:: Cato The Youngest ::

Riyadh Delenda Est!

:: Friday, September 06, 2002 ::

Out for the weekend

Posting will be pretty light this weekend. If a major story breaks, I'll try to address it, but the plan is to take the weekend off. I'll be back Sunday night, latest.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 6:07:00 PM Link
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How to be a good Anti-American

WhackingDay has this hilarious article (via Cut on the Bias). Here's a little excerpt.

TIP #2: The "Either/Or" method

A tried-and-true tactic is the fabulous "either/or" method: whenever trouble develops in the world, you can immediately begin squealing at the Americans for not doing anything about it, about being isolationists, selfish capitalist pigs and whatnot.

If the americans do act, you can howl outrage about warmongering, American cultural imperialism, oppression of the third world, and suchlike.

There are eight more "tips" in the article. Check them out.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 9:41:00 AM Link
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Nigerian e-mail scam spam

Lately, I've been getting these stupid, e-mails, usually from Nigeria, offering to make me gobs of money, if I front them some cash (yeah, right). I did some checking, and I discovered that the Treasury Department keeps a database of these turkeys. When you get one of them, just forward it to this address. Add "For your database - no financial loss" to the subject line (you didn't send them any money, did you?). These scams are apparently illegal on both sides of the Atlantic, and they do identify and prosecute the assholes, when they can.

I don't know how much good it does, in the long run, but it beats just sitting there and cussing the bastards. I suspect that if you CC'd the scammer on your forward to Treasury, you'd get taken off his list pretty quickly. I don't think I get quite as many of these e-mails since I started forwarding them to Treasury, but I don't have any hard figures, to prove it.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 1:05:00 AM Link
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At Crisis Time, A Motherlode Of Bush Traits

The Washington Post has this article.

"I explained to the prime minister that the policy of my government is the removal of Saddam," he said at a news conference. Catching himself, Bush added: "Maybe I should be a little less direct and be a little more nuanced, and say we support regime change."

Longtime Bush family friends say the performance gave them a flashback, to Barbara Bush, 1984. It was then that the future president's mother described her husband's challenger for the vice presidency, Geraldine Ferraro, as a word that "rhymes with rich." To calm the uproar, she later said she meant "witch," and not the word everybody thought.

in a score of interviews, friends and family of the president and political advisers to two Bush administrations say the last year has publicly demonstrated, as they knew privately, that George W. Bush is his mother's son. Coverage of Bush since the terrorist strikes of Sept. 11 has often compared the president to his presidential father. More to the point, Bush friends and aides say, is how the crisis has brought out in the younger Bush traits he learned from his mother: a sharp tongue, a stubborn will, a reliance on instinct, a black-and-white morality, impatience and a congenital inability to suffer fools.

That helps to explain how Bush, after a tentative start in the presidency, discovered himself as a leader after Sept. 11. Like his mother, Bush favors broad-brush thinking and quick decision-making -- the traits that friends and family say are demanded in a multi-front, fast-moving war when the nation needs a clear spokesman more than a policy expert. By sweeping away all shades of gray, the terrorist attacks played to Bush's strengths. "There was no more tentativeness about him and what he had to do," a Bush adviser said.

Yes, George W. Bush is more his mother's son than his father's, and I find that a Good Thing. Can you imagine President Bush's father moving as quickly and decisively as President Bush has? Can you possibly imagine Al Gore moving that quickly and decisively? It would require large quantities of really good dope for me to imagine either one of them doing as well as President Bush has.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 10:40:00 PM Link
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Attack on Iraq will open the gates of hell, Arabs warn

Arab News has this article.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa rounded off a foreign ministers meeting in Cairo with a warning that a US strike against Iraq would “open the gates of hell” in a region already “angry and frustrated” at Israel’s actions against the Palestinians during their nearly two-year conflict.

“We will continue to work to avoid a military confrontation ... because we believe that it will open the gates of hell in the Middle East,” Moussa told a news conference after the two-day meeting ended with a statement rejecting “any threat of attack” against Iraq.

