The Darfur jihad continues...

12 year old Darfur rape victim

The Sudan continues to resist any UN peacekeepers or international presence in Darfur to put a stop to the jihad being waged there with the express assistance of the Sudan's government.

The US criticized the Sudan's continued stonewalling, of course, calling it "not acceptable to the international community."

This comes at the end of a full round of negotiations and proposals between the US, the AU, the UN and the Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir...all of which ended up coming to absolutely nothing as the killing continues.

The only surprising thing about that is the continued efforts to engage the Sudan in `diplomacy' by the West. It should be obvious by now that the Sudanese government is simply playing for time until the problem is liquidated and thus no longer a problem.

Meanwhile, Sudan is using its friends in the UN to block a U.N. report that specifically says that the Sudan's government "has manifestly failed to protect the population of Darfur from large-scale international crimes, and has itself orchestrated and participated in these crimes," adding that "war crimes and crimes against humanity" were continuing in the region.

The bottom line? Every reputable source agrees on what's going on in Darfur, and that the Sudan's government has played a major role in orchestrating the jihad. At the same time,any efforts to actually do anything about it in a forum like the UN are going to be impeded by the Muslim bloc and by Russia and China.

I still hold with my original solution for Darfur, the one I proposed 6 months ago.... arm the people of Darfur so they can defend themselves and kill as many jihadis as possible.

If that solution had been implemented then, there might be a lot more dead jihadis and a lot more live people in Darfur.

Halliburton relocating - to Dubai!

Some more under-the wire news - Halliburton is moving its corporate headquarters and relocating it's CEO to Dubai.

As part of the process, Halliburton will sell off its hugely profitable subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown Root, who specialize in building military bases.

Halliburton's official reason for the move is, according to chief executive Dave Lesar : "One of the things that we would like to pursue is a listing of our shares in the Middle East. We see there are greater opportunities in the Eastern Hemisphere than the Western Hemisphere.''

The unofficial reason is to avoid millions in taxes...and I also sense something a bit different going on.

I've never been one to particularly demonize Halliburton for those famous no-bid contracts, since anyone familiar with the Federal bidding process understands that time was of the essence in Iraq, the company had already submitted what are known as contingency bids and Halliburton was one of the few corporations (and in some cases, the only one) capable of handling certain problems. Most Americans conveniently forget that it was Halliburton who contained the oil fires during both the first and second Gulf Wars, preventing an economic and environmental catastrophe.

That being said, there are ongoing investigations over Halliburton deliberately overbilling the government for its services and dealing with Iran and other suspect countries in violation of US law. Given how well connected the corporation is in the White House, these investigations were not exactly pursued vigorously prior to the `06 midterms and the Democrat takeover of the House and Senate.

Now,in one of the few good results of Congressional turnover, they are being pursued vigorously (to say the least), and CEO Lesar and other corporate officers are particularly vulnerable to suppoenas and service of process...something they obviously want to avoid like the plague.

Then of course, there's all that tax liability they're scuttling out on....after overbilling the government for huge profits, and making even larger profits on those huge profits.

And to top it all off, Halliburton is privy to a great deal of classified security information and they are running to a country with significant ties to Islamic terrorism....the same country that the the Bush Administration
wanted to manage our ports.

I can almost palpably sense a quid pro quo in the making....Halliburton keeps its mouth shut on national security items they may be privy to and clams up on any possible collusion within the government in exchange for a certain - uh- `tolerance' for some of its more questionable deeds.

This stinks to high heaven.

We are going to have to decide, as a nation where to draw the line on this sort of thing. During WWII, a number of companies were sanctioned, penalized and even seized under the Trading With The Enemy Act, a fact the Bush family in particular should be aware of and sensitive to.

As for Halliburton, I suggest that its chief officers' passports be restricted and its records impounded until Congress finishes its investigations. That is certainly nothing legally out of the ordinary. If nothing else, giving Halliburton a tax bonus on profits they may have made by bilking the American taxpayer is simply horrendous.

Res ipsa loquiter.

The European choice and the elites - a la' mode Française

Cézanne, `Still life with skull'


An item caught my idea that says volumes about Europe's options...and the ostrich-like attitudes of the American and European elites when faced by the grinning skull of history.

In this `Newsweak' piece, their reporter, Chris Dickey examines the French elections and snidely seems to relish the fact that France's Nicholas Sarkozy is perceived as too `American' by some of the French...as opposed to Socialist Ségolène Royal, who embodies the America-hatred of the European and American elites:

"Rarely has a foreign dignitary—especially a French one—gushed so effusively about what's right with America. When Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy spoke at the headquarters of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington last September, he was Mr. Apple Pie—à la mode. He lauded Madonna, Hemingway, Hollywood movies, the New York art scene, American scientific research—even U.S. immigration policies. "Every parent in France dreams of sending his child to an American university," Sarkozy proclaimed in his paean to Yankee Doodledom. Sniping from French elitists is mere "jealousy in the face of your brilliant success," he said. "Nobody in France dares to say the truth: the United States is the greatest economic, military and monetary power in the world."

...the conservative Sarkozy is caught in a tightening three-way race for the presidency against Socialist Ségolène Royal and center-right candidate François Bayrou. As the first round of voting nears on April 22, Sarkozy's opponents know, and so does he, that pro-Americanism counts among his greatest political liabilities. One of the Socialists' most acid commentators, former prime minister Laurent Fabius, suggests Sarkozy could succeed Britain's Tony Blair as "the future poodle of the president of the United States."

Meanwhile, rivals mouth platitudes about wanting warm "people to people" ties with average Americans, yet attack Sarkozy for pandering to the much-hated man in the White House. "My diplomatic policy will not consist of going to kneel before George Bush," Royal declared after Sarkozy was granted an informal audience with the U.S. president last fall. "When Nicolas Sarkozy aligns himself with George Bush, it means he accepts this theory of war between good and evil. It means he tolerates all of these attempts at destabilization in the world." {....}

The `Newsweak' reporter then goes on to claim that Sarkozy is changing his pro-American position to court French hatred of the US and will be less pro American as president...based on a few off-the-cuff quotes by one of Sarkozy's advisors, Patrick Devedjian:

According to adviser Patrick Devedjian , a former minister of Industry, the United States could expect "a change of tone" if Sarkozy goes to the Elysée Palace. "We can disagree without conflict," he says, striking an unmistakably coolish note.

That new tone shows up in various issues. On Iraq, for instance, Sarkozy sounded pro-American last year when he suggested that the Chirac government's threat to use its veto in the U.N. Security Council before the U.S.-led invasion smacked of "arrogance"—an adjective usually reserved for America. But as American forces sink ever deeper into the Mesopotamian mire, would Sarkozy help? "France doesn't plan to take part in the conflict in any way whatsoever," says Devedjian. "The situation in Iraq is modifying attitudes in the United States, not here."

As if anyone, at this point, would expect the French to send troops to Iraq?

Completely absent from the article is the major issue in the campaign..France's problems with its restive Muslim population and how to deal with it, which is why Sarkozy is leading in the polls and Royale is a distant third, especially among French women. The question comes down to this: which resonates more with the French electorate? Fear and loathing of the US or fear and loathing of jihad? Of course, I wouldn't expect that kind of candor from a publication that caused widespread rioting and death with phony `Qu'ran flushing' stories.

An article like this is useful in that it clearly spells out the attitude of the elites on both sides of the pond, especially when it comes which side of the War on Jihad they're on and the choices the French and other Europeans are going to have to make if they want to survive as free peoples. And for that matter, it's a choice people like Newsweak's Chris Dickey are going to have to make down the line as well.

Then and now - The Hitler Youth and the Jihadi youth...

Regular members of Joshua's Army know that I've found numerous similarities between jihadi Islam and the Nazis, starting with my comparison of the Qu'ran vs. Mein Kampf.

Here we have a must-see video that compares the Nazi attitude towards indoctrinating youth with the techniques used by the jihadis to create shaheed `martyrs':

YouTube - Then and Now, Part II

The jihadis were Hitler's allies during WWII, and they undoubtedly learned much from him..and vice versa, since the jihadis' attempts to indoctrinate youth predate the Nazis and go back to the Assassins Islamic sect of the 8th century...some of the world's first terrorists.

