Good.

(But that name! Oy.)

Woo hoo! The Kurds have come a long way today!

Iraq: spiralling into control.

I like good news.

Huzzah's are in order.

(not an Arab, and not a religious fanatic)

Therefore, a spineless US puppet.

/juan cole

Quagmire.

Let freedom reign!

Today moonbats everywhere are flopping around on the floor and chewing up the carpet.

When I saw that on the news, I thought: A Kurd -cool!

Ousted members of the country’s former regime — including toppled leader Saddam Hussein — watched the event on television in their prison cells, Human Rights Minister Bakhtiyar Amin told Al-Arabiya television.

HAW! HAW!

/Channeling Nelson Munz

This is really great news. There's hope yet.

Hurray!
A hat tip.

Thanks for the hat tip.

Who said "Arab = Bad" except you? I'm simply pointing out that he's a Kurd, not an Arab.

#10 our gal sal

When I saw that on the news, I thought: A Kurd -cool!

I think it's a brilliant step. It gives further legitimacy to the Kurds and helps keep the Sunnis and Shi'ites from each others throats.

Glad to see the progress being made. I hope the interim President has learned to duck however as I think there are many who would view him as a target of opportunity.

Guess this utterly invalidates the LLL and Dem assertion that Iraq will never successfully adopt democracy and will dissolve into a mullahocracy the first chance it gets.

Well...its good progress...

Now if we can just get these guys to understand that they should really stop blowing each other up...

/laughs

Yeah...like THAT is going to happen...

OT
How many more must die before Kofi quits?

The second searing irony for me is that the American neoconservative right has occupied the moral high ground in critique of Annan, outflanking the left, which sits on indefensible territory in his support. But if prevention of genocide and protection of the vulnerable are not core priorities on the left, then what is? If anyone's values have been betrayed, it is those of us on the left who believe most deeply in the organisation's ideals. I am mystified by the reluctance of the left both in the US and the UK (the Guardian 's coverage, for example) to criticise Annan's leadership. The bodies burn today in Darfur - and the women are raped - amid the sound of silence from Annan. How many genocides, the prevention of which is the UN's very raison d'être, will we endure before the left is moved to criticise Annan? Shouldn't we be hearing the left screaming bloody murder about the UN's failure to protect vulnerable Africans? Has it lost its compass so badly that it purports to excuse the rape of Congolese women by UN peacekeepers under Annan's watch? Is stealing money intended for widows and orphans in Iraq merely a forgivable bureaucratic snafu?

#8 Roach

It's not that Arab=Bad. But Kurd=Good.
For those who thought the Iraq will tumble into secterian chaos, this is proof that there can be a sharing of power in Iraq between Arabs and non-Arabs. Something that is non-existant in ANY other "Arab" country. Can you imagine a non-Arab heading any other "Arab" country?

MOST EXCELLENT NEWS

OT (but I couldn't resist)

Put this into your slap your forehead and say, "Why didn't I think of that!" category:

Ben Kingsley has dubbed the movie Gandhi into Arabic and is in Ramallah showing it to Palestinians to convince them to use non-violent civil disobedience...

[Link: www.jpost.com...]

OT: ...but very worthy

Random Probabilities has a very nice photo essay of a Denzel Washington visiting the Brook Army Medical Center, in San Antonio,Texas.

It's great to see some Hollywood stars still have respect and compassion for US soldiers.

Finally! Something newsworthy. Let's hope that he's not easily influenced by the "dark side".

This is great news, so it will hardly be mentioned by the MSM. He does have a rather unfortunate last name though, though I doubt he thinks so. :-)

Can't wait to see how things progress.

Mitch

This guy Talibani is one tough character; led a Kurdish rebel faction in the mountains for years. I also seem to recall that he has worked with American Spec Ops types in the past - anyone else's memory on this?

How dare they not install one of Kerry's allies to the throne of Iraq! I suspect that John will be making a speech claiming that this is really bad for the people of Iraq and he has a plan...

Talibani is the only real choice, having experience in self government as the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The Shia’s and Sunni’s don’t have much in the way of experience with consensus government and democratic institutions.

This bodes well for the future, especially since he would have had to compete for the job against Shias, the majority ethnicity and lobby in Iraq.

Here we go through all the trouble of removing the Talabani in Afghanistan and what do the Iraqis do? They elect a Talabani to rule them?

/channeling Emily LaTella

Just checked over at DU for how they were taking this. Out of the handful of posts I saw, the general consensus is that, since he's only the President (and so lacks any real power), he's generally a nobody. A perfect US puppet if they ever saw one. They've all got their hope pinned on the Prime Minister, who's advocating a US pull-out timetable and the turning over of all Iraqi resources to Iraqi control.

Absolutely Wonderful Keep moving forward Iraq, Our Nations had paid dearly in the blood of OUR beloved and in money...Just Keep Moving Forward.

May the new Iraqi government charge full steam ahead and strut its stuff doing everything to address & fix the ills the UN's latest Arab says cannot be fixed.

There will be such gnashing of teeth out of jealousy, I'm gonna enjoy the show.

Faster please.

Excellent choice, but frankly it was no contest between a Kurd, a turd, and the simply absurd.

#14 Charles

Who said "Arab = Bad" except you? I'm simply pointing out that he's a Kurd, not an Arab.

