Speaking to the MPs at the Kenyan capital, Somalian President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed says that government is on the verge of being demolished by insurgency.
On Saturday, Abdullahi Yusuf urged Somali MPs in Nairobi to return to the country immediately to build a new government. The president confessed that the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) controls small parts of Mogadishu and Baidoa and the two areas are under persistent attacks from the insurgents.
Yusuf refused to agree to a cabinet list submitted by Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein earlier and accused the premier of dissolving the cabinet and appointing ministers that don't care about the country. "You know Elasha Biyaha (outside Mogadishu) that close to Mogadishu was captured, Yusuf further added.
Analysts say that the two leaders are competing to dominate the parliament.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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TBILISI, GeorgiaEuropean Union cease-fire monitors in Georgia say they were shot at near a breakaway region in the former Soviet republic.
The EU observer mission says in a statement Sunday that shots were fired as they investigated the shooting death of a Georgian policeman near the border with Abkhazia. They called the incident "unacceptable" and asked Abkhaz authorities to investigate.
No one was injured in Saturday's shooting. The 225-strong mission is there to monitor a fragile cease-fire brokered after a short war between Russia and Georgia in August.
Abkhazia is one of two regions of Georgia controlled by Moscow-friendly separatists to have been recognized as independent by Russia but not the West.
#2
Does anyone know how many NIMITZ-class Aircraft Carriers the US now has? The word I heard 20 years ago was that all other carriers, except for the Enterprise, were to be phased out and replaced by NIMITZ-class. At that time, we had a total of 16 carriers. I think the production order for NIMITZ-class was 12 ships, but Congress may have trimmed that, like they did the "Arleigh Burke" class destroyers.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/16/2008 12:03 Comments ||
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#3
The Congresscritters want to cutback the USDOD at the same time that THE ETHNIC, MIL + GEOPOL, ETC. MAP OF EURASIA + AFRICA, espec EAST-CENTRAl-SOUTH ASIA, MAY FORCIBLY MILPOL CHANGE 2015-2020, vee the well-reported/anticipated RISE OF CHINA versus [new]RISE OF NUCLEAR-AMBITIOUS RADICAL ISLAM/ISLAMIST ASIA [proto-Islamist Asia = large Militant enclaves]???
*WORLD MIL FORUM > CHIN PERTS >= are basically advsing Beijing = CPC/CCCC that China cannot hope to be true US-style, post-Cold War, 21st Century = Asia/Asia-Pacific Century Modern Superpower AND STILL BE HOMOGENOUS + GEOPOL ISOLATIONIST, ETC. AS PER NATIONAL POLICIES.
E.g. TO PROPERLY DEFEND THE EAST-SOUTH CHINA SEAS + CHIN HISTORICAL INTERESTS IN EAST ASIA, ETC. CHINA = PLA MUST BE MODERN, ECON STRONG/PROFICIENT, + ABLE TO MILITARILY DEFEND AND PROJECT DECISIVE FORCE AMAP AFAP INTO THE CENTRAL-EASTERN PACIFIC + INDIAN OCEANS, ETC. AGZ ANY AND ALL COMERS.
Can now add NUCLEAR-AMBITIOUS RADICAL ISLAM [States = Militant-Terror Groups] to China's list of possible future LOCAL-GLOBAL adversaries.
The West Bengal government has sounded a red alert throughout the state following intelligence reports that terrorists may trigger serial blasts in different parts of the state.
A senior official said the state government had already received alarming information from the intelligence wing of the Border Security Force (BSF) that at least three teams of the Islamic Jihad Council (IJC) comprising activists of L-e-T, Jaish-e-Mohammad, HuJI and a couple of militant groups from the Northeast might carry on serial blasts in different places of Kolkata, Asansol, Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri station within a fortnight. The report from the BSF said that the families of the terrorists had already received between Rs 500,000 and Rs 10,00,000 each as remuneration for carrying out the blasts. The terrorists had already entered the state from Bangladesh and reached their hideouts in both South and North Bengal.
