February 28, 2003

Today's immigration news

Michelle Malkin and Mark Krikorian have articles on the INS, which will be replaced with new bureaus of the Department of Homeland Security tomorrow.

The report '2 agents targeted by INS in Maine' discusses how two INS agents were targeted for an internal probe after telling a newspaper that they'd been assigned to desk jobs rather than being able to go out and enforce the laws.

The article 'American Border Patrol: Burning bridges' skewers Glenn Spencer. I saw Spencer on TV once, and he could barely make his point. His site americanpatrol.com frequently says and does stupid things that just makes things more difficult for those who favor a sane immigration policy. So, more power to ya.

The article '37 arrested at Warren AFB: Raid finds illegal workers at largest missile-defense unit' says:

Authorities did not believe the unauthorized employees were on the base to harm the United States.

Well, that sets my mind at ease.

The 5,600-acre base is home to the Air Force Space Command's 90th Space Wing, which maintains 150 Minuteman III and 50 Peacekeeper missiles over a 12,600-square-mile area of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska.
However, Smith said the contracting office at Warren Air Force Base is expected to review the matter to determine how so many undocumented workers secured jobs at the headquarters of the world's most powerful and combat-ready ICBM force.

Yeah, but they work cheap, and that's all that matters.

On a slightly related note, the series of articles in Wired about security problems at Los Alamos is pretty shocking. The sidebar at that page has links to other articles from the series.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 12:46 PM | Comments (1)

February 27, 2003

"U.S. Immigration Ineffective at Deporting Illegals"

According to this article:

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service is ineffective at deporting illegal aliens and fails to properly expel foreigners who may include potential terrorists, a Justice Department report said on Wednesday.
A report by the department's inspector general found that only 13 percent of all illegal aliens who have been ordered out of the country but have not been detained, have actually left.

By contrast, the INS has removed almost 94 percent of those illegal aliens with "final removal orders" who are being held in the agency's custody.

...only six percent of illegal foreigners from countries identified by the United States as "sponsors of terrorism" who were not under arrest but had been ordered deported, ever left.

...just three percent of the illegal aliens whose applications for asylum in the United States had been denied [ever left].

Compare that with 'A gift to criminal aliens':

Doris Meissner, President Clinton's Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) commissioner, used her last hours in office to issue a directive reminiscent of Mr. Clinton's criminal pardons.
But while Mr. Clinton's pardons targeted a finite group of criminals and sparked national controversy, Miss Meissner's directive targets an open-ended class of criminals and has gone almost unnoticed.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 03:39 PM | Comments (0)

What did Janeane Garofalo really say?

DailyPundit, CrooowBlog, and The Blog from the Core link to this story about a decade-old interview with Janeane Garofalo:

"Our country is founded on a sham: our forefathers were slave-owning rich white guys who wanted it their way. So when I see the American flag, I go, 'Oh my God, you're insulting me.' That you can have a gay parade on Christopher Street in New York, with naked men and women on a float cheering, 'We're here, we're queer!' -- that's what makes my heart swell. Not the flag, but a gay naked man or woman burning the flag. I get choked up with pride."

OK, I disagree with her. But, this quote is a little off. The actual article says:

"...that's what makes my heart swell." Garofalo laughs suddenly. "Not the flag, but a gay naked man or woman burning the flag. I get choked up with pride."

It's pretty obvious that she was being sarcastic at least about the last part; the "Garofalo laughs suddenly" part is left out of her quote.

In any case, I think I have a plan. I will become Janeane's Eugene Volokh, correcting this quote throughout the blogosphere. Janeane will eventually learn about this after the real media picks up on my crusade. Janeane will want to meet me. Funded by a grant from Richard Mellon-Scaife, I will sweep Janeane off her feet. Slowly but surely, I will imbue her with right-wing dogma. Janeane will have one epiphany after another. Soon, Janeane will disavow her anti-war stance, and her, Richard Mellon-Scaife, and America will thank me and bring lots of hits to my blog.

Posted to Celebrities at 01:35 PM | Comments (3)

February 26, 2003

Transcript of the Saddam interview

Here. Developing...

Posted to Iraq at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)

"Iraq to 'outsource' counterattacks"

More here: "Baghdad is using embassies to forge ties with extremist groups to attack US facilities, say Filipino officials."

Posted to Iraq at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)

Is press freedom relative?

This post links to a story from Reporters sans Frontieres which ranked the U.S. 17th in the world in press freedom.

We were beat by Canada (#5) and Costa Rica (#15). I think part of the reason for that might be not so much that we have less press freedom, but other differences.

For instance, would Costa Rican reporters or editors be willing to write a highly damaging expose of their government or a major corporation? If their natural inclination would be not to do something like that, and they usually write less controversial stories, then I think their perception of what is a free press is not comparable to the perception of U.S. reporters.

For both Canada and Costa Rica, there also isn't that much dirt for reporters to write about as there is in the U.S. Also, I'm vaguely familiar with the controversy regarding the gag order in this Canadian trial.

Posted to Miscellania at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)

Sheryl Crow's instant karma

Sheryl then and now.

Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 01:15 PM | Comments (0)

Failed Borkings

The Aug. '02 article "Judge Smith Goes to Washington: The anatomy of a failed Borking" is worth a look. Perhaps even better is this flashback to 1991: "Liberals Suiting Up to Derail Ryskamp." This article discusses disparate treatment between Estrada and other nominees. There's a list of Estrada opponents on this page.

In other news, Jimmy Breslin has an article about Bernadette Devlin being refused entry to the U.S.

Posted to Politics at 12:40 AM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2003

Saddam and Abu Sayyaf, linked

According to 'The Philippine Terror Front':

Two weeks ago the Philippines expelled Iraqi diplomat Husham Husain after discovering he had received a phone call from an Abu Sayyaf member the day after the group staged an October 3 bombing that killed a U.S. Green Beret on the southern island of Mindanao. After the diplomat's deportation, Abu Sayyaf leader Hamsiraji Sali stated on Philippine TV that Iraq was paying bounties to his gunmen to murder U.S. troops.
The Abu Sayyaf also has connections with al Qaeda. For a decade, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, laundered money through his Manila-based front companies to finance the extremist group, among others in the region. Philippine intelligence believes that Ramzi Yousef, who planned the first World Trade Center bombing from Manila, had contact and training with the Abu Sayyaf. Ditto for some of the 9/11 hijackers.

That seems to be a bit of a casus belli, no?

You've got the phone call, followed by the admission. So, why wouldn't this be true? I can only think of two possibilities: a) that A.S. leader is trying to falsely implicate Saddam for some reason, such as him being in reality a government agent, or b) they're just trying to look like bad ass dudes. I don't find either explanation convincing at all. However, the article "The Philippines' Iraq Connection: Was an Iraqi diplomat Saddam's link to Abu Sayyaf? Or is Manila just dancing to the U.S.'s tune?" has more information on the phone call, and it attempts to debunk the link. That article doesn't, however, mention the TV appearance.

Regarding "advisors" being sent to a country in S.E. Asia, yes there are a few parallels. However, supposedly there's only about 200 Abu Sayyaf members, and they're considered more along the lines of pirates than revolutionaries. And, supposedly they have very little popular support. And, they've been implicated in enough terrorism-related activities, including the AQ link, to make going after them a clear part of the current war.

Here's more about A.S., another A.S. backgrounder, here's more about AQ in SE Asia, and, perhaps most importantly of all, the year-old article "The Philippines: America�s War Toy" describes how it all might escalate and quagmirify.

Also, in blogging news, Jay Caruso is asking "Why aren't you war protesters protesting against Saddam?" Atrios weighs in.

Posted to Iraq at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)

PETA's new low

Earlier, they sent a letter to Yassir Arafat asking that he recommend against donkey bombs.

Now, their art exhibit "Holocaust on Your Plate" is touring the country.

The exhibit will be UCLA's Bruin Plaza (between Bruin Bear mascot and the Ackerman Student Union) on Thursday, February 27 between 12 noon and 2 p.m.

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 02:11 PM | Comments (2)

al Arian links

To be sorted:

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31206
http://www.usf.edu/News/2001/arain/bushstate.htm
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24738
http://democrats.com/search.cfm?term=al-arian
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44894-2003Feb21.html
http://www.nationalreview.com/frum/diary022103.asp
http://www.bushwatch.com/e-mail.htm
http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/54944.htm
http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0798/9807028.html
http://www.freeman.org/m_online/sep96/emerson.htm
http://membersites.namezero.com/tbcjp.yahoo.com/academicfreespeech3/id13.html
http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:wBxfwW0ntTcC:www.tnr.com/111201/foer111201.html+Dr.+Yahya+Basha%3B+terrorist&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Posted to Terrorism at 01:13 AM | Comments (0)

Boring post about ice climbing, Griffith Park, and the San Gabriels

It's raining, and Tuesday around noon or 1pm I think I'll don my raingear and gaiters and go get muddy in Griffith Park. I know it's a fairly bad thing to do erosion-wise, but there's a bit of a steep mud slide off ridge trail "c" mapped at the end of this page. I could come down it plunge-stepping into the mud, but it's better and more difficult to try to finesse it.

Alternatively, if any of my new blog readers would like to go to the San Gabriels say Wed. or Thu. to do something more difficult involving snow hiking, and perhaps even an attempt to climb Strawberry Peak from either the east side or even the west side (as described at the link), let me know. Here's the weather report.

Something I'd like to do in the next couple months is climb Mt. Hood, which would be my first experience with ice ax and crampons. Before I'd go, I'd like to get some prior ice ax experience, either with a self-belay and arrest style class or even with an ice waterfall climbing class, like this one. For timing reasons, I might end up having to hire a private guide for this class, but I don't want to pay the private guiding rate. So, if any of my new readers would like to form a group with me to get a lower rate, let me know. Either a weekend or mid-week class around the eastern Sierra area is OK.

Ice climbing pics:
pic
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pic
pic
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I note also that the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, much to my surprise, has formed a Mountain Biking Section. And all it took was five PDF files and probably months of politics.

Posted to OutdoorSports at 01:02 AM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2003

The problem with the blogosphere

I went to the blogsphere conference at the AFI last night, and I'm now on a first-name basis with the deans of L.A. blogdom: Matt and Ken, Eugene and Mickey. Yes, that Mickey.

Eugene stated that the blogosphere is a meritocracy. I'm trying to decide whether that's true or not. What I find annoying about the blogosphere is its incestuous, sycophantic nature. If I wanted more traffic, I could cozy up to my fellow bloggers, asking for links. However, what if I then want to not only disagree with them, but, say, pull a prank or two on them? What if I say something they don't like, and they then pull my link? What if I don't get links because someone doesn't like me (fat chance of that happening) or what I say? And, this whole thing about keeping a daily journal still gives me the creeps, as does the insular nature of this whole thing. Who gives a fuck about your chat fights?

