Dreams Into Lightning

Morning Report: 2008-05-18

Geography will tear us apart, as Obama expounds on regional politics in these 57 states; meanwhile, an internet legend recounts leaving Russia's atrocity exhibition for unknown pleasures abroad, and the President envisions a new order in the Middle East.

Bush promotes democracy in the Middle East. Bush is sounding like Bush again, and Morning Report thinks it's about time. But where's the action? AP via MSNBC:

"Too often in the Middle East, politics has consisted of one leader in power and the opposition in jail," Bush said in remarks prepared for delivery before the World Economic Forum on the Middle East. "The time has come for nations across the Middle East to abandon these practices, and treat their people with the dignity and respect they deserve."

The AP article complains that Bush didn't criticize Israel enough.

Google's Brin speaks out on Russian anti-Semitism. Ha'Aretz: 'Distress due to anti-Semitism was the main reason his family left Russia, Google co-founder Sergey Brin told TheMarker in an interview over the weekend. Brin, 34, was in Israel for President Shimon Peres' presidential conference "Facing Tomorrow," and visited Google's Israeli offices as well. ...' Brin's parents left Russia in the late 1970s, just before the gates to emigration were slammed shut. Read the whole article at the link.

Another geography lesson from Obama. Explaining his likely loss to Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, Barack Obama says, "Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it's not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle." Power Line notes: 'Obama does not note that Illinois and Kentucky are close enough to each other that they share a border. The Illinois-Kentucky border was the subject of the 1991 Supreme Court case Illinois v. Kentucky. Arkansas is not far from Kentucky, but it is separated from Kentucky by Tennessee and Missouri.'

Commentary. IraqPundit:

Not long ago, some opinion polls showed that al-Qaeda's support among mainstream Muslims was plummeting. Bin Laden's associate said "'I call upon the Muslim nation to fear Allah's question (at judgement day) about its failure to support its brothers of the Mujahedeen (holy Warriors), and (urge it) not to withhold men and money, which is the mainstay of a war',". Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri has criticized Muslims for failing to support Islamist insurgencies in Iraq and elsewhere in a new audiotape posted on the Internet.

What's a terrorist leader to do? Well, often when Arab or Muslim leaders get desperate, they trot out the Palestinian cause. Bin Laden is no different, based on his most recent taped message.

The terrorist leader had originally called on "Muslims to stand with the Iraqi people against the United States." Thanks to the unremitting slaughter of innocents, that didn't seem to work, based on Zawahiri's own words.

It appears his advisers have told Bin Laden about the mounting failures of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Most recently, "Around 1,100 people have been arrested during the first four days of a government crackdown on Al-Qaeda jihadists in Iraq's main northern city of Mosul, the defence ministry said Saturday."

So what can he do? Focus on Palestine, of course. ...

With this latest vow to fight for Palestine, Bin Laden thinks he can get some respect the way Saddam Hussein and others did before him. That sure turned out well, didn't it?

The Spirit of Man:

The freshman senator from state of Illinois is a radical Marxist with many suspicious connections. He has not accomplished any thing in his life to be fit/experienced to run a pizza parlor in Chicago, let alone a country that is in midst of a brutal struggle against the criminal Islamonazis. I don't understand how any sane person in his/her right mind could vote for such a hypocrite, radical two-faced politician. Any ways, if he's elected, all our hopes for any type of meaningful change in Iran will fade away for a long long time to come. Is Sen. Hussein Obama willing to reward the regime mistreatment of its people by not bringing it up in his so-called talks with them? Hussein Obama speaks a lot about his desire to have talks with the Iranians but he never says how he wishes to do so. What's his plan to stop the criminal mullahs from obtaining the WMDs? I feel sorry for those misinformed people who would like to see him in the White House in 2009. They'll be as much sorry as those who voted for Dhimmi Carter back in 1976. Let's hope this junior senator with shady connections won't be the next POTUS. He'll be a tragedy for the United States.

Morning Report: 2008-05-09

Iran's influence, from the Persian Gulf to the Levantine coast; and a candidate who is no longer flattered.

Hezbollah rears its head in Beirut. This Ain't Hell: 'I guess Hezbollah decided that attacking Israel head-to-head is too costly, and seein’s how they’re just bloodthirsty thugs that need to kill, they’ve decided to declare war on the Lebanese Army - an army they’re reasonably certain they can beat ...' Gateway Pundit has a roundup. Via Exit Zero, Lebanese Political Journal reports:

Hezbollah has taken control of the media in Lebanon, and their propaganda campaign has already begun. They are currently presenting themselves as liberators of Lebanon, and allies of the Lebanese Army against a corrupt government supported by pro-government snipers and brigrands.

Hezbollah's militant takeover of Beirut and its systematic destruction of the authority of the state and freedom of the press suggests a sophisticated and planned campaign to take power. There is no hiding the violence Hezbollah used to seize Beirut and cut it off from the rest of the country. But as their media campaign is already showing, Hezbollah is employing subtle and sophisticated mechanisms to take over the rest of Lebanon. All news which could be construed as negative behaviors, such as the blatant destruction and corruption of Lebanese institutions, is hidden beneath a Hezbollah-dominated media blackout....

Targeting the Lebanese Christians

Hezbollah seems to be making a concerted effort to placate the Christian population. Ashrafieh was not attacked, and life is relatively normal in the Christian suburbs north of Beirut.

Belmont Club, reader on Iran's islands. The Belmont Club discusses a reader's insights on the strategic importance of certain islands in the Persian Gulf:

In particular any naval conflict with Iran, whether of a defense or offensive nature will require the capture of several Iranian held islands in the middle of the waterway in the Gulf of Hormuz. The islands, Siri, Abu Musa and the Tunb group "are arsenals on the deep water channel in and out of the Gulf, they will require Marines to secure in a war against Iran". The Tunbs, incidentally, are claimed by the UAE. ...

Logically any naval confrontation with Iran would imply an amphibious operation to taking out these islands and the "armchair admiral" advises his readers to watch for the deployment of such forces when assessing the likelihood of conflict with Iran. Readers should bear in mind, however, that given the limited distances in the Gulf, a shore to shore operation might be conceivable.

Obama not flattered anymore. Goldfarb at the Standard:

Deftly pivoting on a dime, the Obama campaign has emphatically declared the irrelevancy of the Hamas endorsement. But it was not ever thus. Let's enter the way-back machine and journey all the way back to April when Hamas let its preference be known:

When asked about the endorsement, Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, was flattered that Hamas compared his candidate to JFK: “We all agree that John Kennedy was a great president, and it's flattering when anybody says that Barack Obama would follow in his footsteps.”

And yet suddenly it's dirty pool to mention this endorsement, one that initially flattered the Obama campaign? Actually, Axelrod's initial reaction highlights something I pointed out a couple of weeks ago – Obama loves to be loved, and that leads him to some strange places. We truly have entered some odd ground when a presidential campaign welcomes kind words from an Iranian terror proxy.

Commentary. I expect to be back to regular posting by Sunday. Have a great weekend.

Morning Report: 2008-04-24

Feminists, generals, and nuclear reactors around the world.

Iranian feminists arrested. Feministing:

Three Iranian feminists were recently arrested and received suspended sentences of lashings and six months in prison for "acting against national security."

Nasrin Afzali (pictured at right), Nahid Jafari, and Minoo Mortazi were found guilty of acting against national security, disrupting public order, and refusing to follow police orders. All the charges stem from their participation in a political rally outside a Tehran courtroom in March 2006.

A fourth female activist, Zeinab Payghambarzadeh, who attended the same rally, was given a two-year suspended prison term after being accused of similar charges.

The sentences will only be carried out if the women are found guilty of another crime within two years. All four women intend to appeal the verdicts.

The women charged are the activists responsible for the One Million Signatures Campaign, which aims to collect one million signatures for petition addressed to the Iranian Parliament asking for an end to discriminatory laws against women.

More here: One million signatures campaign.

Iraqi general issues ultimatum to Mahdi Army. Bill Roggio, Long War Journal:

The senior-most Iraqi general in charge of the security operation in Basrah has issued an ultimatum for wanted Mahdi Army leaders and fighters to surrender in the next 24 hours as the Iraqi and US military ignore Muqtada al Sadr's threat to conduct a third uprising. US troops killed 15 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad yesterday and have killed 56 fighters since Sadr issued his threat last weekend.

In Basrah, General Mohan al Freiji, the chief of the Basrah Operational Commander and leader of the security operation in the province, has issued warrants "for 81 people, including senior leaders of the Mahdi militia, and they have 24 hours to give up," The Associated Press reported.

Iraqi troops continue to clear Basrah, although the fighting has been sparse since security forces cleared the Mahdi Army-controlled Hayaniyah neighborhood in Basrah last weekend. Iraqi forces "seized a cache containing huge amounts of weapons and ammunition" in the Al Tanuma neighborhood in eastern Basrah, Voices of Iraq reported. "The cache contains more than (1000) mortar rounds of different calibers, explosive equipment, and improvised explosive devices," a source told the Iraqi newspaper. ...

Saudi women appeal for freedoms. Via Muslims Against Sharia:

In Riyadh, the college day begins for female students behind a locked door that will remain that way until male guardians come to collect them. Later, in a female-run business, everyone must vacate the premises so a delivery man can drop off a package. In Jeddah, a 40-year-old divorced woman cannot board a plane without the written permission of her 23-year-old son. Elsewhere, a female doctor cannot leave the house at all as her male driver fails to turn up for work. These scenes make up the daily reality for half of the Saudi Kingdom, the only country where women legally belong to men.

After more than a decade of lobbying, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has finally been granted access to Saudi Arabia, where it has uncovered a disturbing picture of women forced to live as children, denied basic rights and confined to a suffocating dependency on men.

