On the Third Hand

What are they up to, this time ??

A  'Hrmmm'  From  The  Den........

MB found this confusing piece of information via Persian Journal, with no reasonable explanation of motive or purpose. Makes her wonder "Who's doing what to whom?", as the saying goes. Could any one of the too-tightly-twisted-turban-crowd™ be involved; could it be some unknown resistance group; could it be some devious Iranian security agency planning to stop Israel from being able to protect itself, could it be some devious Iranian security agency planning to destroy Israel?? MB cannot find any other information that would fill in the blanks at all.

There is something wrong with this picture

Man held for impersonating Secret Service agent at Ontario Airport

Ontario, Calif. -- A man who claimed to be a Secret Service agent is in federal custody following an attempt to enter a restricted area at Ontario International Airport.
Mostafa Mansoori, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga has been charged by federal prosecutors with making false statements and attempting entry to a secure airport area by false pretenses.
Mansoori was detained by airport police on March 15, then turned over to the Secret Service.
He tried to drive his 2003 blue Honda Civic through a gate at the airport after police officers used a security identification card to enter before him, court documents show. The gate closed before he was able to drive through.
Confronted by a guard, Mansoori claimed he was on the security detail for President Bush and was attempting to catch a jet at the facility.
He produced only a California driver's license and an alien registration card. He was wearing a black suit with pilot's wings and sunglasses, court documents said. Two days before that arrest, Mansoori was cited for trespassing on a naval air station in Imperial County.
Federal prosecutors are evaluating Mansoori for competence. He is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.
A decision on whether he will be prosecuted will take several weeks, according to Sheri Pym, an assistant U.S. attorney in Riverside.
"We'll look at everything," Pym told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. "We just need to find out all of the circumstances before we make a decision."
Mansoori, a part-time student at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, was also interviewed by the FBI in May 2003 when he attempted to gain access to a restricted rooftop of the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas. He had a scanner.

Excuse me? The man was cited for trespassing on a naval air station, he was "interviewed by the FBI" for trying to get on a restricted rooftop with a scanner, he was let go both times. Now he tries to get into a restricted area of an airport, wearing pilot wings and lying through his teeth, and you are going to "evaluate him for competence" and make a decision about whether you will prosecute him? You are the ones who should be evaluated for competence. He's a wannabe terrorist or spy for them, you idiots. Or maybe a real one. Either way, he should be put away so he can't do any damage.

By civilized standards, terrorists (wannabe or otherwise) are not 'competent'. They are nutcases. Letting them run around loose is asking for trouble.

If this is true...

DEBKAfile Special Report: 20 March

It's Debka, so I'll take with the usual large grain of salt but... if it's true I'll be doing a bit of cheering (along with some sotto-voice comments that it's "about damn time").

US-Saudi relations, uneven since 9/11, have hit a new low over a fresh bone of contention: a sharply-worded protest from Washington against the continued detention of 16 Saudi reform campaigners, half of them university professors and including a number of Shiite spokesmen. Their immediate release was demanded.

This is just coooool...

Paul Wolfowitz quoted Ali from Iraq the Model in an Op-Ed in the New York Post

After the horrific March 2 bombing that killed 170 at Shi'a shrines in Baghdad and Karbala, one Iraqi had an answer for those in the West who wonder if such tactics can work. His words speak to the horror of the events in Spain last week and in Baghdad on Wednesday.
His name is Ali and his Web log said this about the terrorists and their allies: "They are spitting in the face of the wind."

The administration is actually listening to the Iraqi bloggers. That is cool.

No connection between Saddam and al Qaida?

Iraq-al Qaeda link

We have obtained a document discovered in Iraq from the files of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS). The report provides new evidence of links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The 1993 document, in Arabic, bears the logo of the Iraqi intelligence agency and is labeled "top secret" on each of its 20 pages.
The report is a list of IIS agents who are described as "collaborators."
On page 14, the report states that among the collaborators is "the Saudi Osama bin Laden."
The document states that bin Laden is a "Saudi businessman and is in charge of the Saudi opposition in Afghanistan."
"And he is in good relationship with our section in Syria," the document states, under the signature "Jabar."
The document was obtained by the Iraqi National Congress and first disclosed on the CBS program "60 Minutes" by INC leader Ahmed Chalabi.
A U.S. official said the document appears authentic.

