To recap: Saddam believed he had WMDs, he had ongoing WMD programs, he had the ability to whip up mustard gas in no time flat, he had used WMDs against Iran and against his own people, he duped UN weapons inspectors who could have saved his tyranny, and there were large numbers of unidentified shipments crossing into Syria on the eve of the war.
That is what we know now, after more than a year of exhaustive investigation. The mitigating evidence we have that casts some doubt on Saddam’s WMD capability significantly owes to having free reign of the country and full access to relevant former Iraqi officials. But until we comb every last inch of Iraq—and Syria—it is entirely possible that the CIA was right about Saddam’s WMD stockpiles.
DALLAS, Texas (AP) -- Eight soldiers flying home from Iraq for two weeks of R&R flew in style instead of coach after first-class passengers offered to swap seats with them.
"The soldiers were very, very happy, and the whole aircraft had a different feeling," flight attendant Lorrie Gammon told The Dallas Morning News in Thursday's editions.
The June 29 seat-swap on American Airlines Flight 866 from Atlanta to Chicago started before boarding, when a businessman approached one of the soldiers and traded his seat.
When the swapping was done, "the other two first-class passengers wanted to give up their seats, too, but they couldn't find any more soldiers," Gammon said.
Another flight attendant, Candi Spradlin, said she was impressed with the acts of good will.
"If nothing else, those soldiers got a great homecoming," she said.
490. There has been significant controversy surrounding the reliability of Government statements about Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa. We have therefore studied this issue in detail.
493. In early 1999, Iraqi officials visited a number of African countries, including Niger. The visit was detected by intelligence, and some details were subsequently confirmed by Iraq. The purpose of the visit was not immediately known. But uranium ore accounts for almost three-quarters of Niger’s exports. Putting this together with past Iraqi purchases of uranium ore from Niger, the limitations faced by the Iraq regime on access to indigenous uranium ore and other evidence of Iraq seeking to restart its nuclear programme, the JIC judged that Iraqi purchase of uranium ore could have been the subject of discussions and noted in an assessment in December 2000 that:
. . . unconfirmed intelligence indicates Iraqi interest in acquiring uranium. [JIC, 1 December 2000]
494. There was further and separate intelligence that in 1999 the Iraqi regime had also made inquiries about the purchase of uranium ore in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this case, there was some evidence that by 2002 an agreement for a sale had been reached.
495. During 2002, the UK received further intelligence from additional sources which identified the purpose of the visit to Niger as having been to negotiate the purchase of uranium ore, though there was disagreement as to whether a sale had been agreed and uranium shipped.
***
497. In preparing the dossier, the UK consulted the US. The CIA advised caution about any suggestion that Iraq had succeeded in acquiring uranium from Africa, but agreed that there was evidence that it had been sought.
498. The range of evidence described above underlay the relevant passage in the Prime Minister’s statement in the House of Commons on 24 September 2002 that: In addition, we know that Saddam has been trying to buy significant quantities of uranium from Africa,although we do not know whether he has been successful.
499. We conclude that, on the basis of the intelligence assessments at the time, covering both Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the statements on Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa in the Government’s dossier, and by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, were well-founded.
By extension, we conclude also that the statement in President Bush’s State of the Union Address of 28 January 2003 that: The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa, was well-founded.
I've also read some things recently that give more weight to the meeting of an Al Qaida with an Iraqi in Prague, even though the CIA doesn't believe it.
I've also read some things recently that give more weight to the meeting of an Al Qaida with an Iraqi in Prague, even though the CIA doesn't believe it.
Check this out.
Having written on this topic 16 times, I expected that Stephen Hayes' new book, "The Connection: How al Qaeda's Collaboration with Saddam Hussein Has Endangered America," would contain familiar information. It does, yet I counted 68 data that were new to me or previously unreported. Among them:
- According to the Clinton Justice Department's spring 1998 indictment of bin Laden, "Al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq."
- President G.H.W. Bush ignored information that Saddam "was offering state payment to terrorists," then-Sen. Al Gore, D-Tenn., declared on Oct. 15, 1992. Gore also listed more than a dozen Iraq-sponsored terrorist acts and said "an estimated 1,400 terrorists were operating openly out of Iraq."
