US sends warship to Lebanon

Signaling impatience with Syria, the United States has sent its USS Cole warship off the coast of Lebanon in a “show of support” for regional stability, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

(…) “The United States believes a show of support is important for regional stability. We are very concerned about the situation in Lebanon. It has dragged on very long,” said the senior official, who spoke on condition he was not named. Reuters

Watch stability sprout up at gunpoint.

Al Jazeera turns 10

They grow up so fast. Soon it will be a teenager and will start to be difficult: Middle-eastern news station Al Jazeera is turning 10 years old today. link

For a peek behind the scenes at this extraordinary network, watch the documentary Control Room. It’s quite good.

Merkel rules out military option for dealing with Iran

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has underlined there can be “no military option” for dealing with Iran’s nuclear programme, a spokesman said Monday.

“The door for negotiations remains open,” said chief German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm.

Wilhelm added: “The chancellor has expressed the view that there is no military option.”

US President George W. Bush has repeatedly said he does not rule out any option for dealing with Iran’s nuclear programme, which is widely believed to be aimed at building nuclear weapons. DPA

Danke! (This time for real.)

Resolution to oust Rumsfeld mulled in Congress

Good idea:

A resolution demanding the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after he compared Iraq war critics to Nazi appeasers has strong support among U.S. Senate Democrats, a senior Democrat said on Sunday.

A resolution against Rumsfeld, long a lightning rod for criticism of the Iraq war, would struggle to be passed by the Republican-controlled Senate and would anyway not be binding on the administration of President George W. Bush.

But Democrats, who have a strong chance to win back control of at least one chamber of Congress in November mid-term elections, will use it to send a message that the administration’s policies in Iraq are failing, New York Sen. Charles Schumer said. Reuters

Worldandnation: Pursuit is ‘like chasing ghosts’

Five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the most publicized manhunt in history has drawn a blank. The CIA has reorganized agents searching for the al-Qaida leaders in the face of the evolving nature of the terrorist threat. And the American military’s once-singular focus is diffused by the need for reconstruction and a growing fight against the Taliban, the resurgent Afghan Islamic movement that once hosted bin Laden. SP Times

I take it that’s Clinton’s fault too?

Israel prepping war with Iran?

Threatened by a potentially nuclear-armed Tehran, Israel is preparing for a possible war with both Iran and Syria, according to Israeli political and military sources.

The conflict with Hezbollah has led to a strategic rethink in Israel. A key conclusion is that too much attention has been paid to Palestinian militants in Gaza and the West Bank instead of the two biggest state sponsors of terrorism in the region, who pose a far greater danger to Israel’s existence, defence insiders say.

The challenge from Iran and Syria is now top of the Israeli defence agenda, higher than the Palestinian one,” said an Israeli defence source. (…)

The Israeli defence establishment believes that Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear programme means war is likely to become unavoidable.

“In the past we prepared for a possible military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities,” said one insider, “but Iran’s growing confidence after the war in Lebanon means we have to prepare for a full-scale war, in which Syria will be an important player.” Sunday Times

The important word here is “possible” war. Israel, like any modern country including the U.S., always has contingency plans (Or should I say, should? The U.S. plans apparently stink.). Israel therefore has to plan accordingly. And in most cases leaking information about the existence of such plans makes the plans as much a weapon as the armies that would have the execute it.

But for the love of the god of your choice: Not another war. Please?

“I no longer have power to save Iraq from civil war,” warns Shia leader

He may have his own motives, but this statement from one of Iraq’s most influential individuals should still trouble:

The most influential moderate Shia leader in Iraq has abandoned attempts to restrain his followers, admitting that there is nothing he can do to prevent the country sliding towards civil war.

Aides say Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is angry and disappointed that Shias are ignoring his calls for calm and are switching their allegiance in their thousands to more militant groups which promise protection from Sunni violence and revenge for attacks.

“I will not be a political leader any more,” he told aides. “I am only happy to receive questions about religious matters.” Telegraph

Don’t don’t worry. “We” just captured one al-Quaeda operative. So that’s one down, several thousand to go…

One step closer to defeat

The “Iraqi forces” (yeah right, international troops had nothing to do with this.) have allegedly captured a high ranking al-Qaeda member:

The Iraqi authorities have announced the arrest of a man they say is the second-in-command of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, told a news conference the man, Hamad Jama al-Saedi, was detained a few days ago. BBC

Good job at finding and apprehending him. But the real question remains: Are terroristsâ„¢ recruiting new members faster than “we” kill them?