The city and state police had already launched massive search operations in New Market, Chowringhee, Gariahat, Park Circus, Victoria Memorial and the possible hideouts of the terrorists in the city. The security forces had also intensified vigilance in all underground railway stations in the city and terminal railway stations like Howrah, Sealdah and New Jalpaiguri. Search operations were also being carried out in inter-state bus terminals in both South and North Bengal.
According to intelligence reports, the agents of Pakistans Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and a section of the Bangladeshi civil and military officials have been coordinating with the terrorists to carry out subversive activities in India. With easy availability of arms, ammunition and explosives from China via Myanmar, this unholy alliance of terrorists are set to create havoc in India as it is evident from the recent blasts in North India, Tripura and Assam, the reports point out. The militants from Assam, Tripura, Manipur and West Bengal have already undergone a series of training along with the members of the IJC on use of different kind of explosives, including RDX and TNT under the supervision of some ISI and Bangladeshi experts, the reports pointed out.
The report feared that the ISI and the IJC might even use the Maoists to carry out serial blasts in different parts of the country. The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) had already arranged meetings between the ISI agents and the Maoists, both in Bangladesh and Nepal, the reports added.
Reports from across the border said that at least 20 teams, comprising Indian militants and Islamic terrorists, had been formed after extensive training on use of different kinds of explosive to carry out clandestine activities in different parts of India. These teams had reportedly established contacts with their linkmen in different parts of the country, including West Bengal, Karnataka, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Gujarat and New Delhi. Each team comprised at least seven members.
The state official said that the serial blasts were designed to destroy the basic fabric of the country and the centre should pay more attention to the international border with Bangladesh. On our part, we have intensified vigilance along the border and other vulnerable areas to prevent any subversive activity by these unholy nexus of Islamic terrorists and Indian militants, he added.
#1
I would have no qualms with India reasserting its sovereignty over Bangladesh territory and most of Pakistan, so long as they outlawed Islam in the process. The entire world would be a better place. Either that, or exile all Indian militant Hindus to Pakistan and Bangladesh, and close the border. As I said elsewhere, Islam is a cancer and it's time to exise it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/16/2008 12:08 Comments ||
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#2
ION INDIA, PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > ASSAM'S LARGEST TRIBE GOES TO WAR AGZ ITS MUSLIMS; + THE RISE OF INDIA'S SAFFRO-NAZIS. Militant Hindu Right-Wing COMMUNALISM is the alleged REAL THREAT to India, NOT the rise of any local Communism, + US EXPERT: BANGLADESHI'S NAVY IS FAR SUPERIOR TO MYMANMAR'S, + BANGLADESH BUILDS A MISSLE ARSENAL.
Men with long hair and flowing beards have once again made their way to Peshawar and can be seen singly or in groups of twos and threes in the city markets.
The long-haired men, typical of the Taliban operating in the tribal agencies of Waziristan, Bajaur and Mohmand, had gone underground following the launching of the military operation against Bara-based Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) of Mangal Bagh in late June this year.
At that time, most of the long-haired men belonged to the LI from Bara, the sub-division of Khyber tribal agency and located some 12 kilometres south-west of Peshawar.
However, those roaming in the city markets presently belong to Mohmand and Khyber agencies, located close to the city on its northern and western outskirts respectively, and where the army and paramilitary troops have already launched or planning to launch operations against the law-breakers.
Though, the long-haired men did not issue threats to boutiques displaying mannequins, coffee shops playing music or internet cafes and CD shops, their presence has spread a wave a fear among the dwellers and shop owners who are already living in a state of peril because of the increasing incidents of violence and unabated kidnappings of businessmen, common citizens, NGO persons and foreign diplomats.
In the month of June, groups of such people from Bara would visit markets and distribute warning letters to shop owners or issue them direct threats to stop playing music or cable TV and avoid displaying photographs of actresses or women models in their shops.
However, the limited scale operation in Bara suppressed the trend and the inhabitants and businessmen of the walled city took a sigh of relief, though for a temporary period.
But the recent reappearance of the Taliban-styled men, now from Mohmand and Khyber, has once again disturbed the already harassed people.
