Why we fight in Iraq

My thanks to Pajamas Media and Democratiya for the testimonies of some of those that had escaped the reach of tyranny returning to damn the tyrant.

Freedom too heavy for you?

Iraqis want to go back to tyranny?

Watch them.

See the shadow of tyranny on their souls.

That is what Iraqis are being killed for: wanting to be free of tyrants.

If We now and We damn others to live this and worse because of Our cowardice.

And then welcome it to Our shores.

Watch and then tell me the fight is not worth it.

And in telling me that, you are saying that YOU are not worthy of freedom.

Watch and understand.

For these are the lives you will be leading if We stop now.

And that of your children.

If any survive.

My reply to various on the 'Grim Milestone'

My belated posting after transcribing the terror attacks since 9/11 up to the end of last month. Did that for Larwyn whom asked it of many, and I had time but not much wit... a perfect combination!

Attack	Killed
WTCandPentagon09/11/01	2996
JammuandKashmircarbombs10/01/01	27
IsraeliTouristMinisterRehavamZeviAssassinated	1
Anthraxattacks,US2001	9
IndianParliamentAttacked12/13/01	7
PassoverMassacre,Israel03/27/02	22
MatzaRestaurantAttack,Isreal03/31/02	15
Ghribasynagoguebombing,Tunisia04/22/02	21
BusAttack,Karachi05/08/02	11
Kapiisk,Dagestanbombing,05/09/02	42
JanpurTrainCrash,05/13/02	12
USConsulatebombing,Karachi06/14/02	12
Pattjunctionmassacre,Israel,06/18/02	19
LAXshootingatEl-Alcounter,US07/04/02	2
Akshardhamtempleattack,India09/25/02	30
Limburgtankerbombing,Yemen10/06/02	1
Balibombing,10/12/02	202
Zamboangabombings,Philippines10/17/02	6
Manilabusbombing,Philippines10/18/02	3
McDonald'sbombing,Moscow,Russia10/19/02	1
Moscowtheaterhostagecrisis,Russia10/23/02	120
Jerusalembus20massacre,Israel11/21/02	11
Kenyanhotelbombing11/28/02	13
Kurnooltraincrash,India12/21/02	20
Groznytruckbombing,Russia12/27/02	83
Airportbombing,Davao,Philippines03/04/03	21
Haifabus37massacre,Israel03/05/03	17
Sgt.HasanAkbarAttack,03/23/03	2
Riyadhcompoundbombings,KSA05/12/03	26
TruckbombinginChechenya05/12/03	59
Casablancaattacks,Morocco05/12/03	41
Suicidebombingatreligiousfestival,Chechnya05/14/03	16
Rockfestivalbombing,Russia07/05/03	15
Russianhospitalbombing,08/01/03	50
Canalhotelbombing,Baghdad,Iraq08/19/03	22
Jerusalembus2massacre,Israel08/19/03	23
DualblastsinMumbai,India08/25/03	48
Passengertrainbombing,Russia09/03/03	7
Maximrestaurantmassacre,Israel10/04/03	21
USdiplomaticconvoyattacked,Palestine10/15/03	3
BombingsinTurkeyon10/15/03and10/20/03	57
Suicidebombingoftrain,Russia12/05/03	46
BombinginMoscow,Russia12/09/03	6
Jerusalembus19massacre,Israel01/29/04	11
Moscowmetrobombing,02/06/04	41
Superferrybombing,Philippines02/27/04	116
AshouraMassacre,Iraq03/02/04	181
Karbalabombings,Iraq03/02/04	100
Kazimiyashrinebombings,Baghdad,Iraq03/02/04	58
AttackonShiaprocession,Pakistan03/02/04	43
Istanbulrestaurantattack,Turkey03/09/04	1
Madridcommutertrainbombings,Spain03/11/04	191
Riyadhbombing,KSA04/21/04	5
Yanbuattack,KSA05/01/04	7
Pregnantwomanandherchildren,Israel05/02/04	5
Al-Khobarmassacres,KSA05/29/04	22
Russianaircraftbombing,09/24/04	90
Moscowsubwaybombblast,Russia09/31/04	10
Beslanschoolhostagecrisis,Russia09/01-03/04	344
Australianembassybombing,Indonesia09/09/04	8
Sinaibombings,Egypt10/07/04	34
USConsulateattack,KSA12/06/04	5
Christmasmarketbombing,Philippines12/12/04	15
AssassinationofLebanesePrimeMinister,Lebanon02/14/05	21
TelAvivbombing,Israel02/25/05	5
Carbombing,Doha,Qatar03/19/05	1
April2005attacksCairo,Egypt	3
Myanmarbombings05/07/05	19
Kandaharmosquesuicidebombing,Afghanistan06/01/05	20
BombingsinIran06/12/05	10
Londonbombings,UK07/07/05	56
MallbombinginNetanya,Israel07/12/05	5
Sharmel-Sheikhbombings,Egypt07/23/05	88
Jaunpurtrainbombing,India07/28/05	13
Bangladeshbombings08/17/05	2
ChechenrebelattacksonRussianfederalbuildings10/13/05	45
Ahvazmallbombing,Iran10/15/05	6
GreenZonebombingsinBaghdad,Iraq10/24/05	11
Haderabombing,Israel10/26/05	6
MultiplebombblastsinDelhi,India10/29/05	61
HotelblastsinAmman,Jordan10/09/05	60
SuicidebombinginNetanya,Israel12/05/05	5
IndianInstituteofScienceslaying12/28/05	1
Marketplacecarbombing,Iraq02/21/06	20
BombingofShiamosque,Baghdad,Iraq02/28/06	25
Karachi,Pakistanbombings03/02/06	4
BombinginVaranasi,India03/07/06	28
Roadsidebomb,Iraq03/09/06	6
KedumimJunctionsuicidebombing,Israel03/30/06	4
Karachi,Pakistanbombing04/11/06	57
TelAvivbombing,Israel04/17/06	11
Dahabbombings,Egypt04/24/06	23
MarketplacebombinginPattani,Thailand05/10/06	3
PoliceacademyattackinQuetta,Pakistan05/11/06	6
Busattack,SriLanka06/15/06	68
EliyahuAsherikidnappingandmurder,Israel06/25/06	1
SunnimassacreinBaghdad,Iraq07/09/06	40
Mumbaitrainbombings,India07/11/06	200
SuicidebombingKarachi,Pakistan07/14/06	2
Hezbollahrocketattack,Israel07/16/06	8
Mahmoudiyamarketattack,Iraq07/17/06	48
ShrinebombinginKura,Iraq07/18/06	53
MarketbombingKandahar,Afghanistan07/31/06	21
MarketbombingBaghdad,Iraq08/16/06	18
HindutemplebombinginImphal,India08/16/06	3
GunmenshootingofShiaBaghdad,Iraq08/20/06	20
Total:	6560

Source: wikipedia terrorist attacks

Did my best to weed out the non-Islamic varieties... such few as they were... and *not* to include the deaths of the perpetrators.

