News, Prophecy and other

[Soldier4Christ]

75,000 Forces to Be Deployed in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Under an ambitious plan to bolster security in Baghdad, some 75,000 Iraqi and multinational forces will be deployed in the capital beginning Wednesday, a top Iraqi police official said. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki promised to show "no mercy" to terrorists and said the security plan would include a curfew and ban on weapons.

Facing unrelenting violence following the death of terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi last week, al-Maliki said the crackdown in Baghdad "will provide security and confront the terrorism and ... enable Iraqis to live in peace in Baghdad."

"The raids during this plan will be very tough ... because there will be no mercy toward those who show no mercy to our people," he said in a news release distributed Tuesday.

Al-Maliki said the plan will include securing roads into and out of Baghdad, banning people from carrying weapons and implementing a 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew, but he did not provide more details.

Maj. Gen. Mahdi al-Gharrawi, the commander of public order forces under the Interior Ministry, told The Associated Press that the plan would launched Wednesday at 6 a.m. (10 p.m. Tuesday EDT). He said the 75,000-strong force would be the biggest operation of its kind in Baghdad since the United States handed over sovereignty to Iraq in June 2004.

He also warned that insurgents were likely to step up activity ahead of the crackdown and as revenge for the death last week of al-Zarqawi, head of the group Al-Qaida in Iraq. Al-Gharrawi said the ground forces could call in air cover if needed.

"We are expecting clashes will erupted in the predominantly Sunni areas," he said. "The terrorists will escalate their violence especially during the first week as revenge for the killing of al-Zarqawi."

He also said "Baghdad is divided according to geographical area and we know the al-Qaida leaders in each area."

Iraqis have complained of random violence and detentions by Iraqi forces, especially the police, which are widely believed to have been infiltrated by so-called sectarian death squads, and the government has indicated it plans to introduce a single uniform to distinguish legitimate forces.

Al-Gharrawi said there were plans for such a uniform in the coming days.

"There will be a special uniform with special badges to be put on the vehicles as a sign that it belongs to our forces," he said, adding the prime minister would decide when to end the crackdown.

Iraqi army Brig. Jalil Khalaf also said the plan would include more checkpoints and raids against suspected insurgent hideouts.

"The terrorists cannot face such power," he said.

Al-Maliki is seeking to build on the momentum generated by al-Zarqawi's death and the appointment of new security ministers. The prime minister also planned to talk to President Bush later Tuesday via a secure video teleconference.

Bush sought to reassure Iraqis on Monday that the United States stands ready to help their new government, but he cautioned that success largely depends on Baghdad's ability to secure the nation and care for its citizens.

"The best way to win this war against an insurgency is to stand up a unity government which is capable of defending itself, but also providing tangible benefits to the people," Bush said at the start of a two-day strategy session on Iraq at Camp David.

More than 200 raids have been carried out since al-Zarqawi's death on Wednesday, some directly connected to what the U.S. military has described as a "treasure trove" of intelligence gleaned from his safehouse. U.S. troops killed seven insurgents in a raid Monday that also left two children dead not far from the U.S. bombing raid that killed al-Zarqawi.

"As far as the Al Qaida network, we're ... cautiously optimistic that we have been very successful thus far in the ongoing operations over the last five days," Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said Monday. "We realize this is not going to end the insurgency and that it's really going to take the people of Iraq making that decision."

Caldwell also said a "high-value individual" with a $50,000 price on his head was detained. He did not name the suspect, but said he was picked up based on a tip.

[Soldier4Christ]

Olmert Nixes Idea of Complete Withdrawal

 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that his country will never agree to pull out of all of the West Bank because the borders that existed before Israel captured the territory in 1967 could not be defended.

Speaking to lawmakers at Britain's parliament, Olmert said he was prepared to negotiate an agreement with any Palestinian government that renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel and stands by previous agreements between the two sides. But Israel will "never agree to pull out of all of the territories, because the borders of 1967 are indefensible," he said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Abbas: Israel trying to wipe Palestinians out

Palestinian president responds to killing of 11 Palestinians, eight of them civilians; Islamic jihad threatens to carry out terror attacks
 
The Islamic jihad is threatening a 'painful revenge' following the killing of 11 Palestinians, 8 of them civilians, among them two children, in the Salah- al-Din route in the Gaza refugee camp of Jabalya.

