A source on politics, war, the Middle East, Arabic poetry, and art.
If you are wondering who is behind the attacks on US troops in Iraq, US officials know for sure the identity of those responsible:
Here, US officials blame Bin Laden
But here, "senior" US officials blame Saddam
(BUT POWELL doubts that very much)
..and here yet, Defense officials blame Saddam's deputy, Izzat Ad-Duri
(but "sources" think that he is too ill to do that)
But here, Donald Rumsfeld thinks the culprit may be Ramadan (yes, the month)
...so please don't go around saying that the US government does not have a clue.
Here, US officials blame Bin Laden
But here, "senior" US officials blame Saddam
(BUT POWELL doubts that very much)
..and here yet, Defense officials blame Saddam's deputy, Izzat Ad-Duri
(but "sources" think that he is too ill to do that)
But here, Donald Rumsfeld thinks the culprit may be Ramadan (yes, the month)
...so please don't go around saying that the US government does not have a clue.
Thursday, October 30, 2003
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
Let me give you the background: San`allah Ibrahim is one of the most accomplished contemporary Arab novelists. Some of his books are available in English translation, see He has also suffered for his leftist views, and spent years in jail under different Egyptian presidents. A few weeks ago, he was awarded the top Egyptian government prize (which carries a monetary value of some $80,000.00 or so) for literature: he decided to attend the ceremony, but surprised everybody when he delivered the speech in which he rejected the prize, as you shall see in this translation of his words. (thanks Bassam for forwarding the text):
FYI -- The English translation of Sonallah's speech when he refused the state prize in literature --
EC
Sonallah?s Speech in the Cairo Forum for Arab Literary Creativity
I shall not be able to compete with Dr. Gaber Asfour?s ability to improvise. It is therefore that I have hurriedly written a short speech to express my feelings.
Believe me when I say that I never expected this honor and that I never sought to get it. There are many who are more entitled to it than I am. Some of them are no longer with us...Creative pioneers who represent this nation whose present and future have gone astray with the wind have chosen me (for this award). I would like to especially acknowledge my teacher Mahmoud Amin El Alem. I was imprisoned with him and he and his comrades taught me the true values of justice, progress and loving one?s country.
Their choice proves that serious and persistent work is eventually met with the appropriate appreciation, with no need for public relations, compromises or flattery of the official institution, from which I was always keen to keep a distance.
And yet this choice has another important value. For it is an evaluation of an approach in creativity that is down to earth addressing real and existing concerns of the individual, the homeland and the nation.
This is the fate of the Arab writer. He (she) cannot ignore what is happening around him (her), or pretend not to see the humiliation of the nation from the ocean to the gulf, the oppression and corruption, the Israeli flagrancy and the American Occupation, and the shameful collusion of Arab regimes and governments in all that is happening.
At this very moment as we are gathering here, Israeli forces are raiding what is left of Palestinian land, killing pregnant women and children and rendering thousands homeless, thereby implementing, with an obviously accurate methodology, a plan of genocide against the Palestinian people and forcing it out of its country. Arab capitals, however, open their arms to receive Israeli leaders. A few steps away from here lives the Israeli ambassador in full security, and another few steps away the American Ambassador is occupying a whole district while his soldiers are in each and every corner of a homeland that was once Arab.
I have no doubt that every Egyptian here realizes the extent of the disaster that has befallen our nation. The matter is not only restricted to actual Israeli military threat to our eastern borders, nor to the American dictates and the apparent helplessness in our government?s external policy, but extends to all aspects of our lives. We no longer have any theater or cinema or scientific research or education. We only have festivals, conferences and a parcel full of lies. We no longer have any industry, or agriculture or health or justice. Corruption and plundering are widespread, and any protester is faced with humiliation, beating and torture. The exploiting minority has deprived us of our souls. The reality is frightening. And within that reality a writer cannot pretend not to see or keep silent or give up on his (her) responsibility.
