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Human Shields to Head for Iraq
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Arabia
Kuwait authorities detain several in American’s slaying
Authorities have detained a number of people in the ambush of an SUV that killed one American and wounded another, sources at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information said Wednesday. They are described as Kuwaitis who went to Afghanistan to train with the Taliban and al Qaeda and then returned home.
Oh, that's a big surprise. How about picking up anybody who ever went to Afganistan for questioning? Meanwhile, a camera at an intersection in Kuwait City may have recorded an ambush Tuesday in which one American civilian was shot dead and another was wounded when 24 bullets were pumped into their SUV. Authorities were reviewing the images, used for traffic monitoring, to see what it shows, a Kuwaiti official said.
The video will most likely show up on a al-Qaeda website.
The U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, Richard Jones, called the incident "a terrorist attack."
No kidding!
Michael Rene Pouliot, 46, of San Diego, California, died at the scene, according to the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. David Caraway, who was driving the vehicle, suffered six gunshot wounds but is expected to survive, authorities said. Both men were contract workers for the U.S. military, employed by Tapestry Solutions, a San Diego, California-based company whose Web site says it has "specialized in the area of military modeling and simulation training tools." The men were ambushed on the road leading from Camp Doha, the main U.S. Army base in Kuwait.
Kuwaiti authorities and U.S. officials are searching for the attacker or attackers, who police said likely hid in a tree-lined area beside the road and opened fire when the Americans' vehicle pulled up to the intersection. At least 24 bullets from an AK-47 hit the vehicle, police said.
More like this to come, I fear.
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 09:02 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You can't defend every civilian everywhere in the world. The unfortunate thing is that guys like this may be hosed by insurance. Perhaps e-mails of support to their employer would be appropriate.
Posted by: Chuck || 01/22/2003 14:53 Comments || Top||


Europe
Man accused of funding ricin plot
ONE of the terrorism suspects arrested in a London mosque raid was being questioned yesterday over allegations he was the financier of the ricin poison plot.The suspect, an Algerian who entered the country as an asylum-seeker, was described by police as "a major player" in the suspected conspiracy uncovered when a makeshift poison laboratory was found in a north London flat two weeks ago. Detectives who have examined computers seized during the investigation believe he was involved in recruiting young men who worshipped at the Finsbury Park mosque, helping them with benefit claims and offering extra finance by using stolen or counterfeit credit cards. He is also suspected of providing recruits with false identification papers and disposable mobile telephones.
How can you be a good Islamist without a false ID?
The decision to mount the mosque operation - in which four other Algerians, a Somali and an Albanian were also held - was taken as a result of information recovered from the hard disks of computers seized after the discovery of traces of ricin in a flat above a Wood Green pharmacy, 5km from the mosque.
Yesterday specialist search teams were looking under the floorboards, inside ceiling cavities and behind partition walls of the mosque, while police technicians searched the memories of computers from an office used by the mosque's imam, Abu Hamza al-Masri, and his deputy, Abu Obeida.
Those computers will git you every time. Thank goodness these guys never seem to learn that hitting delete doesn't erase the data, just the link to it.
Mr Hamza became a British citizen after marrying an Englishwoman in 1985. They later divorced. He is wanted for questioning over alleged terrorism offences in Yemen, but is unlikely to be extradited because of concerns he would not be given a fair trial. He is also the subject of a grand jury investigation in Seattle over claims he tried to establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon. He has denounced any criminal or terrorist activity at the mosque as "disgusting", but insisted the police operation had been a waste of taxpayers' money.
Seems like money well spent to me.
Police have so far found a CS tear gas canister, a stun gun and a blank-firing replica pistol at the mosque and removed hundreds of documents, including forged French passports, fake French and Belgian identity cards, and counterfeit or stolen credit cards. Police said they were keen to conclude the search as quickly as possible. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "It's not in anyone's interests for us to be there any longer than is necessary, as it is a place of worship and a focus for some of the community. The length of the search depends upon how successful it is, but I think it will be completed in time for Friday's prayers."
Britain's Charity Commission, which oversees the funding of places of worship, has been trying for several weeks to expel Mr Hamza from the mosque because of his radical preaching.
The Financial Times newspaper said Mr Hamza al-Masri and his hardline supporters could lose control of the mosque under plans being drawn up by police and moderate Muslims.
According to the paper, the mosque could go back into the hands of its former Muslim trustees, sidelined since the building became a gathering place for Britain's radical Islamic movement in the late 1990s. Those reputed to have passed through Finsbury Park mosque include convicted "shoe bomber" Richard Reid and Djamel Beghal, alleged leader of a terrorist cell that planned to attack US interests in France.
I'm sure we'll find a lot more as time goes on
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 01:08 pm || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The quantity of francophone materials is intriguing. And suspicious given France's recent behavior.
Posted by: Ptah || 01/22/2003 17:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Well they were mostly Algerians..
Posted by: Paul || 01/23/2003 3:09 Comments || Top||


Greek elite may have paid to stay off hit-list
Some of Greece's richest men are believed to have paid large sums to be kept off the hit-list of the terrorist group November 17. They are said to include the family of Gianna Angelopoulos, the organiser of the 2004 Athens Olympics, and shipowner Yiannis Latsis. The blackmail came to light when Mrs Angelopoulos's husband, Theodore, gave Prime Minister Costas Simitis an extract from the diary of his uncle Dimitris, who was murdered by the gang in 1986. Mr Simitis, who wants domestic terrorists arrested before the Games, sent it to the judiciary. This week some of the biggest names in Greek banking and commerce are expected to appear before a public prosecutor as the investigation begins, most of them thought to have been held to ransom by November 17, which was cracked last year.
Dimitris Angelopoulos's note allegedly says he was approached in 1985 by the Athenian publisher of an extreme right-wing newspaper, who claimed to have access to November 17 and said he could get Mr Angelopoulos's name removed from its list for a fee. The publisher, Grigoris Michalopoulos, denies the accusation. Last summer 19 suspected members of November 17 were arrested after a botched bomb attack. There is talk that more will be detained soon.
More evidence that there is little difference between terror groups and ordinary street thugs.
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 10:32 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Fifth Column
FUROR ERUPTS OVER U.N. ’PERVY’ PROBER
Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter shouldn't have gotten a free pass after he was arrested for soliciting an underage girl in a police Internet sting, says the district attorney whose office muffed the case by dropping the charge.
"Given the nature of the offense, an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal is not an appropriate way to handle this type of case," Albany County DA Paul Clyne told The Post.
Ritter, the 41-year-old father of young twin daughters,
Somebody, please check on these girls, please!
was arrested by police in the Albany suburb of Colonie in June 2001 after luring a 16-year-old girl he met on the Internet to a Burger King, sources said. That was just two months after he was caught in a similar undercover operation involving a 14-year-old girl but was released without being charged.
His intent in the June case, sources said, was to have the teen watch while he masturbated. Ughuuuuuuuuu!
Cops say the sick scheme reportedly failed because Ritter unwittingly had set up the tryst with an undercover investigator posing as a minor, and he ended up charged with attempted child endangerment, a misdemeanor.
But there's no longer an official record of the charge - the ex-Marine's arrest record was sealed after an assistant DA, Ritter's lawyer and a town court judge worked out a deal to have the case adjourned in contemplation of dismissal (ACOD).
When that happens, a case is put on hold for six months and if the defendant keeps out of trouble, the charge is dismissed and the record is sealed. According to an upstate TV station, Ritter, who led the weapons inspection team in Iraq in the 1990s, underwent court-ordered sex-offender counseling as part of the deal. The case was kept under wraps so well that even DA Clyne didn't hear about it until late last week - when it was reported in an upstate newspaper. Clyne was so "shocked and angered" that he hadn't been told about the case, he fired Cynthia Preiser, the Queens-born assistant DA who had handled it. His action came as reports of the earlier Ritter run-in with undercover cops surfaced. In that case, in April 2001, Ritter allegedly arranged to hook up with a 14-year- old girl he met in an Internet chat site but found detectives waiting for him instead. After being questioned, Ritter was released without being charged - reportedly because his conversation with the "girl" had been too vague.
If they had known about this first case, he would have been busted the second time, maybe.
Ritter, reached by phone last night, refused to comment on either case. His lawyer, Norah Murphy, acknowledged that Ritter was arrested in June but wouldn't comment further.
Axed ADA Preiser called the Ritter arrest "a sad case," during a brief interview outside her suburban Albany home. Of her dismissal by Clyne, she said "That was his decision. Of course I'm not happy about it, but I respect his decision."
Her father, Peter Preiser, an Albany Law School professor who counts Clyne among his former students, agreed, while pointing out that the ACOD had been "approved by a judge."
"The case never ever should have been dismissed," said child advocate Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredKids.org, a nonprofit Internet safety and health group.
"The problem is that people have trouble seeing white, middle-class, well-educated men as potential child molesters - not just ADAs, but judges and juries as well," she said.
Ritter is toast, no one is going to go anywhere near him or publish his views on Saddam now. Talk on DailyPundit is that they think he may soon "eat his gun".
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 03:32 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sorry for double post, computer hiccuped.
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 15:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Fixed it...
Posted by: Fred || 01/22/2003 16:29 Comments || Top||

