Regime Change Iran

is a valuable resource for what will be an interesting time, now that Iran has a known terrorist as President.

American Future outlines his view of President Bush's speech

One key thing I on which think Marc is especially correct :

Bush needs to speak to the American public more frequently. Speeches like this one shouldn't be reserved for anniversaries: in this instance, it was the handover of sovereignty to the Iraqis last year. At a minimum, we deserve a quarterly report. I believe that the a more involved and informed public will be a more supportive public.

Americans for Freedom calls on the US Senate to Pass the CAFTA treaty

Passage of the central american free trade agreement is critical to the economic growth in a region that desperately needs it. For Castro and Chavez to lose face and for their recent power grabs across the region to lose strength, we need to help our friends in the region.
I ask for CAFTA passage today.
thank you

White House: Many questions about Iran's Presiden'ts past

WASHINGTON - The White House said Thursday it is taking seriously the allegations of some former American hostages who say the believe that Iran's president-elect was one of their captors in the late 1970s.

"I think the news reports and statements from several former American hostages raise many questions about his past," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said of the Iranian president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "We take them very seriously and we are looking into them to better understand the facts."

Former hostages Chuck Scott, David Roeder, William J. Daugherty and Don A. Sharer told The Associated Press that after seeing Ahmadinejad on television, they have no doubt he was one of the hostage-takers. A fifth ex-hostage, Kevin Hermening, said he reached the same conclusion after looking at photos. A close aide to Ahmadinejad denied the president-elect took part in the seizure of the embassy or in holding Americans hostage.

The hostage-taking, which came in reprisal for Washington's refusal to surrender ousted Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi for trial there, contributed substantially to then-President Jimmy Carter's defeat by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election.

Militant students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The shah had fled Iran earlier that year after he was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution.

Another former hostage, retired Air Force Col. Thomas E. Schaefer, said he doesn't recognize Ahmadinejad as one of his captors. Several former students among the hostage-takers also said they did not believe that Ahmadinejad had taken part in it.

President Bush was asked about the allegation in an interview with The Times of London conducted Wednesday and published Thursday. A transcript on the newspaper's Web site shows Bush did not comment directly on any role that Ahmadinejad may have played in the hostage-taking, but said "time will tell" whether the United States and its allies will be able to work with him.

The president said that Ahmadinejad's first test will be whether he is prepared to negotiate in good faith with Britain, France and Germany about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"They should not be able to develop the technologies that will enable the enrichment of uranium which will ultimately yield a nuclear weapon," Bush said. "I say that because they tried to do that clandestinely before, which obviously shows that there's a conspiratorial nature in their thinking."

Allister Maunk shares some info on Iran's intentions against Azerbaijan

"Iran plans to deliver a preventive missile strike on the territory of Azerbaijan, Jelal Muhammedi, a confidant of the new Iranian leader, said in his interview to the Azerbaijan newspaper, "Mirror". Muhammedi, being an ethnic Azerbaijanian, in the past held the post of editor-in-chief of the Iranian periodical, "Misag" (Tabriz), and is known for his close connections with authorities. "

As I suspected....a clarifying election - A terrorist is the new President of Iran

AP Photo shows Iran’s new President as 1979 US hostage-taker Wed. 29 Jun 2005
Iran FocusLondon, Jun. 29 - Iran Focus has learnt that the photograph of Iran’s newly-elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, holding the arm of a blindfolded American hostage on the premises of the United States embassy in Tehran was taken by an Associated Press photographer in November 1979.Prior to the first round of the presidential elections on June 17, Iran Focus was the first news service to reveal Ahmadinejad’s role in the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.The identity of Ahmadinejad in the photograph was revealed to Iran Focus by a source in Tehran, whose identity could not be revealed for fear of persecution. Soon after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Ahmadinejad, who was studying in Tehran’s University of Science and Technology, became a member of the central council of the Office for Strengthening of Unity Between Universities and Theological Seminaries, the main pro-Khomeini student body.The OSU played a central role in the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran in November 1979. Members of the OSU central council, who included Ahmadinejad as well as Ibrahim Asgharzadeh, Mohsen Mirdamadi, Mohsen Kadivar, Hashem Aghajari, and Abbas Abdi, were regularly received by Khomeini himself.Former OSU officials involved in the takeover of the U.S. embassy said Ahmadinejad was in charge of security during the occupation, a key role that put him in direct contact with the nascent security organizations of the clerical regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, which he later joined.After the 444-day occupation of the U.S. embassy, Ahmadinejad joined the special forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, based in Evin Prison. The “Revolutionary Prosecutor” was Assadollah Lajevardi, who earned the nickname the Butcher of Evin after the execution of thousands of political dissidents in the 1980s.Defectors from the clerical regime’s security forces have revealed that Ahmadinejad led the firing squads that carried out many of the executions. He personally fired coup de grace shots at the heads of prisoners after their execution and became known as “Tir Khalas Zan” (literally, the Terminator).

Iran's election - the curse that clarifies

I think the election of whatever hardliner today brings inIran is probably a good thing. It will clarify, eventually, the choice for europe, etc. that we are facing state sponsored terror from the Mullahs, and now elected government from that country. Allowing them the Bomb is just asking for trouble. Eventually this new guy will screw up and we'll bring the heat down, expecting of course that we can train up the Iraqis to take care of their own country soon enough.

Words may fail Andrew Sullivan, but they don't fail me....

Andrew's QUOTE OF THE DAY: "My dream was to be a suicide bomber. I wanted to kill 20, 50 Jews. Yes, even babies," - Wafa Samir al-Biss, who strapped explosives around herself while trying to be admitted to an Israeli hospital for treatment for burns. Words fail me.

Sorry Andrew, but words don't fail me. This is the same sort of mass murder we are facing in Iraq, and we need to beat it, and we are....if we don't leave there first. Arabs killing Arabs is just as bad as Israelis or Americans.

