Neocons: al Qaeda loves Democrats
WALLACE: Bill, after the events of this week — and I know you’re not going to like this question — but can you argue that the working class neighborhoods in Britain are a bigger threat to the United States than what happens in Baghdad?
KRISTOL: No. Look, there are lots of threats. It is a global war. The Bush administration, I think, is deeply correct about this. And what you do on one front affects what happens on the other front. Cheney’s statement is indisputably correct. It doesn’t mean that Ned Lamont likes al Qaeda or wants al Qaeda to win...
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/08/13/kristol-cheneys-claimReality: al Qaeda flourishing because of Bush
Sunday, August 13, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
Is Pakistan the real terrorism front?
By Paul Richter
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — The trail of evidence in the British terrorism investigation is leading to an uncomfortable question for the Bush administration: Is Pakistan rather than Iraq, Afghanistan or some other country the central front in the war on terror?
Snip...
U.S. and British authorities have strongly praised the Pakistani authorities, who arrested as many as 17 suspects, for their help in the alleged plot.
Musharraf has balked at other U.S. requests, denying access, for example, to Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan, who as the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program was a key figure in the spread of nuclear know-how around the world.
Most damaging, while Musharraf has gone after terrorist groups he believes may threaten his government, he has resisted efforts to crack down on other organizations that he believes serve Pakistan's interests against rival India, or have substantial domestic support in the country. He has not been seen as energetic in helping U.S. forces find Taliban fighters in border regions, and has refused to go after groups that support the insurgency in the disputed, Indian-controlled territory of Kashmir.
While some of these groups may appear distinct from al-Qaida, many share a web of contacts and are part of a broader terrorist infrastructure in the country, Abbas said.
more...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003195198_plotpak13.html?syndication=rssNeocons: Withdrawing from Iraq embolden terrorists
KRISTOL: ...But the notion that a retreat in Iraq would not embolden terrorists elsewhere in the Middle East, and terror recruiters in the suburbs of London, is ludicrous. Of course it would. Now, if you want to say we should get out of Iraq anyway because we can’t win and this is the price we have to pay, fine. But it’s just factually true that our pulling out of Iraq will be bad for us in the global war on terror.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/08/13/kristol-cheneys-claimReality: Iran bolstered by U.S. occupation of Iraq
Iran seeking to use Iraq for leverage on nuclear program: US envoy
43 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States expressed concern that Iran is influencing unrest in Iraq to gain leverage in the mounting international dispute over its nuclear program.
"I believe that Iran is seeking to increase its ability to impact us here, and that the nuclear issue might be the issue that will trigger increased Iranian pressure against the coalition and against those who are working with the coalition to build this new Iraq," US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told CNN elevision's "Late Edition" program.
He renewed US charges that Iran is playing a key role in ratcheting up sectarian violence in Iraq.
"We are concerned Iran is playing a role in the sectarian violence that is taking place here," Khalilzad told CNN.
"It is providing arms, training and money and other support to groups involved in sectarian violence, including militias that have death squads associated with them," the US diplomat said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060813/wl_mideast_afp/iraqusenvoyiran_060813181402Iran, Iraq discuss oil exchange deal
Sat Aug 12, 3:19 PM ET
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian and Iraqi oil ministers reportedly discussed details of a plan for Tehran to provide refined products in return for Iraqi crude.
Snip...
Iraq, which has the world's third largest proven reserves of crude, has faced chronic shortages of refined products ever since the US-led invasion of 2003, as insurgents have targeted its oil infrastructure, bringing production from the northern fields around Kirkuk to a virtual standstill.
The Iraqi government has been forced to import refined products from a number of neighboring countries.
Relations between Iraq and Iran, which were at war from 1980-88 when
Saddam Hussein was in power in Baghdad, have improved markedly since a Shiite-led government took power this year.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060812/wl_mideast_afp/iraniraqoil_060812191922Reality trumps spin:
One has to live in fantasy world to believe that we are on the brink of domestic peace and pluralistic democracy in Iraq. One has to be blind to the facts to argue that the prospects for success are so great that they outweigh the terrible costs of the present approach. And, finally, one has to be incapable of admitting error to not face up to the need to change course now – Yes now Mr. President – this year
Snip...
Withdrawing from Iraq will also enable us to strengthen our efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, is delighted with our presence in Iraq because it advances their goals, keeping us otherwise occupied. Their president is so emboldened that he’s openly called for the destruction of Israel while defying the international community’s demands to stop developing its nuclear weapons capability. And North Korea has felt at liberty to ignore the six party talks while it continues to stockpile more nuclear weapons material. Any effort to be stronger in dealing with the nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea is incomplete without an exit from Iraq.
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=253876&
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