An extremist Islamic cleric based in Britain said yesterday that he would support hostage-taking at British schools if carried out by terrorists with a just cause. Omar Bakri Mohammed, the spiritual leader of the extremist sect al-Muhajiroun, said that holding women and children hostage would be a reasonable course of action for a Muslim who has suffered under British rule.
Just the sort of garbage you expect to come out of his mouth...
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Mohammed said: "If an Iraqi Muslim carried out an attack like that in Britain, it would be justified because Britain has carried out acts of terrorism in Iraq. As long as the Iraqi did not deliberately kill women and children, and they were killed in the crossfire, that would be okay."
Yeah. But it wasn't Iraqis, the the hard boyz did deliberately kill women and children. And Britain's never occupied North Ossetia.
Easy for the women and children to be killed in the crossfire when they're being used as shields.
Mr Mohammed, 44, who lives in Edmonton, north London, but is originally from Syria, also claimed that the Chechen rebels were not responsible for the deaths of more than 350 people - at least half of them children - who are so far known to have died in Beslan. "The Mujahideen [Chechen rebels] would not have wanted to kill those people, because it is strictly forbidden as a Muslim to deliberately kill women and children. It is the fault of the Russians," he said.
It wasn't the Russers who took them hostage...
The father of seven came to Britain in 1985 after being deported from Saudi Arabia because of his membership of a banned group. He has since been given leave by the Home Office to remain in Britain for five years but the Government is reviewing his status.
Since he's a boil on the British backside, I'd say deport him. But for some reason they don't listen to me at No. 10...
He gave an interview yesterday to promote a "celebratory" conference in London next Saturday to commemorate the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon, was infuriated by Mr Mohammed's comments. "That sounds to me like incitement and I will report him to Scotland Yard," he said.
"I shall complain to the management! Hrumph!"
"It is an insult to most moderate Muslims, who are sick of people like this claiming to represent them."
I'd call it an insult to Brits, myself. But nobody seems to care if they get insulted...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2004 12:17:57 AM ||
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#1
Omar Bakri is a pathetic joke. Unfortunately there are plenty of young British Muslims who look up to him as a great spiritual leader.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
09/05/2004 1:06 Comments ||
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#2
Omar Bakri Mohammed isn't a "pathetic joke," he's a prime candidate for the Wetwork Listâ¢.
#3
I was thinking mainly of a show on Australian tv the other week where a Jewish comedian managed to get Omar Bakri to declare a Fatwa on a local talk show host, after showing him some crudely photoshopped pictures and reading him excerpts from a 'sequel' to the Satanic Versus that the comedian made up.
Afterwards Bakri was told the truth, and he withdrew the Fatwa, but not before looking like an imbecile.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
09/05/2004 2:21 Comments ||
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#4
Well then, Paul, we'll just have to move Bakri down a (microscopic) notch on the Wetwork List⢠now, won't we?
#7
SPoD, you're making the fatally flawed assumption that Omar Bakri can be castrated. You've got to have a set for starters and Omar the tent maker doesn't seem to fall into that category. Then again, I suppose there's no harm in trying. The scalpel might "accidentally" slip and lacerate the femoral artery or something ...
#9
The father of seven came to Britain in 1985 after being deported from Saudi Arabia because of his membership of a banned group. He has since been given leave by the Home Office to remain in Britain for five years but the Government is reviewing his status. He gave an interview yesterday to promote a "celebratory" conference in London next Saturday to commemorate the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
What's left to 'review' now? He advocates crimes against British women and children, and celebrates , and encourages other to celebrate, gross acts of terrorism. Return the mutha to Syria and Saudi Arabia, in two boxes. Scumsucking knobjockey.
Posted by: Boris Prickbitch ||
09/05/2004 9:21 Comments ||
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#10
knobjockey? LOL - Boris - I love your email addy!
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2004 9:34 Comments ||
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#11
LOL Boris!
Posted by: Col Flagg ||
09/05/2004 10:45 Comments ||
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#12
Why not just use a single 9MM in the temple and send him to allan and the 72 califormian raisins?
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he could not find any word to express situation of little kids, students and mothers in hostage taking in North Ossetia. Speaking to a private tv channel, Erdogan said that Russian President Vladimir Putin cancelled his visit to Turkey due hostage taking in North Ossetia, noting that Putin told him that he would visit Turkey as soon as possible during their phone conversation. When reminded of statements of some officials who said that terrorist acts in Russia could have connection with al-Qaeda and radical Islam terrorist organizations, Erdogan said that terrorism could not have any connection with Islam.
Then his lips fell off...
Stressing that a platform of joint fight against international terrorism could not be formed yet, Erdogan said that countries should exchange intelligence between themselves against international terrorism. Replying to a question on Russian security forces' attitude on hostage taking, Erdogan said, ''I find appropriate their attitude. Russian President's postponing of his visit to Turkey due to hostage taking is very important to boost morale and motivation.''
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2004 7:31:40 PM ||
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via Al Guardian (h/t Lucianne) Forget America: the government should be worrying about the situations in France and Germany
Will Hutton - Sunday September 5, 2004
With all eyes fixed on the American presidential elections, the scale of the looming crisis in France and Germany has gone largely unremarked. But it may so change the political geography of Europe that British arguments for and against the EU will be made redundant. A pervasive sense of decline in both countries, only partially justified but none the less virulent, is destabilising not just the structures of the EU - but the political systems of France and Germany. Last week in France, charismatic finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy resigned from the government in order to challenge for the leadership of President Chirac's UMP party, despairing of what is seen in France as a do-nothing regime that is fiddling while the country burns. The economy is mired in low growth and high unemployment; government spending at 54 per cent of GDP can go no higher.
There is universal agreement that France needs decisive action to reverse economic decline; there are rancorous arguments about not just how the economy should be run and society organised but whether the constitution of the Fifth Republic works any more. The socialist opposition wants to limit the President's current powers to allow more pluralism. With two-and-half years to run until the next presidential elections, France is descending into acrimony and division.
In Germany, Gerhard Schröder is presiding over the wreckage of the SPD, once the standard bearer of European social democracy. September sees four key state elections, including the vital election in North Rhine Westphalia, the SPD's historic heartland. Sixteen per cent behind in the polls there, its loss would be a disaster, not just for what it signals about Schröder's standing but because it will mean control that of the German upper house will pass to the conservative CDU and make him a titular Chancellor, governing only within the parameters of what his opponents will permit.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: .com ||
09/05/2004 12:33:33 AM ||
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Al Guardian: For the paradox of referendums is that they are fundamentally anti-democratic, confusing democracy with populism and placing power in the hands of those who can manipulate public opinion for their own ends.
What a load of horsepoop. This guy obviously drank deep from the well of Soviet propaganda. He's shaking in his boots at the thought of the German population rejecting the EU constitution and perhaps even re-instituting the death penalty.
#3
Hey France! Remember, all future liberations have been cancelled. Have fun sitting in your own shit!