#3  is it possible he was working for the US government? Sacrifice comes in all forms. that way:
1 the message was controlled, a vacuum filled
2 he spoke from the seat of government in Irag, demonstrating to Iraqis what freedom is about
3 he's busted this week!? credibility gone, can fade away...
Posted by: Anonymous || 01/22/2003 18:09 Comments || Top||


Ritter cancels trip to Iraq amid reports about his past
A former U-N weapons inspector has canceled a trip to Iraq, after reports surfaced about his past. Scott Ritter tells the Times Union of Albany, New York that he changed his mind about the trip. He planned to leave yesterday to offer Baghdad advice on how to avoid a war with the United States.
Dirt's out in the open now, his usefulness to Saddam is over
Ritter lives in suburban Albany, where area news reports had revealed he was arrested in 2001 in an Internet sex sting.
Police reportedly accused him of trying to lure what he thought was a 16-year-old girl he met on the Internet -- but the charge was later dismissed and the records sealed. There were also reports that Ritter had been investigated months before his arrest for a similar incident.
That was with the 14 year old girl, who turned out to be a police officer
Ritter had served as chief U-N weapons inspector in Iraq during the 1990s.
"Scott Ritter inspects his own weapon, next on Donahue!"
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 03:20 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ya think it might be a good idea to yank this guys passport?
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/22/2003 16:22 Comments || Top||

#2  What about the book offer?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 16:29 Comments || Top||

#3  Even mohammed would have disapproved: The girl was too old.
Posted by: Ptah || 01/22/2003 17:42 Comments || Top||

#4  He probably remembered that there are no Burger Kings there. Heck, if war broke out and he and the rest of the Iraqis began mass surrenders, his "Home of the Whopper" underwear would really stand out.
Posted by: Mike Cakora || 01/22/2003 18:22 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Punjab govt. to soon start operation against Al-Qaeda, fundos
LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to conduct a grand operation against the suspected members of Al-Qaeda and the banned religious organizations. Reliable sources disclosed that there are reports about suspected members of these organizations involved in terrorist activities are hiding in Faisalabad, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Jhan and other parts of the Punjab province. The country's agencies including police have prepared the lists of the suspected people and sent them to the four provinces for launching the operation against anti-social elements. The operation against the suspected terrorists is expected to be started in the first week of February.
Punjab and Sindh might try to do something. I'd guess that the dwindling minority of non-lunar Pakistanis is getting tired of life with the fundos by now. I'd also guess that their numbers have dwindled too much for them to take the country back from the Pashtuns and Baluchs.
President General Pervez Musharraf during his last year's address had banned certain religious organizations involved in terrorist activities. The announcement was widely appreciated by the public. The security agencies have arrested several members of the defunct religious organizations and Al-Qaeda from Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad and other areas of the country allegedly involved in terrorist activities.
Meanwhile, the killer fundos have continued their policies of murdering people right and left. I guess things could have gotten worse if they hadn't been banned, but it's hard to see how.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 01/22/2003 02:53 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "The operation against the suspected terrorists is expected to be started in the first week of February."

1) Have to make room on my calendar... first week of February's already pretty full.
2) Mebbe they're planning on waiting for the fundos to come out in protest of the Iraq invasion, then SNATCH.
Posted by: Old Grouch || 01/22/2003 17:02 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Trip of General Richard Myers to Turkey failed because...
Source is "Turkish news papers"... Fred
Trip of General Richard Myers to Turkey failed because the Turkish MIT (intelligence) provided evidence that the US intelligence service is keeping contacts with the Kurdish terror organisation PKK/Kadek (on the US terror list).

Chairman of the Turkish Joint Chiefs of Staff general Hilmi Özkök expressed to general Myers his discomfort about US contacts with leading members of a terrorist organisation. Especially after the US fight against terror of sept 11th, this event showed a serious contrast of honesty in the war against terror.
Turkish intelligence sources have confirmed that some senior US officials had held talks with representatives of the outlawed PKK-KADEK, which has conducted an 18 year long campaign of separatist terror against Turkey.
It is believed that the contacts took place in Northern Iraq. Washington has denied that any talks were conducted by government officials, saying that those who had met with PKK-KADEK members had no link with the US government. Ankara has warned that such meetings are contradictory to the US-led international campaign to combat terrorism, launched after the September 11 2001 attacks in the US. The issue of the meetings was brought up during the recent visit of the US head of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, to Ankara by the Chief of the Turkish General Staff, General Hilmi Özkok.
Posted by: Murat || 01/22/2003 02:11 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The link is broken and a google search yielded zero results. I think this story is bogus.
Posted by: MJH || 01/22/2003 8:15 Comments || Top||

#2  The mass circulation Turkish daily Cumhuriyet claims in its Jan 21 edition (p.5) that the U.S. is "using" the Kurds of Iraqi Kurdistan to put pressure on Turkey and push it into offering full assistance to the invasion. According to this report, the PKK has put out a call to all its fighters to converge on mountain staging areas inaccessible to the Turkish army. If this report is true, it appears plausible that some kind of contact between American intelligence and PKK fighters is already established.
Posted by: Nik Karanikos || 01/22/2003 9:35 Comments || Top||

#3  It will be interesting to see how this story finally shakes out: bogus, playing the same game to Turkey as they play to us, or our just getting tired of the shakedown game and movin' on with business.....
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 10:01 Comments || Top||

#4  I can imagine it now: "Yes, you'll get a Kurdish state. You have to understand, it will be part of the NATION of Iraq, but you'll have your own state. We'll back you on this if you lay off Turkey. Do what you want to Iran, so long as the mullahs are running things. OK? Good."
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 01/22/2003 16:14 Comments || Top||


Axis of Evil
U.S. Sees Hints of ’Unrest’ in Iraqi Leadership
U.S. intelligence has picked up "indications about unrest" among Iraqi leaders faced with possible war with U.S.-led forces, the Pentagon's top general said on Wednesday, without offering any evidence. Myers, chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there were hints some of Saddam's senior supporters might be cracking under the pressure from the United States and Britain for Iraq's president to step down.
"There are some indications about unrest in some of the Iraqi leadership. But just hints. We have not seen anything (about) purges" by Saddam, Myers said.
More stories like this that are floated, and there will be. And isn't that the point of the whole exercise? Bwahhahaha!
Declining to provide details or to say how Washington had obtained such hints of any unrest, the general said the United States had seen only small troop movements in Iraq but nothing unusual "and nothing to show that the military hierarchy isn't responding to orders."
Hint!
Myers said Saddam had taken steps to ensure support among military leaders. "We know, I think, that the regime has taken measures to enforce loyalty ... extra measures by populating some of the major (military) units with people they consider loyal," he told reporters.
Saddam's close relatives and clan members. He falls, they swing.

Myers, speaking as the U.S. and British militaries continued to send tens of thousands of troops, warships and aircraft to the Gulf, cautioned against assuming that the United States would not launch an attack in Iraq's brutal summer heat beginning in late April or May. "No. Weather is not a factor. We have talked about this a great deal," he said in response to questions.
He noted that such combat would be difficult, particularly if U.S. and British troops had to don restrictive suits for protection against potential biological or chemical attack.
"We have discussed this at great length with General (Tommy) Franks and the service chiefs and the combat commanders and there is no doubt that -- no matter what time of year -- we can fight and prevail," Myers said. Franks is head of the U.S. military's Central Command and would preside over any war with Iraq. "We will do better in that (summer desert) environment than any potential adversary. Not that we're going to wait that long. And part of that is enabled by the fact that we can fight at night," said Myers. "We are as good at night as we are in the daytime. That is not true of most forces and it would give us a tremendous edge."
One week from now, two at the most.
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 02:46 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Your comments are excellent! This is propoganda pure and simply. There will be no coup until US troops are in Baghdad. As far as fighting in the summer, these comments are misleading. The average temperature is about 120. Try fighting in a chem suit in that! Best bet for an attack will be the last week of Feb. But where's the beef? The 1st Armored, 1st Cavalry, 82nd and 101st have not deployed. Unless a radical new strategy is being used where are the ground forces? All troops will require about ten days to get used to the climate. Watch for the use of an electro magnetic pulse weapon and carbon fibers to disrupt power grids. Finally watch for the deployment of F-117s and B-2s.
Posted by: TJ Jackson || 01/22/2003 21:48 Comments || Top||

#2  TJ, try this for a timeline:

Feb. 2 -- coordinated air attacks begin
Feb. 2, five minutes later -- we have air supremacy
Feb. 2 through 21 -- ground forces arrive and move to their start lines. Think of it as "just in time" infantry, just like General Motors uses.
Feb. 21 through 25 -- ground forces move into Iraq and establish key positions in countryside
Feb. 25 through Mar. 3 -- Allied forces consolidate hold on countryside; air attacks start to focus on hard-core Republican Guard units in Baghdad
Mar. 3 through 10 -- Tikrit falls
Mar. 10 through 24 -- encirclement of Baghdad complete, civilians stream out to holding/relocation centers
Mar. 24 through Apr. 5 -- assault on Baghdad, strangely reminescent of WWII assault on Aachen
Apr. 6 -- VI day.

