Bombings in Israel first in months

Today's bus bombings in Beersheba, Israel were the first since March.

Israel attributes the calm to its West Bank wall, which may be praised for thwarting the daily suicide attacks carried out by militant Palestinians but blamed for cutting off Palestinians from family members, jobs and many necessities for survival such as clean water and food.

Yassir Arafat condemned the attacks saying that such violence only gives Israel reason to reciprocate and is not in the interest of the Palestinian people.

Israel responded to the attacks by storming Hebron, the nearest Palestinian city to Beersheba. The homes of the presumed attackers were surrounded and family members were questioned. Perhaps a heavy handed response, but one which could only be expected.

Israel and Israelis point to the fence as a necessary preventative measure against such attacks and today's bombing has strengthened that sentiment even more.

A voice from Sudan

"Thank God for George Bush!"

UPDATE

Email from Mark

UPDATE: More Attacks Promised for Kabul

According to the New York Times, the taliban has promised more attacks in the near future:

In a telephone interview, a Taliban spokesman, Latif Hakimi, claimed responsibility for the attack, on what he called an American base involved in reconstruction. He also promised more attacks, saying, "Lots of Taliban mujahedeen have entered Kabul, and we will explode more bombs."

Al-Qaeda has joined the Taliban in claiming responsibility for the attack, which occured Sunday. The Taliban is denying responsibility for the earlier attack in the southeast, which occurred Satudray night.

No more news yet from Mark.

Attack on my brother's compound - Afghanistan

From ABC:

An explosion tore through the office of an American defense contractor in the heart of the Afghan capital Sunday, killing as many as six people and seriously injuring several more, officials and residents said. The victims included several apparent U.S. citizens.

The blast hit the office of Dyncorp Inc., an American firm that provides security for Afghan President Hamid Karzai on behalf of the United States...

From Mark:

I'm alright, in case you were worried. If you didn't hear yet, there was an attack on one of my company's houses. It was not near my house. I was involved in the response to the attack. Just wanted to let you know i'm ok. Kind of tired now, i'll talk to you later.
-Mark

Reports now say that as many as 17 people have died in two different blasts which happened within 24 hours of each other. The second blast was at a religious school in the south of the country and killed 10 people, including four children. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the Kabul blast on my brother's compound:

Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said the bomb was detonated by a Taliban fighter using a remote control device.

"A few minutes ago he phoned our chief ... to say that he finished his mission and is alive," Hakimi said.

I will update as I recieve more information.

Connie Rice: an exercise in bad analogy

Political commentator Connie (not Condoleezza) Rice's "Top 10 'Taboo' Things Said about Baghdad" should be called, "I like to generalize everything to the point of absurdity so that my analogies work".

Might I retort?:

10.) Yes, it is great that the Iraqis are now free to flood their streets with tens of thousands of protesters in open demonstrations.

It's also great that we are free to do so as well. No one is saying that RNC protesters will not be able to protest.

9.) No, without a certain sustainable level of economic security, there will be no physical security.

The same would apply and does apply in the US. High unemployment produces higher crime rates.

8.) No, Iraqis cannot recover from 40 years of Hussein's savage brutality overnight.

Is it so hard to understand why that might be? Who is acting like 400 years of American slavery is ancient history? And, yes, it is irrelevant to the Iraq issue, unless you want to point out the fact that we didn't recover from slavery overnight either.

7.) Maybe quotas aren't the best solution in the long run, but sometimes Democracy needs a jump start.

Much like my car, which is sitting dead in the parking lot at the Avenue.

6.) It's probably a good thing that "we're confiscating thousands of guns to reduce violence and killing in Baghdad".

And there is a difference between gun control in Iraq and gun control in the US. Mainly because the US isn't in the midst of a bloody civil war, among other things... not least of which is the fact that, in Iraq, there are children on the streets carrying AK-47s and shooting at American Soldiers.

OK... I'm done.

Japan to keep tabs on N. Korea from space

Japan has plans to launch two spy satellites into orbit next year, contrary to "a long-standing policy of conducting only nonmilitary space missions."

"Abu Ghraib Probe Points to(?) Top Brass"

Funny how the Washington Post is reporting on the Fay report. They seem to be trying as hard as they can, without outright making up the necessary connections, to show that the higher-ups had something to do with the abuses. Eg., the wording as follows:

Another defense official said the Army study would be "a comprehensive report, a thorough look at another aspect of Abu Ghraib, to include up to the CJTF-command level," a reference to Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, who until recently was the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

OK, so some official implied that the report would be examining the involvement of everyone... even Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez! Uh, yeah... but let's not jump to conclusions just yet. Especially seeing as we already know that the report concludes that no one outside of the Abu Ghraib prison is directly responsible for the abuses, which would include Sanchez.

