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World Terrorism : Weapons of Disruption Onging...
http://www.fredcowie.com/presentations/index.htm ^ | Jan.1, 2006 | Frederick J. Cowie, Ph.D.

Posted on 01/01/2006 6:41:58 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT

Weapons of Disruption

C 2006 Frederick J. Cowie, Ph.D.

Whereas we have no masses, it certainly would be seriously challenging to deliver a "weapon of mass destruction" in the vast majority of geographical areas in the American West, as well as in many areas in the East and South. For instance, Montana is approximately the size of Germany, yet the population hovers only around a million (we have one representative in the House). There is no "metropolitan" area anywhere around, though Spokane is about three hundred miles away. Wyoming has more sheep than people. Utah has Salt Lake City and a few nearby populous areas. Nevada has two populated regional areas, Las Vegas and Reno. North and South Dakota have, well, a few folks here and there. Idaho folks are few and far between. I swear you can drive from San Antonio to El Paso without seeing a city policeman, because I've done it several times. Then there are Arizona, New Mexico, eastern California, inter alia. The point is we have a few population points, while the rest of the states are empty excepted for isolated small communities.Thus, out West we probably need to talk more about "weapons of disruption." (Some folks say "weapons of mass disruption," but we have no masses!)

You must ask yourself: What would I do if I were a terrorist (or a terrorism preparedness instructor) looking into the ramifications of launching a rural terrorism attack? Personally, I would concentrate on considering the consequences of disruption rather than mass destruction. Here are a few scenarios you might want consider when your local rural emergency management/response group gathers to discuss terrorism exercises.

1) Wildland Fire Incidents: Incendiary (mostly wildland) warfare has been used by military strategists for at least 2500 years, over a thousand years before the use of gunpowder. The western U.S. is disrupted, seriously disrupted, every year by wildland fires. Quite a few are started by humans, accidentally and purposefully. Starting dozens of major fires in a dozen western states could be a brilliant line of attack if militants wished to disrupt America. Thousands of security personnel could do nothing and the perpetrator/s would probably never be implicated, much less captured. Are you prepared?

2) Railroad Chemical Incidents: Many railroad main lines go through tunnels. A few strategically placed armor-piercing shells in a series of chlorine cars, along with appropriately staged derailments leaving the leaking cars in the tunnels, could shut down many main line routes in the West. Spin-off scenarios are numerous. Ready?

3) Flammable Liquid Incidents: Bridges are not easily brought down from below and approaches to bridge support structures are often highly visible and randomly monitored. However, on CNN we all have seen many tanker truck accidents involving burning hydrocarbons which have made bridge structures unusable. How hard would it be to have a few terrorists steal trucks and drive them (as opposed to hijacking planes and flying them) to strategic bridges over wide rivers or narrow gorges, ignite the gasoline (or diesel or crude), block the approaches with other incendiary or chemical releases, and make the structures extremely dangerous and impassible to highway traffic? Gotcha!

There are many variations of these themes. You probably have or can make up many more plausible, novel, and easily implemented rural-specific attack scenarios. Design exercises around them. If you want to stop terrorist events you must think like a terrorist and quit fighting last year's war!

Peace, thanks, Fred

Please check out my website at fredcowie.com

To find recent presentations, Google (with quotation marks) "Fred Cowie"

Frederick J. (Fred) Cowie, Ph.D. E-mail: fredcowie@aol.com Phone: (24 hr cell) 406-431-3531 Website: fredcowie.com


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: cowie; fires; fredcowie; gas; globaljihad; israel; jehad; jihadi; mafia; oil; oligarchs; religion; russia; takeover; terror; terrorism; terrorist; threatstous; threatstoworld; ukraine; war; weapon; weapons; worldreports; worldterrorism; wot; wt
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

Am I the only one that got "Forbidden, you don't have permission to enter"?


1,741 posted on 01/29/2006 4:51:24 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

Wow, I have never heard of frozen tsunamis before. Scary!