Below is my letter in reply to my not having a post up on the 'Grim Milestone' as given by CNN. It is 'as sent' with all problems in spelling, syntax and other irregularities kept so you know the inability of the author to write.

Wasted from the last few larger posts and works in progress... and trying to get a good context for the numbers involved.... I mean automobile accidents... alcohol related driving fatalities were only 16,694 out of the 42,636 total in the US alone. Probably need to surrender to the automakers *now* rather than put up with *that*.

South Fork dam collapse killed 2,200 in 1889... yes, surrender to the power of dams and submit.

1906 Earthquake and fire in San Francisco killed between 700 and 3,000 and it is overdue for a hit again. Really, the Nation should have just surrendered and left that the hell alone. Of course the next 'Big One' ranks only as number 5 on my list of future disasters for the US in a geophysical sense, pretty small beans, really.

1918 Spanish Flu epidemic killed 500,000 in the US *alone*. Yes a lowly virus, a mere snippet of DNA was able to do that all on its lonesome... and since they are mere snippets the only way to get rid of them is to irradiate the entire planet to the depth of a few miles of its crust. And also get rid of the atmosphere. Boil the oceans. The next killer virus is just waiting for the *right* remix to hit again. Too bad they don't understand the concept of 'surrender' and we just submit to them and fight our feeble fights to no good use.

Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire of 1871 killed 1,500. No good ever came of fire... put it out permanently, the cold is so much safer.

Johnstown, PA flood of 1881 killed 2,200. No good ever came of large rivers or even small ones that have flash floods. The caves in the hills are safe. In the cold. Keeping people at a distance. Nowhere near an earthquake zone. And no dams to rule over you, either.

Galveston hurricane of 1900 killed 6,000 to 8,000. Hard to tell since the occupancy records were blown away, too. See? Way too close to water! That unlit cave is much, much safer.

Steamboat Sultana explosion of 1865 killed 1,547. They were using FIRE!! And on the WATER!! Deserved whats coming to them...

Monongah, WV coal mine explosion of 1907 killed 362. Don't go far back into the cave!! Its a killer!

Tri-State tornado of 1925 killed 689. They lived out in the OPEN and deserved it! Caves are much safer.

1888 Northeast Snowstorm killed 400. A cave *not* where it snows. Desert climate preferred.


Life is deadly.

Preaching defeat gets more death and loss of liberty. The repurcussions of leaving Viet Nam are: Cambodia, Laos, Boat People, Soviet expansionism, Iran, Islamofascism, defeat in Beirut multiple times, terrorism drawing closer to the US, retreat and defeat in Somalia, wars of aggression by our enemies... because the battle was 'too long' or 'not well defined' or 'dragging on' or 'not done right'.... name one war that *has* gone swimmingly from start to finish and lasted more than year.

Shall we now convert the Hymn of the Marines to one of defeat? The 'Halls of Montezuma' just couldn't have been a long-term success... look at ALL the trouble they have had, so totally incompetent. And now flooding the Nation with millions of illegals passing through there... oh, my! Win a few battles and a war or two, but LOSE the overall battle for freedom and liberty, didn't we? And then that previous bit in 'The Shores of Tripoli', why those Muslims RECOVERED and their recent leader has had Americans killed in Berlin and on the Lockerbie flight. That is really a failure, not to have gotten that right then, don't you think? A pure and utter and unmitigated disaster in the long run.....

Yes, so many disasters and yet the Nation, somehow, managed to survive, thrive and prosper.

Only WWI was truly incompetently managed from start to finish and the US distinguished itself by being the *least* incompetent in the battlefield, even in small numbers. The *peace* however was lost due to our European 'betters' who wanted their pound of flesh. The lack of a good and honorable peace amongst combatants who realized that this was an ill-war to fight could not be found in that atmosphere. Germany faced severe troubles with Communists in the immediate post-war and denuding them of any means to control their Nation led to no good. Neither a just nor honorable peace, and that only led to war again and worse.

I am a Jacksonian. President Jackson dealt as best he could with pirates and terrorists a half-world away in the Malays. And the USS Potomac was the first US ship to circumnavigate the globe in that mission of retribution. He did not look for a fight, but when it came to him he did not quaver, did not ask 'Why do they hate us?' and did not ask permission to do as he did as it was no *war* but a blood retribution by the US. Americans have been fighting Muslim Imperialism ever since its founding and the first extortions that Jefferson REFUSED to pay to them. Jackson would not let piracy and terrorism go unaddressed no matter *what* its guise. Theodore Roosevelt ordered the Moro Insurrection in the Philippines be put down, and that turned awful, bloody and cruel on all sides. Islam was at the heart of that and the resurrection of it by the Moros today.

The United States did NOT start this fight against tyrannical Islam and pirates and terrorists of all stripes.

The United States is NOT the cause of these ills in the world which existed before it was even born as a Nation.

But we have fought them before, again and again and again.

And even if we retreat to that unlit cave in the desert, the greatest enemy is not on four legs, red of tooth and claw.

That is an honorable, though painful death, at least its cause is something understood: mere physical hunger.

It is on two legs with a gleam of Empire and Conquest in its eye looking to end liberty.

And that death is the death of the spirit everlasting... until a slave lifts his eyes up with a brighter speck in his eye... and freedom is reborn as a dream yet to come true once more.


A Jacksonian
"We did not start this fight... but we sure, AS HELL, will end it." - The battle cry of Jacksonians through the decades.


My thanks to Joabfan for the Malay link!

US cars smuggled to Iraq, Peruvian drug lords and Mitutoyo bust on AQ Khan ring

This is one I am puzzling over... on 5 OCT 2005 the Boston Globe report on this by Bryan Bender and major H/T to Gateway Pundit to point this out. Some key graphs:

WASHINGTON -- The FBI's counterterrorism unit has launched a broad investigation of US-based theft rings after discovering that some of the vehicles used in deadly car bombings in Iraq, including attacks that killed US troops and Iraqi civilians, were probably stolen in the United States, according to senior government officials.

Inspector John E. Lewis, deputy assistant director of the FBI for counterterrorism, told the Globe that the investigation hasn't yielded any evidence that the vehicles were stolen specifically for car bombings. But there is evidence, he said, that the cars were smuggled from the United States as part of a widespread criminal network that includes terrorists and insurgents.

Cracking the car theft rings and tracing the cars could help identify the leaders of insurgent forces in Iraq and shut down at least one of the means they use to attack the US-led coalition and the Iraqi government, the officials said.

The inquiry began after coalition troops raided a bomb-making factory in Fallujah last November and found a sport utility vehicle registered in Texas that was being prepared for a bombing mission.

...

But Lewis said the origins of the vehicles in question were unearthed by tracing the vehicle identification numbers, or VINs -- a standard production marker stamped on during manufacture -- as well as through other forensic tools such as auto parts. Some of the automobiles can be easily identified, specialists said, while others have had their VINs ground down or have been fitted with fake ones.

