Archived news and commentary: December 16 - 22, 2002

2002/12/30 - 2003/01/05
2002/12/23 - 2002/12/29
2002/12/16 - 2002/12/22
2002/12/09 - 2002/12/15
2002/12/02 - 2002/12/08
2002/11/25 - 2002/12/01
2002/11/18 - 2002/11/24
2002/11/11 - 2002/11/17
2002/11/04 - 2002/11/10
2002/10/28 - 2002/11/03
2002/10/21 - 2002/10/27
2002/10/14 - 2002/10/20
2002/10/07 - 2002/10/13
2002/09/30 - 2002/10/06

Sunday, December 22, 2002

News and commentary:

"The horrors of Saddam's 'sadist' son" (Tom Farrey, ESPN.com, 2002/12/22)
"In the history of the world, an expanse that covers Genghis Khan and Adolf Hitler and other despots both past and present, there is no shortage of absolute rulers whose human rights records compare with that of today's designated pariah, Saddam Hussein.
There may never have been a sports official, though, as brutal as his son, Uday.
As president of the Iraqi National Olympic Committee, Uday allegedly tortures athletes for losing games. He sticks them in prison for days or months at a time. Has them beaten with iron bars. Caned on the soles of their feet. Chained to walls and left to stay in contorted positions for days. Dragged on pavement until their backs are bloody, then dunked in sewage to ensure the wounds become infected. If Uday stops by a player's jail cell, he might urinate on his bowed, shaven head. Just to humiliate him." (Note: The article is part of ESPN.com's investigation "Blood on the Rings". See also "'What did we do wrong? Nobody knows but Uday'" (Sharar Haydar, ESPN.com, 2002/12/22): "Uday himself liked to play mind games with us. Twice during my career - in 1988 when with the junior national team and again in 1990 before a game against our rival Iran - he threatened to blow up the plane on our return flight if we did not win. Turns out nothing happened, but we could never be sure when dealing with Uday. Sometimes he would keep us four hours after a game, letting us think we were going to be punished, then at midnight tell us, 'No, go home now. But I won't forget. I will watch you next game.'")

"Persons of the Year 2002 - The Special Agent" (Amanda Ripley and Maggie Sieger, TIME, from the 2003/01/06 issue)
"The Whistle-blowers", i.e. Cynthia Cooper, WorldCom; Coleen Rowley, the FBI; and Sherron Watkins, Enron, are Time's Persons of the Year 2002. This is a profile of Coleen Rowley, the FBI staff attorney who caused a sensation in May with a memo criticizing FBI inaction prior to 9/11. She seems to be very cool:
"During one interview, [her husband] Ross stood beside a reporter so he could signal Coleen when to stop talking. Other times he interrupted. "Are you sure you want to say that, Coleen?" he'd say. Or the more direct "No! Stop! Don't say any more!" Her memo reflects her stream-of-consciousness narrative style. "No wonder why the FBI headquarters is mired in mediocrity!" she wrote in a footnote. 'That may be a little strong, but it would definitely be fair to say that there is unevenness in competency among Headquarters personnel.'" (See also: "How the FBI Blew the Case" (Romesh Ratnesar and Michael Weisskopf, TIME, 2002/05/25))

"Palestinians Call Off January Election" (Mohammed Assadi, Reuters, 2002/12/22)
"Palestinians decided on Sunday to postpone indefinitely a general election scheduled for January, saying it was difficult to hold a vote while Israeli forces continued to occupy West Bank cities. "Due to the Israeli reoccupation, obstruction and closures, it is impossible to convene the election on January 20," cabinet minister Saeb Erekat told Reuters after a Palestinian government meeting on the vote. ... A Palestinian cabinet statement on Sunday said elections "would be held immediately after occupation forces pull back" to positions held before the uprising began in September 2000."

"Fatah: We will start amputating arms and legs of criminals" (Khaled Abu Toameh, The Jerusalem Post, 2002/12/23)
Fatah activists in Hebron are threatening to amputate the arms and legs of any Palestinian involved in crime, especially thefts and burglaries. This is the first time the secular organization, which is the mainstream faction of the PLO, has issued such a threat. Some Palestinians have expressed fear the warning could mark the beginning of the "Talibanization" of Palestinian society. Palestinians in Hebron, which has been under an on-again-off-again curfew for the past 30 days, said Saturday the threat was issued following an increased wave of crime that has hit the city in the past few weeks. "The punishment will be enforced against anyone who is found guilty," said a leaflet distributed in the city. 'The streets of Hebron and its suburbs, as well as the streets of all cities, villages, and refugee camps, will soon witness people with one arm or one leg. They will be punished in accordance with the sharia [Islamic law]. This will not be executed unless they are convicted.'"

"War is the only option" (Elie Wiesel, The Observer, 2002/12/22)
"But it is with a heavy heart I ask this: what is to be done? Do we have the right not to intervene, when we know what passivity and appeasement will make possible? Is President Bush's policy of intervention the best response to an imperative need? Yes, it is said, and I am reluctant to say anything else. Bush's goal is to prevent the deadliest biological or nuclear conflict in modern history. If the US, supported by the UN Security Council, is forced to intervene, it will save victims who are already targeted, already menaced. And it will win. The US owes it to us, and owes it to future generations. As the great French writer André Malraux said, victory belongs to those who make war without loving it."

"Iraq's Christians" (Jonathan Eric Lewis, The Wall Street Journal, 2002/12/22)
"With the aim of attracting support from Muslim states, Saddam Hussein has sought to portray himself as a defender of Islam against an imperialist West. To that end, he has abandoned longstanding secularist policies and stoked anti-Christian sentiment within Iraq - not to mention supported Hamas in its war on Israel. As a showdown looms with the U.S., no group within Iraq has been more negatively affected than the Assyrians, Iraq's indigenous Christians, who are likely to be pivotal in any long-term U.S. plan for the region. ... Saddam's Baath Party, which came to power in 1968 as an Arab nationalist movement with ideological roots in European fascism, officially denies the existence of the Assyrians as a separate ethnic group and has implemented numerous policies in order to both ethnically cleanse the Assyrians from Iraq and to erase their identity as a distinct people. ... America now has a golden opportunity to safeguard the rights of one of the Near East's most persecuted peoples, and to create a new reality that could redress various 20th-century injustices that have been perpetrated against them."

Saturday, December 21, 2002

News and commentary:

"How the West Was Won and How It Will Be Lost" (Oriana Fallaci, The American Enterprise, from the January/February 2003 issue)
Excerpts from a speech held at the American Enterprise Institute October 22, 2002. Here Fallaci quotes from her book "The Rage and the Pride" on the European Union:
"A club that shelters more than 15 million sons of Allah and God knows how many of their terrorists... A club that fornicates like a whore with the Arab countries and fills its pockets with their filthy petrodollars. The same petrodollars with which the Saudi Uncle Scrooges buy our ancient palaces, our banks, our commercial and industrial firms. A club, moreover, that dares to speak of cultural similarities with the Middle East…. [Y]ou chatterers, you mentally retarded[!] Where the hell is the cultural similarity with the Middle East, you cretins, you silly clowns?!? At Mecca? At Bethlehem, at Gaza, at Damascus, at Beirut?!? At Cairo, at Tripoli, at Nairobi, at Tehran, at Baghdad, at Kabul?!? ...
But this frustrating and disappointing and insignificant Financial Club… [with] its sons of Allah who want to erase my civilization, this European Union, which chatters of Cultural-Similarities-with-the-Middle-East and meanwhile ignores my beautiful language, meanwhile sacrifices my national identity, is not the Europe I dreamed of when my father chanted, Europe-Europe. It is not Europe. It is the suicide of Europe."