1,742 posted on 01/29/2006 4:53:51 PM PST by WestCoastGal (-Flank2 - Wake up guys!! Jack is back!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

What a cutie pie!!

I miss seeing mine, they grow up so fast!


1,743 posted on 01/29/2006 4:55:00 PM PST by WestCoastGal (-Flank2 - Wake up guys!! Jack is back!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

"IVUS" another example of the global warning, just ask gore.

For those who worry about the ice melting and flooding the area, Dr. Bill gives them an experiment to do, it proves his point of "NO danger".

Take a glass, fill it with ice cubes, then add water to the top.

Set the glass down and allow it to melt and come to room temperature.

Notice that the melted ice did not cause the glass to overflow.

He says the same holds true in the Alaska Ice, it will not raise the level of the ocean.

KOA new:

Cindy Sheehan, is going to protest President Bush at his state of the union speech.

Bob Woodruff and his cameraman, both have head injuries, from the IED, attack this morning in Iraq, it will be several days, before they are out of critical condition.


1,744 posted on 01/29/2006 5:05:01 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: Rushmore Rocks

We missed you.

It is good that you could cut and run for a day, does one a lot more good, then the planned vacation does, or so I always thought.

I kept a gym bag with the needed things for a quick get away, coffee pot, can opener, spam, canned beans and canned
fruit, ready to go for years.

Love a campfire and any food tastes good. Even canned spinach, open the can, set on the grill, a bit of bacon drippings and it is good.

We kept an old oven shelf in the truck, so that we had a grill, no matter when we wanted to cook.

I can cook with rocks, but like my grill.


1,745 posted on 01/29/2006 5:11:58 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

In recent years, officials in mainland China have frequently committed
crimes by hiring thugs and gangs to murder political opponents,
individuals who expose their corruption, mistresses who pester them,
and district-attorneys in charge of their cases. <<<<<<

Looks as tho it is working.

Works all over the world.

Reading your report on the mafia and gangs in China and listening to 850koa.com the Denver radio, where whatever
Shawn thought his subject was, it has been taken over by the commie callers and anti- commies.

They rant against big business and then ask for more money on welfare.

I do not see a lot of difference between China and the way Russia was and is beginning to be run.

It is a simple rule, if they bother you, "kill them".

Any time the young are free to stand on the street corner, there is going to be big trouble.


1,746 posted on 01/29/2006 5:22:41 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

Thank you for posting the photo, he is perfect.

But then I did not expect less than perfection from "your" grandchild...........smiling.

God's real blessings in this world.


1,747 posted on 01/29/2006 5:26:37 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

likes to boast that his troops haven't fired a single
shot. Made up largely of engineering and construction units, the task
force has built 52 schools, 23 medical facilities and 25 water wells. It
has also trained military forces in six countries, including Uganda and
Ethiopia, to shore up their border security<<<<<

I do not know if the project will work, but at least the effort has been made to help.

It makes me think of how the al qaeda got into Chechnya, they came with money and offered jobs to the hungry people.

It is always better to teach a person how to do something, than to do it for them.

I see many articles on the take over of Africa by the terrorist groups.


1,748 posted on 01/29/2006 5:37:38 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: nw_arizona_granny
Grand baby looked hungry, didn't he? I thought that picture so funny. That chubby little guy and all that food on him. LOL

Fed to raise US rates again as Greenspan era ends By Alister Bull
Sun Jan 29, 1:56 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan will end his 18-year rule on Tuesday with a rate hike of a quarter percentage point and the message that borrowing costs may go up again in March if warranted by growth and inflation.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060129/bs_nm/economy_fed_dc
1,749 posted on 01/29/2006 5:38:11 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT (I can't stay on topic!)
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To: All

Posted for research and study: (no url given, from a news group)..........

"I mean, we ought to give the enemy credit for helping isolate
themselves from this population. And their utter, utter brutality and
inhumanity revealed what their true intentions were and allowed us to
get after the enemy very effectively while protecting the population,"
he said."

"McMaster as a major in 1997 wrote the influential book, "Dereliction
of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff,
and the Lies that Led to Vietnam."


