Here's part of the statement put out by the official website of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (h/t, the Belmont Club):
[THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA] WARNS ALL THAT IF THE PEACE OPTION IS REJECTED DUE TO THE ISRAELI ARROGANCE THEN ONLY THE WAR OPTION REMAINS AND NO ONE KNOWS THE REPERCUSSIONS BEFALLING THE REGION, INCLUDING WARS AND CONFLICT THAT WILL SPARE NO ONE INCLUDING THOSE WHOSE MILITARY POWER IS NOW TEMPTING THEM TO PLAY WITH FIRE.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon indicated yesterday that it has new plans to sell billions in weaponry to the Saudis, among others in the region:
The Defense Department reported that they have a plan to sell military hardware and worth up to $5 billion to certain Arab countries. ... The plan calls for a nearly $3 billion deal with Saudi Arabia, involving sales of 58 Abrams tanks and a [sic] upgrade of Saudi-owned Abrams tanks, as well as Apache helicopters worth $400 million, according to a statement released by the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
Congress has 30 days to approve the sale once it is officially notified.
#1
wonder if these oil whores have actually thought this out? If their fundes are frozen? They'd just be sweaty unbathen homeless assholes without a job or skill to earn their way home....doubt that many smelly hitchhikers would get rides...
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 19:15
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#2
Selling modern, high tech military equipment to SA is like selling supercomputers to monkeys. It's only a threat if they resell to someone who can use it.
#3
I was thinking it's a smart move by the administration. They get the Soddies to pay for top gear, who then store it on their bases, and then when we do decide to setup the Republic of Eastern Arabia with the 90km corridor, there's a whole load of state of the art bang-bang just waiting to be used ;)
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/30/2006 19:29
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#4
I say nix the deal.
I have my biases like anyone, in this case I'd say sell weapons only to Israel and the current offical gov. in Iraq. With Iraq I wouldn't sell them anything that could be used outside their own borders. IE no long range stuff.
Posted by: RJB in JC MO ||
07/30/2006 19:30
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#5
i wonder if the US vere thought about hiding secret auot distruct mechanisms in the palnes they sell other nations? which of course we could push at our desire
#6
90 km? Since when did we move the border west? I'm not complaining, I just feel out of the loop ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006 19:53
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#7
i wonder if the US vere thought about hiding secret auot distruct mechanisms in the palnes they sell other nations? which of course we could push at our desire
#8
The Sauds have been buying very large amounts of French weapons.
Posted by: ed ||
07/30/2006 20:17
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#9
Why don't they just say what they have to say and be done with it. Has this statement been modified since news about Hezb'Allah probably causing the blast has come out?
#12
Let's collect the money. it isn't like the soddies can actually fight. 58 Abrams is almost 2 armored batalions. BTW, can a Hellfire take out a Abrams?
#13
Let's collect the money. it isn't like the soddies can actually fight. 58 Abrams is almost 2 armored batalions. BTW, can a Hellfire take out a Abrams?
That's just a single battalion.
And an Abrams can't even take out an Abrams. A Hellfire shot would be equivilent to a paintball shot.
#14
honkey: i wonder if the US vere thought about hiding secret auot distruct mechanisms in the palnes they sell other nations? which of course we could push at our desire
There is such a mechanism. It's called native maintenance staff coupled with native machinery operators (pilots, tankers, et al).
#16
And an Abrams can't even take out an Abrams. A Hellfire shot would be equivilent to a paintball shot.
Hellfires are capable of taking out any tank currently made including Abrams, they just don't produce a big bang when they go off usually. Its MAVERICKS that are overkill.
#17
I think that the Saudis are just putting out some puff pieces for fellow Arab consumption. They will get their a$$es handed to them if they mess around in this conflict.
As far as selling them military equipment, hey, their money is usually good, so why not? It's the expats that keep things maintained. Things get hot, no more expats, nor maintenance, no more air force. Too many outsiders (infidels) know their air defense system, etc so their armed forces could be neutralized without too much extra effort.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/30/2006 23:30
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Posted by: Mike ||
07/30/2006
18:07 ||
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#1
oh brother - read the account in the book the secret War Against the Jews and you will get a very different account of what happened - take the storm trooper patch off your arm
#4
thanks Mike - look for the IP and name snatch, Mods?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 18:18
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#5
When in the Navy I had a friend who was on the Liberty, he said that when the first wave of fighters came over the Mast at supersonic and climbed for an attack run the hostilities abruptly ceased, from wanting to sink them to "How can we help"
an abrupt change due simply to available firepower.
That the fighters were recalled is a fact found out much later, simply their presence ended the fight.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 18:20
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#6
nice pic from Jeff Rense's page:
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 18:20
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#7
History will show the US is backing the wrong horse. Our interest are USA, not some quasi-religious regime. Where in the constitution did Jefferson write we will arm a religious state to the teeth against our best interest. Our interest is to get the oil not alienate our allies with our energy source. Complete Stupidity!!!
Posted by: Mike oilman ||
07/30/2006 18:25
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#9
By the way, he had smuggled pictures, I saw them.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 18:27
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#10
yep - love the W and Republican emblems.....guess he's a GOP voter?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 18:30
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#11
Mike "the oilman's" wallet outsizes his soul. We support the only democracy in the mideast. I'd guess, that, not only is he not an "oilman", he's also not American in thought or deed....
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 18:33
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#12
Admiral Moorer's version is not accepted by any of the dozen official committees and task forces that have investigated the incident.
One of the key pieces of information is that on June 4, 67, Israel asked the US if they had anything in the eastern Med. The US said 'no'. The Liberty at the time was transiting the western med headding east and was in the eastern Med when it was attacked.
Fog of war. When in Second World War US invaded one of the Northern Islands in Pacific real fog appeared and in the end almost 100 US soldiers were dead in the fight. There werent any Japanese in the Island. Only Americans...
#15
Did I miss a meeting? I never got one of those sanppy uniforms to wear. Every time the LLL Mo0b@+ fever swamp thinks Israel is getting too much good press they dredge up the USS Liberty. Yes it was a terribe ACCIDENT, doesn't bring back the dead or quelch the flames of conspiracy but it is as simple as that. That is unless the moonbats can come up with a really good reason Israel would attack it's staunch ally on purpose? (crickets) It's just like a fratricide only it was our ship that got hit.
#19
Mike, you've been warned once before at least about using someone else's nym. There won't be a third warning.
Rantburg is for current news related to the War on Terror. Historical articles are appreciated when they're germane. Trolling isn't.
Maybe you'd be happier visiting another site? Try Democratic Underground. We're not big on conspiracy theories around here.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2006 18:53
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#20
The only thing that shocks me here is that it took a couple of weeks of Israel defending itself before somebody trotted out this conspiracy crap.
It was an accident, get over it you freaking wackos.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
07/30/2006 18:55
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#21
Oh Ye who bash Bush, faked pictures and all, the Head Honcho at the time was LBJ, a definate Democrat.
Spin that if you can.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 19:01
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#22
C'mon, folks, we ALL know there's never been an accident in the entire HISTORY of warfare! The only way something like this could happen is on purpose!!!
And, yeah, I'd bet that in this case, "oilman" means "Saudi whore".
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/30/2006 19:16
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#23
Yes, it is conspiracy crap.
BEWARE, the site www.rense.com which is writing this nonsense is a well-known antisemitic and negationist site. On its Frontpage, it is supporting Ernst Zundel, a negationist now on trial in Germany for denial of the Holocaust.
#24
we know - I posted that pic on purpose to show that...Jeesh. I'd hoped I wouldn't have to explain that...
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 19:25
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#25
hey i calledd it on his use of proper english was made out a fool that the 'OTHER' didn
't know it too well and was told engineers didn't know english
guess this honkey was right huh
Jefferson didn't write the constitution, Madison did. Just thought you'd like to know.
Posted by: The hoo ||
07/30/2006 20:41
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#28
Uh...I'm confused. America Frist? Well we've had worse in Congress; at least he's a Repub and thoracic surgeon to boot. Keep up the great work #26 (Double Happy Hour over in 10 minutes)
Right On!
Asymmetrical Triangulation (at)
Posted by: at ||
07/30/2006 20:51
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#29
Mike Oilman: History will show the US is backing the wrong horse. Our interest are USA, not some quasi-religious regime. Where in the constitution did Jefferson write we will arm a religious state to the teeth against our best interest. Our interest is to get the oil not alienate our allies with our energy source. Complete Stupidity!!!
I think you are putting your personal financial interests ahead of the national interest. Muslims killed hundreds of Americans prior to 9/11. For people who say that it's our fault for supplying Israel, we need to understand that is what countries do - they support their allies and fight their enemies. Allies include countries that don't deliberately attack them. Enemies include those that do. Allies include Britain and China pre-WWII. Enemies include Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany.
Note that there's nothing in the constitution that says we should support fully religious enemy states (that's almost all of the Muslim states) against our friends. We can get the oil from enemy Muslim states without selling our friends down the river.
#30
"It is well that war is so terrible - we should grow too fond of it," states Lee during the fighting at Fredricksburg.
Posted by: Mike oilman ||
07/30/2006 22:32
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#31
And you're right I am America 1st. My Great Great Grandfather fought in the seige at Petersburg, VA. Unlike AIPAC, I don't share my allegence to a foreign power (Israel).
Posted by: Mike oilman ||
07/30/2006 22:51
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#32
MO: "It is well that war is so terrible - we should grow too fond of it," states Lee during the fighting at Fredricksburg.
When Muslims learn this lesson, then we won't have to fight them any more.
Much like the "America First" asshats who kept us from re-arming in the lead-up to Pearl Harbor. The same nutjobs who led the Japanese to think a sudden blow would scare us out of the fight.
Yes, loyalty to America is important. But the world is bigger than our borders.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/30/2006 22:57
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#34
MO: And you're right I am America 1st. My Great Great Grandfather fought in the seige at Petersburg, VA.
On which side? Let's it even if it was on the Union side, you don't rate. Benedict Arnold was a bona fide American war hero. Until he betrayed America to the enemy. Your *great grandfather* fought during the Civil War. I assume he honored whichever side he fought on - at least both were American. You are advocating American submission to a bunch of heathen scum from Arabia - a people who have been Christendom's greatest threat for a thousand years.
MO: Unlike AIPAC, I don't share my allegence to a foreign power (Israel).
You mean like CAIR, you devote your allegiance exclusively to the Muslim enemies of America?
#35
RC: Much like the "America First" asshats who kept us from re-arming in the lead-up to Pearl Harbor. The same nutjobs who led the Japanese to think a sudden blow would scare us out of the fight. Yes, loyalty to America is important. But the world is bigger than our borders.
I'm afraid that's wrong. America Firsters were for a strong defense. They just wanted the US out of the aid business, which did weaken America's defenses, leading to the US starting WWII without sufficient weaponry to defend its assets in the Pacific. No amount of peacetime "rearming" would have prepped the US for WWII. The Axis powers were using up huge amounts of their economies to get their war machines going. Lindbergh participated in combat missions against the Japanese and came up with new ways to improve the combat effectiveness of US military aviation. That's not something you're going to see Mike Oilman do.
#36
Bottom line is that the only way to catch up with the Axis powers would have been the total mobilization of the US economy - as was done after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor - during which 50% of national output (compared to about 5% today) was devoted to defense. Politically it's impossible - because of the hardships - to undertake that kind of economic mobilization without being at war. This is why Roosevelt never proposed it. After Pearl Harbor, America Firsters got behind the flag and supported the war. Meanwhile, Mike Oilman is out there cheering the enemy on.
#37
My GGG was a Lieutenant under Lee. He surrendered at Appomattox courthouse. My grandmother told me he was very proud to be an American. He relocated to Philadelphia after the war because everything he had in the south was completely destroyed. He was from Charleston.
Muslims are not our enemies we unfortunately have made them our enemies. The Saudis were instrumental in ending the cold war. Reagan asked them to over produce oil in the 80's (at their own detrement) to crash the oil market so the USSR's economie would crash.
Although, Churchhill said "We have no permanent Allies."
I do like Rantburg and many thing on this page provide food for thought. I guess from my GGG I hold some Rebel veiws, but I am every bit American. The Rebel Yell "EEEYA"
Posted by: Mike oilman ||
07/30/2006 23:22
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#38
Liberty was actually attacked by a fully-cloaked Romulan "Bird of Prey"...
_________________________
Ignore the antisemitic yokels who bring up the "Liberty" incident every chance they get.
#39
MO: Muslims are not our enemies we unfortunately have made them our enemies.
Americans are not the enemies of Islam. But Islam does consider the non-Muslim world its enemy. And has done so for over a thousand years.
MO: The Saudis were instrumental in ending the cold war. Reagan asked them to over produce oil in the 80's (at their own detrement) to crash the oil market so the USSR's economie would crash.
Actually, Americans were instrumental in ending the Cold War. We kept communism from advancing unchecked across the globe by aiding anti-Communist governments and fighting two land wars in Asia. We prevented the Soviets from annexing Iran and kept the Gulf States (including Saudi Arabia) protected against all of their potential enemies, including the Soviets, Iran and Iraq. We don't owe Saudi Arabia anything. They owe us their very existence. The oil glut in the '80's was the result of over-exploration after the record prices of late '70's, not Saudi cooperation. The Soviet economy imploded for the same reason that the North Korean and Cuban economies are imploding - communist economics don't work.
MO: Although, Churchhill said "We have no permanent Allies."
That's right. Cooperating with a slimy terrorist-sponsoring theocracy like Saudi Arabia was necessary during the Cold War, just as dealing with the Soviets was necessary during WWII. I'm not sure it's necessary to quite the same extent today. However, it's probably just as necessary to prevent Saudi oil from falling into somebody else's hands. Which is why we remain their ally. But we are allies - which is to say that we have a relationship stemming from a common interest in their continued national independence. We are not friends, which would require shared values.
#40
Muslims are not our enemies we unfortunately have made them our enemies.
I disagree. Islam advocates war against non-belevers - it is the highest calling of the muslim. Muslims are duty bound to war agains the infidels - Jihad. Islam has been at war against all non-belevers since its founding. The crusades were a defensive war against almost 600 years of militaristic expansion by Islam. Syria, Jordan, Iran, etc.. used to be all christian lands - until Islam converted them by the sword.
In islam the unbeliever has three choices:
1) Pay a tax *in humiliation* Worship their god in secret - you cannot display your cross, cannot discuss your religion outside of your church - no evangalising(I know I spelled that wrong).
Churches cannot be build nor maintained. This is intended to be a *temprary* measure until the unbelever chooses one of the other two options. And by humiliation I mean you are third-class citizens - have no legal rights (even less then those of women) and must *always* defer to a muslim in all things.
2) Convert to Islam. Of course once in Islam you can never leave. To leave carries with it a death sentence.
3) Death.
Look at the globe. On just about every border of the Islamic world Islam is at war with the infidels. Indonesia. Tailand. India, Russia, China, Africa. They all have problems with 'Islamic extreamist'. In indonesia they openly attack and burn churches while the islamic governemt gives 'lip service' to justice.
He was 5 when he first fired an M-16, his father holding him to brace against the recoil. At 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, spurred by the memory of 9/11. Now, 21-year-old Galen Wilson has 20 confirmed kills in four months in Iraq and another 40 shots that probably killed insurgents. One afternoon the lance corporal downed a man hauling a grenade launcher five-and-a-half football fields away. Wilson is the designated marksman in a company of Marines based in downtown Ramadi, watching over what Marines call the most dangerous neighborhood in the most dangerous city in the world. Here, Sunni Arab insurgents are intent on toppling the local government protected by Marines.
Wilson, 5-foot-6 with a soft face, is married and has two children and speaks in a deep, steady monotone. After two tours in Iraq, his commanders in the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment call him a particularly mature Marine, always collected and given to an occasional wry grin.
His composure is regularly tested. Swaths of central and southern Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, are dominated by insurgents who regularly attack the provincial government headquarters that Marines protect. During a large-scale attack on Easter Sunday, Wilson says, he spotted six gunmen on a rooftop about 400 yards away. In about 8 seconds he squeezed off five rounds hitting five gunmen in the head. The sixth man dived off a 3-story building just as Wilson got him in his sights, and counts as a probable death. "You could tell he didn't know where it was coming from. He just wanted to get away," Wilson said. Later that day, he said, he killed another insurgent.
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#1
Well, hell, *I* support what you're doing, Wilson! Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Dar ||
07/30/2006 18:43
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#2
Obviously, me being a devout Catholic, it's a conflict of interest. Then again, God supported David when he killed Goliath," Wilson said. "I believe God supports what we do and I've never killed anyone who wasn't carrying a weapon
I'm Catholic and I'd help load his weapon. Good shootin'!
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 18:56
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#3
Ima not certain this PR is wise. A soldier is tough enough.
#6
Those of you old enough to remember Ian Fleming might remember this comment in From a View to a Kill: "Never send a man where you can send a bullet." It was good advice then and better advice now. Keep up the good work, Marine. Semper Fi!
Posted by: mac ||
07/30/2006 21:16
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#7
Excellent. At just 21, that's very impressive shooting. USMC snipers have always pretty much won the day; God love 'em. (must have something to do with enlistee motivation (Guts) and USMC time-honored warrior skills training.
They deserve our utmost support.
VR,
Asymmetrical Triangulation
Posted by: at ||
07/30/2006 21:22
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Israel has agreed to a 48-hour suspension of aerial activity in south Lebanon while it investigates an attack on a Lebanese village that killed a number of children, U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Sunday.
The airstrike killed at least 56 Lebanese, mostly women and children, when it leveled a building where they had taken shelter. The deadliest attack in nearly three weeks of warfare forced Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to cut short a Mideast mission and increased world pressure on the United States to back an end to the fighting.
The stunning bloodshed pushed American peace efforts to a crucial juncture, as fury at the United States flared in Lebanon, which said it no longer would negotiate a U.S. peace package without an unconditional cease-fire. U.N. chief Kofi Annan sharply criticized world leaders - implicitly Washington - for ignoring his previous calls to stop the violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2006
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#2
I guess it's official. There is no clever Israeli campaign plan happening below the surface that's not obvious to those of us following on the news. They are just mucking around. They would not suspend airstrikes if they had ground troops in need of close air support. Hopefully they are smart enough to make this conditional on Hez not firing off another 100 rockets.
#3
Anybody else fed up with Kofi? The crook has no moral authority at all and he expects nations to ask "how high" when he says "Jump". I would love to see Bolton absolutely eviscerate the guy, but it will never happen.
He is proud to order IDF to phone Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists and supporters before bombing their homes.
And now this UNBELIEVEBALE suspension of aerial activity !
Hezbollah will not suspend its firing of rockets and missiles on Israel. Are the Israelis O.K. for dying without fighting now ? What's this mad government ?
#10
I guess it's official. There is no clever Israeli campaign plan happening below the surface that's not obvious to those of us following on the news. They are just mucking around.
Damn I'm afraid you're right, I'm kinda unsettled by this. I don't see the rabbit out of the hat now.
For the murder of Americans and blowing up American interests [Hezbollah's past deeds] it should never be given any quarter until it's permanently destroyed.
The same goes for Israel and it's interests, Hezbollah must be destroyed.
#13
From Debka Israel accepts a unilateral suspension of its air strikes on S. Lebanon for 48 hours to allow for an investigation into the Qana attack
July 31, 2006, 4:51 AM (GMT+02:00)
Israel also agreed to coordinate with the United Nations to allow a 24-hour window for residents of southern Lebanon to leave the area if they wished.
Israels air, sea and land corridors for humanitarian passage remain open.
Lebanon police claim 54 civilians were killed in an Israel air attack of Qana. The Red Cross reports 28. US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said in Jerusalem that Israel reserved the right to take action against targets preparing attacks against it in line with US policy that Israel has the right to defend itself.
In other words, if Israel air surveillance detects Hizballah rocket launchers in action, its air force may attack them. Hizballah has not announced any corresponding suspension of its daily rocket attacks on Israeli civilian locations.
DEBKAfile adds: The pause in Israeli air strikes comes at a convenient moment for Hizballah after those bombardments forced its 220mm rocket deployment which has plagued Haifa to regroup north of the Litani River. It means that Hizballah will be given the chance to move the rockets back into the south as well as bringing fresh fighters in free of air attack. During the 48-hour suspension, Israels military will complete its own investigation of the Qana attack and draw lessons.
The United States welcomes Israels decision, secured by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice before she returns to Washington Monday, July 31, and hopes it will help ease the suffering of the children of South Lebanon and their families.
Earlier Sunday, The Lebanese government refused to hold diplomatic discussions with the US secretary without an immediate unconditional ceasefire by Israel. Rice who cut her mission short said she was saddened by the tragedy in Lebanon. Prime minister Ehud Olmert and chief of staff Lt. Gen Dan Halutz voiced deep regret at the tragic loss of life at Qana in a building that collapses after the Israeli air force struck Hizballah rocket sites. Halutz said Israel did not know there were civilians and children in the building and blamed Hizballah for using them as human shields. Olmert: This war was not started by us and we did not want it, but we will finish our counter-offensive until northern Israel is safe from Hizballah attack. He spoke of another 10 to 14 days. Hizballah religious leader Sheikh Nabulsi: If international troops come to South Lebanon, we will attack them in the same way as we fight Israelis.
Syria may not have nuclear weapons, but it has created a force of ballistic missiles equipped with chemical (nerve and mustard gas) warheads. Syria is believed to have about 1200 ballistic missiles. About 85 percent of them are SCUDs, and most of these are improved designs from North Korea and Iran.
The main improvement is a larger fuel tank, giving these missiles a range of about 700 kilometers. This allows them to reach anywhere in Israel. About 15 percent of their missiles are more modern (solid fuel) Russian SS-21s.
But these only have a range of 70 kilometers. Thus the Syrians have about 600 missiles with a range of 700 kilometers, another 400 with a range of 300-400 kilometers, and about 200 with a range of 70 kilometers. All these missiles carry a half ton warhead. And some of these warheads carry nerve gas or mustard gas.
There are about 70 mobile launchers for the SCUDs, and about as many for the smaller SS-21s. The SCUD launchers, and support vehicles, are hidden in fifteen or more tunnel complexes. A major disadvantage of the SCUDs is that they take over an hour to fuel and get ready for firing. Some of the liquid fuel is poisonous, and the crews have to be careful while handling it.
While there are some underground SCUD launching facilities, these are probably known to the Israelis, and likely to be bombed early in any conflict. That's why the 70 mobile launchers are so important. These will be much sought after by Israeli aircraft, UAVs and satellites.
Israel also has an anti-missile system (Arrow) that can knock down a few SCUDs at a time. If the Israelis can destroy most of the mobile launchers, and underground launch sites, that might be enough to avoid getting hit with chemical warheads.
These ballistic missiles are really the only reliable weapon Syria has. Poverty, and the end of Cold War era handouts from Russia, has led the 220,000 man Syrian army to decline in quality. The Syrian air force has sunk even deeper. The Syrian forces were never all that great to begin with. But now, all they can do is threaten Israel with chemical warheads carried on ballistic missiles. The United States has threatened to reply with nukes if anyone uses chemical weapons against U.S. troops or civilians. It's unclear if Israel would respond the same way. The Israeli armed forces could roll over the Syrian army and capture all of Syria in short order. The threat of Israeli war crimes trials against Syrian leaders (who survived the Israeli offensive), might be the ultimate deterrent.
publicly order evacuation of all foreigners from Syria, should intel indicate distribution to Syrian OR Hezb forces, and bomb as needed. Try to avoid the kurds....
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 18:11
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#3
With even a single bio-chem launch, Syria's entire military and government infrastructure should be reduced to smoking rubble. A combination of American and Israeli forces should provide the service. No nuclear weapons, please, even though they would not be unwarranted. Assad needs to be put on notice to keep his nose clean regarding this. Syria's meddling has been nothing short of infuriating for some decades now. Time for them to walk on eggshells.
#4
Don't forget that Iraq's WMDs have been smuggled into Syria at the end of 2002, as told by George Sada in his book Saddam's secrets, and that the Israeli generals have since been planning for their use against Israel.
#5
leroidavid: we were probably very clear to the Russians that it would be to everyone's advantage both that the WMDs both be shipped out, then *buried*, deeply, in Syria.
It served everyone's interest, and even the Israelis noted that the WMDs were buried, when the blew the story.
#6
With even a single bio-chem launch, Syria's entire military and government infrastructure should be reduced to smoking rubble.
Amen to that but I'm not entirely certain that it would be wise to limit a response to conventional weapons only. Allowing the Islamonuts or their fellow travelers to cross the WMD rubicon while earning only conventional response might well be interpreted as a sign of the extreme weakness of the western position. No need to wave the proverbial red flag in front of the Iranian bull, better that the response to any such provocation be swift, overwhelming, non-conventional, and (to the greatest degree possible) targeted towards military infrastructure and away from civilian populations.
#7
Massive retaliation would be required for any crossing of the the WMD firebreak. Any use of WMD must be a death sentence for the country that uses them. Not necessarily nuclear, but comptete destruction. And it is not only a message for the Islamolooneys. NKor, China, and Russia would also note a wobbly response to WMD use.
The Lebanese army opened fire on Israeli helicopters trying to land near a town in the Bekaa valley, preventing them from setting down, Lebanese security sources and witnesses said. The four helicopters appeared to be trying to land Israeli soldiers near the town of Yammouni, they said. The helicopters flew away before Israeli warplanes launched air raids on the area, the sources said.
#2
Even more eye opening than the expected Leabonese soldgiers being in the Hezbollah pocket in thier area of operation is the fact
ISREAL IS RUNNING ON THE GROUND OPS IN THE BEKAA?
Makes you wonder how much of the odd actions by the Israeli military on the border in out looking weak wispering wanting a truce ect... is just propoganda for battle field prep.
Those of us old enough to remember World War II face many painful reminders of how things have changed in Americans' behavior during a war.
Back then, the president's defeated opponent in the 1940 election Wendell Wilkie not only supported the war, he became a personal envoy from President Roosevelt to Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
We were all in it together and we knew it. People who had been highly critical of American foreign policy before we were attacked at Pearl Harbor now fell silent and devoted themselves to winning the war.
