EL PASO, TX.
According to law enforcement officials directly involved in the border incursion two weeks ago, the cross-border confrontations are "getting personal."
The confrontation started ten days ago with drug smugglers trying to bring illegal drugs across the border in SUV's east of El Paso. Mexican authorities have now removed the SUV that got stuck in the Rio Grande and was torched by men in military uniforms on January 23rd.
While there are few signs remaining of last week's standoff, matters are anything but calm in Hudspeth County. According to law enforcement officials, things are escalating on the border in Hudspeth County.
During a ride-along Thursday with the Hudspeth County Sheriff's Department, one deputy, who has been with the department since the 1960's, told ABC-7 that this is the most tense matters have ever been along this area of the border.
In the past few days, Hudspeth County Sheriff's Department deputies and their families have received threats to stay off the Rio Grande. Sheriff Arvin West told ABC-7 Thursday morning, before departing for Houston that the Mexican military is behind all of this.
Sheriff West said, "There is no doubt in my mind -- from the first time going back to a couple of years ago and every time in between --- it's the Mexican military. In a nutshell, everybody's been trying to tell everybody that they were here...they've been here ...[and] they come here quite often, regularly."
Now Sheriff West is having to deal with threats being made against his deputies and their families. One Sheriff's Deputy, who refused to appear on camera out of fear, described the situation today in Hudspeth County as "very dangerous." and now, he said, "it's getting personal."
The deputy added that "he is very leery of a firefight erupting on the border just east of El Paso."
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Leaders criticize border wall plans
Mexican leaders say a U.S. proposal to build more walls along Mexico's border will result in more immigrant deaths.
BY THOMAS BLACK
Bloomberg News
Mexico is fighting back against a U.S. proposal to construct 700 miles of wall along the southern border, saying it will increase the number of deaths to Mexicans trying to cross illegally.
President Vicente Fox and the nation's Congress are unleashing a lobbying blitz to persuade the U.S. Senate to reject the bill passed last month by the House. They're urging lawmakers to adopt instead a proposal by Sens. John McCain and Edward Kennedy that includes a temporary work program for Mexican immigrants. About 500 Mexicans died last year trying to cross illegally into the United States.
''The immigration won't stop,'' said Heliodoro Diaz, speaker of Mexico's lower house of Congress. ``Far from it. The only thing a wall will do is increase the number of deaths as people head to more dangerous areas to cross.''
10 YEARS IN ACTION
Since a U.S. crackdown on the border began 10 years ago with more agents and walls, the number of immigrants crossing Mexico's northern border has jumped to 400,000 a year from 300,000, according to the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington. Legislators such as Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, are pushing for tougher anti-immigration laws as the Mexican population in the U.S. grows.
Fox hired Allyn & Co., a unit of Fleishmann-Hillard, to convince Americans of the need for migrant workers. Diaz will invite a group of U.S. senators and representatives to Mexico City as early as February to discuss the topic.
''We have to build a common future,'' Fox said in a Nov. 29 press conference. ``Together, we have to create the basis for prosperity, and we have to achieve that through agreements.''
Mexico's push to influence the immigration debate in the United States is winning support across Latin America.
OTHER COUNTRIES
Seven Central American countries, the Dominican Republic and Colombia joined Mexico in calling for a U.S. guest-worker program. The group, following a Jan. 9 meeting convened by Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, also criticized measures that toughen border vigilance without considering an ``integral solution.''
The House bill focuses on ''criminalizing'' immigration instead of providing for a legal way to fill farm, construction and service jobs with migrants, Diaz said. The legislation also provides for adding 10,000 border agents and inspectors and boosts fines for businesses hiring illegal immigrants.
After starting his six-year term in December 2000, Fox made reaching an immigration accord with the United States his foreign policy priority. Fox bet that a surging U.S. economy gave Mexico an opportunity to negotiate a temporary work program and amnesty for undocumented workers already living in the United States.
BY THOMAS BLACK
Bloomberg News
Mexico is fighting back against a U.S. proposal to construct 700 miles of wall along the southern border, saying it will increase the number of deaths to Mexicans trying to cross illegally.
President Vicente Fox and the nation's Congress are unleashing a lobbying blitz to persuade the U.S. Senate to reject the bill passed last month by the House. They're urging lawmakers to adopt instead a proposal by Sens. John McCain and Edward Kennedy that includes a temporary work program for Mexican immigrants. About 500 Mexicans died last year trying to cross illegally into the United States.
''The immigration won't stop,'' said Heliodoro Diaz, speaker of Mexico's lower house of Congress. ``Far from it. The only thing a wall will do is increase the number of deaths as people head to more dangerous areas to cross.''
10 YEARS IN ACTION
Since a U.S. crackdown on the border began 10 years ago with more agents and walls, the number of immigrants crossing Mexico's northern border has jumped to 400,000 a year from 300,000, according to the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington. Legislators such as Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, are pushing for tougher anti-immigration laws as the Mexican population in the U.S. grows.
Fox hired Allyn & Co., a unit of Fleishmann-Hillard, to convince Americans of the need for migrant workers. Diaz will invite a group of U.S. senators and representatives to Mexico City as early as February to discuss the topic.
''We have to build a common future,'' Fox said in a Nov. 29 press conference. ``Together, we have to create the basis for prosperity, and we have to achieve that through agreements.''
Mexico's push to influence the immigration debate in the United States is winning support across Latin America.
OTHER COUNTRIES
Seven Central American countries, the Dominican Republic and Colombia joined Mexico in calling for a U.S. guest-worker program. The group, following a Jan. 9 meeting convened by Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, also criticized measures that toughen border vigilance without considering an ``integral solution.''
The House bill focuses on ''criminalizing'' immigration instead of providing for a legal way to fill farm, construction and service jobs with migrants, Diaz said. The legislation also provides for adding 10,000 border agents and inspectors and boosts fines for businesses hiring illegal immigrants.
After starting his six-year term in December 2000, Fox made reaching an immigration accord with the United States his foreign policy priority. Fox bet that a surging U.S. economy gave Mexico an opportunity to negotiate a temporary work program and amnesty for undocumented workers already living in the United States.
Trade group opposes border security walls
Trade group opposes border security walls
An international trade group has come out against proposals to construct security walls and fences along the U.S. border with Mexico.
The Border Trade Alliance, whose members include major businesses in Arizona and other border states, says a plan to build a Mexican border wall is shortsighted and will not address the problem of illegal immigration.
Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi, favor increased technology at the border and some fencing and walling at urban and well-traveled crossing points. Renzi envisions new Mexican border walls to be akin to security infrastructure constructed by Israel along the West Bank.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano opposes a border wall, arguing it would be took expensive and not take a bite out of illegal immigration.
The Border Trade Alliance group includes executives from companies such as Wells Fargo Bank and Booz Allen Hamilton as well as attorneys from the Phoenix-based law firm of Lewis & Roca.
