Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday it was withdrawing its ambassador to Libya and ordered out Libya's envoy in response to reports that Tripoli plotted to assassinate the Saudi crown prince. The alleged plot against Crown Prince Abdullah was first outlined by U.S. investigators in their case against a prominent American Muslim activist sentenced earlier this year to the maximum 23 years in prison for illegal business dealings with Libya.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud announced the measures, saying the Libyans would be sent a communique later Wednesday demanding that their envoy in Riyadh go home. He said the Saudi Embassy in Tripoli and the Libyan Embassy in Riyadh would remain open, insisting the kingdom did not want the Libyan people to suffer, particularly with the annual Muslim pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia starting next month. The government has "limited its action to only these measures, ... despite the ugliness of what happened, in appreciation for the brotherly Libyan people," Saud said. It was unclear whether the Saudi envoy had already left Tripoli. The Saudi move on Libya came months after the assassination plot was first reported.
In July, Abdurahman Alamoudi pleaded guilty before a U.S. judge to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from high-ranking Libyan officials while serving as a go-between for them and Saudi dissidents. Americans were banned from doing business with Libya at the time of the contacts. While Alamoudi was not charged in connection with the alleged plot against Abdullah, prosecutors cited the plot in requesting Alamoudi receive the maximum sentence, which he did in October. According to a 20-page "statement of facts" filed by U.S. prosecutors, Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi wanted Abdullah killed after a March 2003 Arab League Summit during which the two exchanged sharp insults. Within two weeks of the summit, Alamoudi, who had in the past frequently traveled illegally to meet Libyan government officials, was summoned to a meeting in Tripoli and told Gadhafi wanted to punish Saudi leaders. The unidentified Libyan officials wanted Alamoudi to introduce them to Saudi dissidents who could create "headaches" for the Saudi regime, authorities said. Alamoudi was not initially told the ultimate plan was to assassinate Abdullah, learning of it only several months later from an unidentified "high-ranking Libyan government official," the court papers said.
I suppose there's a down-side to wacking Abdullah....
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 9:00:58 AM ||
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#1
I suppose there's a down-side to wacking Abdullah....
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 9:46 Comments ||
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Frank found the down-side.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/22/2004 10:53 Comments ||
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I think this assiniation accusation is a red
herring. The Soddies are pissed that Libya is going to new source of oil and gas for the U.S. The Soddies know that they are about to feel some major financial pain.
#5
CP Abdullah wants the Saudi kingdom to continue in any form, including a parlimentary monarchy, ala Kuwait. He's suggested reforms that would raise the interest of a majority of the Saudi people, not directly related to the royals...such as allowing women to drive cars.
Naif, on the other hand, wants no part of reforms and believes in the more radical wahabist view of Islam. As Interior Minister, he controls most of the security forces, with the exception of the National Guard controlled by Abdallah. Naif doesn't fear much, except the loss of absolute power.
"Fix all our problems for us, because we're incompetent to do it ourselves. And make sure you do it to our satisfaction."
"Or else."
The leaders of six Persian Gulf nations said Tuesday the Middle East should be a "top priority" of U.S. foreign policy during President Bush's second term. The Gulf Cooperation Council, a loose military and political alliance, said Washington should help realize the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and should work with the United Nations and international community to establish security in Iraq before Jan. 30 elections there. "The Supreme Council expressed hope that his excellency President George Bush, during his second tenure, considers the Middle East question as a top priority in the U.S. foreign policy, to fulfill the commitments and promises made on establishing a Palestinian state capable of living in peace and security besides the state of Israel," the GCC said in a communique.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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How about resolving to stop being such butt in the air, pedophile prophet worshipping, murderous dickheads.
Posted by: ed ||
12/22/2004 8:58 Comments ||
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Oh, I get it. The GCC wants Bush to kick the joos out of their land so there will be a "resolution."
The real ME resolution is called democracy, not monarchy, tyranny, and theocracy.
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/22/2004 10:59 Comments ||
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The ME problems cant be resolved by GWB,
cuz didn't Mahmud Abbas himself say recently that Arafat is "eternal", eternal problems cant be resolved ;)
LONDON - A prominent Saudi dissident said Wednesday that authorities had not contacted him about a move in the United Nations to impose international sanctions against him.
"Hey! My ATM card's not working and the infidel bank tellers just point at my pants and laugh!"
The United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday asked the U.N. Security Council to freeze the assets and ban international travel by Saad al-Fagih for allegedly providing financial and material support to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. Al-Fagih expressed surprise that the British government joined in the move. "I am here in their country, why do they have to ask the U.N.?" he said in a telephone interview. Britain's Foreign Office said authorities didn't have sufficient evidence of any wrongdoing by al-Fagih which would support action under British law. If the United Nations imposes sanctions, however, Britain would be able to act. "For some time we have been well aware of particular Saudi concerns about Dr. al-Fagih's activities," said a spokeswoman at the Foreign Office, speaking on condition of anonymity. Anti-terrorism sanctions require all 191 U.N. member states to impose a travel ban and arms embargo against a list of those linked to the Taliban or al-Qaida and to freeze their financial assets. The list has 318 individuals and 115 groups.
Continued on Page 49
Haiti's cities were in flames with murderous mobs rampaging through the streets as three U.S. Diplomatic Security agents rescued U.N. officials, saved a wounded woman and protected the country's new president. This week Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage presented the agents with the State Department Heroism Award for their "extraordinary courage in extreme circumstances." Diplomatic Security Special Agents Christopher R. Belmonti, Richard Kyliavas and Alston Richardson were sent to oversee the evacuation of US and UN staffers.