Owner of a boutique dealing in women's garments and cosmetics, who wished not to be named, said the ratio of women customers had drastically reduced following the recent blast, the incidents of kidnapping and the reappearance of the Taliban-styled guys in the markets.
Mohammad Shoib, a government employee, told Daily Times that he accompanied his children to school in the morning and back home in the afternoon.
"This is a tough routine, but I have no other option," he said. Shoib added that he used to send his children to school with a rickshaw wala, but the increasing incidents of kidnapping and lawlessness forced him to accompany his children from home to school and vice versa.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Foreigners, including Uzbeks, Chechens, Afghans and Saudis, are involved in cross-border activities, which justify airstrikes by international forces on Pakistani territory, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference at the Multan airport after arriving in the city to inaugurate two road projects, he said that the Pakistan Army was assigned to check extremism in the restive parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the NWFP.
He said that the army had adopted an effective strategy to eliminate militancy and extremism in troubled parts of the country that would eliminate foreign elements in the area, which would usher in an era of peace, stability and prosperity.
He said that Pakistan is a sovereign country and would not allow any one disturb its peace.
Halted attacks: Gilani hoped that the new United States government led by Barack Obama will stop the cross-border attacks by US forces in the Tribal Areas.
He said Pakistan was a responsible nation and has been raising the issue of American air attacks on its territories at diplomatic level.
The prime minister said the US administration was in a transitory phase and things would improve with the new government taking charge of the office.
He said that the government welcomed dialogue with those who were ready to renounce terrorism.
Responding to a question about the kidnapping of an Iranian diplomat, he said the government was duty-bound to provide security not only to foreign diplomats but its own citizens as well.
Economy: Gilani said the government was taking multi-dimensional steps to minimise economic hardships of the people, adding that things would improve within four to five months and the impact of global recession on Pakistan would ease.
He said that the government was previously spending Rs 60 billion on wheat import, but by raising the wheat support price, the exchequer will bear the burden of Rs 10 billion in subsidy only.
He said the government would purchase wheat and rice from the farmers at declared rates. Gilani said he would also direct provincial governments to take action against those hoarding fertiliser.
He said there was no rift in the coalition of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Punjab, adding that the PML-N could talk to the PPP co-chairman if it wanted to quit the coalition.
Responding to a question about the possibility of repealing the 17th Amendment and Article 58(2b), Gilani said President Asif Ali Zardari had asked parliament to form a committee for this purpose, but it was still awaited.
Later Gilani inaugurated a new terminal at Karachi Port Trust (KPT) in Karachi, a private TV channel reported. He said KPT's development was in accordance with the PPP's vision and investors should be included in the country's economic programme.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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(APP)- President Asif Ali Zardari has stated that PPP government is steadily moving to find an honorable solution to the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of Kashmiri people. "The opening of the cross LoC trade recently is just one step to bring the Kashmiris together. Who knows this step for the wellbeing of Kashmiris might turn out to be a lead forward for ushering in peace and prosperity in the whole region", the President said in a message read on the occasion of national conference held in memory of an eminent intellectual, scholar and author Prof. Khan Zaman Mirza here late Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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NEW DELHI - More arrests are expected in the coming weeks as the frightening dimensions of a Hindu terror plot start to unravel, with investigators indicating that it had the makings of a larger conspiracy and planning of reprisal killings of Muslims for serial bombings in a number of Indian cities.
Ten people, including a self-proclaimed Hindu seer and a serving lieutenant colonel, have so far been arrested for the September 29 bombing in a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood in the small Maharashtra town of Malegaon that killed five people. Investigators are now examining if a Hindu terror conspiracy was involved in several other blasts -- like the one of the Samjhauta Express train in 2007 -- that have till date remained unsolved.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad's (ATS) arrest of Mahant Amritanand Dev alias Dayanand Pandey, the self-styled pontiff from Kanpur, which investigators say is a "prize catch", has already admitted that it was under his instructions that Lt. Colonel Shrikant Purohit procured RDX from an army depot that was used in the Malegaon blast. "Pandey was present in all the pre-blast meetings in Bhopal, Jabalpur and Faridabad, monitored operations meticulously and was also responsible for arranging the finances that came in through illegal channels," an ATS source told IANS.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: The Gulf News newspaper, based in the United Arab Emirates, on Saturday evening reported that a senior aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said Iraq and the United States are now in agreement over a final draft of a security pact.
