Times have changedShow of power at king's palace reflects growing Saudi influence in region
Orly Azoulay ynet news
Published: 03.29.07, 17:05 / Israel Opinion
Riyadh:
The power of the Saudi kingdom, which is gradually becoming a leading force in the Middle East, didn't go unnoticed at the Arab Summit in Riyadh.
The heads of the Arab states coming through the congress palace doors in Riyadh couldn't ignore the opulent wealth evident in every corner: From the Italian marble highlighted by bright lights, to the solid gold faucets in the bathrooms, the shining crystal chandeliers hanging from the expansive session halls ceiling, through to the gold trays bearing the emblem of the royal court on which lunch was served.
A fleet of thousands of shiny new cars had been put at the disposal of the guests. Officials of the Saudi Information Ministry accompanied them to the conference sessions. The hundreds of journalist who arrived from all over the world to cover the summit were taken aback by the luxurious press center prepared for them. Royal guards dressed in white robes and bearing golden swords were stationed in each of the session rooms.
This demonstration of Saudi power is the climax of a recently developing process. The US has realized that its support for Israel coupled with its desire to enforce democracy as was the case in Iraq, served to anger the Arab world and weakened its ability to serve as Mideast mediator.
Thus, in recent weeks Washington has shifted its policies and has decided to come closer to the Arab world. This decision has transformed Saudi Arabia, which is closely affiliated to the American Administration, into a bridge between the US and the Arabs states.
The Riyadh summit has established Saudi Arabia's status as a regional superpower. The reconciliation process between Israel and the Arab world led by the Saudi kingdom has granted the Saudis the status of a popular mediator sought by all.
Leaders of the region are seeking Saudi assistance in resolving the conflicts plaguing them. The Syrian president has asked the Saudis to add him to the diplomatic process being consolidated; the Lebanese president placed the issue of the instability of his country on King Abdullah's table; and the Sudanese president made pilgrimage to Riyadh in the hope that the king would assist him in finding a solution to the ongoing tragedy in the Darfur region.
Egyptians unhappy
Heads of the Saudi kingdom are now trying to also use their influence on Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who arrived at the summit at the very last moment, in order resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis.
Only the Egyptian representatives at the summit walked around bearing an angered expression. It's easy to see how humiliated and offended the Egyptians are by the Saudi's takeover of their leadership role in the Mideast arena. Times have changed: Processes that will evolve shortly in the Middle East and Africa will pass through King Abdullah's courtyard.
Saudi Arabia has managed to bring about an agreement between the Palestinians, which paved the way to the establishment of a unity government, a Saudi official who was proud of his country's new status told me.
He said the Saudis shall continue on this path. He added that they initiated the reconciliation between Israel and the Arab world and will soon convene a joint conference with the participation of representatives from the Middle East and the Quartet, in order to build the engine that will move the peace process forward.
Contrary to him, there are some who contend that Saudi Arabia is attempting to establish a coalition in the Arab world in order to sabotage Iran's nuclear ambitions. Diplomatic sources at the conference told me that behind the scenes the following move is being consolidated: The US has realized that it is losing its power due to its tendency for unilateralism towards Israel and has decided to get closer to Saudi Arabia so that it would consolidate a moderate Arab coalition.
However, just like in Washington, there are no free meals in Riyadh either: In order for the Saudis to enter this process, the Americans assured them that they would exert pressure on Israel to make difficult decisions and to reach a compromise that would enable the Palestinians to establish an independent state. Thus, the US would be granted a type of Arab umbrella for a diplomatic or military campaign against Iran, whereas Saudi Arabia would be able to boast before the Arab world that it had succeeded in bringing about an Israeli compromise.
Symbolic and historic event
A senior official in the Saudi administration told me that had the Israeli prime minister's political status been stronger, it may well be assumed that the peace train would have proceeded much faster. "There's a serious process here," he said.
He told me that the fact that I, a representative of an Israeli newspaper, was present there is not incidental. He added that this was a "symbolic and historic event." It's not just a sign for Israel; it is primarily aimed at the Arab world as if to say: Look, speaking to the Israelis is possible, he said.