"Schoolbooks are flubbing facts" (Alison Gendar and Douglas Feiden, Daily News, 2002/12/21)
A special report on New York City schoolbooks: "The word means "holy war." It refers to armed warfare against infidels to extend Islam's realm, and most Americans know it as what Osama Bin Laden declared on the U.S. before killing its citizens en masse. Houghton Mifflin's "Across the Centuries," a 2003 social studies textbook used in Queens and Staten Island, sees it differently. "An Islamic term that is often misunderstood is jihad," it says on page 64. "The term means 'to struggle,' to do one's best to resist temptation and overcome evil." The struggle "may require action," and the Koran allows "self-defense and participation in military conflict, but restricts it to the right to defend against aggression and persecution." Said Bennetta, "They make jihadists sound like innocents doing their best to resist a second serving of ice cream." A Houghton spokesman said the book was reviewed for the publisher by a "multicultural, multiethnic, multifaith panel" that found no problems with it. "Despite how terrorists abuse it, that is the classic definition of jihad," he added." (See also: "Jihad and the Professors" (Daniel Pipes, Commentary/danielpipes.org, from the November 2002 issue))

"The War - A reminder" (Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, 2002/12/21)
"How will we know when the war is over?
When Europeans and Americans are no longer rounding up terrorists in their countries, when mullahs and sheiks are quite afraid to broadcast calls to kill Americans, and when so-called allies volunteer their help without our own bribes and coercion. I might add, also, when an American diplomat, without qualification or embarrassment, says publicly that he has nothing but support for Israelis who hunt down killers and terrorists. In other words, we will win when a sense of deterrence - lost during the last decades - is reestablished, one that sends the message to our would-be enemies that the killing of Americans is synonymous with their own near-instantaneous destruction. The Nazis and the Japanese militarists alike came to realize the Americans were not necessarily pacifistic and malleable people, but rather scary and unpredictable; al Qaeda's supporters must come to the same conclusion.
But won't they just attack us again and again?
War is tragically endemic to the human condition. We can only do our best in our own time as befitting our station and pass on our lessons to the next generation - even though we sometimes forgot such precepts ourselves. Just as the collapse of the Soviet Union created an entirely new climate in eastern Europe, so too the defeat of al Qaeda, the new government in Afghanistan, and a post-Hussein Iraq will send a powerful message to the lunocracies of the Middle East: join the world of democracy, freedom, law, and prosperity - or perish trying to destroy it."

"Key Pakistan militant dead" (BBC News, 2002/12/21)
"Police in Pakistan say one of the five people killed in an explosion in Karachi on Thursday was the country's most-wanted militant, Asif Ramzi. A police investigator in Karachi said Asif Ramzi's mother was taken to the city morgue for the second time in two days, and she has now confirmed that the body of one of the people killed on Thursday is that of her son. Asif Ramzi was not only involved in a series of killings of minority Shia Muslims, but was also wanted for a number of murderous attacks on foreign nationals, including, it is thought, American journalist Daniel Pearl."

"Who's Who in the House of Saud" (Aram Roston, The New York Times Magazine, from the 2002/12/22 issue)
Short profiles of the key players in the House of Saudi:
"Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, 78
Best known as the minister of defense and aviation. According to the rules of fraternal succession, he could be next in line to be king after Prince Abdullah. He purchases the best weapons money can buy, including U.S. tanks, fighter planes, missiles and Awacs (airborne warning and control systems). Yet, in spite of billions spent, the Saudi military is considered inadequate, and much of the gear reportedly sits abandoned. Sultan, who has been dubbed Mr. 10 Percent, supposedly became extraordinarily wealthy from kickbacks from Western businesses that handled multibillion-dollar defense contracts."

"Sydney Bomb Factory" (Lillian Saleh, The Daily Telegraph, 2002/12/21)
"Police were interrogating a South African-born Muslim man last night after 14 bombs and Islamic literature were found in a dramatic raid on his western Sydney home. Police revealed the devices were packed with ammonium nitrate, nails and metal and had enormous lethal power. Ammonium nitrate is the same chemical used in the Oklahoma city bombing. The terror scare, which centred on the house of Gill Daniels – described by neighbours as a committed Muslim – occurred only by chance. Daniels, 36, now an Australian citizen, had not paid rent on his apartment in Nagle St, Liverpool, for two months and sheriffs arrived yesterday morning to evict him. Daniels was absent and, when sheriffs forced their way into the apartment, they found the bombs, Islamic literature and a blackboard covered in Arab characters."

"Declaration Lists Companies That Sold Chemicals to Iraq" (Philip Shenon, The New York Times, 2002/12/21)
"The 12,000-page weapons declaration that Iraq delivered to the United Nations on Dec. 7 details the history of its chemical weapons program before the 1991 gulf war, listing dozens of foreign companies that provided most of the chemicals and equipment needed for the program. ... But The New York Times was able to confirm the identity of most of the companies on the latest Iraqi list after obtaining a copy of Iraq's last chemical weapons declaration. That list was turned over by Iraq to the United Nations in 1996, and officials confirmed that Iraq's new declaration included the same companies. ... Of the 31 companies named in 1996, most are European, including 14 from Germany, 3 each from the Netherlands and Switzerland and 2 each from France and Austria."

"U.S. Is to Release Spy Data on Iraq to Aid Inspectors" (David E. Sanger and Julia Preston, The New York Times, 2002/12/21)
"Administration officials said today that they would give United Nations inspectors new intelligence, gathered chiefly by spy satellites, in the hope that it would lead them to Iraqi chemical and biological stockpiles. The new information may be delivered to the United Nations as early as this weekend, they said. The announcement that the data would be shared, in response to a demand made repeatedly by United Nations weapons inspectors, came as the White House said President Bush was postponing his weeklong trip to Africa in mid-January, in part to be close to home in case decisions on Iraq had to be made."

Added in archive:
"A Patriotic Left" (Michael Kazin, Dissent, from the Fall 2002 issue)

Friday, December 20, 2002

News and commentary:

"Preliminary Overview. - Saudi Arabia's Education System: Curriculum, Spreading Saudi Education to the World and the Official Saudi Position on Education Policy" (Steven Stalinsky, MEMRI, 2002/12/20)
A report on Saudi Arabia's education system, with translated examples from schoolbooks: "A textbook for 8th grade students explains why Jews and Christians were cursed by Allah and turned into apes and pigs.Quoting Surat Al-Maida, Verse 60, the lesson explains that Jews and Christians have sinned by accepting polytheism and therefore incurred Allah's wrath.To punish them, Allah has turned them into apes and pigs. ...
A schoolbook for 5th grade instructs the students: "The religions which people follow on this earth are many, but the only true religion is the religion of Islam. ... The whole world should convert to Islam and leave its false religions lest their fate will be hell. ...
The students are then asked to mark "yes" or "no" to the following questions:
*"The Islamic religion is the road to heaven…"
*'Other religions bestow eternal damnation on their adherent…'" (Note: This sermon is an example of the religion of peace in its Saudi version: "Sheikh Majed 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Firian recently stated in the Suleiman Bin Muqiran mosque in Riyadh: 'Muslims must… educate their children to Jihad. This is the greatest benefit of the situation: educating the children to Jihad and to hatred of the Jews, the Christians, and the infidels; educating the children to Jihad and to revival of the embers of Jihad in their souls. This is what is needed now…'")

"The Osama bin Laden Day-Care Center" (James Taranto, "The Wall Street Journal/Best of the Web Today, 2002/12/20)
"The notion of a U.S. senator singing the praises of Osama bin Laden is too far-fetched to take seriously, right? Wrong. Here's the Columbian of Vancouver, Wash., describing a speech by Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.) to a group of southern Washington state high-school students: ...

