and Liberal leader Stephane Dion talked about finding common ground.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2008 18:09 ||
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#1
A good rule of thumb in politics is that while you can run to local tastes, if they are of the other party, fine, but on important national issues, stick with your party or you will get kicked.
#2
'Twas the other race that interested me. I share no great love for Albert Wynn, but his (now victorious) challenger Doris Edwards is a bought-and-paid-for Soros tool. MoveOn run lots of commercials on her behalf.
...and not in a good way.
The State Department is considering supporting the Palestinian Authority in its quest to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in judgments won by American victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel, according to Palestinian officials and defense lawyers involved in the cases. How about they try to avoid blowing people up so they wouldn't be in this position? Nah. Can't do that. That Resistance thingy, ya know...
U.S. officials insist that no decision has been made regarding the complex litigation, which could force the Bush administration to choose between supporting compensation for victims of terrorism and bolstering the Palestinian government as the United States presses for a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Fuck 'em, George. You're gone in 10 months so whadda you care? And you've got about as much chance of a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks as I've got of hitting Powerball. Screw 'em...
Testimony in Israeli courts has connected senior Palestinian leaders -- such as the late Yasser Arafat -- to specific terrorist attacks involved in the lawsuits. But Palestinian officials have argued that it makes no sense for the United States to be providing millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinian Authority while U.S. courts are threatening to bankrupt it. Oh, man! They're right! So don't send them any more money. So we've solved one part of the problem....
In response to a plea for assistance from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice 13 months ago sidestepped the issue, writing that "the United States is not party to these enforcement proceedings." But in December, a U.S. federal judge asked the government whether it would get involved, creating the current dilemma for the administration. "There has been a rethinking in the State Department that I wholeheartedly welcome," said Afif Safieh, head of mission in Washington for the Palestine Liberation Organization. He said the lawsuits were "politically and ideologically motivated to drive the Palestinian Authority into bankruptcy." Geeez, that'd be...a tragedy.
Victims, who will meet with top State and Justice Department officials tomorrow, said that a U.S. intervention with the courts would make a mockery of the administration's fight against terrorism. Leslye Knox, a 46-year-old mother of six children and widow of Aharon Ellis, a U.S. citizen who was killed in 2002 while singing at a bar mitzvah in Hadera, Israel, said that she has sued under a law passed by Congress in 1990 after the murder of Leon Klinghoffer by terrorists who seized the Achille Lauro cruise ship. In 2006, a federal judge ordered the PLO and the Palestinian Authority to pay Knox and other Ellis relatives nearly $174 million, but nothing has been paid while Knox has struggled to support her family. The Pali's won't pay up? Ain't that...shocking.
"Now here are the wrongdoers, they come to the government, and say, 'Hey, help us,' " Knox said. "It's hard to see why the government listens to them. It makes me feel like, 'Who is on my side?' " Hate to say it, honey, but probably nobody that can do you any good...
"If the State Department tips the scales of justice against the victims in order to support adjudicated terrorists, the war on terrorism will be seen throughout the world as a farce," said David J. Strachman, a Rhode Island lawyer who has spearheaded many of the lawsuits. That's pretty much it. But State ould proably see it as "Fair Play for Freedom Fighters" or something like that.
The Justice Department will make the final decision, U.S. officials said. "A court has asked the U.S. government to inform it whether it is contemplating filing a statement of interest, but no decision has been made on how the U.S. government will respond," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey. Yep. We'll...let ya know.
The Palestinian Authority initially argued that it had sovereign immunity, meaning that as a state it was beyond the reach of the U.S. legal system. Former attorney general Ramsey Clark, who was hired to defend the Palestinians, described in a court hearing how he had to "break my neck climbing over literally rubble" of Arafat's compound in Ramallah in 2003, only to be told to ignore the cases. Ramsey almost broke his neck? Well at least something good came of this... But U.S. courts rejected the Palestinian claim of sovereign immunity, noting that Palestine is not a state. Judgments have been rendered against the Palestinians in the Knox case and a separate case brought by the children of Yaron Ungar, a U.S. citizen killed in Israel in a 1996 terrorist attack. Ungar's relatives were awarded $116 million, which the Palestinian Authority has not paid. Again, I don't think they grasp the "paying" concept...
After the Ungar case, about $200,000 in two of the PLO mission's bank accounts were frozen in 2005, a situation that Safieh called a "nightmare." We could't buy hookers! We couldn't move anything to my our Swiss bank accounts! We were in Hell!!
On June 18, 2005, then finance minister (and now prime minister) Salaam Fayyad wrote to Rice, urging State to intervene, saying that the Ungar lawsuit was a "serious obstacle" to effective Palestinian participation in peace talks and was inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy. I get it, Salaam. Blackmail? Right? Well, most Americans could give a damn about Palestinian peace, so why don't you pay up, okay?
Abbas also wrote to Rice in November 2006, after another court froze more than $100 million in retirement funds for Palestinian workers that were being managed in the United States. Dammit! Think of how many Gaza retirees were screwed outta their chances to buy cheap Egyptian motorcycles and knockoff cartons of Marlboro's! And cement!
Rice responded with a neutral letter. She noted that the Ungar case had gone all the way to the Supreme Court, which declined to review it, so "the judgment is final and enforceable in United States courts." She suggested that the Palestinian Authority explore "out of court solutions so as to avoid enforcement actions." Good luck. Let us know how you make out. Love, Condi...