Mr. Armitage recounted their deeds at a ceremony, where he noted that diplomats not only risk their lives in dangerous assignments, but also have to believe that their deeds eventually will lead to a better world. "To be a diplomat these days, I believe you have to be an optimist," he said. "In a sense, our job is to look at the world — a place full of violence and disease and poverty — and see a future of peace, of good health and prosperity." Mr. Armitage reminded the audience gathered for the ceremony of Haiti's condition last Christmas.
"Haiti was in flames. Her cities exploding with rage, as President [Jean-Bertrand] Aristide sat in his palace doing little to stop the country's slide into anarchy and much to spur it on," Mr. Armitage said. Mr. Aristide soon was removed from office and sent into exile. He was replaced by Boniface Alexandre, president of an interim government. By February, the United States had decided to evacuate American personnel and help the United Nations rescue its staffers.
Mr. Belmonti had been escorting staffers from the ambassador's residence when they spotted an apparently abandoned U.S. Embassy truck full of bullet holes. When he investigated the scene, Mr. Belmonti discovered a woman with her hands bound behind her back and a gunshot wound to the head. "As gunfire erupted on all sides, [he] freed the woman and saved her life at direct risk of his own," Mr. Armitage said. Mr. Kyliavas had been helping evacuate 125 personnel of the United Nations when their convoy ran into a roadblock, where 20 thugs with machetes were threatening an unarmed man they had pulled from his vehicle. Mr. Kyliavas jumped out of his armored car, aimed his rifle at the mob and ordered them to disperse. They fled quickly, leaving the defenseless driver unharmed.
Rule #1: Don't bring a machete to a gunfight. Rule#2: Thugs threatening unarmed civilians with machetes are basially cowards.
Mr. Richardson had been escorting the new president to a safer part of the capital, Port-au-Prince, when his unit came under heavy automatic-weapons fire. "With no hope of escape, this very small detail was preparing to fight their way out of the fusillade, when [Mr.] Richardson put himself in the direct line of fire to better assess the situation," Mr. Armitage said. "He determined that the gunfire was not directed at the president and helped guide the team to safety through sustained hostile fire."
Here's a salute to the US Diplomatic Security Service. I wonder how many of them are former Marines?
The counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya will continue as long as Maskhadov and Basayev are alive. This opinion was expressed by head of republican commandos Artur Akhmadov in an interview with Tass on Sunday. "We tracked down Maskhadov last autumn and sealed off his gang of gunmen in the south-east of the republic, in the Nozhai-Yurt district. We understood from our intelligence data and radio interceptions that Maskhadov was among gunmen. Regrettably, we could not catch him at that time. We evidently sealed off not all loopholes and could not ward off the retreat of terrorists," the commander reported.
According to Akhmadov, Basayev is in hiding in the Chechen territory, but it is unknown where he is exactly. Bandits do not control anything in the republic, the commander emphasized. They operate deep underground. The only thing they could learn well, is to hide. They can leave their gangs at a required time and go home, if need be," the head of commandos noted. In Akhmadov's words, gunmen have among them Arabs, including Abu Omar, Abu Khavs and other international terrorists. "True, they operate in Chechnya not on a permanent basis. They make sallies in summer and leave the republic in winter," he added.
The Chechen commander also expressed confidence that there is an understanding between Maskhadov and Basayev on joint actions: Basayev assumed the role of a terrorist, while Maskhadov, denying his complicity in terror acts, tries to portray himself as a fighter for independence. "But I'm sure that this is a hypocrisy, and they plan every next terror act jointly," Akhmadov continued. According to Akhmadov, his idea is corroborated by the fact that when Basayev and his gunmen attacked Dagestan in 1999, Maskhadov did not disassociate himself from Basayev and decided to fight federal troops together with Basayev".
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/22/2004 2:36:04 AM ||
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The North Korean border with China, long a tightly controlled frontier, has become a wide open conduit for subversive material. First it was radios and television sets that could pick up Chinese broadcasts (most people on the border tend to be bilingual). Then came VCD (Video Computer Disks). The VCD is an Asian development, particularly popular in China. A VCD is a regular CD, holding up to 700 megabytes of material. Using lower resolution, you can get most movies onto a VCD and watch them on a television set using a CD player equipped to read the video files. In the last few years, second hand VCD players (selling for about $5) began making their way into North Korea, along with second hand VCDs themselves (about 20 cents each). China itself was moving on to DVD and fancier VCD players. In poverty stricken North Korea, this led to some enterprising TV owners letting it be known that, for a fee, people could come over and watch some of his VCDs. Initially, Chinese action movies were the most widely available material. But soon VCDs containing South Korean TV shows showed up. These have been popular among the millions of ethnic Koreans living in northern China. These ethnic Koreans often worked as Chinese border guards, and once they noted that the North Korean guards were taking bribes, were quick to encourage as much illicit commerce as they could. VCDs were a favorite, as they are small items, easily moved across the border in broad daylight. Both the Chinese and North Korean government would occasionally crack down on the smuggling. But the guards knew that, if they were discreet, the business would survive the crackdowns and everyone would continue to make money. The North Korean border guards also liked the VCD material themselves.
How you gonna keep down on the farm after they've seen Seoul?
