FIRE WITH FIRE

Recent news accounts talk about horrible things that happened to a Lebanese-born German man who was mistaken for a terrorist, something that could now happen to any US citizen, thanks to the "Patriot" Act. It is not just Americans who are not safe, though. As the story of el-Masri illustrates, this could also happen at any time to anyone living anywhere in the world as a result of the present cowboy, "Shoot and ask questions later" policy imposed on the CIA by the Bush Administration.

Khaled el-Masri is now in the US trying to have his day in court against the US government over his illegal abduction and transportation to a prison in Afghanistan where he was tortured. Turns out that even when the CIA knew that they had made a mistake, they did not immediately let him go, letting him languish in unspeakable conditions for more than two months.

Seems that the US government has apologized to the German government for kidnapping one of their citizens, but they have not apologized (or compensated) the actual person who was injured, and perhaps permanently emotionally scarred by the experience, something that should not be taken lightly considering the poor guy has a wife and 6 kids to support. So what is el-Masri asking for? $75,000 to compensate him for his lost time and injuries. He says he would even settle for something as small as a simple apology. Gad! it is easy to tell this guy is not an American! He should be asking for millions in compensation!!!!!

So, what do the big American legal gorillas overseen by Attorney General "I love torture and think its a good thing - just don't do it to me" Gonzalez do? They try in every way they can to squash this man's day in court because they are afraid any court case will force them to reveal details of how the CIA operates in terrorism cases. All I can say is that if this IS the way they operate, they have to be stopped cold! el-Masri could be any US citizen; and if the CIA is allowed to do the things they did to him, what is to prevent them from doing it to you or your loved ones. I'll tell you what........absolutely nothing!

This is a warning all citizens of the world should take note of. The US is a rogue state and becoming more roguish as time goes by. The US Congress and its people have to stop this juggernaut before it it too late. If indeed the US is a country that operates under the Rule of Law, then there have to be laws that the populace must insist their government adhere to, no matter what. If they don't, the people can expect one of these days that THEY or one of their kids or maybe one of their parents will end up like el-Masri. Spirited away with no notice or explanation, troubled, confused, afraid, tormented, physically abused, exposed to unspeakable horrors that will live with him for the rest of his life, even though he did absolutely nothing wrong.

That my friend is a living hell, and a cause we should be willing to fight to the death to stop!

Posted by Straight Talk at Thursday, November 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Iraq appears to have made its decision. Unfortunately it's not the decision U.S. leaders wanted Iraqis to make when we freed them from the cruel grasp of a brutal dictator and promised them the freedom of democracy. Having engineered elections and a supposedly democratic government, the Iraqis -- or at least their leaders -- are speaking, but is Washington listening?

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki abruptly backed out the highly touted Jordanian summit this week, leaving President Bush and his advisers with egg on their face. Apparently bowing to pressure from his political allies in the floundering Iraqi government, al-Maliki shunned the meeting with Bush to appease his coalition supporters.

Iraq is making choices and they're not choosing the U.S. How can they when Iran and Syria are dangling the key to the executive men's room in front of their nose? Like the nerdy accountant who suddenly finds himself sharing cigars in the boss' inner sanctum, Iraq won't be able to resist Iran's invitation to join the Boys' Club. Unfortunately Iraq fails to see the puppet strings that come with the invitation. Iraq is doomed, like Syria, to become just another squashed dream crushed by the rise of a new Persian Empire.

So what is the U.S. to do? Realistically, nothing. It doesn't matter that we had planned to build Iraq into a bastion of pro-western democratic freedom to hedge our bets and protect our oil supply in the Middle East. As any fool can see, it ain't gonna happen. In today's volatile Middle East, pro-American sentiment is tantamount to lighting the fuse on the bomb in your pocket -- political suicide.

Having given Iraq the tools to make its own choices, the U.S. can only step back and watch as history unfolds. That is the basic tenet of democracy after all -- the freedom to choose one's own destiny. How ironic that the U.S. now finds itself "hoist with its own petard." By recreating Iraq as a democracy with the freedom to make its own choices, the U.S. must now sit back and watch in frustration as Iraq chooses to bite the hand that fed it. To do anything less is to admit that Iraqi democracy was no more than a sham. Time to pass the puppet strings; Iran is waiting in the wings.

Posted by Secret Citizen at Thursday, November 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

I read a very interesting post the other day on another blog by Zeyad, and alleged Iraqi dentist, in 2004 that really points out the truth of the saying "Those who do not know the past are doomed to repeat it". It has to do with the history of the Iraq region. Up until almost the middle of the 20th Century, all of the countries south of Turkey consisted, to a large extent, of loose bands of roaming tribes. Within this region, the area known today as Iraq was reknowned as the home of particularly contentious groups. In fact today there are over 120 distinct tribes in "the country formerly known as Iraq" and over 200 separate clans. These ties and allegiances die hard and do not go away over night or even in a century or so. Even today, these tribal affiliations take precedence over any kind of federal government, something we are seeing with the explosion of militia units and splinter groups.

Like I said, if you look at the history of the Iraq area and its peoples, they have a substantial reputation for being a fractious bunch, willing at the drop of a hat to turn on the rulers, whomever they might be, at the slightest show of weakness. They also have a legendary reputation for pillaging like nobody's business. Remember the incredible looting when Baghdad fell? Well that is not the first time Iraqi's have feasted off their own carcass. Similar frenzied looting happened when the Ottoman Turks finally pulled out of what we now know as Baghdad in 1916. Just like a deja vu, the looting back then was ferocious and did not stop until the British opened fire and started shooting looters, but that was not until almost all of Baghdad was completely dismantled. In fact it was not until the British started hanging looters and other criminals in public that order was able to be restored. Hmmm, sound familiar? Only the Americans forgot to hang Iraqi killers, looters, and mayhem makers in public, preferring to torture and abuse them at Abu Grab, which unfortunately did not make the kind of powerful statement a public hanging does in terms of what kind of behavior will be tolerated and that you really mean business.

Interestingly enough, the much maligned Ba'ath Party came to power to try to end the tyranny and chaos of tribalism in the country and then Saddam Hussien came to power to keep the lid on tribal strife, unfortunately favoring the Sunni's (his own tribe) as a result. Now that the Ba'ath Party and Saddam have been deposed, what we have in Iraq is exactly what we had in Iraq before Saddam and the predecessing Ba'ath attempts to prevent tribalism from ruling the land. Iraq has now reverted back to its natural state, one of tiny shiekdoms (which we now call militias) willing to fight and kill anyone, even their neighbors, even for the tiniest perceived slight on their "honor" or over the smallest morsel. There is and never has been the kind of "group think" mentality Iraqi's need to have a real centralized government that works and that the populace can respect.

Seems like the Americans should have read their history books before deciding to wade into Iraq (for what ever purpose the war was really started for). What we have now, is exactly what could be predicted, because as every good Human Resources person knows is that "A person's past performance is the best indicator of their future performance". Maybe we need more HR people working at high levels at the State Department, Pentagon, and in the White House then egg-headed academic or military advisors who seem not to know history or what it means in terms of knowing what someone (or some people) might do.

Anyone who knew the history of this region of the world could have predicted what the outcome of Saddam's downfall would cause.

Posted by Straight Talk at Thursday, November 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Just 45 minutes ago it was announced that the world should be on alert against a cyber attack by Al Qaida. You can read the full article here.

In this article, it was stated that Al Qaida was targeting banks and stock exchanges for cyber attacks in response to the holding of prisoners in Guantanamo. Extra caution was urged world wide.

Sad isn't it that we are vulnerable to terrorism on a wide scale even on the Web. With so many people banking, trading stocks, managing portfolios, or even just looking at their checking account balance access to our financial information is now vulnerable to these radicals too.

