|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 • Volume X, Number 2,410
Weekly Quotes “I
want everybody to be very clear: The United States is going to be unwavering in
its support of Israel’s security and we are going to push back against these
kinds of terrorist activities.… The message should go out to Hamas and
everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes, that this is not
going to stop us from not only ensuring a secure Israel but also securing a
longer-lasting peace.”—U.S.
President Barack Obama, in a special announcement following a White House
meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, condemning the attack which
killed four Israelis near Kiryat Arba. (Jerusalem Post, September 1) “Terror
will not determine the borders of Israel or the future of settlements.”—Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responding to the terror attack which
killed four Israelis near Hebron. Netanyahu has ordered Israel’s security
forces to “pursue the attackers without any diplomatic restraint.” (New
York Times, August 31) “[T]onight
I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation
Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the
security of their country.… This completes a transition to Iraqi
responsibility for their own security. U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's cities
last summer, and Iraqi forces have moved into the lead with considerable skill
and commitment to their fellow citizens. “[A]
transitional force of U.S. troops will remain in Iraq with a different mission:
advising and assisting Iraq's security forces; supporting Iraqi troops in
targeted counterterrorism missions; and protecting our civilians. Consistent
with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all U.S. troops will leave by the
end of next year.… “I'm
mindful that the Iraq war has been a contentious issue at home. Here, too, it's
time to turn the page. This afternoon, I spoke to former President George W.
Bush. It's well-known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset. Yet
no one can doubt President Bush's support for our troops or his love of country
and commitment to our security.… “As
we speak, al Qaeda continues to plot against us, and its leadership remains
anchored in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We will disrupt,
dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda, while preventing Afghanistan from again serving
as a base for terrorists. And because of our drawdown in Iraq, we are now able
to apply the resources necessary to go on offense. In fact, over the last 19
months, nearly a dozen al Qaeda leaders—and hundreds of al Qaeda's extremist
allies—have been killed or captured around the world.… “The
pace of our troop reductions [in Afghanistan] will be determined by conditions
on the ground, and our support for Afghanistan will endure.”—U.S.
President Barack Obama, in a televised speech from the Oval Office,
announcing the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq. Obama said that it was
time for America to refocus its energies inward, and to “restore our
economy, and put the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to
work. To strengthen our middle class, we must give all our children the
education they deserve, and all our workers the skills that they need to compete
in a global economy.” (CNN, September 1) “It
would be nice if President Obama could finally find it in himself to give his
predecessor the credit he deserves.”—U.S.
Senator John McCain, in a Wall Street Journal column, reminding
President Obama that it was President G.W. Bush who supported the Iraq
“Surge” in 2007, which has allowed Obama to withdraw U.S. combat troops from
Iraq. House of Representatives Republican leader John Boehner, referring
to former U.S. Senator Barack Obama, commented that “[s]ome leaders who
opposed, criticized and fought tooth-and-nail to stop the surge strategy now
proudly claim credit for the results.… One lawmaker rejected the idea the
surge would reduce violence in Iraq, saying ‘in fact, I think it will do the
reverse.’” (Wall Street Journal, August 31) “Tehran
is waiting for a U.S. exit to ramp up its efforts at destabilization and
reclaiming the ground it has lost in Iraq the past several years.… Our lack of
strategic patience is something that, over time, our adversaries have come to
count on and our allies to fear—in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.”—Former
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, warning about the dangers of
withdrawing too quickly from Iraq, and commenting on the weakness of U.S.
foreign policy. (Washington Post, August 31) “The
naval commandos arrived at the Mavi Marmara with the intent to kill.”—Israeli
Arab MK Hanin Zuabi, who was on the Mavi Marmara in support of the
anti-Israel flotilla, in testimony before a UN probe of the incident, claiming
that IDF naval commandos were going to use lethal force from the outset. Israel
has refused to recognize the UN probe, claiming it lacks neutrality. Meanwhile,
IDF Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot, the IDF coordinator for government activities
in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, told the Israeli-sponsored independent Turkel
inquiry, that “there was no justification for the flotilla, because there
was no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.… There isn’t hunger in Gaza, now or in
the past.… [The flotilla] was intended to strengthen the Hamas terror entity,
and not to aid the citizens of Gaza.” (Ha’aretz, August 31) “I…regret
with every fibre of my being the loss of those who died.. Tears, though there
have been many, do not encompass it.… [But] on the basis of what we do know
now, I still believe that leaving Saddam in power was a bigger risk to our
security than removing him and that, terrible though the aftermath was, the
reality of Saddam and his sons in charge of Iraq would at least arguably be much
worse. I can't regret the decision to go to war.”—Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in his new memoire
Journey, restating his case for going to war in Iraq, and that he has no regrets
doing so, despite the loss of life that ensued. (Globe and Mail, September 1) "I
am saying that I think it is wholly unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear
weapons capability and I think we have got to be prepared to confront them, if
necessary militarily. I think there is no alternative to that if they continue
to develop nuclear weapons. They need to get that message loud and clear."—Former
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in a BBC interview, supporting, if
necessary, military action against Iran to thwart its nuclear weapons program. (The
Guardian, September 1) “[Obama]’s
got a very full plate of very big issues, and I think he does not want to create
the impression that he’s so preoccupied with these two wars that he’s not
addressing the domestic issues that are uppermost in people’s minds.… From
the first, he’s been decisive and he’s been willing to make big
decisions.”—U.S.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, commenting on U.S. Pres. Barack
Obama’s decision making skills and the dilemmas of leadership. (New York
Times, August 29) “There
have only been a few moments when [Obama]’s tried to focus the nation’s
attention on Afghanistan because, quite frankly, it’s competing with the other
priorities. It’s probably one of the reasons public support has fallen,
because they see the costs but they don’t know his thinking about it.”—President
of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass, commenting on Pres.