The presence of an Israeli journalist in the Saudi king's palace sparked considerable unease. Following publication in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Arab journalists and media outlets tried to locate me for an interview. Al-Jazeera reported my visit in its news update, as did the French news agency and the Los Angeles Times.
A journalist working for an Arab TV network told me this has created quite a commotion in the Arab world, and that not everyone was in favor. He said that according to the majority of Arabs, Israel is a cruel occupier. The conference is clearly an Arab world event, and even though it was known that your presence here would irritate a lot of people – the Saudi foreign minister himself invited you, he said. "That says a lot. He has the power and courage to do things that lack consensus."
The Saudis with whom I spoke to during the conference responded with friendliness to my visit. "You are our guest," the official from the Information Ministry accompanying the journalists told me, "perhaps one day we too shall be your guests in your country."
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI always assumed Israel was the 800 pound gorilla of the Middle East in terms of military expenditures. Not so.
ReplyDeleteRank/Country/US dollars spent
-----------------------------------
9 Saudi Arabia 31,255,000,000
10 India 21,330,000,000
11 South Korea 21,050,000,000
12 Spain 15,792,207,000
13 Australia 14,500,000,000
14 Canada 12,729,586,000
15 Turkey 11,492,161,000
16 Netherlands 10,369,920,000
17 Brazil 9,933,000,000
18 Israel 9,444,000,000
and the Iranian capture of the Brits seems to have complicated things further:
ReplyDeleteIran ahead of the game - for now
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi
"Gains and losses for Iran
According to an Iranian political analyst seasoned in "threat analysis", Iran's ability to play hardball with Britain serves the national interest at a time when Western powers manipulate the
Middle East landscape almost at will. "Iran is sending a clear message that the 'buck stops here'," he told the author.
Apparently, the message is not lost on Iran's neighbors, and at the opening ceremony of an Arab summit in Riyadh, Saudi King Abdullah warned "foreign powers" to stop meddling in the affairs of the region, since the days when they could impose their wills on the people of the region had passed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was invited to the Arab summit at the last moment and only after the outbreak of the crisis over the British sailors. In fact, on the eve of the summit, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi declined to attend and sent a message that he would refuse to participate in an "anti-Iran" spectacle aimed at pitting "Sunnis versus Shi'ites". Both Iranian and Arab papers have reported on the recent meeting of US officials with the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia over forming a new anti-Iran network.
Clearly, Tehran's row with London has had immediate dividends with respect to Iran's regional clout, causing pro-Iran sympathies in the Arab world. Arabs now see in Iran's "heroic" standing up to "Western imperialists" a source of much-needed inspiration and hope, in contrast to their own feckless leadership. "The Arabs of the Persian Gulf are now less inclined to join the US and Israel against Iran than they were a mere week ago," a former Iranian diplomat told the author.
Rising oil prices (more than $65 a barrel) due to the crisis represent yet another windfall that compensates to some extent for the economic losses caused by Europe's backlash. Iran's "calculated escalation" has not only helped lift nationalist spirits in Iran, it has also bridged the gaps between the nuclear crisis and the Iraq crisis. It has served as a sort of catalytic convergence of what had hitherto been regarded as discrete issues, serving notice on their interconnections and thus putting a premium on the omnibus of punitive measures against Iran.
Simultaneously, the combined US maneuvers and London's fiery rhetoric against Iran have made Moscow and Beijing realize the explosive nature of the situation, inducing them to draw a red line on their support for the United States' designs against Iran.
Thus, in their joint statement in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao warned the US against making any military moves on Iran. The United States' painstakingly assembled international coalition against Iran at the United Nations has now been put to severe new tests. It is far from clear that, by the time the Security Council meets again some two months from now to consider the Iran nuclear crisis, the coalition will even be intact."
As Victor David Hanson put it:
ReplyDelete"... Right now, most al-Qaida terrorists are being trained and equipped in the Pakistani wild lands of Waziristan to help the Taliban reclaim Afghanistan and spread jihad worldwide. These killers pay no attention to the fact that our efforts in Afghanistan are widely multilateral. They don't care that our presence there is sanctioned by NATO, or involves the United Nations, or only came as a reaction to 9/11.