The draft deal, if approved, would allow American troops to stay in Iraq for three more years after their UN mandate expires December 31, 2008.
The aide, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity, said that copies of the agreement will be distributed to Cabinet members later Saturday after a final revision of the Arabic translation.
It could be put to a vote in an emergency meeting on Sunday or Monday, the aide said, adding that it stands "a good chance" of being approved in Cabinet.
If adopted by the Cabinet, the agreement will be voted on in parliament.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Two Shia parliamentarians have called for a referendum to turn the province of Basra in southern Iraq into a mini-autonomous state. Sheikk Kheirallah al-Basri, a Shia lawmaker from Basra on Saturday sought to dismiss fears that the move would cause instability in the country, arguing that the push for autonomy is not a "secessionist motion.''
Wail Abdul-Latif, another lawmaker from Basra, argued that granting Iraqi regions more power would give Iraq's political process "more chances for stability.'' He added that they have collected some 35,000 signatures from supporters in the region to press the electoral commission to hold a referendum on an autonomous region.
The idea of creating a federalist system in Iraq is expected to play a prominent role in the country's provincial elections, which are to be held before Jan. 31.
Iraq's three largest Shia parties have been divided on the issue of autonomous regions. The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which is the largest Iraqi Shia political bloc, strongly backs the creation of a nine-province autonomous region. This is while Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa Party and the Sadrist movement both oppose the proposal, arguing it poses a threat to national unity.
The region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq already enjoys self-rule.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have agreed on a draft of a security pact that would allow American troops to stay in Iraq for three more years after their U.N. mandate expires Dec. 31, a senior aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday. The aide said the draft could be put to a Cabinet vote in an emergency meeting Sunday or Monday. Transport Minister Amir Abdul-Jabbar said he had been notified by the Cabinet secretariat that a Cabinet meeting was scheduled for Sunday to vote on the agreement. If adopted by the Cabinet, it would then require parliamentary approval.
In Washington, National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe described the final document on the security pact as beneficial to the allied nations. We think this is a good document that serves both Iraqis and Americans well. We remain hopeful that the Iraqi government will conclude this process soon, Johndroe said Saturday.
The al-Maliki aide said the agreement stood a good chance of being passed by a two-thirds majority in the 37-member Cabinet. If adopted by the Cabinet, the agreement goes to a vote in parliament. I can say now that the two sides have agreed on a final draft, the aide said.
Passage of the agreement in the Cabinet could bode well for how it fares in the 275-seat parliament, where it needs a simple majority to pass, since the political blocs in al-Maliki's government dominate the legislature.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Several opposition MKs, led by Likud's Yuval Steinitz, said Sunday they would push to convene the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in light of escalating violence in the Gaza region.
The MKs submitted a demand to that effect to committee chairman Tzahi Hanegbi (Kadima).
However, there is an alternate view
Fatah acknowledges responsibility for Gaza attacks
Olmert, Abbas set out to discuss the recent round of violence in Gaza. Besides the utter immorality of discussing the matter casually instead of bombing the Arab murderers, the question arises: what does Abbas have to do with Gaza? Officially, Hamas had ousted every trace of Fatah presence there. The answer is simple: Fatah-affiliated groups such as PRC and PIJ attack Israel from Gaza in order to discredit Hamas and make it unwilling to risk presidential elections in 2009, so that Abbas can stay in power after his term expires. The Fatah accomplices also try to provoke Israel into invading Gaza to clear it from Hamas for Fatah.
As Caroline Glick notes in the op-ed piece below, Obama is clueless about how the Middle East works. Appeasing the Arabs only whets their appetite for more. Yet Bambi is going to endorse the Saudi 'peace' plan. Guess what will happen next.
