"As a child growing up in Saudi Arabia, I remember my teachers, my mom and our neighbors telling us practically on a daily basis that Jews are evil, the sworn enemies of Muslims, and that their only goal was to destroy Islam," former Netherlands parliament member Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes. "For the majority of Muslims in the world, the Holocaust is not a major historical event that they deny. We simply do not know it ever happened because we were never informed of it."
Worth a read.
Comments Off on The root of Iran’s Holocaust denial
Tagged Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Holocaust, Iran
The Iraq Study Group’s recommendations for solving the problems in Iraq? Make them bigger by, among other things, offering to return the Golan Heights to Syria. Huh?
"The normal approach to a difficult problem would be to bound or simplify it. But the ISG recommendations try the exact opposite: it adds complexity to the already complex situation."
It will be interesting to see what the headline writers do with this one. Simplicity ain’t in it.
UPDATE The Wall Street Journal dubs it "The Iraq Muddle Group," but notes it serves the useful purpose of denying any fast departure and underlines the stark consequences of a failure there.
Comments Off on Adding a granny knot to a square knot
Posted in Iraq, Israel, The War, Troops
Tagged Golan Heights, Iran, Iraq, Iraq Study Group, Pajamas Media, Syria
Where is the UN refugee agency when it’s needed? Sucking up to the Iranians, apparently.
Iranian dissident Zahra Kamalfar and her two teenage children are trapped in the Moscow airport, trying to avoid deportation back to Iran. An international law firm is trying to help. Meanwhile the Russian authorities are cooperating with Iranian intelligence. So to speak.
The MSM is curiously absent on this story. But Pajamas Media has updates and Lone Star Times. Both have email addresses where you can protest.
UPDATE On the day before Thanksgiving, there appears to be some progress in the case. "Pajamas Media, as of 9:10 PST today, has been informed that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has just issued an order barring the deportation of Zahra Kamalfar and her children from Moscow for two weeks."
President Bush, in this report from the usually unfriendly BBC, indicates he will be keeping his word on Iraq rather than calling in Iran and Syria to save his bacon.
"Mr Bush, answering questions after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, made it clear there would be no complete about-turn in US foreign policy…Iran must be isolated internationally if it continued with its uranium enrichment programme, Mr Bush said. He also showed little enthusiasm to engage with Syria, stressing that the US had already made it clear to Damascus that it should stop interfering in Lebanon and stop harbouring extremists."
Meanwhile, Austin Bay says the Baker-Hamilton Group is more about political cover for the Dems than any dramatic changes in policy.
"Then the military will continue to do what it’s been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan and the new Iraqi government will continue to learn by doing — and in the ordeal of war that will mean learn by bleeding, suffering, and sweating."
While the Dems and Reps mull the election changes, and Rumsfeld cleans out his desk, Syria, Iran and Hez could be getting ready to move.
From Snoopy the Goon: "Alarming news from Lebanon (was) not unexpected: for months various Western sources predicted an attempt by Hezbollah and its Syrian and Iranian sponsors to take over the government. And now it has started to happen."
You would expect them to go after Lebanon, as they have contributed to the problems in Iraq. But then there’s the supposed leaks from the Baker group’s alleged plan to turn Iraq over to Syria and Iran. It better not be true. If it’s even close to accurate, and W goes along with it, he’d better find someplace else besides Texas to retire. Far, far away.
Via SimplyJews
Comments Off on Sputtering Middle East fuse
Posted in Iraq, Israel, The War, Troops
Tagged Hez, Iran, Iraq, James Baker, Lebanon putsch, Syria
More than two decades in the making, ridiculed as "Star Wars" when proposed during the Reagan Administration, the Airborne Laser finally will be equipped with its laser, in 2007, at Kirtland AFB, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, then move on to aerial tests in 2008. "When finished, ABL will be capable of destroying a ballistic missile during its boost phase, while it is still climbing in the Earth’s atmosphere and before it can deploy its warheads."
Even if it has only one, primitive North Korean warhead.
Comments Off on Norks & Iran: almost ready for you
Posted in The War
Tagged Airborne Laser, Iran, Kirtland AFB, North Korea, Security Watchtower, Star Wars
Cox And Forkum entered this one in the choice Iranian Holocaust cartoon contest with a hidden anti-Iranian motif that takes some looking and manipulating to spy out, or you can go here for it, which you should anyway because it’s a good story. The cartoon lost. Wasn’t vile enough.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 