Recalling its prior condemnation of Eritrea's hindrances, the Security Council said the country's ongoing obstruction of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has dealt a blow to the blue helmets' mandate.
No, reeeeeaaaalllly?
The restrictions posed by Eritrea have induced UNMEE to relocate temporarily, according to a statement read out last night by Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa, which held the rotating presidency of the Council for April. "The Security Council will, in the light of consultations with the parties, decide on the terms of a future lunch UN engagement and on the future of UNMEE," he noted.
The 15-member Council said that it is prepared to help the sides break the stalemate, but warned that - as it has in previous statements - the two countries are responsible for reaching a "comprehensive and lasting settlement" of their border dispute and for normalizing their relations.
Or they could start another senseless, stoopid war again. Let me check with Vegas to get the odds on peace versus war in the Horn of Africa ...
Calling on the Horn of Africa neighbours "to show maximum restraint and to refrain from any threat or use of force against each other," the statement urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to follow up on commitments made in the 2000 Algiers Agreements, which ended the war between the countries.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Nine items that could be used to build a dirty bomb are missing from British hospitals, fuelling fears that Al Qaeda terrorists are trying to steal material to build a radioactive device.
The revelation comes as a new US State Department intelligence report highlights fears over terror suspects working in the NHS
The revelation comes as a new US State Department intelligence report highlights fears over terror suspects working in the NHS and reveals Britain has launched an urgent operation to track down all radiological material used in its hospitals.
A State Department counter-terrorism official said there was high-level "concern" in Washington about the large number of foreign-born workers in European hospitals with access to materials that could be made into a dirty bomb. He added: "There is little doubt that eventually a dirty bomb made from radiological materials stolen from a hospital would be exploded."
The operation to track down the material was launched last year by the Environment Agency with assistance from MI5. It has identified and disposed of more than 10,000 disused items.
Officials are now trying to account for more than 1,000 other pieces of equipment containing radioactive material. So far, nine items are definitely believed to have been lost or stolen. An Environment Agency spokesman said: "While all the lost sources contained relatively small amounts of radioactive material, any exposure to radiation gives rise to a risk to health."
#1
any exposure to radiation gives rise to a risk to health."
So, people should stay out of the sun, stay away from rocks, not fly in airplanes, not get X-rays, stay away from radio and TV transmitters, not use cell (mobile) phones, ....
/bull
Radiation is literally everywhere. The amount and kind of radiation makes it dangerous.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/05/2008 11:51 Comments ||
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#2
Check out the latest reason to oppose nuclear power.
#4
IRAN-DAILY [Its baaaAAACKKK] > BUSH SECRET PLOT INVEILED. Bush-US imperialism + destabilization agenda from Lebanon to Afghanistan, and who knows where???, + TOPIX > US ACCUSED OF ASIAN IMPERIALISM.
#5
Check out this documentary - "The Road to Guantanamo Bay" - for some insight into the Gitmo process. In same, UK director makes heroes out of 4 (only 3 lived to tell) UK citizens who went to Pakistan in Sept. 2001, "for a wedding," only to spend 2 years in Cuba. The film maker poses nominal entitlements, out of context of the fact that zero rights are accorded to enemy combatants, when same are captured in "failed states". Also, the 3 were captured with Taleban/al-Qaeda, after the enemy was surrounded. They were there for jihad against UK - and other - troops.
If the interrogation methods are true, then they are a testament to ineptitude. The narrative of same, reveals no effective means were used to the end of disclosure. The captives had good reason to wait out the wheel spinning circus, with the expectation that they would soon be free and equal jihadi scum, but living on UK soil.
The European Union is preparing plans to allow pig remains to be used to feed poultry. The practice - banned in Europe after the BSE crisis 10 years ago - would save farmers millions of pounds as prices of cereal feed for chickens soar, say officials in Brussels.
But the proposal has outraged animal rights campaigners, Muslim organisations and other groups. They claim the move would put families at risk, offend religious sensibilities and lead to a major consumer backlash.