Two top Napolitano appointees -- Arizona Mexico Commission executive director Marco Lopez and Arizona Lottery director Art Macias -- also serve on BTA's board. Macias was previously the head of the Arizona Department of Weights & Measures.
The Phoenix-based trade group receives financial backing from major border state employers including Arizona Public Service Co., Wells Fargo Bank, Ford Motor Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Southwest Gas.
These companies should be called and boycotted and these public officials should be draged to the border the next time there's a gun fight there with the drug runners.
An international trade group has come out against proposals to construct security walls and fences along the U.S. border with Mexico.
The Border Trade Alliance, whose members include major businesses in Arizona and other border states, says a plan to build a Mexican border wall is shortsighted and will not address the problem of illegal immigration.
Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi, favor increased technology at the border and some fencing and walling at urban and well-traveled crossing points. Renzi envisions new Mexican border walls to be akin to security infrastructure constructed by Israel along the West Bank.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano opposes a border wall, arguing it would be took expensive and not take a bite out of illegal immigration.
The Border Trade Alliance group includes executives from companies such as Wells Fargo Bank and Booz Allen Hamilton as well as attorneys from the Phoenix-based law firm of Lewis & Roca.
Two top Napolitano appointees -- Arizona Mexico Commission executive director Marco Lopez and Arizona Lottery director Art Macias -- also serve on BTA's board. Macias was previously the head of the Arizona Department of Weights & Measures.
The Phoenix-based trade group receives financial backing from major border state employers including Arizona Public Service Co., Wells Fargo Bank, Ford Motor Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Southwest Gas.
These companies should be called and boycotted and these public officials should be draged to the border the next time there's a gun fight there with the drug runners.
They're playing politics with our Lives
CIA Head Slams Wiretapping Disclosure
WASHINGTON,
Feb. 2, 2006
(CBS/AP) U.S. intelligence officials told Congress Thursday that disclosure of once-secret projects like President George W. Bush's no-warrant eavesdropping program have undermined their work. "The damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission," CIA Director Porter Goss told the Senate Intelligence Committee, citing disclosures about a variety of CIA programs that he suggested might have been compromised. Goss said a federal grand jury should be impaneled to determine "who is leaking this information." Why hasn't one been impaneled already?The Bush program, which he ordered shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, was brought to light by The New York Times in mid-December and has caused a continuing controversy within the Washington establishment. There is no controversy it is what the President in time of war is supposed to do, and what past Presidents have already done.That first story, and others written since, relied on unidentified sources from within the Bush administration. Democratic members of the intelligence panel accused the Bush administration Thursday of wanting to have it both ways. "The president has not only confirmed the existence of the program, he has spoken at length about it repeatedly" while keeping Congress in the dark, said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the panels senior Democrat. Rockefeller was one of the members of congress notified of the operation at its conception. Rockefeller suggested that such "leaks" most likely "came from the executive branch" of the government. BULLSHIT That brought a terse response from FBI Director Robert Mueller, who said, "It's not fair to point a finger as to the responsibility of the leak." In the weeks since the leak, the president and other senior administration officials have publicly defended the eavesdropping, but the full Senate Intelligence Committee has yet to be briefed on it, With the way they are playing politics with it already why should they be trusted with additional information? CBS News correspondent David Martin reports. The sometimes pointed exchanges came as leaders of the nation's intelligence agencies appeared before the panel rare public session (raw video) to give a rundown on threats facing the world. Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss asked the intelligence officials at the witness table "whether or not our position has been compromised" by publicity surrounding the program. John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, and his principal deputy, Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, agreed that it had. that's right this leak and the NY Times has put American lives in jeopardy for a political agenda. Sen. Russell Feingold, a Democrat, retorted that Bush had spoken at length of the program in his State of the Union address, "discussing it in front of the whole world." In fact, Feingold said, Thursday's hearing amounted to Republicans trying to keep attention on the subject to mold it into a political issue. What a convoluted load of shit Senator, the damage is done your party has put our lives in danger. Talking about the fact that this leak has put us in danger does NOT add to it. Feingold and other committee Democrats sought to change the focus to the president's decision to authorize the National Security Agency to ignore a law requiring judicial warrants before eavesdropping on communications to and from people in the United States and terror suspects abroad. The FISA law does NOT prevent the President from monitoring terrorists phone calls and e-mails, the author of law even stated that the FISA law does not hamper the presidents ability to do just that when it was written. Negroponte, who oversees all intelligence activities, strongly defended the program, calling it crucial for protecting the United States against its most menacing threat. Saying he had reviewed risks from all around the world, including Iran's effort to gain nuclear weapons, Negroponte said that the United States' No. 1 danger is still al Qaeda, despite the fact that many of its leaders have been captured, killed or are on the run, And that is because there are TERROR CELLS in this country plotting to kill us. CBS Radio News correspondent Bob Fuss reports. Hayden, the principal deputy director of national intelligence and a former NSA director, said it was hard to characterize any damage done to his agency in an open session. But, he said, "Some people claim that somehow or another our capabilities are immune to this kind of information going out into the public domain." "And, I can tell you, in a broad sense, that is certainly not true." In other words IDIOTS if you tell the TERRORISTS that we are listening to their phone calls they will STOP talking on the phone. After a public session lasting just under four hours, the committee and its witnesses went into a private session. Public hearings on eavesdropping begin next week, but the Justice Department is refusing to turn over classified documents outlining its legal justification for the program, Martin reports. And they shouldn't turn documents over to a public circus like the one that the Democrats are planning to do with these hearings to try and leverage gaining seats in the upcoming election. It is past time to indict the NY Times and the leakers on charges of Treason and Collusion, not the time to defend a TERRORISTS right to privacy.
Our Friends in the EU curtesy A Tangled Web
Fascinating article here on TCS by Olivier Guitta. Amazingly, it appears that Al Que'da is NOT deemed to be a terrorist organisation by the European Union. Four years on from 9/11, the EU refuses to classify Bin Laden's terror group as that which the rest of us so plainly see. Al Qu'eda continues to be omitted from the EU's list of terror organisations. However given that FRANCE has ensured that Hezbollah is also not on the list, and that FRANCE had to be prevailed upon by US lobbying to even put HAMAS on this list, can we really be surprised? Needless to say the IRA is also left off the list. Such a COMFORT to its victims.
The Nuclear Dots
Another Great Post from Frontpagemag
By Kenneth R. Timmerman
FrontPageMagazine.com
February 2, 2006
As the International Atomic Energy Agency board meets today in emergency session in Vienna, they finally will begin to connect the dots of Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program, after years of ignoring or dismissing the evidence.
Reaching this point has been no mean feat. It has required extraordinary diplomatic efforts – from an administration ridiculed by Democrats for its “unilateral” approach to world affairs – and strong but quiet leadership from the White House.Three individuals and two pieces of information have been key to the refreshing burst of realism we are finally beginning to see from the IAEA board of governors. (Their action has not been mirrored by IAEA Secretary General, Mohammad ElBaradei. More on that below).
