March 07, 2003

Susanna Cornett gives us all a timely reminder of what we're fighting for in the War on Islamist Terrorism in general and in our upcoming attack on Saddam's Iraq on her keenly observed blog cut on the bias

Israel orders destruction of mosque adjacent to Basilica of Annunciation
As a Christian (and one who has visited the Holy Land and the Christian shrines before the attempted Islamization of the Holy Land), I can only express my gratitude that this precious site is being respected for the right reasons.
How lovely to be able to worship and pray in this church without the sound of a muzzein again and a lot less "Palestinian" machine gun fire, too!
And I pray that it's the beginning of a trend, as well.
Next stop for this train, Manger Square in Bethlehem.

LILEKS (James) The Bleat

I think the best way to characterize the President's press conference was "on message." You could have asked him about the merits of Coke vs. Pepsi, and you would have been informed that the issue is not cola preference, it is disarmament. I heard nothing new but I didn't expect anything new; this was the obligatory have-at-me, lads press conference before the solo performance of the equally obligatory Oval Office speech. He didn't seem to want to be there at all, and if I had to face some of these idiots I'd be hard-pressed to gin up enthusiasm for the event, either. Imagine that you're in your office looking at satellite photos of oil wells Saddam has already set on fire, as well some chatter about sleeper-cells planning retaliatory embassy bombings in European capitals, and as you put the papers down to go face the press you know someone's going to ask for a comment on Sen. Kennedy's assertion that this is animated by a personal grudge against Saddam.

Thanks again, James--much better than the "wiped" impression Andrew Sullivan and I had as our first take this morning and in point of fact, Andrew had Lilek's version linked.
I"m thinking that President Bush could just make it through with that Brat Pack from the press because Ari promised him that Helen Thomas (or "American journalism's crazy old aunt in the attic"as James Taranto called her in BOTW today) would be muzzled...!

"Finally, a Rapid Response
Why didn't sex-abuse scandals stir Vatican action the way war has?"

The Vatican's monumental efforts, both diplomatic and pastoral, to avert war with Iraq have focused the attention of the Holy See and summoned its energies behind a cause like no crisis in living memory. Hardly a day goes by without Pope John Paul II denouncing the march to war, meeting personally with world leaders or dispatching high-level diplomats--such as Cardinal Pio Laghi, who came to Washington this week--to beseech the belligerents to stand down.
[...]

And why do these bishops [beleaguered by the Church's scandals] still serve, despite their damnable failures and despite the damage they have done to the church's moral credibility? Because the Holy See allows them to. Accountability is virtually nonexistent. Defenders of Rome have said it is arrogant of Americans to expect a bureaucracy that oversees a billion Catholics world-wide to pay much attention to the mess in the American church. That excuse is no longer valid. We now see that Plainly, Rome does not see the sex-abuse crisis as a priority.

To be sure, an Iraq war threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, hence Rome's understandable level of concern. That said, it is instructive to note that on a matter in which it has no direct ability to affect events, the Vatican is consumed by two-fisted activism. But on the priesthood crisis, where Rome's direct intervention could do a world of practical good, the Holy See operates largely hands-off. The scope of the scandal has been known at the church's highest levels since at least 1985, but you can count on one hand the number of times John Paul has addressed it in public.

AMEN, Mr. Dreher, and thank you for saying so much more ably something I tried to articulate a few weeks ago.
Rather than hectoring President Bush about fighting this just war, the Pope should be consumed with rooting out the corruption in his Church, which, while it doesn't actually kill parishioners physically, has committed a kind of soul murder on untold numbers of Catholics and former Catholics.
While some may think I am "anti-Catholic," I most certainly am not and I'm definitely pro-Christian and when you have corruption, abuse and malfeasance and what amounts to almost the tacit sanction of same by its leaders and priests in any kind of Christian church it gives all Christians and Christianity a "bad name" (and of course, many of those who suffered those abuses are still "hurting" and need to be ministered to.)
Perhaps His Holiness has never heard that fine inspirational song that goes "Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me."

04:37 PM Permalink

Pollard: "The bigger picture is Iran..." and perhaps a UN-free world?

My friends and fine fellow bloggers Bill Quick at Daily Pundit and Steven Den Beste both cite this superb analysis of the War on Islamist Terrorism by Stephen Pollard in today's Telegraph:
Britain's role is crucial in next stage of war on terror - Iran
Pollard gives us not one, but two pieces of good news:
1. The US and the UN are (probably) getting a divorce:

Well-connected advisers tell me that if, as now seems likely, the UN refuses to back action against terror, Mr Bush will announce a "temporary" suspension of America's membership, to be accompanied by an offer: if the UN gets its act together and carries out long-overdue reforms, America (and its money) will return. But if there is no reform, the temporary withdrawal will, de facto, become permanent.

I love it! Please do it, President Bush!
How do you spell relief?
Get the UN out of the US and get the US out of the UN!
2. Iran's Liberation is a key goal in the War on Islamist Terrorism and comes right after Iraq's and contrary to Liberal Dims' opinions, President Bush has a strategery for the NorKs, too:

The war on terror is not simply about destroying the Taliban and taking down Saddam; it is a far more complex operation. The President has carefully set about action in ascending order of difficulty. First the Taliban. Then Saddam. Then the next step, Iran - the world's leading financier of terror. North Korea will be left to China to deal with, with Mr Bush making clear to China that, if it does not take its responsibilities seriously, Japan will be given nuclear weapons.

Who'dda thunk it... that we'd live to see the day that the first (and only) country we'd use The Bomb on as an enemy we would one day trust as an ally to have in their arsenal? Ladies and gentlemen, we do live in interesting times, indeed.