US aid increasingly tied to Freedom for Egypt

Kirk Sowell has a great piece, exceprted here from Publius Pundit. Kirk's site is http://www.arabworldanalysis.com/blog/

This is a brief description of Congress’ action from the Wall Street Journal:
The House Appropriations Committee approved a $20.4 billion foreign-aid budget that imposes new terms on economic aid to Egypt and inserts Congress into an Export-Import Bank fight dividing the semiconductor industry.
For the first time in many years, lawmakers would dictate specifically how Cairo must spend a portion of the annual economic aid it receives with Israel as part of the Mideast peace process. No less than $100 million of the $495 million in economic-support funds pledged to Egypt next year would be devoted to education and promotion of democracy and human rights. That includes an estimated $25 million to be distributed through nongovernmental entities to strengthen Egyptian civil organizations.

Linking US aid with Freedom for Egypt

Robert Mayer has the scoop

CAIRO — Egyptian police opened the streets of north Cairo yesterday to political protests for and against President Hosni Mubarak, giving the opposition a chance to argue its case with ordinary people.
For the first time since anti-Mubarak street protests began last December, the Egyptian authorities did not deploy riot police to pen in an opposition demonstration.
The Popular Movement for Change, which overlaps with the better known Kefaya (Enough) Movement, took advantage of the vacuum to march through the streets of Rod el-Farag, a working-class residential quarter north of the city centre.
Several hundred protesters, chanting ‘’Down, down with Mubarak” and other slogans, paraded down a main artery and then back to where they started.

The organizers said they were surprised at the absence of the usual lines of hundreds of riot police in black uniforms.
They linked it to a visit to Cairo on Monday by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who criticized the government for allowing violence against demonstrators. Traffic police officers at the scene said they had no explanation.

Strategy Page - some of the recruitment problem is because of parents and "opinion makers" stuck in the '60's era

June 23, 2005: The U.S. Army, facing problems recruiting troops, has found that much of the problem stems from parents, grandparents, guidance counselors, teachers and others who, either for political, emotional or information reasons, oppose American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and influence young men and women to not join the military. So the army is going after this opposition by offering tours at military posts, and meetings with young troops, to many of these "opinion makers." The potential recruits themselves are a lot more eager to join up, but recruiters report that, too many times, it’s the ill-will from “opinion makers” that makes the difference. Not all the opinion makers can be reached. Some are still living in the 1960s. But many of the opinion makers can be approached, and if some additional information on what the army is all about makes a difference, then it’s worth the effort.

I'm engaged

Oh yes, by the way, Freedom fans, I got engaged the other day....thought I might as well share the news. I am fabulously excited, as she is the love of my life and the sweetest girl I know.

good night.

Detroit Basketball

and so the Pistons lose. really disappointing and so close. oh well, on to next year.

World War II and Iraq

On this anniversary of D-Day, I just want to remind some folks.
After we were attacked by Japan, Germany declared war on us.
After we werre attacked by Al Qaeda, Saddam Hussain was the only middle east leader who cheered the news.

After we fought back against Japan, we started fighting Germany, even though they had not attacked us - they were only fighting our friends, and lasting peace without defeat of Hitler would be impossible.
After we forught Al Qaeda, we took on Iraq, because we finally took terrorists at their word: they want to destroy us, and Iraq with a potential for WMD and the potential to pass them on to terrorists was a risk too great to risk, also because peace in the middle east was impossible with Saddam in power.

We lost 3,000 casualties on D-Day alone, a great loss.
We have lost a total of around 2,000 so far in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Again, a great loss, but just as important.

Liberals don't want to fight this war, they want to argue that we dont' need to fight it, that its too great a risk, too great a loss.

Problem is, they dont realize that America is not the problem. Terrorists are.

We are close to finishing our duty in Iraq...their police and army are being trained by the thousands....they will have a constitutional goverment and 2 more elections in the next 6 months...and probably within a year or so, our major duty will have lightened considerably....and what will the liberals say then? how will they look back and say it wasnt worth it? when 20 million people on the borders of the most repressive governments on the planet are now as free as anyone onearth. how can this not be the right thing to do....and if we truly are the most powerful country on earth, why shouldnt we try to make their country a little better - especially as the vast majority of them are not asking us to leave?

and the OSCE criticizes Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan Is Criticized by Security Alliance

By C.J. CHIVERS
Published: June 20, 2005
MOSCOW, June 20 - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe issued a sternly worded report today on the crackdown by Uzbek forces last month in the city of Andijon, saying the government's excessive use of force "resulted in gross human rights violations, including violations of the right to life."
The 55-nation organization also renewed its call for an international investigation into the violence, which has strained Uzbekistan's relationship with the West and fueled concerns about the stability of the highly centralized state.
Sounding notes similar to those of human rights groups and Uzbek opposition parties, the organization's report said its preliminary review of the crackdown suggested that Uzbek forces used indiscriminate force in putting down an uprising and may have summarily executed unarmed civilians. It estimated that 300 to 500 people were killed.
The report assigned a large measure of blame for the uprising to the Uzbek government, saying unrest in Andijon was caused in part by trials of 23 Islamic businessmen that "violated several fair trial standards" and caused "upheaval in the community," where many people relied on the businessmen for their livelihoods.
The report also bluntly challenged the Uzbek claim that the uprising was orchestrated by international Islamic terrorists, noting that its review of survivors who escaped to Kyrgyzstan found "no indication that the refugees include people who could be described as religious fanatics or extremists."
Although the report's effect was not immediately clear, there are signs that Uzbekistan is opting for isolation rather than engagement with the West as criticism continues to mount.

And now we get more excellent news from Lebanon - Syria OUT!

TRIPOLI, Lebanon, June 19 - Opponents of Syrian domination claimed a stunning majority victory in the final round of Lebanon's parliamentary elections on Sunday night in a rebellion touched off by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri four months ago.