Investigators believe the cars were stolen by local car thieves in US cities, then smuggled to waiting ships at ports in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Houston, among other cities. From there they are shipped to black-market dealers all over the world, including in places like Syria where foreign militants fighting in Iraq are thought to be transiting from countries across the region and where they gain critical logistical support.

''It is getting a tremendous amount of attention in the US government," said Steven Emerson, who runs the Investigative Project on Terrorism, a Washington research firm that consults for law enforcement and intelligence agencies. ''We have gotten more calls on this than anything else in the last three or four weeks. [Auto theft] is an unregulated market. Some of the proceeds are going to terrorists."

Citing recent discussions with government investigators, Emerson said Al Qaeda terrorists suspected in suicide attacks in Saudi Arabia in recent years also apparently used cars stolen in the United States.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 1 million cars were stolen from US streets in 2003, the most recent statistics available. Government officials think the vehicles insurgents use were stolen from locations as varied as Virginia, Maryland, Texas, and Florida. Arizona reported more than 56,000 vehicles stolen last year, the largest per-capita number of thefts in the country.

Terrorism specialists think Iraqi insurgents prefer American stolen cars because they tend to be larger, blend in more easily with the convoys of US government and private contractors, and are harder to identify as stolen.

The new disclosures are part of a pattern, according to government officials. US law enforcement and intelligence agencies are increasingly finding links between violent Islamic extremists groups and vast criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, and car theft.

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government has cut off some of the terrorists' access to money, including freezing bank accounts of suspect groups and individuals and pressuring Middle Eastern governments to terminate aid. But terrorist operatives have found other means to raise cash, acquire weapons, or gain other logistical help. Facing greater scrutiny, terrorist groups are increasingly using illegal, highly lucrative business arrangements to support their operations, according to the FBI and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Investigators say the criminal activities that terrorists use to raise money run the gamut from creating and selling fake documents to insurance fraud. Taliban and Al Qaeda followers are thought to be heavily involved in the expanding heroin trade in Afghanistan, and a US-based cigarette smuggling ring was linked to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

James G. Conway, Jr., legal attache at the US Embassy in Mexico City, told the Globe that ''where you find terrorists you often find some kind of criminal activity."

Car theft, a criminal enterprise that costs US citizens more than $8 billion a year, now seems to have become a new enterprise for some terrorist groups, according to the law enforcement officials and private specialists.

''The car bomb is the top weapon in the world for carrying out terrorist attacks," said Lieutenant Greg Terp, commander of the Miami-Dade Police Department's Auto Theft Task Force. ''These car thieves don't necessarily know that they are financing terrorism, but they might."

Tracing the path of these vehicles from the streets of America to the local ''chop shop" -- where criminal wholesalers process stolen vehicles -- and then on to the black market half a world away could help thwart a terrorist network that has wrought some of the worst violence against US troops and thousands of Iraqi civilians.

''They want to follow it through the whole process so they can identify as many people in the process as they can," Terp said. ''As you go back to the chop shop guy, he may not know the end user is some terrorist, but who are his contacts?"

First off we can kill the meme of: Islamic terrorists not cooperating with non-Islamic groups. Doornail time for that.

Also seen is this article from TMCnet on a Pakistani driver caught with a stolen vehicle in Kuwait and he identified 3 Syrians as his point of contacts for arranging this trade of vehicles to Iraq, and was selling the vehicles at 1/2 market prices. (Again H/t to Gateway Pundit)

Now, as TMCnet is a new source for me, let me check out a few things... starting with smuggling. Can't tell the reliability of the source unless you know some of their reporting. So here it goes,:

31 AUG 2006 - AZERI SPECIAL SERVICES DETAIN MEMBERS OF DRUG SMUGGLING RING

The Azeri National Security Ministry has neutralized a criminal group involved in smuggling drugs from Iran to Georgia and Russian via Azerbaijan.

Three residents of the Jalilabad district of Azerbaijan and the city of Ganja took drugs from two Iranians at the Azeri-Iranian border, a statement by the ministry's press service says. Employees of the National Security Ministry detained one of the members of the group in the Jalilabad district as he attempted to deliver drugs to other group members. Other members of the group were detained later. [Source: Interfax]

24 AUG 2006 - (The Jakarta Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) from THE JAKARTA POST -- THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006 -- PAGE 9 Police have arrested two men for allegedly using cybertechnology to support terror attacks in Indonesia

IT and Cyber Crime Unit chief Sr. Comr. Petrus Reinhard Golose said Wednesday that the two men were Mohammad Agung Prabowo, 23, and Agung Setyadi, 31. They were detained separately earlier this month in Semarang, Central Java.

...

Police arrested 23-year old Prabowo, also known as Max Fiderman among hacker circles, on Aug. 12. He allegedly helped register a website, www.anshar.net, with UK-based hosting site www.openhosting.co.uk and German site www.joker.com late last year, said Golose

He added that the www.anshar.net website had been designed by Abdul Azis between June and August of last year. Abdul is currently on trial in Bali. He's accused of creating the site for Noordin M. Top, the alleged mastermind of several bombings in Indonesia, including the Bali I and II bombings

The website was used to deliver information related to their operations

The information included tips on how to carry out attacks in public places during traffic jams and backups at freeway interchanges or shopping malls and hotels. Some of the specific public places mentioned as possible locations for attacks were the Planet Hollywood restaurant, the Jakarta Convention Center, and Senayan Golf Driving Range, all in South Jakarta, and Ancol Recreation Park in North Jakarta

Police arrested the other suspect, Agung Setyadi, on Aug. 16 in Semarang, Central Java. Setyadi is accused of smuggling a laptop to Imam Samudera while he was detained in Krobokan prison in Denpasar, Bali, after being sentenced to death for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing

"Setyadi used a delivery service to send the laptop to the address of an official at the Krobokan prison, who then forwarded it to Imam," said Golose

He said Imam used the laptop to communicate with Setyadi and other militants about how to use the Internet to carry out credit card fraud to fund terror attacks, before he was moved to the high-security Nusa Kembangan prison in October following the second Bali bombing on Oct. 1, 2005

Imam also allegedly engaged in intense communication with unidentified people before the second Bali attack, but police have yet to find evidence he was in contact with anyone directly involved in that bombing, added Golose

The police said they seized a laptop along with its warranty card from the suspected terrorists, as well as two cell phones, three Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, one flash disk, one Bluetooth USB, two hard disks, six CDs, one CD box, two bank books, and several documents released by Osama bin Laden, plus his picture and a photograph of Setyadi

Copyright 2006 The Jakarta Post

31 AUG 2006 - (The Saigon Times Daily Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) (SGT-HCMC) The HCMC Peoples Court yesterday opened the first-instance hearing of the criminal case against a ring that had smuggled nearly 18,000 mobile phones.

