Palestine

[Haggis@wk]

The Washington Post put this report on page A16. Doesn't the creation of an Islamist terrorist force by the PA, headed by a man believed responsible or involved in the murders of three U.S. Marines, justify a little more visibility than that?

Hamas Picks Guerrilla To Lead a New Force

” The Hamas-led Palestinian Authority on Thursday named a guerrilla leader whose group has attacked Israel, and has been blamed for bombing a U.S. convoy, to head a new security force made up of Islamic militants.

Interior Minister Saed Siyam issued a decree appointing Jamal Abu Samhadana, head of the Popular Resistance Committees, as director general of his ministry. Abu Samhadana, a former security officer who was dismissed for refusing to report for duty during the uprising against Israel, was given the rank of colonel.

His group is responsible for many of the homemade rockets launched at Israel in recent weeks. It also is suspected by some of involvement in the attack on a U.S. Embassy convoy in Gaza that killed three Marine security guards in October 2003.”

I especially love the use of the word “guerrilla” instead of “murderer” or “terrorist”

I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on the WAPO, at least they reported it. I haven’t seen it anywhere else.

[bignaf]

it doesn't really matter. all the current PA leadership are murderers. it doesn't mattter which murderer gets what job.

[dai bread]

You need somebody like that to bring that mob under control. To what end is another matter.

Hamas wouldn't be the first terrorists to moderate themselves once they achieve legitimate office. Post-colonial Africa was full of them; in fact at one stage it seemed that a prerequisite for leadership was a spell in jail under the British colonial administration. Mind you, it's arguable that those leaders just switched to terrorising their own people.

Then there's the IRA; and Israel.

There's also the matter of funding the Palestinian Government. Fund Hamas? I don't think so.

[bignaf]

by choosing the Hamas, the palestinian people clearly show that they are the problem, not their leadership.

[DavidS]

Originally posted by dai bread:
You need somebody like that to bring that mob under control. To what end is another matter.

Hamas wouldn't be the first terrorists to moderate themselves once they achieve legitimate office. Post-colonial Africa was full of them; in fact at one stage it seemed that a prerequisite for leadership was a spell in jail under the British colonial administration. Mind you, it's arguable that those leaders just switched to terrorising their own people.

Then there's the IRA; and Israel.

There's also the matter of funding the Palestinian Government. Fund Hamas? I don't think so.

When may we expect the Hamas mob to start moderating themselves? So far the reverse seems to be the case.
Why do I have a feeling that they are supported, aided and abetted - not to say incited - by the current "legitimate" Iranian leadership (and those of other "radical" countries here and there)?

<small>[ 04-23-2006, 12:34 AM: Message edited by: DavidS ]</small>

[dai bread]

Give them a chance, DavidS. They'll moderate; otherwise they'll have to become another power-hungry dictatorship. They will alienate their people. That is on the cards, of course.

As for the little fellow in Iran- of course he's stirring up trouble at every opportunity. Every full-length photo I've seen of him (not many) have shown a small, very slight man. He seems to have a severe case of Small Man Syndrome. Americans should understand that. There enough large people there, as here, to make the syndrome well known.

[bignaf]

incidentally, do the aborigines in New Zealand have autonomy?

[DavidS]

Give them a chance, DavidS.

I wouldn't mind giving them a chance, if only they'd give a better chance to some of the qassam rocket and suicide bomber targets to survive.

They'll moderate; otherwise they'll have to become another power-hungry dictatorship. They will alienate their people. That is on the cards, of course.

And who is going to pay the price for this process?

As for the little fellow in Iran- of course he's stirring up trouble at every opportunity. Every full-length photo I've seen of him (not many) have shown a small, very slight man. He seems to have a severe case of Small Man Syndrome. Americans should understand that. There enough large people there, as here, to make the syndrome well known.

The fact that he needs to see a psychiatrist about his height-challenged personality inferiority complex doesn't make the world we live in a safer place.

[bignaf]

that small man is in power, the fact that we understand what makes him crazy doesn't make him less dangerous.

[jamiebk]

[quote="dai bread"]You need somebody like that to bring that mob under control. To what end is another matter.

Hamas wouldn't be the first terrorists to moderate themselves once they achieve legitimate office. Post-colonial Africa was full of them; in fact at one stage it seemed that a prerequisite for leadership was a spell in jail under the British colonial administration. Mind you, it's arguable that those leaders just switched to terrorising their own people.
quote]

Hey, this sounds like a perfect job for the US... Let's get Iran while we're at it...Yeah baby...the world police at work in the world (sarcasm intended)

[DavidS]

Hey, this sounds like a perfect job for the US... Let's get Iran while we're at it...Yeah baby...the world police at work in the world (sarcasm intended)

Let's be fair and recognise the good job the USA did in helping to rid the world of scourges such as the Kaiser and Hitler.