I think the blogosphere desperately needs some cacophony. The only problem is that this would just be considered cute, and, if Instapundit decided to link to it, people would be in on the joke. No, something stronger is needed. Something that will revulse and enrage the entire blogosphere. Stay tuned...

Posted to Bloggage at 03:12 PM | Comments (10)

February 22, 2003

Saddam gets religion

This article has a discussion of Saddam's attempts to both contain and reach out to orthodoxy.

Posted to Iraq at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2003

L.A.: Biggest laughingstock in the U.S.

According to this:

Elected leaders of the nation's second-largest city on Friday approved a resolution opposing a unilateral war against Iraq and urging the Bush administration to exhaust all diplomatic options before committing military forces...
"I hope people understand we're not a bunch of crazy politicians trying to dictate federal policy," said Councilman Ed Reyes, who voted for the resolution. "We are echoing the sentiments of people who are hurting. Where do we begin to matter in the priority of our federal dollars?..."

It also said the billions of dollars that would be spent on war would likely cause further cuts in federally funded programs that benefit the city. War would also draw away hundreds of police officers and other city employees who are military reservists, it said.

In other words, NWIMBY: No War In My Back Yard. The L.A. City Council and Mayor Hahn care more about social welfare programs than the (admittedly) suffering people of Iraq.

The fact that this resolution opposes a "unilateral" war against Iraq, and that at the very least we'll have a bilateral war, and that they should have known this, just shows what level of foreign policy knowledge we're dealing with here.

In a way, this issue is local: money spent on a war might take away money that these councilmembers could presumably use to fix a pothole or two. However, that also serves to illustrate the underlying immorality of this resolution and their votes.

If I tell you that if you give me $100 we can go in and clean up Iraq, stop Saddam from oppressing his people, and perhaps propel the Middle East forward a few centuries, you can respond in one of several ways:

"I'd give you $100 if I thought that plan would work."
"I think that plan is immoral."
"I don't have $100, and if I did I'd use it to buy food."
"I agree with the plan, and I'd like to help the people of Iraq, and I do have $100, but I'd rather spend that money on some Sheryl Crow CDs."

I think #4 is an immoral choice, and is closer to the choice this resolution makes than #1-#3. If they had stated their opposition to the war on non-NIMBY grounds, their moral position would be a bit stronger. I also wonder whether there's a bit of cowardice and appeasement involved here; perhaps deep inside they think that if they come out against the war L.A. won't be the target of terrorist actions.

As far as I know, this is the voting breakdown:

FOR:
Mayor James Hahn - MayorHahn@mayor.lacity.org
Ed Reyes - reyes@council.lacity.org
Jan Perry - perry@council.lacity.org
Nate Holden - holden@council.lacity.org
Nick Pacheco - pacheco@council.lacity.org
Eric Garcetti - garcetti@council.lacity.org
Ruth Galanter - galanter@council.lacity.org
Tom LaBonge - Labonge@council.lacity.org
Cindy Miscikowski - miscikow@council.lacity.org
Janice Hahn - hahn@council.lacity.org

AGAINST:
Jack Weiss - weiss@council.lacity.org
Dennis Zine - zine@council.lacity.org
Wendy Greuel - greuel@council.lacity.org
Alex Padilla - padilla@council.lacity.org
Hal Bernson - bernson@council.lacity.org

I'll post updates of responses to L.A.'s resolution as they come in; here's A.N.S.W.E.R's report on the Baltimore resolution, and here's the Workers World report on the Chicago resolution. I note also that Jersey City, NJ revoked the anti-war resolution that they had passed, so there might be some hope for a bit of sanity.

UPDATE: Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is reprinting a wire report on the resolution, and la.indymedia.org weighs in with this.

Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)

"Mexican ID opens doors for undocumented workers in U.S."

I created a thread here about the Dallas Morning News article "Mexican ID opens doors for undocumented workers in U.S." The subtitle of the article is 'Critics say 'matricula' is a tool to facilitate illegal immigration', which in a way summarizes the whole article: it's mostly pro-Matricula Consular, with a few anti-MC comments thrown in for a semblance of balance.

Of particular note:

The administration has convened a working group � involving the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, State, Treasury and other agencies � to examine whether the card should be accepted by federal officials.

I'll have to find and post a link to this working group if one is available.

"And, if by identifying our compatriots abroad we can also help them open bank accounts in the United States and ease their travel back to Mexico, then we're happy with the added bonus," said Roberto Rodr�guez, the Mexican Foreign Relations Ministry's chief of consular affairs...
"For the life of me I have no clue how a matricula card can expedite the legal process toward legalization," he said. "One thing you can't fault these groups [fighting the matricula] for is a lack of wild imagination."

"Travel back to Mexico?" Who is he trying to kid? And, what's with the word "compatriots?" Is that the new euphemism for illegal aliens? And, I guess I must have a wild imagination, because Mexico has previously admitted that their plan was to get in steps what they couldn't get in one fell swoop, as I covered here.

Mexico's 47 U.S. consulates have launched a stepped-up registration campaign in recent months, setting up booths in churches and local halls and dispatching mobile units to immigrant-rich communities. The consuls have met with banks, local leaders and law enforcement agencies to promote the card, sparking complaints that the lobbying defies diplomatic protocol and impinges on U.S. sovereignty.

Apparently that's what Jorge Castaneda meant when he said Mexico was to begin "propagating militant activities in the U.S."

"It is not a friendly act for another country to facilitate illegal immigration into the United States," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. Mr. Rodr�guez dismissed the criticism as "ridiculous, short-sighted and in line with the traditional anti-immigrant rhetoric that we have heard for years."

You'll note that he said "anti-immigrant," not "anti-immigration," "anti-illegal-immigration", or "opposed to a foreign government enabling illegal immigration." When all else fails, call your opponents "anti-immigrant" and by extension racist xenophobes rather than telling the truth.

Critics charge that the banks [such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Bank One] are tossing aside U.S. national security concerns in a rush for profits. "We have to be very careful that our own citizens ... are not simply enticed into trying to find ways around the law simply because it may be monetarily rewarding," said Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., a member of the House Immigration Reform Caucus.

Isn't profits what it's all about? Well, that and votes and irredentism.

(For a clearer picture of Matricula Consular cards, read 'IDs for Illegals: The 'Matricula Consular Advances Mexico's Immigration Agenda'. The SacBee article 'Immigrant-control groups assail popular ID cards' has more.)

Posted to Immigration_consul at 02:36 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2003

Turkey's "security zone"

According to this article:

Turkey is demanding that it send 60,000 to 80,000 of its own troops into northern Iraq to establish �strategic positions� across a �security arc� as much as 140 to 170 miles deep in Iraq. That would take Turkish troops almost halfway to Baghdad...
independent diplomatic sources in Ankara and Washington with knowledge of the US-Turkey talks say that while the precise depth of the �security zone� has still to be agreed, the concept is �pretty much a done deal,� as one observer put it...

�Turkey is playing hardball,� said Michael Amitay of the Washington Kurdish Institute. �But if the US agrees to these Turkish deployments, there is a real risk that the Kurds will start a guerrilla war against the Turkish troops.�

Posted to Iraq at 08:47 PM | Comments (0)

"Patriotism Perverted"

Oliver Willis points to the Dan Gillmor column "Patriotism Perverted", which in turn points to a more detailed FindLaw piece that I'm going to be sure to read later called 'Patriot II: The Sequel Why It's Even Scarier than the First Patriot Act'.

Posted to Privacy at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)

"Florida Professor Charged With Operating Global Terror Organization"

According to this:

A Florida professor and seven other men were charged Thursday with operating a global terrorist organization that the federal government says is responsible for the deaths of 100 people in and around Israel.
University of South Florida computer engineering professor Sami Al-Arian is the North American leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Attorney General John Ashcroft said in announcing the federal indictment...

I was going to try to compile a list of his supporters, such as Salon's article 'The prime-time smearing of Sami Al-Arian'. However, apparently the Freepers have beat me to it, compiling a list of his supporters, such as this. (Bear in mind, this is just an indictment, and he hasn't been cleared or convicted.)

Posted to Terrorism at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2003

"Note to conservatives: Most immigrants aren't terrorists"

The Reasononline article "Guilty by Association: Note to conservatives: Most immigrants aren�t terrorists" is here. I posted an excerpt from the article here, in the hopes of perhaps a letter or two being sent to Reasononline letting them know where they're wrong.

The author of the article, Cathy Young, is a columnist for the Boston Globe, and I assume she lives in the Northeast. She also appears not to have written any articles specifically about immigration in the past, or at least I couldn't find them.

Now, certainly, anyone can write an article about anything and Reason could even print it. But, since I lack civil engineering experience, and since I don't live in Boston, I'm not too very qualified to write an article about the engineering challenges of The Big Dig.

Perhaps if Ms. Young moved to the Southwest, and did a bit more research, she might be able to discuss this matter as more than just an abstract concept, to be discussed in simplified, mainly economically-oriented terms.

In the article, she states:

Writing in National Review, the syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin... charged that such "catch and release" decisions [as the one that let Malvo loose] have "cost scores of American lives," now including the victims of the snipers.

However, Malkin's point was a bit different than her argument as presented in Young's article. Malkin actually said: "these countless "catch and release" cases have demoralized rank-and-file INS agents and cost scores of American lives � from cops gunned down by fugitive deportees to victims of illegal border-crossing murderers, and now, quite possibly, to the innocents slaughtered in the Washington, D.C.-area sniping spree."

In other words, Malkin was referring to the "countless" cases, not just the Malvo case. Malkin concentrated on the Malvo case in her article, perhaps because it's a vivid illustration of the problem of an illegal alien being released, only to then commit one or more crimes. Certainly, most illegal aliens don't commit crimes (other than the "non-crime" of illegal entry and residence), and one can't predict who is going to commit a crime. So, perhaps instead of concentrating on Malvo, Malkin and others should concentrate on the countless cases of "catch and release," and their effects. The next time, perhaps Young could address the issue of the social and economic costs of crimes committed by illegal aliens in general, as discussed here, here, and here.

Young makes the point that the 9/11 hijackers entered legally, and that no illegal aliens have so far been involved in terrorism. The key phrase is "so far." Due to our heightened concern over legal entrants, if any terrorists wish to enter the U.S. they will probably do so illegally, and they will probably use the same smuggling infrastructure that has been enabled by those who favor illegal immigration. Young admits that this infrastructure can be used, however her solution is to grant amnesty, which I'll cover below. (The point whether the 9/11 hijackers should have been allowed to enter is different, and is covered here, here, and here.)

Then:

Indeed, a wholesale crackdown on illegal immigration could, by consuming scarce resources, hinder rather than help the effort to keep potential terrorists out of this country.