Nope, we are actually helping them recruit new members by playing right into the propaganda the terroristsâ„¢ use. This is like giving a band-aid to a leper.

God Bless the BBC

A seasoned reporter after 40 years at the BBC:

Over 40 years I myself have made many mistakes, every single one of which I feel badly about.

But, like my colleagues, I can honestly say I have never broadcast anything I did not believe to be correct. The culture of telling the truth for its own sake is as deeply embedded in the BBC in 2006 as it was in 1966.

It’s a funny old outfit: slow, cumbersome, and sometimes intensely irritating. But it still does its level best to be honest and unbiased.

For that I remain profoundly grateful. BBC

The (new) war to end all wars

President Bush began a new effort today to win support for the war in Iraq in the face of unyielding resistance and mounting deaths, telling veterans that the war against terrorism was no mere military conflict but “the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century.” LA Times

An “important conflict” at the beginning of the century? Hm, is that worth it? Well, at least he claims it’s the war to end all wars, so what could go wrong? Certainly worked out splendidly last time around, or didn’t it?

Supernova captured in ‘real time’

400 million years ago a star went poof. The cool thing: astronomers followed the event live a few hours ago since the light took that long to travel to our corner of the galaxy. The BBC has more.

UN denounces Israel cluster bombs

The UN’s humanitarian chief has accused Israel of “completely immoral” use of cluster bombs in Lebanon.
UN clearance experts had so far found 100,000 unexploded cluster bomblets at 359 separate sites, Jan Egeland said. BBC

I’d like to add that those are Made in the USAâ„¢ cluster bombs.

Makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, doesn’t it? Or maybe that’s just that piece of shrapnel that shredded your intestines on the way to school courtesy of the Military Industrial Complex of the good old U.S. of A.

Iraq president “upbeat” on security

Want a laugh? Read this:

“Iraqi security forces will gradually take security responsibility by the end of this year for all the provinces of Iraq,” (Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani) told a news conference.

“We are highly optimistic that we will terminate terrorism in this year,” Mr Talabani added. BBC

Now, what could possibly be at the end of the year that get this man to say such preposterous things? hmmmm…. Looks like someone finally got the memo in the mail.

Olmert says fighting will go on

It’s official. Israel will not stop before it has cleansed liberated the areas it now holds and/or is invading of Hezbollah with the help of international peacekeepers. (link)

Right. Because that worked so well in Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq and… wait for it… Israel. Where do I sign up?

And you know Theyâ„¢ are eyeing Iran:

Hezbollah militants have claimed they used a new type of rocket for the attack - a Khaibar-1, thought by the Israelis to be a modified Iranian Fajr-5, which has a longer range than the Katyusha rockets they usually fire into Israel. BBC

How convenient. Unless of course wars aren’t you thing.

The story so far

Thousands of Israeli troops pushed into Lebanon on a wider front on Tuesday after the Israeli cabinet decided to widen its offensive, aiming to push Hezbollah back from the border before a cease-fire is declared and a multinational force is deployed there. New York Times

Or in other words:

Israel starts a war of convenience (see Iraq, Bush, and Blair for more on the subject) and not only doesn’t care what the world thinks, it also expects the world to come to its rescue. You know…, because it’s Israel.

(uncomfortable silence)

(my personal opinion), oh and Thom’s too

Thom Yorke:

ive had enough of this

our government sitting on the fence with the US while world war 3 appears
to be breaking out in Lebanon and Northern Israel.

we must throw Tony Blair our of office NOW.

he does not represent the views of the british people.

he does not represent the views of his foreign office and officials.

he does not even represent the views of those in his cabinet.

he cares far too much about his relationship with Bush, and Murdoch.

this man is not fit to be our prime minister.

its a nice sunny day. come on lets do it. you know it makes sense.

a vote of no confidence. or something. anything..

Thom (Yorke)Dead Air Space

Back from vacation

It’s quite a bummer to come back from a beach vacation in France and read this:

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the Syrian military on Monday to raise its readiness, pledging not to abandon support for Lebanese resistance against Israel.

“We are facing international circumstances and regional challenges that require caution, alert, readiness and preparedness,” Assad said.

