German Guilty of Violating UN Sanctions On Iraq

The Germans who insist Iraq has no deadly weapons today convicted Bernd Schompeter of dealing in drills that can be used for boring tubes for long-range cannons, capable of launching nuclear, chemical or biological warheads.

His sentence: three to five years. He delivered the weapons to a man in Jordan who then took them to Iraq ... all in violation of the UN sanctions we keep hearing should be working ... but says he had no idea they could be used to make weapons. He did admit he lacked the required licenses to deal in the goods he was selling.

Lost in the anti-Bush media blitz is that half of the companies on Iraq's list of weapons providers are German ... as recently as last year.

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21 Countries Give US Access For Iraq War

Sure, France and Germany get all of the press for insisting they get to decide if America goes to war ... but realistically the number of countries that recognize Hussein could easily turn on them is high.

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8 European Countries Agree With The US On Iraq

As expected, they see both the wisdom of standing up to tyranny and resent the power grab by the French and Germans in their names. Spain, Portugal, Italy, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Denmark issued a joint statement recommending against yet another UN resolution, instead calling on Iraq to obey the last one or fact consequences.

"Europe has no quarrel with the Iraqi people. Indeed, they are the first victims of Iraq?s current brutal regime. Our goal is to safeguard world peace and security by ensuring that this regime gives up its weapons of mass destruction. Our governments have a common responsibility to face this threat. Failure to do so would be nothing less than negligent to our own citizens and to the wider world.

The United Nations Charter charges the Security Council with the task of preserving international peace and security. To do so, the Security Council must maintain its credibility by ensuring full compliance with its resolutions. We cannot allow a dictator to systematically violate those Resolutions. If they are not complied with, the Security Council will lose its credibility and world peace will suffer as a result.Europe has no quarrel with the Iraqi people. Indeed, they are the first victims of Iraq?s current brutal regime. Our goal is to safeguard world peace and security by ensuring that this regime gives up its weapons of mass destruction. Our governments have a common responsibility to face this threat. Failure to do so would be nothing less than negligent to our own citizens and to the wider world.

The United Nations Charter charges the Security Council with the task of preserving international peace and security. To do so, the Security Council must maintain its credibility by ensuring full compliance with its resolutions. We cannot allow a dictator to systematically violate those Resolutions. If they are not complied with, the Security Council will lose its credibility and world peace will suffer as a result."

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Now Chairing The UN Conference on Disarmament: Iraq

No, I'm not kidding ... and neither is the UN. Why would they do this? They say it's only random luck ... but, really, the irony of having Iraq chair a disarmament committee in the same year as Libya chairs the human rights commission in the UN ... well, it's just too poignant.

It's conceptually so far from Iraqi thought that U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq was unaware that Iraq's turn was coming up.

In the most interesting back-to-back succession -- perhaps ever -- the chairs for those months will be Iran, Iraq, Ireland and Israel. Now, really, can you think of four countries less interested in disarmament?

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Microsoft Deal With Israel Alarms Arabs

They're concerned that Microsoft's $20 million contract with Israel means that Microsoft is helping to crack Arab military computers. Why would they think such a thing? Because it's exactly what an Arab dictator would do.

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Europeans Vexed By Rumsfeld's Attempts To Out-Arrogant Them

"If you knew what I feel like telling him, to Mr. Rumsfeld ...," French Ecology Minister Roselyne Bachelot said on Europe-1 radio. She then stopped herself and said the word would be too offensive to use ... which is the same thing as using the word.

Martine Aubry, a French Socialist who is not a member of the current French government but is quoted because he uses the word 'arrogance' and 'United States' in the same sentence, stated Rumsfeld's comments "show once again a certain arrogance of the United States."

"We should try to treat each other sensibly," said German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, surprisingly not referring to French Ecology Minister Roselyne Bachelot but rather to Rumsfeld. This is the same government that dismissed Bush's concerns about nuclear capabilities in the hands of an Iraq madman as an 'adventure.'