I shall not ask you to issue a statement of protest or condemnation. This is no longer useful. I shall not ask you to do anything, for you know better than me what should be done.
All I can do is to once again thank my honorable teachers who have honored me by choosing me for this award. I declare my apologies for not accepting it, since its is given by a government, who ? to my mind ? does not have the credibility to award it. Thank you.
Sonallah Ibrahim
25th October 2003
FYI -- The English translation of Sonallah's speech when he refused the state prize in literature --
EC
Sonallah?s Speech in the Cairo Forum for Arab Literary Creativity
I shall not be able to compete with Dr. Gaber Asfour?s ability to improvise. It is therefore that I have hurriedly written a short speech to express my feelings.
Believe me when I say that I never expected this honor and that I never sought to get it. There are many who are more entitled to it than I am. Some of them are no longer with us...Creative pioneers who represent this nation whose present and future have gone astray with the wind have chosen me (for this award). I would like to especially acknowledge my teacher Mahmoud Amin El Alem. I was imprisoned with him and he and his comrades taught me the true values of justice, progress and loving one?s country.
Their choice proves that serious and persistent work is eventually met with the appropriate appreciation, with no need for public relations, compromises or flattery of the official institution, from which I was always keen to keep a distance.
And yet this choice has another important value. For it is an evaluation of an approach in creativity that is down to earth addressing real and existing concerns of the individual, the homeland and the nation.
This is the fate of the Arab writer. He (she) cannot ignore what is happening around him (her), or pretend not to see the humiliation of the nation from the ocean to the gulf, the oppression and corruption, the Israeli flagrancy and the American Occupation, and the shameful collusion of Arab regimes and governments in all that is happening.
At this very moment as we are gathering here, Israeli forces are raiding what is left of Palestinian land, killing pregnant women and children and rendering thousands homeless, thereby implementing, with an obviously accurate methodology, a plan of genocide against the Palestinian people and forcing it out of its country. Arab capitals, however, open their arms to receive Israeli leaders. A few steps away from here lives the Israeli ambassador in full security, and another few steps away the American Ambassador is occupying a whole district while his soldiers are in each and every corner of a homeland that was once Arab.
I have no doubt that every Egyptian here realizes the extent of the disaster that has befallen our nation. The matter is not only restricted to actual Israeli military threat to our eastern borders, nor to the American dictates and the apparent helplessness in our government?s external policy, but extends to all aspects of our lives. We no longer have any theater or cinema or scientific research or education. We only have festivals, conferences and a parcel full of lies. We no longer have any industry, or agriculture or health or justice. Corruption and plundering are widespread, and any protester is faced with humiliation, beating and torture. The exploiting minority has deprived us of our souls. The reality is frightening. And within that reality a writer cannot pretend not to see or keep silent or give up on his (her) responsibility.
I shall not ask you to issue a statement of protest or condemnation. This is no longer useful. I shall not ask you to do anything, for you know better than me what should be done.
All I can do is to once again thank my honorable teachers who have honored me by choosing me for this award. I declare my apologies for not accepting it, since its is given by a government, who ? to my mind ? does not have the credibility to award it. Thank you.
Sonallah Ibrahim
25th October 2003
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Bush pledges to chase and find suicide bombers; when told they were already dead, he asked for an immediate investigation:
Bush really actually said that he will find the suicide bombers and bring them to justice. His advisors must have told him later that they are dead. Bush was confused: he never knew that suicide bombers die. He had always assumed that suicide bombers live and continue to engage in more than one suicide attack. : and he asked his staff if suicide bombers can be brought back to life to be prosecuted. This is the "leader of the free world." By the way, who decides that American presidents are automatically "leaders of the free world"? Are they elected to that position? What is "the free world"? A club? An association? I am sure that "Unfree World" is more interesting. Did you know that Nixon until his last days would refer to himself (in the third person singular) as "Nixon, the leader of the free world." In a memoirs by a former NY editor who attended parties in his house, he tells stories of having dinner at his NJ house with Chinese diplomats: so Nixon takes them on a tour of the house: and he says: "This is where the leader of the free world wrote his second book". Or "this is where the leader of the free world baked a potato." Or "this is where Nixon, the leader of the free world threw up."etc. Bush reacted to the bloody mayhem in Iraq yesterday: he said that it IS A SIGN OF AMERICAN Success and progress in Iraq (I am not kidding: see ) . He also added that his enemies hate freedom. He loves saying that, perhaps because he is the elected leader of, you guessed right, "the free world."
