Congrats to Phil over at Shades of Gray (Umbrae Canarum), one of the earliest bloggers to notice Target Centermass. Shades of Gray passed the 10,000-hit mark yesterday and, yes, he’s noticed.
Well done, Phil, you deserve many more hits. Still, I’m hoping to pass you one day [insert insipid winking emoticon here].
Anyway, that should wrap up blogging for the night, as I now must turn to wrapping up presents.
Looking for evidence of foreign involvement in Iraq’s troubles? There’s this pathetic tale.
For weeks, Mohammed Ahmed Abdul-Rahman could only wonder where his son had gone. Then the mystery was solved in a will.
“I am in Iraq, seeking martyrdom. I hope we are all forgiven,” Abdul-Rahman quoted his son’s will as reading, saying in a weekend interview that an unknown caller from Jordan had told him how to find the document three weeks after 20-year-old Hossam Abdul-Rahman vanished in September. He said he doesn’t know whether his son is dead.
While only a few cases of Yemenis going to Iraq to fight have been documented, security officials say they are keeping a close eye on travelers leaving this country at the tip of the Arabian peninsula, where Islamic teaching is strong.
Abdul-Rahman has taken the rare step of going public with his story, and is accusing Islamic extremists of brainwashing his university son.
Although its government supports the U.S.-led war on terror, Yemen has long been a center of Islamic militancy, and has suffered several attacks and bombings in recent years. The security officials say they are trying to determine whether Yemeni individuals or groups were financing trips to Iraq or helping with travel logistics.
A group of Yemeni clerics recently endorsed a call by 26 Saudi religious leaders to support the insurgency in Iraq, saying the attacks on U.S.-led forces are a legitimate form of resistance.
An Islamic activist in the capital said that while he was not aware of any direct attempts by Islamic groups to recruit Yemeni fighters to go to Iraq, he was supportive of such travel.
“I support it, because it is a duty. They are going to fight occupiers of Arab and Muslim land,” said Ali al-Kurdi. “Any Muslim who is hesitant in helping Iraqis is a sinner.”
He said recent reports in the local media have encouraged others to make the trip.
According to figures compiled by The Associated Press, there have been at least 12 cases of Yemeni men who have made their way into Iraq. The security officials said that three people suspected of trying to join the insurgency in Iraq were detained at the airport. Others are reported to have died in Iraq.
Authorities watching for travelers to Iraq are focusing on those leaving for Syria and Jordan, security officials said. Yemenis don’t need visas to travel to either country, which both neighbor Iraq.
Sadly, some could read this and still believe the war against radical Islamic terror should solely be about Osama bin Laden.
As I read this story, I did not understand the usage of the word “boycott” and its negative connotations in the story’s headline.
Tony Blair will take on the role of go-between for the Israelis and Palestinians as he tries to keep up the momentum of the Middle East peace process on a two-day visit to the region starting today.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon announced yesterday that Israel would not attend the Middle East conference Mr Blair plans to host in London after next month’s Palestinian presidential election. The conference is due to discuss how the Palestinian Authority can meet its obligations under the internationally backed road map to peace.
As Mr Blair prepared for a flying visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah, British diplomats received the news of Mr Sharon’s announcement with equanimity. It was seen as a logical outcome of preliminary talks last week between Israeli leaders and Sir Nigel Sheinwald, the Prime Minister’s senior foreign affairs adviser.
“Mr Sharon’s decision neither surprises me nor disturbs me,” an official at the British embassy in Tel Aviv told The Independent. “It indicates an understanding on the part of the Israeli government of the purpose and scope of the London conference. It was always our intention that it should be a conference preparing the Palestinians for the day after Israel disengages from Gaza.”
The summit will be attended by foreign ministers of donor countries and representatives of the quartet that drafted the road map – the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
Neither Israel nor Britain wanted to turn the road map into an alternative political initiative. They feared that Israeli participation would change the emphasis, which is meant to be on Palestinian democratisation, economic reform and reconstruction under a new leadership.
A senior source in Mr Sharon’s office said that the Israeli decision had been co-ordinated with Downing Street in an extensive exchange of letters. “We support this conference,” he said, “but we see no purpose for us to participate. It’s between the Palestinians and the donor countries.” The Prime Minister will promise Israel that it will not be “bounced” into premature final-status negotiations before it is ready or before the emergence of a moderate Palestinian leadership committed to making political progress.
At the same time, Mr Blair will offer to help the Palestinians to “fill the vacuum” when Israel implements Mr Sharon’s plan to withdraw more than 7,000 settlers from Gaza. His talks with the Palestinians will cover assistance on security, political reform and economic infrastructure. Mr Blair hopes these proposals will reassure Israel and the US that the Palestinians have a credible, non-militant leadership.
The British say the Israelis aren’t needed. The Israelis agree, and even expressed support for the conference. So why call it a boycott?
The press continues looking for a problem.
Asked whether the timing of Mr Sharon’s announcement – during a meeting yesterday with the Czech Foreign Minister, Cyril Svoboda, might be seen as a snub to Mr Blair, he replied: “We decided to publicise the content of the letters in order to dispel all the rumours and misconceptions circulating about the purpose and scope of the conference.”
Still no problem. So, why the headline? Well, there is this bit.
No one, however, seems to have told the Palestinians. Saeb Erakat, their chief negotiator, denounced Mr Sharon’s decision as “very unfortunate”. The Palestinians, he said, believed a conference was the best way to restart peace talks. “We want to focus on reviving the peace process and resuming permanent status negotiations,” he said.
So, it’s an Israeli boycott, as the press decides to shun the British and Israeli stances and view the matter through the eyes of the Palestinians. Very telling but not very surprising.
In a fast reaction to yesterday’s bombings, Iraqi authorities have rounded up 50 suspects, including some said to be rather unusual.
Iraqi authorities detained 50 suspects in connection with an explosion in the Shia holy city of Najaf that killed at least 54 people and wounded 142, and thousands of mourners attended funerals for the victims on Monday.
Najaf police chief Ghalib al-Jazaari said those arrested included “elements” who had allegedly confessed to having links with the intelligence services of neighbouring Syria and Iran.
This is no proof positive of the oft-denied involvement of Iraq’s neighbors in the country’s struggles. However, the circumstantial evidence mounts, providing more and more support to the obvious conclusion.