For the sake of argument, let's assume Young is correct. Perhaps then we should do something somewhere between a wholesale crackdown and the amnesty Young favors. This middle-ground is not covered in her piece. That middle-ground might be populated by measures designed to disincentivize illegal immigration rather than the current policy of some to incentivize it. For instance, in California, illegal alien college students pay tuition at the in-state rate. In other words, we give a better deal to illegal aliens than to U.S. citizens. And there's the whole issue of Matricula Consular cards. And, there's the issue of the INS rarely sanctioning companies that employ illegal aliens.

Further:

Given the realities of the global economy and the U.S. labor market, the flow of migrants into this country will be a fact for the foreseeable future...

Perhaps, instead of just throwing up our hands and accepting it as a foregone conclusion, we could think "outside the box" for a bit. Does it really have to be this way, and is this really what's best for all concerned? Are there alternatives to importing serfs?

She goes on to support amnesty; she might want to read 'Why Amnesty For Illegal Aliens Is A Bad Idea'. Perhaps the solution to the problem of illegal aliens, smuggling networks, and the rest is not simply to throw up our hands and regulate illegal aliens, but the middle-ground discussed above.

Then:

Immigration hard-liners lament that businesses and local politicians oppose tough measures against illegal aliens, but they rarely stop to wonder if there are good reasons for this opposition. "Polls show that the public opinion is squeamish about immigration," says Jacoby, "but people are squeamish in the abstract. When it comes to their own lives and their local economy, they�re not so squeamish."

In other words, businesspeople and politicians know what's best, and the poor deluded hoi polloi can be bought off with promises of cheap vegetables. As this poll shows, 60% of those polled are opposed to amnesty, even of a limited form. I'd hardly call that "squeamish." Do businesses and politicians always do what's best for the rest of us? Could there, perhaps be another story here? Say, about corporate welfare, and those businesses receiving a subsidy for employing serfs and the politicians being not just part of that but also being interested in illegal alien votes? Perhaps Young's next immigration piece could look into that.

Finally, she ends with this heartwarming note:

The openness, freedom, and plenitude that lead radical Islamists to hate America are precisely what draw so many people from around the world to live here. Among them, do not forget, were the hundreds of foreign nationals who were among those killed in the World Trade Center.

Hey, I'm all in favor of "openness, freedom, and plenitude." I'm also in favor of a sane immigration policy that does what's in the best interest of the U.S.

There are literally billions of people around the world who would no doubt love to live in the U.S. Does that mean we should let them all in?

As for the foreigners killed in the WTC, what exactly does that have to do with this issue? Is this a bit of a smear, similar to her use of the phrase "the anti-immigrant agenda," attempting to call those who are in favor of a sane immigration policy xenophobes? Is Young attempting to even further blur the line between legal and illegal immigration? I don't know.

Nowhere in her article does Young discuss the social costs of immigration, or its potential threat to U.S. sovereignty. So, let me suggest a few items for her bookshelf:

'Can we still afford to be a nation of immigrants?': "The possibility looms that in the next generation or so we will see a kind of Chicano Quebec take shape in the American Southwest..."

"MULTICULTURALISM, IMMIGRATION AND AZTLAN" (is enabling separatism a libertarian precept?)

58% of Mexicans AGREED with this question: "the territory of the United States' Southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico."

"Mexico to begin "propagating militant activities" in the U.S."

"La comunidad hispana tiene un aliado en Presidente Bush"

Matricula Consular cards

Nancy Pelosi's "constituents"

scarrry sound clips

Aztlan propaganda

The U.S. Code section concerning harboring illegal aliens

"They were here first."

"Mexico declares war on U.S.; no one cares"

Mexican incremetalism

Who's behind illegal immigration? See the comments

I could, of course, go on.

UPDATE: There's another commentary on her article at rightwingnews.com.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 10:47 PM | Comments (1)

Three-fifths of a job applicant

The LA Examiner reports on a new job search website from the Tribune Co. which is specifically targeting "minorities."

The press release for the new service ("ProFound") is here:

The joint effort will create a unique job recruiting resource for recruitment specialists who are seeking top caliber candidates with professional experience and diverse backgrounds. ProFound will help fulfill diversity initiatives that an increasing number of companies have implemented in order for their organizations to reflect changing demographics. The partnership aims to be the primary resource for human resource recruiters by bringing thousands of professional Hispanics and African Americans under one banner...
"Among the options available to HR recruiters are traditional job postings, resume searches utilizing ProFound's extensive database of professionals and banner advertising that targets candidates with specific qualifications."

This caused me to post the following comment:

In other words, ProFound is going to help support diversity by (presumably) only accepting applications from Job Applicants Of Color.
I wonder, do bi- or multi-racial people have an advantage when helping a corp meet its Diversity Goals? Will ProFound require a breakdown of ones ethnic components? Would someone who's, say, half-Colombian and half-Lebanese count as 1 person of each, or would each half only contribute .5 to the corresponding Diversity Goal?

(I was thinking of Shakira, as I often do, when constructing that last example.)

A couple more comments I might make include:

If someone is three-fifths black and two-fifths white, do they count as one black person towards my company's Diversity Goals?

and:

What if someone is mainly white, but has a little bit of black blood in them. Even if it's just one drop, can they count as black for our Diversity Goals?

I think I'll post cleaned-up versions of these questions to an HR board or two, and wait for the serious replies to come in.

I'll also remark that the Tribune Co. has lots of money, and lawyers like money, so...

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 04:24 PM | Comments (0)

Duct tape, Moroni, and you

The Department of Homeland Security's website about preparedness is now available at ready.gov.

It includes the bit about duct tape, as well as water, food, communications and other tips.

Posted to Terrorism at 02:30 PM | Comments (2)

Get your war on and end California's high unemployment

The article about CA's unexpectedly high unemployment rate here ends with

With Gray Davis and George Bush California gets nothing. Davis is too incompetent to employ effective political tactics of any sort, while George Bush simply doesn�t care.
205,000 jobs lost in one year in the country�s most populous state? Get your war on.

In response, I posted the following comment:

Get your war on indeed.
War would bring a tremendous boost to California's economy. Both Silicon Valley and SoCal's aerospace industry will benefit from huge new defense contracts. The war will increase not only the demand for news but for entertainment as well, and Hollywood, which directly or indirectly employs hundreds of thousands of people, will greatly benefit. The harbors of Los Angeles and Frisco will benefit from shipping materiel to the war. Instead of protesting the war, all those who are concerned about unemployment and California's economy should welcome it with open arms.

Let's see who gets confused.

Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)

Ships of Mass Destruction?

The article 'Al Qaeda's Nightmare Scenario Emerges' thinks OBL is still alive, and that, realizing AQ has been badly damaged, is planning to go out with a bang:

AQ has explosives expertise that is unsurpassed in non-military circles. It gets military-grade C4 charges from China and Iran; it employs Hezbollah and Hamas guerillas trained in the fine arts of detonation devices... and it has brainwashed legions of men who are willing to die for the cause...
Who's supplying the material and expertise? North Korea, and, surprisingly, our ally in the war against al Qaeda, Pakistan. Pyongyang--with a lot of help from China (which is supplying key chemicals to separate plutonium from depleted uranium) and Pakistan (which gave North Korea its uranium enrichment centrifuges and tutored its nuclear scientists)--will be able to churn out Coke cans of plutonium at the rate of one per week by the end of March...

In a worst case scenario, al Qaeda could construct a crude but effective nuclear device in weeks, if not a month, from Hezbollah C4, North Korean plutonium, and a little nuclear expertise from disaffected Pakistani scientists...

Add to this troubling possibility the fact that the terror group has resorted to the use of seafaring vessels to move its people around, and now has a fleet large and diverse enough that one or two could seamlessly move into a large harbor or congested waterway undetected, and a picture emerges of an unparalleled potential threat to the global economy from the paralysis that could be caused by a crude plutonium bomb exploding in the belly of an al Qaeda ship with bin Laden onboard...

But the target closest to bin Laden's heart likely remains a seaport that would allow him to go to his Allah in the belly of the Eagle--perhaps on the western seaboard of the United States...

There's more on the Iraq-AQ connection and the ships in 'Direct Links Detailed: Three Prisoners in N. Iraq Outline Links Between Al Qaeda and Iraq':

Two years ago, he says he was hired by an Iraqi intelligence officer, Othman Salman Daoud, to smuggle 30 refrigerator "motors" � which I took to mean "compressors" � from Iraq to Iran, where they were handed over to men he describes as Afghan members of al Qaeda. He was paid $10,000 each for the items, which usually contain the refrigerant gas Freon, but, in this case, contained something more mysterious. Shihab Ali was warned it was dangerous to himself, and to any children he might hope to have...
[Further, he says] he and a partner were given $16 million to go to the Gulf and buy some large ships, equip them with 500 kilos of high-explosive, and set sail under Iranian flags. The crews would slip away in motorboats after being replaced with men willing to commit suicide, who would then enter Kuwaiti waters, according to Shihab Ali, and ram the ships into American tankers or military vessels.

Today's 'Three mystery ships are tracked over suspected 'weapons' cargo' says:

Three giant cargo ships are being tracked by US and British intelligence on suspicion that they might be carrying Iraqi weapons of mass destruction...
Each with a deadweight of 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes, the ships have been sailing around the world's oceans for the past three months while maintaining radio silence in clear violation of international maritime law.

The article '15 Freighters Believed to Be Linked To Al Qaeda' has background information on AQ's ships and the shipping industry. 'Security at sea: Ship owners, insurers under pressure' has more background. The article 'Croatia searchs ship carrying explosives allegedly bound for Iraq' from 10/02 doesn't mention WMD.

Posted to Terrorism at 01:04 AM | Comments (1)

February 18, 2003

More on the mobile weapons labs

The article 'Did Germany sell bio labs to Iraq' has more info on the story I covered yesterday. This article also includes something about a Germany-North Korea connection.

Posted to Iraq at 11:55 PM | Comments (0)

"90 Saudis charged for al-Qaida links"

According to this:

Saudi Arabia, which has often denied having an al-Qaida presence on its soil, announced yesterday that at least 90 citizens will be prosecuted for links to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
Prince Nayef, the interior minister, told Okaz newspaper that a further 250 suspects were still being questioned, though 150 others had been released...

One of those released was 21-year-old Saud Abdulaziz al-Rasheed, whose arrest had been demanded by the US on the grounds of suspected links to the September 11 hijackers.

Public announcements about al-Qaida arrests have often sought to counter US accusations that the kingdom was dragging its feet in the "war on terrorism"...

Posted to TheSaudis at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

L.A. City Council votes on anti-war resolution

The title ('L.A. city council rejects anti-war measure') of this article isn't exactly correct. There's another vote coming up Friday, so it's not over yet.