Bush really actually said that he will find the suicide bombers and bring them to justice. His advisors must have told him later that they are dead. Bush was confused: he never knew that suicide bombers die. He had always assumed that suicide bombers live and continue to engage in more than one suicide attack. : and he asked his staff if suicide bombers can be brought back to life to be prosecuted. This is the "leader of the free world." By the way, who decides that American presidents are automatically "leaders of the free world"? Are they elected to that position? What is "the free world"? A club? An association? I am sure that "Unfree World" is more interesting. Did you know that Nixon until his last days would refer to himself (in the third person singular) as "Nixon, the leader of the free world." In a memoirs by a former NY editor who attended parties in his house, he tells stories of having dinner at his NJ house with Chinese diplomats: so Nixon takes them on a tour of the house: and he says: "This is where the leader of the free world wrote his second book". Or "this is where the leader of the free world baked a potato." Or "this is where Nixon, the leader of the free world threw up."etc. Bush reacted to the bloody mayhem in Iraq yesterday: he said that it IS A SIGN OF AMERICAN Success and progress in Iraq (I am not kidding: see ) . He also added that his enemies hate freedom. He loves saying that, perhaps because he is the elected leader of, you guessed right, "the free world."
Monday, October 27, 2003
Today, on Face the Nation, which I listened to on my highly useful satellite radio, not to be confused with my satellite blender, US colonial administrator in Iraq said in passing and without any questioning, that there are two views in Iraq: one view wants the Constitutional Assembly in Iraq to be elected, and the other view is that it should be appointed: and the host Bob Schiffer asked him: and the US is opposed to the election, right? and Brenner answered in the affirmative. But opposition to election notwithstanding, and brutal subjugation of a people notwithstanding, and the appointment of a crooks and charlatans as puppet council members nothwistanding, the Iraq war was a war of liberation. And by that logic, Tom Friedman is a witty writer and a deep thinker.
The New York Times today revealed its regular daily stupidity: on the day that Wolfowitz survived a missile attack on his hotel, the headquarters of US military commanders, it carried a story that some people saluted Wolfowitz, and that he was cheered: but it never mentions that when US officials go to Iraq, they unfailingly travel in the northern Kurdish areas under the rule of pro-US Kurdish militias, and that those dignitaries move in convoys of heavy military trucks and cars, making sure to instigate waves: I saw in South Lebanon how some people would wave to Israeli military vehicles (out of fear) while cursing them with a large repertoire of Arabic obscenities. But the New York Times is under constraints: they can only fit what can be printed in a government newspaper.
The New York Times today revealed its regular daily stupidity: on the day that Wolfowitz survived a missile attack on his hotel, the headquarters of US military commanders, it carried a story that some people saluted Wolfowitz, and that he was cheered: but it never mentions that when US officials go to Iraq, they unfailingly travel in the northern Kurdish areas under the rule of pro-US Kurdish militias, and that those dignitaries move in convoys of heavy military trucks and cars, making sure to instigate waves: I saw in South Lebanon how some people would wave to Israeli military vehicles (out of fear) while cursing them with a large repertoire of Arabic obscenities. But the New York Times is under constraints: they can only fit what can be printed in a government newspaper.
