Voice of Reason

A sapphic reconsideration. A few of the anti-war protesters actually seemed to respond reasonably when approached reasonably. Global Cop's photo roundup reports that this "Dykes for Peace" demonstrator thought better of her part in the protest when she was gently reminded that "she wouldn't be very welcome in most Islamic societies".

This is why I like to stress the importance of talking to people one-on-one. Blogs and internet activism are good; demonstrations are good; but there's no substitute for just having a friendly, civilized conversation with your left-leaning friends and neighbors.

Our protestor might also be interested to learn that some activists like Irshad Manji are taking on the challenge of reforming the Muslim world from within. And don't miss this:
Irshad - the definitive interview

Iran Report

Iranian Nuclear Chief Ali Larijani: The West Should Learn the Lesson of North Korea (MEMRI)

"In my opinion, any reasonable person will understand that although Iran proposes these peaceful conditions, if you want to use aggressive language, Iran will have no choice but to protect its technological accomplishments by withdrawing from the NPT and from the regulations of the [Additional] Protocol, and to begin enrichment."

Anne Bayefsky: Impotent IAEA (NRO)

Working against referral to the Security Council, and for giving this state sponsor of terrorism more time to develop weapons of mass destruction, was U.N. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei from Egypt. ElBaradei said, after the failed U.S. and EU attempt to send the issue immediately to the Security Council: “I am encouraged that the issue has not been referred to the Security Council, precisely to give time for diplomacy and negotiation…” He continued, “time is still available for diplomacy to resolve outstanding issues, for Iran to build confidence, and that the question of reporting to the Security Council could only be discussed at a later date.”

For years, “lack of consensus” was trotted out as the main stumbling block to Security Council involvement. When it finally became clear that a vote at the IAEA would be the only way to move the issue forward, the size of the margin became the new obstacle. In an effort to minimize the opposition, the final resolution stated that Iran had breached the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, its claim of merely peaceful purposes was not credible, but that “the timing and content of the report…and the notification required” to the Security Council would be discussed at an unspecified later date. ...

The IAEA statute actually makes referral to the Security Council after a clear finding against Iran mandatory ...

ADNKronos: US Financing Radar Station on Iran-Azerbaijan Border

Tehran, 26 Sept. (AKI) - The Iranian media has reported a decision by the United States to finance radar stations in the central Asian republic of Azerbaijan, that the government in Tehran says are part of a military strategy by Washington to encircle the Islamic Republic. One of the stations is reported to be 20 kilometres from the Iranian town of Astara, while another is situated in Khizi, 50 kilometres from the border with Russia.

The construction of the two stations is part of the Caspian Guard Initiative, an American project which aims to guarantee the security of the 3.6 billion dollar, 1,600 kilometre-long Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline that runs from Baku in Azerbaijan to the Turkish port city of Ceyhan. ...

Read full articles at the links. First and third items come by way of Regime Change Iran.

The Arabs are coming! The Arabs are coming!

Arab dissident bloggers make the LA Times! Discarded Lies links to a story on anti-regime bloggers in the Arab world. Evariste writes:

It's interesting to read about how dissident Arab bloggers are networking and making the promise of the world wide web-unstoppable freedom-come true. Their tenacity in overcoming heavy-handed state censorship is admirable and courageous.

From the LA Times article by Megan K. Stack:

"The government gives herself the right that she's more mature than you," an indignant Abdel Nour said on a recent morning as sunlight flooded his apartment in Damascus, the Syrian capital. "She will decide for you which site you can see and which is forbidden."

A 40-year-old gadfly and childhood friend of President Assad, Abdel Nour had been courting trouble for months. His writings call for the dismissal of officials, citing them by name and listing their shortcomings. He castigates Syrian intelligence and scoffs at the Baath Party, even though he is a member. By his count, his vitriol reaches 15,200 readers every day.

"They [government officials] are very much angry because they don't have any qualified people or intellectual people to respond or explain or defend," Abdel Nour said. "So they just stand there taking bullets, with nothing to respond. They've never had this situation before."

Abdel Nour fought the crackdown.

Nadz hands out the awards. Palestinian-American blogger Nadz passes out the Mad Mullah Awards:

I was going to do this at the end of the year, but we have witnessed so much stupidity, misogyny and religious fanaticism that I couldn't resist doing an early roast of the people I love to hate. So, without further ado, I bring you the Mad Mullah Awards!