03:26 PM Permalink

WWIV* began on 9/11

Follow this link to another virtually flawless piece by Steven Den Beste giving us the Big Picture of what we're fighting for and why:
USS Clueless - Deadly mushrooms
Den Beste deftly explains that our upcoming liberation of Iraq is the second battle of our War on Islamist Terrorism [Afghanistan being the first], flowing logically out of the 9/11 attacks, as our declaration of war against Germany (as well as Japan) flowed out of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and as our first battle in that war did in Morocco. (That's right, Morocco--not Japan, not Germany, but North Africa.)
Read it all!, but here are two of the "meat" paragraphs:

[...]
We are fighting World War IV. World War IV began on September 11, 2001. And like the other three world wars, this one will be fought everywhere on the planet and will involve most of its nations and peoples in one way or another before it's through.
[...]
The real enemy in this war is the rot in Arab culture. It is because they are failures, and know that they're failures, but blame us for it and have started lashing out. That's the short description of something much more complicated and broad which actually includes a lot of non-Arabs and doesn't include all Arabs. I've been referring to it as Arab Traditionalism.

*No, you didn't miss WWIII: that was the "Cold War."

02:29 PM Permalink

Jacques ChIRAQ: International Man of Mystery

From the cool new site PaveFrance (where their motto is "Bite me, frogs!"), comes the news that our buddy ChIRAQ did indeed make that Algerian trip pay for itself and then some:
TotalFinaElf may invest $1 billion in Algeria, following Chirac’s historic visit

The landmark trip of French President Jacques Chirac to ex-colony Algeria seems already to be bearing fruit. On the heels of the visit, the spokesperson for oil major TotalFinaElf confirmed that the French company is looking into the possibility of investing up to one billion dollars in various oil and gas projects in the North African country over the next years.

Chirac was accompanied in Algeria by a high-profile delegation of executives of two-dozen French corporate giants, including TotalFinaElf, Alstom, Airbus and Michelin. The three-day state visit is the first since 1962, when Algeria won its independence after an eight-year war. These days, France is Algeria's largest trading partner.

TotalFinaElf already has substantial operations in Algeria. The company operates two fields there and holds two exploration permits, for the Rhourde Es Sid and Timimoun fields.

Jackie boy is gonna need this Algerian oil when TotalElfFina's Iraq contracts are "cancelled" by U.S.-led "weapons inspectors"/regime changers.
Go, Jacques, go!
France needs more Algerian immigrants, too!

BTW, think this logo looks Islamic enough?

12:11 PM Permalink

Tomb of the Unknown University

Unnamed Democrat Edges Bush In '04, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Most Americans Are Not Satisfied With Life Today

By a 48 -- 44 percent margin, American voters say they would vote for the as yet unnamed Democratic party candidate for President over Republican incumbent George W. Bush, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Every network and their brother was quoting this freaking poll last night on TV...
I have 3 university degrees--2 of them post-graduate and I went to law school-- and I've read lots of research from our nation's institutions of higher learning, but I've never in my life heard of Quinnipiac University.
Turns out its in Hamden, Conneticut....(?). Who knew?
I don't know where that is either.
Are Quinn Univ students all from the local Indian reservation or something?
(No offense to native Americans, but...)
I wouldn't vote for a Dimocrat if the GOP candidate was Jacques Chirac, especially *those* Dimocrats: Sharpton, Dean, Kerry, Graham, etc. etc.? Fuggedaboutit, as they say at Quinnipiac U., I'm sure.
Take this poll and shove it, Liberal Media!
What Barbra Streisand!
Using this bogus poll from an obscure, podunk "university" (that was probably a community college until last semester, NTTAWTT) shows just how desperate the Liberal Media is to prove that Bush isn't "popular."
Pathetic.

11:30 AM Permalink

Let the curtain fall on the UN

www.AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish

Man, he [President Bush] looked and sounded exhausted.
The spin is that he was trying to look calm and reassuring.
I just thought he looked wiped.
There were moments when he almost seemed catatonic with fatigue.
I gleaned a couple of things: he actually believes that intelligence evidence of Saddam's deliberate and continued defiance of the U.N. could sway the Security Council.
You have to admire his faith in the sincerity of his opponents.
Alas, it's pretty clear by now that the French, Germans and Russians simply don't care if Saddam is flouting the U.N.
They just don't want American military power exercized in the region - ever again.
I doubt if they had videotape of Saddam making anthrax in his bathrobe that they'd agree to enforce their own resolution.
I still think forcing a vote is the right thing to do, even if we lose badly.
After these past few weeks, watching the extraordinary duplicity and blindness of several Security Council members, I've reluctantly come to the verge of hoping that this crisis helps destroy the United Nations as a credible international body.
And I don't think it would harm Bush badly on the home front.
His position that it is his duty to protect Americans is a good and solid one.
No one will dismiss that argument - especially if we find horrors inside Iraq. I also noticed Bush's emphasis on a "just" post-Saddam regime, which is not the same as instant democracy. We'll have to keep the pressure up on that one.
All in all, though, this press conference struck me as a mistake.
He looked drained, wan, exhausted from this interminable diplomatic process.
He seemed defeated to me - and the U.N. has effectively defeated him and protected Saddam.
But not for too much longer.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with AS on this completely...
I thought the President was definitely "off his game" last night (again) and he struck me as wiped, but then, as I've told you, I'm feeling wiped this week myself as I think many of us are.
All the back-biting, the lying on the part of the Iraqis and their appease-nik friends, the sheer BS, back-stabbing, and worse, the ingratitude towards the United States, of which I am a proud citizen, etc. etc. wears down people like you and me who deal honestly and sincerely with others.
I am delighted that the President stated that we would have the UNSC vote anyway and have the other countries "show their cards."
The last thing the French want is a vote "for war," but it's time their isolation was exposed in all its ugliness.
And let the chips fall where they may.
I continue to stand behind my President, but we're all tired and it's time for the curtain to fall on this UN farce for good.