Posted by: LC Matthew ||
09/05/2004 8:49 Comments ||
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#4
Coming from Al' Guardian - I'd say this is beautiful.
Despite the almost incomprehensible pyshobabble, Al Guardian is being forced to admit that France and Germany face total decline under Chirac and Schroder. Their attempts to spin solutions in such a way, as to allow them to cling to the validity of their discredited dino beliefs, are indeed laughable in their incomprehensible gibberish - but the real story here is that they are forced to admit that they are facing extinction.
Posted by: A Jackson ||
09/05/2004 10:03 Comments ||
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#6
TGA can tell me if I'm wrong, but I've spoken to a lot of my German inlaws and here's the way I see it.
Schroeder doesn't have a chance, the changes required are too deep for him to get the support. He'll lose the next election big-time.
Christian Democrats will take control in the next election. They will have to do what is required to fix the economy. They will be hated for it because people like their juicy benefits. Christian Democrats will lose the next couple of elections afterwards but will probably be smiled upon when the history books are written a decade or so later.
The time after the short Christian Democrats reign will be when Germany jumps back into the EU full force.
#7
RJSchwarz: God, I hope so. I loved my time in Germany (30 years ago), and have hated to see the way they've gone in recent years. I hope they can pull themselves back from the brink.
Turning the EU from an economic alliance to a European ueber-government was a screw-up of monumental proportions.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/05/2004 11:15 Comments ||
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#8
Tamerlane_ (you know who you are) you're wrong about referenda. The Soviet of California uses the referendum (though they call it the initiative) in lieu of any effective government and the concerns voiced in the article are real. It has resulted in massive numbers of poorly written, self-serving legislative dreck whose chance of passage is effected only by the size of the advertising bankroll of the special-interest groups that came up with them in the first place.
#9
Well, this *is* Will Hutton speaking. Very pro-EU and mildly anti-capitalism (although he does do rather nicely out of capitalism himself).
Good. The sooner the EU (as a supra-national state) is consigned to the dustbin of history, the better. The original idea of free markets was a good one, lets go back to that.
Please, no comments about "ever closer union" - most people were not interested in that aspect of the EU, and simply wanted more prosperity.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
09/05/2004 21:29 Comments ||
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#10
Screw the EU dwarves. Wrong century. Time for this nation to look east and get serious about a deep strategic relationship with the powers that actually can harm or help us in the middle east: Russia, India, Turkey and of course Israel.
The "West" no longer has any meaning. Let NATO die and replace it with anti-jihadist Eurasian and Asian power blocs with the US at the hub.
A row has broken out between France and Italy over whose intelligence service is to blame for the Niger uranium controversy, which led to Britain and America claiming wrongly that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy material for nuclear bombs. Italian diplomats say that France was behind forged documents which at first appeared to prove that Iraq was seeking "yellow-cake" uranium in Niger - evidence used by Britain and America to promote the case for last year's Gulf war.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2004 12:05:01 AM ||
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#1
But..but..I thought it was Bush's fault!! Or the CIA. Wilson was my hero! How can this be that my beloved Euro's are now divided in their attempts to blame Bush and Halliburton.
#2
I read this before, and, if true, is pretty damning for France. Not beyond the realm of possibiilty given France's affection for Saddam and his payola.
Posted by: Capt America ||
09/05/2004 9:29 Comments ||
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Italian diplomats say that France was behind forged documents which at first appeared to prove that Iraq was seeking "yellow-cake" uranium in Niger
Who should we believe guys, "Le Jacques de Weasel" or Prime Minister Berlusconi?
The Navy did not give a specific reason for the early deployment.
Because if you have to ask the reason, you're dumber than a box of rocks.
(Apologies to rocks everywhere.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/05/2004 13:28 Comments ||
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#3
Got a chance to hear Brian Shul speak a few weeks ago about his experiences flying the SR-71 Blackbird. President Reagan had them fly patterns over a secret meeting held in North Korea during the mid 80-s attended by senior Chinese, Soviet and North Korean officials. Idea was to boom them every fifteen minutes or so and rattle the coffee cups. Must have sent a nice message.
#4
Scheisse . . . I am both glad that the wife is headed home right now from RoK and ashamed that I feel that way (that my wife is out of the line of fire if/when SHTF). Let's hope we only have to send a subtle message and not have to make a serious impression.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
09/05/2004 15:01 Comments ||
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#5
Jame - that comment about your wife begs for an explanation. (Enquiring minds want to know.) :-p
Hate to burst your bubble, but a serious impression still won't make a serious impression on looney-tunes Kimi.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/05/2004 15:06 Comments ||
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#6
Barbara.... YOU ROCK!!! (Pardon the pun. Couldn't resist) Think of it as the subtle addition of about 96 F-18s a dozen F-14s for TopCap. And assorted Vikings, CODs and Mini AWACs to the firm hand of Diplomacy.
That's not counting the Aegis cruisers, FFGs, Tin Cans and 688s that protect the carrier and also scout ahead.
Jack.
Posted by: Jack Deth ||
09/05/2004 15:07 Comments ||
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#7
Why, thank you, Gentleman Jack. *blush*
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/05/2004 15:15 Comments ||
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#8
Jame - that comment about your wife begs for an explanation. (Enquiring minds want to know.) :-p Hate to burst your bubble, but a serious impression still won't make a serious impression on looney-tunes Kimi.
My wife is on her way back from RoK having spent the last two weeks there as her AT. Not having her over there if things get hot is a serious priority for me (like I said, I am somewhat ashamed, but she is my wife).
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
09/05/2004 15:20 Comments ||
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#9
Nothing to be ashamed of, Jame. Hope she has a good and safe trip home.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/05/2004 15:53 Comments ||
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#10
The "Abe" is a mighty vessel. God speed!
Posted by: Capt America ||
09/05/2004 20:35 Comments ||
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Islamic leaders in the Middle East yesterday denounced the slaughter of children in Russia as 'unIslamic', as commentators asked unusually soul-searching questions about the region and terrorism. Even the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest Islamic group, condemned the bloody siege in Beslan. Its leader, Mohammed Mahdi Akef, said that kidnappings may be justified but killings are not. He added: 'What happened is not jihad [holy war] because Islam obligates us to respect the souls of human beings; it is not about taking them away.'
While some Islamic fundamentalists in the Middle East have long supported fellow Muslims fighting in Chechnya, such was the barbarity of the hostage takers that few voices spoke in support of the actions in Ossetia. Egypt's leading Muslim cleric, Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, was quoted as saying during a Friday sermon: 'What is the guilt of those children? Why should they be responsible for your conflict with the government? You are taking Islam as a cover and it is a deceptive cover; those who carry out the kidnappings are criminals, not Muslims.'
Ali Abdullah, an Islamic scholar in Bahrain who follows the ultra-conservative Salafi stream of Islam, also condemned the school attack as 'unIslamic'. However, he insisted Muslims were not involved and revived an old conspiracy theory: 'I have no doubt that this is the work of the Israelis, who want to tarnish the image of Muslims.'
