Norwegian officers are being pulled out of the front line in Afghanistan, in order to train Afghan forces. That means it will be a long time until Norwegian troops again see action against Taliban insurgents.
A lack of trained specialists will severely limit the offensive capability of the Norwegian force when the present contingent is replaced in June. Instead of the 100 troops requested, only 40 will be available.
The long-range weapons that have given them a clear fighting advantage will be put in storage until further notice. The new contingent lacks the necessary training to operate these weapons.
"I'm responsible for the troops," says Lt.Col Rune Solberg, the new commander of the Telemark Batallion. "They can't be used for missions that they're not equipped to handle."
Norwegian forces concluded a month-long operation against the Taliban earlier this month. Together with NATO allies and Afghan forces, some 250 Norwegians took part in fighting in northwestern Afghanistan. A combination of mortars, air strikes and armoured vehicles gave alliance forces a winning edge.
Norwegian troops have taken part in the Quick Reaction Force under ISAF control during the last two years.
The U.S. Army in Afghanistan has removed the prohibition on sex between male and female soldiers. Since the 1990s, the army has been big on clean living (or whatever you want to call it) in combat zones. No booze, no sex and not cavorting (you know what that means) with the locals. But with about fifteen percent of the troops in combat zones being female, and most of them young and single, things happened. Some couples got caught. Commanders got tired of having to punish (usually with an Article 15, which is just short of a court martial) troops for "unauthorized fornication." So now it is, if not authorized, not likely to get you punished. Y'all have a nice time now.
#1
Oh, goody, Jerry Springer in the Wire(tm)! Only on Pay for View
They get to learn all over again how do destroy unit cohesion when people screw other peoples significant other and everyone else starts taking sides in the unit. Talk about a morale builder. Yeah, I'll watch your back when the bullets fly. That's the ticket.
#2
I dunno, the Gauls fought the Romans and their wives or whatever joined in. The Romans were more afraid of the Gaul women.
I know that some IDF units have couples in them. I also know that the IDF had some units fighting in the Golan Heights during the big dust up in 1972 and they fought very hard.
The idea that promiscuous women would lead to jealousy is a bit over blown. A cheating spouse would be a big problem.......witness Uriah the Hittite.
#3
How about some new recruitment posters? "Join the army for the greatest unsafe sex in the world's hot spots." It sure would have gotten my juices flowing when I was young.
Negative. The problem is force division. Females getting preggers and having to be sent home because we can't have preggos in a combat zone is the bigger underlying prob. Hence, someone needs to fill their line number and do their job or the job falls on the rest of their section, fire team, etc.
Then they go home, have the child and are non-deployable for another 9 months or so. Can and does this happen stateside? - sure, all the time. Doesn't make it right. My last tour I commanded my first ever co-ed unit after only being w/the grunts or running recruit training companies at P.I. - of my last company command I had (a log/supply outfit) 17% of my command was NONDEPLOYABLE as they were either preggo or post-partum non-deployable - that in all honesty made me combat ineffective as a unit - so before we went to Iraq the first time we had to fill those line numbers up with you guessed it - guys and gals who had just come back from a tour in the sandbox or reservists called to active duty...complete bullshit.
The problem is not them having sex in and of itself - I'm no puritan, I think supervised alcohol would be fine to. The prob is the pregnancies and stds that cut into to your workforce that cause manpower issues. The morale busters of couples, desert love triangles, high school cafeteria style breakups and adulteries are just some extra bennies that used to waste my time in the war zone. When we as professional fighting unit needed to focus on fighting the enemy and taking care of the war fighter in the fighting hole or the grunt on patrol we're wasting time on NJPing one Marine for punching out another over some mattress pad or vice versa - two female Marines cat fighting over some numb-nut.
I am sick of the Corps nannying these kids. Gen Boomer had it right about 15 yrs ago when he said all first term Marines should be single of have to ask their C.O. for permission to marry. If they want to f*ck fine by me, but they're needs to be consequences for negative actions as a part of the responsibility ring. Give'm all a mandatory depro shot as part of their enlistment/deployment contract or make some poor NCO supervise them wearing condoms prior to the act - hahaha, I'd love to see that in a standing order.
100% agree with you: pregnancy in theatre or before likely deployment is simply not acceptable, the more so because we have easy, legal and more or less safe means to prevent it.
#7
The big problem is not the forming of relationships (although the favoratism that results can wreck morale). The real problem occurs when a relationship breaks up.
I've worked on a project where 2 team leads ended their affair. Not only did they forbid team members from helping the other side, but they actively sabotaged each other's work (deleting code etc.) While this is painful in an IT project, it can be downright deadly in combat.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
05/29/2008 12:53 Comments ||
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#8
lotp,
My last deployment to the sandbox we ended up sending three females home that got empregnated while in iraq. Other then relieving a punitive and administrative burden for HHQ I see little good in this from a warfighting perspective -Unfortunately decriminalizing it will not stop what it does to the greater force protection issues.
I don't know of any interunit sabotage but I guess I could see that happening on some of our convoys moving stuff around anbar w/blue force tracker, rfid tags etc. If I caught any Marine sabotaging some other Marine's work as a payback I'd be close to going into Ike Turner pistol whipping mode.
#10
Gotta say, my wife and I both met while in uniform (and soon got out of uniform over in Germany).
I had one stripe on her, and was in a different unit though, so chain of command issues did not come into play. And it was also cold war Germany, not a hot war zone.
#11
try to find a quiet spot on a carrier....
more than once on my last cruise on the JFK came across some he-in' and she-in in dark corners.
this is bad news if it becomes another 'don't ask, don't tell' sort of thing.
but i guess if the gays (gawd i hate using that PC word for faggots; it used to mean an emotion, not a lifestyle) can get away with it, then why not the straights?????
#12
USN - one med work up on the Khearsarge (aka queerbarge) - one of our Sgt's got caught getting oral from a female ensign - hahaha - in the CAPT'S dinghy! I can only imagine what CAPT's mast wrt that incident was like.
#13
We used call them love nests or desert luv in iraq...then they gave us two & three man 20'x20' "cans" to live in - guys and girls would play look out for each other while their roomies would get it on. This wasn't like an epidemic problem but it did happen on occasion. We also used to shakedown the odd convoy coming back from Camp Fallujah because the lads could score whiskey from the locals there. Some of it was home brewed - the last thing I wanted to have to do was explain to some parent why their kid lost their vision due to bad grain alcohol.
#14
#4: "Folks are dumb where I come from,
They ain't got no learning.
Still they're happy as can be
Doin' what comes natur'lly"
My uncle out in Texas,
Can't even write his name,
He signs his checks with "X"es,
But they cash them just the same
Grandpa Bill was never ill,
a single day of "Livin,
and he died at ninety three,
Doin' a what comes natur'lly"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/29/2008 16:04 Comments ||
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#15
Disgusting! Yea, I know it goes on, and the field hospitals hand out condoms like dinner mints, but no good will come from any of this. A young man's mind should be on the mission and his survival and the survival of his buddies, NOT on pu**y back at the FOB and in the back of a truck. Like women in combat, "don't ask - don't tell," this is yet another step BACKWARD!