11:00 AM Permalink

March 06, 2003

OBL CAPTURED!

Update:Here's that JPost story
Bush expected to announce progress in Bin Laden chase

According to Israel Radio, US President Bush is expected to announce the capture of arch-terrorist Osama Bin Laden.

An intelligence official in Islamabad, Pakistan, said that US and Pakistani intelligence agencies are tightening the noose around Bin Laden's hideout, which is believed to be in the Baluchistan province of Pakistan on the border with Iran.

Bush is expected to give a speech from the White House at 03:00 Israel time.

Drudge is reporting that's what Bush will announce tonight!
Either that or that OBL is "no longer a problem."
The Jerusalem Post has the story, but all of us who gotta know have crashed the server there, I think...
Developing--BIG TIME.


DRUDGE REPORT 2003®
I'm already feeling ready to rejoice! (Hope it's not premature...!)
Thank you, Lord, if it's true that he has found "earthly" Justice even though we know Osama will be frying in Hell in the next life no matter what!

01:28 PM Permalink

News alert: President Bush to hold News Conference tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST

Bush to Hold News Conference Thursday Night

President Bush will hold a news conference on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. EST, the White House announced.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer sites) said Bush would have an opening statement about successes in the war against terrorism and the importance of disarming Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
[...]

With the United States seemingly on the brink of an invasion, Fleischer made clear the news conference was not for any critical announcements about the Iraq crisis.

"This is a news conference. This is not a scheduled announcement of anything," Fleischer said.

Well, I'm not sure what this will be about, but the President wouldn't ask for our attention if he didn't need it.
It doesn't sound as if he's going to announce the start of the campaign to liberate Iraq, but who knows?
Stay tuned.

09:33 AM Permalink

Arab League summit almost becomes a brawl

The Globe and Mail

Shouts of "monkey" and "infidel" flew back and forth across the room, accompanied by wild hand gestures.

But it was not a kindergarten squabble or a professional wrestling match. It was the death of the last pretenses of Arab unity at an Islamic summit meeting in Qatar Wednesday.

It was the third vicious clash that has erupted between the normally dignified Arab leaders at public meetings over the past several days, revealing bitter feuds that are growing angrier and more emotional under the pressure of a looming war in Iraq.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference had called the emergency summit Wednesday in an effort to unite the world's one billion Muslims against the threatened U.S. invasion of Iraq. Instead, it degenerated into a shouting match between the Iraqi and Kuwaiti representatives.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's top aide, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, triggered the exchange of insults when he attacked Kuwait for its decision to allow 110,000 U.S. troops to mobilize on its territory, which he condemned as "treason" and "conspiracy with Zionism and colonialism."

He became enraged when he was interrupted by Kuwait's foreign minister. "Shut up, you minion, you [U.S.] agent, you monkey," the Iraqi official yelled at the Kuwaiti. "Curse be upon your mustache, you traitor," he added, using a traditional insult to a man's honour.
Another Kuwaiti delegate leapt to his feet and waved a small Kuwaiti flag. He said the Iraqi insults were "the words of an infidel and a charlatan."

The shouting match was shown on a live television broadcast across the Arab world, until the Qatar state broadcaster shut down transmission of the embarrassing exchange.

Mr. al-Douri had appealed for "joint Muslim action" to rally Islamic people against the approaching war. "We must not allow anyone to break our ranks, or else religion will be wiped out and our territories placed under foreign control," he told the summit delegates.

But at the end of the day, after the public squabble, the delegates could not agree on anything except a vague statement in favour of giving diplomacy more time.

A similar feud had overshadowed an Arab League summit on the Iraqi issue last weekend after the United Arab Emirates suggested that Mr. Hussein could avoid war by resigning and leaving the country. Several Arab countries supported the idea, but Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri angrily told reporters that the UAE Foreign Minister is "a Zionist agent child."

At the same summit, a day earlier, the leaders of Libya and Saudi Arabia had crossed swords in a vitriolic battle over the Saudis' acceptance of U.S. troops in the 1990s.

Observers said the recent feuding is a result of the dying spasms of Mr. Hussein's regime. "I think the Iraqis are feeling the heat of the crisis," said Ahmed Bishara, a leader of a liberal political movement in Kuwait.

"They're aware that their days are numbered, and Kuwait is an easy scapegoat for them. Venting their anger at Kuwait and using unacceptable language at public meetings is a sign of desperation. These are probably the last Islamic meetings that they will attend. By next summer, they will be gone."

The whole notion of Arab unity was never more than a "fleeting dream," Mr. Bishara said. "You cannot group people together just because they speak the same language. It is a contrived effort to put on a united face. Everyone is vying for their own interests. These are diverse regions, and if you try to put them all into one pot, it doesn't work."

I get the feeling that these guys would have brawled it out or had a knife fight if they weren't so old and fat!
What a hoot--and this is one of the bright spots in my day!
These bedouins are hilarious when they fight among themselves and curse each other!
And if the going gets tough, they can always fall back on calling each other "Zionist tools."
How nice to see proof that the specter of Arab unity is only a ghost story and that for would be "messiahs" like Osama who want to lead the Arab peoples to their One Religion World of Islam, it's about as easy as herding cats!
I love it!
Thank you God for our enemies and their vileness, greed and selfishness which will be their undoing!