In a statement, the Islamic Jihad said: "Today we depart from our martyrs and tomorrow Israel will depart from its dead."

 

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of trying to "wipe out the Palestinian people."

 

"Every day there are dead and injured, all innocent, all passersbys. The Israelis want to destroy the Palestinian people, but we will stick to our land. We want to establish a state and live in peace," he said.

The al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, is threatening to respond by carrying out terror attacks inside Israel.

 

Abu Ahmed, spokesman for the Brigades, said that "the response of our organization will be deterring and rattling."

 
"Zionist enemy will pay heavy price'

 

Abu Ahmed said that his organization will carry on with attacks despite assassination operations.

 
"This is our strategic option. As we responded in Hadera and Tel Aviv, we will respond with force in Haifa and Jerusalem, and in every place in which the Zionist enemy can be found," he said.

 
Kader Habib, of the organization's political leadership, said that "the Zionist enemy will pay a heavy price for his acts of massacre."

 
Habib said the Palestinian people will not surrender and will carry on its struggle.

 
"Today we depart from our martyrs and they will depart from their casualties in Tel Aviv and all of Israel," Habib said.

 

He added that "the Zionist enemy insists on spilling Palestinian blood and we insist on continuing the jihad and resistance."

 
"With the help of Allah, resistance group will respond with power. All options are open," he vowed.

A cabinet minister from Hamas, Yousef Rizka, condemned what he called "the continuous series of Israeli massacres of our Palestinian people."

 

"I call on the international community to immediately intervene to protect the Palestinian people from the increasing aggression of the Israeli occupation army, which will definitely provoke a response that will engage the entire region," Rizka said.

[Shammu]

Amen brother, a list of gay-marriage proponents would be an excellant idea. This is the reason why the next car I get will not be a Ford as Ford Motor Co is now supporting a number of homosexual organizations and when confronted on it their response was that will continue to do so even if it means less business for them. 

I will not be getting a Ford, for my next car either.

[Shammu]

Ex-priest rethinks Bible's authority
Posted 6/12/2006 10:29 PM ET
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
Barbara Brown Taylor, 55, aspires to be a "holy troublemaker."

But to do it, she had to relinquish her ordination as an Episcopal priest, says Taylor, who describes her decision in Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith.

Now, on Sundays she writes, prepares the religion courses she teaches at Piedmont College, or works with her husband on their northwest Georgia farm.

She drifts by churches some Sundays and speaks on the national Episcopal circuit. But it's hard to find a church home when she sees some lose sight of "the whole purpose of the Bible ... to convince people to set the written word down in order to become living words in the world for God's sake."

Instead, she says, she sees too many people sink into vitriol, wielding words of faith as weapons.

"Jesus knew the Hebrew Scriptures, and he departed from them. He was not faithful to the Scripture of that time, and today the Bible teaches me the book is not the final authority. ... The spirit is moving; Scripture is not the only measure."

As a priest, she never blessed same-sex unions, since her bishop opposed this. But Taylor believes the clergy should talk about "the virtues of righteous sexual relationships of any kind and bless them."

God is found wherever people are "non-abusive, mutually self-giving, honest and monogamous."

Taylor remains a vocal Episcopalian, staying in the fold because, "If you leave, no one has to deal with you anymore."

Ex-priest rethinks Bible's authority

[Shammu]

I've found God, says man who cracked the genome

By Steven Swinford
The Sunday Times
June 11, 2006

THE scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome is to publish a book explaining why he now believes in the existence of God and is convinced that miracles are real.

Francis Collins, the director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute, claims there is a rational basis for a creator and that scientific discoveries bring man "closer to God".

His book, The Language of God, to be published in September, will reopen the age-old debate about the relationship between science and faith. "One of the great tragedies of our time is this impression that has been created that science and religion have to be at war," said Collins, 56.

"I don't see that as necessary at all and I think it is deeply disappointing that the shrill voices that occupy the extremes of this spectrum have dominated the stage for the past 20 years."

For Collins, unravelling the human genome did not create a conflict in his mind. Instead, it allowed him to "glimpse at the workings of God".

"When you make a breakthrough it is a moment of scientific exhilaration because you have been on this search and seem to have found it," he said. "But it is also a moment where I at least feel closeness to the creator in the sense of having now perceived something that no human knew before but God knew all along.