"'We've got to ask, why is this man (Osama bin Laden) so popular around the world?,' said Murray, who faces re-election in 2004. "Why are people so supportive of him in many countries . . . that are riddled with poverty? He's been out in these countries for decades, building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building day care facilities, building health care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. We haven't done that. How would they look at us today if we had been there helping them with some of that rather than just being the people who are going to bomb in Iraq and go to Afghanistan?"

Coming next: Patty Murray describes how Hitler built the Autobahn. Actually, it's true that bin Laden financed some road construction in Sudan, back when that was the headquarters of his terror network, but Murray must have a screw loose if she thinks al Qaeda has been building "day care facilities." What, to cater to all the fundamentalist Muslim families in which the husband and all four wives have to work?" (See also: "U.S. Sen. Patty Murray - Senator asks students to ponder" (Gregg Herrington, The Columbian, 2002/12/19))

"Profs Condemn Israel in Advance" (Martin Kramer, Sandstorm, 2002/12/20)
"The latest absurdity to emanate from Middle Eastern studies is an open letter suggesting that Israel might exploit a war against Saddam to engage in "ethnic cleansing" against Palestinians. (The letter, released last Wednesday, is ostensibly in support of a small group of extreme-left Israelis who issued a letter with the same message back in September.) After quoting the shrill and partisan rant of "our courageous Israeli colleagues," the American profs go on to make a recommendation:

"Americans cannot remain silent while crimes as abhorrent as ethnic cleansing are being openly advocated. We urge our government to communicate clearly to the government of Israel that the expulsion of people according to race, religion or nationality would constitute crimes against humanity and will not be tolerated."

Are these people serious? The claim that Israel is plotting the mass explusion of Palestinians is one more lunatic-fringe conspiracy theory, hatched by Palestinian propagandists who want "international protection" as the wage for their two disastrous years of insurrection. Unfortunately for them, Israel has done nothing that constitutes a "crime against humanity," and so Palestinians have had to fabricate one that never happened (Jenin) and cry wolf over another one that won't happen (forced "transfer"). Let me not put too fine a point on it: anyone signing this letter, effectively condemning Israel in advance for something it has no intention of doing, is either an ignoramus or a propagandist." (See also the letter and all signatories: "Letter Against Expulsion of the Palestinians" (professorsofconscience.org, December 2002))

"STOP HIM" (The Daily Mirror, 2002/12/20)

"Did the international Christian alliance fathom the lessons of the Mujahideen?" (haganah b'internet, 2002/12/20)
A translation from al Qaida's al Neda web site, here on the terror attacks in "Kenya and Yemen etc": "They are meant to make you fathom the truth - that neither your intelligence, nor your power, nor your tyranny, nor the whole world behind you can tie the hands of those who fight you, and that annihilation, death and destruction will find you, even if you hide in tall towers. We, with the will of Allah, are able to give you the first lesson. If you do not fathom it, as you never do, we shall repeat the lesson once again in the same way. If you fail to understand it yet again, know that the next lesson will be much more elaborate, to a level that you will not need to learn or grasp it again. If we repeat the explanation in the third time, school will be over and you shall not need it anymore, because the third lesson shall be your annihilation and destruction, with Allah's will. ... Allah has promised us that we shall fight you until victory or the death in the path of Allah is decreed upon us. No bartering, no negotiations, and disregard for the tears of the Muslims. Off with your hands, or the swords of Allah in the hands of young Muslims eager to kill you will cut them off, and your tears shall flow, like the tears of the Muslims in Palestine and other Muslim countries." (See also: "al Qaida Statement Regarding US War with Iraq" (haganah b'internet, 2002/12/19))

"3 Women Killed in Kashmir After Rebels Order Veil" (Reuters/The Washington Post, 2002/12/20)
Osama bin Laden has lauded Islamic "manliness" and courage over the effiminate and cowardly Western soldiers. But can anything really be less manly than the chosen methods of Islamic terrorists?: "Suspected militants killed three young women in their homes just days after posters appeared in India's Jammu and Kashmir state ordering women to wear a veil, police said Friday. Two of the women, both aged 21, were shot dead in their house in Rajouri district in the south of the revolt-torn Muslim-majority state Thursday night. The third woman, 22, was taken away and beheaded, an official said. ... Posters signed by a little known group, Lashkar Jabbar, appeared in Rajouri town and neighboring villages asking women not to step out of their homes without a veil, the official said."

"Saudis Behaving Badly" (Joel Mowbray, National Review, 2002/12/20)
"A new report submitted to the United Nations Security Council explores the extensive ties between al Qaeda and the Saudi Arabia - something that should raise a whole host of questions concerning the future of U.S. relations with the House of Saud. ...
Although charities play an important role in funding terrorism, the report also details how legitimate business enterprises and direct "contributions" from wealthy individuals also prove essential to the al Qaeda network. And the primary nexus for the banks, oil and construction companies, and "businessmen" who infuse al Qaeda with the necessary cash is an "ally" of the United States: Saudi Arabia. The report states that al Qaeda received $300 - $500 million in funding from wealthy bankers and businessmen, mostly from Saudi nationals or residents. ...
But the biggest expense to propagate the growth of radical Islam is not paid for directly by al Qaeda, but by Saudi Arabia: the madrassas that that churn out rabid young Islamic fundamentalists primed for jihad. If nothing else, Saudi Arabia's continued insistence on fueling the spread of Wahhabism raises perhaps the ultimate question about whether the House of Saud is a friend or foe: 'How can a war against terrorism succeed while the United States has excluded or preserved countries such as Saudi Arabia, which tolerates the emergence of fundamentalism, sometimes instrumentalized [its] goal, and today has become [its] sanctuary?'" (See also the report: "Terrorism Financing: Roots and trends of Saudi terrorism financing" (Jean-Charles Brisard/National Review, 2002/12/19))

"Muhammad, the Qurayza Massacre, and PBS" (Andrew G. Bostom, FrontPageMagazine, 2002/12/20)
Bostom on the Qurayza massacre and how it is described in the documentary "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet": "However, much more disturbing are the concluding narrator comments by Karen Armstrong and M. Cherif Bassiouni. Armstrong, brimming with her infamous apologetic zeal, has the temerity to claim: "…(the massacre) cannot be seen as anti-Semitism. Muhammad had nothing against the Jewish people … or the Jewish religion. The Koran continues to tell Muslims to honor the People of the Book." ...
The scholar Bat Ye'or summarized the impact of the first two centuries of Arab Muslim conquests (The Jerusalem Quarterly 1987; Vol. 42, Pp. 84-85) on indigenous Jews and Christians of the Middle East, as follows: "Muslim chroniclers described the ongoing jihad (holy war), involving the destruction of whole towns, the massacre of large numbers of their populations, the enslavement of women and children, and the confiscation of vast regions." ...
Viewed from this overall historical perspective, the legacy of the Qurayza massacre resonates tragically, foreshadowing later Muslim conquests, massacres, and the imposition of more than a millennium of dhimmitude on subjugated Jews, Christians, and others. The sacralized PBS presentation of this massacre completely negated the suffering of its victims. Indeed the same disturbing, pious apologism has been employed to negate the suffering of all the millions of victims of genocidal jihad conquests during more than a millennium, from Portugal to Spain, and the Sudan to Hungary. This sacralized historical negationism must be confronted and exposed until it is renounced, and accompanied by a sincere display of empathy for the actual victims." (See also: "PBS, Recruiting for Islam" (Daniel Pipes, New York Post/danielpipes.org, 2002/12/17))

"US and Iraq prepare for decision on war in late January" (Tim Reid, The Times, 2002/12/20)
"As America and Iraq stepped up their preparations for war yesterday, White House officials said that President Bush would decide in the last week in January whether to send the US military into action. The Pentagon plans to double the number of US troops in the Gulf next month, defence officials confirmed. More than 50,000 will flow into the region from early in the new year. The huge military deployment, expected to be authorised next week by Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, is the clearest possible signal that the decision to attack Iraq has all but been made by Mr Bush. Aides say, however, that he will not make a final decision until the last week in January, when the inspections process comes to a head. On January 27 Hans Blix, the UN’s chief weapons inspector, is scheduled to make his first substantive report to the Security Council on Iraq’s weapons declaration and its co-operation with inspectors. By then the White House intends to have the necessary US and allied troops in place for a military campaign beginning in early February."