Thank goodness for computer security experts and backups and file restoring services, but the disruption if an attack was to be carried out successfully would be initially very problematic. But the big point is that nothing is safe any more from Al Qaeda's diabolical schemes. We'll wait to see what happens tomorrow, but Friday was to have been the big day for the attack. We'll see!

Posted by The Watcher at Thursday, November 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

What a fallacy, I see it in the comments on this blog and on rhetoric on the Web. If Israel would just go away, then we would have peace in the Middle East, then God would come, then all would be just peachy.

Well, let me point this out to you, Israel is not going to go away. It is time to wake up and realize that Israel is here to stay. You may not agree with how the nation was born, but to wish it to "go away" is ludicrous. Even worse are comments about wiping it off the Earth because that would be rampant, violent destruction, and the murder of millions of innocents.

It is time for all people to realize that Israel is here, has a right now to be a part of this world even if you don't agree with how she was born, and start to work on real solutions that include Israel in the process. This ability to pretend that Israel doesn't exist or that we could turn back the clock and thwart the colonization efforts is laughable. Get real!

If you are not part of the solution in solving problems with your eyes open in the Middle East, then from my point of view, you are part of the problem!

This perpetual whining about Israel as the aggressor, they mistreat the Palestinians, they don't belong in the Middle East, send them back to the countries they immigrated from is wearing very thin.

The Israeli people have forged a country, they have settled in the area, they are not living in shacks, they bought the land from Arabs that they are building on (well in most cases at least at the beginning of their fledgling country), and they have worked actively to develop friendships within the world community.

What I hear are whiners bemoaning what ifs. What if Israel didn't exist? What if Israel went away? Be an adult and face up to it, they are not leaving. It is time to swallow the bitter pill of their country's inception and move forward into peaceful negotiations and acceptance. Any actions other than this are foolish, ignorant, and misguided.

Posted by The Watcher at Thursday, November 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

It appears that President George Bush feels that what he says makes something a reality. All around the world the press, world leaders, and even the United Nations are saying that Iraq is in the early stages of a civil war. Anyone who reads the daily papers or papers online has seen it coming for months, but for some reason George Bush simply can not accept reality as fact!

It is a common problem with powerful people and this is what our President is saying... It is not a civil war in Iraq because I say so, it is just secretarian violence. Well he hasn't said that verbatim, so don't quote this, but it sure sounds like it doesn't it?

I think that it is time for Americans, Iraqis, and world citizens to come to grips with this fact. Iraq needs help and unfortunately it is not the American kind of help that they need. Instead of saying that we are not removing troops from the battlefield until the mission is done (President Bush), we need to be saying we need help as the violence is spiraling out of control and Iraq is entering a civil war. We need to be aggressively empowering the Iraqi leaders to be negotiating with the UN and NATO directly for troops and we need to be making sure that the Iraqis really want us to stay.

It is time to look at this problem with fresh eyes and take a fresh approach, business as usual is simply not cutting it!

Posted by The Watcher at Wednesday, November 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

I believe that in the next several months we will be seeing Iran sending troops to Iran to help to stabilize the country. With the Iraqi President and the Syrian President meeting in sessions with the Iranian President, I would imagine that we will see not only humanitarian aid but also police and military aid in the very near future, but the Americans will need to be out of the way first.

In the next six months, I would not be surprised if the Iraqi government asks the Americans to leave. I think that there is some long-term behind the scenes support being planned in these sessions that will change the face of the Middle East dramatically. These changes will not bode well for any American plans in the region and will be a real test of President Bush's view of democracy. I do not feel that Iraq will ever embrace the democracy that Bush originally envisioned when he moved to free Iraq from Saddam Hussein. But this new Iraqi democracy will be a Middle Eastern version that will eventually bring peace to Iraq and the greater Middle East (excluding Israel and Palestine).

Tell me what you think about the sessions with the new Middle Eastern powers. Do you think that I am wrong on the Iranian troop issue. Let me know your comments and then we will all have to wait and see, but I think that my viewpoint will be validated in the long run.

Posted by The Watcher at Tuesday, November 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Right in front of our eyes a new Middle East is being shaped. New power brokers are arising from the ashes of the crisis in Iraq and Palestine. Otherwise silent governments are now speaking out. The Middle Eastern countries are rising to shape their own destiny.

I for one am hopeful that something good will arise from the mess that the Middle East has become in the last few years. What I find highly interesting is that the United Nations and NATO are literally not playing a part in the new vision and the United States is playing a very small part if any at all.

New players are emerging to shape the destiny of the Middle East as they rightfully should. These are some of the new players that I see changing the face of the Middle East right now: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.

Missing from this list is the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and unfortunately that bodes poorly for the success that will come out of these new power brokers. More of the us against them mentality will eventually doom all the new Middle Eastern efforts.

Until the new leaders who are shaping the Middle East accept Israel's presence and importance, the biggest problem in the Middle East will simply be the elephant in the room that they are all trying to ignore.

Posted by The Watcher at Monday, November 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

It only took America 3 years and 8 months to save the world in the 1940s. We have now been in Iraq for the same amount of time and only managed to deepen the quagmire. There is no end in sight. No resolution is apparent. There appears to be absolutely nothing America can do to resolve the problems in Iraq. There's really no point in keeping American soldiers over there just to serve as practice targets for terrorists. The conflicts in Iraq have moved so far beyond the point of America's original involvement that no legitimate reason can any longer be made for our continued presence. Arguments that immediate withdrawal will plunge the country into chaos and civil war are ludicrous -- Iraq is already there.

Unlike Korea and Vietnam, when the U.S. ousted Saddam Hussein from power there was no individual or group waiting in the wings, ready to fill the void and lead the country. Without Saddam's iron fist enforcing law and crushing dissidence, the disparate forces that had always roiled under the surface broke free, disintegrating any semblance of cohesiveness. Centuries' long feuds pitting Sunnis against Shiites against Kurds were unleashed, each side seeking revenge and vengeance.

Criminally, American leaders had not prepared for this scenario. In their arrogance they had imagined a welcoming populace, cheering U.S. soldiers as heroes for removing Saddam's brutal yoke of oppression. In their dreams the Old Guard played out the liberation of Paris from the Nazis but in a desert setting. Reality was a cruel awakening for which they were not prepared.

The situation in Iraq is so out of control that no amount of U.S. effort or intervention can ever establish a viable society. More troops will only provide terrorists with more targets. As soon as one small section is "made safe" by dint of massive military presence, the insurgents move to another section of the country. Only by brutally crushing resistance with military might can America appear to tame any portion of Iraq, and isn't that what we invaded Iraq to remove? That many Iraqis now long for the order and "peace" of Saddam's rule, which they acknowledge as unbelievably brutal, should speak volumes to American politicians, but they seem to have turned a deaf ear. Hopefully, the recent elections will improve their hearing. The American people are tired of fighting an unwinnable war for a people who have come to view us as oppressors.

President Bush's recent comment when asked about lessons learned from the Vietnam War was frighteningly out of touch with reality: "we'll succeed unless we quit." Neither the American or the Iraqi people can afford to let the President indulge in such an egocentric manipulation of the truth. The cost has already been too high -- 2800+ Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, an appalling number of them innocent victims.

It is time for America to get out of Iraq. There will be no honor in leaving, but there can be no honor in staying. We cannot solve the problems in Iraq. We must leave that to the Iraqis themselves with the help of Iran, Syria and other Arab states. Will the balance of power shift against us in the Middle East? Will America be reviled as an enemy? Will we be a prized terrorist target? Will we be vilified in the mosques as the root of all evil? We already are. Abandoning Iraq to its own devices will change nothing -- except our soldiers will stop dying in the desert. Iraq will continue its descent into civil war until Iran is able to exert enough force to prop up a puppet government it can control as it does in Syria. Iran's appetite for power and desire to become a major player in the Middle East will motivate her to discipline the squabbling child on her borders. Let the Arabs deal with the megalomanic dreams of Iran's president to establish a modern Persian empire.