Yeah, but see Charles? Ward Churchill would think that was racist.

/need I say it?

“Today Jalal Talabani made it to the seat of power, while Saddam Hussein is sitting in jail,”

Poetic Justice

Charles:

I was going to go off topic but both Mary (#19) and Kenneth (#23) beat me. Both are excellent stories that deserve wide coverage. Hats off to Denzel - not all Hollywood types are Moore wannabes.

Here is the money quote from the article regarding Annan, the UN and Rwanda:

"Next to these tributes is another installation - a reproduction of the infamous fax by the UN Force Commander, General Romeo Dallaire, imploring the then head of UN peacekeeping, Kofi Annan, for authority to defend Rwandan civilians - many of whom had taken refuge in UN compounds under implicit and sometimes explicit promises of protection.

Here, too, is Annan's faxed response - ordering Dallaire to defend only the UN's image of impartiality, forbidding him to protect desperate civilians waiting to die. Next, it details the withdrawal of UN troops, even while blood flowed and the assassins reigned, leaving 800,000 Rwandans to their fate. "

Read it all.

Hizbullah cell cracked in Nablus

The two Palis in the APC look Black. What is going on?

I hope this leads to a mass exit by disgruntled Baathists and I hope they get kicked out of every country they try to weasel into.

#37 Joel

The two Palis in the APC look Black. What is going on?

Honourable Bilalayyin?

OT but related because gun toting islamofascists won't let the buses run on time to Kashmir without trying to murder a few democratic Indian passengers. (see Reuter's news item at right)

#36 John B

Do you have a link?

#1 Thom

(But that name! Oy.)

Talabani just means "student" in Arabic. I guess it's just a matter of what he's a student of?

39 Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus

Actually it is not an APC. I guess they are descendants of African Muslims who immigrated to Palestine in the 1930's after the Jews made the area livable.

#43 Joel

Actually it is not an APC.

It's AP, see?

So Charles pointing out the ethnicity of Jalal is racist and bad?
It's just another point of information about who this new president is. Of course I guess pointing out he's not an arab is what is bad.
Sounds like someone is posting racism reversal.

44 not neo just conservative

The Ass-ociated Press photo does not even say where it takes place, probably in the shithole of Gaza.

#45 quark2

Ahhh, but you see the ankle biters, they read minds.

I wonder if he can tell what I'm thinking right now...

OT: The ever-brilliant Melanie Phillips on the anti-Semitism coursing through the veins of British society:

Melanie Phillips's Diary

April 06, 2005

The monstrous regiment of university teachers

If anyone had ever told British academics that there would come a time when they would punish colleagues because of the views they held, and would treat them as pariahs and try to destroy their livelihoods in order to intimidate others into toeing the sole approved political line, they would have been incredulous. In the western tradition the universities are, after all, the custodians of free intellectual inquiry and open debate. Censorship, suppression of ideas and intellectual intimidation are associated with totalitarian regimes which attempt to coerce people into the approved way of thinking.

Yet that is what is now happening in British universities -- and the pariah is, of course, Israel. As the Guardian reported yesterday, the Association of University Teachers is about to debate a proposed boycott of Israeli academics who refuse to denounce their government's policies in the occupied territories. But the motion will 'exclude "conscientious Israeli academics and intellectuals opposed to their state's colonial and racist policies".' So in true totalitarian tradition, those who denounce their own will be permitted to have a livelihood. Gee, thanks! To survive in the cradle of free expression, Israelis will have to betray their own people. This is a natural development from the implicit -- and sometimes explicitly stated -- assumption that has been coursing through British intellectual circles in the current hate-fest against Israel, that only those British Jews who denounce Israel's policies can be considered to be British; anyone who supports Israel is guilty of 'dual loyalty'.

This requirement to denounce Israel as the price of continued social acceptance is doubly disgusting. First, it is a profound betrayal of the cardinal principle of intellectual endeavour, which is freedom of speech and debate. And second, it is a monstrous inversion of right and wrong, victim and victimiser which turns Israel, the victim of unbroken annihilatory Arab terror for the past half century, into the regional bully while sanitising Palestinian aggression. Yes, the Palestinians have suffered hardship and restrictions in the last few years; but that is because they have been engaged in a murderous war against Israel which has deliberately targeted innocent civilians and against which Israel, like any other country, has had to defend itself. Before this current intifada started, the Palestinians were living under Palestinian governance. If they genuinely foreswore their war of extermination against Israel, there would be no barrier to their quest for self-government and prosperity. To pretend that their difficulties are caused by the victims of their own aggression is simply Orwellian double-speak.

For the rest of the article, please follow this link:

[Link: www.melaniephillips.com...]

I wonder how our "old" friends the Turks like having a Kurd as the President of the country next door that they tried their damnest to avoid helping us invade and liberate? This must be some kind of USA engineered payback/don'tscrewwithus Karl Rove designed plot. Even the French in their zeal to keep the Turks out of the EU could not have come up with a better Gotcha then this one. There is more to the Iraqi's selection of Talabani than just interacine politices, believe me. There is a bigger message here.

Congratulations, Iraqis for getting further, faster than the naysayers ever thought. May you learn to enjoy your elected government as much as we do. **grins**

MWM

Great I'm glad to see a Kurd in a position of authority in Iraq.