'There are two million Muslims in Britain and 25 million in Europe and this move would be a disaster for every one of them,' said Dr Abdel Majid-Katme of the Islamic Medical Association. 'This is a sinful idea.' The RSPCA said it had major concerns about the health risks involved, while agriculture experts warned that many consumers would be offended by the idea of a return to the use of animal remains in farm feeds. 'I think there will be such a backlash from consumers that the idea would have to be dropped,' said Tom Acamovic, a nutrition expert based at the Scottish Agricultural College, in Ayr. This from the people who brought us The Haggis? Spare me.
#1
This sounds frankly like a very short-eighted plan for disaster, I remember that one of the main vectors of Bird Flu was the presence of both fowl and swine on the same farm.
Now they plan to feed swine to fowl (NOT their natural foodstuff either) and I see disaster here.
Have to remember to NOT eat ANY fowl from britian.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/05/2008 0:11 Comments ||
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#3
BS! Muslims can eat pork if they have no alternative. As with any religion - especially the bona fide ones (ie: not islam) - doctrine includes both imperatives and permissives, and different criterion for applying same. That is one reason why Muslims support 4 different schools (madhabs) of sharia.
Reminder: accomodation of minority religions in Muslim majority states, is negligible or nil. A Muslim is all take and no give.
#5
btw, RJ, I believe the pig-chicken connection is that the free range chickens ate the porkers' poop. This is just the ground up remnants of the slaughterhouse product.
#6
IIRC Mad Cow disease came from using ground up sheep in the bovine feed. Considering the transmission record of disease from swine to human, this could simply be another avenue for interesting times. These are the same people [EU] so energetically upset about genetically altered grain.
#13
While I don't give a flying Obama pig about muzzie feelings, feeding other ground up animals has been bad jou-jou in the past. Mad cow spread because of tainted cow brains they fed to other cows. I think I will avoid chicken from the EU for now.
#15
Past problems in Europe were largely because the Europeans had high energy costs (taxes) and tended to skimp on the cooking in the rendering plants. Personally, I'd prefer to eat the scrapple rather than feed it to the chickens, but that's just me.
Long piece from the August 2001 Chicago Magazine, now making its rounds in the blogosphere. In the future, when you look at the 'Fifth Column' section of Rantburg, you'll think of William Ayers first.
Remember: in comments, the redact rule applies even to this reprehensible waste of human skin.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2008 10:59 ||
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#1
Well, I will have no regrets on the party I will throw the day he dies.
#2
Hey, why not? It's not like he ever had to pay a price for it. In fact, it appears it's worked out quite lucratively for him.
The fact that he's a self indulgent, hypocritical pig seems not to bother him in the least. There seems to be a market for that in certain aspests of society. Academia, for one...
#4
If you are a former terrorist who is still proud of his terrorist work and still willing to stomp the American flag, that is no barrier to working in academia.
But, if you dare to hypothesize that there are gender differences in a small subset of the population that specializes in science, engineering and math, you can't work in academia and any speeches you make will be protested.
Similarly, if you worked for the US Govt and wrote a memo sketching out the general legal priniciples that affect illegal combatants, you will be harrassed and hounded at every opportunity.
#5
How about a one-way trip to the Kalahari Desert?
O.K. - he could have a quart of water...
Does he like it better somewhere else - say with Castro, or is that this country isn't good enough - for him?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/05/2008 12:39 Comments ||
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#6
I'm sure a lot of people will have 'no regrets' about pissing on this guy's grave either.
He's just desperately searching for relevance - and resurgence of his 'glory days'. Kind of like the guy who keeps watching his old high school football films where he makes the 'big catch'. Or John Kerry watching his old vietnam home-movies.
#7
I note he's hiding in an alley with only a cameraman, not in the open where people could see (And object).
not only a flag stomper, but a coward as well.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/05/2008 13:17 Comments ||
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#8
What a putz. As they only claimed to target federal property that makes it okay since it is only the tax payer that will ultimately pay for those property damages - fucking idiot. Even private property covered by insurance that is ultimately passed on to the consumer. Too bad the police didn't put a slug through his slimey head.
#9
Ayers, now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago...
You have to wonder what this idiot has to teach anyone. Surely, the University of Chicago can find someone else that qualified to teach there. He paid no price for trying to bomb and tear done the U.S. system. He is a domestic terrorist.