08:30 AM Permalink

Even warblogging Cowgirls get the blues

I do apologize to my readers for being AWOL during the last day or two, but I was exhausted.
This waiting for us to liberate Iraq and the arguing in the press about everything under the sun is so stressful and enervating to me, I just cratered.
It's headlines like these that do it:
Senate Dimocrats wail on Bush for his policy of _________________(fill in the blank).
Love Boat's Lauren Tewes comes out against Rumsfeld's choice of ties!
Her brave stand cost her a walk-on part as a "neighbor" on "Friends!"
And these:
New African nation of Schmo Land will vote along with Old Europe nation of Ruritania to veto U.S./U.K. Iraq war resolution, says "War is the worst"
Or like this one:
Colin Powell gives the UN 10 things that prove Saddam is lying...and 6 ingenious ways to make a good Cosmopolitan.
Or even like this one:
Pope's envoy declares genocide of Jews and Kurds isn't a sin if you look at it the right way.
And then there are those polls:
119% of the people of Bubbatonia are against Bush wearing boxers, not briefs, 247% wish the First Lady would wear thongs!

This kind of cr*p gets to me--I'm only human--and so I, like everyone else, have to take a break and step away for awhile.
My cowboy hat goes off to President Bush--he really does have the patience of Job-- but if he doesn't order our troops into Baghdad real, real soon now, I can't be held responsible for what I'll do next!
In the blogosphere, they can't hear you scream...
Where are Scrappleface and Frank J. of IMAO to help me with their humor?

March 04, 2003

Blast in Philippines kills as many as 50, reports say (Update 1)
Let's hope and pray that there aren't many more victims than this, but with this double-triple blast scenario that the Islamofascists so love, I'm afraid there will be...hope I'm wrong, though.

One of the breaking news items this morning is this:Blast rocks Philippines airport

An explosion has ripped through Davao City airport on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, killing at least 15 people.

More than 50 others are said to have been injured, among them children.

There are also reports of a further two explosions shortly after the initial blast. One is said to have ripped through a bus terminal near the airport.

The first explosion went off at around 5:15pm (0915 GMT) in a packed waiting area, airport authorities said.
[...]
In the past, rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have been blamed by the military for a string of attacks on the island, including a car-bomb explosion at Cotabato airport last month, which killed one and injured another six people.

The Abu Sayyaf militant group - and another two factional organisations - have also been blamed for attacks in the region.
[...]
Davao city, about 1,000 km (600 miles) south of Manila, is the largest city on the island of Mindanao, and has a largely Christian population.

The island is mired in factional fighting, with government troops clashing regularly with Muslim separatist rebels.

The rebels have been fighting for a separate Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines for three decades.

Then, there's this editorial Philippine Flip-Flop in today's WSJOnline that was written before the bombing happened today, of course, in which the Journal staff writer(s) aptly sums up the situation there:

One location where captured al Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheikh Mohammed operated was the Philippines, which welcomed his arrest Saturday as a demonstration of the importance of international cooperation in defeating terrorism.

It's too bad Manila doesn't practice what it preaches. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has instead just reneged on an agreement with Washington to deploy U.S. troops to help chase down the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf terrorist group in the southern Philippines. The agreement is unconstitutional, she now says -- not explaining why the Philippine constitution didn't stop her from agreeing in the first place. Other Filipino politicians say a legal agreement could easily have been worked out had the president kept her nerve.

Ms. Arroyo's broken promise is a disappointment to the Pentagon, which had Special Forces primed for the mission, but it's far worse for her own country's economic well-being. More than half of all Filipinos live in poverty, a situation that won't improve as long as foreign investors continue to dismiss the archipelago as a haven for terrorists. And it's important to be clear: There is absolutely no chance the Philippine armed forces can beat Abu Sayyaf on their own.

The tactical inability of Philippine forces was proven last year, when U.S. satellite tracking, sophisticated jungle- and night-fighting technology, terrain mapping and field instruction almost wiped out Abu Sayyaf in a couple of months -- something Manila hadn't come close to doing in years. But equally intrinsic to Filipino nonperformance are plausible charges of corruption in the Philippine military.

Reports that cornered Abu Sayyaf guerrillas have bribed soldiers to let them escape have the ring of truth. It is alleged as well that some unscrupulous officers have sold arms to the terrorists. Opposition leaders in government protest that Ms. Arroyo is hesitant to crack down on misconduct by generals because their support was the essential step in ousting the former president and installing her without an election two years ago.

There are other concerns about Ms. Arroyo's poor judgment these days. Manila's Daily Tribune reported yesterday that Ms. Arroyo has been negotiating with Libya to try to pull in $100 million in investment for a palm-oil production center. The installation would be run by an outfit headed by Moammar Gadhafi's son, Sayf Al Islam. Cozying up to Libya has proven disastrous in the past. Former President Joseph Estrada allowed Gadhafi to negotiate the ransom of European hostages almost three years ago, a policy that provided Abu Sayyaf millions of dollars to buy sophisticated weaponry.

Unreliable friends like Gloria Arroyo have made efforts to defeat global terror networks unnecessarily difficult. Indonesia joined the cause only after terrorists blew up a large chunk of Bali and that country's tourist industry along with it. We hope Manila doesn't have to learn the same hard lesson.

President Arroyo might want to rethink either that decision not to use the offered help of U.S. troops or to enact some constitutional reforms to allow her to do so, because she and her country have real problems.
A year ago, we would have been talking about a bomb like this in Israel, but thanks to the firm hand of PM Ariel Sharon and the judicious use of the IDF, we're not seeing these horrible terrorist bombings in the Holy Land much these days--Thank God!
(Why are these Islamofascists trying to blast their way to a "Muslim homeland" if Muslims aren't even in the majority there? Just land-hungry, I guess.)

*Actually, I hate to second-guess the WSJ but Indonesia's not in the clear yet, as far as Islamist terrorists are concerned, in light of the fact that their province of Aceh was just allowed to open its first state-wide Shari'a court this week
, but today's Mindinao blasts may prove to be the Philippine's "Bali."
Must our world's leaders all have to learn by their own nation's bitter experience and not from observing the horrific attacks on other peoples (like America's 9/11 attacks, Australia's Bali bombing, Russia's Moscow theatre siege and Israel's Intifada) and gleaning the appropriate lessons without the loss of more life?