#17
I agree wholeheartedly with all the negative comments. You've got to remember one thing though that is different now from all other wars: the lads aren't able to "fraternize" with the local ladies. Yep, having soldiers doing each other is a problem, no doubt about it. Lock that pressure relief valve shut though and you'll have other problems, and maybe worse ones, because you're trying to suppress the second most powerful human instinct in people at the ages where that instinct is running strongest. You've got to divert that river because you're not going to flat-out dam it up permanently without flooding something or the dam breaking. Hell, even the Victorian Brits had approved brothels for their troops in India because they KNEW something had to be done; they were losing too many effectives to venereal disease.
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
05/29/2008 17:30 Comments ||
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#18
Better to organise hookers. they know what they're doing and no emotional problems after either.
#19
#17&18 - you make good points and UKs Gen Montgomery did have such a thing during WWI&II for his troops much to the chagrin of the Church of England. I can only see the prostitution/women's rights/slavery issues that would come about now that a serviceman can get NJP for using a prostitute.
Posted by: Snash Oppressor of the Mohammatans aka Broadhead6 ||
05/29/2008 18:29 Comments ||
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#20
Thinking more about the whole op, it appears to [excuse the expression] to backdoor in convincing Congress to change to law to allow gays to serve openly. If heteros can engage in open violation of UCMJ articles concerning sexual behavior regardless of the impact upon morale and therefore readiness, then the foundation for exclusion disappears and is solely based upon sexual preference rather than sexual behavior. "Commanders got tired of having to punish..." or did our good buddies in JAG get tired of processing the paper and cases. You know the ones who told our combat people how, what and who they can shoot in a combat zone.
Publicity whore Campaigner George Monbiot said he would continue his attempt to serve arrest paper on politicians involved in the decision to go to war in Iraq. He was unable to make a citizen's arrest of former American Ambassador to the UN John Bolton at the Hay Festival. Mr Monbiot was dragged away by security officers as he tried to approach Mr Bolton, who was at the festival to talk on international relations.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Monbiot said he planned to pursue former PM Tony Blair. He said he considered Mr Blair and other leading politicians to be war criminals who had breached international law by their involvement in the decision making process which led to the Iraq war. He said he had given a dossier of evidence on Mr Bolton - who was President Bush's representative at the United Nations during the time of the Iraq War - to Dyfed-Powys Police ahead of his attempt to present his charge sheet. He said: "I'm aware that I've made what I believe is the first attempt ever to arrest one of the perpetrators of the Iraq War, and I believe that is a precedent and I would like to see that precedent followed up."
#4
Monboit is lucky. Bolton would have knocked him down, ripped his still beating heart from his chest and dripped the squirting blood into Monboit's dying eyes.
#7
He said he considered Mr Blair and other leading politicians to be war criminals who had breached international law by their involvement in the decision making process which led to the Iraq war.
Funny how getting UN approval results in breached international law...
#8
You didn't know he was the George Moonbat? Where have you been?
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 8:43 Comments ||
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#9
I used to be a big LGF fan back in the olden days, but I drifted away after a while, prefering RB to it, so I'm not that savvy to their linguo and how it spread to the conservative blogosphere; and I now find that in addition to being way too "big" to be user-friendly (like that family-blog of a Rantburg), I've simply moved away from their ideological views. Simply put, they're not my cup of tea.
#10
To reminisce, I've discovered RB in december 2002 through a Global security article (which I still have in my archives), and while I've not always been faithful to it at the beginning as I was more a LGF fan/lurker, it's the only "warblog" I still bother myself with (even though the Belmont club, Wind of Change, or others are still great blogs which I enjoy from time to time, but not daily), because it is reasonably "sized", it's interesting thanks to its Boss and Owner's peculiar sense of humor, and despite the egg and flow of regulars, there always are interesting personalities, knowledgeable or just plain interesting.
LONDON - Britain proposed on Wednesday to end the use of cluster bombs by its armed forces, saying it wanted a planned international convention outlawing the munitions to be as strong as possible.
The basic idea is to make as much of the US arsenal 'illegal' as possible, and then to make sure that no country works with us because we have 'illegal' weapons.
Britain's main negotiator at a meeting of more than 100 nations in Ireland trying to reach agreement on the new treaty told BBC radio the negotiations "could close" late on Wednesday, though two issues still needed to be finalised.
Cluster munitions open in mid-air and scatter as many as several hundred "bomblets" over a wide area. They sometimes often fail to explode, creating virtual mine fields that can kill or injure anyone who finds them later -- often curious children.
Some are designed to be deployed as mines: the whole point is that they sit there and deny your opponent the use of that piece of real estate. Others are designed to explode right away. According to FAS, the usual minimum acceptable function reliability is 95% -- so up to 5% may not work properly.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been pushing his reluctant military leaders to ban the use of the munitions and ordered a Ministry of Defence review earlier this month.
"In order to secure as strong a convention as possible, in the last hours of negotiation we have issued instructions that we should support a ban on all cluster bombs, including those currently in service by the UK," Brown said in a statement. Britain's ambassador for multilateral arms control and disarmament, John Duncan, said the statement reflected Brown's commitment to dealing with the issue. "We now have a basic text which identifies those weapons of concern and the prime minister has decided that those in the UK army should be withdrawn from service," he told BBC radio.
One of the sub-texts here may be to get Gordo back in good with Old Labour ...
Two issues to be resolved are whether the United States could still stockpile cluster bombs on bases in Britain, and whether signatories to the new treaty could take part in operations with forces that still used cluster bombs. The United States said last week that the treaty could jeopardise U.S. participation in joint peacekeeping and disaster relief operations because most U.S. military units have these kinds of weapons in their inventories.
Duncan said the text on this -- known as interoperability -- needed to be finalised and the question of U.S. forces stockpiling cluster bombs in Britain also needed resolving. "The current text says that stockpiling should end after eight years. Obviously we will continue to talk closely with our American allies and find a solution to this," he said.
President Obama will give our munitions away tomorrow. McCain is likely to listen to our military leaders. Factor that into our discussion of the two in yesterday's comments ...
More than 100 nations are taking part in the Dublin summit, but the United States, China and Russia -- three leading military powers -- are not.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
President Obama will give our munitions away tomorrow
No he won't---he'll wont to use them to liberate Palestine.
#4
This strikes me as another case of Britain trying to live down to her size.
Back in the day, Britain punched light years above her weight. Ever since WWII (really WWI started it) they've been moving down faster and faster to the status of light-weight that their size and economy would suggest is proper.
With the victory of the EU Britain will finally achieve the status of a New York or Illinois. Which is probably only fitting, if saddening.
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon plans to shift $9.7 billion of its overall budget to pay for war operations but warned on Wednesday it will run out of money if the U.S. Congress does not approve more funding by mid-July. The Defense Department, with major operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, sent Congress requests to transfer $5.7 billion to the Army's personnel account from the personnel accounts of other branches of the U.S. armed services.
It also asked Congress for permission to move $4 billion from the services' operations and maintenance accounts to the Army and U.S. Special Operations Command, whose troops train local security forces and conduct counterterrorism missions.