"When you have for the first time in front of you this 3.1 billion-letter instruction book that conveys all kinds of information and all kinds of mystery about humankind, you can't survey that going through page after page without a sense of awe. I can't help but look at those pages and have a vague sense that this is giving me a glimpse of God's mind."

Collins joins a line of scientists whose research deepened their belief in God. Isaac Newton, whose discovery of the laws of gravity reshaped our understanding of the universe, said: "This most beautiful system could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful being."

Although Einstein revolutionised our thinking about time, gravity and the conversion of matter to energy, he believed the universe had a creator. "I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details," he said. However Galileo was famously questioned by the inquisition and put on trial in 1633 for the "heresy" of claiming that the earth moved around the sun.

Among Collins's most controversial beliefs is that of "theistic evolution", which claims natural selection is the tool that God chose to create man. In his version of the theory, he argues that man will not evolve further.

"I see God's hand at work through the mechanism of evolution. If God chose to create human beings in his image and decided that the mechanism of evolution was an elegant way to accomplish that goal, who are we to say that is not the way," he says.

"Scientifically, the forces of evolution by natural selection have been profoundly affected for humankind by the changes in culture and environment and the expansion of the human species to 6 billion members. So what you see is pretty much what you get."

Collins was an atheist until the age of 27, when as a young doctor he was impressed by the strength that faith gave to some of his most critical patients.

"They had terrible diseases from which they were probably not going to escape, and yet instead of railing at God they seemed to lean on their faith as a source of great comfort and reassurance," he said. "That was interesting, puzzling and unsettling."

He decided to visit a Methodist minister and was given a copy of C S Lewis's Mere Christianity, which argues that God is a rational possibility. The book transformed his life. "It was an argument I was not prepared to hear," he said. "I was very happy with the idea that God didn't exist, and had no interest in me. And yet at the same time, I could not turn away."

His epiphany came when he went hiking through the Cascade Mountains in Washington state. He said: "It was a beautiful afternoon and suddenly the remarkable beauty of creation around me was so overwhelming, I felt, 'I cannot resist this another moment'."

Collins believes that science cannot be used to refute the existence of God because it is confined to the "natural" world. In this light he believes miracles are a real possibility. "If one is willing to accept the existence of God or some supernatural force outside nature then it is not a logical problem to admit that, occasionally, a supernatural force might stage an invasion," he says.

I can't post the link because of a paypal link asking for donations.

[Shammu]

Church leaders plead for return of religious assemblies in schools

· Concern for pupils' spiritual and moral growth
· More training urged for heads and teaching staff

Rebecca Smithers, education editor
Tuesday June 13, 2006
The Guardian

It used to be the starting point of every child's school day. Morning assembly with a rousing spiritual theme. But the practice is now so out of vogue that religious leaders have pleaded for it to be put back on the timetable.

In a joint letter to the new education secretary, Alan Johnson, senior representatives of the Anglican, Catholic, Methodist and Baptist churches said secondary schools were limiting children's "spiritual and moral" development by failing to organise daily acts of worship.

The group said that headteachers and teaching staff needed more training in how to run religious assemblies and called on Mr Johnson to act to restore "an important part of pupils' entitlement in school".

By law schools must organise daily acts of worship, which are "wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character".

While primary schools usually fulfil their duties, often with whole school assemblies, many state secondaries do not, the churches said. Under the law schools do not have to organise large assemblies but can hold collective worship in smaller class groups.

The Rt Rev Kenneth Stevenson, Bishop of Portsmouth and chairman of the churches' joint education policy committee, admitted that such daily worship could be "a tough demand" to organise. But he said: "Schools and colleges that invest in the activity are startled at the impact it can make on the rest of the school day - and the attitudes of their students. We hope that the message of our letter is heard and acted upon."

In a joint statement accompanying the letter, the churches said collective worship helped "equip young people to understand more about themselves, foster a sense of the aesthetic and to cope with life-changing moments".

Many schools were failing to provide the opportunity for collective worship - to the detriment of children's education, they said. "We are concerned at the high level of non-compliance with the law on collective worship in secondary community schools and the lack of engagement with this issue.