With a new set of lawyers -- Richard A. Hibey and Mark J. Rochon of the Washington firm Miller & Chevalier -- the Palestinian Authority last year said the Knox judgment should be nullified because the authority was now prepared to litigate the case and offer a vigorous defense. So I take it Ramsey's no longer their lawyer?
Citing Rice's letter to Abbas, the new legal team urged U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero to request a "statement of interest" from State because of the "international ramifications." The primary one being there'll be no chateau in the south of France for these lawyers if they lose this case. Good luck getting paid by the way, boys...
"The judgment's potential interference with American foreign policy presents a unique and exceptional circumstance justifying relief from a default judgment," the lawyers argued. Yes, I'm sure interference with American foreign policy is at the forefront of their concerns...
Marrero in December issued an order asking whether the United States contemplated issuing a statement of interest in the case. He gave the government 45 days to respond, but at the government's request, he recently extended the deadline until the end of February. I think I know how it's gonna go, but it's nice to see State at least make the scumbags sweat...
#2
The victims should sue the U.S., European governments and the U.N. for propping up the Palestinian Authority. Go for the deep pockets and the people who are really responsible anyway.
#5
Somebody eventually wins the powerball jackpot. I don't believe the paleos will eventually become sensible and peaceable...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/13/2008 15:26 Comments ||
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#6
"It's a matter of current litigation, and the US government is taking a look at what, if anything, it will do in terms of offering a statement of interest," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
No decision has been taken, he said.
"Look, we are absolutely committed to defending the rights of our citizens. We are also fully committed to pursuing our national interest and defending our national interest," he said.
Ya mean...there's a difference?
"At this point, I don't have anything to offer in terms of a decision one way or another on this particular issue. We'll keep you apprised in the coming days if there's any change," he added.
#7
So Yasser Arafat hired Ramsey Clarke to not fight the cases, and once the Palestinian Authority lost, they demand a do-over with their friends at the State Department ensuring that it goes as it ought?
#1
...If the Feds want to eavesdrop on my phone, all they're gonna hear is me making sure my mom is feeling well, my fiance telling me what we're having for dinner, or my best friend and I discussing the latest plastic models. They'll be bored, so I have no worries.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/13/2008 8:46 Comments ||
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#5
I think one thing people seem to overlook in this situation is that the eavesdropping they are talking about is a far cry from what the Left wants you to believe it is (i.e. the gubmint listening to every phone conversation or reading every email). What I mean is that they only start paying attention once key words and phrases are picked up on. For example, when the words "jihad", "assasinate", and "president" (or known code words that indicate as much) show up in the same pocket of data, that perks their ears up.
In other words, they are not listening in on everyone's telephone conversations or reading everyone's emails. That would be physically impossible. But they are looking for triggers as described above that tell them they need to take a closer look. On a personal level, when it comes to national security that's exactly what our gubmint should be doing.
Some eye-opening polls result from Strategic Vision in Wisconsin:
3. Do you approve or disapprove of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq?
Approve 23%
Disapprove 68%
Undecided 9%
The media and the Dems always assume that the 68% disapproval equals 68% support for surrender. How much of that 68% is in the "disapproval" column because the respondents believe the war has not been prosecuted with sufficient vigor/competence/ruthlessness? How much is a cumulative bandwagon effect of seven-plus years of relentless Bush-bashing--"I can't approve of him, none of the other cool kids do."? The polls never say, and I suspect the question is never asked.
8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is performing its job?
Approve 15%
Disapprove 74%
Undecided 11%
To me, this was the real eye-opener:
7. Do you believe that Democrats in Congress have a better plan to resolve the Iraq War then President Bush?
Yes 18%
No 71%
Undecided 11%
This very strongly suggests that "disapproval" on the war is not coextensive with "antiwar." See comments above.
Iraq, no longer a winning issue for Congressional Democrats. In that hawkish, hard-right state of Wisconsin. (And as one of my campaign sources points out, that question should soon shift to, "Do you believe that Democrats in Congress have a better plan to resolve the Iraq War than John McCain?")
Posted by: Mike ||
02/13/2008 12:54 ||
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UNLIMITED food and frappuccinos replaced waterboarding and sleep depravation in order to build a case against the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
FBI and military investigators gave Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and five other men, who have been charged with murder, food whenever they were hungry and Starbucks coffee as part of their interrogations as part of rapport-building methods, the Washington Post has reported. Officials told the newspaper that investigators used friendly methods including letting the men decide when interviews would start in the hope of the prisoners confirming information they had already given to CIA officials through coercive methods.
US law prohibits the admission of any evidence obtained through torture, which includes waterboarding - a controversial interrogation method used by the CIA to simulate the experience of drowning. "The (investigators) went in and said that they'd love to talk to them, that they knew what the men had been through, and that none of that stuff was going to be done to them," one official told the Washington Post. It was made very clear to them that they were in a very different environment, that they were not with the CIA anymore.
There was an extensive period of making sure they understood it had to be voluntary on their part.
According to the newspaper, the FBI and the military wanted to distance themselves from any CIA interrogation methods and treated the men as near-equals. Experts were not sure if the men would have given the same information to prosecutors if they had not been interrogated by the CIA first.
The six men will face murder and conspiracy charges stemming from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre.
#3
I figure their attornies will cry foul. From the original WaPo article, linked at the link -
Chesney and other legal experts said defense attorneys could argue that the government would never have had a case without the CIA's coercion. It is unclear whether that will matter in the military commissions system, which gives prosecutors more leeway than they have in regular criminal courts.