...

This is the second biggest ever cell-phone smuggling ring uncovered in Vietnam. The court adjourns for consideration and sentencing this Friday.

The uncovering of Dong Nam Co.s smuggling operation is the largest to date, with some 16,682 mobile phones valued at VND52.2 billion (US$3.3 million) revealed, entailing tax avoidance of more than US$6.5 million from import tariffs between 1999 and 2002. The ringleader, Nguyen Gia Thieu has already been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

Copyright 2006 The Saigon Times Daily. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Asia Intelligence Wire.

And a report on cigarette smuggling in Vietnam and warning kids not to engage in the trade and other illicit activities from the Saigon Times, 31 AUG 2006. So far, pretty mundane stuff... and then you get THIS:

31 AUG 2006 - Mitutoyo exported 10,000 devices since 1995, most of them illegally+

(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) TOKYO, Aug. 31_(Kyodo) _ Mitutoyo Corp., a precision instrument maker at the center of an export scam linked to weapons of mass destruction, has exported some 10,000 precision measuring devices, most of them illegally, since around 1995, investigative sources said Thursday.

The Metropolitan Police Department's Public Safety Division is investigating the possibility that some of these instruments were exported to North Korea and other nations suspected of developing nuclear weapons via a nuclear black market formerly run by Pakistani nuclear physicist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the sources said.

In addition, the police are investigating suspicions that a Mitutoyo-made precision measuring machine of a different type from the firm's three-dimensional measuring machine that went to Libya via Khan's smuggling network was exported to an Iranian firm suspected of links to Iran's nuclear development program, they said.

On Aug. 25, the police arrested Mitutoyo Vice Chairman Norio Takatsuji, President Kazusaku Tezuka, and three other executives on suspicion of illegally exporting two high-tech measuring devices convertible for use in the manufacture of nuclear weapons to Malaysia in 2001.

One of the two 3-D measuring machines was found in a nuclear research facility in Libya by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors during their 2003-2004 checks.

The machines can be used to make centrifuge machines to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons by determining their dimensions and minimizing shape distortions with high accuracy. Their export is subject to restrictions under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law and the Export Trade Control Ordinance.

The police found that Mitutoyo's two other precision measuring instruments -- a form tracer for measuring the roughness of the surface of products and a roundness tester -- were handed over to Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia, suspected of being at the core of Khan's network, the sources said.

The police are investigating fresh suspicions that the two devices were exported to Libya as a "three-item set" with one of Mitutoyo's two 3-D measuring machines, which had been found to have been shipped via Dubai to Libya on an Iranian-registered vessel, they said.

The sources knowledgeable about investigations at the Public Safety Division said the Mitutoyo management decided to expand exports in the first half of the 1990s when its sales dived.

Then its project team developed computer software to make its precision measuring machines appear less accurate than they are to bypass Japan's export regulations on high-tech products convertible for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, the sources said.

Although some Mitutoyo employees alerted the management to the illegality of exporting high-performance machines using the software, referred to with an in-house code name of "COCOM," Takatsuji and others silenced the critics, telling them such exports have been decided as "a company policy," they said.

In addition to disguising the precision machines as devices with lower capabilities than they actually have, Mitutoyo filed export permit applications with customs, in which they falsely said their overseas arms were the final destinations of the machines to bypass the regulations on exports to countries and firms suspected of developing weapons of mass destruction, they said.

Mitutoyo, based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, is a leading maker of high-tech precision measuring machines and runs a network of subsidiaries, research institutes and factories in more than 20 countries, including the United States, Europe and Asia.

Takatsuji and Tezuka acknowledged the allegations related to the exports to Malaysia for which they had been arrested, informed sources said, adding the two executives have denied that the management ordered employees to bypass the export regulations.

But a senior official at the Public Safety Division said they believe the management issued such orders, adding Mitutoyo "has placed priority on just boosting sales and I cannot find any sense of ethics in them as a company."

Copyright 2006 Kyodo News International, Inc.

Now THAT is a major piece of news! Here we have Japanese manufacturing filtering through the AQ Khan network to Libya, North Korea and Iran. Malaysia as a way station for this sort of thing was cited by officials earlier, but this report implicates them and Dubai as trans-ship points for WMD equipment to prohibited Nations.

And I haven't even GOTTEN off of page 1 on the smuggling links!

Onwards...

30 AUG 2006 -This one is way too lengthy, but it involves a Peruvian druglord known as "The Dutchman" who was just busted. Mainly involved with the South American to Europe drug trade and apparently competing directly, in a head-to-head manner with Columbian and Mexican drug cartels. The individual in question, Ment Dijkhuizen Cceres, had been using food exports, mainly canned goods, as a means to smuggle cocain and other drugs out of Peru and to Europe. The Peruvian Prosecutor's Office said that this was 'only the tip of the iceberg' and it is possible that this drug lord had been moving hundreds of tons per month within the legitimate shipping containers of his business:

""The Dutchman" reinvested part of his profits in new agro-export companies, and in improving the ones he already owned in order to maintain the appearance of a successful legal business, the investigations revealed.

Anti-drug police found that he had set up a network of front men, led by his lawyer, Eduardo Gallardo, who according to police and judicial investigations had organized such a complex and entangled money-laundering system that only part of it has been unravelled.

Gallardo had 20 powers of attorney to conduct transactions all over the world in the name of foreign ghost companies registered in the U.S. state of Florida, the Dutch island of Aruba and Panama in Central America."

It is believed that he is not the only one: "On July 24, anti-drug authorities in Nigeria discovered 16.3 tons of cocaine hidden in bags of white cement, in a container that originated in Peru. Four days later, police in Vancouver, Canada, seized 1.1 tons of cocaine from an organization led by Daniel Fernando Ledesma, a Peruvian. "

Now that, too, is fascinating. Peru having an expansionist drug trade via legitimate businessmen turning criminal for added profit. Previous to that is this 29 AUG 2006 regional profile of the Caribbean and, yes, drug smuggling of cocaine.

29 AUG 2006 - Tobacco smuggling in Uganda, also in Ghana.

30 AUG 2006 - L-3 Communications unveils new cargo containers with security features to help thwart smuggling of all sorts from goods to people.

28 AUG 2006 - Raytheon announces Advanced Spectroscopic Portal system that allows it to view inside trucks and cars. Probably not x-rays, folks... terahertz imaging is my first guess...

24 AUG 2006 - A look at Columbia's economy. An interesting statistic is that 5% of its productive agricultural land is used for illegal drug growing and the return to the economy is 2 to 2.5% of its GDP.

I left out of this the rampant, across-the-board smuggling problems in the Philippines, the US illegal immigrant problem and oil smuggling across parts of Asia, like Bangladesh.

So vehicle smuggling is a side-light to terrorism. A bit of a refined search doesn't get much:

13 MAR 2006 - Individual in Brunei doing auto parts smuggling.

So the side-track into TMCnet gains them a place in my regular visiting list for awhile.

