Filed under: Uncategorized
While playing the Friday morning quarterback with 20/20 vision which seems to be the only thing the world can do at this point after former PM of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was shot twice and then detonated at close range while thousands of supporters cheered her on to a reformist’s dream come true. As much as everyone wishes to place blame on the current administration’s involvement in middle eastern politics, it’s just not possible.
Bhutto was a dead woman walking the minute she came out of exile and began her campaign in Pakistan.
If Bush and his gang of merry men can not be blamed then who shall we blame? Hmmm…those on the left are DYING to pin the scarlet letter on Gdub for anything and everything. When they can’t they stand back frustrated. To resolve their frustration, and the rest of the world’s let’s help them out. There must be someone or some group the world can assign blame to! After all that is what Friday morning quarter backing is all about: right right?
We MUST place blame squarely on the shoulders and point the every bony and long finger of accusation somewhere: but where?
I refer you to this article written by
Stephen F. Pizzo of the Atlantic Free Press:
“…the blame for this latest regional “Muslimocracy”-the primacy of Islamic law, or Sharia, which is still deeply rooted in the souls and minds of the people of that ever-troubled region.
Muslimocracies view the non-Muslim world as their enemy, and anyone within a Muslim nation who does not share that view, is viewed as a friend of their enemy. That is what got Bhutto killed today….you can lead them towards democracy but you can’t make them democratic. And, in the rare instances where they apparently relent, they use democracy to enshrine Sharia law, which is to democracy what a lynching is to justice. (Remember how the Palestinians embrace of democratic elections resulted in the elevation of Hamas. And, if free and open elections were held today in Egypt the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood would be swept in to power.)
As I’ve noted in more than one previous post, Pakistan is not our ally in the war on terror. Neither is Iraq. Nor is Egypt. And most certainly not Saudi Arabia. Those countries are our allies the same way a cobra is an ally of its snake charmer.
Unreconstructed Islam has been and remains Muslim country’s kryptonite against super-power strength. The Soviets learned that the hard way when they tried to occupy Afghanistan. The US is now locked in the same futile exercise of imperial hubris in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and possibly soon in Iran and Pakistan…(Some things have changed in the last 100 years in Pakistan) In particular, nuclear weapons, of which Pakistan possesses as many as 100 air and missile-mounted nukes. If one or more of those active nuclear weapons falls into the hands of al Qaida we can be assured they will used it to demonstrate just how much Allah hates non-Muslims. You don’t have to be a Neo-con to believe that.
Which begs the question-in light of the latest democracy-farce being played out in Pakistan, how should we treat the kind real threats posed by a radicalized Muslim Middle East?
In a word: containment.
We won the Cold War largely by containing the Soviet Union’s expansionist ambitions. And we won that long war without the level of bloodshed we’ve already experienced in Iraq, or the amount of bloodshed we will incur if we continue trying to force these people to drink from the democratic pond. Instead we told the nations of the Soviet bloc that, if they wanted communism, fine, it was all theirs. But, we made clear, don’t look for any financial, political or military help from us. In essence we let them stew to death in their own dysfunctional communist pots.
The Muslim Middle East is currently addicted to its own dysfunctional social/religious philosophical code, unreconstructed Islam. And that will continue to poison almost any relationships they try to form with the non-Muslim modern world. Christianity had to re-calibrate hundreds of years ago in order to survive and coexist with scientific and social progress. Islam has yet to do so and is therefore hopelessly out of step with modernity.
In the Muslim Middle East today, half-educated Mullahs have more influence over what their people know and believe than anyone inside or outside their countries. And much of what they believe is the very reason their countries are backward, violent places. For example, half their population- women-are barred from contributing to their society’s governance, commercial or even social development – a shocking waste of human capital for countries that need all the human capital they can get. But it was exactly that kind of misogynistic ignorance that played a role in Bhutto’s death today….”
Kudos to Pizzo. I couldn’t have said it any better
RWT
Filed under: In the Homeland | Tags: documentary, independent films, Iraq, John Cusack, movies, OIF, oscars, Robert Redford, sundance
Iraq war dominated Sundance 2007
The war in Iraq was a strong theme at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in the US for the second year running.