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2004 12:16:42 AM ||
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#1
remarkably, the Islamic world (minus the loony conspirisy types) realizes the Breslan terrorists were Moslems while the MSM press here try to disguise it
#2
So in other words, this devil was not upset by the torture, rape, mutilation and murder of these little children as much as he's outraged that islam will look bad.
Posted by: jawa ||
09/05/2004 0:58 Comments ||
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#4
Ali Abdullah, an Islamic scholar in Bahrain who follows the ultra-conservative Salafi stream of Islam, also condemned the school attack as âunIslamicâ. However, he insisted Muslims were not involved and revived an old conspiracy theory: âI have no doubt that this is the work of the Israelis, who want to tarnish the image of Muslims.â
Add Ali Abdullah to the Wetwork Listâ¢
Abdulrahman al-Rashed wrote an article in the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper under the headline: âThe Painful Truth: All World Terrorists are Muslims!â
BGO (Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious)
Al-Rashed said that Muslims will not be able to cleanse their image unless âwe admit the scandalous facts... Our terrorist sons are an end-product of our corrupted culture. The picture is humiliating, painful and harsh for all of us.â
Why have we never heard this man's name before? While I don't envy the self-examination this guy is going through, I have to support the honesty of his admission. Too bad there's probably been a death fatwa issued on this chap already.
#5
sounds like Ali's been reading UFO's comments, huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2004 7:33 Comments ||
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#6
Re #1 (mhw): remarkably, the Islamic world (minus the loony conspirisy types) realizes the Breslan terrorists were Moslems while the MSM press here try to disguise it
Whatever.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
09/05/2004 9:24 Comments ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2004 10:12 Comments ||
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#9
Shockingly, I didn't see this coming. I should have from the beggining, all those mothers and they're just-the-right-age-for-a-amber-alert girls cramped in a school. I was to worried about even half of them coming out alive I suppose.
On a more cheerful note, I heard an earlier report of the townsfolk ripping a terrorist to shreds. Has that been comfirmed?
Posted by: Charles ||
09/05/2004 10:30 Comments ||
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#10
He's not "U"FO--he's Boris! Just go to whois.godaddy.com and type in the URL, up pops Srtich's "name." Boris knows how to cut and paste from jihadi websites, just like Antisemite used to.
#13
At the risk of being contrary (big newsflash!), I will thank you for posting that picture, .com. These are the sort of images the mainstream press absolutely will not show to the public for fear of correctly polarizing them against Islamist terrorism. Why the press acts against the public's interest and well being in this way is beyond me but I can only imagine that it is what drives people in droves to the Internet and away from television. Some 90% of modern commercial broadcast "journalism" falls into this category and it is nothing but a complete and total disgrace to founding fathers like Edward R. Murrow.
#8
I have a rusty knife and a pair of pliers. I would dearly love the opportunity to surgically extract "zion", in all its permutations, from your skull.
I think your foil hat orgone accumulator linkup has come loose, please reattach it to the Tesla coil, dial for infinity, hit the switch and find yourself.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
09/05/2004 22:08 Comments ||
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#13
Frank G (Ginsberg?)? LOL - Serb loser in love/hate with the Jooooos
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2004 22:13 Comments ||
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#14
I thought we dealt with this troll once before. Did the wet squad fail us?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/05/2004 22:23 Comments ||
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#15
Hey UFO, when the thought police stop by make sure they come ready to rumble. We don't take prisoners at my place.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
09/05/2004 22:23 Comments ||
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#16
No shit, UFOOL is taking over? Has he set a date? Has he told his mom so she can rent his room? More likely the grease smoke from the Fryolator has coated his tinfoil chapeau and rendered it ineffective.
#23
IP ban. Nah, playing with this boob is like playing with a kitten with a ball of string.
And Old Spook, why don't you tell him some of your tabasco sauce stories?
#24
They aren't the anti-americans the mullahs and thugs are
I disagree. But the only evidence I have to go on, as .com pointed out, is one Iranian student, recently emmigrated from Iran. Something tells me though, his views are representative of the entire population of Iran. Time will tell.
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/05/2004 23:19 Comments ||
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#25
Nice pic, .com; thanks for posting it.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
09/05/2004 23:20 Comments ||
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#26
Rafael - The way things are headed, mainly that the Mad Mullahs seem to be in a death spiral, I'm coming to where I hope your source is right. I'll feel a helluvalot better about the large no-live zones around each fucking crater if the Avg Yousef hates us just like the Black Hats.
#27
Containment and deterrence. Box Iran from the west via Iraq, from the east via India (and heavy pressure on Musharraf) and from the north via Russia.
Why the f*** are we wasting so much bandwidth on Germany and France?
#31
Damn, this board is a snake pit of hate, straight from that hell hole Israel. Doesn't anyone ever post anything in the interests of the United States instead of propaganda to incite spilling American blood in the interests of Zion?
#32
Live it up Rantburg folk, when the time comes to put away the traitors and throw away the key, there'll abundant evidence for courts of law. Soon a patriotic BBS will be activated that will post choice morsels from this forum with names of key propagandists with American blood on their hands. Greetings Steven White [Weiss], chief Rantburg Zionist, et al.
#33
Come now Rantburg Zionists, Moslems have equal rights under Internatinal Law and the UN Charter, it is Israel that has violated statute after statute and resolution after resolution, and it's time to either make Israel comply or give the land back to its rightful owners. I have nothing against Jews having their own country, but not at the cost of human life and my tax dollars.
Saturday, 4 September, 2004, 22:39 GMT 23:39 UK
The Iranian sock puppet leader of the terrorist militant Lebanese group Hezbollah has rejected a United Nations resolution calling for the organisation to be dismantled. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said the UN Security Council proposal was an Israeli "trap". It's always about the Jews, isn't it? [yawn] He added that the disarmament of Hezbollah would weaken Lebanon's resistance to reformation. He also defended the presence of Syrian forces in Lebanon, saying the troops had helped the country to consolidate terrorist basing security after its civil war. "We don't want a withdrawal of Syrian forces at this time," Mr Nasrallah told a Hezbollah rally in his south Beirut stronghold. Earlier this week, the Security Council called for all foreign forces to leave Lebanon and the disarmament of militias. It also called for greater respect by external powers for Lebanese enslavement sovereignty. Hezbollah, an Islamic group, fought a terrorist guerrilla war against Israel's 18-year occupation of a border zone in southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000 with the withdrawal of the Israeli troops. This is rich. A bunch of spineless diplomatic feebs think their toothless "resolution" demanding that a hyperviolent hive of terrorists abandon their entrenched base of operations will be greeted with anything but derisive laughter. Now that the historical mouthpiece for terrorist Arab interests has suddenly become a front for Israel, does this mean that Hezbollah will immediately launch a wave of terror attacks against UN forces in the region? The UN needs a cause and effect lesson so desperately that I almost have to hope so.
#1
Hezbollah: terrorist.
Israel's occupation: justice.
UN: clueless.
Both Hezbollah and Vast Right Wing Conspiracy calling for UN dismantlement: priceless.