But Please, Please make that man sleep 20 ft underground and take him to work in an Abrahms or he won't last a month.

The terrorists (oh sorry) freedom fighters will be targeting him youse betcha/

#42 Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus

Yeah, but I won't be able to hear of the president of Iraq without thinking of those asscaps in Afghanistan.

#49 Jack is Back!

There is more to the Iraqi's selection of Talabani than just interacine politices, believe me. There is a bigger message here.

I think that you're reading way too much into his selection as interim president.

A Kurd conveniently douses a lot of the problems that would erupt if a Sunni or Shi'te were to be made interim president. I think that a Kurd is the least inflammatory choice of the three, and therefor the best choice. I doubt that the Turks were even a part of the equation.

#50 MidwestMom

Hey!

This was long expected. The problem is, while Talabani's a decent guy, it's the Prime Minister that wields most of the power. And it looks like the Prime Minister is going to be Jafaari, the head of an Iranian-linked Islamist party, and someone who refuses to shake hands with women.

The good news here is that the Kurds remain opposed to an Islamist agenda, and they have effective veto power over a future Iraqi constituion. The bad news is that Shia Islamists are going to be playing a big role in writing up the first proposed constitution. Hopefully the White House is working on some kind of divide-and-conquer strategy that'll keep the Shia nutjobs from having too much power.

Wow I never believed that would happen really great news

Tony Blankley has a good article on topic...

[Link: www.jewishworldreview.com...]

#55 Bob24

The way I understand the government to be designed is similar to the British Parliament. If that's the case, then the MP's should exercise quite a bit of control over the decisions of both the president and the prime minister.

IRONY ALERT

In a statement that will surely anger the Pro-Quagmire Left, the Sunnis are upset that they advocated a boycott of the Iraqi elections. From Today's Wall Street Journal:

"Today, some Sunnis are concluding that their boycott backfired. With just 17 out of 275 members of parliament, they have little formal say in the country's government. Many are determined not to make the same mistake again when a constitutional referendum and new elections take place this year or next. Since the Sunnis had been the most powerful opponents of the American-sponsored elections, such a change in attitudes could be a significant step toward reconciling Iraq's rival communities, and weakening the predominantly Sunni insurgency that's rocking the country.

"Next time, we'll even take the sick from their hospital beds and carry them on our shoulders to the polling booths," says Hamed Hamoud, governor of the predominantly Sunni Arab province of Salaheddin."

The link is below, and I think you should be able to read the whole thing without registering, but I can't guarantee it.

WSJ.com - Accidental Candidate: The Strange Journey Of a Sunni Politician

Obviously, I'm reluctant to say that we've "turned the corner" in Iraq, but terrorist attacks seem to be down, the Iraqi people and Army are taking responsibility for acting against the terrorists, public works projects are proceeding with less sabotage. I've got my fingers, toes and eyes crossed.

I have to agree with #7 Capt. Queeq
Total quagmire.

Why do the Iraqis continue to struggle against the inevitable quagmire of history? Don't they know that struggling only makes you sink faster?

Pretty soon they all be caught in a quagmire of taxes and monthly bills as rising employement, positive economic indicators and healthy businesses force everyone to make more money and invest in better living.

This moment brought to you by the USA.

Glad to see the Kurds' luck changing.

#43 Joel

The appearance of the two black African men in the jeep carrying the RPG's is quite striking. They look nothing like the Arab Palestinians around them. The possibilities are that they are Sudanese, or some other north African nationals. It is also possible, but very unlikely, they are US or European born blacks.

More dancing in the streets in Iraq today. (great news)

OT. Will Tom DeLay please hold a press conference and tell the liberal media to kiss his ass!

john jay,

Funny! and true.

#59 awal

Wesley Clark said the other day that he felt the elections in Iraq were illegitimate because of the low Sunni turnout. It apparently escaped him that the only people that prevented the Sunnis from voting were the Sunnis.

If there is an election that you are free to participate in and you choose not to do so, you have no right to gripe about the results.

And a Sunni will be VP - who says Iraq can't handle democracy?!

@47 Powderfinger

Ah...only if they're wearing their anti tinfoil hats that also emit rays of enlightenment. *lol

Remember this would not have happened if wasn't for the Brave Men and Women that fought and gave their lives, truely America's Best.

#68 'Nam Grunt

I never forget, 'Nam Grunt.

While I was getting a hair cut yesterday they had CNN on the TV. They had a story about the Iraqi's breaking Saddam's media blackout and allowing him a video feed to watch the proceedings.

Heh.

Kurdish population is pro west, secular and opposed to arab racism enough for me.

#62 Kenneth

There's certainly no shortage of militant black muslims running around Africa and the Middle East. They could be from literally anywhere.

#59 awal

"Next time, we'll even take the sick from their hospital beds and carry them on our shoulders to the polling booths," says Hamed Hamoud, governor of the predominantly Sunni Arab province of Salaheddin."

That's nothing. We even have dead people who vote here in the USA.

#72 not neo just conservative

True, they could be from anywhere. Note that they appear to be wearing the same quasi-uniform, which is different from the other armed men in the picture.

#65 not neo just conservative

Wesley Clark said the other day that he felt the elections in Iraq were illegitimate because of the low Sunni turnout.