Here's hoping they rot in Canon City Supermax, with ... gee .... I forget who else is there. Oh, Mohammad Atta!
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/13/2008 5:54 Comments ||
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#4
er....Mo Atta was one of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 *spit* may he burn in hell
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2008 7:15 Comments ||
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#5
Moussai is in suoermax, is that who you would be referring too bobby?
The Senate voted to extend for another six years a law which authorizes U.S. intelligence agencies to monitor - without warrants - telephone calls and emails between Americans and suspected terrorists overseas. Passage came after senators voted down an amendment to deny legal immunity to telephone companies that participated in the administration's wiretapping program after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Senators also rejected two other amendments that would have weakened the immunity provision.
Efforts are underway to obtain the freedom of former Lal Masjid chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, as several prominent politicians have conducted meetings with him recently. The latest was Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who visited Aziz on Tuesday. Shujaat also met with Azizs wife a few days ago. According to Online, the meeting between Shujaat and Aziz lasted for an hour, during which the PML-Q president exchanged views with the latter on several proposals for his release. Its sources said Shujaat wanted to secure Azizs release before elections. Shujaat said the meeting had nothing to do with the February 18 elections. He said a package for Azizs release would soon be evolved, adding that its implementation would be ensured. Last week, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Fazlur Rehman met the Lal Masjid cleric. Azizs relative Maulana Amir Siddique told a press conference after that meeting that his family hoped that Aziz would be released soon.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Another example of the Government involvement with Islamist!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
02/13/2008 13:03 Comments ||
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#2
One piece at a time. Here's the first, a finger. Looks like a pinky.
The West remains at constant risk of large-scale al-Qa'eda terrorist attacks because the Pakistani military requires years of training before it will be able to combat militancy, a Western military official has warned.
They may not be any good at combating militancy but they sure are good at supporting it
More than six years have elapsed since the September 11 attacks on the United States but the Pakistan army remains unequipped and untrained for counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, the official told The Daily Telegraph.
their business is terrorism, not counter-terrorism
He gave a comprehensive account describing how al-Qa'eda has been able to preserve its sanctuary in Pakistan by backing an insurgency in the lawless border tribal areas.
"If we [the West] have a reasonable degree of co-operation it may take two to three years for them [the Pakistan military] to be bought up to a level," he said. "But realistically the way things are going it will take five years," he added.
As a result, he warned, there is a possible "worst case scenario that there will be another catastrophic event in the West and then everything else in between."
He described the Pakistan military as a "dinosaur of an institution" despite the $10 billion (£5 billion) that it has received in US military aid over the past five years. "We have not being getting the bang for our buck," he said.
But the Pakistanis got the bang for other people's bucks: the Pak Generals are all millionaires and they have shiny toys to fight India
He added that a lack of transparency on the Pakistan government's part had led to payments worth millions of dollars for operations in the US-led war on terror having being suspended in the past.
The official listed the Pakistani military's deficiencies ranging from the army's incapacity to launch multiple operations, poor military intelligence, hostility to Western military training and a denial among many officers that militancy poses a threat to Pakistan.
Offiial motto of the Pakistani Army is "Iman-Taqwa-Jihad fi sabilillah "(Faith, Fear of Allah, Jihad in the way of Allah). Do you really expect Officers sworn to jihad to actually fight jihadists?
His warning came as a senior US official in Washington claimed that Osama bin Laden and the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar were operating from Pakistan's tribal areas, in what was the most explicit claim of its kind made in recent years by America.
Pakistan dismissed the claim as "baseless," adding that Islamabad would take action if the US provided it with intelligence to support the statement.
President Pervez Musharraf recently said that Pakistani troops were making no particular effort to hunt al-Qa'eda as they were focused on fighting Taliban militants. A suspected senior al-Qa'eda operative, Abu Laith al-Libbi, was killed in what is believed to have been a US missile strike in North Waziristan tribal area earlier this month.
The Western military official said that al-Qa'eda supports local Pakistani Taliban, which have united under Baitullah Mehsud, who was blamed for the assassination of former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. Pakistan has deployed about 100,000 troops to the tribal region where about 1,000 of them have been killed.
But the offensive units of the Pakistani army remain at the Indian border
The official said that more local soldiers have been killed or wounded in the past seven months than in the previous five years as the military has stepped up its operations. But, he added: "I really can't say they have a strategy that is coherent. They act in a tactical way, meaning they concentrate their forces on very small elements."
US military advisers are helping the Pakistanis double the size of their elite commando force and teaching specialised fighting techniques, such as helicopter assaults.
the better to infiltrate Kashmir with
The US has started a five-year programme to train and equip the Frontier Corps, a colonial-era paramilitary unit.
But the 700,000 strong Pak army itself remains uncommitted...
This article starring:
Abu Laith al-Libbi
Posted by: john frum ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Instead of throwing money into Pakistan's army we should let it fall apart (accelerate it if we can) and in the meantime put money in the Afghan Army and have it invade Pakistan and conquer the tribal zone.
Pakistan is a state who needs fundamentalism for its survival. Without it Pahstoons, Balochs and Sindhs would notice tehy have no business staying in Pakistan and its elites, specially their military/ISI elites would lose their lucrative positions. A strong Afghanistan could be an enemy while Pakistan is s structural one.
#2
The West remains at constant risk of large-scale al-Qa'eda terrorist attacks because the Pakistani military requires years of training before it will be able to combat militancy
Also putting the West at constant risk: The funding of al-Qa'eda terrorist attacks by the Pakistani military.
