Target Centermass

Month: January 2005

  • Insurgent Admits Iran, Syria Links on Tape

    A captured Iraqi insurgent has confessed to contacts with neighboring Iran and Syria, two countries that have denied undermining the Iraqi government but have much to fear from success in the fledgling democracy.

    An Iraqi militant suspected of involvement in beheadings and other bloody attacks told Iraqi authorities that his group has links with Iran and Syria, according to a tape aired Friday by an Arabic TV station funded by the U.S. government.

    Moayad Ahmed Yasseen, leader of Jaish Muhammad, which is Arabic for Muhammad’s Army, was captured nearly two months ago in Fallujah, the former guerrilla stronghold west of Baghdad.

    Alhurra television, which has its headquarters in Washington, said the tape of his purported confession was made Dec. 24 and provided to the station by Iraq’s Ministry of Defense.

    Iraqi and U.S. officials, including President Bush, have accused Syria and Iran of meddling in Iraq’s affairs and aiding insurgents, a charge both nations vehmently deny. Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said last week that Iraq’s patience was running out with countries that support the insurgency.

    Iran?

    On the tape, Yasseen, a colonel in Saddam Hussein’s army, said two other former Iraqi military officers belonging to his group were sent “to Iran in April or May, where they met a number of Iranian intelligence officials.” He said they also met with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

    He said Iranian officials provided money, weapons “and, as far as I know, even car bombs” for Jaish Muhammad.

    Check on contact and collusion.

    Syria?

    Yasseen also said he got permission from Saddam — while the former dictator was in hiding after his ouster by the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 — to cross into Syria and meet with a Syrian intelligence officer to ask for money and weapons. He didn’t say if the request was met.

    Check on contact, unknown on collusion.

    And what of Yasseen’s portion of the “patriots” lauded by some on the Left?

    The U.S. military has said Jaish Muhammad appears to be an umbrella group for former Iraqi intelligence agents, army officers, security officials and members of Saddam’s Baath Party.

    The group is known to have cooperated with Jordanian terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as well as other Saddam loyalists and al-Qaida supporters. Allawi has accused Jaish Muhammad of killing and beheading a number of Iraqis, Arabs and foreigners in Iraq.

    Well, let’s just say they ain’t minutemen fighting for the good of Iraq.

  • Book Meme: Tell Me Your Authors

    From the Llama Butchers (though not originally), here’s the idea:

    You copy the list from the last person in the chain, delete the names of the authors you don’t have on your home library shelves and replace them with names of authors you do have. Bold the replacements.

    Here is their list, followed by mine with replacements.

    1. Evelyn Waugh
    2. Thomas Hardy
    3. Tom Clancy
    4. Jane Austen
    5. CS Lewis
    6. JRR Tolkien
    7. Robert Graves
    8. P.G. Wodehouse
    9. Patrick O’Brian
    10. William Shakespeare

    Gunner’s Contribution
    1. Ken Follett
    2. Mario Puzo
    3. Tom Clancy
    4. Robert Heinlein
    5. CS Lewis
    6. JRR Tolkien
    7. Ernest Hemingway
    8. George Orwell
    9. Joseph Heller
    10. William Shakespeare

    Now it’s your turn.

  • General Sees Permanent 30,000 Increase in U.S. Army

    I see this as pretty much a done deal.

    With the U.S. military heavily engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior general said on Thursday he expected the Pentagon will make permanent a temporary increase of 30,000 soldiers in the Army.

    The senior Army general, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said, “As far as I can see, it will be hard for us to come off of the 30 (thousand).” Maintaining the additional 30,000 soldiers costs $3 billion annually, he said.

    A permanent increase to 512,000 soldiers in the Army would require congressional approval.

    “There is stress in the force,” the general added. “That’s why we asked for the temporary 30-K increase to relieve some of that pressure. That’s why we instituted stop-loss.”

    The Army has issued so-called stop-loss orders blocking thousands of soldiers from leaving the military if their volunteer service ends while they are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    A year ago, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized the addition of 30,000 soldiers beyond the Army’s approved limit of 482,000, using emergency powers granted by Congress.

    The move came as the Army was struggling to maintain troop levels for the guerrilla war in Iraq that scuttled earlier plans to draw down forces there.

    Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have called for a permanent increase in the size of the Army — which provides most of the troops for the two wars. Rumsfeld has resisted, arguing that restructuring the force and making it more efficient could reduce some of the stress.

    The general’s comments followed news of a memo by Lt. Gen. James Helmly, head of the U.S. Army Reserve, in which he said the reserve was “rapidly degenerating into a ‘broken’ force” because of dysfunctional military policies.