A bit more on Iraq gets this tidbit from WorldNetDaily 22 JAN 2005:

Elite Iranian agent arrested in Iraq
Admits smuggling insurgents, weapons through border

An agent of Iran's prestigious Jerusalem Force was arrested in Iraq carrying money and planning attacks against U.S. troops, sources said.

U.S. Coalition forces arrested members of an underground armed group operating in Iraq's eastern Diyala province Thursday. Among them was a senior member of the Jerusalem Force carrying $150,000 in cash, said the sources.

The arrests follow the confession earlier this week of Col. Muayed Al-Nasseri, an insurgent leader and former head of Saddam Hussein's "Army of Muhammad," who told U.S. interrogators Iran was the principle financer of the insurgency in Iraq.

Al-Nasseri's confession was broadcast on an Iraqi television station operating from the United Arab Emirates, Al-Fayhaa TV, and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

"Many factions of the resistance are receiving aid from the neighboring countries," Al-Nasseri said. "We in the Army of Muhammad – the fighting has been going on for almost two years now, and there must be aid, and this aid came from the neighboring countries. We got aid primarily from Iran. The truth is that Iran has played a significant role in supporting the Army of Muhammad and many factions of the resistance. I have some units, especially in southern Iraq, which receive Iranian aid in the form of arms and equipment."

Al-Nasseri also said another resistance group actually traveled to Iran to pick up arms and cash and to meet with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: "As for other factions of the resistance, I have reliable information regarding the National Islamic resistance, which is one of the factions of resistance, led by Colonel 'Asi Al Hadithi. He sent a delegation to Iran from among the people of the faction, including General Halaf and General Khdayyer. They were sent to Iran in April or May and met with Iranian intelligence and with a number of Iranian leaders and even with Khamenei."

Al-Nasseri said the group picked up $1 million and two cars full of weapons.

They still have a very close relationship with Iran," he said. "They receive money, cars, weapons and many things. According to my information, they even got car bombs."

Again, Iran involved in operations in support and funding of insurgents in Iraq.

15 APR 2006 Washington Post article on an oil smuggling ring in Iraq shipping oil to Syria.

So that winds it up for car smuggling: it is happening via criminal rings and not much is being said about it on a global scale. Connections via the internetworking of Transnational Terrorists and international criminal organizations is happening, and looks to be starting as local operations here and there. Unknown is if there is a direct order-link or 'once-removed' linkage between al Qaeda and US car theft rings. That is still in doubt.

What is not in doubt is that the AQ Khan ring had a Japanese manufacturer, Mitutoyo, looking to expand its profit margin via illegal equipment sales through Malaysia and Dubai. And they often used Iranians for shipment to final destinations, which gives that extra 'value added' to the Iranian nuclear program.

The Long Term Consequences of Defeat

This article is a cross-post from the Jacksonian Party.

The following is a position paper of the Jacksonian Party.

The principle precept of Jacksonianism is: you don't bother me, I don't bother you; you attack me, I kill you.

Simple, short and sweet. There is no 'proportionate' response involved.

There is no dilly-dallying about for 'what is the right response?' to be batted around and a 'politically acceptable' solution to be found.

There is no compromise. Wars are fought to victory or of compromise between honorable foes that STAND BY their agreements.

When you do 'other things' because wars 'drag on' or 'are too long' or it is 'not in your name' then you had best be asking yourself what YOUR surrender terms for the Nation will be.

Let us start with the litany of defeat and non-response by the United States and see where they lead. And since everyone loves pointing to Vietnam, let that be a nice starting point since the Korean War went on hiatus due to an armistice between foes willing to disengage honorably for their own reasons.

Vietnam had a death toll to it, no doubt. And it did drag on, from start to the ending of support of any kind to South Vietnamese regime on 30 DEC 1974. Unofficially US Armed Forces advisors had been in the area since the Truman Administration, but it was Eisenhower and then Kennedy that made that involvement official. The Kennedy Administration had Ngo Dinh Diem assassinated so that a leader with closer ties to the US could be installed. That, of course, was not a good nor honorable thing to do. Both the Kennedy Administration and the Johnson Administration increased troop commitment to South Viet Nam on the basis of supporting an Ally against Communism. Even once the Viet Cong were no longer a viable fighting force and the US was chewing through North Viet Namese military units, the war was seen as 'unwinnable'. The major problem was: not taking out North Viet Nam via ground forces and occupation. No Administration would sanction that against a Soviet Ally, thus North Viet Nam was able to get resupplied, continuously from its backers. At 6,999 days, all US support, including providing sea-based air cover for South Viet Nam ended by the US Congress. We could not even do *that*.

The results of this were many-fold and none of them good.

First, the US lost honor and prestige in the world by not supporting and backing a Friend and Ally. Our trustworthiness as a Friend and Ally was diminished. We had decided to feed a friend to the wolves so the bleeding from the scratches we were getting with a PEACE TIME ECONOMY would end. That gave enemies of the United States time to rework their concepts and now implement a fully VALID method of defeating the US: long war by proxy.

Second, in the unintended and basically unseen part of this is the amount of Soviet production that had to go for supporting the weak North Viet Nam regime. By most accounts two to three entire armies of supplies, trucks, tanks, support vehicles and other stores and equipment were used up this way. And while South Viet Nam was going under they were chewing up yet *another* of these and the North would need to be resupplied *again*. The USSR was relatively quiescent globally during Viet Nam as they had no resources to spare. With the end of that they were still quite weak economically, but had an unscratched military and new confidence that International Communism would *win* against the West.

Third, in 1975 the Khmer Rouge, backed by North Viet Nam seized power in Cambodia via Civil War. Cambodia became a Communist nation. Estimates of the dead and those killed to purify the nation range from 1.7 million to 3 million people or roughly 20% of the population of the Nation were killed because of US retreat. It was a 'domino' that fell.

Fourth, in 1974 the Laotian government, no longer getting backing from the US faced its own Communist insurgency and that was backed by the North Viet Namese military. The US had thrown this Ally to the wolves, too. The government negotiated a hand over to Communist Pathet Lao. The royal family was killed and untold numbers fled the country to escape the 're-education camps' that served as places to brainwash those that would serve the Communists or kill those who would not. This was another 'domino' to fall.

Fifth, since going overland from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam would entail a deadly cocktail of Communist forces and have a high mortality rate, those that could flee from those places did so by boat. These are the 'Boat People' and they told of the horrors in their Nations perpetrated by Communists from their refugee camps in various places. During the 1980's this continued due to the lack of living circumstances in those Communist Nations as they were burdened by debt to the USSR and had no local economy to support that debt burden. Many were called 'economic refugees' and repatriated back to their Nations of origin. Approximately 1 million people were allowed to emigrate to the West or to better circumstances. This migration is a direct effect of the US leaving South Viet Nam and not supporting Allies, no matter how awful, because what they were facing was *worse*.