Click here to go to the website for the music, lyrics and accompanying images to the hottest country music song right now: Have You Forgotten? by Darryl Worley.
Here's the first part of the song:

"I hear people saying we don't need this war
I say there's some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground
We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down
Now they say we don't realize the mess we're getting in
Before you start your preaching let me ask you this my friend

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden
Have you forgotten?"

Thank you, Darryl, for saying it for us: We won't forget 9/11 and those who died that day EVER.
And we're going to liberate Iraq so there will hopefully be no more 9/11s (or worse.)
And if you love both music and our U.S. troops, too, think about giving to Michele's (of a A Small Victory blog fame) TroopTrax project where all the money we donate goes to buy music CDs and other goodies for our men and women serving in the military.
Thanks, Michele--you're a true soldier and a patriot yourself for doing this good thing.
Click on the button to get involved:

Thanks to John Little's Blog's of War, check out the new cover boy:
Welcome to Your New Life Khalid!



"Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life!"

Soldier Wounded in Afghanistan Re-Enlists

A soldier wounded in Afghanistan re-enlisted for another tour of duty, saying, "It's my job."

Spc. Wayne Stanton was among the first American soldiers wounded when U.S. forces walked into an ambush in Afghanistan on March 2, 2002.

On Sunday, the first anniversary of that attack, 10th Mountain Division commander Maj. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck swore Stanton in for a three-year tour, praising him as "the epitome of what we in the armed forces stand for."

"It's my job. I've got to do it," said Stanton, 21.

The 10th Mountain Division is the military's most deployed unit.

"The first time I was real scared," Stanton said. "This time it doesn't bother me because I know the guys to the left and right of me and can trust them."

Stanton suffered a gunshot wound to the foot during an 18-hour gunfight with al Qaida and Taliban forces. In all, more than 100 U.S. forces members were pinned down in a valley until helicopters were able to pull them out under cover of darkness. He recovered from his wound in a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

Thank you for your service, Mr. Stanton!
America is proud and grateful for all the wonderful men and women like you in our armed forces!
God Bless you all and may He bring you home safe and victorious very soon.

Iran election 'an alarm bell'

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has appealed against voter apathy after his reformist allies suffered their worst electoral defeat in six years.

The high abstention at the elections was an "alarm bell for the future" and could breed "disappointment and disenchantment with the whole system", the president said.

Returns showed a national turnout of 49%, and just 12% in the capital, Tehran.

Conservatives took 14 out of 15 council seats in Tehran alone, in a vote they said was a blow to "Western-influenced groups".

One of President Khatami's allies, Mostafa Tajzadeh, said the vote, in which reformists failed to field joint candidates, was a defeat for the whole of Iran.
[...]"But it was a bigger defeat for the whole establishment because a large majority of people simply refused to vote."

Mr Tajzadeh, who stood unsuccessfully in Tehran, warned that disenchantment with the political system could drive people to "move beyond the system, reforms and legal opposition".
[I think that's Khomeini dissident-speak for "revolution."--J.T.]
[...]"Friday's polls mean people feel their vote in the past few years has been disrespected and is useless," said Mr Tajzadeh.

"It means people have lost hope of seeking democratic changes through the ballot."

Amin Sabooni, a columnist in the English-language Iran Daily, wrote that supporters of reform were disillusioned with their politicians:

"What the nation got was broken promises, confused priorities, internecine feuds pitting reformists against their rivals and the nonsensical conspiracy theory."
[...]
It was the second time local elections had taken place since their introduction in 1999 as part of President Khatami's concept of a civil society at the grassroots level.

Many of the estimated 41 million eligible voters were under the age of 30.

I'm still not quite sure what this non-vote means, but I'm fairly certain it's not good for the Ayatollah's regime.
It sounds like the Iranian people have just given up on the system and that they know their "elections" are all a sham of representative government with the consent of the governed.
When President Bush speaks of bringing democracy and real democratic reforms to Islamic systems in the Middle East, you know the Iran of the mullahs is one of the places he's talking about!
And these fraudulent "elections" are just like the ones held by Arafat and Saddam in recent months and years, IOW they are no better than the one-candidate "races" held in the old Soviet Union.
And then there's Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Syria who don't even "bother" their folks with elections at all...
Hold on, Iran.
We're going to be right next door very, very soon!

Arafat faces genocide suit

Seven French nationals have filed a lawsuit against the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, accusing him of crimes against humanity and genocide.
[YESSSS!--Jen]

The seven - all relatives of Jewish victims killed during the current Palestinian uprising, or intifada - said Mr Arafat was responsible for the crimes.

"[Yasser] Arafat had the power and the means to stop acts of terrorism, murders and violence... [but] he organised and paid for them with the money of the Palestinian Authority," the seven families - all French Jews living in Israel - said in a statement.

The statement said Mr Arafat did not have immunity of a head of state under French laws as there was no internationally recognised Palestinian state. [You got that right! And there never will be!]

A specially appointed judge must now determine whether the lawsuit can be accepted and pursued legally.

The statement said the suit included dozens of pages describing circumstances surrounding various "criminal acts, suicide bombings... and car bombs which caused death or injury to the victims of the crimes".

It said video tapes of speeches at Gaza mosques "inciting directly and publicly to kill Jews" and some of Mr Arafat's speeches were also included.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said that as Jews, they considered themselves victims of "a concerted plan aimed at the partial destruction of a racial or religious group, which constitutes a genocide".

Is it too much to hope that this is the beginning of the righteous condemnation and damnation of Arafat and his "disciples" of murder and the end of their reign of terror in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and America? (And yes, I'd like to Yasser's death in there somewhere, too.)
Good Lord willing, yes!