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. On Tuesday morning, the State Department announced that she had won agreement from the foreign ministers of Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany to send Iran’s case from the IAEA to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. Her success was no foregone conclusion, and required serious arm twisting at a marathon dinner party hosted by British foreign secretary Jack Straw at his London home Monday night. Going into that evening, the odds were about even that she would succeed. She deserves our praise.The US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. Working an organization where the deck is stacked against America is a thankless task, but Bolton has known the right cards to play. Bringing Iran’s case to the UN will “help dramatize the extent of world opposition to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and demonstrate to them that the course they are pursuing is not acceptable,” he said last week. That was Bolton’s Mr. Nice-Guy approach. But behind closed doors, Bolton has made it clear that the Bush administration will be watching and judging the performance of the UN Security Council very closely. If the Council cannot rally to the cause of punishing a regime that has openly called for the destruction of two UN members states (Israel and the US), then the UN may not be worth preserving. The notion that the United States could pursue “other venues” besides the UN for international crisis management and cooperation– such as a Council of Democracies – is no longer an idle threat.The US ambassador to the IAEA, Gregory Schulte. I met with Schulte at his office in Vienna just before Thanksgiving. It was just a courtesy call, not an interview. But it became immediately clear that Schulte had dedicated his every waking moment to convince members of the IAEA board of governors of the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran, and is personally responsible for winning support from unlikely corners. Schulte has stepped up public diplomacy efforts, and has helped raise the profile of Iran’s nuclear cheat and retreat with the European media. He proved to be the right man at the right time when a post considered by State Department careerists as a cushy career-ending backwater was suddenly thrust onto the diplomatic front lines of a major international crisis.Two pieces of information helped convince world leaders and nuclear diplomats that no credible analyst could continue to harbor doubts as to Iran’s nuclear intentions.The walk-in’s laptop. Sometime in mid to late 2004, an Iranian missile technician walked into a U.S. embassy to defect. For once, the CIA responded in the way the spy movies would have us believe is the norm: they actually listened to him, instead of rejecting his “stories” as “fabrications” that were “unverifiable.”The reason for the CIA’s sudden shift in attitude was simple. This man came carrying a laptop crammed with technical documents from the Shahab-3 missile program, the missile the Revolutionary Guards regularly parade about Tehran with huge banners announcing it will “wipe Israel off the map.” Today these same missiles are being moved around every night in southwestern Iran, well within striking range of Israel.On Nov 17, 2004, Colin Powell sprang the news about the defector’s laptop while traveling to Chile during his last foreign trip as Secretary of State. “I have seen some information that would suggest that [the Iranians] have been actively working on delivery systems,” he said. “You don’t have a weapon until you put it in something that can deliver a weapon. I’m not talking about uranium or fissile material or the warhead; I’m talking about what one does with a warhead.”The defector’s information was considered credible because it was limited in scope and highly detailed, other officials soon revealed in background briefings. The documents on the laptop showed that the Iranians were redesigning the re-entry vehicle of the Shahab-3 to carry and detonate a nuclear payload.That was smoking gun number one.The Khan documents. The Iranians first revealed the existence of the second smoking gun in conversations with the head of the IAEA’s safeguards division, Ollie Heinonen, last fall. When questioned about documents they had obtained from the A.Q. Khan Nuclear Stop ‘N Shop, they casually revealed that among them were technical drawings describing the process of "casting and machining" uranium into "hemispherical forms."Why would the Iranians want to master this process? According to Paul Leventhal, the founding president of the Nuclear Control Institute, a group that seeks tighter controls on nuclear materials and technologies, “The only known application for such technology is for producing the pit, or spherical core, of a nuclear weapon.” And Iran first showed interest in learning about that process fully nineteen years ago? Hello!Heinonen’s tenacity has paid off. The Iranians finally “located” the document in question last week and gave him a copy. In a 4-page draft report on Heinonen’s discoveries that was circulated to board members on Tuesday, the IAEA said flat-out that the Khan documents "related to the fabrication of nuclear weapon components." It was an extraordinary admission.What we know. The IAEA’s own reports reveal a great deal of knowledge of Iran’s nuclear programs. They will now be sent to the Security Council as resolutions that call for action.A few key points:€ Iran developed its relationship to the “father of the Islamic Bomb,” A.Q. Khan, in 1987. They purchased drawings related to uranium enrichment and bomb-design almost immediately, and soon started importing production equipment for these programs through the Khan network. Iran didn’t need a relationship with Dr. Khan to develop nuclear power. They only needed him for a clandestine weapons program.€ In 1989, Iran announced it was preparing to mine and process its own uranium from newly-discovered mines in the eastern province of Yazd. This gave them an unsafeguarded source of the basic ingredient they needed to feed a clandestine nuclear weapons program. Iran has never been forthcoming about how much uranium it produced from these mines. That uranium could have been used in a clandestine enrichment program. If so, Iran could have weapons today.€ In 1992, international suspicions of Iran’s nuclear programs were high. Quick to the rescue, IAEA Secretary General Hans Blix traveled to Iran, closed his eyes, and gave the regime a clean bill of nuclear health. The institutional blindness of the IAEA continued until February 2003, when Blix’s successor, Mohammad ElBaradei, finally visited Iran’s previously secret uranium enrichment plant at Natanz. Blix’s blindness continues to this day. He was in Washington last week, trotting out tired delusions that the IAEA should give Iran “more time” to demonstrate its good faith, and that was at least ten years away from developing a weapon. Less comprehensible than the delusions of an ageing Swedish leftist who hates America and is looking for a new job, are recent statements by ElBaradei.ElBaradei, who was awarded the Nobel Peace prize last year for slow-rolling the showdown with Iran, was at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 27, hobnobbing with movers and shakers. There he announced that the United States should offer to supply Iran with nuclear reactors.Now there’s a novel idea. The IAEA amasses a mountain of information that shows Iran has systematically violated its nuclear safeguards agreement for nineteen years – which clearly demonstrates that Iran cannot be trusted with nuclear technology - and the IAEA Secretary General thinks Iran should be rewarded with the latest nuclear technology.The IAEA secretary general may be the last man alive in a position of responsibility who still fails to connect the nuclear dots in Iran. Pity. His own safeguards director, Ollie Heinenon, told IAEA board members on Tuesday that the IAEA now believes that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps was carrying out work on high explosives and missiles that were directly linked to the country’s ostensibly “peaceful” nuclear energy programs. If anyone needs more explicit proof than that of a secret nuclear weapons program, they may as well wait until the mushroom clouds go off.
By Kenneth R. Timmerman
FrontPageMagazine.com
February 2, 2006
As the International Atomic Energy Agency board meets today in emergency session in Vienna, they finally will begin to connect the dots of Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program, after years of ignoring or dismissing the evidence.
Reaching this point has been no mean feat. It has required extraordinary diplomatic efforts – from an administration ridiculed by Democrats for its “unilateral” approach to world affairs – and strong but quiet leadership from the White House.Three individuals and two pieces of information have been key to the refreshing burst of realism we are finally beginning to see from the IAEA board of governors. (Their action has not been mirrored by IAEA Secretary General, Mohammad ElBaradei. More on that below).
