If you’re going to get caught trying to smuggle weapons, I guess it’s best to make it worth your while. You know, something like an entire F-14.
One has to admire the ambition. Now throw away the key.
Author: Gunner
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U.S. Indicts Three in Terror Plot
The U.S. has brought charges against three potential terrorists who are alleged to have been aiming at key American financial targets.
Federal authorities unsealed an indictment Tuesday against three men in British custody in connection with scouting financial targets in the United States as preparation for a possible terrorist attack.
Officials have identified the targets as the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup Center in Manhattan, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, and Prudential headquarters in Newark, New Jersey.
The three men — all British nationals — were arrested in England in August. At the time, U.S. law enforcement officials raised the terror threat level, citing evidence from “multiple sources” that al Qaeda members were planning another attack on the United States before Election Day.
It will happen here again, though we stand a better chance now of catching grandiose schemes such as this than previously. The tragedy of 9/11 has objectively been more of a defeat than a victory for the radical Islamist terrorists, both in its enticement to them for greater acts more easily detected and in its spurring our bringing the war to them. That said, as I’ve repeatedly posted before, I believe it will happen here on a smaller, more personal scale.
We need to steel ourselves to that eventuality. Also, we must remember that, no matter the effort, a huge tragedy could get through the defenses. We have to be right one hundred percent of the time; they only have to slip through once for a wealth of evil glory.
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Poland Sets Date for Iraq Pullout
There’s no real news here, other than a fairly certain timetable for the Poles’ withdrawal from their involvement on the ground in Iraq.
Ending months of uncertainty over the precise timing, Poland announced Tuesday that it would withdraw all its troops from Iraq once the United Nations mandate for the multinational force expires in December.
Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said the cabinet had decided to bring home the 1,700 troops, but he left open the possibility that the mission could be extended if the United Nations mandate were renewed.
“At the time of the expiry of the Security Council’s mandate, meaning at the end of 2005, the operations of the Polish stabilization mission should be finished,” Szmajdzinski said after the cabinet meeting. He said that Prime Minister Marek Belka’s government would not in the meantime be committing troops to any new missions.
This has been expected for some time. When a planned withdrawal was first announced, I expressed my gratitude for the Poles’ strong contribution (and have repeatedly called for them to be rewarded as a true ally). Now I thank them for withholding a timetable until significant progress had been made on the ground and in the Iraqi government.
Today’s article goes on to show why I admire the Polish commitment and efforts — the motives have been as noble as the service.
Poland’s decision to support the U.S.-led war in Iraq and then provide military assistance annoyed several of its European Union partners. But similar to other former communist countries, Poland said its own experiences of living under dictatorship influenced its decision to back the ousting of the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, and later provide military assistance and training.
Additionally, the central and east European countries, some of which joined the NATO military alliance in 1999 and others last April, were much more Atlanticist than some EU countries, particularly France and Germany, which led opposition in Europe to the war in Iraq.
What’s more, the Poles aren’t washing their hands of the matter, realizing that success in Iraq has long-term implications for Europe and the globe.
But Poland said it would continue to be involved in helping NATO train Iraqi officers both inside and outside Iraq. A NATO spokesman said Tuesday that more than 1,000 Iraqi officers would be trained by the alliance inside the country during this year and a further 500 officers trained outside in military academies in several countries, including Germany.
“All NATO countries in one way or other are involved in the training,” said the spokesman.
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Rummy Warns Iraq Not to Purge Security
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld cautioned the new Iraqi government to not go the route of a mass purge of Sunnis and those affiliated with the Ba’ath party from the country’s fledgeling security forces.
The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, delivered a thinly veiled warning to Iraq’s government yesterday not to purge the security forces or abuse its power for patronage.
On a visit to Baghdad Mr Rumsfeld signalled US disapproval of any attempt to sweep Arab Sunnis and former members of the Ba’ath party from the police and army.
The Shia and Kurdish blocs that will dominate the new administration want to install their supporters in the security services and oust those who served under Saddam Hussein. But Mr Rumsfeld said, in effect, that such people were among the best qualified to tackle the insurgency.
“It’s important that the new government be attentive to the competence of the people in the ministries and that they avoid unnecessary turbulence.”
[…]
Mr Rumsfeld used his visit to lobby the newly appointed Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani, and Shia prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, over key issues. Having won the election and sealed their political ascendance after decades of oppression many Shia and Kurdish politicians want their rebel militias to take a leading role in the state security forces.They mistrust interior and defence ministry officials left over from Saddam’s time and accuse some of them of leaking intelligence to an insurgency drawn largely from the Arab Sunni minority.
Critics say the “deba’athification” process could become a sectarian witchhunt against Sunnis who have the experience lacking in the hastily recruited security forces.
With the interior and defence ministries offering vast scope for patronage there is also concern that a purge could be an excuse to dole out jobs and contracts to cronies.