Clark has three problems. First, he's a jackass, which is aptly illustrated by his statement about the elections.

Second, he's a liar. He testified before congress and wrote in the Times UK that we must pursue a military solution to remove Saddam Hussein from power. After he entered the presidential race, he became an anti-war candidate and denied ever advocating going to war against Sad Hus.

And third, strictly from a feeling I get, he's insane. He has the appearance of someone who is trying to act sane, and is having a tough time of it.

Someone on FOX said they forced POS saddam to watch the ceremony in his cell by placing a TV inside his cell.

73 Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus

Some of them even vote twice ;>)

#74 Kenneth

If I had to guess, I'd say that they are mercenaries from West Africa. Just a guess. I've seen similar types guarding the so-called president of Equatorial Guinea, and I think those guys were Moroccan.

#75 kayawanee

Not to mention that he is almost universally hated by everyone he's served under as well everyone who's served under him...

#75 kayawanee

didn't some US general say Wesley Clarke lacked integrity and was not fit for command? I can't recall who said it, but it was even more scathing than the criticism Kerry got.

#65 not neo

If there is an election that you are free to participate in and you choose not to do so, you have no right to gripe about the results.

Wes is still seething. He would have won the nomination if we counted all the votes of those who didn't vote. Democracy is so unfair.

#80 Kenneth

Let's say that his career was a little spotty. I mentioned this on the Clark thread. When Tommy Franks was asked if he thought Clark should be president, Franks responded "No. Absolutely not." While it is lacking in detail, there is nothing cryptic about that statement.

#81 Powderfinger

I've got the extremely dubious honor of living in the only state that nominated Wesley Clark.

#78 not neo just conservative

OK, Liberians or some others. They certainly stick out, with blank dead-psycho looks, not like the chanting angry Arabs in the picture. I would think if Israel captured some of these mercenaries and put them before cameras it might be embarrassing for their home country. Or maybe not, not like the world gives a flying f*ck...

#84 Kenneth

Or maybe not, not like the world gives a flying f*ck...

That's as succinct and accurate a summary as I've ever seen on the overall problem in the Middle East.

#82 not neo just conservative

Franks said that? Wow, he's usually rather evenhanded. When asked if Kerry was fit to be commander in chief, Franks said, "Absolutely, no question he's fit." Many would disagree with that assessment of Kerry, (myself included) but I think it reflected well on the decency of Franks to say it.

#83 not neo just conservative

I've got the extremely dubious honor of living in the only state that nominated Wesley Clark.

{pointing and laughing}

Oklahoma?

#86 Kenneth

I think the primary difference is that Franks was speaking from actual personal experience with Clark.

#87 Thom

Yep. I guess it was better than nominating Kerry, but it would've been nice to see the local moonbats go along with the herd. That way they wouldn't stick out so badly.

Oklahoma - The home of moonbats too dysfunctional to even agree with other moonbats.

OT: The EU met with and praised Hamas:

In the secret meeting with Hamas seniors, Crooke expressed his appreciation of Hamas for its welfare programs, connecting it to people on the ground, and for being an “important political factor”...As for terrorism, Crooke added: “I hate that word. I’ve spent some time in my life with freedom fighters like in Colombia…” [i.e., one may conclude that, in his view, members of Hamas are implicitly freedom fighters rather than terrorists].

Document seized in the Palestinian Authority Preventive Security compound in Gaza

it'll be interesting to see what the LLL response to this is.

keep an eye on DU,Kos,O.Willis...it should be interesting.

#87 Thom - You're kidding, right? Oklahoma nominated that bozo?
BTW did you catch that Chalres not only gave SoG a timeout, but then apparantely received a really nasty e-mail from him/her and banned it altogther?
Thanks, Charles.

Bizarre. Just last week, I read a report (I'll link it if I can find it again) where the *snort* reporter was peeved that the US was still running the show in Iraq...that Iraq had not yet written its Constitution and that they still had not elected their temporary President. Aside from the fact that it took our own founding fathers to draw up a Constitution in around 4 months in a relatively stable country, these people have to endure snipers and IEDs and and angry AK-47 wielding mobs on their way to work.

Keep moving forward...

#89 not neo just conservative -"Oklahoma - The home of moonbats too dysfunctional to even agree with other moonbats. "
ROTFLMAO!

but, but...but its a puppet government!

I am thrilled with this very positive news. Thanks Charles and Amir!

I would like to add have any of you noticed that when the Iraqi's celebrate in the streets there is no more firing weapons in the air? The true sign they believe and love Democracy.

#89 not neo just conservative

OK may have some of the battiest of the moonbats, but it went to Bush by a wide margin. So all is not lost. :)

#92 realwest

I saw that. One of his buddies is still down there whining about us bullies who "weaseled him out". LOL.

#98 Thom LOL! Yeah, we "weasled him out" with his own words. "We" didn't write a nasty e-mail to Charles and "We" certainly didn't take such great JOY and Delight at the lung cancer story. He/she/it was and still is a POS; just not posting here anymore.

The Iraqi George Washington

#100 locutus,

As Rayra says, eggscelent!

#99 realwest

Plus it's fun to imagine him frothing at being banned.

“Today Jalal Talabani made it to the seat of power, while Saddam Hussein is sitting in jail,” said Mohammed Saleh, a 42-year-old Kurd in Kirkuk. “Who would have thought.”