If approved, the transfers will allow the Pentagon to continue operations until late July, according to department spokesman Bryan Whitman. "I don't want to leave you with the impression that this provides us a whole lot," he said. "This $9.7 billion reprogramming only buys another few weeks of operations until the department as a whole will then run out of critical funding."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
This assclown congress does this to us every time. In a 90 day requisition system, they know it hampers operations. Since the football is political, they kick it down the isle instead of handing it off. It is miserable to watch defense appropriations continually shift to fill the vacuum that our house appearantly believes is something to play with.
I have warned them many times before about this but with little or half assed action.
I must have spoke in the wrong language. Let me correct this now.
Hey Congress, you bitches an ho's, my peeps dere on da end of da gun gettin willi about no flo, you dig? No?
ya gots to unass dat shit so my homies can get back to rockin da desert wit yo appropriations. Otherwise, this shit is just crass, yo.
#3
The doom is in the factor that we have to even ASK for this.
I think it proper that congressmen and senators have to ask for toilet paper during the day, just to remind them that they may have forgotten something? Like OUR TROOPS LIVES.
Whadda ya say, GSA?
Ferris?
Anyone have a way to awaken this congress that this is the 7th time they have pulled this stunt and it really pisses me off?
To say you don't like war is one thing, but to make us lose one and then have to fight it losing more people and money is just - shall we say vietnam like?
#5
On the flip side, the Pentagon bureaucrats know the great secret: when threatened with cuts, cut the meat first, and leave the fat. This scares the pols so much that they give you back the money you need.
Islami Jamiat-e-Talba (IJT) zone west, Karachi, held a protest in front of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Wednesday for the release of infamous nuclear scientist Dr Qadeer Khan.
Dozens of students from different colleges and universities participated in the demonstration and chanted slogans. They carried banners saying, Mohsin-e-Pakistan Dr Qadeer ka jurm kiya, jawab do? (What is the crime of Dr Qadeer, the savior of the nation?), America ke kehne par Dr Qadeer ki nazar bandi namanzoor (The arrest of Dr Qadeer is unacceptable), and America ka jo yaar hay ghadaar hay (The friend of America is a traitor).
This article starring:
Qadeer Khan
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Jamaatud Dawa labelled a terrorist organisation by the US denied on Wednesday it had links with Al Qaeda, as Washington imposes financial sanctions on its leader.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
The Bush administration moved on Tuesday to implement sanctions against four alleged top figures in Lashkar-e-Taiba. The US Treasury described the group as a dangerous Al Qaeda affiliate that has demonstrated its willingness to murder innocent civilians. The sanctions mean any assets of the four found in the US will be blocked and that US citizens are forbidden from doing business with the four.
The treasury named the groups chief as Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of the Jamaatud Dawa group that emerged after the Pakistani government banned Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2001. In April 2006, the US State Department listed Jamaatud Dawa and its affiliate Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq as terrorist organisations for being aliases of Lashkar-e Taiba. They however claim to be religious organisations that promote Islamic education and do charitable work. Jamaatud Dawa denies involvement in militancy. Its spokesman Muhammad Yahya Mujahid denied on Wednesday that Saeed was still involved in Lashkar-e-Taiba and claimed the US statement was based (on) enmity with Islam, lack of knowledge and ignorance.
Lack of knowledge and ignorance have always frightened me. They seem so similar, yet they're so much alike.
America cannot prove in any court in the world Hafiz Muhammad Saeeds links with incidents of terrorism, Mujahid said in a statement. The recent step by America is a result of Indian propaganda
"Death to the Heathen Hindoo!"
and an effort to pressure Pakistans government. The US Treasury said Saeed plays a key role in Lashkar-e-Taibas operational and fundraising activities globally.
This article starring:
HAFIZ MUHAMAD SAID
Jamaatud Dawa
IDARA KHIDMAT E KHALQ
Jamaatud Dawa
MUHAMAD YAHYA MUJAHID
Jamaatud Dawa
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Pakistan swapped two senior Taliban leaders for the release of its kidnapped envoy to Afghanistan, a media report said on Wednesday.
No! Reeeeally? Who'da thunkit?
"Despite the fact that the government authorities have repeatedly denied the release, both the militant leaders reached Afghanistan around two weeks back," the News said. Quoting sources, it said the two leaders, identified as Mullah Obaidullah Akhund and Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, were freed along with "hundreds" of other militants to secure the release of Pakistani envoy to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin.
An eminent jihadi leader from Afghanistan confirmed it, saying the two militant leaders had reached their homeland around two weeks back. "The release of both the Taliban commanders was part of a package deal between the Pakistani authorities and the Taliban under which 35 army personnel were also released besides Pakistani ambassador and his staff," the News quoted the jihadi leader, who was not identified, as saying.
Taliban militants had abducted Azizuddin three months ago while he was travelling in Pakistan's tribal areas in the country's north. He was released on May 15.
This article starring:
MULLAH MANSUR DADULLAH
Taliban
MULLAH OBAIDULLAH AKHUND
Taliban
Tariq Azizuddin
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Kinda makes me wonder if the Pakistani ambassador wasn't allowed to be captured on purpose.
(Xinhua) -- Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has agreed to remove Pervez Musharraf from the Presidency, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday at a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore.
Addressing the news conference, Sharif said that Musharraf should be tried for sedition and should not be given a safe exit. The country's destiny will change in the coming days, said Sharif. Local TV channel DAWN NEWS quoted Sharif as saying that Musharraf accepted dictation by foreign forces and Pakistan's sovereignty was at stake.
Speaking of the restoration of the judges sacked on Nov. 3 last year when President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in the country, Sharif said PML-N had sacrificed 15 ministers for the cause of judiciary. "I have told Zardari PML-N to quit coalition if judges are not restored," Sharif said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Britains Defence Minister Des Browne on Wednesday endorsed peace talks between Pakistan and Taliban militants, despite concerns from Afghanistan that the talks will allow the Taliban to regroup and launch more attacks. Talking to reporters at Australias National Press Club, Browne said Britain supported any moves that would encourage militants to put down their weapons and stop violence, and said Pakistan and Afghanistan needed to work together. He said reconciliation should be a part of any strategy, although it was clear some militants had no intention of putting down their weapons.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
You try to talk with barbarians and you will end up with your head on a pike.
The government was not holding any talks with Baitullah Mehsud and was only negotiating with tribal elders to bring peace to the Waziristan region, NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani said on Wednesday.
"Yeah. We wuz lyin' when we said we wuz tryin' to surrender to him."
According to a report by Geo News, Ghani also said the NATO forces operating inside Afghanistan were Pakistans ally in the war on terror and the government had asked them not to take any unilateral action inside Pakistan.
"Don't do nothin' drastic, okay?"
This article starring:
Owais Ahmed Ghani
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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The United States opposes any agreements with tribal militants because they have sworn enmity to the US, and will not tolerate cross-border raids on its troops in Afghanistan from militants based in the Tribal Areas, Senator Russ Feingold told reporters here on Wednesday at the end of his four-day visit to Pakistan. We are against any agreement with militants, Taliban and Al Qaeda who have sworn to harm the US, said Feingold, who is also member of the US Senate Judicial Committee.
"You been warned. And I'm the peace lobby back home."
