Archive for January 19th, 2006
 Frank Lindh, the father of American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh, talks about his son at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006. Lindh says his son is an honorable and decent young man who simply embarked on a — quote — ‘spiritual quest.’ The quest found the younger Lindh captured by American forces in 2001, alongside members of the Taliban. He pleaded guilty to supplying services to the Taliban in violation of U-S economic sanctions and of carrying weapons against U.S. forces.
Associated Press: ‘American Taliban’ Father Urges Clemency
After years of silence, the father of American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh said Thursday he has asked President Bush to grant his son clemency, adding that the then teenager never raised arms against the United States.
“In simple terms, this is the story of a decent and honorable young man embarked on a spiritual quest,” said Frank Lindh, swallowing back tears at times during a speech at the Commonwealth Club, a nonprofit organization.
John Walker Lindh, now 24, was captured by American forces on Nov. 21, alongside the Taliban. Frank Lindh said his son thought he had been rescued by U.S. soldiers until he was taken into custody and tortured.
Flap understands a father’s concern for his son. And John Walker Lindh was young and immature.
But, he was an enemy combatant in a foreign country aiding the enemies of the United States.
Charged with conspiring to kill Americans and supporting terrorists, the younger Lindh avoided a potential life sentence in 2002 by pleading guilty to lesser charges of supplying services to the Taliban in violation of U.S. economic sanctions and of carrying weapons against U.S. forces.
Last year John Walker Lindh asked President Bush for a reduction in his 20-year sentence, repeating a September 2004 request the government rejected.
Until now, his parents have mostly maintained a public silence about the case, hoping to avoid a media barrage that could be detrimental to their son. But on Thursday Frank Lindh shared baby pictures and other photos of his son during the presentation and said he is proud of his child.
Lindh said he decided to break his silence because he hoped the story of his boy’s journey from bucolic Marin County to harsh Afghanistan battlefields will help gain him a reprieve.
If a teenager from California can enlist in the United States Army and fight the Taliban in Afghanistan or Al Qaeda in Iraq why should John Walker Lindh be given a reprieve or clemency when he aids enemies of this soldier? If this Army teenager makes a conscious choice to fight for the United States didn’t Lindh make the same choice to consciously fight against this American soldier?
If Frank Lindh is arguing that his son was young and clueless then he is wrong. Afghanistan is a long way from California. There was a concerted effort by his son to join the Taliban. He did not happen upon the scene.
John Walker Lindh should serve his sentence according to the federal sentencing guidelines and serve not one day more or less than prescribed by law.
 American John Walker Lindh is seen in this undated photo obtained Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2002, from a religious school where he studied for five months in Bannu, 304 kilometers (190 miles) southwest of Islamabad, Pakistan. Lindh, who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan, began his journey home from the war in Afghanistan on Tuesday to face charges he conspired with Islamic radicals to kill fellow countrymen.
No clemency for John Walker Lindh, the American Taliban.
Technorati Tags: JohnWalkerLindh, FrankLindh, Afghanistan, Taliban, clemency, PresidentGeorgeBush
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Sacramento Bee: Governor’s strategist steps back
Mike Murphy, who helped elect Arnold Schwarzenegger governor in 2003 and also ran his ill-fated special election campaign last year, has told Schwarzenegger he wants a much-diminished role in his uphill re-election bid, Murphy said Thursday.
Matthew Dowd, a Texan who has worked on past Democratic campaigns but ran President Bush’s 2004 re-election effort, will assume the role as Schwarzenegger’s chief campaign strategist, said Marty Wilson, the governor’s chief political fundraiser.
Face saving for Murphy and a solid selection by the Governor.
But, will be it be enough for victory in November?
Stay tuned…….
Technorati Tags: ArnoldSchwarzenegger, MikeMurphy, MatthewDowd, Californiaelection2006
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Financial Times: ElBaradei rejects EU’s request to condemn Iran
Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN’s nuclear monitor, has turned down a request by the European Union to issue a far-reaching condemnation of Iran’s nucÂlear programme when the agency’s board meets in extraordinary session next month.
Mr ElBaradei’s reports set the tone for the international debate on the issue, so his decision could weaken US-European efforts for a speedy referral of Iran to the UN Security Council.
The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been frustrated by Iran’s resumption of nuclear research – the move that set off US and European attempts to send the issue to the Security Council – as well as by a slowdown in Iranian co-operation with his inspectors. He has informed Tehran it has until the end of next month to give his inspectors improved access to documents and sites.
Another month for either a non-referral to the United Nations Security Council or a VETO by China or Russia makes no difference.
Israel and the United States are alone in denying Iran nuclear weapons.
A military operation(s) appear the most likely outcome.
Only if Iran does not accede would he be ready to declare his investigation was no longer making progress and that his hands were tied.
Diplomats said leading European governments had asked Mr ElBaradei to make an earlier report, ahead of the February 2-3 meeting of the IAEA board.
“ElBaradei has refused because he believes in due process,†said an official close to the agency. “He has said that the next report will be for the [regular] March 6 board and he can’t just advance that report.â€
Mr ElBaradei may still issue a summary next month that would detail Iran’s decision to restart some “research†work at its Natanz nuclear facility, as well as other violations of its suspension of activities related to uranium enrichment. But he would not then address the wider issues concerning Iran’s alleged failure to demonstrate its nuclear programme is peaceful.
