Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday warned Islamabad that attacks perpetrated by “terrorists” infiltrating his country from Pakistan was severely undermining relations between the two countries. Following talks in Kabul with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Karzia’s office released a statement saying: “The president emphasised that the Afghan people desired to have strong and friendly relations with Pakistan. However, the continuation of violence perpetrated by terrorists from across the border was a major obstacle.”
Karzai went on to issue a veiled warning that escalating violence in Afghanistan would also harm Pakistan’s interests. “In the same way that Afghans cannot imagine a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan without a peaceful and stable Pakistan, it is also impossible for Pakistan to have peace and stability without a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.” Kasuri stressed that Pakistan supported a stable Afghanistan, the statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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Now he tells us.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused the Sudanese government on Thursday of failing to protect citizens in Darfur from killings, rape and other violence, warning it may be held accountable for those acts in the future. He said the international community has offered to help.
``But the government has refused to accept that help,'' he said. Now ask yourself, "Kofi, why would they do that?"
Last month, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir agreed in principle to allow a ``hybrid'' AU-U.N. operation, though he later reiterated his opposition to U.N. troops in Darfur. He has hinted he is trying to find a middle ground with the U.N. on how the peacekeepers could support the 7,000-strong AU force.
Asked Thursday whether he was worried about the image of the U.N. failing to protect civilians in Darfur, Annan replied, ``I think the question here is, 'Who has failed?''' Other than America and George Bush you mean.
``I think the responsibility to protect the citizens is the responsibility of the government in Khartoum,'' he said. ``The government patently has not been able to do that, given all the difficulties we see in Darfur - the killings, the rape, the destruction - and the international community has offered to go in to help them, but the government has refused to accept that help.'' His head will explode when we tell him Khartoum is behind it all ...
``The failure of the government to accept that help is ... placing the government in a very difficult situation. In time they may have to answer collectively and individually for what is happening in Darfur,'' Annan warned.
Annan said a U.N. team was in Ethiopia looking at ways to beef up the AU force. But he said the Security Council will only pick up the cost if it believes the U.N. can provide ``a workable, effective force that will bring some measure of security'' to Darfur and revive the peace process.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Let's get those Nigerian and Malian troops in there pronto!
#3
Good gawd, the mind boggles. He now believes the Sudanese gov't is guilty of inaction? They are active, just on the wrong side of the coin. When even TV-evangelists/Mega-Church preachers have picked up on Darfur and what's REALLY going on there, you gotta wonder where/how is Kofi or his son tied in there?
I thought the saying was "Never again" after Rwanda. It now appears to be "Never again, unless I can make some $ off the deal."
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 10:00 Comments ||
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#4
Picking up Kofi's comment the other day about things being better for Iraqis under Saddam, may we not point out that under European colonialism Africa didn't suffer the horror of coups, civil wars, genocide, famine, human rights abuses and mass refugee migrations that it now experiences from both the locals and the UN.
RIYADH, 8 December 2006 — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal yesterday said that the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states will express their concern to Iran about the prospect of nuclear power plants being developed on its side of the Arabian Gulf coast.
“We hope that Iran would take this into account and cooperate with GCC countries in order to take necessary measures against any calamity, which is likely even in the best of circumstances,” said the minister at a press conference after a closed-door session in preparation for tomorrow’s summit of the GCC heads of state. “Cooperation between all parties is required as the region is sensitive and linked with various interests.”
GCC Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al-Attiya also attended the press conference. The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman.
Continued on Page 49
THE Uniting Church has again sparked outrage by refusing to fulfil a Digger's dying wish to have the Australian flag draped over his coffin. The Highfield Rd Uniting Church in Canterbury banned the flag at the funeral of long time congregation member and war veteran Geoff Bolton on November 15. It is believed the family were only told of the church's policy on the morning of the funeral and were forced to have the RSL service in the church's foyer.
Essendon Uniting Church minister Wes Campbell outraged many by refusing dead World War II veteran George "Dick'" Vipond a flag on his funeral casket in March last year, forcing the Digger's family to move the funeral to a nearby Anglican church.
State RSL president Major-General David McLachlan said he was disappointed as he thought the issue had been resolved after working with former Uniting Church moderator Sue Gorman last year.
"It is an incredible insult to the family and also to Mr Bolton himself," told 3AW. "He was a veteran, he wanted to be buried under his national flag that he'd fought under and he his family has agreed to the RSL service.
"I think it's just unacceptable. Here are people wishing to have the final ceremony conducted in the church where Mr and Mrs Bolton were married some 50 years ago.
"The churches at the moment are crying out for membership, but those that have been faithful members of the church get treated this way and I just don't think it's right."
Former Uniting church moderator Sue Gorman issued a statement in June last year stating "the Synod Standing Committee gives strong affirmation for the use of the national flag within the Christian funeral liturgy."
"The majority of Uniting Church of Australia Ministers... allow the coffin to be covered with the national flag during the funeral service (of a returned Service person) and they can continue to follow this practise," she said.
However she cautioned all parishoners consult carefully with ministers to make sure funeral wishes and arrangements were clear, "with all ministers to devise a way forward when the reasonable requests of bereaved families with respect to the flag on the coffin conflict with the understanding of the Minister."
A statement from the Uniting Church is being prepared and will be released shortly, spokesman Rev Kim Cain said.
#5
Throw a blanket party for the priest, but instead of stuffing soap in the socks, put 1 lb lead weights. If he lives, saran wrap him to the light pole in front of the church.
PRISTINA, Serbia (Rooters) - The United Nations urged patience in Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province on Friday following reports of armed men patrolling the tense west. Their appearance follows a decision to delay until 2007 a decision on independence from Serbia which the 90 percent Albanian majority is demanding.
Residents of western Kosovo were quoted in newspapers on Friday as saying armed men in black uniforms and masks had been stopping cars at night and checking documents. "Who is that masked man?"
Local media reported a brief gunfight and police confirmed at least one checkpoint was set up by armed men near the town of Djakovica, 80 km (57 miles) from the capital Pristina. The men claimed to be part of the shadowy Albanian National Army (ANA), which the U.N. branded a terrorist group in 2003.
The United Nations-run province is braced for possible violence after Western powers and Russia last month agreed to put off proposals for Kosovo's "final status" until after a Serbian general election on January 21.
U.N. governor Joachim Ruecker said police were taking the incidents seriously. His deputy, American ex-general Steven Schook, urged patience. "I am confident that you will get status very quickly," he told residents of the central Kosovo town of Malisevo. "The only activity that would derail the process would be unilateral action or threats to the security of anyone right now," said Schook. "We are very close to the finish line."
Some two million Albanians form the majority of Kosovo's population. Around 100,000 Serbs remain. Western powers promised Kosovo Albanians a decision this year on the territory's fate, arguing that the status quo was unsustainable more than seven years since NATO bombed Serbia to halt a wave of ethnic cleansing.
But they delayed until spring of 2007 to avoid making the loss of Kosovo an election winner for anti-Western parties in Serbia. Diplomats say some form of independence is likely, but Russian opposition, at least publicly, is hardening.
In a report on Kosovo, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will tell the Security Council next week that "fringe groups and extremists" stand ready to exploit widespread frustration. Prime Minister Agim Ceku, a former guerrilla leader, said such groups were "damaging the image and security of Kosovo."
Dismissed by some diplomats as little more than an "internet army", the ANA has claimed responsibility for attacks in Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia's southern Presevo Valley since 1999.
The NATO Force, KFOR, said on Friday it was aware of the incidents, but they should not be "blown out of proportion". Illegal checkpoints and ominous communiques were the early hallmarks of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which emerged in 1998 to launch a guerrilla war against Serb forces and at one point controlled 50 percent of the territory.
#1
Some two million Albanians form the majority of Kosovo's population. Around 100,000 Serbs remain.
Western powers promised Kosovo Albanians a decision this year on the territory's fate, arguing that the status quo was unsustainable more than seven years since NATO bombed Serbia to halt a wave of ethnic cleansing.
This Rooters writer is a jackass.