March 03, 2003

Saddam 'killed missile chief' to thwart UN team

Western intelligence agencies are investigating claims that Saddam Hussein ordered the murder of a senior Iraqi missile engineer to prevent him passing vital information to United Nations weapons inspectors.

Gen Muhammad Sa'id al-Darraj, who was in charge of Iraq's mobile Scud missiles until three months ago, died 24 hours after talks with Saddam's officials, according to Arab newspaper reports. The officials wanted to discuss how the general would conceal his knowledge if he were called for interview by the UN.

The London-based Al-Zaman newspaper said that Gen al-Darraj told "indignant" relatives shortly before he died that he had been slipped a poisoned drink during the meeting at one of Saddam's presidential palaces.

Iraqi opposition groups suspect that the general's loyalty to Saddam was in doubt after he was removed from his post at the end of last year.

Poor b*stard.
He was probably ready to tell Blix everything.
Note how the Lib Media has totally ignored this story, too--in that it's typical of what an evil fiend Saddam is and how transparent the weapons inspections in Iraq aren't.
We can't liberate this place soon enough to suit me!
Faster, puh-leaze!

It'll be soon, it'll be swift and it'll be short

WAR against Saddam Hussein will start as soon
as next Thursday, The Sun can reveal.

A crucial UN Security Council vote for war is now likely a week this Wednesday.

Allied commanders could order air strikes against the dictator hours later.

A top US intelligence source said last night: “The moment we know we have the nine votes needed, we will go for it. The military won’t hang around after that.”

Allied chiefs expect little resistance from Iraq’s army.

The countdown to war became unstoppable when America spotted the first signs of support from Russia and China — both permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Despite publicly warning against war, they are keen not to risk a valuable relationship with the US.

Meanwhile allied commanders warned Saddam last night: “It will be soon, it will be swift and it will be short.”

And a top US intelligence source said yesterday: “American forces will go in hard and fast and we expect minimal resistance from the Iraqi military.

“They have no interest in keeping Saddam in power.”

The UN Security Council vote on a war is likely to be held on Wednesday week.

It will follow this Friday’s report by UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, who is expected to declare that Saddam has failed to comply fully with orders to disarm.

The intelligence source said: “The timing is tactical. The moment we know we have the nine votes needed, we will go for it.

Bush ... 'We will not forgive'

“The military won’t hang around — it could be a matter of hours.”

Devastating air strikes will be launched against key Iraqi command and control centres.

Pinpoint bombing with awesome new hi-tech missiles will knock out power supplies, computers and communications networks.

Saddam’s palaces and other known hiding places will be targeted. And unmanned Predator aircraft armed with Hellfire missiles will hunt down the fleeing dictator.

Ground troops will go in as soon as possible after the bomb blitz.

Intelligence sources, phone taps and satellite surveillance have picked up evidence that demoralised Iraqi commanders will lay down their arms at the first sound of gunfire. A source said:

They know defeat is inevitable — and some will welcome it. They have nothing to gain from keeping Saddam in power a moment longer or inflicting further damage on their own country.
We do not expect fighting in the streets of Baghdad.

One of the first casualties of the conflict — apart from Saddam — is likely to be French President Jacques “The Worm” Chirac.

Relations between America and France are icy after Chirac’s attempts to sabotage UN moves to disarm Saddam.

In a blistering phone call last week, President George Bush told the posturing Frenchman: “President Chirac, we will not forgive and we will not forget.”

War in the Gulf became inevitable when American officials reported a shift in the previously hardline attitudes of Russia and China.

Both are members of P5 — the United Nation’s five-strong Permanent Security Council.

Negotiations are delicate, with both countries signalling they are ready to abstain or even veto action.

Ready for action ... British soldier on guard near Iraq

But despite their public stance against unilateral action without UN backing, the two nations are reluctant to put a valuable new relationship with America at risk for the sake of Saddam.

A White House source told The Sun last night: “Russia and China have to make a power choice. On a matter of such significance as war, a country cannot sit on the Security Council and say it does not know what to do.”

A vote by Russia and China, along with Britain and America, in favour of a second UN resolution on military action would cut the ground from under Chirac.

And it would sweep wobbly African states Guinea, Cameroon and Angola — along with Mexico, Chile and Pakistan — into the pro-war majority.

Leaders are being reminded of the huge sums in US aid which could be at risk if they vote with France.

Others who have stashed billions of corruptly-gained dollars in Swiss banks have been warned that American intelligence agencies know their account numbers.

Chirac faces a humiliating climbdown in front of the world — or risks total isolation by using his veto at the UN.

If he votes against action, America will sweep his protest aside and go to war immediately.

A senior diplomat said: “More sophisticated French politicians are appalled with the way Chirac has gone out on a limb.

“They are desperate to avoid a vote of any sort in the UN.

“Chirac is hitting the phones, piling pressure on Russia and the African states to give the weapons inspectors more time.”

The shaming of Chirac would have sweeping global repercussions.

The Franco-German alliance which has dominated the European Union for half a century risks being smashed.

Britain could move into the driving seat in a new alliance with Italy, Spain, Holland and the ten new states due to join next year.

For "pure" news, I like London'sThe Sun.
Sure, it's simplistic tabloid journalism, but sometimes when the fogs of war are clouding things up more by the day, a simple picture is the best.
I think this little predictive story puts the whole situation in clear terms we can all understand!
Kudos to the Sun!

Chirac given rapturous reception

French President Jacques Chirac has received a rapturous welcome from hundreds of thousands of Algerians at the start of the first official state visit by a French leader since the country's independence in 1962.