    With the regular Army stretched thin and crucial specialists like military police concentrated in reserve units, the Pentagon has tapped heavily into the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard to keep up troop levels in Iraq.

    Reservists make up 40 percent of U.S. troops in Iraq.

    “I would not use the term ‘broke,”‘ the senior general told reporters. “‘Stressed’ is probably a much more accurate term.”

    A draft? No. But I certainly advocate an increase in the size of the all-volunteer military, certainly more than just making permanent the 30K temporary boost in this article. The issue is not if we have enough troops for today but rather if we have enough for tomorrow.

  • Jordan Calls on Iraqis to Go to Polls

    Jordan has backed off delaying the Iraqi vote and now is beginning a Get-out-the-Iraqi-vote drive.

    Jordan urged that Iraqi elections proceed as scheduled and called on all Iraqis to seize a “golden opportunity” and go to the polls Jan. 30 to elect an assembly that will write a constitution.

    Jordan had previously backed postponing the elections, but Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulqi opened a meeting Thursday of foreign ministers of Iraq’s neighbors by urging there be no delay in the landmark ballot.

    “From this podium, I call on all factions of the Iraqi people, young and old, men and women, to go to the polls to choose their representatives and draw their own future,” Al-Mulqi said. Failing to do that “will leave the door open for others to choose for them.”

    The vote, he said, is “a golden opportunity for all Iraqi men and women to contribute to putting Iraq on the right track, to build the state of law and return security and stability.”

  • Muslim Link to Anti-Semitism Rise in Europe

    In today’s world, the gist of this story should seem all too obvious, but it is good to hear it blatantly stated by a U.S. State Department source.

    A rise in the number of Muslims in Western Europe has intensified longstanding anti-Jewish sentiment in the region and acts such as desecrating synagogues are likely to increase, the State Department said.

    Since 2000 in Europe, vandalism such as graffiti, fire bombings of Jewish schools and the desecration of cemeteries and synagogues has surged and attacks against Jews “increased markedly,” the department said in a report, which was mandated by Congress.

    “This was a one-time report that calls attention to a new phenomenon. While there is not an explosion of anti-Semitism, it’s a concern that there is a rise of acts by Muslim minorities in Europe,” said a State Department official, who asked not to be named.

    “Unfortunately, the old-fashioned anti-Semitism of skinheads and the like has not gone away and people are also using Israeli and U.S. policies as an excuse to promote their anti-Semitism,” he added.

    Other causes contributing to the rise in anti-Semitism include Israel’s policy toward Palestinians and the invasion of Iraq, led by the Jewish state’s benefactor, the United States.

    Coming just after the State Department official’s quote about Israeli and U.S. policies, Reuters demonstrates confusion between the terms causes and excuses.

    Most European governments regard anti-Semitism as a serious problem and have taken measures, such as introducing legislation and bolstering law enforcement, to combat the trend, the report said.

    But the Bush administration, which has been criticized particularly among Arabs for favoring Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians, predicted new, disaffected Muslim immigrants to Europe will direct their anger against Jews.

    “In Western Europe, traditional far-right groups still account for a significant proportion of the attacks against Jews and Jewish properties (but) disadvantaged and disaffected Muslim youths increasingly were responsible for most of the other incidents,” the report said.

    “The trend appears likely to persist as the number of Muslims in Europe continues to grow while their level of education and economic prospects remain limited,” it added.

    The stories of the problems Europe is facing from its growing Muslim populations are become more and more disturbing. Here and here are looks at difficulties in Sweden.

    Sweden is one of the worst hit countries in Europe of Muslim immigration and Political Correctness. Now, the police themselves have publicly admitted that they no longer control one of Sweden’s major cities. I have made some exclusive translations from Swedish media. They show the future of Eurabia unless Europeans wake up.

    I’ve seen the future of Eurabia, and it’s called ‘Sweden.’ Malmø is Sweden’s third largest city, after Stockholm and Gothenburg. Once-peaceful Sweden, home of ABBA, IKEA and the Nobel Prize, is increasingly looking like the Middle East on a bad day.

    Here is a lengthy look today at several places in Europe, including Germany, Britain, France and the Netherlands.

    The Netherlands, like much of Europe, has made the mistake of long ignoring parallel societies growing in the poor, immigrant neighborhoods. “When you’re not integrated, don’t speak the language, don’t have a job, are living in half ruins–we must not overlook that there is a breeding ground for real violence,” says von der Fuhr. It all leaves young Muslims, even those born in Europe, vulnerable to what he calls “garbage can” Islam.