Some of us did.

Along with Talabani, two deputy presidents were chosen by the assembly: Shiite Arab Adel Abdel Mahdi, a member of the United Iraqi Alliance who served as interim finance minister, and Sunni Arab Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar, who served as the previous interim president. Shiite leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari is expected to become prime minister. The speaker of the Iraqi parliament is a Sunni. Cabinet posts will be divided among the various ethnic & religious groups.

It looks like a very good start, with no one group dominating. The various components of Iraqi society are coming together in a new democracy.

#104 Kenneth - Yeah, ya know it really is EXCITING to see
Iraqi's working together to create a democracy where all ethnic groups are represented (don't forget the Sunni's boycotted the elections and wouldn't have any legitimate grounds to bitch and moan if they didn't get a co-president and one or two cabinet seats). This truly is portentious of what I believe will become a much more stable Iraq and adding the stability of a second deomocracy (Israel being the first of course) to the ME mix is only going to be for the good.
Now, lets see whose next, hmmm Lebannon? Egypt? Gotta give GWB some major props here (especially if you throw in a democratic Afghanistan).

@92 realwest

I'm running on a blank here...who the heck is SoG?
What'd I miss?

#102 Thom:

Are we minus someone? If you don't wish to name the offender, a link would be appreciated. Thanks!

#79 not neo just conservative

Not to mention that he is almost universally hated by everyone he's served under as well everyone who's served under him...

#80 Kenneth 4/6/2005 09:52AM PDT

didn't some US general say Wesley Clarke lacked integrity and was not fit for command? I can't recall who said it, but it was even more scathing than the criticism Kerry got.

You are both right. He is not well liked by fellow officers and junior officers. I believe the General you're thinking of is Schwartkopf, but I could be wrong about that. Regardless, no one trusts him and with good reason. He has a habbit of blind siding his associates and doing end runs around them. And that includes the President of the U.S. as well. I can't remember all the specifics of the incident, but it went something like this:

Clark wanted to implement a certain military policy in Bosnia (can't remember what policy that was), so he talked it over with the POTUS. Clinton listened to him, but decided to pursue a different policy.

Instead of just accepting the CIC's order, he decided to bring his policy initiative to European politicians associated with NATO command, doing an end-run around the president, with the hopes of getting his pet policy implemented anyway.

Clinton promptly fired him.

Fact is, this guy does not have respect for the chain of command. His detractors admire his ability to think outside the box, but claim that he as no respect for anybody else, or anyone elses ideas except his own.

They consider him a pompous assh*le.

Re: #41 Kenneth

Here is the link:

[Link: observer.guardian.co.uk...]

Yes, this is good news. I think this division of power between the different ethnic groups is written in the Iraqi constitution.

This is almost unbelievably good news. I continue to be impressed by the way the Iraqis have managed to handle this. No quagmire after all!

But the little detail about Saddam watching on TV is the icing on the cake. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Roach = Sucks

Oh, and BIG (#29), LOL! That name, Talabani, is a wonderful irony, also!

#108 kayawanee,

Hold up on Swartzkoff, truely a 'Soldiers General', respected by all NCO's, aren't many left like this old dog.

#108 kayawanee

Clinton promptly fired him.

Your memory is pretty much like mine. Which makes me wonder why the hell the Clintons backed Clark.

#107 andthenblammo!

Start here.

The disgusting comment is here.

#116 Thom:

Thanks!

62 Kenneth

Back in September 6, 1970, two Palestinians of Chadian descent, helped hijack a Pan Am jet.

Just saw a little clip of Talabani on FNC. Sorry I can't quote him verbatim, but he said that Jews, Arabs, all will be treated equally.

#114 'Nam Grunt

#108 kayawanee,Hold up on Swartzkoff, truely a 'Soldiers General', respected by all NCO's, aren't many left like this old dog.

What do you mean "hold up on Swartzkoff". I wasn't trying to insult the man. I have a lot of respect for him and his work in GW I. I was merely pointing out that, if my memory serves me, he was the one who was critical of Clark. And it's Clark, who goes UN -respected by the NCO's and his fellow officers. I'm complimenting Swartzkoff, not insulting him.

119 sandspur

Sorry I can't quote him verbatim, but he said that Jews, Arabs, all will be treated equally.

I guess he means all 5 Jews remaining in Iraq!

#105 realwest

I give GWB enourmous credit. Next time you hear some leftist moron ranting about Bushitler, casually remark that 10 years from now the capitals of democratic Arab nations will have statues of Bush and universities & squares named after him, as there are in Eastern Europe in honour of Ronald Reagan.

Then sit back and watch the lefty's head explode!

#108 kayawanee

I believe the General you're thinking of is Schwartkopf

I think you're right. Schwartzkopf and Franks are two of my hero's. Both are warriors and gentlemen in the traditional sense. In his book, Tommy Franks gives me the impression that he and Schwartzkopf have major differences on how to wage war in the ME, which is born out by the major differences in the way the Gulf War and Gulf War Part II were fought. However, Franks never names names, and doesn't dwell on the issue.

#120 kayawanee,

Went back and read your post, sooo sorry! Slap me. ;-)))

121 Joel

I know, I know...
But I was surprised to actually hear the word "Jew" come out of his mouth at all. He could easily have just said that everyone would be treated equally.