Obama’s flagging domestic support for the war in Afghanistan. Haass opposes
the Obama administration’s policy that U.S. forces will begin to be withdrawn
from Afghanistan by 2011. (New York Times, August 29) “When
President Obama was seeking the White House, he criticized Republicans for not
doing enough on Darfur and insisted that he would make Sudan a priority. ‘What
we have done has not been enough,’ he told me in a 2006 interview when I was
guest host for a ‘Charlie Rose’ segment on Sudan. He added that Washington
needed ‘a sustained diplomatic effort to put pressure on Sudan.’ Yet these
days, Mr. Obama is presiding over an incoherent, contradictory and apparently
failing Sudan policy. There is a growing risk that Sudan will be the site of the
world’s bloodiest war in 2011, and perhaps a new round of genocide as well.…
But so far [Obama] has been unengaged, and his administration has been less
successful than the last Bush administration in getting Sudan to alter its
behavior.… [I]n a place like Sudan, American diplomatic malpractice could lead
to hundreds of thousands of deaths.”—Columnist
Nicholas Kristof, criticizing the U.S. President’s inaction to prevent
another war in the Sudan. (New York Times, August 29) “I
am not going to hide from you that one of those who participated in writing
[Pres. Obama’s Cairo] speech transferred parts of my book ‘A New Vision for
Muslims and the West,’ which he referred to U.S. interests converging with the
best interests of the Muslim world.”—Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the leader of the Park51 Ground Zero
Mosque initiative, in an interview with Egyptian Radio Horytna, claiming that
much of Obama’s speech in Cairo was taken from Rauf’s book. Rauf
specifically mentions chapter six of his book, “If you examine this chapter
you will find that [Obama’s] speech to Cairo was all taken from this
section.” White House staff involved in drafting Obama’s speech included
speechwriter Ben Rhodes, political advisor David Axelrod, Chief of Staff Rahm
Emanuel, and Rashad Hussain, a deputy associate counsel later appointed by the
president as special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. (CNSNews,
August 27) “It
increasingly seems as if the policy makers attending like physicians to the
American economy are peering into their medical kits and coming up empty, their
arsenal of pharmaceuticals largely exhausted and the few that remain deemed too
experimental or laden with risky side effects. The patient—who started in
critical care—was showing signs of improvement in the convalescent ward
earlier this year, but has since deteriorated. The doctors cannot agree on a
diagnosis, let alone administer an antidote with confidence. This is where the
Great Recession has taken the world’s largest economy, to a Great Ambiguity
over what lies ahead, and what can be done now.… The growing impression of a
weakening economy combined with a dearth of policy options has reinvigorated
concerns that the United States risks sinking into the sort of economic
stagnation that captured Japan during its so-called Lost Decade in the 1990s.”—New
York Times economics writer Peter Goodman, analyzing the Obama
administration’s lack of a firm economic policy. (New York Times, August 29) “Lawyers
for two of the three accused are asking the public to: “1.Not
to speak to the media. Refer them to the defendant’s lawyers. “2.Not
to speculate or give their opinion about the case against the defendants or the
defendants themselves, even in private. It is more than likely that some people
are under surveillance and anything could be used against the defendants. This
is of CRITICAL importance. [The preceding two sentences were cited by the Globe
and Mail, but no longer appear on the Montrealmuslims.ca forum post.—Ed.]