Restoration: Senator Feingold termed the restoration of the judiciary the single most important issue facing the Pakistani nation and demanded the immediate reinstatement of all sacked judges. Feingold said the judges were sacked without solid reasons, and added that their restoration was simple enough and should not be linked with other constitutional reforms. I had meetings with a number of people including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on the issue of judges removal, but no one told me that they did anything wrong, he added.
He rejected the US policy of relying only on President Pervez Musharraf and sidelining the real political elements in Pakistan. He said it was a mistake to hitch policy to a person who came into power through undemocratic means.
He was the only game in town, Russ.
However, he refused to comment on the future of President Musharraf, saying it was the prerogative of the people of Pakistan to decide his future. But he reiterated that Musharraf had attained power through unconstitutional methods.
To questions on the Pakistan governments efforts to engage elements in the Tribal Areas in peace talks, Feingold said there was no harm in engaging with tribal elders, but re-asserted: I oppose agreements with the Taliban and Al Qaeda. We would not talk to people who want to kill American people.
He conceded that it was a difficult task to monitor the Pak-Afghan border because of the hostile terrain and porous nature of the border. Nevertheless, he insisted that this fact did not detract from the threat militants from Pakistani territory posed to US troops across the border.
The US senator underlined the importance of Pak-US relations and said the US wanted a solid and genuine friendship with Pakistan. This relationship could be maintained and developed to new heights, he added.
Feingold said democracy in Pakistan was important not only to the US, but also the region. It will help to improve Pakistans image, he added.
He also spoke highly of Pakistani people, and said he had learnt a lot during his interaction with the Pakistani leadership. Feingold defended visits by US officials and congressional delegations, saying they were important for Pak-US relations. It is a good sign and helpful to understand things.
This article starring:
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
Senator Russ Feingold
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
Informally speaking, a local Guam reservist IHOO personally believes there will prob be one more major US milfors deployment to the ME + possib a new "surge" before the November 2008 elex, and that regardless of whom becomes POTUS in Jan 2009 there may not be any new deployment or surge for at least six months into 2009??? ALSO BELIEVES ISRAEL WILL BE ALL BUT FORMALLY DEFEATED AFTER 2010 IFF IRAN + TERRORISTS GET NUKES AS DOES NOT BELIEVE ISRAEL CAN SURVIVE EVENA LIMITED/SMALL NUCLEAR-WMD STRIKE- JUST A MATTER OF TIME FOR ISRAEL'S ENEMIES???
#7
obama lite, or is Obama Feingold-lite? IIUC Feingold has really been in the trenchs fighting for all the liberal-lefty positions, that Obama picked up for the nomination campaign.
#8
Feingold said there was no harm in engaging with tribal elders, but re-asserted: I oppose agreements with the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Feingold is a politically ambitious poseur of the worst sort. He maintains his relevance through a constant series of well-timed choreographs. One has to look no further then his phony introduction of legislation to cut-off funding for the Iraq war. Even the leadership of his own party acknowledged it had less then zero chance of passage. But the opportunistic headlines certainly made him a darling with the ignorant anti-war crowd. Here, like a trial lawyer, he regurgitates standing policy and delivers it as if it was original thought. Any politician that visits a war theater deserves a certain amount of accolades but you can be sure that he had one eye on padding his resume. A cabinet position in the Obama Administration probably looks pretty sweet to Ole Russ right about now.
#9
If the Pakis can't control the NWFP, then it's not really part of Pakistan, and obviously they can't stop us from whacking "cross-border" raiders and their sanctuaries.
Their complaints of "sovereignty violations" mean absolutely nothing where they HAVE no sovereignty, and can be safely ignored.
#12
OS - imho - we need to bring back some form of the JTF-6 back to the border. Increase the Army, Corps, or Nati Guard units and rotate line battalions on a permanent basis down to border areas to reinf the wall that should've been built. Have the lads back up the Border Ptrl guys. Task a sqdrn of UAVs, etc to run interdiction/counter flights. Give them a whole compliment of rolling stock to include IFAVs and other recon-fun vehicles.
What you said about shape charging the GOP from inside - I agree with. The fact that so many politicos on our side of the house don't give a rat's arse about nat'l sovereignty tells me that the party of nat'l defense isn't necessarily so. One of the first mandates of the U.S. Mil from the Cont Congress was to secure the borders & our sovereignty. This is one of the biggest complaints I have about Mcpain and his pandering to the so called hispanic vote.
#13
the big clue telling me this wasn't about our southern border was; US won't tolerate
I agree the pandering to the Hispanic vote is killing us. I wonder how many illegals will end up voting in our elections this year, without proper identification being required.
Posted by: Jan ||
05/29/2008 16:07 Comments ||
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It seems that after five years, car bombs in Baghdad have become an opportunity for scavengers.
On Monday, I saw five men gathered around the remnants of charred car that exploded over the weekend in western Baghdad's Qadisiya district.
The attack had targeted the governor of Hilla, who escaped. But the scavengers didn't seem to care Monday about whether anyone had lived or died.
They had gotten down to work with their wrenches and screwdrivers. They tore the car apart and distributed its pieces among themselves.
Their main argument was over who would get to keep the engine. After a few minutes, the dispute was solved when a man bought the engine from the others.
He loaded the charred engine into the trunk of his old Volkswagen and drove off happily.
Hmmm...we do. Seen many a truck or cabled towed thing-a-ma-bob with all sorts of junk yard vehicles/parts tooling south out of Albuquerque on I-25 with Chihuahua plates on the driver's vehicle. Just give them clear berth like the semi's hauling rocks without cover.
#4
Yup, seen them in Texas as well. Plus all those convoys of used cars towing a second one behind them headed south.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/29/2008 15:06 Comments ||
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#5
ouch, when my son was in Coronado years ago, I needed an extra day to get the papers right to bring it onto base, I brought the bike out to him, but not the proper paper work, my bad, so it was parked in a parking lot. It never had a chance, it was stolen that night. I was told it was probably taken into Mexico not being that far.
we've all heard the story of they guy on the side of the road fixing a flat tire and another guy stops and is opening the hood. He tells him go ahead and take the tires, I just want the battery.
I bought a locking gas cap today, sigh.
Posted by: Jan ||
05/29/2008 15:51 Comments ||
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#6
We've noticed several trucks (Pickups) on the interstate (10) near Mobile, each hauling either another car, or pickup, usualy four sets together.
I finaly got to meet these folks at a rest stop, they're Mexicans who buy cars at auction, take them back to Mexico for resale, and quite nice folks. they're legit, papers and bills of sale and all, been doing it for years now.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/29/2008 16:29 Comments ||
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#7
Each year, hundreds if not thousands of old cars, vans, and pickups make the yearly migration down I-5 in Oregon heading for the Elephant's Graveyard of Mexico. As a matter of fact, I know someone who buys junkers from auto scrap yards, pulls a few parts, does a minor rebuild to get the clunker running, and then does a private sale to illegals heading back down to Mexico. He is doing a bang-up business right now since the slowdown in construction has a bunch of the illegals heading home; the vehicles are concrete forms of equity that are not as easily to take away as paper money, and there are not the hassles of the corrupt officials involved in wire money transfers once the money gets to Mexico. Lots of petty officials do "unofficial tariffs" on families getting wire transfers in Mexico.