Apparently, they managed to wheel out not just Ed Asner in support of the resolution, but some other actor as well:

"In my view," [Councilman Jack] Weiss told the hearing, "we ought to be focusing on fixing sidewalks and not (Iraqi leader) Saddam (Hussein)."

Posted to Los_Angeles at 08:59 PM | Comments (0)

Most fearsome enemy of Saddam: PI lawyers

Last month, the NYC lawfirm Kreindler & Kreindler filed a consolidated complaint against AQ, Iraq, Sudan, the Taliban, several Saudi princes, at least one person whose name indicates he's from Libya, and just about anyone else you can think of. You can read a copy of the complaint here.

You can read an older article about the predecessor suit 'Suing Bin Laden' (motherjones) and 'Lawsuit: Iraq Knew of Attacks Before 9/11' (FOX). There's more on Salman Pak and the Iraq-AQ connection in 'Cheney, Powell, Rice Mum on Saddam's 9-11 Hijacking School'. For an overview of the connection, see this.

On August 29, 2001, a citizen of the Cayman Islands wrote a letter to a radio host concerning three Afghans who had been detained while trying to enter from, of all places, Cuba: "Mr. Walton we have an urgent situation with the three Afghanistans that we have in our midsts for the past months. I have been convinced that they are agents of Osama Bin Laden - one of the world's greatest terrorist - operating out of - you guessed it - Afghanistan. The three agents here are organizing a major terrorist act against the U.S. via an airline or airlines."

As discussed at the end of "In Castro�s Service", the letter's author says it was just "speculation" on his part.

In "Saddam and the Next 9/11: The Iraqi dictator and his son talk about the uses of biological weapons," Peggy Noonan says:

What our readers should understand is that the rulers in Iraq have also long admired the methods of bin Laden and other anti-American terrorists, going back before September 11, 2001. This is clear simply from reading the Iraqi press, which is of course government controlled...
a July 21, 2001, commentary in the Iraqi publication Al-Nasiriya praised bin Laden: "In this man's heart you'll find an insistence, a strange determination that he will reach one day the tunnels of the White House and will bomb it with everything that is in it."

The article recounts bin Laden's attacks on U.S. targets and U.S. efforts "to pressure the Taliban movement so that it would hand them bin Laden, while he continues to smile and still thinks seriously, with the seriousness of the Bedouin of the desert about the way he will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House."

The commentary is ominously prescient, especially since it could never have appeared without official sanction. "Bin Laden is a healthy phenomenon in the Arab spirit," it continues, speaking about his goal to "drive off the Marines" from Arabia. Most eerily of all, the writer adds that those Marines "will be going away because the revolutionary bin Laden is insisting very convincingly that he will strike America on the arm that is already hurting. That the man . . . will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra every time he hears his songs." Is that a reference to Sinatra's "New York, New York"? Did Saddam know what would happen two months later?

(Off the Saddam thing momentarily, here's an article called 'Is There a Better Way to Go?' which favors up to a year of, for lack of a better word, bad-ass inspectors and inspections. No word on whether she wants Scott Ritter to go as well; some think he's been, er, comprimised. A chart of Saddam's links with WMD is at http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/other/sjm_cht.htm And, here's an article called 'Autopilot could land hijacked planes'. And, there's 'When the Enemy Is a Liberator'.)

Anyway, click the MORE link right below to read my excerpts of the K&K complaint. All highlighting is as in the original, except I also highlighted occurences of the word 'Iraq'.

28. As early as 1992, AL QAEDA terrorists established close working relations with iraq I INTELLIGENCE agents in the SUDAN, Afghanistan, iraq and elsewhere. Soon thereafter, iraqi INTELLIGENCE decided to support AL QAEDA and to employ AL QAEDA terrorists to carry ut iraq �s error attacks. The RAQ-AL QAEDA relationship benefitted b>iraq because it provided that state with trained terrorists willing
to die in terror attacks. As a secular state, iraq does not have a large number of citizens
wishing to become martyr warriors. Additionally, by using AL QAEDA suicide terrorists, IRAQ could disavow involvement in attacks and avoid retribution. The relationship benefitted AL QAEDA which received the support, funding, facilities and training needed to carry out its terror campaigns.

29. During the mid 1990's iraq began actively supporting AL QAEDA
operations by providing intelligence, training, weapons, supplies, passports, travel
documents and financial support to co-conspirators. Significantly, one of iraq �s military or terror training camps contained the fuselage of a Boeing 707 used to teach techniques
for hijacking commercial aircraft to AL QAEDA terrorists. [ed: Salman Pak]

44. At various times from as early as 1989, BIN LADEN, and others known and
unknown, ran terrorist training "camps and guesthouses� in various areas, including
Afghanistan, iraq , IRAN, Pakistan, the SUDAN, Somalia, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines
and Germany for the use of AL QAEDA and its affiliated groups. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, ABU HAJER AL IRAQI, an IRAQI, managed some of these training camps and
guesthouses in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

46. In 1991, BIN LADEN left Saudi Arabia and relocated in the SUDAN. He
centered his AL QAEDA operations there for the next four years while maintaining offices
and orchestrating terrorist recruitment, training and launching attacks in various parts of the world. BIN LADEN recruited new members in the SUDAN, such as MOHAMED SULEIMAN AL NALFI and at least 200 Afghan Arabs, Saudis, Yemenis and Egyptians
who had fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan and who became part of AL QAEDA�s
cell in the SUDAN. ABU HAJER AL-IRAQ i, a/k/a Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, an IRAQI, served as BIN LADEN�s top lieutenant in the SUDAN shortly after BIN LADEN�s
arrival there.

93. While AL QAEDA�s presence was growing in the SUDAN in 1992, the
Government of iraq also had close ties with the Sudanese GOVERNMENT.
SUDAN supported iraq during the Gulf War and allowed iraq to establish
a major IRAQI INTELLIGENCE center in the SUDAN through IRAQ�s
ambassador to Khartoum, and AL SAMAD AL-TA�ISH. AL TA�ISH was a
highly placed IRAQI INTELLIGENCE agent, who brought 35 other
intelligence officers with him to the SUDAN to establish a base for IRAQI
operations. AL TA�ISH remained in the SUDAN through the summer of 1998.
IRAQ arranged to smuggle scud missiles, chemical weapons and uranium into the SUDAN using Sudanese diplomatic mail privileges and other means.
SUDAN agreed to store this material for iraq for safekeeping after the Gulf War to help circumvent U.N. weapons inspections.
94. During the early 1990s, SUDAN�s Sheikh HASSAN AL-TURABF of
the NATIONAL ISLAMIC FRONT arranged meetings between BIN-LADEN and IRAQI
INTELLIGENCE officials. BIN LADEN met with FARUQ AL-HIJAZI, an
IRAQI INTELLIGENCE agent in the SUDAN who would later head IRAQI
INTELLIGENCE for SADDAM HUSSEIN. BIN LADEN again met with
IRAQI INTELLIGENCE officers in 1994 and 1995 in the SUDAN. At these
meetings, BIN LADEN and IRAQI INTELLIGENCE secret service director
FARUQ AL-HIJAZI agreed to work together on terrorist projects directed against the U.S.

95. During his time in SUDAN, BIN LADEN became interested in
using IRAQI chemical and biological weapons and explored plans to use crop
dusting aircraft to disperse toxins as the IRAQI INTELLIGENCE and military had done earlier in Kurdistan.

96. Upon information and belief, there have been numerous meetings between
IRAQI INTELLIGENCE agents and high-ranking AL QAEDA terrorists to plan terror attacks. One such meeting occurred in 1992, when ZAWAHIRI (EGYPTIAN ISLAMIC
JIHAD leader and AL QAEDA officer) met with IRAQI INTELLIGENCE agents in Baghdad, iraq over several days. An IRAQI serving with the TALIBAN who fled
Afghanistan in the fall of 2001, was captured in Kurdistan and has corroborated this
meeting and confirmed that IRAQI contacts with AL QAEDA began in 1992.

99. During the initial planning of the WTC bombing, Mohammed Salameh (who was later convicted for his role in the bombing) was in regular and frequent contact with his uncle KADRI ABU BAKR, who lived in iraq and had been a member of a PLO faction allied with SADDAM HUSSEIN. Shortly after these calls, the mastermind of the bombing, RAMZI AHMED YOUSEF a/k/a Abdul Basit, an IRAQI INTELLIGENCE
agent, traveled to the United States using travel documents obtained in Kuwait during the
IRAQI occupation of that country in 1991.

100. Ramzi Yousef arrived in New York on September 1, 1992 using an IRAQI
passport and requesting asylum. On December 31, 1992, he presented photocopies of
passports for Abdul Basit at the Pakistani consulate in New York claiming to be Basit and
requesting replacement of his �lost� passport. Basit was a Pakistani citizen who had moved to Kuwait and disappeared during the Iraqi occupation in August 1990. IRAQI
INTELLIGENCE had access to the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry files and upon information
and belief, inserted Yousef�s fingerprints into the file and provided him with photocopies
of two older passports from Basit�s file. The Pakistani Consulate, accordingly, provided
Yousef a temporary passport, based on the false documents. This provided Yousef with a means to escape the U.S. two days after the World Trade Center bombing. In fleeing the
United States after the bombing, Yousef first traveled through Baluchistan, an uncontrolled
region of IRAN straddling the border of IRAN and Pakistan with strong ties to IRAQ. By
the following year, 1994, Yousef was living in the Phillippines. He left the Phillippines
however, after authorities discovered a plan he was working on to bomb United States�
airliners. Yousef fled to Pakistan and was eventually sheltered at an AL QAEDA
guesthouse. He was arrested in February 1995 in Pakistan and extradited to the U.S. for
prosecution and was eventually convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
conspiracy.

101. ABDUL RAHMAN YASIN, who was born in the United States to IRAQI
parents but had been raised in IRAQ, within days of the 1993 bombing was questioned in
New York and New Jersey in connection with the World Trade Center bombing, but was
released after appearing to cooperate with U.S. officials. He fled the country the next day
and traveled to Baghdad, IRAQ. U.S. prosecutors later learned that he, along with others,
had prior training in bomb making, and had mixed the chemicals and constructed the bomb
that was used in the World Trade Center. IRAQI INTELLIGENCE knew of Yasin�s
presence in iraq and provided him refuge. On August 4, 1993 YASIN was indicted in
absentia for the World Trade Center bombing.

102. In June 1994 YASIN was seen in Baghdad by an ABC news correspondent
who was told that YASIN worked for IRAQI government. U.S. law enforcement officials
confirmed that fugitive YASIN has been sheltered in IRAQ, a continuing violation of
United Nationals Security Council Resolution 687 which makes it unlawful to harbor a
suspected terrorist. In June 2002, YASIN was interviewed in Baghdad by Leslie Stahl from
CBS. YASIN remains in IRAQ.

103. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, Mohammed Salameh, Nidal Ayyad, Mahmud Abu
Halima and Ahmad Mohammed Ajaj were all eventually convicted in the Southern District
of New York for the 1993 conspiracy to bomb the World Trade Center.

104. Following his arrest in 1995, Ramzi Yousef told U.S. investigators that his
intent was to create an explosion that would cause one of the World Trade Center Towers
to fall over onto the other, destroying both and causing massive American casualties.

105. During the worldwide hunt for fugitive Ramzi Yousef, he was living in the
Phillippines with KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED. KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED�s
involvement in terror activities became known when law enforcement authorities
interrupted a plot to blow up a dozen U.S. commercial airliners flying to the United States
from Asian cities. KHALID�s participation in the planning of these acts of terror was
uncovered by authorities after he and Yousef accidently started a fire in their apartment in
Manila while mixing bomb chemicals. Filipino authorities were suspicious when they saw
chemicals, bomb making instructions and timing devices in the apartment and they seized
those items along with a computer containing the details of the airliner bombing plans.
KHALID and Yousef fled the country, before they could be arrested.

106. KHALID eventually found sanctuary in Doha, Qatar. In early 1996,
KHALID was visited in Qatar by BIN LADEN. Around the same time, FBI director, Louis
Freeh, wrote to the Qatari government requesting that it surrender KHALID to U.S.
authorities. Not long after the FBI request, with the assistance of Qatari officials, KHALID
fled to Prague, Czech Republic, foiling U.S. attempts to arrest him.
107. KHALID�s whereabouts after his escape to Prague in May 1996 are not
known, but documents and AL QAEDA members captured in Afghanistan identified
KHALID as a leader in the AL QAEDA terror network and actively involved in the
planning, logistics and financing of the September 11 th attacks. His participation in the
planned hijacking of U.S. commercial airliners was not new for him. KHALID is a close
associate of ABU ZUBAYDAH, a top BIN LADEN associate who was fully aware of the
targets of the September 11 th hijackers. ZUBAYDAH is in the custody of United States
authorities and is providing some corroborating information about AL QAEDA operations.

IRAQI AND AL QAEDA INTERESTS PUBLICLY MERGE
115. In February 1997, BIN LADEN publicly expressed his support for iraq in
its conflict with the United States stating:
�The hearts of the Muslims are filled with hatred
towards the United States of America and the American
president for American conduct towards IRAQ.�

116. Having decided to carry out acts of terrorism, SADDAM HUSSEIN, with
the advice and prompting of his son and IRAQI INTELLIGENCE chief, QUSAY
HUSSEIN and his other son UDAY HUSSEIN, head of an IRAQI INTELLIGENCE
Subdivision known as the �Fedayeen� and �Al-Qare,� concluded that a campaign of
terrorist attacks against the United States, under the banner of BIN LADEN and AL
QAEDA , was the most effective means of both deflecting U.S. attempts to topple his
regime and obtaining IRAQI revenge.

117. iraq upon information and belief, agreed to supply arms to AL QAEDA
and provide AL QAEDA with access to and training in the use of chemical and biological
weapons and agreed to instruct AL QAEDA terror trainers at its Salman Pak camp in
Baghdad that contained a Boeing 707 used to practice hijacking. iraq also agreed to
supply AL QAEDA terrorists with new identities and passports from Yemen and the
United Arab Emirates.

118. AL QAEDA agreed to provide protection from political opponents to IRAQ
and SADDAM HUSSEIN, and to commit assassinations and other acts of violence to create
instability in regions of IRAQ, particularly Kurdistan, to assist the regime of SADDAM
HUSSEIN as they had done in Afghanistan in support of their host TALIBAN. AL
QAEDA further agreed to provide trained terrorists, assassins and martyrs to carry out
terror attacks in concert with iraq against their common enemies, including the United
States.

119. On February 22, 1998, BIN LADEN, Khalid Al Fawwaz and AYMAN AL
ZAWAHIRI of the EGYPTIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD issued a fatwa published in the Arabic

123. QUSAY HUSSEIN�s participation in those meetings highlights the
importance of the talks in both symbolic and practical terms. Upon information and belief,
as a direct result of these meetings, iraq again made commitments to provide training,
intelligence, clandestine Saudi border crossings, financial support and weapons and
explosives to AL QAEDA .

124. IRAQI INTELLIGENCE officials met with BIN LADEN in Afghanistan
several more times. A second group of BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA operatives from
Saudi Arabia were then trained by IRAQI INTELLIGENCE in iraq to smuggle weapons
and explosives into Saudi Arabia and other countries, which they later accomplished in an
effort to carry out future terrorist acts of violence. A third group of BIN LADEN and AL
QAEDA operatives received a month of sophisticated guerrilla operations training from
IRAQI INTELLIGENCE officials later in the Summer of 1998.

125. Despite philosophical and religious differences with SADDAM HUSSEIN,
BIN LADEN continually sought to strengthen and reinforce the support he and AL
QAEDA received from IRAQ. In mid-July 1998, BIN LADEN sent Dr. AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI,
the Egyptian co-founder of AL QAEDA, to iraq to meet with senior Iraqi
officials, including Iraqi vice president TAHA YASSIN RAMADAN. Upon information
and belief, the purpose of this meeting was to discuss and plan a joint strategy for a terrorist
campaign against the United States.

126. Upon information and belief, IRAQI INTELLIGENCE officials pledged
IRAQ�s full support and cooperation on the condition that BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA
promised not to incite those groups inside iraq opposed to the regime of Iraqi dictatornewspaper Al-Quds stating:
The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -civilians
and military - is an individual duty for every
Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is
possible to do it. . . .

120. In their February 22, 1998 fatwa, BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA expressly
referenced the United States� �continuing aggression� towards iraq as one of their reasons
for calling on all Muslims to kill Americans �wherever and whenever� they are found:
The best proof of this is the Americans� continuing
aggression against the Iraqi people using the [Arabian]
Peninsula as a staging post, even though all its rulers are
against their territories being used to that end, still they
are helpless.
The BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA fatwa also cited the alleged �great devastation
inflicted on the Iraqi people� by the United States, as well as the United States alleged
�eagerness to destroy Iraq.�

121. Additional fatwas of a similar nature were issued in May 1998 and published
in Al-Quds under the banner of the ULEMA UNION OF AFGHANISTAN. A May 29,
1998 fatwa issued by BIN LADEN called for the use of a nuclear bomb to �terrorize the
Jews and Crusaders who were enemies of God.� At the time BIN LADEN was seeking to
obtain nuclear material from iraq and others who possessed nuclear material and was
trying to develop nuclear weapons.

122. Between April 25 and May 1, 1998, two of BIN LADEN�s senior military
commanders, MUHAMMAD ABU-ISLAM and ABDULLAH QASSIM, visited Baghdad
for discussions with SADDAM HUSSEIN�s son -- QUSAY HUSSEIN -- the �czar� of
IRAQI INTELLIGENCE.

SADDAM HUSSEIN.
127. During the July 1998 visit, ZAWAHIRI toured an IRAQI military base and
nuclear and chemical weapons facility near al-Fallujah in iraq and upon information and
belief, observed training by IRAQI INTELLIGENCE officials of AL QAEDA operatives
at the al-Nasiriyah military and chemical weapons facility in IRAQ.

U.S. EMBASSY BOMBINGS
128. To demonstrate its commitment to iraq and its anti-U.S. policies, in the
Spring of 1998, AL QAEDA planned terrorist bombing attacks on the U.S. Embassies in
Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. FAZUL ABDULLAH MOHAMED,
KHALFAN KHAMIS MOHAMED, MUSTAFA MOHAMED FADHIL, MOHAMED
RASHED DAOUD AL-�OWALI, SHEIKH AHMED SALIM SWEDAN, FAHID
MOHAMED ALLY MSALAM and an individual known as ABDULLAH AZZAM were
chosen as some of the AL QAEDA terrorists who would conduct the coordinated attacks
in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam.

129. In July and early August 1998, AL QAEDA terrorists MUSTAFA
MOHAMED FADHIL, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, AHMED KHALFAN GHAILANI,
FAHID MOHAMMED ALLY MSALAM, AHMED the German, SHEIKH AHMED
SALIM SWEDAN, Mohamed Sadeek Odeh and FAZUL OBDULLAH MOHAMMED
were stationed in Dar es Salaam where they purchased a 1987 Nissan Atlas truck and
outfitted it with oxygen, acetylene tanks, TNT, batteries, detonators, fertilizer and sand
bags, creating a massive bomb to be driven into the U.S. Embassy. Odeh, FAZUL
OBDULLAH MOHAMMED and others who participated in the bombings had been with
BIN LADEN since the early 1990s and BIN LADEN�s days in the SUDAN.

130. On July 30, 1998, iraq warned it would take action unless the United
Nations embargo was lifted. iraq blamed the United States for the United Nations
embargo. On August 4, 1998, IRAQ, refused to cooperate with the United Nations
weapons inspectors in iraq and talks for a resolution of the crisis collapsed, causing U.N.
inspectors to leave.

131. Three days later, on August 7, 1998, at approximately 10:30 a.m., FAZUL,
Al-�Owhali and AZZAM drove a Toyota Dyna truck (outfitted similarly to a Nissan Atlas
truck in Dar Es Salaam) to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya and detonated a large bomb
damaging the Embassy and demolishing a nearby Secretarial College building and
Cooperative Bank building, resulting in the more than 213 deaths (12 Americans) and
injuries to more than 4,500 people.

132. On August 7, 1998 at approximately 10:40 a.m., ten minutes after the
bombing in Kenya, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed and AHMED the German detonated the Dar
Es Salaam bomb in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania severely
damaging the Embassy building and resulting in the death of 11 people and injuries to more
than 85 people.

133. On August 7, 1998 shortly before the bombing, Eidarous, an AL QAEDA
member in London, sent a letter to news organizations in Paris, Doha, Qatar and Dubai,
UAE claiming responsibility for the Embassy bombings under the fictitious name Islamic
Army for the Liberation of Holy Places.

134. At the trial in New York of some of the AL QAEDA -U.S. Embassy
bombers, some of the defendants elicited testimony in their defense that cited the poor
living conditions in IRAQ. They blamed those conditions on the U.S.- U.N. sanctions, and
used it as motivation and explanation for the AL QAEDA attacks on the Embassies.

THE 1998 U.S. AIR STRIKES ON AL QAEDA
135. On August 20, 1998, the United States initiated a pre-emptive and retaliatory
air strike with cruise missiles on AL QAEDA training camps in Khost, Afghanistan and
a factory in Khartoum, SUDAN, believed at the time to be a chemical weapons plant used
by the Sudanese and IRAQI governments to manufacture weapons for their use and that of
AL QAEDA terrorists.