This is not the early 1900s and George Bush is not Teddy Roosevelt. America cannot spread democracy by dint of military might. There are many places around the world where brutal dictators rule, where civil war is draining away life, where people are starving and dying, where people commit unspeakable acts of violence against their fellow countrymen. The world can be a brutal and cruel place but the U.S. cannot swoop in uninvited and right every wrong. If Iraq has taught us anything, it is that we cannot paint ourselves the world's savior while using the tactics of a dictator.

Posted by Secret Citizen at Sunday, November 26, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

OK. You hear loose talk in the news and on the radio and TV about Iraq moving toward civil war. Well, given all the chaos and killing going on over there between Iraqis, independent of any rage against the on-going US military occupation, what really constitutes a civil war? Most Americans would say that the situation over there is hopeless and that we are already in the middle of a civil war between warring Sunni and Shiite factions battling for dominance. I, like many others, consider the situation over there pretty hopeless and completely chaotic, but chaos does not equate with civil war. By legal definition, a civil war is where top government officials representing different factions declare open hostilities and organized warfare against one another. A great description of the warning signs of civil war in Iraq can be found on Bill Roggio's Fourth Rail website.

Well, those definitions of civil war are all well and good, but what happens when the real rulers are not part of the government? A case in point are the newly installed "democratic" governments in Iraq and Afghanistan and (yes, even) in Palestine? In these other places, there is basically little or no real government and the countries are actually ruled by militias, warlords, or other local strongman groups who are deeply embedded in the local population. These groups serve as the police force, judiciary, and in some cases, like Hezbollah and Hamas, the provider of crucial community social services, and they are much more "real" in terms of power than those individuals in the federal governments. How can there be a civil war when there is really no truly established government? I would submit that in Iraq, although there were some shamish like elections to make the Bush Administration look good, that there is no REAL government. No government can rule without a means to enforce laws, or prosecute injustice, or provide a population with necessary services. I would have to say that the Iraqi government falls short on all of those necessary ingredients. So while there is not the open fracturing in the Parliament, just yet, there is enough fracturing of the Iraqi nation through its various ethnic groups and their one-group militias to put it in smack in civil war status.

So if we say Iraq is in civil war, what options does that give the US? Well, the US could just withdraw and let the power of natural selection take over and let the strongest survive. Out of this a ruthless strongman or religious regime would come to power, through strong arm tactics, and finally bring order to the country. It would not be pretty, just as Saddam's rise to power and his retention of it was not. However, for the average everyday Iraqi it would mean a return to stability and reduction of the overt fear of randomly being blown up or shot. If the US stays, it is going to have to not only disarm the present cadre of militias (all of them, because disarming only one just allows the others to get stronger or have others come in to fill the void), but also reprogram the entire Iraqi population so they do not seek sectarian revenge - and that is just plain unrealistic given the emotional state of the Iraqi population at this time. A third option would be to perhaps turn the whole bloody mess over to the UN and have them try and sort it out. Although most people feel that this would be a disaster, how could it be more of a disaster than it already is? And, you know, it might give the UN a chance to actually have to come to grips with a first real test case of its being able to do the right thing on the world stage. It botched Uganda in the '80's, Rwanda in the '90's, and right now is doing a number on Sudan, but those are all in Africa where the Caucasian peoples of the world really don't give a damn. It would be different in Iraq. Iraq is a major oil and natural gas resource, it is also a lynch pin in Middle East politics which have been a major problem for Caucasian's since the Crusades. It is also within striking distance of their most holy religious shrines. I say let the UN have a crack at solving the problem in Iraq. How could it be any worse? And, you know, the final decision would be one that is global. If it actually works, maybe we might be on to something.

Posted by Straight Talk at Sunday, November 26, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Ironically, the assassination of Lebanese Interior Minister Pierre Gemayel, an anti-Syrian Christian leader, may turn out to be the act that preserves democracy in Lebanon. The assassination is widely assumed to be the work of pro-Syrian Hezbollah forces, the Shiite terrorist right-hand of Syria. The assassination has sparked a tremendous outpouring of national grief and anger toward Syria that may counter the esteem Hezbollah gained during the recent Lebanese-Israeli border conflict. With insurgency and political assassinations increasing, Lebanon's pro-West, predominately Christian/Sunni government has been holding on by a thread. During the recent border conflict with Israel, Hezbollah usurped the government's role in Southern Lebanon, providing food, medicine and other social services, increasing its political stature and gaining a huge popular following in the area. But the rash of recent political assassinations commonly attributed to Hezbollah may prove its undoing.

The tense political standoff between pro-government Christians and Sunnis against Hezbollah-led pro-Syrian Shiites has reached the breaking point. In a bid for more power, Hezbollah has threatened to bring down the government, assassinating popular leaders and calling for mass protests to force political leaders to comply with its demands. But the Lebanese population is refusing to be bullied. Nearly one fifth of the country's population turned out for Gemayel's funeral, transforming it into a pro-government rally against Syria. Business leaders even took the unusual step of calling for a two-day national strike to force politicians to engage in dialogue and stop threatening street protests, a direct condemnation of Hezbollah tactics.

It took Lebanon years to crawl out from under the Syrian thumb and regain its independence. Though Hezbollah-stoked insurgency and unrest have taken Lebanon to the brink yet again, it looks like the Lebanese people have finally had enough. Hopefully, their government will find the strength to respond to the voice of its people, the courage to preserve its fragile political alliances, and the fortitude to fight back against outside forces. All the hard-fought gains Lebanon has made in the last 15 years will be lost if the country plunges back into the black hole of civil war. Having come so far, the Lebanese people deserve more from their government. Let's hope it's equal to the challenge.

Posted by Secret Citizen at Saturday, November 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

The US legacy in Afghanistan appears to be fleeting and doomed to failure. Although the US invaded Afghanistan more than four years ago to clear out al Queda training camps and remove a safe haven for that organization, Afghanistan is clearly back on the road to "business as usual" a la falling back into Taliban hands. As the Taliban now sit safe in Pakistan due to a truce between local tribal war lords and the Pakistani government, Taliban fighters plot, train, and reimmerse themselves in death teachings in religious schools.

As it turns out, the Taliban is devoted to taking what they consider "their country" back, and the pity is that they will probably be able to do it. Part of their strategy is to find a safe haven, which they now have in the part of Pakistan adjoining their old stomping grounds, only now because it is part of a truce between uppity locals and the Pakistani government. This is a place where they can relax, rest, learn how to focus on targets so they can become better suicide bombers, and recruit and train new members. Taliban fighters also target secularized schools in Afghanistan and destroy them so the only teaching available will be in religious schools that preach a radicalized fundamentalist Islam. The Taliban, as well as anyone with a shred of sense, knows that open education is a threat to the Taliban culture because it exposes students to broader thinking and knowledge of the world and its complexities as opposed to the brutish black and white of Talibanic Islam. Sadly, children and youth in Pakistan idolize what they see as brave young men (i.e., Taliban fighters) and charismatic leaders who preach that the Taliban way is the best way. These ideas are furthered reinforced by teachings the young people receive in their religious schools. The mantra among these young people, even those as young as eleven is: "When I have a beard, I can join".

Posted by Straight Talk at Friday, November 24, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

I saw this article on Al Jazeera today. You may want to take a look at it. The images and text is very one sided pointing out how terrible Israel is and what a prison Palestine has become. What it does not show is the violence and destruction to people and property that the Palestinians have done to Israelis that has literally caused them to become imprisoned in their own territory. Where are the pictures of carnage, the pictures of suicide bombings in shops and restaurants?