Or, to quote Yasir Arafat, speaking to Palestinian women: `Have ten children, keep one for yourself and give the rest to me for Palestine.'

Hat tip to lgf and to kiwiexpat81...

The Case of the Missing General - update

The case of the Iranian missing General has taken on a new dimension. Apparently, General Asqari was a defector spied on Iran since 2003, when he was recruited on an overseas business trip.

General Ali Reza Asgari, who was Iran's the former deputy defence minister, is undergoing debriefing at a NATO base in Germany after escaping via Damascus after it became clear that his cover was about to be blown. Iran’s notorious secret service, the Vavak, suspected that he was a high-level mole.

Asgari is reported to have brought documents with him proving Iran’s links to terrorists in the Middle East.

Interestingly enough, the Iranians are probably right that Israel's Mossad was involved. According to Israeli paper Yedioth Aharonot, the Mossad orchestrated Asqari's escape and defection through the Mossad station in Istanbul.

They were probably running him as an agent as well, perhaps through a `false flag' operation in which Asqari thought he was working for somebody else but was actually working for Israel...who, as usual, was likely running this particular operation with the knowledge and cooperation of our CIA.

Needless to say, Asgari’s escape has set off major alarm bells in the Iranian regime. “Asgari is a gold mine for western intelligence,” said an Israeli defence source. “We have been following him for years, especially since the late 1980s when he was commander of the Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon.”

How North Korea gots its nukes from Pakistan

Once in a great while the dinosaur media has something of interest...which I read and vet first, so the members of Joshua's Army don't have to .

This week the New York Times featured a piece by Jeremy Bernstein, the author of the forthcoming “Plutonium: A History of the World’s Most Dangerous Element.”

In his article 'Where Those Reactors and Centrifuges Came From', Bernstein tells the fascinating story of how North Korea and others got their nukes, courtesy of Pakistan's' Dr AQ Kahn.

The New York Times likes to print our government's classified data but they're a bit more protective of sharing their own material...so I've reproduced it here in full. As the writer puts it, if you read it in a novel no one would believe it:

THE six-party agreement signed with North Korea last month should certainly be applauded as a necessary first step in improving relations with the United States. While a good deal of the North Korean program is shrouded in mystery — just this week the United States again urged the North Koreans to disclose any uranium-enrichment activities — there are some things we do know, including the nature and status of the country’s reactors.

North Korea’s one functioning reactor, at Yongbyon, uses natural uranium for fuel and graphite as its moderator (the substance that slows the neutrons and enhances the fission reaction). These are the same ingredients used in the first reactor ever designed, which was tested by Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago in 1942. The best estimate is that Yongbyon has produced about 100 pounds of plutonium since it went into full operation in 1990. This is enough for six to eight nuclear bombs, depending on their design. (The North Koreans might have used about six kilograms in their Oct. 9 test.) The construction of the larger reactors North Korea was building was apparently already suspended, for various technical reasons, before the agreement.

The North Koreans have been fairly transparent about their reactor program but almost totally opaque about their program to make natural uranium suitable for nuclear weapons by using centrifuges. We know that there is such a program, but we do not know where it is or how much, if any, uranium it has enriched. Centrifuges are much easier to hide than reactors.

The provenance of the North Korean centrifuge program is a useful lesson in nuclear proliferation. One can trace it back to the spring of 1945, when the Russians were overrunning Germany. Along with the army came a cadre of atomic and nuclear physicists who were looking for both German physicists and metallic uranium.

The latter had been made in large quantities — tons — by the Auer company, a subsidiary of the Degussa chemical company, in part by using slave labor from the concentration camps. The Soviets were able to take home about 300 tons of processed uranium.

Thanks to espionage, the Soviets knew where to look and whom to look for. (The United States had a similar program, called Alsos, that competed for many of the same people.) The Soviets collected a talented inventor of electronic devices named Manfred von Ardenne. He had made a great deal of money and had a large estate outside Berlin. On it he had a laboratory with a nuclear program financed by the German Post Office.

In May 1945 the Soviets shipped Dr. von Ardenne east with some of his colleagues and equipment from his laboratory. By June he had set up a laboratory, Institute A, in Sukhumi on the Black Sea in Georgia. Nearby, another laboratory, Institute G, had been set up by Gustav Hertz, a German physicist of Jewish ancestry who had shared the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics. Dr. Hertz had been working out of sight at the Siemens company during the Nazi period.

The Sukhumi scientists were ordered to find methods of separating uranium isotopes. Dr. Hertz chose to study gaseous diffusion. Uranium hexafluoride gas is forced through tiny pores in a membrane to separate out the lighter isotope, uranium 235, which is needed for weapons. Dr. von Ardenne tried separation by using electromagnetic fields, a technique also used in the American uranium separation program at Oak Ridge, Tenn.

A third group, headed by a physicist named Max Steenbeck, investigated the centrifuge. Dr. Steenbeck, who had been arrested by the Soviets and put in a concentration camp in Poland, had previously been in charge of research for the division of Siemens that dealt with aircraft. While in captivity he wrote a letter to the Soviet secret police, the N.K.V.D., explaining his scientific background; he also ended up in Sukhumi. Dr. Steenbeck began with a small group and some antiquated Soviet centrifuges that certainly could not have been used to separate uranium isotopes.

In the summer of 1946 they were joined by an Austrian physicist named Gernot Zippe. Dr. Zippe had been in the Luftwaffe during the war and, after having been taken prisoner in the summer of 1946, he went from a prison camp to the relative luxury of Sukhumi, thanks to the initiative of Dr. von Ardenne. Neither Dr. Zippe nor Dr. Steenbeck had ever worked on centrifuges, but within two years they created the best centrifuge in the world — although at the time they did not know it. (To give some idea of its capacity, a typical laboratory centrifuge makes a few thousand rotations a minute. The Zippe centrifuge — this is the common name, although Dr. Zippe himself refers to it as the “Russian centrifuge” — can do 90,000 rotations a minute.)

In 1956, Dr. Zippe was allowed to return to Germany. Although he was not permitted to take any documents with him, he was able to reconstruct his work, and began consulting for various companies interested in centrifuges, including Degussa.

The private German companies, including the part of Degussa that was doing centrifuges, became nationalized in 1964. But in 1970 these national companies became part of an international consortium called Urenco. The Dutch had a branch in Almelo and, in 1972, a Pakistani metallurgist named Abdul Qadeer Khan joined it. Fluent in both Dutch and German, he was given the job of translating the German centrifuge plans into Dutch. He became familiar with both the German and Dutch versions of the Zippe centrifuge.

In 1974, India successfully tested a nuclear device, and Pakistan’s president, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, put out a call to all the scientists in the Pakistani diaspora to return home and help make a bomb. Dr. Khan was one who answered and he brought with him the stolen plans for the Zippe centrifuge. This is not the place to go into the details of Dr. Khan’s activities, which in the end involved a variety of countries from Libya to China — to say nothing of Iran, whose centrifuges also have a Pakistani origin.

By the 1990s Dr. Khan was exchanging weapons information with the North Koreans for similar information about their long-range rockets. We know he gave them plans for the centrifuge and probably sample centrifuges. We do not know whether he gave them plans for a nuclear weapon, as he had done for the Libyans.

We also do not know to what extent the government of Pakistan was complicit in this. The army certainly was, and military aircraft were used to transport material. Pakistan has denied any involvement; Dr. Khan is under house arrest and no foreign intelligence representatives have been allowed to interview him.

The North Koreans have reluctantly admitted that they have a centrifuge program but have not let any foreign observers see it. Such a program, if limited, would have been allowed by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But the North Koreans would have had to declare it to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which then would have had the right to inspect it.

This they did not do. Perhaps they enjoy the ambiguity. My own guess is that if they have an active program it is relatively small. And while so far the agreement we have made with them does not say anything about this program, clearly we must eventually insist on knowing its extent. The route that led from Soviet prisoners of war to the centrifuges in North Korea is so implausible that if one put it in a novel, no one would believe it.

Israel's `peace loving' neighbors ramp up their missile arsenals and prepare for war

While Olmert is busy attending summits with Israel's `peace partner', Hezbollah, Syria and the Palestinians are preparing for the next round.