Here is what Rumsfeld said that drew so much ire: "You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't," Rumsfeld said in his remarks. "I think that's old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the center of gravity is shifting to the east and there are a lot of new members."

This is exactly what Old Europe does not want for its smaller European brethren to think. It's well and good for everyone to have an equal vote if its the UN saying 'no' to America but it's not good to have a vote for each country if it's the EU. In the EU, each country should have a vote but France and Germany should have a more important vote. Something like the change in the EU charter so that if the Irish decide not to allow new members next time, their vote won't count.

If the USA appeals directly to European NATO countries without being filtered by the imporant countries of Old Europe, their value is diminished. In the case of France, there isn't much importance left so unless they want to spend the rest of their years invading Ivory Coast to feel involved they had better get on the Anglo-American Express to Baghdad.

So was Rumsfeld correct in what he said? Apparently so. Tadeusz Iwinski, top foreign policy adviser to Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller: "There is much greater understanding for US administration policy among new NATO members than among old members."

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Danish Children Have A Friendly Game of Nazis and Jews

Not that Europe is anti-Semitic or anything ... but their unqualified support of Palestinian terrorists and lack of willingness to stand up to Arab dictators rings a little hollow when you read stories like this.

Most interesting is the statement from Jes Imer, of the scout organization that gave the 'Jews' Stars of David and wrote "Arbeit macht frei," or "Work will set you free" on signs. That's the infamous inscription over the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, if you didn't know. There were also swastikas on the windows of the school.

Imer's response: "I don't know whether I should apologize. I didn't want the game to hurt anyone."

Glad to hear you didn't think Jews would be hurt by your fun and games, Jes.

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Turkey At A Crossroads

Turkey is undergoing yet another Rite of Passage. Torn between it's need for a secular government and legitimate European recognition and the fundamentalists in a nation that is 99% Muslim, Turkey has opted to side with its political allies and risk terrorism by its fanatical minority.

If you visit Turkey you will find that people are affable to Americans on one hand and extremely anti-American politically. This is the dichotomy of the Turk. They seem to have no problem with young people cheating you on the cost of a piece of bread yet will get upset if you happen to be holding a camera while you are cheated.

So the heads of the Turkish government have tried to split the difference, allowing the use of airbases but limiting the size of the American force that can use them, hoping this will assuage the Parliament that is overwhelmingly dominated by a party with Islamic ties. The Turks have not realized that the middle of the road is the worst place to drive.

They have a need to be part of Europe. A Muslim country as a part of Europe would be a coup for Muslim legitimacy but how will Turkey react to an overwhelmingly secular, even anti-religious EU? How will Turkey gestate the tens of thousands of pages of economic and social regulation that Europe thrives on?

The Turkish government looks to European hegemony as protection for the idea of separation of Church and State ... and it's a worthy goal, but the suspicion is there that they're only playing along until they get what they want, and then they'll side with Islam over Europe.

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France Says It Will Block War Resolution

Does anyone care what France thinks? Would they be a permanent member of the Security Council if it were decided today? Probably not ... there are about 45 countries with more prestige out there ... same for Russia, really. Note that France is the same country that tried to water down the previous resolution, until they realized that the UK and America would go without them. France may want nothing done to protect their exclusive contracts but they certainly aren't going to allow the war without them getting a piece of the pie.

The presumption here is that the UN will get to decide if Iraq is attacked. Iraq did not consult the UN, for example, when it invaded Kuwait ... nor did it consult the UN when it went to war with Iran. The fact is Iraq will be attacked if the countries with the most to lose determine Hussein has acquired dangerous weapons that could be used against his enemies. France clearly has that fear, given the number of Muslim terrorists they have allowed in their country, and wants to stave it off by being passive in the face of evil.

Surprisingly, this demeanor will be a failure yet again for the French, which used to be morally strong. Their hesitance is understandable, given their recent history and the influx of Muslim radicals, but it does not give more weight to their opinions.

America and Britain's position does not suddenly become validated because the butchers of Tiananmen Square, a country that has become synonymous with military ineffectiveness, and Russians with a lot of money at stake suddenly were to agree with us.