"We strongly support the continuation of collective worship in all schools, recognising the major contribution it makes to the spiritual and moral development of pupils, which is a prime goal of education," the statement said.

It said teachers needed more training and the government should issue a clear statement to schools, setting out their legal obligations.

Currently, training for teachers and headteachers does not cover this issue, the statement said. "Consequently, teachers and headteachers are insufficiently prepared to fulfil their role in preparing and leading collective worship."

But the British Humanist Association also wrote to Mr Johnson, urging him to change the law to allow schools to provide inclusive assemblies, and to resist the church leaders' recommendation that "collective worship" should be more strictly enforced.

Their letter said: "Good inclusive assemblies have a vital educational role - they can bring a school together in celebration of common values, and they can assist pupils in exploring questions of purpose, value and meaning together. These aims, however, are not best served by a law that requires acts of collective worship. A school may do many things collectively but, lacking a shared religion, it is incoherent to require that they 'worship' together."

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said: "We agree that collective acts of worship are important to help promote tolerance and understanding among children and young people. Religious education and collective worship are already a statutory part of the basic school curriculum.

"Every maintained school, by law, must provide religious education and a daily act of collective worship for all its pupils. It is the responsibility of the headteacher, governors and local authorities to make sure these are carried out."

Church leaders plead for return of religious assemblies in schools

[Shammu]

Howard pushes to ban same-sex unions
Samantha Maiden, Political correspondent
June 07, 2006
JOHN Howard will act to block the move in the nation's capital to allow gays and lesbians to celebrate civil unions, on the grounds it is an attack on the institution of marriage.

The Prime Minister confirmed yesterday that federal cabinet had agreed to overturn the ACT legislation that for the first time grants same-sex couples the right to celebrate civil unions.

It was not clear last night whether couples would still be able to celebrate civil unions before the legislation is disallowed on August 1.

"The legislation by its own admission is an attempt to equate civil unions with marriage," Mr Howard said. "We don't find that acceptable."

The dramatic decision to overturn the civil union laws could be tested in a divisive vote in federal parliament if an MP or senator moves to disallow the Howard Government's decision.

The commonwealth will intervene under section 35 of the ACT Self-Government Act, which states the Governor-General, on the advice of the executive council, may disallow an ACT enactment within six months.

Despite claims the legislation would allow teenagers to celebrate civil unions at a younger age than heterosexuals are allowed to marry, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the fundamental concern was the attempt to equate civil unions with marriage. He accused the ACT of being "deliberately provocative" with the legislation.

"The Marriage Act makes it clear that marriage is a union between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others," Mr Ruddock said.

"That definition reflects the traditional understanding and was supported bipartisanly in 2004. The ACT's Civil Unions Act creates a statutory scheme in recognition of relationships which bear a striking resemblance to the commonwealth's regulation of marriage."

After speaking to Mr Howard last night, ACT Liberal senator Gary Humphries said he had deep concerns about the intervention in the autonomy of the territory to make laws. "Having been granted self-government, the ACT ought to be able to make decisions without the federal parliament pushing it around and telling it what it can and cannot do," he said.

"Although I may not agree with the legislation, I don't think it's right for the Government to tell the ACT what it can do in a way it wouldn't be able to with the states."

ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell said he was "very angry" about the decision.

"This is not about the institution of marriage, this is about the raw politics of John Howard and Philip Ruddock's conservative social agenda," he said.

"I think thousands of gay and lesbian couples in meaningful, committed, loving relationships will be angry and insulted that John Howard is seeking to impose his moral agenda on their relationships.

"I will be lobbying federal members of parliament to seek to disallow it. There should be a debate in the federal parliament on this - that's what happened in relation to euthanasia."

Queensland Liberal MP Warren Entsch, who has proposed a private member's bill to recognise same-sex relationships and remove legal discrimination, said he had "mixed feelings" about the ACT legislation.

"I am hoping still they can be the first ones to introduce a civil union bill," he said.

"I am hoping there can be further adjustment. I have no hesitation in continuing my push to end legal discrimination. I hope in the near future South Australia and Victoria will bring on similar legislation. Tasmania was able to get their legislation through without any hassles."

Tasmanian gay activist Rodney Croome said same-sex and heterosexual couples had been able to sign a relationship register since 2004 that granted their relationship the same protection as marriage or de facto status.