What if the people, institutions, and attitudes of today were somehow taken back in time to World War II? What would have been the result? Would we have ended up winning or losing that war?
What about the great cry of the hour, a cease-fire?
It so happens that World War II had the biggest cease-fire in history. It was called the phony war because, although France was officially at war with Germany, the French did very little fighting for months, while the bulk of the German army was in Poland and France had overwhelming military superiority on the western front.
Famed correspondent William L. Shirer reported on the unreal western front, with soldiers on both sides looking but not shooting. German soldiers bathed in the Rhine and waved to French soldiers on the other side, who waved back.
During this period Hitler offered to negotiate peace with France and England.
Kofi Anan would have loved it.
On November 19, 1939, Shirer's diary reported: For almost two months now there has been no military action on land, sea, or in the air. On January 1, 1940, he wrote, this phony kind of war cannot continue long. But it was now exactly four months since war was declared. How is that for a cease-fire?
Did this de facto cease-fire lead to peace? No. Like other cease-fires, it helped the aggressor.
It gave Hitler time to move his divisions from the eastern front, after they had conquered Poland, to the western front, facing France.
Now that military superiority along the Rhine had shifted in favor of the German armies, the war suddenly went from being phony to being devastatingly real.
Hitler attacked and France collapsed in six weeks.
Eventually, by 1945, allied armies had both Germany and Japan retreating. What would have happened if we had had Kofi Anan and the mushy mindset called world opinion at work then?
Kofi Anan would undoubtedly have called for a cease-fire.
He could have pointed out that the American response to Germany was wholly disproportionate because the Germans had never landed troops in America or bombed American cities, and were certainly no real threat to the United States at that point.
Much of the Japanese navy was at the bottom of the ocean by this time and most of their planes had been shot down. Why not a negotiated settlement, in order to spare innocent civilian lives?
And what if we had listened to such talk?
No doubt Germany and Japan would have signed some kind of negotiated agreement in order to get the allied armies off their backs and get some breathing room.
Both Germany and Japan had programs to try to build nuclear bombs. One of the Nazis' last acts before surrendering was to send material by submarine to Japan to help advance their nuclear program.
Any peace we might have negotiated with Japan would have given the Japanese time to develop not only nuclear technology but also war planes whose plans had been gotten from Germany, which had the most advanced planes in the world at that time.
There is not the slightest doubt that Japan would not have had the slightest hesitation to drop nuclear bombs on American cities. And they would not have come back in later years to wring their hands at what they had done, as too many American have done at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
But we didn't cease firing until our enemies were defeated. Kofi Anan and today's world opinion would not have liked that.
Thomas Sowell is a Senior Fellow at The Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California. He has published dozens of books on economics, education, race, and other topics. His most recent book is Black Rednecks and White Liberals, in which he argues that "internal" cultural habits of industriousness, thriftiness, family solidarity, and reverence for education often play a greater role in the success of ethnic minorities than do civil-rights laws or majority prejudices.
#2
in which he argues that "internal" cultural habits of industriousness, thriftiness, family solidarity, and reverence for education often play a greater role in the success of ethnic minorities than do civil-rights laws or majority prejudices.
A blindly flash of the obvious. Refreshing to see it in print however.
#3
Sowell is always good stuff. Like Walter Williams or Steyn or VDH
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 16:09
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#4
"Is It Time for a Cease-Fire?"
No.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 16:12
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#5
No cease-fire without concerted, substantial commitments by Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, al Aqsa martyr's Brigade and the Palestinian Authority regarding actual progress towards lasting peace. And we all know how likely that is.
(IsraelNN.com) Senior IDF officers told reporters a short time ago that there is a contradiction in the timing of the bombing of the village of Kana and reports of the explosion that killed more than 50 civilians and set off world-wide condemnation of Israel. Air Force Commander Amir Eshel left open the possibility that Hizbullah terrorists blew up the building or that an unknown cause set off explosives which were stored in the structure.
He explained that recorded information shows that Israeli Air Force planes bombed the building between midnight and 1 a.m. and that the next attack at 7:30 a.m. was up to 500 yards away. He said reports of the killing of civilians came around 8 a.m. "It is not clear what happened" between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m., he said.
Brigadier General Ido Nehushtan pointed out that Hizbullah terrorists have fired more than 150 rockets from the village of Kana since the beginning of the war.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/30/2006 14:17
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#2
at worst it's a tragic incident caused by the basing of Hezb offensive weapons amongst civilians - a cowardly and totally Islamic action. At best, it was staged. Either way, Israel is not to blame
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 14:22
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#3
We're way past the point where the U.S. should announce to the world that any basing of launchers or ammo dumps in or around residential structures will be considered a war crime, and shit will flow all the way downhill to the mullahs in Iran and the money donors in Saudi Arabia for fomenting said war crimes. And aiders and abbetors at the UN better also watch out. We have room at Gitmo for all of them.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/30/2006 14:32
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#4
It won't matter how much proof Israel shows absolving themselves - the story's been told, the big lie has spanned the globe. It's not about reality, only perceptions.
#5
No link, but, FWIW, Stratfor's latest email missive says they think (not sure) Israel is moving north in force now to "defeate Hez in detail." Hope so.
#6
Even if the proximate cause of death may have been IAF action, the fundamental cause is Hizb'Allah use of residential areas to commit acts of war and thereby making civilians pawns of their terrorist activities. Lebanon is literally the hostage of Hizb'Allah -- and the Islamofascist are hiding behind their hostages to launch rockets at Israel.
It should also be repeated that Hizb'Allah is a terrorist group -- responsible for the murder of children and women on both sides of the border.
I hope Israel has the fortitude to stay the course and keep fighting for its own survival. If they fail, Europe will fall soon after, and there will be no place on Earth safe from Islamofascist terror. I believe Bush, Blair, and Howard understand that.
#11
Aug. 22nd is the date the Iranians have said they will respond to the latest proposal by the Western nations on the uranium enrichment issue. They have hinted that particular date is somehow significant to them, but have not said why. People are speculating, and also nervous.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
07/30/2006 15:19
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#12
doubt that Iran is capable of conducting a nuclear test
they might fire a missile but that wouldn't be as big a deal
Aug 22 corresponds this year with Rajab 27 which is thought to be the date that Saladin entered Jerusalem. However, Saladin was actually of Kurdish ancestry so I'm not sure this works.
#13
They're up to something ever there. They've got the entire population stirred up and seething. Telegraphing their intentions in advance isn't too bright however. I suspect it could be something very nasty in Iraq, possibly Baghdad. Or something sinister in Israel. Missile launches or airliner suicide bombing. Who knows. HB is their proxy and their proxy is headed for the ropes. They have to do something.
#14
There is speculation that the President of Iran believes the Imam Mahdi will "return" on that day leading to a period of Islamic conquest of the world.
#17
We're way past the point where the U.S. should announce to the world that any basing of launchers or ammo dumps in or around residential structures will be considered a war crime
WTF is the point? Under accepted rules of war, civilians or not, children or not, a contracting party has the right to destroy any military munitions and supplies, even if it is aware civilians, even children might be killed.
It's black letter law.
The onus for the deaths are firmly in the hands of Hezbollah, Syria, Lenanon and Iran, not the IDF.
The actions of the IDF to destroy there targets are proper and defensible under every international statute known.
#18
#17: "The actions of the IDF to destroy there targets are proper and defensible under every international statute known."
Not true, Badanov. You forgot the well-known international law that Israel is always at fault no matter what happens and no matter who actually did it.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 15:46
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#19
This site is raising questions about the sequence of events. It would be great if this would undeniably unravel.
#26
Remember the Maine! The ship fell victim to either a Zionist infernal machine or poor quality Jewish coal! Or bad coal bunker baffling.... likely with someone of the Hebrew persuasion in the design process.
#31
Even if Israel proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is all pallywood or Hez blew these people up themseves the MSM will never report it -- so the lie that its Israel's fault will stand in most people's eyes.
Already famed for angry labor strikes and philosophical debates in smoke-filled cafés, the French have now brought these passions online to become some of the world's most intensive bloggers. The French distinguish themselves, both statistically and anecdotally, ahead of Germans, Britons and even Americans in their obsession with blogs, the personal and public journals of the Internet age.
Sixty percent of French Internet users visited a blog in May, ahead of Britain with 40 percent and little more than a third in the United States, according to Comscore, an Internet ratings service. Likewise, French bloggers spent more than an hour in June visiting France's top-rated blog site, far ahead of the 12 minutes spent by Americans doing the same and less than 3 minutes for Germans, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.
More than three million Internet users, or more than 12 percent of those online in France, have created a blog, according a study released in June by the ratings agency Médiamétrie.
"You cannot be elected president of France without a blog," said Benjamin Griveaux, director of Web strategy for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former finance minister who in 2004 was among the first politicians to start a blog. "Blogs have not replaced traditional media, but they are absolutely necessary for every politician."
"With so many blogs, I'm hoping for fewer protests and strikes in Paris this fall," said Loïc Le Meur, a pioneer French blogger and European managing director of the blog-hosting company Six Apart. "If people can express themselves online, then maybe they don't need to block the streets."
French blogs stands out in other measurable ways. They are noticeably longer, more critical, more negative, more egocentric and more provocative than their U.S. counterparts, said Laurent Florès, the French-born, New York-based chief executive of CRM Metrix, a company that monitors blogs and other online conversations on behalf of companies seeking feedback on their brands.
"Bloggers in the United States listen to each other and incorporate rival ideas in the discussion," he said. "French bloggers never compromise their opinions."
Cultural explanations describe blogs as a natural outgrowth of the French national character. "It is clear that in France we have very large egos and love to speak about ourselves," Le Meur said. "If you look at Germans or Scandinavians - off- line and on the Internet - they really don't talk about themselves."
"The Minitel was a classic, centrally controlled and top-down creation of the French elite," Billaut said. "Blogs have been embraced by ordinary people, and this will flip the rigid power pyramid of French society."
Like elsewhere, the grass-roots freedom of blogs has proved problematic for French companies, with activist groups and skeptical consumers taking their strong views online, said Cyril Klein, marketing director of Scanblog, a blog-monitoring firm in Paris.
"Consumers in France have few outlets to make their views heard, so blogs have become their counterpower," Klein said, citing as an example ChiennesDeGarde.org, a Web site that fights against sexist displays of women. "The difficulty for brands is that French culture encourages people to express unhappiness and criticize."
But the French can be quirky as well as serious. One of the most popular video blogs, Bonjour America (www.bonjour-america.com), was started by Cyrille de Lasteyrie to explain France to foreigners - and to find a way for him to meet his hero, Clint Eastwood.
Other popular blogs include a cooking diary called C'est Moi Qui l'Ai Fait and a journal by an advertising executive called Dark Planneur.
Griveaux, the director of Web strategy for Strauss-Kahn, reckons the popularity of blogs comes down to France being a nation where each and every citizen thinks he or she should be in charge.
"We had 16 presidential candidates at the last election, and we will probably have the same number next year," Griveaux said. "Every French person wants to run the country - a blog is the next best option."
"If people can express themselves online, then maybe they don't need to block the streets."
Hahahahaha! Sure, yewbetcha. The people who "espress themselves online" and the clowns who riot are exactly the same. I'm sure that next car-b-que season, the "disaffected yutes" will just blog about their hatred of the West instead of attacking Jews and burning cars.
"Bloggers in the United States listen to each other and incorporate rival ideas in the discussion," he said. "French bloggers never compromise their opinions." "It is clear that in France we have very large egos and love to speak about ourselves,"
Quelle surprise.
"French culture encourages people to express unhappiness and criticize."
No, really, Bunky? Hooda thunk it?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 16:11
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#2
I don't care for french blogs, most are made by leftists rehashing each other's and msm's talking points.
IMHO, this is bogus. Froggies like to talk about ideas anyway, we're a Nation of theorists and words tossers. Just look at me, poser and pseudo intellectual ("intello").
Some conservative blogs are actually very good, though they cover a wide span of the french right, IE often anti-american and/or anti-israeli. Blogs written by french jews are also often interesting, in that they don't follow the pro-arab/ROP party line of 99,9999% of the msm.
Some :
http://www.ludovicmonnerat.com/ (swiss)
http://www.precaution.ch/ (swiss, excellent, hosts a french online traduction of Spencer's Politically Incorrect Guide to islam somewhere)
http://dahuvariable.blogspot.com/ (swiss)
http://www.extremecentre.org/ (excellent, actually evolved from a yahoo groups where I used to lurk)
http://balagan.blog-city.com/ (sort of french jew MIF)
http://politiquearabedelafrance.net/ (excellent)
http://observatoire-islam-europe.blogspot.com/
http://www.occidentalis-leblog.info/
http://jcdurbant.blog.lemonde.fr/
http://www.lmae.net/
http://lesalonbeige.blogs.com/my_weblog/
http://www.peres-fondateurs.com/taranne/ (on stay; all the links in the blogroll are interesting, they're blogs from the Père fondateurs/Founding Fathers forum, a pro-Us freemarketers lair)
http://zekii.blogspot.com/ (excellent, very caustic, and well written, but really depressed and a depressing)
http://www.rechimot.blog-city.com/
http://voxgalliae.blogspot.com/
http://www.fdesouche.com/index.php
http://www.ilikeyourstyle.net/blog/
#3
"Bloggers in the United States listen to each other and incorporate rival ideas in the discussion," he said. "French bloggers never compromise their opinions."
I believe that trait is referred to in some quarters as simply arrogance and stupidity.
#4
Hahahahaha! Sure, yewbetcha. The people who "espress themselves online" and the clowns who riot are exactly the same.
Actually, a whole subset of blogs are the SKYBLOGS, IE the blogs hosted by the rap radio Skyrock. A whole lot of them, millions IIRC... reading them is a real insight into the "Youth" subculture, complete with phonetic writing, pics taken by cellphones, religious and cultural orientations,... very interesting, but also it makes you really wonder about the future of french culture... Btw, the guys blogging there WERE the ones torching the 20 000 cars in november 2005, they even used them to have a modicum of coordination.
#7
I read this whole thing in the local paper this morning, and thought "Oh, another installation of the old intellectual wheeze 'they do everything better in France'"
Really, isn't it well past time we got up off our knees and stopped genuflecting towards that superior continental culture?
Except for that food thing, of course, and I speak as a woman with three shelves worth of French cookbooks... ;-)
#10
yep - that REALLY hurts them, too....like another Merkin winning the Tour
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 18:16
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#11
"the guys blogging there WERE the ones torching the 20 000 cars in november 2005"
I'll take your word for it, #4 anon, but that sort of negates Loïc Le Meur's wishful thinking theory.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 18:19
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#12
Oops, hit post too soon.
My point was that violent people rarely spend too much time "discussing" - they coordinate with others who lean to violence, of course, but they rarely (if ever) substitute discussion for violence.
Kind of the opposite of the DU, Koskiddies, etc., who do nothing but run their mouths.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 18:24
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#13
Food prep, and wine is about all they've been able to do better than us in the last fifty years, and we've caught up on the wine, and are getting closer on the food...Still, they used to be great and sometimes I am nostalgic about that old 'la belle France' thing...
Come to think on it, though, they haven't come close to doing a proper breakfast taco, which is truely the food of the gods.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 19:20
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#15
We'd caught up on the wine 35 years ago when the first tasting was done. Food prep? That's a matter of taste. I don't know how they can grill anything better than a Webber myself.
(IsraelNN.com) Senior IDF officers told reporters a short time ago that there is a contradiction in the timing of the bombing of the village of Kana and reports of the explosion that killed more than 50 civilians and set off world-wide condemnation of Israel. Brigadier General Ido Nehushtan left open the possibility that Hizbullah terrorists blew up the building with civilians inside in order to blame Israel.
He explained that recorded information shows that Israeli Air Force planes bombed targets between midnight and 1 a.m. and again at 7:30 a.m. but that the targets which killed civilians were up to 500 yards away during the second attack, when the building was demolished. "It is not clear what happened," he said.
The IDF pointed out that more than Hizbullah terrorists have fired more than 150 rockets from the village of Kana since the beginning of the war.
#2
Wrong. That's why we now have this stupid 24-48 hour cessation of air ops by Israel.
They have totally screwed up this war or their victory is being kept the biggest secret since the Manhattan Project. We are going to pay for this down the road with very stiff interest.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 18:15
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#6
Maybe Israel could hire a bunch of these, before firing the hair trigger apology gun. They sure could use the help.
Business Management/Marketing/Operations/Procurement Open in New Window Desired Salary: 50000 USD/yr US-DE-Wilmington 7/26/2006
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NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. An exotic dancer accused of illegally keeping human body parts in her home plans to plead not guilty to charges of unlawful disposal of human remains, her attorney said. Linda Kay was arrested late Friday, two days after authorities said she skipped a court appearance. She was taken to the Middlesex County Jail, where she remained late Saturday in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Her attorney, Donald DiGioia, said he looked forward to discussing his client's case with prosecutors. "I'm sure we'll have a good laugh"
"She is a good, gentle individual who has a nontraditional job," DiGioia said Saturday night. "She has no criminal record under this name."
Kay, 31, of South Plainfield, was taken into custody with the help of the bail bondsman who initially had posted her bail, authorities said. No new court date has been set. Bondsman ratted her out? Musta thought a 31 year old stripper might have trouble rounding up that many dollar bills...
... six human skulls and a severed hand in a jar of formaldehyde in her bedroom...
She's gentle and not a violent person at all.
She was charged last week after police were called to her home on a report that a roommate was suicidal. The roommate was not home, but Kay was. Officers discovered six human skulls and a severed hand in a jar of formaldehyde in her bedroom, according to the police report.
DiGioia declined to discuss his conversation with Kay about the hand. He said he expects the county prosecutor's office to review the matter to determine if a crime has been committed.
"There's been a tremendous amount of media attention for a crime on the lower end of the spectrum," he said. "She's gentle and not a violent person at all. This has been a frightening and terrifying experience for her."
U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan police killed 20 suspected Taliban in the latest fighting to hit southern Afghanistan, as NATO on Sunday prepared to take command in the insurgency-wracked region.
Afghan forces also killed six militants in southeastern Paktika province, an Afghan official said.
On Monday, the U.S. anti-terror coalition is to formally hand over control of security operations to a NATO-led force that has deployed about 8,000 mostly British, Canadian and Dutch troops in the south.
The deployment has coincided with the deadliest upsurge in fighting since U.S.-backed forces ousted the Taliban regime in late 2001 for hosting Usama bin Laden, mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
On a visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said many Taliban fighters were crossing from Pakistan to stage attacks.
"We need real cooperation from Pakistan, but it seems very difficult for them. The border is a very difficult region and we ask Pakistan to make some more effort to control it," she told reporters in Kabul.
Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in its war on terrorism, says it does all it can to patrol the porous Afghan border.
On Saturday, a joint force of coalition and Afghan troops killed 20 suspected Taliban militants who had attempted an ambush in Shahidi Hassas district of Uruzgan province, a coalition statement said. There were no casualties among coalition or Afghan forces.
Afghan soldiers and police killed six Taliban fighters and captured eight Sunday during a clash in southeastern Paktika province's Waza Khwa district, said Said Jamal, spokesman for the provincial governor. No further details were available.
In Kandahar province, three militants blew themselves up Saturday as they laid an explosive on a road, said Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Another suspected Taliban died Sunday when a land mine he was planting north of Kandahar city exploded, Ahmadi said.
Taliban-led fighters have escalated roadside bombings and suicide attacks this year, and have also mounted brazen attacks on several small towns and district police stations a tactic rarely seen in the previous four years.
International forces, backed by the Afghan army, have meted out a tough response.
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi said a 50-day operation dubbed Mountain Thrust has resulted in the deaths of at least 613 suspected militants. Some 87 others were wounded and about 300 arrested, he said.
Azimi said between 13 and 16 civilians had also died.
He declined to give details of Afghan and coalition casualties. According to an Associated Press count of coalition figures, at least 19 coalition troops have died in Afghanistan during the same period.
British Lt. Gen. David Richards, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, said Saturday that Operation Mountain Thrust would wind down as NATO takes over in the south, but its force will "keep up the tempo" of operations against insurgents.
NATO brings a new strategy to dealing with the Taliban rebellion: establishing bases rather than chasing militants, and is hoping to win the support of local people by creating secure zones where development can take place.
But questions remain whether they can quell the violence enough to allow aid workers to get to work in a lawless and impoverished region, where about a quarter of Afghanistan's huge opium crop is grown.
Azimi dismissed concern that there would not be enough troops on the ground. He said the Afghan army would maintain three brigades of about 3,000 troops each in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul, supporting the NATO forces.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006
12:26 ||
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#1
In a situation like Afghanistan and Pakistan, where we can't readily stray into Pak territory to off the boogers, perhaps we have set up the next best thing: channeling the bad guyz into a narrow corridor rarely travelled by ordinary commerce.
This can have all sorts of benefits. First you can observe where they are travelling, to figure out the overall enemy strategy. Second, over time you can learn to spot whoever is in charge. If anyone has information, it will be them.
And third, if you let one or two groups go, you can maybe find out where in Pakistan they are going to.
#3
A thirty-to-one kill ratio is unacceptable, however. There are more talliwhackers than there are Alliance forces. We need to increase that to 60-to-1, or even 100-to-1. We need to find a way to force them into close proximity to one another, and then whack 'em all at once. That's going to require gaining control and keeping control of more and more territory. I hope the Brits et al are up to it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/30/2006 15:34
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THIS is the picture that damns Hezbollah. It is one of several, smuggled from behind Lebanon's battle lines, showing that Hezbollah is waging war amid suburbia. The images, obtained exclusively by the Sunday Herald Sun, show Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons. Dressed in civilian clothing so they can quickly disappear, the militants carrying automatic assault rifles and ride in on trucks mounted with cannon. The photographs, from the Christian area of Wadi Chahrour in the east of Beirut, were taken by a visiting journalist and smuggled out by a friend.
They emerged as:
US President George Bush called for an international force to be sent to Lebanon.
ISRAEL called up another 30,000 reserve troops.
THE UN's humanitarian chief Jan Egeland called for a three-day truce to evacuate civilians and transport food and water into cut-off areas.
US SECRETARY of State Condoleezza Rice returned to the Middle East to push a UN resolution aimed at ending the 18-day war, and:
A PALESTINIAN militant group said it had kidnapped, killed and burned an Israeli settler in the West Bank.
The images include one of a group of men and youths preparing to fire an anti-aircraft gun metres from an apartment block with sheets hanging out on a balcony to dry. Others show a militant with AK47 rifle guarding no-go zones after Israeli blitzes. Another depicts the remnants of a Hezbollah Katyusha rocket in the middle of a residential block blown up in an Israeli air attack.
The Melbourne man who smuggled the shots out of Beirut and did not wish to be named said he was less than 400m from the block when it was obliterated. "Hezbollah came in to launch their rockets, then within minutes the area was blasted by Israeli jets," he said. "Until the Hezbollah fighters arrived, it had not been touched by the Israelis. Then it was totally devastated. It was carnage. Two innocent people died in that incident, but it was so lucky it was not more."
The release of the images comes as Hezbollah faces criticism for allegedly using innocent civilians as "human shields". Mr Egeland blasted Hezbollah as "cowards" for operating among civilians. "When I was in Lebanon, in the Hezbollah heartland, I said Hezbollah must stop this cowardly blending in among women and children," he said.
#2
Before it began bombing Lebanon, Israel had the media spotlight to itself.
They should have stated the obvious about Hezb's use of human shields.
Israel screws this up every time. I even think the lower level folks know that this is a problem but the ministerial level is too egotistical to listen.
#6
Perhaps it will take the loss of every single Lebanese and Palestinian civilian life for them to realize that the terrorists more often take the lives of those they purport to side with. If so, tough sh!t. Live by the sword and effing well die by it, morons! At least Bush has it right this time. No cease-fire until there is some sort of commitment by the terrorists. Temporary truce = hudna.
These photos (with appropriate captions) need to be air-dropped all over the Lebanese border. Too bad they'll never show up in the mainstream media. Thanks again, Rantburg.
#10
Concerning the ugly habit of Hezbollah of using civilians as shields, I have found 4 sensational videos on the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs site.
Just look at it: you will see the speed and number of rockets fired at Israel, from civilian areas.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 12:40
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#3
Zsa Zsa Humor: "A man in love is not complete until he is married. Then he is finished." or "I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house."
Lebanese protesters broke into the U.N. headquarters in Beirut on Sunday, smashing windows and ransacking offices, after an Israeli air strike killed 54 people in south Lebanon. Several thousand people massed outside the building in downtown Beirut chanting "Death to Israel, death to America. We sacrifice our blood and souls for Lebanon."
"Death to Israel, death to America. We sacrifice our blood and souls for Lebanon."
Geir Petersen, the personal representative of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Lebanon, condemned the Israeli attack on the village of Qana and called for an immediate investigation. "I strongly condemn today's killing of tens of civilians by Israeli shelling of residential buildings in the village of Qana," he said. He was not in building when it was attacked. By late afternoon, all the protesters had drifted away.
#5
This whole deal was on the news this morning when I woke up, great way to start the day.
This is one of the crazier deals I've seen in awhile.
1st, Hezbullah hides amoung civilians. No news there. Everyone on the planet knows this is how they opperate.
2nd, IDF blows up building to get at Hezbullah thugs and regretably it appears some innocents were killed also. War is hell!
3rd, and this is what really gets me, instead of condeming Hezbullah like they should they blame it all on Israel & the US, (no surprise in any of this)by breaking into the UN building? What the hell other than coverage on the news, can they hope to accomplish bu attacking the property of the UN?
Posted by: RJB in JC MO ||
07/30/2006 13:29
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#6
Notice they steer clear of the U.S. Embassy? The "Brave Lions" of Islam don't want to get their asses shot off because we don't play that way anymore.