Article goes some distance before you know they are talking about Tall
Afar.
I wonder...is there another book in the Colonel's future?

David


http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060128-085412-7010r

Colonel: Key northern town on right track

By PAMELA HESS
UPI Pentagon Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The United States and Iraqi forces have
won the upper hand in a key region of northern Iraq, but the American
commander warned Friday that victory may be fragile.

"This is a victory for the Iraqi people, it's a victory for the Iraqi
security forces, but certainly it's a fragile victory. I mean, this is
a brutal and determined enemy who wants to get back into the city, who
wants to continue to brutalize these people," said Col. H.R. McMaster,
commander of the 3d Armored Calvary Regiment, at a Pentagon
teleconference Friday.

"We anticipate that this enemy will continue to try to come back.
There will continue to be violence in the city. But we're very
confident now that our combined forces -- the police, the army, our
forces -- can preempt those attacks," he said.

The 3d ACR launched a months-long campaign last year to oust
insurgents, foreign fighters and terrorists from the town and
surrounding regions and re-establish civilian control.

"This was an important physical defeat for the enemy because they lost
this safe haven and support base in an area that they hoped to use to
destabilize the northern region of Iraq. It was also a very important
psychological defeat to the enemy because people now understand that
these anti-Iraqi forces want Iraq to fail. They now know, because
we've been able to demonstrate our intentions with our deeds, that we,
the Iraqi army, the Iraqi police, the leaders who have emerged from
Tall Afar want Iraq and want

Tall Afar and western Nineveh to succeed," said McMaster.

The 3d ACR arrived in Tall Afar last summer to find the city largely
in the grips of local insurgents and terrorist forces moving across
the nearby Syrian border. Tall' Afar was a way station, the first stop
on the way to key northern city of Mosul 30 miles to the east, and to
Baghdad in the south.

"What we saw initially is the enemy was very organized before or
specialized within cells, kidnapping and murder cells, mortar cells,
sniper cells, and so forth. What we saw initially is a lot of these
had consolidated, so you'd find in one house, you know, the propaganda
material, the IED-making material, the sniper weapon, and then,
obviously, we pursued this enemy.

"I mean, the enemy now, they're skulking around like rats, you know,
at night, through the wadi systems and so forth in the city. They
can't be seen, because it is them who are afraid," McMaster said.

In November of 2004 the entire western Ninevah province had been the
target of a major insurgent offensive during which more than 40 police
stations were destroyed by bombs and mortars, and most of the police
force run off.

Tall 'Afar has its own set of problems. It's 250,000 residents are a
complex tapestry of ethnicities and religions and tribes -- 82 of
them. About 95 percent of the town is ethnically Turkmen, with about 5
percent Kurdish. 75 percent of the Turkmen are Sunni and 25 percent
are Shia. The Kurds are almost entirely Sunni. While Kurds and Turkmen
historically have warred, when sides are chosen in Tall 'Afar, the
Turkmen Shi'ites often ally themselves with the Kurdish Sunnis against
the Turkmen Sunnis.

On May 1, 2005, a suicide car bomber struck at a funeral in Tall 'Afar
killing more than 20 Iraqis and inaugurated a virulent new phase in
the insurgency -- between five and 10 attacks a day in the city, and
in one month as many as 170. The 3d ACR believes the attack was an
attempt by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi's organization to
flame ethnic tensions.

"It seemed to be going well for the enemy as the regiment began to
arrive in the area of operations in the summer of 2005. The enemy had
taken over the schools, taken over the mosques. At least five
civilians were being killed per day, at least that was the average,"
McMaster said.

The insurgent forces "hoped to incite sectarian violence which they
did by collapsing the police force, turning the police force in effect
into a sectarian militia that further fed the cycle of sectarian
violence," McMaster said Friday.

While a Turkman Sunni mayor had governed the town, the police had been
entirely Shi'a since 2004 when the Shi'a chief fired all 400 Sunnis.