Don't pick on Talibani 'cos of his name, for, despite the unpleasant connotations, I believe the word actually means "student" or "scholar", so we might hope the guy lives up to his name as a "student" of democracy.

The goons in Afghanistan posed themselves as "students" of Islam, somewhat like the "students" who fomented the Iranian hostage crisis and Khomeini revolution.

#115 grayp

#108 kayawanee - Your memory is pretty much like mine. Which makes me wonder why the hell the Clintons backed Clark.

My answer to you might seem machiavellian, but here goes. Hillary stayed out of the 2004 race for a couple of reasons. The first is that she did not yet have enough experience. The second, and more important reason, was that she did not believe any Dem was going to beat Bush in 2004. But as we started to get bogged down in Iraq, she realized that a Dem might have a chance.

It was a little late for her to jump in at that point, but by endorsing Clark, she gained a two fold victory. One, she appeared to be standing up for the military man, which would put her in good stead with those who knew little about Clark. To most he seemed to be the "rational" anti-war candidate, and compared with Dean & Kucinich, he was.

Two, he was not likely to win. She had the goods on him. She could have leaked confidential memos, just has they had against Dean, that could kill his candidacy as well, and pave her way to the 2008 nomination . If by some fluke he won, she might get the VP slot, or get some political chips.

At least that's the way I see it.

#125 sandspur

I think he mentioned Jews on purpose because of the historical hatred of Jews in the region. Arabs covers most everything else off in that you can be an Arab moslem, an Arab Coptic, etc., but Arabs and Jews are considered to be two different things entirely. He wanted to make sure that when he said everyone, he meant everyone.

#109 John B

Thanks for the link. Have you read Dellaire's book? I haven't but I have heard him speak and interviewed on CBC. He is a man haunted. The Nick Nolte character in the film Hotel Rwanda does him a disservice. Dellaire was given no support from the UN, was ordered to do nothing, and yet did what he could in a horrible situation.

#124 'Nam Grunt

#120 kayawanee, Went back and read your post, sooo sorry! Slap me. ;-)))

Don't sweat it. When you're flying through the thread, trying to get through everyone's posts, it's an easy mistake to make.

Just don't let it happen again! =)

@116 Thom

Thanx Thom posting the linky.

#130 kayawanee,

OK!

OT: Christian Beheaded in Bangladesh (Subscription site - BosNewsLive) I tried & tried to find more info, but couldn't.

Quagmire photos

An Iraqi soldier, left, dances with men celebrating the election of new Iraqi interim President

People hold up pictures of Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as they celebrate on the streets

Kurdish youngsters celebrate the election of new Iraqi interim President

#134 Renna,

Doesn't get any better than that! Think I'll go out in the pasture and fire off a few 00buck rounds in the air just to show my admiration for Iraqi's. ;-)))

135 'Nam Grunt

whats down range man, firing into air >shakes head

I do get the irony btw its just that i've had people do it around me and I don't like it

I understand it's not interim president but President Talabani.

Of course until of someone takes a shot at him, that would make him dead President Talabani.

128 not neo just conservative

Yes, I thought it was very good for him to be specific. It was unexpected, though (by me, anyway). You just don't hear that kind of talk everyday in the ME.

#136 keepandbear,

Cows! LOL!

#140 'Nam Grunt

I've been hit with shot from a shotgun at long range. It stings a little but it didn't penetrate. 00 buck I dunno about. That might smart a bit.

But don't forget, according to the UN and our resident moonbat population, the US invasion in Iraq is hindering growth of freedom and democracy in the Middle East.

/spit

#141 Orson Buggy,

It would hurt quite a bit! ;-)

I question the timing of this...

;-)

OT: Jakarta to Build Religious Center (ibid)

would cater to activities of the five religions recognized by the state: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Bali Bomb Cleric Appeals 30 Month Sentence (Jakarta Post)

Nam grunt

cows... down range of 00 buck ...= dead cow

Hey! thats a barbeque in the making

okay its a good thang

;>)

#146 keepandbear,

They still hang you for rustleing, in Texas (kidding), but knowing my moonbat neighbors, they might try, I emphasize TRY. ;-)))

147 'Nam Grunt

Moonbats owning cattle. Why? they wouldn't send them to slaughter, 'cause cows are people too.

so why do they have them

Not to mention the incredible amount of green house gasses they emit. farting that is

#148 keepandbear,

You tell me!, LOL! I'm off to do some painting at the VFW.

#149 keepandbear

How very un-pc, advocating violence against bovine-americans! Shame on you and 'Nam Grunt. ;-)

Re: #129 Kenneth

No I haven't but I expect to. There is a film about the book and I caught part of it (I hadn't checked movie listings on TV and stumbled upon it part way through). It's called " Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire" (link below)

Mea culpa - I haven't seen Hotel Rwanda either but I plan to. It's painful to see Gen. Dallaire and know the demons that go through his mind - that he could have made a difference but was held back.

It's even more galling now that a former UN fuckwit, Jacques-Roger Booh Booh, has just published a book blaming Dallaire for everything. Booh Booh was a former career diplomat from Cameroon and the leader of the United Nations Mission for Assistance to Rwanda (UNAMIR) in 1993 and 1994 - he was eventually fired in 1994 after leaving Rwanda without permission in the middle of the genocide. You must be a real asshole to get fired from the UN.