However, there's more at stake than wealthy border guards. The thousands of VCDs carrying South Korean television shows (especially soap operas, which show "ordinary people") entering North Korea were the government's worst nightmare. Now North Koreans could see, in a very convincing way, that all the propaganda about North Korea being better off than South Korea was, well, a big lie. This is creating growing anger at the government. At the moment, the anger is expressing itself as increased corruption and lack of discipline by police and military personnel, as well as government workers in general. Since the state owns just about everything in North Korea, this means that the place is falling apart even faster than it has been. The North Korean leadership studied the collapse of communist rule in Eastern Europe in 1989. What is happening now in North Korea is what was going on in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s. The big difference is that the North Korean government is far more brutal and militarized than any communist East European government. Romania, however, was the most similar to North Korea, and fell when the secret police decided that it was time for the communist rulers to go. It's uncertain if a similar palace guard coup could occur in the north.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 9:39:49 AM ||
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How you gonna keep down on the farm after they've seen Seoul?
How ya' gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen the farm? ;-)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/22/2004 11:08 Comments ||
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hee hee Barb!
VCDs of all things who'd a thunk it? I am reminded of the War of the Worlds. Even the least of these sorta deal.....
#3
Shipman, The kids been sick as a dog at both ends this morning. It seems to have abated long enough that we can watch a video. So what's the request? Ralphie! Love that Christmas Spirit. I wonder if it's been dubbed into Korean.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/22/2004 12:03 Comments ||
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Toast Mrs D., applesauce Mrs. D. mashed potatoes Mrs. D.
I had a fight with my girl friend. She wanted to watch the Fox program about the plight of native europeants in the Califate [sp?], and I wanted to watch World Series. So we started arguing, and I told her that Europeans only get what is comming to them. And she said that I'm callous and unfeeling. And it went downhill from there.
What shall I do?
FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- It's described as a "sensitive item," and because no one can find it, about 130 82nd Airborne Division soldiers are being confined in their unit area for a week. Military officials won't describe the item that's missing until the investigation is complete
."Ok, where is it?"
"Where's what?"
"You know, "It". Where is it?"
The soldiers are assigned to Company C of the Third Battalion of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. They are scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan for a year this spring. The Army confines soldiers to their unit areas to find missing items that have to be accounted for at all times, such as weapons or equipment that is expensive or secret. A division spokesman says each unit can determine what equipment is sensitive.
Or embarassing to lose.
The spokesman says the lockdown is not punishment, but is designed to give investigators a controlled environment.
"Ok, Private, bend over and spread em, I gotta search ya."
Family members are complaining that the restriction order has affected their holiday plans to be with the soldiers.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 11:24:12 AM ||
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"Mr Maryk, Mr Kieth. The captain wants a meeting with all officers right away."
"Now? At one o'clock in the morning?"
"Yes sir."
"Do you know what it's about?"
"Yes sir - strawberries."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 13:52 Comments ||
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We don't talk about it GK. BTW are you really GK? Any ID? Bona Fides? I'm going to be keeping a close, very close eye on you GK, if that's your real initials. For your own safety forget I was here. I am the wind.
Posted by: Col Flagg ||
12/22/2004 14:34 Comments ||
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WSLOP EDITED
ARLINGTON, Va. - A tanker truck exploded as its driver apparently lost control as the truck entered the Washington Boulevard exit ramp off Interstate 395 near the Pentagon, hit the guardrail and rolled over, bursting into flames. The huge fire from the tanker which was carrying some type of a petroleum product is now out, fire officials say. The fire and smoke from it forced Interstate 395 to close in both directions at Washington Boulevard for about 2 1/2 hours. Southbound I-395 remained closed for about four hours. Fire Department spokesman Tom Polera says the fuel traveled in the drains to Army-Navy Drive on one side and to the other side of Washington Boulevard. "The vapors did ignite. That's what we are monitoring right now," Polera said during the 6:30 a.m. briefing. He says the tanker had the capacity to carry 8,000 gallons. Witnesses tell WTOP they heard multiple explosions right after the accident.
Posted by: 2b ||
12/22/2004 8:24:50 AM ||
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I'm not a big believer in coincidences, though it's entirely possible. But I can't help wonder if this was an attempted terrorist attack...or a not-so-dry run to determine where to best to set off the second bomb the next time around.
Relieved at the end of a "horrible year," Secretary-General Kofi Annan insisted Tuesday he has no intention of resigning over an embattled U.N. program to aid Iraqis and will pursue sweeping reforms in his remaining two years in office.
Gonna clean up your mess, Kofi? Or get rid of the evidence?
At a year-end news conference, the secretary-general said allegations of corruption in the oil-for-food program had "cast a shadow" over the United Nations and especially over the U.N. relations with the United States, the world body's largest financial contributor. While Annan said he had "the confidence and support" of the 191 U.N. member states, he said the criticism and attacks in the United States have not helped the U.S.-U.N. relationship, and expressed hope the oil-for-food investigation led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker will "help clear the air."
Depending on the selection of evidence turned over to him, I suppose that's a possibility. The rest can go into the shredder.
"The United States needs the United Nations and the United Nations needs the United States," the secretary-general said. "And we need to find a way of working together."
The United States has had it demonstrated rather forcefully that it doesn't need the United Nations, that in fact the UN is a bucket on the national foot. Kofi, on the other hand, has the larger problem of the weight of his record. Not only is he demonstrably incompetent as an administrator, but people are looking more closely at his actions with regard to Rwanda and now Darfur. Then there's the food-for-nookie program, that could also blow up at any moment. That's not a pretty picture, either. I don't have too much confidence in the press, but it's possible some aspiring Claudia Rosset will have a quick look at other Kofi Kronies besides his offspring. I'll be very surprised if they don't find a Ghana mafia making money hand over fist and none of them more than twice removed from Kofi.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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Settle down now! Mikey will be here any moment to reassure us of the UN and Kofi's good intentions!
#3
"...and the United Nations needs the United States..."
Yeah, we're still pumping a billion dollars a year into this losing proposition. Let's reduce that to about $10 million so we get their attention.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/22/2004 8:49 Comments ||
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Won't resign?