But there was no connection between Saddam and al Qaida. Keep repeating that until you believe it. (Yes, I'm being sarcastic...).

Oh, and scroll down and read the section labelled 'Paper Drop'. Whether you are pro-war or anti-war, I think you'll get a chuckle from it.

Quote of the week

Yesterday's speech by President Bush:

The war on terror is not a figure of speech. It is an inescapable calling of our generation. The terrorists are offended not merely by our policies -- they are offended by our existence as free nations. No concession will appease their hatred. No accommodation will satisfy their endless demands. Their ultimate ambitions are to control the peoples of the Middle East, and to blackmail the rest of the world with weapons of mass terror. There can be no separate peace with the terrorist enemy. Any sign of weakness or retreat simply validates terrorist violence, and invites more violence for all nations. The only certain way to protect our people is by early, united, and decisive action.

I wish he'd quit calling it a 'war on terror'... sigh. If it's a war on terror, we could win by handing out free valium. It's a war on terrorists. Other than that semantic quibble, that quote is spot on. Bush understands that we are in a war. Kerry doesn't.

Independent investigation?

Annan Calls for Probe into U.N.'s Iraqi Oil Program

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan proposed to the Security Council Friday night that he establish an "independent high-level inquiry" into allegations of corruption in a former U.N.-administered humanitarian program that used Iraqi oil revenue to feed Iraqis.
Annan's proposal, contained in a letter to the 15-nation council, is intended to address a series of media reports alleging that foreign dignitaries, including senior U.N. official Benon Sevan, illegally profited from the multibillion-dollar oil-for-food program. It reflected mounting concern among senior U.N. officials that a preliminary probe into misconduct by the U.N. internal auditor would be insufficient to lay the matter to rest.
Sevan, the former head of the program, has denied any wrongdoing through a U.N. spokesman, and Annan has said that he has yet to see hard evidence of corruption within the agency's ranks. But Annan believes that an outside investigation, either by a private auditor or a panel of eminent individuals, will help clear the United Nations, U.N. officials said.
"I don't think we need to have our reputation impugned," Annan told reporters Friday morning. "It is highly possible that there's been quite a lot of wrongdoing, but we need to investigate and get to see who is responsible."

I wonder how independent the inquiry will be, considering Anan will be establishing it. We'll see, I suppose.

Compassionate what?

Too Quiet on the Home Front by David Brooks

Compassionate conservatism never really had much of a life, but its collapse has had a debilitating effect on the Bush presidency.
Compassionate conservatism started out, remember, as a way to salvage the Republican Party from the wreckage of the Gingrich revolution. Newt Gingrich vowed to slash government, an approach that struck voters as entirely too negative. So Bush rejected "the destructive mind-set that if government would only get out of our way, all our problems would be solved."
Instead, compassionate conservatism was designed as a positive governing philosophy. It would revive responsible citizenship with more community and national service, more parental involvement in schools. Self-governing citizens would have greater incentives to give to charity.
Moreover, compassionate conservatism would get Republicans engaged in normally Democratic issues. The idea was to build trust across party lines and change the tone in Washington.
Compassionate conservatism's decline began with the Florida election mess. Suddenly there was so much animosity, it became hard to build a bipartisan movement about anything. Administration officials, slow to trust in the best of circumstances, were hesitant to invite Democrats to the White House, fearing they might say something nasty about Bush to the press on the way out.
Then came Sept. 11 and the need to fight a war on terror. Suddenly nobody in the White House, or anywhere, could think about anything else. When conservatives gather even today, conversation inevitably centers on foreign affairs. Compassionate conservatism turned out to be a thin tissue, obliterated in the heat generated by global conflict.
The result is that Bush foreign policy is bold, idealistic and controversial, but Bush domestic policy is smaller and uninspiring, even to the administration's natural allies.

Brooks makes a lot of good points here. Recommended reading.

A primer of sorts........

A  Smile  From  The  Den........