Go to the link for the lucky winners in the Leftist-Nutcase, Leftist-Nutcase-Tools, Sexist-Blame-Rape-Victims, Cheerleader-for-Patriarchy, and other coveted awards.

Sandmonkey takes on stupidity. Egyptian Sandmonkey isn't impressed with the Christian values displayed by the Ontario Christian School, which expelled a 14-year-old student for having lesbian parents: 'What the girl had to do with her "parents" sinful lifestyle is beyond me. What was she supposed to do, force them to seperate? Preach every day to them? She is 14. Not to mention, Mr. Christian teacher, do you realize what opprutunity you lost yourself here? Here is someone who, according to you, lives in a sinful household. Do you reach out and try to "save her"? Nope, You kicked her out and sent her back in it. I am sure that's what Jesus would've done, no? All I see is stupidity around me!' There's some relief from the stupidity, though, when Sandmonkey posts his favorite hawk sighting.

What do Egyptians really think? Freedom for Egyptians has some answers:

But in fact, I do not think that the US is unpopular, it is extremely popular that if a traffic light in Egypt stops working, many would lay the blame on the US. As when any earthquake happens in Egypt, they believe that the US is supporting Israel to do the nuclear tests that would shake our Egypt. The earthquake is tailored in a very special way that does not shake Israel. And they do not ask why the US is not capable of stopping any California earthquakes? The answer is pretty simple; it is the earth not the US that takes the liberty in moving in some areas. There are hundreds if not thousands of situations when the US has to stand as the sole reason behind anything. If a woman cannot get pregnant it is because the US gave Israel a spray (could be a pesticide or even a perfume) to export to Egypt to prevent women from conceiving. Yes, it gets funnier by the minute.

But this does not mean that Egyptians do not like the US but actually they are obsessed by the US. It was so funny to see all those Egyptians that literally talk about the American elections more than about our referendums. They talk about President Bush more than about President Mubarak. The only thing they do not do is that they do not go to the polling stations with the Americans. ...

Ignatius said in his article “Indifference is not an American trait. Part of our Benjamin Franklin heritage of industry and self-improvement is that we want to be admired, applauded -- and, yes, loved.” And I would add something else that should make us believe in the US whic also intrigues me if does not leave me stunned is that the US is among very few countries if not the only one that succeeded in bringing hundreds of nationals from all over the world where everyone feels home. Arabs are very nationalistic people, hence they fail to see other peoples’ best. The US brought the best from all over the world to live under one flag.

The reason of the “unpopularity” of the US is that many Egyptians believe that their oppressors and US are one. ...

Read the rest at the link.

Miss Mabrouk: What's going on? Ritzy wants to know what's going on in those madrassas: 'Where is that hand going? I really don't know what is going on here or where Dangerous got the picture from. Just as worrying is this report ...' Go to the link for the disturbing photo, and the report on Islamic schools. Also, read Ritzy's post on Sharon.

Amsterdam nights. Mahmood has a video blog from Amsterdam.

The sweet taste of exile. Syrian heretic Amarji writes about Day 17 in Washington, DC: 'On the Seventeenth Day of Exile my True Love brought to me ingredients for a traditional Syrian dish. Oh I absolutely adore my One True Love. Indeed, this is our seventeenth day in Washington DC and exile couldn’t smell or taste any sweeter. But this is only “me” talking – I who logs my exile around like a cross, a simultaneously cherished and reviled possession. For Khawla, too, exile is a cross. To her, I am a cross, it seems. Years ago, when we first met, I doubt she knew that one day she would have to pay this price for our love. I hope it was worth it. I hope I was worth it. I know I have to spend the rest of my life showing her that it/I was worth it. But that is not too much of a cross really. It feels more like the natural commitment that comes with marriage ...'

Driver needed: The road of Good Intentions. The Religious Policeman posts excerpts from a would-be suicide bomber:

You remember Ahmad, our young failed suicide bomber , the one who was still waiting for his brain cells to be delivered? Well, the good news is that he's now appeared on Saudi TV, to tell us his heroic tale. (Thanks to "Ash" for this news and URL). If you go to the MEMRI site, you can see the full interview, with subtitles, and a transcript.