#10
Talk about a walking contradiction. This guy clearly never grew up. Like your average 5 year-old, he wants to have his cake and eat it, too.
As Victor Davis Hanson pointed out during an interview on the Dennis Miller show the other day, "Generally speaking, life is about choosing between bad and worse." Capitalism may be "bad" (i.e. not perfect) but the alternatives are far worse (i.e. take your pick of examples).
#11
Where the 'imperalist' American militarist shoes are planted, re: Germany, Japan, South Korea, you have prosperity, democracy, and respect of human rights. All the anti-American neo-marxists of the 20th Century have to show is a 100 Million dead and the economic pit they've left for future generations. Parasites.
#12
Did Ayers serve time and if so how long? It always stuns me how the left can put scum like this up on a pedastool and then cry that people say they are unpatriotic.
Dohrn plea-bargained to charges of inciting to mob action and resisting police officers. She was sentenced to three years' probation and a $1,500 fine. Ayers was not charged. Even then he showed a way with words: "Guilty as hell, free as a birdAmerica is a great country," he said.
#14
Guys like this are the reason that vigilantes come to pass.
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
05/05/2008 17:31 Comments ||
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#15
And this 60's retread is one of the Obamessiah's great and good buds...
Sorry, I think this, along with the Rev. Wright's rants (including the G*d damn America sermon) has just put a stake in the heart of BO's nomination.
You have to recall that the referenced article was probably part of the media build-up for this bastards' self-serving memoir, which had the good luck (or the bad, depending on how you look at it) to come out on 9/11.
I understand all of his signing events and his publicity efforts flat-lined, because of that historic event. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person.
And if this does sink the Obamessiah, at least there's a white guy that they can blame it all on!
#18
at least there's a white guy that they can blame it all on!
Swweeeeeeet! Sgt Mom's got the hammer today...heh
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/05/2008 18:57 Comments ||
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#19
#9 - University of Illinois/Chicago is NOT the same as University of Chicago. Chicago may not be any better, but they don't have this guy on their staff.
#20
I hated sanctimonious pricks like this when they spit on my uniform in the 60's and 70's. I still hate them and probably will until the day I die. They only reason scum like him are still alive is they aren't worth killing.
#21
I was wondering how many 'rants' it would take to bring up Obama's name in this thread?!! Sorry to say, 15...with Sgt. Mom 'jugging the way' as usual!
#22
Tom Roeser has the goods on Ayers, including this tidbit;
"The only strict rule of the Weathermen was they were to be polygamous"
which might explain this incident.
#2
DEMOCRATICUNDERGROUND > US HOSPITAL ERS UNPREPARED FOR TERROR ATTACK. Major Terror event in USA, nor Pandemic Disease [e.g. DU.com > CHINA - 9000 Chin sickened as EV virus spreads to Beijing]???
His true identity cloaked for months under the assumed name "the Trainer," Darren Griffin spent years gathering information in Toledo's Muslim community - information that federal prosecutors say revealed a plot by three local men to create a terrorist cell and that defense attorneys contend was nothing more than "fishing."
Mr. Griffin, 42, took the witness stand April 2 in U.S. District Court in Toledo as the first witness in the government's case against Marwan El-Hindi, 45, Mohammad Amawi, 28, and Wassim Mazloum, 26. Over a period of eight days and using about 33 hours of audio and video clips, federal prosecutors used Mr. Griffin's testimony to present a timeline to jurors of how the three defendants planned to fund and support terrorism activities overseas. And for an additional four days, defense attorneys for the three men used the same audio to debunk the government's allegations and raise questions about Mr. Griffin's credibility. Attorneys extensively questioned Mr. Griffin about his past of drug use and financial troubles and about the tactics he used during conversations with the three defendants.
The first month of a trial expected to last more than three months was dominated by the testimony of the former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces-turned-confidential informant. His testimony concluded Friday, although attorneys for Mr. El-Hindi suggested that he would be called again as a defense witness. Throughout his testimony, Mr. Griffin outlined his interactions with the three defendants from 2003 through the end of 2005. Most of the evidence came in the form of audio and video clips, all recorded on hidden devices.