The Syrians have positioned thousands of rockets on its border with Israel, according
to Israeli government and military sources, quoted by the French News Agency AFP.

They now have medium range missiles, sold to them by the Russians capable of reaching Haifa, positioned underground chambers and camouflaged silos. The Syrians,noting Israel's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon have adopted the technique of manufacturing a network of fortified tunnels. Syria also reportedly has several Syria had deployed several FROG rocket launchers with 550-kg warheads in areas between the border and
Damascus.

The strategy behind this is pretty obvious - in the event of a war, when the IDF moves ground forces and tanks in to take out the launch sites closer to the border, the longer range missiles sited near Damascus can kick in.

Hezbollah, despite taking some major losses in the Lebanon war has re-established itself in its old areas in South Lebanon and re-armed while UNIFIL has essentially stood by and done nothing to enforce the arms embargo called for in Res. 1701. They have reportedly replaced most of the missile arsenal Israel destroyed last August.

The Palestinians, notably Hamas an dIslamic Jihad have received a brand new shipment of improved Iranian surface missiles.

They fired two of them which reached the southern part of the Israeli port of Ashkelon Tuesday, March 6.

The new toys the mullahs have given the Palestinians have an improved range of about 12 miles (19km) up from about 7.5 miles (12-13km), and are much more accurate with improved range finding. This may not seem like a lot, but it brings Ashkelon, Netivot, Ofakim the outskirts of Kiryat Gat and military bases in central Israel into range. The Pals can now match Syrian and Hezbollah missile attacks from the north with equal attacks from the south and southwest.

The Palestinians are keeping things relatively low key for the moment,partly because they don't want to be too blatant and provoke an Israeli invasion of Gaza before they're ready and partly because of the need to present a `moderate' front and hopefully get the aid money coming back in again, But they are taking advantage of the Olmert government's enmeshment in scandal and Israel's political disarray to build a war machine for the next round.

Another indication is Hamas' construction of a vast underground network of fortified tunnels near the Rafah-Philadelphi corridor as well as another one in Gaza nearer to the Israeli border. Like the Syrians, Hamas has taken a leaf from Hezbollah' strategy against Israel in Lebanon last year.

The supreme irony is that Hamas is using rubble from the Jewish communities in Gaza that the IDF evacuated during the Gaza `disengagement'. Concrete debris taken from the ruins of Gush Katif, Ganei Tal and other communities torn down by the Israelis at the Palestinians' insistance is now being used to shore up tunnels and line the walls of bunkers in the Palestinian fortified tunnels...and the Olmert government has allowed these fortresses to be built without trying to obstruct them in any way.

If it were not for a couple of courageous congresspeople, the Bush Administration would have given the Palestinians $86M to add to their jihad war chest by now.

Stay tuned...I think the fireworks could start as soon as this summer. And the Israeli had better have new leadership by then, for their own sake.

Zarqawi's replacement caught in Iraq

Who says there's no good news? Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq reportedly fell into US hands yesterday, just outside of Abu Ghrieb.

al-Baghdadi admitted his identity to the Americans after one of the jihadis he was caught with fingered him.If it was indeed him, it's certainly good news.

As the Shiites lay low and the Sunni insurgents get killed or arrested, we may very well end up with the illusion of quiet which allows the US to leave gracefully as the Iran backed Shiites take over...

Well, we're talking with the mullahs...let the haggling begin

Well, it's official, sports fans...the U.S. and Iran are holding direct talks are the Iraq summit in Baghdad March 10th.

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said he exchanged views with Iranian delegates and the chief Iranian envoy, Abbas Araghchi "directly and in the presence of others" at the gathering led by Iraq's neighbors and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, but that they did not speak privately.

And if you believe that, I've got a used camel to sell you.

Khalilzad wouldn't discus details of the conversations he had with Iran's envoy - why not, if they weren't private and `in the presence of others?' - but called them "constructive and businesslike and problem-solving."

It wasn't quite so sweetness-and-light, really. According to an unnamed source, atone point during the talks, U.S. envoy David Satterfield pointed to his briefcase which he said contained documents proving Iran was arming Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq.

"Your accusations are merely a cover for your failures in Iraq," Iran's chief envoy Abbas Araghchi shot back.

details are sketchy, but Labid Abbawi, a senior Iraqi Foreign Ministry official who attended the meeting, confirmed that an argument broke out between the Iranian and American envoys. Of course, he wasn't going to elaborate.

In the end, it all comes down to haggling over the price, as we negotiate with one of the chief Islamic terrorist enablers . Will the US and Iran come to an agreement that allows the US to exit gracefully? And what will the quid pro quo be?

We once had a president, I seem to remember, who told the world that they were either with the terrorists or with us. Whatever happened to that guy...anybody seen him around lately?

Watcher's Council Results, 3/09/07

The Council has spoken! A complete list of results can be found at the site of our fearless leader, the infamous Watcher of Weasels

This week's winner is:
J O S H U A P U N D I T: Between Iraq and a hard place - Why we went, how it got so screwed up and where it's going - Part 2 , the second of my two part examination into the past, present and probable future of our involvement in Iraq.Some of this stuff is uncomfortable to look at, and I recognize that my view of it is somewhat contrarian...but I can only call `em like I see `em...

I'm truly gratified that my fellow Council members enjoyed my efforts this week. Given the high level of writing and thought in this particular group, it's an honor and a pleasure simply to be a member, let alone win.

In second place was Right Wing Nut House: DEATH OF A TITAN Rick's thoughtful memorial to the late Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.


For non-Council, the winner was Websurdity � Blog Archive � Uncomfortable Questions: Was the Death Star Attack an Inside Job? - an absolutely hilarious parody of the 9/11 `truthers'.

In second place was Iraq Trip Report (SWJ Blog) an excellent on-the-ground look at the Iraq War.

Hearty Kudos to all the winners!

Two more instances of home grown jihadis - and we had better start paying attention

In today's news, there are yet again two more examples of how deep the network of jihadis here in America has spread, and how far behind the curve we seem to be.

First off, we have this item, as the U.S. finally indicted 5 Men Tied to an Islamic Charity who were passing money to Saddam Hussein stolen from United States government grant money.

The charity, the Islamic American Relief Agency was formed back in 1985 and wasn't shut down by the feds until October 2004 after the Treasury Department designated it a global terrorist organization. The group sent over $1.4 million to Iraq from March 1991 to May 2003, in violation of sanctions on that country...and most of it came from grant money obtained through the United States Agency for International Development that was supposed to go to the African nation of Mali.

The indictment covers several counts of money laundering as well as falsely representing the charity’s activities and filing misleading tax forms. The indicted officers are Mubarak Hamed, 50, former executive director of the charity; Abdel Azim el-Siddiq, 50, a vice president; Ali Mohamed Bagegni, 53, a member of the board; Ahmad Mustafa, 54, a fund-raiser; and Khalid al-Sudanee, 55, a Middle East coordinator.

It only took 21/2 years to even get an indictment!

The second item involves an ex-US Navy sailor, Hassan Abujihaad (AKA Paul R. Hall) sailor who was arrested for spying for al-Qaeda..or, as the Feds gently put it `on charges of supporting terrorism with an intent to kill U.S. citizens and transmitting classified information to unauthorized people.'

Abujihaad was apparently part of a major spy ring with branches in the US and Europe that included Babar Ahmad, a British computer specialist arrested in 2004 and accused of running Web sites to raise money for terrorism. Ahmad is already scheduled to be extradited to the U.S. to face trial.

On Ahmad's computer, investigators found files containing classified information about the positions of U.S. Navy ships and discussing their susceptibility to attack.

They also found emails from Abujihaad exchanged with Ahmad while on active duty on the USS Benfold, a guided-missile destroyer. In those e-mails, Abujihaad discussed naval military briefings, showed drawings of Navy battle groups and discussed upcoming missions.

Abujihaad,by the way, had a secret security clearance.

While Ahmad was arrested in 2004, the case against Abujihaad accelerated in December of 2006, when his ex-room mate, Derrick Shareef, another home grown jihadi was arrested for planing to use hand grenades to attack holiday shoppers at a mall near Chicago. Shareef apparently fingered his ex room mate.

