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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck who wrote (18502)	12/16/2002 6:20:06 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 23908

Islamic Group Shows Battle Videos on Web By BORZOU DARAGAHI Associated Press Writer December 15, 2002, 12:02 PM EST SULAYMANIA, Iraq -- A militant Islamic group operating in an autonomous region of northern Iraq -- and accused of ties to al-Qaida -- has placed videos of its battle with a Kurdish militia on its Web site. Ansar al-Islam's www.ansarislam.com shows the ferocity of a battle earlier this month that left scores dead. In one scene, as a barrage of rockets hits a hilltop target, a voice cries "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great." The group's Web site claimed it killed 103 and wounded 117 soldiers of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, while only four of its own fighters were killed in the Dec. 4 battle. Patriotic Union officials said 53 of their fighters were killed and 31 wounded, while 21 to 25 Ansar rebels died in the initial battle and a counterassault. One of those killed, according to the PUK, was Abdulla Khalifana, Ansar's deputy commander in chief. E-mails sent to an address on Ansar's Web site and to the site administrators went unanswered. Battle scenes, either video or still, have become a common propaganda tool of groups like Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrilla organization that puts such footage on its own satellite television station, Afghanistan's Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida. "Ansar is a deadly organization that wants to promote fear among its opponents using every means," said Barham Salih, a leader of the Patriotic Union. Islamic militants have been active in Kurdish-dominated northern Iraq, which is controlled by the Patriotic Union and the Kurdistan Democratic Party under U.S.-British protection since a failed uprising against Saddam Hussein in 1991. PUK officials say Ansar al-Islam is an offshoot of al-Qaida. Ansar officials say that some of their members have trained with bin Laden's group in Afghanistan, but they're not under al-Qaida's control. The Kurdish-controlled provinces in northern Iraq have become relatively prosperous enclaves. Major cities have satellite-powered Internet cafes and nascent Internet service providers offer home connections to the Net. Software stores sell pirated copies of sophisticated Web design programs for several dollars a piece. Computer training centers have opened. Even with battle videos, Ansar's site in Kurdish, Arabic and Farsi -- the English page is still under construction -- may find it difficult to compete for the attention of the mostly young Kurds who frequent Internet cafes here. Chat rooms are more popular. The two main Kurdish parties also have extensive Web sites. newsday.com

To: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck who wrote (18502)	12/17/2002 4:25:59 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23908

America can't have it both ways: fostering Judeofascism abroad will inescapably backlash at home... That's the real, if hidden, meaning of the Lott controversy: December 17, 2002 White House turns up the heat on Lott By Bill Sammon THE WASHINGTON TIMES The White House yesterday repeated its sharp criticism of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, calling his praise of Sen. Strom Thurmond's 1948 presidential campaign "repugnant," and declined to defend him against a challenge to his leadership. Some Republicans began to grumble that the administration's harsh criticism of Mr. Lott, after first offering only mild criticism and assurances of support, had prolonged the controversy and emboldened critics on both sides of the aisle. A source close to the White House rebutted claims that the president had betrayed Mr. Lott by calling his remarks at Mr. Thurmond's birthday party "offensive" and "wrong" in a speech Thursday. "I don't think this is throwing somebody to the wolves," said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Look, there's always people who have their opinions, especially on presidents - they're Monday-morning quarterbacks." White House officials say the president's scolding of Mr. Lott was necessary because he had inflamed racial tensions with a remark that his critics - first among them the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton - interpreted as an endorsement of segregation. Democrats and newspaper and television reporters asked him to repudiate Mr. Lott's remarks. Several Republican senators who had publicly excused Mr. Lott's remark at Mr. Thurmond's 100th birthday party say they feel "blindsided" now by the president's belated and blunt attack on Mr. Lott. One Republican aide on Capitol Hill said Mr. Bush "cut the feet out from under" these senators by remaining silent for a full week after Mr. Lott's comments, and then to go on the attack. Party strategists note that Republicans are less likely than Democrats to protect one of their own who is caught up by controversy. "We do circle the wagons, but we tend to point the guns in," said Republican strategist Rich Galen. "There's a difference in approach because there is a double standard." [...] washtimes.com Besides, don't you find it worrisome that G.W. Bush casts himself more and more as a Republican JFK of sorts? I mean, considering the tragic fate the real JFK met with....