OK. You're fired.
There, wasn't that easy?
If we cut off the UN's funding, it would amount to the same thing. Hmmmm....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/22/2004 11:17 Comments ||
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"The United States needs the United Nations..
Uhhh, no.
..and the United Nations needs the United States," the secretary-general said.
No, Goo-fi Annan needs the United States.....in order to be paid....for doing nothing useful.
#7
I think an executive order calling for the COMPLETE removal of the un from the U.S. would cure everything that ails that august body. Let them meet in Eurostan. I wonder how long thye would last after we pulled out and tossed them out? I bet it could be measured with and egg timer!
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 17:17 ||
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Article: The crisis in U.S.-Israeli defense relations arose when the Pentagon's number three, Undersecretary of State for Policy Douglas Feith, learned that Israel had sold advanced-technology Harpy assault drones to China in the mid-1990s and was upgrading the unmanned airborne vehicles for the Chinese.
Feith, a strong supporter of Israel, was furious and backed by his superior, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, another ardent Israel supporter in the administration. Feith reportedly demanded the resignation of Amos Yaron, the Defense Ministry director general, on the grounds that Yaron had not provided a full accounting of the Israeli deal with China.
"One prominent Shia in the U.S. told me, 'I call the president Imam Bush.'(In Shia Islam, the imams are the chief religious guides throughout the history of the sect.) 'He is a believer in God, he is just, and I believe he will keep his promise to hold a fair election on January 30,' my interlocutor said. 'He liberated Kerbala and Najaf [the Shia holy cities]. He has done more for Shias than anybody else in history.'
Posted by: Matt ||
12/22/2004 12:54 Comments ||
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Another good quote:
Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia is much less a form of Islam than an ideology employed to keep the royal family in power, and if the removal of the ideological state may be effected peacefully in Kyiv, why not in Riyadh? Saudi subjects could leap ahead of their Iraqi neighbors, for I cannot imagine that if Ukraine succeeds in a bloodless democratization, Saudi subjects will not be inspired to ask why they, too, cannot follow the road of the Orange Revolution, rather than that of the black-bannered jihad, and voting boxes protected by American lives, in Iraq. And that will mean a decisive blow to terrorist jihadism throughout the world.
#3
...voting boxes protected by American lives, in Iraq. "
...multiplied by how many new "democracies"? I think Iraq should be a one-time unilateral show. If other countries want to step up and help us share the burden, fine, but don't be asking American soldiers to protect ballot boxes in every "emerging democracy" from the Atlantic to the Pacific, while our "allies" lounge on the beach, pausing between sips of Kir to tirade against US power in the world.
#2
If you're not already following this and related stories on Citizen Smash, go there now for some great stories and pictures. ANSWER and cronies are afoot, but Smash and Protest Warrior are there to counter 'em.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/22/2004 10:27 Comments ||
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Smash has nice pics of the USS Midway museum. Alaska Paul and his family are touring it this AM
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 10:48 Comments ||
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The author of this piece, Rick Rogers, has a very shallow knowledge of military justice for a man who makes his living in a navy town. Article 85 para. a 2 of the UCMJ reads: (a) Any member of the armed forces who--.... (2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service; or....
This is not a matter of absence, but of refusal to serve.
#5
From the article: "Should a guy be punished for his political beliefs more harshly than someone who misses his ship because he is out getting drunk?" Warren [Paredes' lawyer] asked. "The question is how hard is the Navy going to slam him."
I'll let the mil folks here answer the question, but I rather suspect that the Navy will unload on this fellow.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/22/2004 11:07 Comments ||
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I rather suspect that the Navy will unload on this fellow.
As do I. This a-hole brought it on himself with his 15 minutes of "look at me" publicity. Make an example of him.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 11:16 Comments ||
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Thanks for the link to Smash. ::waving hi to the slowly thawing Alaska Paul and family::
#8
"Should a guy be punished for his political beliefs more harshly than someone who misses his ship because he is out getting drunk?" Warren [Paredes' lawyer] asked.
#9
Bar - Right on. English Law, the basis of our system, utterly hinges on intent. And he tosses up that example of intent thinking it vindicates, rather than condemns, his client? This clown claims to be a lawyer? Lol!
#10
And besides, getting drunk is, as a rule, a traditional soldierly pursuit. Well, it's more of a guideline, actually. "Mad Drunk and Resistin' the Guard" or some such...
The silent tug of war being fought between the Pakistani army's Islamists and its liberal army leadership appears to have reached a boiling point, with well-placed sources telling Asia Times Online that the army, for the first time in its history, has taken on a different - and much more harsh - strategy to deal with its internal struggles, one that includes the death penalty. In the 1980s, for the sake of maintaining its "strategic depth" against India, the Pakistani army modified the structure of its jihadi outfits, with the aim of boosting its leverage in Central Asia and Afghanistan before forging a strategic alliance to establish Pakistan's political hegemony on South Asia. Since September 11, 2001, however, under immense US pressure, Pakistan was forced to take a U-turn and undo this policy, which resulted in many internal divisions within the army - the only organized institution in the country.