These radical Islamists gain strength not because we "took our eye off Afghanistan" by being in Iraq, but because Pakistan's strongman, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, can't or won't do anything about al-Qaida's bases in his country. And neither Bush nor Nancy Pelosi quite knows how to pressure such an unpredictable nuclear military dictatorship. "
Which is an interesting observation, because it was not long ago when Mr Bush was quite assured as to the path that would be taken, when he said:
"My hope is that all nations will heed our call, and eliminate the terrorist parasites who threaten their countries and our own. Many nations are acting forcefully. ...
But some governments will be timid in the face of terror. And make no mistake about it: If they do not act, America will.
"If they do not act,
America will.
Or not.
Mr Hanson also tells US that
"...war in Iraq did not create radical Islamists and their madrassas throughout the Middle East that today brainwash young radicals and pressure the region's monarchies, theocracies and autocracies to provide money for training and weaponry. All that radicalism had been going on for decades - as we saw during the quarter-century of terrorism that led up to 9/11.
He' is correct, the Sauds created this situation, the US's current ally, along with Pakistans' ISI.
Is it not the case that the autocratic governments that we 'support' (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan for example) deny democracy to the populace because of the popularity of Islamism (the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt being quite politically organized as one example)?
ReplyDeleteNot in Pakistan, according to the democratic forces there, like the deposed Prime Minister.
ReplyDeleteIn her opinion the Army is advancing the Mohammedan cause, not fighting it. That if there wre free elections the "Jeffersonian" liberals would win.
If that would then lead to civil war, later. Well, the Pakistani deceptions aimed at the US would be over.
The Telegraph, in UK, tells us this:
Gen Musharraf will present the planned elections as a battle between the forces of moderation and obscurantist mullahs who, at their nadir after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, won only 11 per cent of the vote.
This would seem self-evident, when the Prime Minister that was deposed twice by the Army and the Presidents at the times was a popularily elected WOMAN.
The Mohammedans were never empowered by Election, they deposed the elected Governent over the fact that a WOMAN was empowered by the electorate.
If female officers assigned to NASA looked more like officers, rather than courtiers at Versailles or faux-playmates, the mission might have less boy-on-girl (or girl-on-girl) bad PR. I doubt the Commander would permit a subordinate such freedom from uniformity. Get the hair up, Ma’am.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing like a dame
***
To the thread: there is no “tragedy” in Darfur; there is Arab murder in Darfur.
The Pakistani Government dispute this version of events, their Counselor (Political) claimed, in 1990, in a letter to the NYTimes:
ReplyDeleteTo the Editor:
''Protecting Democracy in Pakistan'' (editorial, Aug. 27) conveys the impression that the political changes in Pakistan, removing the Government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, were made at the behest of the armed forces.
The notion is unfounded. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan acted strictly in accordance with the provisions of the constitutional powers conferred on him. Such changes do not constitute any threat to the democratic setup in the country.
As for your apprehension on the nuclear issue, let me assure your readers that Pakistan has unequivocally committed itself to nuclear nonproliferation. We believe that in practical terms this is possible only in the regional context and Pakistan has put forward a number of proposals toward that end.
SHAHID MALIK
Counselor (Political)
Embassy of Pakistan
Washington, Aug. 28, 1990
This Pakistani and his verasity seemingly proven false by subsequent events, aye?
For all Mr. Bush’s faults, failings, and foibles, the United States, for the first time in two centuries, is killing substantial numbers of Muslims, on Muslim territory moreover. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon, and Iraq have not fallen to the Wahhabists. The economy of the United States has not collapsed per the grand al-Qaeda plan, and the United States has not suffered another 9/11 event.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is true that the Muslims continue to launch weak sorties out of their dens, usually killing other Muslims during the meanderings, that is not a sign of American failure; indeed, these outbursts might have the salutary effect of permitting venting without bringing all of West Asia into unmanageable chaos. By tying down large numbers of Islam’s most dedicated fighters in the hinterlands of the Ummah and isolating their violence, these holy warriors are unavailable for duty in the West. A fanatic brooding in a hovel in Waziristan or Diyala is not brooding in a hovel in Mexico, contemplating a crossing of the US border.