[Link: www.imdb.com...]

Kenneth:

Here is a link to an article on the Booh Booh book and criticism of it.

[Link: www.canada.com...]

L.A.times had some nasty.."well, let's see..." comment.

Bravo Iraq and W. a gutsy gamble...

But,,,but... but it's a quagmire! It's a disaster! It's Viet Nam all over again! It's the wrong war at the wrong time (moonbat spins out of control and flops on the floor, a la John Belushi on SNL many years ago)!

Back to reality, who would have thought this possible 5 years ago when Slick Willie was busy chasing interns around the oval office and hiding from the First Witch? These are truly historic times.

HAMBURG - A German court that is re-trying Mounir al- Motassadeq, the only man ever convicted of the 9-11 attacks, asked Washington on Tuesday whether it had tortured captured al-Qaeda members.

Presiding judge Ernst-Rainer Schudt read out his official letter to the US Department of Justice demanding details of the interrogation of Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The two men, who are believed to have organised the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, are in American custody, reputedly somewhere away from US soil. Notes on their interrogation have been passed to the Hamburg court.

"There is concern that substantive torture took place," Schudt said in the letter. ...

...Motassadeq won his appeal for a retrial because of US reluctance to submit secret documents to the Hamburg court. Appeal judges said the original trial failed to consider possible exonerating evidence.

The Moroccan electronics student was sentenced to 15 years in prison for being an accessory to 3,000 murders and membership in a terrorist organization. He is currently free on bail.

German court asks US if it tortures al-Qaeda captives

#153 John B

Thanks for the link about Booh-Booh's "book". It looks like a sleazy CYA counter-attack. Booh-Booh was Dellaire's boss, so if the UN failed to respond to Dellaire's warnings, it was Booh-Booh who ignored them.

Hotel Rwanda is a great movie and Don Cheadle is an amazing actor and deserved an Oscar for the performance. Small wonder Hollywood ignored it. I hear Cheadle went to Darfur to prod the UN & US into doing something about that.

...No one has been arrested for the murder of any barber. What little the police have been able to find out about the killers is that many are mercenaries who are paid as much as $300 (£150) for each barber they murder. ...

The barbers cut down by Baghdad’s killers

Re: 129 Kenneth

In answering your question I've done a bit of digging. Shit - the following excerpts are from Human Rights Watch (link below):

"In preparing presentations on Rwanda, staff of the secretariat heard two quite different voices from the field, that of Booh-Booh and that of Dallaire. Some observers attributed the difference in their reporting to one being a diplomat and the other a soldier. Other observers suggested it had more to do with political loyalties. Booh-Booh, as a member of the elite of his home country of Cameroon, was supposedly linked to the French, and thus was more sympathetic to the Habyarimana circle. Appointed by the secretary-general, who himself ordinarily benefited from strong French support, Booh-Booh enjoyed Boutros-Ghali’s confidence more than did Dallaire.117"

"A cable addressed to New York headquarters on April 8 shows clearly the difference in how the two assessed the situation. Booh-Booh reports that the security situation is worsening, but attributes this to intensified fighting between the Presidential Guard and the RPF. He indicates that the rest of the country is “calm, although tense.” The next paragraph states that “elements of the Presidential Guard” abducted “several” political figures, including the prime minister, and murdered “several” persons suspected to be RPF sympathisers. At paragraph nine, Booh-Booh says “I regret to confirm the death of ten (10) military personnel from the Belgian contingent who were seized and detained by elements of the Presidential Guard.”

The second part of the cable is written all in upper case letters. As different in tone as in font from the first part, it emphatically transmits Dallaire’s angry voice:

THE APPEARANCE OF A VERY WELL PLANNED, ORGANIZED, DELIBERATE AND CONDUCTED CAMPAIGN OF TERROR INITIATED PRINCIPALLY BY THE PRESIDENTIAL GUARD SINCE THE MORNING AFTER THE DEATH OF THE HEAD OF STATE HAS COMPLETELY REORIENTED THE SITUATION IN KIGALI. AGGRESSIVE ACTIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN NOT ONLY AGAINST THE OPPOSITION LEADERSHIP BUT AGAINST THE RPF (BY FIRING AT THE CND), AGAINST PARTICULAR ETHNIC GROUPS (MASSACRE OF TUTSI IN REMERA), AGAINST THE GENERAL CIVILIAN POPULATION (BANDITRY) AND AGAINST UNAMIR (DIRECT AND INDIRECT FIRE ON U.N. INSTALLATIONS, VEHICLES, PERSONNEL AND AFFILIATED AGENCIES (I.E., UNDP) WHICH HAS RESULTED IN FATAL AND NON-FATAL CASUALTIES. THE PARTICULARLY BARBAROUS MURDER OF THE 10 CAPTURED BELGIAN SOLDIERS EMPHASIZES THIS SITUATION...118"

"By the morning of April 16, authorities of the interim government would have known about the firm position in favor of complete withdrawal taken by the U.S. During the course of that day, civilian and military leaders made the decision to extend the genocide, both in area and in intensity, a decision they began toimplement the day after. By the middle of the next week, humanitarian agencies were estimating 100,000 people killed throughout Rwanda."