136. On August 20, 1998 President Clinton issued a statement on the air strike
Our target was terror . . . our mission was clear to strike at
the network of radical groups affiliated with and funded by
BIN LADEN, perhaps the preeminent organizer and
financier of international terrorism in the world today.

137. In December 1998, after a stand off between the U.N. and iraq and a
discovery of weapons violations in IRAQ, the U.S. led U.N. allies in a four-day air strike
on IRAQ. IRAQI Trade Minister MUHAMMAD MAHDI SALAH then stated that he
expected terrorist activities against the United States to increase as a result of the bombing
of IRAQ. The Arabic language daily newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabic cited the cooperation
between IRAQ, BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA in a late December 1998 editorial, which
predicted that
�President SADDAM HUSSEIN, whose country was
subjected to a four day air strike, will look for support in
taking revenge on the United States and Britain by
cooperating with Saudi oppositionist Osama Bin-Laden,
whom the United States considers to be the most wanted
person in the world.�
The editorial noted that this type of cooperation was already taking place, considering that
�Bin-Laden was planning on moving to iraq before the recent strike.�

138. Following the December 1998 air strikes on IRAQ, SADDAM HUSSEIN
dispatched FARUQ AL-HIJAZI to Kandahar, Afghanistan in order to meet with BIN
LADEN and plot their revenge.

139. QUSAY HUSSEIN also dispatched representatives to follow-up with BIN
LADEN and obtain his firm commitment to exact revenge against the United States for the
December 1998 bombing campaign. iraq offered BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA an open-ended
commitment to joint operations against the United States and its �moderate� Arab
allies in exchange for an absolute guarantee that BIN LADEN, AL QAEDA and their allies
would not attempt to overthrow SADDAM HUSSEIN�s regime in IRAQ.

140. To demonstrate IRAQ�s commitment to BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA ,
HIJAZI presented BIN LADEN with a pack of blank, official Yemeni passports, supplied
to IRAQI INTELLIGENCE from their Yemeni contacts. HIJAZI�s visit to Kandahar was
followed by a contingent of IRAQI INTELLIGENCE officials who provided additional
training and instruction to BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA operatives in Afghanistan.
These Iraqi officials included members of �Unit 999,� a group of elite IRAQI
INTELLIGENCE officials who provided advanced sabotage and infiltration training and
instruction to AL QAEDA operatives.

141. At that meeting, upon information and belief, BIN LADEN, AL QAEDA
and iraq agreed to join efforts in a detailed, coordinated plan for a protracted terrorist war
against the United States.

142. iraq also agreed to provide BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA with the
assistance of an expert in chemical weapons; and BIN LADEN agreed to hunt down Iraqi
opposition leaders who cooperated with the United States against HUSSEIN. In furtherance
of this agreement, BIN LADEN agreed to have a group of AL QAEDA �s �Afghan� Arabs
enter iraq to fight Kurdish dissidents.

143. iraq maintains an advanced chemical and biological weapons program and
is one of only three countries in the world producing a highly developed weaponized
anthrax. Some time during or after 1998, iraq agreed to help BIN LADEN and AL
QAEDA develop a laboratory in Afghanistan designed to produce anthrax.

144. In addition to the al-Nasiriyah and Salman Pak training camps, by January
1999, BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA operatives were being trained by IRAQI
INTELLIGENCE and military officers at other training camps on the outskirts of Baghdad.

145. In January 1999, iraq began reorganizing and mobilizing IRAQI
INTELLIGENCE front operations throughout Europe in support of BIN LADEN and AL
QAEDA . Haqi Ismail, believed to be a member of the IRAQ�S MUKHABARAT Secret
Service, left iraq to train in an Afghanistan AL QAEDA camp. Ismail was believed to
be a liaison between IRAQ, the TALIBAN and AL QAEDA and was rewarded with a
position in the TALIBAN Foreign Ministry.

146. On or about June 1999, during an interview with an Arabic-language
television station, BIN LADEN issued a further threat indicating that all American males
should be killed.

MILLIENIUM PLOT
147. On December 14, 1999, Ahmed Ressam, an AL QAEDA operative, was
arrested while driving a truck from Canada into the United States at Port Angeles,
Washington. The truck was loaded with bomb making materials and detonators. Ressam
later confessed to, and was convicted of conducting an AL QAEDA plan to detonate a large
bomb at Los Angeles International Airport on New Year�s Day 2000. AL QAEDA
terrorists ABU JAFFER AL-JAZIRI, BIN LADEN�s longtime IRAQI assistant, and
MAHFUZ OUL AL-WALID, a/k/a Khaled Al-Shanguiti, a/k/a Abu Hafs, a/k/a �the
Mauritanian,� were both identified as orchestrating the so called �Millennium Plot.�

148. In April 2000, UDAY HUSSEIN, as a birthday gift to his father, SADDAM
HUSSEIN, assembled a squad of 1,200 trained men called AL QARE. Thirty of them were
dispatched with UAE passports to points around the world to standby for orders to commit
acts of sabotage, urban warfare and hijacking.

ATTACK ON U.S.S. COLE
149. In the spring of 2000, IRAQI INTELLIGENCE began planning to attack
United States warships in the Persian Gulf in an effort to prompt a United States
withdrawal. iraq sought suicide bombers who would employ small boats packed with
explosives to ram United States� warships.

150. On October 12, 2000, IRAQI INTELLIGENCE and members of AL
QAEDA including BIN LADEN, JAMAL AL-BADAWI, KHALID AL-MIDHAR,
MOHAMMED OMAR AL-HARAZI, WALID AL-SOUROURI, FATHA ADBUL
RAHMAN, YASSER AL-AZZANI, JAMAL BA KHORSH, AHMAD AL-SHINNI,113
RAED HIJAZI, JAMIL QASIM SAEED MOHAMMED, as well as the two suicide boat
bombers Abd Al-Mushin Al-Taifi (deceased) (and a suspect in the August 1998 Embassy
bombings) and Hassan Said Awadh Khemeri (deceased) carried out their plan to bomb the
U.S.S. Cole by ramming a small boat loaded with explosives into the side of the ship as it
was anchored in the harbor at Aden, Yemen, resulting in the deaths of 17 American sailors
and injuring an additional 39.

151. The Yemeni government investigation reported that the terrorists behind the
attack were Islamic extremists who fought the Soviets in the Afghan War and who were
tied to the EGYPTIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD and AL QAEDA and who were trained in
Afghanistan. Four were arrested in Yemen. Jamil Qaseri Saeed Mohammed was arrested
a year later in Pakistan. After his arrest, AL-BADAWI admitted that he received his
instructions to bomb the U.S.S. Cole from AL QAEDA member AL-HARAZI who he had
met during the war in Afghanistan.

152. On June 20, 2001, in a videotape released to the press BIN LADEN appears
to boast that his followers bombed the U.S.S. Cole. The 100-minute tape depicts BIN
LADEN, wearing a Yemeni dagger on his belt and reciting a poem to show that he and AL
QAEDA were not afraid of attacking the United States military:
And in Aden, they charged and destroyed a destroyer that
fearsome people fear, one that evokes horror when it docks
and when it sails.
Video of the damaged destroyer was superimposed with the words in Arabic, �the
destruction of the American Destroyer Cole.�

AL QAEDA -SAUDI HIJACKING
153. On October 14, 2000, just two days after the attack on the U.S.S. Cole, two
Saudis hijacked a Boeing 777 from Saudi Arabia and had it flown to Baghdad, IRAQ. The
hijackers were given �asylum� in IRAQ. They were extensively interviewed in the Iraqi
press and criticized the Saudi government.

154. Upon information and belief, this hijacking was a message between BIN
LADEN and iraq intended to demonstrate that AL QAEDA terrorists could seize control
of large commercial aircraft that could be used as a weapon in the hands of suicide
terrorists, foreshadowing a well coordinated attack in the planning stages at the time and
less than a year away from execution.

IRAQI THREATS
155. On January 22, 2001, the Arab language newspaper Al Watan Al Arabi,
reported that SADDAM HUSSEIN and his sons had called for an Arab alliance to �launch
a global terrorist war against the United States and its allies.� The newspaper
characterized HUSSEIN�s statement as calling for an uncompromising campaign and
�scorched earth policy.�

156. In May 2001, AL QAEDA operatives in Kurdistan assassinated Franso
Hariri, a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party, as part of a deal with SADDAM
HUSSEIN. The killing of Hariri created instability in the region by damaging relations
between the co-leaders of Kurdistan. This benefitted the HUSSEIN regime in IRAQ.

157. In May 2001, Iraqi physician and kidney specialist Dr. Mohammed Khayal
was dispatched from Baghdad to Afghanistan for three days to treat BIN LADEN�s kidney
problem, further demonstrating the important relationship between iraq and BIN LADEN
1 Khalid al Fawwaz was arrested on September 28, 1998 in London and Adel Mohammed
Abdul Almagid Adul Bary, and Ibrahim Eidarous were arrested in London in July 1999, and are
awaiting trial, while Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, an Iraqi and Ali Abdelseoud Mohamed were
arrested in the United States and are also awaiting trial for the Embassy bombings.
less than four months before the single largest terrorist attack in history.

158. On May 29, 2001, Wadih El-Hage, a U.S. citizen believed to be BIN
LADEN�s personal secretary, was convicted in the Southern District of New York, along
with Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, Mohammed Rashed Daoud Al-�Owali and Khalfan Khamis
Mohamed, for participating in the conspiracy to bomb the United States Embassies in
Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in August of 1998. BIN LADEN and other AL QAEDA
members were indicted but remain at large.1

IRAQI FORE-KNOWLEDGE OF THE SEPTEMBER 11 TH ATTACKS
Al Nasiriyah News Article
159. iraq knew in advance that AL QAEDA was planning to attack U.S.
landmarks and civilians in September 2001 in Washington and New York and supported
the planned attacks.

160. Upon information and belief, Iraqi news columnist Naeem Abd Mulhalhal [1]
has been connected with IRAQI INTELLIGENCE since the early 1980s. He comments on
matters of IRAQI political interest for the Al Nasiriyah newspaper, a weekly paper
published in the provincial capital city of Al Nasiriyah. On September 1, 2001 he was
honored for his �documentation of important events and heroic deeds that proud Iraqis have
accomplished" and praised by SADDAM HUSSEIN. In addition, Al Nasiriyah also
contains a military base that is believed to contain a chemical weapons storage facility.
IRAQ had previously denied access to this base to UN weapons inspectors. It was visited
by ZAWAHIRI as early as 1998 and AL QAEDA terrorists trained there for several years.
161. On July 21, approximately six weeks before the September 11 th attacks,
IRAQI columnist Mulhalhal reported that BIN LADEN was making plans to �demolish
the Pentagon after he destroys the White House.�

[1] Khalid al Fawwaz was arrested on September 28, 1998 in London and Adel Mohammed
Abdul Almagid Adul Bary, and Ibrahim Eidarous were arrested in London in July 1999, and are
awaiting trial, while Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, an Iraqi and Ali Abdelseoud Mohamed were
arrested in the United States and are also awaiting trial for the Embassy bombings.