"Missing: four tons of nerve gas, 8.5 tons of anthrax, and assorted nuclear bomb parts" (David Usborne and Rupert Cornwell, The Independent, 2002/12/20)
"The United States pushed the world closer to armed conflict last night when Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, asserted that Iraq's declaration on its weapons capacities "totally failed" to meet the conditions laid down by the United Nations. The document, he said, was nothing more than "a catalogue of flagrant omissions and recycled information." Speaking after the two senior UN weapons inspectors had told the Security Council there were serious "holes" in the declaration, General Powell said the shortcomings constituted a "material breach" of Baghdad's obligations – two words that have been treated as a coded trigger for war." (See also: "Press Conference on Iraq Declaration" (U.S. Department of State, 2002/12/19))

Thursday, December 19, 2002

News and commentary:

"al Qaida Statement Regarding US War with Iraq" (haganah b'internet, 2002/12/19)
A translation of an al Qaida's statement regarding an upcoming war between the United States and Iraq. Not surprisingly, it's viewed as part of a global conspiracy aiming at world domination: "The Protestant US and its allies (Jews, and English first, then Catholics like France and Italy) is working towards world domination. They want to be the sole benefactor of the world's riches in matter and people. ... The author even claims that the Muslims are just the first - on the way are the Catholics, and then the Pagans - India, China, Japan, North Korea and several African countries. Stresses that the cause for the war is religious. ...
In going to war the US wants to achieve the following goals:
a. The foundation of a "Big Israel", ensuring its military dominance over all its neighbors, and making it the policeman of the middle east, working on behalf of the American interests.
b. The destruction of the Arab military force, and taking away all its different types of weapons to ensure the Jewish existence in the area for the religious purposes mentioned above (Armageddon etc. - TRANS.)
c. Stopping the Arab growth of population in the area, by having millions of them killed trying to prevent the Jewish spread in the area. ...
. The de-militarization of the rest of the world so they'll bow to the Christian-Jewish way and become slaves under white man domination."

"Called Off the Trail?" (Brian Ross and Vic Walter, ABC News, 2002/12/19)
"In a dramatic interview with ABCNEWS, FBI special agents and partners Robert Wright and John Vincent say they were called off criminal investigations of suspected terrorists tied to the deadly bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. U.S. officials say al Qaeda was responsible for the embassy attacks and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. ... In the mid-1990s, with growing terrorism in the Middle East, the two Chicago-based agents were assigned to track a connection to Chicago, a suspected terrorist cell that would later lead them to a link with Osama bin Laden. Wright says that when he pressed for authorization to open a criminal investigation into the money trail, his supervisor stopped him. "Do you know what his response was? 'I think it's just better to let sleeping dogs lie,'" said Wright. 'Those dogs weren't sleeping. They were training. They were getting ready.'"

"We wish you a happy stay"
(Panos/BBC News, 2002/12/19)

"Eyewitness: Nigeria's Sharia amputees" (Sam Olukoya, BBC News, 2002/12/19)
A report from Zamfara state in Nigeria, "the first state to introduce Sharia": "In 2000, Buba Jangebe made history as the first person in Nigeria to have an amputation carried out under Islamic law after being found guilty of stealing a cow. He says he is not upset about losing his hand because it led to the end of his 12-year career as a thief. ... "When I was a thief, there were lots of problems, there was no money, I had no peace. At that time, my relatives deserted me. They were all afraid of me. Lawali Isa's right hand was cut off for stealing three bicycles "But things have now changed. I now visit my relatives and they also visit me. For this, I thank God for the amputation," he said. Lawali Isa has also had his right hand cut off, after being convicted of stealing three bicycles. He says the amputation has transformed him from a notorious thief into a religious person."

"U.N.'s Blix says Iraqi arms declaration has gaps" (Evelyn Leopold, Reuters, 2002/12/19)
"The United Nations chief weapons inspector said Iraq's arms declaration contained little new information as he prepared on Thursday to give his first verdict on the dossier. ... He said the dossier contained little that had not been declared by Baghdad before 1998, when U.N. arms experts were last in Iraq. "There is a good bit of information about non-arms related activities," he said. "Not much information about the weapons...The absence of supporting evidence is what we are talking about, mainly." But diplomats said Blix was not expected to characterise the document as a violation, as Washington appeared set to do."

"9 Suspected Al Qaeda Arrested in Pakistan" (AP/The Washington Post, 2002/12/19)
"Police arrested nine suspected al Qaeda operatives including two Americans and a Canadian in a joint raid with FBI agents in this eastern Pakistani city Thursday. All nine were of Pakistani origin and belong to the same family. ... Those arrested were Dr. Javed Ahmad, his two sons, two brothers, three nephews and one uncle. Two of the men were naturalized Americans and one a naturalized Canadian, but there was no immediate information on their names or hometowns."

"Mister Allah's Neighborhood" (Collin Levey, The Wall Street Journal, 2002/12/19)
Levey on "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet", a two-hour documentary aired by The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS): "Among the revelations from this in-depth study, as Middle East expert Daniel Pipes noted acerbically this week in the New York Post: Mohammed was so progressive that he objected to female infanticide. ... Nonetheless, the San Francisco Chronicle gave the documentary a rating of "Wild Applause" and called it a "revelation." ... Americans are equipped to handle propaganda and sort it out for themselves, but there's something slippery about program that offers up a vision of Islam without violence and controversy as an "educational" service. ... Religious history is always interesting, but intellectual dishonesty and wishful thinking by TV producers aren't. PBS is obviously out to make sure Americans are properly sensitive and respectful of Islam, even if it means distorting Islam's history. Such a tack is likely to hinder rather than advance the true cultural rapprochement that the producers claim to be seeking." (See also: "PBS, Recruiting for Islam" (Daniel Pipes, New York Post/danielpipes.org, 2002/12/17))

"Belgium, Islam and the Boomerang of 'Multiculturalism'" (Michael Radu, FrontPageMagazine, 2002/12/19)
"The situation in Belgium, and specifically in Antwerp, is a case study of what Western Europe is confronted with, and refuses to face, because of its own, self–inflicted, cultural and political problems. Used for decades to instantly, indeed in a Pavlovian manner, accuse any anti–mass immigration, assimilationist or national identity–based group, party or politician of "racism" , the European elites are now faced with a popular reaction which, instead of being handled politically and rationally, is channeled by extremists - hence Vlaams Blok, Le Pen in France, etc. The obvious principles, having to do with common sense and basic legal principles, to be applied to the uncontrollable mass of Moslem immigration from North and Sub Saharan Africa – overwhelmingly Moslem – are consistently avoided in the name of political correctness. Thus the question of immigrants' obligations – starting with respect for national laws, which make illegal entry a crime – are never examined – just their real or, more often than not, imaginary 'rights.'" (See also: "Meet Dyab Abu Jahjah..." (Michiel Visser, The Visser View, 2002/12/11) and "Arabic: a language for Belgium?" (Andrew Osborn, The Guardian, 2002/08/27))