The interview is obviously intended to deter future wannabe Jihadis, by showing them the terrible fate that can befall them. After all, they might get a bit singed round the extremities, but they'll end up in this extremely nice hospital room, with their own telephone, and a big bunch of flowers. In fact I would hazard a guess that it's one of the really nice military hospitals, it's certainly better than my memories of the best civilian hospital in Riyadh, the Kingdom hospital. And the interviewer is very nice as well, doesn't ask him any nasty questions, even when Ahmad trots out what you can see on the screen, "my intentions were good". ...

As always, read the whole thing at the link.

Highlander is a woman blogger in Libya. In this post, she goes snooping around the Libyan blogs: 'Being the eternal sleuth as usual ;) I went on a search for some more Libyan blogs for my dear readers . Because you don't want to have only my opinion about all things Libyan don't you ? That won't be fair or balanced ... but also because I'm curious about my fellow Libyans. Well a fresh crop of blogs have turned up, I arbitrarily chose the most interesting among them to display here , the rest will be advertised when they start updating - not just having a "testing" sign on their website...' Go to the link for the rest, and don't forget to blogroll Highlander "From the Rock" - she's joining our blogroll now.

Morning Report: September 26, 2005

Al-Jazeera reporter convicted of terrorism. ITM: 'Al-Jazeera's reporter in Spain, Tayseer Alluni has just been sentenced to seven years in jail after a Madrid court found him guilty of joining a terror cell and facilitating money laundry. This is bad news for Al-jazeera who's been defending and campaigning to protect their reporter and they obviously failed in eluding justice but the question that we must think about is; was Alluni working on his own using his media credentials as a cover or could it be that Al-jazeera itself is involved?' The sentence came as part of Spain's largest terrorism trial, which featured the conviction of a cell leader. CNN: ' A suspected al Qaeda cell leader has been convicted in a Madrid court in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Two other suspected al Qaeda members were acquitted of charges they helped plot the 9/11 attacks in the United States. Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, the accused cell leader, was sentenced to 15 years on charges of conspiracy in the attacks and 12 years for being a leader of a terrorist group. The court cleared him of being an accomplice to murder in connection with the attacks. Yarkas, 42, faced nearly 75,000 years in prison if convicted on those charges -- 25 years for each of the nearly 3,000 fatalities in the 9/11 attacks.' (ITM, CNN)

Canada: Iran regime violates human rights. Perhaps recalling the brutal murder of Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi at the hands of IRI thugs, Canada's foreign minister said he had prepared a resolution to condemn Iran for human rights violations. Rooz: 'While the pro hardline government media in Iran called the meeting between the Iranian and Canadian foreign ministers successful, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, said, after meeting with his Iranian counterpart that his country had prepared a new resolution to condemn human rights violations in Iran and would propose it to the United Nations General Assembly. The new resolution condemning Iran's human rights record followed by IAEA resolution last week, which paves the way for referring Iran's nuclear file to the UN Security Council, has already created new challenges for Iran's foreign policy makers.' (Rooz)

IRA puts weapons "beyond use". Another brave Canadian official, retired general John de Chastelain, played a key role in the negotiations which have resulted in the Irish Republican Army's formal surrender of all its weapons. CBC: 'The Irish Republican Army has completely disposed of the weapons it used during its armed campaign against British Rule in Northern Ireland. According to international monitors, "We have now reported to the British and Irish governments that we have observed and verified events to put beyond use very large quantities of arms which we believe are all the arms in the IRA's possession." "We are satisfied that the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal," said John de Chastelain on Monday. De Chastelain is the retired Canadian general who since 1997 has led efforts to disarm the outlawed IRA on Monday.' (CBC)

Freedom's Warriors

Military roundup. Countercolumn on body counts: 'Maj D notices that coalition casualties this month are way down. In fact, the casualty rate for September is less than half of what it was in August and the lowest since March - "despite" a series of offensive operations in the north and west. I put "despite" in quotation marks because I would argue that the low casualty figures are BECAUSE of the offensive operations, not despite them. What explains the difference? I would venture that the increasing prominence of Iraqi forces is largely behind the lower casualty figures. As the Iraqi forces develop, they take on more of the burden of combat operations themselves, and so represent a lower portion of casualties.' We need to start paying attention to the sacrifices made by our Iraqi allies. Go to Mudville Gazette - Dawn Patrol for links to the latest on washroom facilities, a Lincolnesque eulogy for the fallen, and much more. And in a timeless photograph, a Marine pays a tribute across the battlefield: Gunny Burghardt says hi.