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. On Tuesday morning, the State Department announced that she had won agreement from the foreign ministers of Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany to send Iran’s case from the IAEA to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. Her success was no foregone conclusion, and required serious arm twisting at a marathon dinner party hosted by British foreign secretary Jack Straw at his London home Monday night. Going into that evening, the odds were about even that she would succeed. She deserves our praise.The US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. Working an organization where the deck is stacked against America is a thankless task, but Bolton has known the right cards to play. Bringing Iran’s case to the UN will “help dramatize the extent of world opposition to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and demonstrate to them that the course they are pursuing is not acceptable,” he said last week. That was Bolton’s Mr. Nice-Guy approach. But behind closed doors, Bolton has made it clear that the Bush administration will be watching and judging the performance of the UN Security Council very closely. If the Council cannot rally to the cause of punishing a regime that has openly called for the destruction of two UN members states (Israel and the US), then the UN may not be worth preserving. The notion that the United States could pursue “other venues” besides the UN for international crisis management and cooperation– such as a Council of Democracies – is no longer an idle threat.The US ambassador to the IAEA, Gregory Schulte. I met with Schulte at his office in Vienna just before Thanksgiving. It was just a courtesy call, not an interview. But it became immediately clear that Schulte had dedicated his every waking moment to convince members of the IAEA board of governors of the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran, and is personally responsible for winning support from unlikely corners. Schulte has stepped up public diplomacy efforts, and has helped raise the profile of Iran’s nuclear cheat and retreat with the European media. He proved to be the right man at the right time when a post considered by State Department careerists as a cushy career-ending backwater was suddenly thrust onto the diplomatic front lines of a major international crisis.Two pieces of information helped convince world leaders and nuclear diplomats that no credible analyst could continue to harbor doubts as to Iran’s nuclear intentions.The walk-in’s laptop. Sometime in mid to late 2004, an Iranian missile technician walked into a U.S. embassy to defect. For once, the CIA responded in the way the spy movies would have us believe is the norm: they actually listened to him, instead of rejecting his “stories” as “fabrications” that were “unverifiable.”The reason for the CIA’s sudden shift in attitude was simple. This man came carrying a laptop crammed with technical documents from the Shahab-3 missile program, the missile the Revolutionary Guards regularly parade about Tehran with huge banners announcing it will “wipe Israel off the map.” Today these same missiles are being moved around every night in southwestern Iran, well within striking range of Israel.On Nov 17, 2004, Colin Powell sprang the news about the defector’s laptop while traveling to Chile during his last foreign trip as Secretary of State. “I have seen some information that would suggest that [the Iranians] have been actively working on delivery systems,” he said. “You don’t have a weapon until you put it in something that can deliver a weapon. I’m not talking about uranium or fissile material or the warhead; I’m talking about what one does with a warhead.”The defector’s information was considered credible because it was limited in scope and highly detailed, other officials soon revealed in background briefings. The documents on the laptop showed that the Iranians were redesigning the re-entry vehicle of the Shahab-3 to carry and detonate a nuclear payload.That was smoking gun number one.The Khan documents. The Iranians first revealed the existence of the second smoking gun in conversations with the head of the IAEA’s safeguards division, Ollie Heinonen, last fall. When questioned about documents they had obtained from the A.Q. Khan Nuclear Stop ‘N Shop, they casually revealed that among them were technical drawings describing the process of "casting and machining" uranium into "hemispherical forms."Why would the Iranians want to master this process? According to Paul Leventhal, the founding president of the Nuclear Control Institute, a group that seeks tighter controls on nuclear materials and technologies, “The only known application for such technology is for producing the pit, or spherical core, of a nuclear weapon.” And Iran first showed interest in learning about that process fully nineteen years ago? Hello!Heinonen’s tenacity has paid off. The Iranians finally “located” the document in question last week and gave him a copy. In a 4-page draft report on Heinonen’s discoveries that was circulated to board members on Tuesday, the IAEA said flat-out that the Khan documents "related to the fabrication of nuclear weapon components." It was an extraordinary admission.What we know. The IAEA’s own reports reveal a great deal of knowledge of Iran’s nuclear programs. They will now be sent to the Security Council as resolutions that call for action.A few key points:€ Iran developed its relationship to the “father of the Islamic Bomb,” A.Q. Khan, in 1987. They purchased drawings related to uranium enrichment and bomb-design almost immediately, and soon started importing production equipment for these programs through the Khan network. Iran didn’t need a relationship with Dr. Khan to develop nuclear power. They only needed him for a clandestine weapons program.€ In 1989, Iran announced it was preparing to mine and process its own uranium from newly-discovered mines in the eastern province of Yazd. This gave them an unsafeguarded source of the basic ingredient they needed to feed a clandestine nuclear weapons program. Iran has never been forthcoming about how much uranium it produced from these mines. That uranium could have been used in a clandestine enrichment program. If so, Iran could have weapons today.€ In 1992, international suspicions of Iran’s nuclear programs were high. Quick to the rescue, IAEA Secretary General Hans Blix traveled to Iran, closed his eyes, and gave the regime a clean bill of nuclear health. The institutional blindness of the IAEA continued until February 2003, when Blix’s successor, Mohammad ElBaradei, finally visited Iran’s previously secret uranium enrichment plant at Natanz. Blix’s blindness continues to this day. He was in Washington last week, trotting out tired delusions that the IAEA should give Iran “more time” to demonstrate its good faith, and that was at least ten years away from developing a weapon. Less comprehensible than the delusions of an ageing Swedish leftist who hates America and is looking for a new job, are recent statements by ElBaradei.ElBaradei, who was awarded the Nobel Peace prize last year for slow-rolling the showdown with Iran, was at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 27, hobnobbing with movers and shakers. There he announced that the United States should offer to supply Iran with nuclear reactors.Now there’s a novel idea. The IAEA amasses a mountain of information that shows Iran has systematically violated its nuclear safeguards agreement for nineteen years – which clearly demonstrates that Iran cannot be trusted with nuclear technology - and the IAEA Secretary General thinks Iran should be rewarded with the latest nuclear technology.The IAEA secretary general may be the last man alive in a position of responsibility who still fails to connect the nuclear dots in Iran. Pity. His own safeguards director, Ollie Heinenon, told IAEA board members on Tuesday that the IAEA now believes that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps was carrying out work on high explosives and missiles that were directly linked to the country’s ostensibly “peaceful” nuclear energy programs. If anyone needs more explicit proof than that of a secret nuclear weapons program, they may as well wait until the mushroom clouds go off.