The rot goes deep.

The Lost Scandal

I haven't commented on the Scooter Libbey trial, since I mostly consider it a great deal of politically motivated fuss about something comparatively unimportant.

However Robert Novak's new piece, ` The Lost Scandal' does a fairly good job of summarizing where the real scandal lies....and from someone who has firsthand knowledge.

The only other thing I would add is something that's not generally known....that Scooter Libbey and prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald have bad blood between them of long standing, dating back to some fencing over the Mark Ritchie case back in the days of the Clinton Administration.

That in itself should have been grounds for President Bush (at the very least)to name a different prosecutor.

Weekend Monkey on `Larry King Live'

Below is a transcript of Weekend Monkey on CNN's `Larry King Live'. I've edited it for content.



KING: Has Ann Coulter finally gone too far? Her use of a certain "F" word has even conservatives outraged. It's all next on LARRY KING LIVE.

KING: And now from Ames Iowa, we're on the phone with Democratic presidential candidate Weekend Monkey. Hello, Monkey!

WM: Hello, Larry. Thanks for having me on.

KING: Your candidacy for the Democratic nomination has sparked a lot of controversy:

(run video clip)

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA: Well,it just goes to show you that anyone can run for president. But I resent Weekend Monkey's insinuations that he's cleaner than I am, and his referral of me as Barack Yo' Mama is simply hateful. I think Monkey is a stealth candidate for the GOP, or maybe even Senator Clinton...and besides, everybody knows that I'M this years' victim candidate.

(end clip)

KING: Monkey, your response?

WM: I stand on the record

KING: What record?

WM: An old LP of `Sinatra at the Sands'. Ever hear it?

KING (chuckling): Wha?

WM: Hey, if Frank were still with us, he'd be in my corner...Frank was always one for the underdog, the outsider. Like me, he did it his way.

KING (still laughing): OK, Monkey, seriously...

WM: Hey, I AM serious, a lot more serious than Obama Yo'Mama...

KING: Hey, hey..

WM: Alright, alright. But here you got a guy who's acting like he supports the average primate when he's really one of the elites, just like they all are. He's saying almost nothing except easy platitudes, getting a buncha press because he isn't Hillary Clinton, is young `gifted' and Barack and is a black democrat. I mean, if he was a republican, would anyone care? And as for being a stealth candidate, the way he's dividing up the black vote, I wouldn't be surprised if the RNC had him on the payroll! I mean, he's from Chicago, that kind of stuff isn't unknown there, y'know? Me, I stand for something!

KING: When we come back, more with Weekend Monkey. And stay tuned for our montage of Anna Nicole Smith clips!!

KING: We're back with democratic presidential candidate Weekend Monkey. Monkey, you recently spoke at Columbia University where you had this to say:

(roll video clip)

WM:"Primates, friends and supporters..I stand before you today as one of your own, a member of the inter-species rainbow coalition involved in breaking new ground for my fellow monkeys, for you primates and for America! (Thumps chest)

I stand for the underdog, the other America, the little guy. I offer a monkey, not an echo. The primate who yearns to swing through the jungle of life at the top of the tree. (...)

As your president, I would immediately offer government subsidized college tuitions to all qualified primates, lowering university fees to a nominal $200 per semester and eliminating species-ist admission policies..because I have a dream of an America where a primate is judged by his place on the evolutionary chain, not the content or color of his skin or fur! (Wild, sustained applause). (....)

I ask for your support, not for myself...but for every primate and subspecies in America, the ones who are shut out of the current apartheid university system and shut out of the mainstream of American life....Say it loud, say it proud, no primate left behind! (crowd, ecstatic, applauding, begin waving whiskey bottles...chanting `no primate left behind!')

(end clip)

KING: Stay tuned for an in depth report on a gruesome confession that shocked America -- a woman's torso found in this man's garage. I gotta say , Monkey, that crowd looked enthusiastic. So you support government subsidized tuitions?

WM: You betcha, Larry...I want to be known as the Ejukashun Monkey president.

KING: Wouldn't you have to raise taxes?

WM: Nah. I've run the numbers and it's not that big a bunch of bananas. Besides, it's for the children. Won't anyone think of the children? You're not against the children, are you Larry? Is anything more important?

KING: Well, no...but it just seems like (clears throat) let's go to some of our viewers..Cindy. from Manhattan, you're on with Weekend Monkey

CALLER: Hi, Monkey! Man you left early....you didn't even stay for breakfast.

WM: Hi, Cindy..hey, running for President is a full time job, lotsa primates to see. But I want to thank you and your room mates for a wonderful time, and I'm looking forward to seeing you and the other girls on my next trip back to Columbia (hoots)

CALLER: I just wanna say that this Monkey has my vote, and we've formed a Weekend Monkey for President Club, he's real, he's here and he's lots cuter than Dennis Kucinich! Monkey is the one!

KING: Los Angeles, California, you're on with Weekend Monkey

CALLER: (thick Greek Accent) `allo, Monkey..this is Arianna. What is your position on the war, and don't pull the same nonsense you did with Helen Thomas at the press conference....

WM: Oh, were you there?

CALLER: No, but I heard all about it, and I think you need to clarify...

KING: Looks like we're...

WM: OK, Arianna. Look, let's face it. Iraq is one nowhere place. I mean, we've invested billions in that place that could have been spent much better. Hey, if I want to spend money on some undesireable desert real estate, there's always Roubidoux or East Salt Lick! I'm for pulling out, but I 've never been one to pull out prematurely, if you know what I mean...it gets messy.

CALLER: Hmmmm...maybe we should talk the next time you're back in L.A. Monkey, I know where to get in touch with you...

WM: Until then, Arianna

KING: So there you have it America! Weekend Monkey, running for president...

WM: I want to be your First Monkey! On To Washington!

KING: Thank you, Monkey. When we come back, Ann Coulter and the F word. And stay tuned for "American Idol" runner-up Kathryn McPhee. So our question of the night is, are the "American Idol" judges too tough this year? You can text your vote from your cell phone to CNN TV which is 26688. You text King A for yes and King B for no and we'll reveal the results on tomorrow night's show with Kat McPhee. Of course, you can always e-mail us by going to cnn.com/larryking. That's all. Don't forget the question, are the judges going too far in their critiques? We never critique our next host. He hosts "AC 360." He's the standard bearer here for late night television in America. He's Anderson Cooper....

How sharia works - Saudi kidnap and rape victim sentenced to 90 lashes

Some of you who took Weekend Monkey's `You're the Qadi!' quiz might have been skeptical about how accurate the answers were, even though these were actual cases tried by real Qadis (Islamic judges in sharia courts) and the Qu'rannic sources were given.

Here's yet another example of how sharia works.

We have here a case in Saudi Arabia where a 19-year-old Saudi woman who was kidnapped, beaten and gang raped by seven men. They then took nude photos of her with cell phone cameras and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

She was lured into this situation by one of the men who blackmailed her into meeting with him by threatening to tell her family they were having a relationship outside wedlock, which is illegal in Saudi Arabia...unless you're a rich sheik cavorting with one of your Filipina maids.

Five of the rapists were eventually arrested when the victim was hospitalized for her injuries and given jail terms ranging from 10 months to five years even though the government prosecutor had asked for the death penalty....because the Saudi justice ministry intervened and said rape could not be proved because there were no witnesses and the men had recanted confessions they made during `questioning'.

After that, the Qadis, basing their decision on sharia, decided to sentence the woman and her original blackmailer for being alone together in his car.

Her sentence? 90 lashes for the "crime" of being alone with a man not related to her.

Believe it or not.

Israeli opposition calls for early elections

Well, it's about freakin' time!

Israeli opposition leader Benyamin Netanyahu has formally called for early elections, claiming that the electorate has lost confidence in the government after its failure in the Lebanon war and wants a new leadership.

He also accused prime minister Ehud Olmert (quite correctly, in my opinion) of obstructing the state controller’s inquiry into the conduct of the home front by the army and the government in the war. "How can the government draw lessons and correct faults if it refuses to hear what they are? We need a change of government," he said.

Netanyahu, commonly known in Israel as `Bibi' is a former Likud prime minister an dis the head of that party. According to most polls, Likud would win a majority if elections were held today.