Hawk sightings. Refusing to let the peaceniks have all the fun, pro-military demonstrators managed to grab some headlines: Mudville Gazette on counter-protests links to GlobalCop's round-up of photos from "embedded" sources.Jonah's military guys link to "You don't speak for me, Cindy!" Don't let the title fool you at Blackfive: Media covers pro-military families - the MSM are "covering" the event in about the way you'd expect. But at lest they're covering it.

Corporal Tibor Rubin, Medal of Honor. Jason's post at Countercolumn - NYT on Rubin has a few words for the Times' perfunctory coverage of this event: 'Perversely, the allegations of anti-semitism in the Army receive more space in the article than Rubin's own heroism. These guys just HATE anything that has to do with the virtue of the America Fighting Man.' Alcibiades at Kesher Talk has more on this concentration camp survivor who became a hero to his fellow POWs in the Korean War. Rubin, now 76, is now entitled to receive salutes from even the highest-ranking military officers.

"The hills were covered with the sort of trees you buy at Christmas, but bigger."

Nancy Rommelmann, a New York native and recent immigrant from Los Angles, muses on the strange beauty that is Portland, Oregon. Read her post for some appalling stories of anglocentric chauvinism from well-off, "liberal" people in southern California. (I could tell you some stories too), and the contrasting experience of a wine dinner at a winery in the Willamette Valley. (Key concept: relaxed - not "mellow".) Hat tip: the invaluable Michael Totten.

Personal tidbit: When I first moved up to Portland from San Francisco in February 2000, one thing struck me: Portlanders always greet the bus driver when they board, and they say "Thank you" when they disembark. I really like that.

Morning Report: September 25, 2005

ITM: Constitution and elections. Omar at Iraq the Model discusses the gap between the delegates and their electorates in Iraq: 'What is noticeable now is that no clear majority can be said to be on either side and although the draft was written and agreed upon by the largest two blocs in the National Assembly, followers and supporters of these blocs do not seem equally willing to vote with 'yes'. And while no opposition to the constitution is coming from the Kurdish people, the division is more pronounced in the Sheat population as there's a sizeable percentage that opposed the federal state. The Sunni politicians and parties also are pushing towards rejecting the constitution. However these politicians and parties are not representative of the Sunni Arabs and what they say may not reflect what the people want but in general it seems that more Sunnis are going to vote with 'no' on the October referendum. The above distribution is supposed to cover roughly 90% of the population but in fact it does not as there are the secular trends, the communists and many independent people who do not follow this party or that faction. The secular trends themselves have different opinions; some believe that the constitution is a step back to the dark ages and allows religion to take a bigger role than it should, thus these seculars want to vote the constitution down ... The other secular trend has another point of view; they see ratifying the constitution as a step forward as to the democratic process in general, so they seem more inclined to support the constitution as a first step but only to amend it later. ... There are also other religious and ethnic minorities who don't seem happy with what's been stated in the draft and they think their rights will be severely eroded under this constitution. Here we have mainly the Christians, Turkmen and the Shabak (who complained about their ethnic rights being ignored). The Turkmen's opposition to the constitution comes from their age-old conflict over Kirkuk which is home town for people from both groups; still there are some Turkmen who sided with the Kurds and even others who sided with the Sheat alliance following their sectarian background. ... So all I can say now is that the results of the referendum can not be accurately predicted at the moment and the outcome will depend to a great extent on the geographic distribution of votes throughout the country.' Post continues with an analysis of the upcoming elections, in which the numerous small parties - including the Fadhils' IPDP (Iraqi Pro-Democracy Party) - are coalescing into larger ones. (ITM)

IAEA finds IRI non-compliant. And the Iran regime isn't happy about it. CNN reports: 'Iran has rejected as "political" and "unjust" a resolution passed by the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency calling for the country to be reported to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program, state-run television reported. ... The resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors accuses Iran of failing to comply with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But it does not specify when Iran would be referred to the Security Council. The board will have to vote a second time to determine that. The resolution, drafted by Britain, France and Germany and backed by the United States, passed with 22 votes in favor, 12 abstentions and one vote against by Venezuela.' Full article at the link. (CNN)