Wajeha al-Huwaider, a critic of Saudi’s guardian laws that force women to seek male permission for almost all aspects of their lives, is one of a growing number demanding change. “Sometimes I feel like I can’t do anything; I am utterly reliant on other people, completely dependent. If you are dependent on another person, you’ve got nothing. That is how the men like it. They don’t want us to be equals.” ...

Read the rest at Pat Dollard.

US intel believes Syria had plutonium reactor. JTA: 'U.S. intelligence reportedly believes Israel bombed a plutonium reactor in Syria last September. CIA officials will tell Congress on Thursday that the target of a mysterious Israeli air raid in northern Syria on Sept. 6 was a reactor built with North Korean help, the Los Angeles Times reported.' JTA also quotes Ma'ariv as saying that the reactor was destroyed before it became active; and that if it had been bombed after becoming active, it might have poisoned the nearby Euphrates, threatening a major water supply for much of the Middle East. Israel Matzav links to a Washington Post article indicating that Israel gave the US a video showing North Korean technicians inside the reactor.

Sources familiar with the video say it also shows that the Syrian reactor core's design is the same as that of the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, including a virtually identical configuration and number of holes for fuel rods. It shows "remarkable resemblances inside and out to Yongbyon," a U.S. intelligence official said. A nuclear weapons specialist called the video "very, very damning."

Carl adds:

I believe that now I understand why Israel is really upset over this Congressional briefing. It has nothing to do with its potential to embarrass Assad. Someone took that video, and quite likely they took it out in the open. Israel is afraid of that intelligence source (and possibly others) in Syria being compromised.

Arutz Sheva: 'Israel, the U.S. and Syria have never divulged details about the attack, and today's presentation is a major departure from this policy. Israel is reportedly not happy with the change, fearing that it will revive the tensions between Syria and Israel. ...'

Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers meet. Arutz Sheva: 'The foreign ministers of Syria and Iran met in Tehran Wednesday to discuss "mutual interests, including Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq and Israel."'

Petraeus nominated for CENTCOM CINC. MSNBC: 'President Bush is promoting his top Iraq commander, Army Gen. David Petraeus, and replacing him with the general’s recent deputy, keeping the United States on its war course and handing the next president a pair of combat-tested commanders who have relentlessly defended Bush’s strategies.' He'll replace the outgoing Admiral Fallon. The Belmont Club:

Gen Petraeus has been nominated to head CENTCOM, according to the Washington Post. And Gen Odierno, his deputy, will take over command of ground forces in Iraq. I think this news will be received with great alarm and trepidation in Teheran.

As I've written in the past, I don't think an invasion or bombing campaign of Iran is in the works. What I think will happen (and it's just my own opinion) is that Petraeus plans take a hammer to all the places where Iran has poked its finger; turn its own allies against it with a combination of targeted force and politics.

More important than his battlefield successes in Iraq may be the implied victory in Pentagon politics that his nomination to CENTCOM chief suggests. It's important to remember that before the Surge, Petraeus' ideas were on the margin. Now they are in the mainstream.

SIU College Republicans and administration apologize for anti-feminist rant. Back to Feministing:

I have to say, I'm impressed. When I posted an anti-feminist hate email from the (now former) public relations officer of the Southern Illinois University College Republicans, I didn't expect any action to be taken.

On the contrary, not only did officers of the CR - Wess Haubrich and Jermaine Raymer - come into the thread to offer apologies (as did the emailer himself, Alex Kochno, though his apology was not as well-taken by commenters), but SIU also took out an ad in their college paper (4/23, p 14) renouncing the act. Kochno also resigned from his position at CR, I'm assuming under pressure from his peers.

And to top things off, I received an email from the SIU administration informing me how seriously they took the email and that Kochno's email privileges were suspended pending a student conduct code review. ...

If you're a glutton for misogyny, the original missive is here. And as Jessica says, kudos to SIU and its CR for doing the right thing.

Briefly noted. Michael Totten is going to the Balkans.

Commentary. ThreatsWatch has more on the Petraeus promotion:

CENTCOM command is both logical and necessary for continuity in Iraq to sustain gains there. This importance and its recognition can be seen in the simultaneous naming of Lt. Gen. Ray Ordierno - Petraus’ second in command for the duration of Petraeus’ tour as MNF-I CG - as his successor in Iraq command.

Morning Report: 2008-04-23

The Senator from New York scores a win, and presents the keystone of her Middle East strategy; and more.

Pennsylvania Democrats cling to guns, religion, and Hillary Clinton. She may not have "totally obliterated" her opponent, but Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton did score a decisive victory over Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary. GayPatriot:

As I am about to retire this evening, Hillary Clinton has won Pennsylvania and is nurturing a 9% lead and about a 150,000 vote margin — which has increased by 50,000 in the past hour. Being a Pennsylvania native I know a lot about the state, and I observe that MANY of the rural counties (including a couple of the Philly burbs) aren’t reporting all results yet. I suspect Hillary will top 10%, if not more once all the votes are counted.

MSNBC: 'Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday won Pennsylvania’s presidential primary, a victory that analysts said she had to have if she were to remain a credible candidate for the Democratic nomination. Clinton, independent analysts and the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois had predicted ahead of time that Clinton would win the state, where she enjoyed large leads in opinion polls until recently. But after closing the deficit in the last few weeks, Obama’s advisers said he would have the momentum unless Clinton won by a sizable margin.'

US citizen arrested on charges of spying for Israel. Debka: 'DEBKAfile’s Washington sources report the charge is serious enough to affect President George W. Bush’s plan to attend Israel’s 60th anniversary celebrations next month. Connecticut-born Ben-Ami Kadish, now 84, is accused of giving an Israeli consulate employee classified documents about nuclear weapons, an F-15 fighter jet and the US Patriot system in the 1980s. The US justice department describes Kadish's Israeli handler as the same man who handled convicted spy Jonathan Pollard. This handler, identified only as “co-conspirator 1” left the US after Pollard’s exposure but stayed in touch with him until March of this year. Israeli cabinet minister Raffi Eytan, known as Pollard’s handler, said he had no idea of what this was about. One of the four counts against Kadish is of participating in a conspiracy to disclose documents related to national defense in the years 1979-1985...' Arutz Sheva: 'Foreign Ministry spokesman Aryeh Mekel officially denied knowledge of a report Tuesday night that the US has arrested an American Jew on charges of spying for the Jewish State from 1979 to 1985. Mekel said the ministry learned of the affair from media reports.'

Zawahiri: Tehran gives Jews credit for 9/11, steals our thunder. Tammy Bruce:

Al-Qaida #2 psychopathic murderer Zawahiri is tired of AQ not getting the credit they deserve for being the most depraved beasts on Earth. That's right, damn it--Zawahiri is really mad at Iran especially for spreading the lie that Israel and the Jews were responsible for the abomination of September 11th, when AQ worked so hard to murder as many innocent, unarmed civilians as possible. But for some reason the other psychopathic Islamists aren't giving AQ the respect they deserve. Is that a tiny tear rolling down my face? Why, yes it is! From laughter.

Full story here.

"Out" of touch. GayPatriotWest on that "Out" Republican hit piece by Charles Kaiser:

Having read the piece, I am amazed at little its author actually knows about gay Republicans (kind of like Dobson and gay people). He devotes a good chunk of his article to Terry Dolan, the one-time head of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC) by day and supposedly notorious leather queen by night. Dolan died over two decades ago, just over six years before Log Cabin set up its national office in Washington and years before Republican Congressmen Jim Kolbe continued to win reelection in Arizona even after coming out as gay.

Given the fact that Dolan died when Reagan was president, you’d think he’d hold less interest to a reporter covering gay Republicans in 2008 than an openly gay Republican Congressman who chaired a House subcommittee in the current Bush Administration. But, Kolbe gets nary a mention in this article while Kaiser quotes a “Democratic political consultant” for an anecdote about Dolan.

Read the rest at the link.

Commentary. I have some thoughts on Hillary Clinton's promise to "totally obliterate" Iran if that country launched a nuclear attack on Israel, but I'll package those in a separate post. For now, I'll just quote James Lewis at American Thinker:

Hillary is trying to sound like a Neanderthal about nukes, presumably because that's what she thinks will appeal to the God, guns, and beer guzzling folk buried deep in those small towns. It is a clear signal of her contempt for Americans who are serious about national security. ...

Contrary to Hillary's militant outburst, there are no sane conservatives who want to nuke Iran. No neocons and no paleocons, no con-cons. No sane people, period. Ronald Reagan hated the nuclear standoff with the Soviets, and seized the first opportunity to negotiate mutually stabilizing reductions on offensive weapons. Reagan had no desire to hurt people -- either our self-declared enemies or Americans; unless, of course, it had to be done as a last resort. That is why he always believed in building up viable missile defenses. It has been the Left, for deeply irrational reasons, that has consistently resisted anti-missile technology for the last thirty years.

If Iran attacks Israel, the latter has an estimated 200 well-tested nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Israel can retaliate with overwhelming force on its own if Iran attacks; which is why the Iranians have been operating through proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas. With its cruise missile subs, the IDF has a second-strike capacity even for the worst case attack that is now conceivable. But even a nuclear defensive response by Israel would exact a terrible political price. Nukes are truly a weapon of last resort.

The real point, of course, is to block the development of Iranian nukes in the first place so that the threat will never arise. ...

So Hillary's militant-sounding promise to "obliterate" Iran is not just phony but obscene. You don't threaten to kill a nation, except for your own survival in the very worst case. Hillary is not in such a desperate survival corner, and if we are lucky, she will never be President and be charged with that terrifying responsibility.

So this was a particularly disgusting piece of political theater. John McCain has seen war and suffered from it. One thing we can expect from him, should he become president, is a decent respect for the seriousness of the military choices a president may have to make.

