Rockets lead 52-45 in a must-win.
Let’s blog.
Category: General
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N.Y. Governor Wants Freedom Tower Redesign
The security standards for the rebuild of NYC’s Ground Zero have changed, and the governor is now requiring accompanying changes to the “Freedom Tower” plans.
The Freedom Tower to be built on the former World Trade Center site must be redesigned to address security concerns raised by the police department, Gov. George Pataki said Wednesday following a meeting with the mayor and other officials.
“We believe that a building that meets the NYPD standards can be built consistent with (architect) Daniel Libeskind’s master site plan,” Pataki said in a statement.
The meeting between Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein, city police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and other officials was sparked by a security assessment the police department provided last month.
The New York Times reported Sunday that because of the assessment, Silverstein has proposed seeking public financing — possibly hundreds of millions of dollars — to address security concerns.
Redevelopment officials have said the completion of the 1,776-foot tower, scheduled for 2009, would be delayed by up to a year to address the security issues.
The tower is expected to be built on the former World Trade Center site as a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and to help improve the lower Manhattan economy. It would be the tallest tower in the world.
Its cornerstone was laid July 4, 2004, but the police department’s assessment forced the architects to rethink elements of the structure — including its location on the northwest side of the 16-acre World Trade Center site, which is owned by the Port Authority.
Police have declined to talk specifically about their concerns over safety, citing security reasons.
A preliminary design intended to address the security concerns will be released in the next several weeks, said Kevin Rampe, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. president who is leaving at the end of the month.
On Monday, the mayor had said safety concerns needed to be addressed as lower Manhattan’s redevelopment continues.
“In 1993, there was a bombing at the World Trade Center, and we did not learn our lesson, and we paid for that with close to 3,000 lives,” Bloomberg said then.
“This is a building, particularly the Freedom Tower, that is built to be a symbol, and symbols are great if you are encouraged by the cause, and they are potentially a target by people that hate the cause.”
Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, who had publicly complained Tuesday of “inertia” slowing the rebuilding process, on Wednesday praised the governor and mayor for moving “quickly and decisively.” He also called for officials to “move full speed ahead” on other revitalization projects.
The complications with the Freedom Tower will not delay plans for a new performing arts center, set for 2009 or 2010, and the trade center memorial and new PATH commuter train station, both set for 2009, rebuilding officials said.
Want a symbol for the world to see? Rebuild the towers. But that’s just my opinion.
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Key al-Queda Figure Nabbed
An extremely high-ranking al-Queda member, possibly its number three man, has been captured in Pakistan. With the news, USA Today borders on focusing in the popular-but-wrong direction.
When President Bush said after the 9/11 attacks that he wanted al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden “dead or alive,” few would have thought he would still be at large nearly four years later.
Wednesday brought new hope that for all bin Laden’s elusiveness, he is not entirely safe: Pakistan announced the capture of al-Qaeda’s suspected No. 3 man, Abu Farraj al-Libbi.
Al-Libbi (“the Libyan”) has a string of jaw-dropping allegations against him, including two attempts on the life of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003 and one last year on the country’s prime minister. But the key part of his résumé is that he reportedly stepped into al-Qaeda’s No. 3 role after 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured, also in Pakistan, in March 2003.
The arrest is a reminder of the grinding nature of the war on terror and how progress is incremental and painstaking. It also spotlights the importance of allies — none more so than Pakistan.
After 9/11, Pakistan made the difficult decision to work with the U.S., setting Islamic militants, who hold sway in much of the country, firmly against Musharraf. The relationship is delicate for the U.S., too, since Musharraf is resisting the democracy and freedom the U.S. is also pushing, and because Pakistan has nuclear weapons.
The precise impact of removing known al-Qaeda leaders is uncertain. When one is cut down, back-ups quickly step in. Al-Qaeda cells operate independently. Still, any organization that loses about half of its top 25, as al-Qaeda has since 9/11, loses potency.
Al-Libbi was seized in Pakistan’s wild northwest region, where many believe bin Laden is hiding. Will the trail lead next to bin Laden and his deputy, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri? Al-Libbi’s capture at least revives that possibility. For now, though, removing al-Qaeda’s purported No. 3 inflicts a less-than-mortal wound. Capturing or killing No. 1 and No. 2 would do far more: removing the men whose symbiotic alliance produced the horrors of 9/11.