Taheri: IRI walking into a trap. Via Regime Change Iran, Amir Taheri at Arab News writes: 'Ahmadinejad’s speeches and interviews represented an improvement over his predecessor Muhammad Khatami, a mulla, who amused UN audiences by trying to show off his knowledge of Hobbes and Hegel. Unlike Khatami, Ahmadinejad did not pretend to be what he is not, that is to say a liberal democrat. Instead, he spoke as a radical Islamist revolutionary representing a radical Islamist revolutionary regime. ... Before Ahmadinejad arrived in New York many in the UN saw Iran as a poor developing nation being bullied by big powers on spurious grounds. Ahmadinejad replaced that image with one of a cocky midsized power trying to punch above its weight regardless of the consequences.' Full article at link. (Amir Taheri at Arab News, via RCI)

CTB: Daylight at last? The Counterterrorism Blog sees 'growing indications that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his Al-Qaida acolytes may be facing the most serious political and operational challenges they have encountered since they first joined the anti-coalition insurgency in mid-2003. The deadly glut of suicide bombings that began on September 8 has undoubtedly caused destruction and chaos--but militants were neither able to undermine the anti-insurgent operation in Tel Afar nor deter Iraqi government efforts to formulate a constitution.' The CTB cites a stinging rejection by the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) as a major setback for the terrorists of al-Qaeda. (CTB)

Britain's quiet war in southern Iraq. An article at the Sunday Times via Iran Focus sheds light on Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) and its "secret war" against the Iranian regime in Basra and southern Iraq. 'TWO SAS soldiers rescued last week after being arrested by Iraqi police and handed over to a militia were engaged in a “secret war” against insurgents bringing sophisticated bombs into the country from Iran. The men had left their base near the southern Iraqi city of Basra to carry out reconnaissance and supply a second patrol with “more tools and fire power”, said a source with knowledge of their activities. They had been in Basra for seven weeks on an operation prompted by intelligence that a new type of roadside bomb which has been used against British troops was among weapons being smuggled over the Iranian border. The bombs, designed to pierce the armour beneath coalition vehicles, are similar to ones supplied by Iran to Hezbollah, the Islamic militant group. “Since the increase in attacks against UK forces two months ago, a 24-strong SAS team has been working out of Basra to provide a safety net to stop the bombers getting into the city from Iran,” said one source. “The aim is to identify routes used by insurgents and either capture or kill them.” The forces have tried to seal the notoriously porous border using high-technology sensors that monitor movement by night. They report to a major based in Baghdad in an unmarked building known as the “station house”. ...' Meanwhile, The Belmont Club reports on some second thoughts in London: 'British Tory Michael Portillo has begun to express doubts about the British 'softly-softly' approach in Iraq in the London Times. ... Those who been closely following events in Iraq will immediately remember April 2004 in the US sector, when the hands-off approach and the reliance on poorly trained Iraq civil defense forces were shown to be inadequate by the simultaneous uprisings among the Sunnis and the Shi'a. As Yogi Berra said, "it's deja vu all over again". So it is no surprise that the British are reacting in much the same way as the US did in April 2004. In some respects, the British will be starting a year and half behind the United States. 'Softly, softly' as the history of the last days of the Clinton administration and recent events in Gaza show, often means 'ouchly, ouchly' in the end. But several things will make the British recovery easier. The first is establishment of the Iraqi government and the creation of its major combat units. Secondly, the British have probably built up intelligence on the opfor, which is something they do as a pastime whenever they are not otherwise occupied. Thirdly, they don't have to fight a two-front war since the US has taken charge of the Sunni front. Lastly, the US has made the major investments in robotics, electronic warfare and supporting fires that will provide the British Army with whatever precision firepower it needs to get out of a jam. GIs rarely shoot from the hip, whatever Portillo believes, and have invested billions investing in technologies that are wholly the opposite of this cinematic approach.' (Iran Focus, Belmont Club)

Answering ANSWER. Judith at Kesher Talk has some links to the pro-Iraq demonstrations, and Baldilocka observes leftists in their natural habitat. (Kesher Talk, Baldilocks)

Iran Regime Tortures Gay Youth

Gay Patriot:

Thank goodness that at least one gay organization in the world, OutRage!, actually cares about the real and physical (not imagined) war against our community by the Islamic Fascist governments and terror organizations.

Iran sanctions state violence against gay people
Gay Amir, aged 22, given 100 lashes
Apathy of gay, left and human rights groups condemned

London – 20 September 2005

The bruised and bloodied body of a 22 year old gay Iranian, Amir, bears witness to the brutality of the Ayatollah’s regime.

Amir escaped Iran after the authorities threatened him with execution for being gay – but not before he was subjected to the barbarism of 100 lashes ,,,

Read the rest at the link. Warning: graphic photos.