Nothing can be achieved in the greater efforts to bring peace to the region when news organizations like Al Jazeera inflame the Middle Eastern populace with text and images such as these in the article. It is time to offer balanced reporting on the Israel - Palestine issue for all parties both in the Middle East and outside.

Posted by The Watcher at Friday, November 24, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Were we tricked into the war in Iraq? It is possible that America's involvement in Iraq was, in part at least, orchestrated by al-Qaida. Has America become an unwitting partner in al-Qaida's nefarious plot to drag the world back to the darkness of the Middle Ages under the guise of Islamic rule?

Last week on BBC's Newsnight, Omar Nasiri (a pseudonym), a Moroccan double agent working for British and French intelligence, came in from the cold after seven years infiltrating al-Qaida. He claims al-Qaida "deliberately fed false information to the U.S. government in order to encourage it to invade Iraq," reported Gwynne Dyer, a London-based independent journalist. (Click the link to read his opinion piece in the Columbus Dispatch.)

According to Nasiri, Ibn Sheikh al-Libi, leader of al-Qaida's Afghan training camps, told U.S. interrogators after his capture and torture 5 years ago that "Saddam Hussein was cooperating with the terrorist organization to plan attacks with chemical and biological weapons." In fact, Nasiri points out, this was the "senior terrorist operative" Colin Powell referred to when he spoke to the U.N. Security Council in February 2003 while seeking U.N. backing for the invasion of Iraq. Apparently, either the US was lying or the al-Qaida operative was lying. Whatever really happened, the Bush administration latched onto this little gem to ligitimize the invasion of Iraq, falling neatly into al-Qaida's trap.

Exiled to the mountains of Afghanistan and looking for a foothold back home into the Arab world, al-Qaida had selected Iraq as an ideal base of operations for the jihad. Considered the weakest of the Arab countries, Iraq had a crumbling economy and Saddam was an incompetent and deeply unpopular leader. Al-Qaida felt Iraq was ripe for rebellion. By encouraging the U.S. invasion, al-Qaida was saved the expense and onus of fomenting its own rebellion against Saddam Hussein. The U.S. invasion has created exactly the conditions desired by al-Qaida -- a country in chaos, declining trust in the government, fear and distrust of the police and military, poverty, loss of basic social services and structure, isolation, increasing radicalism, increasing reliance on Islamic clerics for direction, a close and easy foreign target for hate and revenge. Every day U.S. forces remain in Iraq, al-Qaida grows stronger. Every day we stay in Iraq, we serve al-Qaida's purpose. Ironic, isn't it?

Posted by Secret Citizen at Friday, November 24, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

"Arab Interior Ministers' Council on Wednesday prepared a work plan on anti-terrorism in the Arab countries. The work plan is based on exchanging expertise and information among Arab countries to fight terror, General Secretariat of the Arab Council said in a statement.

"Wrapping up meetings in Tunis, the Secretariat added that the Council agreed to preparing researches and special studies on terrorism phenomenon, holding seminars, training sessions and taking necessary procedures to prevent infiltration of chemical and biological weapons to terror groups.

"The statement noted that the meeting underlined the importance of consolidating relation with civil society institutions to contribute to combating terror in addition to adopting measures to confront crimes committed through the internet."

Taken from the Syrian Arab News Agency

It is about time that the Middle East started to get busy on these issues. I whole heartedly welcome their actions and increased awareness. Fighting terrorism is everyone's business! Clearly around the world there is more and more concern about bio and nuclear terrorism. Keeping these weapons out of the hands of radicals and extremists needs a pro-active and consolidated approach as the ministers agreed. I will look for new policies and agendas as the Arab world works to police its own communities.

Posted by The Watcher at Wednesday, November 22, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

There is an interesting story in the Old Testament about Sodom and Gomorrah that almost everyone familiar with western and middle eastern religions knows. It is the story of God and his intention to destroy two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, which had degenerated into chaos, banditry, senseless violence, murder, and wantonness. Things were so far gone in those cities that God decided that "enough was enough" and the best thing to do was to wipe them off the face of the Earth. The Prophet Abraham got wind of this and had a conversation with God trying to convince him that destroying the cities and killing everyone in them was not a good idea because, although there certainly were evil people there and bad things going on in those cities, there were most likely good people there too that would go up in smoke along with the bad. Abraham's argument gave God pause, and God told Abraham that if he could find 50 righteous men (unfortunately women and children did not count in the old testament days) then he would spare the cities. Abraham fearing the worst, in the best of Jewish traditions, continued to haggle until he got God to agree that if Abraham could find just 10 righteous men the cities and their people would be spared. I don't need to tell most of you what happened. But because there might be some atheists or polytheist reading this blog who have never read the Bible, this is what transpired. Basically Abraham was unable to find enough "righteous men" in Sodom and Gomorrah, so God went and wiped the two cities off the face of the Earth.

Now that does not mean that good people, people who never committed any crimes, people who were just living their daily lives and trying to survive and dodge the bullets did not get wiped out in that holocaust. They most certainly did. Why then did God allow their destruction along with the rest of the thugs, hooligans, terrorists, militias, rabble-rousers, whores, liars, cheats, and corrupt politicians? The reason they were destroyed was because they did not lift a finger to stop what was going on. These seemingly innocent people were destroyed because they were not innocent at all. By their inaction they allowed the murderers, terrorists, philanderers, corrupt politician, bandits, and all the other evil people carry out their activities and to continue to carry them out over long periods of time. As a result, these seemingly "good" people were in fact complicit in the very evil that was the final undoing of the two cities.

This should be a cautionary tale to all out there who consider themselves peaceful, moderate, non-violent Muslims who are just standing around saying that all the Islamic terrorism going on in the world today is not their problem and that they are not a part of it, that they are innocent of any crimes (take a look at some of the comments on this blog and you will see a number of posts from these kinds of people). Wake up and smell the Sodom and Gomorrah coffee! You moderate, peaceful, kindly Muslims ARE to blame, by the very nature that you are not actively working to stop the perversion of your sacred texts for the sake of unfettered violence and chaos and by supporting charities that support terrorists and Imans who preach death and destruction.

You got to ask yourself "Will I be one of the 10 "righteous men" that God will spare when he looks down on our puny world and decides that "enough is enough"?" or will you be one of those poor souls in Sodom and Gomorrah who thought themselves innocent because they turned a blind eye to what was going on or who just kept their head down and did not speak up because they were afraid or who did not do the right thing but let the terrible things in those towns just keep happening and happening and happening and happening. The time is now for you to err on the side of being "righteous". Because no one else can, you have to stop radicalized Imans from preaching violence, you have to stop allowing the brainwashing your children and youth to hate specific nations and peoples, you have to stop giving money to any organization other than the Red Cross or UN-sanctioned international charities to help people in the part of the world you care about. Keep your clean money out of the hands of dirty hateful terrorists that have turned the Middle East into the modern Sodom and Gomorrah.

If you do not interfere and heed the words of Abraham (who was a Jew by the way), you are destined to go the way of those "good" people in Sodom and Gomorrah. I am not a religious person, but it does not take a rocket scientist to see that the Middle East is on the verge of self destruction. With both Israel and Iran in possession of nuclear weapons and the vast and incredible depth of disrespect for life (anyone's) in that part of the world. It would almost be a blessing to see it wiped off the face of the planet so it could start all over again, may be with a wiser population. Would innocents be wiped out along with the guilty? No doubt about it. It would be just like Sodom and Gomorrah, and like Sodom and Gomorrah, it would be God's decision.

You can still stop it from happening, but you have to act now! Anything less makes you complicit.