French security officials put the crowd figures at around 500,000, but Algerian security sources said about 1.5 million turned out on Sunday, French news agency AFP reported.
[...]
Ships in the city harbour also blasted their horns, women sang in the streets and people threw confetti at the French president, while others chanted "Visas, visas" in reference to hopes that more Algerians would be permitted to work in France. [And with unemployment at 8-10% as it's been for over a decade, France would be so eager to see them,too.--J.T.]

President Chirac - who served as a second lieutenant in the French army during the independence campaign - is spending three days in the country, along with a delegation of leading business people, including the heads of corporate giants TotalFinaElf, Alstom and Airbus, as well as French cultural figures.
[...]

The two countries have endured difficult relations since Algeria forced [out] its French rulers, ending more than a century of control by Paris.
[...]
He will also discuss Algeria's home-grown Islamic militant movement, which has been a source of terrorist activities in Europe and North America.

Since 1992, Islamic militants have been trying to topple the Algerian Government and set up an Islamic state.

They have massacred soldiers and civilians, while government forces have also been accused of widespread human rights abuses. About 120,000 people have died in the conflict.

Rights groups are calling for President Chirac to raise the subject of thousands of Algerians who "disappeared" at the hands of Algerian security forces in the 1990s, when the insurgency was at its bloodiest.
[...]
About two million people of Algerian origin live in France, which has declared 2003 the "Year of Algeria" with a series of concerts and exhibitions about North African culture.

Chiraq's ego and ambition obviously know no bounds.
I don't know what he's up to with this--perhaps it's to appease and mollify those 2 million with Algerian "roots" back home and to help the other French people "feel better" about their Arab citizens whom they call "ratons" (which means "rats" in English!).
Between this "state" visit, sending troops into the Ivory Coast and leading their peace talks (which aren't working, BTW) and hosting Mugabe of Zimbabwe as a "honored guest" in Paris, I'd say that Chiraq has major ambitions for France in Africa.
Where else can he get this kind of reception? He'd better enjoy it while he can.

Arafat deputy Abu Mazen reneges on call to halt terror attacks

Yasser Arafat's deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, who has been touted as a candidate for prime minister, has reneged on a call to halt all terror attacks against Israelis.

According to media reports, Abbas, known better as Abu Mazen, made the statement at a meeting this morning.

After advocating a total cessation of terror attacks for a year, Abu Mazen now feels attacks against targets in the territories would be justified, Israel Radio reports.

The turnabout is attributed to Abu Mazen's candidacy for premier. Arafat has promised to name a prime minister, or second-in-command, as a step toward meeting US demands to implement democratic reform in the Palestinian Authority.

Uh, Yasser and Abu, putting up one of your puppets who advocates Islamist terrorism and the continuing murder of Jews and Israelis is NOT what President Bush meant by "democrat reforms."
Ask around.
With these PLA dudes, it's always SSDD.

Turkish markets plunge after war vote

Turkey's currency and leading stock market index have both fallen heavily after parliament failed to approve US troop deployment in the country for a war on Iraq.
[...]
By rejecting the US request, Turkey is unlikely to secure loans and aid from the US, estimated at $30bn, to offset the economic impact of a war in neighbouring Iraq.

It could also threaten a $16bn loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in which the US is the largest shareholder.

Well, Turkey you have your pride, don't you?
And you haven't betrayed your Islamist brother-in-arms Saddam....for whatever that's worth.
As for a vote for secular democracy in the region, who knows?
You won't have a better friend and ally in the world than the U.S.A., but you already know that.

March 02, 2003

Human shield Britons quit Baghdad

Almost all of the first British "human shields" to go to Iraq were on their way home last night after deciding that their much-heralded task was now too dangerous.

Two red double-decker buses, which symbolised the hopes of anti-war activists when they arrived to a fanfare of publicity a fortnight ago, slipped quietly out of Baghdad on the long journey back to Britain.

Abdul Hashimi, the head of the Friendship, Peace and Solidarity organisation that is hosting the protesters, told the shields to choose between nine so-called "strategic sites" by today or quit the country.

The Iraqi warning follows frustration among Saddam Hussein's officials that only about 65 of the shields had so far agreed to take up positions at the oil refineries, power plants and water-purification sites selected by their hosts.

What a shame!
This could have been a chlorine cleanser for the human gene pool, at least as far as lower IQs were concerned!
At least these idiots finally got a clue before the bombs actually started falling...
On a cruel note, I hope Winne Mandela's still in Baghdad, though, protecting her "civilian" site.
And check out the Telegraph's scuttlebutt on the human shields' fearless leader "Black Ken" O' Keefe, who bravely gave up citizenship of his motherland (the U.S.A.), but can't give up his mother, who's shielding him in Baghdad:
 
Inside the deluded world of the 'human shields'

Not everyone was upset by the latest turn in events. Ken O'Keefe, 33, the founder of the human shields movement who served as a US marine during the Gulf war, had always planned to protect Iraqi "installations" should bombs rain down on the capital.

During the journey, the heavily-tattooed O'Keefe, who earned the title "black Ken" on account of his penchant for the colour and outlook on life, had alienated his companions who felt he had developed both a death wish and a messiah complex. Prone to tantrums and mood swings, his credibility had not been helped by the fact that he had, for much of the journey, been accompanied by his mother, Pat.

I'm delighted to hear that Ken, the momma's boy, wuss and traitor, will be staying at Ground Zero in Baghdad!
Good riddance to bad rubbish, as they say in the UK.
Take the opportunity to read that whole story cited above: it's a hoot!

Turkish Parliament Nullifies Vote on U.S. Deployment

Turkey's parliament dealt a stunning blow to U.S. war planning Saturday by failing to approve a bill allowing in American combat troops to open a northern front against Iraq.