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Arab Press Cheers Anti-War Protests

What they don't know is that many of the protesters aren't there because they care about war. The protests are funded by various communist groups, attended by people protesting, among other things, the President of Venezuela. What they have is a built-in sympathetic audience ... and the left-wing is famous for ideological quid pro quo. If you support my fringe cause I will support yours.

So the Arab League, while pretending to support the west against the tyrant in Iraq, uses the press it controls to cheer and encourage dissent in democratic nations -- dissent that is not allowed in Arab nations, it must be added.

What's most interesting is hearing the Iranian press, the Arabian press, and the others talking about 'international law.' As if an endorsement from the butchers of Tiananennman Square, or from the Islamic dictators who control Iran, or the intolerant family-ruled King of Arabia, would somehow validate America's position and make it legitimate.

If the press in the mid-east wants to be considered legitimate in their opinions, they could start by throwing off the control of the governments in which they reside. Until then they need to keep the moral hubris to themselves.

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Palestinians For Saddam

No surprise here. If they had a clue they would disavow an evil Muslim dictator so as to appear like they are capable of running a country of their own without suicide bombing themselves into oblivion. They did this after Friday's prayers, being lovers of peace and all.

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TIME Magazine Says The Arabians Are Pushing For A 'Coup'

The Arabians know this ... if Hussein and family are removed from power, some other evil Muslim dictator will take his place. That's good for the Arabian concept of 'stability' in the region. On the other hand, they also know that if the US removes Hussein from power, there will be elections and the spread of democracy will spill into Arabian borders, creating their concept of instability.

It also looks bad for Allah when the infidels are blatantly kicking the snot out of one of their own.

TIME says the Arabians are offering up amnesty if they go quietly. I think that's not a bad deal ... if, in return, the Arabians support elections. Clearly any election held among a people cowed into giving 100% of the vote to a dictator who employs officials with titles like 'Violator of Women' is going to be suspect ... but it's better than nothing and certainly better than a lot of civilians who will be killed because the evil dictator hides behind them.

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Gulf War Anniversary -- Saddam Says It Was A US Failure

Why would he say something so stupid? Because we did not drive him out of power. This is the same argument the lefties who hate all things Republican ... even if they're good ... say when they claim this wouldn't be a mess if we had driven him out then. Of course, these same people had anti-war protests at the time so imagine their reaction if Bush 41 had gone beyond his stated intent of freeing Kuwait into overthrow of Hussein?

Is Hussein just stupid? No, he's putting on a show because he knows he is not in a democracy but we are ... and that he is giving ammunition to the left-wing idolizers of his policies of intolerance and hatred.

Because really ... if the US had failed in '91, I don't think a half million Iraqi soldiers would have been screaming like four-year-old schoolgirls and running at the sight of western tanks.

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Un Inspectors Find Missile Warheads In Iraq

"During the course of their inspection, the team discovered 11 empty 122 mm chemical warheads and one warhead that requires further evaluation," UN Spokesman Hiro Ueki said in a statement.

"The warheads were in excellent condition and were similar to ones imported by Iraq during the late 1980s. The team used portable X-ray equipment to conduct preliminary analysis of one of the warheads and collected samples for chemical testing."

Is this planted evidence? You can bet on it. Hussein was starting to figure out that it was strange that no WMD were being found at all ... a sure sign that things were being hidden or transported to places UN inspectors had already been. So it makes sense for him to leave something laying around that's fairly harmless ... these are empty warheads ... but still gives the UN a chance to say something was found, problem solved, and hope the issue goes away ... while Hussein can rail against US imperialism and pretend it was planted by us.

Hussein didn't stay in power this long by being stupid. Unless you hear about mass executions in those bunkers next week, you can bet Hussein was just giving up those warheads as a sacrifical lamb.