Go read this very fine piece in its entirety.

Senator Clinton has provided a spectacularly fine illustration of the Belmont Club's Three Conjectures. As Richard Fernandez argues in a new post,

I wrote in the Three Conjectures that the eventual cost of not fighting the War on Terror selectively and aggressively would be the necessity to obliterate enemy populations indiscriminately. In other words, the price of rejecting a targeted, active strategy would be the eventual acceptance of a Hillary Clinton strategy. It's true that "we would be able to totally obliterate them" after Israel is incinerated. But that kind of misses the point.

Morning Report: 2008-04-22

Iraq comes into its own, no thanks to fair-weather friends. A rogue son is disowned, and an actress gets a wary look from a fellow Frenchman. France gets tough on pirates, and Dutch gays take stock of their political loyalties.

Maliki criticizes neighbors for lack of support. Reuters via MSNBC: 'Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rebuked neighboring states on Tuesday for not doing enough to strengthen ties with Baghdad, write off Iraq's debts or stop militants from entering the war-torn country. In a hard-hitting speech at a meeting in Kuwait of foreign ministers from Iraq's neighbors and Western powers, al-Maliki rattled off a list of grievances his government had.'

Muqtada al-Sadr's family turns on him. Gateway Pundit:

The following is a translation by Iraqi-American Haider Ajina from Nida'a al Rafidain News published on April 17, 2008:

Iraq’s Josef Al-Sadr says that Muqtada Al- Sadr has tainted Our Family Reputation;
--We will deal with him internally.

Alseyed Josef Alsadar a member of the honored Sadar family wrote a letter to Alrafedain news (Nida'a al Rafidain News) which said: "Muqtada al-Sadr has tainted the reputation of this respected family, and the family disowns Muqtada. We are as innocent of him as the wolf is of the blood of Josef (Biblical (Old Testament I believe) and Koranic reference) [Genesis 39:31-33 - aa]. The family is working on ways to discipline him with in the family. Consultations for this are held at the highest level to come up with punishments for its rogue son.

These courageous and dangerous statements come, for the fist time, from a member of the Sadar family. Alseyed Josef al-Sadr is considered to be a member of the family with deep faith who is rarely public. It appears he has broken his silence to show the truth before it is to late.

Al-rafidain has published this news after it consulted with Josef Alsadar, and expressed its concern that publishing his letter may threaten his life or safety.

The news agency reminded him of the assassination of Said Riadh Alnoori some days earlier. He was assassinated after he wrote Muqtada a letter asking him to dissolve the Mehdi Army. Alseyed Josef insisted we publish his letter against all threats.

Dissident Frogman: The dark side of Brigitte Bardot. Via LGF, Dissident Frogman:

No, the problem with this chronologically reversed Johan of Arc—and incidentally the reason why you're not about to see me cheer for her anytime soon—is in many ways similar to the one that caused the recent fratricidal and frankly counterproductive row between Little Green Footballs' Charles Johnson and Gates of Vienna1: namely Europe's old Fascists and Neo-Nazis piggybacking a legitimate anti-Islamist cause at their convenience, in a bid to blur the line between our liberal democracies' fight for survival and their own totalitarian agenda. Bardot is but one small crab in that fetid European cesspool of politics, but the interesting point beyond her own person is that in this instance, every party involved is equally deserving of contempt.

Bottom line: Bardot is no Fallaci. Go read the whole thing.

Pirates. Fox: 'The United States and France are drafting a U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase and arrest pirates off Somalia's coast, responding to a spate of attacks including this week's hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat, U.N. diplomats said Monday.' OpFor:

What a strange world we live in now. In the old days, piracy in the Mediterranean drove up the price of goods due to the increased costs of bribes to the local costal kings in the Magreb. Merchant vessels that flew under flags that paid the bribes received a free pass, while others that did not were subject to attack...

Plus ca change. Meanwhile, The Belmont Club looks at French and British responses to piracy as reported in the New York Times. 'The urge to stand above the grime and gunpowder sometimes obscures the historical fact that police forces must sometimes become a little like their enemies in order to effectively fight them. The Duke of Wellington when asked about his troops understood they were the scum of the earth and once said, "I don't know if they scare the enemy, but by God, they scare me."' Some things, apparently, do change.

Dutch gays turn right. Gates of Vienna: 'Dutch gays are starting to like Geert Wilders. If it weren’t for the fact that they’re voting for other conservative parties, too, I’d assume it was his bouffant blond mop that’s drawing their attention. But now that gays on the streets of Amsterdam are routinely beaten up by gangs of immigrant “youths”, it seems that homosexuals are waking up and voting their best interests.' GayPatriot West:

I can’t remember how I first read about a rightward shift among Dutch gays, but Baron Bodissey’s post reminde me that I had intended to blog on this very topic. A poll by NOVA, a Dutch TV show found Dutch gays prefer conservative parties to “progressive” (i.e., left-of-center) ones.

I wonder if this shift has anything to do with the failure of left-wing parties to stand up to radical Muslims living in Holland who refuse to integrate into Dutch society while harassing gays and lesbians living in (and visiting as our friend Chris Crain learned) the Netherlands. A phenomenon Bruce Bawer, another friend of this blog described in his excellent book While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within (which both Bruce (the GayPatriot) and I recommend).

It seems that left-wing politicians in Europe are having trouble balancing the competing interests of the various “minority” (read: “victims” in coalition of oppressed) groups to whom they feel they must appeal and whom they fear offending.

Commentary. Nibras Kazimi at Talisman Gate has a few things to say about the situation in Basra:

Anonymous British commanders had told the UK’s Telegraph a couple of days ago that the Iraqi Army’s military operation in Basra was an “unmitigated disaster” and that the Iraqi commander leading it, General Mohan al-Freiji, is a “dangerous lunatic”.

It’s funny how the story never seems to get around to the point that the Iraqi Army managed to achieve in Basra what the British never could, namely, to control the city and smash the organized crime cartels. ...

Today, this headline should likewise jar a couple of people awake:

IRAQI ARMY UNCOVERS LARGE ARMS CACHE IN HAYYANIYA, BASRA

The pictures in this MNF-I write-up (Arabic version) are quite startling to begin with, but here’s the real ‘mind-blowing-ness’ of the story: this arms cache was found during a house-by-house security sweep of the Hayyaniya neighborhood, which is Basra’s equivalent of Sadr City. Who could have imagined a house-by-house sweep of Hayyaniya back in the days when the British were in charge—the same Brits who cowered into the military equivalent of a fetal position whenever they were challenged by the Mahdi Army?

In another part of town, another security sweep uncovered eight GRAD missiles. These are eight GRAD missiles that won’t be launched at the Brits during their precious teatime ceremonies over at Basra’s airport.

No wonder that some in Maliki’s circle has come to believe this rumor: British intelligence deliberately allowed Basra to turn into a hellhole so that this port city would never rival Dubai, whose princes bankroll British intelligence operations across the Middle East. Hey it’s just a rumor, right? But it get fishier when it’s synced-up with intelligence reports reaching Maliki’s office that allege that the Maktoum royals of Dubai have been funding some of Basra’s militias.

Morning Report: 2008-04-21

Roundup from ThreatsWatch. I'm just going to let ThreatsWatch do all the work this morning:

1. Al-Qaeda in Iraq announces a new wave of operations celebrating 4,000 US dead milestone as Sadr openly talks of “open war” with Iraqi government.

2. A Japanese oil tanker took fire from an unidentified ship off the coast of Yemen.

3. After Hamas suicide car bombers attacked the Rafah Israel-Gaza crossing, injuring 13 IDF soldiers, Israel is bracing for more border attacks following Carter talks with Hamas.

4. Two pro-government officials were killed in Lebanon when gunmen attacked new Phalange Party center in a drive by shooting attack just after it was inaugurated.

5. As intelligence gained in Iraq reveals more al-Qaeda suicide bombers in Iraq hail from Libya - mostly from the city of Darnah - Russia is looking to ‘rebuild ties’ with Libya.

6. A Jamaat-i-Islami official has asked the government to commence impeachment proceedings against President Musharraf.

Go to the link for details.

The Euston moment: Toward a post-post-Left liberalism. Alan Johnson at Comment Is Free (Guardian):

Two years ago a 3,000-word political statement, the Euston manifesto, argued that much of the left had suffered a theoretical collapse and a collapse of sensibility. In the words of Nick Cohen's bestseller, the left had "lost its way". We called for a realignment of progressive politics.

By reducing the complexity of the post-cold war world to a single great contest in which "imperialism" or "empire" faced "anti-imperialism" or "the resistance", parts of the left had transformed themselves into a reactionary post-left that took its enemy's enemy for its friend. We were "all Hizbullah now"as the placards had it. Listen to John Rees, a leader of the Stop the War Coalition and Respect:

"Socialists should unconditionally stand with the oppressed against the oppressor, even if the people who run the oppressed country are undemocratic and persecute minorities, like Saddam Hussein."

America was the global oppressor and Bush was the "No 1 terrorist". Anyone shooting at Americans became, by that act, the resistance to empire. A collapse of sensibility followed. The reductionism in the theory licensed habits of mind and structures of feeling well-known among the older fellow travellers of Stalinism - apologia, denial, grossly simplifying tendencies of thought, moral relativism.

The consequence was profound political disorientation. Tony Benn sat in front of the mass murderer, Saddam Hussein, and asked him, "I wonder whether you could say something yourself directly through this interview to the peace movement of the world that might help to advance the cause they have in mind?" Days later Benn was less kind to an Iraqi oppositionist, spitting the words "CIA stooge!"

The Euston manifesto was a warning cry. Post-leftists, we said, were living in what Paul Berman called "foggy zones of half-believed beliefs, freed of any responsibility to subject any given opinion to the simplest of common-sense tests".