An anti-Syrian alliance that tried to bridge religious lines and was led by Mr. Hariri's son, 35-year-old Saad Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, won at least 21 of 28 contested seats in northern Lebanon, the last polling area in the elections that have been staggered over the past four weekends. That gave the alliance a majority in the next 128-seat Parliament.
It was a startling change in the way politics have usually been carried out here - along strict clan and religious lines and long under the control of Syria - and perhaps an example of a greater yearning for democracy in the Arab world.
The election was the first to be held in nearly 30 years without the presence of Syrian troops, who arrived in 1976 early in Lebanon's civil war and were forced to leave under international pressure in April.
"According to incomplete results, we are headed to total victory," one of the opposition candidates, Boutros Harb, told Future television, which is owned by the Hariri family, one of the wealthiest in Lebanon.
Suleiman Franjieh, a Maronite Christian who is a former cabinet minister and the scion of a major clan allied with Syria, conceded his side was heading for defeat in the north. Reflecting Christian worries over increased Muslim political strength, he told Lebanese television, "What we feared is happening."
It was, perhaps, the biggest unexpected turnabout in the election. In the results of the stage held last weekend, Gen. Michel Aoun, an anti-Syrian icon in 15 years of exile, defeated the Maronite establishment in its mountain heartland even though he had allied himself with politicians widely regarded as Syrian vassals. This time around, the leading politicians in the north, some from feudal families long allied with Syria, were upset by outsiders who have a different agenda.
But the vote for the anti-Syrian opposition did not appear strong enough to achieve its goal of ousting Émile Lahoud, the Lebanese president handpicked by Syria, whose term was extended by a constitutional amendment ordered by Syria last September. Although there is no precedent, it would probably take a two-thirds majority to change the Constitution to unseat him.

We have made mistakes, but we are now fully on the side of Freedom and Liberty for the People of the Middle East

I have posted dozens of times now, on my belief that for 60 years, the US governments pursued a policy of stability, rather than that of freedom for the tyrranized peoples of the middle east. 911 resulted from that dereliction of duty to spread freedom throughout the world.
Now today, Secretary Rice speaks the same words:

"We should all look to a future when every government respects the will of its citizens -- because the ideal of democracy is universal. For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East -- and we achieved neither. Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people.
As President Bush said in his Second Inaugural Address: "America will not impose our style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, to attain their own freedom, and to make their own way."
We know these advances will not come easily, or all at once. We know that different societies will find forms of democracy that work for them. When we talk about democracy, though, we are referring to governments that protect certain basic rights for all their citizens -- among these, the right to speak freely. The right to associate. The right to worship as you wish. The freedom to educate your children -- boys and girls. And freedom from the midnight knock of the secret police.
Securing these rights is the hope of every citizen, and the duty of every government. In my own country, the progress of democracy has been long and difficult. And given our history, the United States has no cause for false pride and we have every reason for humility.
After all, America was founded by individuals who knew that all human beings -- and the governments they create -- are inherently imperfect. And the United States was born half free and half slave. And it was only in my lifetime that my government guaranteed the right to vote for all of its people.
Nevertheless, the principles enshrined in our Constitution enable citizens of conviction to move America closer every day to the ideal of democracy. Here in the Middle East, that same long hopeful process of democratic change is now beginning to unfold. Millions of people are demanding freedom for themselves and democracy for their countries.
To these courageous men and women, I say today: All free nations will stand with you as you secure the blessings of your own liberty. I have just come from Jordan, where I met with the King and Queen -- two leaders who have embraced reform for many years. And Jordan’s education reforms are an example for the entire region. That government is moving toward political reforms that will decentralize power and give Jordanians a greater stake in their future.
In Iraq, millions of citizens are refusing to surrender to terror the dream of freedom and democracy. When Baghdad was first designed, over twelve-hundred years ago, it was conceived as the "Round City" -- a city in which no citizen would be closer to the center of justice than any other. Today -- after decades of murder, and tyranny, and injustice -- the citizens of Iraq are again reaching for the ideals of the Round City. "

Hillary & Loral update

Many thanks to http://www.slantpoint.com/ for pointing out the details from the Satellite & Soft Money scandal. do you remember Johnny Chung? Yes, that Bernard Schwartz.

"As the Clinton administration debated whether to allow U.S. satellites to be lofted into orbit aboard Chinese missiles, Bernard Schwartz, chairman of Loral Space & Communications, and Democratic fund-raiser Johnny Chung, allegedly using money from the Chinese army, gave more than $500,000 in soft money, ostensibly used for `party-building efforts,' to the Democrats. "
http://www.fas.org/news/china/1998/h980618-prc8.htm

Blogging Sen. Hillary Clinton's appearance at the NYU Medical Center Gala

I had the good fortune to attend the NYU Medical Center's second annual Gala last night. The event was scheduled to celebrate advances in medical resonance imaging (MRI) technology - which is basically like an X-ray, without the downside of radiation.

Anyway, the interesting part of the evening was the guest appearance of Senator Hillary Clinton, who I had not seen before in person. I thought I would blog the evening:

The even was at Cipriani's on 42nd st in Manhattan, a very beautiful old gallery-vault like building, much like Grand Central Train Station, which is directly across the street. Drinks started at 6:30pm, with dinner at 7:30.

Hillary spoke after dinner. Her remarks were serious, with very few pauses, very little applause or laughter. If you've ever heard a GWB speech, there are tons of laugh lines in the beginning of the speech. This speech had none of that. She also did not leave one second of dead air - constantly droning on and on - with the pauses in the midd....le of every oth.......er word. Its a very odd way of speaking.

She touched on a couple subjects, mainly that of medical technology - she said that medicine and public health is a topic with "large issues, no clear solutions, and that those issues must be solved by pragmatic, incremental solutions from private companies" which I thought was a good demonstration of growth from her mid-1990's debacle.

She mentioned that she wants to cosponsor a Frist bill on medical technology, but ddn't mention that she has been working with Newt Gingrich on the same topic. I thought this was an attempt to show that she's moving towards the political center.