How's that?
Posted by: Steve White || 01/22/2003 21:55 Comments || Top||


U.S. Promises to Hold Iraqi Oil ’In Trust’
Secretary of State Colin Powell promised that a U.S. military occupation would hold Iraq's oilfields "in trust" for the Iraqi people. In an interview with U.S. newspapers on Tuesday, released by the State Department on Wednesday, Powell said the Bush administration was studying different models for managing the Iraqi oil industry if the United States invades.
"If we are the occupying power, it will be held for the benefit of the Iraqi people and it will be operated for the benefit of the Iraqi people," he said. "How will we operate it? How best to do that? We are studying different models. But the one thing I can assure you of is that it will be held in trust for the Iraqi people, to benefit the Iraqi people. That is a legal obligation that the occupying power will have," he added.
Say goodbye to those oil concessions, France. Anybody else want to veto? Russia? Hello?
Powell said the U.S. military would not want to run Iraq for long after a possible invasion but he declined to speculate how long U.S. troops would stay in the country.
Bet the neighbors are real interested too!
"There is no desire for the United States armed forces to remain in charge or to run a country for any length of time beyond that which is necessary to make sure that there is an appropriate form of government to take over from the initial military occupation," he said.
"Which is why we will be leaving Germany as soon as the movers arrive"
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 02:35 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'll personaly be glad to store about 19 gallons of gasoline in my pickup, in trust, of course.
Posted by: Chuck || 01/22/2003 14:57 Comments || Top||

#2  I really think the administrators of the trust (Hey! That's us!) should be allowed to charge a service fee. 10% sounds fair to me.
Posted by: Denny || 01/22/2003 20:15 Comments || Top||


Chuck's blog...
If you haven't been to Chuck's blog, drop by and say hello. He writes well, it's nicely laid out, and there's a scantily clad maiden... Hey! Where'd everybody go?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 01/22/2003 02:37 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Appreciate the link. Thanks!

The maidens (loosely described) are found at this page.
Posted by: Chuck || 01/22/2003 14:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Fromm your posts I thought you'd look different Chuck....instead it's remininscent of Josie and the Pussycats in the weather window...whazup?
Posted by: Frank G || 01/22/2003 17:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Just my weather ho'. They have "guy" weather pixies but way too, er, just way too for me.
Posted by: Chuck || 01/22/2003 17:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Ok - the chicks are very nice...I withdraw nay previous gratuitous sarcasm
Posted by: Frank G || 01/22/2003 17:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Yeah, real nice, next you're going to tell us that they're all just good friends :-)
Posted by: Steve White || 01/22/2003 21:49 Comments || Top||


Axis of Evil
Bush Issues War Crimes Warning to Iraqi Generals
President Bush warned the Iraqi military on Wednesday they would be prosecuted as war criminals if they used chemical or biological weapons on U.S. troops in the event of an attack on Iraq.
"There'll be serious consequences for any general or soldier who were to use weapons of mass destruction on our troops or innocent lives within Iraq," Bush said in a speech in St. Louis.
Bush also said there would be "serious consequences" for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein if the United States had to disarm him by force.
"Hanging's too good for him! Burning's too good for him! He should be torn into little pieces and buried alive!"
He did not elaborate, but a "regime change" in Iraq has been a long-standing administration policy. As a way to step up pressure on Saddam, U.S. officials have supported the idea of amnesty for senior Iraqi leaders in hopes of producing a change in leadership short of war, such as a coup or exile.
Not much hope, but hey, worth a try
Bush's comments, a repeat of similar remarks he made in the fall, came at a critical time with the Pentagon building up forces in the Gulf and the president vowing to lead a coalition of willing nations to attack Iraq if Saddam does not disarm.
"Should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from Saddam Hussein or his sons or any of the killers who occupy the high levels of their government, my advice is don't follow that order," Bush said. "If you choose to do so, when Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried and persecuted as a war criminal."
Print this on the leaflets/whiteflags we're dropping on Iraq.
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 02:17 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I think that this exile idea is just BS for the airwaves. Saddam is programmed to plot and kill. It is in his genes. We don't want him setting up another business, anywhere. He seems to have the ability to organize things into big things. The toast alternative is the digestible one.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 16:06 Comments || Top||

#2  This is proganda. If there were war srimes trails can you image Ramsey Clark etc. Worse can you image the UN? Best to turn the whole lot over to the Iraqis whose judgement is better than French olympic skating judges.
Posted by: TJ Jackson || 01/22/2003 21:53 Comments || Top||

#3  Hey, did Bush really say "persecuted" as a war criminal, or is that a typo for "prosecuted"?

Not that persecuted doesn't sound just about right....
Posted by: parallel || 01/22/2003 21:58 Comments || Top||

#4  First you prosecute him, then after conviction you persecute him. Bush was not rigorous in his message syntax.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 22:21 Comments || Top||

#5  Think of it as a verbal typo. The Dems prefer to think it's a sign of a weak mind, rather than a brain that works faster than his tongue.
Posted by: Fred || 01/22/2003 22:40 Comments || Top||


Khatami says US looking for pretext to attack Iraq
President Mohammad Khatami here Wednesday said that US was looking for a pretext to attack Iraq in the face of UN opposition, but he hoped that the Security Council could do something to stop Washington.
Where's he been? We've already got our "pretext"...
Asked about US and Britain's proposal to Saddam Hussein to voluntarily quit power in order to avert a war, the Iranian president said, "We believe that any change of government in Iraq must come from its people since this will benefit both Iraqis and the region. We think it is wrong to interfere in Iraq in order to change its government. We do not propose a government to quit power by force. However, Iraq must definitely submit to international principles."
Or what? Someone will declare war on him and throw him out on his ear? Unless that's the alternative, he's got no incentive for submitting to "international principles." Neither does Iran — but after Sammy's gone, they might.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 01/22/2003 02:24 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Just what are international principles? Please cite references.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 16:09 Comments || Top||


Iran opposes US ouster of Saddam
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Wednesday that the United States should not be able to remove Iraq's government by force. "If the United States has the right to change the government of another country by force this is not something that we can (accept)," he told deputies at the European parliament.
"If they can do it to Sammy, what's to stop them from thinkin' 'ayatollahs' next?"
"We believe this is the right of people to change their government, not the right of others from outside," he added.
"And if they live under a theocracy or some other kind of dictatorship, where they can't, that's their tough luck..."
Kharrazi, who is preparing for a regional meeting on the crisis in Turkey, was quoted in Tehran as saying that Iraq's neighbours must work to prevent a US attack against Baghdad.
Maybe they should have been doing that all along?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 01/22/2003 02:20 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hey Khatami. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Posted by: Denny || 01/22/2003 20:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Ayatollah you so!
Posted by: Mike || 01/22/2003 21:39 Comments || Top||


Kharrazi urges Europe to support Iran’s religious democracy
WARNING! KEYBOARD ALERT! PUT THE COFFEE DOWN!
In a landmark speech in the European Parliament Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Kamal Kharrazi called on Europe to support the Islamic Republic's reform process and its style of religious democracy. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is experiencing a style of democracy based on its religious beliefs and cultural traditions with deep respect for internationally recognized principles."
a style of democracy based on jailing and killing anyone who disagrees with the mullahs in charge
"Our success in this new experience is challenged by some extremist forces in the region who have depicted a violent and horrific picture of Islam," Looked in the mirror, did you? Kharrazi told the Foreign Relations Committee. "Therefore, it is the common responsibility of all peace-loving and democratic countries to support Iran politically and economically to make its experience a success," he said.
"Or we send our terror boomers after you"
Kharrazi, the first Iranian foreign minister to address the European Parliament, said: "This is a process that needs to be appreciated and supported. The road to reform is not an easy one. We must be patient and realisitic. Any hasty decision would undermine the entire process."
"And I'll end up swinging from a lamp post"
There's more, but my eyeballs started bleeding reading it.
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 01:51 pm || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I am asking the obvious, but why did the European Parliament ask him to speak...diversity training, or what?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 16:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Birds of a feather, Paul, birds of a feather ...
Posted by: Steve White || 01/22/2003 22:06 Comments || Top||