Links of interest:
OutRage!

Pajamas Media

The organization soon to be formerly known as Pajamas Media has an information site, for all those who are interested in the power of citizen journalism. With the moribund New York Times, Dan Rather's (C)BS News, and Newsweek "America Is Dead" magazine digging their own graves, this is a good time to get in tune with journalism's future.

Don't get stuck on stupid!

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Clashes rock Ahwaz, southwest Iran, early this week. SMCCDI reports:

Sep 19, 2005 - Fresh clashes rocked, yesterday night, the several areas of the southwestern and oil rich City of Ahwaz. The most violent actions took place in the Shelang-Abad and Malachieh areas. Angry crowd retaliated to militiamen's brutal attacks by throwing stones and incendiary devices resulting in several damages made to several public buildings and security patrol cars. Slogans against the Islamic regime and its leaders were shouted by Iranian-Arabs and Iranian-Persians living in the region. Tens of protesters have been injured or arrested. The residents intended to make a peaceful protest in order to request justice and better conditions. The situation is very tense in this city which was scene of deadly riots in August.

Mass crackdown in Tehran. Iran Focus (hat tip: "Kentucky Dan" Kauffman in Comments) reports:

Tehran, Iran, Sep. 18 – Close to 1,600 persons have been arrested in Tehran over the past 10 days as part of a nationwide crackdown, the state-owned hard-line daily Jomhouri Islami reported on Sunday. “Ten days after the plan to increase national security was put into effect, 829 criminal records have been created and 1,588 people have been arrested”, the office of the Tehran Prosecutor announced. The detainees are generally branded as “trouble-makers” or “miscreants”. The prosecutor’s office added that 170 “trouble-makers” had been sent to prison since the launch of the 20-day crackdown in the Iranian capital. Iranian officials have said that similar crackdowns will begin across other towns and cities after the initial 20-day phase.

RSF publishes cyber-activism handbook. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières) has published a downloadable manual for bloggers and internet dissidents.

Blogs get people excited. Or else they disturb and worry them. Some people distrust them. Others see them as the vanguard of a new information revolution. Because they allow and encourage ordinary people to speak up, they’re tremendous tools of freedom of expression.
Bloggers are often the only real journalists in countries where the mainstream media is censored or under pressure. Only they provide independent news, at the risk of displeasing the government and sometimes courting arrest.
Reporters Without Borders has produced this handbook to help them, with handy tips and technical advice on how to to remain anonymous and to get round censorship, by choosing the most suitable method for each situation. It also explains how to set up and make the most of a blog, to publicise it (getting it picked up efficiently by search-engines) and to establish its credibility through observing basic ethical and journalistic principles.

Available in PDF at the link.

Afghan Report

MEMRI: Taliban messages to operatives. MEMRI presents the following excerpts from video messages at the Taliban website:

Speaker: "Oh, people of 'There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah's Prophet' – 'Rank hatred has already appeared from the mouths of your enemy, but what their hearts conceal is worse still.' You all heard what the American general Boykin said, when he was speaking at a certain church. He said: 'This war is a war of faith between Satan and Christianity.' Who is this Crusader describing as Satan? Is it not God Almighty who ordered His believers: 'Fight them until there is no more discord, and the religion is held wholly for the sake of Allah?'"

Go to the link for the full rant. (MEMRI)

Winds of Change: The torture place. Cicero at Winds of Change presents a five-year-old piece on Abhaseen Barikzy, an Afghan communist who was tortured at the hands of the Taliban. Go to the link to read Barikzy's harrowing story in his own words. Cicro says: 'I really don't have much to add to Barikzy's story. It speaks for itself. I was struck by the commander who said, "I want to kill a very bad pagan among the prisoners to receive more blessing from Allah." I think his reasoning is emblematic of what we're up against with respect to Islamic fascism. We in the West desperately want to believe that we can find common, rational ground and negotiate with Islamic fascists. The Commander exemplifies why negotiation, in the end, is folly.' (Winds of Change)

Afghan parliamentary elections. Afghan Lord posts some pictures from the parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, including US Ambassador Ronald Neumann's visit to the Ministry of Women's Affairs, and several photographs of women voting - and a woman candidate's billboard ads. However, the elections - and the participation of women in them - were not an unqualified success. Sohrab Kabuli writes:

A large number of women in Zabul, Nangarhar, Khost and other provinces failed to vote in Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections in more than three decades. In remote villages of the southeastern Khost province, eligible female voters were avoided to go in polling station to vote for their destiny. Thus no women voted. Not even a single woman could exercise her begging rights. As women candidates was very less comparing to men but presence of women in polling stations were not much. Many of them has disappointed with the last presence in the presidential election last year. Afghan woman still suffer from injustice and pains from their men.