2 million to 100,000 ratio. The only ethnicity that was cleansed from Kosovo was the Serbs. We can thank the UN, Bill Clinton, Madeleine Not-too-bright and Wesley Clark for allowing the Muslim Albanians to come in and takeover Serbian territory.
Most popular name for newborn boys in Brussels, the “capital of Europe,” in 2005: Mohamed, followed by Adam, Ayoub, Rayan and Mehdi. Source. Nothing new IIRC it has been so since at least 2004. Also, check the ratio of the totals, muslim first names vs kufrs. And, by the way, "Adam" is a mostly muslim name (at least from the people I've known) here in Europe.
#1
I've almost got to hope that some day these parents end up regetting their choice when all males with the name of "Mohamed" are sent to the wall first.
#3
My mother worked, got a PhD, taught, and had four children. It isn't having an outside job that makes European women decide not to produce offspring, it's a refusal to invest in the future.
#4
They're doomed. I hope the Euro's have the sense to get rid of their nukes so the koranimals don't get a hold of them, similar to what the South Africans did with their issue. I hope, but doubt it.
#4
Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld has served his country nobly, at a time when only he saw and accomplished necessary (and hopefully irrevocable) changes in the structure and key methods of our armed forces. He took our military to war with what he had and, if not perfectly, he nevertheless did not allow the Platonic Ideal of Perfection to keep him and the Armed Forces who were his charge from doing that which was good enough for the first steps down a long road. We can only hope that his successor continues his efforts and improves on them, taking full advantage of the goodwill attached simply to being someone else to git'r done.
#5
God loves ya and Bolton, Rummy, stick around becuz I think the USA will still have need for you two. Good men stay home only after the job is 1000% done and in good hands, not partial = half-way done.
Senators sharply questioned an Iraq commission's call for a new U.S. war strategy Thursday, saying the Bush administration and Congress must work urgently together to find a more effective approach.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a 2008 presidential hopeful, took strong issue with the commission's call for phasing out the U.S. combat role in Iraq by 2008 and focusing instead more on training and advising the Iraqi army. He rejected the idea that the Army and Marines cannot spare more combat forces for Iraq duty.
"There's only one thing worse than an over-stressed Army and Marine Corps, and that's a defeated Army and Marine Corps," said McCain, a Vietnam veteran who will become the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee when the Democrats take control of both houses of Congress in January. "I believe this is a recipe that will lead to our defeat sooner or later in Iraq," McCain added.
One of the commission's co-chairmen, former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., underscored the urgency of changing course in Iraq, where conditions were described as grave and deteriorating. He was asked at what point the situation there, if not corrected, would be hopeless.
"Well, there certainly is that point, and we're perilously close to that point," he replied.
Hamilton and his co-chairman, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, testified before the Senate committee one day after delivering their report. Hamilton said that a new, more realistic and practical approach is needed.
"That's a very tough policy problem, and in order for this to happen, it can't be pie in the sky, it can't be idealistic, it has to be pragmatic," he said. Later, he added, "We reject the idea that the situation is hopeless."
Most senators broadly endorsed the commission's report, which made 79 recommendations for policy changes. Their skepticism focused mainly on two of the recommendations: a diplomatic approach to Iran and Syria, and an acceleration of the U.S. military's work to train and advise Iraqi forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
"There's only one thing worse than an over-stressed Army and Marine Corps, and that's a defeated Army and Marine Corps,"
Yep, there's a long historical record what happens to nations who keep sticking their military in the back for petty political gains back home. How many times before something breaks, like self restraint? And usually not a good move when most of the population thinks all the politicians regardless of affiliation are a bunch of crooks.
Stacie Paxton, Press Secretary for the US Democratic National Committee, denied reports on Thursday that Hamas leaders had met secretly with US Democratic Party officials. "Nope. Nope. Never happened." "Who're you going to believe, us Democrats or Hamas?"
The Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency, quoting sources close to the Hamas-led government, claimed Wednesday that such meetings did take place. However, the agency did not give additional details. In response to the reports, which were also published in The Jerusalem Post, Paxton said: "No such meeting took place."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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And if you did meet with Hamas, what would you tell us then?
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/08/2006 6:20 Comments ||
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Hard call, but I think it at least marginally more likely that Hamas is lying.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/08/2006 6:50 Comments ||
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What possible reason could Hamas have to make such a bizarre claim? No, methinks it do have some truth to it. Maybe not an "official" meeting, but a meeting none the less.
#4
Unless you got a tape, *credible* eyewitness, or a video to prove a meetiing took place this is a hard sell. I'd love to see hard evidence. It would damn the dems.
#8
...Does anybody remember former House Speaker Tom Foley's comments about Bush 41 about his role in the Iran-Contra scandal?
Let me refresh everyone's memory. The Iran-Contra special prosecutor actually suggested that VP Bush got in an SR-71 and flew to Paris to meet with the MMMs and then come back in less than a day. When the USAF turned over the flight logs and let these idiots interview the flight and ground crews, the SPs office stated that there was no evidence that any such flight had ever taken place. Foley's response:
"Despite the fact there is no evidence, the seriousness of charge demands that we investigate."
I second Speaker Foley.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/08/2006 13:51 Comments ||
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#6 Shucks, Pappy.
The IRA married into the Democratic Party (Paul Hill/Mary Courtney Kennedy). The Reception must've been a hell of a piss up!
#10
D *** ng it, what kind of VIETNAM QUAGMIRE is this WOT - at least the Dems should do is have the common decency to secretly meet wid NVA-VC = HAMAS, etc officials in Paris or Vienna, to make sure Amer loses Vietnam while spending a lot of $$$ in the process. IFF THE DEMS ARE GONNA BE CALLIN' VIETNAM + QUAGMIRE, AT LEAST FOLLOW THE HISTORICAL SCRIPT.
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - The U.S. military transferred the first group of detainees on Thursday to a new maximum-security prison at Guantanamo Bay designed to restrict contact among the prisoners and prevent attacks on guards. This complements our facility at Ice Station Zebra, the other place we're not supposed to talk about.
More than 40 detainees were brought to the $37 million prison perched on a plateau overlooking the Caribbean Sea from another maximum-security facility at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, said Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand. The 178-cell prison, constructed beside another maximum-security prison built in 2004, will allow the base to phase out an older facility, Durand said.
The new prison was originally designed as a medium-security facility. But the military made several modifications, citing concerns raised by three suicides in June and a clash in May between guards and detainees armed with makeshift weapons.
It is now one of two facilities reserved for prisoners who are least compliant - an assessment the military says it bases on detainees' adherence to base rules rather than their cooperation with interrogators. Detainees will be confined in individual cells with long, narrow windows overlooking areas with metal tables and stools that were meant to be shared spaces but will now be off-limits.
An open-air recreation area has been divided into smaller spaces, which will hold only one detainee at a time. Shower doors were redesigned to allow guards to shackle prisoners' hands and feet before they leave the stalls, and fencing was installed on second-tier catwalks to prevent detainees from jumping over the sides.
The new prison also has air conditioning, an onsite medical center and two rooms that will allow detainees to meet privately with their lawyers, Durand said. Air conditioning has not been available at all the camps despite sweltering tropical heat. But the military is now installing it some prisons after detainees used broken fan blades as weapons in the melee in May.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kris Winter said the modifications will help make guards safer. In the last year and a half, the military has recorded more than 430 incidents in which detainees have thrown ``cocktails'' of bodily excretions at guards, as well as 225 physical assaults. ``As a commander, I don't like my folks being in danger every day,'' Winter said this week while leading journalists on a tour of the prison.
Guantanamo officials said the inability of the detainees to communicate with one another will also improve safety. Officials have said the May 18 ambush inside another facility on the base resulted from a plot hatched by detainees as word spread that guards were searching cells for contraband medication following two suicide attempts.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Ya' know...an Ice Station Zebra-like camp in the Antarctic wouldn't be that bad an idea. McMurdo could certainly use the labor force I'm told.
Hard labor in sub-zero temperatures would probably have a few of these ole' boys thinkin' maybe Allan had abandoned them.