What were these half-believed beliefs? ...

Read the article at the link to find out.

Commentary. Dreams Into Lightning celebrates its fourth anniversary of blogging and its second anniversary on TypePad today. This week also marks the second anniversary of the Euston Manifesto, to which I'm proud to be a signatory.

Morning Report: 2008-04-20

An Iraqi victory, and thoughts on the Left.

Hit me, beat me, make me write good news. Obviously this sinister Pentagon program was a stunning success. Tigerhawk:

Even the New York Times, which has done its level best to promote the myth of Iraqi incompetence, acknowledges that the government has won the battle of Basra...

...but only after air and artillery strikes by American and British forces cleared the way for Iraqi troops to move into the Hayaniya district and other remaining Mahdi Army militia strongholds and begin house-to house searches, Iraqi officials said. Iraqi troops were meeting little resistance, said Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the spokesman for the Iraqi Interior Ministry in Baghdad.

Ah, yes. Iraqi ground troops wiped out the Mahdi Army in Basra, but they couldn't do it without our Air Force. Quagmire!

Anyway, it really does not matter what the editors on 43rd Street think. Iran knows a battlefield defeat when it sees one ...

Full post at the link.

Le deserteur. Norm Geras ponders seven kinds of liberalism/leftism, and their defectors:

But then who would want to defect from a left which saw itself as uniting certain universal values, values like freedom and equality and justice, with the interests and struggles of the unfree, the wronged and the oppressed everywhere? Well, I don't know who would want to defect from this kind of left. But when I ran into them I'd try to persuade them not to defect. I'd tell them that there's a left worth belonging to, and that those who belong to it should limit their defections to parting company with the lefts that discredit its values and its better traditions.

Me, too. Read the whole thing.

Commentary. Short post today, as I'm worn out from last night's seder. Happy Passover to all those who are celebrating.

Morning Report: April 15, 2008

Our friends in the Middle East lend a hand; Tehran top cop's friends get him jail time.

Iraqi army rescues British journalist in Basra. Talisman Gate:

Richard Butler, a British journalist working for CBS News, was auspiciously rescued today by an Iraqi Army unit that had been conducting a security sweep through a once-volatile Basra neighborhood—one that was until recently dominated by militants—in which he had been held captive since February 10.

I mean if any event could be seen as a send-up to how western reporters have covered Operation Cavalry Charge in Basra, then this would be it!

Instead of praying for Butler’s safety, instead of taking a stand on right and wrong, the foreign press threw their sympathies behind the outlaws; those western reporters did not hold candle-lit vigils for their kidnapped comrade, since professional solidarity can’t hold a candle to the venality of Bush hatred. It was far more important for these journalists to root for the Sadrist-related criminal cartels that are being targeted by the continuing military operations in Basra and elsewhere than to admit that Iraq may be fixing itself, and may not, after all, turn into the ‘fiasco’ they’ve been heralding with certainty for so long.

Tehran police chief jailed in sex scandal. That Iranian cop who was busted a couple of weeks ago with six naked women is heading to jail. Fox: 'Local media have reported that the police chief, Gen. Reza Zarei, was taken to jail after he was caught last month with six nude women by a police raid on an underground local brothel. He was also forced to resign. Local Web sites have also extensively reported the case in recent weeks.'

IraqPundit on Chalabi. IraqPundit: 'One of McClatchy's reporter wonders what Chalabi is doing at a funeral in Moktada's turf. Chalabi is welcome there for many reasons. He is welcome because he has been the liaison between the Sadrists and the government pretty much all along. And, he is welcome because the Middle East values a member of a prominent family paying respects at a funeral.' Read the full post at the link.

US, Israel link missile defense systems. Debka:

Israel requested the hook-up to the BMEWS for early warning to defend itself against Iranian missile attack. Tuesday, April 15, Iran’s deputy C-in-C Mohammad Reza Ashtiani threatened to eliminate Israel from “the scene of the universe” if it launches a military attack on the Islamic state.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report the system operates from three global centers – the US Thule Air Base in Greenland, where the 12th Space Warning Squadron is located; the Clear Air Force Station in Alaska and the British RAF long-range radar station at Fylingdales, Yorkshire, in England.

This is the third time Israel has been connected to the BMEWS. The first was in 1991 before the first Gulf War and the second in 2003 before the US invasion of Iraq. Then, Israel feared Iraqi missile attack, which indeed materialized in 1991. Now, US military sources interpret the request as signifying Israel’s sense of the need to prepare for an Iranian missile attack in the not-too-distant future.

Such an attack could develop from a US or Israeli strike against Iran, or any war situation involving Israel, Syria or Hizballah. Tehran might also stage a pre-emptive strike if early intelligence was received of an impending US or Israeli attack on Iran, Syria or Hizballah.

Commentary. The Belmont Club links Michael Totten's article on Fallujah, "Iraq's meanest city".

The results of the Anbar Awakening and the surge are plain to see. Since the Fifth Marine Regiment’s Third Battalion rotated into Fallujah in September 2007, not a single American has been wounded there, let alone killed. Hardly anyone even tries to start a fight now. A handful of people have taken potshots at Marines; one man threw a hand grenade in the neighborhood of Dubat; some fool blew himself up when the Iraqi police caught him planting an IED outside their station. Every attack has been ineffective. Of all Iraq’s cities, only nearby Ramadi has experienced so many dramatic changes in so short a time.

Go read it all.

Morning Report: April 14, 2008

Clarity from Baghdad, confusion from Tehran, and hacking from Beijing.

India admits cyber threat. The big South Asian country has been the target of computer warfare attacks from ... well, you probably guessed it, but here's the story from Strategy Page:

April 14, 2008: India's become yet another major nation to admit that it has been under heavy Cyber War attack, from hackers that can be traced back to China. India has long been attentive to Internet security, mainly because they have been under constant attack by Pakistani and other Islamic hackers. But the Chinese efforts, when thorough audits were conducted, were found to be much more sophisticated and powerful. India probably got help, with the auditing, from American and European governments, who have suffered similar attacks over the last few years. The idea is apparently to get India on board with the informal worldwide anti-China Cyber War coalition. China appears to have turned its Cyber War forces loose on every major nation in the world, with the possible exception of Russia. The victims are looking for some security, and some payback.

Maliki turns up heat on Sadrists, sacks 1,300 deserters. Debka:

During the Basra offensive which prime minister Nouri al-Maliki launched March 25 against militias in the southern Basra province, more than 1,000 security troops, including a full infantry battalion, refused to fight their fellow Shiites of the targeted militias, or crossed the lines with their weapons to join them.

Since Maliki’s failed crackdown in the south, US and Iraqi forces have been battling Moqtada Sadr’s Shiite followers in Baghdad’s slum Sadr City.

Monday, April 14, Maliki ordered another crackdown, this one on gas stations and distributions centers in eastern Baghdad and the south, which are controlled by Sar’s Mehdi Army militiamen and a key source of their funding. ...

State Department rejects Fatah/Hamas unity government. Arutz Sheva: 'The American government rejects another unity Palestinian Authority (PA) consisting of both Hamas and Fatah factions, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. Pressed on the issue because of Egyptian meditations between Israel and Hamas and Arab efforts to bring the rival parties together, he stated that Hamas must "renounce--turn awa--from violence [and] recognize previous agreements by the PLO, which includes recognizing Israel's right to exist. I haven't seen any indication that Hamas is prepared to meet those conditions."'

Bomb blast at Shiraz mosque. The Spirit of Man reports:

The top news today is the explosion in the city of Shiraz in southern Iran where more than 70 people injured and 10 killed so far. More here

The regime's Fars news agency reports (in Persian language) that the target of the bombing was an Islamic Shia religious center that has had anti-Bahai, anti-Wahhabi information sessions/meetings every Saturday night for the past few years.

Now my guess is that this could be done by the regime to increase the crackdowns against the religious minorities including Bahais and Sunnis. This is my best educated guess so far. I'll try to keep you posted on this as it unfolds. Please come back for further details. Regime has done such crimes to scare the Iranian people of a possible loss of authority in Iran. Scaring people of the day where Mullahs are gone and insurgency and explosions keep happening in Iran just like Iraq.

More information, with updates, at the post. Shiro-Khorshid Forever is following the incident closely with a lot of links, including this article from Payvand: 'welve people died and 191 others wounded at Shohada Hosseiniyeh mosque explosion in Shiraz, the capital of southern province of Fars, IRNA reported. ... A powerful explosion at Rahpouyan-e Vessal cultural center that is part of a mosque, located in a residential area of Shiraz, took place at around 9:00 pm (1630 GMT) Saturday during an evening prayer sermon by a prominent local cleric.'

Schwarzenegger, Bolton address Log Cabin in San Diego. Log Cabin Republicans:

(San Diego, CA)--Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) today for the first time pledged to oppose a proposed constitutional amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples in California. In remarks to the Log Cabin Republicans National Convention in San Diego, Schwarzenegger predicted Californians would reject the amendment and said, “I will always be there to fight against that.”

“It’s a great day for the Republican Party and for all California families,” said Log Cabin President Patrick Sammon. “Gov. Schwarzenegger is a strong Log Cabin ally and a great friend for gay and lesbian people. His opposition to any anti-marriage amendment is great news. He will be an important voice against this effort.”

More at the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Commentary. The Belmont Club comments on the disaggregation (and thank you, Spell Check, "disaggregation" is a word) of those 1300 Iraqi troops as reported in the New York Times:

The New York Times argues that the dismissals are proof of failure. It writes, "the dismissals were an implicit admission of failures during the government offensive, which was widely criticized as being poorly planned" but go on to add that "they [the Iraqi Army] claim to have restored order to the streets, and the nearby ports vital to Iraq’s oil industry" and that "American officials ... praised the Iraqi forces’ progress in being able to move 6,600 reinforcements south to Basra so quickly".