#8
Time to teach these effing idiots just who's the big dog on the block. Time for an ARCLIGHT strike right through the center of Beirut, followed by napalm over the crushed and destroyed buildings. If these idiots want total war, it's time to give it to them. I doubt there will be any requests for seconds.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/30/2006 16:40
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#9
And Gaza as well. Giving a new meaning to the expression "biting the hand that feeds you".
#10
Sometimes I do think that before long the big stick will have to be wheeled out and demonstrated. A terrible day.
But you have to consider it like slapping a hysterical person.
These people are hysterical. Between this UN thing which was weird and that guy in seattle killing the canary,,,,,,,,,,
Posted by: J. D. Lux ||
07/30/2006 21:53
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A federal grand jury in Alexandria is investigating unauthorized leaks of classified information and has issued a subpoena to a fired National Security Agency officer who has acknowledged talking with journalists about the agency's warrantless surveillance program, according to documents released yesterday. admitted it, huh?
The 23-member grand jury is "conducting an investigation of possible violations of federal criminal laws involving unauthorized disclosure of classified information" under the Espionage Act and other statutes, according to a document accompanying the subpoena. fry em
The demand for testimony from former NSA officer Russell Tice provides a sign of the Justice Department's aggressiveness in pursuing the leak investigation, which follows a series of controversial news reports on classified programs. It also marks the latest potential use of the espionage statute to combat such leaks.
In December, Justice opened a criminal investigation after the New York Times disclosed the existence of the eavesdropping program, which allows the NSA to monitor telephone calls to and from the United States without a court order if one party is linked to suspected of links to terrorist groups. The documents released yesterday do not make it clear whether the grand jury is focused on that report or on some other disclosure.
Tice has publicly identified himself as a possible source for the report, saying that he talked to Times reporters before it was published. He also has said he believes he was fired by the NSA last year because he complained of possible Chinese espionage at the agency, and he has since sought to testify before Congress about "probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts" by the NSA director and other senior administration officials.
Tice said in an interview that he viewed the subpoena as an attempt at intimidation by the government. "This is the king saying, 'How dare anyone challenge my authority and say that I'm a crook or a criminal?' " he said. king, huh? Sounds like a Clinton holdover
The subpoena, dated July 25, requires Tice to appear Aug. 2. It was posted yesterday on the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition's Web site. Tice is a member of the group.
New York Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said the newspaper has "not been contacted by the government" in the case. A Justice spokesman declined to comment.
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has said that while prosecutors are focused on the "leakers," he cannot rule out the need to demand testimony from reporters as well. A separate grand jury investigation into the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity resulted in the jailing last year of one reporter and testimony from her and numerous others.
Journalism and secrecy experts said the Alexandria investigation is another worrisome development for reporters attempting to inform the public about intelligence programs and policies.
"They are playing hardball," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. ". . . They're rounding up the most likely suspects, getting them to say 'Yes I was a source' or 'No I was not a source,' and then they'll go to the reporters jail the reporters too
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006
10:33 ||
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#1
I met him once and my impression was that he was well below the political appointee level, Frank. His allegations of possible Chinese espionage seemed at least worth investigating, but the government has more information and could have had good reasons to not pursue them. But admissions of leaking classified information is another kettle of fish, of course.
#2
NSA did investigate ole Russ's accusation and found nothing of merit. The man is suffering from depression and is paranoid delutional. Can you imagine what happens to someones career that is accused of spying at a spy agency? Bottom line Russ is a nut and he probably was the source on some of these leaks.
#4
He's admitted he's the sourse and he is setting himself up immunity to testify over the Chinese issue just in time before he was outed by investigation. He's probably a decent poker player. My bet is he gets his immunity and testifies to the China investigation, the Donks will rally. He will get to slam Bush's men in office and not go to jail for the wire tap leak.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/30/2006 11:51
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#6
I remember a tale of a Soviet spy who was, as all new spies, taken down to be shown the giant furnace that heated their headquarters building. He was then shown a video of an ex-spy known as a traitor to them, bound and writhing on a hospital gurney as he was fed head first through the open furnace door.
He said it was a real motivator for them to mind their p's & q's.
#8
I am missing something here. What chinese investigation are you speaking about pan? The higher ups heard what Tice had to say, investigated it, and then thought it prudent that he didn't have access to classified information. Russ needs immunity from reality because that is what he fears.
#9
CS your right. I was leading to his publicly trying to get it reopened in an effort to discredit the Bush appointees and to cover his ass. I assume the MSM's will be all over him as a victim. No doubt he's done in the NSA.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/30/2006 21:27
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The youngest son of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has joined the Marine Corps and could be deployed to a war zone in a matter of months, according to a magazine report. Jimmy McCain, 18, will begin basic training in September. He'll spend three months in boot camp and undergo a month of specialized training before being assigned to a unit.
"I'm obviously very proud of my son," the elder McCain told Time, "but also understandably a little nervous." McCain's communications director, Eileen McMenamin, confirmed the Time story but said the senator would not comment further Saturday. McCain has been an outspoken supporter of the war in Iraq and said last month during a Senate debate that withdrawing troops would "risk disaster." Another of the senator's seven children, Jack, 20, attends the U.S. Naval Academy.
Asked recently by Gallup whether "the United States should mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along as best they can on their own", nearly half of Americans (46 per cent) said it should - compared with just 20 per cent 40 years ago. A clear majority of Americans (56 per cent) now say it was a mistake for the US to go into Iraq. Another poll, conducted earlier this year on behalf of National Geographic, found that 63 per cent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 could not find Iraq on a map, while 75 per cent could locate neither Israel nor Iran.
Unfortunately for Mr Blair, the rest of the world has a diametrically different view of the USA. According to the latest Pew Global Attitudes survey, even we Britons regard the American presence in Iraq as a bigger danger to world peace than either Iran or North Korea. A third of British voters think the US invaded Iraq "to control Middle Eastern oil". A quarter think America aims "to dominate the world". In short, we - in common with most Europeans - increasingly regard the United States not as Superman but as Lex Luthor.
Conventional wisdom has it that the American government is in a position to dictate to the Israeli government because of the latter's dependence on economic and military aid from the United States. Thus, when Condoleezza Rice opposed a joint Arab-European call for an immediate ceasefire at last week's Rome summit, most commentators interpreted this as an American green light for continued Israeli attacks on Lebanese targets. From both ends of the political spectrum I heard the same anti-American refrain: "If they really wanted to stop the fighting, they could."
I asked a few people last week what share of Israel's GDP they thought was accounted for by American aid. The estimates went as high as 40 per cent. In fact, US aid to Israel was equivalent to just 3.2 per cent of Israel's gross domestic product in 2004, compared with 14 per cent in 1986. American aid today is much more important for Jordan (14 per cent of GDP) and the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza (5.6 per cent) than it is for Israel.
It is therefore a complete fantasy to think that Washington can somehow force Tel Aviv to stop fighting when rockets fired by an Iranian-backed terrorist organisation are raining down daily on Israeli territory.
The unpalatable truth about the present crisis in the Middle East is that it is a symptom of American weakness rather than American dominance. Consider, too, just how few troops the White House has at its disposal in the region as a whole. The United States has a population in excess of 290 million, of whom nearly 75 million are men aged between 15 and 49. Yet the number of military personnel on active duty in all overseas theatres is little more than a quarter of a million - roughly 0.1 per cent of the American population. When Britain was the global colossus in the 1880s, that figure was six times higher. It is all very well calling for yet another peacekeeping force. But the United States patently cannot man it.
Like Superman, the US has vast potential strength. If it wants to be, it really can be "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound". It is richer by far than the other countries in the world. It has mind-boggling firepower - enough to incinerate Iran in an afternoon. And yet, as Mr Blair understands, this Superman would really rather revert to being Clark Kent.
Of course, the moral of Superman Returns is that when the messianic Man of Steel retreats into provincial isolation, Metropolis descends into anarchy. Tragically, the same fate may now lie in store for the Middle East as the American superpower heads back to Smallville.
And Dean/Reid/Pelosi are setting the donks up to run on an isolationist platform in 2008. We may get a choice, not an echo. That would make for an interesting election.
#1
Thanks for the post NS. My late father always said, "we'd be much better off to stay on our own shores and the hell out of other folk's business. If they violate you, say nothing but take a big stick and whack the living hell outta them and come back home." He always said "they'd been fighting it out over there for thousands of years and they would never be peaceful like our neighbors across the Wabash in Indiana." Simple country logic, but he older I get, the more truth I see in it.
#2
I've got to admit that my default position is to agree with your father. My problem is we've been violated but the right people haven't been whacked. When I see Abrams cruising through Tehran and Mecca, I'll be ready to come home.
#5
I begining to think Americans are getting tired of nation building and I am going to feel real sorry for the next country that makes us mad enough to invade. That country going to get the no holds bar version of war and the MSM going to see what a real war looks like.
#6
I'm an old-style isolationist. But, the sad truth today is that America has long since stopped being self-sufficient. Back in the 70s, decisons were made with far-reaching consequences. We are now dependent on foreign products for our livelihood. Telling the rest of the world to suck it simply won't work. The plutocrats that give money to the politicians won't allow such a thing to pass - they might lose money!
#7
The US has two long-term 'enemies' worthy of concern in the world; Islam and China. We're fighting Islam in Iraq and Afghanistan with our own forces; fighting via Special Ops, proxies, and allies is going on other places. I think the decision was made some time ago to take a different path with China - and also different than was taken with the USSR. Still MAD, but with China the 'D' is for dependence. We are dependent on each other with our trade, and with our financial markets, to the point where the economic failure of either country severely hurts both. So we dance around the fringes, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, India - more shadow-boxing than sparring.
I think we should give the average American more credit. It would mean some changes, but I think we could become "self sufficient" rather quickly if we had to. You're spot on about the politicians however, they're globalist millionaires who could care less about Peoria.
#9
Isolationism no longer works in the age of nuclear weapons. Anyone who thinks so is merely inviting terrorist nuclear attacks on American soil. In the name of our own national security, we are obliged to go out and whack every single potential threat we have the time and patience to smack down.
At the same time that we perform these pre-emptive strikes, we should also be doing our d@mnedest to bring the Internet to every single country imaginable. If it requires setting up dedicated satellite downlinks for the entire Mid-East and Islamic regions, so be it. Just as the information age brought about the downfall of Soviet dictatorship, so will the Internet (help) bring an end to Islamic fascism.
Folks hereabout who jokingly say we should bombard the Arabic countries with endless pronography, male enhancement ads, farmgirls gone wild and breast augmentation spam have just about got it right. Only the free flow of information is going to have anywhere near the effect of sustained bombing campaigns. And I'll leave it to you to guess which choice is less expensive.
Hizbullah's top commander in southern Lebanon is a veteran Fatah operative who was very close to former Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat when the PLO was based in Beirut, Fatah officials said over the weekend. They identified the man as Imad Mughniyeh, a former officer in Arafat's Force 17 presidential guard who has been in charge of Hizbullah's military operations in south Lebanon for the past decade.
"Imad Mughniyeh is the overall commander of the Islamic Resistance [Hizbullah's armed wing] in southern Lebanon," said a Fatah official who said he knew Mughniyeh well during the '70s and '80s. "He's nicknamed tha'lab [the fox], and today he's considered the second important figure in Hizbullah after Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. We're very proud to have a Palestinians holding such a high position in Hizbullah," the Fatah official said.
Mughniyeh, who is believed to have been behind the abduction of the two IDF soldiers on July 12, is also reported to be in charge of Hizbullah's rocket unit in south Lebanon. The unit has fired more than 1,600 rockets at Israel during the current violence. When the IDF forced the PLO to leave Lebanon in 1982, Arafat entrusted Mughniyeh with transferring the organization's weapons to Lebanese militias allied with the Palestinians.
Mughniyeh, who refused to leave Beirut with the PLO leadership, joined the the Shi'ite Amal militia headed by Nabih Berri. He and Nasrallah, who was then a member of Amal, later left the movement to form Hizbullah. Born in the Lebanese city of Tyre in 1962, Mughniyeh did not attract attention until 1976, when he joined Force 17 as a sniper targeting Christians on the Green Line dividing West and East Beirut. Mugniyah has since been implicated in numerous terrorist attacks against the US, France and Israel, in which hundreds of people have been killed. These include three in 1983: the bombings of the US Embassy in Beirut and barracks housing US Marines and French paratroopers who were part of the Multinational Force in Lebanon.
He has also been linked to the Karine A weapons ship that Arafat tried to use to smuggle arms into the Gaza Strip in 2001. On October 10, 2001 Mughniyeh appeared on the FBI's first "Top 22 Most Wanted Terrorists" list. A reward of $25 million was offered for information leading to his capture.
#1
You know when I first read the title to this post I thought it was refering to Mrs. Arapig. Yikes!
Posted by: RJB in JC MO ||
07/30/2006 15:04
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Ezekiel 27 puts the King of Tyre on a fine vessel in the heart of the seas:
Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
You say, O Tyre, I am perfect in beauty.
Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection.
They made all your timbers of pine trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of cypress wood£ from the coasts of Cyprus£ they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.
Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail and served as your banner; your awnings were of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.
Men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; your skilled men, O Tyre, were aboard as your seamen.
Veteran craftsmen of Gebal£ were on board as shipwrights to caulk your seams.
All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to trade for your wares.
Men of Persia, Lydia and Put served as soldiers in your army.
They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, bringing you splendor.
I'd look for a fine mothership at sea....Israel has had 80 maritime attacks so far.
BAGHDAD--"How was Afghanistan?" asks an aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. "Dusty," I reply, pointing at my shoes, which show every evidence of having been in Kandahar hours earlier. "And remarkably stable," I add: The press corps following Donald Rumsfeld drove from Kabul airport to the U.S. Embassy compound with no significant security, a sharp contrast to the helicopter ride that prudence dictated we take into Baghdad's Green Zone. "We'd sure like to have that kind of situation," my interlocutor says. So why does he think the U.S. mission here has been so much harder? Maybe, he says, because the Taliban didn't have 35 years to create the infrastructure of a totalitarian state, with millions of party apparatchiks and a KGB-trained intelligence service--"the same people who are still killing us today."
It's the best answer I heard to a question that nagged me on a recent visit to two of the hottest battlefronts in the war on terror. Iraq, a cosmopolitan civilization, actually knew something of representative democracy before the Baath rose to power in the 1960s. It has an educated middle class, and at least 80% of its population hated the regime when we liberated it. It seemed as fertile ground as any to test the idea that the force of U.S. arms could help improve political evolution in the Muslim world. Iraqis have vindicated that idea by bravely turning out for two elections and a constitutional referendum; but the security situation in Baghdad continues to deteriorate. And the middle class--upon whom so much depends--is fleeing Iraq in numbers.
By contrast, Afghanistan seemed to pose more daunting challenges. It is larger, more populous and largely illiterate, with a history of being the "graveyard of empires." It was the actual home of an Islamist regime. And across the border in Pakistan, madrassas turn out a seemingly endless supply of holy warriors. Yet Afghanistan was liberated with only a token U.S. ground force and stabilized with barely more than 20,000. It still has decades to go before basic education levels will allow it to be anything approaching modern democracy. But don't believe the reports of a significant Taliban resurgence; they're greatly exaggerated.
Go read the rest of it; it's quite insightful.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/30/2006
09:07 ||
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#1
The situations are not that different. There are Sunni-Shiite divides in both entities. I believe that the difference with Iraq, is that weaponry and explosives were already close to front lines that were later established after the liberation. Wababi - Taliban is a Wahabi sect - terrorists in Afghanistan aren't as well stocked. However this is changing, with rising sympathy - at least in Pashto areas - for the return of Taliban. Now that Karzai is bringing back the Taliban version of the Muttawa, while allowing clerics to declare jihad in Kandahar mosques, one has to wonder why we bother remaining in that rat hole.
#2
one has to wonder why we bother remaining in that rat hole.
Either we stay, or we have to go back again to root out Al Qaeda a second time after the next 9/11. That's why Oldspook is running ragged doing mysterious support thingies for his lads, and why we have Special Forces and Marines and such all over the trouble spots in Africa.
I think infrastructure is only one of the answers. The other answer is money - Saddam had more ammo (bullets, artillery and mortar rounds) stockpiled and hidden than the entire US military. He is suspected to have billions stashed away. That's probably enough to cover his payroll for the rest of the decade. At an average of $5000 per person per year, it costs him $50m a year to pay 10,000 guerrillas every year. The standard AK rifle costs $500 tops. Ammo is dirt cheap - $0.10 per round. Say the average guerrilla uses $10000 worth of ammo a year. That's 100,000 rounds of ammo, or about 300 rounds per day. For about $150m a year, Saddam can field a full-time army of 10,000, with each guerrilla shooting off 300 rounds of 7.62mm ammo daily. If he has $5b in cash lying around, he can put the money in CD's and fund a guerrilla movement for the rest of eternity. The only question is whether he can get enough recruits. For that kind of money, I bet you can get any number of recruits from Muslim countries. The only problem they face is getting there, and the rough treatment they get from Iraqis.
#4
Logistics. Its just has hard for the bad guys to get their equipment into country as for us. Only we have modern technology, an effective logistics structure to get it there, and the treasury to make it happen. Iraq is pretty much close to infrastructure drop off points in the region for easy movement of men and material from the bankers [Saudis and Iranians].
But consider what Pak President Pervez Musharraf has had to swallow, according to testimony by US Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs John F Hillen to the House International Relations Committee, the same panel that first voted for the nuclear deal.
US government has done a security site survey of Pak bases and facilities, drawn up security plans of these sites where the F-16s will be located and it has been put in the deal that Pakistan will comply with the approved security plans.
US presence to monitor compliance with the security plan and a very enhanced end-use monitoring programme.
Two-man rule for access to equipment and restricted areas, wherein Pakistan cannot use these F-16s in exercises and operations with third countries without prior approval of the US.
The planes are not equipped with technology that would allow them to carry out offensive action to penetrate airspace of another country that is highly defended. They cannot deliver nuclear weapons.
F-16 maintenance and parts storage has to be in dedicated facilities run by Air Force personneland not sub-contractorswhich are part of the overall surveillance plan.
No supply of the aircraft unless US finds Pakistan fully compliant with the security plan requirements.
Routine access to F-16 aircraft also restricted to Pakistan Air Force personnel pre-approved by the US. And only the PAF can perform maintenance, no Pakistan contractors, industry or third countries to be involved.
The security plan greatly exceeds US Air Force standards for our own security of these weapons systems, Hillen said while urging the House panel to approve the sale. Even this did not fully convince the members as Hillen then went on to say there was more which he would discuss in detail in a closed session.
Posted by: john ||
07/30/2006
08:15 ||
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#1
no discussion of the hidden C4 packages in the tail that can be remotely triggered by USAF monitors, or automatically by entrance into China airspace?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 8:32
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#2
This is typical FMS. The reason for the tight monitoring is largly because the ground crews, at the direction of the generals, will strip and sell the parts off the aircraft. All the parts in the warehouse would be gone is a week without US gatekeepers.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/30/2006 9:22
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#3
Exactly what advantages has the US secured from the post 9-11 relations with Pakistan?
#4
US government has done a security site survey of Pak bases and facilities, drawn up security plans of these sites where the F-16s will be located and it has been put in the deal that Pakistan will comply with the approved security plans.
I wonder if this includes a brief tally of where their nuclear weapons are stored. You know, just in case we have to prevent them from falling into the hands of even worse terrorist organizations.
In an ironic twist to India's long-standing complaint of terror camps existing on its soil, Pakistan on Saturday said it has given a list of terrorist training camps in India and expected New Delhi to dismantle them. "We have given the list (of terrorist training camps) to India and we would expect India to dismantle them," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said.
Aslam said that the allegation about existence of 52 terror training camps on Pakistani soil was "a figment of imagination".
She was reacting to an interview given by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma to Times Now TV channel during which he said that next Foreign Secretary-level talks were unlikely till Islamabad takes "some action" against training camps operating from Pakistani soil. Aslam said that the allegation about existence of 52 terror training camps on Pakistani soil was "a figment of imagination".
In the interview, Sharma said "dismantling of the training camps.....And also extradition of those we have named. We are not saying 'till then' India does not talk like that". Noting that talks could take place when Pakistan realises the need to take firm action, he said "at least, some action should be there".
"Talks cannot be ritualistic. Talks have to be sincere. We are committed to a sincere process for the restoration of peace and normalcy in the region. Pakistan has to demonstrate its commitment and sincerity. That can be only by fulfilling the assurances which they have given. I am very clear on that", he said. Observing that Pakistan has to do something to improve the environment, he said "we have not vitiated the environment. We can't be held responsible for what is happening now".
Posted by: john ||
07/30/2006
08:08 ||
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"We have given the list (of terrorist training camps) to India and we would expect India to dismantle them," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said.
Aslam said that the allegation about existence of 52 terror training camps on Pakistani soil was "a figment of imagination".
I see.
The camps in Pakistan are imaginary. In reality there are camps in India.
The Pakistani drug crop came in early?
Posted by: john ||
07/30/2006 8:13
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#2
Nest we will hear that Osama Bin Laden is hiding in South India
Posted by: john ||
07/30/2006 11:08
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#3
Among the camps were Mumbai, Bangalore, and various Hindu religious sites.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/30/2006 20:12
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US armaments major Raytheon has said it is ready to supply to India the advanced AESA radar, which has not been offered to Pakistan, for use with the F-16 and F-18 fighter jets.
The F-16 and F-18 are being considered for an Indian Air Force contract to purchase 126 multi-role combat aircraft, and the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar will significantly boost the war-fighting capabilities of both the jets, Raytheon officials said.
Significantly, Raytheon said it is also willing to "work to secure US government approval" for exporting sensitive technologies like the AESA radar to India. It pointed out that the US government has not offered either the F-18 or the AESA system to Pakistan.
Torkel Patterson, President of Raytheon International, told PTI "Raytheon is looking at a long-term partnership approach in India, rather than a buyer-seller relationship. This approach will be based on establishing partnerships with Indian companies for technology transfer for localised production of certain components." Once the Indo-US nuclear deal is finalised, it would "herald a new era in bilateral relations, especially in defence", Patterson said.
The AESA system, which steers radar beams at nearly the speed of light and is lighter and more accurate than conventional radars, is fitted on the US Navy's F-18 jets. Raytheon officials said it could also be fitted on the F-16 if the jet is chosen by India for the Air Force contract.
Raytheon has also offered other potent systems like the air-to-air AMRAAM missiles and ATFLIR infra-red targeting pod for use with the F-16 and and F-18, company officials said. PTI
Posted by: john ||
07/30/2006
08:01 ||
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#1
The AESA and the air to ground weaponry that the F-18 Super Hornet can deliver will likely swing the deal
Posted by: john ||
07/30/2006 8:15
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THE governing Palestinian movement Hamas has vowed to carry out attacks on Israel that could include suicide bombings in response to an Israeli air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana that killed at least 51 civilians. "In the face of this open war against the Arab and Muslim nations all options are open, including striking the depth of the Zionist entity," Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas MP, told Reuters.
All options are open. Every means is allowed.
Asked if that meant suicide bombings against Israelis, Mr Masri said: "All options are open. Every means is allowed. This is a crime and state terror and a crossing of all red lines."
Hamas carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings against Israelis during a Palestinian uprising that began in 2000. Besides its offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah, Israel has been engaged in an offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza for more than a month since militants, including members of Hamas, abducted an Israeli soldier.
#3
Lots of questions about the 27 kids reportedly killed in the Qana strike.
I'm sure IDF dropped pamphlets and called as well. Hez now hiding in day-care centres where staff are too dumb to leave when told?
Set-up, set-up, set-up. I believe they purposefully gathered the kids at the site knowing they'd be killed, just for the PR. MSM better take a real close look at their tactics on this strike rather than just blaming Israel.
Why were the kids there, Associated Press? top and think.
#4
Thimp. You are much too kind. Of course they gathered children there just so they can get the AP to take the photos. How is it possible that the AP hasn't figured it out by now? It's not.
It is possible for some of their readers to be so clueless, but it is not possible for the reporters, who by the nature of their trade are intelligent enough to have mastered their alphabet, to not have grasped the even more simple concept that terrorists blow children to bits so that they can get AP to take the photos. AP knows what it is doing. They just don't care.
#5
This is all over NPR this morning, they are banging it like a drum.
It has the distinct reek of a Jenin-like "set-up" to me, and I have gotten to the point where I can't credit anything reported by the MSM if Hisbollah, or Hamas or any of the usual suspects had a part in handing the story to them.
#10
I think people are getting more clued in to the use of human shields and the tragic consequences and are starting to blame the ones using the civilians as shields. Certainly US viewers are long past being manipulated by these tactics.
That said, unless there is evidence that Hez kept these people there at gunpoint-- and there has been some-- I have little sympathy. Israel dropped leaflets. These villagers only needed to walk about 20 miles in 2 weeks to get out of the way. Lebanon is full of people who play the victim card rather than taking responsibilty for their own condition.
It amazes me that the Lebanese government has taken to praising Hez, which they made no serious effort to disarm or control, even though it has provoked Israel on behalf of Iran and Syria. The cravenness and weakness of the political class in the region seems to ensure things like this happen.
Really, Leb would be better off if the whole place were run by Hez. So would Israel. If Hez had sovereignty I think they'd actually be more likely to show restraint and respect borders because the entire country would be a free fire zone and the IDF would not be trying to plink HEz bunkers here and there as they are now. Normally, I'd be concerned that a Hez government would let Iranian military into Leb but that's already happened.
#14
How is it possible that the AP hasn't figured it out by now? It's not.