From here, it goes to the Knesset, which will attempt to put through a vote of no confidence to go to early elections.

Stay tuned...

Rat Round Up - the IDF raids Fatah's Military Intel HQ in Ramallah

Yee Hah! Rat Roundup!


Now here's some goo-ood news.

The wranglers over at the IDF Nahal Brigades sent a posse over to the Palestinian Authority's Military Intelligence headquarters in Ramallah on Wednesday morning and arrested 18 fugitives who had been hiding there in a real rat round up.

These are fugitives responsible for dozens of attacks against Israeli civilians.

After several formal request made to the Palestinian security branches not to provide sanctuary for wanted terrorists, Tanzim killers were still being protected in the intelligence building, and the IDF requests were completely ignored so they decided to take matters into their own hands.

The IDF sent 30 military jeeps to surround the building, attacked with stun grenades an dthen walked in and snatched everyone in the building, including the 18 jihadis. One of the bigger fish was Khalil Shilo, one of thee Fatah-affiliated Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigades who the IDF has been after since 2000.

The IDF also found and removed a stock of guns, grenades, explosive vests, pipe bombs, and other military equipment in the building.

An Israeli security source said those arrested “were using the infrastructure of the Palestinian security services as a base to carry out their operations.”

“The Palestinian Authority knew this and did nothing to fight their terrorist activities,” the source said.

Well, duh!

Bechatzlechah, shomerim. I'm sure these creeps will have some interesting show tunes to sing before they get put in a hole where they can't hurt innocent people any more.

The case of the Vanishing Iranian General...solved!

Yesterday, I highlighted the mysterious disappearance of Iran’s ex-deputy defense minister and prominent Revolutionary Guards General, Ali Reza Asquari in Istanbul Turkey last month.

General Asquari was reportedly the commanding officer in charge of Iranian undercover operations in central Iraq, and either took part in the planning or actually participated in the kidnapping of those five American officers from the US-Iraqi command center in Karbala south of Baghdad January 20th.

BlogPal Dave from The Glittering Eye saw my piece on this and tipped me off to this story, reported in The Australian, that the general has surfaced after being `missing' for a month. The news story cites al-Shark al-Awsat, an Arab paper published in London as a source and says that General Asquari is seeking to defect to the US. According to al-Shark, the general's entire family disappeared from Turkey as well, which would bear out the story of a defection if true.

Whether Asquari voluntarily defected or was kidnapped by the CIA or the Mossad and is now in US custody, this is a major blow to Iran.

As deputy foreign minister he had access to all of Iran's innermost secret, including the ins and outs of its nuclear weapons program. And as the ex- CO of Iran's undercover operations in Iraq, he is in a position to provide hard evidence on whether Iran has been directly behind the killing of our troops in Karbala and whether all those Iranian arms shipments to the Shiite militias in Iran had the "approval from top leaders in Iran."

This could end up being a major development.

Every week, the Watcher's Council members nominate two posts each, one from the Council members and one from outside for consideration by the whole Council. The complete list of this week's Council nominations can be found at the site of our fearless leader, Watcher of Weasels


Watcher's Council News:A new seat has opened up on the Watcher's Council with the departure of Marc Schulman at American Future. Anyone interested in applying for the vacant Watcher's Council seat should go here to apply.


OK, here's this week's Council lineup:

1. J O S H U A P U N D I T: Between Iraq and a hard place - Why we went, how it got so screwed up and where it's going - Part 2 The second part of my admittedly contrarian examination of the past, present and future of our involvement in Iraq.I guarantee that. along with part 1, it will disturb some of you..and provide a lot of food for thought.


2. Done With Mirrors: Classical Fraud In a change of pace, Callimachus writes a fascinating piece on plagiarism in the classical music world.


3.Soccer Dad: Green thinking from the red planetFrom Soccer Dad, a funny spoof on WAPO blowhard David Ignatius' take on global warming, done from the perspective of Mars.

4. Right Wing Nut House : DEATH OF A TITAN Rick does a memorial to the recently deceased Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. As another member of the Council remarked, the definition of `liberal' sure has changed.

5. The Sundries Shack: The Separation Hypocrisy This week, Jimmie Bise targets John Edwards and his `two Americas' stance and points out what he feels is the hypocrisy of living a multimillionaire lifestyle and being a populist. Of course Edwards, like many Leftists is no such thing. He merely wants government to ensure the status quo and secure his wealth and power while taxing and regulating others to make it more difficult for them to move into the winner's circle with him...exactly the same model that has been such a colossal failure in Europe.

6. Rhymes With Right: An Idea I can get behind Greg, as an educator, likes the idea of end-of-course tests as opposed to the current system in Texas.


7. The Glittering Eye : Who were the Etruscans? The Glittering Eye's Dave Schuler is a true renaissance man. This week, he has an erudite post on the history, language and culture of the ancient Etruscans.

Don't know who they were? Visit the Glittering Eye and find out.


8. The Colossus of Rhodey: Essence of a problem Lotsa education posts this week! Hube examines the role expulsion plays in classroom discipline and the relatives roles in education played by teachers and parents.

9. You ain’t never had a friend like me: Bookworm Room Mrs. Bookworm writes her piece this week about journalism - it's nature, its recent problems and its failures.

As she puts it, the big media outlets are seeing their market share dropping, reporters distrusted and held in low estimation and the media's reputation in tatters....and then goes on to examine why.

Frankly, I think the biggest factor in the low ratings and low opinion of the media started with the widespread use of blogging, the internet and the `new media'...because now most of us know how baldly we were lied to over the years, and the same scam just isn't as possible as it was when you had three networks and a handful of influential newspapers deciding what the news was going to be and how it would be reported. The dinosaur media is simply too involved in its inherent bias and it may be too late to put that particular toothpaste back in the tube.

Of course, this also coincided with the Left's takeover of the universities and the J-schools in the 1970's, something that's also become quite well known recently...

10. Eternity Road: Acceptances And Severances Part 3: Association By Exclusion And Its Consequences Francis continues his examination of relationships....

11.The Education Wonks: Student Sex Scandal Rocks Indiana School District Sex in a 6th grade classroom while the teacher was `distracted'? And the school hushed it up? Two words: school choice.

That's this week's lineup..enjoy!

Between Iraq and a hard place - Why we went, how it got so screwed up and where it's going - Part 2

In the first part of In `Between Iraq and a hard place - Why we went, how it got so screwed up and where it's going , Part 1', I explained that we went to Iraq in the first place in what primarily amounted to a war to protect the Saudis and the other Sunni Emirates in the Persian Gulf.

I showed how President Bush's `Arab Democracy' fetish undercut a brilliant military achievement that could have been the beginning of victory in this war, and how his empowering of the Shiites surprised and horrified the Saudis and undercut our strategic aims.

In Part 2, we'll examine what the Bush Administration is doing now, where Iraq is likely headed and the implications for the Middle East.

The short answer as to where the US is headed in all this is O-U-T, as quickly and as gracefully as we can manage it. I doubt we will have any significant forces left in Iraq by the end of 2007.

With the loss of that `political capital' the President so famously bragged about after the `04 elections, the elevation of many of his most vociferous foes in the opposition to control of the key Congressional committees and his approval ratings consistently in the mid to low 30's, the President's main concern at this point is a face saving exit.

To that end, Dubbyah appears to have made a deal with al-Maliki and al-Sadr (and thus, Iran) to look the other way while the Shiites complete the ethnic cleansing and marginalization of the Sunnis, and apparently is willing to continue a certain amount of baksheesh and aid to the Iraqi Shiite government in exchange for a reasonably graceful exit.

This explains why the Shiite militias have gone to ground and are being allowed to keep their weapons for `home defense' and any Shiites or Sadrists who have been detained have gone quietly, while the Sunni insurgents have been involved in active firefights with US and Iraqi troops. The Shiites know the fix is in, and if it wasn't, Moqtada al-Sadr could, with his parliamentary votes, kick al-Maliki out of office in a heartbeat.

That's why US troops who are part of the `security surge' are patrolling Sadr City in relative peace and quiet, as compared with their attempted incursion a few months ago.