Occasionally, the Arabs get something right. They have picked a fight with the "Great Satan", and the Gates of Hell are about to open wide. Yes, there's going to be Hell to pay, you sorry bastards. Come out and fight us, or hide behind your women and children. It doesn't matter. You have abandoned Allah's prohibition against making war on non-combatants, and you will find that He has abandoned you. You have dishonored the laws you claim He gave you. You have sown the wind, and you shall reap the whirlwind. You are toast, and we will have you for breakfast. Goodbye, it hasn't been good, knowing you.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 10:08:00 PM Link
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Saddam for ‘overall solution’

The Penninsula (Qatar) has this article.

"We want a comprehensive solution that leads to the lifting of the sanctions according to the Security Council resolutions," Iraqi television quoted Saddam as saying at talks with Yemeni Speaker of Parliament Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Hussein Al Ahmar.

I'll just bet they do. Let's see. We lift the sanctions, and Saddam lets a few inspectors in. They run around, finding nothing, because they won't be allowed anywhere near a real, live WMD. Saddam kicks them out after a) he develops working nukes, or b) the inspectors stumble onto a real lead and try to follow it up. End result - Saddam gets months of respite from the sanctions, and we end up where we started (if we're lucky). Doesn't sound like much of a deal to me, but I bet Jimmy Carter would eat it up.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 9:53:00 PM Link
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Rome honours Nigerian woman

BBC has this article.

A Nigerian woman who risked death by stoning is to be made an honorary citizen of the Italian capital Rome.

Rome mayor Walter Veltroni said a vast mobilisation in Rome had helped save Safiya Husseini, who was acquitted of adultery on appeal after an Islamic court in northern Nigeria ruled she should be stoned to death.

Mrs Husseini will receive her honorary title during a ceremony at Rome City Hall on Sunday.

Maybe it is occasionally possible to shame Muslims. I don't expect this to start a trend. Amina Lawal is still under sentence of stoning under similar circumstances.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 6:29:00 PM Link
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Army has doubled war stocks in Kuwait to accommodate modest buildup of combat troops

NJ.com has this article.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army recently doubled the size of its war stocks in Kuwait to accommodate a little-noticed expansion of U.S. armored forces at a base near the Iraqi border, officials said Thursday.

Army Secretary Thomas White said the Army is ready for whatever action President Bush chooses as he considers how to fulfill his administration's stated goal of removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power. White said the Army has not been given orders to begin preparing for an invasion.

"We have done a lot with pre-positioned stocks in the Gulf, making sure they're accessible and that they're in the right spot to support whatever the president wants to do," White said in an interview with a group of reporters. "But we've done nothing specifically against any particular scenario" for war.

A few thousand troops here, a few thousand troops there, pretty soon you've got an army. The bit about being ready for whatever action the president chooses was an interesting choice of words.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 6:19:00 PM Link
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New Link Section

Emily Jones, aka HawkGirl, has been harassed, lately, by a dickhead who calls himself "G.G". This "G.G." claims to be angry about a link Emily put up on he site. Well, the blogosphere has rallied 'round Emily. Several bloggers have offered to "counsel" "G.G.", but it's unlikely that filth like "G.G." would ever show his sorry excuse for a face. I am adding the link "G.G." so disliked in a section all its own, at the top of my blogroll. Why? Because assholes like "G.G "deserve to be dissed, even if they don't have the guts to come take their ass-kicking like a man. And, if you wanna mess with me, "G.G.", BRING IT, ASSHOLE!!
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 1:59:00 PM Link
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Who says Billy was the dumbest of the Carter children?

The Washington Post lets Jimmy Carter make a boob of himself in this article.

In the face of intense monitoring and overwhelming American military superiority, any belligerent move by Hussein against a neighbor, even the smallest nuclear test (necessary before weapons construction), a tangible threat to use a weapon of mass destruction, or sharing this technology with terrorist organizations would be suicidal. But it is quite possible that such weapons would be used against Israel or our forces in response to an American attack.

