All Flags above link to the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook page for the respective country. This is a great research tool.
Posted on 12/03/2006 9:53:17 PM PST by La Enchiladita
All Flags above link to the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook page for the respective country. This is a great research tool.
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And what has Mohammed brought us....
Police to quiz poison suspects in Moscow [Prime suspect named]
The Times (UK) ^ | December 4, 2006 | by Daniel McGrory and Michael Evans
Scotland Yard detectives will fly out to Moscow this week to question a number of Russian businessmen who they believe include a leading suspect in the plot to poison Alexander Litvinenko.
Senior officers have briefed ministers on the man’s identity and on how he made several trips to London in the fortnight before the former Kremlin spy fell ill last month. Nine officers from Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Unit have been given permission to travel to Moscow by the Russian authorities and told that they will be shadowed by local police during their investigations.
Andrei Lugovoy, a former KGB agent turned millionaire entrepreneur, is believed to be among five men the police want to meet. He made three trips to London from October 16 and met Mr Litvinenko four times in the days before the latter was fatally poisoned with polonium-210.
Mr Lugovoy has told The Times of sharing drinks and dining with Mr Litvinenko, including a meal they had in October at the same Piccadilly sushi bar where detectives believe the Russian dissident was poisoned on November 1.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1748135/posts
Per FOX News.
John Bolton just resigned.
Sad
We've lost Rummy and Bolton. Very sad indeed.
I can’t help but think that President Bush has a “complete” plan for the ME that has not been disclosed or leaked, at least at this point in time.
With Rice’s recent meetings with Ohlmert and Abbas, and Cheney’s meeting with the Saudi’s, is it possible that there is a plan to let a civil war break out in Lebanon, with both Syria and Iran participating, and then wait for the dust to settle before making a move?
Why else would Israel pull back into a shell and let Hezbollah continue to fire rockets, without reacting?
Just maybe Bush plans to keep Iraq “under control” as much as possible, while Lebanon blows up and Israel is continuously attacked, in order to gain world acceptance for his position and form a multinational coalition against Iran and Syria.
I’m not a political strategist, I only “pretend” to be one on FR! LOL
On a positive note, here is a great article on recent U.S. military success in Ramadi (the Anbar Province) from the Weekly Standard. I haven’t seen it linked to this thread yet.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/985qugel.asp
OK, now that I’ve stated my thoughts, I’ll go back to my corner and put my tin foil hat back on!
Good morning, FRiends! I hope you all slept well!
Off to catch up...
WOW! Very impressive, KAC! Thanks!
Yahoo! Alerts Yahoo! News
Monday, December 4, 2006, 3:22 AM PST
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) The U.S. military says a Marine helicopter made an emergency landing in a lake in Iraq, leaving one person dead and three missing.
Monday, December 4, 2006, 6:20 AM PST
WASHINGTON (AP) President Bush has accepted the resignation of U.N. Ambassador John Bolton when his recess appointment expires.
Thanks for the link, WW!
Sunnis fight back against insurgents
IWPR ^ | December 4 2006
Posted on 12/04/2006 9:31:28 AM CST by jmc1969
Sunni leaders in lawless western Iraq have formed a kind of citizen’s militia to combat sustained attacks by insurgent groups linked to al-Qaida.
Dubbed the Anbar Salvation Council, the group seeks to gather diverse tribal groups, political leaders and members of the police and other security forces.
By representing Sunnis who oppose al-Qaida groups leading the violent campaign in the province, the Salvation Council marks an important counter to the increasing sectarian divide within the country.
Already claiming some success in attacking al-Qaida-inspired forces, the Salvation Council is being seized on by the Iraqi and US governments as a possible means to restore some kind of order in the province.
The main objective of the Salvation Council is to oppose al-Qaida and put an end to their power in the west of Iraq. Representatives say that it was formed in October under the supervision of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
“We got full support from the government to terminate Takfiri groups [radical anti-government Islamists] all over the province,” claimed Fassal al-Gawod, a member of the Salvation Council who was formerly head of a provincial council in Anbar.
The Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) is one of the key groups that broke the Sunni political boycott, supported the October 2005 constitutional referendum and decided to participate in the December 2005 parliamentary elections. Now it forms part of the Accord Front, the Sunni parliamentary bloc, and holds senior posts in the parliament and the government.
As a result, it has also become a prime target for al-Qaida, particularly in Anbar province. “Al-Qaida's agenda is against Sunni participation in any political process," said Abdul-Karim Mohammed, a senior IIP official. “The IIP is the first renegade and we will clean up Anbar of their Islam renegade ideology.”
More at the FR thread here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1748175/posts
Yahoo! Alerts Yahoo! News
Monday, December 4, 2006, 7:42 AM PST
LONDON (AP) Prime Minister Tony Blair says building new nuclear submarines is the best option to replace Britain's aging Trident fleet.
Yahoo! Alerts Yahoo! News
Monday, December 4, 2006, 8:29 AM PST
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) The Egyptian Interior Ministry says police have arrested an American and several other foreigners for allegedly planning terrorist attacks in the Middle East, including Iraq.
Monday, December 4, 2006, 8:45 AM PST
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) The U.S. military says four Marines died when a CH-46 helicopter went down in a lake in Anbar province.
We lost 4 great Americans.
Yahoo! Alerts Yahoo! News -Monday, December 4, 2006, 8:45 AM PST
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) The U.S. military says four Marines died when a CH-46 helicopter went down in a lake in Anbar province.
Don't think so, WW...I think things got away from Bush, and he didn't know how to fight against the pc/anti-Bush crowd in a day that requires people not to use words like "slaving at a hot stove" lest it offend someone.
Once again, I feel like I'm in a bad version of the Late Great Planet Earth....
"We lost 4 great Americans. "
True that, Bahbah... 4 heroes. May God bless their families and friends at this difficult time.
Sounds like something my older kkids would have done...
Same kkids who would scream out at the mall "Mom farted!" when the mall was nice and crowded!
Censorship fears rise as Iran blocks access to top websites
The Guardian (UK) ^ | December 4, 2006 | Robert Tait
Iran yesterday shut down access to some of the world's most popular websites. Users were unable to open popular sites including Amazon.com and YouTube following instructions to service providers to filter them.
Similar edicts have been issued against Wikipedia, the internet encyclopaedia, IMDB.com, an online film database, and the New York Times site. Attempts to open the sites are met with a page reading: "The requested page is forbidden."
The ban on YouTube reflects a growing official sensitivity to private films on the internet, an issue highlighted by a recent online video which appears to show an Iranian soap opera star having sex.
With some 7.5 million surfers, Iran is believed to have the highest rate of web use in the Middle East after Israel. The net's popularity has prompted an estimated 100,000 bloggers, many opposed to the Islamic regime. Some blogs are substitutes for Iran's once-flourishing, but now largely supressed, reformist press.
Illegal satellite dishes have also been seized.
FR link here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1748244/posts
Thanks KAC,
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this. I can't believe Bush would stand tall for 6 years and then cave in after November 7th.
If he doesn't have a plan for the ME and his cabinet is in disaray, then we're all screwed. I just don't believe that to be the case.
Only time (or "W") will tell.
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