Iraq's parliament on Wednesday passed three key pieces of legislation that set a date for provincial elections, allot $48 billion for 2008 spending, and provide limited amnesty to detainees in Iraqi custody. The three measures were bundled together for one vote to satisfy the demands of minority Kurds who feared they might be double-crossed on their stand that the budget allot 17 percent to their semiautonomous regional government in the north.
The vote came a day after the Sunni speaker of the fragmented parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, threatened to disband the legislature, saying it was so riddled with distrust it appeared unable to adopt legislation. Following the session, which capped weeks of wrangling over the budget and other issues, the parliament began a five-week holiday.
The draft law on provincial elections, which includes a detailed outline on devolving power to the provinces, initially had said voting would begin Oct. 1. Other details on that law and the amnesty were not immediately known.
The measures still must be approved by the three-member presidency council.
The Bush administration and Congress have sought passage of a provincial powers law as one of 18 benchmarks to promote reconciliation among Iraq's Sunni and Shiite Arab communities and the large Kurdish minority.
It is only the second of the so-called benchmarks to make it through parliament. A measure that allows lower-ranking members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to reclaim government jobs became law earlier this year, but Sunnis have demanded amendments and the future of the measure is unclear.
Other proposals, including divvying up the country's vast oil wealth and amending the constitution, also remain stalled.
The disarray has threatened to undermine the purpose of last year's U.S. troop buildup to bring down violence and allow the Iraqi government and parliament to focus on reconciliation. Violence is down dramatically, but political progress languishes.
Still, the U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker congratulated the lawmakers and said it was a victory for the Iraqi people. "These are difficult issues. They required a lot of effort, a lot of compromise, but they are important steps forward," he said at a news conference shortly after the vote.
The last time Iraqis voted for local officials was January 2005, when nationwide elections ushered in representational government for the first time in modern history. But many Sunni Arabs boycotted the polls, giving Iraq's majority Shiites and minority Kurds the bulk of power. The U.S. hopes the new elections will empower the Sunni minority and blunt support for the insurgency.
The passage of the laws came after weeks parliamentary infighting centered mainly on the Kurdish demand to maintain 17 percent of the budget despite calls by some Sunni and Shiite lawmakers to lower it to about 14 percent.
Shiite lawmakers walked out of a rare night session Tuesday when the Kurds refused to drop their demand to lump the budget vote together with two other contested measures. The Kurds said they feared being double-crossed on the budget if parliamentarians voted on the laws separately and lawmakers decried what they called "a crisis of trust." The breakthrough apparently came when the lawmakers present approved an item in the budget that gave the Kurds 17 percent on condition that the government hold a census before the end of this year and reconsider the percentage accordingly for the 2009 budget, officials said.
The Sadrist bloc, which holds 30 seats of the 275-member parliament, walked out in protest but returned during for the debate over the provincial elections law and the blanket vote.
Underscoring the narrow victory, the provincial elections law passed only after the parliamentary speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a member of the minority Sunni faction, raised his hand to break a tie after 82 lawmakers cast their votes in favor and 82 against.
Critics complained the blanket vote violated the constitution. "This is a clear evidence that this parliament is unable to offer anything to the Iraqi people and we demand the parliament be disbanded and the United Nations take over," said one of Iraq's most prominent Sunni politicians, Saleh al-Mutlaq.
Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni lawmaker with the secular Iraqi List, complained the Kurds did not merit 17 percent of the federal budget. "This is a clear violation of the rights of the Iraqi people," he said.
#1
demand the parliament be disbanded and the United Nations take over and I've got Kofi right there on my payro ... er, on my speed-dial.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/13/2008 11:29 Comments ||
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#2
We should keep a running total: The Dem Congress vs the Iraqi Parliament.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/13/2008 11:36 Comments ||
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#3
"complained the Kurds did not merit 17 percent of the federal budget."
Betcha that the Kurds are FAR more than 17% of the GDP of Iraq. Their region is the only one that has been invested in and grown while under US protection.
#4
The CIA factbook says Kurds are 15 to 20% of the population. Not all of them live in the autonomous area, but most of the rest live in areas ajacent (Kirkuk, Nineveh and Dilaya provinces) and the autonomous area is probably funding security and other services to these people.
#1
Commenting on the political impasse, London-based Iraq analyst Ghassan Attiyah, who opposes the current political order, sums it up this way: "All the Americans did was buy the Iraqi government some time. The fact that fewer people are dying now does not change the reality that this is a dysfunctional state that can easily slip back into civil war."
It may not look like a quagmire, but Harry and Nancy say it is still a failure, so we agree the quag is gonna come back to the mire.
Sounds like Congress, to me.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/13/2008 11:42 Comments ||
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President Shimon Peres may be known as a dove, but in no way could he be mistaken for an ostrich. On Tuesday, discussing security threats facing Israel in front of more than a thousand youngsters, he said that "if they shoot at us, we have to fire back without hesitation and without compromise."
They've been shooting at you since the day you left Gaza, dumbass.
Peres was speaking at Tel Aviv's Cameri Theater before an audience of Kibbutz Movement youth eager to do a year of volunteer work prior to being drafted. He called for national solidarity with Sderot, saying that everyone in the country had to stand with the city to strengthen its residents' morale.
When eight-year-old Osher Twito's leg was amputated, Peres said - referring to one of two brothers wounded in a weekend Kassam attack - "it was like amputating the leg of a whole generation. We all have to share the pain and anguish of his family and the suffering of the people of Sderot."