Look, no one wants bin Laden dead more than me. That said, I see it as a marginal issue in the war against Islamist terror. This is not a campaign against one evil man but rather a campaign against those like him and the culture that allowed him to thrive and would spew forth others of his like to replace him. The USA Today piece does do a good job of reflecting the necessarily grinding nature of this campaign, however, and of realizing the obviously diminished capabilities of the terrorists’ having to plug in understudies into a large chunk of their leadership.
What the USA Today and America need to realize is simply this: the war is not about bin Laden but presenting an alternative society to the one that spawned the beast. And that is where Iraq comes into play — the possibility of a shining Arab city on the hill.
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JCS Chair: U.S. Forces Strained
Well, this is what I call stating the obvious — involvement in a war has stressed the military and eaten into supplies.
The United States may not be able to win any new wars as quickly as planned because the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have strained its armed forces, manpower and resources, the nation’s top military officer has told Congress in a secret report.
General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the US military as in a period of increased risk, according to a senior defence official.
“We will prevail,” Gen Myers said when asked about the report. “The timelines [to winning a new war] may have to be extended and we may have to use additional resources, but we’re going to be successful in the end.”
Gen Myers also predicted the risk would go down in a year or two, the official said.
“We are at war and that level of operations does have some impact on troops,” White House spokesman Trent Duffy said. “But the president continues to be confident, as well as his military commanders, that we can meet any threat decisively.” Among the most likely conflicts the Pentagon foresees in the near term are with North Korea and Iran, the two remaining members of President Bush’s “axis of evil”.
About 138,000 American troops are in Iraq. Another 18,000 are in Afghanistan. Military officials have given no precise estimate when they will be able to significantly reduce the number of US troops in Iraq, but some generals have suggested next year.
That the military, dramatically reduced from Cold War numbers, would quickly feel the burden of conflict in two theaters while trying to maintain a ready posture in others is to be expected. So, too, the questioning of resources, as there has been zero effort towards moving the country to any sort of a war economy.
I like the spin that we would be unable to win another war “as quickly as planned” but don’t believe it, as the truthfulness of the statement would really depend upon which war is in question.
In the case of a move into the south by North Korea, I completely believe it, as our forces there have historically been a tripline of sorts. Any action against North Korea has been envisioned as a large advantage in numbers for the communist North and a tremendous advantage in technology and training for the U.S. and South Korea. Add to that decisive advantages of air and naval dominance and the inherent strength of initially fighting on the defensive and you have the long-held formula for Korea: hold on against the numerically-superior onslaught until the allied advantages nullify it and sufficient assets are brought to bear to counterattack..
I also see the slowed-but-certain victory as accurate if conflict with Iran or Syria rolls around. The issue with Iran is that, should push come to shove before our military has had a sufficient recovery period, I envision a much bloodier campaign for the Iranian people than I would’ve hoped would ever be needed. There is a strong undercurrent for democracy among a large portion of the Iranian populace and, given time and successful democratic governments in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq, this undercurrent could turn into a violent undertow that threatens to drag under the ruling radical theocracy. Should the Iranian government feel this danger and press the issue with the U.S. before the Army and Marines are back to near-full capability, the war would have to be carried from above. And I ain’t talking about with a delicate touch; I mean the brutality of the “Shock and Awe” that was threatened against Iraq but never truly utilized. That would be necessarily tragic.
My main question about Myers’ statement is China. If they move against Taiwan, something they are not currently ready for but are upgrading and training for at breakneck speed, time would be of the essence. Defense of Tiawan does not allow for a buying-time mentality. Any invasion would have to be stopped, as success would hinge on preventing any foothold and build-up by the Chinese. To recover Taiwan after a successful Chinese occupation would be for naught — even if the commies are finally, bloodily expelled, Taiwan would be essentially a nation existing in the past tense.
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U.S. Military Recruiting Woes Continue
On a day when new survey results show that 57 percent of adult Americans do not believe our efforts in Iraq are worth the cost, the Army has released detailed data showing that its recruiting continues to hemorrhage, falling short of its April goal by a heart-breaking 42 percent.
The U.S. Army missed its April recruiting goal by a whopping 42 percent and the Army Reserve fell short by 37 percent, officials said on Tuesday, showing the depth of the military’s wartime recruiting woes.
With the Iraq war straining the U.S. military, the active-duty Army has now missed its recruiting goals in three straight months, with April being by far the worst of the three, and officials are forecasting that it will fall short again in May.
The all-volunteer Army is providing the majority of the ground forces for an Iraq war in which nearly 1,600 U.S. troops have died.