They know. But if they report it, they won't be granted access to "report" anymore, and we'd be denied the incredibly important Islamist propaganda we're getting from them now.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/30/2006 20:15
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#15
good snark RC. With straight font too :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 21:32
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All this is very sad. But this is the result of enabling and/or supporting Hezb'Allah. Blame is shared by anyone who sides with Hezb'Allah, the Syrian and Iranian governments, and anyone who agreed to the empty promises of disarming Hezb'Allah but didn't follow through with their commitments in the UN resolutions. The fact that this blame is shared so broadly does not reduce any individual's culpability. Israel didn't wake up one morning with a half-baked notion to sit in bomb shelters and attack Hezb'Allah. Reading this, you can see some of the forces at play in Lebanese and muslim society that are dishonoring the dead by taking advantage of this grim situation to perpetuate this mindset until they are all destroyed or they figure it out and do away with it. This whole thing looks staged to me, and many reporters are going to be complicit. The short-sighted will read the lines, and the more far-sighted will read the lines and between the lines as well.
TYRE, Lebanon (CNN) -- Eight days ago, the Lebanese Army buried 87 bodies in a mass grave in the city of Tyre. Today, they are laying another 34 in the ground.
Everyone is covering their face to keep out the stench as Lebanese soldiers remove dozens of bodies from the back of a truck. The first body is a day-old baby -- killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to the Lebanese Army. On her coffin a marking shows she had no name. (Watch as Tyre buries its dead -- 2:13)
They've lined up the coffins on the sidewalk; each has either a name or a marking that says "unknown." (Watch as Cal Perry describes the reality of covering the conflict -- 2:58)
All have numbers. Coffin No. 104 has three names on it - Ali, Mohammed and Talib - all children. Nearby, Fatawi Horani is screaming and crying. Her granddaughter Marim, 15, was killed, she says, while trying to flee the fighting.
Three soldiers begin to struggle with a large body bag. Maggots are pouring from the bag - blood is seeping onto the ground. When they get the body into the coffin, the lid arches as doctors hammer nails into it. Maggots and blood? I wonder. In any case, just how long have you been holding onto this one?
Children are beginning to gather. It is images such as these that pass down a hatred of Israel to another generation. Err, what about the people who drove Israel to this? Don't forget to tell your kids about that.
A little girl, Maana, is standing nearby, a bandage on her left arm. Her father tells me she was wounded by Israeli jets - but all the passengers in the car in front of them were killed.
Without having to count, it's clear that more members of the international press are here than bodies being buried. Journalists were asked to come here to witness the collected horror. Staged?
A Shiite sheik arrives and begins talking to members of the media. I pull him aside and ask him one question: "What message would you send to the people of America?" "Israel?" he asks. "No," I reply. "America."
"I love the people of America. It's the government I hate. Tell the American people that we received their gift. The missile that they gave to Israel - we have received it, and this is the result," he says, motioning to the coffins. So just what are you trying to say?
I thank him, but he says nothing to me - just glares, turns abruptly and walks away. Very dramatic. Remember, Cal, he's a near-sighted thinker.
The mayor says that the bodies will be buried here temporarily. When the fighting stops, relatives will be able to come claim their dead and bury them in their hometowns. So the can dig them up if they want to. That would be handy for that case in Iraq right now.
#1
This could be another case of Pallywood - Hizbollah style. Its been done before - dropped corpses getting up and climing back on the funeral bier and all.
BTW: So where were the International Journalists when the Israli civilians were deliberately targetted and killed by rockets and homocide bombers?
#2
So where were the International Journalists when the Israli civilians were deliberately targeted
They were busy collecting their checks from news organizations who make a buisness of killing children to shape foreign policy. Do you have a problem with that?
#3
Once again, I make it a point that it is a wise decision on the part of the US military not to permit the gratuitous photography of the dead.
Friendly or enemy dead, it does not matter the circumstances, it always works against the civilized army of the civilized nation. Even those who understand the context of why it happened are repelled--because civilized people are not brutes.
We reject and abhor terrorism, using civilians as human shields, casual murder of women and children to further some fanatical goal. And we make the false assumption that our enemy, being human, hold the same beliefs.
So it is a great paradox that the revulsion we feel when looking at such photographs, is against those who try and prevent such massacre; instead of against those who actually promulgate it.
We damn the police officers who shoot back, not the faceless mass murderers who use hostages as human shields to fire on the innocent crowd.
#4
Hezb has had enough. They want a hudna. They orchestrated this killing in order to force the world to make the Israelis stop. I hope the rest of the world is smart enough to see through such a transparent strategy but I strongly doubt it. What matters, though, is whether GWB is. I'm hoping so because I really want to see Hezb smashed beyond any hope of recovery. I'd like to see them exterminated--that's right, exterminated, killed right down to the last murdering Muzzy bastard. That's what they intend for Israel, complete extermination, and they've never made any secret of it. It's come to that point--it's them or Israel, and I pray to God Israel realizes the situation is that serious and acts accordingly.
Posted by: mac ||
07/30/2006 9:56
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#5
TYRE, Lebanon (CNN) -- Eight days ago, the Lebanese Army buried 87 bodies in a mass grave in the city of Tyre. Today, they are laying another 34 in the ground.
Should look up what Alexander did to the population of Tyre after storming it.
#6
Anyone notice, the numbers for the coffins are always in English? Seems to me, English isn't the first language of any of these people, so why the English numbering system? For the cameras? Just say'n
Posted by: Gil Grissom ||
07/30/2006 15:18
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#11
Mmmm... and that can't have been blood leaking from a bag with a very dead body in it, surely? Fluids of a sort, but not blood. I cant't watch CSI these days without tossing my cookies, but I have read enough of dear Dame Agatha, and the erudite Miss Dorothy S to know that dead bodies do not bleed for very long after becoming...er, dead. Damn careless writing, this, or someone has done a little unneccessary set dressing.
Posted by: Gil Grissom ||
07/30/2006 16:15
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#14
After one has died, blood coagulation breaks down and fluid (mostly plasma mixed with some red blood cells) leaks out. This can start an hour after death.
Posted by: ed ||
07/30/2006 16:27
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#15
Are you talking about the use of Arabic numerals instead of Roman?
AFAIK, arabic numerals are not used in arabic. This is for international teevee, exactly as the english slogans during demonstration, which by the way denote organization and preplanning.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 16:35
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#17
AFAIK, arabic numerals are not used in arabic.
There are Arabic numerals, and then "Arabic" numerals. The numerals we use are "Arabic". See here for a comparison of Arabic numerals with our numerals (top two rows).
I assume that real Arabic numerals are used routinely when writing in Arabic. I see them on coins and paper money from (duh) Arab countries; I suppose it's possible that they're only used in special circumstances like that. (The Arab money very often has "Arabic" numerals on it too.)
Somehow, somewhere Hezbollah really needs to have this carnage laid at their feet. Until that happens, it's all the usual smoke and mirrors. For myself, it is impossible to feel the least sadness about this. The vast majority of these civilians carry forward the endless cycle of hatred and anti-Semitism. Until they can embrace some sense of cooperation and co-existence, they are all SOL. If all of them have to die because of their collective inability to understand this, so be it. I no longer have any patience for such intolerance.
A former CSIS informant who once kept tabs on terrorists says the Iranian regime is "mentally and spiritually" preparing its people for war against Israel.
The Ottawa man, now in Tehran, says the hate campaign against Israel is "everywhere" on the streets of the capital.
"It is not good. It is sad," he told the Citizen. "There are posters at intersections of (Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah) saying Israel must be erased from the map."
Opponents of the Iranian government in Canada say they have received similar reports describing huge posters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Hezbollah leader alongside the slogan: "This war is our war."
"I had some reports where people said that they do not care what the government of Iran wants to do," said Shahram Golestaneh, president of Committee for Defence of Human Rights in Iran. "They are concerned about the possibility of more bloodshed in the Middle East and (concerned) that the government uses all Iran's money to help fight against Israel by its own Hezbollah."
Iran, which backs Hezbollah, has repeatedly denied Israeli claims that it also arms the organization established in the 1980s to combat Israeli forces.
"Our support has been spiritual. If we had military support, we would announce it. ... We don't have any hidden business," ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on state-run television yesterday, a day after U.S. President George W. Bush sharply criticized Iran's role in the bloody fighting.
"They don't have any right to tell us why Iran supports Hezbollah at all. The question is, why do they support Israel?" Mr. Asefi said.
Responding to statements from top Israeli officials that the fighting could continue for several weeks, Mr. Bush said Thursday that Iran is connected to Hezbollah, and now was the "time for the world to confront this danger."
John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also has alleged that Iranians are Hezbollah's "paymasters, and they're calling the tune."
He estimated that Iran contributes $100 million annually to the Shia Islamic militants, who have supplanted Lebanon's central government as the effective political and military force in the southern region bordering Israel.
Yesterday, the 17th day of the conflict which began after Hezbollah crossed the border and captured two Israeli soldiers, Hezbollah launched a new kind of rocket that made its deepest strike into Israel yet.
"With this, the Islamic Resistance begins a new stage of fighting, challenge and confrontation with a strong determination and full belief in God's victory," Hezbollah said in a statement.
The militants said they used the new Khaibar-1 to strike the Israeli town of Afula, but Israel said the Khaibar-1 rockets were renamed, Iranian-made Fajr-5s. They have four times the power and range of Katyusha rockets, making them able to hit Tel Aviv's northern outskirts.
Iran is also believed to have supplied Hezbollah with up to 120 of the Fajr-5 and the somewhat shorter-range Fajr-3.
Earlier this week, about 60 Iranian volunteers left the country with the hopes of joining Hezbollah in the war against Israel. They called it a holy war, were unarmed and hoped to gain entry to Lebanon from Syria.
According to Mr. Golestaneh, some Iranian dissidents were pleased to see the militants, ranging in age from teens to grandfathers, leave the country.
"In one instance," according to the human rights worker "one person said 'In fact I rather they send all their loyalists to the war so we can breathe more easily.' ''
The human rights group also had reports from one source on the ground who said: "Every time there is an outside war, the level of repression inside also increases dramatically to kill any type of dissent."
In the past few days, according to the Canadian-based human rights group, the Iranian government has condemned 10 people to death.
Earlier this week, the Iranian president, who publicly denied the Holocaust last year, said Israel ordained its own destruction.
Mr. Ahmadinejad told clerical staff in Tehran that Israel and its supporters "should know that they cannot end the business that they have begun."
"The occupying regime of Palestine has actually pushed the button of its own destruction by launching a new round of invasion and barbaric onslaught on Lebanon," the president said, Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Dan Gillerman, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, responded by asking the world to listen to the Iranian president's words.
"President Ahmadinejad is a very dangerous and very destabilizing force in this world. He is a person who denies the Holocaust while very diligently preparing the next one," Mr. Gillerman told reporters in New York.
#1
It appears that this is a Shiite set piece. They have determined they are ready for the showdown, both the fodder and the fools who lead them. Send enough into the mill and the lampposts will get some use. Fail in that, but by your actions make clear that Iran and Hezbollah are the same thing, and the war will come to you.
Ask professional military people who served in the draft Army at its end and the professional Army of the 90s-00s. As one, I won't want a draft army. Give me volunteers even if it means doing more with less.
You're dreams of a WWII type draft Army have as much to do with reality as the WWII era media had to do with reporting that war. Both were exceptions to the historical record.
God NO
That's the fastest way to destroy our fine Military, bring in a bunch of "Don't wanna be here's" instead of the highly motovated "We want to kick their ASS" good folks we have now.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 10:40
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#7
It's a changed society from that of Dec 7, 1941 and the Korean conflict. Reinstituting the draft would be a monumental disaster. I can't even begin to imagine trying to socialize and educate the ghetto crud that would find their way, albeit unwillingly into the military. Unfortunately we're beyond mandetory conscrption, and have been for several decades now.
#8
Joe,
With respect, we keep the draft mechanism in place more out of vestigial reflex than anything else. The truth of the matter is that although the overwhelming majority of those called would probably go, the resisters would be a disturbingly high number of those called - for example, approximately 375,000 cases of possible draft evasion were investigated in WWII, and 16,000 were actually convicted out of more than ten MILLION actually inducted. That comes down to less than one percent, and that under cultural conditions that would have been very much against anyone accused of draft evasion. This time however, there would be a strong resistance - probably in the double digits - of people who would simply refuse to go, not to mention the courts that would almost certainly back them up.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/30/2006 10:51
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#9
the only voices that propose a draft, like "Cholly" Rangel D-Assholery NY, are doing so to thwart a unified, effective military, and to try and undermine popular support for national defense. Why are you, JM?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 10:54
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#10
The military couldn't use that many people. The cost of training and equipping a soldier is way too high. The reason our soldiers do so well is because they are so capital intense. This capital intensity is only going to increase for our combat soldiers.
But we do need to face the fact that there is no substitute for boots on the ground, especially after hostilities have ceased but peace is not established. Either we get in the nation building business with some force that's a cross between the Peace Corps and the old Army, or we should just destroy nations and start from scratch.
#11
I can't even begin to imagine trying to socialize and educate the ghetto crud that would find their way, albeit unwillingly into the military.
You brought up a horrifyingly hilarious thought. Vet all Applicant/Draftees and send only the unreformable "Ghettoized" into a different "Army", a whole Corps of Black, Ghettoized "Soldiers" with their hats on sideways, all uniforms neatly arranged with the shirt tails out, pants around their knees, underwear worn on the outside of their Khakis, wearing blindingly white Reboks, and singing "M. C. Hammer" for marching songs as they Loudly Shout "Fuck You Sir" to any orders. The firing range would be a Hoot, trying to hit anything with your Guns held sideways. (I'd pre-punch the targets, and issue them blanks, they'd never know)
On the other hand this could also be used to solve some very real Social Problems, march these fools into real Combat, and clean out the inner cities at the same time, few would return. Be damn sure to keep this Corps entirely segregated from any other branch of the Real Military, and it should work.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 11:08
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#12
That wasn't exactly my idea. And I'd be the Army still gets its fair share of those types of recruits and repairs the work of the public schools by turning most into fine soldiers and citizens. The benefits of service aren't one way.
#15
By my estimation, the number of ground forces we would need for a war with Iran are about the number currently in Iraq. This is based on the following logic:
1) Iran's sole effective offensive weapons are its missiles. Once these are countered by a layered missile defense, the only other offensive threat the Iranians could mount would be an invasion of southern Iraq. A fruitless and bloody endeavor that would turn the Iraqi military into the raw military numbers to join with the US to seriously pound Iran.
2) Otherwise, the US can conduct an air war to neutralize their missile and nuclear capability, but just as importantly, to annihilate their air and ground military and RG forces. Which would lead to,
3) The partitioning of Iran. This would require US ground forces for occupation. But with the vast majority of the Iranian military and RG destroyed, the ethnic minorities in these regions would be more than happy to take over their own management from the Persians.
4) This occupation would be needed only until the people in those territories had voted to secede and to join an adjacent country more to their liking, followed by that adjacent country sending in military forces to take the place of the US.
The bottom line is that the US could "leave" Iraq at any time without fear that it would collapse; but it is very, very useful that we stay there for at least a long while. And yet this means that we have three top combat divisions ready and able to do other things.
#16
Damn Jim, tell me you mean that tongue in cheek.
Posted by: RJB in JC MO ||
07/30/2006 14:26
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#17
Shame on all of us for putting up with what's going on in the Middle East. Shame on us for prefering methods of reaction that lead to more people, like you and me and our kids, dying compared to military morons. Shame on the arm chair generals who have such double standards. If the end requires a means by which children die by the dozens, for instance, and our fear mongers can do nothing but peddle a black future where these results become unavoidable casualties of war, it is a horrendous shame. Perhaps the blackness is due to too many people having their heads in their asses. Shame on me for not being even more vocal against the idiocy of western society and really trying to do somethng. I guess my head is in my ass too.
So its all the fault of the west???
I suppose eastern society is the way to go for you? Islam is not a creation of the west. Do you think your wife & daughters (assuming you might have either)would like to live under the principles of Islam?
Can't figure out where you're comming from bub.
Posted by: RJB in JC MO ||
07/30/2006 15:00
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#20
bet the IP is either Berkeley, Madison, or Peshawar
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 15:20
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#21
A draft is immoral. I'd fight any country that thought it owned me enough to force my presence in an army.
#22
#21 A draft is immoral. I'd fight any country that thought it owned me enough to force my presence in an army.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2006-07-30 15:54
Nothing "immoral" about conscription, it was the law, it worked. Running off to Canada or hiding, and letting some other poor chap do YOUR duty is "immoral." Failing to do one's part and letting wimmin volunteer to fill the ranks is... "immoral." Openly protesting against a war and aiding-abbetting the enemy while our troops are deployed and engaged is "immoral."
#23
BP - part of "citizenship" along with the benefits, is the cost of defense of the Nation - when needed. A draft is not productive when the battle isn't "to the death" (or utter subjugation) between nations, and where sheer numbers aren't the answer. When it is, it's time to rise to the call or slink off to Canada. Which would you choose?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 16:20
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#24
Army Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker's excellent Soldier's Creed. Notice its spelled with a capital "S".
SOLDIER'S CREED
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
#25
>I agree. Your head has suffered a rectal impaction. Please let us know if the surgery is successful. Best wishes.
I understand your desire in wanting to know if the surgery will be successful. It means that there might be hope for you as well. But then like any person who is sick, understanding you have a problem is the first step. I understand mine. You certainly dont understand yours.
>So its all the fault of the west???
This is an unfortunate response, making broad universal inductions based on a single sentence. Did I say it is all the fault of the west? No. What I am questioning is how western societies, or many of their leaders certainly, can follow courses of action that mirror the crap that is thrown at them. Rantburg posts quite often state we (America I mean) are better than the Muslim world. Our culture is better. We take a higher moral ground. If you believe this, I will indeed let you know more about possible surgeries to free your heads from the black crevices that they are lodged in. The sad part is that surgery is really a critical, non-biased look at ourselves and the rest of the world. This is very difficult to do, and Im trying the best I can. There are always understandings we reach truth! the real stuff of course that we hold on to no matter what happens in the world. There is so often a complete graying of facts, focused accusations, side stepping of what people are trying to say. It is no wonder a discussion thread like this exists and is a meeting place where those in the know can be comforted that they are not alone.
>I suppose eastern society is the way to go for you?
Why not both societies? Why must there be one or the other?
>Do you think your wife & daughters (assuming you might have either) would like to live under the principles of Islam?
There is such a fear of Islam today. Why are you so frightened about it? It is a beautiful religion. I have a wife of 12 years, a son 9, and a daughter 3. What they want to believe is up to them. My job as a father is to raise them in a way that they can make their own choices and appreciate the need to contribute to the world, not contaminate it. Contribute or contaminate. What will you/we do? What are we really contributing? What are we contaminating?
I am also a western guy living a more simple life in Dahab. I traded my western life of being an electrical engineer to own a scuba diving centre here in Egypt. I saw first hand what three maniacal suicide bombers did to Dahab on April 24th of this year. I see second hand on the news what some maniacal western leaders are doing elsewhere in the world in pursuit of their respective dream/nightmare. I am also a Christian living in the dark world of Islam. Ooh scary stuff. Christianity, like Islam, is a beautiful religion, filled with lots of wonderful teachings. Ive been to most Middle Eastern countries. Damascus is an incredible city, like so many in the Middle East. Iran was a wonderful trip last year. Never been to so many homes for sharing a simple tea and having conversations on our respective experiences. The trip to Iran was a two week affair. Cant remember being invited to any strangers house for a cup of tea when I was living in the US. Are these Iranians the people we need to bomb? Will they be acceptable casualties in our desire to set the world right? Syrians and Iranians are by and large wonderful people. So are the Egyptians, Copts and Muslims alike. So friendly and welcoming, so looking for peace to just raise their families and appreciate the beauty of life. My wife has many Egyptians friends, Muslim women for the most part, that are very wonderful, generous, devout, sweet people. These people are everywhere. Look at the number of comments on this website where the death of these people are justified for the greater good of whatever we are trying to say the world needs. Casualties of necessary wars. Instead of looking to attack personally the bearer of a belief, or the regular jibes at bleeding liberal whatevers that is so ripe on Rantburg, why not look at what is being said. Nope. More of a concern from some on whether the IP is from Berkeley, Madison, or Peshawar! I am a family-man capitalist, trying to build a business in Egypt where I can show people the beauty of what god has given us under the sea. Feel free to add your accusations and labels. This adds clarity to my comments. The real truth behind the words. Right?
>Can't figure out where you're comming from bub.
Can you understand now? I think I know the answer for most on Rantburg. But cant help an evening of a few posts to try to educate some people that are too lost in their own ideologies, their own lives, and of course their own desires.
#26
tiredofitall: Very nice yes, thanks for the lecture. Now, based on yer own screeed - go live in yer Koranic paradise of Iran for a couple of years and then come back and tell us how you feel. That is of course, you have not been incorporated into the world's largest public glass lined parking lot. You see, we just had som Islamo-nut shoot up a number of Jews in Seattle for the high crime of being...well...Jews. So stuff your equivocation. We're all waiting for the "moderate musliim" to make its presence known. My money says that 12 imam shows up first. Bite me!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/30/2006 16:52
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#27
how are the Copts treated in your Eden?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 17:02
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#28
Hey Tired, lots of us here at RB have spent quality time in the Middle East and have known many a wonderful Muslim man, woman, family.
My issue is not with the individual, but with the Muslim leadership that is in power now. Take a real look around you. Were you comfortable with the reaction to the cartoon issue earlier this year? Are you OK with Ahmadinejad calling for the destruction of Israel? Were your Iranian hosts comfortable with it? If not, were they going to do anything about it? Look at who is fomenting the violence in the world. It is not the west starting this crap. Look at the populations that either give active support or just look the other way. Sorry, but there is a responsiblitiy there.
I don't think that anyone here relishes the thought of blowing people to smithereens. But the radicals that are leading the Islamic world now are openly calling for war. If that is what they really want, then that is what they, and their populations are going to get.
Screw you. Screw Islam. Screw the pedophile "prophet" Mohammad. Screw the backwards-ass nations that all allow Islam to hold political and military power. Screw those in the West who are too piss-ignorant to see that Islam itself is fundamentally incompatible with the rights afforded individuals in a democratic republic. Shove your lecture up your ass.
>Now, based on yer own screeed - go live in yer Koranic paradise of Iran for a couple of years and then come back and tell us how you feel.
Been in Egypt for almost a year. Is this a Koranic paradise? If so, let me tell you the move has been fantastic. Great people, great scuba diving, great adventure. Good to get outdoors.
>You see, we just had som Islamo-nut shoot up a number of Jews in Seattle for the high crime of being...well...Jews. So stuff your equivocation. We're all waiting for the "moderate musliim" to make its presence known. My money says that 12 imam shows up first.
The moderate muslim? Well, as we all know and given the length of time you have been waiting, there are no moderate Muslims. They are all hateful killers with a goal to destroy America and kill all the Jews they can. We should also point out some other highlights, like all Germans are Nazis, or all Jews are cheap misers, and of course all of us Americans are assholes.
As I mentioned, the town I am living in got bombed by three fundamentalist suicide bombers in April. Three days later I saw over 1000 Muslims marching in the street to protest what happened. Dahab has only 3000 people by the way. They were carrying signs like One Love, One God, Stop the violence, Stop the bloodshed, etc. You would have made money on your bet though Rex. In the crowd were a number of Imams from the 7 main mosques in Dahab. Guess what chants they were leading the crowd in? Death to America? What news channel do you watch?
> Bite me!
I already have.
How are the copts? The copts here in Dahab havent all been beheaded yet. The Coptic church in El Tor still stands, it hasnt been bombed yet either, and remarkably there are a number of Copts on my street that work with Muslims. Can you believe it?
Almost all of the people I work with are Muslims. Havent been shot yet weird eh? Strangely, the people here treat me with respect. Must be the calm before the storm. Perhaps a preemptive strike is in order. Get those Muslim terrorists and their Imams too before they get me. Someone pass my plea to the White House. Save me George!
As for remoteman, thanks for some good questions and not mindless misspelled derogatory commentary.
>My issue is not with the individual, but with the Muslim leadership that is in power now.
Yes, mine too. But I also extend this to some leaders in the West. I was comfortable with the reaction to the cartoon issue earlier this year. Muslims were upset. Here in Dahab, people couldnt believe how a newspaper could redicule their prophet. The Koran exhalts Moses and Jesus as prophets and treats them with respect. Were you uncomfortable with Christian groups reaction to the Da Vinci Code?
>Are you OK with Ahmadinejad calling for the destruction of Israel?
No.
>Were your Iranian hosts comfortable with it?
I talk politics and religion quite a bit. What I got from the Iranian people was the impression that Israel, through backing of the US, is pursuing a policy that is solely based on unequal, personal benefit at the expense of anyone who is not Israeli or American. This is their view, not neccessarily mine. I met one person who said Muslims must fight until Israel is wiped off the face of the globe. The rest pretty much just wanted to live in peace and let their neighbors live in peace. People are very tired of whats going on. So many people do not believe that violence is the answer and see a great double standard that exists today.
>If not, were they going to do anything about it?
Dont know. To be honest, never really asked that question, about regime change and such, but it would have been a good one.
>Look at who is fomenting the violence in the world. It is not the west starting this crap.
I think both sides have done their fair share of fermenting violence. The question I ask is what are appropriate responses? The responses I am seeing has indeed made me tired of it all. Do we invade Iran? Do we bomb Lebanon? What will we accomplish in doing this? Less bloodshed.
>Look at the populations that either give active support or just look the other way. Sorry, but there is a responsiblitiy there.
I agree. A number of Muslim leaders are calling for the recognition of Israel and the stopping of bloodshed. A number are not. How do we move forward is the question.
>I don't think that anyone here relishes the thought of blowing people to smithereens.
I dont know, but Ive seen some pretty crazy posts on this website. On this page there is even someone saying:
>If they would stop srcewing around, take the gloves off and declare open season, there wouldn't be a need for the draft.
What does declaring open season mean? And more importantly, what price is too much to pay in collateral damage. Are the 40,000 civilian deaths in Iraq worth what we have accomplished in the country? Again, it seems like a double standard. Attack Iraq before there can be another 911. The 40,000 deaths of women, children, and peaceful men we have right now in Iraq (and this number will of course continue to grow) equates to 13 more 911 scale attacks. This math seems strange. The same thing when we look at the unacceptable casualties Hezbollah nutbars inflict on Israel. This is despicable. I agree with this. But why are nearly 10 times the number of Israeli deaths in Lebanon considered unfortunate, but necessary casualties of war by the US and Israeli leaders?