Peres said had visited the city several times and was tuned in to the distress of the population. He had listened intently to their complaints about the government's failure to provide sufficient protection against Kassams, and he was well aware that the government had the wherewithal to accommodate their needs.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
That solidarity thingy... does it deflect kassams, Shimon?
Shootin' back's nice, but an ounce of prevention (preemption) may work better than a ton of cure. Shin Bet knows where the kassam factories are. Level them, and when new ones crop up, level them again. What country would toleraate this shit without going ballistic on the offender? None--they would dispatch collective punishment in spades.
#3
You'd think they would have noticed by now.
Posted by: SteveS
vision is obscured when your head is buried in your ass
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2008 7:19 Comments ||
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#4
and Israel has been firing back since then, fred. Peres is reasserting that policy, not coming up with something new. he may be a dumbass for other reasons, but I dont see that this remark justifies that.
#5
The policy is there but the action is not, except in fits and starts. Policy does not mean jack unless you impliment it. Solidarity does not protect you, it is only a start. The people of Sderot are faced with continuing rocket attacks upon them and the Israeli government is not protecting the people. The government is failing at a fundamental level---they are not protecting their citizens. Period.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/13/2008 15:12 Comments ||
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Hatem Abdel Qader, the Jerusalem affairs adviser to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, confirmed Tuesday that Jerusalem is one of the issues currently being discussed by Israeli and PA negotiators.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Abdel Qader said Jerusalem "is not only on the table, it's also under the table."
Asked to explain the second part of his remark, he said: "This means that the negotiations with the Israelis are taking place both openly and secretly."
The Palestinians made it clear during the negotiations they were insisting on a full Israeli withdrawal from the eastern part of Jerusalem that was captured by Israel in 1967.
"Jerusalem is one of the main core issues," Abdel Qader, who is also a top Fatah leader, told the Post. "Although we haven't reached the stage of a breakthrough in the negotiations on Jerusalem, we can say that the talks are continuing. The Israeli government knows that there will be no solution without solving the problem of Jerusalem."
Abdel Qader dismissed the idea that Israel would retain control of some parts of east Jerusalem. "Our position is, 'Take it all or leave it,'" he said. "We have also made it clear to the Israelis that we won't accept any partial solutions for Jerusalem. As far as we are concerned, Jerusalem must be one geographic, political and religious unit."
He said the parties were still trying to reach an agreement over which Jerusalem they were talking about - the city that's mentioned in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 in 1947, the one that was occupied in 1967 or the one that was expanded by Israel afterward. "On this issue, there hasn't been any progress yet," he said.
Abdel Qader said the negotiations were not only focusing on the Arab part of Jerusalem, but on its west as well. "There are Jews who say they have rights and property in the eastern part of Jerusalem, and that's fine with us," he said. "At the same time, there are Arabs who have a lot of property in the western section of Jerusalem. So the talks are not only over the eastern part."
As for Shas's threat to quit the coalition over the negotiations on Jerusalem, the PA official said he could not understand why the haredi party was upset.
"Shas is not new to Israeli politics," he said. "I can't understand why they're so upset. What did they think, that peace could be achieved without [dividing] Jerusalem? Have they forgotten that [then-prime minister] Ehud Barak already offered us large parts of Jerusalem at the Camp David summit [in 2000]?"
Abdel Qader complained that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were paying the price for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition problems. "Olmert's position is very weak and we have sensed this in the current negotiations," he said. "He's like a woman who is dying to get married, but is afraid of becoming pregnant."
An Israeli official on Tuesday denied that the question of Jerusalem is being discussed at this juncture in the talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The official told The Jerusalem Post that Jerusalem is one of the most contentious and sensitive issues and will therefore be raised only towards the end of the negotiations.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Show me in the koran where Jerusalem is mentioned.
#3
Actually, Jerusalem was just a small, hilltop village until one of the early Israeli kings established it as the capital of his kingdom. It has been a Caananite city, but not a "Palestinian" city. It's been occupied by about 40 different kingdoms over the past 5000 years, so the claim that the Palestinians "deserve" it for their capital is a piece of canine fecal matter.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/13/2008 19:14 Comments ||
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A Hamas official on Tuesday renewed calls for a ceasefire amid mounting Israeli demands for a broad military offensive in the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip. Writing in the Israeli daily Haaretz, Ahmed Yussef, a Hamas foreign policy advisor, called for a long-term ceasefire between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces. If the people of (the southern Israeli town of) Sderot want to know why rockets continue to land around them, they should ask their own government why it has continually rejected our calls for a ceasefire and continued its policy of daily incursions and reckless targeting that put the whole population at risk, he wrote. Yussef pointed out that his Islamist movement observed a unilateral ceasefire for the nine months before it won parliamentary elections in January 2006 and for six months thereafter. Israel maintains that its attacks on Gaza are in response to the rocket and mortar attacks. It also points out that while Hamas itself may have refrained in the past from firing rockets, it did not stop other militant groups from doing so.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
Hamas's decision to renew rocket and mortar attacks on Israel could be aimed at securing a truce rather than a wider confrontation, said analysts on Tuesday.
The Klondike Bar I had for dessert tonight was really to tighten my waistline, too.
Naji Shirab, professor of political science at al-Azhar University in Gaza, said: "With the escalation of rocket fire Hamas is aiming to push Israel towards a truce, not a confrontation. I think Israel is not set on a wide operation in Gaza, but wants the rockets to stop and for there to be a truce," he said, adding that Hamas was the only power in Gaza capable of controlling the restive territory.