Let's see: We don't have to worry about Saddam using WMDs because he doesn't have them yet, but if we attack him, he'll use them on us. How will he attack us with a weapon he doesn't have? And, what intense monitoring? Saddam ran the UN weapons inspectors out.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 1:27:00 AM Link
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Cato's Law

A left-wing twit named Tom Gallagher has been trolling several blogs' discussion threads, linking back to a silly screed by Molly Ivins. The guy is such a boob, and the Ivins piece is so bad that I'm not going to link to either one of them. If you have to read this nitwit for yourself, go here, and click his link. The only good thing about this jerk is that he has inspired me to propose the following rule for internet discussion:

Cato's Law:

Whenever a participant in an Internet or other discussion cites Molly Ivins in any mode other than the ironic, derisive, or accusatory; the probability that he is an unmitigated half-wit approaches one. The violator is immediately considered to have lost the argument, his self-respect, and his mind.

Any similarity between Cato's Law and Nick's Corollary to Godwin's Law is purely intentional. Both rules are designed to identify the terminally stupid.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 12:34:00 AM Link
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Lawsuit: Iraq Knew of 9/11 Attacks

The Washington Post has this article.

NEW YORK –– A lawsuit filed Wednesday claims Iraq knew Osama bin Laden was targeting the Pentagon and New York City prior to Sept. 11 and that it sponsored terrorists for a decade to avenge its defeat in the Gulf War.

"Since Iraq could not defeat the U.S. military, it resorted to terror attacks on U.S. citizens," according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court seeking more than $1 trillion in damages on behalf of 1,400 victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and their families.

First, Saudi Arabia, now Iraq. Saddam's really screwed, now. The lawyers are after him.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 10:47:00 PM Link
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Brown 'is fully behind Blair on Iraq'

Financial Times has this article.

Gordon Brown has moved to end speculation about his position on Iraq, amid evidence that his silence has been encouraging anti-war Labour MPs.

The chancellor's spokesman on Wednesday night said Mr Brown was fully behind Tony Blair and shared Mr Blair's conviction that Saddam Hussein had to be dealt with. "Just as the chancellor has been unwavering in his support for the war against terror following September 11, so he has consistently made clear his full support for the prime minister's position on Iraq."

Mr Brown would make this clear in person the next time he gave an interview.

The statement follows mounting unease among cabinet ministers handling Iraq, who were anxious Mr Brown should set the record straight before the Labour rebellion gathered strength.

Things are looking up for Mr. Blair. And for all of Western Civilization, as well. I have to admit that for a while, I was afraid we would have to stand alone against Saddam. It is good to know that we have at least one friend in the world that we can count on, when times get difficult.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 5:39:00 PM Link
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Doing Nothing About Iraq Is Not An Option, Bush Says

DefenseLINK News has this article.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2002 -- Doing nothing about the serious threat Saddam Hussein poses to the world is not an option for the United States, President Bush said today.

Speaking during a meeting with Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress, Bush said he looks forward to an open dialogue with Congress about the threat Iraq poses.

He said the United States would work with the United Nations to counter the Iraqi threat.

Bush said he will remind the United Nations that for 11 years, Saddam Hussein "has side-stepped, 'crawfished,' wheedled out of any agreement he had made not to … develop weapons of mass destruction, (and) agreements he's made to treat the people within his country with respect,"

***

"The issue is not inspectors; the issue is disarmament," Bush responded. "This is a man who said he would not arm up. This is a man who told the world that he would not harbor weapons of mass destruction. That's the primary issue. And I'll be discussing ways to make sure that that is the case."

Bush's antiwar critics have complained he has not made his case forcefully enough. They should have heeded the proverb, "Be careful what you ask for, you might get it."
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 3:27:00 PM Link
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Welcome, Daily Pundit Readers

Bill blogged one of my posts yesterday, and it nearly doubled my site's traffic for the day. Thanks, Bill.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 9:15:00 AM Link
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After the Veil, a Makeover Rush

Here's a little something on the lighter side. NY Times has this article.