>But the radicals that are leading the Islamic world now are openly calling for war. If that is what they really want, then that is what they, and their populations are going to get.
And it goes on. More killing. For what? My Dad always taught me if you need to settle a fight with your hands you have already lost the battle. Use your head instead. The gist of my thoughts are that we are not using our heads enough. Just a mad dash for escalating violence. And why is this so? Why cant we use our heads? Where are our heads?
And finally, the last post. Let me copy it again because it says so much:
>Screw you. Screw Islam. Screw the pedophile "prophet" Mohammad. Screw the backwards-ass nations that all allow Islam to hold political and military power. Screw those in the West who are too piss-ignorant to see that Islam itself is fundamentally incompatible with the rights afforded individuals in a democratic republic. Shove your lecture up your ass.
I was trying to shove the lecture up the asses of guys like you Crusader, but there is obviously no room. Still filled with your head.
Gotta go. Sorry for the long post. Perhaps I should have followed Rantburg style. Perhaps just writing "suck my swammy salami you warmonger pigs and shove it up your gaping, cavernous ass". Made the mistake of going for civil, well reasoned discourse :)
#31
I believe I was civil in my inqury....so much for stereotypes?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 19:00
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#32
#16: Damn Jim, tell me you mean that tongue in cheek.
Call it very sharply pointed sarcasm/snark.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 22:01
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#33
Don't go.
I just got here.
" If the end requires a means by which children die by the dozens, for instance, and our fear mongers can do nothing but peddle a black future where these results become unavoidable casualties of war, it is a horrendous shame."
Yes it's an awful shame. If they didn't kidnap and behead and hijack and blow-up and make ridiculous demands and threats and kill people on a daily basis, I probably wouldn't have the nerve to say. Better them than mine. But their it is.
It's them or us. I still like us. You can be on whichever side you choose totally irrespective of religious beleifs.
Perhaps the blackness is due to too many people having their heads in their asses. Shame on me for not being even more vocal against the idiocy of western society and really trying to do somethng. I guess my head is in my ass too.
YEs shame on you for being biased.
If yoou don't like western society and feel so strongly about it why don't you try giving up the western trappings.
You can start with your computer. Give up that phone buddy. No car for you. Toilet gotta go. Fridge is out. Did you like the electric light ? goodbye.
Happy 12th century.
Posted by: J. D. Lux ||
07/30/2006 22:19
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#34
Tired: Sorry I missed ya...and glad to see yer enoying your stay. Sorry too, but 1000 protesters do not convince me though I don't doubt their convictions when it comes to fellow muslims getting whacked. When those same protesters take to the streets to protest the killing of Jews and Christians in the name of a certain other religion, then please come back and be the first to share the good news. I live for the day but I'm not holding my breath. I didn't say all muslims were fanatics - I did say that those moderates continue to sit on their hands and thus give tacit comfort to the extremists. Those who do speak out represent a pitfiully small minority. Much like the White Rose in WWII Germany.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/30/2006 23:15
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KINSHASA (Reuters) - Millions of Congolese will vote on Sunday in historic elections aimed at ending years of war and chaos in the heart of Africa and protected by the world's biggest U.N. peacekeeping force.
From the crumbling capital Kinshasa through the thick jungles of the Congo river basin and the mist-shrouded peaks of the east, Congolese will participate in their first free elections in more than 40 years. Schools, churches and tents in Democratic Republic of Congo will be transformed into 50,000 polling stations for more than 25 million voters.
Over 17,000 United Nations peacekeepers -- backed by 1,000 European soldiers recently dispatched to the country -- will try to ensure voting can take place across the former Belgian colony the size of Western Europe. "Everyone wants to go and vote to finish this for once for all," Godefrod Shimatsu, a 47 year-old secretary, told Reuters in Kinshasa.
Sunday's elections are the culmination of a three-year peace process which ended Congo's last war -- a 1998-2003 conflict that sucked in six neighboring countries and killed 4 million people, mostly from hunger and disease.
Because as we all know a vote cures everything. Sorry to be a cynic; hope the vote goes well but I don't expect it to solve all the problems in Congo.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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Israel Defense Forces troops on Saturday killed two wanted Palestinian militants belonging to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in a shootout in Nablus. Hani Awijan and Amid Al Masri opened fire on soldiers who called them to lay down their weapons. Awijan was killed on the spot and Al Masri was was wounded and later died of his wounds.
"Hokay youse two, drop da rods and come out witcher mitts in da air!"
"Go screw, you Zionist scum, we ain't coming out!"
"Hokay." [BLAM] [Ka-BOOM] [Rat-a-tat-tat-tat] [Ka-BOOM] [THUMP]
"Owwwwww ...."
And now, to illustrate the difference between the IDF and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades ...
"Killing, burning and fire"
On Friday, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibilty for the murder of a 60-year-old Israeli man near the West Bank city of Qalqilya. An initial police investigation indicates that the victim, Daniel Ya'akovi, was kidnapped by terrorists Thursday when he brought in his car to be fixed in the village of Fundak, Israel Radio reported Friday.
Police found Ya'akovi's body Thursday in the trunk of a burnt car with Israeli license plates. Ya'akovi is from the West Bank settlement of Yakir and is survived by his wife, four children and 12 grandchildren.
"He was killed because Israel has spared no Palestinian," Al-Aqsa said in a statement. "This is a message of fire -- a burning message to the occupation. Killing, burning and fire."
The IDF kills young men with guns. The AAMB kills an old man looking to fix a car. Questions?
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
Wasn't this guy the doctor who gave free medical service to Palestinians? We can save lots of space by shortening Brave Lions of Islam(TM) to just BLI.
Given events in the Middle East and the near certainty of escalation, its time to name our enemy, because Israel is our canary in the mine of world events. And the canary is singing.
Ever since Thomas Jeffersons replied to the Danbury Baptists with the phrase wall of separation between church and state and James Madison penned Strongly guarded . . . is the separation between religion and government in the Constitution of the United States. and Ulysses S Grant called for Americans to Keep the church and state forever separate the policy of America has been to rest upon a foundation of respect for authentic religion and to shun the disaster of making religion our government.
The Left in our nation, who make government their religion, have formed ranks around separation of church and state as a bedrock. A Google search of Separation Of Church And State yields 21,500,000 results. The larger percentage of those results are hardened secular positions, like Wall Builders, Suburban Guerillas and Americans United For Separation of Church and State. Many of these are not just Constitutional argument websites, but more secular and obdurate anti-Christian web sites. Fine. Were a big nation.
How does this relate to the current crisis between Israel and her enemies?
The conflagration breaking out around the world like a fever coming to the fore, is religious. Its not oil, its not haves and have-nots, its not Marxism versus Capitalism, its not Globalists versus independent free thinkers.
Its religion.
It is a war to the death between those who stand for Religion as State, and those who will not live under their rule of religion as state policy.
Oil is not that name. Oil is just a bargaining chip. Globalism is not that name. Globalism is only a sidebar. The virulent remnants of Marxism play a significant role in money and state-sponsored support, but Marxism is not the name. Our enemy, the enemy of civilization, and I dare say the enemy of Mankind itself is a religion which will kill, maim and terrorize any who will not accept religion as the State.
Islam is the name.
Islam was founded as a religion that is the state, where the state is the religion. The ultimate theocracy. There is no separation, no wall, no division. It is a seamless whole and any behavior is allowed to maintain that power. No crime is too gruesome, no argument too convoluted, no terror too shocking, and no theology too cancerous to be off limits in conquering the world for their god.
They mean to have government be religion, and for religion to be government. Jihad is the mechanism by which all of mankind will be brought into to ummah, the world community of Islam. And only then will we know peace.
I stand in shocked anger that those in America who work so hard for the separation of church and state are not horrified at the Islamist threat. Those who passionately insist on the separation of church and state ought to be on the front lines every day denouncing Islam and their global terror campaigns. making noise, agitating, pressing for Islam to be eradicated. But they arent denouncing Islam. Quite the opposite. They advocate eradicating George W Bush and the United States.
This is madness beyond my ken.
The very people inside our borders who work the hardest to see to it that America and Israel are ruined and kicked into the dust bin of history are the same people who take every opportunity to remind us about the separation of church and state. Are they not paying attention? Are they blind and deaf? Are they made dumb by their hate?
I am truly flabbergasted that these separation people seem to have no concept that if Israel is cast down and if America is driven to her knees, theyre going to get a church that is the State in such totality as to defy description. And it wont do for America to simply refrain from international affairs as if a disinterested observer. This is the kind of annihilating threat that must be stopped before it grows any larger. Acceptance and diversity are fine-sounding phrases, but not when were discussing the end of civilized man.
A word of warning to our citizens who live on the Left side of the aisle, the anti-war crowd, the anti-globalist crowd, the anti-America crowd . you say you are as separation of church and state as can be . but what youre going to reap is the soul crushing whirlwind of church as state and state as church if you dont get a grip and wise up. Youre rooting for the worst kind of theocracy the world has ever seen, the kind that treats women as less than objects, that kills dissenters, whose distaste for homosexuals is literally beyond polite discussion, and whose Friday afternoon schedule is not cocktails but beheadings of those who take drugs, have sex out of wedlock, have a taste for pornography or show too much skin in public. Among the many crimes you now take for granted as your liberties.
Islam is the zenith of religion as government, and government that is religion. Our friend Israel is on the front line of the war to determine the future of mankind. Religion as state, or secular freedom that guarantees religious freedom.
Do you really want to bring to pass a murderous medieval theocracy? Is that the future you think youll enjoy? Is that the outcome youre working for? Because if you keep tearing at our foundations and empowering this nations enemies, if you keep heaping scorn and invective on our President, if you insist that America is evil and must be radically assimilated into a metastasizing United Nations global plan, thats exactly what youre going to get and there will be no wall of separation. You will have torn it down.
Standing, cheering, clapping.
Bravo, bravo! Of course, he'll be called a hatemonger.
#1
This is hysterically funny. "Israel is our canary in the mine of world events. And the canary is singing."
When there is danger in the coal mine, the canary stops singing, and in fact, assumes room temperature. If the canary keeps singing, the mine is safe. (Methane gas is what silences the warbling winged one.)
I don't think the author is saying Israel is safe. Apparently, the author is clueless when it comes to the use of metaphors. With metaphors like this, who needs enemies?
#2
Dang. Beat me to it, Thoan. I had that clueless first line copied and ready. 'Journalism' is what you do when you can't cut it in the food service industry.
#4
He had some good points, but that was the first thing i thought of too about the birds. When the birds quit singing that is when the trouble begins. :)
#6
sorry, grom. But antisemitism is the canary. Not all canaries die, mind you, but when a canary dies in a coal mine, it's an indicator that a major problem needs to be dealt with immediately.... or else...
I don't know why...but when the cockroaches come from the baseboards and the worms crawl up from the ground to feast upon antisemitism, history has shown that we only have so much time left to act in order to avoid tragedy.
#7
Thoan and PBMcl,if you drop your overwhelming sense of grammatical and/or metophoric one up-man-ship, the overall sense of what Besoeker rings true.
#8
Sorry, my mistake.....that should be Michael Geer, not Besoeker. Also, please excuse the mistake(s) in syntax, last night is still catching up with me.
#10
It is not US policy to beat Islamofascism by any necessary means. The policy is to prop political-Islam. Is it working? Somebody recently posted pictures of Egypt's Cabinet Ministers of their wives, one of which was current and the other from over a decade ago. Prior to 9-11 the women wore regular street clothing. Now the wives were wearing Islamic dress. The Muslim countries are Islamising, while the West denies the jihad component of same.
#11
Jihad is their last desperate hope to keep their culture and societies from being overwhelmed. They are really stuck. Every attempt to graft modernism on the Muslim tree has failed. Colonialism and Arab nationalism went nowhere. A few concrete plants were built and a few wars were launched, but nothing much came of any of it. The Israelis actually tried pretty hard to break the mold in the occupied territories and the intifadas were their reward. Our current projects in Afghanistan and Iraq might work if we had three generations to dick around and we were willing to kill off 10-20% of the male population in those places. Neither of those will prolly happen.
So the Muslim's only hope is to either make us go away or to annihilate us. Making us go away won't work in a world of oil and satellite TV. I think that if they can overrun Europe, India, and SE Asia, they might be able to annihilate us. Get ready for Allah-dämerrung!
#12
Globalism is not that name. Globalism is only a sidebar.
Actually, globalism is exactly what Islam is afraid of. Keeping Middle East Muslims disconnected from the outside world is one of their few means of maintaining power.
#15
Mis-applied metaphors aside, Mr Geer has articulated exactly what I was wondering about the idiotic left, and add my plaudits.
This link is to the original letter from the Danbury Baptists to Jefferson, as well as his reply: It appears that they were being persecuted by the State established church, and were worried that the federal government would join in. Jefferson's reply has been partly taken out of context: the "wall" was not as much to protect the government from the church, but a wall to prevent the government from being taken over by a specific religious sect and used as a tool of persection of competing sects. This was the concern of many americans during the presidential candidacy of John F Kennedy.
Am excellent post, Besoeker: a link to this will eventually go on my blog, for the record.
France has drawn up a draft UN Security Council resolution that would call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Israel and Lebanon and prepare for the deployment of an international force. The document, distributed to the 15 Security Council members on Saturday, anticipates a draft resolution the United States is planning that would place up to 20,000 peacekeepers along Lebanon's borders with Israel and with Syria.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will preside over a meeting of possible troop contributors to such a force, which would include the 25-member European Union, which has expressed interest, as well as Turkey and nations now contributing to a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
The latter have proven themselves to be useless. They actively cooperated with Hezbollah. They should have no part whatsoever in this. Leaving them in sends a signal to the Hezbies that it'll be business as usual.
Chirac, whose country has emerged as the potential leader of the force, has said troops could not be sent until there was a cease-fire accompanied by a political deal.
Since his troops aren't actually supposed to, you know, do anything.
In many respects, the French draft is similar to proposals the United States and Annan have been discussing, except that it calls for an immediate end to the fighting. The United States alone has refused to back such calls, arguing that conditions first had to be ripe for a sustainable cease-fire.
In addition to an immediate cessation of hostilities, France, in its draft resolution, outlined the following conditions for a permanent cease-fire:
-The release of abducted Israeli soldiers and "settlement of issue" of Lebanese prisoners in Israel.
-Disarmament of all militia in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, and the deployment of the Lebanese army along the Israeli-Lebanese border and throughout the country
-A buffer zone in southern Lebanon between the Israeli border and the Litani River, free of any armed personnel and weapons, except those of the Beirut government's security forces and UN-mandated international forces.
-Annan, in coordination with regional and international parties, is to help secure agreement in principle from Lebanon and Israel for a political framework on the above cease-fire conditions.
-The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, after fighting has stopped, is to monitor implementation of an agreement and help humanitarian access and the return of the homeless.
-Delineation of international borders in Lebanon, especially the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms area, now part of Syria but claimed by Lebanon. Hizbollah, before the current fighting, has used the Shebaa Farms to justify armed resistance against Israel.
-The Security Council, after confirmation that Lebanon and Israeli have agreed in principle on a political framework for a sustainable cease-fire, should authorize deployment of an international force to support the Lebanese armed forces.
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#1
No surprise here.
Anyway, french msm have already dubbed the israeli response a "failure", and the hizballah the victor... along with various reportages about the heroic lebanese red cross EMT deliberately targeted by the jooos but valiantly carrying on, the children traumatized by the war, the refugees coming back to France and worried sick about lebanon being destroyed by the jooos, the wimmen and kiddies killed by the indiscriminate bombings, etc, etc... ad nauseam.
#2
But who listens to France anymore, except arab and african countries who stop spitting in our face when they think they can get something out of it?
#3
that would place up to 20,000 blind peacekeepers along Lebanon's borders
A buffer zone in southern Lebanon between the Israeli border and the Litani River, free of any armed personnel and weapons, except those of the Beirut government's security forces and UN-mandated international forces.
Hezb'Allah would have to have ground troops in the area to protect/impede access to the launchers. If the IFor would actually keep them out so they couldn't become entrenched, it might actually help make it a serious hindrance to Hezb'Allah. Then again, they would have a head-start in getting back into the area before any conflict started, and they would enjoy many of the benefits of being "entrenched" possibly.
Annan, in coordination with regional and international parties, is to help secure agreement in principle from Lebanon and Israel for a political framework on the above cease-fire conditions.
Trying to give him some false sense of relevance/imporance, are we? I'll do it if he's too busy.
Delineation of international borders in Lebanon, especially the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms area, now part of Syria but claimed by Lebanon. Hizbollah, before the current fighting, has used the Shebaa Farms to justify armed resistance against Israel.
Maybe it's true. But I think it's just another weak excuse for fighting that only works in the minds of extremists. I wonder what they'll latch onto next.
Disarmament of all militia in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, and the deployment of the Lebanese army along the Israeli-Lebanese border and throughout the country
Give them a one-week deadline to comply before sending in large numbers of peacekeepers (AKA obstructions/hostages) and opening up the border to Syria. Failure to comply means Israel get to hit the "continue" button!
Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei received here Saturday afternoon visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his accompanying delegation. In the meeting, the Supreme Leader said the whole Islamic world and Arab nations as well as the free nations of the world support Lebanese Hezbollah and due to the brave resistance of the group against the US and the Zionist regime, their leader has become a very popular character in the Arab and Islamic world.
...the Zionist regime invasion of Lebanon was a pre-planned war by the US...
Ayatollah Khamenei said the Zionist regime invasion of Lebanon was a pre-planned war by the US adding that according to the the American plan, the Zionists waged the war to take a long step in accomplishment of American "Greater Middle East Plan", but they ignored Lebanese nation in their calculations. Of course, the Americans do not understand the problem, the real power of Lebanese nation, so they accuse others of interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs.
The Supreme Leader called the current crimes of the Zionist regime in Lebanon as a rare example of crimes and added, in such situation the conscience of the so-called civilized world and the organizations that claim to support human rights and democracy do not get offended and do not protest. Confirming Venezuelan president remarks that the US era is coming to an end in the world, the ayatollah noted that this reality can be seen right now and the number of nations and countries who resist against the US are increasing.
Referring to President Chavez stances on the world issues, Ayatollah Khamenei said they reminded the stances of Simon Bolivar, the Latin American Revolutionary figure. The ayatollah also emphasized the necessity of expansion of bilateral cooperation between the two countries in different fields.
President Chavez, for his part, by expressing pleasure over his new visit to Iran, called Bolivarian revolution of Venezuela as a brother of the Islamic revolution in Iran and said, " We intend to expand relations with Iran in different areas." Chavez said the American empire is coming to an end and the increasing number of governments in Latin America opposed to the US policy is an evidence to prove claim. He emphasized the necessity of consolidation among countries with the same stance and opposed to the US policies and pointed out that such countries should expand their cooperation and increase their ability and potentials and never be frightened by the US threats.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also attended the meeting.
President Hugo Chavez at the head of a high ranking delegation arrived here Saturday afternoon to pay an official 2-day visit to Iran.
#2
We'll all look back on this alliance and regret the ridicule given Pat Robertson for his insight on Chavez! "W" has religated this pest for a succeding administration by being "bogged down" in Iraq and Afghanistan!! What a f**** pity!
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meets with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at his Jerusalem residence Saturday night; Rice reveals initial plans for international peacekeeping force: France, Lebanese army to take part, and will also guard Syria-Lebanon border. Leaders agree diplomatic agreement dependant on release of kidnapped soldiers
The French and Lebanese armies will take part in the multinational peacekeeping force expected to take position along the southern Lebanese border, it was revealed following a meeting between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem.
Let's see if the Frenchies have learned any lessons from their first operations in Bosnia. Not permitting their officers to be handcuffed to a tree would be a useful demonstration.
The two met at the Prime Ministers official residence in Jerusalem late Saturday night for nearly two hours, most of which was spent in one-on-one talks. Olmerts office said that during the entire meeting, Rice did not at all press the issue of a ceasefire. The two leaders agreed that any diplomatic arrangement to end the fighting would be dependent on the release of kidnapped IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev .
"Until then Ehud, you do what you gotta do," Sec. Rice was overheard to say.
Regarding the establishment of a multinational peacekeeping force, the conditions for its establishment, the length of its mandate and its responsibilities were not yet finalized, although Rice expressed optimism that it would be set up very soon.
Shouldn't take more than two or three months.
Olmert and Rice did not discuss the size of multinational peacekeeping force to be established. Likewise, the question of which countries, other than France and Lebanon, would partake in the force was not confronted.
We'll need lots of consultations. The 511th Heavy Belgian Barbershop Battalion should be deployed. The 239th Austrian Tyrol Yodeling Dragoons, likewise. I'm sure if we talk with them long enough they'll be reasonable.
However, Rice did note that the Lebanese and French armies would deploy along the Syrian-Lebanese border to the east, as well as along the southern border with Israel.
The French will escort the Syrians back and forth, and the Lebanese will politely avert their gaze.
The two also did not discuss Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Sinioras proposal for a ceasefire. However, Rice did request of the prime minister that Israel avoid striking Lebanese infrastructure.
Unless the Hezbies are using it.
The Prime Ministers Bureau noted that Rice expressed her appreciation to Israel for its actions towards easing the humanitarian crisis for Lebanese citizens by opening channels for the transport of aid. According to Rice, Israels cooperation in enabling aid delivery via the Beirut airport, seaports and by land greatly contributed to the USs stance during the Rome summit last week in which representatives from 15 nations convened to brainstorm solutions for the Israel-Lebanon crisis.
There's your cover for the next couple of days, Ehud, make the most of it.
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#2
France, Lebanon to deploy to border with Israel
How about in the interior as well?
Rice did request of the prime minister that Israel avoid striking Lebanese infrastructure.
I think we should be able to do that. We've blasted most of the stuff they care about by now. Does "road maintenance" count?
Rice expressed her appreciation to Israel for its actions towards easing the humanitarian crisis for Lebanese citizens by opening channels for the transport of aid.
Without it, Egypt would not have been able to deliver its half-full semi trailer of aid that will somehow alleviate the suffering of the entire Lebanese population for, say, 15 seconds or so.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The presidents of Iran and Venezuela, leading U.S. critics, pledged Saturday to support one another in disputes with Washington. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, said he saw in the Venezuelan president a kindred spirit. "I feel I have met a brother and trench mate after meeting Chavez," the state-run Iranian television quoted Ahmedinejad.
Is 'trench' the Farsi word for 'grave'?
I think he wants to share a foxhole with him. Hugo's got a purdy mouth
Chavez said he admired the Iranian president for "his wisdom and strength." "We are with you and with Iran forever. As long as we remain united we will be able to defeat (U.S.) imperialism, but if we are divided they will push us aside," Chavez said.
"Mahmoud, we will defend you with our blood!"
"We do not have any limitation in cooperation," Ahmedinejad was quoted as saying. "Iran and Venezuela are next to each other and supporters of each other. Chavez is a source of a progressive and revolutionary current in South America and his stance in restricting imperialism is tangible."
"He's still an infidel so one day he'll have to die, but in the meantime he's very useful to us."
"How does "Venezuelan Missile Crisis" sound, Hugo, old friend?"
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#1
"Trench Mate" is like trench foot or trench mouth, except on a more embarassing part of the body.
#4
Secular = God-based Totalitarianism + Gummerminty-ism is Freedom and Innovation and Progress and Diversity and Pluralism, babey!
You know, the reasons why the USSR + Red China + Commie Bloc, etal. were such icons of econ growth and hyperpower status for their nations.
Women, minorities most affected, and of course it's Bush's fault. Heavy EFL, hit the link if you want the personal testimonies.
STEELE, N.D. (AP) - More than 60 percent of the United States now has abnormally dry or drought conditions, stretching from Georgia to Arizona and across the north through the Dakotas, Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin, said Mark Svoboda, a climatologist for the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
An area stretching from south central North Dakota to central South Dakota is the most drought-stricken region in the nation, Svoboda said. ``It's the epicenter,'' he said. ``It's just like a wasteland in north central South Dakota.'' Fields of wheat, durum and barley in the Dakotas this dry summer will never end up as pasta, bread or beer. What is left of the stifled crops has been salvaged to feed livestock struggling on pastures where hot winds blow clouds of dirt from dried-out ponds.
Some ranchers have been forced to sell their entire herds, and others are either moving their cattle to greener pastures or buying more already-costly feed. Hundreds of acres of grasslands have been blackened by fires sparked by lightning or farm equipment.
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#1
We are in the 5th years of the cold cycle of the North Pacific Oscillation...which appears to have a ~25 year period. Look back at the 50s and early 60s for an analog.
#6
Up till this last month, New Mexico had been in a multi-year drought. Then for the first time since 1999, the regular monsoons have returned. Weve had rain, lots and soaking, and the temps have dropped down to the 80s. While the rest of the country has roasted this week, its been rather comfortable in this area. I expect the next update of the drought listings to have our area fade from extreme to moderate or abnormally dry. You can keep track of the drought conditions here.
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
Last year, eastern Oregon and Northern Illinois were in particular extreme drought. This year the problem is elsewhere. Its like that with the weather, over time.
Yeah, weather cycles occur and this isn't the first serious drought in the midwest. But it DOES affect our economy when it hits the wheat producing areas, or the corn stock that feeds pigs etc.
#9
...when it hits the wheat producing areas, or the corn stock that feeds pigs etc.
Or environmentalists who want to substitute 'renewable' energy which is based upon grain stock that is subject to such irregularities. Their big sale doesnt include problems like this when touting their program. What happens when its bad enough that you have to make a decision whether we gas up our cars or gas up our diets?
#16
Seriously...ENSO (La Nina/El Nino) is a higher frequency cycle (21/2- 4 years) that only modulates lower frequency, and more significant cycles like the NPO.