"It has proved very important in allowing not only same-sex couples but other couples to provide a sound legal basis, particularly if they want to start a family," he said.

Howard pushes to ban same-sex unions

[Shammu]

Gunmen torch Palestinian PM's office in Ramallah
12 Jun 2006 17:58:37 GMT
Source: Reuters
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RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 12 (Reuters) - Palestinian gunmen set fire to the office of the Palestinian prime minister in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday, witnesses said.

The office was unoccupied at the time. The prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of the ruling Hamas Islamic militant group, is based in the Gaza Strip and does not have access to the Ramallah office because of Israeli curbs on his travel.

Gunmen torch Palestinian PM's office in Ramallah

[Shammu]

13/06/2006            
Olmert: I won't divide Jerusalem or give away Temple Mount
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press

LONDON - Speaking publicly for the first time about the future of Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Jewish community leaders in London on Monday that he had no intention of dividing the capital or giving away sovereignty of the Temple Mount.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair refrained earlier Monday from endorsing Olmert's plan for a unilateral withdrawal, calling instead for a "negotiated two-state solution," to the Middle East conflict, something which he said the world agreed upon.

Olmert said Monday after talks with Blair that Israel is "prepared to pull out from most" of the West Bank and create a "contiguous" Palestinian state.

At a press conference after the talks, Olmert told reporters that the "basic precondition for future negotiations was to be the end of terror in the Middle East," but said that he would "make every possible effort to engage in dialogue with the Palestinians."

The "first priority for Israel is negotiations," Olmert added, saying "the status quo is the enemy of everything that we are in favor of."

He said that Israel is "ready to go a long way in order to convince [the Palestinians] that it is preferable and worthwhile to meet... the road map."

"Our task in the international community is to try and give the best chance possible for a negotiated settlement to take place," Blair said.

He said that he told then newly inaugurated U.S. President George W. Bush in 2001 that, "you've got to get behind a two-state solution."

Turning to the issue of Iran and its nuclear program, the Olmert said that Israel "will not tolerate nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran."

"For reasons which I do not think I have to explain, [a nuclear Iran] is a serious danger to the entire world," Olmert said. He added that he was prepared to take "extraordinary measures in order to stop it."

Ahead of the talks, Blair earlier Monday underlined his preference for a negotiated settlement between Israel and Palestinians.

"We recognize equally that there has to be a viable partner to negotiate with on the Palestinian side, but we believe negotiated settlement is in the interests of all sides," said Blair's spokesman, who speaks on condition of anonymity as he is a nonpolitical civil servant.

"Let's be clear, everyone knows what the answer to the issue is, it is a two state solution, and therefore the sooner both sides start talking about that, the better," the spokesman said.

During their meeting Monday, Olmert was to explain the convergence plan, which includes evacuating most of the West Bank settlements and redefining the border along the lines of the separation fence.

Olmert was expected to tell Blair he would prefer to hold negotiations with the Palestinian Authority but will stand firm on the PA fulfilling the conditions of the Quartet and the demands outlined by the road map peace plan: recognition of Israel, fighting terror and upholding previous agreements.

Blair and Olmert have met three times in the past - twice in London and once in Jerusalem - and they have spoken a few times on the phone in the past few months. Olmert considers Blair a personal friend and a British source said Monday's meeting is expected to be successful. The two leaders will hold a news conference at 10 Downing Street, an unusual event when it comes to Israeli prime ministers.

Friday's incident in the Gaza Strip, in which seven members of a Palestinian family were killed on the beach, is casting a pall over the visit.

"There are bound to be reactions in the British press," Olmert said en route to London. "But one cannot expect to be exempt from this. It must be put in the right proportion and context."

He described the incident as "regrettable and tragic" but said he would not comment until the official investigation was completed. He said it was doubtful the Palestinians were killed by an Israeli shell. "Past experience has taught that it is not impossible that a myth would be created that has no relation to facts," he said.

Olmert said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had contacted him about the incident and he informed him of what he knew so far.

A source in the prime minister's entourage said it was possible no one would know the truth because the Palestinians had not agreed to autopsies and the wounded who reached Israel had had the shrapnel removed from their bodies.

Asked about his daughter's participation in Saturday night's demonstration outside the chief of staff's house to protest the Gaza incident, Olmert replied: "Each one of us has the right to express his views."