Musharraf reacted to the situation in a number of ways, including by court-martialing the renegade officials and sending officials who were not ready to go along with government's U-turn policy into early retirement. But this was not enough. Well-placed sources maintain that cases of indiscipline and defiance were so rampant after the South Waziristan operation on the Afghanistan border this year that the government decided to deal with the situation with an iron fist, and has adopted a new modus operandi to deal with problem. Under the new strategy, all those who were officially assigned to government-sponsored military training camps in the past, in Afghanistan and Pakistani Azad (Free) Kashmir, are now viewed as a threat to the government, and the process of "cleansing" them from the army has already begun. This includes both commissioned and non-commissioned army officials.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
12/22/2004 2:25:43 AM ||
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On first and second blushes, this appears to be an impossible task. Unless they summarily executed the entire lot of "renegades" and even those who sympathize with the "renegades". Anything less is just a trained malcontent pushed to the outside, with connections inside for arms and intel... In essence a growing insurrection with every man dismissed - and all of his friends, military, ex-military, and otherwise. It would seem to grow exponentially - more or less - against whomever is running the cleansing operation.
Am I missing something here or is it simply a non-starter to do anything except attempt to woo (use carrots) instead of cleanse (use sticks) with a military that is not solidly behind the leadership, military and civilian?
#2
Typically the Islamist Generals are given enormous rewards once the retire in order to keep quiet.
For example the last head of the ISI, General Mahmud Ahmed, who lead the group of Pak turbans to Mullah Omar right before the Afghanistan war with the mission of convincing him to give up Osama, only to tell him to do the opposite; well General Ahmed was put in charge of the Fauji Foundation when he retired, a corporation that runs all sorts of businesses and makes a half billion a year (US dollars).
Lt. General Aziz, the Chariman of the Joint Chiefs and the man most in charge of the whole Jihad infrastructure has been touted as a future Prime Minister of Pakistan controlled Kashmir.
All the significant officer ranks are given something when they leave the Army, with Generals doing particularly well, the lower ranks aren't seen as being able to pose any significant threat to the ruling elite.
I posted an article on the perks the Army get a while ago
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
12/22/2004 5:34 Comments ||
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Thanks, Paul. I guess it should've occurred to me that they could easily be bought off, but then that raises the problem of being "recalcitrant" (obnoxious and rabble-rousing - within limits so you're not a bona-fide threat) for profit. No end to it, is there? I presumed it was more of a true political difference - and they wouldn't be predisposed to changing - even for money. Silly me. Principles, even the looneytoon or militant variety, don't go very far these days, it seems.
#4
it's hard to tell anything from this article because, despite the ominous title, the meat of it is just that one soldier was given the death sentence for abetting a mutiny against Musharraf" ;receiving terrorism training with Jaish-e- Mohammed; attempting to seduce a person in the military forces of Pakistan from his allegiance to the government of Pakistan; departing from Pakistan without a passport at the Pak-Afghan border; and maintaining associations with a tanzeem (organization) of Pakistan air-force personnel that was advancing a plot to eliminate Musharraf He was caught in South Waziristan, where he refused to fight against the insurgent tribes.
Sources say Siddiqi is a model case, with several other soldiers said to have secretly faced identical trials, who in many cases were also issued the death sentence.
"several other soldiers"? That's not exactly the brutal purge this article promises.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 8:18 Comments ||
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Paul Moloney:
What a hypocrite! You have been a slavish supporter of GWB's jihad subsidy, in the name of his insane crusade to democraticize Islam. The last PEW poll recorded only 8% Paki support for their US benefactor. The war on Islamofascism cannot be defeated until a US intention to liquidate that enemy, by any necessary means, is declared and implemented. If it was in my power, I would impose starvation sieges on every hot Iraqi city, and demand bagged jihadis in exchange for food. As for Pakistan, I would impose a blocade on that terror entity, until they liquidate the entire leadership of the MMA. Don't pretend to detach yourself from GWB's chiliastic democraticisation crusade. As I write, over half of Americans believe GWB's money burning campaign in Iraq, was a mistake. Muslim savages aren't worthy of smart-bombs. Nuke 'em.
#8
funny how propaganda can so easily derange the dupes. They have now stooped to arguing about "GWB's chiliastic democraticisation crusade". Apparently they miss the good old days of Sadaam's rape rooms and genocide. Ah, the evils of democracy for the little brown folk. Apparently only the superior Euro beings can can handle it.
#9
2b: it's hard to tell anything from this article because, despite the ominous title, the meat of it is just that one soldier was given the death sentence for abetting a mutiny against Musharraf
I don't think we're going to see Communist- or Nazi-style purges, simply because Musharraf's cult of personality isn't as well-developed as Stalin's, Mao's or Hitler's. Musharraf doesn't have that kind of hold among his troops or his people - he is merely the leader of an oligarchy as opposed to the absolute dictator of Pakistan. Would Musharraf carry out that kind of purge if he had the ability to? For sure - it would certainly make his position much safer. Note that Saddam has never had to pretend to relinquish some of his powers to other institutions, whereas Musharraf has.
#10
toldyouso, thanks for the vocabulary lesson: chiliastic adj : relating to or believing in the millennium of peace and happiness [syn: millenarian] from chil·i·asm  (kl-zm) n. Christianity. The doctrine stating that Jesus will reign on earth for 1,000 years
A rare and sometimes deadly pneumonia has hit 18 U.S. soldiers deployed in Iraq, and Army medical investigators are at a loss to explain the cause, according to a study published on Tuesday. In a report appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center said two of the soldiers had died from the rare illness, called acute eosinophilic pneumonia, or AEP. No common source was found for the outbreak that occurred between March 2003 and March 2004 among the soldiers in Iraq. The study covered only that time period and there was no indication whether cases have continued to show up since then. The 18 victims studied ranged in age from 19 to 47 and all used tobacco, with three-quarters recently taking up the habit. All but one reported "significant exposure to fine airborne sand or dust" while in Iraq.
That's not going to help narrow it down.
While only 18 cases have been reported among 183,000 troops deployed in Iraq during the time period involved, the authors said the cases are still significant because the disease is very rare in the general population.