She did mention one joke, about meeting lots of radiologists, and her being concerned that they could see her "political and financial thoughts" which I took to mean she was concerned that they might learn of the source for her Cattle future trades in the 1970's, and that she was running in 2006 and 2008.

The last thing that I thought was most interesting, was that the Honoree of the Senator Clinton-Guest-Hosted event was none other than Bernard Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Loral Space & Communications. I was amazed that she would willingly share the stage with him....because Loral was the company accused of leaking and selling satellite secrets to the Chinese with the support of the President.....the same Chinese who were accused of giving illegal political donations to.....none other than Hillary Clinton's husband in 1996 for his re-election bid.

American Freedom through the First ammendment and Freedom of Speech to desecrate the American Flag.

The video

Explain to me again why people are jailed for asking for their freedom to speak in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc...and then tell me again why we should not push forward with our initiative to expand freedom in the Middle East.

via http://www.jihadwatch.org/
and http://michellemalkin.com/
and http://powerlineblog.com/

Excellent NY Times article on freedom fighters in Saudi Arabia

How can a newspaper, which has writers who understand how entrenched this problem is, not understand that what we have attempted in Iraq was the only way to bridge real change in the region?

June 9, 2005
Saudi Reformers: Seeking Rights, Paying a Price
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi writer Turki al-Hamad wants to shake the younger generation attracted by militant Islam. His new novel, a thinly disguised sketch of four Sept. 11 hijackers, seeks to warn those weighing suicide missions.
"Put your luggage aside and think," reads the opening page to the book, called "The Winds of Paradise" and just released in Arabic.
"I wrote the latest book just to say that the problem is not from outside, the problem is from ourselves - if we don't change ourselves, nothing will change," Mr. Hamad said over coffee in the green marbled lobby of a hotel near Dammam, the city along the Persian Gulf where he lives. His earlier books challenging sexual and political mores remain banned.
After Sept. 11, 2001, the push toward reform in the Middle East gained momentum with the recognition in some quarters that stifling political and economic conditions helped spawn extremism. Reform advocates like Mr. Hamad live under threat but have also gained some space to air grievances.
Hence, Mr. Hamad writes novels to try to jolt young Saudis into re-examining their own society. Fawaziah B. al-Bakr, a woman and a college professor, agitates for women to question their assigned roles. Hassan al-Maleky, a theologian, argues that no one sect - like the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia - holds a monopoly on interpreting Islam.
They are the first to say that meaningful change remains a distant prospect because the institutions opposing such change are so powerful. And because there is no real forum to even discuss change, the process of creating open, freer societies is more the sum of individuals chipping away at the traditional order, rather than any organized movement or national discussion.
The three barely know each other, and their lack of contact is emblematic of Saudi Arabia, which ranks among the most closed Arab countries.
"Sometimes I don't want elections here, I want public freedoms and public rights," says Mr. Hamad, echoing a statement heard from reformers across the kingdom and indeed across the Arab world. "Give me those things and everything else will come automatically."
"The will is there but there is hesitation because Saudi Arabia's Islam is based on a certain kind of Islam," Mr. Hamad says. "If you meddle with that culture, you are meddling with the legitimacy of the system. It is a problem that needs to be solved, and it can't be solved behind closed doors."
"If you teach people that you are totally different, you are totally special, you don't belong to the world, the world has a kind of conspiracy against you, everybody is waiting for the opportunity to attack you," Mr. Hamad says. "What does this bring you? You are making an explosive mind, a very hostile mind. So how can you have democracy in such a situation? The first thing is that you have to use the educational system to spread different values, human values."

US State Dept Press Briefing Transcripts regarding reactions to elections and violence in Ethiopia

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2005/47356.htm
June 8
QUESTION: There has been an explosion, apparently, of political violence in Ethiopia, protestors killed in clashes with the authorities and some opposition politicians arrested, apparently. I wondered if you had any response.
MR. MCCORMACK: I have seen some reports about violence in Ethiopia and I would just say that these reports are troubling. We are concerned about this violence. I would say that — which has, I think, grown out of some protests that took place during a business and transport strike.
What we would say on this, first of all, is that, of course, an important part of any democracy is the right to assemble peacefully. But we would also say that, at the moment, all sides need to take a step back and refrain from any violence and people should speak out against any violence.
There were deaths as a result of some of these demonstrators and it's a tragedy and it should not happen. So we're asking everybody to step back. And what we need to resolve — what needs to happen is they need to resolve any differences that they might have through political — through the political process and political dialogue, let the political process unfold.
QUESTION: Sean, is there a — you're almost blaming the demonstrators —
MR. MCCORMACK: No.
QUESTION: No?
MR. MCCORMACK: No. Our strong belief is that the police and federal security forces need to respond in a restrained manner when confronted with protests, and any violence or the threat of violence is unacceptable. That's our view.
QUESTION: Same thing? Do you have anything specific on the arrest of these opposition politicians? This is sort of election-related.
MR. MCCORMACK: I do not.