BAGHDAD - An angry Shiite militia commander complained Wednesday that "we were duped" into accepting a cease-fire in Sadr City remarks that point to a potentially damaging rift within the movement of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The May 11 truce ended seven weeks of fierce fighting in Baghdad between U.S. and Iraqi forces and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which held nearly complete control of the Sadr City district.
Iraqi soldiers now have moved into most parts of Sadr City with little resistance. But the objections raised by the commander highlight apparent dissent by some Mahdi Army leaders.
A split among al-Sadr's followers between those favoring a more militant path and others seeking compromise with Iraq's government could threaten the relative calm in Baghdad and re-ignite Shiite-on-Shiite violence across Iraq's oil-rich south.
The commander, speaking to tribal sheiks and lawmakers loyal to al-Sadr, said that "we were duped and deceived" by the truce. "They are arresting many of us now."
The group had gathered in al-Sadr's main Baghdad office to discuss how to respond to what they consider cease-fire "violations" by Iraqi troops, such as arrests and house searches.
Some in the audience, however, took issue with the views of the commander, whose name was not made public for security reasons.
"You can be the winner without a military victory," said Falah Hassan Shanshal, a prominent Sadrist and one of two lawmakers who attended the meeting in Sadr City, home to about 2.5 million Shiites.
"We had to bow before the storm because it was uprooting everything and everyone standing in its path," he said.
Shanshal was referring to the punishing attacks by U.S. and Iraqi forces, which used tanks, helicopter gunships and Hellfire missiles fired from unmanned aircraft. The strikes killed and wounded hundreds and left parts of Sadr City in ruins.
The southern section of the district has been sealed off from the rest of Sadr City in an attempt to foil militia movements and rocket and mortar attacks on the U.S.-protected Green Zone. The battles in Sadr City were part of a wider Mahdi Army backlash to a government crackdown on armed groups launched in late March in the southern city of Basra.
Al-Sadr, who has been in Iran for at least a year, supported the Sadr City cease-fire, perhaps to save his Mahdi Army from further losses so it can continue the fight later.
But signs of opposition have been growing within the militia ranks. Last week, two Mahdi Army commanders said militiamen were divided over whether the cease-fire was in their interest.
They said some believed too many lives had been lost to quit the fight and allow their "enemies" to take control of Sadr City, the militia's largest stronghold.
The two commanders, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said some militia leaders had fled to Iran or southern Iraq to avoid arrest.
The U.S military claims Iran trains and arms militant Shiite militiamen loosely linked to the Mahdi Army. Tehran denies the charge.
The head of al-Sadr's office in Sadr City, Sheik Salman al-Freiji, suggested the truce may collapse if "violations" by the Iraqi army continue.
"There will not be any trust built between the two sides like that," al-Freiji warned. "The Mahdi Army was created to defend the Iraqi people. How can you do that without fighting the occupier?"
Shanshal, the Sadrist lawmaker, was more conciliatory. He criticized the Iraqi army for what he called heavy-handed tactics, but stressed that he did not want more fighting in Sadr City.
He suggested the government declare a 10-day grace period during which militia weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs would be handed over to the army.
"After that, they should arrest anyone who is found to possess this kind of weapons," Shanshal said.
Much of the devastation caused by the fighting is around the concrete barriers erected by U.S. troops to push militia gunners out of range of the Green Zone, which was hit by near daily salvos of rockets and mortar shells at the height of the fighting in April.
Entire blocks near the wall are now heaps of debris, twisted metal and rocks. Stores sit empty, their walls blackened and merchandise burned. Some residents on Wednesday were still hunting through the rubble to recover valuables.
Dozens of buildings are pockmarked with bullet holes. Some streets are strewn with the charred hulks of cars. Some stores remain shuttered, but residents are moving freely, negotiating their way on foot or in service taxis around Iraqi army tanks, Humvees and armored personnel carriers patrolling the area's dusty streets or stationed at major intersections.
New billboards compete with old ones bearing images of al-Sadr and his late father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr the namesake of the district.
Some of the new, government-funded billboards, show images of men wanted for "crimes committed against the Iraqi people" and proclaiming that "criminals use your neighborhoods to launch attacks."
But new graffiti attacks Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, himself a Shiite. One message calls him a "traitor" and an "agent of the Americans." Another declares: "Al-Maliki is a coward."
Hymn-like songs praising al-Sadr and his late father, gunned down in 1999 by suspected Saddam Hussein agents, blare out from several stores.
But there are also signs of everyday life returning.
Municipal workers wearing bright yellow jerseys sweep streets and children play soccer on dirt fields. Women shop at outdoor food markets and men watch movies and smoke water pipes in coffee shops offering a respite from the unforgiving heat with ceiling fans powered by generators.
"Everything is going well, but there is tension still," said a woman who only wanted her nickname, Umm Sadiq, to be used. "I still have to walk a long way to work because of the traffic congestion, but at least I do so feeling safe."
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC ||
05/29/2008 00:52 ||
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#1
"we were duped"
The poor darling thought hudna only works one way.
(VOI) The Iraqi Ministry of Interior dismissed more than 7,500 police members from their positions in 2008, a senior under-secretary of state at the Ministry said on Wednesday, citing absence, negligence, and corruption as the main reasons behind the sacking.
"The Ministry of Interior sacked 356 officers and 7,199 recruits in 2008 for their corruption, absence, and negligence in performing their duties," Adnan al-Asadi said during a joint press conference held in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. "They have been dismissed under the Internal Security Forces Law, which was approved by the Iraqi parliament, and referred to the international security forces courts," al-Asadi noted.
"The Ministry has merged 6,000 former officers into its forces, including 2,000 students of the police academy who dropped out or were dismissed, in addition to a number of officers included in the Justice and Accountability Law, whom Iraqi prime minister expressed his readiness to solve their problems and help them return to work," al-Asadi added. The Justice and Accountability Law is an alternative to the debaathification law, enacted by former U.S. civil administrator Paul Bremer, who ruled Iraq after the fall of the former regime in April 2003.
The debaathification law expelled tens of thousands of former Baath Party members from government posts. In November 2003, Bremer established the debaathification commission to root out senior Baathists from Iraqi ministries and hear appeals from Baathists who were in the lowest ranks of the party's senior leadership. The new law allowed thousands of Baathists to return to the political scene and receive their retirement rights.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The rest cannot be fired due to family connections?
(VOI) Well-known chieftain and leader of Anbar Salvation Council Ali Hatim Suleiman on Wednesday denied claims about pressurizing the government into rejecting candidates from the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) in the new government. "The problem is between the front and the government. The Sahwa (Awakening) councils have no relationship whatsoever with the tension surrounding the choice of candidates. We did not put any pressure on the government ," the leader of al-Dulaim tribes said in response to a statement made by IAF member, Nadira Ayef al-Aani, in which she accused Sahwa councils of exerting pressure on the Iraqi government to accept council members into the cabinet.
Earlier, al-Aani told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI) that her front believes that Sahwa councils had pressured the government to include some of its members in the cabinet, which she said affected the front's quota of ministerial portfolios. Suleiman told VOI earlier that Sahwa councils informed the government in early May about its decision of not joining the new cabinet. The Anbar Salvation Council did not submit a slate because it does not want to participate in the government, Sulaiman said. Suleiman wondered about the nature of pressure that might be exerted by the councils, adding, "We depend on provincial council elections to show our real size."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Iran's Embassy in Baghdad says Iraq's fact-finding committee has found no evidence that Tehran is supplying weapons to the country.