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UN Inspectors Find 'Suspect' Illegally Smuggled Material

At some point it's getting a little silly to have people who are opposed to conflict insisting that, just because he's violating the UN embargoes and smuggling lots of illegal things, it does not state that he may be smuggling dangerous illegal things unless the inspectors happen to walk into Hussein's office and see a nuclear bomb.

This is an evil dictator, after all ... it is a big country. He could literally shuffle nuclear bombs from place to place on an underground system and the UN inspectors would never know it. For the UN to be insisting that because they have looked for six weeks and found nothing, there must be nothing ... is a little silly. Hans Blix is not exactly the most aggressive choice to lead this operation, so six weeks with him is three weeks with anyone else.

If someone has been caught stealing bread and you suddenly find that cheese is missing too, it is not unreasonable to assume that a thief did the thieving. Likewise, if Iraq has knowingly been violating UN sanctions and importing weapons, it is not unreasonable to think he may have illegally smuggled in things that could be used to create weapons of mass destruction.

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Arab League Rallies Against Terror

They are calling them "Islamic Insurgency Groups" ... of course they're Islamic, they're only telling the west that so it looks like there's knee-jerk support for them ... but a good number of the groups that are listed as 'insurgency' groups are simply intellectual political organs interested in freedom for Arab states. They're not blowing up children or people of other religions like the groups Arabia openly funds.

The Algerians have a legitimate complaint ... their insurgency groups are interested in making the country more like Iran, Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan. By seeking closer ties with the Arab League they perhaps don't know that other Arab League members are funding their enemies, or they're trying to call off the dogs with some diplomacy.

You realize you're dealing with Muslim dictators, right? They will call off the dogs when your government caves in and is replaced by someone a little less moderate.

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Saddam Considering Exile Again

He's sent "Chemical Ali" Hassan Al Majid, a senior member of the Iraqi Revolutionary Council. Majid, of the famous gassing of the Kurds fame, to Egypt to discuss an Arab League plan to send Saddam into exile.

Hussein's options are dwindling fast. He thinks he can leave but let his truly demonic son remain in place, or someone in his cabinet ... it's not going to happen. We're not moving 150,000 troops over there so we can have the same problems a few years from now that we have today.

The Bush government rightly has "North Korea fever" and don't want a repeat of the Clinton asian policy coming back to haunt the US in the future. The North Korean situation, and their threats to turn American cities into a 'sea of fire' while insisting they have no nuclear weapons and have no 'intention' of building them, demands that we deal with Iraq before ths situation gets any worse.

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Israeli Supreme Court Lifts Ban on Arab Politicians

Part of what democracy is all about is letting people you don't like run for office. Granted, Israel is in a more tricky democracy than most countries ... mistakes do not cost most countries their existence. If these Arab politicans support Palestinian terrorism, it is for Israeli voters to determine their fate, not an increasingly beleagured bureaucracy.

With a minority of 1.2 million Arabs and a need to be a modern, tolerant society, Israel has to find a way to allow Muslim Israelis the same freedom, security and comfort Jews have.

Militarily, Israel has to be allowed more latitude but domestically curtailing the rights and freedoms of the 'wrong' citizens is a bad way to go. Jews have been on the other side of the 'wrong' citizen problem so I think most of them recognize this ... luckily, democracy works in Israel ... something many of the Arabs complaining inside Israel would not have if they were still Jordanian.

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Syrian Troops Caught In Israel

It's been years since the Syrians tried to muck around in the Golan Heights.

Under cease-fire since 1974 the area is monitored by Israeli, Lebanese and Syrian forces. It was inside the Israeli border that the gunfire took place between Syrian soldiers and an elite Egoz infantry unit. One Syrian was killed and one wounded.

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Arabia Says It Has Donated 4% Of Its GNP To Developing Nations Since The Mid-70s

We have no way to know what a repressive Arabian dictator means by 'development projects' in 65 Muslim countries. Still, some clown like Senator Patty Murray of Washington will see that number and tell us that we should do as much to help women and poor countries as Arabia. Because she's clueless and she doesn't know that a lot of development projects in poor countries are developing ways to kill people of other cultures and religions.

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