Continued on Page 49
The Kukki Khel tribe of Khyber Agency set a one-week deadline on Sunday in order to root out narcotics and other crimes from Jamrod, warning that the tribes peace committee would take decisive action against elements involved in drugs and other heinous crimes in the area.
The announcement was made by a grand jirga (council) presided over by the Kukki Khel tribe chief, Malik Muhammad Ibrahim Afridi.
The tribal elders said that criminals had started moving to the Jamrod area after action taken by the Taliban in the Mohmand Agency, Bara, Darra and other areas. They said that 15 kidnapped persons were released on the arrival of the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) ameer Mangal Bagh at Jamrod. The drug business in Jamrod was continuing and foreign elements would continue coming in unless the drug menace was stamped out from the area, they added.
The elders also said that the peace alliance wanted an Islamic system of justice and to bring an end to the presence of foreign elements that wanted to turn Kukki Khel, a peaceful land, into a battlefield.
The sub-tribes of the Kukki Khel tribe assured the tribal chief Malik Ibrahim that they would co-operate with the Kukki Khel tribe and accept all of its decisions.
Besides Chief Afridi, others who addressed the jirga included: Haji Naqab Shah; Haji Saleem; Haji Said Wazir; Haji Ahmed Khan; Maulana Jumma Gul; and Haji Gul Jamal.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Kyber is the illegal arms route. There isn't much drug cultivation in its surroundings.
P.J. O'Rourke wrote once about going to a bazaar in that area, looking for a particular brand of Cuban cigar. A vendor had a box of them for him the next day.
A Turkish Muslim teacher living in Karachi complained on Sunday that Pakistanis everywhere assume he is not Muslim because he has no beard, according to a New York Times report.
Mesut Kacmaz believes Pakistanis misinterpret Islam by assuming it requires them to Kill, fight, shoot. He thinks this view of Islam is common in Pakistan, a frontier land for the future of Islam, where schools, nourished by Saudi and American money dating back to the 1980s, have spread radicalism through the poorest parts of society. Kacmaz is part of a group of Turkish educators who have come to this battleground with an entirely different vision of Islam. Theirs is moderate, flexible, and comfortably co-exists with the West while remaining distinct from it. Like Muslim Peace Corps volunteers, they promote this approach in schools, which are now established in more than 80 countries, Muslim and Christian.
The report notes that Pakistans Tribal Areas have become a refuge for the Taliban and Al Qaeda, while the battle against fundamentalism rests on young people and their education, which is extremely weak. The poorest Pakistanis cannot afford to send their children to free public schools, which require fees for books and uniforms. Some choose to send their children to madrassas, which, like aid organisations, offer free food and clothing. Many simply teach, but some have radical agendas. Turkish schools, which have expanded to seven cities in Pakistan since the first one opened a decade ago, cannot transform the country on their own. But they offer an alternative approach that could help reduce the influence of extremists, the report adds. These schools prescribe a strong Western curriculum, with courses taught in English, from maths and science to literature. They do not teach religion beyond the single, state-required class in Islamic studies.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
The beard requirement is based on the laughable notion that Muslim men are required to emulate their phony "prophet," in every way. If that was true they would all have to marry 6 year old girls and consummate same when the child reached 9.
Troops will stay in the Tribal Areas as long as the government wants them there said Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Masood Aslam on Sunday. Talking to Dawn News at a golf competition in Peshawar, he said troops would be withdrawn when the situation in the Tribal Areas was stable, adding that tribesmen were patriotic people and wanted peace in their areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Iraqi politicians and researchers concurred that the political scene in the country has significantly changed after the Iraqi government targeted the armed militias of Shiite political groups, while others believed the Basra incidents have been a "turning point" that are yet to shape the course of events in war-scourged nation.
"The political situation in Iraq has developed dramatically after the Basra incidents that no one can definitely claim that the (Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri) al-Maliki (Shiite-led) government is a sectarian one anymore," Ali al-Allaq, a member of parliament from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC).
Maliki had announced in March the commencement of a security operation codenamed Saulat al-Forsan (Knights' Assault) in the port city of Basra, Iraq's second largest province and an oil-hub, 590 km south of Baghdad, which he said targeted "outlaws".