BTW, good movie - and I know ISZ was in the arctic not the Antarctic and that we couldn;t really do that becuase the whole friggin' iced-over continent is a demilitarized zone (tell that to the Russians, the Chinese, and about everyone else but the US).
The US Congress passed a bill making any relations with Hamas and American government officials illegal on Thursday. According to the bill, no aid will be given to the Palestinian Authority until Hamas recognizes Israel's right to exist.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Hookay, now, where are those democrat assholes who were supposed to be prinking about with these bastards?
I don't care what previous pattern of deceit has happened in Africa or Iraq. Hamas epitomizes all that will perpetuate the Middle East crisis, for-fucking-eveh. Anyone who gives them the least iota of credibility undermines all efforts to achieve any sort of lasting peace.
If anyone has the least doubts as to just how repugnant Hamas actually is, consider the huge influx of weapons from both Israel and America into the PA's rabidly anti-Jewish Fatah wing solely to counterbalance Hamas popularity.
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) parliamentary party on Thursday decided that it would delay its decision of resigning from the National Assembly and a final decision on the issue would be taken in the partyÂ’s supreme council meeting to be held after Eidul Azha.
The MMA parliamentary party also decided that the religious alliance would start a protest campaign against the government and formed two committees for the purpose. The first committee was tasked to formulate strategy for the protest movement and the other committee was directed to start negotiations with other opposition parties for a joint strategy on submitting en bloc resignations.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and secretary general of the MMA, told reporters after the meeting that the religious alliance’s decision to resign from the National Assembly would not affect the anti-government protest campaign. “The MMA parliamentary party has decided to start a protest movement against the Musharraf government because of the regime’s failed policies,” said Fazl, adding that the MMA parliamentary party had also condemned President Musharraf for calling his political opponents “hypocrites”. “Gen Musharraf accuses religious parties of extremism, but he himself is an extremist,” he said. Maulana Fazl said that the MMA was not against women’s rights, but it would not allow the government to make legislation contrary to the Quran and Sunnah.
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12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has decided to serve show cause notice on Hafiz Hussain Ahmed for deciding to resign from the National Assembly without consulting the party leadership. A decision in this regard was taken at the JUI-FÂ’s executive committee meeting here on Thursday, sources said. Hussain, an MNA from Balochistan and also deputy secretary general of the party, had handed his resignation to the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal leadership and had vowed that he would not reverse his decision.
Posted by: Fred ||
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India said on Thursday that the death toll from 17 years of separatist fighting in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) stands at just over 41,000, while separatists and human rights groups claimed the figure was far higher.
According to police records: 16,231 civilians; 4,984 members of Indian security forces; and 19,966 militants have died since the insurgency began in the disputed territory in 1989. One senior Indian police officer, who did not wish to be identified, said that the death toll of 41,181 had been tallied up to Oct 31 of this year. “The figure does not include those who died on inaccessible snow-clad mountains while crossing over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or while returning after receiving arms training,” he told Reuters. The figure also does not include missing people. In 2004, then chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Syed, had put the number of people missing as a direct result of the conflict at 3,700. Local human rights group, the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS), put the death toll much higher, estimating that more than 50,000 people had died and more than 10,000 had disappeared since the armed insurgency against Indian rule.
“These figures are based on daily newspaper reports – we completely disagree with the government figures,” said JKCCS coordinator, Khuram Parvez. “We have already started a door-to-door survey in (Indian-held) Kashmir to compile the list of total deaths. Thousands of Kashmiris remain unaccounted for,” he added.
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12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
India should stop the killing by withdrawing all forces from Kashmir.
#2
How many of these deaths were caused by Hindus, other than the Indian armed forces? I'd bet the total is in low double-digits. Can't say the same about Islam, now can we?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 13:52 Comments ||
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NWFP Education Minister Maulana Fazl-e-Ali on Thursday protested in the NWFP Assembly against the remarks made by President Pervez Musharraf during his interview with an Indian TV channel, saying,
“Religious illiterates are ruling one of the provinces”.
“Religious illiterates are ruling one of the provinces”. So what's yer bitch, Reverend Fazl?
The education minister told the house that a World Bank (WB) report had appreciated the NWFP governmentÂ’s performance in health and education sectors. Ali said the religious alliance would return to the assemblies with a greater majority in the next elections. That will no doubt cause the very polite World Bank to appreciate it even more.
“Our success in the next elections will be 100 percent,” he said. I guess that means the NWFP will get the kind of government it deserves.
Opposition Leader in the assembly Shahzada Gustasap said that the house had unanimously passed resolutions on earthquake survivors, demanding that the government exempt them from various taxes and utility bills until they stood on their own feet. He asked the provincial government, “What has become of those resolutions, as the ministers never mentioned whether or not these resolutions have been implemented.”
The opposition leader said there had been no development in the quake-hit areas. Minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai said that the provincial government would soon launch various road projects, and only those roads would be selected for construction or repair, which came under the criteria set by donors in meetings held between the provincial government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Its about time Perv recognises the enemy within ie The Taliban/Al Qaeda supporters of the MMA!!!
The resignations issue dividing the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal has also created a rift within the JUI-S after its chief Pir Abdur Rahim Naqshbandi on Thursday disagreed with his party MNA Qari Gul Rehman and demanded the MMA resign from the National Assembly immediately.
“The MMA should immediately resign from parliament now that the ulema have unanimously declared the Women’s Protection Bill repugnant to Quran and Sunnah,” he said, adding that Qari Gul Rehman had violated the party’s policy by opposing the resignations during the MMA parliamentary party meeting.
Naqshbandi said that the MMA Supreme Council had decided to quit the National Assembly therefore Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, must follow the decision.
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The Kurds don't much like the ISG report either. Some very good points here.The report lacks the fundamental understanding of the Iraqi and Middle Eastern issues; hence it is the total distortion of facts. It does not approach the Iraqi or the Middle Eastern issue from the contemporary human and ethnic rights issues; rather it would build Iraq and the Middle East upon fear of the strongest, killers and abusers, and those who have no respect for human rights. It satisfies the greed of the killers by giving them more catches; it feeds more blood to the Dracula by providing them more lives; it keeps the oppressor happy by persecution of the defenceless.
If the recommendations were ever acted upon, it would be a recipe for further disasters in Iraq and in the Middle East, and most likely it may spill the Iraqi problems to the region and the West, including the USA.
It is pro-Turks and pro-Arabs, totally undermine Kurds and their achievements. If they were alive today, Michelle Aflaq and Ataturk would have eulogized the 'Iraq Study Group' for their achievement. Kurds and all other democratic forces must fight it; undermine it and bring it down to bury it in the mud where it belongs.
This piece of writing has just escaped the frozen mentality of the cold war period. If these people are the leading thinkers of America, then I fully understand why over 2,800 US soldiers have been killed and over 2,100 injured in Iraq so far. Such ignorant people may think that they play political games, but they should take full responsibly for the bloodied situation in Iraq and the Middle East and the disastrous consequences of theirreal politicks.
It is an irony that the most powerful nation on earth produces this piece of recipe for further disaster. It shows how commercial interests blind policy makers.
The report is based on undermining the very little progress that Kurds and Iraqis have achieved. These appear in a number of recommendations to make Arab states, Iran and Turkey happy on the account of Kurds. The report recommends:
- Abolishing federal Iraq, i.e. abolishing Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
- Taking oil out of the control of the KRG
- Abolishing Article 140 of the current Iraqi Constitution and confining KRG in its current boundaries, which is about 50 percent of southern or Iraqi Kurdistan.
- Demolish the Peshmerga forces and leave the Iraqi central government to control all armed and security forces
The buzz words in the report are the ones tickling the sentiments of Arab, Turkish and Iranian nationalists, such as "national reconciliation" and "Iraqis", concepts that have no existence on the bloodied ground of Iraq. It does not acknowledge any Kurdish achievements.
Throughout its 84 pages, the report does not mention "Kurdistan Regional Government" even once. The report failed to recognise any Kurdish political entity, effectively dismisses Kurdistan as a federal region of Iraq. It does mention "Kurdish administrated region", depraving homeland from Kurds, implying that Kurdistan is a part of Iraq but currently administrated by Kurds. Later, the report proposes to demolish this "Kurdish administrated region", but in a clever way, taking its financial and political control, to reduce it down to a manageable entity so that it can be abolished.