"In 1992, elements of al Qaeda came to Baghdad and met with Saddam Hussein," Abu Aman Amaleeki, a 20-year veteran of Iraqi intelligence, told ABC's "Nightline" Sept. 26, 2002. Speaking from a Kurdish prison, he added: "I was present when Ayman al Zawahiri visited Baghdad," referring to bin Laden's chief deputy.
- Former Iraqi Intelligence Service deputy director Faruq Hijazi - a reliable foreign spy agency reports - supplied blank Yemeni passports to al Qaeda in 1992.
- Mohammed Salameh, a 1993 World Trade Center attacker, called Baghdad 46 times in the two months before bomb maker Abdul Rahman Yasin reached New Jersey from Baghdad. Salameh's June 1992 phone bill totaled $1,401, prompting his disconnection for nonpayment. After the blast - which killed six and injured 1,042 - Yasin fled to Baghdad, where records and news accounts show he received safe haven and Baathist cash.
- In an Oct. 27, 2003, memo, Defense Department undersecretary Douglas Feith explained Saddam's bonus pay for terrorists: "Iraq increased support to Palestinian groups after major terrorist attacks and ... the change in Iraqi relations with al Qaeda after the (1998 east African) embassy bombings followed this pattern." A top Philippine terrorist also said Iraq's payments to the al Qaeda-tied Abu Sayyaf grew after successful assaults.
- ABC News reported Jan. 14, 1999, that it "has learned that in December an Iraqi intelligence chief, named Faruq Hijazi, now Iraq's ambassador to Turkey, made a secret trip to Afghanistan to meet with bin Laden." Hijazi "went to Afghanistan in December with the knowledge of the Taliban and met with Osama bin Laden," former CIA counterterrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro told National Public Radio on Feb. 18, 1999. "It's known through a variety of intelligence reports," he added. "Members of Osama's entourage let it be known that the meeting had taken place."
- On Jan. 5, 2000, Malaysian intelligence photographed Sept. 11 hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar being escorted through Kuala Lumpur's airport by VIP facilitator Ahmed Hikmat Shakir, an Iraqi recommended to Malaysian Airlines by Baghdad's embassy there. They were photographed again at al Qaeda's three-day planning summit for the October 2000 USS Cole and 9/11 attacks. Three separate documents recently unearthed in Iraq identify an Ahmed Hikmat Shakir as a lieutenant colonel in Uday Hussein's elite Saddam Fedayeen.
Memo to communications-addled White House: Release these photos!
- U.S troops inspecting an al Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Islam camp in Iraq discovered, Hayes reports, "several hundred passports belonging to suspected Ansar and al Qaeda fighters, dozens of them bearing visas issued by the Iraqi regime." A passport found on one dead terrorist listed his visit's purpose as "jihad."
In either case – and in both cases – what we are confronting in this spectacle is an unprecedented event in American political life. In the midst of a good war and a noble enterprise, a major American party is engaged in an effort to stab its own country in the back for short term political gain, and is willing to do to so by the most underhanded and unscrupulous means.
David Horowitz is an excellent writer and a keen thinker. He was raised with the far left of politics and understands liberals and Democrats quite well.
There may be no deus ex machina. If nothing is done, a fanatical terrorist regime openly dedicated to the destruction of the ``Great Satan'' will have both nuclear weapons and the terrorists and missiles to deliver them. All that stands between us and that is either revolution or pre-emptive strike.
    Both of which, by the way, are far more likely to succeed with 146,000 American troops and highly sophisticated aircraft standing by just a few miles away -- in Iraq.
While some argue otherwise, the Iraq war no more provoked the terrorists than the invasion of Normandy provoked the Germans. We are simply fighting them on their turf and on our terms, rather than waiting passively for the next attack. We need to remain united and stand firm in Iraq. If we do, we soon should regain the strategic initiative.
I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
Article II
I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
Article III
If I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
Article IV
If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.
Article V
When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
Article VI
I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.
Actually their job is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over them according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Sometimes that means killing people and blowing shit up.
ALBANY, N.Y.  Â— Information found in Iraq
led federal investigators to become suspicious of an Albany, N.Y., mosque leader, FOX News has learned.