Sixty-four films are competing at the world’s leading independent festival which was held in Utah in Januray.
many of these movies are available on dvd about now
Grace is Gone starring John Cusack as a man whose wife is killed in Iraq.
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib about the abuses that occurred in an Iraqi prison in 2003 is one of several films based on war in the documentary category.
No End In Sight, an examination of the Bush administration’s conduct regarding Iraq and its occupation, is also showing in the documentary competition.
The ground truth-on this year’s short list to the “oscars” and is a moving documentary that will keep you riveted as it follows returning OIF vets as they re-integrate into society.
JWM
Filed under: Jacked but true, Over there | Tags: Al-Jazeera, Anbar, army, bodies, Combat, culture, dead, drive by shooting, EFP, expolsion, Fort Benning, hillah city, hospital, hummer, IED, insurency, insurgent, Iran, Iraq, iraqi officials, killed, media, middle east, mortars, national, nurse, ordnanc, Ramadi, Rockets, terror, terrorism, u.s. troops, voices of Iraq, war, war news today, war on terror, weapons
Made In Iran
A robot controlled by Soldiers from the 789th Ordnance Company, from Fort Benning, Ga., currently attached to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, investigates an Iranian 107mm rocket at a launch site Oct. 23. Five rockets were fired at Combat Outpost Cache from the site, but no soldiers were injured. Only one rocket managed to land inside the outpost perimeter.#1: Insurgents fired five rockets at Combat Outpost Cache, with one detonating inside the outpost perimeter, Oct. 23. No Soldiers were injured in the attack, but one truck was damaged.
#2: A U.S. soldier was killed and four were wounded in a roadside bombing in southern Baghdad, the military reported Friday. The unit was hit Thursday with an explosively formed penetrator, known as an EFP
#3: Three bodies were found in Baghdad today in the following neighborhoods(1 body in Ur, 1 body in Bayaa and 1 body in Amil).
also today in Al Anbar Province:
Khalidiya:
#1: Three U.S. servicemen were injured when a roadside bomb exploded targeting their vehicle patrol in northern Khalidiya city. An explosive device was detonated this afternoon near a U.S. vehicle patrol in al-Jazeera region, north of Khalidiya, injuring three U.S. soldiers and damaging their Hummer,” the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of
Iraq
Hawija:
#1: Gunmen killed a nurse in a drive-by shooting outside the major hospital in central Hawija, 70 km (43 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, police said.
Hilla:
#1: The US Consulate and an Iraqi police barrack in central Hillah city had been concurrently bombarded by 17 mortar shells, a senior Iraqi officer said Friday. Three Iraqi civilians were wounded in the attack Thursday while five houses nearby were damaged, colonel Ali Hassan said. Shortly afterwards, police forces conducted an inspection campaign, arresting a suspect and discovering 21 mortar launchers, Hassan added.
-RWT
Filed under: Fences Make Good Neighbors, In the Homeland, Over there | Tags: , ACLU, Afghanistan, Al-Masri, Al-Queada, ambassador, culture, El-Masri, foreign policy, Germany, Hamburg, imprisonment, Macedonia, news, Prison, Supreme Court, terrorism, torture, war, war on terror
Khalid El-Masri mistaken for a terrorism suspect with ties to the Hamburg Germany Al-Quaeda cell with the last name of Al-Masri; was supposedly abducted, extradited and tortured with the hopes of a confession coming forth. El-Masri was traveling to Macedonia from Germany when he was allegedly abducted against his will by CIA operatives.
The Lebanese born man became a German citizen in 1992 (around the same time Bill Clinton was enacting the “extraordinary rendition” clause giving the CIA authority in this manner) With the events of 9/11, the rendition clause was expanded by the current administration and has allegedly been used to detain 150 terror suspects in various locations across the world. The Bush administration has vehemently denied “extraordinary rendition” is currently being used. Condoleeza Rice has insisted that the US does not transfer people to places where they know they will be tortured and points out that this is in direct conflict with international law.
What international Law says about the rendition policy:
It is clearly prohibited by the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment, ratified by the United States in 1992, and by congressionally enacted policy giving effect to CAT. As Congress made clear, it is the policy of the United States not to: expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country in which there are substantial grounds for believing the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture, regardless of whether the person is physically present in the United States.
Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998,
(“FARRA”), Pub. L. No. 105-277, § 2242, 112 Stat. 2681 (Oct. 21, 1998),
reprinted in 8 U.S.C. § 1231, Historical and Statutory Notes (1999) (emphasis added).
Congress has recently reaffirmed this policy, providing in an amendment to the
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for the Iraq War and Tsunami Relief, 2005 (P.L. 109-13) that it will not authorize the funding of any program that “subject[s]
any person in the custody or under the physical control of the United States to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment that is prohibited by the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.” P.L. 109-13, § 1031 (2005). The President, too, has confirmed that it is the policy and practice of the United States neither to use torture nor to hand over detainees to countries that use torture.
Although the administration has denied these claims, Khalid El-Masri is sticking to his story. He alleges he was detained and taken (against his will according to his testimony) first to a hotel and then to a remote location in Afghanistan where he says he was beaten, tortured, kept in deplorable conditions, drugged, and raped while CIA coverts tried to force a confession from him. The confession constituted involvement with Al-Queada and the Hamburg cell of the terror entity. He claims he was held for 3 months until the CIA realized it’s mistake.
After realizing the case of mistaken identity, El Masri was allegedly held for an additional two months during which time he participated in a hunger strike with other detainees to protest their alleged false imprisonment. After coming close to death twice from lack of nourishment, El-Masri was allegedly taken by a CIA black team, dropped in the woods of neighboring Albania and left there. Albanian guards found him and suspected him of being a terrorist because of his unkempt appearance. Eventually El-Masri was re-united with his wife and family in Lebanon who believed him to be dead.
The ACLU brought El-Masri back to the United States to prosecute former CIA Tenet for overseeing this and several other cases of false imprisonment and extradition to foreign locations where supposedly they were the victims of torture in which no laws protected them.
This video clip shows the ACLU counsel introducing El-Masri and outlining their case.
http://stream.luxmedia501.com/?file=/clients/aclu/rendition/Masri_112806.wmv&type=wmv
Since bringing the case the ACLU has lost several rounds in the courts and this month (Oct. 2007) has been denied a hearing by the supreme court as well.
In addition to this, since returning to Germany El-Masri has been in trouble TWICE with the law. He was charged with Arson as well as disorderly conduct charges by the German polizei.
Is this a man that was wronged? Has he suffered great mental anguish after supposedly being tortured and imprisoned abroad and is now finding it difficult to re-integrate into the society he was once a part of?
or is this further evidence that El-Masri is not the savory family man the ACLU wishes you to believe he is?
If this is such a water-tight case, why is it not being heard?
Why has nearly every court dismissed, disallowed and the defense disproved the allegations?
Time will tell but until then it is a case to be allowed much thought, probing and delicate pandering among German and American nationals.
-GRM
Filed under: Jacked but true, Uncategorized | Tags: , Afghanistan, Bomb, culture, IED, Iraq, Islam, jihad, news, politics, religion, Somalia, terrorists, violence, war, war on terror, world
This week’s jihad report
Weekly Jihad Report
Oct. 13 – Oct. 19
| Jihad Attacks: |
45 |
| Dead Bodies: |
348 |
| Critically Injured: |
1021 |
Most Recent Attacks:
10/23/2007 (Kazbek, Dagestan) – A bomb on a minibus kills a female passenger.
10/22/2007 (Mogadishu, Somalia) – Three children playing in a street are killed by Islamic terrorists using a roadside bomb.
10/22/2007 (North Waziristan, Pakistan) – Two local soldiers are killed in separate attacks by pro-Taliban militants.
10/22/2007 (Baghdad, Iraq) – 12+ Iraqis are cut down by Jihadis in separate bombing and shooting attacks.
10/22/2007 (Baqubah, Iraq) – Three men are kidnapped and tortured to death by al-Qaeda.
10/22/2007 (Mosul, Iraq) – A female lawyer is among six people murdered by Islamic terrorists.