The Islamist movement insists that the attacks on southern Israeli towns and military positions constitute "legitimate resistance" against Israeli assaults on the Palestinian territory.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhum said: "We want there to be a balance of terror in order to rein in (Israeli) aggression."
Hamas resumed rocket attacks on January 15, after an Israeli incursion killed 19 Gazans, most of them militants. Hamas had previously halted fire for several months.
Repeated ceasefire calls
"The pressure from Sderot (a town frequently targeted) on the Israeli government comes from the strikes and the resistance," said Barhum.
Israeli leaders have faced mounting calls for a wider military operation in Gaza to snuff out the attacks. On Tuesday, Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Israeli forces would do whatever was necessary. "There are reasons why we are not using all our force right now, but it will happen at the right moment," said Barak, without elaborating.
Ahmed Yussef, a Hamas foreign policy advisor, on Tuesday reiterated calls for a ceasefire, blaming Israel for the continuing violence in an article written for the Israeli daily, Haaretz. "If the people of Sderot want to know why rockets continue to land around them, they should ask their own government why it has continually rejected our calls for a ceasefire and continued its policy of daily incursions and reckless targeting that put the whole population at risk," he wrote.
He said Hamas was not aiming for a wider confrontation, but had a "political vision aimed at achieving a long truce".
Heavy-handed policies
"If there were a sincere Israeli movement towards a truce, in terms of easing the siege and opening the crossings and allowing freedom of movement between the West Bank and Gaza, that would be the basis," said Yussef. But "if Israel continues with its heavy-handed policies, the confrontation will remain open and the conflict will continue," he said, adding that Hamas was not seeking direct talks with Israel.
However, some analysts believe Hamas may be looking for a third party to act as midwife to some kind of agreement, perhaps involving the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized in June 2006 in a deadly cross-border raid. "Hamas knows Israel has plans prepared to eliminate it and this pushes it to look for another party like Egypt to arrive at a real calm," said Jihad Hamad, another Gaza-based professor. "There will be great pressure on Hamas in the coming weeks," Hamad said. "Hamas will try to achieve a period of calm and maybe even give positions back to the Palestinian Authority."
When Hamas seized power in Gaza in June after routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, it divided the Palestinian territories, confining Abbas's authority to the West Bank.
Unilateral ceasefire
But even if Hamas were to patch up its relations with the Palestinian Authority and agree to halt attacks, it is not clear whether it would be willing or able to rein in other, smaller groups.
At various times, Hamas has observed a unilateral ceasefire in which it halted all attacks on the Jewish state, but it has never done much to encourage groups like Islamic Jihad and others to go along. The reluctance to crack down on other groups is rooted in Hamas's core belief that armed resistance is the only way to end the Israeli occupation.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
The Israelis aim for peace too. The only difference is that they usually hit who they target...
Posted by: Mike ||
02/13/2008 14:24 ||
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#1
the only one i can see the US not having is the USV. But do we really need an unmanned water borne vehicle in the US? Singapore maybe , also the Israelis umanned vehicle looks alot like our drones that we use the South Koreans haven't stated using the unmanned gueard tower that can shoot yet and i haven't heard anything about th EU using the neutron
#3
3dc? we have USV or am I using the abbreviation wrong or what?
explain please i think me and you are the only ones who have looked at the article so far
#6
I'm a big proponent of a "self-deployed" JDAM, somewhat like the BLADE that was mentioned. Right now, a US bomber can drop enough JDAMs to wipe out an enemy armored brigade, or an enemy fleet of ships, simultaneously.
However, there are two circumstances when that would not be optimal. When you just need a few JDAMs, or when you need a butt-load.
The Germans had a very, very good idea with the V-1 Buzzbomb, with its 1800 pound warhead. Such weapons cannot be stopped except with a ground invasion. Only a position defended with something like a Phalanx weapon is safe from them.
They are as quick and easy to set up as a Palestinian rocket. If we had a V-1 Company, they could set up in an hour and launch 20 such rockets at the same time. Best of all, other than their guidance system, they are extremely cheap. The Company would be leaving the area when they launched.
Maybe a 10th of the cost of an MLRS, and with a warhead three times as big and much more range.
A little simple math to determine the tallest object between launch site and target, then set altitude to be that +100 feet, and they are as hard to shoot down as a cruise missile.
Rockets and launchers could be moved with an ordinary 5 ton truck, each of which could comfortably carry four missiles and launchers.
The crew backs the truck up to each and slides launcher and the solid fuel fuselage down to the ground. Then they attach snap on wings, and insert a GPS guidance device.
When all four are set, they drive off, and signal all four to launch. The launchers are expendable.
#11
"The US doesn't have" > YEEEEAAAAHHHH RIIIIGGHHTT, there's working Stuff = S*** at DARPA + Army-DOD Americans themselves may NOT see or believe yet for another 10-20 Cylon/Colonial Babe yarns.
#1
The real threat in the Middle East is that Iran miscalculates and brings an Israeli or American military response.
The chances of that miscalculation have dramatically increased. This time they won't go through their proxies like Hizbollah and pretend they are independent actors. This time they will have to make it clear their proxies are acting under direct orders from Tehran.
This will give Israel the green light to attack Iran in response. Iran will assume Israel will go after their well protected nuclear facilities.