The multi-year Arctic Ice Pack is further south in the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea are significantly further south at this point than at anytime in the past 30 years (i.e., 1975-1976). That will have profound effects on the strength of the polar jetstream this fall and winter...and the type of winder North America experiences.
#17
In addition to the drought problems, the huge Ogallala aquifer previously used to irrigat crops during dry times is being depleted. The fast-growing western cities such as Phoenix also draw on the rivers, diverting valuable midwestern water. Water wars in Nebraska and Colorado have nice neighbors suing one another. The new nanotech that would make large scale desalination feasable should be seriously looked into for drinking water so the farmland can be preserved as this is a serious economic issue that Washington ignores.
#18
er...Phoenix diverting Midwest water? not likely. Different watersheds....remember the Rockies?
Desal is definitely the way to go on the coasts, but inland, the purification process can help with graywater reuse, but that's about it...recharge of aquifers is a good idea when there's spare water. The tough part is in getting people to use less than 100% of what's available. Alaska Paul is more of a water guy than I....he can give you more info
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 15:31
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#19
Diverting the Peace river will solve all our problems.
#20
The latest weather report shows that this heat wave is moving northeast. I feel sorry for youze Yankees. Time to open up the hydrant's in the Bronx for that neighborhood get together. We're freezing here in the South, it's only 92oF.
#21
Less beer? Steve, it's not just women and minorities affected here, dont forget us beer drinkers! And I do think it is a bushs fault (see tamarisk)
An unmanned Israeli military drone crashed into the mountains near Beirut on Friday, state-run Lebanese media reported. An Israeli warplane then pounded the area and destroyed the crashed drone, said the reports.
Meanwhile, Israel's best-selling Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on its website that the Israeli army said the drone crashed "apparently as a result of malfunction" and was not shot down by enemy fire. An Israeli warplane destroyed the drone after it crashed to prevent it from falling into the hands of Hezbollah, the report added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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#4
IDF Pussies vacate Bint Jubeil after suffering heavy losses. Gee... nice eh!... just that debka.com only says IDF Vacates Bint Jubeil and doesn't talk about the heavy losses that the Israeli military has suffered. 18 days into the conflict and the Hizbullah is well and alive!. IDF Pussies, who usually fight 'paleos' in occupied Palestine, are now getting an idea of their own worth. Let's see some long reach rockets blowing up in TelAviv!
#6
I'm sure we have a bag of Troll Snax back here somewhere. It's the extra-hard kibble for nervous chewers. Oh yeah, and here's the rubber chew toys too.
We do have a kennel run open, but I'm not sure Fred wants us to feed and kennel the trolls ... and I'm absolutely SURE he doesn't want us breeding them.
ah yes. Poor Islamists. They've been working so hard to prepare for this moment, like little busy bees since Carter was in office. How many years was that? Gosh, many people in power today weren't even born then. And then, in only 18 days the IDF "pussies" push into Hezbollah borders, target strike them to kingdom come, and the best Hezbollah can do is to throw 20th century cannon balls at them and brag that Iran is working on a nuke. Hmmm, didn't we use one of those, what, a century ago?
The west hasn't even begun to fight. Damascus will be rubble. bummer.
#9
Why is it the trolls always jump to the "your a Pussy" arguement so fast? I thought that stopped in 7th grade. Oh well, one in every crowd.
The great thing about the UAV was there was no pilot or crew on board. The guy who was flying it is now drinking coffee and taking the ribbing from his peers and filling out the AAR's so he won't do it again. There is no family mourning the loss and no loss in troop strength. Gotta love them.
As for the troll, if you feel that strong go to Leb and join the Hezbullah. For once in your life do something other than bitch and complain. The Hezbullah don't call the jews pussies, they at least act.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/30/2006 9:50
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#9: Why is it the trolls always jump to the "your a Pussy" arguement so fast? I thought that stopped in 7th grade. Oh well, one in every crowd.
It's always good to listen to your Enemy's insults, it tells you what THEY fear.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 10:10
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Troll House cookies? Here have some more. Good with milk. Here, we have cow milk, goat milk, soy milk. Here, left over from the 60s---Mah Raney's Moleskin cookies. They're all kosher, halal, USDA Grade A. Dive in folks.
Keep this in mind next time Malaysia says it supports the war on terror...
Hizbollah fighters are resisting Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and are not terrorists as charged by the United States, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.
He urged the West to see the broader picture of the conflict because it did not result from the capture of two Israeli soldiers by the Hizbollah two weeks ago but by Israel's occupation of Arab lands. The Palestinians, until now, have no country of their own, he said.
And they're doing such a bang-up job with it too
He told reporters that although the Hizbollah had been branded a terrorist organisation by the United States and other Western countries, Israel's actions in Lebanon could be deemed the same.
"What Israel is doing in Lebanon is state terrorism," said Syed Hamid, who had accompanied Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman to a ceremony to hand over land grants to 348 settlers in Felda Bukit Wa Ha here.
More than 600 Lebanese, mostly civilians, have been killed by land, sea and air bombardment of the country by Israel in the latest fighting. The conflict between Israel and Hizbollah, which is supported by Syria and Iran, has also claimed more 50 Israeli lives, both military and civilian, mostly due to rocket attacks.
Many countries and international organisations have called for an immediate ceasefire by both sides, but this has been rejected by Israel and its main ally the United States. Washington and Tel Aviv have demanded that the Hizbollah disarm and withdraw from the areas bordering Israel.
According to Syed Hamid, the United Nations (UN), which lost four unarmed observers after an observation post in Lebanon was bombed by Israeli planes, agreed that the Israeli aggression was disproportionate and violated international laws.
He said the anger felt by Malaysians over the destruction of Lebanon was justified, referring to the massive demonstrations against Israel and the United States in Kuala Lumpur Friday. The Foreign Minister also said that the conflict was not because of religion.
Oh, of course not.
He said that Malaysia, as the chair of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), would hold a special meeting on the conflict among eight to 10 members here on Thursday. The meeting would be chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and would seek an urgent stop to the calamity that had befallen Lebanon and Palestine, he said.
"The meeting is being called as the international community has been unable to end the crisis and it appears that the Israelis have been given a blank cheque to slaughter innocent civilians," he said. He added that Syria and Iran have also been invited to the meeting.
#1
Malaysia hosted an al Qaeda conference. Of course it thinks Hezbollah's not a terrorist organization. Prior to 9/11, it did not consider al Qaeda a terrorist organization either. The post-9/11 change was probably due to fear of being bombed like Afghanistan. Malaysia notably opposed the invasion of Afghanistan. Basically, they shed crocodile tears over 9/11 and then opposed American efforts to kill the terrorists and their supporters.
#6
The FM is known also as spudhead. What to expect from one who happens to be the son of an incompromising ultra racist politician father?
The government now can't even allow a discussion on its own constitution(regarding whatever rights and safeguards therein) following the rejecting of the formation of an Inter Faith Council earlier...it rather presume that islam is therefore de facto supreme and 100% unquestionable for all.
The Taepodong-2 long-range missile test-fired by North Korea on July 5 broke up and fell back to earth just after its launch, making its flight much shorter than previously believed, media reports said on Sunday. The Japanese government had previously said the Taepodong-2 fell into the Sea of Japan about 640 km (400 miles) from the launch site.
Sources quoted by Kyodo news agency said the missile exploded in mid-air within 1.5 km of the launch site, either in a northeastern region of North Korea or in its territorial waters on the edge of the Sea of Japan. Experts have said the missile is potentially capable of hitting parts of U.S. territory.
The problem was most likely due to difficulties with the missile's boosters, sources quoted by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said.
A Japanese government official quoted by the Yomiuri said the new analysis, which will be included in a report to be issued by the government early next month, indicated that North Korea's missile technology was still immature.
"It will likely take a long time for North Korea to launch a Taepodong-2 again," he added.
#4
Technically, its not necessary to have a nuclear detonation in order to spread radioactive compounds/materials over a large area. In any case, North Korea = Radical Iran = Terror groups > have an interest in inducing Western withdrawal, containment and isolationism from target regions. And like the terror shellings of northern Israel, concessions and buffer zones is no guaranty of current andor future peace, only of retrenchments, reorganz and new attacks. Israel's withdrawals have only begat bigger enemy formations + bigger enemy rockets-shells launched from longer distances, and terror -centric elements becoming a substantive, de facto part of allegedly moderate or neutral local Govts. NORTH KOREA > until US-Western INTEL can verify the nature of Kimmie's rants, NORTH KOREA SHOULD BETREATED AS A EXPENDABLE DIVERSIONARY "HOLDING FRONT" AGZ USA, JAPAN, and SOKORS, vv Chicoms positioning of milfors ala TAIWAN, VIETNAM, NORTHERN PHILIPPINES, and WESTPAC. China has enuff manpower for both, but not enuff WAR-WINNING LEVELS OF MILTECH/ECON yet in comparison wid tech/econ-superior USA + JAPAN + SOKORS. Against the nations of SE Asia, China has a better chance of near-term victory or diplom concession Once the smaller tech-par or tech-inferior Western democracies or neutrals are gone, China can refocii all her might against North Asia + USA proper. FOR NOW, OR UNTIL YEAR 2015-2020, THE NAME OF THE GAME IS TO AVOID MUTUALLY DESTRUCTIVE ALL-OUT NUCLEAR WAR, PC DESTABILIZE SECTARIANIZE and FACTIONALIZE, AND TO USE AMERICA'S AND WEST'S OWN MILPOL ESTABLISHMENTS INSTITUTIONS, AND VALUES AGAINST THEMSELVES, TO USE DEMOCRACY FOR ANTI-DEMOCRACY.
#5
Hi Joe, the best way to humiliate the NORKS is to simply ignore them, they've been screaming "LOOK AT ME" for decades now, with no results but laughter.
We need to keep it up, humiliation is a powerful weapon in the Asian world, continue to embarrass the shit out of them, it hurts them way down deep inside.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 10:28
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#6
Nice tactics in an office or school environment, but it won't work when the loudmouth you are trying to deal with wants to launch nukes against you and you allies.
Why wait?
I don't wanna find out two years down the road that "damn, ignoring them didn't work" while their first loaded missile is about to hit us or the Japs.
At least wreck their rocket launch pads, and keep them wrecked.
#7
I don't mean "Ignore" as to turn your backs, I mean "Ignore" as to be sure that their attention getting tactics are thrown into the bright light of day, as well as any and all humiliating failures trumpeted around the world with all facts stated with blindingly briliant attention.
In short, "Ignore" as in belittle any attempt to draw favorable attention through their lies and propaganda, example, their "Successful" missle launch, trumpeted around the world with all their lies about flight times and accuracy disproven with facts.
Exactly what is happening right now, a real blow to be called "LIAR" and then another huge blow to then prove it making sure that it's glaringly obvious that the lies were caught.
That hurts Asians more than you know, to lose "Face" can be deadly (To them)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 17:55
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#8
as in: massive distribution of "Team America" DVDs....
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 18:13
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SCOTLAND YARD has placed one of its Muslim officers on restricted duties while it investigates intelligence that he may have attended a terror camp linked to Al-Qaeda in Pakistan. The policeman who firmly denies the allegations is said by police sources to be one of three Muslim officers questioned in a Yard search for terror sleeper cells in its ranks.
Screening procedures were a little incomplete?
The move follows disclosures earlier this month that Islamic terrorist sympathisers had attempted to infiltrate the intelligence services by applying for jobs in MI5. It raises the risk of terrorist fifth columnists passing on information about secret operations and compromising the identities of undercover agents.
The Metropolitan police last week said that it would look at individual cases if there were concerns, but added that it was not reassessing the backgrounds of all its 400-500 Muslim staff.
Nah, they'll just wait until all the rats amongst them have committed terrible crimes, or leaked really sensitive information, or tipped off their terr pals about raids. Good thinking.
The officer, who is in his mid-twenties, was placed on restricted duties at a London police station earlier this month. Police sources say his security clearance for sensitive databases has been withdrawn pending the results of an internal inquiry.
The inquiry appears to have been triggered by the belated discovery that the officer made a trip to Pakistan before joining the police in 2001. He returned to Britain shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
You'd think that would have raised eyebrows.
During an interview with the Yards secret vetting unit, which works closely with MI5, it was suggested he may have attended or associated with people at an Al-Qaeda training camp. The British-born officer, whose parents are from Pakistan, denies knowingly meeting terrorists. He is understood to have told his interviewers that he went abroad to study and this involved briefly attending a madrasah religious school as a way of getting into technical college in the UK. He abandoned his studies to join the police in 2003.
Why does someone need to attend a madrassah in Pak-land to gain admittance to a technical school in the UK? He needed to brush up his calculus?
Some madrasahs in Pakistan have a reputation for attracting extremists and radicalising young Muslims. Shehzad Tanweer, the London suicide bomber, is said to have visited one in the months before last years attacks.
The Association of Muslim Police (AMP) says there are two other investigations in which Muslim officers have been interviewed about trips to Pakistan. Tahir Butt, secretary of the AMP, has raised the cases with senior management. He said that a policy which targeted Muslims and not other religions would be wholly inappropriate.
Posted by: john ||
07/30/2006
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#4
Under shariah, it is unlawful for a Muslim to act loyal to a non-Islamic State. Each and every Muslim presents a threat of jihad conscription, and resultant terror.
Baghdad, Jul. 28 Members of the Kurdish rebel group PKK have killed five Iranian soldiers in the northwest of the country, Kurdistan Television reported on Thursday. The clashed took place near the town of Qaleh Rash in Iranian Kurdistan Province. Three other soldiers were injured, according to the report.
The PKK has announced that four of its members were also killed in the fighting.
I really hate to have to choose between the Mad Mullahs and the PKK.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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#1
"I really hate to have to choose between the Mad Mullahs and the PKK."
At least the PKK ain's crazy.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 0:13
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#2
kinda like choosing between Cindy Sheehan and Howard Dean.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 0:26
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#4
At least the PKK ain's crazy.
They are crazy as loons. Their religion is different, but dangerous the same. It was responsible for death of 100 million people during the last century.
I say let them be helpfull to each other in mutual clearing of their respective gene pools. ;-)
#7
kinda like choosing between Cindy Sheehan and Howard Dean.
Is there no one else left in the bar at 2AM? Is it possible that such a (shudder) choice would have to be made? ugh. If that's the choice on the table, wouldn't it be best to walk away and go home to sleep alone? The possiblity for contracting disease far outweighs any possible consequence of getting involved.
Tehran, Iran, Jul. 29 Iran will soon launch new womens only parks in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran. The City Islamic Council in Qom announced that it had put forward a plan to segregate four of the citys parks.
In August, the National Womens Council announced that a sex-segregated park was under development in the north-eastern city of Mashad.
The development of sex-segregated parks was given a big boost after hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, became Irans president. Prior to his rise to the presidency, Ahmadinejad was the Mayor of Tehran. One of his first decisions in the city hall was to order gender segregation on elevators.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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#1
What's the point of going to the park with other women?
Ah'ma-dinnah-jacket gives a whole new meaning to "that boy ain't right."
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 0:17
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#2
Geeze -- No wonder muzzies are so sexually immature and frustrated.
Can't even enjoy the sight of a pretty girl at the park....
#3
The parks had become quite the singles scene - one of very few places where couples could find any privacy. The Mullahs have been stewing about it for a couple of years, now, and the crackdown took longer I thought it would. Some sillies have said they were trying not to alienate the youth segment. Fat chance, now. You screw around with hormones at your peril. All of Islam fixates on this - and thoroughly screws up its people in the effort.
#6
watch out for the flannel-print burkas, wallet chains, and comfortable shoes.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 11:04
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#7
Besoeker and Nimble Spemble, am I reading y'all right.....do you think Lafayette Park in D.C. is for gays? Having spent 18 years in the city the only thing Lafayette Park had was an overabundance of "tin foil hat" protesters and yuppie govt. workers. There may have been some gay groups in Lafayette Park, but the park of choice for gays was Dupont Circle.
#12
Used to be Volunteer park in Seattle. Remember the news report warning people not to take kids there because of the condoms and needles. I think its spread since then.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the region Saturday night for the start of another round of shuttle diplomacy between Jerusalem and Beirut, aiming to push a diplomatic solution for ending the war in Lebanon. Rice met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Saturday night in private. She will depart for Lebanon Sunday and will decide following meetings there whether to return to Israel for more talks.
The deal being put forth by Rice is for the deployment in Lebanon of an "international stabilization force" comprising 10,000 to 30,000 troops in return for Israel's withdrawal from the controversial Shaba Farms, on the western slopes of Mount Hermon.
Oh lordy, don't do that. Syria and Lebanon (but I repeat myself) will just declare another small chunk of the Golan to be 'Lebanese'. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The international force would assist the Lebanese army to deploy in southern Lebanon and inspect the crossings between Syria and Lebanon, so that no arms will be smuggled to Hezbollah.
Will they be willing to destroy any vehicle that tries to run the inspection sites? Will they shoot any Syrian or Hezbie mooks who try to interfere?
Rice did not ask Olmert during their meeting to end the fighting at this stage, but it is assumed at the Defense Ministry that the IDF has 7 to 10 days to continue its operation in Lebanon.
By Wednesday the U.S. would like to gain approval for a new Security Council resolution that will call for an end to hostilities.
And then two to three months to negotiate the new MNF composition. I'm waiting for the Belgians to step up.
Israel sources estimate the U.S. will allow a few more days for mopping up operations by the IDF.
Defense sources said that in view of Rice's return to Israel, it appears that for the first time since the start of the war, the "diplomatic clock" is beginning to tick faster. According to the sources, the General Staff has received orders to accelerate its offensive on areas close to the border in order to deepen any possible attack on the Hezbollah before the declaration of a cease-fire.
Prior to the Olmert-Rice meeting, sources in Jerusalem said the Bush administration has asked Israel to be flexible over the issue of a pullout from Shaba Farms, so that the support of the Lebanese government to the deal being formulated can be assured. However, following the meeting Saturday night, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said Rice did not present the withdrawal from Shaba Farms as a condition for the support of the government of Lebanon. "Our position is based on the decision of the Security Council that ruled that there is no territorial dispute between us [Lebanon and Israel]," the sources said.
And that's the way it should stay. We simply can't give the Syrians, the Lebanese (but I repeat myself) or the Hezbies any fig leaf on this. The Hezbies have to be seen as beaten.
The Bush administration would like to further the Shaba Farms issue as a gesture to Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, which would be in return for an official Lebanese government request for such a force to be deployed in its territory.
If Siniora doesn't want to issue the invitation, fine, the IDF can find something to do in southern Lebanon. Siniora has no power and no cards to play, so don't give him one.
Over the weekend Olmert indicated his willingness to discuss the Shaba Farms issue. In response to a press question, officials at the Prime Minister's Office reiterated the view Olmert presented during a meeting with France's Chirac, during their meeting last month, that Israel will agree to talk about a pullout from Shaba Farms after Security Council resolution 1559 calling for the disarmament of Hezbollah is implemented and following the international recognition of a Syrian declaration that the Shaba Farms are Lebanese territory.
The defense establishment is opposed to the inclusion of Shaba Farms into any diplomatic arrangement for ending the current confrontation, out of concern that this will be interpreted as an achievement by Hezbollah's leadership. The IDF is not opposed to a pullout on security grounds, but would prefer to see the matter raised under different circumstances and not as part of a cease-fire deal.
Absolutely correct. The Hezbies have to be beaten down, and the region has to see that challenging the IDF leads to the destruction of your military force with nothing to show for it.
The defense establishment is also willing to release the three Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, in return for a return of the abducted soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
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So, I dearly hope the US is not going to pressure Israel on the Shaba Farms -- and I hope strongly that Israel leaders will at last unleash the IDF on South Lebanon, for a massive offensive, to capture a vast part of it, and to be seen as the clear victor of this war.
Golly. You've been working that Chicken Little routine for a week, now, remarkably desparate to declare defeat and surrender. Lemme help you with that:
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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#1
"He has a national profile, a record as a man who gets things done and practically unlimited campaign money. In short, New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, could be the perfect presidential candidate for 2008."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Yeah, right. Tell ya' what, British newspaper - you don't pretend you know anything about our politics and we won't pretend we know anything about yours.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 0:12
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#2
I saw this headline and immediately thought about Giuliani... but they mean Bloomberg?
Posted by: Phil ||
07/30/2006 1:08
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He has done such a bang-up job on rebuilding the World Trade Center, no?
Follow-up. The AP manages to round up useful information. I'm still treating this as a page 1, WoT related story. Some EFL.
SEATTLE - The man suspected in a fatal shooting rampage hid behind a potted plant in a Jewish charity's foyer and forced his way through a security door by holding a gun to a 13-year-old girl's head, authorities said Saturday. Once inside, police say, Naveed Afzal Haq opened fire with two semiautomatic pistols. One woman, Pam Waechter, 58, of Seattle was killed at the scene. Five more women were wounded. Haq, 30, was ordered held on $50 million bail Saturday pending formal charges of murder and attempted murder.
...hid behind a potted plant in a Jewish charity's foyer and forced his way through a security door by holding a gun to a 13-year-old girl's head...
Haq, a Muslim, told authorities he was angered by the war in Iraq and U.S. military cooperation with Israel. ``He pointedly blamed Jewish people for all of these problems,'' Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said at a news conference Saturday. According to a statement of probable cause, Haq told a 911 dispatcher: ``These are Jews and I'm tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East.''
... a quiet loner with few friends...
Muhammad Ullah, a close family friend and a senior member of a mosque founded in part by Haq's father, described Haq as a quiet loner with few friends.
"He was a quiet man." Aren't they all until they go beserk?
In a statement, the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities offered condolences to the shooting victims and said ``we disassociate this act from our Islamic teachings and beliefs.''
Nice statement. How 'bout passing the hat at the mosque and donating some money to repair the synagogue?
Seattle police said Haq picked up the two handguns and spare ammunition just days earlier, and appeared to have targeted the federation after a cursory Internet search for Jewish organizations.
Which means they've had his computer in for a look-see. Wonder what else they found that they aren't telling us?
He also was stopped shortly before the shootings in Seattle for a minor traffic infraction, and was cited and released, Kerlikowske said. Haq had a valid driver's license and his actions did not raise any suspicion, the chief said.
One of the women wounded in Friday's shooting - hit in the arm as she shielded her pregnant belly - helped bring the crisis to an end by crawling into her office, calling 911, and convincing her assailant to talk to dispatchers, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said. ``She's a hero in my eyes,'' he said at a news conference.
She is. Smart thinking under pressure. I can only hope I'd be that good.
All the heroes weren't killed in 9-11..
When Haq got on the phone with 911 operators, he identified himself by name and said, ``This is a hostage situation and I wanted these Jews to get out,'' according to a statement of probable cause. At one point, he told the dispatcher he wanted police to call the media and that he had a gun pointed at a woman's head. He said he was acting alone and had not been drinking, court documents said. The three most seriously wounded women, who had been shot in the abdomen, were upgraded from critical to serious condition Saturday, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said. The other two were in satisfactory condition Friday. A nursing supervisor refused to say Saturday evening whether they had been released from the hospital.
Harborview has a great trauma unit; it's part of the Univ. Washington medical system.
Prosecutors have until Aug. 2 to formally charge Haq, spokesman Dan Donohoe said. They are not yet seeking capital charges, but that could change, he said.
Wouldn't the dead woman kinda predicate a capital charge? Or isn't she very important?
Authorities searched Haq's parents' home and his apartment - both in the Tri-Cities area of southeastern Washington - and removed evidence, including computers and Haq's car, Kerlikowske said. Police and the FBI are labeling the shootings a hate crime.
How about labeling it a terrorist act?
Haq entered the King County courtroom on Saturday wearing handcuffs, chains and leg shackles, and a white jail jumpsuit that labeled him an ``ultra security inmate.'' Before entering, Haq requested through a public defender that he be allowed to not personally attend the hearing, or for him to not be photographed or videotaped. District Judge Barbara L. Linde denied both requests. Haq briefly glanced at rows of news media in the gallery on his way into the courtroom but otherwise showed no outward emotion.
Waechter, an assistant director at the federation, was described by colleagues as a tireless worker for the Jewish community. ``She was a person everybody loved, everybody enjoyed being with,'' said Rabbi Jim Mirel of Temple B'nai Torah, where Waechter was a past president. Waechter is survived by two adult children, Nicole and Mark, Mirel said.
God grant you peace.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
Lets see....
Deliberately targetted and attempted to murder innocent civilians (not to mention attempted murder of a pregnant woman) to make a political statement --- CHECK.
That makes him a terrorist in my book. If you find that he belongs Hez or any other terrorist organization then follow the Geneva Convention and take him out back and put a bullet in his head as an illegal combatant - no trial needed.
#2
"These are Jews and I'm tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East."
Pushed around? Really? By your own guilty conscience, maybe.
Who ya been talkin' to, Naveed?
Note to Naveed's associates who may contributed to this directly or indirectly, either in person or through other channels: Better start thinking before you start talking from now on. Do you feel proud of yourselves now? Have the world's problems been solved? Have you finally seen what the real problem is? Hint: 13-year-old hostage, 58-year-old woman dead, pregnant woman shot, other women shot in the abdomen. All innocent and unarmed. Brave. I doubt that God will not be smiling when he greets your kind for the first and last time. Don't think you're going to talk your way out of this one. Don't think ignorance is an excuse. God gave you a brain and wanted you to use it. You are being tested before you head off to eternity, and this is what he's testing.
ultra security inmate
Probably for his own protection as much as society's. Who would be most likely to off the guy if they could? May well not be a Jew.
For all the individual muslims and muslim organizations who have spoken out against this kind of behavior either in public or in private: Thank you.
#3
Pity this son of a she-camel didn't do this in Texas instead of the People's Republic of Washington. First, they probably wouldn't have taken him alive. If they had, he would sure as hell get the spike--and it wouldn't be very long in coming, either.
Posted by: mac ||
07/30/2006 6:41
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#4
I agree I am sick of backing down towards these obvious fanatical lunatics, who maim & kill our innocent people, for what is going on in their crazy countries !!!