Richard Cohen is a Sad, Bitter old loon
February 2, 2006
Iran Will Be No Iraq
By Richard Cohen
In the coming showdown with Iran, the cliches -- never mind some of our allies -- are not on the side of the Bush administration. Tell us Dick which of our allies wants Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb?I am referring to that bit of wisdom about generals preparing to fight the last war -- or the one about history repeating itself, ``the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.'' These and others will be cited to use the disaster in Iraq as a lesson of what would happen with Iran. Yeah lets look at that, a Dictator removed, a constitution written, 3 sets of elections, and 3 tribal factions that have hated each other for centuries working together to re-establish a country. Still, let me offer a different cliche: None of the above.
I would be the last one to say we should ignore history. But one of the first to ignore facts. The war in Iraq is truly an education in the school of hard knocks. The U.S. has lost over 2,000 men and women -- and the Iraqis far more. The war cost us both prestige and respect and it has further eroded the faith people once had in government -- both its competence and its honesty. It is now routine to hear President Bush denounced as a liar. I, for one, cannot agree. I fear he is merely a fool. I guess your a fool in Dicks eyes if you tell the country and the world your going to fight terror and ALL the countries that support it and then actually do it.
The arresting combination of a president so tragically mismatched with his times is not likely to be repeated. The one saving grace of the Iran crisis, if it comes to that, is that it will achieve fruition about five years down the road. We can all take comfort in the 22nd Amendment, which limits a president to two terms. The culmination of the Iran crisis will be the next president's headache. So tell us Dick are you hoping Hillary gets in so she can pull all support from Iraq and let it fall to the genocide that south Vietnam suffered when the Dems cut off all their support and allowed Pol Pot to massacre millions? You actually want that repeated and then when it happens you'll say it was Bush's fault because we shouldn't have gone there in the first place right?
I do not use the word ``crisis'' lightly. The evidence keeps accumulating that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, not merely a source of nuclear energy. This is not just the fear of the Bush administration with its sorry record of distorting intelligence, What distorted Intelligence Dick? Do you mean the intelligence that Clinton used in 98? but also of the International Atomic Energy Agency, with its admirable record of standing up to Bush. Yes its admirable record like its monitoring and preventative methods that it has employed in keeping both the N Koreans and the Iranians from getting nuclear weapons technology. The difference is a major distinction -- and so, too, is the apparent concurrence of Britain, Germany and France, the latter two hardly knee-jerk American allies anymore. At least on late night TV, France is a virtual enemy.
An Iranian bomb is a serious matter. It could trigger a Middle East arms race, just about the last thing the world needs. Egypt would get its own bomb and so would Saudi Arabia. Israel, which already is believed to be a nuclear power, might be tempted to strike first. After all, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while still subordinate to the country's religious leaders, is a foul-mouthed demagogue who has already vowed to obliterate Israel. His heady combination of anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism is more than repellent; it's scary.
Obviously, the preferred route to a solution is the diplomatic one. Yeah the Diplomatic one has been so successful. But what if that won't work? Well, then, truthfully, I don't know. But I do know that it would be a mistake to take the military option off the table. The temptation to do this will be great, especially among Democrats, and the war in Iraq will be cited over and over again. It should be cited as the success that it is and add to the reasons for attacking Iran you twit. But one could just as easily cite the first Gulf War, which accomplished its objective with a minimum loss of lives. There were 383 killed in Dessert Storm a 6 month war so if you take the 3 years of the Iraq war with less than 3000 deaths the ratios are the same. The difference between one war and the other is the difference between father and son. Poppa Bush knew what he was doing. Since the ratios are the same then your admitting GW knows what he's doing also.
History is a buffet of lessons -- take what you want and move on. The U.S., acting through NATO, ultimately intervened in the Balkans and it worked -- instructively, with airstrikes. Lives were saved. And we are still in the Balkins 10yrs later. The U.S. intervened in the Vietnamese civil war and it didn't work. Lives were wasted. The current war in Iraq is a debacle so far, Once again explain why it's a debacle. but almost everything about it has been incompetently handled -- too few troops, too few allies, too much looting, too many insurgents and much too much Rumsfeld. Well thank you for your evaluation General Cohen. Not even the stated justification for the war -- those weapons of mass destruction -- has held up. Yes it has you just refuse to report things like the 1.7 Tons of refined uranium that have been removed from Iraq. Lucky for Bush he is not a doctor. He'd be sued for malpractice. what's it called when a reporter is sued for telling lies Dick?
Clearly, a chastened Bush administration has learned a thing or two. Its recent rhetoric regarding Iran has been moderate. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Bush brought up Iran but throttled back on his standard bellicosity, merely saying ``the nations of the world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons.'' Nothing about ``evildoers.'' Bush must know, as surely as do the Iranian mullahs, that he has had his one war of choice -- and he botched it. BULLSHIT The next president can either be shackled by that failure or guided by it. Whatever the case, it will not be a time for cliches. Nor is it time for political hacks like you Dick to keep ignoring facts and fabricating lies to advance your dead political agenda.
© 2006, Washington Post Writers Group
Iran Will Be No Iraq
By Richard Cohen
In the coming showdown with Iran, the cliches -- never mind some of our allies -- are not on the side of the Bush administration. Tell us Dick which of our allies wants Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb?I am referring to that bit of wisdom about generals preparing to fight the last war -- or the one about history repeating itself, ``the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.'' These and others will be cited to use the disaster in Iraq as a lesson of what would happen with Iran. Yeah lets look at that, a Dictator removed, a constitution written, 3 sets of elections, and 3 tribal factions that have hated each other for centuries working together to re-establish a country. Still, let me offer a different cliche: None of the above.
I would be the last one to say we should ignore history. But one of the first to ignore facts. The war in Iraq is truly an education in the school of hard knocks. The U.S. has lost over 2,000 men and women -- and the Iraqis far more. The war cost us both prestige and respect and it has further eroded the faith people once had in government -- both its competence and its honesty. It is now routine to hear President Bush denounced as a liar. I, for one, cannot agree. I fear he is merely a fool. I guess your a fool in Dicks eyes if you tell the country and the world your going to fight terror and ALL the countries that support it and then actually do it.
The arresting combination of a president so tragically mismatched with his times is not likely to be repeated. The one saving grace of the Iran crisis, if it comes to that, is that it will achieve fruition about five years down the road. We can all take comfort in the 22nd Amendment, which limits a president to two terms. The culmination of the Iran crisis will be the next president's headache. So tell us Dick are you hoping Hillary gets in so she can pull all support from Iraq and let it fall to the genocide that south Vietnam suffered when the Dems cut off all their support and allowed Pol Pot to massacre millions? You actually want that repeated and then when it happens you'll say it was Bush's fault because we shouldn't have gone there in the first place right?
I do not use the word ``crisis'' lightly. The evidence keeps accumulating that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, not merely a source of nuclear energy. This is not just the fear of the Bush administration with its sorry record of distorting intelligence, What distorted Intelligence Dick? Do you mean the intelligence that Clinton used in 98? but also of the International Atomic Energy Agency, with its admirable record of standing up to Bush. Yes its admirable record like its monitoring and preventative methods that it has employed in keeping both the N Koreans and the Iranians from getting nuclear weapons technology. The difference is a major distinction -- and so, too, is the apparent concurrence of Britain, Germany and France, the latter two hardly knee-jerk American allies anymore. At least on late night TV, France is a virtual enemy.
