Thursday, August 05, 2004
Pro-Bush Veterans Attack Kerry's Military Record
According to Matt Drudge, John Kerry killed a fleeing, unarmed Vietcong guerrilla, after a firefight during the Vietnam War. But by reminding the American public that Kerry has actually seen combat, this pro-Bush attack on the Democratic nominee could boomerang to Kerry's benefit, if Kerry uses it to make himself more warlike against terrorists than the current President...
Rant Street!
Just found out that Rant Street! links to us, so here's a link to the "forum for reasoned discussion of finance, politics and science."
Reese Schonfeld on Senator Shelby's Intelligence Leak
From MeAndTed.com:
"Journalists ordinarily shield their sources. Why has Cameron confirmed to FBI investigators that Shelby verbally divulged the information to him? I suppose that since Cameron never used the story, Shelby was not a "source' for Cameron. If that's his rationale, he's walking a pretty thin line."
"Journalists ordinarily shield their sources. Why has Cameron confirmed to FBI investigators that Shelby verbally divulged the information to him? I suppose that since Cameron never used the story, Shelby was not a "source' for Cameron. If that's his rationale, he's walking a pretty thin line."
Indian Torture
In today's Washington Post, Rama Lakshmi reports that Indian police torture suspects to death:
"MEERUT, India -- Rajeev Sharma, a young electrician, was sleeping when police barged into his house a month ago and dragged him out of bed on suspicion of a burglary in the neighborhood, his family recalled.
When his young wife and brother protested, the police, who did not show them an arrest warrant, said they were taking Sharma to the police station for 'routine questioning.' The widow of Rajeev Sharma, an alleged victim of police torture, holds his photo as the family sits outside their home in Meerut, India. Next to her is Sunil Sharma, who says police had beaten his younger brother 'very badly.' Little did we know that we would lose him forever,' said Sunil Sharma, Rajeev's brother, recounting how he died while in police custody. 'Their routine questioning proved fatal,' he added, sitting beside his brother's grieving widow.
"Rajeev Sharma, 28, died at the police station within a day of his detention. Police said he committed suicide, but his family charges that he was beaten and killed."
"MEERUT, India -- Rajeev Sharma, a young electrician, was sleeping when police barged into his house a month ago and dragged him out of bed on suspicion of a burglary in the neighborhood, his family recalled.
When his young wife and brother protested, the police, who did not show them an arrest warrant, said they were taking Sharma to the police station for 'routine questioning.' The widow of Rajeev Sharma, an alleged victim of police torture, holds his photo as the family sits outside their home in Meerut, India. Next to her is Sunil Sharma, who says police had beaten his younger brother 'very badly.' Little did we know that we would lose him forever,' said Sunil Sharma, Rajeev's brother, recounting how he died while in police custody. 'Their routine questioning proved fatal,' he added, sitting beside his brother's grieving widow.
"Rajeev Sharma, 28, died at the police station within a day of his detention. Police said he committed suicide, but his family charges that he was beaten and killed."
US Mistakes in Iraq
An interesting blog called US Mistakes in Iraq. Thanks to HealingIraq for the tip.
Daniel Pipes on American Islamism
From The New York Sun:
"The Alamoudi story points to the urgent need that the FBI, White House, Congress, State Department, Pentagon, and Homeland Security --as well as other institutions, public and private, throughout the West -- not continue guilelessly to assume that smooth-talking Islamists are free of criminal, extremist, or terrorist ties. Or, as I put it in late 2001: 'Individual Islamists may appear law-abiding and reasonable, but they are part of a totalitarian movement, and as such, all must be considered potential killers.'"
"The Alamoudi story points to the urgent need that the FBI, White House, Congress, State Department, Pentagon, and Homeland Security --as well as other institutions, public and private, throughout the West -- not continue guilelessly to assume that smooth-talking Islamists are free of criminal, extremist, or terrorist ties. Or, as I put it in late 2001: 'Individual Islamists may appear law-abiding and reasonable, but they are part of a totalitarian movement, and as such, all must be considered potential killers.'"
The Islamist Threat
Ariel Cohen comments on the Tashkent embassy
bombings:
"A militant Islamic takeover of Uzbekistan may provide radicals with a state base larger and militarily and technologically more sophisticated than Afghanistan. Moreover, a demise of a secular Uzbekistan may have tumultuous consequences for the whole of Central Asia. If Islamists overrun Uzbekistan, weak Central Asian states, such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and even the totalitarian Turkmenistan, may follow. An Uzbekistan controlled by a radical Islamist regime, emergence of a Central Asian Califate, and waning U.S. influence in the region, will leave human rights and individual freedoms worse off than they are now."
bombings:
"A militant Islamic takeover of Uzbekistan may provide radicals with a state base larger and militarily and technologically more sophisticated than Afghanistan. Moreover, a demise of a secular Uzbekistan may have tumultuous consequences for the whole of Central Asia. If Islamists overrun Uzbekistan, weak Central Asian states, such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and even the totalitarian Turkmenistan, may follow. An Uzbekistan controlled by a radical Islamist regime, emergence of a Central Asian Califate, and waning U.S. influence in the region, will leave human rights and individual freedoms worse off than they are now."