This is true. We see about one case a year in a university referral practice. The leading causes are 1) drug reactions 2) parasitic infections 3) certain fungal infections 4) asthma (rare but it happens) 5) certain immunological disorders and 6) idiosyncratic (e.g., we don't know). I can get way more technical but you get the point. It's a favorite for the pulmonary board exam because it's very uncommon.
Is this what they call a "minicluster"?
The illness was not immediately diagnosed in several victims, who suffered fever and respiratory failure. Several had to be put on mechanical ventilators to help them breathe and were administered corticosteroids. Months later, a few reported continued breathing problems or wheezing. "Inquiries to the Iraqi health officials did not suggest that AEP was occurring in the local population or that there has been an unusual increase in the incidence of pneumonia of any kind during the study period," the report said. The report's author, Dr. Andrew Shorr, warned the illness can strike suddenly and mimic more common ailments such as acute respiratory distress syndrome or community pneumonia.
That's why a few were missed, and I'll bet they have a few more that never got properly diagnosed.
The report follows another battle zone study in November that found an unexpectedly high number of U.S. soldiers injured in the Middle East and Afghanistan had tested positive for a rare, hard-to-treat blood infection. Army doctors at that time said 102 soldiers were found to be infected with the bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii. The infections occurred among soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and three other sites between January 2002 and August. Although it was not known where the soldiers contracted those infections, the Army at that time said the outbreak highlighted a need to improve infection control in military hospitals. Eighty-five of the bloodstream infections occurred among soldiers serving in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the report said. Normally military hospitals see only one such case every year, it added.
AEP and acinetobacter infection aren't related. I'll bet we see a few more strange illnesses come out of our soldiers in Iraq before we're done.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/22/2004 12:25:25 AM ||
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#1
Sounds like valley fever.VF is a fungal spore that lives in the soil of Arizona's deserts.If you have lived for any length of time in Phoenix or Tucson you probably have it.
#2
Steve, this rang a bell. Searched Rantbug and found several article in the period July-September 2003 about this.
Notice how it ties together the evil of smoking and the inability of the Army to locate a source. Then they drag in the infections. Typical Reuters try at a smear.
The president of the World Bank pushed Tuesday for Palestinian economic reforms and the lifting of Israeli travel restrictions in the West Bank in exchange for an additional $500 million in desperately needed aid to the Palestinians. The visit by James Wolfensohn, his first since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence in 2000, came as British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Jerusalem for talks Wednesday with Israeli and Palestinian officials. Blair was the most senior in a stream of international officials traveling here in recent weeks to bolster new peace efforts following the death of Yasser Arafat last month. The diplomats also hoped to build on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plans to pull out of the Gaza Strip next year. Britain is proposing a Mideast conference to promote peace prospects. However, no date has been set, and Israel has said it will not attend.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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The president of the World Bank pushed Tuesday for Palestinian economic reforms and the lifting of Israeli travel restrictions in the West Bank in exchange for an additional $500 million in desperately needed aid to the Palestinians.
Excuse me, but the reforms that the Paleos need go much deeper than simple economics.
This is a concept known in intel circles as "prudence."
The United States has increased intelligence operations against Israel as part of an effort to prevent a war in the Middle East. Western diplomatic sources said that over the last two years the U.S. intelligence community has increased monitoring of Israel's military and government. The sources said the move was ordered by the White House as part of an effort to prevent an escalation of the war with the Palestinians or a regional war that could begin with an Israeli attack on Syria. "There's been concern that Israel would pull a surprise on the United States with either an offensive against Hizbullah in Lebanon or a massive attack on the Gaza Strip," a diplomatic source said. "Washington doesn't want to be surprised and would rather know this information in advance and first hand." The sources said the result has been increased U.S. satellite monitoring of Israel to determine military movements, import and export of weapons, weapons tests and construction of housing in Israeli communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They said the United States has also expanded the interception of signals communications from Israeli government and military facilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 8:33:35 PM ||
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#1
"Against"? Like we shouldn't be caring what our best ally in the Middle East is up to? We should be so lucky. As it is, your Uncle Sam and I get so worried. Maybe if you'd tell us what you were up to once in a while we wouldn't have to check up on you. You manage to remember us when we're voting on foreign aid for you. Just call once in a while is all.
#5
It's Ok,
We understand that you understand that we know that you know that you are aware of the fact that we are aware of the fact that we both spy on each other :)
#6
Spy on everyone in the area - the intel informs policies that keep America safe. As long as Israel remembers who loves em, things are hunky-dory...of course, we need to talk about sales to China...
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 11:05 Comments ||
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#7
OK Frank,
I swear I personally wont sell anything the China :)
I think this issue really needs being quickly and
efficiently solved to our countries' mutual benefit.
#9
It never ceases to amaze me that conservatives cling to the notion that Israel is an ally. If they are at all, it is of the strrictest convenience, nothing more.
#13
The sources said the move was ordered by the White House as part of an effort to prevent an escalation of the war with the Palestinians or a regional war that could begin with an Israeli attack on Syria
this makes no sense. The israelis are trying to keep things cool with Abbas, and Sharon has welcomed peace feelers from Syria. If Israel goes to war with Syria anytime soon, its likely to be primarily on the behest of the US (not that i think thats likely).
PLO chairman Mahmud Abbas marked the end of 40 days of mourning Tuesday with lavish praise for the "eternal" Yasser Arafat, vowing the Palestinian patriarch would one day be buried in his beloved Jerusalem. "No words of homage are sufficient to commemorate his memory," Abbas said in a speech inside Arafat's old West Bank headquarters in the town of Ramallah, known as the Muqataa, as thousands of supporters gathered in the courtyard outside. "Arafat led our people to the doorstep of liberty and independence. Abu Ammar (Arafat) remains eternal in the minds and collective memory of our people and the Arab and Islamic people," he added.