An Iranian bomb is a serious matter. It could trigger a Middle East arms race, just about the last thing the world needs. Egypt would get its own bomb and so would Saudi Arabia. Israel, which already is believed to be a nuclear power, might be tempted to strike first. After all, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while still subordinate to the country's religious leaders, is a foul-mouthed demagogue who has already vowed to obliterate Israel. His heady combination of anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism is more than repellent; it's scary.
Obviously, the preferred route to a solution is the diplomatic one. Yeah the Diplomatic one has been so successful. But what if that won't work? Well, then, truthfully, I don't know. But I do know that it would be a mistake to take the military option off the table. The temptation to do this will be great, especially among Democrats, and the war in Iraq will be cited over and over again. It should be cited as the success that it is and add to the reasons for attacking Iran you twit. But one could just as easily cite the first Gulf War, which accomplished its objective with a minimum loss of lives. There were 383 killed in Dessert Storm a 6 month war so if you take the 3 years of the Iraq war with less than 3000 deaths the ratios are the same. The difference between one war and the other is the difference between father and son. Poppa Bush knew what he was doing. Since the ratios are the same then your admitting GW knows what he's doing also.
History is a buffet of lessons -- take what you want and move on. The U.S., acting through NATO, ultimately intervened in the Balkans and it worked -- instructively, with airstrikes. Lives were saved. And we are still in the Balkins 10yrs later. The U.S. intervened in the Vietnamese civil war and it didn't work. Lives were wasted. The current war in Iraq is a debacle so far, Once again explain why it's a debacle. but almost everything about it has been incompetently handled -- too few troops, too few allies, too much looting, too many insurgents and much too much Rumsfeld. Well thank you for your evaluation General Cohen. Not even the stated justification for the war -- those weapons of mass destruction -- has held up. Yes it has you just refuse to report things like the 1.7 Tons of refined uranium that have been removed from Iraq. Lucky for Bush he is not a doctor. He'd be sued for malpractice. what's it called when a reporter is sued for telling lies Dick?
Clearly, a chastened Bush administration has learned a thing or two. Its recent rhetoric regarding Iran has been moderate. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Bush brought up Iran but throttled back on his standard bellicosity, merely saying ``the nations of the world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons.'' Nothing about ``evildoers.'' Bush must know, as surely as do the Iranian mullahs, that he has had his one war of choice -- and he botched it. BULLSHIT The next president can either be shackled by that failure or guided by it. Whatever the case, it will not be a time for cliches. Nor is it time for political hacks like you Dick to keep ignoring facts and fabricating lies to advance your dead political agenda.
© 2006, Washington Post Writers Group
Iran says Suicide Bombers are their best form of National Security in Fighting the West
I say lets help them achieve their Martyrdom with cluster bombs and bunker busters Hoorah
Ahmadinejad: Selflessness and martyrdom-seeking, only way to save mankind
Bushehr, Feb 2, IRNA
Ahmadinejad-Mankind-Martyrdom IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here on Wednesday that selflessness and martyrdom-seeking is the only way to save mankind, adding, "We are all obliged to keep alive the culture of martyrdom-seeking in the society." According to IRNA correspondent in Bushehr, Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with families of martyrs and war-disabled veteran of the province on Wednesday night at a religious center, adding, Culture of martyrdom-seeking is our most effective weapon and best guarantee for our national security." The President reiterated, "Ruthless enemies who have a chronic enmity against our country and our nation have not succeeded in achieving their objectives so far thanks to the existence of this culture of martyrdom-seeking among our nation." Further stressing that the attitude and culture of martyrdom-seeking is the best guarantee for a nation's survival, he said, "He who is ready for martyrdom is always victorious." Ahmadinejad reiterated, "Martyrdom is the peak of mankind's perfection and the martyrs enjoy the highest status of humanity in this world and the Hereafter." He added, "People spend tough years of strenuous work in a bid to achieve the peaks of grandeur and pride, while our dear martyrs achieved those high peaks in shortest possible time." The President said, "Some people assume we have lost our martyrs and have no contacts with them any longer, but we assure them that the martyrs relations with us is not severed and they are witnesses to our deeds." Emphasizing the need to heed the material needs of the martyrs' families, war disabled veterans, and the freed POWs, he said, "We are all obliged to heed the problems and difficulties of the martyrs' family members." President Ahmadinejad added, "I, Ahmadinejad, hereby loudly announce that I kiss the hands of the martyrs' family members, and that I am proud to do so, since we are all highly indebted to our ear martyrs, war disabled veterans, freed POWs, and their esteemed families." In response to martyrs' families objection that the officials do not properly heed their problems, the President said, "If an official would insult the dear families of martyrs, or the rest of the dear people of this country today, and refrain from heeding their problems, he is not a member of my government." President Ahmadinejad also promised the Bushehri martyrs families to send the head of Marty Foundation to the province in near future to heed their problem, including housing and employment.
The president was scheduled to have a meeting with the elites of the province later on Wednesday night and listen to their problems.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Moscow believes Iran has developed a large nuclear device in its “preliminary stage.”
How Long Before The US or Israel BOMBS these little Bastards??
Russian FM Sergei Lavrov put this information before the five permanent UN Security Council and Germany, which Tuesday night, Jan. 30, agreed for the first time to haul Iran before the UN body over its nuclear program. Until then, Moscow and Beijing had stood out against the UN nuclear watchdog’ referring the Iran dossier to the Security Council. Tehran hit back Wednesday by saying the decision was unconstructive and the end of diplomacy
According to Lavrov, Russian intelligence estimates that Iran is now capable of detonating this non-weaponized nuclear device - or in other words carrying out its first nuclear test.
DEBKAfile sources add: This estimate which Russian president Vladimir Putin passed to President George Bush some weeks ago is challenged by US and Israeli nuclear experts, who do not believe Iran is up to the stage of a nuclear device. However, on Jan. 21, the opposition FDI claimed Iran would carry out its first nuclear test before the Iranian new year, which falls on March 20.
Ahead of the IAEA’s Thursday meeting in Vienna, a leaked report claimed Iran had last week given the watchdog sensitive documents which apparently showed how to mold highly enriched uranium into the hemispherical shape of warheads, in an effort to stave off referral to the Security Council. At the same time, according to the same unnamed diplomats, the agency passed to Tehran intelligence provided by the US that suggests Iran has been working on details of nuclear weapons, such as missile trajectories and ideal altitudes for exploding warheads. When the IAEA asked Iran for an explanation of the documents, Tehran replied they had been obtained from members of a nuclear black market network.
Still ahead of the nuclear watchdog’s meeting, Moscow and Beijing dispatched diplomats to Tehran to explain that their support for referral to the Security Council did not mean an end to diplomacy.
Referring the issue to the UN would have a “very big effect” on oil prices, Libyan Energy Scretary Fathi Hamed bin-Shatwan said Tuesday at an OPEC meeting in Vienna.