U.S. Tosses North Korea Crisis to Security Council
While North Korean delegates visiting Seoul put on a charm offensive to try to enlist support from South Korea, a U.S. official said here today that the U.N. Security Council will be asked this week to deal with the Stalinist state's nuclear ambitions. Referral of the issue to the Security Council would set up a showdown with North Korea, which has said U.N. approval of sanctions would be "tantamount to war."
Deputy Undersecretary of State John Bolton said: "I don't think it's a question of if it goes to the Security Council." He said Beijing and Seoul have agreed and "we're confident that it will get there by the end of this week."
Hot Potato! Hot potato! Here, catch!
The International Atomic Energy Agency, which can refer North Korea's nuclear violations to the U.N. body, was late today still considering when to schedule a meeting of its board of governors. Bolton said after visiting Seoul and Beijing, there was "agreement" that the IAEA should notify the Security Council of North Korea's eviction of IAEA inspectors and declaration that it was withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But at a press conference here, Bolton sidestepped the question of whether the United States would push for sanctions against North Korea. "The Security Council has a broad range of options it can consider -- political, economic and other," he said. "The issue of taking the matter to the Security Council and the question of sanctions are two entirely separate matters. The Security Council has dealt with a large range of issues, only a small number of which have economic sanctions been imposed," he said.
And we all know how effective those sanctions have been.
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 01:27 pm || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Putting NK on the UNSC will keep France, et al entertained while we do the heavy lifting elsewhere.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 13:45 Comments || Top||

#2  What would be nice is an effective (yes, this means you, China) blockade of (uninspected)exports. As long as they aren't exporting, time is on our side
Posted by: Frank G || 01/22/2003 13:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Jimmy Carter is almost done in Venezuela. Why don't we send him back to North Korea? That will keep the NK's occupied for a while.
Posted by: Denny || 01/22/2003 20:20 Comments || Top||

#4  This is evidence of Bush's going woobly on North Korea. The more North Korea rattles its saber the more the US backs down. The key to this is the PRC. North Korea will continue its policies unless the PRC exerts pressure. And if you believe this then how about hiring NAMBLA to babysit your little boys.
Posted by: TJ Jackson || 01/22/2003 21:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Remember TJ, we want to deal with our enemies one at a time, not all at once. Remember, diplomacy is the fine art of saying "nice doggie" while you look for a rock.

I think (I hope) the Bush people are just playing along here, knowing that time is on our side. Every day we don't ship oil or food the NKors get weaker, and every day we get closer to resolving Iraq. With a bit of luck and some skillful planning, the NKors will implode just like those old buildings do when you set the charges just right -- nuttin' but a small cloud of dust.

So it's okay for now for the Bush admin team to talk about what we might do to be nice. Just as long as we don't DO any of it.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/22/2003 22:11 Comments || Top||


Aussie troops on way to Gulf
MOBILISATION of Australian forces to the Middle East will start today in preparation for war against Iraq. Troop carrier HMAS Kanimbla will leave Sydney, carrying a Sea King helicopter, amphibious landing craft, surface-to-air weapons and bomb experts. SAS soldiers will be officially farewelled in Perth on Friday, but their actual deployment date is being kept secret.
And a RAAF reconnaissance team to pave the way for F/A-18 Hornets is ready to leave. Codenamed Operation Bastille, the advance deployment is billed as an attempt to frighten Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein into disarming.
Operation Bastille - suggests that they consider Iraq a prison they plan to liberate, love those Aussies!
But it now appears a foregone conclusion that Australia will be involved in any new Gulf war. Defence Minister Robert Hill yesterday conceded the troop build-up would add to fears Australia would join any US-led action. "I understand that and that is a reasonable inference," Senator Hill said.
But he said no decision had been taken to join American strikes against Baghdad, holding out hope a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis could be found.
"Hell might freeze over first, but I doubt it"
"We are putting the forces there as a pre-deployment in case we make this decision to join a coalition to forcibly disarm Saddam Hussein," Senator Hill said. The troops also needed time to acclimatise to working with US and British allies, he said. But steps towards war gathered pace when a frustrated US President George W. Bush vowed to disarm Saddam with a "coalition of the willing". "How much more time do we need to see clearly that he is not disarming?" Mr Bush said. Insisting the military build-up intensified diplomatic pressure on Iraq, Senator Hill strengthened Australia's forward deployment beyond levels previously announced.
In addition to special forces soldiers, frigates and aircraft, the minister foreshadowed potential deployment of specialist troops trained to deal with biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. They would form part of a support contingent to back up elite special forces if they go into action.
Other potential support elements ordered for preparation include CH-47 Chinook troop helicopters, C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, a commando unit and navy clearance divers.
The Government has also left open the option of deploying up to 14 F/A-18s. The Australians are headed to join more than 150,000 US and British troops already in position in the Persian Gulf. Prime Minister John Howard will officiate at today's farewell ceremony for the Kanimbla, which will join two other frigates already on patrol in the Gulf.
Welcome aboard, mates!
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 12:58 pm || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  maybe the choice of Bastille as the op name is a poke in the eye to the surrender monkeys?
Posted by: Frank G || 01/22/2003 13:14 Comments || Top||

#2  I was right!
DEFENCE Minister Robert Hill said it was a "reasonable inference" Australia would now take part in an attack on Iraq should a campaign get the green light. His comments came as the deployment finally earned a codename "Operation Bastille". As the French stormed the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789 marking the birth of the republic and freeing the French from royal tyranny - military planners believe Australia will play its part in storming Baghdad and getting rid of the tyrant Saddam Hussein.
I'm sure, Frank, that poking a stick in France's eye never occured to them. (wink)

Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 13:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!
Posted by: seafarious || 01/22/2003 13:34 Comments || Top||

#4  The Aussies are truly one of our least-celebrated/appreciated allies, and seem to be there with us, along with the Brits, of course, when it hits the fan. Good call Steve!
Posted by: Frank G || 01/22/2003 13:50 Comments || Top||

#5  Off Topic...Tim Blair is collecting donations for the victims of the Canberra fires. Please drop by his blog and give what you can. He's offering a linky-link to any bloggers that donate five dollars or more, but I think we should give...just because!
Posted by: seafarious || 01/22/2003 14:11 Comments || Top||

#6  I think we're begining to see who our real friends are around the world. The Aussies are one of them, getting charter membership in Pax Anglosphera
Posted by: Mark Byron || 01/22/2003 21:03 Comments || Top||

#7  Maybe we can coax the Aussies out of the Commonwealth and into Nafta.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 22:25 Comments || Top||


Middle East
Jordan court acquits 10 men of plan to attack US, Israeli targets
Jordan's military court Wednesday acquitted 10 men of charges they planned to carry out attacks against US and Israeli targets, but sentenced eight of them to one year in prison for trying to illegally buy weapons. The court's presiding judge, Col. Fawaz al-Buqour, said there was "no evidence" to substantiate that the 10 men had planned to carry out attacks.
Al-Buqour acquitted two on all charges, including prime suspect Wael Yasser al-Shalabi, 29 and handed down one-year prison terms for each of the remaining eight, saying they had attempted to either buy or sell weapons illegally. The ruling can be appealed. Prosecutors had maintained al-Shalabi was behind a plot to carry out an armed attack on Americans in an upscale Amman neighborhood. Security officials have noted they had no links to Osama bin Laden or other terror groups outside the kingdom. But the prosecution at the military State Security Court said al-Shalabi had received training in Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
No link at all then. Just a bunch of Jordanian "elk hunters"
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 12:47 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Axis of Evil
35,000 British troops heading for the Gulf... and he doesn't like it.
‘A total of 35,000 British troops are now heading to the Gulf, where they will join 125,000 US forces already gearing up for action.’
Yet our glorious leader Blair declares ‘war is not the only option’! When are you going to stop lying?!?!
‘the anti-war camp is right to allege that at the heart of the current campaign is a severe double standard. Western inaction, even indulgence, of North Korea - where Washington was overcome with eagerness to talk and to avoid force - proves not the risk, but the value of having weapons of mass destruction, or WMDs. Pyongyang has them, so the US leaves it alone; Baghdad does not yet have them, so it's set to get invaded. In other words, if you really do pose a threat, you're safe. If you don't, you're in danger. What better advert for the Bomb could there be! The lesson a second Gulf war will teach the dictators of the world is: buy weapons of mass destruction now. As Kim Jong Il has proved, a nuke a day keeps the Yanks away. ’
I couldn't have put it better myself.
Posted by: Awkward Porcupine || 01/22/2003 02:00 pm || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, until the first bomb drops, war is not the only option.

I think that, if nothing else, we needed a workup like this for the military. It's been twelve years and the staff weenies are going to get a lot of work out of learning from this buildup. We're learning logistical lessons without the pressure of a deadline. Lessons learned under pressure have a habit of killing troops. So, the build up is a good thing no matter what else happens.

And I still think Saddam gets Excedrin Headache number .45.
Posted by: Chuck || 01/22/2003 12:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Cheese, people, the NOKs are China's problem. Not to mention their stalking horse. "China is to North Korea as teeth are to lips."

Wanna start a war with a country containing around 1/5 of the human species? One that is and has been nuclear armed with working delivery systems? Does the name MacArthur ring a bell?

Posted by: mojo || 01/22/2003 12:07 Comments || Top||

#3  "Pyongyang has them (nukes), so the US leaves it alone; Baghdad does not yet have them, so it's set to get invaded."

Yep, that pretty much covers it. So we crush Saddam to make sure he doesn't get nukes, and then destroy the current regime in NK by indirect means.