License to live: Israeli military orders Palestinians living near the Separation Wall of Fire to obtain a permit to....live
Dispossessed Palestinian families living on a football field: Bush declares the area too vast: he urges Israel to make them relocate to a Ping Pong Table
Reduction of civil liberties in US: Bush urges more reduction, congress agrees: and John Edwards who helped write (as a Senator) the Patriot Act now mouths off against the Act because he is appealing to liberal voters
Cheney, who woke up from a few months of deep sleep, assures Americans that US military is winning over Iraqi people
Israel turns to movies to curb abuse by troops: first movies shown: Birth of A Nation and Green Berets:
Why Kofi Annan is a war criminal: not only for his role in ignoring the Rwanda massacres, and his endorsement of US empire, but: UN cuts details of Western profiteers from Congo report:
An end to the Arab-Israeli conflict is finally within reach: Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt are about to embark on a mission of peace
This racist who brought you the book the Bell Curve is at it again with a new book: and the New York Times takes him very seriously
Sunday, October 26, 2003
On the "discovery" of a new American massacre from the Vietnam war: the press (outside of the US, that is) is quite appalled
The liars are worse liars than we thought: not only did Iraq NOT have nuclear weapons, but it did not even have a nuclear weapons' program
Look how casually US newspapers report Israeli raiding of HOSPITALS: Bush urges them to raid schools, homes, and mental asylums
Saturday, October 25, 2003
An Exchange on Micronesia: Don't Cry for me Micronesia
Angry Arab wrote:
In the UN vote: 144 countries voted in favor, and four voted against:
Israel, US, Micronesia, and Marshall Island. I in no way intend to make fun
of the great political contributions of Micronesia to world peace and
security, and believe that Micronesia and Marshall Islands should be invited
to send representatives to stay with Bush in Crawford, Texas in his next
vacation. By the way, Micronesia, which never misses an opportunity to act
as a despicable subservient tool for the US, sent ONE SOLDIER to Iraq in
solidarity with the US. But that soldier, from what I have read, lead most
of the fighting and is now consuming a lot of Kabob in Baghdad.
Ms. Virginia Tilley responded:
I love Angry Arab as usual, but one request: don't pick on Micronesia and
Marshall Islands. They are collapsing into ruin and anarchy as we speak and
are just as much victims of US policy as anybody. It's not like they have
the option of independent governments!
From Kyle Sleeth:
I tend to disagree with you in your criticism of Angry Arab. I find an
abundance of humor in Micronesia (FSM) and Marshall Islands. This excerpt is
from the FSM website (click here):
"Congress met briefly in session yesterday, but no quorum was present.
Speaker Peter Christian adjourned the session until today, Wednesday,
October 15. He informed the seven Members who were present that he intends
to begin all daily sessions on time at ten o'clock."
Ok, so "the seven Members who were present" needed a friendly reminder as
to when the daily sessions begin. Hopefully the members in attendance
reminded their buddies who forgot to show. No biggie. I would hardly call
that "ruin and anarchy." Especially considering it is scuba season!
All kidding aside, I find it unlikely that the U.S. would cut off aid --
or even notice (1) -- if these islands dissented from the U.S. on any U.N.
vote.
-Kyle
Ms. Virginia Tilley responded:
Dear Mr. Sleeth:
Quite right you are. I overstated. I was thinking of some internal
difficulties particularly with growing poverty.... certainly Micronesia and
the Marshalls aren't falling into "ruin and anarchy" in the same sense that
the Solomons are, for example! Still, a congress which meets and has nothing
to do--both countries are plagued with seriously unequal development, major
health issues, and ethnic tensions especially in Micronesia--suggests not so
much spineless governments as *nonfunctioning* governments: not ones for
which independent action would risk a cut-off of US aid but ones which have
no option for independent action at all. Both "countries" are still
effectively US trust territories, whatever the "Compact of Free Association"
purports. The Marshalls also has the "privilige" of holding a major US
military base.... very sad. Anyway, chiding them for crummy UN votes struck
me as a bit like chiding the slave quarters for cheering at the white
people's dance.