http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2005/46843.htm
May 26
QUESTION: There's a large number of Ethiopians outside the State Department and I think they -- urging the United States to pressure the Ethiopian authorities. They claim that the election was tilted in favor of the government. I wondered did anybody at the State Department dialogue with them and do you have any kind of an updated read on the honesty of that election?
MR. BOUCHER: I, frankly, don't know if anybody dialogued. We all sort of noticed them and welcome them to express themselves. This is a group from the main opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy in Ethiopia. They are talking about irregularities, problems that they thought occurred in the election in Ethiopia. I would note the demonstration was peaceful. Nobody was arrested. No trouble at all. And our Bureau of Diplomatic Security says that the support from Metropolitan Police was excellent, so they were able to keep it peaceful.
We are ourselves following very closely the developments in the Ethiopian election. The National Election Board has begun announcing results. It started on Saturday. It's about 55 percent of 547 constituencies that have reported. But all these results are preliminary and we don't expect official certification until June 8th.
The next phases are vote counting, certification, formation of a government. We've expressed clearly the view this needs to be done in a transparent and democratic manner. There are some international observer teams, including U.S. Embassy personnel, who are monitoring the whole process through the end.
QUESTION: A follow-up on that?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I'm just trying to read Adam's handwriting here. (Laughter.)
Carter Center has had staff out there and they observed the polling and a small group from them has remained in Ethiopia to follow the rest of the process. We've seen the news reports and various objections and claims of irregularities from the opposition coalitions. We think that all that needs to be looked into and looked into thoroughly.
We do note that voting was peaceful. We hope that this atmosphere of peace and nonviolence is maintained and I think I'll leave it at that for the moment. There were -- while we did note the reports of irregularities, I think I have to say overall we didn't see evidence of systematic fraud. So what did happen needs to be looked into carefully, but we'll see the results as they unfold.
Okay. Joel.
QUESTION: Richard, I was just out front during that rally and afterward I interviewed a 23-year old student who is a graduate student at College Park at University of Maryland. And he's saying prior to the election there was interference, not necessarily going to the election but foodstuffs, fertilizers for farmers -- in other words, a whole massive campaign to change and to perhaps influence how the electorate would vote. Will members of the State Department and -- will they be asking the Carter Center and the OSCE to investigate how will that have an impact?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know how any specific charges will have an impact. Some of that -- the run-up to an election gets looked at by the observers as they try to make their assessments. It's too early now to try to give any kind of assessment because the process is still continuing, this counting and certification that we talked about. So there is a National Election Board in Ethiopia. We're certainly keeping in touch with them as well as the government and the political parties. But as that process unfolds, I'm sure all the observers, including official personnel like our own -- people like the Carter Center -- will look at the whole process, how it unfolded and how it's being conducted right through the end.
QUESTION: Can I follow up on that?
MR. BOUCHER: Sir.
QUESTION: Actually, yesterday, the European Union election observers expressed their concern, in even by saying they're not -- they took the National Election Board powerless. After May 15 election, the next day the ruling party declared a victory supposedly winning like 300 votes seats without proceed with normal procedure of counting votes.
The demonstration -- I've been there and I was asking a couple of people and then they were saying people have been jailed, people have been killed, and I'm trying to get, you know, a list of, you know, names from our bureau over there. But they really -- there is a really concern from the European Union. And I believe I remember there was a letter written for the Ethiopian Government from John McCain and Madeleine Albright concerning the expression of strong U.S. election observers. And would you comment on that?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I don't have an overall assessment. We're telling you -- we're talking about a process that's still unfolding. All these charges, all these problems need to be looked into. Some of them may prove to be more significant, some less significant. At this point, it's hard to do that balanced assessment because we haven't see the whole process.
But indeed, we think this is something that needs to unfold in a very transparent and very democratic manner. The official election results need to reflect the actual votes, not the predictions of how many somebody thought they were going to get on election night excitement or claims of victory. So the whole vote counting needs to be very solid.
You know, there are other observers who have said that the opposition was getting more seats than had been expected, so I'm sure everybody will make their predictions. What really counts is a very transparent, very credible counting of the votes and we'll see what the results are when they come out.
QUESTION: One last thing. There was a demonstration before the election, two days before the election, and almost 2 million opposition parties supported were gathered and then it end up peacefully. But after the election the Prime Minister banned any kind of demonstration for about -- for the next months and people have also concern on that. Do you want to comment on that?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I think we said the other day that, you know, we think that everybody needs to have the right to express themselves and that as long as things are peaceful they should be allowed. But all these things need to be looked at. It's just hard to do -- to give you the significance of an individual step or an individual peace as we're still in the process.
Okay, sir.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2005/46596.htm
May 20
QUESTION: Hi. Richard, there's been an election poll following the election in Ethiopia and they say that there have been pre-marked ballots. And the whole area or eastern region of Africa with Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea seem to be in very poor shape, both for food as well as drought and other type -- just the way the populations are being treated by their government. Is there any push with the AU to put a working group specifically for that three-country section?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know what the AU is doing, but in terms of the Ethiopian election, we've been following that closely. It think we've discussed it here or the press office is prepared to discuss the Ethiopian election situation with you. We are, indeed, focused on the humanitarian needs of this region.
Am I wrong in thinking that AID did a briefing on it not too long ago?
QUESTION: Yes, you are.
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, I am wrong? Okay, I'm wrong. (Laughter.)
Anyway, I know that the people in AID have been looking very closely at this area in terms of the humanitarian needs at this juncture and that we will continue to work with people there to make sure the needs of people are met and also to hope that the region makes progress. The Secretary met with the leaders from Djibouti just the other day and discussed this region. She is personally interested in what's going on in this area.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2005/46346.htm
May 16
QUESTION: Anything to say about the Ethiopian election over the weekend?
MR. BOUCHER: I guess the first observation is that voting was peaceful, turnout was high in these May 15th elections for national and regional representatives in Ethiopia. It appears that opposition parties garnered voter support in urban areas but I don't think we know the full outcome yet. Administrative and procedural irregularities such as ballot shortages, slow lines and problems with voter registration lists were observed in various locations but didn't appear to fit a pattern of systemic fraud.
There were 17 teams of U.S. Embassy observers that were deployed to 11 sites around the country and in the capital. The Carter Center and the European Union fielded over 150 election monitors to observe the elections throughout the country as well and President Carter was present there.
The major opposition parties have claimed harassment and intimidation during the polling and in the pre-electoral process. These claims are being investigated. If substantiated, of course, they would raise a question about the government's commitment to real democratic reforms and the development of true democratic institutions.
We expect the opposition, the majority party and the government to maintain a peaceful atmosphere and respect the outcome of the voting and to refrain from violence at this juncture. We are concerned about a decision by the Government of Ethiopia to ban post-election demonstrations and our Embassy is monitoring that situation closely.