According to defence lawyers, said [sic] can be used against the
defendants. This includes conversations over the phone, email communication,
Facebook postings, etc. “3.If
and when public support is needed, a support committee will be created which all
will be invited to participate in. “4.Soon
there will be a letter circulated calling for the presumption of innocence and a
fair and transparent process. All are asked to sign on to these letters.… “Until
the courts render a decision, Montreal Muslims upholds the principle that the
accused are innocent until proven otherwise. Montreal Muslims also urges the
public to not pass judgement on a community for accusations laid against
individuals.”—Statement
on the Montrealmuslims.ca forum, imploring Canadian Muslims to close ranks and
not discuss with anyone the arrest of three Muslim men for alleged terrorist
activities. (Montrealmuslims.ca, September 1, Globe and Mail, August 28) “The
prophet peace be upon him said ‘every child is born with the nature of Islam,
but the parents make him a Jew or a fire-worshipper or a Christian.’”—Excerpts
from a Montreal Muslim children’s magazine published by the family of the man
who used the online name Qutz, now believed to be Ottawa terror suspect
Misbahuddin Ahmed. (National Post, September 1) Short Takes FOUR
KILLED IN HAMAS TERROR ATTACK—(Jerusalem) Four Israelis travelling by car near Hebron were
murdered by Hamas terrorists. One of the four was a pregnant woman. Hamas has
claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a “normal reaction” to
Israel’s “occupation crimes.”. The murderous attack—celebrated by crowds
on Gaza’s streets—has shattered three years of relative calm in the West
Bank. Meanwhile, Israel has launched an operation across the West Bank in search
of the killers, and the Palestinian Authority has arrested dozens of suspected
Hamas operatives in the last two weeks. (Washington Post, Jerusalem Post,
August 31) ANTISEMITIC
ACTS AT LITHUANIAN, FRENCH SYNAGOGUES—(Tel
Aviv) A pig’s head with a Star of David engraved on its forehead, wearing
a Hasidic hat and Hasidic side-locks was discovered at the entrance to a
synagogue in Kaunas, Lithuania. A Jewish community leader in Kaunas said that
the act “may have been a provocation by a nationalistic organization.”
Meanwhile, a synagogue in Drancy, France, received an envelope containing
bullets, death threats and drawings of swastikas. (Ynet News, August 24,
Jerusalem Post, August 25) FORMER
IAEA INSPECTOR: IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM “A THREAT”—(Jerusalem)
Former UN chief of nuclear inspections Olli Heinonen has said that the
Iranian nuclear program is a “threat”, in an interview published in Le
Monde given shortly before he stepped down from his position as deputy
director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Heinonen said that
Iran has enough uranium to make two bombs, but that to refine its current
stockpile for only two bombs “does not make sense.” (Jerusalem Post,
August 26) ROADSIDE
BOMBS KILL 14 U.S. SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN—(Kabul)
Five U.S. soldiers were killed when a bomb struck their vehicle on the outskirts
of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. Another two died in a similar strike,
raising the death toll to fourteen in the last three days. A Canadian soldier
serving in Afghanistan died of his wounds after being evacuated to a military
hospital in Germany. U.S. forces have suffered 49 casualties in August, down
from 66 in July. (Globe and Mail, August 31) CIA
MAKING SECRET PAYMENTS TO KARZAI ADMINISTRATION—(Washington)
According to an anonymous source, multiple members of Afghan President Hamid
Karzai’s administration are on a secret CIA payroll in order to have
better access to information that would otherwise not be available to American
intelligence analysts. Despite the rampant corruption in the Karzai government,
the CIA continues this policy because Karzai seems unaware of the moves that
members of his own government make. CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano denied
the claim saying “this anonymous source appears driven by ignorance, malice,
or both.” (Washington Post, August 27) ISRAEL
TRYING TO BLOCK RUSSIAN ARMS SALE TO SYRIA—(Tel
Aviv) Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Russian PM Vladimir
Putin to stop the sale of advanced anti-ship missiles to Syria. The P-800
Yakhont supersonic cruise missile is deemed to be a major danger to Israeli
naval vessels. Russia and Israel have been engaged in a discreet dialogue over
arms sales in the region, and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is
scheduled to visit Moscow—the first ever visit by an Israeli Defense Minister
to the Russian capital. Meanwhile, France has offered to sell helicopter-mounted
HOT anti-tank missiles to the Lebanese army. (Ha’aretz, August 27) BIDEN
IN IRAQ—(Baghdad)
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Iraq to preside
over the change of command of U.S. forces remaining in Iraq, as well as to
commemorate the official end of U.S. combat operations there. Lt. Gen. Lloyd
J. Austin III will replace General Ray Odierno as overall commander
of U.S. forces in Iraq. Biden also met with Iraqi political leaders to attempt
to facilitate a compromise plan that will end the political deadlock that has
prevented the formation of a coalition government since elections there in
March. (New York Times, August 30)
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