The Israelis aren't stupid and will hit Iran where it hurts the most and we all know that's their oil refineries. Set 4 or 5 oil refineries on fire, the Iranian economy implodes and the Iranian regime will collapse in a matter of weeks.
#2
so Iran mourns the killer of US Marines, CIA-Leb guy Buckley, USN Diver Stetham, Jews in Argentina, et al.
Anyone gonna note this in a presidential debate? Perhaps Barack Obama should be made to answer how he's have a "dialogue" with such a regime?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2008 18:58 Comments ||
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#3
I'm seriously sick of these gits. We should pick one of their cities and turn it into a rubble pile using conventional weapons. Don't announce we're doing it, say nothing about it, just turn it into rubble. Give them a hint that we can do that to their entire country and I think you'd see them shut up and it'd do alot to put some very healthy fear back into Iran and the others.
#6
The British and American courts are pushing Hugeaux into freezing his shipments to the US because they will be seized to make good the money he owes Exxon.
And as I understand it, it is difficult for refineries to handle the heavy Venezuelan crude. Ours specialize in it. And it costs a lot to transport it to another user (China) who will not want to pay the transit premium for it when better ME oil is more readily available at a lower price. Sucks to be yougeaux between a rock and a hard place.
#7
NS, I've seen similar versions of your argument posted many times here at the 'Burg, and I'm not sure I buy it. US refinery capacity is also limited, and I bet we can't convert the heavy crude refineries into light sweet crude refineries at the drop of a hat.
Regardless of what happens to Venezuela's economy, taking their oil off the US market will throw a HUGE wrench into the gears of the world economy.
#9
I doubt it would throw a huge wrench into the world economy. It would inconvenience the US economy as it did when numerous Gulf refineries went off line in the Katrina hurricane year and the price of gas would go up for Americans, especially. But the timing of doing that as we are sliding into recession, or at least slooow growth, would not be as great as in boom times. And the impact on the already ailing Venezuelan economy would be much greater than the impact on the U. S. or the world.
I am sure some Rantburger knows better than I, but I believe it is a lot easier to switch from heavy to light sweet, than vice versa.
So over all, Yoogeaux is in not nearly as strong a position as if he had been put in this box a year ago. And neither he nor the Iranians is in control of the serve at the moment.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2008 19:43 Comments ||
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#11
And would that huge psychological impact on the election redound to Hugh" benefit? Not clear to me. Americans tend not to be happy when their gas price increases. And if the culprit is big Hugh instead of big oil, who does it help?
#12
The simplistic response of many consumers might well be to a) blame Bush for not getting along with other countries and then b) vote for a Democrat who promises to fix all the economic boo boos.
#13
I don't think most people are that dumb, and I do think that while the MSM might be able to fool more of them in a non-election year by ignoring Bush as they have very effectively for the last 3, they'd have a hard time drowning out McCain and his use of the issue to demonstrate how ineffective an Obama administration would be in dealing with petro-tyrants. Remember, this is being controlled by the courts, not the statesmen or the businessmen.
#14
It's really not difficult to refine light, sweet crude in a facility built to refine heavy. You by-pass certain steps in the process. It takes longer to refine heavy and the un-refineables in heavy are greater. Shouldn't be a problem at all.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/13/2008 20:09 Comments ||
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#15
seafarious, we change our refineries every spring and autumn too make diff kinds of gas, so i guess it would be on about the same level as swapping in diff grades of crude and i'm sure we also have refineries online too already process ME crude since i seriously doubt all our oil comes from venezuela
#16
DB is right - the cacking process is shortened, not altered. China, Iran, et al can make all the promises they want. Hugo's got nothing they can handle. Looks like another Communist welfare state (living on subsidies a la Cuba/USSR) is their only option. Or.... a 9mm headache for el presidente
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2008 20:14 Comments ||
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#17
Frank - I vote for what's behind Door #2. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/13/2008 20:34 Comments ||
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#18
Ultimately, the MSM and the Democrats spin this to show Bush and the Republicans are to blame, Americans pay higher prices at the pump while believing that the economy is sliding towards depression (the MSM already has a majority believing we're in a recession), and the Venezuelan people suffer as their economy actually does slide towards disaster and ruin.
Meanwhile, Iran and its allies cut production to force oil prices higher and higher which has further influence on the US and world economy. They believe they're boxing the US in when, in reality, they're seriously underestimating what the some nations will do to maintain the flow of oil at reasonable prices.
Sooner or later, somebody, like Japan or China is going to feel the pinch seriously and is going to take actions to stop the pain. The same sort of thing forced Japan and the US to war in WW2. I can see it happening again if everyone is not very, very careful.
#19
LINK
US welcomes death of 'cold-blooded killer'
Meanwhile Wednesday, the United States applauded the Mugniyah's killing.
"The world is a better place without this man in it. He was a cold-blooded killer, a mass murderer and a terrorist responsible for countless innocent lives lost," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. "One way or another he was brought to justice."
McCormack said he did not know who was responsible for the killing of Moughniyah.
#24
Again, many dedic believers in both mainstream Islam + Radical Islam hold that their faith-ideo as a whole is in a DO OR DIE, RULE OR FOLLOW, HEAVEN OR HELL, etc. SITUATION, THAT ISLAM = ISLAMISM MUST BE VALIDATED, OR ELSE WHOLLY DISCREDITED IFF NOT DESTROYED.