Ethiopia summary

As always, I'm trailing the leaders badly on this story. Best sources for analysis on this are:
Roberty Mayer at Publius Pundit: http://www.publiuspundit.com/index.php
and Midwet Jim at Gateway Pundit: http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/

also, Ethiopian Review is more than a just a blog, check it out here: http://www.ethiopianreview.com/

Backgrounder on Ethiopian history: http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/05/25/ethiopia.eu.ap/
Ethiopia was an absolute monarchy under Emperor Haile Selassie until the mid-1970s, when a brutal Marxist junta overthrew him.
Civil wars wracked the ethnically fractured country in the 1980s, and famine took as many as 1 million lives.
Meles Zenawi's rebel group overthrew the junta in 1991. Meles became president, then prime minister in 1995. He retained his seat in the May 15 elections.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, known as one of the continent's more progressive leaders, has pledged that his sometimes authoritarian government would introduce greater democracy. Many saw the polls as a test of his commitment to reform.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi banned demonstrations for a month following the poll.

On May 14, Ethiopia held an election, the first real one in years.
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/05/15/ethiopia.poll.reut/
DUKEM, Ethiopia (Reuters) -- Ethiopians turned out in their millions on Sunday to vote in elections seen as a test of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous nation. The parliamentary poll, only the second real multi-party contest in Africa's top coffee producer, is expected to hand a third term to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who toppled dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991 ending 17 years of Marxist rule.
"The situation is one of calm and a massive voter turnout," European Union (EU) chief observer Ana Gomes told reporters. Officials said voting might be extended to midnight (2100 GMT) because of the queues at polling stations.
Opposition parties advocating a bigger role for free markets in the Horn of Africa country of 72 million have set aside their ethnic differences for the first time, pledging to unite if it means winning a majority in the 547-seat national assembly.

Jimmy Carter came out early to OK the elections. Problem is, there were dozens of irregularities that even the EU criticized:
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050525/w052542.html
The EU report also said U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who led a team of 50 election observers, undermined the electoral process and EU criticism with "his premature blessing of the elections and early positive assessment of the results."
Unless there is a "drastic reverse toward good democratic practice" the observer team and EU "will have to publicly denounce the situation.
"Otherwise, the EU jointly with ex-president Carter will be held largely responsible for the lack of transparency, and assumed rigging, of the elections."

Protests broke out, and the government has resorted to violence, with dozens dead:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5060964,00.html
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Ethiopian security forces killed 22 people, wounded dozens and placed some opposition politicians under house arrest as protesters challenged the government's claim of victory in last month's elections.
After a third day of demonstrations in this nation touted as a U.S. ally in the war on terror, the government promised ``stern action'' if civil unrest persisted and said police were allowed to use any means necessary to quell disturbances. Opposition leaders pleaded for calm.
A government statement read on state television said 22 people were killed and 40 wounded in the capital, Addis Ababa. A count by hospital officials and The Associated Press matched that toll during the demonstrations, during which security forces fired on protesters.
The elections had been seen as a test of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's commitment to reform. The protests erupted despite a ban on demonstrations after the May 15 legislative elections.
The U.S. government has touted Meles as one of the more progressive leaders in Africa and a key partner in the war on terror. U.S. troops often deploy to Ethiopia to train with Meles' army, which patrols the porous border with Somalia.
The violence threatens to destabilize Ethiopia, one of the world's poorest countries, and raises doubt about the government's commitment to democracy and human rights. Meles is a member of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Commission on Africa, which has made recommendations to the G-8 group of the world's wealthiest countries on how to help Africa.
Ethiopia's opposition won more than 80 percent of the vote in the capital, but the government claimed victory in the elections based on results in rural areas. Opposition parties say there was widespread fraud and intimidation, charges the ruling party denies.
The head of the European Union observer mission said some opposition politicians were under house arrest.
``The mission has conveyed to the government its condemnation of the home arrests and other harassment and threatening measures imposed on the opposition ... leaders in the last days, severely curtailing their political activities,'' said Ana Gomes.
The shooting began after the army's special forces arrived at the business district where protesters were throwing stones.
The police shot at peaceful protesters, said one person lying on a hospital stretcher after emergency treatment.
``The police were running at the crowd, firing shots. I got shot in my leg,'' said the 22-year-old day laborer who identified himself by one name, Getu. ``I was just trying to get home to avoid the trouble.''

Freedom for Ethiopia - if Jimmy Carter is for it, it's probably rigged

A little birdy sent me a request to take a look at the Situation in Ethiopia.
Gateway Pundit, Publius Pundit and others have been on top of this for quite some time. Here's some background info. I'll give a brief summary next.

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/06/ethiopia-cries-for-help.html http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/06/ethiopia-election-chaos-continues.html

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/06/deaths-reported-in-ethiopian-violence.html

http://www.publiuspundit.com/?p=1177

http://www.buzzbrockway.com/?p=224

http://www.buzzbrockway.com/?p=234
For details on how the voting was rigged click here:
http://www.geocities.com/~dagmawi/Zebenya/05/Two_Incompatibe_Obj.html

For the BBC’s News Analysis:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4545711.stm

For background on the Revolutionary party and its MO:
http://ethiopundit.blogspot.com/ and
http://ethiopundit.blogspot.com/2005/06/revolutionary-measures.html

For Jimmy Carter’s endorsement of these elections: http://weichegud.blogspot.com/2005/05/game-set-match.html

The EU’s assessment of post election and Jimmy Carter’s role:
(http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050525/w052542.html)
The EU report also said U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who led a team of 50 election observers, undermined the electoral process and EU criticism with "his premature blessing of the elections and early positive assessment of the results."
Unless there is a "drastic reverse toward good democratic practice" the observer team and EU "will have to publicly denounce the situation.
"Otherwise, the EU jointly with ex-president Carter will be held largely responsible for the lack of transparency, and assumed rigging, of the elections."
The Revolutionary Party also kicked out the International Republican Institute and the NDI from Ethiopia prior to the elections so that they could not be observers.