Certainly, it could be argued reasonably that the Untied States needs a more efficient Exterminator-in-Chief, but shoddy pest control is not to be confused with national security, as that addresses Islamic terrorism.
Allen: To the thread: there is no "tragedy" in Darfur; there is Arab murder in Darfur.
ReplyDeleteThe following institutions have not declared the conflict in Darfur a genocide:
United Nations and African Union: Stated that mass murders of civilians have been committed by the Janjaweed, but not genocide.
Amnesty International: "The grave human rights abuses ... cannot be ignored any longer, nor justified or excused by a context of armed conflict."
Médecins sans Frontières: Director Jean-Hervé Bradol called the term genocide "inappropriate" and deputy emergency director Dr. Mercedes Taty said "I don't think that we should be using the word 'genocide' to describe this conflict. Not at all. This can be a semantic discussion, but nevertheless, there is no systematic target -- targeting one ethnic group or another one. It doesn't mean either that the situation in Sudan isn't extremely serious by itself."
Totten has up a lengthy interview with an Iranian Kurd.
ReplyDeleteMeet Iran’s Revolutionary Liberals
***
Back to the article:
ReplyDelete"From the Italian marble highlighted by bright lights, to the solid gold faucets in the bathrooms, the shining crystal chandeliers hanging from the expansive session halls ceiling, through to the gold trays bearing the emblem of the royal court on which lunch was served"
I was surprised to learn that they had met at John Edwards' 2nd America vulgar new place.
Allen, am enjoying the fair acknowledgement you make these days. We try, we mess up, we make some progress, but at least we don't crater to the craven, evil ones as a matter of state policy.
That said, Rice's State appears to be as disappointing as Powell's. I think it's in the water lines, myself
Bobalharb: Here's another example of arabs being treated better by Jews than they usually are by their own people. Arab Lesbians
ReplyDeleteSo with enchanted Arab women having to rely the Zionist entity to even meet in public, can we lay the canard to rest that says lesbianism is a lifestyle "choice" like getting a short hair cut or wearing flannel?
jane long,
ReplyDeletere: The Good Doctor
If you have been reading this site long, you will know that Dr. Rice is a subject of much ink from me. “Abject failure” is a term I may have used referentially, with respect. ;-)
Will Mr. Olmert play along with the Saudi’s new proposal for the final solution to the Jewish problem? Sadly, yes, I think. In Mr. Olmert, the State Department has, at long last, found there man on the ground.
Thanks for the kind words.
Oh, and do come back, even when you feel less agreeable. Duece and Whit are invariably the courteous hosts.
There's a pic on the Drudge website showing Babbs lovingly holding Hillary's cheek at some fundraiser....GAG ME WITH A SPOON
ReplyDeleteteresita,
ReplyDeletere: canards
Don’t forget eye color.
Who makes these lifestyle choices?
I have always liked girls. There was never a moment’s hesitation, and were it not for the decrepitude of old age, I would like them as much as I used. But, alas, as the Frenchman said, “It is not so much that I have abandoned my vices, as my vices have abandoned me.”
Thanks, Allen, but I’ve always tried to disagree agreeably. Why? Maybe it’s because females are conditioned to facilitate, or maybe b/c we women are vulnerable to charges of hormonal insanity.
ReplyDeleteWhich is ludicrous in most cases, since estrogen induces insight and clarity, you see… OK, no you don’t, but take my word for it, I can see where people “get it” and appreciate their supporting it, despite their misgivings and perception of our rank imperfection. Good for you and others here who are trying to maintain faith--- May those other good people here (and they be smart and wonderful and all) allow for our well-intended but sometimes less competent efforts. Frustration has got to be better than abject surrender, yes?
We really need to get it right in the end, even if it means putting up with messing up a bit before then. Voting in Hillary and Dems in '08 would only be an acknowledgement of Allah and the Caliphate, imo. I like hummus, but not breathing through a dehumanizing de-oxygenating required veil...