When the 3d ACR arrived in Tall 'Afar in May, it discovered and freed
two dozen abused and malnourished Sunnis being held prisoner by the
police in town hall. The 3d ACR replaced the Shi'ite police chief with
a Sunni general from Baghdad, and some 120 Tall 'Afar police have been
referred to the Interior Ministry for investigation.

"I'm happy to report to you the situation in Tall Afar and in western
Nineveh has fundamentally changed. And what we have been able to
achieve there together alongside our Iraqi brothers is to bring life
back to this area, to rekindle hope," McMaster said.

Attacks are down to 30 to 40 a month, McMaster said, and most contact
with the enemy is initiated by American and Iraqi government forces.

The tipping point, according to McMaster, was the campaign to oust
insurgents from their stronghold in a particular neighborhood in Tall
'Afar called Sarai. The campaign was marked by a 5,000-man joint
U.S-Iraqi incursion to clear Sarai in September, but that was
book-ended by a vast series of smaller raids in surrounding areas. By
the time the 3d ACR got to Sarai, it was empty. That was the
intention. The upcoming operation had been publicized in the hope that
non-combatants and insurgents would flee, allowing the neighborhood
buildings to be thoroughly checked and cleared of all weapons. It
worked: During the three-day operation no casualties were reported and
U.S and Iraqi patrol bases were established in the once impenetrable
neighborhood.

With the town cleared of its violent element, the civilians returned
to normal life. According to McMaster, it is going extremely well.
Ninety percent of eligible voters took part in the December election,
the entire town now has water and power, a function of improved
security.

The key change is on the police force.

"Before the operation we tried very hard to rebalance the police force
but,despite our efforts, only three Turkmen Sunna were able to
volunteer because their families were in threat of being murdered if
any of their sons or brothers or husbands joined the police force,"
McMaster said.

"Now we are building to a police force from what was 150 and all
Shi'a, to a force of 1,765, who are just about fielded now, have been
equipped and are undergoing additional training and integration with
the Iraqi army's and our security efforts within the city."

The new force is roughly reflective of the population; about 70
percent of the new recruits are Turkmen Sunni, McMaster said.

"The most tangible thing we can see is that people are happy. Hope
is rekindled. Children rush to our soldiers. People spontaneously
express their gratitude to us and the Iraqi army. There are bonds of
trust, mutual respect, common purpose forming between the Iraqi army
and the people, and we're working on now reintroducing the police
force and rebuilding its credibility after the difficult period that
the city is emerging from," McMaster said.

He also said some newborn babies have been named after 3d ACR
soldiers, a sign of the esteem growing between the people of Tall
'Afar and the regiment.

McMaster credited the enemy he faces in Iraq with some of his victory.

"I mean, we ought to give the enemy credit for helping isolate
themselves from this population. And their utter, utter brutality and
inhumanity revealed what their true intentions were and allowed us to
get after the enemy very effectively while protecting the population,"
he said.

As an example, 3dACR officials told UPI in September 2005 that one
Tall 'Afar man was killed while retrieving the dead body of his
12-year old child, who had been shot to death by insurgents. The boy's
body had been cut open, stuffed with an explosive device and dumped in
the street. When the father picked him up, they both exploded.

"We'll stay after the enemy to maintain the momentum we have, maintain
the initiative and, you know, make good on our effort here in the long
term, so these people, who deserve security so much, have that
security, enduring security, in the city and throughout western
Nineveh province," he said.

The vast majority of the troopers in the 3rd Cavalry are in Iraq for
their second tour of duty. They are expected to be redeploying to the
United States this spring after a year in Ninevah.

McMaster said the unit replacing them has roughly the same numbers and
capabilities -- attack helicopters, heavy armor, and artillery as well
as infantry -- and knows it is in for a continued fight.

"There's not going to be any kind of degree of drop-off in effort,"
McMaster said.

McMaster as a major in 1997 wrote the influential book, "Dereliction
of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff,
and the Lies that Led to Vietnam."