In May, Debbie Rodriguez found herself in Kabul, Afghanistan, on a relief mission with a group of American doctors, nurses, dentists and social workers. Ms. Rodriguez, a hairdresser from Holland, Mich., had volunteered to work as a videographer and gofer. But she quickly found that the need for medicine, dental fillings and counseling was nothing next to the pent-up demand for a makeover.

"When word got out there was a hairdresser in the country," Ms. Rodriguez said, "it just got crazy. I was doing haircuts every 15 minutes."

As burkas come off and salons closed by the Taliban reopen, one consequence of two decades of war and repression is becoming poignantly clear: Afghan women have held on to their desire to look beautiful, but they face a woeful shortage of beauticians. Also, they have no one to teach them and nowhere to lay their hands on a decent comb, let alone the panoply of gels, rinses, powders, liners and colors that spill from the shelves of the average American drugstore.

Now, in an effort guaranteed to warm the hearts of Vogue readers everywhere, a Who's Who of the American beauty industry, helped along by Vogue's editor in chief, Anna Wintour, is racing to the rescue.

The group is called the Body & Soul Wellness Program. Here's a link to their website.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 9:39:00 PM Link
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Blair: It is our duty to support US over Iraq

The Independent has this article

Tony Blair began preparing the British people for war with Iraq yesterday when he announced plans to publish a dossier outlining the "real and unique threat" posed by Saddam Hussein to world peace.

In his most hawkish comments yet on the need for military action against Baghdad, the Prime Minister said "the whole international community" had a duty to stand behind the United States in its determination to act over the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons being developed by Iraq.

***

He said pointedly that the 11 September atrocities could have happened in "London or Berlin or Paris" ­ a clear reference to scepticism in France and Germany on the need for war. "If Britain and if Europe want to be taken seriously as people facing up to these issues, then our place is facing them in partnership with America."

***

Mr Blair said he hated war but would have to live with his conscience if he failed to stop President Saddam using a nuclear or other weapon of mass destruction against his neighbours. He said he would prefer United Nations involvement, but the UN had to be "a way of dealing with it, not a way of avoiding dealing with it". If the UN could not agree, action should go ahead anyway because of the danger posed, he suggested.

Mr. Blair has grasped a point that Labour PMs (and American Congressmen) usually have great trouble with: That, as distasteful as war is, it is better to fight an implacable enemy in your own time and on your own terms than to give him that choice. Democracies are inherently slow to recognize and deal with threats, and they have often paid dearly, as a result. Mr. Blair is to be commended on his judgement and courage. What remains to be seen is whether Labour will follow him.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 8:04:00 PM Link
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The Annihilation of the Infidels is a Divine Decree

MEMRI has this article from the online magazine Al-Ansar, which is affiliated with Al-Qa'ida.

"Regardless of the norms of 'humanist' belief, which sees destroying the infidel countries as a tragedy requiring us to show some conscientious empathy and... an atmosphere of sadness for the loss that is to be caused to human civilization - an approach that does not distinguish between believer and infidel... - I would like to stress that annihilating the infidels is an inarguable fact, as this is the [divine] decree of fate..."

"When the Koran places these tortures [to be inflicted on the infidels] in the solid framework of reward and punishment... it seeks to root this predestined fact in the consciousness of the Muslim group, asserting that the infidels will be annihilated, so as to open a window of hope to the Muslim group..."

***

"This is merely a belief, which, if unaccompanied by the words 'at your hands' that appear in the Koranic verse [9:14, 'Fight them and Allah will torture them at your hands'] - it will remain in the wonderful realm of ideas that float in the theoretical universe, and is like beautiful dreams that arouse conscientious emotions - yet, when we awake, we find that the infidel country still exists, falsehood is not destroyed [by itself] in favor of the truth, [except when] the truth goes into action..."