The prime minister's entourage is limited. His wife, Aliza, did not join him this time and he sat alone in the plane, listening to music. He is accompanied by the head of his staff, Yoram Turbowicz, his military adjutant, his deputy head of staff, his bureau chief, his media adviser and his adviser on political affairs. Britain's ambassador to Israel, Simon McDonald, and the Israeli ambassador to London, Zvi Hefetz, also accompanied him on the plane.

Olmert will also meet Monday with the leader of the opposition, David Cameron.

Olmert: I won't divide Jerusalem or give away Temple Mount

[Soldier4Christ]

West faces another
'barbarian invasion'
Analyst compares threat to border breach
that preceded collapse of Roman Empire

Western civilization faces a threat on par with the barbarian invasions that destroyed the Roman Empire in the 5th century, warns one of Britain's most senior military strategists.

Immigrant groups from the Third World with little allegiance to their host countries could undermine Europe in a "reverse colonization," said Rear Admiral Chris Parry, according to the Times of London.

"Globalization makes assimilation seem redundant and old-fashioned . . . [the process] acts as a sort of reverse colonization, where groups of people are self-contained, going back and forth between their countries, exploiting sophisticated networks and using instant communication on phones and the Internet," he said.

Describing the threats as the new Goths and Vandals, Parry said that along with the migrations could come "barbary" pirates from northern African attacking yachts and beaches in the Mediterranean within 10 years.

"At some time in the next 10 years it may not be safe to sail a yacht between Gibraltar and Malta," said the admiral, according to the Times.

Parry, head of the development, concepts and doctrine center at Britain's Ministry of Defense, delivered the warnings at a conference last week of senior officers and industry experts.

He is responsible for identifying the greatest challenges facing national security policy in the future.

Lawmakers in Britain have made ancient Rome a serious subject of discussion this year, the London paper noted, including a book and television series by parliamentary deputy Boris Johnson drawing parallels between the European Union and the Roman Empire.

Various regions of Europe, Parry said, are threatened by factors such as radical Islam, agricultural decline, booming youth populations, water shortages and rising sea levels.

He believes that from 2012 to 2018 the current global power structure likely will crumble as a result of "irregular activity" such as terrorism, organized crime and "white companies" of mercenaries burgeoning in lawless areas.

Meanwhile, nations such as China, India, Brazil and Iran will challenge America's sole superpower status, Parry said.

The effects will be magnified as borders become more porous and some areas lose government control.

"When one thinks of 20,000 so-called jihadists currently fly-papered in Iraq, one shudders to think where they might go next," he said.

The mass population movements could lead to the "Rome scenario," he asserts, referring to the collapse of the western Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries when groups such as Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Suevi, Huns and Vandals flooded its borders.

Rome eventually was taken over in 455 in an invasion from northern Africa by Geiseric the Lame, king of the Alans and Vandals.

Parry estimates in Britain alone there already are 70 diasporas.

Speaking with tongue-in-cheek, Parry said some of the consequences of this scenario would be beyond human imagination to address, including, "No wind on land and sea; third of population dies instantly; perpetual darkness; sores; Euphrates dries up 'to clear way for kings from the east'; earth's core opens."

[Soldier4Christ]

Iraq mulls amnesty offer to insurgents

The Iraqi government is preparing a national reconciliation initiative that could include a conditional amnesty offer and negotiations with some armed insurgent groups to be implemented alongside a tougher security plan.

Senior Iraqi officials on Tuesday said the initiative aimed to capitalise on the elimination of al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the completion of the new national unity government that includes leaders from the Sunni Arab community that dominates the insurgency.

It will be combined with massive new security operations. Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, is set to launch this week a crackdown in the capital, deploying tens of thousands of troops and imposing a night-time curfew.

A statement from Mr Maliki on Tuesday said “the raids during this plan will be very tough...because there will be no mercy towards those who show no mercy to our people”, according to news agency reports from Baghdad.

Muwaffak al-Rubbaie, Iraq’s national security adviser, said the government would also soon announce a “dynamic and detailed plan” that would lead to the release of detainees and offer a conditional amnesty to insurgents.

The initiative would also review the de-Ba’athification strategy – the controversial weeding out of former Ba’ath party members from the administration – and “welcome those who lay down their arms”, he added, speaking by telephone from Baghdad.