At least we can all agree on something.
Posted by: Tom ||
09/05/2004 16:48 Comments ||
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Syria said yesterday it would deepen ties with its colony neighboring Lebanon, despite a UN Security Council resolution warning against outside interference there. The resolution aimed — in vain — to head off a vote in Lebanon's Parliament to extend the term of Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud for three years after his current six-year term expires. Many Council members regarded the extension as imposed by Syria, which dominates Lebanon politically and has 17,000 troops there. "The most important thing of all is that brotherly Syrian-Lebanese relations take the path of more cooperation, coordination and congruity," Syrian Information Minister Ahmad Al-Hassan told a press conference.
He said Syria was sorry the UN Council had "given in to US pressure" to intervene in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. Syria branded the resolution a failure because it squeaked through with the minimum number of votes. The White House said Damascus had pressured, threatened and intimidated Lebanese officials to get the constitution changed, accusations Hassan denied. He in turn accused the United States of using the Security Council to punish Syria for its opposition to the war on Iraq. "It is trying to exploit the Security Council as a cover to continue what it failed to achieve in its world war — not on terror, as the neo-conservatives in the American administration claim, but to spread American imperialism," he said. "The reasons for the latest Security Council resolution come under the headline of settling scores with Syria and Lebanon over their opposition to this war."
Lahoud moved yesterday to heal the wounds of the political battle, saying the debate reinforced the country's democracy. In a statement, he underlined the need to "turn the page of the past in this new stage, to open up to the future ... and most of all strive to bring the people and the state together."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2004 10:53:29 AM ||
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He said Syria was sorry the UN Council had âgiven in to US pressureâ to intervene in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
Joke of the day.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/05/2004 12:47 Comments ||
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#2
If they manage to "deepen ties" with Lebanon any further, something of Syria's is going to emerge from Lebanon's mouth.
From Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
A recent poll of 1,123 people in Tehran found that the majority of respondents favor the probable reformist candidate in the May 2005 presidential election. The Iran University Students' Polling Center, which is affiliated with the University Jihad, conducted the poll, Farhang-i Ashti reported on 1 September. Former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Musavi topped the list with 29.4 percent of the respondents favoring him as their top choice for the election. Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani was a close second with 26.4 percent. Trailing far behind were Tehran Mayor Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad with 6.8 percent, Tehran parliamentarian Ahmad Tavakoli and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Hojatoleslam Hassan Rohani with 4.7 percent each, parliament speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel with 4.3 percent, former Islamic Culture and Guidance Minister Ataollah Mohajerani with 3 percent, and former parliament speaker Hojatoleslam Ali-Akbar Nateq-Nuri with 2.6 percent. (This amounts to about 82 percent, and the report does not account for the remaining 18 percent.) Of the respondents, 56.6 percent said they do not follow news about the presidential election, and only 22.6 percent of the respondents were familiar with the prospective candidates. Of the respondents, 43.5 percent believe that the election will help resolve many of the country's problems.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
09/05/2004 12:31:01 AM ||
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#1
Means nothing, the President has no power that the mullahs don't give him. Also 'reformer' in Iran is a far cry from what the west would call 'friendly.'
Al-Arabiya TV chief Abdulrahman al-Rashed knows Iraqi militants use his station to get their message to the masses and understands that each time he airs a video of a kidnapped foreigner, terrorists are encouraged to grab others.
At rival station Al-Jazeera, chief editor Ahmed al-Sheikh says he faces the same agonizing dilemma every time militants deliver yet another tape bearing a shivering hostage or a deadly threat. But both men, like those at many news organizations, say that though it is becoming increasingly difficult to decide whether to report developments like videotapes of hooded gunmen surrounding captive truck drivers, they can't shirk their responsibilities to cover the news and chase advertising ratings.
Al-Rashed said his station checks each tape sent by militants for authenticity and the most relevant, newsworthy segments to consider airing. Like many tapes that end up in his station's hands, many are rhetorical rants from militants that provide no hard news. Without images of a kidnapped foreigner, such videos are ignored, al-Rashed said.
But when the tape includes a hostage, beheading or any other "newsworthy" event, parts are aired, even if it might encourage more of the same. "There is only one condition for me to stop airing all these videotapes, which is that all TV stations in the region agree not to show them," al-Rashed said. "If they agree, I will also."
#2
"There is only one condition for me to stop airing all these videotapes, which is that all TV stations in the region agree not to show them," al-Rashed said. "If they agree, I will also."
Instead of setting the standard, al-Rashed waits for someone else to initiate what is right. What an @sshole. Maybe if these bottom feeders were targets, they would change their tune, toot sweet!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/05/2004 16:42 Comments ||
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#3
I have a novel solution.
Make an Iraqi law that says a news organization or paper is responsible for 10% or more of the ransom/compensation for every hostage they air footage of.
Basically he wants to put out Apostate friendly info by radio.
... the Muslims living in Islamic countries are really the victims. We have to let them see the light first before condemning them.
How should we do that? Well, we have to reach them first. This site [faithfreedom.org] is a good step forward in the right direction; but it is only one step. We have a journey of a thousand miles ahead of us and we have taken only the first step. We can't expect result immediately. We need to create many sites like this in languages that Muslims can understand, like Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, etc. But the majority of the Muslims do not have a phone let alone the Internet, so we need to reach them via radio and satellites. This is a more expensive project and requires public or governmental assistance [or Soros really wanted to do something useful with his bucks].
The awakening of a billion brainwashed people cannot be done by just a few people writing from their bedrooms....
Islam is a hot topic for Muslims. They will listen even though it makes them angry and they want to strangle you. But still they will listen. We have to take advantage of that interest and reach them with our message without them being able to reach us with their knives and bullets..[he compares Islam to both a house of cards and an balloon - English is not his native language and he mixes metaphors a lot].. Because Islam is based on shallow foundations of lies, Muhammad's befogged followers know that it cannot stand criticism. They want to protect this lie by eliminating all criticisms. On one hand they say you can't extinguish the light of sun by blowing at it and on the other they tremble in fear and try to slit your throat if you do blow at their belief. So deep down inside they are fully aware of the fallacy of Islam and that is why they try to protect it by eliminating its critics and opponents.
Posted by: mhw ||
09/05/2004 11:54:45 AM ||
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#1
I've got an idea of how to do it too.
Mine's a lot less PC.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/05/2004 13:32 Comments ||
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Something tells me your idea has less to do with reformation and a lot more to do with irradiation, Barbara. What happened to all the love and hugs?
#9
This is so brilliant and how is not the main thrust in the War!? Propaganda ya say. This society knows how sell an idea, painlessly, better than any society, ever.
The Koranitics have, I think, a great "honor thy father" ideal. How painful to know your parents were sheep for a fake ideal. Everything then is a lie. Perhaps even more so the "people of the book" that they know, by looking at a calender, preceded theirs.
Islamist are, by my thinking, in need of being freed. It all has to make sense. I hope somebody who can make a difference can get this sort of thing fast laned ala the Manhattan Project.