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Mark Steyn on John Kerry's Diet
In The Telegraph :
"I scoffed at Edwards's 'two Americas' riff when he was peddling it in New Hampshire, because its notion that there's the toffs in their mansions and the great unwashed in their Dickensian workhouses and ne'er the twain shall meet seemed complete bunk.
On reflection, I now see there might indeed be something to the idea of a remote privileged class hermetically sealed off from the masses. Unfortunately, John Kerry seems to be the best living exemplar of it. He may not enjoy eating at Wendy's, but his faux lunch order captures the essence of his crowd-working style: chilli and Frosty. If I were the Wendy's marketing director, I'd make it the John Kerry Special from now through election day."
"I scoffed at Edwards's 'two Americas' riff when he was peddling it in New Hampshire, because its notion that there's the toffs in their mansions and the great unwashed in their Dickensian workhouses and ne'er the twain shall meet seemed complete bunk.
On reflection, I now see there might indeed be something to the idea of a remote privileged class hermetically sealed off from the masses. Unfortunately, John Kerry seems to be the best living exemplar of it. He may not enjoy eating at Wendy's, but his faux lunch order captures the essence of his crowd-working style: chilli and Frosty. If I were the Wendy's marketing director, I'd make it the John Kerry Special from now through election day."
Peace Corps Stays in Uzbekistan
From Wanderlustress:
"After a meeting at the American Embassy on Saturday, the Country Director and EMA Region Head of Security, determined that the recent bombings do not constitute a direct threat to volunteers. Our 'standfast' was lifted as of Sunday, and Peace Corps drove those of us who were in Tashkent home (except for those flying out West). "
"After a meeting at the American Embassy on Saturday, the Country Director and EMA Region Head of Security, determined that the recent bombings do not constitute a direct threat to volunteers. Our 'standfast' was lifted as of Sunday, and Peace Corps drove those of us who were in Tashkent home (except for those flying out West). "
Al Qaeda in Uzbekistan?
Andrew Apostolou says yes:
"The terrorist attacks in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on Friday are a testament to the continued vitality of the al Qaeda movement. Three suicide-bomb blasts outside the embassies of Israel and the U.S. and the office of the Uzbek state prosecutor killed three terrorists and three innocent Uzbeks. Responsibility for the attacks has been claimed by the Jihad Islamic Group (JIG), a successor to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an organization allied with al Qaeda. The JIG is also known as 'Jamoat' (meaning 'societies' or 'groups' in Uzbek)."
"The terrorist attacks in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on Friday are a testament to the continued vitality of the al Qaeda movement. Three suicide-bomb blasts outside the embassies of Israel and the U.S. and the office of the Uzbek state prosecutor killed three terrorists and three innocent Uzbeks. Responsibility for the attacks has been claimed by the Jihad Islamic Group (JIG), a successor to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an organization allied with al Qaeda. The JIG is also known as 'Jamoat' (meaning 'societies' or 'groups' in Uzbek)."
Monday, August 02, 2004
Susan Rice's National Security Strategy: Focus on Failed States
Dr.Rice's National Security Strategy was published in February, 2003 by The Brookings Institution:
"A new U.S. strategy should combine improved intelligence collection with more aggressive efforts at conflict resolution and post-conflict 'nation-building' in global crisis zones. Creating pockets of improved development and security would help limit the operating space of international outlaws. Thus, the United States should devise innovative ways to assist failed and failing states through targeted development and counterterrorism assistance as well as improved trade access to the U.S. market."
"A new U.S. strategy should combine improved intelligence collection with more aggressive efforts at conflict resolution and post-conflict 'nation-building' in global crisis zones. Creating pockets of improved development and security would help limit the operating space of international outlaws. Thus, the United States should devise innovative ways to assist failed and failing states through targeted development and counterterrorism assistance as well as improved trade access to the U.S. market."
Do Terror Alerts Help Kerry?
According to The Washington Post:
"Just before Ridge went on television, Homeland Security officials offered Kerry a classified briefing detailing the intelligence, and the briefing was being scheduled yesterday afternoon, according to the Kerry campaign.
Kerry's senior adviser for national security, Susan Rice, said in a statement yesterday that the heightened alert indicates 'we are not as safe as we could or should be' and underscores the need to implement the Sept. 11 panel's recommendations.