Other signs of the imminent US exit include a vast step up in Iraqi (almost all Sunni) refugees accepted into the US, the `shared oil revenue' deal the Kurds signed on to to bribe the Shiites to leave them in peace now that they realize the US is leaving, and of course, our sitting down with Iran and Syria as part of a regional peace conference on Iraq...something the Bush Administration swore it would never do.

As I've mentioned before, the idea of `let's talk to Iran and Syria' is simply the latest appeasement Prozac. The only reason for Iran or Syria to talk to the US would be to extract a price. And the fact that the Bush Administration is willing to bargain with them at this point is another indication of the president's desire for the quickest possible exit - regardless of the implications for the future.

What the president has in fact done to deep six the so-called `Bush Doctrine' and to accept, almost in their entirety, the recommendations of the The Iraq Study Group. The ISG's recommendations, once you get past the bloviated rhetoric could be summarized as follows: let's leave before the next presidential election, let's bribe the Shiite factions to stay quiet long enough for us to make a graceful exit, and let's negotiate with Iran and Syria and give them a free hand in Lebanon and pressure Israel into giving up the Golan Heights, Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem as part of the price for allowing us to withdraw gracefully.

If this apparent course continues, the implications of this kind of appeasement could by extremely far reaching in the not-too-distant future.

For one thing assuming we paid the price ( or any part of it) demanded by Iran and Syria, the effect it would have on our allies and adversaries both in the region and overseas would be enormous. Should we negotiate our way out of this without neutralizing Iran, it will be seen as what it is....a defeat and a retreat for us and a victory for jihad.

The rationale for all this of course, aside from getting us out of Iraq is that we will have achieved `regional stability' and created a Sunni bloc against the Shiite bloc in Syria, Iran, Iraq and soon, Lebanon. Or as Condi Rice recently put it, there is “a new strategic alignment in the Middle East,” separating “reformers” and “extremists”; she pointed to the Sunni states as centers of moderation, and said that Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah were “on the other side of that divide.”

Did you ever think you'd hear an intelligent person refer to Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Dubai as `moderate' with a straight face?

(You'll also notice she didn't mention Hamas)

That attitude also assumes that the Sunni agenda lines up perfectly with our own - which is definitely not the case. And the proof of that was the sitdown between Iran's Ahmadinejad and Saudi King Abdullah, to horsetrade for spheres of influence and plan strategy for goals they have in common - like the destruction of Israel and the Jews.

When it comes to dealing with jihad and non-believers, Sunnis and Shia are perfectly capable of putting aside their differences for the moment and working together for common aims.

We are in the process , in effect, of handing a huge victory to Iran. The country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was entirely correct when he said on Iran state television that “realities in the region show that the arrogant front, headed by the U.S. and its allies, will be the principal loser in the region.” Iran is in dire straits economically and needed to expand or implode. Assuming that the Bush Administration has no intention of neutralizing them or doing anything meaningful to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, that particular genie is out of the bottle, with consequences scarcely to be imagined, as Iran will dominate the new Shiite Iraq, its resources and its strategic location.

Another implication of this appeasement has to do with the effect on our friends and allies in the region. Our real ally in Iraq,the Kurds, as I've mentioned, are already in the process of jumping ship, since we've left them no choice. Elsewhere in the region, moderate forces like the Iranian dissidents and Lebanese Christians and pro-democracy forces will receive a definite message that our commitments are not to be trusted. And should Israel be marginalized, we will have lost an important ally, one of the few we have with a significant military component.

Most important, of course, is the effect on America and its ability to wage the War on Jihad. One of the worst side effects of the way the Bush Administration has managed this war, and something President Bush will eventually answer for to history was his refusal to channel the USA's natural rage and energy after 9/11 into victory over our enemies.

Instead, we were told that our enemies' creed was peace, that the perpetrators of 9/11 would be `brought to justice' and to calm down and go shopping.

The poor planning, misrepresentation and outright waste of the Iraq War is not something Americans are going to forget easily. It has divided us when we should have been unified, and will effect us in taking steps we should take to win the War on Jihad.

Should we leave the region for another isolationist vacation from history, rest assured that the war will follow us home.

What are Europe's options?

I have long maintained that Europe will either have a civil war or go mostly Islamic.

Middle East Scholar Daniel Pipes has a new piece, published in The National Interest in which he examines exactly that topic - what Europe's options in the future might be.

He narrows them down to three - Muslim rule, Muslim expulsion, or Muslim integration.

In his first scenario, Professor Pipes examines the demographic trends in Europe (rather like Mark Steyn) and concludes that, given diminished European fertility rates, and aging population in need of immigration that is mostly not reproducing itself and disdain for its own culture as compared to Muslim fervor, the possibilty of `Eurabia' definitely exists.

In his second scenario, Pipes examines the idea of the European expelling its Muslims almost wholesale, quoting author Ralph Peters who feels that Europe's Muslims are living on borrowed time, and authoress Claire Berlinski, who sees the historic order of Europe reasserting itself. Pipes, in this scenario, sees:

...indigenous Europeans—who still constitute 95 percent of the population—waking up one day and asserting themselves. “Basta!” they will say and reclaim their historic order. This is not so remote; some Europeans, while scarce in the elite, loudly protest the changes already underway.

Pipes goes on to discuss the trend towards the rise of nativist parties in Europe and their growing strength, and makes the point that, contrary to Peters assessment, the expulsion of Muslims from Europe will be largely peaceful and legal, at least on the non-Muslim side.

In the third scenario, Pipes examines the possibility of peaceful integration, something by his own admission he feels is unlikely. I concur - historically, Islam does not play nicely with others.

However, with all respect for Dr. Pipe's scholarship, I believe he leaves a few things out of the equation.

While some parts of Europe may very well attempt to peacefully expel Muslim immigrants, many of the ruling Socialist/Labor coalitions are dependent on Muslim votes to retain power (Britain's Labour Party is a fine example) and will fight any expulsion tooth and nail. Also, Europe's jihadis, like the jihadis here are adept at using the existing civil rights laws as a weapon to subvert and destroy the very societies that granted Muslims equal rights under the law in the first place.

At the same time,any attempt to expel Muslim populations from Europe, or even to take away their social welfare benefits can expect to be met with violent street protest and domestic terrorism.

Another thing to consider is the rage of the Muslim ummah overseas. Imagine the reaction, for example, of a nuclear armed Iran with missiles that can hit Europe...or a nuclear armed Pakistan faced with having to reabsorb thousands of Pakistanis from Britain. At the very least, I would expect that Europe's domestic Muslims would receive arms and training from their fellow jihadis overseas, something that is already happening in France and elsewhere if my sources are correct.

Seldom mentioned in these discussions is the vested interest Islamic rulers have in reducing the pressure on their own failed societies via continued emigration of part of their population to the west.

In other words, I don't see Professor Pipes `peaceful, legal expulsion' happening.

So where does this leave us? To me, the ultimate answer to this question depends on a number of factors.

First and foremost of these factors is when the great blowup happens. Things will be different say, a decade or so from now than they will be in 3-5 years.

The second factor to consider is what other players outside the region may be involved. I mentioned Iran and Pakistan, but Russia, which has aligned itself with the Muslim world and is becoming increasingly Islamic may also be a factor. Western Europe also appears to be committing the supreme folly of pressuring for the marginalization of Israel ( which guards NATO's southern flank) and the disengagement of US forces from Western Europe.

The third factor varies by country according to its attitude towards itself, the level of Islamic population, the degree of dhimmitude, and the nature of the leadership in place.

Dr. Pipes wisely ends his piece by saying that it's too soon to tell and things are in flux, and he's correct. But I'll hazard a few random predictions.

Assuming Iran is not neutralized and present trends continue, I predict increasing Muslim unrest and frequent domestic terrorism over the next 3-5 years. While the total percentage of the Muslim population in Europe as a whole is still relatively small, that population is increasingly concentrated in major European cities, and it's not hard to predict a situation similar to what exists today in France, where whole areas are under de facto sharia law and are essentially no-go areas for the police and for most non-Muslims.

In places like that, you will see increased violence between native Europeans and the Muslim umma....what amounts to civil war. As I've said before, Islam does not play nicely with others, generally speaking, and as crime and terrorism directed towards non-Muslim Europeans increases, the push back by native Europeans will intensify.