“We have an opportunity to continue to make progress politically, economically … anything that would delay that or disrupt that as a result of turbulence, or lack of confidence or corruption in government, would be unfortunate,” said Mr Rumsfeld.
Mr Jaafari responded politely but vaguely: “I am sure we are going to form very good ministries. So I think we can cooperate, all of us, and face these challenges successfully.”
The leading paragraph, with its talk of a “thinly veiled warning,” comes across more harshly than the rest of the story, but that’s the best chance for a reporter to color the news.
Rummy’s words seem wise — a mass purge or a move to squeeze out Sunnis would be a horrid move, both in terms of public stability and loss of competence. However, the Iraqi government has, to date, been extremely inclusive in its formation, and there is no reason yet to think that this will not continue. Admittedly, I am certain the security forces still contain many of questionable loyalty that should be investigated, watched and possibly removed. However, that does not conflict with Rummy’s wise cautioning against mass purges along religious or political lines.
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Latest Blogroll Additions
Sorry for the delay this evening but I’ve been busy as a pager-slave. It was my lousy luck to be oncall after a major software upgrade at work this weekend.
Anyway, last night I finally got around to adding some blogs to my blogroll that I’ve been checking out for a while. Some of you may already be familiar with them; if not, I would encourage you to visit them. The new additions are as follows:
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Iraq Ambassador Urges Lifting Sanctions
When the United Nations meets reality in Iraq — and rational arguments — the wheels of progess just seem to grind to a halt.
Iraq’s U.N. ambassador urged the Security Council on Monday to lift the arms embargo and economic restrictions it imposed on Saddam Hussein’s government, calling them “shackles and burdens” on Iraq’s fledgling democracy.
Samir Sumaidaie said Iraq’s new transitional leaders want the council to end the use of Iraqi oil revenue to pay U.N. weapons inspectors and to dismantle other legal and bureaucratic restrictions “which have outlived their relevance.”
Sounds reasonable.
Officially, Sumaidaie noted, Iraqi imports are still subject to inspection — a restriction that can only be lifted by the Security Council, along with the arms embargo imposed after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
“We must not be kept waiting (and paying) month after month,” he told council members. “Iraq is a fledgling democracy committed to the rule of law, both internationally and domestically. As such, it has the legitimate right to expect to be treated like any other member state.”
Sounds reasonable.
Last month, Sumaidaie complained that more than $12 million annually in Iraqi oil money is going to the U.N. commission charged with chemical, biological and missile inspections and $12.3 million in the next two years to the International Atomic Energy Agency for nuclear inspectors.
The U.N. and IAEA inspectors left Iraq just before the March 2003 U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein, and the United States has barred them from returning.
The two bureaucracies “are doing absolutely nothing that is relevant to Iraq” and the money should be going to the Iraqi people for reconstruction, he said.
Sounds reasonable.
China’s U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said lifting the arms embargo on Iraq should be considered “as we see this political process moving forward,” and he said decisions on the future of U.N. inspectors will be made “in the next few months.”
Why wait months after all of these reasonable points? Oh yeah, it’s the bureaucratic-rich communist China exercising their influence over the bureaucratic-rich UN.
The Security Council welcomed the selection of Iraq’s transitional leaders and called for the early approval of ministers and a quick start to the drafting of a constitution.
Sumaidaie said the assembly will soon start preparations for writing a constitution and expects to conclude the process by the end of the year with elections for the country’s first constitutionally elected government.
“Now that Iraqis have had their first taste of freedom they will not be denied it,” he said.
Damn that virus that is democratic exression and freedom. Well, that explains China’s problem.
Sumaidaie said the United Nations had appointed Fink Haysom, a South African lawyer who formerly advised Nelson Mandela, to be lead U.N. constitutional adviser for Iraq. U.N. officials had not announced Haysom’s appointment because Iraqi leaders had yet to accept it, U.N. Associate spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Acting U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson, speaking on behalf of the more than 130,000-strong U.S.-led multinational force from 27 countries, urged the United Nations to play a greater role in promoting a national dialogue in Iraq and building consensus on the new constitution.
Did the AP just say multinational? Did they point out 27 current participants in the coalition? I thought this was a unilateral action. Damn, looks like the U.S. missed out on its chance to be the imperialistic bastards they were so widely proclaimed.
“We would like to see the U.N. expand implementation of its responsibilities for economic and humanitarian reconstruction assistance,” she added, urging a robust U.N. presence in the northern city of Irbil and the southern city of Basra where the world body established a small presence in February.
Sumaidaie criticized the United Nations for “going overboard” with security concerns. “Especially for Irbil and Basra, there is really not justification for such caution,” he said.
U.N. envoy Ashraf Qazi said the United Nations hope a review currently under way will lead to an increased U.N. presence in Irbil and Basra.