Barack Obama is to pursue an ambitious peace plan in the Middle East involving the recognition of Israel by the Arab world in exchange for its withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, according to sources close to Americas president-elect. Obama intends to throw his support behind a 2002 Saudi peace initiative endorsed by the Arab League and backed by Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister and leader of the ruling Kadima party.
The proposal gives Israel an effective veto on the return of Arab refugees expelled in 1948 while requiring it to restore the Golan Heights to Syria and allow the Palestinians to establish a state capital in east Jerusalem.
On a visit to the Middle East last July, the president-elect said privately it would be crazy for Israel to refuse a deal that could give them peace with the Muslim world, according to a senior Obama adviser.
The Arab peace plan received a boost last week when President Shimon Peres, a Nobel peace laureate and leading Israeli dove, commended the initiative at a Saudi-sponsored United Nations conference in New York. Peres was loudly applauded for telling King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who was behind the original initiative: I wish that your voice will become the prevailing voice of the whole region, of all people.
A bipartisan group of senior foreign policy advisers urged Obama to give the Arab plan top priority immediately after his election victory. They included Lee Hamilton, the former co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, a Democrat former national security adviser. Brzezinski will give an address tomorrow at Chatham House, the international relations think tank, in London.
Brent Scowcroft, a Republican former national security adviser, joined in the appeal. He said last week that the Middle East was the most troublesome area in the world and that an early start to the Palestinian peace process was a way to psychologically change the mood of the region.
Advisers believe the diplomatic climate favours a deal as Arab League countries are under pressure from radical Islamic movements and a potentially nuclear Iran. Polls show that Palestinians and Israelis are in a mood to compromise.
The Paleos are in a mood to compromise? Since when? All they've been doing is launching Qassam rockets and sharpening their knives.
The advisers have told Obama he should lose no time in pursuing the policy in the first six to 12 months in office while he enjoys maximum goodwill.
Obama is also looking to break a diplomatic deadlock over Irans pursuit of nuclear weapons technology. A possible way forward, suggested last spring by Dennis Ross, a senior Obama adviser and former Middle East envoy, would be to persuade Russia to join in tough economic sanctions against Iran by offering to modify the US plan for a missile shield in eastern Europe.
And by giving Iran Israel, which is what this is all about ...
President Dmitry Medvedev signalled that Russia could cancel a tit-for-tat deployment of missiles close to the Polish border if America gave up its proposed missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Sort of like how the Soviets offered to eventually pull back their SS-20s if Reagan agreed not to deploy the Pershing missiles. We remember how that worked out. Bambi really is gullible ...
Ross argued in a paper on How to Talk to Iran that if the Iranian threat goes away, so does the principal need to deploy these [antimissile] forces. [Vladimir] Putin [the Russian prime minister] has made this such a symbolic issue that this trade-off could be portrayed as a great victory for him.
Ross and Daniel Kurtzer, a former American ambassador to Israel, accompanied Obama on a visit to Israel last July. They also travelled to Ramallah, where Obama questioned Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, about the prospects for the Arab plan. According to a Washington source Obama told Abbas: The Israelis would be crazy not to accept this initiative. It would give them peace with the Muslim world from Indonesia to Morocco.
Kurtzer submitted a paper to Obama on the question before this months presidential elections. He argued that trying to reach bilateral peace agreements between Israel and individual countries in the Middle East, was a recipe for failure as the record of Bill Clinton and George W Bush showed. In contrast, the broader Arab plan had a lot of appeal. A leading Democratic expert on the Middle East said: Theres not a lot of meat on the bones yet, but it offers recognition of Israel across the Arab world.
Livni, the leader of Kadima, which favours the plan, is the front-runner in Israeli elections due in February. Her rival, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Likud, is adamantly against withdrawing to borders that predate the Six Day war in 1967.
Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, last week expressed his support for Israels withdrawal from the West Bank Golan and east Jerusalem.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#4
If you are going to f*ck up domestically, you might as well balance the sheet with foreign policy f*ckups right out of the chute.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/16/2008 0:59 Comments ||
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#5
All the words above -- go together to show Obama's position on the Middle East, is one of go-along-to-get-along..... as is all his positions so far.