Who said that the left-right divide is unbreachable?
Posted by: Patrick Phillips || 01/22/2003 12:51 Comments || Top||

#4  The Bushies will start talking to the NKors. And talking. And talking. And talking, until the last NKor slave is eaten by the NKor army, and they will have to serve Dear Leader for dinner.
Posted by: Peter || 01/22/2003 14:00 Comments || Top||

#5  Dear Leader won't be eaten by his army, he'll have his army eat those put on KP one by one. Then the last NKOR soldier will be eaten by the last NKOR leader.
Posted by: Tresho || 01/22/2003 19:11 Comments || Top||

#6  Just don't make the mistake of thinking NKor's hereditary dictator is the one in charge. I'd guess there's a considerable amount of infighting going on in the politburo right now. I also think that when Dear Leader goes, it'll be overnight - he'll die in bed, but there won't be a postmortem. It could be this year, too...

No evidence, just a feeling.
Posted by: Fred || 01/22/2003 22:46 Comments || Top||


Home Front
Hokey Smokes Bullwinkle!: Even Tom Friedman Gets it!
Thinking About Iraq (I)
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
No member of the VRWC, he.

As the decision on Iraq approaches,6 days and counting by the denbeste clock I, like so many Americans, have had to ask myself: What do you really think? Today I explain why I think liberals under-appreciate the value of removing Saddam Hussein. And on Sunday I will explain why conservatives under-appreciate the risks of doing so — and how we should balance the two.

What liberals fail to recognize is that regime change in Iraq is not some distraction from the war on Al Qaeda. That is a bogus argument. And simply because oil is also at stake in Iraq doesn't make it illegitimate either. Some things are right to do, even if Big Oil benefits.Note to class: we have more oil off the coast of California than there is in Iraq. Although many have suggested it, no one is yet bombing California for oil.

Although President Bush has cast the war in Iraq as being about disarmament — and that is legitimate — disarmament is not the most important prize there. Regime change is the prize. Regime transformation in Iraq could make a valuable contribution to the war on terrorism, whether Saddam is ousted or enticed into exile.
This is kinda like the old joke about 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the sea constituting a good start.
Why? Because what really threatens open, Western, liberal societies today is not Saddam and his weapons per se. He is a twisted dictator who is deterrable through conventional means. Because Saddam loves life more than he hates us. What threatens Western societies today are not the deterrables, like Saddam, but the undeterrables — the boys who did 9/11, who hate us more than they love life. It's these human missiles of mass destruction that could really destroy our open society.

So then the question is: What is the cement mixer that is churning out these undeterrables — these angry, humiliated and often unemployed Muslim youth? That cement mixer is a collection of faltering Arab states, which, as the U.N.'s Arab Human Development Report noted, have fallen so far behind the world their combined G.D.P. does not equal that of Spain. And the reason they have fallen behind can be traced to their lack of three things: freedom, modern education and women's empowerment. Tom fails to mention that each and every one of them is also a socialist state, once again begging the question "when has socialism ever helped anyone?"

If we don't help transform these Arab states — which are also experiencing population explosions — to create better governance, to build more open and productive economies, to empower their women and to develop responsible media that won't blame all their ills on others, we will never begin to see the political, educational and religious reformations they need to shrink their output of undeterrables.

We have partners. Trust me, there is a part of every young Arab today that recoils at the idea of a U.S. invasion of Iraq, because of its colonial overtones. But there is a part of many young Arabs today that prays the U.S. will not only oust Saddam but all other Arab leaders as well.

It is not unreasonable to believe that if the U.S. removed Saddam and helped Iraqis build not an overnight democracy but a more accountable, progressive and democratizing regime, it would have a positive, transforming effect on the entire Arab world — a region desperately in need of a progressive model that works.
And truth be told, it's the real reason why so many are against our taking action there, it just might work.
And liberals need to take heed. Just by mobilizing for war against Iraq, the U.S. has sent this region a powerful message: We will not leave you alone anymore to play with matches, because the last time you did, we got burned. Just the threat of a U.S. attack has already prompted Hezbollah to be on its best behavior in Lebanon (for fear of being next). And it has spurred Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah to introduce a proposal to his fellow Arab leaders for an "Arab Charter" of political and economic reform.

Let me sum up my argument with two of my favorite sayings. The first is by Harvard's president, Lawrence Summers, who says: "In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car." It is true of countries as well. Until the Arab peoples are given a real ownership stake in their countries — a real voice in how they are run — they will never wash them, never improve them as they should.

The second is an American Indian saying — "If we don't turn around now, we just may get where we're going." The Arab world has been digging itself into a hole for a long time. If our generation simply helps it stop digging, possibly our grandchildren and its own will reap the benefits. But if we don't help the Arabs turn around now, they just may get where they're going — a dead end where they will produce more and more undeterrables.

This is something liberals should care about — because liberating the captive peoples of the Mideast is a virtue in itself and because in today's globalized world, if you don't visit a bad neighborhood, it will visit you.

Once upon a time, liberals were against tyranny and for liberty. Todays liberals see it the other way around.
Posted by: Frank Martin || 01/22/2003 11:27 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  joe lieberman and John edwards still see it he right way, We'll see where everyone else lines up after the 27th.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 01/22/2003 14:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, one man's tyrant is another man's...ah, hell. My forehead's looking funny these days from constantly hitting it on my keyboard.
Posted by: seafarious || 01/22/2003 12:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Calif vs. Iraq oil: The amount of easily recoverable oil off the Calif coast is an order of magnitude less than the easily recoverable oil in Iraq. A current comparison of the ultimately recoverable oil in CA vs. Iraq is not really doable because different exploration patterns were used for these two reservoirs. Also, natural gas reserves off the CA coast are easily brought to consuption markets but this is not the case in Iraq which has far more natural gas than can be sold (unless new pipelines are constructed)
Posted by: mhw || 01/22/2003 13:21 Comments || Top||

#4  "In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car."

Don't mean to get off topic, but I did. 5 years ago, Irvine California. Parked a red rental under a tree at night on the street. Buzzards crapped all over it. It was awful!
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 16:45 Comments || Top||

#5  A year ago Friedman was still talking solely to liberal/transnational progressive elites here at home and abroad. Then he started talking to real people who voiced the frustration of living under an oppressive regime like that in Egypt. Then he started talking to common folks and finally grasped that the Syrian, Iranian, and Iraqi leaderships are corrupt and despised. Took some time, but he’s learning.
Posted by: Mike Cakora || 01/22/2003 18:30 Comments || Top||

#6  I did it first. In 1980 I rented a car to go camping in the New Mexico desert. After a week it was so filthy, I washed it at a DIY place so I wouldn't get dirty every time I brushed against it.
Come to think of it, that could make a good analogy for US relationships with so many Muslim countries -- the people have no ownership stake, the countries have become filthy, and the dirt is rubbing off on US!
Posted by: Tresho || 01/22/2003 19:23 Comments || Top||

#7  Friedman's typically 2/3rds conventional wisdom and 1/3 anti-idiotarian. The last third snuck out.
Posted by: Mark Byron || 01/22/2003 21:08 Comments || Top||


Axis of Evil
US kicks aside EU resistance
President George Bush has rejected European attempts to continue weapons inspections in Iraq until March and his administration is beginning to lay out a case for a military strike soon. Responding to French Government attempts to forestall war with Iraq, Mr Bush repeated his threat that "time is running out for Saddam Hussein". Overriding claims by the French and German foreign ministers that President Saddam is being contained by the inspections, Mr Bush said: "It is clear to me now that he is not disarming. And surely our friends have learned lessons from the past".
He played the Hitler card again.
In what appeared to be a test of France's opposition to war, Mr Bush said the US would lead a "coalition of the willing" in a war against Iraq. Australia would be expected to join that campaign. In response, France said it would ask the European Union to support its opposition. The EU on Tuesday rejected a war on Iraq without United Nations backing. It said weapons inspectors must have time to do their job. EU President and Prime Minister of Greece Costas Simitis said a war would harm peace and stability in the Middle East.
There's peace and stability in the Middle East?
The US is believed to be close to the end of its patience with France, which has told the US not to bother presenting a resolution on Iraq to the UN Security Council in coming weeks, because it would not let it pass.
OK, we won't. Works for me.
At the same time, one of the US administration's most senior foreign policy officials, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, foreshadowed some of the arguments in the US case for war against Iraq that Mr Bush is expected to make next week in his State of the Union address.
Tuesday, January 28th should be a interesting day.
Speaking to the US Institute of Peace, Mr Armitage insisted that "thousands and thousands of weapons" in Iraq remained unaccounted for in its weapons declaration given in December.
The speech was part of a process by the Bush administration to step up its public relations case for war. The administration has opened an Office of Global Communications that yesterday released a report on Iraqi propaganda called Apparatus of Lies.
The report, distributed at the speech by Mr Armitage, features black-and-white military photographs from the 1991 Gulf War and heated rhetoric that leave no doubt about the administration's antipathy for President Saddam. "This report shines light on the apparatus used by Saddam Hussein and his cadres to deceive the Iraqi people and the international community. The oppressive and totalitarian nature of Saddam Hussein's regime enables his . . . deceit," it said.
A final section, "Conclusion: The Lies Continue", said Saddam's friends had been asked to serve as human shields in the event of US military action. Mr Armitage said the report "goes over some of the sordid history of distortion" by Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War: "I commend it to you to the extent that the past is prologue." He said the State Department was working to avoid war, but "the next few days and the next few weeks will show us if we're going to be able to prevent such a scenario from unfolding. And I wish I were here to tell you that I am optimistic."
31 January is the meeting between Bush and Blair at Camp David. Blair will want to be back in London before the announcement that the fights on, don't you think.
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 10:36 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Saddam's friends had been asked to serve as human shields in the event of US military action.<\i>

Man, that's being blunt, telling it like it is.