Maybe that is God's will

Posted by Straight Talk at Wednesday, November 22, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

With terrorists and violence growing worldwide, here is an article that portrays the issue of Islamic phobia that is growing not only in America but worldwide. This article talks about 6 Imans being thrown off an airline in the United States and being held for terrorist, or at least strange circumstances. You can read the full article here.

It is apparent that although we feel that we are anesthisized with the violence in Iraq and the Middle East, that when it comes to our own back yard, we are frightened by overtly religious Muslims. Do you stare at a devout follower as they do their daily prayers in public places. Do anti-American comments overheard by Muslims who are wearing the signs of their faith disturb you. Clearly you are not alone. However, we must not slide into overt prejudice against all Muslim people.

There is a fear factor that is growing due to recent world events and certainly I do not blame any of the reactions, if I had been there on that airplane, I may have done the same thing. That being said, we must all practice tolerance for other who wear and embrace things that are different than what we wear.

Islamic phobia is growing, but the reality is that there is probably no stopping it. Increased vigilance of your surroundings is still the best remedy to thwarting another terrorists attack even if it makes everyday innocent Muslims uncomfortable or feel targeted. The history of the situation is simply just too apparent.

Posted by The Watcher at Tuesday, November 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

That is a scary thought isn't it? But it is the growing reality.

Iran has just invited the Syrian and Iraqi Presidents to Iran for a Middle Eastern summit, and both have accepted. You can read the full article here from the Associated Press.

Iran has leveraged it involvement in the Muslim communities and militias throughout the Middle East now into a political leadership role and the US and Europeans should watch very carefully. With a background of supporting Muslim Extremists and political agendas that are in conflict to Western views, Iran now has even more clout in the region.

The Iranian and Syrian governments, and soon to be Iraqi governments, wants and needs are very different from the viewpoints held by most Western diplomats. Their public voices are shaped by their religious extremism and radical world viewpoints. It is apparent that Iraq is being drawn into this triangle of power with Iran being at the centerpoint.

The danger to this situation is real and can not be downplayed, but I do not believe that the danger can be averted. Westerners have long misunderstood the culture and people of the Middle East and now there is an awakening on their part to the powerful world role that they can play through economic strategies centering on oil and gas reserves. For them, a union of regional power will shape world politics to their viewpoints.

With this summit, the danger is growing and special caution and attention needs to be focused on this new triunion.

Posted by The Watcher at Monday, November 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

I find it disturbing that so few Muslims are willing to speak out against Islamic extremism. Muslims say that Islam is a religion of peace and mercy, that the Quran teaches humility, charity, tolerance, self-control, and the resolve to do right. Why then is the news full of acts of terror, revenge, self-importance, bigotry, and all manner of heinous deeds -- all done in the name of Islam? Why do so few Muslims find the courage to stand up against Islamic extremism?

Terror and intimidation are the powerful weapons extremists hold over the heads of more moderate voices. Few are willing to risk their lives and the lives of their families to stand up for their ideals. One such courageous Muslim is profiled in the December issue of Reader's Digest (click the link to read the article).

Fleeing the fundamentalist violence that engulfed Syria, Wafa Sultan immigrated to America with her husband and two small children in 1988. Troubled by the point-blank shooting of a professor during a college class, and later as a doctor by the vicious beatings endured by women in incidents of domestic violence, Sultan questioned the interpretation of Islam that bred terrorists and wife-beaters. Once in America, she began to write opinion pieces for local Arab newspapers, leading to an appearance on Al Jazeera in 2005.

"Religion in our countries is the sole source of education. It is the sole source from which terrorists drink," Sultan said, citing a litany of extremist atrocities against innocent Arabs. Rejecting terrorists' claims that such acts were directed against America or Israel, she asked if these were instead acts of revenge "to satisfy the savage and barbarian instincts aroused by teachings that call for refusing the other, killing him?"

It was a life-changing moment. Sultan was asked to speak at universities and conferences. Earlier this year Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
This wife and mother became the courageous voice of Muslim moderation. Today Sultan lives in hiding while she works on a book titled The Escaped Prisoner: When Allah Is a Monster. She was unprepared for the venomous death threats that daily fill her answering machine and e-mail. She fears that Islamic extremists will find and kill her, or even worse, attack her children or her husband. Yet she is determined to stand up to the extremists and terrorists.

In a second Al Jazeera appearance, Sultan declared, "The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another that belongs to the 21st century."

Despite the risk, Sultan exhorts fellow Muslims to shake off the bondage of terror. Living in America, distance and law provide her a modicum of safety. For moderate Muslims in the Middle East, revenge is swift and violent for those who speak out. Few seem willing to sacrifice themselves and their families for their ideals. But more Muslims must stand up and speak out against extremism and terror or face world condemnation of Islam.

In a recent column, Kathleen Parker of the Orlando Sentinel, in a column calling on Muslims to reclaim their religion, wrote about the novel Magic Time by Doug Marlette (click the link to read the article). The novel compares today's terrorism with "the bitter, resentful, powerless religious fanatics of the American South" who waged war on civil rights workers in the 1960s and '70s. In her column, Parker said these prophetic words:

"It seems that every generation is doomed to test itself or be tested, and evil is ever resourceful. The trick is recognizing evil for what it is and having the courage to face it down. ... If Muslims want theirs [religion] to be taken seriously as the religion of peace they claim it to be, they will have to marginalize and condemn those they insist have hijacked their religion. ... In the final analysis, good people do not turn away."

Posted by Secret Citizen at Saturday, November 18, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

The US has finally met its superior.......Iran. And Iran will have the last laugh and will leave a demoralized, emasculated, and economically damaged US gasping for life in the dust, in our lifetime. "Incredible!", you might say. But the facts are staring us directly in the face as a result of the Bush's ill conceived, personal-vendetta-inspired war in Iraq. American policy and present actions in Iraq have not only anointed Iran as the first Middle Eastern superpower, but also set the stage for it to, perhaps, be one that will be even more powerful than China, at least in the short term. You can read about this on the Uruknet website which brings you news from inside Iraq and which I think makes many valid points and raises serious warnings that the US needs to heed in terms of its foreign policy in Iraq.

Basically the article states that the US has had to unwittingly support the Shiite majority (which is Islamic and has strong Iranian leanings) against Sunni (secularists) rebels so that Saddam's former supporting groups would not return to power. This is a dangerous game and one that is sure to backfire on the US. If an Islamic government takes root in Iraq, which is almost assured now that the country has disintegrated into Civil War (and a pox on those who still maintain it is not there yet), it will primarily have the Iranians who have sponsored and armed the Shiite militias to thank. Iraq will also feel more kinship toward its fellow Islamic brothers in Iran than it will ever feel toward the US with its present bullying and disastrous occupation being carried out in cahoots with Iraq's old colonial nemesis: Britain. With Iran and Iraq controlling a significant portion of the world's oil and with these countries abutting Arab monarchies which will then be targeted for instability and taken over by similar Iranian Islamic puppet regime's that will depose and dispose of the monarchies in those countries just as the Russians eliminated the Czars during the Russian Revolution, Iranian control of the world's oil will be assured. Add to that the Iranian nuclear capabilities which will have then matured. Just think of the impact that Iran's decision to impose oil sanctions on the US will have, when it has all of the oil in the Middle East under its control. To tell you the truth, the economic impact will be devastating, and I am sure the irony of imposing sanctions on the US will not be lost on Iranian leaders.