Curtesy Debka
Interesting Add On:
Muslim nations will deal heavy blow to those blaspheming prophet
Bushehr Province, Feb 1, IRNA
Iran-President-Blasphemy President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that the Muslim nations will deal heavy blow to those who ventured into blaspheming Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
Speaking to a large crowd of people who had gathered to welcome him in Genaveh, President Ahmadinejad said that the Western governments proved to have attempted to confront the Muslims.
"You will never be able to stand against the Muslims. God willing, the Muslims would disappoint those who embark on barbaric language against other religions," he said.
"The so-called advocates of freedom and human rights regard blasphemy against prophet of Islam as freedom of expression, but, the same governments are being annoyed with questioning systematic crimes of Israel against defenseless Palestinians. They are annoyed with the fact that the modern world is thirsty for Islam and the Islamic culture.
"They have stood against resurrection movement of Islam. They think that they can undermine the world nations faith in Islam with desecration of Islamic sanctities, but, the Muslim nations will give them a good lesson," President Ahmadinejad said.
The press of several Scandinavian states have simultaneously printed caricatures which was followed by protest of the Muslim nations.
They protested to Denmark, Sweden and Norway governments against the press for printing materials which Muslims regard as blasphemous.
Islamic legal code calls for putting to death those found guilty of blaspheming Islam and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Russian FM Sergei Lavrov put this information before the five permanent UN Security Council and Germany, which Tuesday night, Jan. 30, agreed for the first time to haul Iran before the UN body over its nuclear program. Until then, Moscow and Beijing had stood out against the UN nuclear watchdog’ referring the Iran dossier to the Security Council. Tehran hit back Wednesday by saying the decision was unconstructive and the end of diplomacy
According to Lavrov, Russian intelligence estimates that Iran is now capable of detonating this non-weaponized nuclear device - or in other words carrying out its first nuclear test.
DEBKAfile sources add: This estimate which Russian president Vladimir Putin passed to President George Bush some weeks ago is challenged by US and Israeli nuclear experts, who do not believe Iran is up to the stage of a nuclear device. However, on Jan. 21, the opposition FDI claimed Iran would carry out its first nuclear test before the Iranian new year, which falls on March 20.
Ahead of the IAEA’s Thursday meeting in Vienna, a leaked report claimed Iran had last week given the watchdog sensitive documents which apparently showed how to mold highly enriched uranium into the hemispherical shape of warheads, in an effort to stave off referral to the Security Council. At the same time, according to the same unnamed diplomats, the agency passed to Tehran intelligence provided by the US that suggests Iran has been working on details of nuclear weapons, such as missile trajectories and ideal altitudes for exploding warheads. When the IAEA asked Iran for an explanation of the documents, Tehran replied they had been obtained from members of a nuclear black market network.
Still ahead of the nuclear watchdog’s meeting, Moscow and Beijing dispatched diplomats to Tehran to explain that their support for referral to the Security Council did not mean an end to diplomacy.
Referring the issue to the UN would have a “very big effect” on oil prices, Libyan Energy Scretary Fathi Hamed bin-Shatwan said Tuesday at an OPEC meeting in Vienna.
Curtesy Debka
Interesting Add On:
Muslim nations will deal heavy blow to those blaspheming prophet
Bushehr Province, Feb 1, IRNA
Iran-President-Blasphemy President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that the Muslim nations will deal heavy blow to those who ventured into blaspheming Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
Speaking to a large crowd of people who had gathered to welcome him in Genaveh, President Ahmadinejad said that the Western governments proved to have attempted to confront the Muslims.
"You will never be able to stand against the Muslims. God willing, the Muslims would disappoint those who embark on barbaric language against other religions," he said.
"The so-called advocates of freedom and human rights regard blasphemy against prophet of Islam as freedom of expression, but, the same governments are being annoyed with questioning systematic crimes of Israel against defenseless Palestinians. They are annoyed with the fact that the modern world is thirsty for Islam and the Islamic culture.
"They have stood against resurrection movement of Islam. They think that they can undermine the world nations faith in Islam with desecration of Islamic sanctities, but, the Muslim nations will give them a good lesson," President Ahmadinejad said.
The press of several Scandinavian states have simultaneously printed caricatures which was followed by protest of the Muslim nations.
They protested to Denmark, Sweden and Norway governments against the press for printing materials which Muslims regard as blasphemous.
Islamic legal code calls for putting to death those found guilty of blaspheming Islam and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
2 more statements taken from Al Jazeera
Iran vows to resist Western pressures
Iran's president has labelled the US a "hollow superpower" and declared his country would defy Western pressure and complete its nuclear programme.
"Our nation will continue its path until full realisation of its rights, nuclear energy is our right, and we will resist until this right is fully realised."
"Any attack against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities will meet a swift and crushing response from the armed forces,"
Free Jack Idema Blogburst
One of the biggest problems faced by U.S. Special Forces soldier Jack Idema and the his two compatriots, Brent Bennett and journalist Ed Caraballo is that mud sticks. We all know how this works: once a criminal accusation has been made, many people will feel there must have been some basis in fact for the charges. This is something, I think, that has worked against Jack Idema from the very start.
At the time of his arrest on charges of kidnapping and torture in July 2004, we will remember, the issue of how the U.S. treated captive Islamopaths was coming under intense scrutiny in the wake of Abu Gharib. It's also fair to say that, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, large sections of MSM and the left were pushing the idea that Lynndie England's antics were somehow sanctioned by U.S. authorities. In this context, the stories about Idema running a 'private' jail where prisoners were found hanging from the ceilings affected different people in different ways. But, crucially, no one wanted to hear the truth. Here's why:
For MSM:
- The Idema story provided an opportunity to further the American-troops-as-torturers line they'd been peddling since the Abu Gharib story broke
- Since many MSM journalists (Fox News, Dan Rather) had worked with Idema or (CBS, the BBC) used intelligence material he'd provided, there was a desire to distance themselves from Task Force Sabre 7
- There was the narrative, sharpened by Abu Gharib, that U.S. soldiers routinely abuse prisoners. The accusations against Idema were something the left wanted to be true
- For leftists, the idea that an American soldier could be a victim of 'oppressed' Muslims is anathema -- A U.S. soldier hanging Afghans from the ceiling, however, fits neatly into their accepted worldview, and no hard facts are required
- Abu Gharib was a propaganda victory against the war effort, and the Idema story must have looked to many conservatives as yet another embarrassment in the making
- The (entirely false) accusations that Idema was a fraud with an invented military record stung many conservative -- No one likes to feel they've been had
The problem, of course, is that absolutely none of the mud being thrown at Idema actually sticks to him.
The campaign to free Jack has repeatedly proved that everything Idema claimed about his career in the U.S. military was true; we've shown that he was, indeed, working closely with the Northern Alliance; we've shown that his first trail was a travesty of justice.