I guess he has to say stoopid things like that to get elected...
Abbas, favourite to succeed Arafat as Palestinian Authority president, echoed one of Arafat's most famous refrains by pledging: "The day will come when a child raises the flag of Palestine from the walls of Jerusalem." Arafat, who died on November 11, was buried in the grounds of the Muqataa after Israel refused permission for his interment in east Jerusalem, where the Palestinians hope to have the capital of their promised future state.
My heart bleeds.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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"Yasser is eternal,he will be with us for...say can I get that new carpet in grey?"
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/22/2004 1:07 Comments ||
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I guess things look a lot clearer from my chair than from theirs...
Israel faces the prospect of massive resistance to the government's plan to expel about 10,000 Jews from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank in 2005. Leaders of the estimated 250,000 Jews in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have called for a campaign of civil disobedience to resist the evacuation of the areas. The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, citing U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King and India's Mahatma Ghandi, has urged Israelis to risk imprisonment rather than cooperate with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for a military withdrawal from and expulsion of Israeli residents of the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank.
Yeah. No problem. Stay where you are, with your kids surrounded by exploding Paleostinians. Keep the same level of mindless violence going for year after year. Are you sure your yarmulke's tight enough?
Officials said the campaign against Sharon's expulsion plan could harm Israel's strategic interests.
Yeah. I'd say so...
They said among the non-lethal options that could be taken by withdrawal opponents include the refusal by tens of thousands of reservists to serve in the army, resignation by combatants of elite forces, sabotage of military facilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the intimidation of government employees responsible for the withdrawal plan.
Countermeasures by the gummint, I suppose, would be to just pull the hell out and leave your asses naked, living in Hamas country.
"The year 2005 is not likely to be an easy year for the people of Israel," Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said. "It is likely to create rifts. The biggest challenge is to maintain unity of the people. There is no room for a split. Every Israeli citizen must preserve the rules of democracy."
I still think that if there ever is a Paleostinian state and peace in the Middle East, Israel's going to become Greece.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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First they run from Gaza, then they run from the "West Bank", then they run from Tel Aviv, after the FINAL SOLUTION comes to them in the form of millions of Arabs invaders calling themselves refuges. What a great idea! For thousand of years we Jews were told to get out of all the countries of the world, back to your land, and when finally we did it!(with G-d's help) now the whole world wants us to go back to where? Maybe Germany?
Posted by: LENA ||
12/22/2004 10:22 Comments ||
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to a secure Israel, Lena. You'll not find Israel's supporters stronger elsewhere than RB, but reality is, the isolated settlements will become death traps.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 10:47 Comments ||
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#3
I still think that if there ever is a Paleostinian state and peace in the Middle East, Israel's going to become Greece.
#4
LENA-We are on Israel's side on this website, for the most part. We want Israel to stay a strong state and recognize that Palestinians have not contributed anything to their part of the Peace Process, it's true. But realistically, do you imagine that there will be peace in Israel if you deny how that land became Israel, the state, in our lives? There will have to be sacrifice of some land on Israel's part. It is the gift they give their children for the future: Israel's dignity restored, its peace returned, and its loved ones' lives saved to worship as they choose from that day forward.
#5
Jules,
I appreciate your concern and good will.
Do you really believe in this Utopia ?
I remain suspicious of Arab and Islamic motivation and trustworthiness in the near-medium time range.
The reason I believe we should withdraw from Gaza
is that it is strategically not worth the effort.
And it will enable us to be more stubborn when the real vital issues (like refugee right of return and west bank settlements) are being negotiated.
#6
EoZ-I don't imagine that that Arabists and Islamicists have admitted to themselves that their idea of the great Palestine, at the expense of the state of Israel, is over. Nonetheless, it is. "Good faith"? Non-existent. They must prove they have moved beyond their violent indoctrination. Their disgraceful actions will take years to heal.
However, I would point out that either people living in that land who cling to all of the land because of "divine right" will deliver lots of more dead people. That is not the goal, but that is the path that stubbornness has set for now.
How do two mutually hostile and mutually mistrusting people can share the exact same land? They don't, at least in our lives. The land will not remain intact if there is to be peace. That is my point.
1. Become an undistinguished Med democracy?
2. Become a major tourist destination?
3. Join the EU and lean anti-US? Get in bed with Serbs and Russians?
4. Have rapid economic growth?
#10
LH and Mrs. Davis,
thanks for the clarifications.
I hope at least some of these things wont happen
even though I wouldnt mind #4 and #6 personally.
Peace talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur's main rebel movements have been suspended until January, according to a joint statement from the parties released by the African Union yesterday. "The parties undertake to return to Abuja for the next round of the talks on a date in January 2005 to be confirmed by the African Union," it said. The statement reaffirmed the commitment of both the government and the two rebel groups to respect a cease-fire deal signed in April, and called on AU military observers to step up their mission to monitor the frontlines. The decision underlined the failure of the fourth round of AU-sponsored peace talks, which made no progress towards a lasting political settlement after Sudan launched a military offensive in breach of the April deal. But AU chairman President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and other international mediators did manage to persuade both sides to promise to halt the fighting "to create a conducive environment for the next round of talks." "The government of Sudan reaffirms its stated commitment to completely stop its military operations in Darfur and to withdraw its forces to previous positions," the statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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The turbans have decided that Pakland's passports have to show people's religion. That way, when planes are hijacked or large numbers of people taken hostage, they can be sorted out and the non-Moose limbs bumped off in an orderly manner.