#6
Feed by the atmosphere of hate and bigotry instilled by MSM driven by profits and ego without regard for the truth. Lots of contenders for the 2006 Julius Streicher award in yellow journalism. Since one of MSM's mantras is international law, how would they like it applied to them? Wait we have the First Amendment! Yes, but you pontificate that international law has a higher standing than the Constitution.
#7
This is a hostage situation and I wanted these Jews to get out,''
Muslims, who aren't into jihad, better read this and weep. "Disassociate" yourself from Haq's actions against jews and you will have to associate yourselves with the same actions against Muslims I'm not threatening, I'm just stating the obvious.
#8
Must have not been enough locals and regular folks in the Seattle and tri-cities area to fit the jobs at Hanford. Gummit or gummit contractors had to exercise "affirmative action" and go out and hire this loser's Paki father and bring him and his loser clan in. The deportation all "military age males" (MAMS) like this piece of kak will prevent a lot of heartache and sorrow in the future.
#9
When you are deliberately taught from birth that anyone not a muslim is an animal, and that islam gives every muslim the right to treat 'animals' any way they wish, you can't be surprised by any behavior they may exhibit. Islam does not recognize the humanity of anyone else. Islam does not recognize any guides to behavior outside of islam, which says 'anything goes'. Islam is a psychopathic disease that cannot be cured short of elimination, like smallpox or polio. Trying to force islam into a western mindset is both a waste of time and an exercise in futility. It's time to take out the 'heart and soul' of islam, and crush the rest into oblivion. It's the only way western civilization can survive.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/30/2006 15:46
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#10
Old Patriot:
Not much different from National Socialism. I wish more folks could see it for what it is.
#11
Local papers carries reporting that did not even mention the suspect's etnic origin until a page four continuation. Today's coverage states that this will be charged as a hate crime.
WTF does it take for people to understand that this is standard fare when it comes to Islamic driven anti-Semitism and terrorism in general? The media had better start getting this straight or blogs such as Rantburg will rightfully eat their collective lunch.
I'm beginning to think that soft-pedalling of Islamism needs to become a crime of some sort.
#2
we used to have a Turkish fellow post sometimes here at Rantburg
This is a rather big deal for Turkey. In addition to the $300M per year in transit rights, there will be hundreds of jobs (eventually thousands) created.
BEIRUT - The first shipment by sea of US aid for Lebanon arrived on a naval vessel in Beirut on Saturday, carrying medical supplies and thousands of blankets for people affected by the conflict. US development agency USAID said it had transported seven additional emergency medical kits, as well as 1,000 tarps, and 20,000 blankets to Lebanon to be distributed to NGOs working in the area.
The urgently-needed aid arrived on the USS Swift in Beirut and sources at the US embassy in the Lebanese capital said it was expected to be followed by several more such shipments in the coming days. Its the first (shipment) by sea. We are trying to get things in as quickly as possible, said an embassy official.
While sending aid to Lebanon, the United States continues to supply Israel with extra weaponry, including bunker-busting bombs.
Thus meeting all its commitments properly.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
00:00 ||
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#1
WTF!! Why is "W" sending in the 'goodies' with his left arm while taking them away with his right one?? When the 'good people' of Lebanon elect Hizbullah as their official government in the future (like what became of Hamas), I hope the media play back every second of this bleeding heart administration's blunder, as it comes to slap the US in the 'face'!
#2
Hezbollah supplies all the clinics and schools to buy the people, especially the women and children, or they wouldn't have any support in relatively westernized Lebanon. The US must also win the hearts and minds of the people or we'll will be blamed by proxy for our support of Israel, although they already do. Aid is essential to negotiate any peace or ceasefire.
#3
October 23, 1983. USMC Beirut. I think we've given these muzzie bastards quite enough for God's sake.
DATE OF HOME
NAME OF SERVICEMEMBER SERVICE RANK DEATH STATE HOMETOWN
Carlson, Randall A. ....... USA .... MAJ .... 09/25/1982 .. CT .. Trumbull, CT
Reagan, David L. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 09/30/1982 .. VA .. Virginia Beach, VA
Maxwell, Ben H. ........... USA .... SSGT ... 04/18/1983 .. VA .. Appomattox, VA
McMaugh, Robert V. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 04/18/1983 .. VA .. Manassas, VA
Salazar, Mark E. .......... USA .... SSGT ... 04/18/1983 .. CA .. Pasadena, CA
Twine, Richard ............ USA .... SFC .... 04/18/1983 .. UK .. Salop, UK
Losey, Donald George ...... USMC ... 2LT .... 08/29/1983 .. NC .. Winston Salem, NC
Ortega, Alexander M. ...... USMC ... SSGT ... 08/29/1983 .. NY .. Rochester, NY
Clark, Randy W. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 09/06/1983 .. WI .. Minong, WI
Valle, Pedro J. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 09/06/1983 .. RP .. San Juan, RP
Soifert, Alan H. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/14/1983 .. NH .. Nashua, NH
Ohler, Michael J. ......... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/16/1983 .. NY .. Huntington, NY
Abbott, Terry W. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. New Richmond, OH
Alexander, Clemon S. ...... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Monticello, FL
Allman, John R. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NM .. Carlsbad ... NM
Arnold, Moses J. Jr. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Bailey, Charles K. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Berlin, MD
Baker, Nicholas ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Alexandria, VA
Banks, Johansen ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Detroit, MI
Barrett, Richard E. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Tappahanock, VA
Bates, Ronny K. ........... USN .... HM1 .... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Aiken, SC
Battle, David L. .......... USMC ... 1stSGT . 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Hubert, NC
Baynard, James R. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Richmond, VA
Beamon, Jesse W. .......... USN .... HN ..... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Haines City, FL
Belmer, Alvin. ............ USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Bland, Stephen ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Midway Park, NC
Blankenship, Richard L. ... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Hubert, NC
Blocker, John W. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Yulee, FL
Boccia, Joseph J. Jr. ..... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Northport, NY
Bohannon, Leon Jr. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Bohnet, John R. Jr. ....... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. TN .. Memphis, TN
Bonk, John J. Jr. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Boulos, Jeffrey L. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Islip, NY
Bousum, David R. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Fife Lake, MI
Boyett, John N. ........... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Brown, Anthony ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Detroit, MI
Brown, David W. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Conroe, TX
Buchanan, Bobby S. Jr. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Midway Park, NC
Buckmaster, John B. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Vandalia, OH
Burley, William F. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Linden, NJ
Cain, Jimmy R. ............ USN .... HN ..... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Birmington, AL
Callahan, Paul L. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Lorain, OH
Camara, Mecot E. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Campus, Bradley J. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Lynn, MA
Ceasar, Johnnie D. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. El Campo, TX
Cole, Marc L. ............. USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Ludlow Falls, OH
Coleman, Marcus A. ........ USA .... SP4 .... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Dallas, TX
Comas, Juan M. ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Hialeah, FL
Conley, Robert A .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Orlando, FL
Cook, Charles D. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Advance, NC
Cooper, Curtis J. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. North Wales, PA
Copeland, Johnny L. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Burlington, NC
Corcoran, Bert D. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Katonah, NY
Cosner, David L. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Elkins, WV
Coulman, Kevin P. ......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Seminary, NY
Croft, Brett A. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Lakeland, FL
Crudale, Rick R. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Warwick, RI
Custard, Kevin P. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Virginia, MN
Cyzick, Russell E. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Star City, WV
Davis, Andrew L. .......... USMC ... MAJ .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Decker, Sidney James ...... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Clarkson, KY
Devlin, Michael J. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Westwood, MA
Dibenedetto, Thomas A. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Mansfield Center, CT
Dorsey, Nathaniel G. ...... USMC ... PVT .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Douglass, Frederick B. .... USMC ... SGTMAJ . 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Cataumet, MA
Dunnigan, Timothy J. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Princeton, WV
Earle, Bryan L. ........... USN .... HN ..... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Painsville, OH
Edwards, Roy L. ........... USMC ... MSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Elliot, William D. Jr. .... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Lancaster, PA
Ellison, Jesse ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WI .. Soldiers Grove, WI
Estes, Danny R. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Gary, IN
Estler, Sean F. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Kenall Park, NJ
Faulk, James E. ........... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Panama City, FL
Fluegel, Richard A. ....... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Erie, PA
Forrester, Steven M. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Foster, William B. Jr. .... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Richmond, VA
Fulcher, Michael D ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Madison Heights, VA
Fuller, Benjamin E ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Duluth, GA
Fulton, Michael S. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Ft. Worth, TX
Gaines, William Jr. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Port Charlotte, FL
Gallagher, Sean R. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. N. Andover, MA
Gander, David B. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WI .. Milwaulkee, WI
Gangur, George M. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Cleveland, OH
Gann, Leland E. ........... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Garcia, Randall J. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Modesto, CA
Garcia, Ronald J. ......... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Gay, David D. ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Harrisburg, IL
Ghumm, Harold D. .......... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Gibbs, Warner Jr. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Portsmouth, VA
Giblin, Timothy R. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. N. Providence, RI
Gorchinski, Michael W. .... USN .... ETC .... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Evansville, IN
Gordon, Richard J. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Somerville, MA
Gratton, Harold F. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Conoes, NY
Greaser, Robert B. ........ USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Lansdale, PA
Green, Davin M. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Hairston, Thomas A. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Haltiwanger, Freddie Jr. .. USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Little Mountain, SC
Hamilton, Virgil D. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Dayton, OH
Hanton, Gilbert ........... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. DC .. Washington, DC
Hart, William ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Haskell, Michael S. ....... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Hastings, Michael A. ...... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. DE .. Seaford, DE
Hein, Paul A. ............. USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Held, Douglas E. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Helms, Mark A. ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NE .. Dwight, NE
Henderson, Ferrandy D. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Tampa, FL
Hernandez, Matilde Jr. .... USMC ... MSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Midway Park, NC
Hester, Stanley G. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Raleigh, NC
Hildreth, Donald W. ....... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Sneads Ferry, NC
Holberton, Richard H. ..... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Beaufort, SC
Holland, Robert S. ........ USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Gilbertsville, KY
Hollingshead, Bruce A. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Fairborn, OH
Holmes, Melvin D. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Chicago, IL
Howard, Bruce L. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. ME .. Strong, ME
Hudson, John R. ........... USN .... LT ..... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Riverdale, GA
Hudson, Terry L. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Prichard, AL
Hue, Lyndon J. ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. LA .. Des Allemands, LA
Hukill, Maurice E. ........ USMC ... 2ndLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Iacovino, Edward F. Jr. ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Warwick, RI
Ingalls, John J. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Interlaken, NY
Innocenzi, Paul G. III .... USMC ... WO1 .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Trenton, NJ
Jackowski, James J. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. S. Salem, NY
James, Jeffrey W. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Jenkins, Nathaniel W. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Daytona Beach, FL
Johnson, Michael H. ....... USN .... HM2 .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Detroit, MI
Johnston, Edward A. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Struthers, OH
Jones, Steven ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
Julian, Thomas A. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Middleton, RI
Kees, Marion E. ........... USN .... HM2 .... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Martinsburg, WV
Keown, Thomas C. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Louisville, KY
Kimm, Edward E. ........... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. IA .. Atlantic, IA
Kingsley, Walter V. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WI .. Wisconsin Dells, WI
Kluck, Daniel S. .......... USA .... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Owensboro, KY
Knipple, James C. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Alexandria, VA
Kreischer, Freas H. III ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Indiatlantic, FL
Laise, Keith J. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. East Stroudsburg, PA
Lamb, Thomas G. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Coon Rapids, MN
Langon, James J. IV ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Lakehurst, NJ
Lariviere, Michael S. ..... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Perry, FL
Lariviere, Steven B. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Chicopee, MA
Lemnah, Richard L. ........ USMC ... MSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Lewis, David A. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Garfield Heights, OH
Lewis, Val S. ............. USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Atlanta, GA
Livingston, Joseph R. ..... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Champaign, IL
Lyon, Paul D. Jr. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Milton, FL
Macroglou, John W. ........ USMC ... MAJ .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Maitland, Samuel .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Martin, Charlie R. ........ USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Martin, Jack L. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Oveido, FL
Massa, David S. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Warren, RI
Massman, Michael R. ....... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Port Huron, MI
Mattacchione, Joseph J. ... USMC ... PVT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Sanford, NC
McCall, John .............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Rochester, NY
McDonough, James E. ....... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Newcastle, PA
McMahon, Timothy R. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Austin, TX
McNeely, Timothy D. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Mooresville, NC
McVicker, George N. II .... USN .... HM2 .... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Wabash, IN
Melendez, Louis ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. PR .. Puerto Rico
Menkins, Richard H. II .... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Tully, NY
Mercer, Michael D. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Vale, NC
Meurer, Ronald W. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Milano, Joseph P. ......... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Farmingville, NY
Moore, Joseph P. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MO .. St. Louis, MO
Morrow, Richard A. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Clairton, PA
Muffler, John F. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Munoz, Alex ............... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NM .. Bloomfield, NM
Myers, Harry D. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Whittler, NC
Nairn, David J. ........... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Nava, Luis A. ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Gardena, CA
Olson, John A. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Sabin, MN
Olson, Robert P. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Lawtons, NY
Ortiz, Richard C. ......... USMC ... CWO3 ... 10/23/1983 .. OK .. Ft. Sill, OK
Owen, Jeffrey B. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Virginia Beach, VA
Owens, Joseph A. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Chesterfield, VA
Page, Connie Ray .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Erwin, NC
Parker, Ulysses ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Payne, Mark W. ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Binghamton, NY
Pearson, John L. .......... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Perron, Thomas S. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Whitinsville, MA
Phillips, John A. Jr. ..... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Wilmette, IL
Piercy, George W. ......... USN .... HMC .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Mt. Savage, MD
Plymel, Clyde W. .......... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Merritt, FL
Pollard, William H. ....... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Pomalestorres, Rafael I. .. USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Prevatt, Victor M. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Columbus, GA
Price, James C. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Attala, AL
Prindeville, Patrick K. ... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Gainesville, FL
Pulliam, Eric A. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. E. St. Louis, IL
Quirante, Diomedes J. ..... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. RP .. Calcoocan City, RP
Randolph, David M. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. AZ .. Siloam Springs, AZ
Ray, Charles R. ........... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Relvas, Rui A. ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Rich, Terrence L. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
Richardson, Warren ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
Rodriguez, Juan C. ........ USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Miami, FL
Rotondo, Louis J. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Sanpedro, Guillermo Jr. ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Hialeah, FL
Sauls, Michael C. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Waterboro, SC
Schnorf, Charles J. ....... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Schultz, Scott L. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Keeseville, NY
Scialabba, Peter J. ....... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Moorehead City, NC
Scott, Gary R. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Rankin, IL
Shallo, Ronald L. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Hudson, NY
Shipp, Thomas A. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Shropshire, Jerryl D. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Macon, GA
Silvia, James F. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Portsmouth, RI
Sliwinski, Stanley J. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Niles, OH
Smith, Kirk H. ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Miami, FL
Smith, Thomas G. .......... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Middletown, CT
Smith, Vincent L. ......... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Soares, Edward ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Tiverton, RI
Sommerhof, William S. ..... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Springfield, IL
Spaulding, Michael C. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Akron, OH
Spearing, John W. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Lancaster, PA
Spencer, Stephen E. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Portsmouth, RI
Stelpflug, Bill J. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Auburn, AL
Stephens, Horace R. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Capitol Heights, MD
Stockton, Craig S. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Rochester, NY
Stokes, Jeffrey G. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Waynesboro, GA
Stowe, Thomas D. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Sturghill, Eric D. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Chicago, IL
Sundar, Devon L. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Standford, CT
Surch, James F. Jr. ....... USN .... LT ..... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Lompoc, CA
Thompson, Dennis A. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Bronx, NY
Thorstad, Thomas P. ....... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Chesterton, IN
Tingley, Stephen D. ....... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Ellington, CT
Tishmack, John J. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Minneapolis, MN
Trahan, Lex D. ............ USMC ... PVT .... 10/23/1983 .. LA .. Lafayette, LA
Vallone, Donald H. Jr. .... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Palmdale, CA
Walker, Eric R. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Chicago, IL
Walker, Leonard W. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Dothan, AL
Washington, Eric G. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Alexandria, VA
Weekes, Obrian ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
Wells, Tandy W. ........... USMC ... 1stSGT . 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Wentworth, Steven B. ...... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Reading, PA
Wesley, Allen D. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
West, Lloyd D. ............ USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Weyl, John R. ............. USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Wherland, Burton D. Jr. ... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Wigglesworth, Dwayne W. ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Naugatuck, CT
Williams, Rodney J. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Opa Locka, FL
Williams, Scipio Jr. ...... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Charleston, SC
Williamson, Johnny A. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Asheboro, NC
Wint, Walter E. Jr. ....... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Wilkes-Barre, PA
Winter, William E. ........ USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Fripp Island, SC
Wolfe, John E. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. AZ .. Phoenix, AZ
Woollett, Donald E. ....... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. OK .. Barthesville, OK
Worley, David E. .......... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Wyche, Craig L. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Jamaica, NY
Yarber, James G. .......... USA .... SFC .... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Vacaville, CA
Young, Jeffrey D. ......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Moorestown, NJ
Zimmerman, William A. ..... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Grand Haven, MI
Townsend, Henry Jr. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 12/02/1983 .. AL .. Montgomery, AL
Biddle, Shannon D. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. AL .. Valley Head, AL
Cherman, Sam .............. USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. NY .. Queens, NY
Cox, Manuel A. ............ USMC ... SGT .... 12/04/1983 .. NJ .. Union City, NJ
Daugherty, David L. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. OH .. Eastlake,OH
Evans, Thomas A. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. MT .. Conrad, MT
Hattaway, Jeffrey T. ...... USMC ... PFC .... 12/04/1983 .. FL .. Pensacola, FL
Kraft, Todd A. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. ND .. Devilslake, ND
Lange, Mark A. ............ USN .... LT .... 12/04/1983 .. MI .. Fraser, MI
Perkins, Marvin H. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. TN .. Franklin, TN
Gargano, Edward J. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 01/08/1984 .. MA .. Quincy, MA
Dramis, George L. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 01/30/1984 .. NJ .. Cape May Court House, NJ
*Hernandez, Rodolfo ....... USMC ... - ...... 01/30/1984 .. TX ..El Paso, TX (see below footnote)
Butler, Alfred III ........ USMC ... CAPT ... 02/09/1984 .. FL .. Cocoa Beach, FL
Wagner, Michael ........... USN .... IS1 .... 09/20/1984 .. NC .. Zebulon,, NC
Welch, Kenneth ............ USA .... WO2 .... 09/20/1984 .. MI .. Grand Rapids, MI
*Hendrickson, John ........ USMC ... - ...... 04/13/1990 .. - .. (see below footnote)
*Simpson, Larry H. Jr. .... USMC ... - ...... 08/31/1992 .. - .. (see below footnote)
Hasenfus, Michael ......... USA .... CPL .... 10/20/1984 .. MA .. Dedham, MA
Stethem, Robert D. ........ USN .... SW2 .... 06/15/1985 .. MD .. Waldorf, MD
Higgins, William R. ....... USMC ... COL .... 07/06/1990 .. KY .. Louisville, KY
*Still checking on the following to confirm information:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE NOTE: The symbol ' - ' denotes unknown to this web author, and does not
mean that the information is unknown to the Department of Defense.
*Rivers, Paul . ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
(Listed in article, but his name is not on DOD list, but was in a
2/84 "Leatherneck" magazine article list. Later, it was confirmed by several eye witnesses that he did in fact survive the blast and is living.)
*Hernandez, Rodolfo ........ USMC ... - ...... 01/31/1984 .. DOD - NOT IN LEBANON EVENT (Although the DoD Graves database lhas him listed as not died in Lebanon, but he was wounded on 30 Jan 84 and died weeks later in Germany as a result of wounds.
Some references list him as being wounded 30 Jan and others 31 Jan, but it is
believed he died on 08 Feb 1984 in a German hospital.)
Hendrickson, John ......... USMC ... - ...... 04/13/1990 .. DOD - NOT IN LEBANON EVENT
Simpson, Larry H. Jr. ..... USMC ... - ...... 08/31/1992 .. DOD - NOT IN LEBANON EVENT
(Last 3 on one database, but not on DOD list as being in Lebanon)
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed as a "positive step" the agreement by Hezbollah cabinet members to seek an immediate cease-fire that would include the disarming of militias.
In Beirut, Hezbollah politicians signed on to a proposed peace package earlier Saturday that includes strengthening an international force in south Lebanon and disarming the guerrillas, the government said. The agreement, reached at a cabinet meeting, was the first time Hezbollah had agreed to a proposal for ending the crisis that includes the deploying of international forces.
"They're lying!"
"How can you tell?"
"Their lips are moving!"
Speaking to reporters en route to Jerusalem, Rice also praised powerless and ineffective Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora for persuading Hezbollah to agree. "The most important thing that this does for the process is that it shows a Lebanese government that is functioning as a Lebanese government," Rice told reporters traveling with her. "That is in and of itself extremely important."
Criminy, the things a diplomat has to do.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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I'll believe it when I see it. And I ain't holding my breath.
Umno Youth will release a list of brands and international companies with operations in Malaysia that are known to be supporting the Israeli regime financially. Deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the move was to inform the public of the brands and companies so that they could either boycott or remain as their clients.
Speaking to reporters after presenting a working paper at an Umno entrepreneurial seminar at Teluk Batik near here Saturday, he said the movement did not want to launch a boycott campaign as it had been ineffective in the past.
"I will suggest that we distribute a list of the companies which are clear Israeli supporters according to their profits so that we are aware of who are helping Israel," he said. He said the people should be informed of these companies so that they could use their right as consumers whether they wanted to continue using their products.
Khairy said the movement Friday received an e-mail on an international coffee shop chain allegedly supporting Israel and sending funds to the zionist regime. He said if there was truth to the claim, the people must be told so they could make their own assessment whether they wanted to continue supporting the company which has a chain of shops in the country.
Khairy also said Umno Youth would continue with its protest against the Israeli atrocities by holding demonstrations throughout the country. He said it was important for Malaysians to continue voicing their protest against Israeli aggression on Palestine and Lebanon.
Khairy and Perak Umno Youth chief Zainol Fadzi Paharudin later led some 500 of the movement's members to hold a demonstration near the seminar venue to condemn Israel.
#1
Article: Khairy said the movement Friday received an e-mail on an international coffee shop chain allegedly supporting Israel and sending funds to the zionist regime.
This chain is Starbucks. Maybe we need to circulate a list of Malaysian Muslim companies so that Americans can decide whether they want to do business with them.
I'd like to see a list of Israeli consumer products sold in America - so I can make a point of supporting them.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2006 0:24
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US-Malaysia 2005 trade:
US imports $33,685.2 billion
US exports $10,460.8 billion
US deficit $23,224.3 billion
US trade decifit is 8.0% of Malaysia's GDP. Using standard multipliers, the US trade deficit contributes to 24-32 of their economy. Time to zero out that figure.
Posted by: ed ||
07/30/2006 1:17
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Umno youth probably don't consider that they live in a glass economy before they started throwing stones. But I doubt this will get much if any MSM coverage. Sigh.
#5
Umno Youth has been the successful bully boys locally. It wants to export that role overseas....against the US mainly, of course. It's gonna hurt you more than it hurts anyone else, ye morons of the fascist genre!
KABUL - NATOs expansion into southern Afghanistan will target drug warlords who are the root cause of growing violence, the forces commander said on Saturday. NATO will embark on the biggest mission in its history on Monday when it takes over security from the US-led coalition in six southern provinces, extending its authority to almost all of the country.
British Lieutenant-General David Richards said he hoped to see improvements in the south within three to six months, which would allow the 26-nation alliance to proceed with the final phase of its deployment into the east by the end of the year.
Richards told a news conference in Kabul that the violence was inextricably linked to drugs. Essentially for the last four years some very brutal people have been developing their little fiefdoms down there and exporting a lot of opium to the rest of the world, he said. That very evil trade is being threatened by the NATO expansion in the south. This is a very noble cause were engaged in and we have to liberate the people from that scourge of those warlords.
We do not want to target the farmers. Those people are in debt because of the drug barons, Richards said.
Richards said the key elements of NATOs new role in the south, with the backing of up to 9,000 troops from 37 countries, would be to provide security to foster development, reconstruction and good governance. This will enable an alternative economy to that offered by the drug barons to develop, he said. (But) they are going to fight very hard to keep what theyve got, said Richards. I am not trying to achieve instant victory because I cant do that. Within three to six months I think well have a very clear idea (of how we are progressing).
I think this is a misguided pipe dream but what do I know? I don't see how you can wean farmers away from growing poppies, as there just isn't any other crop that generates this kind of profit potential. The farmers sure won't make a living growing soybeans. But I don't have any suggestions on how to do things better.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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#1
Why can't they convert a few KC-10's into cropdusters and just go ape? There must be a reason or they would have done it by now.
#2
MMmmmm, I remember a TV special on just how Opium is Grown, they slit the buds with razors and scrape off the hardened sap a few dys later, that sap is the Opium.
Crop Dusters with weed killer would work, but it's a short range solution, a hundred miles or so range per crop duster, makes it pretty easy to attack the airplane some night and burn it, desperate Farmers would not hesitate to destroy the plane.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 10:19
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BAIDOA, Somalia (AP) - Somalia's prime minister on Saturday accused Egypt, Libya and Iran of providing weapons for Islamic militants who have seized control of much of this country's south. "Egypt, Libya and Iran, whom we thought were friends, are engaged in fueling the conflict in Somalia by supporting the terrorists," Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi said, citing unnamed sources within his government.
You have a strange idea of what makes a friend.
"We call for the international community to put pressure on these countries who want the problems in Somalia to continue," Gedi said.
'cause that'll be all it takes, some good old-fashioned international pressure.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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#1
Hmm. We'll think about it. Last time we were there we got bit.