Last summer, U.S. troops discovered Yassin Muhhiddin Aref's ( search
) name, telephone number and address in a book left behind in a vacated terrorist training camp, a U.S. official told FOX News. The book also revealed that Ansar al-Islam, the group running the camp, had given Aref a title: "the commander."
in Albany, N.Y. He and one other mosque leader were arrested Thursday and charged with helping an undercover informant posing as a weapons dealer who was plotting to buy a shoulder-launched missile that would be used to kill the Pakistani ambassador in New York City.
), the 49-year-old founder of the mosque and owner of the local Little Italy Pizzeria, were allegedly collaborating with someone who was not a terrorist but an informant participating in a sting operation; no missile ever was exchanged.
No, can't be Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with terrorism. Well other than Hamas, Anslar Al Islam Al Asqua Martyrs brigade, Islamic revolution. Abbu Abbas, Al Zawachari. Other than that and this new revalation, oh never mind. Move along, nothing to see.
Indeed! Let's hope He get's his wish very soon. Most Iraqi's want him dead too. He's causing nothing but problems in his power grab. I wouldn't be making any long term plans if I were him. He has a date with the U.S.M.C :) I don't think he'll enjoy it though.
Wasn't it the dems who were demanding the name since the timing was "suspicious"? Now you are attacking the administration for giving a name? Looks like a no win situation for the president again. You will attack no matter what. Look at your avatars and your
I've thought for a long time that we have too many troops in Europe and other places. We have more in Germany than anywhere else, I think, so it makes sense to reduce the numbers there. The Cold War is over and the Soviet Union isn't a threat to Europe anymore. The European countries have steadily reduced their militaries so they can funnel money into their economy-busting universal welfare programs. They've gotten complacent over the presence of American troops. Easy enough for them to say that diplomacy trumps the use of force -- they couldn't defend themselves if they had to. Time for a wake-up call.
The decision is meant to "strengthen our ability to respond to threats overseas," one official said, declining to elaborate. "It will improve our capability to protect America and our allies and ease some of the burden on our uniformed military members and their families," one official said.
Yeah, that will teach those bastards to cross us. We will send them a better force to protect their arses and then they will never cross us again. It is payback time now!
</sarcasm>
So should we just keep the same forces in Europe and Asia that were put there to address a threat that hasn't existed for more than 10 years ? Perhaps we could station some troops on the maginot line too. The re-alignment has been a long time coming. It's been talked about for years as it should be since it makes no sense to have troops and equipment sitting where it's not needed. Germany etc. can certainly provide for their own defense and have had to put ridiculously low amounts into their defense because we were there. It's not payback, it makes sense to do. Perhaps that's why some are opposed to it.
for fold:
Â
To recap: Saddam believed he had WMDs, he had ongoing WMD programs, he had the ability to whip up mustard gas in no time flat, he had used WMDs against Iran and against his own people, he duped UN weapons inspectors who could have saved his tyranny, and there were large numbers of unidentified shipments crossing into Syria on the eve of the war.
That is what we know now, after more than a year of exhaustive investigation. The mitigating evidence we have that casts some doubt on Saddam’s WMD capability significantly owes to having free reign of the country and full access to relevant former Iraqi officials. But until we comb every last inch of Iraq—and Syria—it is entirely possible that the CIA was right about Saddam’s WMD stockpiles.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/joelmowbray/jm20040716.shtml
DALLAS, Texas (AP) -- Eight soldiers flying home from Iraq for two weeks of R&R flew in style instead of coach after first-class passengers offered to swap seats with them.
"The soldiers were very, very happy, and the whole aircraft had a different feeling," flight attendant Lorrie Gammon told The Dallas Morning News in Thursday's editions.
The June 29 seat-swap on American Airlines Flight 866 from Atlanta to Chicago started before boarding, when a businessman approached one of the soldiers and traded his seat.
When the swapping was done, "the other two first-class passengers wanted to give up their seats, too, but they couldn't find any more soldiers," Gammon said.
Another flight attendant, Candi Spradlin, said she was impressed with the acts of good will.
"If nothing else, those soldiers got a great homecoming," she said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/Southwest/07/15/first.class.soldiers.ap/index.html
Â
From the Butler report.