The decision was made by the IAEA chief as Iran steps up its own diplomatic efforts. Last Sunday Mr ElBaradei met Ali Larijani, Iran’s chief negotiator, who is believed to have asked for more time. Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s president, began a trip on Thursday to Syria, a traditional ally of Iran and one of the 35 members of the IAEA governing board.
European diplomats say they are confident of winning a majority of votes to send the Iran dossier to New York, but a thin majority could slow down the momentum for censuring Iran at the UN. US and European officials are continuing discussions with Russia and China, two of the most important members of the board, to try to secure their agreement for a referral.
China said it was waiting to see a draft IAEA resolution prepared by EU governments before deciding. Russia has proposed a Security Council debate but wants to hold off a formal decision on referral until March.
There is no urgency for Mr. ElBaradei or the United Nations Security Council. They are ineffectual.
But, when will the United States and Israel reach their point of NO return?
Stay tuned……
Previous:
Iran Nuclear Watch: IEAE to Hold Emergency Iran Meeting February 2nd
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Scorns EU 3’s Draft Nuclear Resolution
Iran Nuclear Watch: France Rejects Iran’s Request for More Talks on Nuclear Program
Iran Nuclear Watch: European Union 3 Draft Resolution Opens Door to United Nations Security Council Sanctions
Iran Nuclear Watch: Russia and China Do NOT Support Sanctions Against Iran
The Iran Files
Technorati Tags: Iran, Russia, China, SergeiLavrov, UnitedNations, UnitedNationsSecurityCouncil, ZhouWenzhong, NicholasBurns, EuropeanUnion, MahmoudAhmadinejad, ManouchehrMottaki
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ASSociated Press: CIA Confirms It’s Bin Laden on Audiotape
Al-Jazeera on Thursday aired an audiotape from Osama bin Laden, who says al-Qaida is making preparations for attacks in the United States but offers a truce on “fair” but undefined conditions. The CIA has authenticated the voice on the tape as that of bin Laden, an agency official said.
The tape’s release came days after a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan that was targeting bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, and reportedly killed four leading al-Qaida figures, including possibly al-Zawahri’s son-in-law. There was no mention of the attack on the segments that were broadcast.
It was the first tape from the al-Qaida leader in more than a year _ the longest period without a message since the Sept. 11 2001 suicide hijackings in the United States.
The al-Qaida leader is believed to be hiding in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Al-Jazeera said the tape was recorded in the Islamic month that corresponds with December.
Bin Laden refers to an alleged comment by President Bush about bombing the Qatar headquarters of Al-Jazeera, which was first reported in the British press on Nov. 22.
He also refers indirectly to the July 7 bombings in London that killed 56 people and to poll numbers that showed a fall in Bush’s popularity, as occurred in late 2005.
U.S. counterterror officials said Thursday they have seen no specific or credible intelligence to indicate an upcoming al-Qaida attack on the country.
So, Al Qaeda is suing for a TRUCE?
The al-Qaida leader did not spell out conditions for a truce in the excerpts aired by Al-Jazeera.
“We do not mind offering you a long-term truce with fair conditions that we adhere to,” he said. “We are a nation that God has forbidden to lie and cheat. So both sides can enjoy security and stability under this truce so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan, which have been destroyed in this war.
“There is no shame in this solution, which prevents the wasting of billions of dollars that have gone to those with influence and merchants of war in America,” he said.
How about a NOOSE?
Technorati Tags: GlobalWaronTerror, AlQaeda, OsamaBinLaden, Iraq, Afghanistan
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 French President Jacques Chirac delivers a speech at the Elysee Palace in France January 9, 2006. In a speech defending France’s costly nuclear deterrent and toughening policy against terrorism, President Chirac said Paris must be able to hit back hard at a hostile state’s centers of power and its ‘capacity to act’.
Reuters: France defends right to nuclear reply to terrorism
France said on Thursday it would be ready to use nuclear weapons against any state that carried out a terrorist attack against it, reaffirming the need for its nuclear deterrent.
Deflecting criticism of France’s costly nuclear arms program,
President Jacques Chirac said security came at a price and France must be able to hit back hard at a hostile state’s centers of power and its “capacity to act.”
He said there was no change in France’s overall policy, which rules out the use of nuclear weapons in a military conflict. But his speech pointed to a change of emphasis to underline the growing threat France perceives from terrorism.
“The leaders of states who would use terrorist means against us, as well as those who would consider using in one way or another weapons of mass destruction, must understand that they would lay themselves open to a firm and adapted response on our part,” Chirac said during a visit to a nuclear submarine base in northwestern France.
“This response could be a conventional one. It could also be of a different kind.”
Chirac, who is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, said all of France’s nuclear forces had been configured with the new strategy in mind and the number of nuclear warheads on French nuclear submarines had been reduced to allow targeted strikes.
It was the first time he had so clearly linked the threat of a nuclear response to a terrorist attack.
Chirac, 73, did not say whether France would be prepared to use pre-emptive strikes against a country it saw as a threat.
Iran or Islamic immigrant riots?
Technorati Tags: JacquesChirac, Chirac, France, Iran, Nuclearweapons, nuclear
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