162. Mulhalhal�s July 21 article further informed that BIN LADEN would strike
America �on the arm that is already hurting.� Upon information and belief, this
references a second IRAQI sponsored attack on the World Trade Center. This
interpretation is further bolstered by another reference to New York as �[BIN LADEN]
will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra every time he hears his songs.� (e.g., �New
York, New York�) identifying New York, New York as a target.

163. Mulhalhal further indicated, �The wings of a dove and the bullet are all
but one and the same in the heart of a believer.� (Emphasis supplied) This appears to be
a reference to the use of commercial aircraft as a weapon. The information was reported in
an IRAQI newspaper who�s editor-in-chief serves as secretary to UDAY HUSSEIN�S Iraqi
Syndicate of Journalists. The article expressed IRAQI admiration and support for BIN
LADEN�s plans and its appearance in the newspaper would clearly have to be endorsed by
SADDAM HUSSEIN himself.

164. All IRAQI news media is strictly controlled and censored by the government
of SADDAM HUSSEIN and is under the direct oversight of UDAY HUSSEIN. Various
members of IRAQI INTELLIGENCE work at and control the content of each and every
newspaper published inside IRAQ.

165. The information contained in Mulhalhal�s published statements were known
prior to the events of September 11 th , and because Mulhalhal has ties to IRAQI intelligence,
it demonstrates foreknowledge of the planned attacks by BIN LADEN and indicates
support by IRAQI co-conspirators.

166. IRAQ�s July 21, 2001 public statements also exemplify the BIN LADEN
pattern of publicly threatening violent strikes against the United States prior to and after
committing them. For example, weeks before the August 1998 AL QAEDA attacks on the
U.S. embassies in Africa, BIN LADEN threatened U.S. civilians and shortly thereafter,
bombed the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania within minutes of each other, killing 223
civilians.

167. Additionally, after the suicide boat bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen
in October 2000, BIN LADEN publicly threatened violence against America while wearing
traditional Yemeni clothing including a Yemeni war dagger. BIN LADEN sought media
attention to taunt the United States and recruit additional Muslim supporters.

PREPARATION FOR SEPTEMBER 11 TH ATTACKS
168. According to U.S. and foreign intelligence officials, in the spring of 2000,
IRAQI INTELLIGENCE agents met with September 11 th pilot hijackers ZAID SAMIR
JARRAH and MARWAN AL-SHEHHI in Dubai, UAE in order to advance the hijacking
of U.S. aircraft to commit terrorist acts. Not long after the meeting, AL-SHEHHI entered
the United States on May 29 and JARRAH entered on June 27, to begin preparations for
attacks.

169. According to Czech intelligence sources, on June 2, 2000, MOHAMMAD
ATTA a pilot in training and the operational leader of the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks traveled to Prague to meet other co-conspirators. The following day, ATTA arrived
at Newark International Airport in the United States.

170. According to the FBI, from July 2000 through March 2001, ATTA,
SHEHHI, HANJOUR, JARRAH and HAMZI traveled to the U.S. where they resided and
took pilot courses to learn to fly the Boeing 747, 757, 767 and Airbus A320 in furtherance
of the AL QAEDA IRAQI conspiracy to hijack U.S. aircraft to commit terrorist acts.

171. Upon information and belief, sometime between April 8-11, 2001, ATTA
left Florida where he was a flight student, to again meet in Prague with IRAQI
INTELLIGENCE agent AL-ANI. ATTA returned to Florida and within two weeks opened
a Sun County Bank account with $100,000 sent through a money changer in the UAE. Later
in 2001, AL-ANI was expelled from the Czech Republic for espionage activities. Other
intelligence reports indicate that AL-ANI met with another September 11 th hijacker,
KHALID AL MIDHAR as well.

172. Italian security sources reported that iraq made use of its embassy in Rome
to foster and cultivate IRAQ�s partnership with BIN LADEN and AL QAEDA. HABIB
FARIS ABDULLAH AL-MAMOURI, a general in the IRAQI SECRET SERVICE, and
a member of IRAQ�s M-8 Special Operations branch, who was responsible for developing
links with Islamist militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan, was stationed in Rome as an
�instructor� for children of Iraqi diplomats. AL-MAMOURI met with September 11 th pilot
hijacker MOHAMMED ATTA in Rome, Hamburg and Prague. AL-MAMOURI has not
been seen in Rome since July 2001, shortly after he last met with ATTA.

175. On July 7, 2001 two members of the iraq MUKHABARAT, ABU AGAB
and ABU WA�EL traveled together from Germany to Afghanistan and eventually to
Kurdistan. ABU WA�EL trained at AL QAEDA terror camps and became the authority for
fundamentalist groups operating in Kurdistan, intent on crushing opposition to SADDAM
HUSSEIN.

187. SADDAM HUSSEIN is the only national leader in the world who publicly
praised the attacks and said that the United States of America deserved them. iraq has
offered sanctuary to BIN LADEN and TALIBAN leaders. Abu Zeinab al-Quarairy, an
IRAQI defector who was an officer in the MUKHABARAT and was familiar with its
operations, reported that when he learned about the World Trade Center attacks on
September 11 th , he turned to a friend and said, �That�s ours.�

189. Israeli intelligence sources verify that for the past two years, IRAQI
INTELLIGENCE officers have been shuttling back and forth between Baghdad and
Afghanistan. According to the Israelis, one of these IRAQI INTELLIGENCE officers,
SALAH SULEIMAN, was captured in October 2001 by Pakistani officials near the border
between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

191. Instruction documents on an artillery weapon known as the �Super Gun�
were found in AL QAEDA camps when they were captured by U.S. forces in the winter of
2001-2002. iraq is the only state known to have purchased and assembled the super gun,
a weapon so large it must be constructed in segments. It has a range of several hundred
miles.

211. HAJI MOHAMAD AKRAM, a captured BIN LADEN aide told an
interviewer from the Christian Science Monitor that BIN LADEN fled Afghanistan to
IRAN in November 2001. AKRAM said that at the time, BIN LADEN had offers of
sanctuary from iraq and from Iran. AKRAM claimed that IRAN distributed money to AL
QAEDA for distribution to terrorist soldiers and that he himself had received the equivalent
of $1400.

244. The close relationship between OSAMA BIN LADEN and certain
of the highest members of the Saudi Royal family stretches back for a long
period of time and continues to this day.

245. OSAMA BIN LADEN met with Defendant SULTAN BIN
ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD (or �PRINCE SULTAN�) after iraq invaded
Kuwait in August 1990. PRINCE SULTAN is the Second Deputy Prime
Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation, Inspector General, and Chairman
of the Board of Saudi Arabian Airlines, which does business in the United
States and internationally. In the meeting, OSAMA BIN LADEN offered the
engineering equipment available from his family�s construction company and
suggested bolstering Saudi forces with Saudi militants who Bin Laden was
willing to recruit.

246. This offer was also made to Defendant TURKI AL FAISAL AL
SAUD (or �PRINCE TURKI�), the then Chief of Saudi Intelligence, or
Istakhbarat. PRINCE TURKI had an ongoing relationship with OSAMA BIN
LADEN from the time that they first met in Islamabad, Pakistan at the Saudi
embassy, during the Soviet Union�s occupation of Afghanistan.

247. Defendant MOHAMMED AL FAISAL AL SAUD (or �PRINCE
MOHAMMED� or PRINCE MOHAMMED AL FAISAL�) is involved in the
financing, aiding and abetting and material support of OSAMA BIN LADEN,
AL QAEDA, and international terrorism in part through FAISAL ISLAMIC
BANK and AL SHAMAL ISLAMIC BANK in the Sudan. PRINCE
ABDULLAH AL FAISAL BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD (or �PRINCE
ABDULLAH� or �PRINCE ABDULLAH AL FAISAL�) and PRINCE NAIF
BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD (or �PRINCE NAIF�) are also engaged in the
aiding and abetting or material sponsorship of OSAMA BIN LADEN, AL
QAEDA, and international terrorism as described herein. SALMAN BIN
ABDUL AZIZ AL SAUD (or �PRINCE SALMAN�) has also provided
material support to Osama bin Laden, and AL QAEDA.

248. PRINCE TURKI was head of Saudi Arabia�s Department of
General Intelligence (Istakhbarat) from 1977 until 2001. As such, he was in a
position to know the threat posed by BIN LADEN, AL QAEDA, the
TALIBAN, and the extremist and violent perversion of jihad and hatred that the
Saudi religious schools were encouraging in young students. PRINCE TURKI
abruptly left his position in or around August 30, 2001, when he was dismissed
as chief of Saudi Intelligence just prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

249. PRINCE TURKI met personally with OSAMA BIN LADEN at
least five times while in Pakistan and Afghanistan during the mid-eighties to
mid-nineties. PRINCE TURKI also had meetings with the TALIBAN in 1998
and 1999. In 1995, while the Saudi Istakhbarat was headed by PRINCE
TURKI, he decided to give massive financial and material support to the
TALIBAN.

250. Defendants TURKI AL FAISAL AL SAUD and MOHAMMED
AL FAISAL AL SAUD had close financial ties with AL QAEDA financier
ZOUAYDI.

251. MULLAH KAKSHAR is a senior TALIBAN official who
defected and provided a sworn statement regarding the transfer of funds from
wealthy Saudis directly to AL QAEDA and OSAMA BIN LADEN in
Afghanistan. MULLAH KAKSHAR�s sworn statement implicates PRINCE
TURKI as the facilitator of these money transfers in support of the TALIBAN,
AL QAEDA, and international terrorism.

252. In 1996, according to various intelligence sources, a group of
Saudi princes and prominent Saudi business leaders met in Paris and agreed to
continue contributing, sponsoring, aiding and abetting OSAMA BIN LADEN�s
terrorist network.

253. In July of 1998, a meeting occurred in Kandahar, Afghanistan that
led to an
agreement between certain Saudis and the TALIBAN. The participants were
PRINCE TURKI, the TALIBAN leaders, as well as senior Pakistani
intelligence officers of the ISI and representatives of OSAMA BIN LADEN.
The agreement reached stipulated that OSAMA BIN LADEN and his followers
would not use the infrastructure in Afghanistan to subvert the royal families�
control of Saudi government and in return, the Saudis would make sure that no
demands would be acceded to for the extradition of terrorist individuals, such
as OSAMA BIN LADEN, nor permit the closure of terrorist facilities and
camps. PRINCE TURKI also promised to provide oil and generous financial
assistance to both the TALIBAN in Afghanistan and to Pakistan. After the
meeting, 400 new pick-up trucks arrived in Kandahar for the TALIBAN, still
bearing Dubai license plates.