Yes Jane Long, welcome. - deuce
ReplyDelete"their" man on the ground
ReplyDeleteAllen: I have always liked girls.
ReplyDeleteI have friends who are men and I have no problem with men liking girls, but lesbians **REALLY** like girls. It's kind of like how some people like cats, and they will pet them or fetch them some Meow Mix, but there are other people who *really* like cats and kiss them and have poofy little lavendar pillows with the cat's name embroidered on them and such. This whole lesbian thing really seems a lot like that.
There was never a moment’s hesitation, and were it not for the decrepitude of old age, I would like them as much as I used.
Allen, the trick all along was to find a babe and grow old together with her!
The police in Tal Afar, the City that had been the best US success story in Iraq, eclipsed only lately by the success the British obtained in Basra, has seen around 150 people killed in truck bombings and police reprisals, in the last three days.
ReplyDeleteThe governor of Nineveh province, which includes the town of Tal Afar, said policemen who took part in the reprisals were arrested but freed to prevent unrest.
Which leaves so much unsaid and unexplained.
That there are some amongst US that appauld the tit for tat violence amongst the Iraq forget that the US's credibility as a Superpower is dependent, first upon stability and then victory in Iraq, as westhawk reports:
In the final few months of World War II, would Presidents Franklin Roosevelt or Truman or Generals Eisenhower or Bradley have allowed Waffen-SS or Gestapo personnel to take refuge in western German towns or cities? Of course not; German civilians caught in the final ground war could choose between assisting the American army, dying under bombardment, or joining the long line of refugees walking through the rain to somewhere. The techniques employed in America’s last “Good War” actually ended the war as swiftly as possible. Reconciliation with former enemies occurred, but only after those enemies thoroughly understood that they had lost.
But Mr. Khalilzad would not allow Iraq’s elected government, dominated by Shi’ites and Kurds as a result of demographic reality, from ending their war the way America’s great war leaders from 1945 did. Mr. Khalilzad has only prolonged everyone’s suffering, most especially the suffering of common Sunni Arabs. Frustrated with not being allowed to do anything thorough and systematic about clearing out enemy positions and ending the war, Iraq’s Shi’ites are left to ineffectually lash out randomly at the Sunni Arab population, as happened today. In this manner, the war drags on.
The realities, after four years of Iraqi violence, are that the US has kept the Sunni Insurgency alive, by not allowing the other Iraqi to kill it.
Whether a Government made up of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution Iraq and other Mohammedan radicals should be considered success, another debate entirely.
It has not been the Shia extremeists who have caused US casualties to reach the 3,200 KIA mark, but the Saudi proxies in Iraq. Sunni Baathists, funded by the Saud's "Golden Chain"
The Saudi puppet-meister pulled some strings yesterday by calling American presence in Iraq “illegal.” His remarks were remarked here. Well, Iraq is reported to have responded.
ReplyDelete“‘We don't think there is an illegal occupation because these forces are present and working according to international resolutions, and are accepted by a representative elected Iraqi government…’”
“The minister added that he does not support a pullout of the US- led multi-national forces.”
Iraqi foreign minister says no "illegal occupation" in Iraq
rufus,
ReplyDeletere: Jewish election
How did you get from what I said to this?
She does have much to answer for; the Jewish election of Olmert is not one.
Lord Acton,
ReplyDeleteYou make me proud.
But really those thoughts are built on the shoulders of giants.
I know of no prominent strategist that does not place great emphasis on decapitating the leadership of an army,institution, etc, that has been defined as your enemy.
I'm really more interested at this point in history in removing not only the leadership but also huge numbers of the followers.
I made the point two days ago that some things are irreconcilible, which is the case with Islam and Christianity, and that one must dominate the other. I chose Christianity to remain the dominant position. There is only one way to do that. Kill the enemy in great numbers. Great big gaudy numbers.
I realize that will no doubt place us in the apes and pigs catagory, or raise the hate America meter to levels that only appear on astronomy tables but I'll trade that for 100 million dead Islams headed to their paradise.
teresita,
ReplyDeleteIn May, I will celebrate 25 years of marriage. Indeed, my partnership has been a blessing. And, my spouse is a saint.