***

"By means of Jihad, Allah tortures them with killing; by means of Jihad, Allah tortures them with injury; by means of Jihad, Allah tortures them with loss of property; by means of Jihad, Allah tortures them with loss of ruling. Allah tortures them by means of Jihad - that is, with heated war that draws its fire from the military front..."

Yes, boys and girls, Allah told them to murder us. They're just being "good Muslims" when they slaughter civilians. Well, my view of what makes a "good Muslim" has become remarkably similar to Gen. Phillip Sheridan's view of what makes a "good Indian".
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 3:58:00 PM Link
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Australian Petition Against Suicide Bombing

Israpundit has this article.

Dr David Bornstein, an Australian physician, was the moving force behind a petition to his government, calling for a UN resolution that would declare suicide bombing a crime against humanity. The petition was tabled in the Australian Parliament on August 26, 2002.

The text of the petition was as follows:

To: Government of Australia

Calling on the humanitarian ideals of the People of Australia as represented by the government.

That the government of Australia act immediately to bring on a debate at the United Nations to declare clearly and unequivocally that the practice of suicide bombing is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY. This crime and its promoters, organisers and supporters are guilty of a crime which has been committed against the perpetrator (who has been indoctrinated) as well as the victims of the crime.

Further, that there is no moral, religious, or political ustification for this crime and that the results constitute genocide. The criminals should be prosecuted and punished by the international courts of justice.

I think this would be a good idea for the US Congress to take up.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 10:14:00 AM Link
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Fisk Alert

Meryl Yourish delivers a thorough fisking to Arab News. Here's a small sample.

Most child beggars are Saudis, study shows RIYADH, 1 September — A majority of children who sell trinkets or beg in the streets are Saudis, a new study revealed.

The study on the social and economic conditions of child beggars has sparked a debate in the Arabic press as the revelation contradicted the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs claim that only 25 percent of the children are Saudis.

But there's so much oil money! Where's it all going? Could it have something to do with the corruption of the six thousand royals and their cronies?

“Most of these child beggars are from large Saudi families and their parents are illiterate,” said the study, adding that most of the families have been living in rented houses. In many cases, their parents have been accused of pushing their children into begging though they themselves are healthy enough to work. But in some cases, the parents earn some money but it is too insufficient to make ends meet in these days of soaring living costs in Saudi cities.

Those soaring costs of living are a bitch. But then, so is illiteracy. From the CIA factbook:

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62.8%
male: 71.5%
female: 50.2% (1995 est.)

Imagine. Half the women in Saudi Arabia can read and write now! Why, next thing you'll hear they'll be able to drive!

[...] The study quoted the International Labor Organization (ILO) as saying that there are thousands of child beggars in the Kingdom. Beggary is indeed becoming an alarming social problem.

Was that "beggary" or "buggery?"

It gets better. Read the article.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 12:37:00 AM Link
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All Alone

Oliver North has this article on townhall.com.

Washington, D.C. -- "If Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction were such a big threat, our 'European Allies' and 'friends in the region' would be with us -- and they are not. Therefore, we must not attack Iraq."

That's a pretty close paraphrase of what we've been hearing for more than a month from the State Department, retired officials of former administrations, foreign heads of state, and now the Saudi royal family's personal emissary, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, when he visited President Bush in Crawford, Texas, this week. What prompts such an outcry? It's called fear.

***

Euro-business leaders are afraid of losing their exclusive "Axis of Evil" cookie jar, where they operate sans American economic competition.

***

In 1997, Total SA, a French oil company with permanent suites at the Al-Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad, struck a $2 billion natural gas contract with Iran. On the occasion, then-Premier Lionel Jospin applauded this triumph of French enterprise. "American laws apply in the United States," he sneered. "They do not apply in France."

The timorous grandchildren of those who tried to appease Hitler have other worries. They do not savor the prospect of U.S. intelligence teams roaming at will through the records of Saddam's WMD -- weapons of mass destruction -- factories and exposing Europe's complicity in building these arsenals.