Since most of us really don't have a thorough understanding of the plain historical facts of various religious conflicts in the Middle East that have gone on for nearly 2 millennia, MB is pleased that she found a quick primer to bring us a better understanding of the background which runs as an strong undercurrent to current affairs in that region, courtesy of The Gray Monk. Many have distorted all this to suit today's manner of conducting foreign affairs and politics, led by the media and the screeching hordes that suit certain politicians.

This may help to keep the facts in mind.

Do Something

Harry's Place has set up a section on things you can do for Iraq (as a counter to the proposed 'peace' marches for this weekend). They have some suggestions up already, and are taking ideas, so if you have any, go tell tell them! So far, they have:

1. Do Something For - The Iraq Memory Foundation
2. Do Something For - The Marsh Arabs

You can read all the posts by clicking that top 'section' link. I think this is a great way to fight back.

I'm not surprised...

You're Thailand!

Calmer and more staunchly independent than almost all those around you, you have a long history of rising above adversity.  Recent adversity has led to questions about your sexual promiscuity and the threat of disease, but you still manage to attract a number of tourists and admirers.  And despite any setbacks, you can really cook a good meal whenever it's called for.  Good enough to make people cry.
Take the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

Oh, and no, I wasn't trying for that result. Link found via Letter from Gotham.

News roundup

Taiwan's President, VP Shot on Campaign Trail

I would be surprised if China is not behind the attempted assassination.

House Votes to Double Bin Laden Reward to $50M

Interesting timing on this one.

Suspects Arrested Near Border as Afghan, U.S. Troops Tighten Cordon to Block Escape

They are doing a 'hammer and anvil' with the Pakistani troops. Let's hope it succeeds.

Saddam's illegal oil profits higher than estimated, U.S. says

They've raised they estimate from US $6 to $10 billion. I suspect it will go higher yet before this is all through.

U.S. upgrades Pakistani arms status

This smells like a bribe to me.

Both Sides Fight Over Soul of Islam in Malaysian Elections

They aren't fighting over the soul of Islam, they are fighting over the future of Malaysia. If the Islamists win, it will become a hellhole.

Powell Makes Unannounced Visit to Iraq on Anniversary of War

I think they just announced it...

So which is it ?!

A  Grimace  From  The  Den........

The too-tightly-twisted-turban-crowd™ is once again talking twisted talk. And the mealy-mouth types from the UN agencies aren't much better.

Mr ElBaradei, from the IAEA:

The United Nations' top nuclear inspector told President Bush that Iran is "ready" for a dialogue with the U.S. that might lead to a halt in its nuclear program.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi [Iran]:

Mohamed Elbaradei carries no message from Iran for the US officials

Dueling statements, yet Iran plows ahead, scornful of outside opinion, doing as it pleases! We need to be very fearful of what they are doing in their secret nuclear research facilities.

Via Iran va Jahan

I'll believe it when I see it dragged out of its cave

Musharraf: 'High-value' al Qaeda target surrounded in Pakistan

Pakistani forces have surrounded what may be a "high-value" al Qaeda target in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, President Pervez Musharraf told CNN.
"We feel that there may be a high-value target," Musharraf told CNN. "I can't say who."
The ferociousness of their resistance indicates that the al Qaeda fighters are protecting someone particularly significant, he said.

I still think he's dead or close to it. Link thanks to Jihad Watch.

And an update (via The Short Strange Trip). This AP article says it is al-Zawahri. If we catch him, I will have a sore throat for days from ululating...

Encouraging bullies

Purported Al Qaeda Letter Calls Truce in Spain

A group claiming to have links with al Qaeda said on Wednesday it was calling a truce in its Spanish operations to see if the new Madrid government would withdraw its troops from Iraq, a pan-Arab newspaper said.
In a statement sent to the Arabic language daily al-Hayat, the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, which claimed responsibility for the Madrid bombings that killed 201 people, also urged its European units to stop all operations.
"Because of this decision, the leadership has decided to stop all operations within the Spanish territories... until we know the intentions of the new government that has promised to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq," the statement said.
"And we repeat this to all the brigades present in European lands: Stop all operations."
Skepticism has greeted previous claims of responsibility by the group for attacks in Turkey and Iraq. U.S. officials say its links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network are unclear.

It doesn't really matter why the Spanish voters voted as they did. The terrorists see it as a win. Letting bullies think they can have their way encourages them.

Sigh.