254. PRINCE TURKI was instrumental in arranging a meeting in
Kandahar between Iraqi senior intelligence operative, the Ambassador to
Turkey FARUQ AL-HIJAZI, and OSAMA BIN LADEN, in December of 1998.

255. Istakhbarat served as a facilitator of OSAMA BIN LADEN�s
network of charities, foundations, and other funding sources. PRINCE TURKI
has recently been named as an ambassador from Saudi Arabia to the United
Kingdom.

Posted to Iraq at 12:55 AM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2003

Glenn doesn't understand satire

He links to peaceinourtime.blogspot.com with: "ANOTHER PEACEBLOG DEBUTS with much fanfare. (Well, if an email begging for a link counts as "fanfare.") Personally, I don't find it very persuasive, but you can decide for yourself."

According to the new blog:

But that's where the power of Blogger comes in. We can do the work of organizing for the people of Iraq! I propose that on February 20th at 6 pm Bagdad time, the Iroquois stage a nationwide public demonstration indicating whether they want an invasion or not. If enough of my fellow bloggers pick up this call for solidarity (especially if Instapundit tells that Iraqi blogger he posts stuff from), I'm sure we can get the word out and the people of Iraq can make their will known (we certainly know that Saddam's people will be counting the crowds carefully).
So stand up and be counted, people of Iraq! Rise up and be free! Remember, we bloggers are out here for you!

I think it's a satire. Maybe Glenn is having us all on.

UPDATE: After reading more of it, I'm pretty darn sure it's a satire, albeit a little heavy-handed. Just don't tell anyone, let's see if A.N.S.W.E.R. will give it a link.

Posted to Bloggage at 07:57 PM | Comments (1)

The always expendable Kurds

Details here: "Iraqi opposition slams plan for military governor"

The letter from Kanan Makiya is here: "Our hopes betrayed: How a US blueprint for post-Saddam government quashed the hopes of democratic Iraqis."

Posted to Iraq at 05:02 PM | Comments (0)

Saddam's mobile weapons labs

According to 'Waffenlabors f�r Saddam':

Iraq got at least eight mobile chemical and biological weapons labs from Germany in the 80s... The labs can be used not only for defense of Iraq's troops, but for production of smallpox.

Here's an earlier report on the labs.

Also, Sully links to a FAZ article: "Astonishing piece in the Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung today. Just before the German elections last year, German intelligence found very serious evidence of Iraq's stockpiling of smallpox bioweapons. The report came with a "high degree of confidence." The piece alleges that Schroder helped bury the report, so as not to get him off-message during his anti-American campaign."

The Germans say it's all a big misunderstanding.

UPDATE: The first link is based on the TV report described here: "Report Munich presents an eye-witness, who saw the mobile laboratories for the production of WMD in Iraq on Monday... The witness describes the appearance, the equipment and the number of rolling weapon laboratories. An Iraqi businessman, who is at present in Dubai, says that the components for the mobile laboratories originate from Germany, America, Sweden and Switzerland. All exports, according to the witness, "were approved by the respective governments of the time."

Posted to Iraq at 04:47 PM | Comments (0)

Comedy. But with a purpose.

According to 'Liberal Radio Is Planned by Rich Group of Democrats':

A group of wealthy Democratic donors is planning to start a liberal radio network to counterbalance the conservative tenor of radio programs like "The Rush Limbaugh Show."
The group, led by Sheldon and Anita Drobny, venture capitalists from Chicago who have been major campaign donors for Bill Clinton and Al Gore, is in talks with Al Franken, the comedian and author of "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot." It hopes to enlist other well-known entertainers with a liberal point of view for a 14-hour, daily slate of commercial programs that would heavily rely on comedy and political satire.

Sounds more like torture to me. Fourteen friggin' hours a day of endless whiny, self-righteous comedy-with-a-purpose. Oh, and don't forget the sing-a-longs too.

Posted to Politics at 01:46 PM | Comments (1)

February 15, 2003

Still Not In Our Brain Again

I went to today's peace protest in Hollywood. The pics are here. Got there a bit late. As with the past protest, I was riding my bike, which makes covering open streets easy but isn't so good for pushing through the throng.

There were the same dumb signs as the past protests, although the number of swastikas seemed to be less, countered by a corresponding increase in the number of nazi references.

Getting near the stage, I was surprised to hear that the "acting President of the United States" was here. Now, of course I wasn't expecting Bush, but for a brief moment I thought Al Gore might be making a surprise appearance. To my chagrin, it turned out to be yet another appearance by Martin Sheen. He lead the crowd in a brief but emotional bleat, followed by someone from UCLA. Something about all the money we spend on the military, better spent here, etc. etc.

Look, I never said I was a photojournalist, OK? Next time, I'll take notes or bring a tape recorder. As well, the pics this time seem to be suffering from a lack of irony.

The Radical Teen Cheer group were kinda cute, especially the little one in the middle. Everything was fine except for the part of their cheer where they talked about their support for Uday. Yes, supporting Uday. No, really, I'm serious.

One guy was passing out duct tape; he had "I'm safe" written on the back of his T-Shirt. In duct tape.

OK, the Mon Dieu sign is reasonable, and the beret over the "F" is a nice touch, but I think we can draw the line at the Reichstag Fire sign. Except, he probably got that idea from the Internet.

Biking up Highland to attempt to get some shots of the protesters against the stars, suddenly all hell broke loose. Cop cars swarmed past me down Highland, and I quickly went back to Sunset to see what was going on. Apparently the cops had decided that it was time to stop marching. They slowly advanced east on Sunset, and shortly announced over a bullhorn that the protest was indeed over. At one point, about twenty bike cops sounded their alarms in unison, in an apparent attempt to keep the crowd moving.

A couple people got swarmed and arrested. A second-unit cameraman from KABC was there, maybe something appeared on the news about these incidents, but I doubt it.

It wasn't that bad, certainly not the 2x4 treatment, but the cops seemed to be a lot less, er, mellow than at the downtown protest in January or at the one in the same area in December. It was a little more heavy-handed than necessary considering that most protesters didn't appear to be making trouble. Or maybe I was just suffering from Stockholm syndrome.

UPDATE: Originally, I thought the police action was just a way to clear the streets and make them safe for transsexual prostitutes. However, apparently, they were responding to a "Black Bloc" breakaway protest. I musta missed that, because I thought I was just in a sparse group of people walking east on Sunset. There's more here and here.

3/24/04 UPDATE: While removing comment spam, I noticed that someone claiming to be from Revolutionary Teen Cheer claims they don't support Uday. I must have been hearing things then, because the cheer I heard certainly seemed to imply that.

Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 07:25 PM | Comments (1)

February 14, 2003

More dirt on Joschka Fischer

The article 'Berlin�s New Anti-American Axis' follows yesterday's 'Germany's Mr. Tough Guy'.

Posted to Iraq at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

February 13, 2003

That amazing Instapundit!

Instapundit links to this article about himself:

Naturally opinionated, the 42-year-old Reynolds says any one can do what he does. Certainly many try - more than 900,000 sites are registered...
But few as successfully.

Well fuck you, AP. And, since when do bloggers need to register?

The rest of the article is writ from the level of a semi-condescending twit who can barely turn on his computer. You can probably read and critique it unassisted.

Posted to Bloggage at 08:50 PM | Comments (1)

Real Girls Gotta Eat!

According to this site, "Real" girls are on the go, keeping energized with smart snacking!.

So, what do real girls eat?

Nacho Beef Dip

Beef on Bamboo

Beef Taco and Cheese Pockets

Easy Beef Chili

Cheeseburger Mac

Meatball & Veggie Platter

Pizza Pie with Mashed Potatoes

R.B.V. Wrap

Yeah, it is like something those ever-creative Simpson writers would come up with. Of course, it wouldn't take Lisa too long to figure out the site is from the National Council to Promote the Consumption of Beef.

(I got this from some blog I forget)

Posted to WackyHumor at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)

I have to come up with a new joke?

The jokes about duct tape were going so well. Now, I find out it was all disinformation?

Posted to Terrorism at 07:33 PM | Comments (0)

Anti-warriors, cartoon-style

Ken Layne links to this funny cartoon about a visit to an anti-war protest.

Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)

"Gore, Democrat Voters Demand End to Filibuster"

They're even marching in the streets!

Posted to Politics at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2003

The L.A. River Lake?

According to this article:

[L.A.] city officials are looking into revitalizing major stretches of the [L.A. River] - which, after all, was once a real river - into a world-class waterfront. The idea is to return some lost soul to the city's most neglected individual neighborhoods. It's also hoped that a vibrant waterway could provide an identity makeover to a city stuck with the image of being merely a cement-and-steel, desert boomtown...
The centerpiece of plans to reclaim some of that loss would be a 1-mile-long lake in the shadow of the downtown skyline, just a stone's throw from Dodger Stadium. The body of water would be the hub of a new waterfront with parks, trees, ball fields, houses, and retail stores where industrial warehouses stand now...

[The plan is to create] inflatable rubber dams at two ends of downtown - creating a semi-permanent 1-mile-long lake...

Time out. Isn't that downstream from the SuperFund site at the switchyards in Frogtown/Elysian Valley? It does rain here, right? And, the L.A. River is a drainage channel, right? Like, for the seepage from the SuperFund site.

Plus, has anyone taken a close look at all the junk in the L.A. River? Since I bike there occasionally, I get a fairly good look at it. Some of the "trees" in the river look like more like post-apocolyptic XMas trees they've got so much junk hanging on them. Not to mention the shopping carts. Who'd want to fish for anything in that water?

(The map of the river shown in the article is wrong as well. It shows the "headwaters" of the river starting somewhere in the Tujunga area of the San Gabriels, whereas I believe the river officially starts in Chatsworth).

I got this link from this blog.

Posted to Los_Angeles at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)

Filibuster this

Here's a post with the letter from White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales responding to the letter from Daschle Leahy concerning Estrada.

In somewhat related news, 'Landrieu disavows Estrada ads':

Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, who is now opposing the nomination of Miguel Estrada to a federal appeals court judgeship, ran Spanish-language radio ads during her campaign for a December runoff election saying she supported his nomination...She said she was neutral on the nomination, since it was not yet pending in the full Senate, but the radio station that produced the ad misinterpreted that as support.
"My campaign ran an ad that was intended to convey only that I did not oppose his nomination. Instead, it read as if I had already decided to support him.

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