And I would never "criticize" Angry Arab, my favorite listing of each day.
It was just a suggestion!
Virginia
Angry Arab wrote:
In the UN vote: 144 countries voted in favor, and four voted against:
Israel, US, Micronesia, and Marshall Island. I in no way intend to make fun
of the great political contributions of Micronesia to world peace and
security, and believe that Micronesia and Marshall Islands should be invited
to send representatives to stay with Bush in Crawford, Texas in his next
vacation. By the way, Micronesia, which never misses an opportunity to act
as a despicable subservient tool for the US, sent ONE SOLDIER to Iraq in
solidarity with the US. But that soldier, from what I have read, lead most
of the fighting and is now consuming a lot of Kabob in Baghdad.
Ms. Virginia Tilley responded:
I love Angry Arab as usual, but one request: don't pick on Micronesia and
Marshall Islands. They are collapsing into ruin and anarchy as we speak and
are just as much victims of US policy as anybody. It's not like they have
the option of independent governments!
From Kyle Sleeth:
I tend to disagree with you in your criticism of Angry Arab. I find an
abundance of humor in Micronesia (FSM) and Marshall Islands. This excerpt is
from the FSM website (click here):
"Congress met briefly in session yesterday, but no quorum was present.
Speaker Peter Christian adjourned the session until today, Wednesday,
October 15. He informed the seven Members who were present that he intends
to begin all daily sessions on time at ten o'clock."
Ok, so "the seven Members who were present" needed a friendly reminder as
to when the daily sessions begin. Hopefully the members in attendance
reminded their buddies who forgot to show. No biggie. I would hardly call
that "ruin and anarchy." Especially considering it is scuba season!
All kidding aside, I find it unlikely that the U.S. would cut off aid --
or even notice (1) -- if these islands dissented from the U.S. on any U.N.
vote.
-Kyle
Ms. Virginia Tilley responded:
Dear Mr. Sleeth:
Quite right you are. I overstated. I was thinking of some internal
difficulties particularly with growing poverty.... certainly Micronesia and
the Marshalls aren't falling into "ruin and anarchy" in the same sense that
the Solomons are, for example! Still, a congress which meets and has nothing
to do--both countries are plagued with seriously unequal development, major
health issues, and ethnic tensions especially in Micronesia--suggests not so
much spineless governments as *nonfunctioning* governments: not ones for
which independent action would risk a cut-off of US aid but ones which have
no option for independent action at all. Both "countries" are still
effectively US trust territories, whatever the "Compact of Free Association"
purports. The Marshalls also has the "privilige" of holding a major US
military base.... very sad. Anyway, chiding them for crummy UN votes struck
me as a bit like chiding the slave quarters for cheering at the white
people's dance.
And I would never "criticize" Angry Arab, my favorite listing of each day.
It was just a suggestion!