"Matters are heading towards national rapprochement and strategically important decision-taking by Iraqi political blocs, including those who quit the government," Allaq told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). "These blocs have taken the decision to return after securing strong guarantees from the Maliki government," added Allaq, whose bloc is the largest in parliament with 83 out of a total 275 seats.
Adnan al-Dulaimi, the leader of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), had told VOI on Wednesday that the front finally decided during recent meetings to re-join the government. The IAF, the main bloc representing Sunni Muslims in the political process, had withdrawn from the government in August 2007, claiming then that Maliki was "making decisions solely and not giving enough space for the other parties."
A lawmaker from the IAF, the third largest bloc with 44 parliamentary seats, believed that Iraq's political state of affairs would be remarkably refreshed during coming days after the Basra incidents.
"Iraq has never experienced a harmony since the establishment of the modern state after 2003. We might as well see the emergence of new political blocs and organizations," Hashim al-Taie told VOI.
He said the Iraqi government has been through tough tests in several issues like the general pardon law, power sharing and the tolerance about different opinions. "The prime minister managed to pass these tests successfully and practically discredit the sectarianism accusations used to be hurled against his government in the past," Taie said.
The IAF is composed of three key groups: the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) of Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi, the Iraq People's Congress of Dulaimi and the National Dialogue Council (NDC) of Khalaf al-Alyan, while the Shiite UIC comprises the Dawa Party, of Premier Maliki, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim and other independent deputies.
A legislator from the Kurdistan Coalition (KC) expressed optimism about a possibility to re-group anew in political terms. "I would not be exaggerating if I said that matters are going ahead and faster than the past. There is going to be an unexpected political breakthrough that would bring Iraq out of the bottleneck," Sirwan al-Zahawi, whose KC is the second largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament with 55 seats, told VOI.
Zahawi believed that the Maliki government did not strike the Sadrists, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, in Basra. "The government did not even target the Sadrists but rather certain groups feigning affiliation to the Sadrists," he explained.
Now for the obligatory featuring of nay-sayers by the MSM:
Meanwhile, analyst and researcher Ibrahim al-Samaydaie said Iraq's political shift after the Basra incidents is "fragile". "The political agreements between the Iraqi government and the opposition groups were merely coincidental and had not been strategically planned," Samaydaie said.
Political writer and analyst Muhammad al-Furati said no one can possibly describe any plan as successful. The Iraqi government itself, he said, admitted that several "criminals" have left the area and might return any time, a matter that would not help predict a practical imposition of the law in Basra.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC ||
05/05/2008 11:14 ||
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#1
The reduction of the Mahdi army also represents the last major internal obstacle to Iraq's sovereignty. From this point, the threat becomes an external one, specifically Iran and Syria.
This means the mission of the Iraqi military can more and more be devoted to external threats, which in itself is unifying.
The next big test will be their upcoming elections, in which Iraq will finally be able to fully look at itself. All doubts about the fairness and accuracy of the election will be quashed, because it will be both without duress and as inclusive as can be.
The critical elements still missing from their defense structure *must* at least start to be filled by the time of the US presidential elections. We must all assume the worst, and Iraq must embark on an overnight defense build up.
We must leave the Iraqis with a shopping list of must have procurement, as well as a training and operational timetable of what to do when we leave, if it comes to that.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq said on Sunday it has no evidence that Iran was supplying militias engaged in fierce street fighting with security forces in Baghdad.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dirtbag al-Dabbagh said there was no "hard evidence" of involvement by the neighbouring Shiite government of Iran in backing Shiite militiamen in the embattled country. The militia has it's own arms industry and will be soon producing tanks, planes, and ICBMs in addition to the rockets, mortars and EFPs.
Asked about US reports that weapons captured from Shiite fighters bore 2008 markings suggesting Iranian involvement, Dirtbag Dabbagh said: "We don't have that kind of evidence... If there is hard evidence we will defend the country." Those weapons are just cheap Chinese knockoffs.
Tehran strongly opposes the US military presence in Iraq, while Washington has repeatedly accused Iranian groups of arming and training Shiite militia groups in its neighbour.
Iran, whose ties with Washington have been severed since 1980, strongly denies the allegations. Nope, not us, it must be the CIA or Israel.