"It is clear to me now that he is not disarming. And surely our friends have learned lessons from the past".
He played the Hitler card again.

Damn straight! I'm proud of my President!

Posted by: Ptah || 01/22/2003 10:57 Comments || Top||


Turkish Press Reports
These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on January 22, 2003. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The U.S. which could not get a positive response from Turkey regarding the opening of a northern front, decided to make the south of Iraq as the ''main centre'' and the north of Iraq as the ''support centre.'' Turkey conveyed its wish to the U.S. that it wanted to ensure control in a circle of 70 kilometers starting from the 12th kilometer of the Iraqi border to the west. The control of the region carries great importance as the terrorist organization PKK can benefit from the chaotic atmosphere that can come out in the region. It is also important in order to decrease the risk of formation of a Kurdish state.

U.S. officials at Incirlik Base opened a tender for bunks and beds. Around 4,000 bunks and 8,000 mattresses will be bought for soldiers who are planned to be deployed at the air base in a possible operation against Iraq. U.S. officials want 120x197 cm bunks althought Turkish bunks are 90x120 cm. A total of 34 companies submitted bids for the tender.
I think bunks means bunk beds, double deckers. The 8000 mattresses part seems to back that up. Somebody at Incirlik needs a place for 8000 extra troops to sleep. Ain't logistics grand?
The U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Robert Pearson continues his tours to take Turkey's pulse in the case of a possible U.S. operation against Iraq. Pearson will come to the Parliament on January 27 and give briefing to the Parliament about Iraq.
That's the date of the UN briefing on the status of the inspections and one day before the State of the Union speech. Wonder what he's going to say?
Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis has said that Turkey could accept deployment of 15,000 U.S. soldiers and noted, ''we gave authority to military officials to discuss the issue. They are discussing the number of soldiers who could be deployed for northern front.'' Yakis noted, ''military officials will hold talks with the U.S. side at the military level to reach an agreement on the specific number of troops that the two sides can accept.'' Foreign Minister Yasar YakÃœs said that the military is authorized to discuss cooperation regarding the Iraqi issue with the U.S. Responding to questions of journalists while leaving the Foreign Ministry, YakÃœs said that ''the military officials of the two countries will determine the level of cooperation between the two countries which won't make the northern alternative meaningless.'' YakÃœs also denied the news published in New York Times newspaper claiming that he said Turkey permitted the use of bases.
Note that the civilian government is letting the Turkish military deal directly with the US on troop levels. "Northern alternative meaningless"? Northern front, perhaps? Doesn't want it to be reduced to meaningless, does he?
U.S. Embassy in Ankara said that allegations that U.S. officials have had contact with representatives of the terrorist organization PKK are false. U.S. Embassy said in a statement that a recent report in Turkish press alleged that U.S. officials have had contacts with representatives of the terrorist organization PKK and added that these claims are completely false. The statement said that U.S. officials have no contact with the PKK or KADEK and noted that both the PKK and KADEK are designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
Quick denial here. While the CIA may have talked with some Kurds who may have some relation with the PKK/KADEK, I doubt there have been direct talks.
Syrian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Saudi Arabian and Iranian foreign ministers will come together in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday for a peaceful solution of the Iraqi problem. Gul persuaded the Syrian leader on condition that the second summit will take place in Damascus, Syria. British Chief of General Staff and German Foreign Minister will also come to Turkey the same day. Prime Minister Gul will attend the meeting in Istanbul as the host prime minister.
"Blah, blah, peace, blah, stability in region, blah, oil, blah."
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 09:59 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I don't want to be bogged down in minutae when we are discussing the grand strategy, but I hope that this was a typo:

"U.S. officials want 120x197 cm bunks althought Turkish bunks are 90x120 cm. "

This means that the US wants 4' x 6.7' or so bunks while the Turks stock 3' x 4' units? No wonder that we were having such a problem negotiating with the Turks. Try getting a good nights sleep on a 3 x 4.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 10:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Could this be code for something? 4' x 6.7' is rather large for a single-person bunk. A double bed is just over 4' wide and about 6' long. I've never seen an army bunk as large as a full size bed. I suppose Turks might like to sleep in the fetal position, but it doesn't explain these huge American bunks.

Hmm. Maybe this is petty, but I performed vital scientific experiments by laying down on the bed, so I figure I should report the results.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 01/22/2003 11:07 Comments || Top||

#3  In re Angie's post. Maybe they are expecting not to sleep alone.
Posted by: Penguin || 01/22/2003 15:17 Comments || Top||

#4  If the bunk beds are designed right, the bed frames (4' x 6.7') could be hooked together in a modular arrangement to provide go-anywhere cage systems for housing terrorists.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 16:21 Comments || Top||


Home Front
Scandalous Person Might Become America’s President in 2004
A black notorious lawyer runs for presidency in the States.

It became known today that the first candidacy for the position of the American president has been officially registered. This person’s name is Al Sharpton. Democrats could hardly find a better gift for Republicans. This New York-based black lawyer and reverend is a very notorious persona. Sharpton is known as an organizer of demonstrations of black people to protest against local authorities. Those actions of protest often ended up in clashes with police. This allowed the new candidacy to touch upon the issue of the black population suppression in the United States.

Gee, sometimes 'Pravda' really DOES mean truth. You have to admit that they certainly have The good Rev. Al nailed down.

Sharpton became famous as a lawyer. He was a spokesman for black teenage girl Tawana Brawley, after she claimed that she was gang-raped by white men. As it turned out later, Brawley made the story up, trying to make her parents not to punish her for being disobedient. Sharpton tried to do his best to intensify the relations between black and white people in order to gain the national attention. He even made Tawana Brawley lie during the trial. Sharpton and Brawley were eventually charged with slanderous comments, and Sharpton was ordered to pay $65 thousand.

Al Sharpton served several months in a federal jail for the organization of a protest action near an American Air Force base. The demonstration was over with a mass disorder. Despite all that, Sharpton managed to obtain the reputation of a fighter for the rights of disaffected people. However, a lot of American observers believed that the fact that he spent several months in a jail was something like his own promotion. For the time being, Al Sharpton (47 years old) tries to do his best in order to become more respectable. However, he still plays the game of a fighter for the rights of disaffected voters. As he says, there are too many white rich men amid those candidacies that run for presidency. Sharpton believes that those men do not have any notion of what common people and national minorities need. He says that more than 100 million people might vote for him – blacks, Latinos, and youth.

Can the Rev. find some way to haul these godless ex-Commies into court for besmirching his soptless reputation?
Posted by: Bent Pyramid || 01/22/2003 09:26 am || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How come you didn't win the Best Humor Bloggie? This is the funniest thing I've read in a while.
Posted by: Chuck || 01/22/2003 10:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Can't Pravda slag that reactionary twat Bush instead? I'd even prefer this bloke to Bush
Posted by: Androgynous || 01/22/2003 10:34 Comments || Top||

#3  except he's no lawyer - Alton Maddox and C. Vernon Mason were the lawyers (and were disciplined for their conduct) pressing the case with Sharpton as a participant. He graduated from Tilden High School; attended Brooklyn College - which leads me to believe he took like, a couple courses. Should make for a great Dem Primary race in '04
Posted by: Frank G || 01/22/2003 10:52 Comments || Top||

#4  His office in New York just burned down! See here.