Embassy spokesman Manouchehr Taslimi said Wednesday that despite US allegations, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's special committee had found no credible evidence that Iran has been training and arming Iraqi militias.
The Iranian official rejected US allegations that an Iraqi interior ministry employee, who was indicted for alleged insurgent activities on Tuesday, had links to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps. "The Iranian embassy in Baghdad considers such allegations as futile attempts aimed at undermining the strong Iran-Iraq relations," read an embassy statement.
The statement highlighted that Washington had failed to provide any concrete evidence for its long list of false accusations against the Islamic Republic.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Didn't find weapons? Yeah, sure. Our military has been finding them all along.
(Xinhua) -- The government of the Islamic Hamas movement in Gaza welcomed on Wednesday a proposal for supplying Gaza Strip main power plant with Egyptian gas. The Egyptian MENA news agency has earlier reported that Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Amin Sameh Samir Fahmi said Egypt would supply gas to the Palestinian Gaza power plant.
Fahmi said that Egypt will supply the Palestinian people with all their needs of petro-products and adopt an all-out program to supply Gaza power station with Egyptian gas in a bid to ease the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Zeyad al-Zaza, minister of national economy in Hamas-ruled government told reporters in a statement that his government is ready to offer all needed facilities "in order to allow Egyptian fuels into the besieged Gaza Strip."
MENA reported that Fahmi's remarks were made at a meeting with visiting head of the Palestinian energy and natural resources department Omar Kattana, and chief of the petroleum authorities Mujahid Salam in Cairo on Tuesday. "We hope that the decision would be implemented soon due to the bad need of the Gaza Strip to gas and fuel," al-Zaza said. "We are looking forward to liberating our economy and linking it directly with the Arab economy through Egypt."
After Hamas movement took control of the Gaza Strip last June, Israel termed Gaza as a hostile entity and imposed a tight blockade on the enclave, where all crossing points with Israel were closed down.
Due to the increase of homemade rocket attacks carried out by Gaza militants on Israel, the Israeli army reduced 70 percent of the shipment of industrial fuel, diesel, benzene and cooking gas into Gaza. "We wish that Egyptian gas and fuel will be allowed today through Rafah border crossing," said al-Zaza, adding that "We are ready to receive any quantity soon."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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A special Haaretz "Dialogue" poll reveals that 63 percent of those polled believe that Lebanese Terrorist Samir Kuntar, currently serving four life sentences in Israel, should be released in exchange for two Israel Defense Forces soldiers held captive by Hezbollah.
The poll, supervised by Tel Aviv University Professor Camille Fuchs, also showed that 21 percent of poll participants were against releasing Kuntar, while 16 percent were unsure.
Kuntar was convicted of participating in the 1979 terror attack in Naharyia in which two members of the Haran family were killed, as well as two Israeli policemen. Smadar Haran, the sole survivor of the 1979 attack said she hopes reports of hostage negotiations with Hezbollah that would include the release of Kuntar are true, "and not just spin for the media that will cause heartache for the hostages' families."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Israel will release convicted Hezbollah spy Nassim Nasser from administrative detention and return him to Lebanon on Sunday, as an unofficial first step in a prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel has not formally said that Nasser's release is part of the deal, in which Hezbollah is expected to free Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, the two Israeli reservists whose July 2006 abduction sparked the Second Lebanon War. In exchange for the two reservists, Israel will release six Lebanese prisoners and return the bodies of 10 Hezbollah militants.
Israeli officials think the relatively low price Israel is expected to pay for Regev and Goldwasser appears to indicate that they are no longer alive.
Nasser, a Lebanese citizen reportedly born to a Shi'ite Muslim father and Jewish mother, was sentenced in 2002 to six years in prison for spying for Hezbollah. He finished serving his sentence early this year, but he was subsequently held in administrative detention, apparently so that he could be used as a bargaining chip in a deal for the release of Regev and Goldwasser.
Nasser's lawyer, Smadar Ben-Natan, said she has been notified that her client, who received Israeli citizenship after moving to Israel but has since had his citizenship revoked, would be deported to Lebanon on Sunday. He will be returned via the Rosh Hanikra crossing, with the assistance of the Red Cross and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have signaled positive signs towards solving the Palestinian political crisis, mainly disputes with rival Hamas movement, a Hamas official said Wednesday. Ayman Dharaghma, a Hamas parliamentarian, said Abbas told a Hamas delegation during a meeting took place at Abbas' office in Ramallah on Monday, a rare event since Hamas takeover of Gaza, that "it is necessary to work on overcoming the internal Palestinian impasse."
Dharaghma said they talked with Abbas about "the human rights violations" in West Bank, referring to a crackdown pro-Abbas forces launched against Hamas members in the territory since about one year ago.
The crackdown was launched after Hamas ousted Abbas' Fatah movement and took over the Gaza Strip by force in June 2007. Since then, Abbas banned any contacts between his movement and Hamas, especially the Gaza-based Islamists.
Abbas and Hamas leaders in West Bank also talked about stopping media campaigns against each other "because they harm the image of the Palestinian struggle," Dharaghma said.
Meanwhile, a Hamas leader in Gaza is purportedly to be going to Qatar to look into possibilities of a Hamas-Fatah meeting for reconciliation. Mahmoud Zahar, the former Hamas foreign minister, said he hoped that Qatar will be able to arrange for the reconciliation as it succeeded in settling Lebanon's political crisis this month.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Former Saudi Information Minister: In Interfaith Dialogue, We Tell Christians and Jews That Their Holy Books Are Distorted and That We Want to Bring Them Back to the Original Religion
Following are excerpts from an interview with former Saudi information minister Muhammad Abduh Al-Yamani. The interview aired on Iqra TV on May 25, 2008:
"We Had No Choice But to Declare... Dialogue With the Other Side... So They Would Know What Islam is All About"
Interviewer: "How come calls for dialogue with [the West] were only made following 9/11?"
Muhammad Abduh Al-Yamani: "The main reason is that we have inadvertently given in to this accusation, and accepted the fact that 9/11 was pinned on us, as if Islam calls for such a thing, but when acts worse than 9/11 were perpetrated by Christians and Jews..."
Interviewer: "Such as?"
Muhammad Abduh Al-Yamani: "Attacks within America itself... Why wasn't the attack on the White House labeled a 'Christian' or 'Jewish' attack? We've been dragged into accepting that 9/11 was an Islamic attack. This group [Al-Qaeda] carried it out, and unlike this group, we do not sanction the killing of any human being, because according to the Koran and the guidance of the Prophet, we are not allowed to harm any dhimmi [non-Muslim living under Muslim rule], as long as there is a covenant between us. We have accepted the blame..."
Interviewer: "Who has?"