He truly doesn't understand that adage, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
Our enemies are pulling him closer and closer to them, even before he takes office... and there is nothing standing in their way. He is placing in positions of power, those folks that Clinton had in place, that led us to 9/11.
My imagaination isn't broad enough to envision what it is that Osama is planning when he extends a welcome to Obama, telling him, he is planning a hit on us bigger than 9/11 --
We can only pray, that all those "secretive" W's executives order, his programs that extend into the next few years, will win us some time.
So far, our President Elect is running his office just as he did his time in the Senate --
Four years in the Senate. Two of those years campaigning for this job. He's already campaigning for his second term, cause, the only thing he know how to do really good, is campaign.
#6
This again speaks to the arrogance of Obama. Why would Isreal do what Obama tells it to do?
But the way I understand it, even for a moment thinking there can be any compromise until a fundamental reform of Islam is undertaken is impossible.
As I understand it, it is written in one Hadith or another that the reason the Jews lost Israel was because they refused to accept Mohammad as God's prophet and the Quran as the word of God and that the Jews would never regain Israel until they do.
So a religious Muslim can never accept that Israel exists without, by the same token, invalidating that Hadith. So unless it is decided at some high level that the Hadiths can be in error generally and that one in particular, a Muslim has no choice but to refuse to recognize Israel regardless of any land deal.
#9
All they've been doing is launching Qassam rockets and sharpening their knives.
Those rockets are being fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Fatah/PA dominated West Bank has been very quite for many months, and the Palestinian security services have been keeping a tight leash on Hamas on the West Bank, albeit for their own interests rather than Israel's security.
Why would Isreal do what Obama tells it to do?
Because America gives them $2 billion a year every year and veto's down every anti-Israel UN resolution, among other things?
#14
Frank, Darth, IMO, your posts contain two implicit assumptions.
(a) Israel is a primary concern for American Jews.
(b) Republicans are better for Israel than Democrats.
In general, I find that examining one's implicit assumptions seldom hurts---and, in many cases, could be quite enlightening.
#17
our own TW is proof that not all American Jews are Democrats, but I do think, despite condi's marathon efforts for a dead roadmap, that Israel will look back on 2000-2008 as the "good old days"
Republican voters are generally more pro-Israel than the populace, and even more so than Democrat voters and politicians. My point is not that Israel is a central interest to Jews here, but they could do better than endorse twits like Carter, Obama, Clinton, Brzezinski, et al, which are even more Paleo and Arab-loving
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/16/2008 11:21 Comments ||
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#18
Because 6 decades of policy of pressuring Israel to appease Arabs have been so rewarding to USA.
#19
Why don't we leave Isreal alone to do what they do best??? Defend themselves and their land. They have shown time and again they know how to deal with their enemies.
#20
I think a LOT of people are going to regret voting for BO. Here is a man that has NEVER made a major decision. He voted "Present" in the Illinois Senate something like 140 times. He's seldom voted on a bill that had serious repercussions. Now he's President. There's no side-stepping decisions now - he either makes them, or he abdicates his position and authority. Either is possible, but in today's world a strong leader is absolutely essential. Instead, we have an empty suit. Personally, I think he'll have a stroke or heart attack in the first two years. He's never lived with stress in any position he's ever held. Now he's in a position where stress is a constant companion. Stress kills, if you're not used to dealing with it. Biden is no better, and may actually go first. Let us pray that the Republicans can retake the House before that happens, or we'll have President Pelosi - another empty-headed fool.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/16/2008 12:49 Comments ||
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#21
"it would be 'crazy' for Israel to refuse a deal that could 'give them peace with the Muslim world'"
True, but it is also true that there can be no peace with the Muslim world as long as the Muslim world practices what it preaches. Thus any such deal is a fantasy.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Saturday asserted that while Israel does not seek to escalate violence that has been threatening to unravel a five-month truce in Gaza, it would strike back if there were further violations of the cease-fire. ...