490. There has been significant controversy surrounding the reliability of Government statements about Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa. We have therefore studied this issue in detail.
493. In early 1999, Iraqi officials visited a number of African countries, including Niger. The visit was detected by intelligence, and some details were subsequently confirmed by Iraq. The purpose of the visit was not immediately known. But uranium ore accounts for almost three-quarters of Niger’s exports. Putting this together with past Iraqi purchases of uranium ore from Niger, the limitations faced by the Iraq regime on access to indigenous uranium ore and other evidence of Iraq seeking to restart its nuclear programme, the JIC judged that Iraqi purchase of uranium ore could have been the subject of discussions and noted in an assessment in December 2000 that:
. . . unconfirmed intelligence indicates Iraqi interest in acquiring uranium. [JIC, 1 December 2000]
494. There was further and separate intelligence that in 1999 the Iraqi regime had also made inquiries about the purchase of uranium ore in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this case, there was some evidence that by 2002 an agreement for a sale had been reached.
495. During 2002, the UK received further intelligence from additional sources which identified the purpose of the visit to Niger as having been to negotiate the purchase of uranium ore, though there was disagreement as to whether a sale had been agreed and uranium shipped.
***
497. In preparing the dossier, the UK consulted the US. The CIA advised caution about any suggestion that Iraq had succeeded in acquiring uranium from Africa, but agreed that there was evidence that it had been sought.
498. The range of evidence described above underlay the relevant passage in the Prime Minister’s statement in the House of Commons on 24 September 2002 that: In addition, we know that Saddam has been trying to buy significant quantities of uranium from Africa,although we do not know whether he has been successful.
499. We conclude that, on the basis of the intelligence assessments at the time, covering both Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the statements on Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa in the Government’s dossier, and by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, were well-founded.
By extension, we conclude also that the statement in President Bush’s State of the Union Address of 28 January 2003 that: The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa, was well-founded.
Â
I've also read some things recently that give more weight to the meeting of an Al Qaida with an Iraqi in Prague, even though the CIA doesn't believe it.
I've also read some things recently that give more weight to the meeting of an Al Qaida with an Iraqi in Prague, even though the CIA doesn't believe it.
Check this out.
Having written on this topic 16 times, I expected that Stephen Hayes' new book, "The Connection: How al Qaeda's Collaboration with Saddam Hussein Has Endangered America," would contain familiar information. It does, yet I counted 68 data that were new to me or previously unreported. Among them:
- According to the Clinton Justice Department's spring 1998 indictment of bin Laden, "Al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq."
- President G.H.W. Bush ignored information that Saddam "was offering state payment to terrorists," then-Sen. Al Gore, D-Tenn., declared on Oct. 15, 1992. Gore also listed more than a dozen Iraq-sponsored terrorist acts and said "an estimated 1,400 terrorists were operating openly out of Iraq."
"In 1992, elements of al Qaeda came to Baghdad and met with Saddam Hussein," Abu Aman Amaleeki, a 20-year veteran of Iraqi intelligence, told ABC's "Nightline" Sept. 26, 2002. Speaking from a Kurdish prison, he added: "I was present when Ayman al Zawahiri visited Baghdad," referring to bin Laden's chief deputy.
- Former Iraqi Intelligence Service deputy director Faruq Hijazi - a reliable foreign spy agency reports - supplied blank Yemeni passports to al Qaeda in 1992.
- Mohammed Salameh, a 1993 World Trade Center attacker, called Baghdad 46 times in the two months before bomb maker Abdul Rahman Yasin reached New Jersey from Baghdad. Salameh's June 1992 phone bill totaled $1,401, prompting his disconnection for nonpayment. After the blast - which killed six and injured 1,042 - Yasin fled to Baghdad, where records and news accounts show he received safe haven and Baathist cash.
- In an Oct. 27, 2003, memo, Defense Department undersecretary Douglas Feith explained Saddam's bonus pay for terrorists: "Iraq increased support to Palestinian groups after major terrorist attacks and ... the change in Iraqi relations with al Qaeda after the (1998 east African) embassy bombings followed this pattern." A top Philippine terrorist also said Iraq's payments to the al Qaeda-tied Abu Sayyaf grew after successful assaults.