Muhammad Abduh Al-Yamani: "The Islamic world has accepted the blame, and apologized by saying: 'We are sorry for what Islam did.' Islam did not do this! Why don't you say that it was carried out by a group that made a mistake, like the men and women among you who make mistakes every day? Why do you pin this on Islam, as if the religion of Islam calls for terrorism, which is absolutely untrue. We were dragged into this, and then they began attacking us, people with vested interests started maligning Islam, and we've begun to give in. So we had no choice but to declare a 'jihad' that includes dialogue with the other side, and to explain the facts accurately, so they would know what Islam is all about, what the Koran is, and who the Prophet is." [...]
[Christians And Jews] Changed, Altered, And Distorted Their Holy Books, And Islam Came To Rectify This
"The [Judeo-Christian] religion is monotheistic. They did not create it. This religion was sent down to Jesus and Moses..."
Interviewer: "But Islam got rid of it, in order to remain all on its own."
Muhammad Abduh Al-Yamani: "It was not Islam that got rid of it. It was caused by the contamination that occurred in this religion. They changed, altered, and distorted their holy books, and Islam came to rectify this. Islam has not changed a thing in the teachings of Moses."
Interviewer: "So one of the basic principles of this dialogue is to accept that the [Jews and Christians] have a religion."
Muhammad Abduh Al-Yamani: "Yes, and we respect this religion, but we say to them: 'You've changed it, and you know that the books you have are not the divine gospel and the divine Torah. You have changed them. You yourselves admit that your books were written by priests and others who altered them. We want to bring you back to the original religion.'"
#6
"Sounds like they may make good targets for RPGs to me."
Gorb,
The cameras on these towers have a range of 6 - 20 miles (depending on the height). Anybody sneeking up to a tower with an RPG will wind up having a close encounter with a hellfire long before they get in range.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
05/29/2008 12:24 Comments ||
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#7
Might actually make the "fence" between us and Mexico viable/
#8
Are these similar to what we are assured(*) will in no way work on the US-Mexico border?
--
(* by those who know better than us, naturally. Just ask them.)
Posted by: Grenter Protector of the Geats4975 ||
05/29/2008 13:41 Comments ||
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#9
They woudl make the "fence" work so long as the infantry company was deployed with the tower.
#10
Frozen Al: The cameras on these towers have a range of 6 - 20 miles
It sounds like they are going to be placed where the locals have no business to be? Which means that anyone approaching them is a fair target. If this is true, then it may work. But if it's on a road next to traffic, they'll take it out. Heck, they may think it's worth it to make a run on it anyway, especially if it means an express ticket to meet Allan!
hmm. Open areas on the mexican border. 40 mi front. 500 miles could be covered by 3 battalion bigade more or less. So a full light infantry dvision coudl do the whoe mexican border outside of where its already controlled, No need to keep any companies back. Just a local QRF and a BP agent to do the actual arresting. Units rotate in, and the troops get local chow and are considerably cheaper to support here in the field, logistically.
BEIRUT -- A powerful rival to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected speaker of parliament Wednesday, clearing the way for a potential challenge to the hard-line head of state before 2009 presidential elections. Ali Larijani, Iran's well-connected former chief nuclear negotiator, made it immediately clear that he would play a broad role in vital matters usually dominated by Ahmadinejad. While reaffirming Tehran's hard-line stance on its nuclear program, which has drawn international criticism, he pledged that parliament would play an active role in shaping Iran's defense of the controversial effort.
"A mysterious diplomatic give-and-take is underway between the U.S. and the U.N. nuclear agency to bring baseless allegations against Iran," he told members of the parliament, or Majlis, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. If such pressures continue, he said, the parliament "will intervene in the case and set a new line for cooperation" with international arms inspectors.
Iran's unique political system blends elements of a clerical dictatorship and a secular dictatorship democratic republic. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits atop a government that features presidential and parliamentary elections in which candidates loyal to the regime may compete.
Larijani won 232 of 263 votes cast to beat out incumbent Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, who rarely challenged Ahmadinejad. Larijani's ascent signals hostility to the president among the new batch of mostly conservative lawmakers voted into office in March parliamentary elections, analysts said.
Enmity between the president and the new speaker runs deep. The two men were candidates for president in 2005, with Ahmadinejad winning the post. As Iran's nuclear negotiator, Larijani chafed against Ahmadinejad's belligerent international tone, which he complained undermined his talks with European leaders and international arms inspectors.
Many analysts said the differences between Larijani and Ahmadinejad have more to do with style than substance. Larijani, who won his parliamentary seat as a representative of the Shiite Muslim shrine city of Qom, is from an elite religious family. Ahmadinejad is a blacksmith's son who fought as a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
European diplomats who have dealt with Larijani said he was far better informed and more flexible than Ahmadinejad loyalists. He also appears to have Khamenei's ear. When Larijani quit as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator late last year over disagreements with Ahmadinejad, the supreme leader's office intervened to have him stay on for a transition period.
"Although Larijani certainly is not soft on the West, he is much more pragmatic than Ahmadinejad," said Mark Gasiorowski, a professor of Middle East studies at Louisiana State University. "I think we can score this vote as a step toward more pragmatic leadership in Iran's foreign policy."
Still others cautioned not to overestimate the power of either Larijani and Ahmadinejad with regard to crucial matters such as Iran's nuclear program or alleged support for allies across the Middle East. "There will not be an iota of change in Iranian foreign policies in Lebanon and Iraq, because these policies are decided under the auspices of the supreme leader by the experts in these fields," said Aziz Shahmohammadi, director of the English-language pro-government newspaper Iran Daily.
Tensions between Ahmadinejad loyalists and more pragmatic conservatives such as Larijani probably will reach a boiling point before June 2009 presidential elections, especially over the Iranian economy, analysts said.
Many in Iran's ruling inner circle have denounced Ahmadinejad's populist rhetoric and economic policies, which have failed to create jobs despite record oil and gas prices. He has forced banks to lower interest rates, spurring record inflation that has hurt Iranian consumers. Iran watchers speak of a conservative anti-Ahmadinejad alliance that includes Larijani and Tehran Mayor Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, who also ran against Ahmadinejad in 2005. "If the Larijani-Qalibaf alliance holds and Larijani uses his position as speaker to attack Ahmadinejad on behalf of Qalibaf, they would pose a formidable challenge to Ahmadinejad," Gasiorowski said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly accused Saudi Arabia of conspiring against the country to overthrow its government.
The Syrian President says Saudi Arabian leaders are hatching plots to oust the country's government, the daily al-Akhbar reported, citing senior diplomatic sources.
In a meeting with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa in May Assad told Moussa that Saudi King Abdullah, the country's Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, the intelligence chief Prince Miqrin and the head of Saudi National Security Council Prince Bandar bin Sultan urged the West to launch a military attack on Syria to oust Assad's government and occupy the country, the report added.
After the meeting the Arab League chief believed that the normalization of ties between Syria and Saudi Arabia would be difficult in short-term.
President al-Assad also stressed that he will do his utmost to prevent tension between Tehran and Riyadh from turning into an Arab-Iranian conflict. Besides, he called for a Lebanon-like deal to end infighting between Palestinian factions and preserve Palestinian nation's interests.
According to the report, after the election of Michel Suleiman, Moussa travelled to Damascus to brief the Syrian President on the outcomes of the Doha talks and told Assad that the Arab League ministerial committee acknowledged the key role of Syria in reaching a compromise in Lebanon.