Whenever one reads about an Army that purges its nonperforming personnel while able to secure its objects and demonstrating an ability to maneuver its forces the conclusion is normally the opposite of the NYT's diagnosis. Here is an Army that is has performed fairly enough but wants to do better. Here is an army that wants to learn.

IraqPundit has a few thoughts.

Now finally, here's a news item reporting that the US and Iran have been holding secret back-channel negotiations on the nuclear issue. Well, ho-hum. There have been leaks like this dribbling out for the last couple of years at least. What does it mean? Who knows?

I'll tell you this, though. I think that Debka - for once - has got it exactly right when they say that President Bush is playing his cards "very close to his chest". Here's Debka's report:

Certain prominent Americans have undertaken secret colloquy with Tehran and may be preparing to go public and make it official, with the administration’s blessing.

DEBKAfile’s Washington sources name them as Thomas R. Pickering, former ambassador to Moscow, the UN and Israel, William Luers, former envoy to Venezuela and the Czech Republic, and Jim Walsh, a New York Republican Congressman.

They have been quietly encouraged by Rice, defense secretary Robert Gates and influential quarters in the US military and intelligence elite, who are anxious to avert a US-Iranian military clash in the eight months remaining to the Bush presidency and cut the ground from under a possible US or Israel attack on Iran. ...

Overall, the signals are vague and confusing. Given the way things are going, an attack on Iran in the next few months looks very unlikely. If the US does attack Iran soon, I will be very surprised, and so, I'm sure, will the Iranians.

But maybe that's the idea.

Morning Report: April 11, 2008

The Iran regime's long-range missiles, and plans; French hostages freed; and a litigious Canadian issues threats.

The Times: Iran's secret long-range missile site revealed. Via Israel Matzav, The Times publishes photos of an Iranian long-ramge missile site:

The secret site where Iran is suspected of developing long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching targets in Europe has been uncovered by new satellite photographs.

The imagery has pinpointed the facility from where the Iranians launched their Kavoshgar 1 “research rocket” on February 4, claiming that it was in connection with their space programme.

Analysis of the photographs taken by the Digital Globe QuickBird satellite four days after the launch has revealed a number of intriguing features that indicate to experts that it is the same site where Iran is focusing its efforts on developing a ballistic missile with a range of about 6,000km (4,000 miles).

A previously unknown missile location, the site, about 230km southeast of Tehran, and the link with Iran's long-range programme, was revealed by Jane's Intelligence Review after a study of the imagery by a former Iraq weapons inspector. A close examination of the photographs has indicated that the Iranians are following the same path as North Korea, pursuing a space programme that enables Tehran to acquire expertise in long-range missile technology.

An analyst at Jane's estimates the Iranian regime to be about five years away from developing a 6,000-km-range missile. The US is negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic over missile defense systems. Go to Carl's post at Israel Matzav for more, and to find out why Carl says, 'I wonder what makes Putin think he's not sealing his own death warrant by providing Iran with nuclear fuel.'

Sarkozy: Pirates release French hostages. CNN: 'The 30 hostages held on a tourist yacht by pirates off the coast of Somalia have been released, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday.' Debka adds: 'The announcement by president Nicolas Sarkozy did not disclose if ransom was paid. His statement voiced deep gratitude to the French armed forces. The pirates seized the luxury yacht Le Ponant as it crossed the Gulf of Aden and sailed to the Somali coast, mooring near Garacade. France dispatched a warship and a special force for standby at Djibouti. Twenty-two of the crew were French, including 6 women; the rest Ukrainian and Korean.'

Iraq contractor employees testify of alleged rapes. Fox:

A woman who says she was raped while working for a foreign contractor in Iraq detailed the experience in a congressional hearing as another woman who made similar allegations before Congress last year listened and fought back tears.

Dawn Leamon said Wednesday at a Senate subcommittee hearing she was sodomized and forced to have oral sex by a soldier and a co-worker after drinking a cocktail that made her feel strange.

She worked as a paramedic for Service Employees International Inc., a foreign subsidiary of KBR Inc., at Camp Harper near Basra, Iraq. Leamon said the base frequently came under rocket attack.

Read the rest at the link.

Richard Warman sues Ezra Levant. Ezra Levant:

Today I was sued by Richard Warman, Canada’s most prolific – and profitable – user of section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. As readers of this site know, Warman isn’t just a happy customer of section 13 and its 100% conviction rate, he’s a former CHRC employee, an investigator of section 13 thought crimes himself. In fact, he was often both a customer and an investigator at the same time.

Being sued by Warman is like being sued by the CHRC

It’s impossible to criticize section 13 without criticizing Warman, because without Warman, section 13 would have been defunct years ago – almost no-one else in this country of 33 million people uses it. I’d call it “Warman’s Law”, but I’ve already given that title to another law enacted because of Warman. Warman’s Law is a law brought in by the B.C. government specifically to protect libraries from Warman’s nuisance defamation suits. (We should find some way to set up a Warman’s law to protect universities from Warman, too.)

Warman doesn’t just “use” section 13. As I’ve documented here before, he actively interferes with other CHRC investigators working on his complaints. For example, he called up Hannya Rizk, a fellow investigator he trained, and told her to improperly withhold information from the person Warman had complained about; he told Rizk to slow down her work to fit his other plans; he tried to get Rizk to improperly disclose confidential information about cases to third parties.

And then there’s Warman’s direct interference in the investigation of his own complaints – wandering right into the CHRC offices, hopping right on investigator’s computers, using their passwords, and just having a ball – violating not only privacy and confidentiality, but the integrity of the CHRC’s evidence – not that such sloppiness has detracted from their 100% conviction rate.

Warman isn’t solely responsible for the corruption of the CHRC, of course – he couldn’t get away with his antics without the cooperation and even encouragement of the rest of the CHRC staff ...

Other targets include Small Dead Animals, Five Feet of Fury, and Free Dominion.

Sistani: Law is the only authority. Bill Roggio at the Long War Journal:

With the Iraqi government applying pressure to the Sadrist movement and Muqtada al Sadr to disband the Mahdi Army, Iraq’s senior Shia cleric has weighed in on the issue. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most revered Shia cleric in Iraq, backed the government’s position that the Mahdi Army should surrender its weapons and said he never consulted with Sadr on disbanding the Mahdi Army. Instead, the decision to disband the Mahdi Army is Sadr’s to make.

Sistani spoke through Jalal el Din al Saghier, a senior leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a rival political party to the Sadrist movement. Saghier was clear that Sistani did not sanction the Mahdi Army and called for it to disarm.

"Sistani has a clear opinion in this regard; the law is the only authority in the country," Saghier told Voices of Iraq, indicating Sistani supports Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and the government in the effort to sideline the Mahdi Army. "Sistani asked the Mahdi army to give in weapons to the government."

Sadr did not consult with Sistani on the issue of disbanding the Mahdi Army, disputing a claim from Sadrist spokesmen who intimated Iraqi’s top cleric told Sadr to maintain his militia. "The top Shiite cleric had not been consulted in establishing the Mahdi Army, so [he] could not interfere in dissolving it,” Saghier said. “Whosoever established the al-Mahdi army has to dissolve it; Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr established this army and it is only him who has to dissolve it."

The Belmont Club quotes Amir Taheri:

Amir Taheri in the New York Post claims that that Maliki's actions against Sadr were a spoiling attack timed to break up a "Tet Offensive"-style operation designed to grab headlines in the crucial period before General Petraeus was due to testify before Congress. Teheran was counting on simultaneously seizing key communities in the belief that America would not have the reserves to intervene nor Maliki the nerve to act on his own. It was, Taheri writes,

a gamble that proved too costly. That's how analysts in Tehran describe events last month in Basra. Iran's state-run media have de facto confirmed that this was no spontaneous "uprising." Rather, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) tried to seize control of Iraq's second-largest city using local Shiite militias as a Trojan horse. ...

The Iranian plan - developed by Revolutionary Guard's Quds (Jerusalem) unit, which is in charge of "exporting the Islamic Revolution" - aimed at a quick victory. To achieve that, Tehran spent vast sums persuading local Iraqi security personnel to switch sides or to remain neutral.

The Belmont Club concludes that

What recent events really signify is that Maliki, not Iran's Khamenei, is the master of southern Iraq, or at least that the control of southern Iraq is now in dispute between the two. This means that there are now two political power centers in the Shi'ite arc. One center is based in Teheran and the other is based in Iraq. While the hard reality of a properous Kurdistan and the presence of a Sunni population whose insurgency was only so recently beaten (and which may flare up upon provocation) means that the Shi'ites can never control all of Iraq, southern Iraq is now the locus of an alternative polity within Shi'ism. Thus, Iran's failed gamble is not only a foreign defeat for the Qods; it is a domestic political setback for the theocracy.

Commentary. Via Instapundit, NYT reports that the best remedy for radical Islam is exposure to radical Islam.

Morning Report: March 28, 2008

Stupidity from the usual suspects at NYT and TSA; Muslim groups begin to get a clue on Darfur; updates on the Tibet protests; and a voice from Iraq.

Your tax dollars at work. TSA officials thought a nipple ring was a threat to security, according to a complaint by Mindi Hamlin of Texas. MSNBC: 'A Texas woman who said she was forced to remove a nipple ring with pliers in order to board an airplane called Thursday for an apology by federal security agents and a civil rights investigation. ... Hamlin, 37, said she was trying to board a flight from Lubbock to Dallas on Feb. 24 when she was scanned by a Transportation Security Administration agent after passing through a larger metal detector without problems.' According to Hamlin, the female TSA agent who scanned her declined Hamlin's offer to have the female agent examine her pierced breasts in private, and instead called over a male colleague with a pair of pliers. Unbelievable. Hamlin and her lawyer, Gloria Allred, are considering legal action. Read the full story at the link.