Report on Iraq Abuse Will Widen the Blame

Though the LATimes reports that a "Report on Iraq Abuse Will Widen the Blame", the actual implications of the report are more limited in their scope than many would like to see. The Fay report, after its director Army Maj. Gen. George R. Fay, concludes that no one outside of the Abu Ghraib prison is directly responsible for the abuses. This is contrary to an ad produced by MoveOn.org which seeks to implicate Donald Rumsfeld for allowing the abuses to take place. MoveOn.org claims on their website that:

We now know Rumsfeld personally approved a policy that "encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners," violating their fundamental human rights under the Geneva convention.

Though Fay was given the authority to recommend action against senior military brass,

Some on Capitol Hill said they were dismayed that the investigation failed to implicate more senior military officers or Bush administration officials.

The Fay report expands the blame for the abuses beyond the seven MPs already charged to include

military intelligence officers and contract interrogators for the CIA and possibly other agencies.
...
Fay's report also will recommend disciplinary action against Army Col. Thomas M. Pappas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade.
...
The Fay report also is expected to recommend discipline for Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade, a reserve unit in charge of U.S.-run prisons in Iraq, for her alleged lax oversight of the compound...

Germans upset over US troop redeployment

As noted on David's Medienkritik, the leaders of ver.di, a major German workers' union, are upset at the proposed pullout of US troops stationed in Germany. This comes amid fervent anti-American rhetoric from the same group.

Its leaders now realize that there won’t be enough warmongers around to adequately support members’ Socialist way-of-life. They rightfully “fear” that the planned withdrawal of tens of thousands of US military personnel and their dependents from Germany will result in thousands of lost union jobs, particularly in areas surrounding affected bases and installations.

“But…warmongers?” You ask. Well sure, that is exactly how ver.di’s chairman, union kingpin Frank Bsirske, described the American government and military just last year.

Translations of some of Bsirke's other anti-American musings are also available at David's Medienkritik.

More anti-Semitism in Europe

Jewish students attacked at Auschwitz

While on a tour of the museum at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland on Sunday, a group of around 50 Jewish university students from Israel, the U.S. and Poland were verbally attacked by a three-member gang of French male tourists.

US out to sabotage Iran's atom bomb programme

From the Telegraph:

The Bush administration is trying to find covert ways to sabotage or delay Iran's nuclear weapons programme believing that diplomatic deals struck with European nations have barely slowed Teheran's rush towards the bomb.

Intelligence and administration officials are urgently trying to find secret means "to disrupt or delay as long as we can" the development of an Iranian bomb, one said. The urgency stems, in part, from "increasingly strong private statements" by Israeli counterparts that they may be forced to take military action to stop Iran achieving its dream of a nuclear arsenal.
...
It is uncertain that it is possible to stop Iran joining the nuclear club, thanks to the know-how Teheran bought from Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the former Pakistani nuclear chief...

Don't think for a second that al-Qaeda isn't among us and ready to kill us

Al Quaeda Operatives Captured by CIA Provided Intelligence Behind New Orange Heightened Terrorist Threat Alert

Homeland Security Today Magazine Briefed That Three Al Qaeda Cells Appeared to Coordinate Bomb Plots in US.

WASHINGTON, DC (PRWEB) August 7, 2004 -- Senior US counterterrorist and intelligence officials in Washington told Homeland Security Today Magazine in recent days intelligence gleaned as a consequence of the arrest in Texas of alleged Al Qaeda courier Farida Goolam Mohamed Ahmed, and the subsequent unreported capture by the CIA of two operatives of an Al Qaeda cell operating in Mexico for which she was ferrying “instructions” to suspected Al Qaeda members in New York, contributed significantly to the nation’s capital, New York City and New Jersey being put on high alert Sunday.

Washington-based counter terror intelligence sources told HSToday Ahmed was on her way to New York to deliver what were described as “instructions” from an Al Qaeda cell. The officials said intelligence provided by Ahmed – who authorities believe was operating as a “mule;” a conduit for passing plot instructions - during interrogations led agents of the CIA’s top secret operation to secretly capture Al Qaeda operatives to an undisclosed location where at least two members of the cell were taken into custody and transferred to one of the CIA’s clandestine terrorist detention facilities.