But economics is not everything, there is still the moral high ground that the US could claim to rally its allies and friends to keep it from fading into developing country status once it is deprived of it petroleum life blood. Unfortunately, Bush has damaged all that was considered good about America so severely that the US, even under control of a different Congress or Administration will not be able to recover for 2 or more decades. And it will take a Herculean effort to overcome the tremendous xenophobic fear that has been instilled in the US public in the last 5 years and has whipped conservatives and fundamentalist Christians into a political frenzy. It is amazing to me that after 100 years of building up the reputation of being the defender of the free world, the universal force for good, an advocate for human rights, a shining star in a black and foreboding sky, that one administration in six short years could destroy all that and leave us defenseless against what will certainly be a major power play by Iran to economically destroy us in the next decade.

When I look at the legacy of the Bush/Cheney Administration, with regard to what we have reaped and sown in Iraq, this is what I see: now uncovered lies and a global deception on Bush's part as to why a war with Iraq was necessary; unilateral warmongering with no recognition of international collaboration; the flaunting of the Geneva Convention and US law in terms of prisoner abuse and detention: the institution of a US Homeland Security Office (smacking of Hitler's "der fatherland" efforts prior to World War II and the beginning of the holocaust); the invocation of open-ended war-time powers for the president to fight an unidentified and unidentifiable enemy; the unobstructed abuse of an American citizen's right to privacy; the Bush Administration's tacit and sometimes active support of torture for those it identifies, sometimes mistakenly, as terrorist suspects; the running of secret CIA prisons in third party countries and the shipping of suspected terrorists to prisons in countries known to practice torture on a regular basis; Guantanamo where there are no rights for the accused; the raping and murdering of innocent Iraqi women and girls by some US service men for their personal violent and sexual motives, the purposeful wholesale humiliation of much of the male Arab populations in some areas by the US military; the embarrassment of atrocities carried out by US service people in the name of the US and stabilizing Iraq; and the incredible corruption and political nepotism in letting contracts to rebuild Iraq that have fleeced the US taxpayers of billions and billions of dollars. All this as a result of Bush's refusal to see the world as more than the black and white of a religious zealot who only needs his personal motivations and message from God and the advice of boot-licking syncophants to know what is right.

As a result, Bush and the US have unwillingly played into Iran's skillful plans and cagey hands. I predict that in 10 to 15 years time. Iran or Iran and their puppet regimes will have a strangle lock on the world's oil reserves and that the US will be a declining society, looking fondly back at its glory days, much like Britain looks back at its days as the ruler of the world.

Posted by Straight Talk at Saturday, November 18, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Tony Blair has admitted that the invasion of Iraq has been a fiasco. So just when will George Bush admit this too? Well I don't see it ever happening. I think that the man is too proud and that has what has gotten us into this mess in the first place.

If George Bush would have looked to the intelligence community professionals before the invasion instead of a comfortable little cadre of loyalists he would have heard diverse viewpoints about what would happen after the tanks entered Baghdad. Instead he chose to take a very negative view point where he perceived that the Americans would be welcomed as liberators and everyone would be jumping up and down to embrace an American version of freedom and democracy.

As a result of this "American Arrogance", this part of the world has been turned topsy turvy and violence has been unleashed in unprecedented form against innocent civilians.

Bush is now equating the fight in Iraq with the past fight in Viet Nam. If he had only listened to that argument before he went forward with the invasion. Now as a result from this fiasco, Bush has literally lost all governmental power, disenfranchised the American people, hurt American relationships with important allies, and has injured the Iraq people and economy, all in the name of American Democracy.

Posted by The Watcher at Saturday, November 18, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

I have been seeing more and more about the famed "Iraq Study Group" which was set up earlier this year by Congress to assess the Iraq debacle and try to brainstorm a solution to the mess; and, which is now being at least on the surface, solicited by the Bush administration to give advice on how to extricate the US from what is arguably the US' biggest military failure since Korea. Unlike Korea, however, where the "victor" (North Korea) was isolated and then faded into obscurity for 40 years or so, the Iraq mess has been the major driver of some of the most serious national security problems the US has ever faced (i.e., Islamic terrorism) and has created one of the most serious threats to world-wide stability since the Cold War.

Although the Study Group advocates stepped up efforts for discussions between all Middle East stakeholders to try and see if there is a way to extricate the US from the present mess and spread the responsibility around, tough talk continues to come from from the Bush administration. In particular, recent speeches by Dick Cheney, an invenerate hawk on Iraq and the primary spokesperson for the administration on the war effort now that Rumsfeld is gone, continues to assert that military victory is possible and that US troop strength will stay the same or will possibly even be increased in the region. So I guess the big question is “What is going on? and "What is going to be the most influential voice in Bush's look "with fresh eyes" at the Iraqi debacle”. Seems that the emphasis on the Iraq Study Group by the administration is simply a smoke screen to appease displeased voters and to pretend that alternative measures are being considered. If you listen to Cheney, who one would suspect is much closer to the heart of the decision making process than the congressionally instituted Study Group, it seems clear that America is going to “stay the course” or worse, get us even more deeply involved.

Posted by Straight Talk at Saturday, November 18, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Well it is exactly how I said it would be. Here it is November, do we have United Nations sanctions against Iran? No we do not. Will we ever? Probably not! It has been 5 months since this all started.

I am totally disgusted with the United Nations and the world community. How can we expect anyone in the world to take the United Nations seriously when they step out of line if we can't even enact sanctions that had been agreed on and voted and approved.

What this has become now is not the United Nations guiding Iran back into the group of respected countries, this is now about how long can Iran delay or parlay sanctions talk into a sweeter deal for themselves. It makes me sick! What message is this sending to any other country who wants to buck the "system"? Drag it out, then negotiate for a really sweet deal...

So it is as I said sanction mean nothing. The United Nations has no power and all world citizens know it.

Posted by The Watcher at Thursday, November 16, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Wow, heard that the rumblings form the Bush Iraq study group is now to have Syria and Iran collaborate to stop the runaway train in Iraq which is already drowning in civil strife and chaos. So it appears the US is contemplating working with the very countries and governments it has labeled as terrorist nations and being more evil than Hitler (well, almost). What sweet irony for the Iranians who, if this happens, are positioned to be the Mid-East superpower. They already control southern Lebanon through Hezbollah, dominate Syria to such an extent that the Syrians will do nothing without Iranian approval, and sponsor much of the murder and mayhem that is presently taking place in Iraq. They are also poised on the verge of having nuclear arms. Who can touch that?

The Saudis and the other major oil kingdoms who put on the show of being "friends of the west" are powerless puppets with rulers who have wallowed in the wealth of their natural resources in pursuit of personal luxuries , as opposed to taking responsibilty for regional leadership. These ocuntries are mere self-serving apparitions who will shortly be forced to become part of the Iranian clique to control most of the world's ready oil reserves.

Kinda scary isn't it. Makes you want to think what the world will be like when gas and heating fuel are $10 a gallon. In cruising for news, I found a report that sums the situation up quite nicely published by "The Business" London's first global business magazine. It sums up the situation better than I possibly ever could and I direct you to it so you can see and appreciate what we will be looking at, probably, in the not too distant future. Read it here.

Posted by Straight Talk at Wednesday, November 15, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

There is no faster way to loose the confidence of a society in general than to have the government police force be incriminated in mass kidnappings and killings. I believe that the most recent kidnappings are being carried out by militia forces dressed as policemen in an effort to terrorize the general population and to discredit the government.

That being said what a scary thing that must truly be for the Iraqi people. Where it appears that the people you are supposed to be able to trust are actually perpetrators of crimes themselves.

This is why I believe that the actual kidnappers are not the police but the militia or terrorist cells as wearing the police uniform while performing and act of violence is so typical of the mayhem that terrorists want to instill in the regular population.

Unfortunately for the Iraqi people, there is no end to this type of terror in sight. This method will be used until the real perpetrators are caught. Thank goodness it appears that some of the victims have been released they are much luckier than the last office that was kidnapped where only five survivors have been found so far out of 30.