Politics will also play a major part in how things go. In those countries where the Left/Labor/Socialist blocs continue to hold on to power with the aid of Muslim votes, there will be more turmoil, unrest and terrorism as opposed to countries with leadership independent of those votes.

Eventually,if Europe's elites are unwilling to deal with the situation, we will see a number of mini-Bosnias in Western Europe, especially if the nativist parties begin arming themselves and forming militias.

In my article, It is time for Jews to think about leaving Western Europe I speculated on exactly this kind of outcome.

As for those Europeans that still care about preserving their freedom and their culture, forewarned is forearmed.

The case of the Vanishing Iranian General....

This is one of those little reported, under the wire stories that sheds a great deal of light on the undercover war between Iran and the US.

Iran’s deputy defense minister for eight years up until 2005, and a prominent Revolutionary Guards General, Ali Reza Asquari, has disappeared under highly mysterious circumstances in Istanbul, Turkey on February 7th.

General Asquari was reportedly the commanding officer in charge of Iranian undercover operations in central Iraq. What's more, he was either took part in the planning or actually participated in the kidnapping of five American officers from the US-Iraqi command center in Karbala south of Baghdad January 20th. Those officers, as I related here were snatched under highly suspicious circumstances and then shot execution style outside of Karbala.

According to my sources, the kidnapping was done by a special team of Iranian intelligence officers who were given a mission to kidnap US soldiers and hold them as hostages for bargaining. The plan was to snatch a group of US soldiers and hold them hostage against the release of the 8 Revolutionary Guards commandos taken in a raid in Irbril, Iraq who are now in in American custody. However, the Iranians were unable to make a clean get away with the Americans to Iran and murdered them as US forces moved in, after which the Iranians made their escape.

The US obviously decided to hush this up for political reasons...they obviously wanted to avoid accusations of `drumming up war with Iran' or `cooking intelligence' this time around and might have chosen to retaliate in a low profile,clandestine manner.

General Asquari, who as I said was in command of this mission came to Turkey from Damascus and was booked into the Istanbul Ceylan Hotel, a fairly posh place that one would expect a high ranking Iranian officer to stay at.
\
The Iranian general arrived at Ataturk international airport on his scheduled flight from Damascus, but he never went to his hotel. Instead, he booked himself into the much cheaper and less high profile Hotel Ghilan. He left his luggage in the room, walked out of the hotel – and vanished.

Who took him, and why? Was it the US, retaliating for what happened in Karbala?

Iran obviously thinks so. Their application to Interpol put this down as a kidnapping rather than a defection, so it's fairly obvious that Iran sees the hand of US undercover agencies or contractees as part of an American undercover war against Iranian officers running Iran’s clandestine operations in Iraq.

Iran's Karbala operation did not achieve what it was meant to achieve, since the Americans were killed rather than taken hostage. But they will undoubtedly try again. The US simply has too many high ranking Iranians in custody, and they know far too much.

Among them is the third top man of the Revolutionary Guards al Quds division, Col. Fars Hassami, as well as Mohammad Jaafari Sahra-Rudi, who was the boss of Iran’s terrorist operations in large parts of Iraq. His long record includes leading the Iranian death squad which assassinated Iran’s Kurdish Democratic Party leader Dr. Abdol-Rahman Qasemlou in Vienna in 1989.

Qasemlou may very well have been fingered by the Kurds and a major motivation for the US raid on that Iranian `liason office' in Ibril.

In spite of massive pressure by the Maliki government, the Iranians caught in that raid still remain under US lock and key.

It remains to be seen what happened to General Asquari, or what steps Iran will take to try and deal for the high ranking officers we have in custody.

This one is by no means over.

Iran's Ahmadinejad and Saudi King Abdullah meet n' greet in Riyadh

Iran's President Ahmadinejad has spent the last couple of days huddled up with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.

In view of the current `realignment' going on in the Bush Administration that involves ditching the so-called `Bush Doctrine' and proceeding along the lines of the James Baker chaired Iraq Study Group there are two ways to look at this.

The Administration's take would undoubtedly be that our `eternal friends' the Saudis are mediating for us in an attempt to negotiate a price for Iran's cooperation on Lebanon, Iran's nuclear program and of course, a peaceful and face saving exit for our troops in Iraq as we cede the country to the Iranian backed Shiites.

That may all very well be part of it, but I have a feeling that it's far from the whole story.

Given that the Saudis represent the Sunni autocracies and and Iran is the leader of the Shiite bloc and both sides know we're on the way out, I see this latest reapproachment between Iran and Saudi Arabia as an attempt to demarcate spheres of influence, feel each other out and align policy in those areas they agree on - destroying Israel, for instance. Ahmadinejad certainly warmed to this theme in a press conference in Riyadh, saying that Israel should be moved to Europe.

The jihadis may have their differences with each other, but they will come together when it comes to fighting the infidels - and this latest fantasy of the Bush Administration, that we are engaged in forming a bloc of Sunni Arab allies to confront Iran will melt before too long in the harsh light of reality.

Watcher's Council Results, 3/02/07

The Council has spoken! A complete list of results can be found at the site of our fearless leader, the infamous Watcher of Weasels.


This week's winner is:

Done With Mirrors: Germany and Iraq, part 4, the latest part of Callimachuchus' pieces comparing the occupation of Germany and Iraq. Congrats, Cal!

In second place was Means v. Ends - Bookworm Room - Ms. Bookworm's fine essay on liberalism and hypocrisy.


For non-Council, The winner was From My Position... On the way!: The Blame Game a fine examination of the mess at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

In second place was Augean Stables : Honor Killings, Silence, and the Meaning of Speaking out my own nominee, in which Augean Stables examines the quaint Islamic custom of honor killing and its cultural enablers.

Hearty Kudos to all the winners!

Top Taliban figure nabbed in Pakistan - surprise, surprise

Apparently Vice President Cheney's threat to cut off the baksheesh to Pakistan and President Musharraf was taken seriously as it resulted in a major Taliban figure's arrest in Pakistan.

Mullah Obaidullah Akhund was picked up by Pakistan's ISI just as VP Cheney landed en route to his heart to heart with Musharraf in Islamabad. He was the former defense minister in the Taliban government in Kabul and is probably the number 3 in the movement. Obviously,the ISI has known exactly where to find him for quite some time, and this was intended as a deal point for Musharraf to defend Pakistan's `ally credentials' and keep the US aid dollars flowing when he met with Cheney.

Of course, that's not how the ISI is playing it. "It's pure coincidence and our good luck that we found Mullah Obaidullah within 24 hours of Cheney's visit,'" said an unnamed ISI official.

Interestingly, Akhund was picked up in the southern Pakistani city of Quetta, where our intel believe much of the Taliban leadership resides, though Pakistan denies it.

Pakistan has come under a great deal of heat recently from the US and the Afghan government for providing what essentially amounts to a sanctuary for the Taliban and al Qaeda.

We'll see if this was just another happy coincidence, or the start of a major crackdown against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Between Iraq and a hard place - Why we went, how it got so screwed up and where it's going , Part 1

It was only a few years ago, in the aftermath of 9/11 that Americans were a united country. The war in Iraq changed all that, and completely polarized the American people. And it has called into question our entire effort in the War on Jihad.

How did Iraq get so screwed up? And what lessons can we learn from it for the future?

To begin to understand, we need to look at why we went there in the first place. And I can almost guarantee that most of you won't like it.

Post 9/11 Iraq was only one of a number of Muslim nations sponsoring and harboring Islamic terrorists, and by no means the biggest threat to the US. So why was Iraq a priority?

To answer that, you have to ask yourself who a resurgent Iraq was a major threat to, and the answer is obvious - Saudi Arabia and the oil producing Sunni autocracies on the Persian Gulf President Bush and his family are so close to.

The Angry Left will never ever acknowledge it, but the fact is that Saddam was using the profits from the oil for food scam to rebuild his military, and as his own scientists and generals have stated numerous times, the knowledge and some of the materials needed to jumpstart a nuclear weapons program were already in place. One of Saddam's chief scientists admitted in the New York Times, no less, that a nuclear weapons program could have been up and running in as little as six months.