Next up, Iran. In 1979 the Islamic Fundamentalists overthrew the Shah and installed themselves into power. The Shah had been put in place by removing the elected government that the Allies had instantiated during WWII after invading Iran. The Invasion of Iran was to remove a pro-Fascist Shah from the throne and keep the Western oil supplies open. The democratic government was highly factionated with problems dating back to the 19th century. The Eisenhower Administration thought it better to re-install the Shah and get a reliable backer on the throne. The 1979 overthrow of the Shah in February, solidified in March and then given popular hearing in November was another Ally the United States had decided not to back under the Carter Administration. The US hostage crisis, in which the US did NOT respond effectively nor forcefully to invasion of the diplomatic compound not only lowered the estimation of the ability of the US to respond, but it weakened all of established diplomatic interchange and the concept of International Law and respect for National Sovereignty that went with it. The effects of this were many, but two major ones need be pointed out.

First, is the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Staged in December 1979 while the US was heavily distracted with ineffectual 'yellow ribbons' and oak trees, the USSR saw a prime opportunity to use its recovering economy and prove, directly, its military might by taking over Afghanistan. The Carter Administration, unable to find the wherewithal to back an OPEN opposition to the USSR had decided on the clandestine route of arming insurgents with high tech weapons and skills to slowly grind against the Soviet military. This would only begin to bear any fruit in 1985 when some organization to militias in Afghanistan gave rise to an effective anti-Soviet campaign. Until then the Soviet Union was emboldened by its victory and expansion of power.

Secondly, the non-response to Iranian Fundamentalist Islamism led to a long series of further withdrawals, pull-backs and non-responsive episodes for the United States. President Carter had set the tone of the US being unable to effectively counter Radical Islamism.

Combining these two defeats for US prestige and inability to respond militarily led directly to the Soviet quest for International expansion and to the rise of Radical Islam which would aim to overthrow the entire Western conception of Nations.

The first of these events was in El Salvador and its Civil War in the early 1980's. In that both the US and USSR gave light supplies to each side and let that proxy war simmer on its own. The Soviet strategy was to keep a viable resistance alive so that it could be supported by further expansion. This was a trivial drain to US resources, but, combined with Afghanistan, the USSR was stretching to its limits.

Secondly, during the period of Soviet expansionism they had also set sights on Nicaragua, which is a key geographic point in Central America. By supporting the Sandinista in the long term from the 1960's onwards, the USSR was able to oust the Somoza government via clandestine support for the Sandinista and Daniel Ortega. In the 1980's this victory for the USSR would lead to a regime which impoverished its people and supported the FMLN in El Salvador. Again, the USSR had to add this to its support list as Nicaragua had proven incapable, under Communist management, of taking care of its people.

Thirdly, the Non-Aligned Movement of Nations swung sharply to an 'anti-imperialist' stance and for the USSR in 1979 during its meeting in Havana. This gave much diplomatic credence to an ascendant USSR and an anti-US and Western bias which would play out in the following decades. By not indicting Soviet aggression the Non-Aligned Movement became a partisan movement that could not hold to its basis of respecting National Sovereignty. Litanies against the US were called up for Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos, but similar tracts were never brought up against the USSR in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Afghanistan, North Viet Nam and Nicaragua. This was a direct loss to not only the US, but global diplomacy, in which a patina of being 'Non-Aligned' could cover for overtly partisan viewpoints and attacks.

Fourthly, the Angolan Civil War which had simmered during the 1970's saw a large increase in US and Soviet support during the 1980's. Originally started in the early 1970's as a consequence of Castro's concept of spreading revolution 'on the cheap' by sending out 'advisors' to Nations with weak governments, Angola was one of those regimes that destabilized and fell into Civil War. The USSR increased support for their faction there and the US, realizing the USSR needed to be at least *matched* followed suit in the 1980's. This war would see a few truly huge battles but generally rumble on without victory for over a decade. Again, the USSR, by no longer needing active support in SE Asia, felt it could redirect manufacturing to support Communists elsewhere.

Fifthly, the Civil War in Mozambique, which had been going on for some time, saw increased Soviet Support and the regime turned harshly oppressive. Additionally famine struck the Nation and the number of deaths from the regime and famine were large. Here the USSR did not have the US to confront, but South Africa under its apartheid regime. While tacit support from the US did flow there, it was never as substantial as seen elsewhere in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Angola.

Sixthly, the destabilization of Somalia and Ethiopia led to the Ogaden War in the late 1970's and that simmering conflict continues to be a problem that is seen in the headlines to this day, long after the demise of the USSR. This was a direct proxy war of the superpowers between Somalia and Ethiopia and led to another of those conflicts that ended nowhere and still is fought even after the supports for it have been removed.

Seventh, the multiple attacks on the US in Beirut. The multiple Arab-Israeli wars led to a destabilization of the mixed ethnic, religious and social factions within Lebanon and saw Israel invade twice, in 1978 and 1982, to remove cross-border threats from the PLO. Under the Reagan Administration the US, in trying to stop the conflict, saw its Embassy bombed in 1983 with 63 killed, then the Marine Barracks bombing later that year with 241 killed, and then a SECOND attack on the US Embassy Annex in 1984 with 20 Lebanese and 2 US soldiers killed. The culprit for each of these was the newly formed Hezbollah that had grown directly from Iran and was being given tacit support by Syria if not direct aid by them. Because of that direct link with Iran, each of these incidents is considered in the realm of diplomatic niceties as acts of war that give cause and reason for Nations to respond to them via war. President Reagan did not do so, but there is no statute of limitations on those acts.

Eighth, the non response to these things led to further terrorist acts and further expansion against the US including: the Hezbollah Hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985, the assassination of Alex Odeh in 1985, bombing of TWA Flight 840 in 1986 by the 'Arab Revolutionary Cells', the 1986 Berlin Disco bombing by Libya (to which the US offered a minor military reprisal to Libya), the 1986 Hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 by the Abu Nidal organization, the capture of the Japanese Red Army terrorist Yu Kikumura who had pipebombs while traveling on the NJ Turnpike on 12 APR 1988 on his way to NYC, the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 by Libya, 25 JAN 1993 killings of CIA employees waiting at a traffic signal by Mir Aimal Kansi, 26 FEB 1993 WTC bombing, stopping the 1993 NYC Landmarks Bombing plot in June. This litany goes on and on, but culminates in a few critical acts: 1996 Khobar Towers bombing by Hezbollah, the bombings of the US Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998 by al Qaeda and the USS Cole bombing in 2000 by al Qaeda. These works demonstrate either separate or coordinated attacks across the network of Transnational Terrorist organizations emboldened by the lack of US response previously in Iran and Beirut and general weakness of the US as seen after Viet Nam. This litany continues on and on with some being 'lone deranged individual' or with attempted plots, like the Millenium bombing plot, that demonstrates organizational capability beyond a few individuals. All of this culminates to the 9/11 attacks on the US by al Qaeda.