"But we won't strike back with overwhelming force, nor will we strike back in kind, with counterfire. We'll instead check in with the European Union, the UN, and possibly with Sears, though not with Roebuck, to ensure that our actions have the seal of approval of those in the world who either don't like us or can't stand us. We'll meet each Hamas measure with a precisely calibrated half measure, to no particular end. And the voters will no doubt vote for us next election on the assumption we know what we're doing, even though it's incomprehensible to them."
Livni, a life-long leftie, has to convince her countrymen that she's a centrist if she's going to win the upcoming election. So she has to make noise about standing up to the Paleos, even though her heart is telling her to sign away East Jerusalem if it means 'peace' ...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, it is going to be up to the Israeli voters whether they want to live or commit suicide on the installment plan. Expect no support from the US; we have hope and change, but no spare change.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/16/2008 1:01 Comments ||
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World heads and human rights organizations slammed Israel's stranglehold over Gaza on Friday and urged the Jewish authorities against breaking international laws by blocking essential supplies and called on it to end its "collective punishment" of the impoverished strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Hard to figure. In everything else, the international left reveres collectivism as the sine qua non of desired approaches...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/16/2008 8:46 Comments ||
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#2
Cause "anti-Zionism" outweighs love of collectivism?
#3
Don't think of it as 'collective punishment'. Think of it as good practice for being a state.
With statehood, when your government or major players screw up, everyone suffers. Irritatating and inconvenient though it may be, it can also be quite motivating.
GAZA - Israel's policies in the Gaza Strip are strengthening the stance of extremists there, the director of UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the coastal territory, John Ging, told Haaretz last week. By not easing restrictions at crossings into the Strip during the months of the cease-fire, Israel bolstered extremists' claims that the closures represent a political, rather than security-related move.
Everything the Israelis do bolsters the extremists. That's what the papers always say. If you negotiate you bolster them; if you don't negotiate you bolster them. If you kill the extremists you bolster them (frankly I have yet to figure that one out), if you don't kill them you bolster them. Let food into Gaza and you guessed it: bolstered. Close the border: bolstered. I'm amazed the Gazooks aren't already bolstered to the point of being gods given everything the Israelis have and haven't done to bolster them.
"The extremists claimed that the Israeli closure is not related to the rockets. We said that wasn't true, we said the illegal firing of Qassams must stop, that they have no justification," Ging said. "But the stance has been strengthened in recent months that the closure is political and not security-related. There were several months of tahadiyeh [cease-fire], but no easing at the crossings. This failure to ease the crossings was political."
Ging said he is not interested in judging Israeli policy according to interpretations based on ulterior motives, but on public declarations that Israeli security must be maintained. "If the platform is security and the desire to break the cycle of violence, Israeli policy has destructive, counterproductive consequences," he said.
Ging's remarks came last Thursday morning, when Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing, which was expected to be opened after having been closed for eight days. Gas supplies were also expected to be renewed.
In the afternoon, however, Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the crossings to remain closed. European Union consuls were also prohibited from entering the Strip. According to the coordinator of Israeli government activities in the territories, Peter Lerner, "the policy today is to only allow entry when it is most critical."
Because after all you don't want to bolster them.
Ging said he does not accept the security logic during the cease-fire of only allowing humanitarian aid to the Strip. "If what is allowed to enter is only humanitarian, the entire population here is brought to a situation in which it is dependent on food aid. Is that the goal? People want to work, to create and to be rewarded for their labor, not to stand in line to receive charity," he said.
Since 1948, UNRWA, the oldest and most corrupt established aid institution in the Strip, has served the vast majority of the territory's residents, some 70 percent of whom are refugees.
That's true only if you accept that the kids and grandkids of the 1948 refugees are also refugees. Then you have to ask why their brother Arabs won't accept them. Then you remember Black September, the Lebanese civil war, Kuwait, etc. and realize why.
In recent years, some of its aid and development programs have included people who are not refugees. Ging, who has lived and worked in the Strip for three years, has become well acquainted with residents' feelings in the community. His experience tells him that a state of dependence and poverty leads to deep frustration and desperation.