"Lies! All lies!"
US military spokesman Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll told reporters in the presence of Dabbagh that the Americans fully supported talks between Iran and Iraq on curbing the sectarian violence. "We welcome all dialogue between Iran and Iraq," Driscoll said, adding that they supported any platform that could lead to an end to violence and ensure stability in Iraq where the US has deployed over 158,000 troops.
Dabbagh said an Iraqi parliamentary delegation which visited Iran last week had held useful discussions and secured assurances of support. Iran pledged to supply burqas with built in bras.
"They talked frankly about the fears and concerns in Iraq," he told reporters at a news conference in the tightly-guarded Green Zone of Baghdad where the Iraqi government and the US embassy are located. You know, the zone that is being bombarded by non-existent Iranian weapons.
He stressed that Iraq wanted closer relations with Iran. "What happened in the past is in the past," he said referring to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Boys will be boys.
Dabbagh said that Baghdad was keen to "reorganise" its relations with its former enemy, and that Tehran supported Baghdad government moves to curb violence. Including midnight baskeball.
"Iran supports the government and understands the need to eliminate all militia... and allow the rule of law," Dabbagh said, adding that the Iraqi team which went to Iran had the blessing of the government but was not "official."
Reports from Teheran on Sunday said Iran had warned Iraq against using excessive force in its crackdown against Shiite militias. "We support the efforts of the Iraqi government to disarm the armed militia but we advise them not to confront the population," an official source, who was not named, told the student ISNA news agency in Tehran. Look but don't touch.
"The official position of the Islamic republic of Iran is to support the legal Iraqi government and we will do everything to ensure the security of the country," added the source.
#1
The militia are designing and manufacturing those EFPs all by themselves? Not all that high tech, but they are pretty sensitive to the exact shape of the slug and size, shape and strength of the explosive charge.
#2
Pinnocchio pic is appropriate. We have lost a lot of brave men and women in Iraq. Iraq needs to do the heavy lifting instead of putting out this kind of tripe.
Gaza Ma'an A Palestinian man called Rami Ash-Sha'r, who was in his twenties, was killed on Monday afternoon and five others were injured when an underground tunnel collapsed in Brazil neighborhood, near the border with Egypt in the Gaza Strip. A sixth man was missing.
Witnesses said the tunnel was near area of the so-called Salah Addin Gate, a gap that was opened in the border wall by Palestinian fighters in late January.
The director of Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, Dr Ahmad Abu Naqira, said that five people arrived at the hospital suffering from suffocation. He affirmed that the injured were released from the hospital after they were treated.
An Iranian official says the government wants the United States to stop its "savage attacks" in Iraq before its envoys hold more talks with U.S. and Iraqi officials, Iran's Fars News Agency reported. IOW: It's all America's fault until they capitulate.
"Under the current circumstances and given the U.S. widespread attacks against Iraqi people in different cities, Iran does not feel these negotiations are necessary," an unnamed official told Fars.
The official -- described as a senior member of Iran's negotiating team -- delivered the remarks as U.S. and Iraqi troops have been fighting Shiite militants in Baghdad and in Basra. The Bush administration says many of these fighters have backing from Iranian agents.
Iran and the United States held three meetings in Baghdad last year to discuss improving security in Iraq. Two meetings were at the ambassadorial level and one was at the expert level. Iraqi officials hosted the meetings.
The report noted that an Iranian delegation went to Baghdad in March for a fourth round of talks. But U.S. officials said at the time that no meeting had been planned and the delegation returned to Iran.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said last month that the United States was ready for another session. But the Iranian official told Fars that "if U.S. savage attacks against the Iraqi people are stopped, we will examine the U.S. request for a fourth round of talks." Hopefully this is just another dotted i or crossed t.
This came after a five-member Iraqi delegation confronted Iranian officials in Tehran last week with evidence that Iran is smuggling weapons into Iraq and training Iraqi militants. The Iranians vehemently denied the charges, according to one member of the delegation, Haidar al-Abadi.
Al-Abadi, a lawmaker and member of al-Maliki's Dawa Party, did not explain what the "evidence" was, but said "the Iranian side was hurt" by the allegations.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will form a committee to document what it calls Iranian "interference" in Iraqi affairs.