“The barbaric war of annihilation the Israeli aggression is waging on our people in Lebanon and Palestine is increasing in ferocity,” Assad said in a written address on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the foundation of the Syria Arab Army. Reuters

Haifa under siege

I wouldn’t want to give the impression I do not feel for the Israelis who have been living in fear for the last fifty years, give or take a few millennia. The BBC, being the journalistic demigods with far reach that they are, have this quite touching story about how the inhabitants of Haifa, Israel, are coping

But still, let’s keep some perspective here. Are we seriously to believe this was all and exclusively about those Three Israeli Soldiersâ„¢?

Blair accuses Iran of arms supply to Hezbollah

British PM Tony Blair joins Israel, Bush in blaming Iran:

Tony Blair has accused Iran of supplying weapons to attack UK troops in Iraq, and of giving arms to Hezbollah so it could target Israel.

In a statement, he told MPs it was important to implement a 2004 UN resolution calling for Hezbollah to be disbanded and support for it to end.

(…) Iran has also denied arming insurgents in Iraq but it has stepped up rhetoric against Israel and the US in recent days, warning any attack on Syria would “definitely make the Zionist regime face unimaginable losses”. BBC

Proof found ? U.S. is transferring detainees for torture

Federal Aviation Administration logs proof at least one individual was “apprehend” and “deported” to Syria where he was tortured for 10 months.

This made worse by the circumstances in which he was detained. He was on a layover stop in the United States on his way back to Canada from Tunisia, where he had been on vacation.

Such practices are not only against international law, they are also against standing U.S. policy.

Read the New York Times story here.

Huge Pro-Syrian demonstrations in Lebanon

Hundreds of thousands of pro-Syrian protesters poured into a central Beirut square this afternoon in a demonstration called for by the militant group Hezbollah that vastly outnumbered recent rallies demanding that Syrian forces leave Lebanon.
New York Times

The bad news here is that the Bush administration recently attemted to have Hezbollah officially classified as a “terrorist organization” by the U.N.. Thwis would put them on their to do list in terms of the war on terror.

The number of protestors also outnumber those of recent protests demanding Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon. With such large numbers of individuals in Lebanon taking sides with Hezbollah and Syria it may make the administration take some harsher steps than simply “saying” Syria should pull out.

Lebanon protest backs Syria

Syria has started pulling out its troops from Lebanon. But at the same time the sentiment is apparently shifting quite a bit:

Crowds chanted “Beirut is free” and “America get out”, as people streamed into a central square in the city. BBC

That’s the problem. Even if the war in Iraq spawned democracy in the Middle East, something I still very much doubt, there is no indication it will shift how the U.S. is seen in the region.

If anything, that war made matters worse rather than helping things.

pressure on Syria rises, Lebanese PM disbands government

I’ve been a tad busy over the last couple of days so here’s a summary of what has been going on in the Syria/Lebanon saga this week:

In a twist that could hardly been expected the Lebanese Prime Minister disbanded the government in order to install a government that is free of Syrian influences. We’ll see if that happens or not, but the fact that the government was disbanded in the first place is nothing short of extraordinary.

Add to that the reason why the PM felt pressured to do so: Protests in the streets of Lebanon asking for Syria to pull out its 15,000 troops stationed inside Lebanon and stop influencing the Lebanese government. (BBC has some eyewitness account here.)

Since then several nations have chimed in. Both the U.S. and Russia (link) have asked for Syria to pull out of Lebanese territory.

Condoleezza Rice also officially blamed Syria for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, Israel, claiming to have “firm evidence” that Islamic Jihad planned the attack from within Syrian territory. (link)

Bad week for Syria, I guess. The Lebanese, on the other hand seem, to be doing pretty well so far.

Syria hands over Saddam’ s half-brother

Is Syria trying to play nice now? (emphasis added)

The Iraqi government said today that it had imprisoned a half-brother of Saddam Hussein, a suspected major financier of the insurgency and for several years the head of the country’s domestic intelligence and security service, once the most feared agency in Iraq.

The half-brother, Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti, is No. 36 on the list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis that the American government compiled after the fall of Baghdad in April 2003. He is believed by Iraqi officials and American commanders to have funneled large amounts of money from Syria, where he sought refuge after invasion, to guerrilla cells here in Iraq. He was apparently captured in Syria with the help of the Syrian government over the weekend.
The New York Times