As a matter of fact, thanks to the Bush Administration's bumbling 19 month run up to war, we'll never know exactly what Saddam had or what he may have hidden, sold or otherwise disposed of. There's ample evidence that materials may have been sent to Syria, for example.

Regardless, the intelligence pointed towards an Iraqi threat to President Bush's Saudi friends. I'm certain they voiced their concern, applied the usual leverage and President Bush responded accordingly. And Saddam's attempt to kill Bush Sr. a few years prior probably affected the decision as well.

One of the little ironies of this whole mess is the insistence of some people that Iraq was a `war for Israel' - when it was really a war for the Saudis!

After the US invasion, the Saudis no doubt figured that we would handle things the way they would have handled them in a similar situation...find some Sunni strongman to build a `government' around, keep the oil flowing and preserve the status quo, while using Iraq as a base against Shiite Iran and Syria. As a matter of fact, that's what I expected we were doing there, since invading Iraq didn't make any sense otherwise.

Instead, President Bush did something neither the Saudis or anyone else expected. He completely dismantled the Sunni-dominated security forces, and began pouring millions of dollars into Iraq for nation building, with the idea that Iraq was going to become some kind of model for `Arab democracy.' This involved spending American money like water, handcuffing our military with rules of engagement geared towards `winning hearts and minds' and empowering the Shiites in Iraq, something the Saudis had never counted on.

President Bush pushed Iraq into elections after less than two years in an effort to deflect critics who claimed it was just an imperialist junket...and let anyone who wanted run in them, including Shiite politicians with an axe to grind who had spent the Saddam years cuddled up with our enemies in Iran.

Of course, Iraq voted along tribal lines rather than any highfalutin' notions of `Arab Democracy', and those Shiite politicians won handily. They immediately began taking over the government, the military and the security forces and ethnically cleansing and `concentrating' the Sunnis by use of the Iran funded and trained militias like the Badr Force and Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. In a real sense, al-Sadr(and thus, Iran) actually exercised control over the Iraqi government through its sponsorship of politicians like Jafaari and the current Prime Minister, al-Maliki.

The Saudis and the other Sunni autocrats were absolutely appalled.They accused us, with some justification, of turning the country over to Iran. The last thing they wanted was to promote the idea of Shiite empowerment..especially since the Saudis have their own little known Shiite underclass that just happens to inhabit the oil rich areas along the Persian Gulf that the Saudis and their wahabi Sunni allies invaded and conquered(al-Hasa province) just before WWI.

The way they saw it, the Bush Administration had eliminated the only army capable of containing Iran —the Iraqi Army—and the Saudis and the other Sunni Gulf Kingdoms were left dealing with an Iran that could be nuclear-capable and has a standing army of four hundred and fifty thousand soldiers. (The Saudis have an army of seventy-five thousand troops.)

Meanwhile, the ethnic cleansing and concentration of Sunnis in Iraq continued, with the aid of the new Shiite `security forces; we trained at such great expense and the help of the Iranian proxy Shiite militias....which of course added fuel to the fire of what could have been a containable insurgency and led to the inevitable push back,with our troops stuck in the middle of the latest chapter of a long standing sectarian war between Shiites and Sunnis.

This left the Bush Administration waffling between carrying out Bush's fantasies about `Arab democracy' and dealing with the agenda of the Shiite government the US allowed to take power on the one hand, and trying to protect the Sunnis in Iraq to placate the Saudis on the other.

That particular high wire act became terminally unbalanced with the loss of Bush's credibility and the total erosion of that `political capital' he so famously said he was going to spend after the `06 midterm elections.

Next week, where Iraq is going and how it relates to the Middle East and the War on Jihad as a whole

Radio Appearance

For any of you interested in hearing my dulcet tones, I will be reappearing on WC's show, `The Gathering Storm' on this Channel on internet radio at 12:30 PM PST on 3/02.

You can call in live at (646)915-9870

You can't make this stuff up...update on the kid who tagged the Mayor of LA's bus

Yes, in case you wondered, the inmates have indeed taken over the asylum, at leas when it comes to crime, gangs and public schools in Los Angeles.

You may have seen a piece I wrote on Tuesday, the 27th called Dissin' Hizzoner and the enablers.

It concerned a high school, the Santee Education Complex, a new school some genius at the LA Unified School District had built in the heart of an area rife with illegal aliens and ruled by Latino gangs.

After months of complaints from students who were being harassed and robbed in the two block walk from the RTD bus stop to school, the Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa and the new LAUSD supervisor David brewer came up with a brilliant idea; rather than actually go after the gangs, they simply moved the bus stop two blocks up, and the Mayor, Brewer and a whole slew of educrats, officials and press took a bus to the new stop for a photo-op...which is where the kid in the picture above brazenly ran up and tagged it, scrawling graffiti on a side window...and the LA Times' Anne Cusack took this shot from right inside the bus.

The perp's now been ID'D as a fifteen year old gangbanger wannabe who's a `student' at Santee.

Now, here's where we go into la-la land.

Santee's principal, Vince Carbino, had characterized this incident earlier as a `cry for help by a troubled youth.'

Carbino said he met with the boy and his family earlier yesterday. He described them as "shellshocked" by reactions to the incident, adding that the boy "felt hunted by the mayor."

"This child is in very good hands," Carbino said. "I think what he needs the most is to be surrounded by people who are going to be — let's say — nonjudgmental and to follow the caveat that we have good students who sometimes make bad decisions."

He said a team from the school had gone through the boy's entire academic record, including elementary school, "and found clear areas where this student needed support." (which probably means he's reading and writing challenged, except for creating gang graffiti)The high school, he said, had developed a plan to `help the youth'.

I'll just bet they have.

The mayor, a little upset over his nice photo-op being ruined was a bit harsh yesterday on how he wanted the tagger caught and punished. But having huddled up with his advisors and being mindful of who voted for him, Mayor Villaraigosa changed his tune and said he now wanted to `mentor the youth personally.'

Santee's principal Gardino wasn't having any of that.

The principal said in an interview that Santee is right on the job, with a comprehensive team of people ready to help the `troubled youth', including three psychiatric social workers, one full-time and one part-time psychologist, two intensive intervention counselors and six regular school counselors.

If the mayor wants to be a mentor, Carbino said, he will have to apply through the Los Angeles Unified School District, and that the mayor would be subject to the same rules as any other mentor — including the requirement that he be fingerprinted.

"We can't just let anybody come in through the door," Carbino said. "I don't care what title they wear. If they haven't been vetted through that process, I have to follow the Ed Code and district guidelines."

You can't make this stuff up.

Israel to provide armored vehicles to U.S. Marines in Iraq

The good jihadis at the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat are all lit up about this one...Israel is going to supply the U.S. Marines in Iraq with specially equipped armored “Golan” vehicles which are specifically designed for urban warfare and can sustain attacks by RPGs and road mines.

This is nothing new, by the way. IDF trainers, utilizing hard lessons they learned in places like Jenin have been training US marines for some time in how to wage urban warfare in Arab cities while sustaining the minimum in casualties, as well as giving US forces access to surveillance devices and technology used in urban warfare developed by Israeli high tech.

It's how a real ally behaves. And perhaps, food for thought to those people who think the solution to Middle East peace involves pressuring that ally into indefensible borders and unreasonable concessions.

A World Without America

There's an interesting short video up on You Tube called A World Without America bythe good people at 18 doughtystreet. It's worth it for hairstyles on the actors portraying BBC news anchors alone!

Hat tip to the one and only Canker

Italy's Prodi headed back in government

Italy's beleagured PM Romano Prodi looks to be headed back to the PM's office, one week after he resigned over a defeat on foreign policy.

Last night, he won a vote of confidence in the Senate 162 to 157, allowing him to stay in office.

Prodi is juggling a very narrow nine party coalition which is a real mixed bag, ranging from hard line communists and Greens to centrist Catholics. The crux of the matter was Prodi had them sign on to a 12-point 'non-negotiable' agreement that supports Italy's international commitments, especially the 1,800-strong NATO peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.

Disagreement over that little item is what sparked the crisis in the first place.

The next step will be a vote of confidence in Italy's lower House, where Prodi has more of a majority.