The report can be regarded as a declaration of American defeat in Iraq.
Here are some paragraphs to stipulate these concepts:
RECOMMENDATION 26: Constitution review. Review of the constitution is essential to national reconciliation and should be pursued on an urgent basis. The United Nations has expertise in this field, and should play a role in this process.
RECOMMENDATION 28: Oil revenue sharing. Oil revenues should accrue to the central government and be shared on the basis of population. No formula that gives control over revenues from future fields to the regions or gives control of oil fields to the regions is compatible with national reconciliation.
RECOMMENDATION 30: Kirkuk. Given the very dangerous situation in Kirkuk, international arbitration is necessary to avert communal violence. KirkukÂ’s mix of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen populations could make it a powder keg. A referendum on the future of Kirkuk (as required by the Iraqi Constitution before the end of 2007) would be explosive and should be delayed. This issue should be placed on the agenda of the International Iraq Support Group as part of the New Diplomatic Offensive.
RECOMMENDATION 50: The entire Iraqi National Police should be transferred to the Ministry of Defense, where the police commando units will become part of the new Iraqi Army.
Similarly, the Iraqi Border Police are charged with a role that bears little resemblance to ordinary policing, especially in light of the current flow of foreign fighters, insurgents, and weaponry across IraqÂ’s borders and the need for joint patrols of the border with foreign militaries. Thus the natural home for the Border Police is within the Ministry of Defense, which should be the authority for controlling IraqÂ’s borders.
RECOMMENDATION 51: The entire Iraqi Border Police should be transferred to the Ministry of Defense, which would have total responsibility for border control and external security.
The Iraqi Police Service, which operates in the provinces and provides local policing, needs to become a true police force. It needs legal authority, training, and equipment to control crime and protect Iraqi citizens. Accomplishing those goals will not be easy, and the presence of American advisors will be required to help the Iraqis determine a new role for the police.
RECOMMENDATION 52: The Iraqi Police Service should be given greater responsibility to conduct criminal investigations and should expand its cooperation with other elements in the Iraqi judicial system in order to better control crime and protect Iraqi civilians.
In order to more effectively administer the Iraqi Police Service, the Ministry of the Interior needs to undertake substantial reforms to purge bad elements and highlight best practices. Once the ministry begins to function effectively, it can exert a positive influence over the provinces and take back some of the authority that was lost to local governments through decentralization. To reduce corruption and militia infiltration, the Ministry of the Interior should take authority from the local governments for the handling of policing funds. Doing so will improve accountability and organizational discipline, limit the authority of provincial police officials, and identify police officers with the central government.
RECOMMENDATION 53: The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior should undergo a process of organizational transformation, including efforts to expand the capability and reach of the current major crime unit (or Criminal Investigation Division) and to exert more authority over local police forces. The sole authority to pay police salaries and disburse financial support to local police should be transferred to the Ministry of the Interior.
#1
More and more I am suspecting that this B-H report is an effort to severely undermine the occupation critics.
1) It takes away ambiguity. There is strength in saying that "something must be done"; but when concrete proposals are made, they can be criticized.
2) Some of the proposals are already being done, some were already planned, and some are outrageous and obviously flawed. People love obvious choices.
3) The administration can cherry pick just those things already being done and planned anyway; this is a "have cake and eat it, too" situation.
4) The occupation has accomplished all of its major milestones, so how do you judge success or need-for-improvement (not! "failure"), at this point?
5) It does give cover to the US turning over control to Iraqi forces complete, leaving just cadres attached to their major units. The US can now just retire to its bases and let the Iraqis solve their own internal disputes the Iraqi way.
6) Even if a civil war is inevitable, the Sunnis will lose and be severely punished. While many will flee the country, the rest will just be humbled. The US can do nothing and deplore "Iraqi on Iraqi violence".
#2
Agreed. Yesterday I was struck by how pretty much everybody has something bad to say about the Dhimmi Recommendations.
If you put Baker in charge, you know what to expect. If you want to put your enemies, critics, and fair-weather friends in a weak position, what else would you do?
Still, the standard by which to judge progress in WW IV is when and how we crush Syria's and Iran's ambitions -- if not crushing the countries themselves. Aligning even Democrats against Baker is a necessary but not sufficient condition for victory.
#3
James Baker is in the same category as Jimmah Kahtah, and has about as much credibility. The rest of the group was there for window dressing. Their entire effort was a waste of time, and should be flushed, along with that "koran" from Gitmo.
It's becoming pretty plain that unless the military asserts itself in Turkey, that nation is no longer our "friend" or "ally". It's time to rethink the composition of NATO. The French should be completely excluded. We should think very hard about allowing the Belgians to continue to participate. The newly-independent regions of Eastern Europe "get it", and are welcome. I'm not so sure about Turkey, Greece, Albania, or any of the former Yugoslavian territories. Maybe we need to change the name, change the mission, and include states such as Japan, Australia, and India. If we succeed in Iraq, we may have another friend there. Regardless of what happens, the United States needs to rethink who its friends are, and whom they should have what kinds of relations with. The Cold War status-quo no longer works, and Baker's bullsh$$ proves that far too many people still think along those lines.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 14:57 Comments ||
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#4
If we're going to drastically alter the meaning & makeup of NATO, might as well trash the whole thing and start a new arrangement. With the collapse of the USSR, NATO largely lost its reason for being.
President George W Bush, standing alongside chief Iraq war ally Tony Blair of Britain, asserted Thursday that success in Iraq depends on victory over extremists across the “broader Middle East.”
“It’s a tough time and its a difficult moment for America and Great Britain and the task before us is daunting,” Bush said a day after a bipartisan commission said his war policies have failed and called for a change in strategy. The British prime minister, who has stood shoulder to shoulder with Bush since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, said he welcomed the conclusions of the Iraq Study Group despite its criticism of past policies. It “offers a strong way forward,” Blair said.
“I think it is important now we concentrate on the elements that are necessary to make sure that we succeed — because the consequences of failure are severe.” Bush appeared to endorse the panel’s conclusion that any resolution of the Iraq conflict is tied to reducing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians and across the broader Middle East - a position Blair has long held. Bush said that he would only welcome Iran and Syria to group talks on Iraq if they agree to end support for extremists and to help Baghdad’s fledgling government. “And if people are not committed, if Syria and Iran (are) not committed to that concept, then they shouldn’t bother to show up,” Bush said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Bush appeared to endorse the panelÂ’s conclusion that any resolution of the Iraq conflict is tied to reducing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians
I'm not worried because I've complete confidence in our US friends.
#3
"Bush said that he would only welcome Iran and Syria to group talks on Iraq if they agree to end support for extremists and to help BaghdadÂ’s fledgling government."
-Political speak for "people in hell should have ice water to."
#5
I'm taking the word "appeared" literally there, grom. Watch what the hand does, not what the mouth says.
For example, notice the kinder language the media uses on the Iran/Syria situation (he would only welcome....), but read Bush's quote, "...then they shouldn't bother to show up." Good quote from Bush being shaded by the kindler/gentler colored glasses of the MSM.
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 9:51 Comments ||
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#6
The point I'm trying to make is this...Bush has been COMPLETELY open and honest with ALL of his plans for the WoT thusfar, and the MSM has tried to kill him with death by a thousand cuts.
Maybe, just maybe, Bush is now switching gears. "Bluffing" if you will. NOT outlining his plans in plain English like he has before, but keeping his cards closer to his chest (and yet, actually IMPLEMENTING those plans all the same). He knows the LLL and the MSM are stacked against him, so why not start talking more "diplo-speak", but continue on in the same course we've been taking behind the scenes?
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 9:54 Comments ||
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RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - A panel has advised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to leave the militant Hamas group in power for now, but call new elections after the economic crisis in the Palestinian territories worsens further, a member of the group said Thursday.
In Gaza, meanwhile, some 2,000 supporters of Abbas' Fatah movement marched against the Hamas government Thursday, demanding it move to end the economic boycott imposed by the West for the Islamic group's refusal to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept existing peace deals.