Posted by The Watcher at Wednesday, November 15, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Poor Donald Rumsfeld. Looks like he's going to be left holding the bag yet again for Bush and his cronies. In a move to increase pressure America, lawyers for inmates at Guantanamo Bay and Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison have asked German prosecutors to open a war crimes investigation of the former Defense Secretary and other U.S. officials for their roles in abuse at the detention centers, Stephen Graham reported in an Associated Press article.

"The 220-page lawsuit, which also names 13 other U.S. officials, was sent to federal prosecutors under a German law that allows the prosecution of war crimes regardless of where they were committed," Graham reported. "The suit alleges that Rumsfeld personally ordered and condoned torture."

Naturally, the Pentagon, without even reading the complaint, called it "frivolous." "Abu Ghraib is something that the U.S. government has investigated very thoroughly," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. Many Americans, including many in the military dispute the Pentagon's official findings. Janis Karpinski, once commander of U.S. military prisons in Iraq, said in Berlin she would testify against her superiors, Graham reported. Talking about the handful of low-ranking soldiers who have been convicted of abuse at AbuGhraib, Karpinski, demoted to colonel for her outspokenness, said:

"They were tried and convicted in the world court before they ever set foot in any courtroom ... while people who are far more culpable and responsible have walked away blameless."

It's about time the world spoke out against America's flagrant flaunting of the Geneva Convention. The world community agreed on international rules governing the treatment of prisoners to prevent the abuses now occurring. Once recognized as the world's foremost champion of international justice and human rights, America is now seen as a malevolent abuser. What does it say about America and our ethics that in just one administration our world stature as an advocate of human rights has plummeted from the pinnacle of admiration to the black abyss of abhorrence?

We have a President who turns a blind eye to abuse, a Vice President who openly supports water boarding, a former Defense Secretary who staunchly supports torture as a legitimate means of extracting information, an entrenched military elite content to toss a few privates to the wolves to avoid cleaning it's own filthy house. The lack of moral ethics at the top echelons of American government is appalling. It's too bad the German suit didn't name the other individuals responsible for allowing the heinous acts at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib to continue -- the President, Vice President and Secretary of State.

As an American citizen I am ashamed for my country and appalled to be party to these acts of torture by association. I can only hope that once the Democrats take control of the Congress in January, they will find the moral backbone to put an end to this black era in American history.

Posted by Secret Citizen at Wednesday, November 15, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

The President of Iran has just released that he will speak to the American people and explain his actions and foreign policy. I will be watching and listening to this. In the meantime, I wish that the Iranian President would answer my questions personally. Here is my list.

1. Why is Iran pursuing nuclear enrichment? I read the deal that the United Nations offered in June and it was a very good and comprehensive deal, one that would highly benefit Iran. Why if you are not pursuing nuclear weapons have you refused to sign it?
2. If you are moving toward having a nuclear weapon, what would you say to the Israeli people about their safety based on some of your past statements that Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth?
3. Why in the face of sanctions from the United Nations has Iran continued to pursue its course for uranium enrichment? Won't the international consequences cause more suffering for Iran's people? How can you square human suffering with adding to a nuclear arsenal?
4. If Iran is so oil rich, why is there such a push to have nuclear power when your oil reserves would provide all the power your country needs?
5. Why is it that the everyday Iranian is not sharing in the wealth that your oil reserves afford?
6. If Iran is so forward thinking, why is it that women have no real place in government offices? I understand that Islam encourages women, but why not in the workplace and in managerial positions? Many female judges lost their jobs in the revolution and have never regained them.
7. If Islam is so important to the Iranian population, why is it that the government needs culture police to make the populace adhere to certain Muslim rules such as wearing of head scarves and women traveling with men other than family members? If the people wanted to adhere to the religion would they not do it on their own without the brutal and overbearing forced adherence to rules that have become common place in Iranian society?
8. Why is it that the young Iranians appear to simply be waiting for the old guard to die off. It appears from comments on this blog that young Iranians feel that once the old ones die that Iranians that left when the country when it became a theocracy will return. Why is there no hope for the youth to enact changes in the government now? Are they too afraid of violent retribution from your regime?

These are just a few of my questions. I doubt that any will be addressed in the President's talk to Americans, but one can always hope.

Posted by The Watcher at Tuesday, November 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Kofi Annan has said it succinctly:

"We may wish to think of the Arab-Israeli conflict as just one regional conflict amongst many," said Annan, who leaves his post at the end of the year. It is not. No other conflict carries such a powerful symbolic and emotional charge among people far removed from the battlefield."

Yes, I am in hearty agreement, the keys to peace rest on the resolution of the Arab Israeli conflict. For months I have been saying that the United Nations needs to get involved in the Palestinian issue and work with Israel and Arab countries to foster humanitarian aid, push Israel to adhere to the borders covered in previous treaties, and encourage Middle Eastern community dialogue to work to resolve the perceptions and misperceptions on both sides. The time to hope that this hot spot will burn itself out or go away is over. The Palestinian and Israel issue is a festering sore that needs to be lanced and treated with systemic antibiotics!

Start first with policing adherence to previously signed treaties on the borders, then enlist the wealthy Middle Eastern countries to pony up to the table with humanitarian aid usurping the authority of Hamas by bringing in aid from the Red Crescent funded by the Saudis, Iran, and others in the region. Get the politics out of humanitarian aid packages! Help the people to help themselves by getting in the Islamic version of the Peace Corps to help people rebuild and put their lives back together, get the Israelis out of the border policing business make it the job of an International Police Force.

Israel and Palestine must both be held accountable for the treaties and agreements that already exist. The United Nations needs to get its hands dirty here and pull in both Islamic, Jewish, and Christian aid services. Religion is such a hot potato in this region, now it is time for religious leaders to put aside their differences and to move the process forward pushing politics out of the way and addressing the real human issues now!

It is about time that the head of the United Nations called it how it is. Now, get busy!

Posted by The Watcher at Monday, November 13, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

It's out in the press and I was wondering what you thought? Iran has said that if Israel decides to bomb their nuclear facilities, there will be serious consequences. Israel had in the past bombed Iraqi nuclear facilities and so there is precedent for concern about this action from Iran's point of view.

Iran just released that it plans to set up 3,000 more centrifuges in its uranium enrichment facility yet claims to still be pursing only the peaceful use of nuclear power. I have to say that based on Pakistan and North Korea having nuclear weaponry, that for Iran to state that they are not moving in this direction is asking the world to look the other way. Of course they are pursing not only civilian nuclear power, but also military capabilities!

However, that being said, it is time to out Israel about their nuclear weapons. Too long have Western allies simply looked the other way when it comes to Israel and their supposed nuclear arsenal. I say that it is time for Israel to come clean and to admit their own nuclear capabilities. I do not see what the benefit is to hiding their military might at this time. By not stating that they have the nuclear weapons and that everyone supposes that they have, simply makes the West look hypocritical and two-faced when it comes to nuclear non-proliferation.

When Israel comes clean on their nuclear weaponry, the West must also push for nuclear containment and responsible participation in the non-proliferation treaty with the other newly nuclear countries. We can not hide from the facts that Pakistan, North Korea, and soon Iran need to be added to the nuclear club and must be included in the negotiations to control the use of this class of weapons. To leave Israel out of participation and responsibility is simply flat out wrong.

Posted by The Watcher at Sunday, November 12, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Saddam Hussein will hang and the day can't come soon enough. His crimes against his own countrymen are monstrous. So I was shocked to read that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has come out against the hanging.

"Carrying out this verdict will explode violence like waterfalls in Iraq," Mubarak told the Egyptian press. He feared that hanging Saddam will deepen sectarian and ethnic conflicts, according to an Associated Press article.