1,750 posted on 01/29/2006 5:51:02 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: All

"They were arrested with explosives and vehicles which they planned to
use for attacks... Among the nine are people who were suicide bombers,"


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4660258.stm

Afghanistan holds 'bomb plotters'

Afghan security forces in Kandahar province say they have arrested
nine people, including two Pakistanis, suspected of plotting attacks.

The governor of Kandahar, Assadullah Khalid, said would-be suicide
bombers were among those detained.

He said the nine arrested were captured during raids across the
southern province in the past 48 hours.

There have been a spate of bomb attacks there, including one in Spin
Boldak which killed more than 20 people.

'Crossing border'

"They were arrested with explosives and vehicles which they planned to
use for attacks... Among the nine are people who were suicide
bombers," Mr Khalid told a news conference.

Meanwhile, the army said they had arrested a senior military commander
of the Taleban and four alleged militants in the province in the past
few days.

Defence Ministry spokesman Gen Mohammad Zahir Azimi identified the
"important Taleban military commander" as Mullah Jalan.

The four others are believed to have been involved in an attack in the
province, he said.

But it was not immediately clear whether these five were included in
the arrests announced by Governor Khalid.

Mr Khalid told the BBC's Bilal Sarwary that the two arrested Pakistani
nationals had confessed to crossing the border from Pakistan into
Kandahar to carry out attacks; he said they would be shown to the
media.

Earlier this month Mr Khalid accused neighbouring Pakistan of
supporting the perpetrators of recent bomb attacks - an allegation
Pakistan denies.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4660258.stm

Published: 2006/01/29 17:35:27 GMT


1,751 posted on 01/29/2006 5:55:52 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: All

850koa.com

A police officer's personal pickup was stolen at the local Home Depot Store, in it was his uniforms, badges, police radio (now turned off by the police? modern science at work)

No guns in the vehicle.

Major traffic problems, due to snow and wind.


1,752 posted on 01/29/2006 6:04:28 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: nw_arizona_granny

I should would hate to be arrest in Russia.

Arrested men give Russia details of espionage ring
Email Print Normal font Large font January 30, 2006 - 7:18AM

Advertisement
AdvertisementTwo men arrested when Russian intelligence busted an alleged British espionage ring in Moscow have given detailed accounts of MI6's operations in the country, a former spy chief said in remarks broadcast on NTV television.

"They describe how they work, in what way and with whom they worked," the chairman of Parliament's Veterans' Committee and the former head of the FSB intelligence service Nikolai Kovalev said in an interview.

His comments came a week after the Rossiya state channel aired footage purportedly showing four British diplomats retrieving data stored by informants inside a hi-tech imitation rock left by a Moscow roadside.

Kovalev termed the increasing level of covert British activity in Russia "indecent".

This was corroborated by the statements of two men who will go on trial in (northern) spring, he said, apparently referring to Russians allegedly recruited by Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence service.

"I believe the British will be in an awkward position if they start denying the fact of their active intelligence work on Russian territory," he added.

FSB agents used hidden cameras to film embassy staffers apparently using palm-top computers to download information from the "rock" over a period of several months.

The footage was broadcast on January 22, causing acute embarrassment to the British government, which said it was "concerned and surprised" at the claims.

Russia has used the spying allegations to justify an internationally criticised new law clamping down on non-governmental organisations, citing one of the spy suspects' contacts with NGOs.

President Vladimir Putin said it was regrettable that foreign intelligence services were trying to influence the Russian NGO sector and that the incident "shows why Russia adopted this law".

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/arrested-men-give-russia-details-of-espionage-ring/2006/01/30/1138469629370.html


1,753 posted on 01/29/2006 6:05:50 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT (I can't stay on topic!)
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To: All

This post contains 2 opinions, not mine.
granny.........

"...the more democratic Palestinians and Iraqis become, the less
likely they are to support U.S. strategic and economic interests.
Israel is a strategic interest for the United States; but it is
unlikely that given a choice, most people in the Middle East would
accept Israel's right to exist. In other words, ideal election
outcomes may not result in ideal foreign policy outcomes, from a U.S.
perspective."
"Democracies, even traditional allies, often don't see eye to eye; and
historically they are as likely to start wars as dictatorships."
"Thus, as in Woodrow Wilson's day, exporting democracy is as useful
for gaining domestic political support as it is destructive as foreign
policy."