Virginia
As we only hear about religion in Iraq, it is important to point out that a committee for the defense of secularism has been founded by a radical communist group (not the pathetic Iraqi Communist Party which is a mere tool of the US occupation) and a feminist group. Of course, there is nothing that helps the cause of fundamentalism in the Middle East than the crimes of US and Israel, both of which had in the past conspired to promote conservative Islam to undermine leftism and Arab nationalism. The New York Times, I have noticed, has been insisting in recent days on downplaying the political significance and popularity of Muqtada As-Sadr, the radical Shi`ite cleric who has called for the establishment of a counter-government in Iraq. Pretty soon, the stupidity and ignorance of the New York Times will be revealed. But then again, the New York Times may suddenly become informative and insightful, and if that occurs, I will add yet another miracle to the body of miracles attributed to...you know who. Call the Vatican. Notice that the recent UN General Assembly vote against the Israeli war of racist separation was quite indicative: the US is now alone around the world in its endorsement of militant Zionism. Public opinion in Europe (including in formerly staunchly pro-Israel Germany) is now running markedly in favor of Palestinian rights, and yet here in the US the ratio of support for Israel over the Palestinians is still 3-1, the opposite of the ratio in UK. In the UN vote: 144 countries voted in favor, and four voted against: Israel, US, Micronesia, and Marshall Island. I in no way intend to make fun of the great political contributions of Micronesia to world peace and security, and believe that Micronesia and Marshall Islands should be invited to send representatives to stay with Bush in Crawford, Texas in his next vacation. By the way, Micronesia, which never misses an opportunity to act as a despicable subservient tool for the US, sent ONE SOLDIER to Iraq in solidarity with the US. But that soldier, from what I have read, lead most of the fighting and is now consuming a lot of Kabob in Baghdad. In other news, a new Iraqi survey, unlike the bullshit surveys of US "pollsters", show that the Shi`ite groups are quite popular in Iraq; the pro-Iranian `Abdul-`Aziz Al-Hakim received 75 percent support. My favorite part: US chief puppet, famous embezzler Ahmad Chalabi, received LESS VOTES than Saddam who won the support of 2 % (far less than the 100 % he won in the last election). And 67 % of all Iraqis (basically all Iraqis minus some of the Kurds) consider the US forces OCCUPATION FORCES. And they (in DC) still call it a war of liberation. And this morning Al-Manar TV aired footage of US soldiers beating the shit out of a young Iraqi boy; but maybe he was informed that he was being liberated while receiving the beating.
A new museum dedicated to the works of M.C. Escher (who said that he had more in common with mathematicians than with artists, just as I have more in common with plumbers than with political scientists) has been opened; they do not have a website yet but this is a cool website of his works:
US asks world to give $30 billion to fund US colonization of Iraq: world tells US to go and..watch some TV:
Friday, October 24, 2003
A new UNICEF Report: the full text: it reveals: one child in three lives in a dwelling with more than five people per room, or with a mud floor; nearly 20% of the world's children do not have access to safe water, or have more than 15-minute walk to water; over 15% of children under five in developing countries are severely malnourished; In South Asia alone, more than 90 million children go hungry ever day; 134 million children between the ages of 7 and 18 have never been to school; in ME: girls are three times more likely than boys to have never attended school.
Ranking of press freedoms around the world: US listed as no.......31: but do not be alarmed: the US still considers itself the "most free and most democratic country in the world
Red Cross runs out of emergency funds on West Bank: Bush urges Palestinians to stop eating to help his wars
Senior Israeli pilot condemns air strikes that kill civilians: we need more than his belated condemnations:
Seymour Hersh has been awakened: after Sep. 11 he went berserk: and supported the Bush's war in Afghanistan: now he is critical
American occupation forces get more stupid: they want to arrest Muqtada As-Sadr: This will get ugly: Mark my words
Thursday, October 23, 2003
From USA Today:
Below is the full text of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's memo on the war on terror:
October 16, 2003
TO: Gen. Dick Myers
Paul Wolfowitz
Gen. Pete Pace
Doug Feith
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: Global War on Terrorism
The questions I posed to combatant commanders this week were: Are we winning or losing the Global War on Terror? Is DoD changing fast enough to deal with the new 21st century security environment? Can a big institution change fast enough? Is the USG changing fast enough?
DoD has been organized, trained and equipped to fight big armies, navies and air forces. It is not possible to change DoD fast enough to successfully fight the global war on terror; an alternative might be to try to fashion a new institution, either within DoD or elsewhere — one that seamlessly focuses the capabilities of several departments and agencies on this key problem.
With respect to global terrorism, the record since Septermber 11th seems to be:
-We are having mixed results with Al Qaida, although we have put considerable pressure on them — nonetheless, a great many remain at large.