The active-duty Army signed up 3,821 recruits last month, falling short of its goal of 6,600 for April, Army Recruiting Command spokesman Douglas Smith said. That left the Army 16 percent behind its year-to-date goal, officials said.
The Army is striving to attract 80,000 recruits in fiscal 2005, which ends Sept. 30. The Army has not missed an annual goal for signing up new soldiers since 1999, and had not missed a monthly goal since May 2000.
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The Army Reserve, a force of part-time soldiers who train regularly and can be called to active duty in times of need, signed up 849 recruits in April, short of the monthly goal of 1,355, Smith said. That left the Army Reserve 21 percent behind its year-to-date goal.
A senior Army official, who asked not to be named, said the Army Reserve will “probably not” achieve its annual goal of 22,175 recruits.
The Army National Guard said it did not yet have its April numbers, but has missed its recruiting goal in every month of the current fiscal year through March and was 23 percent behind its year-to-date goal at that time. It missed its fiscal 2004 annual goal.
Military recruiters have said potential recruits and their parents were expressing wariness about enlisting during the Iraq war. They said improving civilian job opportunities also were affecting recruiting.
Has the war gone that poorly? Has the situation turned that dire? Or is the public being sold a negative bill of goods by the media? The networks and most papers wail with bad news while paying only passing attention to any progress, except when the situation absolutely demands it (the only recent moment that comes to mind is the success of the January elections). Barring such demand, the old saying in sensationalist journalism is that a building that does not burn is not news.
As evidence that the situation on the ground is not as bad as the public is being led to believe, let’s check with the people on the ground.
Col. Joe Curtin, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said the Army was ahead of its targets for reenlisting current soldiers. “At the same time, we have a challenge of bringing new members into our ranks, but we’re optimistic we’ll meet that goal by the end of the summer,” Curtin said.
People involved in a disaster don’t stick around in better-than-expected numbers.
‘Tis a shame that, on a day when history is being made by the swearing in of the first-ever Iraqi government resulting from popular elections and reflecting the diversity and will of the Iraqi people, America is being coaxed methodically towards a repeat of an earlier historical moment, an event when the American media betrayed the country’s military and truth with their poor, slanted selling of an alternate reality. Ah, Tet — a repeat is not in the best interest of our nation or, indeed, the future of western civilization, but that doesn’t stop some from pushing for it.
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Letter Reveals Problems in Iraq Insurgency
Perhaps my post last night portrayed a tad too negative view of the war against Islamist terror, although it looks like I may have been dead on about the trouble the murderers are having recruiting martyrs. A captured letter released today shows that the fodder shortage may just be the tip of the terrorists’ troubled iceberg.
U.S. forces in Iraq have captured what they say is a letter from a key supporter to insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi, indicating that there is a split in the insurgency, which the letter blames on poor leadership.
The U.S. command in Iraq says troops found the letter during a raid in Baghdad last Friday. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman says experts have confirmed its authenticity as message from senior aide Abu Asim Yemeni to the insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi.
“The letter is important because it highlights the fact that Zarqawi’s influence and effectiveness may be deteriorating. It describes low morale and weak and incompetent leadership, and goes on to allege to Zarqawi that he has abandoned his followers because he is now a fugitive himself,” he said.
According to a translation of the letter provided by U.S. forces in Iraq, it describes some trouble between groups of insurgents that the apparent writer, Mr. Yemeni, says “cannot be forgiven.” He reports to his old friend Mr. Zarqawi that “morale has weakened” and “lines have become separated due to some leaders’ actions.” The letter says, “We have leaders that are not capable of being good leaders” It also expresses suspicion about some envoys who claim to speak for Mr. Zarqawi, and warns him not to believe everything his closest aides tell him.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Let’s throw this story around the horn, blogosphere-style
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Repubs win Washington Gov. Election Challenge
Did you think the 2004 election was over? Think again.
A judge gave Washington state Republicans a victory on Monday that kept alive their legal challenge to last November’s razor-thin election win by Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire.
Gregoire took office in January following a 129-vote margin of victory — the closest in a governor’s race in state history.
Republican candidate Dino Rossi has refused to concede the race, which he won narrowly in the first count only to lose in a later, final recount.
Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges has ruled Republicans can use what is known as “proportional analysis” in their legal argument to potentially take votes away from Gregoire.
“That was a very good day in court for us,” said Mary Lane, Rossi’s spokeswoman. “If we had lost this, it would have been impossible to continue.”
The trial in the Republicans’ lawsuit is scheduled for May 23.