Iran has long-standing ties to Iraq's Shiite parties, including the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which is the dominant party in the United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of several parties. The Islamic Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq dominates the country's security forces.
The United Iraqi Alliance and the Kurdish Alliance are the ruling entities in the Iraqi government.
But U.S. commanders say Iranian support for "criminal" Shiite militias now battling Iraqi and American troops in Baghdad has begun to alarm the country's U.S.-backed government.
U.S. and Iraqi forces say they are battling "outlaws" and Iranian-backed Special Groups in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, which is a stronghold of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia.
A spokesman for al-Sadr criticized the move to send an Iraqi delegation to Tehran, saying the issue should be settled in Iraq between Sadrists and the Iraqi government. The delegation did not meet with al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran.
Meanwhile, fighting raged between U.S. troops and Shiite militants in Baghdad from Sunday night to Monday morning.
The U.S. military reported the deaths of 10 militants and Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said 11 people, including civilians, were killed.
Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a U.S. military spokesman, said three "Special Group criminals" were killed and another wounded Sunday night in northeastern Sadr City, while three "militants" were killed in the eastern neighborhood of New Baghdad.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said Monday that at least six were killed and 41 wounded in overnight fighting in Sadr City.
Stover said three militants were killed and two civilians were wounded in western Baghdad's Amil district. He said U.S. troops fired at gunmen who ambushed them with small arms fire and requested air support. Warplanes shot three Hellfire missiles at militant targets, he said.
An Interior Ministry official said U.S. airstrikes in Amil destroyed an apartment, killing five people and wounding eight. Among the dead were a father, a mother and their daughter, an official said.
The U.S. military said its soldiers called for air support in the Kadhimiya district of northern Baghdad, a Shiite enclave, after fighters shot at them with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. An AC-130 engaged the target with 40 mm rounds and killed one "criminal."
#5
answer: "Okay, we'll wait, we're not done killin' yet"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/05/2008 21:14 Comments ||
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#6
But wait, I thought that negotiations were magic in and of themselves. Haven't the Iranians consulted the many academics, "analysts", presidential candidates and their advisers (incl. a few to the grumpy old guy) - surely they'd be told that negotations could not be spurned. Then again, as suggested above, it's probably that we're kicking ass, the various Iranian players are in disarray, and everyone's too nervous to authorize any more "talks" (at which, I believe, the main agenda item is Crocker bitch-slapping them - pretty good, for a State employee - as the Iranians bristle and pretend not to be guilty as hell).
Concerns over Syrias WMD capabilities should spur nations in general and Australia in particular to address the possible threat, according to a new study from an Australian think tank
No challenge is more serious than the strategic consequences of unrestrained nuclear, biological and chemical weapons proliferation in the Middle East, says the report by Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Carl Ungerer. Dealing with the Syrian problem should therefore be a priority for any renewed Australian counterproliferation diplomacy.
According to U.S. and Israeli intelligence estimates, Syria has established an indigenous chemical weapons program including the stockpiling of several chemical agents for aerial bombs and between 100-200 chemical warheads for Scud-B and Scud-C ballistic missiles, the report says.
Australia has several policy options, according to Ungerer, including:
organizing an international campaign to press Syria to abandon any nuclear weapon ambitions;
urging Damascus to join the Chemical Weapons Convention (see GSN, April 25);
improving controls on exports of dual-use materials to the Middle East; and
supporting the expansion of U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts (David McLennan, Canberra Times, May 1).
Iran's top leader says his country will not bend to international pressure and give up its nuclear program, according to state television.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, said Iran will continue its nuclear program despite Western efforts to thwart it with sanctions.
"No threat can hinder the Iranian nation from its path," he said Sunday.
The U.N. Security Council has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. World powers agreed Friday to try again to lure Iran to the nuclear bargaining table with a repackaged set of incentives.
Diplomats said the offer contained no major new enticements.
Long piece from the LA Times which tells us pretty much what we already knew. But it's a useful primer if you haven't been keeping up. Short story: Iran and Syria are re-arming the Hezbies. Go figure.