"In Kigali, the regrouping of UNAMIR forces had been completed. Soon after the Belgians left, the Bangladeshi troops departed. Ghanaian troops that had been in the northern demilitarized zone had moved into the capital. UNAMIR soldiers had been moved to a smaller number of more centralized locations. As they closed some of their posts, the peacekeepers had on occasion thrust out the gates to their deaths some of the displaced persons who had taken refuge with them. UNAMIR continued to protect more than 15,000 persons, both Hutu and Tutsi, who had sought refuge at the Amahoro stadium. It also provided guards at other sites that were not U.N. posts, including the King Faisal Hospital where there were another 5,000-6,000 people."

"Dallaire established this protection in response to the overwhelming needs on the spot, not as a result of orders from New York.131 The existence of these groups of protected persons shaped the final stages of the debate over UNAMIR, giving advocates of continued involvement an argument that in the end the diplomats could not ignore."

Kenneth:

Here is the link - sorry all for the long post. I couldn't fit the reference into the above post.

[Link: www.hrw.org...]

#160 John B

Thanks, John. The Rwandan tragedy should be the nail in the coffin of the thoroughly discredited notion that the UN is a moral institution. Anybody who suggests the UN is an exemplar of "world opinion" or international law (whatever the hell that means) should be taken bodily to a theatre, strapped into a chair and forced to watch Hotel Rwanda.

You have posted a lot of good and disturbing stuff today. More people (beyond LGF's good community) should read it.

I'm outta here now. Take care.

Does this mean my Iraqi dinars are going to go up in value?
8-)

Re: Kenneth:

Here is another escerpt from Human Rights Watch. It's located near the end of the report. The report ends with the account of Paul Rusesabagina at the Hotel Mille Collines which was portrayed in Hotel Rwanda.

It's hard to believe but the bastards at the UN reduced Dallaire's force to 270 during the genocide.

"The council reduced the soldiers to a token force of 270 and set as its first priority securing a cease-fire, hardly the task for an army, whether small or large. Dallaire criticized this excessive emphasis on a goal that was unlikely to be met to the exclusion of doing something to stop the killings. Unwilling to halt the genocide, the council tried instead to alleviate the suffering by directing UNAMIR to assist in humanitarian relief operations “to the extent feasible.” The council was not prepared to guarantee the safety even of those who sought refuge with UNAMIR and it ordered the force only “to monitor and report on developments...including the safety and security” of those who sought protection from them.134

Fortunately Dallaire and his subordinates stretched their limited orders in the weeks to come. They somehow never found the right time for a plane to land to evacuate the troops in excess of the allotted 270 and so they continued to function with about 540 soldiers.135 They guarded or at least regularly visited sites where people had sought shelter and they facilitated the exchange of civilians from one side of the front to the other. In mid-April, Dallaire broadened the possibilities for intervention to protect Tutsi, although he continued to insist on the avoidance of risk. When RTLM warned that new attacks would be launched at the end of April,Dallaire posted peacekeepers at such places as the Sainte Famille Church and the Notre Dame school.136 The peacekeepers sometimes failed to safeguard persons under their protection, such as those attacked in an evacuation convoy on May 3, and they failed to respond to some cries for help, such as one from priests who pleaded for protection for people who had sought shelter in their church in Nyamirambo.137 Partial, sporadic help for a pitifully small number was all that UNAMIR could offer while international leaders, far from the horrors, awaited reports on “safety and security” in Rwanda."

That should begin:

Here is another excerpt ..

old "Chemical Ali" must have his Yfronts in a huge knot knowing that a Kurd has been named President of Iraq.

Huzzah to you Jalal Talabani!

Somehow I get the feeling that a lot liberals will show more love towards the Taliban than they will towards Talibani.

“Today Jalal Talabani made it to the seat of power, while Saddam Hussein is sitting in jail,” said Mohammed Saleh, a 42-year-old Kurd in Kirkuk. “Who would have thought.”

Who would have thought indeed?

Not Hans Blix

Not Coffee Cup Anon

Not John Kerry

Not Barbara Boxer...

But what great news.

It's hilarious that the leader of the Lizardoids knows that his followers cannot be expected to know that Kurds are not Arabs.

#168 Absoludicrious

Quite the contrary. We know full well the history of the Kurds in Iraq under Hussein. You know, those people who would still be murdered to this day if you had had your way.

That he is neither Arab nor a religious fanatic is simply a point worth emphasizing.

Turd.

I am late on this topic. (No kidding, eh?)

Now that the Iraqis have their official President, VPs, and soon PM, can the new PM RECALL the ex-Information minister?

I really enjoyed Baghdad Bob's rendition of "Current Events". With a national treasure like that, let him fade into obscurity is a total waste beyond imagination.

Maybe we (the bloggers) should start a campaign?

That's weird Thom, because when I had my way, they had an autonomous region in the north of Iraq. Hmmm...

#171 Absoludicrious

Changing the subject?

That's not trollish at all ...

How am I changing the subject? What is it with lizardoids and basic English? You said You know, those people who would still be murdered to this day if you had had your way. In response, I said That's weird Thom, because when I had my way, they had an autonomous region in the north of Iraq. Hmmm...

Oh. Forgive me for not being an expert on your Iraq policy.

Using the "quote" function is a good idea sometimes ...

Asswipe.