"Mad or bad, Kim is much more menacing than Saddam" (David Rennie, The Daily Telegraph, 2002/12/19)
"If you match up the dates, North Korea's secret project to produce enriched uranium must have started at the time of Kim Dae-jung's "groundbreaking" visit, while the more accommodating President Clinton was still in the White House. Aidan Foster-Carter, a North Korea expert at Leeds University, is near despair: "The North Koreans are prisoners of their own world view. They missed their best chance when they had Clinton and Kim Dae-jung in office. And yet it seems they must have begun uranium enrichment around the time Kim Dae-jung was visiting. How is trust possible now?" ... North Korea is barely a diplomatic problem now. The closest analogy is with an armed siege, in which the hostages are the inhabitants of both Koreas. ... Most recently, Pyongyang confirmed its secret uranium programme, when quizzed by a US envoy. Optimists portrayed that admission as refreshing honesty. But, at the risk of stretching an analogy too far, the honesty seems more like that of the hostage-taker flinging open a window to tell the police that he has wired his house with explosives."

"North Korea's terrifying exports" (Joel Mowbray, The Washington Times, 2002/12/19)
Mobray on the Yemen Scud missile affair: "Perhaps the worst result of the hasty resolution of the controversy was that Yemen was able to skirt the normal protocol a nation must follow in purchasing arms, such as Scud missiles. Yemen didn't prove, for example, that it was the final destination for the missiles. It also didn't have to provide evidence to support its claim that the sale had been the last installment in an old contract. In fact, the administration had strong evidence to dispute the Yemeni contention. According to a senior administration official, Yemen had negotiated the missile purchase from North Korea within the last six months. ... If nothing else, the most enduring result of the whole affair will be shattering the myth that North Korea is "isolated" from other bad characters. With hard proof that North Korea is shipping weapons to the Middle East, the president's "axis of evil" speech is proving remarkably prescient."

"Al Qaeda said to be operating in Canada" (Jerry Seper, The Washington Times, 2002/12/19)
"Al Qaeda has established cells in Canada whose members have the "capability and conviction" to support terrorist activities all across North America, according to Canadian intelligence officials. Canadian Security and Intelligence Service documents filed in an Ottawa federal court to aid the deportation of an Algerian national suspected of being an al Qaeda operative described the "sleeper cells" as secretive, operational and loyal to Osama bin Laden, the Saudi millionaire named as the mastermind of the September 11 attacks. ... "The service believes there are supporters of Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network in Canada," the CSIS said. 'Several individuals under service investigation are the products of violent Jihad. Based on this profile, the service believes that some extremists in Canada have the capability and conviction to provide support for terrorist activities in North America.'"

Added in archive:
"It's not our fault we're morally superior to U.S." (Richard Gwyn, The Star, 2002/12/08)

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

News and commentary:

"London Moslem fanatic" (BBC Newsnight, 2002/12/18)
Transcript of an interview with the London-based Muslim cleric Abu Hamza. It's interesting to note that much of what he says could be seconded by militant anti-globo activists. He sounds more like a disciple of Fanon than of Islam at times:
"Others go much further. Abu Hamza, they claim, is a godfather of terrorism, not merely encouraging and giving moral succour to violence, but of being intimately involved, too, to say nothing of preaching religious hatred. ...
JEREMY PAXMAN:
Well, Abu Hamza joins us now in the studio. I have some very simple questions for you, which you can answer very briefly. Firstly, do you still believe it is right to loot and shoot in banks?
ABU HAMZA:
Well, when you talk about loot and shoot it's not against nations. It is against those who deprive our people from their rights, steal their money and indulge them into difficulties. ... Not all sort of banks, banks who are indulging people into usury and taking their property and putting international money in a way that basically, slaves in Africa and slaves in our countries.
PAXMAN:
That's specifically banks in France you were talking about. You used the words it's OK to loot and shoot in France.
HAMZA:
What about what France has done in Algeria and North Africa. ...
PAXMAN:
If it's so detestable here, why don't you live somewhere else?
HAMZA:
Well, I hope so, but I'm just as stuck as somebody who is stuck in a toilet and there is a mine field outside.
PAXMAN:
Mr Abu Hamza, thank you."

"Hamas Leader and Seven Others Are Indicted in Terror Probe" (AP/The New York Times, 2002/12/18)
"The leader of an Islamic militant group, his wife, and five brothers who work at a Texas company were indicted on charges of money laundering and sending computers to Libya and Syria, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Wednesday. "We will pursue the financiers of terror as aggressively as we pursue the thugs who do their dirty work,'' Ashcroft said at the Justice Department. ...
The brothers arrested included the company vice president, Ghassan Elashi, 48, also identified as a director of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The foundation was shut down in December 2001 after the Treasury Department accused the self-described charity of being a front for the Palestinian militant group Hamas and seized its assets. ...
Ashcroft characterized Marzook as a senior member of Hamas, and said Marzook and his wife were accused of conspiring to violate U.S. laws that prohibit dealing in terrorist funds."

"Saddam Tricks Penn Pal" (Bill Hoffmann, New York Post, 2002/12/18)
A case study from Useful Idiocy for Dummies: "Sean Penn, just back from his three-day "fact finding" trip to Iraq, turned on his new pals in Saddam Hussein's government - claiming they've transformed him into a weapon of mass propaganda. ... Penn's flack howled in protest, claiming her boss was the victim of terrorist misquotes. "Oh, please! I don't know where those statements are being fabricated from," said spokeswoman Mara Buxbaum. 'This is specifically propaganda. It's a twisted interpretation of what he said. They are twisting his words.'" (See also: "Sean Penn condemns US threats against Iraq" (Iraq Daily, 2002/12/16))

"Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Calif." (Jill Serjeant, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2002/12/18)
"Hundreds of Iranian and other Middle East citizens were in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming forward to comply with a new rule to register with immigration authorities only to wind up handcuffed and behind bars. Shocked and frustrated Islamic and immigrant groups estimate that more than 500 people have been arrested in Los Angeles, neighboring Orange County and San Diego in the past three days under a new nationwide anti-terrorism program. Some unconfirmed reports put the figure as high as 1,000. The arrests sparked a demonstration by hundreds of Iranians outside a Los Angeles immigration office. The protesters carried banners saying "What's next? Concentration camps?" and "What happened to liberty and justice?." ... The arrests were part of a post Sept. 11 program that requires all males over 16 from a list of 20 Arab or Middle East countries, who do not have permanent resident status in the United States, to register with U.S. immigration authorities."

"'Process' of Elimination" (Claudia Rosett, The Wall Street Journal, 2002/12/18)
"Much talk these days centers on the process we've come to call nation-building and the recognition that for peace, one needs democracy. So far, so good. The pity is that there is not more wisdom brought to bear on defending the democracies that already exist, especially that most beleaguered of all free states: Israel. That might sound strange, given the billions the U.S. spends on Israel's military defense. But undercutting this effort for decades has been the strange history of Washington-backed peace-processing, in which Israel at every turn has been urged to do something that the U.S. itself immediately foreswore after Sept. 11 - negotiate, compromise and above all show "restraint" with terrorists and their sponsors. ...
When you are actually sitting in a hotel near Tel Aviv, all this does not feel academic. Through Ben-Gurion airport, just before the conference convened, had passed the survivors of the terrorist attack last month on Israeli tourists in Kenya. Just a few miles up the road is the town of Netanya, where last March a bombing at a hotel killed 29 civilians and wounded more than 100. Within reach of an easy afternoon's drive are the sites of scores of other attacks that have killed almost 700 civilians and maimed thousands since Arafat called for the current intifada. It's an intriguing exercise to imagine how the U.S. would respond if this were the tenor of life in, say, Massachusetts, which is about the size of Israel. Somehow, I doubt Colin Powell would be sent for tea and bargaining sessions with the sponsors of such activities. At least, I hope not."