BTW, if you havn't had your good cry yet over the Russian Slaughter, I hadn't yet and I'm glad I finally did, Go read Belmont Clubs' Ilusha's Stone. I read it while listening to Beach Boys tracks from "Today", I'm drained and thankful for that.
From Jihad Unspun, an article by John Kaminski, an Internet columnist based in Florida whose essays have been collected into two anthologies, America's Autopsy Report and The Perfect Enemy.
.... The principal figure in the 9/11 mystery continues to be Larry Silverstein, who leased the World Trade Center towers months before their demise and collected a $3.5 billion insurance payout shortly after their destruction. Silverstein was caught on video ordering the destruction of one of the undamaged WTC towers after the initial damage had been done, leading to speculation that the two main towers were wired for destruction prior to the event. Silverstein, an influential official of several powerful American Jewish groups, is known to be a telephone friend of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
... Since the FBI published a list of the names of the alleged 19 hijackers mere hours after the disaster, eight of those names have belonged to people reportedly alive and well and living in various countries. Yet the FBI has never made an attempt to change its list, nor has it attempted to question those with names used by hijackers who are still able to talk. In addition, there is no legitimate security camera videotape showing the hijackers ever got on the fateful planes, nor any record of their purchasing tickets. And their names were not included on the passenger lists recording the names of the dead.
Adding to the Israeli angle of this discussion is the distressing fact of the Israeli "art students" who were shadowing the alleged hijackers during the months prior to 9/11 were all sent home without investigation when they were "discovered."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
09/05/2004 12:19:28 AM ||
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I have an idea: let's introduce this nut to the guy who wrote yesterday's article about Hurricane Charley. That way, they can babble to themselves all they want but still LOOK like they're having a normal conversation.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/05/2004 0:43 Comments ||
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We can only hope TW, although I'm not sure 4 stomachs is enough to digest UFO.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/05/2004 5:04 Comments ||
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#6
Can a conspiracy be considered a conspiracy if everyone is in on it?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/05/2004 7:46 Comments ||
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deep conspiracies, darkly laid plans, midnight meetings and code words, secret handshakes.....
It must be the Joooooos, Halliburton, Skull and Bones, Fluoridated Waterâ¢, School vouchers......
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2004 8:02 Comments ||
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Frank G: You forgot to mention the Catholic Church.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/05/2004 9:09 Comments ||
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Shhhhh - I was ordered by the Pope not to mention that
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2004 9:13 Comments ||
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#10
lol! Wow... as someone who lives within the beltway and has many leftie friends, it's getting easier and easier to look at them in the eye and ask if they had their meds yet.
#18
Charles---Seeing Cal Worthington Ford on the connections diagram was a shock! I will never be able to see one of their commercials in Anchorage again the same way.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/05/2004 12:56 Comments ||
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Hidden past the Korean-made washing machines and cheap winter jackets that draw traders to the sprawling bazaar in this border town lies what Uzbek authorities claim is a terror haven in the heart of Central Asia, a shelter for militants who have shaken the region this year with its first-ever suicide attacks. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev warned on Wednesday that a radical Islamic group -- Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which the Uzbeks claim is the driving force behind attacks this year that have killed more than 50 -- is stepping up activity in this oil-rich nation. One base of their activity appears to be the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent, where detentions of alleged extremists have picked up since the July 30 triple suicide bombings in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent. The attacks on the U.S. and Israeli embassies and top prosecutor's office killed at least four Uzbek security officers. The exact numbers of arrests aren't known, given security officials' reluctance to acknowledge extremists are finding refuge here.
The suicide bombings came after violence earlier this year that left at least 47 dead, mostly alleged militants, who Uzbek authorities claim traveled from southern Kazakhstan through Azerbaijan and Iran to terror camps in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas -- the same region where Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding -- where they were trained by Arab al-Qaida instructors. The Kazakh security service recently has acknowledged it is working with its Uzbek colleagues to investigate several people in connection with the July attacks, after initially claiming there were no connections to Kazakhstan. But in a bizarre twist to the investigation that hasn't yet been fully explained, an Uzbek police officer involved in the investigations was found dead with gunshot wounds in the chest in a Shymkent sauna.
It's not hard in this city of 700,000 people to find followers of secretive Hizb ut-Tahrir. Abdullah, a tall ethnic Russian wearing a matching white shirt and trousers, doesn't appear the image of a radical Islamic leader, often pausing his conversation to answer his mobile phone. But his calls are about the fate of eight Hizb-ut-Tahrir members arrested Aug. 5, because Abdullah said Uzbek police traced the explosives used in the latest suicide attacks to their hometown of Saryagash, 20 miles north of Tashkent just over the Kazakh border. Abdullah, who gave only his first name, denied his party's involvement in the attacks or that it had links with militant groups. A convert to Islam 10 years ago, he became a member of the group in 1998. Hizb ut-Tahrir seeks to create a world governed by Islamic law, but claims to seek that goal through non-violent means and hasn't previously been linked to terrorism. The group has denied involvement in the Uzbek attacks. Still, Abdullah said all groups are "brothers." "We can talk with them: we have (the) same aims," said Abdullah, 31, who wears a beard. "But we use absolutely different methods to achieve them. We'll never chose a militant path."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2004 7:42:11 PM ||
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Sat Sep 4, 3:53 PM ET
By LARA SUKHTIAN, Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM - Palestinians took a first step toward long-overdue elections by launching a voter registration drive Saturday but few turned out, saying they did not believe the process would bring real change. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, one of the first and only to register, promised general elections for a parliament and president would be held "immediately" after local elections planned for December, but he did not give a date. Few of the other 1.8 million eligible Palestinian voters heeded the call to register but they have five weeks to sign up. Across the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, registration centers were largely deserted, with many saying they had little faith in the electoral process. But you still want all the Jews dead, right? Until you choose leaders who seek realistic coexistence with Israel, it'll just get you more of the same.
"There is no way the Palestinian government is going to have honest and fair elections," said Ghassan Tbeile, 35, a resident of the West Bank city of Nablus. "We voted last time and it didn't make a difference. Why should it this time?" There is widespread frustration with official corruption and Arafat's handling of the conflict with Israel, which has brought great hardship for ordinary Palestinians in the last four years. And how is that hardship not deserved? The Palestinians have conducted a brutal campaign of terror against a well armed and extremely tolerant foe. Every iota of suffering the Palestinians experience is a direct result of moral abdication to their terrorist "leaders."