With the slim margin out of a total of 2.9 million votes, proportional analysis could tip the vote in either direction, since illegal votes, mostly from felons, would be subtracted from each candidate in the same proportion that votes were cast for them in each precinct.
In the count after the election, illegal votes were disallowed in a way that took an equal number from each candidate.
But in an example of proportional analysis used in court, if 10 improper votes in a precinct were found that went 60 percent for Gregoire and 40 percent for Rossi, she would lose six votes and he would lose four, instead of the votes being subtracted equally.
Paul Berendt, the Democratic Party’s state chairman, said the ruling also helped Democrats, who will be allowed to present evidence in the trial of illegal voting that helped Rossi.
Although I am extremely suspicious of Gregoire’s victory, I think it’s very safe to say that this matter is a long way from over.
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U.S. Military Loses Contact With Two Jets
Never let it be forgotten that flying military fighters, be it training maneuvers or war-time missions, is an extremely dangerous job. A search is currently underway for the pilots of two Hornets lost in the Iraqi theater.
Two U.S. Marine jets from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier were reported missing while flying in support of operations in
Iraq, the U.S. military said Tuesday.The status of the two U.S. Marine F/A-18 Hornet aircraft and their crew was not immediately known, the military said in a statement.
Contact was lost with the aircraft at 10:10 p.m. Monday (2:10 p.m. EDT), the statement said. There were no initial indications of hostile fire in the area at the time.
Search efforts were underway, the military said. No further information was released.
Navy officials at the Pentagon did not release any information beyond the military statement.
My best wishes to the pilots and their families, but I don’t feel that this is a case of no news is good news. That’s a good chunk of time in an area we can easily cover.
Should these planes be confirmed down, the question is this: how long until the lunatic terrorists pretend, I mean claim, that they caused it? I’m sure al-Jazeera is standing by for the press release.
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Stupid Freakin’ Oncall Pager
Now to finally see if there’s anything I want to blog out there.
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Violence Mars Germany’s May Day
Ah, I miss the pageantry of the martial May Day parades in Moscow. Instead, now it’s replaced by idiocy on parade in Germany.
German riot police battled masked left-wing anarchists in Berlin and Leipzig on Sunday as sporadic violence once again marred May Day celebrations.
About 100 people in the two cities were arrested, but police in Berlin said the extent of the damage was less extensive than in previous years.
Throwing stones, bottles and signal rockets at police, a group of anarchists overturned a car in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district near the government quarter but were chased away by police before they could set it on fire.
Kreuzberg — a Bohemian district populated with a mixture of immigrants, students and squatters — has been the scene of May Day violence for the past 18 years despite extensive prevention efforts by police.
“We had predicted it would be quieter this year, but not completely without incident and that’s what’s happened,” a police spokesman said.
The most tense moment came shortly before sunset on Sunday when a group of about 1,500 anarchists, many of them masked and wearing dark hoods, tried to march toward the Berlin headquarters of the Axel Springer publishing company.
“Everything for everyone and everything for free,” they chanted.
They were stopped by squads of riot police from getting closer than 150 yards to the building, where several conservative newspapers are published. About a dozen anarchists then tipped over a car and smashed its windows in front of photographers and journalists.
“Everything has been peaceful up until now,” another police official said. “We had a few youths who got a bit over-excited and had too much to drink, but it’s calmed down again now.”
After sunset, anarchists made another shortlived attack on police, hurling bottles and stones at police near a street festival.
Ten were arrested in Berlin on Sunday evening after 65 were arrested late on Saturday and early Sunday.
Earlier on Sunday, police in Leipzig turned water cannon on left-wing demonstrators who battled riot police. Thirty leftists were arrested for acts of violence to disrupt a court-approved march of 1,000 right-wing demonstrators.
Everything for everyone and everything for free?!! These are not true principles of anarchy. Rather, this is the rallying cry of a bunch of spoiled babies coddled too long by a nanny state — kids fearing to face the competition of a successful and free capitalistic system. The world should be handed to them, doled out free of sacrifice or effort. Without a government, how would everything be freely distributed to everybody short of sheer and absolute theft which would, in turn, remove any incentive for an individual to be productive? With no government, no means to ensure goods are produced and distributed freely. With a government, no anarchy. These are not anarchists, but lazy socialists who dig the circle-A logo and the X Game approach to political displays.
These fools are no better than the other deniers of human nature — the socialists that are dragging down the economies of Europe and the lingering communists still idealistically yearning for a workers’ paradise that could never truly be.
Modern Europe needs some work before it’s again ready for an economically competitive real world.