Congratulations, Allen,
ReplyDeleteMarried for 11, widowed for 11 next week. Find a good mate and hang on to them, you will miss them when they are gone!
I think, allen, that if push came to shove, ole King Saud would admit to his believe that the elected Iraqi Government is illegal, also, after being installed by that illegal US presence.
ReplyDeleteMake no mistake, this is not my position, but would be that of those that fund the insurgency against that same Iraqi Government.
What did I miss?
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks ago, the killing and displacement of the Sunni was a bad thing, akin to ethnic cleansing. Indeed, America was roundly chastised for permitting such an atrocity. Why, 1.8 million Sunni were claimed as ill-treated “refugees”, despite half that number having removed during the rule of Saddam.
Now, the US ambassador is criticized for not allowing the Shi'a to kill and defeat the Sunni on a faster schedule. Implicit is that the war would now be over except for the American bungling of the inevitable Shi’a purge.
You just cannot please some people.
The only thing strange about yesterday's killing of Sunni is that it doesn't happen much more often and on a much greater scale. The Shi'a have shown incredible restraint!
DR,
ReplyDeletere: ole King Saud would admit to his believe that the elected Iraqi Government is illegal, also
On this, I agree 100%.
Were it not for the luck of geology, the current "king" of the burning sand would be roasting dates over a camel sh*t fire - so much for my opinion of his royal hindass.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere you go, allen, the disconnect 'tween stated US Policy Goals and reality, displayed for all to see.
ReplyDeleteThe US is against those Sunni being evicted, it is not what we want. We want, demand even, that the Shia and Sunni peacefully reconcile.
That is US Policy, as stated by Mr Bush and Mr. Khalilzad. To reach reconciliation before the War was won. It has always been an error.
But one should support US Policy.
As habu said, with gusto just two days ago, even when it's wrong. Don't question the Mission, fulfill it.
Even if that Strategic Mission is faulty in its' very design, by seeking Peace before Victory.
US Policy is & was to not promote refugees. Those refugees represent a failure of US Policy. Whether one supports that Policy or not.
Victory demands defeating the Sunni, that is not US Plicy, reconciliation is.
The two are not synanomous.
gag reflex,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear of your loss.
Bob, what kind of farming did you do?
ReplyDeleterufus,
ReplyDeleteI was in technical error earlier. The Israelis got Mr. Olmert by default, when Mr. Sharon was stuck down.
Thanks, Allen, long time ago...
ReplyDeleteTeresita: Cat people freak me out. Cats on the counter, walking thru the bowls, cats in the bed...geez..
Bob, chased elk a bunch in the McCall area...beautiful...
ReplyDeleteA perspective on Iraq.
ReplyDeleteThe Stamp Act on the colonies in 1765 got the colonist hopping mad.
You had an increase in the split between the Royalists and the Revolutionaries that ten years later really got hot with the Revolutionary War.
The Colonies won Independence and after a try with a Confederation went with hotly debated Constitution. 1787.
Competeing factions, the Federalists(John Adams) and the
Republicans(T. Jefferson) duked it out mightily in the election of 1800.
Congress has it's first physical fight as Mathew Lyon, a former Green Mountain Boy spit in the face of another U.S. Rep. Roger Griswold of Conn. Canes and fireplace tongs were employed as weapons..nasty show. That was January 30, 1798.
Things between the parties did not cool down for quite a while.
So from roughly 1765 to beyond 1800, (35 years) up to today our system is in constant "adjustment"
Point is, is that the Iraqi's have only been at this a relatively short time and the incubation period for a representative government takes time. We're the only country capable of providing the necessary time. If we crater and pull out we won't be able to avoid the fight right here...Main Street USA.
Matthew Lyon
“If more Americans — including the president and those in Congress — had to make the personal sacrifice of sending a son or daughter to this war, some for a second or third time, or if they had to pay the ultimate sacrifice of losing a child in this war, we'd be long past the "support our troops" slogan. We'd be pulling out and concentrating on the real war — the war against terrorism.”