I really have little to add after my injections except that it is just another statement to the sadness that is the UN — events so far outstrip and so quickly outpace the UN’s ordained concepts, but yet reality continues progressing.
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Thatcher Pops into Lap-Dance Club
The Iron Lady goes to a stripper club?
Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister, has made a rare public appearance for her beloved Conservative Party — at a glitzy London lap-dancing club.
Thatcher, 79, toting her trademark handbag, turned up Sunday at Stringfellow’s for a Tory fund-raising event ahead of the May 5 general election, the Daily Telegraph and the Sun newspapers reported Tuesday.
“Margaret Thatcher has always been a heroine of mine, so I was genuinely humbled to welcome her to the club,” said mulleted clubowner Peter Stringfellow, 64, who is usually surrounded by buxom blonde twentysomethings.
“I was just in awe of the woman.”
Thatcher, known as the Iron Lady for her uncompromising right-wing politics when she was prime minister throughout the 1980s, rarely makes public appearances due to her failing health.
Some 400 Conservative supporters turned up for Sunday’s function, but it was unclear what Stringfellow’s posse of dancers did.
The Sun quoted the impresario as saying “all the girls kept their clothes on,” while the Daily Telegraph said he gave them the night off — although he added: “I got the distinct feeling she’d have loved to have seen them”.
I have no idea what to make of this. However, as a longtime supporter of the glory that was the Reagan Revolution, I may have found it strangely erotic to watch Maggie tuck a bill into a grinding g-string.
Shudder.
Then again, probably not.
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Akbar’s Defense: Kuwait Attack Not Premeditated
Think your job is tough? Try defending this scumbag.
An Army sergeant charged with a grenade attack that killed two U.S. officers in Kuwait went on trial Monday, with his lawyer trying to stave off a possible death sentence by arguing that his client suffered from mental illness.
But a military prosecutor said Sgt. Hasan Akbar knew exactly what he was doing, pointing to his detailed diary entries before the March 2003 attack and the fact that he stole the grenades and cut power to his camp just before striking.
Well, those do seem to make a strong case for premeditation.
Premeditation is the central issue in the court-martial of the 33-year-old Akbar, who confessed several times and allegedly told investigators he carried out the attack in the opening days of the Iraq war because he was worried that U.S. forces would harm fellow Muslims.
With the fact of the attack not in dispute, his lawyers hope to spare him a possible death penalty for premeditated murder by alleging a history of mental illness that stretched back to his teen years and was apparent to the military.
“The enemy was in Sgt. Akbar’s mind, and had been there 15 years,” defense lawyer Maj. Dan Brookhart told the military jury in his opening statement.
Brookhart said Akbar’s mental illness stemmed from the sexual abuse of his sister by his stepfather, and as a teenager he was diagnosed with depression and an adjustment disorder. He also developed a sleep disorder and sometimes fell asleep while standing up. In the Army, his problems led to Akbar being demoted from a squad leader’s position and being given menial duties in his combat engineer company.
Cry me a freakin’ river.
“He was basically a failure as a soldier,” Brookhart said. He noted that as the 101st awaited orders to invade Iraq in the spring of 2003, Akbar was panicked by talk among his colleagues about their plans to kill Iraqis and rape women.
Military prosecutor Capt. John Benson countered that evidence indicates Akbar did extensive planning. In diary entries and actions – which included stealing grenades and turning off a generator that lit the camp – Akbar laid the groundwork for his fatal attack.
The brigade was on alert for an enemy attack, Benson said, but “their enemy was already inside the wire.”
Fourteen soldiers were wounded, either by the grenades or when Akbar opened fire with a rifle in the ensuing chaos.
One of the wounded, Capt. Mark Wisher, testified Monday about being blown through the air by the blast. He was wounded on the right side of his body and suffered a collapsed lung, lacerated liver and punctured diaphragm.
“I heard something hit the wooden floor of our tent and then bounce. I’ve seen movies, Hollywood movies, and grenades sounded like that,” said Wisher.
The court-martial marks the first time since the Vietnam War that a soldier has been prosecuted for the murder of another soldier during wartime.
Barring dramatic new evidence, and I honestly don’t expect any, I say kill him. Unfortunately, in our “enlightened” age, I wouldn’t count too heavily on justice deserved being served.
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Short China-Japan Post
Their headline:
Chinese Government Gave OK for Anti-Japan Demonstration
My response:
Gee, thanks for the insight, Sparky. Who would’ve thunk it of a totalitarian regime that allows or tramples on dissent as it sees fit?!
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As Random Musings Become Grumbles
Longtime blogroll denizen Eric has left Blogger and is moving to his new home in MuNuviana. In doing so, he has left behind his blog’s old name (Eric’s Random Musings) and has chosen the moniker Eric’s Grumbles Before The Grave. Drop by and welcome him to his new home.
Also, Eric is still in the process of porting his old entries. In the meantime, his previous efforts can still be read at his old site.