#2
"We call for the international community to put pressure on these countries
Cause if we did it ourself, we might get our hands dirty, and then they wouldn't like us anymore. (Pout/Whine)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 10:32
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Your reading this all wrong. This is the PM of the helpless govt in Baldoa speaking. They are surrounded by the Islamimic Army of Evil that has taken over most of the country and are in fact being aided by the countries mentioned. The Islamist death worshipers have about taken over most of Africa, and are know trying to make inroad in India, and will shortly make thier presences felt in the in Europe and the America's(including the USA).
This is the final war against evil, and it will unfortunitaly come to our shores before we all will recognize it as the evil it is.
I will not bow down to Islam. Give me Liberty or Death.
NABLUS, West Bank - Israeli troops killed a top leader of the radical Islamic Jihad in a West Bank raid Saturday, the group said, and the Israelis pressed ahead with their offensive in the Gaza Strip. Islamic Jihad said the leader of its militant wing in Nablus, Hani Awijan, 29, was killed by Israeli undercover troops. They came to arrest him while he was playing soccer with friends and relatives, the group said. Another Islamic Jihad militant was also killed.
So long Hani, and say 'hi' to Yassar and Himmler for us.
The army confirmed soldiers operated in Nablus and said a militant was killed in an exchange of fire.
"You'll never — Ow! Ow! Ouch! — take me — Aaaaiiiieeee! — alive, coppers!"
Israel Radio said Awijan was responsible for a series of attacks on Israelis. Over the past 17 months, Islamic Jihad has been responsible for all 12 suicide bombing attacks in Israel, killing 71 people. Islamic Jihad announced Awijan's death from mosque loudspeakers.
"Attention in the West Bank! Hani Awijan is dead! That is all!"
"Wot? Wot's that? Dead, y'say?"
"Deader'n a brick. That is all."
As news of the raid spread through Nablus, large crowds gathered and seethed. Militants made faces burned tires in the streets and rolled their eyes called for a general strike in the city. Shops were quickly closed.
"Get the shutters down, Fatima, the militants are seething again!"
"How they gonna have a strike? They got no jobs not to go to!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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#1
Celebrate good times, come on! It's a celebration
Celebrate good times, come on! Let's celebrate
#9
Dead Islamic Jihad leader works for me. Go IDF! It is almost comforting how these terrorist nitwits never realize how the 6:1 loss of life ratio favoring the Israelis just isn't going to pay off for them in the long run. What it amounts to is a long, slow and thorough chlorinating of the terrorist meme carrying gene pool. Good riddance.
In news accounts she's been called "the pregnant lady."
People close to her say she would be a bit miffed by such a clipped, if apropos, moniker.
Let's call Dayna Klein something else: Seattle hero.
Klein, who survived being shot by a gunman who forced his way into the downtown offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle on Friday, is actually a hero twice over.
When the gunman, identified as Naveed Afzal Haq, fired a semi-automatic her way, Klein moved her arm toward her womb in an act of maternal defense.The bullet struck her arm, authorities say, likely preventing possible harm from coming to her unborn child.
That was the first heroic act.
Her second came when Klein defied Haq. As Haq scanned the office space he warned terrified people not to call 911. But "that's what she did," Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said, referring to Klein.
Klein, 37, crawled back to an office in the building. She got on a phone. She dialed emergency dispatchers.
Haq caught up with her -- and saw her on the phone. Klein didn't panic.
With amazing presence of mind she handed Haq the phone so that he could speak with two 911 dispatchers. The dispatchers took the handoff smoothly and handled a tense situation with aplomb.
"I listened to the tape," Kerlikowske said Saturday afternoon. "I was absolutely stunned by their level of calmness and coolness."
The actions of the dispatchers are being credited with influencing Haq, who had expressed anger about Israel's involvement in the Middle East and about American military support of the country.
The volley of bullets he loosed inside the Jewish Federation killed one person -- Pam Waechter -- and injured five others, including Klein. His terrible act could have exacted a worse toll. Eighteen people were inside the building when Haq burst in.
The names of the emergency dispatchers should be made public when the timing is right. Their soothing professionalism eased Haq's rage.
Haq told the dispatchers he would surrender. He put down his weapon and walked out of the building. The dispatchers are heroes, too, as Kerlikowske acknowledged.
But they would not have gotten the chance to do their jobs had it not been for the bravery of Klein, who heads up major gifts and development for the federation.
She saved lives.
That's one miracle to emerge from this mayhem.
Another is around the corner, when Klein brings a new life into the world.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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Deserves its own post, but Haq hid behind a potted plant and then held his gun to the head of a 13-year old girl to force his way in.
#5
Fabrizio Quattrocchi is the Italian hero who told the Iraqi/Al Qaeda headchoppers he would show them how a real man dies, and did so well they never showed the video, 2b.
#6
Wells Crowther worked in the twin towers and made 3 trips back in to help rescue victims from the 78th floor skylobby in Tower 2 on September 11th. A trained firefighter, Crowther was still assisting the evacuation when the tower collapsed.
A Turkish military unit entered northern Iraq earlier this week, with the aim of launching an operation against members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who have found shelter in the mountainous region; however, the unit left the region a short time later, according to separate reports by different agencies based in Arbil and Ankara. The unit crossed Iraq's borders near the village of Kveste -- the nearest town is Amediye, 45 miles northeast of the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk -- on Wednesday night, an online news agency based in Arbil, known as the media organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), reported, citing unidentified sources. The same sources noted that no confrontations or pursuit took place and that the Turkish military unit left the region after a few hours, the Peyamner News Agency reported.
The report came at a time when Turkey, responding to a mounting campaign of PKK violence that has left 15 security personnel dead in three days in southeastern Anatolia, had urged U.S. and Iraqi authorities to act, warning that otherwise it would carry out a cross-border operation inside Iraqi territory. The same incident was also reported by the Ankara-based ANKA news agency, citing a report by The Voice of Iraq, a private radio station based in Baghdad.
Fahmi Sofi, assistant commander of the KDP forces, told the radio station that an approximately 200-strong Turkish unit entered northern Iraq on Wednesday afternoon and moved towards Dohuk. Village guards accompanied the military unit as it penetrated two kilometers into Iraq, he said, and added that they left the region after a few hours. Earlier this week, in an apparent response to Ankara, which has recently stepped up warnings it could militarily intervene in northern Iraq, Massoud Barzani, head of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, said that they would consider a possible intervention by Turkey in northern Iraq as "an attack on our soil."
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#1
Most likely the Kurds made a phone call to Washington, who made a phone call to Istanbul.
However, you can't discount the possibility that some Turkish officer took one look at the situation and said FTS, they are too far over too much rough terrain for this unit. If they ain't here, I'm not gonna bet that they are over the next mountain.
#2
"I stepped over the li-ine. I stepped over the li-ine. Neerner neener!"
"Uh, Yippie? This is George. You lookin' to lose more o' that Ottoman thing you usta have? Look, I said we'd try to he'p you out and here you're gettin' all twitchy and stupid. Do that again without my say so son and you'll be wonderin' where the Hell those soljers you sent down there got off to. You get my drift? These here Kurdish fellas want a seaport and here you're diggin' the ditch for 'em. Put it back in your pants, if'n ya wanna keep it, that is."
#3
Probably for the best. It might be they had several low flyovers by our USAF and Navy Pilots. A sonic boom at low altitudes does wonders to get the point across.
Posted by: Charles ||
07/30/2006 3:36
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I understand that Turkey goes after Kurdish terrorist groups that attack it over their border and retreat back to Iraq. They never stay for long, it's usually a hot-pursuit thing. I doubt that I would blame them if this is the case. And I doubt that Bush cares one way or the other as long as it doesn't go much beyond hot pursuit or small preemptive actions.
#5
Thise Elm.. you nailed that. While it's easy to understand that Turkey wants to defend themselves against PKK terrorists, and we'd all like to think that it won't go much beyond hot pursuit or small preemptive actions...that's just not the reality of what the little yippie dog (with his delusions of being the one who gets to wear the bejeweled turban) has in mind. A new front in the WOT has just been opened.
#6
The Turks have maintained troops inside Iraq, as much as several miles, since before Saddam was ousted. There was / is a Turk special forces unit headquartered in Kirkuk or Mosul, not sure which.
Both the former and current Iraqi government lack[ed] the ability to do anything about it.
PRAGUE, July 28, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has ordered the Abkhaz government in exile to move from Tbilisi to the Kodori Gorge. The move is a bold step toward restoring central control over the breakaway province. The Kodori Gorge, a remote mountain valley in the northeast of Abkhazia, is the only part of the province still controlled by the Georgian authorities. Most of Abkhazia has been ruled independently of Tbilisi since achieving de facto independence in 1993.
By ridding the Kodori Gorge of Emzar Kvitsiani's rebel militia so quickly and with so little loss, the Georgian authorities had passed an important test, he declared on national television July 27. The operation had been a "huge success."
The strategic significance of the gorge is enormous for Georgia -- it cuts down into the heart of the breakaway province of Abkhazia -- but its use to Tbilisi depends on the loyalty of the local administration. By turning Kodori into a private fiefdom, Kvitsiani, a former government official, turned a strategic advantage into a strategic liability.
Saakashvili has been so quick to use this week's military success to seize the political initiative. Today he ordered the Abkhaz government in exile, which is recognized and supported by Georgia, to move its offices from Tbilisi to Kodori. "We have decided to move the [representatives] of the Abkhaz government to the Kodori Gorge, where they will exercise the full jurisdiction of the Georgian authorities and take full control of the territory, normalize life, and begin reconstruction work," Saakashvili said on national television.
He also signaled to the Abkhaz separatist authorities in Sukhumi that Georgia intends to maintain a much more aggressive presence in Kodori than it has in the past. "For the first time since 1993, a government emerges -- a government enters the territory of our Abkhazia that will exercise full Georgian jurisdiction and maintain Georgia's constitutional order in the very middle of Abkhazia, on a very important part of Abkhaz territory," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Medicine, food and other humanitarian relief piled up in Beirut on Saturday, with only a trickle making it to the tens of thousands of Lebanese trapped in the war zone in the south. The help has been slowed by the difficult logistics of arranging safe passage during Israeli airstrikes, which have blasted close to the few truck convoys that have made the dangerous drive so far.
No aid trucks have been hit, but artillery shells fell within hundreds of yards of convoys from the international Red Thingy Cross, United Nations and other agencies this week, officials said. Doctors Without Borders was using taxis to transport supplies because ambulances had been targeted, spokesman Sergio Cecchini said Saturday.
Wonder why the IDF targets ambulances? Anyone there have any ideas? Any institutional memories? Any sense of history?
Israel has promised safe passage for aid, but it's done on a convoy-by-convoy basis and often requires 72-hour notice, officials said. Israel said it brought a U.N. observer into an Israeli military control room Saturday to help oversee the transfer of aid.
Meanwhile, Israeli missiles struck near the main Lebanese border crossing into Syria late Saturday, forcing its closure for the first time in the 18-day conflict. The passage has been a gateway for aid entering the country by land.
And for guns and ammo for the Hezbies, but the WaPo reporter neglects to mention that. Must have slipped her mind with the deadline approaching.
#2
Well the lebanase know how to riot at least. They just stormed the UN HQ in Beirut. Still laughing my ass off.
Posted by: Charles ||
07/30/2006 5:42
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Wonder why the IDF targets ambulances? Anyone there have any ideas?
Yep, Hisbollah uses them to move men, arms and ammo feeling it's safe.
After all "Nobody" hits an Ambulance, (Except the Hisbollah,Of course, and their reasons are "Pure")
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 10:48
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#4
a Paleo tactic learned by Hezb
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 11:11
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#5
Hey Frank glad to see you're Back!
How was the binge fishing trip?
»:-)
Posted by: Al Gore ||
07/30/2006 11:58
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#6
excellent! batteries recharged... :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2006 12:12
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An Israel Air Force aircraft bombed the homes of two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, wounding two people, witnesses said. One missile struck the house of the leader of the Popular Resistance Committees in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza, the coalition of militants said. Flying debris and glass wounded the militant's brother and sister-in-law in a neighboring house.
Israel had warned the Popular Resistance leader to leave his home half an hour before the strike, the witnesses said. "It was a facility used to store weaponry," an Israel Defense Forces
spokeswoman said, confirming the attack.
Awfully nice to warn him. I wouldn't have.
In a separat strike a little over an hour earlier, an IAF aircraft fired a missile into a house in a Hamas stronghold in Gaza City, but there were no casualties, Palestinian witnesses said. Witnesses said the Hamas member had received a warning call from the Israel Defense Forces shortly before the attack and evacuated his family and alerted his neighbors. The house was destroyed but nobody was hurt.
Another warning? Who's running the IDF today, Barney the Purple Dinosaur?
An IDF spokeswoman confirmed an air strike had targeted a structure used by Islamic militant group Hamas, which controls the Palestinian government, without elaborating.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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I wanted to post this link too, because I find it incredible to see that the strange leaders of Israel now think that they have to warn terrorists before destroying their homes where they are no more thanks to these warnings!!!
How can they hope to destroy Hamas, if they help Hamas terrorists to escape elimination ?
There is something weird in this behaviour.
Has Israel became a "SOS-Terrorists" charitable organization ?
#2
This just can't be true. You'll never get anywhere doing this before every action. This is not the IDF that I have come to know and love. But then I thought:
Two choices:
1) The IDF is run by Barney the Purple Dinosaur and this is the way things will be from now on.
2) These guys or someone who knew them were informants and this was part of the deal.
Feel free to copy and distribute this as much as you wish.
#3
Proportionate response. PRC has been threatening to join in with the active attacks going on right now. IAF a) is warning them not to and b) is destroying some of the materiel.
In order to have international willingness to tolerate their campaign against Hezb and Hamas, Israel has to not obviously be bombing the hell out of everyone. This sort of action demonstrates proportionality, which is keeping the Euros more or less quiet during the last two weeks.
The General Staff announced yesterday that an investigation has been launched into a retired general who said he had ordered bomb attacks in southeastern Anatolia during his assignment to the region to 'train' civil servants working there.
Retired Gen. Altay Tokat told the news weekly Aktüel that he ordered bombs to be thrown near the homes of two civil servants in the region in what he described as a move to intimidate them and make them understand the gravity of the situation. "The civil servants, the judges who come from western Turkey, do not realize how serious the situation is [in the Southeast]. ... They walk around without a care, do what they want," the magazine quoted him as saying.
Tokat, now a member of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), served in southeastern Anatolia between 1995 and 1998 at the height of a separatist campaign at the hands of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the region.
The remarks were not the first time that soldiers were under suspicion of carrying out attacks in southeastern Anatolia. In November, two gendarmerie officers tossed a grenade into a bookstore owned by former PKK member Seferi Yýlmaz in the town of Þemdinli near the Iraqi border. Yýlmaz survived and chased down his attackers, who turned out to be noncommissioned officers with suspected ties to top generals. A court last month sentenced the two noncommissioned officers to nearly 40 years in prison for trying to kill Yýlmaz, who had been jailed on charges of membership in the PKK. But Prosecutor Ferhat Sarýkaya, who implicated Land Forces Commander Gen. Yaþar Büyükanýt in the indictment, has been sacked. Sarýkaya appealed the decision for a second time after his initial request was turned down.
In an article published by the Arabic website of the Chechen Mujahideen, alqoqaz.com on Friday, July 28.20.06, the Mujahideen state that less than four hours Putin's announcement of the end of the war in Chechnya, a powerful Russian army battalion met its fatal destiny. The group then claims responsibility for a surprise operation near the village of Efteri (Avturi) led by the commander, Abu Hafs, destroying three trucks and burning many vehicles.
They state: "The Russians confessed to this operation and its fierceness and said that the loss of soldiers was ten killed and twenty-five injured only. The important thing is that the Mujahideen could, with the Grace of God, respond practically to Putin's statements and to prove his lies in front of the general Russian public opinion."
In addition, the Chechen Mujahideen announce that they eliminated a hypocrite who abetted Russian forces and harmed Chechen civilians, by detonating an improvised explosive device (IED) on him and his guards in the area of Shali.
At this point it's starting to look like the actual Chechens are hanging it up, while the Arabs continue with the war, professing nominal allegiance to Count Dooku, no doubt. I don't think that's going to be a terribly sustainable state of affairs — but who's sure, given the reliability of reporting from both sides?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2006
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When does China, Russia, India and America get together and declare: jihadis may be fought by any means necessary? Use of Napalm and shoot on sight license, would pull the steel out of terrorist backbones. As I write, Hizbollah supporters have attacked the Prime Minister of Australia. What the hell is the point of declaring Hizbollah a terrorist organization, while allowing its supporters to engage in violence?
South Africa is not a safe place to go on holiday - it's official. Major Western countries are warning their clients and citizens that a holiday here could be very dangerous and now international insurance companies are acting as cautionary choruses to prospective tourists.
Norwich Union, an insurance company in the United Kingdom, undertook a survey based on their clients' travel insurance claims and found South Africa to be at the top of the list of countries for serious crime. The survey said travellers to South Africa were the most likely to suffer violent robberies or lose their belongings in transit. South Africa has been earmarked as the country where tourists' luggage goes missing most often and where the most crimes take place. South Africa was also high on the list for food poisoning and road accidents.
'South Africa was highest for claims made as a result of robbery with violence'
Continued on Page 49
"Road accidents" my aching arss, read that car and bakkie jackings - mind the new road signage. They're just setting the stage for a Zimbob-lite takeover. In another 5-10 years there won't be enough whites left in Jhb for a good poker game.
#2
The survey said travellers to South Africa were the most likely to suffer violent robberies or lose their belongings in transit.
Wishful thinking I know, but Issue small hand grenades to be (Professionaly) put in all passengers luggage, wired to the lock, if opened anyway except with the proper key "BOOM".
Shortly, no more missing luggage, a self-curing problem, all the thieves are now dead.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/30/2006 11:22
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Jim:
The gummit over there could stop the crime, car-jackings, genecidal farm murders (an untold story). They're using crime to rid the country of the undesirables, and speed up the exodus. It's all very well orchestrated, all very tribal African I'm afraid.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian state radio said Saturday that the government would reject a proposed U.N. resolution that would give it until Aug. 31 to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of international sanctions. "Iranians will not accept unfair decisions, even in the framework of resolutions by the international bodies," the commentary on state-run radio said.
There has been no official comment to the draft resolution, but state radio often is thought to provide the Iranian government line. "Ultimatum and deadline cannot be acceptable to us," the commentary said, accusing the United States and its allies of making what it called an illegal demand.
The commentary also said the draft might not be approved because of opposition by China.
Tehran said last week it would reply Aug. 22 to a Western incentive package, but the council decided to go ahead with a resolution and not wait for Iran's response.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2006
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Aw, you had to go and spoil the surprise. Sheesh.
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.
He was 5 when he first fired an M-16, his father holding him to brace against the recoil. At 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, spurred by the memory of 9/11. Now, 21-year-old Galen Wilson has 20 confirmed kills in four months in Iraq and another 40 shots that probably killed insurgents. One afternoon the lance corporal downed a man hauling a grenade launcher five-and-a-half football fields away. Wilson is the designated marksman in a company of Marines based in downtown Ramadi, watching over what Marines call the most dangerous neighborhood in the most dangerous city in the world. Here, Sunni Arab insurgents are intent on toppling the local government protected by Marines.
U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan police killed 20 suspected Taliban in the latest fighting to hit southern Afghanistan, as NATO on Sunday prepared to take command in the insurgency-wracked region. 
The images include one of a group of men and youths preparing to fire an anti-aircraft gun metres from an apartment block with sheets hanging out on a balcony to dry. Others show a militant with AK47 rifle guarding no-go zones after Israeli blitzes. Another depicts the remnants of a Hezbollah Katyusha rocket in the middle of a residential block blown up in an Israeli air attack.
Lebanese protesters broke into the U.N. headquarters in Beirut on Sunday, smashing windows and ransacking offices, after an Israeli air strike killed 54 people in south Lebanon. Several thousand people massed outside the building in downtown Beirut chanting "Death to Israel, death to America. We sacrifice our blood and souls for Lebanon." 
The youngest son of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has joined the Marine Corps and could be deployed to a war zone in a matter of months, according to a magazine report. Jimmy McCain, 18, will begin basic training in September. He'll spend three months in boot camp and undergo a month of specialized training before being assigned to a unit.
Hizbullah's top commander in southern Lebanon is a veteran Fatah operative who was very close to former Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat when the PLO was based in Beirut, Fatah officials said over the weekend. They identified the man as 
In an ironic twist to India's long-standing complaint of terror camps existing on its soil, Pakistan on Saturday said it has given a list of terrorist training camps in India and expected New Delhi to dismantle them. "We have given the list (of terrorist training camps) to India and we would expect India to dismantle them," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson 
THE governing Palestinian movement Hamas has vowed to carry out attacks on Israel that could include suicide bombings in response to an Israeli air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana that killed at least 51 civilians. "In the face of this open war against the Arab and Muslim nations all options are open, including striking the depth of the Zionist entity," Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas MP, told Reuters. 
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Millions of Congolese will vote on Sunday in historic elections aimed at ending years of war and chaos in the heart of Africa and protected by the world's biggest U.N. peacekeeping force.
France has drawn up a draft UN Security Council resolution that would call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Israel and Lebanon and prepare for the deployment of an international force. The document, distributed to the 15 Security Council members on Saturday, anticipates a draft resolution the United States is planning that would place up to 20,000 peacekeepers along Lebanon's borders with Israel and with Syria.
Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei received here Saturday afternoon visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his accompanying delegation. In the meeting, the Supreme Leader said the whole Islamic world and Arab nations as well as the free nations of the world support Lebanese Hezbollah and due to the brave resistance of the group against the US and the Zionist regime, their leader has become a very popular character in the Arab and Islamic world.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meets with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at his Jerusalem residence Saturday night; Rice reveals initial plans for international peacekeeping force: France, Lebanese army to take part, and will also guard Syria-Lebanon border. Leaders agree diplomatic agreement dependant on release of kidnapped soldiers 
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The presidents of Iran and Venezuela, leading U.S. critics, pledged Saturday to support one another in disputes with Washington. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, said he saw in the Venezuelan president a kindred spirit. "I feel I have met a brother and trench mate after meeting Chavez," the state-run Iranian television quoted Ahmedinejad.
An unmanned Israeli military drone crashed into the mountains near Beirut on Friday, state-run Lebanese media reported. An Israeli warplane then pounded the area and destroyed the crashed drone, said the reports.
The Taepodong-2 long-range missile test-fired by North Korea on July 5 broke up and fell back to earth just after its launch, making its flight much shorter than previously believed, media reports said on Sunday. The Japanese government had previously said the Taepodong-2 fell into the Sea of Japan about 640 km (400 miles) from the launch site.
SCOTLAND YARD has placed one of its Muslim officers on restricted duties while it investigates intelligence that he may have attended a terror camp linked to Al-Qaeda in Pakistan. The policeman who firmly denies the allegations is said by police sources to be one of three Muslim officers questioned in a Yard search for terror sleeper cells in its ranks.
Baghdad, Jul. 28 Members of the Kurdish rebel group PKK have killed five Iranian soldiers in the northwest of the country, Kurdistan Television reported on Thursday. The clashed took place near the town of Qaleh Rash in Iranian Kurdistan Province. Three other soldiers were injured, according to the report.
Tehran, Iran, Jul. 29 Iran will soon launch new womens only parks in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran. The City Islamic Council in Qom announced that it had put forward a plan to segregate four of the citys parks.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the region Saturday night for the start of another round of shuttle diplomacy between Jerusalem and Beirut, aiming to push a diplomatic solution for ending the war in Lebanon. Rice met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Saturday night in private. She will depart for Lebanon Sunday and will decide following meetings there whether to return to Israel for more talks.
SEATTLE - The man suspected in a fatal shooting rampage hid behind a potted plant in a Jewish charity's foyer and forced his way through a security door by holding a gun to a 13-year-old girl's head, authorities said Saturday. Once inside, police say, 
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed as a "positive step" the agreement by Hezbollah cabinet members to seek an immediate cease-fire that would include the disarming of militias.
Umno Youth will release a list of brands and international companies with operations in Malaysia that are known to be supporting the Israeli regime financially. Deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the move was to inform the public of the brands and companies so that they could either boycott or remain as their clients.
BAIDOA, Somalia (AP) - Somalia's prime minister on Saturday accused Egypt, Libya and Iran of providing weapons for Islamic militants who have seized control of much of this country's south. "Egypt, Libya and Iran, whom we thought were friends, are engaged in fueling the conflict in Somalia by supporting the terrorists," Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi said, citing unnamed sources within his government. 
A Turkish military unit entered northern Iraq earlier this week, with the aim of launching an operation against members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who have found shelter in the mountainous region; however, the unit left the region a short time later, according to separate reports by different agencies based in Arbil and Ankara. The unit crossed Iraq's borders near the village of Kveste -- the nearest town is Amediye, 45 miles northeast of the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk -- on Wednesday night, an online news agency based in Arbil, known as the media organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), reported, citing unidentified sources. The same sources noted that no confrontations or pursuit took place and that the Turkish military unit left the region after a few hours, the Peyamner News Agency reported.
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Medicine, food and other humanitarian relief piled up in Beirut on Saturday, with only a trickle making it to the tens of thousands of Lebanese trapped in the war zone in the south. The help has been slowed by the difficult logistics of arranging safe passage during Israeli airstrikes, which have blasted close to the few truck convoys that have made the dangerous drive so far.
An Israel Air Force aircraft bombed the homes of two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, wounding two people, witnesses said. One missile struck the house of the leader of the Popular Resistance Committees in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza, the coalition of militants said. Flying debris and glass wounded the militant's brother and sister-in-law in a neighboring house.
South Africa is not a safe place to go on holiday - it's official. Major Western countries are warning their clients and citizens that a holiday here could be very dangerous and now international insurance companies are acting as cautionary choruses to prospective tourists. 
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian state radio said Saturday that the government would reject a proposed U.N. resolution that would give it until Aug. 31 to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of international sanctions. "Iranians will not accept unfair decisions, even in the framework of resolutions by the international bodies," the commentary on state-run radio said. 