Filed under: Jacked but true | Tags: crime, culture, honor killing, India, infidels anonymous, Islam, Italy, jihad, Mecca, news, radical extremist, religion, war on terror
Hina Saleem was murdered by her father last year in northern Italy in an Islamic ‘honor killing’ . Hina who dressed in western clothes, worked in a pizzeria in the northern town of Sarezzo and lived with her Italian boyfriend was found with her throat slit, buried in the garden of her family home, her head facing Mecca in August 2006.
Her father Mohammed confessed to her slaying. Prosecutors allege he murdered Hina with the aid of other male relatives after they decided Hina had ‘dishonored’ their family.
Now is where I’d like to unpack this a little bit for you and sound off on this-
Let me get this straight… dishonoring the family to this dude (the father) meant that his daughter was having a relationship with a dude that was not muslim (he was Italian and Catholic), and not upholding traditional muslim “values”-
-so to make that right….he slit her throat like she was a head of cattle?
Where is the honor in THAT? and to hear that other male relatives participated in this crime (maybe holding her down or gagging her etc) confuses me even more. Was it the “gang” mentality that took hold? Did Sayed get a call from Uncle Mohammed that day? I can hear it now…
Sayed: Hello?
Uncle: Hello nephew, this is Uncle Mohammed. What are you doing today?
Sayed: I’m working and then after work I thought I’d stop for some tea with the boys
Uncle: Want to come over and help me kill my daughter? She’s got this boyfriend I don’t like and I need some help to bring back honor to the family.
Sayed: Hey man, count me in! I’m all about honor!
Uncle: Excellent my nephew, I will swing by and pick you up at 5:00-don’t forget the duct tape and a samurai sword ok?
Sayed: Yeah, maybe I’ll call my brother and see if he wants to come too
Uncle: Very good, the more the merrier. We will be tired after we kill her, he can dig the shallow grave.
Islam is coined “The Religion of Peace”—did you know that?
Filed under: In the Homeland
Dennis Township-Illinois
The schools located within the township of Dennis in Illinios have a zero tolerance on guns. That seems pretty reasonable to me. You bring a gun to school-BAM, you’re outta there. You talk about bringing a gun to school-BAM, you’re in the counselor’s office and principal’s office with the threat being taken seriously. Now what if you’re in art class and you’re sitting there with your big ass box of 64 crayolas with the sharpener on the back and if you were like me as a 7 or 8 year old, you’re busy drawing things that run through a boy’s mind
When I was a kid I drew primarily tanks, things exploding, shooting, soldiers—oops! Did I say shooting?
Shooting would mean there would be a gun depicted in my artwork now wouldn’t there?
Well zero tolerance is some serious shit in Dennis township-they mean it when they say ZERO tolerance-even if it’s not a real gun, and even if it’s only a picture of one drawn on a piece of paper! A second grade student got suspended for drawing something just like this last week. The student, a seven year old named Kyle Walker drew a picture with a gun in it- and gave it to his buddy on the school bus. His buddy’s parents took the picture to the school and complained. The kid was then suspended from school for a day.
I wonder if he sat around and drew pictures on his day off from school?
Filed under: Fences Make Good Neighbors | Tags: arms, Bolton, democracy, jihad, Lebanon, middle east, smuggling, Syria, U.N., United Nations, war on terror
I have been known to post some inflammatory remarks about Syria now and again but it’s not without good reason.
I believe Syria to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
I’ve been talking about the Iraq/Syria insurgency connection for sometime-well, I’d like you to check this out…yet another recent reason as to why I believe the statement of the wolf in sheep’s clothing has merit. Can Syria not be on the honor system with any of it’s neighbors?
[Credit Reuters]
UNITED NATIONS – Lebanon regularly reports arms being smuggling into the country from Syria but the authorities are treading softly due to their fragile political situation, a senior U.N. envoy said on Monday.
Government officials have informed the United Nations of smuggling as recently as “the last few weeks,” although they are providing no information on the quantities or types of arms being secreted across the border, said Terje Roed-Larsen, the top U.N. diplomat on Lebanese ties with Syria.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, quoting Roed-Larsen, said the officials were not being precise about the smuggling for fear of retaliation from Syria.
“The absence of complete cooperation by the government of Syria remains very troubling in that respect and I think it’s very courageous for any of the democratic politicians in Lebanon to go about their business under that kind of threat,” Bolton told reporters.