Ninth, by not fighting Hezbollah and stopping its spread it had established itself in Argentina and attacked the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos, Aires in 1994. The current outgrowth of Hezbollah to Venezuela under strongman Hugo Chavez is aided by the growth Hezbollah has been able to do in South America since its establishment there. Hezbollah is also responsible for the Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901 in July 1994. Today Hezbollah operates via overt and covert means within the confines of the United States, as seen by the spate of arrests of Hezbollah and their sympathizers across the Nation. And those arrests indicate connections to Mexican narcotics rings and to Far Eastern goods counterfeiters on the grey and black markets.

Tenth, "Blackhawk Down" the Battle of Mogadishu. Some US Soldiers killed in a far off land trying to establish peace was too much for the Clinton Administration. Facing al Qaeda there was obviously more than America could stomach. Not that this became a recruiting point FOR al Qaeda... but it did.

All of these things are outgrowths or expansions due to the non-assertion of US power and sovereignty in support of its Allies and retreating before them.

Note that retreat from abroad does NOT bring security, does NOT bring peace and happiness and, generally gets a larger body count closer and closer to home.

The Jacksonian Party does NOT stand for US defeat and retreat on a global basis. Until folks stop attack the US, its Allies and its Friends, We the People will see no end to these attacks and will see more Nations fall to tyranny and repression.

Does a war go beyond three or four years?

"Run away! The bad men are too tough to fight, hide under the bed!"

"Surrender now!"

If you do not want to fight NOW, then expect to pay a higher price year on year as others see you as weak and failing and unable to assert your rights. And expect to pay that butchers bill closer and closer and closer to home. When, exactly, will standing up to a bully be worth it? When the knife is at your throat is a bit late. Actually, so is within shooting distance of your home. Hell, firing distance of the Nation is a bit much. So, beyond that... for me at least. Others may enjoy the feeling of a knife at their throats, I do not.

"Oh, but those are good American Soldiers who are dying!" And they VOLUNTEERED for the duty of fighting the Nation's fights for it and are willing to risk their lives for the Nation. And not honoring them and supporting the FIGHT of the NATION dishonors them more than anything else on this planet because you have shown yourself not worth dying FOR. They die FOR VICTORY, not DEFEAT.

"But all wars are useless!" Tell that to the dead on Iwo Jima, the dead on the beaches of Normandy, the dead buried across this Nation to fight to establish the Nation. The dead who fought so that YOU could HAVE liberty. If you think all wars are useless, then what will you think when it is YOUR turn to have your head chopped off for your beliefs? Or will you convert and submit and have no beliefs of your own?

"There is no end to this fighting!" Correct. Until mankind has liberty, freedom and the willingness to get along and agree to disagree on things, those wishing to impose their will are given fair opportunity to do so. The end to this fighting is the end to Liberty... the end to Freedom.

"But is all OUR fault for being imperialist/Western/racist/etc!" Then let them complain VOCALLY and at length. The Nation listens to such, as we are stuck listening to YOU. The question of HEARING you or CARING about you is something else again. By saying it is the fault of those being attacked, you are blaming the victim.

"Israel is the CAUSE of this!" I see. A territory was carved up as an Empire left it, given to another Empire, which then sub-divided it and said to the folks there: 'Here you go! You figure it out yourselves, you each have enough room to live together. If you cooperate." Miscalculation? Possibly. But one side took the path to Nation, to Justice, to Law and abided by its agreements. The other side, having the exact SAME chance, did nothing save kill and kill and kill and kill. How is THAT the fault of Israel? And, if you want to turn back the clock, then where does that turning STOP? And how, exactly, does that explain the interconnect, non-Islamic groups like ETA, IRA, FARC, and the various 'Red' groups?

"But we are NOW the cause of the problem!" Yes, fighting for liberty and freedom will always get you tyrannical enemies, for some reason. Care to surrender now?

"This isn't about freedom! It's about...." Fill in the blank for oil/imperialism/racism/convoluted conspiracies/the Pope/whatever. So, which Nations, exactly, has the United States subdued permanently and coerced to join as part of the Nation? Or that we have held at gun-point and said 'Do as we say, or else'? List, please! Name them. And not some minor flyspeck island Nation in the Pacific or Atlantic or some such. No, REAL Nations with populations over a few million folks that actually are living under US tyranny. Come on! That should be *easy*. I have yet to hear that list from *anyone* making this argument. Because there is no list to make.

"We are forcing our values on other people and that is wrong!" No, we free them from tyranny and allow them to make their OWN damn fool decisions on what they like or dislike. We cannot help it if most of those like freedom for individuals and make choices different than their ancestors. So sorry to hand over that burden to decide for oneself.

Every thing I have heard as 'a reason to leave' is an excuse for cowardice and indecision.

If you do not like the way We are fighting then hand out a way that WORKS better. Retreating and calling barbarians to be 'misunderstood' has gotten us death and more death and death all the way to Our Shores.

Want to leave Iraq? Tell you what, lets leave Germany, Japan and South Korea FIRST! Support that so we can get more people to FIGHT and we may need to leave them in a time frame like those three: decades of being there and peace being established. Push for this FIRST and you may be able to stress something close to a valid case. There that is a valid construction of what to do that will not endanger the Nation and, possibly, put enough 'boots on the ground' to eliminate ALL enemies in short order in Iraq.

But to do so, that means that you would not mind seeing THOSE troops committed to fighting actively. Otherwise you are asking for another Vietnam. And no good has come at that, except to make Our enemies bolder and diminish the Union and undermine it to the point of near collapse.

If you have no honor for the FIGHT then do not tell me of your honor for those doing OUR FIGHTING FOR US. That is dishonorable in the extreme. We have civilian control of the military and We the People honor Our commitments until We change Our mind through valid means.

Too bad the enemy that started all of this is gone.

The current ones would still enjoy our demise immensely.

The Quiet and Hidden News of Iraq

Just a quick roundup of some items to see how things are going in Iraq these days, beyond the bloody headlines and the scare-mongering media. You know, the 'behind the scenes' stuff that you are not supposed to pay attention to...

First, electrical generation from the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity lists 8,845 MW of electrical generation capacity, but that page appears to be a couple of years old at this point. But they do handily list the ongoing activities and announcements, which are updated. But they do offer a tantalizing bit of info with this release which looks to be a bit before 12 JUL 2006:

Production abilities returning

An authorized source in the ministry of electricity said:

The production abilities has been returned to the electricity energy generating in the south as usual on 12/7/2006 when the Oil ministry fixed the default on one of Gas pressuring stations.

From another hand, the source confirmed the lowering of the electricity energy supplying rates from the Iraqi connection line with rate 50% due to the problems in the Iranian power net and the line will be fixing again on 12/7/2006.