A passport represents the identity of a person's state not religion, said Chaudhry Shahid Akram Bhindar, the state minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights, while addressing a seminar on human rights on Tuesday. The seminar 'Role of the government in promotion and protection of human rights (HR) in the country' was arranged by the regional directorate of Human Rights (Punjab) under the Federal Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights. Mr Bhindar said that religious parties were forcing the government to add a religion column in the new machine-readable passports. He said that it was technically not possible, adding that the state should not discriminate citizens on religion.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 9:11:31 PM ||
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On the other hand it will make the TSA's job of performing cavity searches on all muslims all the easier......
Nepal's King Gyanendra will press for more support to quell an escalating eight-year-old Maoist insurgency during a visit to giant neighbour India this week. The poorly equipped Royal Nepal Army needs helicopters and mine-proof vehicles to fight the guerrillas who have stepped up attacks on army patrols in the rugged countryside and bombings in the nation's capital. Gyanendra's 10-day tour beginning on Thursday will be the first since a new Congress-led government took office in New Delhi in May. "Naturally, he is expected to seek more Indian cooperation in fighting the rebels," a Nepali foreign ministry official said. Gyanendra will hold talks with Indian President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India, concerned about instability in the impoverished Himalayan kingdom, has been training and arming the Nepali army to help it deal with the Maoists, who want to establish a communist republic in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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How a'mighty FASCIST, again, of these Communists! The Commies want neutral INDIA cuz they need manpower, aka "numbers" and "quantities", sub aka CANNON FODDER, ags the modern, Western, and democratic worlds. Communism > UNJUSTLY ENRICHED GOVERNMENTIST WARLORDIC PROFITEERING ELITES ordering and sacrificing the PREMANENTLY POOR AND ALWAYS EXPENDABLE MASSES to PC suffer and die in the name of their masters, the slave state, and the permanent, perennial status quo.
#2
I do not get it, Joe. Slow down. Type clearly. Cut the friggin' CAPS and say what you want to say conversationally - without abbreviations or any of your private notations, please.
Otherwise, you may as well not post because nobody's following all of your comments. Bits here and there are intelligible, but not enough to get the whole of your message.
Relax and talk - I'm curious to hear what you're saying - I just don't speak your lingo, I'm afraid.
How all mighty fascist, again, of these Communists! The Commies want neutral India 'cause they need manpower, a.k.a. "numbers" and "quantities", [sub?] a.k.a. cannon fodder, against the modern, Western, and democratic worlds. Communism = unjustly enriched [governmentist?] warlord-like profiteering elites, ordering and sacrificing the permanently poor and always expendable masses to [PC?] suffer and die in the name of their masters, the slave state, and the permanent, perennial status quo.
Am I even close, Joe?
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/22/2004 3:11 Comments ||
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#9
The Commies want neutral India 'cause they need manpower, a.k.a. "numbers" and "quantities", [sub?] a.k.a. cannon fodder, against the modern, Western, and democratic worlds.
Strange, I thought the Maoists were gaining power in India.
The government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has deferred by 45 days elections to the 45 reserved seats for women in the Bangladesh Parliament. The Cabinet at a meeting in Dhaka on Monday night approved a draft bill on promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Jatiya Sangsad (Reserved Seats for Women) Election Act, which came into effect on Dec. 8. A Cabinet minister attending the meeting said the poll date has been deferred for several reasons. A writ petition filed by 13 women leaders against the act is said to be the major reason for the delay. Moreover, the government is busy with the upcoming SAARC summit, he added. According to the bill, election to the reserved seats in the present Parliament will be held within 90 days.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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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.
The alleged plot against 
Al-Fagih expressed surprise that the British government joined in the move. "I am here in their country, why do they have to ask the U.N.?" he said in a telephone interview. Britain's Foreign Office said authorities didn't have sufficient evidence of any wrongdoing by al-Fagih which would support action under British law. If the United Nations imposes sanctions, however, Britain would be able to act. "For some time we have been well aware of particular Saudi concerns about 
The North Korean border with China, long a tightly controlled frontier, has become a wide open conduit for subversive material. First it was radios and television sets that could pick up Chinese broadcasts (most people on the border tend to be bilingual). Then came VCD (Video Computer Disks). The VCD is an Asian development, particularly popular in China. A VCD is a regular CD, holding up to 700 megabytes of material. Using lower resolution, you can get most movies onto a VCD and watch them on a television set using a CD player equipped to read the video files. In the last few years, second hand VCD players (selling for about $5) began making their way into North Korea, along with second hand VCDs themselves (about 20 cents each). China itself was moving on to DVD and fancier VCD players. In poverty stricken North Korea, this led to some enterprising TV owners letting it be known that, for a fee, people could come over and watch some of his VCDs. Initially, Chinese action movies were the most widely available material. But soon VCDs containing South Korean TV shows showed up. These have been popular among the millions of ethnic Koreans living in northern China. These ethnic Koreans often worked as Chinese border guards, and once they noted that the North Korean guards were taking bribes, were quick to encourage as much illicit commerce as they could. VCDs were a favorite, as they are small items, easily moved across the border in broad daylight. Both the Chinese and North Korean government would occasionally crack down on the smuggling. But the guards knew that, if they were discreet, the business would survive the crackdowns and everyone would continue to make money. The North Korean border guards also liked the VCD material themselves. 
Relieved at the end of a "horrible year," Secretary-General Kofi Annan insisted Tuesday he has no intention of resigning over an embattled U.N. program to aid Iraqis and will pursue sweeping reforms in his remaining two years in office.
PLO chairman 