Strategy Page: Muslim groups starting to pressure Arab League on Darfur. Strategy Page: 'March 28, 2008: The Arab League is under increasing pressure from Moslem organizations, to pressure Sudan to stop the atrocities in Darfur. The Arab League has defended Sudan to the world, accusing critics of being anti-Moslem. But many Moslems know better, and are appalled at the suffering of the Moslem victims of Sudan's ethnic cleansing program in Sudan.'

Tibet protest detentions estimated at 2,000. International Campaign for Tibet: 'Tibetan protests have continued and spread even in the presence of substantial security forces. As of March 27, the number of counties in which protests have occurred has increased to at least 42. Official Chinese reports have acknowledged more than 1,000 detentions of persons who surrendered to authorities for rioting. In addition, unofficial reports estimate that authorities have detained at least another 1,200 Tibetan protestors.' Full details at the link.

"According to this theory, Iran is supporting Moqtada al-Sadr in order to rein him in." The Belmont Club examines how CNN's Michael Ware attempts to "patch up a theory that is rapidly falling to pieces."

According to this theory, Iran is supporting Moqtada al-Sadr in order to rein him in. If the US would only leave Iran alone then all would be well. But unfortunately Americans are too stupid to understand that people who are firing EFPs, mortars and rockets are you are not your enemy. By acting against Sadr, America has created the real enemy. ...

But if Iran were determined to advance peace by restraining Sadr why would "the most daring attacks on U.S. forces in the country" be "committed by Iranian-backed breakaway elements of Muqtada's militia faction"? If these are two dogs with the same master how can the master be benign in the one case and malign on the other? Inquiring minds want to know.

Commentary. Kathleen Parker writes of her correspondence with Iraqi journalist Mayada al-Askari, who was the subject of Jean Sasson's book Mayada, Daughter of Iraq.

In the course of the war, Mayada sometimes insisted that the U.S. had to leave for the violence to stop. Like many Americans, she was enraged that no plan was in place for the day after:

“All the resistance, insurgents, party militias and other forces that came through . . . all this would not have taken place if the coalition forces had a clear plan for the day after. . . . Your soldiers need to return home, as more fighting and killing will not solve anything.”

At other times, she insisted that a U.S. withdrawal would plunge Iraq into a ceaseless civil war and genocide.

In June 2006, she wrote: “Tell him (Bush) we are ever thankful for his ousting the dictator, but to forget democracy and announce martial laws, and put an end to the blood bath and misery.”

By April 2007, Mayada was critical of the Democrats and their promises to bring the troops home. Should that happen, she wrote, America “will leave Iraq in its current devastated state, and who knows what will happen in the area, and everything inside this red-hot region.” ...

oday she insists that Iraqis who are not Baathist hope that McCain wins the election for one simple reason: “The man knows the job that has to be done in Iraq. If the U.S. pulls out of Iraq now or anytime soon, then that will mean one thing: al-Qaeda won the war.”

Go to the link to read the whole article. In light of my comments the other day, these words from the article jumped out at me:

Says Mayada: “When you ask the young people of Iraq — what are you, a Sunni or a Shiite? — the ready answer is: I am an Iraqi.”

Morning Report: March 26, 2008

Iraq resists Iranian control.

Roggio at LWJ: Iraq Security Forces battle Mahdi Army. Long War Journal:

BAGHDAD, IRAQ: The cease-fire extension issued by Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army, appears to be in jeopardy after the Iraqi government has launched an offensive against the Shia terror group in the southern city of Basra. Dubbed Operation Knights' Assault, Iraqi security forces have gone on the offensive to wrest control of the strategic oil hub and Iraq's second largest city from Mahdi Army control. The fighting has spread to Baghdad and the southern provinces.

The Knights' Assault is an Iraqi-led operation, and was ordered directly by Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, who is in Basrah to direct the operation along with Interior Minister Jawad Bolani. Basrah has seen an uptick in Iranian-backed terror activity since the British withdrew from the city late last year. Political assassinations and intimidation campaigns have been on the rise as the Iranian work to extend their influence in the oil-rich city.

At least 18 Iraqis were killed, including three policemen, and more than 100 wounded in fighting in the southern city on Tuesday, as Iraqi troops advance to clear neighborhoods controlled by the Mahdi Army. Fighting is reported to have broken out in Baghdad and Al Kut in Wasit province. Curfews have been imposed in Karbala, Wasit, Babil, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah, and Basrah after fighting between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi security forces broke out in the South. ...

Steve Schippert at TW: Sadr speaks from the gopher hole. ThreatsWatch:

No sooner do I write that there are “no attributions of direct quotes, commands or comment from Muqtada since the Shi’a militia uprising began in earnest” than we ‘hear’ from Muqtada that he threatens a civil revolt in Iraq….sort of. It is a logistical challenge to personally address one’s followers in Najaf, Iraq when one is busy shuttling between Qom and Tehran in Iran.

But Sadrist lawmakers and officials denounced the (US/Iraqi coalition) offensive and said they felt the government is targeting the Sadr organization, which is a powerful political force in southern Iraq.
The cleric’s [al-Sadr’s] aide Hazem Al-Aaraji read a statement on behalf of Sadr, demanding and end to the operation.

He said Sadr’s group was calling for a nationwide strike, and then if the Iraqi government does not comply, he said, “the second step will be civil disobedience in Baghdad and other provinces.” He said after that would come a “third step,” but did not say what it would be.

Two things: First, Sadr does not want to raise his head from the gopher hole, which is a wise precautionary measure. It’s pretty clear that Petraeus does not play games for political consumption (such as the decision to allow Sadr to survive a deathmatch he declared in 2004). It’s also clear that the (largely Shi’a) Iraqi Army and police forces are shooting to kill.

Second, Sadr’s gopher hole is, after all, in Iran. Having a statement read is what leaders do when they either want to remain in the shadows or are not present to make such. In this case, it’s a bit of both most likely. Keep in mind that anyone could have written (or directed the writing of) the statement read. ...

Iraq closes Basra/Khuzestan (Ahwaz) border. Via SKF, a site dedicated to news about Iran's ethnic Arabs discloses that the Iraqi government has closed the border between Basra and Iran's Khuzestan province, indicating that it sees Tehran's hand in militia-led terrorism in Iraq.

Iraqi troops have begun a campaign against the Mehdi Army of Shia extremist Moqtada al-Sadr. Mehdi Army leaders have been arrested, prompting al-Sadr to call for nation-wide civil disobedience. Weapons and improvised explosive devices have been seized in raids. Iran is suspected of being the source of weapons and explosives used by militias in Iraq.

Khuzestan, known as Al-Ahwaz by its indigenous Ahwazi Arab inhabitants, is a major supply route for arms entering Iraq from Iran. Iran has militarised the border region and ethnically cleansed Arab residents to secure its hold on Iraqi militias and direct terrorist attacks inside Iraq. Iraqi militias, the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas group have been mobilised to quash all dissent among Ahwazi Arabs both inside Iran and throughout the Gulf region. This has included the assassination of Ahwazi Arab leaders. The regime has also sought to intimidate Iraqi and British forces. In 2006, it kidnapped Iraqi coast guards in the Shatt al-Arab, which forms the border between Basra and Khuzestan. The kidnapping of British naval personnel in 2007 was inextricably linked to the regime's long-term ambition to impose its territorial control over the strategic waterway and hold Baghdad hostage to its interests.

After receiving documents leaked from the Fajr Garrison in Ahwaz, the British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) warned three years ago that the militarisation of Khuzestan was establishing the region as a base for terrorist operations inside Iraq. ...

For a Beijing Olympics boycott. Jonathan Quong guest-blogs at Norm Geras and demolishes Norm's well-intentioned arguments against a boycott.

Briefly noted. A big mazal tov to Robert Avrech on the birth of a granddaughter. May you have much simchas and nachas.

Commentary. As we saw yesterday, the departure of Admiral Fallon ("presented to the American public as the one sane mind between a dangerous Bush Administration and conflict with Iran", as Schippert says) may signal that the Administration is feeling more confident about confronting Iran. It's about damn time.

The Belmont Club asks, "How far against Sadr?"

There question about Operation Knight's Assault, Iraqi PM Maliki's onslaught on the Mahdi Army is how far it will go. Bill Roggio reports that the showdown has been in the works for some time.

The current Iraqi offensive has been in the works for some time. The Iraqi Army and police have been massing forces in the south since August 2007, when the Basrah Operational Command was established to coordinate efforts in the region. As of December the Iraqi Army deployed four brigades and an Iraqi Special Operations Forces battalion in Basrah province. The Iraqi National Police deployed two additional battalions to the province.

DJ Elliott, who has been closely following the buildup of the Iraqi Army has watched it expand over the last year. Of particular relevance were the creation of mobile reserves and improvements in the Iraqi Army's capability to sustain combat operations.

The offensive is almost entirely an all-Iraqi show. British forces, though still in Basra are uninvolved. The International Herald Tribune says "U.S. forces also appeared to play little role in the clashes in Baghdad."

Maliki himself toured Basra a few days ago. A Time article by Bobby Ghost speculates on whether Maliki will finish off Sadr as a political force, unlike Iyad Allawi, who crushed Sadr with US help in 2004 only to let him off the hook after intervention by Ayatollah Ali Sistani.

But more than Sistani's intervention saved Sadr's position on that occasion. The US was preoccupied in combating what it felt was the primary threat: al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Sunni insurgency. ...