- ABC News reported Jan. 14, 1999, that it "has learned that in December an Iraqi intelligence chief, named Faruq Hijazi, now Iraq's ambassador to Turkey, made a secret trip to Afghanistan to meet with bin Laden." Hijazi "went to Afghanistan in December with the knowledge of the Taliban and met with Osama bin Laden," former CIA counterterrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro told National Public Radio on Feb. 18, 1999. "It's known through a variety of intelligence reports," he added. "Members of Osama's entourage let it be known that the meeting had taken place."
- On Jan. 5, 2000, Malaysian intelligence photographed Sept. 11 hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar being escorted through Kuala Lumpur's airport by VIP facilitator Ahmed Hikmat Shakir, an Iraqi recommended to Malaysian Airlines by Baghdad's embassy there. They were photographed again at al Qaeda's three-day planning summit for the October 2000 USS Cole and 9/11 attacks. Three separate documents recently unearthed in Iraq identify an Ahmed Hikmat Shakir as a lieutenant colonel in Uday Hussein's elite Saddam Fedayeen.
Memo to communications-addled White House: Release these photos!
- U.S troops inspecting an al Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Islam camp in Iraq discovered, Hayes reports, "several hundred passports belonging to suspected Ansar and al Qaeda fighters, dozens of them bearing visas issued by the Iraqi regime." A passport found on one dead terrorist listed his visit's purpose as "jihad."
http://24hour.startribune.com/24hour/opinions/story/1498029p-8967149c.htmlÂ
YIkes, I just tried to post a quote from an article and it got all bollixed up. What the heck's going on with this new posting format?
Anyway, it's an article from June 18 by David Horowitz
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13824
from muskwa's link:
It has got to make Rick proud!
David Horowitz is an excellent writer and a keen thinker. He was raised with the far left of politics and understands liberals and Democrats quite well.
Horowitz has gone from radical liberal to radical conservative. Where's he going to be next year?
People do often wise up with time and
experience.
It is called growing up.
He's no flip-flopper. He's an educated and intelligent man who has rejected the liberal message.
There may be no deus ex machina. If nothing is done, a fanatical terrorist regime openly dedicated to the destruction of the ``Great Satan'' will have both nuclear weapons and the terrorists and missiles to deliver them. All that stands between us and that is either revolution or pre-emptive strike.
    Both of which, by the way, are far more likely to succeed with 146,000 American troops and highly sophisticated aircraft standing by just a few miles away -- in Iraq.
 http://www.townhall.com/columnists/charleskrauthammer/ck20040723.shtml
While some argue otherwise, the Iraq war no more provoked the terrorists than the invasion of Normandy provoked the Germans. We are simply fighting them on their turf and on our terms, rather than waiting passively for the next attack. We need to remain united and stand firm in Iraq. If we do, we soon should regain the strategic initiative.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Crespo20040730.shtml
they can kill people, but they can't spell out the word "fuck"
how ironic.
crabgrass 7/30/04 7:43pm
Don't know much about the code of conduct I see.
enough to recognise the ironies
crabgrass 7/30/04 7:45pm
Bwahaha.... There ain't nothing in the code of coduct about such issues.
So you recognize enough of it eh?
ROFLMAO.
the idea of a "code of conduct" among people trained to kill other people in and of itself is sort of ironic.
apparently you don't either...
crabgrass 7/30/04 7:56pm
Obviously I put that up to catch people like you in a lie about what they understand. You took it hook line in sinker.
What a hoot.
the idea of a "code of conduct" among people trained to kill other people in and of itself is sort of ironic.
How so?
I don't give a flying fuck about their "code of conduct"
the irony of guys who job is to kill people not spelling out the word "fuck" remains just that...ironic.
Article I
I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
Article II
I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
Article III
If I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
Article IV
If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.
Article V
When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
Article VI
I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.
it's not...I just put that up to catch people like you in a lie about what they understand. You fell for it hook, line and sinker!
I don't give a flying fuck about their "code of conduct"
But you recognized enough of it right?
LOL
crabgrass 7/30/04 8:01pm
Ahhh.... You can't even come up with an original? Poor guy.