The last Palestinian general elections were held in January 1996. Several attempts to hold elections in recent years failed. Dates were set and deadlines passed while Arafat argued that voting would be impossible as long as Israeli troops occupied towns and cities in the West Bank. A presence which Arafat's terror campaign absolutely guarantees. What a coincidence. Continued on Page 49
Vice President Aliu Mahama has advised Muslims to mobilise their energies and resources to fight poverty, which is their real enemy and not themselves. Addressing a grand durbar of the Chiefs and people at Effiduase in the Sekyere East District and later, the Muslim Community at Asawase, Kumasi, the Vice President said, it was unacceptable that violence should erupt because of the doctrinal differences between the Ahlussuna and Al Tijaniyya sects. "We are all worshiping the same God and the varying mode of worship should not be a source of conflict," he said. "We need to tolerate each other to maintain the peace in our communities so that we can unite to solve the real enemies of poverty, illiteracy and under-development." He referred to the bloody clashes and the destruction of schools and mosques at Effiduase in 2001, following a dispute between the two Muslim sects, saying, instead of utilising the educational facilities to improve themselves, they burnt them down. Their action, he said, was tantamount to cutting their noses to spite their own faces.
He said efforts were underway to implement the Ayisi Boateng Committee, which investigated the conflict and made recommendations but added that, they should always use dialogue to settle their scores. The Vice President asked his religious companions to emulate Christians who are able to co-exist peacefully in spite of the availability of more than 1,000 churches. Muslims, the Vice President said, should lead disciplined and responsible lives and complained that it was shameful that most arrests of armed robbers included Muslims. The Queen mother of Effiduase, Nana Konadu Yiadom said, though there had been no clashes since the 2001 incident, some tension exist, because of the anxiety of the victims awaiting compensation. She commended the government for executing development projects to improve health, education, agriculture and income generating activities. At Asawase, the Chief Imam of the Ashanti Region, Imburan Musa said, since his area heeded to the Vice President's counsel on religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence, there had been no violent clashes between the two sects. He appealed to the National Tertiary Council of Education to implement an affirmative action policy that would increase admission of Muslim students to the universities.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that his government is ready to talk to any militant group, including those in Kashmir, abandoning previous preconditions that the rebels must first disarm. However, he expected the militants to "eschew the path of violence". At his first press conference since taking office on May 22, he said: "We are ... willing to talk to all elements in Kashmir who are not represented in the state assembly. All groups, and I repeat all groups, whether they are in Jammu and Kashmir or in the North East, they are welcome to talk to us. We are ready to talk without preconditions." He said that his government was "alive to the sentiments and concerns" of people living in Jammu-Kashmir. He added that he would visit Kashmir shortly.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2004 10:55:12 AM ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2004 10:51 ||
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#1
"Vould you mind ever so much goink back to being a ruthless, anti-Americanisher dictator trying to build nuklear veapons? It is zo much easier to deal mit somebody who hates der Americanishers, und business to do mit."
EFL
... The scope of the disaster is all too clear and it will only worsen as the rainy season sets in. Less apparent, however, are the origins of the catastrophe and how it can be fixed. In its eagerness to simplify and no doubt impelled by a logic shaped by America's perception of Sudan's other civil war — Northern Arab Muslems bad, Southern Sudanese African Christians good — the media have described the disaster as a conflict between "Arab" militias, known as Janjaweed, egged on by the Sudanese government and defenseless villagers. The UN's investigator, Asma Jahangir, has reinforced this perspective by laying the blame for the crisis squarely on Khartoum, while US Foreign Secretary Colin Powell has boldly announced that as the Sudanese government "turned the crisis on, they can turn it off."
...Reading many of the reports in the media, one could be forgiven for believing they are an ethnic or political entity, supported by the Muslems in the north and opposed to the Christians (and so called animists) in the south. On the contrary, the word "janjaweed," roughly translated, means little more than men on horses armed with guns. Although they are now equated with bandits, when they were originally constituted in 1989, the Janjaweed were regarded as a popular defense force, designed to fill a security vacuum created by the Sudanese government's inability to police the region. While it is true that many of the Janjaweed are Muslem fanatics, many of them are not and few have anything in common with the Muslem elites in the north. In fact, they look (and are) more African than Arab and largely derive their "Arab" reputation from having gone off to Libya during the 1980's to join Colonel Muammar Ghaddafi's Islamic Legion, a mercenary force which the Colonel used to invade Chad in a bid to open up an "Arab corridor" northwards out of the Sahel. It's all so complex! I guess we should all just go home and wring our hands. But whatever we do ... we shouldn't blame this war on Muslim agression. No, no! Heavens no.
Posted by: B ||
09/05/2004 10:30:30 AM ||
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" the word âjanjaweed,â roughly translated, means little more than men on horses armed with guns... "
President Vladimir Putin has addressed the people of Russia on major radio and television channels in the aftermath of the brutal hostage-taking in Beslan, North Ossetia, that ended in the deaths of about 350 people. Following is the full text of the address.
Continued on Page 49
#1
I must admit that we did not give a close look to the processes unfolding in our own country and abroad, or anyway we failed to react to them properly.
I am very impressed by this statement. Does this mean he's not going to play nice with the Iranians?
Some want to tear away saucy piece of our wealth, while others help these aspirants in so doing. They still believe that Russia poses a threat to them as a nuclear power. That is why this threat must be eliminated, and terrorism is just another instrument in implementing their designs.
But what does this mean? Who believes Russia's nukes pose a threat? "This threat must be eliminated" -- is that what the terrorists think, or is that what he thinks? (A saucy piece?)
#2
âWe are living in a transitional economy, which does not meet the requirements or the level of development of society and its political system..."
True, but that sounds like the standard chum thrown out to placate libs ( 'you have to understand how the people justify terror, these people are poor and desparate, blah bla bl...')
â... we let corruption mute our judiciary and law enforcement systems"
somewhat amusing statement coming from Putin, given his employment history, but it is still a remarkable admission from the head of the Russian government.
#3
I found the speech to be confusing - I have no idea what Putin is saying. I wish someone, in the know and not a part of the MSM (not believable), would translate.
Posted by: B ||
09/05/2004 13:08 Comments ||
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Angie, That had me scratching my head too. Infact something is lost in the translation B, or something. Or else Putin is stilled to stunned to make sense. That police were bribed must have to do about how the economy thingy is broken.
I think he's trying to get the Russian people to realise that it's their moral responsibility to keep the country together. To quit acting like common theives. That there is an enemy that needs to be defeated. BUT, did he name that enemy? Other than the Terroists and Those that organize them. Does he think Iran is a threat? I would if I were him.
#5
Putin is referring obliquely to what every Russian (but almost no westerner) recognizes is the root cause of most of the misery and squalor in his nation: the near-total disintegration of the Russian state as an effective, efficient provider of public goods.
Since 1991, Russia has endured a state that
-- cannot pass crucial, basic laws (like PSA legislation that's essential if Russia is to attract the $100 billion it needs in foreign capital to upgrade its rickety oil industry);
-- cannot enforce the laws it has;
-- cannot pay pensions;
-- cannot pay state employees better than third world wages;
-- cannot prevent the theft of much of the nation's wealth and military assets;
-- cannot protect its borders or put down minor, third-rate rebellions such as the Chechen one;
-- cannot prevent the inexorable drift of Russia's far east provinces into Chinese vassal status;
-- cannot provide better than third-world medical care to a population that has the worst health, by far, of any industrial nation.