“We believe this is a golden opportunity,” Mr Rubbaie said. “Zarqawi used to spread fear among people, including insurgents, and the political atmosphere now is very suitable for an outreach to the insurgents.”

The government is considering publishing a list of 46 wanted militants and defining them as the only real enemies of Iraqis. “We are identifying our enemy and saying we’re not against any community,” Mr Rubbaie said.

Other Iraqi officials, however, cautioned that the reconciliation strategy was still under discussion and no decision had yet been taken on the main elements.

Opinion within the government appears to be divided over who should benefit from an amnesty, and Mr Maliki has vowed that those who have killed would be brought to justice.

“There has to be some flexibility in an amnesty but the lines are not clearly defined yet,” a senior official said.

The official said another key challenge was to identify nationalist insurgent leaders ready for dialogue in a diffuse insurgent network where foreign and local extremists are difficult to isolate. The forum for talks with armed groups, however, is likely to be an Arab League-sponsored conference that has just been delayed until the first week in August.

According to Hoshyar Zebari, the foreign minister, the Arab League will give the government suggested names of insurgent leaders who could be invited to the conference.

“We need real people, real representatives,” Mr Zebari said.

Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, has been calling for negotiations with insurgents and his aides have been in contact with some groups. The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, however, reported on Tuesday that several groups that had been approached had issued statements rejecting a dialogue.

[Shammu]

Iran Connects the Dots: The mullahs and the global war on terror

By Michael Ledeen


It didn’t take long for the yackers and scribblers to start pooh-poohing the significance of the elimination of Zarqawi. The MSNBC/al-Reuters headline said it all: ‘Zarqawi more myth than Man.’ And of course, the hate-America crowd was hinting that the ‘timing’ was peculiar (Bush needed a boost in the polls), as if killing Zarqawi was just a matter of giving the order, rather than a difficult operation made possible by the great performance of our Special Forces and the active cooperation of Sunni tribal leaders in the Anbar Province, plus the Jordanians, plus the various party leaders in Baghdad.

Whatever the "explanation," the significance of this operation is enormous. It’s not just about Iraq (it very much involves North America, for example), and it effectively explodes one of the most dangerous confusions about the nature of the terror network.

Zarqawi was a very important man in the terror network. I first noticed him some years ago, reading the German and Italian press. Several terrorist cells in those countries had been rounded up, and court documents showed that in both countries the network had been created from Tehran, by Zarqawi. Thus, years before we went into Iraq, Zarqawi was already a major player in international terrorism, and in recognition of his skills he was sent into Iraq as one of the organizers of the terror war against us and the Iraqi people.

Despite his intonations against the Shiites, and his manifest efforts to promote civil war in Iraq, Zarqawi was happy to work with the radical Shiite regime in Tehran, and they were happy to work with him. It is quite wrong to view him as a leader of one faction in a religious war; his promotion of religious conflict was simply a tactic designed to destabilize Iraq and drive out the Coalition. He and his Iranian backers/masters were desperate to promote all manner of internal Iraqi conflict: Kurds against Arabs, Turkamen against Kurds, anything that worked. It’s The Godfather all over again: the terror masters put aside their differences, sat down around the table, and made a war plan in which Sunni and Shia, Syrian and Saudi, Iranian and Iraqi cooperated against their common satanic enemy, the United States.

One other very important factoid emerged from the accounts of the attack on Zarqawi: we killed two women in the same house. We did it deliberately, because they were his key intelligence officers. From which two lessons should be drawn. First, women get something approaching parity in the jihadist terror organizations, despite endless citations from the holy Koran demanding their subservience. These were not suicide bombers, of which we have seen several exemplars in the past; these were important components of the terror headquarters. And second, when our soldiers enter terrorists’ quarters and kill women in the ensuing firefight, remind yourself that it might have been entirely proper, since the women may have been terrorists themselves.

Zarqawi played on a global scale. Reports from Canada recount contacts between the ‘home-grown’ terrorists arrested by the Mounties and Zarqawi himself  June 7: ‘The arrest of 17 suspects...is said to be the latest stage in dismantling a terrorist network that’s linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi...’). Those arrests seem linked to those carried out in Atlanta, Georgia, by the FBI, and to other arrests in Sarajevo, England, and Denmark. It will be surprising if we don’t find Zarqawi’s claw prints in several of those venues, as the Canadians have said. Remember, it was publicly announced a few months ago that Zarqawi was no longer the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, that henceforth the Iraqi Sunni ‘community’ would run the terror war there, and that Zarqawi would devote his efforts to the international jihad. It seems he did just that — and failed.