A leader of the march, identified only as Abu Moussa, said there would be a "revolution of the hungry against this government" if Hamas failed to act.
Abbas had sought to end the economic boycott by pushing Hamas to join Fatah in a coalition government. But talks broke down last week and Abbas has since been weighing three options: leave Hamas in power, dismiss the government or call a referendum on holding new elections.
Abbas declined to discuss the options when speaking to reporters Thursday in Ramallah. Although talks with Hamas have hit an impasse, he said new negotiations were still possible. "Unfortunately, our dialogue hit a dead end, although we should keep up hope to have a national unity government," he said.
Abbas, who discussed the three options late Wednesday with a panel of PLO members, is expected to announce a decision on how to move forward next week. All three choices have serious drawbacks.
Leaving Hamas in power would mean the international aid boycott would remain in place. If Abbas dismissed the government, the Hamas-dominated parliament could block any attempt to install a new Cabinet. And Fatah would not be guaranteed to win new elections should they be held.
Saleh Raafat, a member of the panel that met with Abbas, said a combination of two options is being considered. "We have two recommendations," said Raafat, who represents the PLO's small FIDA Party. "The first is leaving Hamas in power while Fatah constitutes the opposition and gives Hamas a chance to solve the crisis. If it can't do so, then we have to resort to the second choice, a referendum on early elections. We are going to give Hamas a chance to solve the crisis, but I am sure it will not pass the test. It will not succeed unless it changes (its positions)," he said.
Hamas, however, appears increasingly confident it can keep its government afloat without Western aid, mainly with financial help from the Arab world. Hamas has denounced the idea of early elections and said it would not relinquish power. "If we won't have a national unity government, we will not abandon our duty," said Deputy Finance Minister Samir Abu Aisha. "We will keep running the government, even with minimal aid."
Labor Minister Mohammed Barghouti of Hamas said donations from Arab countries could keep the government afloat, citing a pledge by Qatar for $40 million a month to cover the salaries of teachers and some health workers. "Adding to that the local revenues and the decrease in running costs, I think we can manage to keep running the Palestinian Authority," Barghouti said.
Independent economists say the government remains in deep trouble. U.N. groups are asking for a record $450 million in aid to prevent a further economic deterioration in the territories.
According to the U.N., 65 percent of Palestinians are living in poverty and 29 percent are unemployed. The Palestinian health care system is running out of medicine and on the verge of collapse, and nearly half of all Palestinians don't have reliable access to food.
"Peas. I love peas. Green peas, black-eyed peas, peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold. Whirled peas especially. The Syrians make a whirled peas reduction that's absolutely divine. Mmmm...peas."
Good Gawd. Where do they get these people?
Defense Minister Amir Peretz pushed for talks with Syria, on condition that the country stop its support for terrorism, sources said Thursday morning. Yeah, sure. Go ahead and talk to them as soon as they stop doing what they've been doing for fifty or sixty years. They're gonna stop any time now. Really.
The defense minister said his comments during a Labor meeting which followed the submittal of the Baker-Hamilton report regarding US stance on Iraq. "In order to weaken the radical axis, we must be open to the [words] of peace voiced by the president of Syria, however, first Syria must stop the terror and cease giving Hamas 'an umbrella,'" said Peretz.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Someone call Al Gore....
The internet is broken [slams side of monitor]
It keeps showing the same damn rerun over and over again.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that Israel will "continue to show restraint" in Gaza, despite continuing rocket fire. Olmert also rejected suggestions that Israel's recent cease-fire with the Palestinians in Gaza would simply allow the armed groups to rearm and regroup for another round of fighting, saying that Israel would not allow that to happen.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
In other late breaking news, Olmert disclosed he's started banging his head upside a brick wall five times each day in preparation for dhimmitude acclimation.
#2
What is the cause of the current lunacy prevalent in the world today ?
Is it planetary alignment ?
Is it sun spots ?
Is it global warming ?
Swamp gas ?
Sociopathic gambling ?
Boredom ?
Global acute self loathing ?
Behavior control micro waves ?
Crop circles ?
Skim milk ?
El nino ?
Whatever it is, logic has gone out the window.
If an enemy makes war on you, and you can fight back, you fight back, killing the enemy until the enemy stops making war on you, or until the enemy surrenders. There is no magic number of enemy killed or bullets fired, just keep up the fighting until you win. There is no restrictions on what ground you fight on, you may attack, or you may hunker down and fight a defensive war. In either case, you must kill them in order to win a lasting peaceful future. The other option is surrender, Mr. Olmert.
#3
wXJames: What is the cause of the current lunacy prevalent in the world today ?
Demons.
No really. According to the New Testament, Demons never really began to cause insanity until Jesus' day. No record of them before then: Saul's problems were caused by a spirit sent from the Lord. The bad demons probably learned how to do it by watching that one do his thing.
Anyway, the demons in Jesus' day were really new at it and very incompetent, so what looks today like cases of mental illness was REALLY demon possession, so casting them out really worked.
Fast forward 1900+ years. They've had a lot of time to practice, so they're more subtle and experienced: I'd say the least experienced demon who's effective, but still a bit wobbly in delivery, is the one plaguing Al Gore.
While I have no doubt that some forms of mental illness have a chemical basis, some seem not to, and those could be due to "damage" caused by a demon who's either still in residence, or who vacated the premises. I believe the current ROE requires that no evidence be given of spiritual entities that would contradict the current belief in Materialism. There is, for sure, the occasional slip-up that reveals that reality is deeper than appearances indicate, but the insistence that Demons be proven by Scientific means that such slip-ups can be managed out of existence. They will always be anecdotal, never sustainable, because a Demon has no reason to let itself be stuck in a test-tube or confined in a Laboratory to be poked and prodded by a hairless ape in a lab-coat with delusions of being in control, only to have some OTHER hairless ape in a lab-coat demand the same for purposes of "reproducing the experiment".
#4
show restraint
Will anyone in the diplosphere show Israel some love now? I mean: Olmert is doing the thing they've always demanded in the face of aggression.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Teheran on Thursday and is expected to meet with Iranian government officials including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini. Haniyeh is expected to stay in Iran for four days.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#3
I reject the commission's finding on that fact as well. The Israel/Palestineo conflict is the uber-strawman arab leaders throw out to mask their own impotence and corruption.
#1
We will continue to see much more of this. People brought up into chaotic lifestyles without any spiritual formation will turn to Islam. They have nothing to rely on and are taught by modern culture that Western Culture is evil and impotent, including it's religions. Even the woman described as being brought up Baptist is enchanted. She states it's hard to do bad things when you have to pray five times a day. It's an unusual Baptist that doesn't Paul's admonition to "pray without ceasing." What does Islam give her that her perception of Christianity does not?
If terrorists ever unleashed a biological weapon, unusual molecules normally found in the blood of llamas could quickly help warn of the attack, scientists now report.
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington and their colleagues experimented with antibodies, which act as the red flags and magic bullets of the body's personal defense arsenal.
Every antibody is a complex protein tailored to clamp onto a specific target. Immune cells in the blood and lymph use antibodies either to identify enemies for attacks or to directly bind to and neutralize intruders.
Scientists now regularly develop antibodies for use in medicines against cancers and other diseases or in sensors to warn of dangerous microbes and chemicals. Unfortunately, the antibodies currently used irreversibly break down at high temperatures, often limiting extended use in the field.
Biochemist Ellen Goldman at the Naval Research Laboratory with virologist Andrew Hayhurst at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research and their colleagues investigated llama antibodies. Past studies revealed that the binding regions of these antibodies and those from camels and sharks are unusually small, just one-tenth the size of common human antibodies.
Llama, camel and shark antibodies consist just of chains of heavy proteins, missing the additional lighter protein chains that more complicated antibodies from other species use. Their relative simplicity makes them more durable, capable of withstanding temperatures of almost 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
The researchers generated more than a billion kinds of antibody binding regions in the laboratory based on genes taken from small blood samples from llamas. After testing their antibodies against various biological threats, the researchers found they could within days successfully identify antibodies targeting cholera toxin, a smallpox virus surrogate and ricin, among other known menaces.