***

Saddam Hussein continues military rearmament, while simultaneously seeking to forestall American intervention. The Europeans and Hussein's neighbors have demonstrated that they are more likely to take offense at U.S. action against Iraq than to join us in a military offensive.

There can be no doubt that getting rid of Saddam is indeed in our own best interest. We must be sure that Iraq becomes a "nuclear-free zone." But we also must do all we can to promote the tranquil transition to democracy in the rest of the region. And that won't be easy. In such a case, "going it alone" is not just the price of global leadership; it's also the stuff of which courage and statesmanship are made.

North is right. We should seek what little help Europe will give us, but we must be ready to go it alone, if necessary.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 12:17:00 AM Link
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Saudi-American family row: US team draws a blank

Arab News has this article.

JEDDAH, 3 September — A US bipartisan delegation, attempting to settle a longstanding dispute between Saudis and their divorced American wives on the issue of custody of children, is scheduled to leave the Kingdom today at the end of a visit without making a breakthrough.

***

According to media reports there are 400 such cases, involving Saudi-American children.

***

The sources said the Saudis understand the desire of their divorced wives to see their children. But they fear that their ex-wives would bring up their children in an un-Islamic manner. They are also afraid that lawsuits would be filed against them to prevent them from visiting the US.

If Islam teaches that it is acceptable to hold American citizens captive, I would hope that their mothers would raise these young women in an "un-Islamic" manner. It is absolutely intolerable that American citizens are held captive in this manner. What we should do, is route the troops bound for Iraq thru Saudi Arabia, and have them secure these young women's freedom.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 11:53:00 PM Link
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Al Qaeda Gold Moved to Sudan

The Washington Post has this article.

Financial officers of al Qaeda and the Taliban have quietly shipped large quantities of gold out of Pakistan to Sudan in recent weeks, transiting through the United Arab Emirates and Iran, according to European, Pakistani and U.S. investigators

***

European and U.S. intelligence officials said the movement of gold also highlighted three significant developments in the war on terrorism: the growing role of Iranian intelligence units allied with the country's hard-line clerics in protecting and aiding al Qaeda; the potential reemergence of Sudan as a financial center for the organization; and the ability of the terrorist group to generate new sources of revenue despite the global crackdown on its finances.

***

European and U.S. sources said they became aware of the shipments after they occurred, and have asked the Sudanese government to take measures to halt the flow. A spokesman for the Sudanese Embassy in Washington said he had no official information about the shipments and found the information "hard to believe."

***

Arab intelligence sources have reported that Iran is sheltering senior al Qaeda military and financial leaders in hotels and guest houses in the Afghan border cities of Mashhad and Zabol.

These sorts of things are going to continue until we pick a Persian Gulf country, probably Iraq, and crush it. The Muslims keep deluding themselves that Allah will save them, and until we teach them differently, we are not going to get any significant degree of cooperation from them. Does Allah smile on those who murder civilians? I think not. Will he protect those who slaughter the defenseless? I doubt it. There is one way to find out. The sooner we try it, the better.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 11:18:00 PM Link
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Report: Al Qaeda members in Lebanon

CNN.com has this article.

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Nearly 200 al Qaeda operatives, including several senior commanders, have settled in Lebanon with Syria's permission, taking refuge in a large Palestinian refugee camp there, an Israeli newspaper reported Monday.

***

A senior Israeli military correspondent, Ze'ev Schiff, wrote in the Ha'aretz daily on Monday that Damascus has allowed between 150 and 200 al Qaeda operatives to settle in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, near the Lebanese coastal town of Sidon.