Putin's speaking in code and admitting the obvious, core truth: the Russian state has been criminalized. It is decrepit. It is incapable of defending its people or enabling them a dignified existence.
You won't read this in the mainstream western media because the idiots who fly into Moscow for a two-year rotation don't have any sources in or knowledge of the key institutions that actually run the country: the security services and the industrial bandit organizations.
But this is indeed a momentous speech. What it means is that Breslan is viewed in Russia as their 911.
#6
In other words, Putin's speech may be a harbinger of New Thinking re foreign affairs a la Gorbachev's climbdown in 1985.
The Russian elite may now be starting to recognize the merits of tilting away from Iran and aligning with the US, Israel (whose population is 20% Russian) and maybe Turkey. The India ties could be restored quickly as well.
#7
Well, the State just acquired one hell of a hard currency generator with the Yukos seizure. I only wonder how much will get to the paycheck of a cop or nurse.
#8
Khodorkovsky should have been shut down and imprisoned ten years ago. The prime task in Russia is not the protection of the private property that was prikhvatizyennoe or stolen under Yeltsin. It's restoring the effectiveness iof the state.
Osama Bin Laden is more likely to be hiding either in a Pakistani city or somewhere in the mountains of Azad Kashmir, according to an investigation done by Peter Bergen, a leading expert on terrorism. The results of his investigation that took him to Pakistan and Afghanistan where he conducted a large number of interviews with a cross-section of people are the basis of a long article that appears in the current issue of the American magazine Atlantic Monthly.
Bergen, who is also the CNN expert on terrorism and a professor at the Johns Hopkins University, writes, "The conventional wisdom now, of course, is that tracking bin Laden down won't make much of a difference to the larger war on terrorism anyway." The movement will carry on whatever bin Laden's fate. He disagrees with that view and argues that it would be "dangerously wrong" to assume that it doesn't really matter whether he is apprehended.
Bergen writes, "Finding bin Laden remains of utmost importance for three reasons. First, there is the matter of justice for the 3,000 people who died in the 9/11 attacks, and for the hundreds of other victims of Al Qaeda attacks around the world. Second, every day that bin Laden remains at liberty is a propaganda victory for Al Qaeda. Third, although bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri don't exert day-to-day control over Al Qaeda, according to Roger Cressey, a former senior U.S. counter-terrorism official, they do continue to supply 'broad strategic guidance' for the group's actions, and for those of its affiliates."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2004 12:38:03 AM ||
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Mr Bergen is basically a reporter. He has some academic credentials, has traveled extensively in the area (he interviewed Bin Laden in 1997), done a TV show for Discovery, facilitated some Univ stuff, probably got a few consultant gigs.
However, I'm sure he doesn't know diddly about the tactical situation.
Personnally, I with the CW on this. Bin L and Zawahiri's 'broad strategic guidance' are almost meaningless given the fact that the thousands of cells have functional independance.
#2
U.S. Near Seizing bin Laden, Official Says
"If he has a watch, he should be looking at it because the clock is ticking. He will be caught," Joseph Cofer Black, the U.S. State Department coordinator for counterterrorism, told private Geo television network.
either Joe knows something, or he's looking to be replaced...
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2004 8:07 Comments ||
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I can't stand Peter Bergen, such a pompous a-hole with impeccacble 20/20 hindsight vision.
Posted by: Capt America ||
09/05/2004 9:23 Comments ||
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#4
Roger Cressey, isn't he the love mate of Richard Clarke? The gang who couldn't shoot straight?
Posted by: Capt America ||
09/05/2004 9:25 Comments ||
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#5
Better than you or me capt America. At least he is out there where the action is and we are here f--- tapping our F--- key boards. Luck bastard!!
Dave
Posted by: Dave ||
09/05/2004 9:59 Comments ||
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#6
Here's another reason to not capture Bin Ladin.
Suppose we have a mole in bin ladin's inner circle.
Which is better?
1. milk bin ladin's info for everything its worth as long as the mole's id is dark
#8
Bergen is out there chasing goats for pleasure. To each there own, I guess.
Posted by: Capt America ||
09/05/2004 20:27 Comments ||
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#9
I'm not going to believe binny's alive until I see a new video that is easy to date. Bitch is worm-food.
Speaking of bitches and worm-food, where's Gentle haven't heard her here to explain the murder of all those children in Russia by the Religion of piece
THE Iraqi interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, has accused France of deluding itself that it was immune from terrorism because of its opposition to the war on Iraq and of taking a pacifist role in the war on terror. In an interview last week, Aragon Allawi urged European governments, including the French, not to be "half-hearted" in combating terrorism and to close ranks with his country in its battle against the "evil forces" undermining security. "No civilised country can draw back; the campaign against terrorism must be a global one, because the challenge is global," the prime minister said. "The French, like all democratic countries, cannot let themselves be satisfied with adopting a passive position . . . Governments that decide to stay on the defensive will be the next terrorist targets."
He certainly says the right things, doesn't he.
Allawi said the kidnapping of two French journalists showed that "neutrality doesn't exist". "Even though France was against the war, it will not be spared. Hiding away from confrontation is not the way . . . The French will soon have to fight against terrorists." The prime minister made his comments as France worked feverishly to secure the release of the journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, kidnapped by Islamic militants 16 days ago.
On Thursday a newspaper regarded as a mouthpiece for Allawi's party, the Iraqi National Accord, said President Jaques Chirac must share responsibility for the kidnappings because he had opposed international initiatives aimed at restoring Iraq's security. A second editorial complained that France was proud not to have helped topple the regime of Saddam Hussein and had remained silent while "terrorist attacks were being carried out against the Iraqi people and infrastructure . . . Now France can't sit still. Its envoys are everywhere, including in Iraq, bleating calling on all Iraqis to intervene to free their citizens".
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2004 12:28:48 AM ||
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âI am telling them there is only one thing to do: respect the rule of law. If you want to use violence, we will face you violently and suppress you and we will bring you to justice.â
Allawi needs to think before speaking. The fact that Sadr and a lot of his minions are still alive and not in custody contradicts the above words.
#4
Well..I may be alone here, but I completely disagree that the action in Najaf was anything but a complete and total success.
People complain that they let fighters slip away from Najaf. You have to fight one battle at a time. What could have been better strategy - in a situation like Najaf - to decrease the number of enemy fighters that needed to be fought against? It saves US soldiers lives!
Killing Sadr would have made him a martyr. Now he's toast. Read the article above where it's being printed that the Iranians never really liked Sadr much to begin with. Sadr is toast.
You can only win a war by winning one battle at a time. I think the strategy at Najaf was absolutely brilliant.
#5
What B said. Allawi is a godsend for us in an extraordinarily difficult and delicate situation. Keep your eyes on Sistani. His support is the key here, not crushing Sadr. Sadr's nothing more than a slightly more consequential muslim version of David Koresh.