"Terror cell on rise in South America" (Jerry Seper, The Washington Times, 2002/12/18)
"Terrorist training camps operated by Hezbollah continue to flourish in a remote and lawless area along the shared borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, according to law-enforcement officials and a recent report by anti-terrorism authorities. Known as the "tri-border region," the area is flanked by the freewheeling cities of Puerto Iguazu in Argentina, Foz do Iguazu in Brazil and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, where terrorists meet for what the sources said were high-level sessions to discuss future attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets in North and South America."

"Bush to Declare Iraq in Violation of U.N." (AP/ABC News, 2002/12/18)
"President Bush's advisers are recommending that he declare Iraq in violation of a U.N. resolution on disarmament, administration officials said Tuesday night, but they do not consider the offense an immediate cause for war. Bush will be briefed as early as Wednesday on the available options in response to Saddam Hussein's 12,000-page declaration of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The document, which one official involved in the talks called "an incredible joke," was required under the U.S.-backed United Nations resolution. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush's national security team has concluded that the declaration is full of holes, including its failure to explain what happened to Saddam's chemical and biological weapons program after 1998, and the denial of any nuclear weapons programs inside Iraq."

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

News and commentary:

"Fortuyn Investigation" (Michiel Visser, The Visser View, 2002/12/17)
The official Dutch report on the murder of Pim Fortuyn was released today. Visser describes it as a "long catalogue of government incompetence, bordering on wilful neglect":
"The rapport fails to ask the most important question: are left-wing politicians responsible for creating the atmosphere in which Fortuyn became a target? ... However, since February a group of politicians and commentators, mainly on the left of the spectrum, never stopped equating Fortuyn with the far-right, even though the claim was patently absurd. He was denounced as "extreme right", a "Mussolini", "the Dutch Haider", "a dangerous man" (by the Prime Minister, Wim Kok (Labor) himself) and so on. Violence and threats against Fortuyn began virtually immediately. Fortuyn received numerous death threats and insulting letters.
On February 16, 2002, a Pim Fortuyn look-a-like is seriously hurt by a violent group of youths in Gennep. On February 26, Fortuyn is prevented from campaigning in Rotterdam by a group of angry Moroccan youths, who hurl stones at him. ...
On 14 March, Fortuyn presents his election-time book "The mess of eight years of the purple government" (purple referring to the coalitionof Labor and Liberals) to the press in the parliament building. Before his press conference can begin, three people come up to him and throw cakes in his face that are filled with piss and puke (even though the press conference is obviously not open to the public). Fortuyn then dramatically warns the government on TV that they are responsible for the hatred against him, and pleads to the Prime Minister to take his responsibility and protect him properly. ...
On 2 May, Fortuyn is threatened by a few dozen young foreigners when he is eating outside in a restaurant in The Hague. That day, Fortuyn receives and accepts an offer from the security firm Secad. He is due meet with them on 6 May. He is unable to make this appointment, because he is shot five times after taping a radio interview in Hilversum by animal rights activist Volkert van der Graaf and dies of his wounds almost instantly." (See also the report in Dutch: "De veiligheid en de beveiliging van Pim Fortuyn. Feiten en verantwoordelijkheden" (Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties, 2002/12/17))

"Multilateralism and Unilateralism" (Christopher Hitchens, Slate, 2002/12/17)
"Tautology lurks here. In October, I went to speak at a meeting at the Labor Party conference in Blackpool, England. Tony Blair had carried the day in the plenary session, but many delegates were muttering darkly about the "unilateral" or "go-it-alone" attitude of the United States. I suggested that, if this was indeed the problem, the solution was ready at hand. Simply support the U.S. position against the Iraqi or Russian or French one and - presto - the U.S. position would no longer be "unilateral." I was promptly made aware of what I already knew - that the true objection to the policy has little to do with its "unilateral" character. ... Thus, an accusation of "unilateral" behavior can be made to stick, almost by axiom, by any power that withholds consent. When that consent is eventually given, the prize of "multilateralism" has been attained, again by definition. But the charge of acting "unilaterally" may not, for some reason, be laid against (say) France. ... Yet the Iraqi delegation, for some reason, has been flagrantly in breach of a number of overwhelmingly passed resolutions for more than a decade. And yet one never seems to read any well-reasoned denunciation of this "unilateralist" attitude on the part of Baghdad. Add another clause to the regime-change manifesto: Intervention will put an end to Saddam Hussein's unilateralism."

"Distinction Without a Difference" (Spencer Ackerman, The New Republic, 2002/12/17)
"The decision to ban Hezbollah brings to a close a public debacle for Chretien's government. On November 27, Solicitor General Wayne Easter announced the addition of six terrorist groups to the roster of prohibited organizations. While Hamas made the cut--albeit eight years after its first suicide bombing - Hezbollah was nowhere to be found. ... Yet Foreign Minister Bill Graham defended the decision, pointing to Hezbollah's extensive social service operation in its de facto mini-state in southern Lebanon. "It is important," Graham lectured his critics, "not to label [elected officials], doctors, and teachers as terrorists." The foreign minister and others in the Chretien government argued that the social wing of Hezbollah was independent of its "military" wing, and so a request that Canadian banks freeze the assets of Hezbollah's "external security apparatus" was sufficient to suppress any terror threat posed by the group on Canadian soil. ... The Hezbollah flap may be over, but it presents a cautionary tale about Canadian political will to fight terrorism in cases more ambiguous (albeit marginally) than Al-Qaeda's. ... Canadian intelligence maintains that Hezbollah has a formidable operation in Vancouver, about 25 miles from the American border. Asked how the Canadians could track contributions made to Hezbollah's "charitable wing" from people in Canada before the ban, Day answers, "Whether you could trace it is highly questionable." Maybe the Chretien government should also have added foot-dragging to its list of banned activities."

"Peace for oil" (David Frum, National Review, 2002/12/27)
"But the Venezuelan experience should open our eyes to something else too: The terrible harm that the OPEC cartel does the whole world. It costs about $2 to produce a barrel of oil, and less than that to ship it. Refining costs money of course and so does distribution, but still, the stuff is about the most profitable commodity it is legal to sell. Probably more than $20 of the $30 that a barrel now costs is pure windfall profitable for somebody, with the lion’s share going to the governments of the producing countries. The excessive price of oil is obviously a burden on consumers – a relatively small burden on affluent consumers in the West, a hardship for poor people in the West, and an utter disaster for poor people in the poor world. Africa has plenty of other troubles, but I don't think it's pure coincidence that the continent's economic development stopped cold and started going backwards in the early 1970s, when the era of ultra-cheap oil abruptly ended. The irony is that cheap oil is no blessing for most oil producers either. For those oil countries with diversified economies and strong democracies – Canada, Britain, Norway – oil has been a tidy source of additional income. But most oil producers are not diversified and not democratic, and oil for them has been an unmitigated catastrophe." (Note: Thanks to Barry Kaplovitz for the pointer.)