Nor is the presence of women candicates on the ballot necessarily reassuring to women voters: a woman interviewed by Sohrab Kabuli protested that she found no acceptable candidate - man or woman - on the ticket, and that women, too, are capable of injustice.
Meanwhile, Afghan Warrior has this report:

Afghanistan's first parliamentary election will be remembered as one of the most important days in the history of Afghanistan. Despite threats from the enemies for the last few months, millions of Afghans rushed towards polling stations to elect their representatives for the parliament. Women equally with men cast their vote. During the Election Day there were separate
polling stations for men and women in capital Kabul and other provinces. But unfortunately most women were not able to vote in Helmand and Zabul provinces even though they were registered, especially in Helmand province because the JEMB did not establish any separate polling stations for the women in 12 districts, but the JEMB officials in Helmand province claim there were no registered women voters so there was no need for establishing the separate polling stations.

Some people did not vote even though they were registered. On the election day I talked with a taxi driver and I asked him if he had voted. He said "not yet". I asked him if he was going to vote. He said "no, because during the presidential election I voted for president Karzai but he did not do anything for poor people we still suffer from the lack of power and drinking water". Some people that didn't vote said most candidates were former commanders and warlords so they don't want to elect them because of their bad past and they said we can not trust the new candidates because we don't know them very well. ...

Read the full posts at the links. (Afghan Warrior, Afghan Lord)

Morning Report: September 23, 2005

Debka: Sharon likely to step down. Citing "sources", Debka states that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is about to retire. 'DEBKAfile Reveals Exclusively: Ariel Sharon is on the point of stepping down. Barring a last-minute change of heart, the Israeli prime minister plans to retire to his Sycamore Ranch. DEBKAfile’s political sources report that private opinion polls conducted by his team indicated that all critical Likud votes would go against him. Monday, the central committee will decide to bring forward the leadership primary from April to December, as demanded by his rivals Netanyahu and Landau. He is not expected to fight this decision or respond by setting up a new party alliance. Our Washington sources add that President Bush has been informed of Sharon’s plan to retire.' (Debka)

Why Iraq? Taking stock of the political developments around the Iraqi constitution, The Belmont Club writes: 'But perhaps the strategic rationale for choosing Iraq versus Saudi Arabia consisted in that Iraq lay along a major fault line in the Muslim world, not simply with respect to religion, but in the case of the Kurds, ethnicity as well. It was the one place where America was guaranteed to find local allies whichever way it turned; it was the last place where the population could easily put aside their differences to oppose the United States. And if the objective were to set the region on its ears, here was the pillar in temple of Dagon around which everything could be sent crashing down.' Full analysis at link. (Belmont Club)

Treasury Department's FinCEN e-mail list hacked. The Counterterrorism Blog reports: 'The e-mail list used by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to send announcements was hacked and abused by an outsider this morning. The outsider sent the following message to the FinCEN e-mail list:
go away from iraq
takeback your monsters (army)
you killed my father and mother
what you want???
i know (oil)
and followed the text with two pictures supposedly from Iraq. FinCEN quickly sent a new message to its e-mail list to disregard the first message and that it is investigating the origin of the bad e-mail. As of this writing, the FinCEN site for subscribing to e-mail announcements is closed.' (CTB)

Iraqi security forces kill five terrorists in Baghdad. Al-Sabah reports: 'Baghdad, Sept. 22 p1 - Security forces managed in killing five terrorists holding Sudanese nationality when the forces stormed a house near the UAE embassy in Mansour district Wednesday.News reports described the raid as a battle thanks to fierce resistance of the terrorists who were keeping medium and heavy weapons and hand grenades.The battle started when a police patrol found a survivor hijacked as he fled the terrorists and led the police patrol to the position.The terrorists replied with grenades a matter needed to special forces interference, who have used heavy weapons before they lost three casualties between dead and injuries.' Sabah also notes that citizens have complained of increased terrorist activity in Samarra (about 125 km north of Baghdad), where the security situation is at its worst in several weeks. (Sabah)