Here’s a blog on Ethiopia: http://www.ethiopianreview.com/

Americans for Freedom - why am I writing this?

I began this site because I thought it was a good thing, that after 60 years of unfortunate American foreign policy towards the middle east and dictators who were ruining the lives of their people, we are now putting pressure on those countries. The faces of the children in Afghanistan, and of the women voters in Iraq were joyful and tremendous. Without our help, their lives and those of their children and children's children would have been nasty, brutish and short.
I do not glorify violence, and have never, on this site nor others. I feel sadness, pain and anguish for all folks who have unfortunately been cut down, our brave soldiers and those of the noncombatants. The men and women who through careful thought and purpose chose to serve their country, whether because of patriotism, want of a skill, job, adventure, or to ensure the protection of their family and country are wonderful, brave and patriotic people. They have chosen their path, and I mine. For anyone to suggest that I am less of a person because I advocate freedom for those previously oppressed is shameful.

Amazing quotes in the Jerusalem Post from the former Prime Minister of Spain, Aznar

"Europe likes appeasement very much; this is one of the most important differences between us and the States," Aznar said in an interview on the Bar-Ilan University campus. "Europeans don't like any problems. They prefer appeasement."

Aznar said Europe had no chance of independently impacting on the situation in the Middle East and would be wise to work closely with the US."Do we Europeans have the capacity to change the situation and influence this area? The answer is no," he said.
Aznar said that European policy was "not favorable to Israel," and that different political leaders in Europe used the Middle East question as a way to establish a different identity from the US.
"In Europe, Israel is not very popular, not only this government, all governments," he said. "Most Europeans support the Palestinian cause. Europeans sincerely wish for a peace agreement and support the peace process, but the reality is that the peace process is closed. At this moment I think that Europe should work closely with the States, because that is the only opportunity to change the region."
Asked if Israel should, as a result, pay attention to the US, but not necessarily to Europe, Aznar succinctly replied: "Certainly." He said that the French and Dutch rejection of the EU constitution last week provided the EU a good opportunity to reform its polices and move away from the isolationist, anti-Americanism that he said defined much of its foreign policy.
On the Middle East, he said, "The Europeans are of two minds. One is to work close with the States, and the other is to make many trips here, give many interviews, come up with many initiatives, but without results. The only possible way to make something work is to work closely with the US."
Aznar interpreted the French and Dutch rejection of the EU Constitution as an indication of "a lack of trust of Europeans in the current leadership of Europe." He said it was also a vote for a closer alliance with the US.
Aznar, whose Popular Party lost the elections in the spring of 2004 following the deadly Madrid train bombings, took a strong position against Hamas and those voices in Europe calling for a softening of the EU's position toward it.
"For me Hamas has always been a terrorist group," he said, adding that it is the Palestinian Authority's responsibility to deal with the organization.
While Aznar, when in office, was considered one of Israel's closest friends in the EU, Spanish public opinion and the Spanish media are considered by some in the Foreign Ministry as among the most unfavorable in Europe.
Asked to explain this phenomenon, Aznar said that "the situation is improving." He attributed the negative image of Israel in Spain to the fact that the countries did not establish diplomatic ties until 1986.
"It is very difficult to have a good image without diplomatic relations. It is true in general that the majority of Spain supports the Palestinians, but this position has changed over the last few years, and is not as strong as it was," he said.
"For many people in Europe, when they watch television and see the image of the democratically elected prime minister of Israel, for them the image is that of an autocrat. But when they see the image of an Islamic elected prime minister, they see someone they want to engage in dialogue."
Asked to explain the phenomenon, Aznar replied: "This is Europe."

Cinderella Man

My call - movie of the year. Wonderful, spirited, full of heart movie. Go see it today.

Here's the thing for some you negative, selfish, hateful Anti-American lurkers

Just a quick question to the hateful, selfish, Anti-American lurkers:

When you look in the mirror, 10 years from now, and realize how wrong you were to be against the spread of freedom and liberty to 50 million people, in a part of the world that has never experienced it, what are you going to do?

Yesterday was the anniversary of D-Day, a terribly tragic event with tens of thousands of dead - 10 times more than we have experienced in fighting in both Afghanistan and Iraq combined - which even today is still less than the murders on 911.

Still, fighting that battle on D-Day was the only way to end the war against Hitler, a man who we later learned had murdered more than 6 million Jews, Catholics, cripples, and Gypsies.

How can anyone be against a war after which 8 million people have voted for their freedom?
After this country has experienced so much in the struggles for freedom and votes for women and african americans, how can you be against freedom for Muslims?

I think it must be that some people, once satisfied with their own personal freedon, they become satisfied, and then ultmately selfish in not wanting to risk anything for the freedom of others, which to me is the biggest disappointment of all.

I want to thank all of my regular posters, and say bugger off the the rest of yall.

Are we winning? Or Losing?

Rick Moran, in an article, Syndicated by http://Americanthinker.com , originally written to: http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archives/2005/06/06/is-the-enemy-winning/

writes the following piece, in which his theory that America might be losing the war because we can't stay focused on beating al Qaeda. I would completely agree with his assessment....if we hadn't taken the fight to the enemy in Iraq. I argue that if we hadn't gone into Iraq to press our advantage, and begin the process of democratizing the region, we would be embroiled in many of the same arguments, only strictly about Afghanistan - and we would not have the advantages of a removed Saddam Hussein, thousands of now-dead jihadis ensnared by the fly-paper strategy, and we would have no long-term strategy to bring new light and ideas to the region.
We may be losing focus in this war, but absent the Iraq war, we would be in tire straits.

