27 January 2008
06 December 2006
26 October 2006
29 September 2006
follow-up on Russian/Georgian controversy
PORTOROZ, Slovenia, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Tensions over Georgia boiled over at NATO-Russia talks on Friday as Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov accused some alliance nations of illicitly selling weapons to the ex-Soviet country. "Some members of NATO -- shall we call them the younger generation? -- are supplying Georgia with arms and ammunition of Soviet production," Ivanov told a news briefing after the talks in the Slovenian coastal resort of Portoroz. Ivanov did not name the countries, but he was referring to some of the seven eastern European nations that joined NATO in 2004. He said Soviet arms exports to the region were made under the strict understanding they would not get into the hands of third parties. "It means these countries are breaching world practice," he said.
fraud, waste and abuse
silliness: A new report from the Government Accountability Office finds that more than 100 laptop computers purchased with cards that the Homeland Security Department issued after hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast last year are missing and presumed stolen. ~~~ Other examples of improper use of the cards included the purchase of a beer brewing kit, a 63-inch, $8,000 plasma TV and “tens of thousands of dollars for training at golf and tennis resorts,” the report states.
28 September 2006
exactly
On the NIE: The report’s few positive notes were couched in conditional terms... and of course the full document won't be declassified. Anyone who honestly thought it would (or could) be is on some other planet.
Taliban: open for business in Waziristan
Post 'truce'... the Taliban have opened up a local office in Miran Shah for the purpose of "curbing crimes and anti-social activities".
"There is complete lawlessness in the area and crimes have increased. So after the peace accord the Taliban have set up office to serve residents of the area and restore peace,” read one pamphlet, apparently referring to the agreement signed between the Pakistani federal government and the Taliban on 5 September in North Waziristan which lies on the Pakistan-Afghan border.
Georgia arrests 4 Russian Army Officers
on suspicion of spying... Russian Foreign Ministry responds: "They have put forward unsubstantiated accusations." More at RIA Novosti.
Saudi Arabia + Israel = a tedious alliance
Jerusalem Post: Analysis: Saudi-Israeli footsie is a sign of need, not love Might be time to fire this "diplomatic official"...
"If you would have asked me three years ago, or five years ago, what country would be the last one in the region to make peace with us, I would have said Saudi Arabia," one diplomatic official said. "So if they are meeting with us now, it shows just how worried they are."Talk about self-destructive! Of all the positive statements he could've made, yet he goes with "they're worried". Not, "we welcome any opportunity to make peace with our neighbors", or "hopefully we can build on this and develop a long term relationship built upon mutual trust and understanding"... or anything constructive, for that matter.
25 September 2006
18 September 2006
to torture or not to torture?
Arms and Influence: Don't stay up waiting for a small number of Congressional Republicans to save the American republic. Their opposition matters, particularly in an election year. However, what would matter a lot more is a broader, organized coalition against immoral, unconstitutional, and ineffective policies. Too bad the press is more interested in continuing their public adulation for McCain, instead of asking how effective his occasional "maverick" stances really are.
17 September 2006
iraq redux
"U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials say Bush political appointees and hard-liners on Capitol Hill have tried recently to portray Iran's nuclear program as more advanced than it is and to exaggerate Tehran's role in Hezbollah's attack on Israel in mid-July," they write.. "President Bush, who addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, has said he prefers diplomacy to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, but he hasn't ruled out using military force. Several former U.S. defense officials who maintain close ties to the Pentagon say they've been told that plans for airstrikes - if Bush deems them necessary - are being updated." [False Reports on Iran a Replay of Run-Up to Iraq War?]
13 September 2006
Congratulations to Adrian Fenty!
12 September 2006
USMC Col. Pete Devlin
"We haven't been defeated militarily but we have been defeated politically -- and that's where wars are won and lost." - in his most recent assessment of Anbar province.
Anbar is a key province; it encompasses Ramadi and Fallujah, which with Baghdad pose the greatest challenge U.S. forces have faced in Iraq. It accounts for 30 percent of Iraq's land mass, encompassing the vast area from the capital to the borders of Syria and Jordan, including much of the area that has come to be known as the Sunni Triangle. The insurgency arguably began there with fighting in Fallujah not long after U.S. troops arrived in April 2003, and fighting has since continued. Thirty-three U.S. military personnel died there in August -- 17 from the Marines, 13 from the Army and three from the Navy. A second general who has read the report warned that he thought it was accurate as far as it went, but agreed with the defense official that Devlin's "dismal" view may not have much applicability elsewhere in Iraq. The problems facing Anbar are peculiar to that region, he and others argued. But an Army officer in Iraq familiar with the report said he considers it accurate. "It is best characterized as 'realistic,' " he said. "From what I understand, it is very candid, very unvarnished," said retired Marine Col. G. I. Wilson. "It says the emperor has no clothes."