Especially since in both Iraq and Palestine, as in already in Iran and
possibly soon in Lebanon as well, the "democratically elected"
majority parties are hard-line and/or terrorist Islamists whose
primary aims include expulsion of infidels (especially Jewish
infidels) from Muslim lands. Regardless of whether or not those
infidels lived in an area of Muslim land (Palestine and Jordan) over a
thousand years before Islam existed. Superimposing democratic
processes on peoples with no history of freedom, democracy or
religious diversity results only in the process being taken over by
existing extremists: Islamists.
Thus, U.S. policy of "democratization" has been a wonderful
vote-getting ploy for CICBush43 in his elections. HOWEVER, its
implementation, including CICBush43's invasion of Iraq and pressure on
Syria (about Lebanon where the Shiite majority's Hizballah terrorist
militia would likely win any new election) and on Israel (contrary to
the article author's premise that such pressure on Israel will solve
the Palestinian problem) to withdraw from Gaza is the establishment of
hard-line Islamist regimes highly likely to actively oppose the United
States and join Iran in favoring eradicating Israel by whatever means
possible. The only exceptions might be the Kurd zone of Iraq (if it
survives, against very heavy odds, as an independent entity) and the
Karzai government in Afghanistan. The latter is on very shaky ground
as the Taliban, complete with field level leadership from al-Qaeda and
plentiful modern arms bought from the Tamil Tigers arms network with
narcotics money, is rebounding and using Iraqi tactics (IED's, car
bombs, suicide bombers) and its usual elimination of officials,
teachers and doctors (along with the occasional U.S., NATO or U.N.
soldiers) to cause increasing disarray for the already weak Karzai
government. Nuclear-armed Pakistan only awaits the removal of
Musharraf to join the ranks of our Islamist enemies stretching from
India to Palestine.
Overall, not a successful result for CICBush43's "democratization".

David


http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/27/opinion/edtoft.php?rss

When terrorists go mainstream

Monica Duffy Toft The Boston Globe
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2006
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts Perhaps the biggest surprise about this
week's election results, in which the terrorist group Hamas won a
majority of seats in the Palestinian Parliament, is that it was so
much of a surprise to America. There are two main reasons why.

First, many in America have fallen victim to the notion that if
today's rogue states are bad neighbors, democratization will make them
good neighbors. A central pillar of the current Bush administration's
foreign policy is that dictators make bad neighbors. In other words,
we can expect authoritarian governments to start wars and support
terrorism more readily than democratic governments.

When President George W. Bush first took office, the security concern
of the day was "rogue states," a euphemism for Afghanistan, North
Korea, Iraq and Iran. After Sept. 11, the threat of rogue states
morphed into the terrorist threat, along with the conviction that
because these states were led by dictators, they would be more
susceptible to terrorism and they would eventually have "to be dealt
with."

But apt as the characterization of these states might have been, and
as troubling as they were to their respective neighbors, the corollary
does not follow. It is not the case that democratic states necessarily
make good neighbors on account of their form of government alone.

Japan is a democracy, but China does not rest easy on that account,
even though Japan has no formal military to speak of, and even though
pacifism is a part of its constitution. Democracies, even traditional
allies, often don't see eye to eye; and historically they are as
likely to start wars as dictatorships.

Second, most Americans buy into the romantic notion that "there are no
bad people, only bad leaders." By extension, giving power to the
people must result in "good" policy. The trouble is, what is "good"
depends on where you sit. If you live among the minority of states
that are rich and getting richer, then war and violence are a bad
idea: There is little to gain and everything to lose. If, however, you
live among the majority of states that are poor and getting poorer,
then war and violence seem a good idea: There is everything to gain
and nothing to lose. Thus, as in Woodrow Wilson's day, exporting
democracy is as useful for gaining domestic political support as it is
destructive as foreign policy.