"Iraqi Report Could Prove Damaging to Germany" (Deutsche Welle, 2002/12/17)
"On Tuesday, the Berlin-based left-wing paper, Tageszeitung reported that aspects of the 12,000-page Iraqi report on Iraq's weapons programs, submitted to the U.N last week, could prove highly embarrassing for Germany. The newspaper - believed to be the first to have access to the top-secret dossier - has written that the Iraqi declaration contains the names of 80 German firms, research laboratories and people, who are said to have helped Iraq develop its weapons program. The most contentious piece of news for Germany is that the report names it as the number one supplier of weapons supplies to Iraq. German firms are supposed to easily outnumber the firms from other countries who have been exporting to Iraq. ...
German arms companies in the meantime have been conducting booming business with Iraq in recent years. According to the German Federal Statistics Office, German military exports to Iraq have been steadily rising from year to year.From annual exports amounting to 21,7 million euro in 1997, the volume of exports for the following year shot to some 76,4 million euro. The trend continued in 2001 with exports to Iraq bringing German firms profits in the range of 336,5 million euro. ... Another real fear is that Schröder's image as a staunch pacifist might now be sullied if it emerges that Germany has all along been helping the very leader who it has been unwilling to topple, to stockpile his weapons."

"Chemical cache found in French raid" (AP/MSNBC, 2002/12/17)
"Three alleged Islamic radicals arrested by French counterintelligence agents had possession of unidentified chemicals they were planning to use in an attack, according to judicial officials and media reports Tuesday. ... The men, reportedly Algerians, were taken into custody on Monday in suburban Paris. They also had $5,000 in cash, a computer and Islamic propaganda documents, judicial officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The officials did not disclose the identity of the suspects but said it was believed they had spent time in training camps in Afghanistan and Chechnya."

"PBS, Recruiting for Islam" (Daniel Pipes, New York Post/danielpipes.org, 2002/12/17)
Pipes on "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet", a two-hour documentary, funded by taxpayers, which The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) will premiere tomorrow night: "The heart of the film consists of nine talking heads competing with each other to praise Muhammad the most extravagantly. Not one of them criticizes him. Some of their efforts are laughable, as when one commentator denies allegations about Muhammad contracting a marriage of convenience with a rich, older woman named Khadija: "He deeply, deeply loved Khadija." Oh, and his many marriages were "an act of faith, not of lust." How could anyone know this? ...
The film treats religious beliefs - such as Muhammad's "Night Journey," when the Quran says he went to heaven and entered the divine presence - as historical fact. It presents Muslim wars as only defensive and reluctant, which is simply false. All this smacks of a film shown by missionaries. Move to the present and the political correctness is stifling. Hostility is said to be "hurled" at American Muslims since 9/11 - but there's no mention about the prior and vastly greater (foreign) Muslim hostility "hurled" at Americans, killing several thousand. ...
The U.S. government should never fund a documentary whose obvious intent is to glorify a religion and proselytize for it. Doing so flies in the face of American tradition and law. On behalf of taxpayers, a public-interest law firm should bring suit against the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, both to address this week's travesty and to win an injunction against any possible repetitions." (See also: "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" (PBS, December 2002))

"Canada's confusion" (Ed Morgan, The Jerusalem Post, 2002/12/17)
Canada's confusion sounds almost exactly like its Swedish equivalent. But then it is an example of the moral relativism inherent in "the ethic of multiculturalism" and thus rather a Western confusion. In Canada, anti-Semitic neo-nazi violence is appropriately condemned, while Hizbullah partly has been seen as a "social-welfare network": "Testifying at the deportation hearing of an immigrant found to be a member of the Egyptian al-Jihad movement, an officer in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service disclosed last year that "there are more international terrorist groups here [in Canada] than in any other country in the world." ...
The country's solicitor-general has defended the weak anti-terrorism policy in a way that romanticizes multiculturalism and political pluralism. Some violent groups, he has explained, offer an independent political and social-welfare network for their people, and are therefore different than strictly religious zealots like al-Qaida. It is as if the government perceived Hizbullah, the Tamil Tigers, the Basque ETA and other similar organizations as alternative voices that need to be heard in the multicultural symphony that Canadians have composed. ...
For a country that has always been dispassionate about patriotism and cultural identity, the ethic of multiculturalism has caught on and grown into a surprising national passion. The cultural core, in other words, has been hollowed out in favor of the ethnic periphery. And while this has been beneficial for Jews and other minority groups, nowhere is the down side of this phenomenon more apparent than in security matters."

"What Syria's leader wants from the West" (Michael Gove, The Times, 2002/12/17)
"Putting to one side the obvious point that Bashar's idea, so far, of playing a fuller role in the international community is getting Islamic murderers to blow bits of it up, the Prime Minister should pause to consider just where Western "engagement" with terrorist states has led in the past. ... Kim Jong Il has reacted to "engagement" as any good tyrant would, using it as an opportunity to screw appeasers in the West for resources and expertise with which to strengthen his oppressive rule. ... Having benefited so much from North Korean expertise already, we can confidently expect that Bashar knows just how to make engagement with the West work. As women soon to become widows across the Middle East will shortly find out."

"Theater of the absurd Assad in London" (Douglas Davis, The Jerusalem Post, 2002/12/17)
"To some it is ironic; to others, it is simply a very European phenomenon. While the Americans are unequivocal in their opposition to terrorism and their determination to disarm Iraq, Europe is following its tradition of playing both sides against the middle. Call it appeasement. ... A dozen years down the line, Syria, like other Arab regimes, is still stuck in the Cold War time-warp and is still seeking to replace its indulgent old Soviet patron. Europe could fill this role. While Tony Blair sees the European Union as a bridge between the Arab world and the US, Assad and his cronies see it as a buffer, the last best hope of replacing its defunct Soviet champion and protector. And he might be right. If Europeans can transform suicide bombers into "militants," it should not take an expensive reeducation program to transform the terrorist centers in Damascus into what Bashar Assad prefers to call "press offices." Hold the front page."

"Blair meets Assad, asks 'Palestinian leaders' to
London" (Haaretz, 2002/12/17)
"Only a few hours after holding "good and interesting" talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, and saying Syria was an important partner in forging peace in the region, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons yesterday he had invited "leading Palestinians" to a meeting in London with the Quartet. ... But the Syrian leader did not agree to restrain Palestinian extremist groups; Islamic Jihad and Hamas maintain offices in Damascus and openly support the Hezbollah in Lebanon. Syria is on the U.S. State Department list of states that sponsor terrorism. "We don't have in Syria what is called organizations promoting terrorism," Assad said through an interpreter. 'We have press offices ... These offices express the opinions of Palestinians inside Palestine and outside Palestine.'"

"Bush approves missile defense" (Bill Gertz, The Washington Times, 2002/12/17)
"President Bush has decided to begin deploying by 2004 a nationwide defense system against ballistic missiles, The Washington Times has learned. Mr. Bush is expected to announce the decision today, with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other defense officials then describing the details of the deployment plan. The decision comes a year after the United States withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to allow more effective research and development of a system to shoot down long-range and short-range missiles. It also fulfills a presidential campaign promise Mr. Bush made in May 2000." (Note: Space Photography has some spectacular picture galleries of Minuteman intercept tests - for example "Minuteman II Launch from Vandenberg AFB 10-14-2002 and Minuteman III Launch from Vandenberg AFB 09-19-2002.)