But not enough frustration and desperation to have the Gazooks say, "screw it, maybe we can learn to live with the Joooz." They're never quite that desperate. Maybe it's because they've been bolstered so.
"We are not talking about how to keep people alive, but about quality of life, not only physically and materially. This way, the people's mindset and emotional state are liable to be harmed," he said.
Ging said he continues to be surprised by how people cling to their humanity, even having "lived so long in uncivilized conditions," and continue to hope their children develop and grow in better conditions.
Since the cease-fire went into place this summer, Ging said, fewer supplies have passed through the crossing than did in the beginning of 2006, when the western Negev suffered incessant Qassam rocket fire. "Why? There is no need to explain the security challenges here. We are always told that we must ensure security arrangements, and we accepted that," he said. "But no one has explained to me the security reason behind the closure of every crossing. The crossings have tremendously sophisticated security devices. No one can pass with an explosives belt or weapon without being detected."
"Explain to me why people who present no security threat are not authorized to work in Israel as in the past. I ask the Israelis, why don't you allow the entry of cement, even during the cease-fire, so we can build new schools and reduce the crowdedness in classrooms?"
Maybe it's because the Gazooks have finally convinced the Israelis that they mean what they say when they boast about killing all the Joooz someday ...
The Erez and Rafah crossings are open, Ging noted, but only for certain individuals such as the ill, business people and politicians. Senior Hamas officials may leave the Strip through the Rafah crossing, and individuals linked to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah may leave through Erez.
"One illegal action does not justify another. Where else is the UN under embargo? Where else is food aid subordinated to such severe restrictions?" Ging asked. "Why close it for certain people and open it for others? That's why so many people call it collective punishment. It's not only illegal and inhuman, but also ineffective. It only empowers the extremists."
Like everything else does ...
The policy of extended siege has proven itself to be ineffective, Ging said, adding that international observers have called for a new approach. In his view, to improve the situation, Israel should take a more positive approach and open all the crossings, ensuring freedom of movement to all people. "If indeed the goal is the stated one: to achieve security and stability to lay the foundation for peaceful relations," Ging said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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The head of UNRWA in Gaza being the prime example.
The family of two Islamist extremists executed this week for the 2002 Bali bombings criticised an Indonesian Web site for publishing close-up photos of them in funeral shrouds, a report said Saturday.
I guess they're going to be real unhappy when I use a rubber stamp to strike 'Cancelled' on each of the pics for the Burg ...
Pictures of the faces of brothers Amrozi and Mukhlas as well as ringleader Imam Samudra after they were executed by firing squad on Nov. 9 appeared on the Islamist Ar Rahmah Web site. The photos were captioned with text in Arabic and Indonesian praising the murderers as the "martyrs of the battle of Bali."
Amrozi's and Mukhlas's eyes were open but Samudra's were shut.
"The family has been trying to anticipate this as best as we can but in the end the photos were stolen," Mohammad Chozin, the elder brother of Amrozi and Mukhlas, told Detikcom news Web site. "The family hasn't had the chance yet to ask Ar Rahman about this," he said.
Lawyer Fahmi Bachmid said the images were published against the will of the dead bombers.
Then again, who asked them?
The 2002 Bali bombings by the Jemaah Islamiahmilitant network killed 202 people including 88 Australians, in what the bombers said was the defense of Islam.
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.
Speaking to the MPs at the Kenyan capital, Somalian President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed says that government is on the verge of being demolished by insurgency. 
TBILISI, GeorgiaEuropean Union cease-fire monitors in Georgia say they were shot at near a breakaway region in the former Soviet republic.
The West Bengal government has sounded a red alert throughout the state following intelligence reports that terrorists may trigger serial blasts in different parts of the state. 
NEW DELHI - More arrests are expected in the coming weeks as the frightening dimensions of a Hindu terror plot start to unravel, with investigators indicating that it had the makings of a larger conspiracy and planning of reprisal killings of Muslims for serial bombings in a number of Indian cities.