-USG has made reasonable progress in capturing or killing the top 55 Iraqis.
-USG has made somewhat slower progress tracking down the Taliban — Omar, Hekmatyar, etc.
-With respect to the Ansar Al-Islam, we are just getting started.
Have we fashioned the right mix of rewards, amnesty, protection and confidence in the US?
Does DoD need to think through new ways to organize, train, equip and focus to deal with the global war on terror?
Are the changes we have and are making too modest and incremental? My impression is that we have not yet made truly bold moves, although we have have made many sensible, logical moves in the right direction, but are they enough?
Today, we lack metrics to know if we are winning or losing the global war on terror. Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?
Does the US need to fashion a broad, integrated plan to stop the next generation of terrorists? The US is putting relatively little effort into a long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into trying to stop terrorists. The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terrorists' costs of millions.
-Do we need a new organization?
-How do we stop those who are financing the radical madrassa schools?
-Is our current situation such that "the harder we work, the behinder we get"?
It is pretty clear that the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog.
Does CIA need a new finding?
Should we create a private foundation to entice radical madradssas to a more moderate course?
What else should we be considering?
Please be prepared to discuss this at our meeting on Saturday or Monday.
Thanks.
Below is the full text of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's memo on the war on terror:
October 16, 2003
TO: Gen. Dick Myers
Paul Wolfowitz
Gen. Pete Pace
Doug Feith
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: Global War on Terrorism
The questions I posed to combatant commanders this week were: Are we winning or losing the Global War on Terror? Is DoD changing fast enough to deal with the new 21st century security environment? Can a big institution change fast enough? Is the USG changing fast enough?
DoD has been organized, trained and equipped to fight big armies, navies and air forces. It is not possible to change DoD fast enough to successfully fight the global war on terror; an alternative might be to try to fashion a new institution, either within DoD or elsewhere — one that seamlessly focuses the capabilities of several departments and agencies on this key problem.
With respect to global terrorism, the record since Septermber 11th seems to be:
-We are having mixed results with Al Qaida, although we have put considerable pressure on them — nonetheless, a great many remain at large.
-USG has made reasonable progress in capturing or killing the top 55 Iraqis.
-USG has made somewhat slower progress tracking down the Taliban — Omar, Hekmatyar, etc.
-With respect to the Ansar Al-Islam, we are just getting started.
Have we fashioned the right mix of rewards, amnesty, protection and confidence in the US?
Does DoD need to think through new ways to organize, train, equip and focus to deal with the global war on terror?
Are the changes we have and are making too modest and incremental? My impression is that we have not yet made truly bold moves, although we have have made many sensible, logical moves in the right direction, but are they enough?
Today, we lack metrics to know if we are winning or losing the global war on terror. Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?
Does the US need to fashion a broad, integrated plan to stop the next generation of terrorists? The US is putting relatively little effort into a long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into trying to stop terrorists. The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terrorists' costs of millions.
-Do we need a new organization?
-How do we stop those who are financing the radical madrassa schools?
-Is our current situation such that "the harder we work, the behinder we get"?
It is pretty clear that the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog.
Does CIA need a new finding?
Should we create a private foundation to entice radical madradssas to a more moderate course?
What else should we be considering?
Please be prepared to discuss this at our meeting on Saturday or Monday.
Thanks.
Do you want to understand US Middle East politics? See how members of Congress voted on a bill against Syria: notice that only 4 dissented: and notice that the "liberal" and cowardly Kucinich did not dare vote NO.
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Listen to brave Terry Gross (who is not good on Middle East issues) as she kicks the ass of Bill O'Reilly (on Bill O'Reilly: I strongly recommend the new great book titled Bill Oh, Really? published by my publisher Seven Stories Press. I have refused to appear on his show because I requested the he promises to not shut off my microphone regardless what I say; I expected to piss him off so badly. He refused to offer me the pledge.