There is no truth to the rumor that Paul Wellstone was seen running from the building shortly before the fire.
Posted by: Chuck || 01/22/2003 11:59 Comments || Top||

#5  But he's got *great hair*...
Posted by: mojo || 01/22/2003 12:02 Comments || Top||

#6  When presed for comments on the Brawley case, Sharpton has reportedly said " If Ted Kennedy isnt going to answer questions about Chappaquiddick and Hillary Clinton isnt going to answer qustions about her husband, I see no reason why I should answer questions about the brawley case"

Posted by: Frank Martin || 01/22/2003 12:05 Comments || Top||

#7  Yeah, he'll get a 100 million votes.....the day after they legalize crack.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/22/2003 13:15 Comments || Top||

#8  Sharpton is a disgrace to the intelligent black community, he is a clown that makes whites think of blacks as idiots and fools. He is such a fucking joke. He is a fool who is an embarrassment to his own community; with so many educated blacks out there can the black community not field a better spokesman than this joker? We are amused and embarrassed that this guy could even be considered a spokesman for ANY US group, blacks or whites. What an embarrassing caricature of blacks he is.
Posted by: Oki || 01/22/2003 16:43 Comments || Top||

#9  Who assigned Sharpton the position of spokesman for the black community? The media?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 16:48 Comments || Top||

#10  And Sharpton claimed he didn't have the $65K. This from a man who wears expensive suits ("People give 'em to me.") and sends his kids to private schools.
Posted by: Denny || 01/22/2003 20:30 Comments || Top||

#11  Oki--
There are millions and millions of African-Americans going out to work everyday, taking care of their families, their communities, and their country.
No white person I know takes Al Sharpton as a spokesman for anyone other than Al Sharpton.
The media created Step-n-fetchit and they created Al Sharpton. They have much to answer for but that doesn't mean we buy it.
Posted by: JDB || 01/22/2003 22:11 Comments || Top||


Axis of Evil
Iraq: We Downed Spy Plane
Iraq shot down an unmanned U.S. aircraft that entered its airspace from Kuwait, the state news agency reported Wednesday. It would be the second time in a month that Iraqi defenses had brought down one of the American reconnaissance drones.
"The spy plane that breached the sanctity of Iraq's international airspace is used by the American enemy to spy on our civilian military installations," an unnamed spokesman for the air defense command was quoted as saying by the Iraqi News Agency.
"Now you must excuse me, I have to get back down in the bunker before the American ememy comes back"
The spokesman identified the aircraft as a Predator, but the report did not say where or when it was downed.
After Iraq brought down a Predator on Dec. 23, U.S. officials called it a "lucky shot" and did not treat it as a significant hostile act. American warplanes have been patrolling the skies of southern and northern "no-fly zones" in Iraq since 1991, keeping Iraqi aircraft from flying in those areas. There was no immediate confirmation from the Pentagon of Wednesday's reported incident. In the previous encounter, Iraqi warplanes penetrated the southern no-fly zone and fired at the $3.7 million Predator, the Pentagon reported.
CBS had camera video from the Predator that was shot down in the last incident. Here is the report: the Predator's camera spots an Iraqi MiG, that white blip in the middle of the screen. The MiG fires a missile and the trail can be seen moving left to right. The Predator fires back. The trails of the two missiles streak by each other. But one falls short and the other doesn't. That second white dot is the Iraqi missile just before it hits the Predator. The Predator shot back! Wonder if it was a Hellfire, or are they using air to air missles now?
The camera-equipped Predator drones presumably have been overflying Iraqi territory monitoring troop movements and other intelligence that would be useful for any U.S. attack resulting from the current international crisis over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. They may also be looking for information useful in the ongoing U.N. weapons inspectors' hunt for such arms programs.
Iraqis seem to be taking more chances now, going after the Predators. Hope we're getting our money's worth of intel.

Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 09:17 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "spy on our civilian military installations"?

Posted by: Caton || 01/22/2003 9:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Accordin to Yahoo, the US is denying it.
Posted by: Pink & Fluffy || 01/22/2003 10:15 Comments || Top||

#3  A spokesman for U.S. Central Command said no Predators — or any other aircraft operating in the region — were known to have gone missing.
"As far as I know, everything's accounted for," said Lt. Col. Martin Compton, at the command based in Tampa, Fla.

Either the Iraqis are lying, CENTCOM misplaced one, someone else besides CENTCOM is flying Predators(CIA?), or it's some other countries UAV. Israel has some very good ones, I hear.

Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 10:59 Comments || Top||

#4  Why deny, this is another material breach if true.
Posted by: anonymous || 01/22/2003 16:43 Comments || Top||


Iraq attack in february??
MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax) - Russia's military leadership has obtained information about the possible dates and scenarios for the U.S.-led strike against Iraq, a General Headquarters source told Interfax. "According to our information, the operation is scheduled for late February. A decision to carry this out was finalized, but it has not been announced," he said.
Posted by: Murat || 01/22/2003 01:52 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Probably obtained through rantburg. They should give Fred a credit, though.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 9:35 Comments || Top||

#2  This is depressing. My birthday is Feb 2nd and I was really hoping for a gift that was decorative yet tasteful, like Saddam's head on a pike.
Posted by: Bent Pyramid || 01/22/2003 9:42 Comments || Top||

#3  *shakes head* Start of ground operations maybe, or the start of the siege of Baghdad. The Turks limit us to 15K men in Turkey. Which means we move in 10K, they move into Iraq, we move in ANOTHER 10K...

This may also be disinformation: Russia is trying to curry favor with the EU, and so may be backing France, but that's just the politicos. The military may have different opinions.

Posted by: Ptah || 01/22/2003 11:14 Comments || Top||

#4  The only way to get any type of suprise attack after months of military buildup would be to get someone, say Russia, to say the attack will happen in late Feb, and then hit them in early Feb when the new moon arrives.
Posted by: Potempkin || 01/22/2003 16:44 Comments || Top||


Home Front
Volunteer ’Human Shields’ to Head for Iraq
Volunteer 'Human Shields' to Head for Iraq
Tue Jan 21,12:20 PM ET
By Andrew Cawthorne

LONDON (Reuters) - A first wave of mainly Western volunteers will leave London this weekend on a convoy bound for Iraq to act as "human shields" at key sites and populous areas in case of a U.S.-led war on Baghdad.

"The potential for white Western body parts flying around with the Iraqi ones should make them think again about this imperialist oil war," organizer Ken Nichols, a former U.S. marine in the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites), told Reuters.

His "We the People" organization will be sending off a first group of 50 human shields from the London mayor's City Hall building Saturday, part of a series of departures organizers say will involve hundreds, possibly thousands, of volunteers.

Nichols' planned human shield convoys are one of several such efforts around the world to mobilize activists in Iraq as a deterrent against military strikes on Baghdad.

In Bucharest, more than 100 Romanian diehard communists said Tuesday they would travel by bus to Iraq to act as human shields in case of a U.S. attack.

Members of the tiny Romanian Workers Party, which took the mantle of ousted dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's defunct Communist party in 1995, said they would set off next month to support "the cause of the people."

The new human shield plans revive memories of the 1991 Gulf War when President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) forcibly held thousands of Western hostages after his invasion of Kuwait.

Many were put near sensitive sites in a bid to stop attacks that proved futile, although there are not thought to have been any casualties among the Western hostages.

Baghdad also used Iraqis, alongside some foreign volunteers, as shields in 1998 against U.S.-British bombing.

Nichols' groups intend to drive through Europe and the Middle East en route to Iraq. The first will travel in a pair of double-decker buses, led by a car with a white peace flag on it.

"We are on the verge of something big," said volunteer Christiaan Briggs, 26, from New Zealand. He argued that the stream of human shield volunteers was symptomatic of radicalizing anti-war opinion around the world.

"People know this is wrong. It is just so blatantly transparent how the U.S. is trying to impose its hegemony."

PROPAGANDA ACCUSATIONS

"We the People" organizers said the self-financing human shield volunteers had come forward from a range of Western nations including the United States, Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Denmark.

There were also some volunteers from Muslim nation Turkey.
The major rallying point for Muslims, however, is in Iraq's neighbor Jordan. There, a campaign led by leftist parties and civic bodies is seeking 100,000 shield volunteers.

Baghdad has welcomed the plans, but volunteers smart at suggestions that they are handing a propaganda gift to Saddam.

Washington and London are sending troops to the Gulf and threatening military action against Saddam unless he admits to possessing weapons of mass destruction and disarms.

"It's laughable to say that we are working for Saddam when it was the UK and the U.S. who gave him his biological and other weapons in the first place," Nichols said.

"The hypocrisy is mind-blowing. The biggest threat to world security at this moment is (U.S. President) George W. Bush."

Nichols said his involvement in the human shield program was in part "penance" for his participation in the Gulf War when a U.S.-led force drove Saddam's troops out of Kuwait.

But those forcibly used as human shields by Saddam in the past are stunned others are volunteering to do it.

"Putting yourself in danger is not going to help at all," said John Nicol, a British air force flyer shot down in 1991 and later paraded on Iraqi television. He was moved around by the Iraqis to various potential targets and experienced allied bombing nearby.

"I doubt it would be a deterrent to any attack," Nicol, a journalist and military analyst since leaving the air force, told Reuters. "I am shocked that anyone would want to put themselves in such a situation."
Posted by: Stalk of Wheat ----------<<<<- || 01/22/2003 08:37 am || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Go ahead. Blow the idiots away and raise the average IQ of the West at the same time...
Posted by: Ptah || 01/22/2003 8:50 Comments || Top||

#2  We are on the verge of something big," said volunteer Christiaan Briggs, 26, from New Zealand
uh, yeah, like 500lbs of high explosives packed in a JDAM? Darwin's law in action... a win-win! Take these fools out first
Posted by: Frank G || 01/22/2003 8:53 Comments || Top||

#3  Damn those lefties, they have our number! They know that if they sit on the roof of an Iraqi WMD lab wearing one of their tinfoil hats, our orbital death rays will be neutralized completely. Quickly comrades, we must retune the death ray so that it vaporizes white people too, not just the brown ones!!!
Posted by: Bent Pyramid || 01/22/2003 8:58 Comments || Top||

#4  We need to know some history about Ken Nichols and his game (you know, Paul Harvey's "Rest of the Story"). Then we need to figure out how this travelling road show is going to make it to Baghdad in time across some dangerous country in one piece. There seems to be some missing neuron paths here...
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/22/2003 10:06 Comments || Top||

#5  "I am shocked that anyone would want to put themselves in such a situation."