Assad has reportedly slammed Egypt for its efforts against Syria and said that Egyptian President Husni Mubarak spared no effort to boycott the Arab Summit in Damascus. He traveled to Bahrain in a bid to lure the Bahraini King into changing summit venue from Damascus to Sharm al-Sheikh. He subsequently sent a low level Egyptian delegation to Syria, the Syrian leader added.
The diplomatic source said Moussa asked Assad if Egypt intelligence chief Omar Suleiman would travel to Damascus. The Syrian President said he did not know anything about the visit. He said he had asked Mubarak whether he would visit Syria. Mubarak said he was looking for a proper time. Later it was known he cancelled his visit to please Saudi officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
TOPIX > SYRIA, IRAN SIGN NEW DEFENSE PACT + IRAN: ASSAD,SYRIA IS IMPORTANT ALLY; + WAFF.com Thread > JIHADIST GROUPS PERPETUATE TERROR IN JAIPUR, INDIA. + TOPIX > PAKISTANI MILITANT GROUPS OPERATING FROM BANGLADESH AND NEPAL AGZ INDIA + ISLAMIC REVOLUTION NEEDED IN PAKISTAN.
* Also from WAFF > MEMRI.org - PFLP-GENERAL COMMAND [Paleo]: WHY SHOULDN'T WE VIEW ANDALUSIA [Moorish Spain] AS OUR HOME!?
"Urged the West to launch a military attack agz Syria to oust Assad and occupy the country" > HMMMMMM...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/29/2008 9:24 Comments ||
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#5
depends if they were pro-Saudi Wahabi fanatics, or AQ fanatics. They is wahabis, and Wahabis.Id not be too keen on either - the main advantage is that there would be other dogs in the fight, like the Kurds and even a few "moderates"
#9
The endemic corruption in its politicians might just be the death of Israel.
Actually Grunter, ours are no more corrupt than yours---less probably. We just have stricter laws (the legacy of the strugle to wean Israel from semi-socialist economy).
(Xinhua) Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora on Wednesday called on all factions to work together to "heal wounds" induced in a long political crisis and start a new era of understanding.
Seniora, who was designated to form a new government, said in a statement that he would work within the framework of the constitution and his hands are stretched for cooperation with all parties in the interest of the nation. "The Doha agreement calls for the formation of a national unity government and I will follow the agreement," Seniora said, adding that he was looking forward to establishing cordial relations with all countries including Syria.
Expressing pleasure to cooperate with new President Michel Suleiman, Seniora, prime minister since July 2005, pledged for the implementation of UN resolutions and cooperation with the international community.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah has slammed 'the media propaganda' about Tuesday's clashes in Beirut which 'was aimed at misleading public opinion'.
In a statement issued by the movement's office, Hezbollah termed as regrettable 'the misleading propaganda' and 'media attacks' about the clashes in the Kurnish Mazraa neighborhood. The statement called on media to ask security institutions to provide them with the facts about the incidents.
The statement added a row started after a group of youths celebrating the anniversary of the liberation of southern Lebanon were attacked by stones in the Kurnish Mazraa neighborhood.
A member of al-Mostaqbal faction hurled a bomb at the youths but it exploded prematurely and several people were wounded. Hezbollah said security forces are well informed about the incident and know who were behind it.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Lebanon's new president on Wednesday asked outgoing Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to form a new Cabinet despite reservations by the Hezbollah-led opposition.
President Michel Suleiman's appointment of Saniora had been practically ensured following a decision late Tuesday by the parliamentary majority to back him.
In his first comments following his appointment, Saniora called on Lebanese to "heal the wounds" of the past and pledged to try and form a government for all of Lebanon.
"I extend my hand to everyone, so that we can achieve for our country the prosperity we deserve," he said.
The Western-leaning parliamentary majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition agreed to form a national unity government under a deal that resolved a prolonged political crisis which pushed Lebanon to the brink of a new civil war.
The Arab League-brokered agreement gave the opposition veto power over all government decisions. However, the parliamentary majority was able to push through its candidate for prime minister over the opposition's objections.
The opposition composed of the militant Iranian-backed Hezbollah, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's bloc and the group of Christian leader Michel Aoun quickly signaled its displeasure with the majority's decision.
The opposition considers Saniora a provocative figure who has rejected power-sharing in the past and they have often accused him of serving U.S. interests in Lebanon.
Aoun said after talks with the president that Saniora was not acceptable as premier, claiming he would stand in the way of reconciliation.
Mohammed Raad, leader of Hezbollah's 14-member bloc in parliament, said Saniora failed to meet the "necessary requirements" to head a national unity government. He indicated Hezbollah wanted another candidate who would reassure the group it could hold on to its weapons.
But the opposition controls 58 seats in the 128-member legislature and cannot outvote the majority's candidate, which practically ensured that Saniora would get the post.
Suleiman reappointed Saniora after 68 of the living 127 members of parliament he polled Wednesday said they supported him for the post.
Under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, the post of prime minister goes to a Sunni Muslim. The majority is headed by Sunnis while the opposition is led by Shiites.
Only one other candidate had been tipped for the job majority leader Saad Hariri, the son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005.
While Hezbollah's and Berri's blocs didn't propose any candidates, Aoun nominated three other former ministers as compromise candidates to head the government, including a Sunni woman.
Hariri sought to allay opposition fears of Saniora's nomination, saying it wasn't meant to challenge anyone but was "an opportunity for the Lebanese to meet together, heal the wounds and start again."
Suleiman, formerly the army chief, was elected by parliament as a consensus president and sworn in on Sunday. His election was the first tangible step after the Arab-brokered deal to end Lebanon's 18-month political crisis.
The crisis earlier this month boiled over into street fighting, Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-90 civil war. The clashes between Hezbollah's Shiite supporters and pro-government Sunni loyalists in Beirut and other areas left 81 people dead and more than 200 wounded.
After Hezbollah seized control of large parts of west Beirut in the fighting, it emerged politically strengthened and won the powers it wanted in government.
As president, Suleiman now faces the monumental task of uniting a wounded nation and reconciling its rival political factions.
The deal reached in Doha, Qatar on May 21 calls for a 30-member national unity Cabinet in which Hezbollah and its opposition allies have veto power over government decisions.
The agreement also allots the parliamentary majority 16 Cabinet seats and the opposition 11 seats, while three seats are to be distributed by the president.
Saniora has served as prime minister since July 2005, shortly after Hariri's assassination in a massive truck bombing in central Beirut. He had said he wanted to rest after three years in office. But on Tuesday, he changed his mind and said he would think before deciding, should the majority want him for the post.
Despite the new political arrangements, Lebanon remains uneasy. A Lebanese soldier was killed Tuesday during a gunfight between Hezbollah supporters and pro-government loyalists. And on Monday, nine people were wounded, two seriously, in a similar gunfight in Beirut between the two camps.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2008 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.
It seems that after five years, car bombs in Baghdad have become an opportunity for scavengers.
"We had to bow before the storm because it was uprooting everything and everyone standing in its path," he said.
Israel will release convicted Hezbollah spy Nassim Nasser from administrative detention and return him to Lebanon on Sunday, as an unofficial first step in a prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah. 