[dai bread]

incidentally, do the aborigines in New Zealand have autonomy?

Of course not. We're one nation, even if we are two (and more these days) races. Under the Treaty of Waitangi Maori ceded sovereignty to the British Crown, which, by various statutes, notably the Statute of Westminster, passed it back to us. "Us" includes Maori, by virtue of Article 3 of the Treaty.

http://www.treatyofwaitangi.govt.nz/treaty/index.php

I might add that 200 years of interbreeding would pose problems if anyone wanted to single out Maori.

The history of colonisation in NZ is better than most, but it's still been very traumatic for the Maori. They appear to be coming to terms with it now, thanks very largely to the interbreeding mentioned above. There is a Maori Party in Parliament, and under our MMP system they wield a lot of influence.

There is also a Maori TV channel, which is really bi-lingual, as Maori-speakers are. It contains some excellent programs, sourced worldwide.

Maori social and academic statistics are still worse than those for the rest of us, but those who are not in the statistics are doing very nicely thank you.

[dai bread]

Hovering the mouse over the URL button to get a title doesn't seem to work for me.

[Haggis@wk]

A Judge Stuns Al-Arian With Maximum Time

Or, the PATRIOT Act justified.

”A federal judge yesterday lambasted a former Florida college professor, Sami Al-Arian, as a liar and "master manipulator," before sentencing him to nearly five years in prison for providing support to a Middle Eastern terrorist group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Under a plea deal finalized last month, Al-Arian, 48, agreed to admit guilt and accept a possible sentence of 46 to 57 months and eventual deportation from America. Prosecutors agreed to join defense attorneys in recommending a sentence at the low end of the range, but the judge, James Moody Jr., ignored those suggestions and imposed the maximum sentence allowed by the plea bargain.

Al-Arian has been in custody since he was accused of being the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in America and arrested in February 2003. A six-month trial overseen by Judge Moody last year resulted in Al-Arian's acquittal on eight charges against him and a hung jury on nine others. In a blow to the prosecution, none of the four defendants tried was convicted on any count and two of Al-Arian's co-defendants were acquitted outright.
The former University of South Florida professor's family and allies had hoped his guilty plea would lead to his speedy release and deportation, but the sentence imposed yesterday, when reduced by time served and other credits, means Al-Arian is likely to spend at least another year in jail before being handed over to immigration authorities.

At a court hearing yesterday morning, Judge Moody coupled the tough sentence with a stinging verbal rebuke of Al-Arian. The judge scoffed at many of the explanations and defenses Al-Arian has offered since news reports emerged in the mid-1990s alleging that the computer science professor and his Islamic studies think tank had ties to terrorism.

"You are a master manipulator. You looked your neighbors in the eyes and said you had nothing to do with Palestinian Islamic Jihad. This trial exposed that as a lie," Judge Moody said. "The evidence was clear in the this case that you were a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad."
When evidence emerged at the trial of Al-Arian's contacts with leaders of the terror group, his attorneys argued that he was involved solely in the group's nonviolent wing and that his fund-raising activities were charitable in nature.

Judge Moody also called that account "a lie." He noted that Al-Arian worked intensely to restructure Palestinian Islamic Jihad to preserve financial support from Iran. However, the judge said Al-Arian did nothing to oppose the group's terrorist acts and even laughed when discussing the suicide bombings in conversations secretly wiretapped by the FBI. "When it came to blowing up women and children, did you leap into action then?" Judge Moody asked rhetorically. "No. You lifted not one finger, made not one phone call."

Judge Moody faulted Al-Arian for condoning terrorist bombings in the Middle East, while raising his children comfortably in America. "Your children attend the finest universities this country had to offer while you raise money to blow up the children of others," the judge said.”

Recall that al-Arian operated with impunity from his academic perch on American soil for years while American intelligence monitored his every move -- until the passage of the PATRIOT Act enabled his prosecution based on the intelligence work.

Why is there so little press about this guy?

[DavidS]

Why is there so little press about this guy?

Why is there so little press about rats and other vermin?

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Why is there so little press about this guy?

Because the press would generally rather attack elected officials. Why, I can't explain.

I also don't understand why fanatics and anarchists are somehow respectable, as long as they're paid by a university.