I will be shocked to actually see you chained to a target in Baghdad somewhere. Get some footage because I will definately not believe that you were there. Any bets?
Posted by: Rw || 01/22/2003 10:27 Comments || Top||

#6  It's simple, Paul. They don't want to be there when the bombs are falling. That's why they are driving and not flying in. Bet the bus will be covered with peace signs and flowers and anti-american slogans and stop at every newspaper and tv station enroute.
Posted by: Steve || 01/22/2003 10:27 Comments || Top||

#7  Hehe. Love the tin foil hat comment. Abs of steel videos will be studied to stop conventional weapons...
Posted by: flash91 || 01/22/2003 10:39 Comments || Top||

#8  Den Beste points out that it will take a while to drive the 6,000 km or so. It will also require the Turks to allow them to drive to the border, and pass through the border, highly unlikely. Just a publicity stunt. They'll be drinking wine in Sofia and bemoaning the fact that they couldn't actually make it to Iraq.
Posted by: Chuck || 01/22/2003 11:16 Comments || Top||

#9  I wonder if the Iraq government will allow any shield members to leave the country after the bombs start falling.
Posted by: Dan || 01/22/2003 12:32 Comments || Top||

#10  "The first will travel in a pair of double-decker buses, led by a car with a white peace flag on it."

Wonder what I'm looking for if I'm cruising around in my F-18. They got a "No Bus" zone in Iraq?
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/22/2003 13:29 Comments || Top||

#11  Dan, after the bombs start falling there won't be an Iraqi gov't...
OT, but Don's comment yesterday on the possible denial of benefits for the victims (and their families) in yesterday's Kuwait attack was picked up in Joe Katzmans's www.windsofchange.net today, and I sincerely hope these people are taken care of to the best of our ability...
Posted by: Frank G || 01/22/2003 13:37 Comments || Top||

#12  >> Den Beste points out that it will take a while to drive the 6,000 km or so. It will also require the Turks to allow them to drive to the border, and pass through the border, highly unlikely. Just a publicity stunt. They'll be drinking wine in Sofia and bemoaning the fact that they couldn't actually make it to Iraq.<<

And good luck to them if they try to make it with any of those beauties spotted disporting themselves with U.S. Marines as recorded photographically on your blog, Chuck. Somehow, from all the reports I've heard and read, I think the probability of anti-Americans receiving a warm welcome in Bulgaria is somewhere between the chances of the Rev. Al winning the Dem nomination and Scott Ritter getting everyone to forget about his underage sex arrests. I am skeptical if those numbnuts will even be able to get Sofia bartenders to serve them decent wine if they should reveal their political leanings.
Posted by: Joe || 01/22/2003 17:44 Comments || Top||

#13  No doubt it will come as a bit of a shock all around to discover that there are a certain number of true-blue, down-home Yankees who are actually willing to die unarmed on the Iraqi side, in order to make the point that many Americans really don't want a world full of crusades, jihad, religious warfare, or clash of civilizations. 4GW, anyone? It's an interlocked, interlaced world these days, not a single Russian Front or Maginot Line! There are all sorts of ways to defend the American Homeland, and as far as I'm concerned, this is one of them.

Posted by: A Four Freedoms Fan || 01/22/2003 20:19 Comments || Top||

#14  Four Freedoms Fan-
Ken Nichols, the guy who organized this thing, renounced his U.S. citizenship in 1999. He has written an article today in 'The Guardian', where he says, among other things, that the worst decision he ever made in his life was to join the U.S. Marines. Hardly a "true-blue, down-home Yankee". Get educated before you speak out.
Posted by: Charlotte || 01/22/2003 22:12 Comments || Top||

#15  FFF--Better hurry up pal...the Ken Kesey peace bus is leaving! But before you go, make sure to stock up on plenty of Depends undergarments.
And do you mind if we shag your hairy-legged dog faced girlfriend while you're gone? Thought not.
Posted by: JDB || 01/22/2003 22:23 Comments || Top||

#16  4GW, anyone?
Posted by: Fred || 01/22/2003 22:58 Comments || Top||

#17  I read the 4GW article, and I've also read Bevin Alexander's "How Wars are Won" which covers the same ground. The Al Queda writer misses a very massive point, though he actually raises it: 4GW warfare, to be successful, absolutely depends on the ability for terrorists to "swim among the fishes."

All soldiers, including terrorists, depend on support. Successful 4GW depends on the support of the populace. The terrorist must be able to rely on the local population to keep him safe. Trying to set up an "us" vs. "them" scenario, as in Algeria where the French colonialists were the "them" won't work in the U.S.

It's real hard to do that when you're a foreigner. And you can make it even harder by doing the most obvious of things: deny immigration from nations that are terrorism's centers. We're going this way ever more strongly, and if there is ever another attack on the U.S., expect even more forceful action in the immigration area. Frankly, if I was in charge (ha,ha) there would be an outright ban right now on nationals from the usual suspect nations. And yeah, I'd be deporting a lot of people as well.
Sept. 11 was a sucker punch. If we deal with the immigration situation correctly, they don't get another crack at us like that.


Part 2 of dealing with 4GW is taking the war directly to the nations that support terrorism. We did this in Afghanistan, which from a purely anti-terrorism standpoint, was a huge success. We will do this next week in Iraq. Terrorists MUST have safe havens and training grounds to be effective. Once we are in Iraq, the pressures on Syrian, Iran, and Saudi Arabia to clamp down on these combatants will escalate exponentially.

Eventually, the terrorists run out of people trained in Afghanistan. They will have to set up training camps somewhere else, sooner of later, if they expect to do anything of consequence.

Post-9/11 we aren't going to allow this. The first small action was the Yemen Hellfire case. Alexander argues that the way to deal with terrorists in the offensive phase is to use small units to annhilate training grounds. We've already got the forces to do this. Again, watch Iraq. After that's over, and frankly even now, what nation in their right mind is going to permit terrorist training camps on their soil if they KNOW we're going to punish them severely and destroy the camps to boot.

Terrorists also depend on financial support, contrary to what the writer in Fred's link implies. You cut that off (like by scaring the living shit out of the Saudis) and there is no way to buy the weapons that are truly frightening.

I keep coming back to Iraq, because it is the key. Terrorists can truly do us serious harm only if they get WMDs. By cutting off what would have been their major source of WMDs they become little more than nuisances. Eventually, we will have to deal with NKorea for the very same reason: to keep the damage potential of these nutbags as low as possible.

These terrorist numbnuts really and truly no NOTHING about American history which is a very good thing. They both fear us and underestimate us, just as many other enemies have done.

They know nothing about the fact that we have ALWAYS adapted faster than anyone else to the new realities of warfare. They, on the other hand, are totally unoriginal and have very little capacity to think outside the box. It's not in the nature of their culture or their religion or their education. There is nothing original about terrorism, suiciders, or zealots.

On the other hand, the willingness to try new ideas is a fundamental feature in the American character. It's in our bones to try out something, and if don't work, try something else.

Bush was right: it'll take decades to eliminate terrorism and war alone won't do it. But these guys fight a hopeless battle that is based entirely on a negative: revenge for alleged "humiliations." We will fight for entirely different, positive reasons: freedom and survival.

There is no way we lose this war. Zero.

Posted by: R. McLeod || 01/23/2003 4:42 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2003-01-22
  Human Shields to Head for Iraq
Tue 2003-01-21
  Ambush Kills American, Wounds Another in Kuwait
Mon 2003-01-20
  Iran to be named in 1994 Argentinian Bombing
Sun 2003-01-19
  Finsbury mosque raided -- finally!
Sat 2003-01-18
  Protestors flood Arab, Islamic Capitals, Slam U.S. War Plans
Fri 2003-01-17
  10,000 Palestinians take to streets of Gaza in support of Saddam
Thu 2003-01-16
  Ricin Plotters Linked to al-Qaida Network
Wed 2003-01-15
  Germany bans Hizb-ut-Tahrir
Tue 2003-01-14
  U.S. Sending Huge Armadas to Persian Gulf
Mon 2003-01-13
  Ivorian rebels sign ceasefire
Sun 2003-01-12
  One dead in Israeli missile attack on car in Gaza
Sat 2003-01-11
  Seven wounded in Saudi mosque shooting
Fri 2003-01-10
  Rantissi wants to send boomer corps to help Sammy...
Thu 2003-01-09
  Australia Cancels SAS Leave
Wed 2003-01-08
  Three more sought in ricin hunt

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