The fact that operations against the Sadr have been undertaken by the Iraqi Army under a Shi'ite government sends a powerful signal to Iran that this beef is between Baghdad and Teheran. It is not a Sunni-Shia affair nor one in which Washington is the primary belligerent. Iraqi politicians, like every other, are jealous of their power. Iran has in the past tried to run things via Sadr. But now Iraq may be claiming primary power within its borders for itself. Thus, Operation Knight's assault is not only aimed at frustrating Sadr's dream of recreating a Hezbollah-style organization in Iraq, but communicating Iraq's determination to defend its sovereignty internationally.

This, needless to say, is a really big deal. But I want to focus for a moment on Richard's point that "it is not a Sunni-Shia affair." How many times have we heard liberal "intellectuals" pontificating on the importance of understanding the nuances of Sunni versus Shi'a Islam? How eager they are to trot out their erudition on the manifold complexity of the Islamic faith, in pointed contrast to us hawkish ignoramuses who surely don't know one kind of Islam from the other. But as we've seen again and again, everything doesn't reduce to Sunni/Shi'a, and making the supposed Shi'a/Sunni split the focus of everything is itself simplistic and ignorant.

Morning Report: March 25, 2008

A buildup in the Levant, no-shows in Syria, and the fallout from Fallon in Iraq. Meanwhile, the view across the Atlantic remains murky.

Syria deploys three divisions on Lebanon border. Via Internet Haganah: 'Syria has deployed three military divisions along the borders with Lebanon amidst mounting tension in the region, press reports said Sunday. The leading daily an-Nahar attributed the report to well informed sources, noting that the deployment backs a similar massing of fighters by pro-Syrian Palestinian factions in the Bekaa valley, especially Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in the Qoussayah area.' Debka: 'DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the Syrian deployment is backed by the concentration of pro-Syrian Palestinian factions in the Beqaa valley of Lebanon, amid rising war tensions between Hizballah and Israel. Hassan Nasrallah declared Hizballah would wage “open war” with Israel at the end of the 40-day mourning period the group observed for Imad Mughniyeh who was killed in Damascus February 12. His deputy has maintained that Hizballah had “100 percent solid evidence" that Israel had killed Mughniyeh, which Israel has consistently denied.'

A dozen Arab leaders skip Damascus. Summit by proxy? Ha'Aretz: '"The strength of the Arabs is in their solidarity" is the slogan of the Arab League Summit in Damascus, but it seems the Arab world has not been this fragmented for a very long time. The leaders of at least 12 Arab countries will not attend the summit that opens, according to remarks by Arab sources to Haaretz on Monday. They also said no significant decisions will be made at the summit.' Saudi Arabia will be represented by an ambassador-level official, and Egypt by its foreign minister.

Iran, Iraq, and Fallon. Debka: 'US Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus said he has evidence that Iran was behind Sunday’s bombing of the Iraqi government-US embassy seat in the fortified Green Zone. He accused Iran of training, equipping and funding the insurgents who fired the mortar and rocket barrage. He also charged Iran with adding “lethal accelerants” to the ordnance.' The Belmont Club: 'One of the rumored frictions between Petraeus and former CENTCOM CINC "Fox" Fallon centered around how strongly to respond to threats from Iranian sponsored groups. And Sadr's men would fall under that category. Maj Gen Paul Vallely was quoted as saying CENTCOM may not have been done all that it could to prevent Iran from endangering American troops.' See also SKF.

Karmah free. Michael Totten: '“It was much worse than Fallujah” said more than a dozen Marines who were themselves based in Fallujah.' That was then. This is now:

Today Karmah is no more violent than Fallujah – which is to say, hardly violent at all.

“A lot has changed since just before we arrived,” Lieutenant Macak said. “I arrived in July just when the checkpoints were starting up. We expanded what 2/5 started. We took that snowball and made it bigger. As soon as they put that checkpoint up near the lollipop [a notoriously dangerous traffic circle], the IEDs on IED Alley disappeared.

“That's all it took?” I said.

“Yes,” he said. “But within a couple of weeks of them putting the checkpoint up, they had a suicide car bomb attack. They assumed that no one would want to be out manning that checkpoint if it was just going to get blown up again. So the Marines went out there and fortified it. They maintained a squad-sized Marine element out there for about a month and a half. The Iraqi Police and Provincial Security Forces were out there manning it, as well. We slowly phased the Marines out of it, and now it's exclusively run by Iraqis. No one would ever go past that point. They had kill lines set up. If they saw any vehicle coming down that road, it would be engaged. They knew anything past that line was Al Qaeda. No vehicles were allowed to move from the east to the west toward that checkpoint.”

What happened?

Implementing basic security measures wouldn't work in a counterinsurgency if a significant number of local civilians supported the radicals. But the locals were terrified and savagely murdered and tortured by the radicals on a regular basis. Al Qaeda in Iraq is the self-declared enemy of every human being outside its own members and loyal supporters. Nothing could possibly discredit jihad more completely than the jihadists themselves.

MLK and GOP. The Spirit of Man links a story on the National Black Republican Association.

Briefly noted. Morning Report nominates New York's governor David Paterson for the award of this button.

Commentary. Exit Zero breaks the bad news to Janet Daley at the Telegraph: Americans actually are not living in constant torment from their terrifyingly anonymous, rootless existence. I'll have more to say about this in another post.

Morning Report: March 24, 2008

Morning Report is back in action. Today's report salutes Magdi Allam for exercising his freedom of thought, conscience, and spirit.

Magdi Allam embraces Roman Catholic Christianity in Easter ceremony. Michael Ledeen:

My friend Magdi Allam, the deputy editor of the Italian newspaper il Corriere della Sera, has converted from Islam to Catholicism and was baptized the night before Easter in a service conducted by the pope in St. Peter’s in Rome. It’s a courageous act, but then Magdi Allam is a brave man. His outspoken criticism of Italian Muslim radicals–especially their support for the Muslim Brotherhood and for Hamas–had already produced threats to his life several years ago, and, ever since, the Italian Government has protected him, his home, and his Italian wife Valentina. The increasingly sloppy Andrew Sullivan calls on his readers to pray for Magdi, who Sullivan says is NOW at risk, when in fact he is accompanied by carabinieri whenever he moves around Rome, and his house is under constant surveillance. So far as I know, no attempt on his life has been made. But, like Salman Rushdie and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, he is precisely the sort of elegant, sophisticated and thoughtful person that sets the Islamic fundamentalists’ teeth on edge.

He has long spoken on behalf of moderate Muslims, and greatly admires Pope Benedict XVI for his courage in simultaneously criticizing the lack of Muslim toleration and openness to human reason. And he incurred the wrath of both leftists and Muslims when he wrote a best-seller entitled “Viva Israele!” ...

Read the rest at the link.

Meanwhile, in Egypt. Sandmonkey covers Christian conversions in Egypt.

While it is illegal to do so, there are evangelical forces operating in Egypt to convert Muslims to Christianity. The two very famous ones are the Protestant Qasr El Dobara church in downtown Egypt, and the Coptic St. Mark Church in Shobra. Qasr El Dobara does good old evanagelism through usually really good sermons, and if you ever go there, you would find that the first 3 rows usually have Hijabis in them. It is rumored that Muslim Evangelist Superstar Amr Khaled actually spent 2 years attending the Qasr ElDobara services in order to learn the ins and outs of evangelistic speeching. One of m christian friends once told me that when he first heard Amr Khaled he thought it was one of Qasr El Dobara's tapes. But that's not our Story. Our Story has to do with St. Mark's church.

You see, St. Mark, on the other hand, doesn't really count on sermons: they convert through exorcisms. Yep, that's right. Exorcisms. I once saw a video of one of his conversions (By the way, there is a whole underground thing with movies and plays in the egyptian coptic community. Forbidden plays, testimonials of the recently converted, and tons of other stuff. And they usually don't share them. Hmmph.. Copts are no fun!) where he did the exorcism on a muslim boy, and then told him to do the mark on the Cross on his chest, and when the boy refused, Makari [Father Makari Yunan] told him that he should do it, because it was Jesus who kicked the demon out, and then left the boy's side, who eventually, and kind of defeatedly, ended up doing the mark of the cross to joyous applause from the congregation. And stuff like this supposedly happens, like, every week.

Go to Sandmonkey's post for a link to the AFP story.

Second thoughts on Egypt strike. Also from Sandmonkey, we read about a political protest organized by Kifaya (Egyptian reformist party). Sandmonkey is cool with the agenda as far as ending police torture and providing a living wage for workers. But he's not so sure about some of the fine print. 'So the campaign is for our borders to be breached and our soldiers attacked, the end of peace with Israel, and in support of the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah. Al Qaida and Muqtada's Al Sadr's militia? A7a!! Really? Seriously? Fuck that. I ain't playing with those assholes.' Read it all at the link.

SKF is back. Morning Report welcomes Shiro-Khorshid Forever back after a hiatus. If you haven't already, please consider bookmarking this site, as it's a great resource for Iran-related news. Most recently, here's a transcript of the President Bush interview on Radio Farda.

Commentary. With various projects under construction in my personal life (including having undertaken two computer programming courses), I've been pretty busy. But I anticipate a return to regular posting this week. Stay tuned.

Morning Report: February 28, 2008

Surges and counter-surges.

Ahmadinejad double-crosses supporters. Iran's chief islamofascist thug is so slippery, even his fascist tools can't trust him. Meir Javendafar at PJM:

Isolated and losing popularity, in a surprising move, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has decided to split ranks with the very political party who helped him come to power in 2005.

It is the second time he has done it. The first incident occured during the Municipal elections in Iran in 2006, whereby his sister Parvin, and other supporters decided to split ranks from members of the right wing Principalist Party (known in Farsi as Osulgarayan) to whom Ahmadinejad originally belonged. Called The Scent of Good Service (Rayehe Khosh Khedmat in Farsi) coalition, his new coalition labelled itself as pro-Ahmadinejad’s policies during the 2006 elections.