The beginning to his article below:
Is the enemy winning?
June 6th, 2005
They've had the stuffing bombed out of them in Afghanistan. They've had their financial resources revealed and weeded out, their money men arrested and thrown in jail, their supporters and enablers cowed by a law enforcement effort involving upward of 80 countries and thousands of investigators. Their leaders are cowering in fear for their lives in caves and cavities in the earth ranging from air-conditioned bunkers to spider holes. And in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iraq, and all across the continent of Europe their soldiers are systematically being hunted down and killed or captured.
And yet….
And yet al Qaeda may be winning this war. On this beautiful late spring morning in the Midwest with the promise of summer right around the corner, our enemies have much to celebrate. For the debate in the United States is no longer be what to do about this group of fanatical, murderous thugs who ruthlessly and heartlessly attacked our homeland on September 11, 2001. The debate could revolve around the question of how we can have a "return to normalcy," a question reflective of a yearning to turn back the clock to a time when we didn't have dead serious debates about whether or not the accidental splash of urine on a Koran translates as "abuse" or which interrogation methods truly constitute torture.

Geopolitics is not always cut and dry

If one is to be fair, you can never ascribe completely altrusitic motives to any country or leader, no matter how naive or "nice" that leader might be.

Jimmy Carter helped to fund and organize the jihad in Afghanistan against the USSR. Whether that was a good idea or bad, it was a geopolitical strategy, nothing more or less. It happened, that over 30 years, to result in the deaths of nearly 3,000 americans, but it was probably a good call at the time.

Overthrowing the Taliban was a reaction to 911. They housed al Qaeda, and forfeited their right to their country. This was a short term strategy to eliminate as many Qaeda as possible , and eliminate the "base" stragegy they had in place in Afghanistan.

Overthrowing Saddam was a longer term strategy to fight the ideology of hate so prevalent in the middle east.

As I mentioned before, unemployment and stagnation led to millions of people with anger and hatred towards their leaders, and because of US funding and support of this leadership, anger and hatred towards America. We had to eliminate this source of hatred, or else face unlimited source of suicide bombers. This hatred was easily, through the use of biased media etc against the US and Israel.

BY taking out Saddam, who was already a threat, we had the opportunity to unleash democracy and freedom, and with it, free media, and to show millions of muslims, that suicide bombs do not solve problems. Zarqawi has demonstrated that this is murder - murder of Muslims BY Muslims. By forcing Iraqis to govern themselves, can they understand what responsibility for action is - they never knew what responsibility is - from a governance perspective - it was always a conspiracy - the big guy is in charge - pay off his friend, and i'll be ok, etc.

I am rambling, but I think my point is valid. The US does have a motive - we dont want murderous attacks in our country. By winning your freedom, we hope to ensure our saftey.

Saddam was a risk

Saddam was a risk to the security of the US.

1. Only after the war in 1991 did we discover how close he had come to building a nuclear bomb, and how vast his stockpiles were of gases and bio weapons.
2. He systematically evaded and fought against the Security council regulations enforced on him.
3. whether he had them or not, he never would have come clean about them to us.
4. He was funding suicide bombers in Palestine to kill Israelis
5. Abu Nidal was hosted in Baghdad
5. Zarqawi was hosted in northern Iraq.
6. Ties between Qaeda and Saddam are tenuous, but he did initiate contacts witht hat group sveral times.
7. He alone among all the countries in the middle east celebrated the attacks of 911.

The progress of liberty

I fully understand that this new project that the US has embarked upon - freedom and democracy for the Middle East...will not be finished any time soon, and it will take many years until some people accept that on balance, our project was more good than bad.

But then...democracy in the US took hundreds of years...the first consitution was a failure, only fixed in 1787...and even that one gave no voting rights to males who didnt own property, no voting rights to women period - they only got them in the 1920's'. In that successful constitution, African Americans were slaves, and did not achive full freedom and citizenship until Lincoln's emancipation proclamation in the 1860's - and some say that the elimination of bias and racism from social and political environment still hasnt happened today, though it is clearly under the radar and banned from polite conversation.

Freedom democracy and liberty take time, effort, and determination. We are now on that path, however, in the middle east, and we will continue on it until all are freed, inshallah.

Abuse of Korans by Muslim detainees worse than that of the US Guards

Thanks to http://chrenkoff.blogspot.com/

In summary: Guards 5, Detainees 15.The most serious incident involved urine sprinkling a Koran. The guard who was relieving himself says he had no intention of doing anything sacrilegious - the wind carried the urine through the airwent and into the cell block. In any case, following the incident he had been transferred to the gate duty, with no further contact with prisoners.The second most serious incident involved an interrogator stepping onto a Koran. The person later apologized but as it doesn't seem to have been their only lapse in behavior, their employment was terminated.The other three cases are even more minor - certainly no "flushing Koran down the toilet" material.So what about the detainees?
Hood also said his investigation found 15 cases of detainees mishandling their own Qurans. "These included using a Quran as a pillow, ripping pages out of the Quran, attempting to flush a Quran down the toilet and urinating on the Quran," Hood's report said. It offered no possible explanation for the detainees' motives.In the most recent of those 15 cases, a detainee on Feb. 18 allegedly ripped up his Quran and handed it to a guard, stating that he had given up on being a Muslim. Several guards witnessed this, Hood reported.

Foreigners loyal to Zarqawi and bin Ladin kill more Iraqis than Americans did in the overthrow of Saddam

Iraq Says 12,000 Civilians Killed By Insurgent Violence
By VOA News 03 June 2005
The Iraqi government says insurgent violence has killed 12,000 civilians in the past 18 months.
Iraq's Interior Ministry reported the first official toll on Thursday. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said the figures show more than 20 people per day died in bombings and other attacks.
Authorities say the vast majority of victims (more than 10,000) appeared to Shi'ite Muslims.
At least 33 people were killed Thursday in a series of bomb explosions across northern Iraq.
Twelve died in the worst attack, in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, at a restaurant where bodyguards of Deputy Prime Minster Rowsch Nouri Shaways were eating.
Suicide attackers also detonated explosives in front of a state-run oil firm in Kirkuk, and near a government convoy in Baquba. And two parked motorcycles rigged with bombs exploded outside a cafe in Mosul, killing five people.