Dont you love American presidential politics? Dick Gephardt, whose chances of becoming president are slightly higher than mine, thinks Bush is unfair to Israel: Gephardt, you see, is a big fan of the Separation Wall (called fence in the US):
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
This is the most original Architect working in the world today: an Iraqi woman: her name is Zaha Hadid (some of you know who she is): take a look at her work: her chairs (very odd and expensive) sell for thousands of dollars at Harrods in London
I cannot stand Hitchens as you know but I agree with his attacks on "Mother" (whose mother is she, anyway?) Teresa: who yesterday turned on the light in my kitchen while I was asleep: ADD ANOTHER MIRACLE
How Pentagon censored the apology of the crusading general: the guy who is fighting Satan (i.e. Muslims), and who believes (God told him while in the shower) that God put George W. Bush at the helm
Monday, October 20, 2003
We have to find a miracle, and fast, and attribute it to Mother Teresa: I found one: I saw her once turn chicken McNuggets into love chicken: I saw that: I swear: the Vatican will send their committee to my house to investigate: (doubts in India about her miracle):
Students prefer better looking professors: Tom Cruise will be soon be teaching Organic Chemistry at UC Berkeley
The kooky US Gen who is fighting Satan and who thinks that Muslims worship "idol" and who knows (on good authority) that God put Bush in the white house, having found him the most brilliant human
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Monday, October 13, 2003
The pathetic US press: They treat the arrest of "two suspected Hussein loyalists" as important as the capture of Berlin in WWII
Sunday, October 12, 2003
I will be introducing a new feature (please Neal make a special section on the website) titled: Chicken McNuggets in the News: will the nuggets become healthier?
Propaganda scandal: US newspapers print identical letters ostensibly from US soldiers: they all have Cheney's handwriting
The full text of Amnesty International report on women in Afghanistan (who were liberated by George and Laura Bush):
Look at the language of deputy-liar Dick Cheney: from a full text of his speech yesterday: "..A prison laboratory complex, POSSIBLY used in human testing;" "[strain that] CAN BE USED to produce biological weapons;" "...documents that WOULD HAVE BEEN USEFUL in resuming uranium enrichment...;" Yet, his audience was impressed. Where is the outrage, as Bob Dole used to day:
This is the Frontline Documentary on US intelligence and the Iraq war (thanks Hani): I watched the first hour of it: I have not been crazy about Frontline: they have some interesting information, but I cannot stand their featuring of the unprincipled Kanan Makiyyah: but there is a good segment showing how corrupt and deceptive US chief puppet, Ahmad Chalabi, is
Saturday, October 11, 2003
The response to the website has been very, very favorable, which prompted me to go ahead with the project. All credit of the website should go to Neal: who is now at the University of Bristol in UK. He did all the work, and has been urging me for months to get my act together to set it on foot. I have been dragging my feet, but not my toes, for many reasons, especially the fear of appearing ego-centric, but now I am ready. Let my ego blossom. We shall add some categories as we go along, but until the time comes when the website would replace this email service (which is expected to occur around the spring of 2055), this will continue. Some suggested that the name is a bad idea as it will invite hackers. We shall see; if we encounter problems, we can rename: the Happy Arab, the Pleased Arab, the Agreeable Arab, The Subservient Arab, or the Furious Arab. On another note, I will not insult your intelligence by sending you some bullshit articles about the Nobel Prize for Peace or the Nobel Prize for Potatoes. I take those prizes as seriously as I take the Oscars (and remember that Tom Hanks in Gump beat Anthony Hopkins in Remains of the Day). Furthermore, I won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year, but I did not brag. DID I? Even the prize of the sciences are dubious: there is today a full-page ad in the NYT in which a scientist shows that the recipients of the Medicine prize were not deserving. But I have heard that the Nobel Prize in Toothbrushing are credible.
An official of the International Red Cross criticizes the detention of Guantanamo prisoners: they should all be killed, he says