The group includes senior commanders who arrived from Afghanistan through Damascus and Iran, the newspaper reported, attributing its information to "various intelligence services

Add Syria to our "countries to do" list. Also, the camp is near a coastal town. Pity they mothballed the Wisconsin and New Jersey. How can you conduct gunboat diplomacy when you don't have any gunboats?
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 10:17:00 AM Link
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New Site Search Feature

I got so disgusted with Google's tendency to index posts by the main page instead of the archive (permanent) version, I installed the FreeFind site search engine. Their crawler is scheduled to run early Sunday morning (CST), which should coincide with the Blogger creating a new archive page. This should catch anything not still on the main page, and you can use your browser's "Find in Page" command to find stuff there. The installation was fairly painless, give them your url and e-mail. They'll crawl your site and index it, and send you an e-mail when they're done. The e-mail will have a password to use to log on to their site, where you can customize the results page, and get the HTML to add to your template.

It doesn't find substrings, just whole words, so you have to spell things out. If you're looking for Jacksonianism, you can't just type Jackson and be sure to find it. Other than that, it's pretty slick. Hope you enjoy it.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 2:16:00 AM Link
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Liberation or Conquest?

John Bono at Big S Blog has this article.

That Afghanistan fell so quickly shocked the Arab world somewhat. If we conquer Iraq*, for the first time, the Arab world will understand what is meant by unconditional surrender. That will change things, because we will have demonstrated, decisively and lethally, that the Arab world is incapable of standing up to American military might, and that the only thing preventing us from doing them like we did Saddam is our own forebearance. At that point, our "street cred" will be such that we won't have to use military force again. The Arab world will be forced to engage in self-examination, which they have never had to do in the 20th century.

*In one sense we are liberating Iraq. In another sense, we are conquering it. We are invading with the deliberate intent of removing a sovereign government and replacing it with one more palatable to us. While it will be also more palatable to the Iraqis, thereby liberating them, it will be more palatable to us, making it a conquest

They have never experienced the devastation of a massive, WWII-style bombing campaign, either. This is part of the reason they persist in targeting civilians. The Iraqis are talking about withdrawing into their cities, and luring us into house to house fighting. If they do, we should respond by sending in the B-1Bs and B-52s to flatten any cities holding significant Iraqi garrisons. Such a tactic would have two benefits. First, it would reduce American casualties. Second, it would make the final argument against targeting an enemy's civilians: that he will target yours, in retaliation. It is an argument we have not yet tried on the Arabs. Perhaps it is time we did.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 7:30:00 PM Link
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Welcome to the Blogosphere, Israpundit

There's an interesting new site, called Israpundit. It's the creation of a group of pro-Israel bloggers called BISI, Bloggers In Support of Israel. It has an interesting article by Joe Katzman, of Winds of Change,
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 2:02:00 PM Link
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Ian Duncan Smith for PM

BBC News has this article.

Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith says he supports a pre-emptive US offensive against Iraq because he believes Britain is on Saddam Hussein's list of targets for a missile attack.

Mr Duncan Smith - in an article in the Sunday Times - accuses the prime minister of failing to explain why Iraq's missile programme represents a growing threat to the British people.

***

It has been confirmed that Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon will spend six days in the United States later this month and will be briefed by the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.

'Right for British people'

Mr Hoon is regarded as one of the most hawkish ministers in the cabinet and after being told of America's plans he is expected to outline options for possible British military assistance.

I like this Smith guy! He seems to know his friends from his enemies, which is more than you can say for most of Labour.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 1:09:00 PM Link
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Sweden investigates 'wider hijack plot'

BBC News has this article.

Security officials in Sweden are trying to establish whether the man suspected of planning to hijack an airliner bound for the UK was part of a wider plot.

***

Flight school fears

The revelation that Mr Chatty took flying lessons in the US has fuelled speculation that he may have been planning to copy last year's suicide plane attacks on the US.

Federal agents have visited the flight school in South Carolina where he took seven months of flying lessons without obtaining his licence.

Instructor James Lamb said the student had been "very substandard" and his course had been terminated for poor performance.

Let me guess, he wasn't interested in learning how to take off, and he wasn't interested in learning how to land? I've said this before, and I'll say it again. We should stop issuing student visas to all Muslims wishing to attend flight schools.
:: Riyadh Delenda Est 12:42:00 PM Link
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