Logic notwithstanding, we have a real-world example of what happens
when the people of a poor Islamic state are offered democracy. In the
early 1990s, Algeria's government held democratic elections to head
off widespread dissent and riots. The Islamic Salvation Front - the
first legal Islamic political party in North Africa - worked hard to
win. When the Algerian people were given a choice (twice), they chose
the theocracy (twice), and the government of Algeria was toppled by a
military coup that repudiated the election results and imposed martial
law.

What can we learn from this?

First, the United States and its allies have the power to bring their
own foreign policies in line with their professed democratic values.
It may be difficult, but the United States must stop supporting
military dictatorships simply because they are "allies in the war
against terror." The United States must also support Israel by
pressuring it to concede to a genuine Palestinian state, while at the
same time guaranteeing Israel's security.

Second, the more democratic Palestinians and Iraqis become, the less
likely they are to support U.S. strategic and economic interests.
Israel is a strategic interest for the United States; but it is
unlikely that given a choice, most people in the Middle East would
accept Israel's right to exist. In other words, ideal election
outcomes may not result in ideal foreign policy outcomes, from a U.S.
perspective.

Countering the popular appeal of groups such as Hamas requires
controlling habitat, not population. Killing terrorists can't stop the
violence until and unless you destroy the habitat that produces them.
That in turn demands serious effort at providing basic needs, such as
food, shelter, clean water, education and health care.

Hamas has historically done much better at providing for the basic
needs of Palestinian Arabs than the Fatah politicians in the
Palestinian Authority. That's why Hamas won, and that's why, when
seeking to export democracy, the United States and its allies must
remain careful of what they wish for.

(Monica Duffy Toft is an associate professor at the Kennedy School of
Government and assistant director of the John M. Olin Institute of
Strategic Studies at Harvard University.)


1,754 posted on 01/29/2006 6:11:34 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

Terrorist Drug Groups Plan Attacks at US-Mexico Border
January 29, 2006 09:21 AM EST



By Sher Zieve – On Sunday, it is reported that members of the terrorist gang MS-13, working with Central and South American drug cartels, have been planning coordinated attacks at specific locations on the US-Mexico border. The information comes from an alert issued by the DHS (Department of Homeland Security).
The alert is said to read: "After enough members have been pre-positioned along the border, a coordinated attack using firearms was to commence against all law enforcement, to include Border Patrol.” The Daily Bulletin, who obtained the alert, reported that “law enforcement officials along the border said they had not received the alert”.

This latest planned drug trafficking invasion comes just days after members of the Mexican military and drug traffickers met the US Border Patrol in a Texas stand-off.

On 25 January, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) called for an immediate deployment of US troops to the US-Mexico border. Tancredo said: “Our border has literally turned into a war zone with foreign military personnel challenging our laws and our sovereignty. The Mexican military is using its overwhelming firepower to hold the U.S. Border Patrol and other law enforcement at bay. The only way to deal with this dangerous situation is to tap the resources of our own military. I call on President Bush and the Governors of border states to immediately deploy military personnel to defend our borders against the Mexican military.”

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/11934.html


1,755 posted on 01/29/2006 6:13:50 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT (I can't stay on topic!)
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To: nw_arizona_granny

Oh granny you are going to be sick after this one..

Is there a new member of the Bush family?
Reuters ^ | 01/29/06


Posted on 01/29/2006 3:48:43 PM EST by notes2005


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush says Bill Clinton has become so close to his father that the Democratic former president is like a member of the family. Former President George Bush has worked with Clinton to raise money for victims of the Asian tsunami and the hurricane disaster along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Asked about his father and Clinton, Bush quipped, "Yes, he and my new brother."

"That's a good relationship. It's a fun relationship to watch," Bush said in an interview with CBS News broadcast on Sunday.

While attending Pope John Paul's funeral, Bush said, "It was fun to see the interplay between dad and Clinton. One of these days, I'll be a member of the ex-president's club. ... I'll be looking for something to do."