#6
Sadr's allies might proclaim victory each time Allawi calls an end to combat but those on the ground know the truth. As his allies proclaim victory more idiots join his cause to be culled. In effect the on and off again nature of this will serve to discredit Sadr more than simply killing him, and in the process will get rid of a lot of Iranian and Iraqi thugs who are willingly siding with him against Democracy in Iraq.
#9
One of the most painful, and profitable, military lessons is to focus on "mission accomplishment", NOT "emotional gratification." You have to work on the assumption that whoever is running the show is not only privy to far greater information than you are; but that they are also planning to win the war, not just a single battle. Unfortunately, most civilians, and hopefully, your enemy, do not understand this distinction. Civilians will always be disappointed in the means, and confused by the overall success. Your enemy will make terrible blunders, however, such as committing forces to symbolic goals and comforting itself with "moral victories", which are usually lame justifications for defeat. And then reinforcing their defeats, in effect making a small defeat into a large one.
#10
President Jaques Chirac must share responsibility for the kidnappings because he had opposed international initiatives aimed at restoring Iraqâs security.
#13
Allawi has to state the obvious because nobody else does. He also needed to state that France profited handsomely in the Oil for Palaces Program⢠with Saddam, which was paid for (many times in blood) by the Iraqi people.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/05/2004 12:29 Comments ||
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#14
The sister story here is the one in the Washington Times pinpointing the French champions of liberation (of their two cameramen): Hamas, PLO, Hezbelah, and Islamic Jihad. How do you say "appeasers" in French?
Posted by: Capt America ||
09/05/2004 20:31 Comments ||
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Khaled Almaeena, almaeena@arabnews.com
The group that murdered 12 Nepalese workers in cold blood has added another ugly page to Iraq's continuing story of agony. The so-called Ansar Al-Sunna who posted pictures of their hideous act on the Internet are nothing but plain murderers. One wonders if such a group even exists.
Obviously it exists. But you're right: it's a group of murderers...
Somehow in their demented minds the Ansar Al-Sunna believe that their actions are justified. With their twisted logic, they transformed poor helpless workers, who were mainly cooks and cleaners, into enemies of the Iraqi people. They claimed that these poor souls marched into Iraq with their mops and kettles to support the "American Crusaders."
Just think how much less likely to be armed they were than soldiers would have been. But then, if they'd attacked soldiers they probably would have been shot to shreds...
Their book says it's okay to attack the weak and run away from the strong. You could look it up.
The kidnap and murder of these impoverished breadwinners has caused all of us shock and revulsion. May their families find solace in the fact that we grieve for their loved ones.
Indecent acts by indecent men, and they learned it all in the mosque...
These barbaric acts of terrorism in which innocent people are killed should be condemned and denounced by everyone. These people who call themselves "Ansar Al-Sunna" are nothing but a band of criminals who have shamed all Muslims.
Just like Hamas has shamed all Muslims, and Basayev's army has shamed all Muslims, and Lashkar e-Taiba's shamed all Muslim, and Jemaah Islamiyah's shamed all Muslims... Seems like everybody's shaming all Muslims, doesn't it?
We ask them from where did they get the teachings to kill defenseless people?
Down at the mosque. Where'd you think? Don't you listen to the Friday sermons? Y'better, or the religious coppers'll get you...
Where is it written that prisoners should be slaughtered?
In the Koran. I just saw it quoted the other day, in fact...
Who gains from this act? Why attack the Buddhists who are a peace-loving people?
Because they're infidels...
Why infuriate a whole area of Southeast Asia that traditionally has been hospitable to us?
Because arrogance is a cultural trait?
A few years ago, when the Taleban in their twisted logic bought special Howitzers and ammunition to shoot and destroy historical Buddhist monuments I criticized them in this very newspaper. I received a lot of hate mail attacking me.
That should have been an indicator of the kind of depraved society you live in...
Not to mention a need to review his personal security arrangements.
I replied in another article that there would be reactions to such aggression and there were. Copies of the Holy Qur'an were burned in Japan. A mosque was attacked in Vietnam and Muslims in Southeast Asia bore the vengeful brunt of these reactions. Reacting to the latest killings of the Nepalese, a mosque was attacked in Katmandu.
There will be more in the future. Your jihadis are trying to stir up a holy war, and if your luck's really, really bad they will...
While the Nepalese drama was going on, there was concern for the two French journalists held captive by yet another Iraqi group. I must ask: When did kidnapping become the appropriate way for Muslims to solve international disputes?
I thought it was tradition?
Personally, I do not believe that these animals have any religious affiliation. They are plain cutthroats and murderers and as such should be hunted down and brought to absolute justice.
Personally, I believe these animals are Muslims in good standing. They're cutthroats and murderers and as such should be hunted down and brought to absolute justice. But I know damned well it won't be Arabs who're trying to hunt them down and kill them, and I know that when they are hunted down it'll be Arabs who're howling at the injustice of it all.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2004 12:08:38 AM ||
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#8
Boris shouldn't come here. It'll be the death of him. But somehow, I think the processes of climbing into the gimp suit and clicking the Rantburg link are hardwired in his brain...
#20
With her terror on Palestinians Israel has spawned terrorism against the US which Moslems view as just retalliation -- Zionist War Crimes, The Case for Prosecution video presentation should be viewed by every US taxpayer as it will clearly identify Israel as the perpertrator.
#21
With her terror on Palestinians Israel has spawned terrorism against the US which Moslems view as just retalliation -- Zionist War Crimes, The Case for Prosecution video presentation should be viewed by every US taxpayer as it will clearly identify Israel as the perpertrator.
Does that make him an imperialist?
When the Chechen terrorist mastermind Shamil Basayev hijacked hundreds of hostages including many schoolchildren in Beslan last week, it was not for a narrow nationalist cause. His objective is more radical - and less likely to be achieved - than the aims of more run-of-the-mill Chechen nationalists, who merely want full independence from Russia. He dreams of establishing an Islamic Emirate across the North Caucasus, and to do so, he has been fomenting the Islamic rebellion that plagues states across the broad stretch of territory from the Red Sea to the Caspian.
Sounds like he wants the bejeweled turban, allright.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2004 12:20:24 AM ||
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Basayev wants to create an Islamic empire in the Caucasus
Boy howdy, he's off to a tidy start. The newly minted tank divisions headed his way should make for a fine showing. It's just too bad they don't happen to be under his command.
#3
We could make short work of this war if we could get all of these bejeweled-turban-wannabe's into the same room. All that would remain for us to do would be to sweep up the mess of fur and feathers left at days end.
Islamic clerics in Pakistan have launched a campaign of resistance against a government crackdown on religious schools. They are furious that President Pervez Musharraf is attempting to staunch the flow of "terrorist recruits" by regulating the schools, known as madrassas. There are up to 20,000 such schools in Pakistan and until now the state has had no control over them. The government is now insisting that they should be registered and teach secular subjects.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2004 12:09:58 AM ||
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We would probably be better off if those fed lessons of hate did not learn English and computer skills. Let them wallow in the 7th century so they are easier to defeat.
Posted by: Tom ||
09/05/2004 16:31 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