I wonder if John Kerry is up to speed on this one.

Where am I? And what is it these people want to hear?

As innocent as it seems, this is one of the main reasons I don't trust John Kerry:

To get his Ohio rallies up and rolling, Kerry used a set of jokes to open his events. In Bowling Green, his shtick went something like this:

"If you elect me and my running mate, John Edwards, we are going to give you the courageous leadership you need. We'll take the tough positions, the courageous positions, the tough stands. But there's one tough position I will not take: I am not going to choose between the Falcons and the Rockets" -- this is a local reference to the well-known rivalry between Bowling Green University and the University of Toledo.

"I will say this," he added. "There is nothing better than Buckeye football, period!"

Kerry used this set piece several times in Ohio, to great effect, never mind the waffling with the generality of "Buckeye" football. Was he talking Ohio State University specifically? Or just football in the state in general? Only Kerry knows.

But then Kerry dug a huge hole for himself. On Sunday and into Monday, Kerry hit Michigan, where he attempted to use the same Ohio jokes. Clearly, the sports humor has to be taken out of his hands before he really embarrasses himself.

"I just came here from Bowling Green," Kerry told the crowd to subdued applause. "I was smart enough not to pick a choice between the Falcons and the, well, you know, all those other teams out there. I just go for Buckeye football, that's where I'm coming from."

At that point, before all the boos began raining down upon him, Kerry seemed to realize his error. In an attempt to silent the angry crowd of University of Michigan supporters, Kerry said, "But that was while I was in Ohio. I know I'm in the state of Michigan and you got a great big M and a powerhouse of a team." Then his face, presumably, the Botox permitting, turned Big Blue.

Hat tip: Vodka Pundit

Another reason not to like Canada

Bill Clinton visits Canada for book signing

On Aug. 5, 2004, former U.S. president Bill Clinton appeared in Toronto to sign copies of his book for 1,000 fans at a downtown bookstore.

People camped overnight hoping to spend a few seconds with Clinton and come away with an autographed copy of My Life.

A sick way to run for public office

CBC News: Beheading video was a hoax

SAN FRANCISCO - A 22-year-old American from San Francisco has admitted to faking his own decapitation for a video that went unnoticed for months until it came to the media's attention on Saturday.
...
The video shows him urging the United States to pull out of Iraq, before what looks like a beheading. It shows a hand with a knife cutting at the man's neck, but it doesn't show his head actually removed from the body.
...
He said he began distributing the video on the Internet months ago in hopes of drawing attention to his one-time campaign for city supervisor.

Fence Gives Israel Chance for Peace

David Makovsky argues that the west bank security fence has allowed Israel the chance to persue peaceful negotiations with the Palestinians:

...the fence also has had another function, namely to provide Israel's leadership with political breathing space to pursue diplomatic options. A rational debate cannot emerge over the din of bombs. Barghoutti was wrong. When the Israelis were getting blown up, Israeli attitudes hardened. The bottom line is that the security dividend of the fence is creating political space in Israel.

And what about the controversial route of the fence? Makovsky argues that:

Critics, assuming the worst regarding the route of the fence, thought it would end the prospects of a two-state solution. In fact, it is close to tracking the route that President Bill Clinton considered as the contours of the two-state solution. The hope is that Israel will use the fence not just to save lives, but to do what it has begun and open up new doors. Sharon has indicated he favors coordination with Egypt and the Palestinian Authority in ensuring that a Gaza handover can move smoothly.

Marines report 300 insurgents killed in Najaf

But CNN believes the numbers reported by al-Sadr.

Scott Baldauf, a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor who was in Najaf on Thursday, told CNN that the electric and water supplies to the city had been cut off and estimated that dozens of civilians were among the casualties in the violence.

"What we did see were civilian casualties at the main hospital in Najaf," Baldauf said. "Many of them had suffered bullet shot wounds and shrapnel as well."

Just because someone is being treated in a hospital does not make them a civilian:

Video obtained by Turkish network IHA showed fighters in Najaf, most of them dressed in civilian clothing, roaming the streets with rocket-propelled grenades.