    We are certainly in a global war for the future direction of civilization, and Europe is shaping up to be one of the battlefields of the future if decisive steps are not soon initiated.

  • Personal Finance D’Oh!

    Bonehead financial move by yours truly.

    I got a call last week from Carmax, the people who have my car loan. Seems I was late on the loan payment. I couldn’t figure how that could be, as I’ve been paying ahead and paying on the same date as another bill. Go back through my online banking records and, apparently, I had indeed missed a payment in October to Carmax but not the other bill.

    I was perplexed.

    Until tonight, when I discovered I have a credit balance from October on my previously zero-balance Capital One (emergencies only) credit card. Damned online-banking drop-down menu. Cap … Car … d’oh!

  • Accused Deserter a No-show after Leave

    On this blog, I respectfully treated the case of Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun in what I felt was a balanced, fair manner.

    Now it looks like he is quite probably a deserter … twice over.

    A U.S. Marine corporal already charged with desertion in his disappearance from Iraq last year has failed to return from leave and may have fled to Lebanon, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.

    Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun was required to report back to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, by noon Tuesday, and was declared a deserter Wednesday afternoon after failing to do so, according to a statement from the Marine Corps.

    His commanders have authorized civil authorities to apprehend him, according to a statement from Camp Lejeune.

    Investigators have found evidence that Hassoun has fled the United States for Lebanon, where he turned up in July after his disappearance from an American base in western Iraq, Pentagon officials told CNN.

    Hassoun’s family told military officials that he had left Utah, where he was on leave, four days before he was to return to Camp Lejeune.

    But Hassoun is now believed to have taken money out of the bank and changed his flight destination from North Carolina to Canada, where he booked a flight to Lebanon, where he was born and has relatives, Marine Corps officials said.

    In December, the Marines charged Hassoun, who served as a truck driver and Arabic translator, with desertion and theft. He has denied deserting and was not held in confinement after being charged.

    Marine officials said Wednesday that he was not believed to be a flight risk because he had turned himself in after initially disappearing from Iraq. In addition, the Marines had let him go on leave to Utah two times before he was charged, and he had shown no sign that he would try to flee.

    His latest disappearance is another twist in an already convoluted story, with many details still unclear.

    In June, Hassoun disappeared from a Marine camp outside the Iraqi city of Falluja. Originally listed as a deserter, his status was changed to “captured” after the release of a videotape showing him blindfolded, with a sword above his head.

    Islamist Web sites reported that he had been executed by an Iraqi militant group, but Hassoun turned up with relatives in Lebanon in July and was returned to the United States.

    Military investigators charged him with desertion and theft of government property — a military vehicle and his service weapons — after U.S. troops found his civilian passport, military ID card and uniform during the siege of Falluja in November.

    If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison for desertion and up to 10 years for each theft.

    I now believe this man will never be found again on American soil. He may, however, be stupid enough to make his way onto a battlefield. If so and he’s captured, I have one question: do we still hang traitors?

  • Condom Testing Reveals Best Brands

    Want to know what rubber to put on that chubber? CNN is there for you.

    The consumers group best known for rating cars and washing machines has turned its testing prowess to condoms to find out which ones measure up best and how other birth control methods compare.

    The nonprofit Consumers Union says in a new guide to contraception that the seven top types of condom they studied did not burst despite vigorous testing, and all models met international standards.

    But results showed that the top brand, able to take the most punishment, was the Durex Extra Sensitive Lubricated Latex, according to the report.

    Other top-performers include the Durex Performax Lubricated, Lifestyles Classic Collection Ultra Sensitive Lubricated and TheyFit Lubricated.

    A melon-colored model distributed by Planned Parenthood performed the worst, bursting during a test in which the latex condoms were filled with air.

    The article goes on to briefly look at other contraceptive methods. For those who realize nothing is so good it lasts eternally, even condom protection, the article does throw out this bone … err … nevermind.

    While abstinence has a 0 percent failure rate, doing nothing to prevent pregnancy has an 85 percent failure rate, the group found.

    Target Centermass will add nothing to this except a snicker at the whole thing.

    Snicker.

  • Mbeki Attacks ‘Racist’ Churchill

    It seems the South African president is embracing the long-held Arab tradition of placing blame on outsiders in an attempt to shrug off local shortcomings, in this case those of Sudan.

    President Thabo Mbeki has made a withering attack on Winston Churchill and other historic British figures, calling them racists who ravaged Africa and blighted its post-colonial development.

    The South African president was addressing the Sudanese assembly, and he was criticised for not dealing with the government’s human rights violations in Darfur.