"We're interested in the development of biosensors for biothreats in the field, and hopefully these antibodies will help lead to more rugged antibodies that have longer shelf lives and not require refrigeration," Goldman said.
The researchers noted they could advance their technology to isolate useful antibodies against emerging threats within hours. Goldman added that while the antibodies they have tested successfully bind to their targets, they hope to develop antibodies that bind more strongly.
The findings are scheduled to be detailed in the Dec. 14 issue of the journal Analytical Chemistry.
#2
Hurrah for The Adventures of Tintin! The author was Belgian -- they've a wonderful shop for his stuff in Brussels, translated into a great many languages, for those of us whose children don't read French or Flemish.
In which Smithsonian Magazine finds rainbows and lollipops on Jolo Island. And a few camps full of simple if heavily armed villagers, led by Saudi-trained 'rebel leaders', waiting for the call.
#1
I dumped my Smithsonian subscription last year after having it for almost 30 years. The final straws for me were a) an article listing acts of terrorism which equated the Boston Tea Party and the 1976 olympic massacre in Munich and b) another of the seemingly bi-monthly articles about the wonderful, glorious, fully bunnies and ducks Mayas' 'civilization' where they cut out the hearts of their prisoners for sport.
Granted, they built great monuments and had running water, but so did the Nazis.
#4
this Strategy actually has proven results and has been working now for awhile, It is an excellent example of innovating in a tough situation.
Posted by: bk ||
12/08/2006 11:50 Comments ||
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#5
The Munich massacre was in 1972, not 1976. I was in Germany at the time. Some friends of mine were supposed to go to Munich the day of the massacre. Needless to say, they cancelled their plans. Even this was not the first incident in the Islamofascist war against the West.
Most of the Meso-American Indians had blood sacrifices, but the Aztecs took it to new heights. There have been a couple of National Geographic reports of hundreds of bodies being found in sacred caves in Central America.
The Filipinos are getting pretty tired of the muzzies, and you may see a total pogrom against them in another couple of years. There have been some un-reported (at least in the US) intercepts of "volunteers" from Indonesia flooding some of the southern islands with "settlers". Expect a blowback.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 15:13 Comments ||
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#6
Gorg, Mayas or Aztecs? I know the latter were deep into human sacrifice, hadn't heard the same about the former.
The Aztecs were the pinnacle and culmination of the cutting-hearts-out sacrificial cult, but it was a long-standing tradition of the various Mexican cultures.
The Maya reveled in human sacrifice too, but not so much of the ripping hearts variety, though the post-classic Chichen-Itza culture of the Maya practiced it. The kinder, gentler Classic Maya preferred decapitation after much torture and public humiliation. And, yes, we have the pictures to prove it.
(KUNA) -- The Sri Lankan government will introduce tough anti-terror laws amid increasing violence and fresh security threats from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Sri Lanka's Minister for Health Nimal Siripala de Silva, told reporters in the capital Colombo Wednesday that laws were being introduced to crack down on terrorist activities. He said it would not hamper the Norwegian-backed peace process aimed at resolving the country's ethnic conflict, the news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported.
"The new measures are mainly to counter terrorist activities," de Silva said adding that the Sri Lankan government has also decided to enforce the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the news agency said.
The Prevention of Terrorism Act was suspended following a ceasefire agreement between Sri Lankan government and LTTE in February 2002.
Since December 2004, more than 3,200 civilians, security personnel and rebels have been killed in Sri Lanka.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton on Thursday endorsed the idea of talks with Iran and Syria to help ease the bloodletting in Iraq, saying it would also be in Tehran's interests. I am the Master of Jaw Jaw.
Clinton spoke in the Netherlands the day after the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel that included senior officials from his administration, proposed engaging the two Middle Eastern countries - and U.S. foes - in the search for peace in Iraq. "I agree that we should reach out to the Iranians and the Syrians and try to get a regional solution. Right now the Iranians don't want to do anything, probably because their policy seems to be, whatever causes America heartburn is good for us," Clinton told the Dutch TV program Nova. Brilliant. Just bloody brillaint. How have we lasted 6 yrs without him?
"But the truth is there are 1.6 million Iraqi refugees already," he explained, adding that there could be as many as 10 million if the situation deteriorated to a point similar to the worst days of the Bosnian conflict. Just a wild-assed guess, there Bubba? You've been hanging with the UN fools, lately... Boned the Staff up on their ditzy stats, didja?
"Most of them would be in Iran. I don't really think Iran wants that, so I think there may be an opportunity for us all to work together." Heh. The world's so simple to a simpleton. Yep, they're just like us, Bill, 'cept they wear funny hats.
President Bush, however, has objected to that recommendation. He said Iran and Syria "shouldn't bother to show up" to an international conference on Iraq unless they stop financing terror. Repeating a long-standing demand, Bush said his administration would not enter direct talks with Iran unless it suspends uranium enrichment, which the U.S. believes is aimed at making nuclear weapons. Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful. Talking "peace" with people while they work to make nukes to wipe out Israel does have a certain logic to it. Bill? Can you follow that?
Clinton, who was visiting the Netherlands to discuss global warming with business and political leaders, said he also supports the withdrawal of some American troops from Iraq. "I think if we were to leave as soon as we could physically get out of there, there would be more chaos and more death in the country .... so I don't favor that," he said. I like to split the peach difference.
But he said pulling out some troops "would send a signal that we're changing policy, and it, I think, would free up some troops to try to be strong in Afghanistan." Thank you, General Clinton.
#2
If "leaving as soon as we could would cause more chaos and death", then what does leaving more slowly or in spurts mean? Chaos and death slowly, in spurts?
"But he said pulling out some troops "would send a signal that we're changing policy, and it, I think, would free up some troops to try to be strong in Afghanistan."
What if changing policy a la ISG INCREASES the chaos and death in Iraq? What if it INCREASES the attacks on coalition soldiers and civilians? Still gonna plan on freeing up some troops to TRY to be strong in Afghanistan? And you do imagine that shift in policy will have no repercussions on America's reputation, how other regional powers view our strength and resolve?
The potential for disaster in following the recommendations of the report is truly frightening. There is a complete disconnect in the Iran portion of the argument. Mr. Baker & Hamilton, et al, are recommending a strategy dependent on Iran's good will. Why should we believe in such a thing, when a good regional ally has been repeatedly threatened with annihilation, and when Iran regularly and publicly talks about their desire to see America go down? Do those positions indicate good will?
This panel is so desperate that they are willing to risk the stakes of the region-Israel, Lebanon, Iraq-on Iran's good intentions?
"Right now the Iranians don't want to do anything, probably because their policy seems to be, whatever causes America heartburn is good for us." Check.
""But the truth is there are 1.6 million Iraqi refugees already," he explained..."Most of them would be in Iran. I don't really think Iran wants that, so I think there may be an opportunity for us all to work together." SAY WHAT? Your primary rational for why Iran will help us, despite all signs to the contrary, is that they'll have refugees? Do you understand that millions of refugees mean nothing to the Iranian regime-that they will dispose of them as they like, because no one can or cares to do anything about it?
The desperation and cognitive dissonance from the great intellectuals in this report and in the public arena of politics is startling. I suppose it shouldn't be, but it is. I look at his picture as I read his words and get dry heaves.
#3
But he said pulling out some troops "would send a signal that we're changing policy, and it, I think, would free up some troops to try to be strong in Afghanistan."
Yeah, right, Bill. At least until we get that Afghan Study Group up and running under President Rodham so we can grease the skids outta there too?
Does that sound about right?
"Mr. Baker said he saw a value in inviting Iran to regional talks, even if Tehran refused the invitation, an outcome he saw as likely.
"What do we lose by saying, 'we're getting all of Iraq's neighbours together, we want you to come, and if they say no, we show the world what they're all about?'"
Is that our goal, showing the world what they're all about? Is this all a media-lit, popularity-restoring strategy? Is the target of the ISG restoring the good opinion of the "world community"? Is the worst possible consequence in today's world to be seen as not embracing Iran? The WORST?