'John Kerry and John Edwards will bring all aspects of our nation's power to crush al Qaeda and destroy terrorist networks,' Rice said. "
If Susan Rice is Kerry's national security expert, his campaign is in excellent hands. I attended a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington during the early Dean campaign boom, featuring a panel of Democratic advisors. The most intelligent and perceptive analysis came from Susan Rice, discussing Somalia, where she defended the Bush administration's decision to enter the conflict, while suggesting that the endgame might have been better handled. Rice was hawkish, persuasive, and did not back down under critical questions from the press.
It is quite possible that Bush's strategy of terror alerts, like Carter's "Rose Garden strategy" during the Iran hostage crisis, might backfire. They remind the public that the problem has not been solved, and the public might choose a stronger candidate to deal with it, as they did in the Reagan landslide. After all, Bush was supposed to end the terror threat, not elevate it, after 9/11.
So, it looks like this could be an interesting election campaign after all. If Kerry keeps hitting Bush from the right on his failures in the global war on terror, he might win by a comfortable margin.
"Just before Ridge went on television, Homeland Security officials offered Kerry a classified briefing detailing the intelligence, and the briefing was being scheduled yesterday afternoon, according to the Kerry campaign.
Kerry's senior adviser for national security, Susan Rice, said in a statement yesterday that the heightened alert indicates 'we are not as safe as we could or should be' and underscores the need to implement the Sept. 11 panel's recommendations.
'John Kerry and John Edwards will bring all aspects of our nation's power to crush al Qaeda and destroy terrorist networks,' Rice said. "
If Susan Rice is Kerry's national security expert, his campaign is in excellent hands. I attended a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington during the early Dean campaign boom, featuring a panel of Democratic advisors. The most intelligent and perceptive analysis came from Susan Rice, discussing Somalia, where she defended the Bush administration's decision to enter the conflict, while suggesting that the endgame might have been better handled. Rice was hawkish, persuasive, and did not back down under critical questions from the press.
It is quite possible that Bush's strategy of terror alerts, like Carter's "Rose Garden strategy" during the Iran hostage crisis, might backfire. They remind the public that the problem has not been solved, and the public might choose a stronger candidate to deal with it, as they did in the Reagan landslide. After all, Bush was supposed to end the terror threat, not elevate it, after 9/11.
So, it looks like this could be an interesting election campaign after all. If Kerry keeps hitting Bush from the right on his failures in the global war on terror, he might win by a comfortable margin.
Sunday, August 01, 2004
The Nader Factor, Part II
Charlie Cook says Ralph Nader could decide the Presidential election -- again:
"But even if the Nader vote is a half, a third, or even a quarter of what it was last time, it could still cost Democrats the election. Just look at Florida in 2000. Nader received 97,488 votes in a contest that Bush won by 537 votes. Exit polls by the Voter News Service showed that if Nader had not run, 47 percent of his voters would have cast their ballots for Gore and 21 percent for Bush, while 30 percent would have either not voted at all or voted for some other independent candidate. Even if Nader had received just one-sixtieth of the vote he actually received in Florida, he still would have made the difference in the Sunshine State."
"But even if the Nader vote is a half, a third, or even a quarter of what it was last time, it could still cost Democrats the election. Just look at Florida in 2000. Nader received 97,488 votes in a contest that Bush won by 537 votes. Exit polls by the Voter News Service showed that if Nader had not run, 47 percent of his voters would have cast their ballots for Gore and 21 percent for Bush, while 30 percent would have either not voted at all or voted for some other independent candidate. Even if Nader had received just one-sixtieth of the vote he actually received in Florida, he still would have made the difference in the Sunshine State."
Today is Emancipation Day in the West Indies
Celebrating the end of slavery in the British Empire. The Trinidad Express explains the challenges that followed the 1834 proclamation, and why "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
Saturday, July 31, 2004
The Pakistan Connection
From The Washington Post:
"Hours later, in Pakistan, a bomber blew himself up next to a car carrying Pakistan's prime minister-designate, Shaukat Aziz, killing at least six people. The attacks appeared aimed at two governments that have worked with the United States in the war against terrorism. Pakistan's prime minister, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has rounded up hundreds of suspected militants and banned some Islamic groups. The Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, has also taken harsh measures against Islamic militant groups at home. "
"Hours later, in Pakistan, a bomber blew himself up next to a car carrying Pakistan's prime minister-designate, Shaukat Aziz, killing at least six people. The attacks appeared aimed at two governments that have worked with the United States in the war against terrorism. Pakistan's prime minister, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has rounded up hundreds of suspected militants and banned some Islamic groups. The Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, has also taken harsh measures against Islamic militant groups at home. "
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