"enough" in this case being "none at all"
no recognition was required to see the irony of guys who's job is to kill people not being able to spell out the word "fuck"
crabgrass 7/30/04 8:04pm
Actually their job is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over them according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Sometimes that means killing people and blowing shit up.
the concept of irony is lost on you, Rich
but don't actually spell out the word "fuck" when you use it.
crabgrass 7/30/04 8:10pm
Sigh.... some folks get it, some folks don't
ironic, ain't it?
crabgrass 7/30/04 8:36pm
Indeed it is.
Kill for peace!
Fuck for virginity!
Are you drunk again crabs?
again?
crabs: they can kill people, but they can't spell out the word "fuck"
how ironic.
What is irionic about it?
what's ironic is that you can't see what's ironic about it.
It's dark irony. When it's forced and angry, irony loses its ability to make a point.
it's just an observation.
what's ironic is that you can't see what's ironic about it. Get a dictionary crabs because I don't think you understand the term "ironic."
The cigarette smoking woman is the top story on Al Jazeera
"Iraq abuse photos taken for fun"
If you read the story, you'll see it's fairly balanced. The placement much higher than on the U.S. media.
ALBANY, N.Y.  Â—Â
Information found in Iraq
led federal investigators to become suspicious of an Albany, N.Y., mosque leader, FOX News has learned.
Last summer, U.S. troops discovered Yassin Muhhiddin Aref's (
search
) name, telephone number and address in a book left behind in a vacated terrorist training camp, a U.S. official told FOX News. The book also revealed that Ansar al-Islam, the group running the camp, had given Aref a title: "the commander."
Aref, 34, is the Imam of the
Masjid As-Salam mosque
in Albany, N.Y. He and one other mosque leader were arrested Thursday and charged with helping an undercover informant posing as a weapons dealer who was plotting to buy a shoulder-launched missile that would be used to kill the Pakistani ambassador in New York City.
Aref and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain(
search
), the 49-year-old founder of the mosque and owner of the local Little Italy Pizzeria, were allegedly collaborating with someone who was not a terrorist but an informant participating in a sting operation; no missile ever was exchanged.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,128193,00.htmlÂ
No, can't be Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with terrorism. Well other than Hamas, Anslar Al Islam Al Asqua Martyrs brigade, Islamic revolution. Abbu Abbas, Al Zawachari. Other than that and this new revalation, oh never mind. Move along, nothing to see.
You are well on your way ...
Indeed! Let's hope He get's his wish very soon. Most Iraqi's want him dead too. He's causing nothing but problems in his power grab. I wouldn't be making any long term plans if I were him. He has a date with the U.S.M.C :) I don't think he'll enjoy it though.
What is odd is that dems. are now attacking someone who "twice made the short list of potential Democratic vice-presidential candidates." linkÂ
Wasn't it the dems who were demanding the name since the timing was "suspicious"? Now you are attacking the administration for giving a name? Looks like a no win situation for the president again. You will attack no matter what. Look at your avatars and your
I've thought for a long time that we have too many troops in Europe and other places. We have more in Germany than anywhere else, I think, so it makes sense to reduce the numbers there. The Cold War is over and the Soviet Union isn't a threat to Europe anymore. The European countries have steadily reduced their militaries so they can funnel money into their economy-busting universal welfare programs. They've gotten complacent over the presence of American troops. Easy enough for them to say that diplomacy trumps the use of force -- they couldn't defend themselves if they had to. Time for a wake-up call.
The decision is meant to "strengthen our ability to respond to threats overseas," one official said, declining to elaborate. "It will improve our capability to protect America and our allies and ease some of the burden on our uniformed military members and their families," one official said.
Yeah, that will teach those bastards to cross us. We will send them a better force to protect their arses and then they will never cross us again. It is payback time now!
</sarcasm>
So should we just keep the same forces in Europe and Asia that were put there to address a threat that hasn't existed for more than 10 years ? Perhaps we could station some troops on the maginot line too. The re-alignment has been a long time coming. It's been talked about for years as it should be since it makes no sense to have troops and equipment sitting where it's not needed. Germany etc. can certainly provide for their own defense and have had to put ridiculously low amounts into their defense because we were there. It's not payback, it makes sense to do. Perhaps that's why some are opposed to it.