There is more than one outcome to his supposition:
We invite Iran, they refuse.
We invite Iran, they agree to come, and want to negotiate Israel-whether it should be in Europe or the Middle East or at all.
We invite Iran, they come, and demand recognition of the Hamas government of Palestine.
We invite Iran, and they demand resumption of aid to Palestine and a fat purse to Iran, to boot.
We invite Iran, they come, and want to negotiate their right to nuclear "energy".
We invite Iran, and lose time--losing the opportunity to stop their realization of nuclear weapons.
And 1000 other scenarios.
I'm getting an education on Mr. Baker and Mr. Hamilton.
#5
Well, let's look at President Clinton's military track record. Granted, hindsight is 20/20, but we also live in a "post 9/11 world" too.
* 1993 WTC bombing: a law enforcement issue.
* Gays in the military? Sure, damn the effects on morale!
* Mogadishu: Let's cut and run, even if it is a UN "Peacekeeping" issue.
* 2 African embassies: Whoops, did I just bomb an aspirin factory?
* USS Cole: Let's just lob one of 'dem dare $2 million JDAMs into a $10 tent and hope we get binny!
* Iraq: Sure, Saddam can kick out the weapons inspectors, and break upwards of 17 UN resolutions. Let's just keep flyin' them "No fly zones" (at the cost of billions) and keep Saddam "boxed in."
* N. Korea: Oh sure, I trust that Hennessey drinking playboy. Why, he's a lot like me! Could you get Jimmuh Carter over there to "strike a deal," and include Maddy Halfbright too. I'm too busy with Monica to be bothered by issues like global nuclear proliferation to two-bit maniacal dictators and reclusive regimes.
One final note. Our OFFICIAL U.S. Gov't policy on Iraq became "regime change" under Clinton. He signed it and made it policy. Bush only implemented that policy, the cowboy!
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 10:12 Comments ||
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#6
This man would support dialogue with a rattlesnake if he thought there was a way it would keep his name in the news.
Clinton is jus following the other clintonoids (Half Bright, etc.) in reminding everyone what was so screwed up about the 90s.
Posted by: Captain America ||
12/08/2006 11:06 Comments ||
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#9
Maybe I haven't been following this guy too closely. But up until now I was willing to at least credit him with not blabbering as much nonsense in his post White House years as his fellow Dhimmi, our beloved Jimmuh Carter. No more, Bill. You're just another dumbass Dhimmi except that you still have that zipper problem and a wife who's willing to accept it because of her own aspirations. Let's just hope that Rodham is not as dumb and not as preoccupied with her dong as Bill.
BTW, Jules, you forgot one more thing Iranians will demand if we talk to them: recognition of the Hizbollah government in Lebanon.
#11
The desperation and cognitive dissonance from the great intellectuals in this report and in the public arena of politics is startling.
As a wise man once said (Orwell, I believe): "[fill-in-the-blank] is so stupid only an intellectual would believe it." These "great intellectuals" certainly bolster that idea.
But up until now I was willing to at least credit him with not blabbering as much nonsense in his post White House years as his fellow Dhimmi, our beloved Jimmuh Carter.
Is that even possible to blabber as much nonsense as Jimmuh? Even taking Chomskys [Chomskies?] and Ward Churchills into account* I'm not sure.
* - excluding IQ-challenged celebs and the obviously insane.
Recently, Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al Seyassah quoted European intelligence sources as saying that "Syria has an advanced nuclear program" in a secret site located in the province of Al Hassaka, close to the Turkish and Iraqi borders.
British sources quoted by "Al Seyassah" believe that "it is President Assad's brother, colonel Maher Assad, and his cousin Rami Makhlouf, who supervise the program".
This program is based on the Iraqi material that Saddam Hussein's two sons shipped to Syria before and during the war against Iraq. This explains, according to the daily newspaper, why international investigative teams found no proof of the program.
Furthermore, the British sources in Brussels affirm that "Iranian nuclear experts contribute to the Syrian program along with sixty Iraqi experts who had taken refuge in Syria since 2003 and experts from the ex-Soviet republics".
British intelligence also confirm that this information is validated by their German counterparts, who was well established historically in the countries close to the ex- communist block, including Syria.
Europeans fear that by focusing solely on the Iranian nuclear program, one might facilitate a much more quieter joint Iranian-Syrian program of uranium enrichment in Hassaka.
Also, the geographical choice of the nuclear site is very meaningful. Indeed, because it is located in an area with a Kurdish majority, the program evades suspicions, and also striking against these installations will initially touch the Kurdish community who has historically sided with the West against the Baathists regime of Bagdad and Damascus.
#1
This is a very advanced programme. They have enriched several kilos of uranium and have been passing it around the room in the dark to see if it glows.
#5
"All Moslem dictatorships have nukes" - THEY [INEVITABLY] WON'T, BECUZ RADICAL IRAN WON'T ALLOW IT, BECUZ RADIC IRAN > wants be the ONE + ONLY CENTRE/SOURCE OF WORLD ISLAMIC POWER, INFLUENCE, + THOUGHTS. THe Iranians = ancient Persians have been warring and struggling for "great nation/power" status for millenias, AND IS DOUBTFUL THEY WILL ALLOW SOMETHING SUCH AS ISLAM = RELIGION TO GET IN THE WAY. ANTI-ISRAEL = ANTI-WESTERN INFLUENCE > IMO hidden diversion for EVENTUAL WAR AGZ ANY AND ALL TRADITIONAL-HISTORICAL CENTRES OF ISLAMIC POWER.
Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday said that his organization's weapons would be used against Israel, and Israel only. In a speech made to thousands of supporters in central Beirut - his strongest-ever attack on the government - Nasrallah vowed to bring down the Lebanese government led by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.
"We will not lift our weapons in the face of anyone. We don't need weapons to defeat you," Nasrallah said, adding that Hizbullah would use its arms only against Israelis. "We will defeat you with our voices," he said.
He accused Saniora of conniving with Israel during the recent war, alleging he ordered Lebanese soldiers to seize weapons being delivered to Hizbullah guerrillas. "Didn't the prime minister of Lebanon work to cut off the supply lines?" Nasrallah said.
He said members of the government, whom he would not name, had asked American envoys to get Israel to destroy Hizbullah. "Those are the ones responsible for the war, not the resistance," Nasrallah said.
The man who was Lebanon's acting interior minister during the war, Ahmed Fatfat, dismissed Nasrallah's accusations as "false stories about the war." Speaking to Associated Press Television News, Fatfat said the charges would strengthen the Lebanese government's resolve. Fatfat, who is now minister of youth and sports, told Al-Arabiya television that the Nasrallah's accusation was also "very dangerous because it means bloodshed for Saniora and me."
In his speech, delivered on huge screens in two central Beirut squares, Nasrallah said the opposition's daily protests would continue until it achieved a bigger share of the Cabinet, but he also said he was prepared to negotiate and violence was not an option.
The Western-backed Saniora, who is supported by the anti-Syrian majority in parliament, has repeatedly refused to resign and has rejected the demand by Hizbullah and its pro-Syrian allies for a veto-wielding share of the Cabinet. "Negotiate with us and we will talk to you," Nasrallah said, addressing what he called the "illegitimate government."
"But in the name of all those gathered here, we will not leave the streets before achieving the goal that saves Lebanon," he said, to roars of approval from the crowd.
It was only the second time since the August cease-fire that Nasrallah had spoken live to a mass rally. The first time - in September - he appeared at the rally in southern Beirut. On Thursday night, he did not appear for security reasons, but spoke via video link to huge screens set up in Riad Solh Square and Martyrs' Square, pausing occasionally for the crowds to stop cheering.
Hizbullah and its opposition allies have staged daily protests for the past week in a bid to force the government's resignation. Saniora has been holed up in the main government office complex, which is ringed by troops, riot police and barbed wire.
Nasrallah referred to warnings from politicians from all sides, as well as the commander of the national army, that the mass protests could turn increasingly violent and drag the country back to the sectarian civil war of 1975-90. One young Shiite Muslim was shot dead in a riot in a predominantly Sunni Muslim area on Sunday night.