But. Still. Those allegations that Idema tortured prisoners remain. This is something we need to tackle head-on:
Idema, Bennett, and Caraballo were found innocent of all charges and Appeals Court Acting Chief Judge Saheb Noor along with Appeals Court Judges Abdul Latif (011-93-70287222- speaks English) and Chief Religious Judge Mawlawi Azizullah stated on the record during the closed hearing that there had been absolutely no evidence of torture and that the original two bomb suspects that gave statements against the team were in fact terrorists and had committed perjury in the first court hearing in July 2004.These statements come from the Afghan appeals court which reviewed Jack, Brent and Ed's cases over a year ago. The court decided that the original trial was deeply flawed (to say the least), and that Idema and his men had no case to answer. (They remain in prison, illegally, at the insistence of the U.S. State Department.) What's clear, though, is that if there hadn't been such a rush to pre-judge Idema in the summer of 2004, most of the false allegations against him would have been disregarded. Here's why:
- None of the terrorists brought in to accuse Idema of torture had any signs of injury
- There was no evidence of torture in the safe-house Idema had been using to interrogate captured terrorists
- It would not have even been physically possible to hang anyone from the ceiling of the house in question -- Afghan buildings are simply not robust enough to support a man's weight
- Witnesses against Idema refused to swear on the Koran that their evidence was true -- They simply yelled accusations at Idema without being sworn-in
- Many witnesses claimed Idema had held them in the basement of his safe-house, even though the building in question had no basement
I want to answer one thing for your listeners. Did I ever torture anybody? The answer is hell no! I never tortured anybody. You know why? Because if you’re Lynndie England and you’ve put some guy on a leash– a Muslim guy naked on a leash, I can guarantee you neither he nor his friends will ever cooperate. But if you if you take that guy in and you just keep him up for 2 days talking to him, and you give him kabob and you give him miranda soda, and you convince him that he’s got a job with you, believe me he is going to change sides. This is absolute.The above quote comes from an interview Jack Idema gave last year. You can listen to the whole thing here.; What's interesting about this, however, is that Idema simply doesn't come across as someone who engages in acts of petty sadism -- Not because he's a bleeding-heart liberal, but for the very good reason that, if it's actionable intelligence you're after, torture simply does not work.
So what can we do? Well, anyone reading this with their own blog can sign up for the weekly Free Jack Idema Blogburst by emailing Cao or Rottweiler Puppy for details. I'd urge everyone to do this, as we're still terribly short on takers. If you want to know more about the story, Cao's Blog has a large section devoted to Jack Idema. There's also a timeline here, and, of course, a huge amount of information is available over at SuperPatriots;, without whose work none of us would have learned about Jack's story.
You can also contact the following people and make your feelings known:
Secret US EMBASSY Fax: – 301-560-5729 (Local US Fax: Goes RIGHT TO Ambassador)
c/o US Ambassador Ronald Neuman
6180 Kabul Place
Dulles, VA 20189-6180
US Consul Russell Brown – 011-93-70201908 (Fired)
US Consul Addie Harchik- 011-93-70201908 (denied them water and mail at Thanksgiving)
US Embassy Translator Wahid – new – 011-93-70201902
US Embassy Translator Bashir Momman– 011-93-70201923
US Consul (friend of Jack's Now fired) Dawn Schrepel– 011-93-70201908
Embassy of Afghanistan (Good guys, Northern Alliance)
2341 Wyoming Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Ph: 202-483-6410, Fax: no. 202-483-6488
Ambassador Massoud Khalili (wounded with Massoud)
Islamic State of Afghanistan
Embassy of Afghanistan
New Delhi, India
H.E. Said Tayeb JAWAD (Afghan Ambassador- powerful in US)
Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington
2341 Wyoming Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (+1-202) 483 6414
Fax: (+1-202) 483 9523
Mr. Jahed Hamrah, Consul General (pro-Taliban)
CONSULATE GENERAL OF
AFGHANISTAN IN NEW YORK
360 Lexington Avenue,
11th Floor New York,
New, York, NY 10017
Tel.: (+1-212) 972 2276 or 972 2277
Fax: (+1-212) 972 9046
Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon – Room # 3E880
Washington, DC 20301-1000
Ph: (703) 692-7100
Fax: (703) 697-9080
Lt General William Boykin
Deputy Undersecretary
of Defense for Intelligence
1800 Defense Pentagon – Room # 3E836
Washington, DC 20301
Ph: (703) 697-0170
Private Fax: (703) 697-9080
Stephen Cambone
Principle Deputy Secretary for Intelligence
1800 Defense Pentagon – Room # 3E
Washington, DC 20310-0100
General Peter J. Shoomaker
Chief of Staff, Department of the Army
200 Army Pentagon – Room # 3E528
Washington, DC 20310-0200
Ph: (703) 695-2077 / Fax: (703) 614-5268
The Honorable John D. Negroponte
Director National Intelligence
New Executive Office Building
725 17th Street, N.W., Room 4203
Washington, DC 20503
The Committee
On Homeland Security
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Chairman Peter Hoekstra
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
H-405, U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20515-6415;
Office: (202) 225-4121 / Fax: (202) 225-1991
Toll Free: (877) 858-9040
M. Cherif BASSIOUNI
Independent Expert of the Commission on Human Rights
On the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNOG-OHCHR;
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Ph: +41(0)22 917 97 27 Fax: +41(0)22 917 90 18
Senator Steven Saland (Jack's Rep and Neighbor)
9 Jonathan Lane
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Senator Elizabeth Dole (Jack's Rep)
United States Senate
310 New Bern Avenue, Suite 122
Raleigh, NC 27601
Ph: 919.856.4630
Fax: 919.856.4053
Senator Elizabeth Dole (Jack's Rep)
United States Senate
555 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph: 202.224.6342
Fax: 202.224.1100
Senator Richard Burr (of Interest)
United States Senate
217 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3154 / Fax: (202) 228-2981
Senator Bill Nelson (in the fight on Jack's Side)
United States Senate
Hart Senate Office Building
Room 716
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-5274 / Fax: 202-228-2183
FL Fax 407-872-7165
Senator Dianne Feinstein (Bennett's Representative)
United States Senate
Hart Office Building, Room 331
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3841
Representative Mike McIntyre (Jack's Representative)
United States Congress
2437 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2731 / Fax (202) 225-5773
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (reference Captain Bennett- CA citizen)
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841 / Fax: 916-445-4633
Finally, PLEASE NOTE: The SuperPatriots; and Jack images on this site are used with WRITTEN COPYRIGHT PERMISSION and any use by any third party is subject to legal action by SuperPatriots.US;
jack idema
afghanistan
Technorati Search for Jack Idema
The Free Jack Idema Blogroll:
The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill
The Lone Voice
Red Hot Cuppa Politics
Kender's Musings
Irate Nate
The Devil's Kitchen
Cao's Blog
Big Dog's Weblog
Theodore's World
NIF;
Rottweiler Puppy
Making Headlines
My Newz n' Ideas
Right For Scotland
Freedom Folks
The City Troll
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)