OSAMA, etc. > believes that the BE-ALL, END-ALL, FINAL APOCALYPSE FOR ISLAM/ISLAMISM MUST BE WON OR LOST IN IRAN PROPER, AS PER ISLAMIC END-TIMES BELIEF. The anti-US-Western insurgent efforts in IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AFRICA, etc. are all TERTIARY = SECONDARY TO OSAMA's PERCEIVED "FINAL/DECISIVE BATTLE" OF ISLAM/ISLAMISM BEING WON OR LOST IN IRAN.
IOW, DESPITE THE US VICTORIES IN IRAQ + AFGHANISTAN, OSAMA > THE REAL BATTLEFIELD IS IN IRAN, i.e. HAS NOT BEEN FOUGHT YET BETWEEN THE US = US-ALLIES VERSUS ISLAM = RADICAL ISLAMISM.
NO US-IRAN "APOCALYPSE" IN IRAN PROPER = ISLAMIST WAR AGZ US-WEST WILL GO ON INDEFINITELY, AT LEAST FOR THE DURATION OF OBL'S LIFETIME [ZAWI, etc OBL close company].
Think OSAMA = JOHN PAUL JONES > IRAN > "AMERICA, YOU HAVEN'T YET EVEN BEGUN TO FIGHT in Iran]"! ALso rememeber the RADICAL MULLAHS' penchant for GLOBAL/UNIVERSAL MUTUAL DESTRUCTION.
DANGER FOR USA > NO US-IRAN WAR IN IRAN + ISLAMIST LOVE FOR MUTUAL DESTRUCTION + OSAMA/ISLAMIST END-TIMES MYTH , etc = AMERICAN HIROHIMAS/NEW 9-11's??? Recall Anti-US AGENDISTS > IFF AMERICA DOES NOT ATTACK = WAGE WAR, AMERICA WILL BE ATTACKED = WARRED AGAINST. 9-11 > RADICAL ISLAM IS WAGING A REGIONAL-GLOBAL, ZERO-SUM END GAME, NOT A PARTIAL!
#25
ISLAMISM MUST BE VALIDATED, OR ELSE WHOLLY DISCREDITED IFF NOT DESTROYED.
Can I bid on the second choice, Joe? ;-)
I am not sure them Islamists see it that way--in their conviction that the validation is a given, but at some point, when time and circumstances are ripe, it may be worth trying to dismatle pillars of Islam in a quick progresion or at once. I mean... no one tried yet, so you may be right and Islam would fold like a house of cards. If not, the action would still render Islam largely toothless and probably push it on a quick (within 2 generations or such) demise curve.
The leader of the Free patriotic movement General Michel Aoun attacked the March 14 ruling majority alliance during a press conference at his residence in suburb of Beirut. Aoun accused the ruling March 14 majority of opposing a partnership with the opposition.
Aoun also accused the majority of "manipulating" the martyrs, public squares and the state in reference to the February 14 rally in martyrs square commemorating the third anniversary of the assassination of Lebanons former PM Rafik Hariri. Aoun also accused the majority of fabricating news to divert the attention of the people from the roots of the problems in Lebanon.
Aoun blasted Jumblatts Sunday speech and said he is not capable of seizing one rocket . He was refereeing to Jumblatts speech in which he warned Hezbollah-led opposition that the majority is capable of seizing the 33000 rockets that Hezbollah claims it possesses . Aoun blasted Geagea , Jumblatt , Hariri and Gemayel and blamed them for yesterdays troubles in Beirut and Aley .
Aoun defended the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah led opposition and said no state, be it foreign or Arab, can claim to have influence on the opposition to settle the presidential crisis. In reference to the accusation by the majority that the opposition is a tool in the hands of Iran and Syria. He said they have lost confidence and feel defeated. Aoun also attacked the opposition for ridiculing his joint interview with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah . Jumblatt called it the encounter of Romeo and Juliet and accused them of killing Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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Former MP Nasser Qandil, a staunch supporter of Syria and a suspect in the Hariri assassination rejected the international tribunal as "illegitimate" and predicted the return of Syria's army to Lebanon. The International tribunal is being established in Holland to try all the suspects in the Hariri assassination. The top Syrian security officials were named as suspects by Detlev Mehlis , the first UN chief investigator .
Qandil told a news conference Tuesday that the tribunal is based on an agreement between the government of Premier Fouad Siniora and the United Nations.
"The Siniora government is illegitimate and does not have the right to conclude agreements. Any contract concluded with the Siniora government is binding to this particular government and not to the Lebanese people," Qandil said.
He criticized the arrest of the four generals( who are also suspects in the Hariri assassination) , claiming they were mere "political detainees. Unless the four generals were released there will be no justice, no truth and, consequently, no international tribunal," Qandil said.
He urged the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbullah-led opposition to include the release of the four generals on its agenda for any understanding to settle the political situation.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2008 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
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.
El Khabar reports that al Qaeda in North Africa is planning to name a new leader in the Sahara desert. 
Berkeley's City Council voted two weeks ago to send a letter to a downtown recruiting station advising the Marines they were not welcome. In a session that stretched into early Wednesday, the council said they recognize recruiters' right to be in Berkeley. The council reiterated its opposition to the war but said, "We deeply respect and support the men and women in our armed forces."
Hatem Abdel Qader, the Jerusalem affairs adviser to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, confirmed Tuesday that Jerusalem is one of the issues currently being discussed by Israeli and PA negotiators. 
Hamas's decision to renew rocket and mortar attacks on Israel could be aimed at securing a truce rather than a wider confrontation, said analysts on Tuesday. 