TEL AVIV -- Almost two years after its war with Israel, Hezbollah has rearmed and is stronger than before the conflict, according to Israeli and Western officials and the Lebanon-based Shiite Muslim group itself.
But assessments diverge on the source of Hezbollah's arms.
Western and Israeli officials accuse Iran and Syria of smuggling thousands of short-range rockets as well as missiles that can strike deep into Israel and other weaponry into Lebanon in violation of a U.N. arms embargo. Smuggling routes have included a rail line through Turkey, the officials say.
In the 2006 war, Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel. Most were inaccurate, short-range models, but the attacks killed at least 39 civilians and had a profound psychological effect on Israelis. About 1,000 people were killed in Lebanon during the 34-day war.
Tensions have risen again. In February, a car bomb in Damascus, the Syrian capital, killed Imad Mughniyah, a Hezbollah chief wanted by U.S., European and Argentine authorities in connection with terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of people in the 1980s and '90s. Hezbollah blamed Israel and promised retaliation. Israel has not confirmed or denied that it was involved in Mughniyah's death. But it has beefed up defenses and conducted a rare nationwide defense drill in April. Tough talk from both sides continues.
The militia acknowledges that it has rearmed since the 2006 war with Israel, but denies Western allegations that it is getting weapons smuggled from Iran and Syria.
Hezbollah now has about 27,000 rockets and missiles, more than double its supply before the 2006 war, Israeli officials say. Acquisitions include Iranian missiles capable of hitting Tel Aviv, they allege. "We know without a doubt that the international embargo on the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah has been deliberately violated by the governments of Iran and Syria," said Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman.
The U.S. government, which has designated Hezbollah a terrorist group, accuses Iran of providing arms, training and millions of dollars. Syria also has emerged as an arms supplier, not just a conduit for Iranian arms, Israeli officials say.
The US military is drawing up plans for a surgical strike against an insurgent training camp inside Iran if Republican Guards continue with attempts to destabilise Iraq, western intelligence sources said last week. One source said the Americans were growing increasingly angry at the involvement of the Guards special-operations Quds force inside Iraq, training Shiite militias and smuggling weapons into the country.
Despite a belligerent stance by Vice-President Dick Cheney, the administration has put plans for an attack on Irans nuclear facilities on the back burner since Robert Gates replaced Donald Rumsfeld as defence secretary in 2006, the sources said.
However, US commanders are increasingly concerned by Iranian interference in Iraq and are determined that recent successes by joint Iraqi and US forces in the southern port city of Basra should not be reversed by the Quds Force.
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#1
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#2
This is where espionage protocols come into play. As with military operations, "escalation" is a factor. This means if the US wants to send them a message, it does so in a covert manner.
For example, if there is a training camp, it just suddenly stops radio traffic. When they arrive to investigate, everyone in camp is either dead or missing, with no obvious indication as to who is responsible.
This says two things. One, that we could do it. And two, that we did it in such a leisurely manner that we cleaned up after. This adds a considerable element of fear to the equation.
The Iraqi government basically stated that their conclusion is that the Iranian 'government' is not involved in supplying the Shiite militas.
Meaning they consider Al Quds Force to be outside the official Iranian government.
Meaning the Iraqi government won't officially protest if their territory is used to launch strikes against IRGC camps, supply depots or personnel with an Al Quds Force support role.
Meaning the Iranian government is forced, in order of likelihood:
a)Acknowledge that the Quds force is indeed an official unit (either verbally or by defending against such attacks), or
b)Stand by and let the attacks against the Quds force happen, or
c) They 'discover the illegal operations' and shut them down.
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Recalling its prior condemnation of Eritrea's hindrances, the Security Council said the country's ongoing obstruction of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has dealt a blow to the blue helmets' mandate.
Iraqi politicians and researchers concurred that the political scene in the country has significantly changed after the Iraqi government targeted the armed militias of Shiite political groups, while others believed the Basra incidents have been a "turning point" that are yet to shape the course of events in war-scourged nation.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq said on Sunday it has no evidence that Iran was supplying militias engaged in fierce street fighting with security forces in Baghdad. 
Iran's top leader says his country will not bend to international pressure and give up its nuclear program, according to state television. 