With parliamentary elections scheduled for March 14th, members of the right wing Principalist Party have been trying to form a united coalition. Their goal is to improve their position against reformists and pragmatists in the next Parliament (Majlis). ...

The real surge. Nibras Kazimi at Talisman Gate:

And everyday, these soldiers and policemen are getting better equipped, better trained and more and more capable of taking on a diminishing security threat. Iraq has 51 billion dollars to burn through for 2008; this is the largest budget in Iraq's history, calculated at 53 dollars a barrel (...it's now at over a 100 dollars a barrel). All the political actors seem to have mellowed out and are seeking political bargains left, right and center across confessional divides. Big oil companies are starting to jump in and be part of the action, investing tens of billions more. Arts are blossoming, the media scene is vibrant, the legal system is working.

Kazimi adds: 'It's not quite up to the standards of Sweden just about yet [or Norway or Denmark - aa], but Iraq is heading in that general direction. And there's no turning back.'

Iran regime bullies labor leaders. Gateway Pundit: 'The regime in Iran is cracking down on organized labor. 12 union leaders are sentenced to 91 days in jail and 10 lashes for holding a protest last May Day.' Get full details at the link.

Al-Qaeda's resurgence. Counterterrorism Blog's Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Kyle Dabruzzi at the Standard:

It is important not to overstate what the terror group's leadership needs to do to remain relevant. Even if the central leadership's role is limited to connecting terrorist nodes--pairing skill sets, financing, and operatives--it can transform terrorist groups from disunited regional problems into cohesive adversaries capable of threatening Western societies. Moreover, the safe havens that al Qaeda's leaders have gained in recent years magnify their lethal capabilities.

AL QAEDA ITSELF HAS FACED INTERNAL debates about its future. Abu Musab al-Suri, one of the most prolific jihadist ideologues, in recent years has argued for a decentralized combat model. In contrast, Abu Bakr Naji, another prominent ideologue, calls for a more centralized model.

Suri's 1600-page manifesto, The Call for Global Islamic Resistance, argues that the centralized, hierarchical model of jihadism cannot overcome the U.S.'s technologically advanced military, and that regional security cooperation--such as the alliance between Washington and Islamabad--makes a hierarchical structure dangerous. He suggests that decentralization immunizes terror cells from detection through the capture and interrogation of members of other cells. Suri's prescription for decentralization would mean replacing the old training camp model with one in which fighters are trained "in homes and mobile camps."

In contrast, Naji's The Management of Savagery argues that once the jihadists hold territory, they should erect a governing apparatus to enforce Islamic law and provide security, food, and medical care. A high command would ensure that efforts are not needlessly duplicated, and would prioritize actions against various groups or nations. Naji's argument has carried the day within al Qaeda's hierarchy. Though there are many reasons for this, perhaps the most significant factor has been external events. As al Qaeda gained new safe havens in Pakistan and beyond, Naji's model seemed most fitting. ...

The authors conclude: 'As Peter Bergen noted in a New Republic article about al Qaeda's resurgence, "the existence of Al-Qaeda imitators does not prove the obsolescence of the real thing." Now, as al Qaeda's vitality approaches pre-9/11 levels, many analysts still do not have their eye on the central network. With a safe haven in Pakistan--and perhaps soon in other territories--the senior leadership will likely play a greater role in future terror plots, while attempting to conceptualize and carry out an attack that will surpass 9/11. A strong central leadership makes the group more formidable and its attacks more deadly; dismissing the evidence that al Qaeda's leadership has regrouped will ultimately endanger U.S. security.'

IRI regime undermines Iraq's Awakening movements. Long War Journal:

The latest charge leveled against Iran is that Qods Force, the special operations branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, is working to destroy the Awakening movements that oppose al Qaeda and Shia terrorist groups. Mohammed Abdullah Shahwani, the director of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, accused Iran of sabotaging the Awakening, or Sahwa, movements. The Awakening movement and associated Sons of Iraq (formerly the Concerned Local Citizens) movements have been instrumental in securing vast regions of Iraq during the past year.

"We have information confirming that Iranian secret services have sent agents to sabotage the Sahwa experience in Iraq," Shahwani said in a press release issued today. Shahwani is a Kurd who served as a brigadier general in a Republican Guard unit under the regime of Saddam Hussein. Shahwani later organized efforts to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Gates to Turks: Leave Iraq soon. Defense Secretary William Gates told Turkey's defense minister Vecdi Gonul that Turkish troops must leave Iraqi Kurdistan soon. Fox: 'Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he told his Turkish counterpart on Thursday that Turkey should end its offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as soon as possible but said the U.S. is making no threats against its NATO ally if it fails to comply. ... Gates said that a specific timetable for the Turks to stop their attack "did not come up during my meeting with the defense minister," but he said before flying to Turkey that withdrawal should come in a matter of days, or weeks, rather than months.'

Azizollah Esnaashari remembered. Azarmehr:

His coffin was draped in the Iranian Sun and Lion flag. After his coffin was lowered to the ground, his family then poured some Iranian soil in his grave. I too had brought some Iranian soil with me, it was from the Gardens of Fin, where Iran's great secular Prime Minister, Amirkabir was murdered. It was my last contribution to a man whose judgement and insight, I trusted so much when it came to Iranian affairs.

Each person who could, then took turns with the shovel filling up the grave until Aziz's coffin was fully covered. Then came the many bouquets of flowers from family and friends, many of them in the green, white and red of the Iranian flag's tri-colours.

Once all the flowers were laid, a speech was made by a family friend celebrating the life of a courageous man who stood by his principles and helped anyone he could, without expecting any favours in return. A man who was praised by friend and foe for his honesty and loyalty.

When the speech was finished, we sang the Ey Iran anthem, and finished with the shouts of Payandeh Iran (Long Live Iran).

There was no religious ceremony, it was the way Aziz wanted it.

Read Azarmehr's previous post on Aziz. 'Esnaashari, is the only one ever reported to have stood up and opposed Ayatollah Khomeini to his face.'

Briefly noted. ThreatsWatch: Euro-weenies offer new bribes to mullahs. Gay Patriot West remembers William F. Buckley, Jr.

Commentary. It's up to the citizens of the free world to keep the pressure on our governments to stop appeasing the terror masters in Tehran.

Morning Report: February 22, 2008

Censorship comes in all sizes, from the monstrous to the petty.

Iran: Women journalists are dangerous! Or Does It Explode reports that Iranian regime authorities have shut down the moderate women's magazine "Zanan". Apparently the very word "woman" is a dirty word for these pigs.

Sadr to extend cease-fire. The Long War Journal: 'Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the radical Mahdi Army and the Sadrist movement, has officially extended the self-imposed unilateral cease-fire. Sadr has "decided to renew the freeze on activities of the Mahdi Army for another period" of six months, spokesman Hazim al Aaraji told AFP. "The decision was disseminated yesterday in letters that were distributed to all of Sadr's offices in Iraq." Sadr's official statement confirms yesterday's reports by senior Sadrist leaders who stated off the record the cease-fire would be extended. ... Sadr’s decision was strongly influenced by US and Iraqi pressure from both the military and political spheres.' Full analysis at the link.

Debka: Syria-based Russian spy ship observed off Israeli shore. Debka:

Russian Amur 1 Class PM 138 naval boat, caught up in the heavy storm raging across the Middle East and Mediterranean last week, flashed a distress signal Tuesday Feb. 19. A Greek Navy frigate responded to the call and escorted the PM 138 to the island of Chios.

DEBKAfile’s military sources point out:

1. Russian naval vessels are spending long periods running into months at the Syrian military bases of Latakia and Tartous.

2. Witnesses in Greece say the vessel, described officially as an auxiliary repair craft, boasted an unusual number of antennas for gathering intelligence.

Non-team player fired by drunken lemurs. Fox News: 'DES MOINES, Iowa — A seven-year casino employee fired after posting in his office a "Dilbert" comic comparing managers to "drunken lemurs" has become the subject of the strip. David Steward was fired from the Catfish Bend Casino because management found the cartoon "very offensive," human resources director Steve Morley had testified during a hearing on unemployment benefits in December 2007. The casino had challenged his claim for the financial assistance.'

Commentary. No commentary today. Have a great weekend.

Morning Report: February 21, 2008

Win, lose, or draw?

Missile scores hit on satellite. In from the Cold:

AP military correspondent Robert Burns reports that an SM-3 missile from a U.S. navy vessel successfully struck a defunct spy satellite over the Pacific tonight. The intercept was aimed at destroying the satellite before it reenters the earth's atmosphere, lessening the danger from falling debris that survives reentry, including the platform's large propellant tank, filled with toxic hydrazine.

The missile was launched around 10:30 p.m. EST this evening, and struck the satellite shortly after. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made the final decision to conduct the intercept.

Earlier in the day, it appeared that heavy seas around Hawaii would delay the intercept attempt. But the weather improved in the later afternoon, allowing the launch to proceed.

Pentagon officials say it may be a couple of days before the status of the fuel tank and its cargo are known. However, early reports suggested that the tank was destroyed by the missile impact.

Kurtz: Pakistan votes "no" to war on terror. Stanley Kurtz at NRO: 'Pakistan’s victorious opposition parties are signaling a new approach to terrorism. That strategy “is more likely to be responsive to the consensus of the Pakistani public than was Mr. Musharraf’s and is more likely to shun a heavy hand by the military and rely on dialogue with the militants.”' Read the rest at the link.
Strategy Page: Russia vs. China. Strategy Page:

The [Russian] government is making a lot of noise about rebuilding the armed forces, and another Cold War with the U.S., but this is all talk, to make the government appear like it's doing something. The military would need massive amounts of money (