Monday, December 16, 2002

News and commentary:

"Manhunt" (Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker, from the 2002-12-23 and 30 issue)
An interesting article about the controversial missile strike on an Al Qaeda leader in Yemen, but it was this clearsighted summary which sort of stood out amidst all hand-wringing: "Referring to criticism of Rumsfeld's insistence on targeting individual Al Qaeda members, the adviser said, "I know you've been getting this from the Joint Staff. Some of the snake eaters in Special Forces are against it, too. Of course, I've heard this - 'It's not American' - from the military leadership. But it's not because of legality. It's because they don't want to do it." He added, 'The idea of not wanting to go after the senior leadership of a paramilitary group that has declared war on you is such a perversion that it's mind-boggling. The problem of a peacetime military is that they cannot conceive of doing what they are paid to do. 'Going after the leadership of Al Qaeda - that's a serious problem.' My God!'" (See also:"Bush Has Widened Authority of C.I.A. to Kill Terrorists" (James Risen and David Johnston, The New York Times, 2002/12/15) and "U.S. Kills Senior Al Qaeda Operative in Yemen With Missile Strike" (AP/FOX News, 2002/11/04))

"Sean Penn condemns US threats against Iraq" (Iraq Daily, 2002/12/16)
I never bothered with Sean Penn's open letter addressed to President Bush in October in the form of a $56,000 advertisement in The Washington Post ("Sir, I beg you, help save America before yours is a legacy of shame and horror.") and thought I'd skip his Iraqi-trip as well. This article is of course Iraqi propaganda rather than Penn's actual words, but the very notion that the brooding actor "confirmed that Iraq is completely clear of weapons of mass destruction" after a three-day visit is sort of funny. It's also interesting as an example of how the Iraqi regime makes use of him:
"The American movie star, Sean Penn has condemned the US-British threats to wage war against Iraq. He told press conference that there is no legitimate justification for the brutal campaign against an authentic state like Iraq. He confirmed that Iraq is completely clear of weapons of mass destruction and the United Nations must adopt a positive stance towards Iraq. He also condemned the US misleading claims arguing that it is the US and not Iraq who is practicing such illegal behavior. Mr. Penn went on saying that he would convey to the public opinion in US the real situation that the Americans should force the US administration to stop such aggressive campaign. Finally, Mr. Penn passed a written communiqué in which he declared that his visit to Iraq is to evaluate the humanitarian situation of Iraqis and to reject the crippling sanctions on Iraq since 1991." (See also: "Actor Follows His Own Script on Iraq and War" (John F. Burns, The New York Times, 2002/12/16))

"Hamas: We will use Jewish skulls to build a bridge to Heaven" (IDF, 2002/12/16)
"The Hamas website (http://www.palestine-info.info) published a banner Dec. 16, 2002, encouraging the murder of Jews as part of Jihad (Holy War). The banner depicts an eagle pecking at Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's severed head with the slogan: "We will use the skulls of Zion's sons (Jews) to build a bridge to Heaven." The banner was signed in the name of the Iz A Din Al Kassam Brigades, which is the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization." (Note: Found via Israpundit.)

"Gadhafi Becomes Africa's Imperialist Pig" (NewsMax.com, 2002/12/16)
"The whole world would be screaming if a Western leader tried what Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi is getting away with in Africa: turning the continent into his own personal empire of gore and plunder. ... Consider the following:
Zimbabwe: Gadhafi's oil and hundreds of millions of dollars in aid keep genocidal madman Robert Mugabe in business.
Central African "Republic": Gadhafi's forces have saved unpopular dictator Ange-Felix Patasse from three coup attempts since May 2001. "Libya's prize: a monopoly on mining the country's lodes of gold, diamonds and uranium - although Patasse's government has denied it," the Associated Press reported today. ... AP warned, "At the same time, a generation of African leaders who have fallen out with the West could turn to Gadhafi for money, guns and friendship." ... And if you wonder why the TV networks and your local newspaper have reported little or none of this, note the establishment media's curious double standard. They would deem a fraction of these atrocities in Europe to be big news, but they don't much care about what happens to Africans."

"Syrian leader flies in to anti-terror protest" (Richard Beeston and Stephen Farrell, The Times, 2002/12/16)
You are either with us or against us. And if you are against us we will appease you by all means necessary: "Bashar Assad, the Syrian President, arrived in London last night at the start of an historic but controversial visit that is seen as a big political gamble by Tony Blair. Even before the Syrian leader, the first to visit Britain, and his London-born wife stepped off the plane, Israeli politicians had condemned his trip and Jewish groups were planning demonstrations against his support for militant groups that use suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. ...
The Syrians are one of Iraq’s closest trading partners, helping the regime in Baghdad to smuggle hundreds of millions of pounds of oil out of the country. Syria also allows other goods to be exported to Iraq by plane and train, avoiding the United Nations embargo. Damascus has also spoken out consistently against any war. British diplomats, however, are hopeful that behind Syria’s tough public stand on Iraq and its illicit business contacts with Baghdad, the Syrian regime will be more flexible in private." (See also: "The Assad Visit to London: Background and Implications" (Mark Ami-El, JCPA, 2002/12/15) and "'You are either with us or against us'" (CNN.com, 2001/11/06))

"UN gives Saddam deadline to name weapons scientists" (James Bone and New York and Michael Evans, The Times, 2002/12/16)
"The UNs chief weapons inspector has given President Saddam Hussein two weeks to identify the key Iraqi scientists to be interviewed by his team of experts. Hans Blix wrote to Iraqs leader last week, reminding him of his obligation under the UN Security Council resolution to allow his inspectors to speak to those who had been involved in the clandestine programme to produce weapons of mass destruction. ... If Saddam fails to meet Dr Blixs demands, he could be accused of being in material breach of the UN resolution, providing President Bush with a possible reason for launching a military attack."

"Arafat Disavows bin Laden" (Ian Fisher, The New York Times, 2002/12/16)
"Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, sought to distance himself unequivocally from Al Qaeda in an interview published today, warning Osama bin Laden to stop justifying attacks in the name of Palestinians. "I'm telling him directly not to hide behind the Palestinian cause," Mr. Arafat was quoted as saying in The Sunday Times of London, referring to recent statements by Al Qaeda leaders. "Why is bin Laden talking about Palestine now?" Mr. Arafat said. "He never helped us. He was working in another, completely different area and against our interests." The comments appeared to be Mr. Arafat's strongest denunciation yet of Mr. bin Laden, and came as attacks attributed to Al Qaeda have been increasing and as the Israeli government has expressed suspicions that the group may be operating in the Gaza Strip."

See the archive for earlier news and commentary.

Copyright © Watch 2001-2006. Copyrights of quoted materials belong to their respective owners.

"When people accept futility and the absurd as normal, the culture is decadent. The term is not a slur; it is a technical label."

Jacques Barzun

Articles of the week

"Losing the Enlightenment" (Victor Davis Hanson, OpinionJournal, 2006/11/29)

"Allah’s England?" (Daniel Johnson, Commentary. November 2006)

"'Sex in the Park': The latest doings of the Danish imams" (Henrik Bering, The Weekly Standard, 2006/11/18)

"Narcissism on Stilts" (Harold Evans, New York Sun, 2006/11/16)

"Terrorists are recruiting in our schools, says MI5 boss" (Philip Johnston, The Daily Telegraph, 2006/11/10)

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From the archives

Oriana Fallaci, R.I.P.

"The Rage, the Pride and the Doubt" (Oriana Fallaci, The Wall Street Journal, 2003/03/13)

"How the West Was Won and How It Will Be Lost" (Oriana Fallaci, The American Enterprise, from the January/February 2003 issue)

"On Jew-hatred in Europe" (Oriana Fallaci, dennisprager.com, 2002/04/13)

"Anger and Pride" (Oriana Fallaci, dennisprager.com, 2001/12/19)

Weekly archive

2006/12/04 - 2006/12/10
2006/11/27 - 2006/12/03
2006/11/20 - 2006/11/26
2006/11/13 - 2006/11/19
2006/11/06 - 2006/11/12
2006/10/30 - 2006/11/05

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December 2006
November 2006
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Author index

› Ajami, Fouad - Johnson, Paul
› Kagan, Robert - Ye'or, Bat



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