The decision, which likely will strain ties with Washington, marked a setback to U.S. efforts to show Saddam Hussein that he is surrounded and his neighbors support a U.S.-led coalition.

The parliament vote was 264-250 in favor, with 19 abstentions. But speaker Bulent Arinc said the outcome fell three votes short of the simple majority required by the constitution. He then closed parliament until Tuesday.

Prime Minister Abdullah Gul hastily met with top ministers and party leaders after the vote. Before going in, a visibly shaken and angry Gul said, "We will assess all this."
[...]
... The leaders of Gul's Justice and Development Party are expected to meet Sunday to discuss what action to take.
[...]
The motion would have empowered Turkey's government to authorize the basing of up to 62,000 troops, 255 warplanes and 65 helicopters. In exchange, Washington promised $15 billion in loans and grants to cushion the Turkish economy from the impact of war.

Besides that funding, Turkey also risks losing Washington's support which was crucial in securing billions in loans that rescued the country during an economic crisis in 2001.

The United States has also pushed Turkey's eagerly sought candidacy in the European Union. And if Turkey does not agree to host U.S. forces, it loses a say in the future of neighboring Iraq if there is a war.

That is a critical issue for Turkey, which fears that a war could lead Kurds in northern Iraq to declare an independent state and in turn inspire Turkey's own Kurdish minority.

Nonetheless, Turkey's governing party had difficulty selling the unpopular measure to the Turkish people and could not push through the motion despite its overwhelming majority in parliament.

This is a blow for the US action to liberate Iraq, but we're going to do it with or without Turkey.
I sort of expected them to do this, actually.
Ever since the election of the Islamist Erdogan, things have been strange in Turkey.
(Apparently, the Turks used to disallow "religious" groups like the Islamist AK/Justice Party from putting up candidates for national office, in keeping with Ataturk's secularization of society.
But as they were looking at EU membership, the Turks were told this was "undemocratic" in recent years, so they changed their election laws, with these awful results! They're about one election or coup away from becoming an Islamic theocracy like Iran with shari'a.)
While we're offering them billions, I think the Weasel powers are whispering into their other ear, promising them EU membership and that northern half of Cyprus they covet....
I predict that they will get neither.
And Erdogan may have to face down the Turkish Army (if he can) to wrest control of the country from them!
I'm quite sure that the Turkish military as well as Abdullah Gul (who is having to act for Erdogan who is legally barred from taking office!) are on our side and that sensible Turks know who they're real nation-friends are: that would be America and not Old EUrope!
If this is Turkey's choice, though and they don't get a different vote on Tuesday, then let the chips fall where they may.
We'll save all that money in aid and loans and we can help the Kurds in both Iraq and Turkey attain independence, if not their own state.
Turkey also stands to lose the revenue they get from our bases there and we can always buy our towels somewhere else, as well (a not inconsequential export product for them, I'm sure!).

Afterthought: Does "nullifying" a parliamentary vote sound wonky to anyone else besides me?

Pakistan Hands Sept 11 Mastermind to U.S.

After a decade on the run, the suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was in U.S. custody on Sunday in what U.S. officials hailed as the biggest catch so far in the global war on terror.

Arrested by plainclothes Pakistani security agents who raided a house in the central city of Rawalpindi in a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, Mohammed was branded by Washington as one of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's "most senior and significant lieutenants."

Mohammed, whose arrest is a coup for the United States in its hunt for bin Laden and its global war on terror, was handed over to U.S. custody and taken to an undisclosed location within hours of his arrest, a senior government source said on Sunday.
[...]
It was not known whether the man described by counterterrorism experts as having been behind almost every major terror attack in the last decade had been taken to Afghanistan, a military base in Cuba where other suspected al Qaeda are held, a U.S. ship or flown to the United States or a third country.
[...]Analysts describe Mohammed, a Kuwaiti in his late 30s, as a pivotal figure in al Qaeda who vetted all its recruits and who may know the whereabouts of both bin Laden and Mullah Mohammed Omar, fugitive leader of Afghanistan's former Taliban government.

"It was the work of Pakistani intelligence agencies... It is a big achievement. He is the kingpin of al Qaeda," said Rashid Qureshi, spokesman for Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, insisting that Pakistani security had operated without U.S. aid.

The United States, under criticism for failing to arrest the top leaders of al Qaeda while focusing on a possible war on Iraq, was jubilant and took credit for the arrest.
[...]
Mohammed was reported to have narrowly evaded capture last September when Karachi police identified him as a man hit by a police sniper in a shootout with militants that netted al Qaeda operative Ahmed Omar Abdel Rahman, known as Binalshibh.
[...]
He was indicted in the United States in 1996 for his alleged role in a plot to blow up 12 American airliners over the Pacific.
[...]
He is an uncle of Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, now serving a life sentence for involvement in the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center, later destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
[...]
He is suspected of involvement in the bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 and the attack on a U.S. warship, the USS Cole, in Yemen in 2000.

A Pakistani newspaper linked him to the kidnapping and murder of U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl, saying investigators believed Mohammed was the man who slit Pearl's throat in front of a video camera after the journalist disappeared in Karachi in January 2002 while investigating a story on Islamic extremists.

Murdering dirtbag.
The authorities can do anything they want to this guy to get him to tell us what we want to know and then send him to meet those "virgins" in Hell.
Hope he's at Gitmo with his "friends," although that's too good for him.
I'm sure whatever his final fate is that it will be more humane and fair than the death and pain he caused the thousands of his victims...
But my congrats and appreciation go out to the CIA, Pervez Musharaf and the ISI in Pakistan for this major bust!
I think a lot of people all over the world including myself will sleep a little better knowing that this terrorist scum is in custody and not at large planning more death!
And a big raspberry goes out to all those Dimocrats who tried to say that the Bush Administration wasn't doing its utmost to round up Al Queda!