Can Mubarak honestly believe that sparing Saddam's life will have any effect on the violence in Iraq? Whether Saddam lives or dies has become a footnote in the tragedy that is Iraq. "The Sunni insurgency is so entrenched and sectarian bloodlust so strong that Iraq seems set to continue spiraling into violence -- regardless of its former president's fate," said Robert Reid in an Associated Press analysis. Saddam's fate is not driving the forces that are tearing Iraq apart. That is the work of religious, nationalistic and sectarian politics, continually fanned to flame by zealots pursuing their own power-grabbing agendas. If there is a small spark in the violence on the day Saddam dies, will anyone even notice?

It seems more likely that Mubarak speaks for the entrenched Arab political community. Given the fact that Arabs often identify with their leaders, analysts wonder if those leaders aren't just a little worried about the precedent being set in Iraq. "Saddam's yearlong trial has shocked Arab leaders, including those who are against him," said Egyptian political analyst Diaa Rashwan in an Associated Press article. "We've witnessed leaders being assassinated, but never being judged in the Arab world." Makes you wonder what they're afraid of.

Posted by Secret Citizen at Saturday, November 11, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Read that the dramatic destruction of the Argentinian Jewish Community Center back in the 1990's has now been traced to the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires. Seems like Iranian masterminds sent a Hezbollah suicide bomber to the Center with a truck packed full of explosives to level the building and terrorize the Buenos Aires Jewish community, one of the largest in South America. The bomb leveled the 7 story building, killing 85 and injuring an additional 100 people. The identity of the bomber was recently discovered after Argentinian police tracked down the bomber's relatives in the US and got a confirmation of his identity from them and the FBI. Seems like the Iranians tried to cover this up by saying the person who carried out the attack was a Hezbollah fighter killed in an Israeli attack in Southern Lebanon. There are now indictments for high level Iranian and Hezbollah officials on the block. Interestingly enough a few years earlier, someone blew up the Israeli embassy where 29 people died, a tragic crime that has yet to be solved.

It seems strange that peaceful Jews in Argentina, a Jewish community just minding its own business, would be targeted twice in a relatively short period of time by two different parties, especially by the means of explosives. It would seem that these two events would have a pretty likely high chance of being related to the same group or group of hate-filled individuals who were just interested in killing Jews for the sake of killing Jews. These terrorists did not wage war on the Israeli army, but picked instead on a group of Jews living peacefully in a country far from the battle front. So from what has been presented to date, it looks like Iran had a large hand in the planning and execution of the attack, using Hezbollah to do its dirty work and to give it cover.

If this is pursued to its natural end, and it is found without shadow of a doubt that Iran was involved in ANY way with this attack in Argentina, the Argentinians should expel the Iranian embassy from its country, and other countries should flow suit. There should be solidarity of nations against rogue states who are willing and able to plot and carry out acts of terror on foreign soil. As always, Tehran denies the charges, but if it is proven to within even a reasonable doubt that they were involved, then they should not be given the benefit of the doubt. Their embassies should be expelled unilaterally from every nation that believes in the rule of law. It will not only teach Iran a lesson, but will also set them up as an example as to what can happen if a country does not play by the rules and keep its radicalism within the confines of its own country.

Posted by Straight Talk at Friday, November 10, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

There's a new scam in town. Terrorists may be using frustrated homeowners as shills to raise money for their nefarious activities. And it's happening in quiet, affluent neighborhoods in middle America.

This is how it works. Targeting new or newer homes in affluent suburbs that have languished on the real estate market for months, interested buyers offer to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the asking price. The catch? "Sellers must agree to immediately refund the difference between the asking price and the sale price," Geoff Dutton reported this week in an exclusive story in the Columbus Dispatch (click the link to read the whole article).

What could be wrong? The buyer gets his asking price. The seller gets the home and immediate cash to use for "home improvements." The problem? The homes are still sitting vacant months after purchase, and many of the buyers have disappeared -- with the cash. Those that could be found offer little explanation.

The unusual deals are happening in some of central Ohio's most prestigious communities. "At least 14 such deals worth more than $11 million have closed since spring, and the offers continue," Dutton wrote. Consistently the deals involved loans of $250,000 beyond the agreed price with little or no down payment. Because most of the buyers have been Middle Eastern, suspicious realtors called the FBI and Department of Homeland Security which are investigating. Reputable realtors, lawyers and title agents have advised sellers to reject the offers. "We've turned down five of them," said Bryan Wing, executive vice president of CV Perry Builders. "Believe me, in this day and age, we could have used it." Other cash-strapped sellers couldn't resist.

"This has been a really recent phenomenon," said David Martin, chief executive of Stewart Title. "It's like a whole new industry has formed overnight." With no one talking -- not the realtors, lenders, FBI or Homeland Security -- it's hard to know what's going on. Is this part of a terrorist plot or just some new investment scam?

"There's nothing improper about borrowing more than the asking price of a house," Dutton noted. "But dishonest buyers or deal-makers can take mortgage money and walk away from a house, never repaying the loan. It's been a growing problem nationally for lenders and neighborhoods. The FBI says banks reported losing $1 billion to mortgage fraud last year, more than double the previous year."

What's happening in central Ohio seems more sinister than mortgage fraud. It's happening in wealthy upscale neighborhoods, involves hundreds of thousands of dollars and a small cadre of Middle Eastern buyers often making multiple purchases, and the deals and deal-makers are shrouded in secrecy. With the housing market glutted with unsold homes, frustrated sellers make an easy target and someone is cashing in. Sounds like terrorists have found a new way to raise cash.

Posted by Secret Citizen at Thursday, November 09, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

With Rumsfeld out and Gates in the buzz is that the U.S. will be actively pursuing an exit scenario from Iraq in the very near future.

Bush has finally listened to some sage advice to cut and run from Rumsfeld. The debacle in Iraq is certainly not getting any better and actually is getting worse with time. American actions in Iraq have polarized the Middle East, sabotaged our relationships with previously close allies, and painted Americans in a very negative light. It is time that we had a new approach to our Middle Eastern foreign policy and a new direction for a partnership with Iraq.

Now I am not saying that Rumsfeld is all to blame, I think that much of what he has done is highly partisan, but I also feel that President Bush has surrounded himself with a circle of people who do not necessarily have a broad focus and that has hurt our country. Sometime Bush's decisions have been guided by the political leaning of a person, their "loyalty factor", and a who-knows-who scenario. (We call that the "good 'ole boy network"). Yup, that is right up there with the Cowboy politics and swagger and political posturing that we have seen from Bush over the past years.

I have to say that I simply do not have the stomach for two more years of business as usual, so I am really hoping that Gates will bring in some fresh approaches and consensus building.

Posted by The Watcher at Thursday, November 09, 2006 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

So Rumsfeld resigns the same day as the Republicans take a major beating at the polls because the majority of Americans do not support the ill-conceived and ill-handled, and corruption riddled War in Iraq, and George Bush has the audacity to say publicly that the election had nothing to do with it. Who does this guy think he is kidding?

Rumsfeld fell on his sword for the poor Republican showing in the election (or was forced to by Karl Rove), just like Colin Powell was forced to fall on his sword for the President's (or perhaps again it was Karl Rove's) "weapons of mass destruction" motivation for the Iraq War. That, as we have all come to know, was a lie too.

So what will we be looking at now for the War on Terror, with this potentially new landscape. Well, the Iraq War is getting a new person at the helm, Robert Gates. This is the same Robert Gates who was in Bush's father's cabinet (does the Junior Bush know ANYONE on his own or is he just taking Daddy's advice and using the same old Cold Warriors his Dad did over a decade ago). The world is a much different place than it once was and you would think the present President Bush would know defense people other than those who served under his father. But I d