    He said British imperialists in the 19th and 20th centuries had treated Africans as savages and left a “terrible legacy” of countries divided by race, colour, culture and religion.

    He singled out Churchill as a progenitor of vicious prejudice who justified British atrocities by depicting the continent’s inhabitants as inferior races who needed to be subdued, and pointed out that Kitchener and Wolseley had waged ruthless campaigns in Sudan and South Africa.

    “To some extent we can say that when these eminent representatives of British colonialism were not in Sudan, they were in South Africa, and vice versa, doing terrible things wherever they went, justifying what they did by defining the native peoples of Africa as savages that had to be civilised, even against their will.”

    The speech was made on New Year’s Day but the full text was made available in South Africa only this week.

    As an exile in Britain in the 1960s Mr Mbeki was educated at Sussex University and worked in the London office of the African National Congress.

    Once considered an Anglophile, his admiration for South Africa’s former colonial power seems to have been cooled by spats over the Iraq war and strife in Zimbabwe.

    ….

    Mr Mbeki said this attitude [exhibited by Churchill] conditioned the behaviour of British empire-building in South Africa, including the crushing of the Zulu people and the scorched earth policy and concentration camps of the Anglo-Boer war.

    He was in Sudan after attending last week’s signing in Kenya of a peace accord between the Khartoum government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement .

    He visited Darfur, where Khartoum is accused of massacres and ethnic cleansing.

    Mr Mbeki said he had seen the “challenges” in the region, and he thanked the government for cooperating with the African Union and moving towards peace and reconciliation.

    South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said the speech was a missed opportunity to press Khartoum to rein in the Janjaweed militias.

    “Mollycoddling the Sudanese government is hardly appropriate in the face of its failure to put a stop to the Janjaweed terrorism,” he said.

    Douglas Gibson, a party spokesman, said: “It amazes me that President Mbeki feels that he should insult the memory of the greatest Briton by associating him with British colonial policy of 120 years ago.

    “All this in order to create some superficial similarity between Sudan and South Africa.

    “There is no similarity at all. South Africa has a liberal democratic constitution … Sudan is a country which is hardly governed and where the Arab north dominates the African south and west.”

    And just what was Mbeki’s beef with ol’ Winston? Simply this:

    As a young man Churchill served in Africa as an army officer, he was colonial secretary in 1921-22, and wrote articles and books about the continent.

    Mr Mbeki quoted a passage from The River War, Churchill’s account of Kitchener’s campaign in Sudan, which described shortcomings in “Mohammedanism” – Islam.

    It said: “Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy.

    “The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.

    “A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity.”

    Winston Churchill — though not perfect, right so many times in history about so many things. And as right today as he was then about the state of the Islamic world.

  • Kuwait Charges Troops With Plotting Attack

    Talk about ingratitude.

    Kuwait has arrested up to four members of its armed forces who are suspected of plotting to attack allied troops, a Kuwaiti military spokesman said.

    Kuwait has witnessed several small-scale attacks on U.S. troops and civilians in the past three years. But this is the first time in many years that serving members of the armed forces have been detained on such charges.

    “The security apparatus in Military Intelligence is investigating some officers following information that they intended to work against friendly troops,” Brig. Youssef al-Mullah said Monday.

    “They are fewer than five,” al-Mullah said, adding they were arrested late last week. “A number have been released after investigation.”

    He would not say how many remained in custody. Nor would he identify the troops they were suspected of plotting against. But the targeted troops are believed to be American.

    The United States stations several thousand troops in Kuwait and used the oil-rich country to launch its March 2003 invasion of Iraq. Kuwait continues to serve as a staging ground for U.S. troops and equipment going into Iraq.

    “It is just an investigation,” al-Mullah said. “The military judicial proceedings will take their course.”

    Al-Mullah gave no further details.

    The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait warned American citizens Dec. 15 that it had “credible information that terrorist groups are developing near-term plans for attacks against unspecified targets in Kuwait.” The embassy urged nationals to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.

    Kuwait has stepped up its internal security in recent days, stationing armed military and police vehicles at street junctions, hotels and embassies.

    Seriously, the world of Islam is a festering sore right now.

    That is not a condemnation of the religion, but rather a statement on the Arab world that has been built in its name. Radicalism went too long unchecked, generations were raised on poisonous words, blame for self-inflicted suffering was always scapegoated outward.

    That an ally would have such snakes in their midst is no surprise and is only more evidence why the Mideast needs an opportunity to embrace democracy, freedom and civilization.

    Or die before it can savage all of humanity.