The speech seemed to be an attempt to prime the opposition for the massive demonstration that it plans to convene in central Beirut on Sunday. In a statement published in a Lebanese newspaper, the opposition called on its supporters to take part in "a historic and decisive" demonstration that aimed to replace "one-color government with a national unity government" - Hizbullah parlance for a Cabinet in which it and its allies have a third of the seats. Earlier Thursday, Saniora said he would stand firm and the Cabinet was "constitutional and legitimate."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Who else would you aim at Mr. Shit-for-brains ? Jordan ?
#4
That means the program of assassinating less than perfect Shiites and anyone else Hizb'allah doesn't like is continuing, but Sheik Nasrallah will not countenance shooting missiles at them.
The Hizbullah-led opposition has vowed to step up its campaign, setting Sunday as a new ultimatum to bring down Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government through a mass street protest.
The new zero hour set for 3 p.m. Sunday by the predominantly Shiite opposition came after the influential Maronite Church called for early presidential elections to help settle the serious crisis which is threatening to split Lebanon. The church, the biggest in Lebanon, also called on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to convene the house to break the critical political deadlock.
In an apparent response to the church's call, President Emile Lahoud Wednesday rejected early presidential elections, and reiterated that the formation of a national unity government was the only solution to the political crisis, according to a statement issued by his office. Lahoud has rejected repeated demands by Saniora and the parliamentary majority to step down. He has vowed to stay in office until his term expires in November next year.
However, Christian opposition leader General Michel Aoun adopted the church statement. "I have no objections to holding early presidential elections," Aoun told As Safir in remarks published Thursday.
But there was no comment from Berri on the church's statement, which avoided the term "national unity government," the opposition's primary demand, and proposed the formation of a "reconciliation government that ensures wide participation at the national level."
The Organization of the Islamic Conference also urged Lebanese leaders to act with "the highest degree of self-restraint, wisdom and responsibility in order to save the country from slipping on the inevitable slope of confrontation".
The opposition call also followed an appeal by Saniora to those who are trying to topple him through mass protests to stop "digging bunkers," return to the negotiating table, and help rebuild Lebanon.
Meanwhile, thousands of protestors camped in a tent city outside the Grand Serail for a seventh straight day Thursday as the opposition asked the Lebanese people to prepare for other forms of peaceful protest to force the formation of a new unity government. Nasarallah had his hand-picked replacement cabinet all set to go, thinking that last week's rally was going to do the trick. When that event went bust, Hez installed a couple of searchlights to play on the gov't offices in the Grand Serail. Now it's time for another mass rally on Sunday, with Hez knowing that they're looking weaker and weaker as this spectacle unfolds. So, sooner or later, ...
#2
Hezbollah has Iran and Syria as allies. Cedar Revolutionaries have absolutely no allies whatsoever. Against Western Civilization blunders into disaster.
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 7 -- For years, the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has been known for its [PC] liberalism and tolerance...The area just elected the nation's first Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison (D)...Police and airline officials say the imams,..., were removed after exhibiting suspicious behavior, including uttering anti-American statements, changing their seat assignments so that they would be scattered around the airplane and asking for seat-belt extenders, which could be used as weapons...But the imams say the behavior in question was merely quiet prayers before boarding the flight.
Local Muslims of various ethnicities are united in their anger ... [actually probably not true... however muslim who are not seething are afraid to speak up]
... over the imams' treatment.
#2
They should be handed over to the Inquisition, tortured into confessing their crimes beyond being pagan unbelievers and then burned at the stake. As long as we're living in the 7th century, it seems about right.
/Sarcasm...mostly. Really starting to get tired of this crap. And rather glad I ordered a case of M2 ball ammo for my Garand.
This is pretty sickening, and shows how easily deceived Americans can be. The Muzzies just love these idiots, and are no doubt amazed at their gullibility.
"But, we all have to just get along, don't we?"
Not.
I like the pig story video from Katy, Texas. at this link
Will there be tolerance from the Muzzies about the Friday night BarBQs?
My diversity of opinion is, no there will not be tolerance.
#4
This is Islamic jihad activism, and had nothing to do with prayers which were at 6:04 pm, because the plane wasn't boarded until 6:30 pm.
And did you hear that all the people in the plane CHEERED when the police took the Moslems out of the plane? Hardly a "diversity of
opinion" among the passengers.
#5
OK, next time something like this happens, we take the whole group out and shoot them. Those that seethe also get a bullet in the brain-pan. Time to get serious about the WOT, including the home front.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 13:37 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Sometimes I feel as though reading the comments at Rantburg is the only time I feel sane.
#7
Excalibur, I agree, and having hung around here a long time it's nice to know that the commentors generally are far more aware of the facts/reality/history than any other site I've been.
Minnesotans were treated to a bit of pure PC bullshit today from Republican and fellow Dhimmicat Senator Nick Coleman. He is on record supporting Keith Ellison taking the oath on the Muslim terrorist rage=Quran.
The same Nick Coleman who is for open borders. To me this only proves our so called conservatives are pure Dhimmis too.
I haven't heard anything about the local Mooslums getting pissy about the Imams. Not a word. But on the other hand the local media here refuses to have their own people cover it. Instead referring to the AP.
Why you might ask? Well the short answer is that they don't want to portray the local followers of the Pedophile for Profit in a bad light.
#9
But Sumbal Mahmud, a Minneapolis lawyer and spokeswoman for the Islamic Center of Minnesota, thinks local residents still have a lot to learn about Muslims.
Really? I thought we learned all we needed to know about your sand people cult of murder on 9-11.
Omar Shahin, one of the imams removed from the plane, said they were not praying loudly. He thinks US Airways and the media have been misrepresenting the incident. "The rumor that we were chanting Allah, making anti-American comments -- this never happened," Shahin said.
Heh Omar you are a liar, which I guess makes you a good Imam. I hope you can live with yourself because we sure a hell don't want to live with your sorry ass. So us a favor and take the next plane to Mecca. After all I hear it's warmer in hell.
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.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday warned Islamabad that attacks perpetrated by “terrorists” infiltrating his country from Pakistan was severely undermining relations between the two countries. Following talks in Kabul with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Karzia’s office released a statement saying: “The president emphasised that the Afghan people desired to have strong and friendly relations with Pakistan. However, the continuation of violence perpetrated by terrorists from across the border was a major obstacle.” 
RIYADH, 8 December 2006 — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal yesterday said that the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states will express their concern to Iran about the prospect of nuclear power plants being developed on its side of the Arabian Gulf coast.
THE Uniting Church has again sparked outrage by refusing to fulfil a Digger's dying wish to have the Australian flag draped over his coffin. The Highfield Rd Uniting Church in Canterbury banned the flag at the funeral of long time congregation member and war veteran Geoff Bolton on November 15. It is believed the family were only told of the church's policy on the morning of the funeral and were forced to have the RSL service in the church's foyer. 
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - The U.S. military transferred the first group of detainees on Thursday to a new maximum-security prison at Guantanamo Bay designed to restrict contact among the prisoners and prevent attacks on guards.
India said on Thursday that the death toll from 17 years of separatist fighting in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) stands at just over 41,000, while separatists and human rights groups claimed the figure was far higher. 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that Israel will "continue to show restraint" in Gaza, despite continuing rocket fire. Olmert also rejected suggestions that Israel's recent cease-fire with the Palestinians in Gaza would simply allow the armed groups to rearm and regroup for another round of fighting, saying that Israel would not allow that to happen.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Teheran on Thursday and is expected to meet with Iranian government officials including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini. Haniyeh is expected to stay in Iran for four days.
If terrorists ever unleashed a biological weapon, unusual molecules normally found in the blood of llamas could quickly help warn of the attack, scientists now report. 
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton on Thursday endorsed the idea of talks with Iran and Syria to help ease the bloodletting in Iraq, saying it would also be in Tehran's interests.
Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday said that his organization's weapons would be used against Israel, and Israel only. In a speech made to thousands of supporters in central Beirut - his strongest-ever attack on the government - Nasrallah vowed to bring down the Lebanese government led by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. 