Victor Davis Hanson: many relevant points

Victor Davis Hanson at NRO makes a number of excellent points on a number of different issues:
On global Americanization:

One third of the planet — India and China — has evolved from being impoverished and bitter neutrals or outright enemies into capitalist powerhouses dependent on American free trade and outsourced jobs. If we used to argue in the 1940s about whether millions of dollars in U.S. grain aid really did any good in feeding the starving of China and India, we can all agree now that American liberality in letting consumer goods in and jobs out has done more for the world's hungry millions than a century of American gift-giving.

On European hipocracy:

European elites, it is true, are angry at the United States. But that pique is more a result of projection and scapegoating rising from its own problems, not ours — as it struggles with demographic crises, unassimilated immigrants, impotence abroad, an embarrassing desire for free American protection despite concomitant resentment and envy, and a growing realization that while the world talks up the EU, when it has real problems, it goes to Washington.

In this regard, Greece is a metaphor for the entire ambivalence of the continent. It now worries about Arab terrorists in Athens, despite courting Middle East dictators for decades. It castigates the U.S. for bothering an Islamic Iraq, but Greeks lauded Milosevic in support of his Orthodox crusade against Albanian and Kosovar Muslims. A few years ago we were booed by Athenians for trying to save Muslims in the Balkans, and now we are even more vehemently trashed for allegedly killing them. Thousands publicly hissed at the U.S. in the immediate aftermath of 9/11; yet American sailors openly patrol the Greek coastline while Special Forces not so openly help train Olympic security officers. Add it all up and there is one constant: Greece (like Europe) really does count on the U.S. as much as it counts on never having to say that publicly.

On why the West will win:

We choose to prefer a democratic Israel to its own autocratic tribalism. Yet Middle Easterners privately know that should they adopt democracy they would win equal treatment from Washington. And they also grasp that to do such a revolutionary Western thing, they would have to embrace religious tolerance, gender equality, free speech, and an end to the pathologies of the Arab Street. And so they are stuck with the nagging truth that the Middle East will have to become more like the West — rather than the West like traditional Arab society — for real friendship to emerge.

On the politics of Vietnam vets:

The modern Left was created on the premise that Vietnam was both a strategic mistake and a moral catastrophe — and now has come full circle in praising men like John Kerry, Max Cleland, and Wesley Clark for their combat service. Are they heroes of a noble cause that to win deserved more support at home? Are they tragic fighters whose bravery was not properly appreciated? Or are they participants in what John Kerry once assured the American people was an illegal war in which soldiers routinely committed war atrocities? All or none?

On the turning tides:

So yes, Pakistan is beset by nearly daily assassination attempts and terror is ubiquitous now in Saudi Arabia. But this chaos is not because of George Bush, but rather because George Bush, unlike all previous presidents, at last pressured those autocratic governments to cease their bribery and tacit support of terrorism.

On the delusions of the Democrats:

In a word, we have devolved into an infantile society in which our technological successes have wrongly suggested that we can alter the nature of man to our whims and pleasures — just like a child who expects instant gratification from his parents. In a culture where affluence and leisure are seen as birthrights, war, sacrifice, or even the mental fatigue about worrying over such things wear on us. So we construct, in a deductive and anti-empirical way, a play universe that better suits us.

...

Liberal civilizations often tire of eternal vigilance and in the midst of peacetime affluence work themselves into mass hysteria when challenged. Such is the picture we receive of the Athenian assembly around 340 B.C. when Demosthenes desperately warned that Philip was not a national liberator. Few thought Hannibal really would cross the Ebro. Churchill in the 1930s wasn't listened to very much — after the Somme, who wanted lectures about deterrence? Ronald Reagan's earlier prescience about the Soviet threat in the post-Vietnam era prompted Hollywood to turn out cheap TV movies warning of Reagan-inspired nuclear winters.

And why GW'04 is not as crazy as you think:

Bombs going off in Manhattan or stuck in a tunnel while cops search every truck? Either way, Bush is the problem. Either he foolishly went into Iraq and let down our guard, or he is trying to scare us into believing that a nonexistent terrorist is under every bed. The television still blares about suicide bombers and repugnant thugs tormenting bound hostages? Surely Bush set them off. The proper response? Presto! Elect a less confrontational John Kerry, and thus cease a long, difficult war to defeat and to discredit all who would embrace such odious ideas.

Mass Killings in Ivory Coast

"KORHOGO, Ivory Coast (AP) -- Dozens of boys and men suffocated in an airless, sweltering shipping container in which rebels locked more than 100 people for days, two survivors told The Associated Press, backing accounts of atrocities during factional fighting in Ivory Coast's rebel-held north."