Now, they are getting electricity from Iran, and Turkey, Syria, Jordan and KSA if memory serves, but what sort of mischief might Iran cause by cutting that sort of thing off every now and again? They are still having some problems with terrorists blowing up power lines, but they seem to have a handle on that situation, now. None of those actions are critical nor threaten the Nation. And we do know that more production capability is being built to get it up to 9,500 MW, probably within a year or so. USAID looks to see a need for a continuous 8,500 MW for all of Iraq, and by going over that room for expansion, repairing and refitting older stations and generally getting reliable uptime Nation-wide will be available. And looking around for pre-war numbers one can get peak electricity production in the 4,300 MW range to 5,500 MW down from 9,100 MW pre-1991 war. But as we have seen from the state of the power generation facilities, Saddam had been scrimping on those since the Iran-Iraq war in the early 1980's, so describing possible production as opposed to actual production needs be taken into consideration. But, its looking good.

Now a hop over to the Iraqi Water Ministry and see what is going on there... its been ages since I looked them up... tons of projects in the sidebar! Well, having to restore the Marshes, get agricultural water supply returned to areas Saddam let go, getting potable water to cities and towns, sewage and drainage, dam management and how that impacts hydro-electric supplies. Busy people! Quite an impressive listing of completed projects and achievements, and staggering to think they have about twice as many in progress and more to be let this year. This is not glamorous work, but vital to rebuilding Iraq and, in many cases, putting in capability for the first time in some towns. Rehabilitating the agricultural sector is a huge thing to do plus restore the untold acres of wetlands that were destroyed by Saddam to coerce the Marsh Arabs out of them.

Justice Ministry is in arabic only, so have to give that a pass. Would love to get *their* police blotter and exactly who has been put away.

Time to head over to the press releases of the Iraqi Government. Do note that they have some problems on their pages with getting the proper links in. Most of that due to the use of the underbar '_' in the referring page and the dash '-' in the page with content. Takes a bit of hunting and they really should get a webmaster that can handle these things. Last release was 31 JUL 2006 from the Ministry of Defense:

MOD spokesman declared, in a press conference held today, that tally of operations conducted for the period 14-30 July 2006 led to the murder of 19 terrorists, arresting 625, conducting 1097 patrols and setting 995 checkpoints along with 108 traps within the sectors of 6th and 7th divisions. He added: targeting innocent civilians by terrorists proved their failure, he referred to new ways and strategy for the Iraqi security forces to find places for launching mortars and missiles in order to avoid repetition of such terrorist operations from these places. He explained that the last week witnessed a series of meetings with tribes' leaders and religious personalities in places like Nineveh, Mahmudiya, Latifyia and other hot spots to support the project of the national reconciliation, and to match views of opinions in some tensioned places in Baghdad, he pointed out that Army media set specialized teams to receive phone calls through hotlines from citizens in order to bridge trust among security facilities and people who are the basic source for information that serve military sectors. He stressed that statements issued by some parties through mosques to recruit Iraqi army are not official ones, because the ministry has formal centers to receive Iraqis who likes to apply.

All of that in a little over 2 weeks? Yowza! So here you have Iraqi's rounding up terrorists, killing a few and finding ways to thwart terrorists from using places to attack them again. And it is doing outreach via hotlines to establish trust with the citizens of Iraq. Then warns that only the official recruiting sites are valid and the only valid places to sign up to join the Army. No mosques allowed.

The next press release looks at displaced people due to terrorism: 30,359 from 15 FEB 2006 to 30 JUL 2006. The lion's share of that is from Baghdad, which is also the target of operations for the last couple of months and was a hotbed for the militias,terroristss and various other thugs before *that*. Luckily, the city is getting the slow, thorough cleaning treatment.

A bit of looking yields this article about an Iraqi newsman assassinated by terrorists. Yes, the terrorists don't like *anyone* reporting about them... no wonder the Western media is afraid to report about them truthfully. And this always brings to mind: what are MSM networks doing getting stories from 'stringers' in Iraq when the folks there have their own, independent media? I mean, how much could it cost to set up agreements with them to get first-hand news reporting and analysis by Iraqis on the news there? Just cowardly to sit in hotel rooms getting 'stories' from stringers or being 'brave' enough only to go out with soldiers. If you can't be bothered to risk your life for news, then buy it from a valid source that *does* so.

Heading over to the Central Bank of Iraq, and just out of prurient interest I check on money laundering. And you get the list of individuals known to be associated with these activities, starting with the Taliban in Afghanistan! List date is 25 APR 2006 so relatively up to date... goes on to al Qaeda... pages and pages and pages of scanned material... then some of the affiliates of al Qaeda... then the folks and organizations cleared and ok to work with. Well, that was *not* what I expected to find. Over to the Key Financial numbers area and the Iraqi Dinar has been holding steady against the dollar at 1476 to 1478 dinar to the dollar for some months. Ministry of Finance T-Bills going at 8%, and prime lending rate at 14% with a couple of points higher for 'lender of last resort' credit. Inflation rate not listed, but quite a few things aren't. Checking out this document, under the News section, we get some actual figures for 2004 and 2005 and estimates for 2006.

The per capita GDP for 2004: US$942

Poverty rate for the Nation was 7%

Population of 27.1 million

Consumer inflation has been swinging around and they are working hard to stabilize it at 15% or less to meet IMF restrictions.

Total external debt is being addressed and harshly, from 588 to 541 and targeting 154 for this year, which I assume to be in US$ Million as that is what the total line uses.

Nominal GDP is aiming at the US$ 33 billion range. And that fits with the debt size.

Unemployment rate 11%

Well, no one ever claimed Iraq to have a large economy, as I recall. That last number, however, is damned amazing! Why, at the start of 2005 the unemployment rate was in the 17-22% range. Getting it down to 11% is getting Iraq competitive with European countries in employment. All sorts of interesting news in Iraq just from the banking perspective.

Now here is an interesting site, just in conception: Iraqi National Intelligence Service. And proud of it, too! Duties come first and they put those down in plain sight along with their charter and reason for being. They have an Essays area which seems to be some sort of overview of the problems of Iraq and how they view them as coming about and what the goals are to end them. They are *not* splendid prose, but plain speaking and to the point. Also are some pictures of the bomb types they have seen.

All of these sites are works in progress, but progress is being made and quite rapidly, too.

The USAID site does a good job of summarizing US aid to Iraq and what we are getting for it, but do note that they tend to concentrate on the emergency relief area and so have a number of inactive areas as the emergency is over for them.

So, here is the big question: what kind of civil war is it that brings unemployment down by establishing legitimate jobs, raises the economy up, stabilizes inflation and pays off foreign debts?

Please restrict answers to industrialized Nations only and to within the last 100 years, just to keep things more or less in synch with the modern era.

The blood on the streets is the story the MSM and terrorists *want* you to hear.

The building of a Nation is a quiet thing and lost in the noise because a screaming headline of death always beats, hands down, a new school, a completed sewer project, additional electrical capacity and a stabilized economy.