[Shammu]

Iran, Syria security intertwined

TEHRAN, June 12 (UPI) -- Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Mustafa Najjar stressed that Syria's security is part of Iran's security and that his country has a duty to defend Syria.

Najjar's remarks were quoted by the Iranian News Agency, IRNA, following his talks Monday with visiting Syrian counterpart Gen. Hassan Torkmani.

Najjar said Iran will extend full support to Syria under present conditions "because Iran considers that Syria's security is part of its own security and national interests."

"Relations between Iran and Syria are solid and fall within the framework of consolidating peace, stability and security in the region," he added.

Torkmani, for his part, hailed Iran's stance on Syria, noting that he is carrying a letter of mutual solidarity and support.

He stressed the need to reinforce the armed forces of the two countries to confront the common enemy which seeks to destabilize security and provoke tensions in the region.

He also reaffirmed Syria's support to Iran's right to profit from nuclear energy, stressing that "the only way to settle the crisis over Iran's (nuclear program) is to recognize officially this right."

Both Torkmani and Najjar described the military and defense relations between the two countries as "strategic" and constitute "an example of regional cooperation."

I can't post the link because of advertisment.

[Shammu]

June 13, 2006

Anglicans face rift over gay clergy
By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent

::nobreak::THE ANGLICAN Church could move a step closer to schism this week as the US branch meets to debate whether to “repent” the effects of its actions in consecrating an openly gay bishop.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, is among the British Anglicans attending the US Church’s general convention in Columbus, Ohio, which opens today. Conservative critics say that the calls for repentance over the effects of the consecration of a gay bishop and for failing to consult with others before acting do not go far enough.

Campaigners on the Chirch’s orthodox wing want repentance for the consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. Not only are they concerned about its effects, they demand a moratorium on such consecrations.

However, liberal lobbyists are equally determined to ensure that there is no backtracking on the gay rights agenda, even if it means that the US Church will have to leave the global Anglican communion.

Dozens of the 7,200 parishes and missions that make up the US Church have defected over the debate, and it is believed that a further 500 or more could go after the convention ends next week if the vote on repentance results in a “fudge”.

The dispute, which mirrors the conservative-liberal divide in secular US culture, has damaged the US Church, with membership down to 2.2 million and average Sunday attendance below 800,000. In a country where churchgoing remains fashionable and popular, the Free Evangelical, Pentecostal, Baptist and Methodist Churches all stand to benefit from the Anglican disarray.

In a recent lecture the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, gave a warning that if the General Convention did not reach a clear decision the Church would split, damaging its mission, in particular to the poor in Africa.

Speaking to a theological seminary in Virginia, he spoke of the “alarming and distressing” consequences of the consecration of Bishop Robinson, and called on the US Church this week to commit itself to a moratorium on the ordination of gay priests and bishops and to refrain from same-sex blessings.

He also called on the US Church to commit itself to a “covenant” as proposed by the Windsor Report into the crisis.

The Rev Martyn Minns of Fairfax, Virginia, says in an article posted on the website of the UK orthodox lobby group Anglian Mainstream that he is leading a team of clergy and parishioners to the US convention. He says they will “pray hard” for “repentance” for the actions of the US Church.

DIVIDED CHURCH

1998 Lambeth Conference rejects homosexual practice as “incompatible with scripture” and advises against the “legitimising or blessing of same sex unions” and of “ordaining those involved in same gender unions”

2003 Vicky Imogene “Gene” Robinson, a gay divorced father of two is elected and consecrated as ninth bishop of New Hampshire in the US

2003 Archbishop of Canterbury sets up Lambeth Commission to look into the crisis as Anglican Communion begins to implode

2004 Commission publishes Windsor Report that calls for repentance from the US Church and for a covenant to restrict similar unilateral action by one province

2006 US Episcopalians gather in Columbus, Ohio, to debate the call to repentance, the possibility of future gay ordinations and same-sex blessings

Anglicans face rift over gay clergy