For Sunday reading, as we catch up on some selected under-reported news of import and a bit of trivia.
As Iraq battles to avert civil war, Pentagon fears such an outcome (civil war) ‘may be that we help rise up another Saddam’.
Excerpt from ‘Pentagon Fears over new Saddam’
Influential figures close to the US administration have long been emphasising the dire consequences should sectarian divisions escalate into all-out conflict. Andrew Krepinevich, a Pentagon adviser who heads the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a military think tank, warns that if civil war breaks out “the outcome may be that we help the rise of another Saddam Hussein who is ruthless enough to deal with the problem”.
(Emphasis mine)
Well fellow boomantribs, so much for regime change. Ya think?
Imagine such words from a Pentagon adviser. What are Shias, Sunnis and Kurds to think?
Am I misreading here that at the end of the day, we found that Saddam was useful, that he kept balance and stability in the region? We were warned.
But looks like, having invaded Iraq – expending innocent lives and treasure, we need to find a replacement? Well, tell that to all those who have sacrificed here and there.
Mr. Krepinevich, no need to look. Better the devil you know and have in custody.
And, In Banner Headlines
Iran and Russia in deal to enrich uranium… developing
Switzerland confirms first case of bird flu… developing.
The Royal Ravens at the Tower of London are moved indoors because, as tales of old have it, should they succumb, so falls the Monarchy and the tower.
Katherine Harris caught up in Wade-MZM $32,000 illegal campaign finance funding. Thinkprogress finds “Harris knew exactly what Wade expected in return for the cash and did what she could to get for him.” and labels her as “Playing dumb.” Kathy hasn’t changed, has she? Likes to please … erm, before the censor finds me, enough said.
AP reports Ricky Santorum’s charity gets bad ratings from (BBB) – Better Business Bureau. 60% goes to overhead. Why is there a boom on Capitol Hill in lawmakers setting up private charities?
AP has it; Bolton finds too much “bad management”, weighed down by ‘Sex and Corruption’ at U.N.
Or is it Sex and Corruption weighed down by bad management? Oh my, what will the busy Moustache do? Demolish a few more floors? Naughty? Yes.
Hamas states conditions for Israel recognition. In an extensive interview with Wapo, Hamas’ PM-elect, Ismail Haniyeh explains
“We do not wish to throw them into the sea”
Excerpt from ‘We do not wish to throw them into the sea’
{Q}Palestinian President Abu Mazen and the international community have put forward conditions for dealing with Hamas: 1) recognize Israel; 2) recognize existing agreements with Israel made by the Palestinian Liberation Organization; 3) renounce violence. Will you agree to these conditions?
We are surprised that such conditions are imposed on us. Why don’t they direct such conditions and questions to Israel? Has Israel respected agreements? Israel has bypassed practically all agreements. We say: Let Israel recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinians first and then we will have a position regarding this. Which Israel should we recognize? The Israel of 1917; the Israel of 1936; the Israel of 1948; the Israel of 1956; or the Israel of 1967? Which borders and which Israel? Israel has to recognize first the Palestinian state and its borders and then we will know what we are talking about.
[..]We do not have any feelings of animosity toward Jews. We do not wish to throw them into the sea. All we seek is to be given our land back, not to harm anybody.
Do you recognize Israel’s right to exist?
The answer is to let Israel say it will recognize a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, release the prisoners and recognize the rights of the refugees to return to Israel. Hamas will have a position if this occurs.
A high recommend. Read the full article.
The London Sunday Times reporter writes on his review of an interview he had with Osama Bin Laden at Tora Bora. He sets out the relationships and long term strategy in “Total War: Inside the new Al-Qaeda”
Excerpt from ‘Total War: Inside the new Al-Qaeda’
[..]
He told me about past Al-Qaeda attacks on the Americans — including the 1993 ambush on American troops in Mogadishu, which he said had been wrongly blamed on the Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid.
More attacks were in the planning stages, he said, and he emphasised that these “operations” took a long time to prepare. He hinted at a strike at the Americans on their home territory, but I confess I did not register the enormity of what he implied when he came out with an unforgettable statement: “We hope to reach ignition point in the not-too-distant future.”
Bin Laden also explained his long-term anti-American strategy. He told me he knew he would never be able to defeat America on its own soil using conventional weapons. He had another plan, one that would take years to reach fruition.
“We want to bring the Americans to fight us on Muslim land,” he said as we walked through the woods in the high mountains at Tora Bora. “If we can fight them on our own territory we will beat them, because the battle will be on our terms in a land they neither know nor understand.”
We are witnessing part of that plan now, in the battlefields of Iraq, which has become a breeding ground for the most ruthless and militant Al-Qaeda fighters we have seen. In the process we are discovering the new face of Al-Qaeda, as a movement involved in bloody sectarian strife against fellow Muslims.
[..]Abu Qatada told me that the September 11 attacks were also opposed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who in 2001 was still a relatively obscure Jordanian associate of Al-Qaeda. Zarqawi was soon to shoot into the limelight as the central figure in this story. For, two years on, the arrival of 150,000 US troops in Iraq in March 2003 created exactly the turning point in Al-Qaeda’s history that Bin Laden had dreamt of.
Iraq is in many ways a better base for Al-Qaeda than Afghanistan. It provides an Arabic-speaking environment and culture. Geographically it is the heart of the region. In Islamic terms it is as important as Saudi Arabia and Palestine.
[..]
Heavy stuff here. A high recommend read
It’s your choice, curl up and comment.