He said ex-presidents share rare experiences that others cannot understand. "And so I can understand why ex-presidents are able to put aside old differences," he said.

Bush said he checked in with Clinton occasionally.

"And you know, he says things that makes it obvious -- that makes it obvious to me that we're kind of, you know, on the same wavelength about the job of the presidency. Makes sense, after all, there's this kind of commonality," he said.

Bush jokingly referred to speculation that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former president's wife, will seek the Democratic nomination for the presidency. He had earlier referred to the former first lady as "formidable."

"Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton," he said, referring to how Bill Clinton had followed his father, and Hillary Clinton could follow him
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1567506/posts


1,756 posted on 01/29/2006 6:27:13 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT (I can't stay on topic!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

Russia has used the spying allegations to justify an internationally
criticised new law clamping down on non-governmental organisations,
citing one of the spy suspects' contacts with NGOs. <<<

You are correct, do not get arrested in russia.

the above, is becoming very common in russia, every day or so Putin signs a new law and it always puts the KGB back in control and takes away the citizens rights.

At least they are honest in China, "we control-you obey", in russia, the laws are hidden and mean the same.

I was right, this is interesting, take a peek.

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=new%20laws%20signed%20by%20Putin

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=Russia%20has%20spies%20in%20which%20countries

This is a must see and also the Google Groups:

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=Russian%20spies%20in%20the%20U.S.

The word working changes the links:

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=Foreign%20spies%20working%20in%20the%20U.S.A.

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=where%20are%20foreign%20spies%20working%20in%20the%20U.S.

http://www.google.com/search?q=where+are+Russia+spies+working+in+the+U.S.&btnG=Search&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&client=googlet

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=spies%20embedded%20in%20the%20U.S.

This is a check it out search and need to look at the qaeda spelling:

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=al-Qaida%20spies%20in%20the%20U.S.

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=where%20are%20the%20al-Qaida%20spies%20hiding

Need deeper look at this one:

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=al-Qaida%20meeting%20planned

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=al-Qaida%20jehad

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=jehad%20allah

good:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&client=googlet&q=jihad+allah&spell=1

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=jihad%20warrior%20allah

I refuse to even look at the China spies.


1,757 posted on 01/29/2006 7:04:50 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

I think the Minutemen are on this, as on the radio, they do a lot of talking about meetings on the border, that they plan.

The commie/mexican protestors are becoming violent, so that the Minutemen have to keep where they plan on going a secret, and you have to be a member to find out where the meeeting is going to be.

Keep in mind, that to have a monthly meeting of the Las Vegas meeting for the close the border group, they are forced to hire extra private guards for the building (a convention center), plus the regular private guards that are always on duty.


1,758 posted on 01/29/2006 7:10:40 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: DAVEY CROCKETT

If Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton is true, then we do not have a country, we will be forced into a civil war and that means a lot of killing and broken families.

I can understand Bush saying that the ex-presidents could talk about things that others would not understand.

I can talk real estate, and it would not make sense to anyone that had not worked in real estate.

As can any person, who has learned their job.

I really do not know what the truth is.

I try to always remember that the communist manifesto says to do anything to tear down the leaders and home and church.


1,759 posted on 01/29/2006 7:17:29 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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To: All

Tinfoil? odd, another Israel leader with a heart attack!

Kadima MK Chaim Ramon Suffers Heart Attack
19:14 Jan 29, '06 / 29 Tevet 5766


(IsraelNN.com) MK Chaim Ramon (Kadima) suffered a heart attack Sunday
evening.
Ramon, who is 55, was transported to Sheba Hospital, where he underwent
a
catheterization.

Ramon is in good condition after surgery, which included entry into a
major
artery.

MK Ramon recently left the Labor Party in order to join Prime Minister
Ariel
Sharon's Kadima Party. Sharon himself was hospitalized with a stroke
and heart
problems and is now in a coma.




1,760 posted on 01/29/2006 7:38:02 PM PST by nw_arizona_granny (The past cannot be changed, the future is what ever you want it to be. The choice is yours!)
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