ReplyDeleteBut Pvt. Wright does not agree.
Comment: Seeing my son leave home to fight the wrong war
Again, Pvt. Wright does not agree.
An editorial from IBD, which should be of interest to a UN supporter such as Ash:
ReplyDelete“The terrorist regime in Tehran has little respect for U.N. authority. It has violated U.N. mandates that it not interfere with Iraq, refused to comply with U.N. resolutions that it cease uranium enrichment and defied U.N. sanctions aimed at halting its nuclear weapons program. Iran has also decided that it's not in the mood to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors.
Two days before Tehran announced that it would limit cooperation with the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy kidnapped 15 Britons — 14 men and one woman — in Iraqi waters…”
So, if you can’t trust the UN, who can you trust?
***
“Many Britons seem to harbor a nagging guilt--even self-loathing--about their days of empire. But, facing the post-9/11 threat of Islamic fascism, Britain (and America) cannot afford to indulge in self-flagellation. There are too many cheerless voices eager to demean British identity for their own craven reasons.”
ReplyDelete‘[The cynic] reminds us of every evil thing he can find in the history of England since the Norman Conquest. . . . After his best efforts, Britain remains a dull grey against the bitter black of Hitler's Germany…’
___Lynn Harold Hough
Use the Wilberforce
***
Bob, I dont recall, but could have seen it and not known it's name. Ran across on old cabin up there a few years ago. The door was ajar, so we yelled, no one answered, thinking the worst, eased in to the place.It was completely intact, food in the cabinets, clothes hanging everywhere, but no sign of any one for years. A very thick coat of dust and rat droppings on everything (no offense, DR). A hunting buddy from Boise, who was with me, tried to find it a few years later and couldnt...
ReplyDeleteNo worries, gag, I've got a mountain property that, upon occasion has to be cleaned of the poop, prior to use.
ReplyDeleteUse a lot of bleach water to mop everything down. Spray for fleas, whether they're there or not.
Bubonic plauge is a concern out here.
Just saw, this moment, on FOX where the rats are taking over vacant abandoned buildings in New Orleans. What a mess that still is. Those folk down there are a case study in dysfunction
"U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo had caused Me Mental Stress and No Sleep Because I am always Thinking Why and How I Became his Poaster child,"
ReplyDeleteIraqi immigrant sues from jail, claims Tancredo defamed him
DR
ReplyDeleteYou live in my favorite state. I just havent figured out how to make a living there. I do a lot of bowhunting, and have hunted Coues in the Chiricahuas,
Pronghorns around Prescott, and Mulies in the Kaibab. Waiting on a Coconino elk tag!
This week, a preliminary status conference in the Alkadi case was scheduled for June 29 before Magistrate Michael E. Hegarty in Denver.
ReplyDeleteThe wheels of justice turn slowly.
31 years of irregular residency, 26 years of criminal activity and we still can't get rid of the guy. Why will our Iraqi allies not take him back, someone should talk to Mr Maliki.
Wonder what kind of visa he immigrated here with.
The place I'm talking about is about an hour north of Prescott, just south of I40, about 5280 elevation. We've got pronghorn around the place, the mulies moved out as more people moved in.
ReplyDeleteSome really big herds of elk run up around Flagstaff, Morman Lake and down into Young. I've ridden around herds of a couple of hundred. Big bulls and lots cows ranging between Morman and Stoneman Lakes. Big pine forests, really great country. Black bear up there as well, some really big ones.
Area 5B is where I've seen the big herds run, but their all through the high country. If you get drawn in Area 8, let me know, you can use the place.
Thanks DR, nine is my preference, but also for everyone else. I will have 10 points next year. AZ fooled all us non-residents this year by drawing in Feb, instead of June, as they have for the last 5 years, so I missed this year. I have a buddy who has a really nice place outside of Payson on the Rim. Pronghorn hunt was in Unit 19. 5000 ft is the perfect elevation. Nice and cool in the mornings and evenings, yet you can still breathe...
ReplyDelete